Rules for Gliding

[Phoenix042]

I'm looking for a set of robust and elegant (but simple) gliding rules for items (magical or mechanical) which allow the user to glide, as well as for creatures which can glide, but not fly.

Right now I'm writing up stats for a magical wingsuit that gives the wearer a 100ft glide speed, but the wearer descends at a rate of 60ft each round.

This is actually part of an infiltration kit I'm putting together for a suit of technologically advanced magic armor.

Any thoughts? Other ideas?

[Chronos]

Looks like you already have it. The character has a speed of 100', but descends at 60' per round. What more rules do you need?

[PhoenixPhyre]

There's a wingsuit item in PotA that matches this pretty well (except you move 30, descending 5), might check there.

[Unoriginal]

The hybrid in Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica can have a gliding power, IIRC.

[Damon_Tor]

There are a few "glide" abilities in the game. Here's one from the Simic Hybrid race:


Manta Glide. Your ray-like wings can slow your fall and allow you to glide. When you fall and aren’t incapacitated, you can subtract up to 100 feet from the fall when calculating falling damage, and you can move up to 2 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you descend.

It's worth noting here that wording is prone to RAW abuse, especially when combined with a climb speed. Because the distance you glide is double the distance you fall, all you have to do to double your movement speed is climb 30 feet straight up then allow yourself to fall. Bam, 60 foot movespeed and immune to opportunity attacks because you're technically falling.

[DrKerosene]

Curse Of Strahd had a glider suit thing in a numbered crypt under Castle Ravenloft. For every 10 feet of forward movement you lose 1 foot of altitude. Really flimsy with a super low weight capacity.

[Kurt Kurageous]

I would consider a glide to be 6' forward, 1' descent (6:1). The purpose built glider from Strahd promises a 10:1. Your suit would be more like a parachute than an glider at 5:3.

If you are falling half or more (as OP example 5:3) in a round, you are just falling with some forward momentum. The 2:1 of manta is hardly worthy of "glide," more like "better than splat."

Only additional ruling might be in order to dash, you double the rate of descent for all movement that round. A 10:1 glider with a move of 30' and loses 1' height. If they dash, they lose 4' height and can move up to 60'.

The other issue is turning. You can't easily and safely turn 90 degrees in a glider while maintaining the glide, and certainly not in 30' of movement. Maybe give 'em a turn of 90 degrees every 60' of movement.

[Phoenix042]

The other issue is turning. You can't easily and safely turn 90 degrees in a glider while maintaining the glide, and certainly not in 30' of movement. Maybe give 'em a turn of 90 degrees every 60' of movement.

This is the text I'm going with so far after reading and considering the replies on here:



When you fall at least 10ft, you can expend a charge as a reaction to deploy an ultralight, powered glider system by spreading your arms and legs wide. Sheets of black fabric unfold, stretching past your arms and between your legs. The Wingsuit Module deploys automatically if you fall more than 10ft while you are unconscious.
While the Wingsuit is engaged, you do not take fall damage, and you can glide at a speed of 100 ft. You must move at least this distance every round. For every 10 ft of horizontal distance you cover using this speed, you descend 2ft.


Note that I'm explicitly using the phrase "glide speed" which is not a term defined in the player's handbook; rather than trying to verbosely and precisely define what this phrase means, I'm planning to try to rely on natural language here; people know what gliding means, so I don't have to say stuff like "you can't ascend" or "you can dive, adding your speed to your descent" or w/e. The player will just get that.

The thing I'm less sure about is turning, and the thing is, I'm not sure it's worthwhile to try to come up with more robust rules for this in this one instance; note that most flying creatures also spend a lot of their time gliding during flight, and that many such creatures also can't turn on a dime, yet 5e essentially ignores this.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Previous editions had assigned maneuverability (pixie > roc).

This one doesn't. You are on your own.