Balance (Skill)
BALANCE (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: You can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface, as follows:|
Narrow Surface | Balance DC1 | !! style="text-align: left;"
Difficult Surface | Balance DC1 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
7–12 inches wide |
10 | || style="text-align: left;"
Uneven flagstone | 102 |
|
2–6 inches wide |
15 | || style="text-align: left;"
Hewn stone floor | 102 |
|
Less than 2 inches wide |
20 | || style="text-align: left;"
Sloped or angled floor | 102 |
1 Add modifiers from Narrow Surface Modifiers, below, as appropriate.
2 Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the character can’t run or charge, but may otherwise act normally.
|
Narrow Surface Modifiers |
|
|
Surface | DC Modifier1 |
|---|---|
|
Lightly obstructed |
+2 |
|
Severely obstructed |
+5 |
|
Lightly slippery |
+2 |
|
Severely slippery |
+5 |
|
Sloped or angled |
+2 |
1 Add the appropriate modifier to the Balance DC of a narrow surface. These modifiers stack.
Being Attacked while Balancing: You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing. If you take damage while balancing, you must make another Balance check against the same DC to remain standing. Accelerated Movement: You can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If you accept a –5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. (Moving twice your speed in a round requires two Balance checks, one for each move action used.) You may also accept this penalty in order to charge across a precarious surface; charging requires one Balance check for each multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof ) that you charge. Action: None. A Balance check doesn’t require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation. Special: If you have the Agile feat, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks. Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks.Epic
|
Surface | DC |
|---|---|
|
1–2 inches wide |
20 |
|
Up to 1 inch wide |
40 |
|
Hair-thin |
60 |
|
Liquid* |
90 |
|
Cloud |
120 |
- Includes any other surface that couldn’t support the character’s weight, such as a fragile branch.
- System Reference Document -> Skill Descriptions Category:SRD Category:Rule Category:Skill Category:Dexterity Category:Armor Check Penalty