How Does Jump Work in 5e?

Published on January 21, 2022, Last modified on March 3rd, 2024

Jumping is an important movement mechanism for any game and D&D is no different. As always, look before you leap.

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Jumping in 5e

Jumping around in D&D is mostly up to the DM’s discretion. If it is a simple jump from A to B, your DM may even let you do so without a roll. When you start adding in long distances and obstacles, that’s where it gets tricky.

The Rules As Written (RAW) for jumping are pretty brief, only describing two kinds of jumps: long jumps and high jumps. Each one is tied to a character’s Strength score and occasionally includes an Athletics check if you want to clear obstacles or land in difficult terrain.

However, like most things in D&D, your DM may have their own rules or interpretations of how a jump action works, so please ask ahead of time!

How to calculate jump distance 5e

As previously mentioned, the Player’s Handbook only specifies two kinds of jumps, and each one has its own method for determining the height or distance you can jump. Regardless of which jump you are performing, you will need to spend a foot of your movement for each foot you jump.

Long Jump 5e

If you were to perform a long lump, your max height for that jump is determined by your Strength score. If you’ve got a Strength score of 15, you can jump a total of 15ft across. However, if you are trying to make this long jump from a standing position (i.e. not moving at least 10ft before jumping), you can only jump half that distance.

High Jump 5e

High jumps have a drastically shorter range than long jumps. The maximum height a character can jump is equal to 3 plus your Strength modifier. For example, if your Strength modifier is 2, your maximum height is 5. Just like long jumps, if you don’t move at least 10ft before making the jump the height is cut in half.

How to make your Jumps More Effective in 5e

Racial Abilities

  • Grung are a race of warrior-frogs that you can find in the Extra Life supplemental book. As you would expect, Grung have some serious hops., They have a flat 25ft long jump and 15ft high jump with or without moving first.
  • Satyrs from Mythic Odysseys of Theros are able to jump higher than most other races. Satyrs roll a d8 when they make a long or high jump, adding that to the distance they can move.

Spells

  • Jump does exactly that- it helps you jump. Anyone under the effect of this spell has their jump distance tripled for the next minute.
  • Control Winds lets you modify the jumps of people caught inside the wind. If you choose updraft, those inside can make vertical jumps 10ft higher than normal.
  • Movement-Enhancement spells (such as haste or longstrider) don’t directly affect jumping as a skill, but they do give you more movement. More movement means you can theoretically jump farther, but more importantly, it means you can make sure you get the benefit of moving before jumping.

Class Features

  • Totem Warrior Barbarians get access to the Tiger Spirit at 3rd level, which adds 10ft to their long jump and 3ft to their high jump.
  • Champion Fighters get a class ability at 7th level that allows them to increase their long jump distance, able to increase it by a number of feet equal to their Strength modifier.
  • Thief Rogues have their own class ability at 3rd level when they choose the subclass, able to increase the distance on their running jump equal to their Dexterity modifier, similar to Champions.
  • Graviturgy Wizards are able to use their ability Adjust Density to reduce the weight of a creature. If they do, that creature can jump twice as far as usual.
  • The Warlock’s Eldritch Invocation: Otherworldy Leap allows them to cast the jump spell at will, without consuming a spell slot.
  • The Monk’s Step of the Wind ability lets them spend a ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action and also doubles their jump distance for that turn.

Items

  • Ring of Jumping allows the wearer to cast the jump spell at will as a bonus action, but only on themselves.
  • Boots of Striding and Springing triple the distance the wearer can jump but doesn’t allow them to move a total distance greater than their movement speed.
  • Teeth of Dahlver-Nar are a wondrous item that when used, allows you to roll a d20. If you roll an 8, your long-jump increases to 30ft, and your high jump increases to 15ft.

Feats

  • The Athlete feat is the only one that affects jumping, dropping the required distance from 10ft to 5ft to perform a running jump.

Jump 5e FAQs

Are Long Jumps Actions?

Jumping does not require any action but it does consume your movement.

Can I Take Damage From My Own Jump in 5e?

You technically can’t take damage from jumping. But, you will take damage from falling. This rule kicks in when you fall at least 10ft, up to 200ft. For every 10ft you fall, you take 1d6 damage. So watch where you’re jumping.

Can Jumping Make You Move Farther Than Your Movement Speed in 5e?

The main requirement for any sort of jump is that you must spend movement in order to jump. Each foot you cover when jumping (whether it’s a high jump or a long jump) costs a foot of movement. Even spells and items that add to your jump distance will still require you to have the appropriate amount of movement to spend.

Can You Attack While Jumping?

Unfortunately, you are unable to attack while in the middle of a jump. That said, many DMs will rule on the side of cool so it never hurts to ask.

Does Jumping Provoke Attacks of Opportunity?

Yep, jumping will provoke an attack of opportunity as it is considered a type of movement just like any other. This also includes high jumps, because the attack will trigger once you move out of your enemy’s reach (which is usually 5ft).

Wrapping it Up

Jumping is weird, right? We don’t really think about it in our day-to-day lives, or at least I don’t. Whether you’re jumping over your halfling friend as a prank or trying to leap across a dangerous chasm, all players will need to jump at some point.

Hopefully, this article cleared up some potential confusion on how jumping works in 5e. As always, consult with your DM if you want to attempt some sort of crazy jump, and may the dice fall in your favor!

Mike Bernier

Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a Adamantine best-selling author of Strixhaven: A Syllabus of Sorcery on DMs Guild and is a contributing author at D&D Beyond. Follow Mike on Twitter.

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