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Scenario

I have cast Blink on a previous turn and am falling from a height of 510 feet. After having fallen 500 feet, my turn ends and I vanish into the ethereal plane.

What happens when I reappear? More specifically, can Blink help me survive this free fall in any way?

Reference Material

Optional rules on falling (XGE pg.77)

When you fall from a great height, you instantly descend up to 500 feet. If you’re still falling on your next turn, you descend up to 500 feet at the end of that turn. This process continues until the fall ends, either because you hit the ground or the fall is otherwise halted.

Gravity in the ethereal plane (DMG pg.48)

The Ethereal Plane also disobeys the laws of gravity; a creature there can move up and down as easily as walking.

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2 Answers 2

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Blinking to the ethereal plane does not halt the fall.

Nothing within the Blink spell or the Ethereal plane's description suggests that you lose momentum during your short existence within the Ethereal plane.
Thus, at the beginning of your next turn, your falling distance in not set to 0. Once you hit the ground, you take the full damage associated with a 510' fall.

A 'lenient' DM may reasonably apply the optional rule for falling from XGE because while you're on the ethereal plane you can basically hover/fly.

If you’d like a flying creature to have a better chance of surviving a fall than a non-flying creature does, use this rule: subtract the creature’s current flying speed from the distance it fell before calculating falling damage. This rule is helpful to a flier that is knocked prone but is still conscious and has a current flying speed that is greater than 0 feet. The rule is designed to simulate the creature flapping its wings furiously or taking similar measures to slow the velocity of its fall.

But that won't help much in this scenario because you would still take the falling damage associated with a 480' fall.

However...

The Ethereal Plane also disobeys the laws of gravity; a creature there can move up and down as easily as walking.

...if you ready your action to move on the Ethereal plane you could reasonably halt your fall.
This is similar to what a flying creature can do according to XGE's optional rules for falling:

If you use the rule for rate of falling in the previous section, a flying creature descends 500 feet on the turn when it falls, just as other creatures do. But if that creature starts any of its later turns still falling and is prone, it can halt the fall on its turn by spending half its flying speed to counter the prone condition (as if it were standing up in midair).

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    \$\begingroup\$ It might be worth noting that in the case of a flying creature, stopping the fall results in a horizontal speed. ie the bird changes direction of movement. Fall damage comes from suddenly stopping not from hitting the ground, as momentum causes your organs to slam against the inside of your body. \$\endgroup\$
    – ravery
    Commented Jun 13, 2018 at 0:37
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You still fall

While gravity is a bit "wonky" in the ethereal plane, you can move there and thus have momentum. Nothing in the blink spell or in the nature of the shift to the ethereal indicate that your momentum should change when you leave the prime material (or wherever you start). Thus you will continue falling. Whether your speed is maintained or there is some kinda resistance the plane provides is up to your DM. You still should expect to take a lot of falling damage upon return.

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