The Campaign Builder's Guild

There seems to be a problem with the Jump skill.

First of all, the Jump skill in D&D 3.5 has one big oddity; a 1st level nobody with no ranks and an average Str can jump 1 to 20 feet on a long jump with a 20 ft. running start. This is rediculous; I'm not sure I'm capable of a 20 ft. running jump ever, and I easily have greater than an average Strength (and I used to be a runner, though I'll admit I didn't do the long-jump much). The skill is focused too much on the d20 and your modifier, and too little on your speed.

But what could be done? First of all, there are already two movement related skills that use the same structure: Climb and Jump. Both use a check to allow you to move 1/4th your speed as a move action. With this, a normal person could jump 1 square (rounding down, as normal) without being trained. A talent or force power would then exist to allow you to double move jump, extending your distance, and perhaps there could be a DC increase to allow you to jump 1/2 your speed, or even your full speed as a move action.

The DC would be a flat DC, probably 10 or 15, with an increase in the DC if a running start isn't made first. Or maybe a vertical jump would have one DC and a long jump would have another DC. A failed check would mean you halt your movement (imagine running up to a crevace, and realizing in the nick of time that you can't make the jump, and thus stopping); if you fail by 5 or more, you attempt the jump and fail to make the distance.

One advantage of this is that a Flight Speed could then be related to the Jump skill. Swim and Climb speeds are related to those skills: they now grant rerolls and the ability to take 10 (where in 3.5, they granted a fat bonus and the ability to take 10). A flight speed could almost be treated as a "jump speed", with the stipulation that you don't fall every round. I might be stretching it, but they both achieve similar results (moving over obsticals, reaching heights without climbing).

What does everyone think? Might this be workable?

I'm going to go outside and do some jumping measurements and see what I can reasonably do. I know that my jumps don't have a 19 ft. spread of achievement.

I think it could work.

On a related note, I see that as a problem with the d20 mechanic overall.  There's a huge degree of variance, especially with low modifiers.  It becomes especially glaring in the case of ability checks.

Say you want to armwrestle.  There's a chance (albeit a small one) that Conan (+5 mod) could lose to a French poodle (-3 mod).  Now I'm not talking about some bizarre twisting, turning, or escape artisting on the part of the poodle.  A straight-up contest of raw physical power and Conan rolls a...5!  Poodle rolls...15!

A dice pool system, or even just a system using a lower die value is less likely to have either of these problems.

I think UA had something about using 2d10 instead of d20 for partly this reason.

3d6, actually. (Unearthed Arcana, page 132)