Cliff Diving (sage ability)

Cliff diving is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Athletics 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 dive for an unskilled character is about 18 ft. For those with sage-status, dives of more than 100 ft., 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, some 2 hexes per 10 ft. drop. 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 ft. 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 diving skill should find it safer to jump. Still, a healthy player character can expect to survive most dives up to 18 ft., 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 can't perform it well. For each additional point, the character can dive from a height of 2 ft. without fear of damage. This seems incidental, but the height increases quickly, since with 6 points the character can dive safely from a height of 12 ft., 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 18 ft.

Skilled Divers

As the character reaches 10 pts. of knowledge and becomes an amateur, greater acuity is gained. However, above 10 pts., the safe height is reduced to 1½ ft. per point of knowledge. Thus, a diver with 15 points of knowledge would be able to dive safely from a height of 27½ ft. — 20 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 ft. on the unskilled diver table.

For example, an amateur diver with 15 points of knowledge makes a dive of 47 ft. 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 is needed for every 5 additional ft. of height above the water.

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

For every foot of depth lacking, count the damage as equal to a fall into water of 2½ ft. Thus, a dive of 35 ft. into 11 ft. of water would cause damage equal to a fall of 22½ ft.

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