{"id":3246,"date":"2023-12-29T18:35:33","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T01:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/?p=3246"},"modified":"2025-04-27T18:19:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T01:19:52","slug":"dd-5e-rules-jumping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/2023\/12\/dd-5e-rules-jumping.html","title":{"rendered":"D&#038;D 5e Rules &#8211; Jumping!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2984\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules-300x196.webp\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules-300x196.webp 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules-650x425.webp 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules-768x502.webp 768w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules-1200x784.webp 1200w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Know-the-rules.webp 1300w\" alt=\"Know the Rules\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" \/><em><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/2022\/09\/dd-5e-rules-a-prologue.html\">Part of an ongoing series of <strong>5e (2014)<\/strong> Rules notes.<\/a>\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #800000;\">See the end of the post for notes on <strong>5.5e (2024)<\/strong> rules.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>So not a lot exciting here, but sooner or later a player&#8217;s going to want to know if they can jump up to something, jump over something, etc.<\/p>\n<h1>Basic Jumping Rules<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping\">Jumping is all about <strong>Strength<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Running<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0Long Jump:<\/em> Travel STR feet forward.<sup>4<\/sup><\/li>\n<li><em>Standing Long Jump:<\/em> Travel STR\/2 feet forward.<sup>2,4<\/sup><\/li>\n<li><em>Running<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0High Jump:<\/em> Travel (STR bonus + 3) feet upward.<sup>3<\/sup><\/li>\n<li><em>Standing High Jump:<\/em> Travel (STR bonus + 3)\/2 feet upward.<sup>2,3<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><small><sup>1<\/sup> &#8220;Running&#8221; means you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=your%20Strength%20score-,if%20you%20move%20at%20least%2010%20feet%20on%20foot%20immediately%20before%20the%20jump,-.%20When%20you%20make\">move at least 10 feet<\/a> before making the jump. This is presumably, but not RAW, in the direction of the jump.<br \/>\n<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/2023\/12\/dd-5e-rules-round-down.html\">Round down!<\/a><br \/>\n<sup>3<\/sup> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=In%20some%20circumstances%2C%20your%20GM%20might%20allow%20you%20to%20make%20a%20Strength%20(Athletics)%20check%20to%20jump%20higher%20than%20you%20normally%20can.\">A <em>Strength(Athletics)<\/em> roll might let you go a little higher.<\/a><br \/>\n<sup>4<\/sup> In a long jump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=At%20your%20GM%27s%20option%2C%20you%20must%20succeed%20on%20a%20DC%2010%20Strength%20(Athletics)%20check%20to%20clear%20a%20low%20obstacle%20(no%20taller%20than%20a%20quarter%20of%20the%20jump%27s%20distance)%2C%20such%20as%20a%20hedge%20or%20low%20wall\">you can clear a <b>low obstacle<\/b>\u00a0(distance\/4 feet high) with as DC10 <em>Strength (Athletics)<\/em> check<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n<p>So, as an example, the 6-foot tall Fighter with a Strength of 16 (+3 Bonus) can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do a Running Long Jump of 16 feet forward (clearing a 4 foot high obstacle)<\/li>\n<li>Do a Standing Long Jump of 8 feet forward (clearing a 2 foot high obstacle)<\/li>\n<li>Do a Running High Jump of 6 feet high (with a reach of up to 9 feet)<\/li>\n<li>Do a Standing High Jump of 3 feet high (with a reach of up to 6 feet)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=When%20you%20land%20in%20difficult%20terrain%2C%20you%20must%20succeed%20on%20a%20DC%2010%20Dexterity%20(Acrobatics)%20check%20to%20land%20on%20your%20feet.\"><b>land<\/b>\u00a0in difficult terrain<\/a>, you need a DC10 <em>Dexterity (Acrobatics)<\/em> check to not fall down prone.<\/p>\n<p>You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=Thus%2C%20you%20can%20reach%20above%20you%20a%20distance%20equal%20to%20the%20height%20of%20the%20jump%20plus%201%20%C2%BD%20times%20your%20height.\">you can\u00a0<b>reach\u00a0<\/b>above you<\/a> a distance equal to the (height of the jump ) + (1\u00bd times your height). (See, putting a height value on your character sheet finally means something!)<\/p>\n<h1>Movement and Jumping<\/h1>\n<p>The RAW rule is, your jump in feet (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=leap%20only%20half%20that%20distance.%20Either%20way%2C-,each%20foot%20you%20clear%20on%20the%20jump%20costs%20a%20foot%20of%20movement,-.\">up<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dandwiki.com\/wiki\/5e_SRD:Jumping#:~:text=leap%20only%20half%20that%20distance.%20Either%20way%2C-,each%20foot%20you%20clear%20on%20the%20jump%20costs%20a%20foot%20of%20movement,-.\">across<\/a>) counts against your Movement. That implies that if you have a Speed of 30, and you want to try and long jump 20 feet, you can only move 10 feet beforehand. (Jumps can&#8217;t split across turns.)<\/p>\n<p><i>Jump<\/i>\u00a0spells can extend your jump, but\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rpg.stackexchange.com\/questions\/99364\/does-a-ring-of-jumping-let-you-jump-farther-than-your-normal-movement\">the rule of 1 foot \/ 1 foot against Movement still applies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the <em>Jump <\/em>spell or a Ring of Jumping lets you triple your Jump &#8212; so the Fighter described above would get a Running Long Jump of (16&#215;3=) 48 feet, right? Nope. If their Speed is only 30, they can only Jump that far (or less, given the 10 foot lead-up to a Running Long Jump).<\/p>\n<p>This limitation can be extended, though, through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Speed magic (e.g.,\u00a0<em>Haste,<\/em> which doubles your Speed)<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<i>Dash<\/i> action (which effectively doubles your Speed for the turn).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note that while the RAW indicate this limitation, there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enworld.org\/threads\/jump.362742\/page-2#post-6386217\">some dispute among 5e&#8217;s designers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h1>Jumping and Falling<\/h1>\n<p>There are cases with spells where it is possible to jump higher than 10 feet, which raises the question as to whether you then take damage upon landing again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rpg.stackexchange.com\/questions\/57271\/do-you-take-falling-damage-after-a-high-jump-of-over-10-feet\">People can disagree<\/a>, but I&#8217;d be inclined to say no, especially as magic is involved: if your (magically-enhanced) muscles can propel you upwards 20 feet, they can absorb the (same) shock in landing after returning to the ground. Because magic!<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #800000;\">So, what about Jumping in 5.5e?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dnd-55-2024-logo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4197\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dnd-55-2024-logo-208x300.png\" alt=\"dnd 5.5\/2024\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dnd-55-2024-logo-208x300.png 208w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dnd-55-2024-logo.png 215w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 208px) 85vw, 208px\" \/><\/a>Pretty much all the same as with 5e for the <a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dndbeyond.com\/sources\/dnd\/br-2024\/rules-glossary#Jumping\">basic jumps<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">The <em>Jump<\/em> spell is handled a little differently, and more simply:\u00a0 each turn, the recipient of the spell can long jump 30 feet by spending 10 feet of movement. No calculations needed.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Y&#8217;know, it makes me want to JUMP (where &#8220;it&#8221; is a bottomless crevasse)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,44,78],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-3246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-onedd","category-dd","category-dd-5e-rules","tag-dnd5e"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3246"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4226,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3246\/revisions\/4226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}