Hitting people with minecarts/ crashing

[Lupine]

My players are soon to be going on a mine-cart chase (shh. Don't tell them:)

Before they get into this, they will be fighting in an area where minecarts come zooming by every few turns (preferably found out when a pc gets hit by one.:smallbiggrin:)

But my question is: how much damage would the PC take from this? Should they be sent flying?

How would you rule for this?

[PhantomSoul]

If you're thinking in terms of balance/lethality, knowing the characters' level would help! (But the DMG has trap guidelines you can use as a guide -- I think it's there)

If you're looking for realism/verisimilitude, knowing why they're zooming by and what the layout is would help. Magically pushed? Pushed down from uphill? Travelling far before reaching the characters?

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'd take page 121 of the DMG as your starting point. Decide whether getting hit by a minecart is a minor setback, a dangerous occurrence or a potentially-deadly threat, then determine the damage and DC based on the PCs' level. It's up to you to decide how you want this encounter to go, at the end of the day.

Personally, I'd go for dangerous. There'll be monsters around, so you don't need deadly damage to make an impact. So, if the PCs are level 1-4, I'd call it a DC 14 Dex save, with 2d10 bludgeoning damage on a failure or half as much on a success. I wouldn't send them flying, but a 10-foot shove might make things interesting.

Also the players will definitely try to get into the minecarts, so you'd better prepare something for that.

[Lupine]

If you're thinking in terms of balance/lethality, knowing the characters' level would help! (But the DMG has trap guidelines you can use as a guide -- I think it's there)

If you're looking for realism/verisimilitude, knowing why they're zooming by and what the layout is would help. Magically pushed? Pushed down from uphill? Travelling far before reaching the characters?

Characters are level 11

Most are running downhill on rails. Some are being pushed by creatures

[stoutstien]

the question is are the carts in place for an encounter, trap, environmental hazards, or just for fun?

[Sigreid]

For damage, I'd decide how fast I want them to be going and translate that to feet fallen.

[ImproperJustice]

A simple rule of thumb could be Dex save vs. a portion of the character’s hit points.
1/4, 1/2, or all of it depending on the effect you are going for.
Do you want dramatic near missses that heighten narrative tension?
Or sudden whammies that can kill anyone?

My table would favor the former as we prefer exciting set pieces while still feeling heroic, others may enjoy the humor of someone getting obliterated by a speeding cart.

My preference would be to let mooks get splattered but allow PCs to roll out of the way at the last second, maybe losing a few hp in the process.

[Damon_Tor]

I've been working on a "unified collision system" which handles creatures and or objects crashing into each other.

In short: every object/creature has an impact die tied generally to it's weight, though it's size can be a stand in if you don't know the weight. A minecart large enough to ride in probably has an impact die of 1d8 or 1d10. Maybe 1d12 if they're full of ore.

You then multiply the impact die times the velocity of the moving object, 1 die for every 10 feet per round the object is moving. So if your minecarts are moving at 60 feet per round that would be 6d8 (or 6d10 or 6d12 depending on how heavy they are).

Creatures can move out of the way of an impact by making an acrobatics check as a reaction, the DC is equal to 10 plus the 1 for every 10 feet per round the object is moving at, so DC 16 in this case. On a success, they can move up to half their speed to get out of the way.

A creature can also try to catch the object to absorb the impact with their strength and reduce the damage dealt. As a reaction they make an athletics check with one or two free hands and the damage dealt by the impact is reduced by that amount. If the damage is reduced to zero the object stops. If only one hand was used the check is made with disadvantage.

[Marcloure]

Level 21 of the Dungeon of the Mad Mage has carts on rails. When a creature is struck by a cart, it must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw to get out of the way, or take 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save.

[stoutstien]

The next question is are these minecarts as easy to derail as they are in real life?
I could see crafty players damaging the rails.