Cliff Diving (sage ability)

Cliff diving is an amateur-status sage ability that enables the character to leap safely from extraordinary heights into deep water. A good platform is required and the character must strip so that no more than 3 lbs. of clothing and equipment is carried. For every 3 lbs. more, or part thereof, the character will suffer +1 point of damage.

High dives can be attempted by characters without the ability, though it can be very dangerous. The highest safe jump for an unskilled character is aboout 18 ft. For those with sage-status, jumps of more than 100 feet or more can be attempted.

Unskilled Divers

Diving describes leaping head first, arms outstretched and hands held together to break the water's surface before entering.

Unskilled Damage

Distance (ft.)	Damage
5-8	1
8-13	1d4
14-18	1d6+1
19-27	3d4
28-34	4d6+1
35-45	6d6+1
46-55	8d6
56-72	11d6
73+	15d6

This takes practice and training; the benefit is that the diver is able to use his or her momentum after striking the water so as to surface a significant distance from where the water was entered. This is safer, when being pursued, than jumping, which grants no such momentum.

However, unskilled persons often make the mistake of going into with their arms apart, their head at the wrong angle and their legs bent. The table shows the effect of this poor technique: even a dive of 5 feet can result in a light injury. As the height increases, this lack of technique becomes crippling or deadly. Characters should be cautious before deciding to dive for other reasons as well ... damage may be sustained from hitting a ledge beneath the surface, or the bottom may be much closer than imagined. Therefore, characters without skill will find it safer to jump into water. Still, a healthy player character can expect to survive in a jump up to 18 feet, even if the dice are bad.

Talented Divers

Even one point of knowledge enables the character to show a "talent" for diving. This dictates the character has grasped the correct form and technique, even if they may not perform it well. For each point, the character can dive from a height of 3 ft. withou fear of damage. This seems incidental, but the height increases quickly, since with 4 points the character can dive safely from a height of 12 feet, enough to make plenty of people nervous. With 9 points, just one shy of reaching amateur, or "skilled" status, the character can dive safely from a height of 27 feet.

Skilled Divers

As the character reaches 10 pts. of knowledge and becomes an amateur, greater acuity is gained. However, the height gain per point of knowledge is reduced to 1½ ft. per point. Thus, a diver with 15 points of knowledge would be able to jump safely from a height of 37½ ft. — 30 ft. for the first 10 points of knowledge and 7½ ft. for the additional 5 points. For most calculations, the fraction is ignored.

Attempts above this height cause damage according to the number of additional feet on the unskilled diver table. For example, an amateur diver with 15 points of knowledge makes a dive of 47 feet. This is 10 ft. beyond the diver's ordinary skill, so 1d4 damage is suffered.

Depth of Water

Amateurs are also able to accurately guess the water's depth with a successful wisdom check. The minimum depth for a dive from a height of 15 ft. is a base 12 ft. of water. One foot of depth should be added for every 5 additional feet of height above the water.

For example, a jump from 35 ft. requires a base 12 ft., +4 ft. for the additional 20 ft. height. The total depth of water is therefore 16 ft.

For every foot of depth lacking, count the damage as equal to a fall into water of 5 feet. Therefore, a jump of 25 ft. into 11 ft. of water would cause damage equal to a fall of 25 feet.

Divers of authority-status, with 30 knowledge or more, don't need a wisdom check to determine whether or not the depth of water dived into is safe.

See Athletics