Acrobatics

Acrobatics (Dex; Armor Check Penalty)

Acrobatics covers several related skills – balancing on narrow or slick surfaces, contortion, and tumbling. Each is described below.


Balance

The PC can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets him move at half his speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means he can't move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means he falls. The difficulty varies with the surface, as follows:


Narrow Surface DC1
7-12 inches wide 10
2-6 inches wide 15
1-2 inches wide 20
Up to 1 inch wide 30
Hair-thin 50
Liquid2 70

1 Add modifiers from Narrow Surface Modifiers, below, as appropriate.

2 Includes any other surface that wouldn't normally support the character's weight, like a fragile branch. The character must be moving at least normal speed while balancing - if he stops, he will fall.



Contortion

The PC can escape from bindings, spells, or grapples, or can squeeze through tight spaces.


Restraint DC
Ropes 15
Net, animate rope, command plants,
control plants
, or entangle spells
20
Snare spell 23
Manacles 30
Tight space 30
Masterwork manacles 35
Grappler Var.

Manacles and Masterwork Manacles: The DC for manacles is set by their construction.

Tight Space: The DC noted on the table is for getting through a space where the PC's head fits but his shoulders don't. If the space is long, he may need to make multiple checks (one check per round of movement). A PC can't get through a space that his head does not fit through.

Grappler: The DC to escape from a grapple or pin is equal to the enemy's grapple check.



Tumble

The PC can land softly when he falls, or tumble past opponents. He cannot tumble in medium or heavy armor or if he is more than lightly encumbered.

The DCs for various tasks are given on the table below.


Task DC
Treat a fall as if it were 10 feet shorter when determining damage. 15
Tumble at half speed as part of normal movement, without provoking attacks of opportunity. Var.1
Tumble at half speed through an area occupied by an enemy (over, under, or around the opponent)
as part of normal movement, without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Var.2
Treat a fall as if it were 20 feet shorter when determining damage. 30
Free stand. 35
Treat a fall as if it were 30 feet shorter when determining damage. 45
Climb vertical surface. 50
Treat a fall as if it were 40 feet shorter when determining damage. 60

1 The DC for this check is 10 + the base attack bonus of the creature(s) the PC is attempting to tumble past. Failure means the PC provoke attacks of opportunity normally. Check separately for each opponent he moves past, in the order in which he passes them (player's choice of order in case of a tie). Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the DC.

2 The DC for this check is 15 + the base attack bonus of the creature(s) the PC is attempting to tumble past. Failure means the PC stops before entering the enemy-occupied area and provokes an attack of opportunity from that enemy. Check separately for each opponent. Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the DC.

Free Stand: The PC can stand up from prone as a free action (instead of a move action).

Climb Vertical Surface: The PC can climb up to 20 feet (as part of normal movement) by jumping and bouncing off walls, trees, or similar vertical surfaces. He must have at least two vertical surfaces to bounce off, and the two must be within 5 feet of each other (two surfaces meeting in a corner also count).

Obstructed or otherwise treacherous surfaces, such as natural cavern floors or undergrowth, provide penalties to balancing and tumbling. The DC for an Acrobatics check made to balance or tumble while moving into or through such a square is modified as indicated below.


Difficult Surface DC
Hewn stone floor 101
Uneven flagstone 151
Sloped or angled (15-30 degrees)2 151
Sloped or angled (30-45 degrees)2 201
Surface Condition Modifier
Lightly obstructed (scree, light rubble, shallow bog3, light undergrowth) +4
Severely obstructed (heavy undergrowth) +10
Lightly slippery (marbles) +64
Severely slippery (ice sheet, oil) +124

1 Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the character can't run or charge, but can otherwise act normally.

2 Slopes up to 15 degrees impose little to no penalty; those over 45 degrees require Climb checks instead.

3 Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.

4 Doubled for sloped or angled surfaces.

Being Attacked While Balancing: The PC is considered flat-footed while balancing, since he can't move to avoid a blow, and thus loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If he has 5 or more ranks in Acrobatics, he isn't considered flat-footed while balancing. If he takes damage while balancing, he must make another Acrobatics check against the same DC to remain standing.

Accelerated Movement: The character can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If he accepts a -5 penalty, he can move his full speed as a move action. (Moving twice his speed in a round requires two checks, one for each move action used.) He can also accept this penalty in order to charge across a precarious surface; charging requires one Acrobatics check for each multiple of his speed (or fraction thereof) that he charges.

Accelerated Tumbling: The PC can try to tumble past or through enemies more quickly than normal. By accepting a -10 penalty on his Acrobatics checks, he can move at full speed instead of one-half his speed.

Action: Varies. Balancing is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation, and tumbling is part of movement.

Attempting to escape from rope bindings, manacles, or other restraints (except a grappler) requires 1 minute of work. Escaping from a net or an animate rope, command plants, control plants, or entangle spell is a full-round action. Escaping from a grapple or pin is a standard action. Squeezing through a tight space takes at least 1 minute, maybe longer, depending on how long the space is.

Try Again: Usually no. If the PC attempted a free stand or climbing a vertical surface, or attempts to get free of a grapple or binding spell, he can try again. If he is squeezing through a tight space and the situation permits, he can make additional checks, or even take 20, as long as he isn't being actively opposed.

Special: Every 10 ranks a PC has in Acrobatics grants a +1 dodge bonus to AC.

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