Skills/Acrobatics

Acrobatics is the representation of your capability in traversing surfaces, be it narrow or treacherous. Acrobatics also may allow you to deftly dodge past your foes. An Acrobatics check is usually made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation.

The following table details modified that may be applied to Acrobatic skill checks. These modifiers may stack with one another, but only the most severe modifier for a type of condition (such as a severely unsteady being taken over mildly unsteady).

Common Uses
The Acrobatics skill has four distinct uses:


 * 1) Cross Narrow Surfaces/Unstable Ground
 * 2) Move Through Threatened Squares
 * 3) Falling
 * 4) Maneuvering while flying.

Cross Narrow Surfaces/Unstable Ground
You may use Acrobatics to move on a narrow surface or unstable ground without falling. A successful acrobatics check allows you to move up to half speed across the surface with only one check needed per round. When using acrobatics this way, you become flat-footed. If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must make an additional Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid being knocked prone, or falling from the surface. Use the following table to determine the DC, which is then further modified by the Acrobatics skill modifier table. No Acrobatics check is needed unless the modifiers increase the DC to 10 or higher. Cross Narrow Surface DC Modifiers


 * Counterbalance: Using a balancing pole, or a weapon with the counterbalance property while traversing a narrow surface grants a +1 circumstance bonus to the Acrobatics check.

Moving Through Threatened Squares
You can move through a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity by making an Acrobatics check. You may move up to half your speed, or at full speed by increasing the DC 10. You may use this ability while prone, but requires a full-round action to move 5 feet, increasing the DC by 5. This DC is used to avoid an attack of opportunity due to movement. This penalty increases by +2 for each additional opponent avoided in one round. The DC of this ability is equal to the CMB check of the foe you are attempting to pass through.

You may also use this ability to pass directly through an opponent’s square but doing so increases the DC by an additional 5.

Failing this acrobatics check provokes an attack of opportunity as normal and your movement immediately ends.

Falling
You can use Acrobatics to soften an intentional fall. Falling either deliberately or as part of a missed jump, you may make a DC 15 Acrobatics check to ignore the first 10 feet; taking damage from a fall still causes you to fall prone.

Negate Falling Damage
If you are falling and have the ability to fly, you can make a DC 15 acrobatics check to negate the damage.

Flying
Acrobatics is used to perform daring or complex maneuvers while airborne. The acrobatics skill is only useful when flying, but in itself does not grant the ability to fly.

An Acrobatics check to fly is not needed if you move at least half your speed during your turn. You may choose to rise at half speed at an angle of 45 degrees (this is to make calculations easier as you can then assume they rose up an equal number of squares as they moved forward), and can descend at any angle at normal speed. This only applies to movement taken on your turn. Movement or actions that violate this rule requires an Acrobatics check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the following chart. Movement does not calculate diagonal movement when moving upwards to help simplify vertical movement, instead this is represented by the reduction of half speed when moving up at a 45 degree angle.

Failing a acrobatics check to fly by one degree or more causes you plummet to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage.

Avoid Falling After Being Attacked
If you take damage while flying you must make a DC 10 acrobatics check to avoid losing 10 feet of altitude, though this descent does not provoke an attack of opportunity nor does it count against your movement.

Additional Flying Modifiers
Fly Speed: A creature with a fly speed receives a bonus or penalty on Acrobatics skill checks to fly depending on its maneuverability.


 * Clumsy –8


 * Poor –4
 * Average +0
 * Good +4
 * Perfect +8

Size Category: A creature larger or smaller than Medium takes a size bonus or penalty on Acrobatics checks to fly depending on its size category:


 * Fine +8
 * Diminutive +6
 * Tiny +4
 * Small +2
 * Large –2
 * Huge –4
 * Gargantuan –6
 * Colossal –8