Realistic fall damage

[jojoknob]

Especially as the game explores z-levels, a more accurate model of fall damage might reward certain builds. Currently, fall damage scales linearly with strata fallen. Realistically, each additional strata should count for more damage than the previous due to gravitational acceleration. An even more realistic approach would be to implement terminal velocity. Terminal velocity depends on the shape and mass of the falling object, among other things. In an earth-like environment a humanoid object won’t reach terminal velocity for approximately 12 seconds or 1500 ft, which is quite a lot farther than any current z-level stack in Qud. A squirrel, on the other hand, can fall out of a plane and will still hit the earth at 25 mph. In a game mechanic, this implies that a very lightweight character with a particular body plan such as many limbs or wings could survive a fall that a heavier character wouldn’t. Given the rubbergum+bop cheek recipe that can reduce fall damage by 95%, one can imagine certain builds that could survive, for example, the 40 strata jump to the bottom of the tree.