Current Events > Does D&D have rules for melee attacking from a height?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like, leaping down on to someone, or jumping at them or whatever.

Not really, but I suppose you could make an athletics check and if you succeed then you would get advantage on your attack roll or something like that.

i've heard something about jumping on people from high altitude, you roll fall damage, half of it goes to you, half on the recipient.
so great for Monks or a raging Barbarian

but i have no idea if that's a real rule or homebrew

Should be an automatic maiming cause I have the high ground

The rules are whatever the DM wants them to be. As others have said, you can roll athletics, take fall damage based on the fall damage roll, a whole bunch of stuff. Might be as simple as if you are 5 feet above someone you get disadvantage on standing and attacking and not able to if higher.

Basically, it's whatever is fun for the players tbqh. That's the best part of DND.

ROBANN_88 posted...

i've heard something about jumping on people from high altitude, you roll fall damage, half of it goes to you, half on the recipient.
so great for Monks or a raging Barbarian

but i have no idea if that's a real rule or homebrew

That's homebrew. At least from my experience. We still play 3.5 but are also in the process of learning Pathfinder 2e. Other systems I play at Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Star Wars D6, and Shadowrun. I can't think of anything in those systems that cover it either.

I'm sure there's a feat for it somewhere

Just had this situation in the campaign I am playing. Our party was on a ridge overlooking our enemies. The DM gave party initiative w/ no roll and an attack bonus. The two bow-equipped players in the party had a field day.

In the core rules the only thing is fall damage from height, which gets reduced for monks of a certain level. There are rules for grappling, and Feats that support them, but that's it. Anything else is DM discretion/homebrew rules.

It might get a bit muddied up when Baldur's Gate 3 releases. IIRC Barbarians that take the Eagle Totem get a diving strike. But that's essentially Larian's homebrew, even if it functions as playtest feedback for WotC.