Woman survives fall from 11th floor (Reuters 3/11/06)

Similar to the ability of a monk to reduce damage from falls, other (often unaccounted for) factors also could mediate damage. Here is a quick list of suggestions:

• Soft Snow, -1d6 per 12 inches (-3d6 max)
• Hard Snow, -1d6 per 12 inches (-1d6 max)
• Loose Sand, -1d6 per 12 inches (-1d6 max)
• Water, -1d6 per 3 feet (-6d6 max, unless you pass a successful swim check of 15. then no max)
• Mud, -1d6 per 12 inches (-3d6 max)
• Stage diving into a crowd, (-1d6 into an unsuspecting crown, -2d6 for a friendly crowd, and no reduction for a hostile crowd—although you would probably provoke and attack of opportunity.)
• Special training, see descriptions of monk skills and other similar feats
• Unconscious or limp, subtract (1d4-1) dice from fall damage
  (Note: Under no circumstances would the special training and unconscious bonus stack—they operate under very similar principals.)

In the case of this woman, she should have taken 11d6 points of damage from her fall. If she landed in 3 feet of soft snow, and she was only partially conscious, she could have reduced it to 5d6 points of damage. Definitely unpleasant, but it would certainly be possible to survive.