Types of Movement
Walk
Type of Action: Move Action
Walk refers to moving along the ground at your listed speed. For most size-medium creatures, this is 30 feet. Moving like this is a cautious walk, and is primarily used during combat. Despite this, walking provokes attacks of opportunity from enemy creatures, if you leave a space they threaten.
Characters can only walk through unoccupied spaces or spaces occupied by allies, and any walk must end in an unoccupied space, or the creature is subject to the Squeezing rules.
The terms "base land speed" and "move" are often used interchangeably with "walk". It may be useful to note that "move" is a type of action, and "walk" is a way to use a "move action" (to move along the ground at your listed speed).
Part of a Move Action
Type of Action: Special (see below)
When something can be performed as "part of a move action," it requires a move action to perform. However, this type of action specifically allows the user to use the move action to both perform the action and move up to their speed. For example, a character can walk up to their speed, and while doing so, also draw a weapon.
Nearly any action you perform with a move action (such as standing up from Prone) can also include an action which is "part of a move action".
However, if you degrade your move action to a Swift Action, take a Full Attack Action, or a Full-Round Action, you cannot perform a "part of a move action" action this round. That is, you must take an actual move action (though not necessarily to move) to include a "part of a move action" activity with it.
Some examples of actions which are "part of a move action":
- Drawing a weapon
- Sheathing a weapon
- Drawing a potion or item from a bandoleer or other easy-access location
- Pick up an item from the ground (in your space or in a space you are moving through)
Double Move
Type of Action: Full Attack Action
A double move allows a creature to move up to twice its listed speed with one (or more) of its available movement types. A double-move is considered a single action, so there is no need for the creature to stop at the end of its first move action. The creature must obey all normal rules for passing through enemy creatures, threatened squares, blocked or obstructed squares, difficult terrain, etc.
Like walking, a double move is a cautious form of movement, though it still provokes attacks of opportunity if you leave any space that is threatened by one or more enemies. Note that, because it is a single action, you can only be the target of one attack of opportunity per enemy creature you provoke, even if you leave multiple spaces threatened by the same enemy.
Run
Type of Action: Full-Round Action
A character may declare a 'run' action as a full-round action. Running allows the character to move up to four times their listed speed (or three times their listed speed if they are wearing heavy armor). After any turn in which a character performs the run action, they gain the flat-footed condition until the start of their next turn, unless they have the Runner (Feat), since running is a more reckless form of movement than walking. If a character declares a 'run' action, they may not perform any 5-Foot Steps during the same round (except with an action point, or a class feature like the prowler's "Shifty"). Since it is a fast, reckless sort of movement, Run may make the character susceptible to Collision Damage, so be careful!
A character can run for a number of rounds equal to their Constitution score, but after that they must make a DC 30 might check to continue running. The character must check again each round in which they continue to run, and the DC of this check increases by +2 for each check they have made previously. When they fail this check, they must stop running. A character that has run to their limit gains the Fatigued condition.
Characters using the 'run' action can't cross difficult terrain. Characters may not use the 'run' action if they cannot see.
5-Foot Step
Type of Action: Free Action (special; see below)
Taking a 5-foot step is a special type of free action that allows you to move one square (five feet) from your current space without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemy creatures that threaten your square. A creature can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after their other actions in the round. However, there are some conditions that must be met in order to take a 5-foot step on your turn.
There are four general ways in which a creature can become eligible to perform a 5-foot step:
Perform No Other Movement
- A creature can take a 5-foot step as a free action in any round in which they don't perform any other kind of movement. This means the creature cannot use any action, or perform any activity, which causes them to move from their starting location through their own volition if they want to use this mechanic. Examples of this include (but are not limited to):
- Walking
- Running
- performing a Charge action
- performing a Spring Attack
- casting a spell which moves the caster (e.g., Dimension Door)
- standing up from Prone
- Creatures cannot take more than one of these sorts of 5-foot steps in a round. This is the most common way for monsters to use a 5-foot step in combat, although players may also use this mechanic.
Trade Away Attacks From A Full Attack Action
- A player character that declares a Full Attack Action may use attack actions to perform 5-foot steps, up to a maximum number of times equal to the number of attack actions their current character class grants during a full attack action.
- Any attacks performed subtract from the number of attacks they can trade away for 5-foot steps, and similarly, any 5-foot steps taken by 'spending' an attack action reduces the number of available attacks in the full attack action. The 5-foot steps can occur during any part of the full attack action, including before, after, or between attacks, assuming the character has enough attacks to perform each action.
- For example, a fighter declares a full attack. Since fighters get 4 base attacks during a full attack, they may make up to four attacks during a full attack action. They can use all four of these attacks to attack targets they can reach (or within range, if using ranged attacks), or they can trade away one or more of these attacks to perform an equal number of 5-foot steps, to a maximum of four, moving up to 20 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity, due to their utter combat focus. If they perform a combination of attacks and 5-foot steps, the 5-foot steps can occur before, during, or after the attacks, as the fighter prefers.
- Where characters perform attacks starting with their highest to-hit numbers and working their way down to their worst to-hit numbers, action-action 5-foot steps 'use up' the worst to-hit numbers and work up to the highest to-hit numbers. This is true even if the 5-foot steps are taken between attacks.
- 5-foot steps taken by trading away attacks from a full attack action do not count as movement, and may therefore be combined with a free-action 5-foot step, assuming all other criteria for the free-action 5-foot step are met (see above).
- Characters can never trade away more attacks for 5-foot steps than the base number of attacks provided by their character class, even if they have access to bonus attacks through feats, spells, or magic items. If the character is dual- or multi-classed, their base number of attacks during a full attack is always based on the number of attacks granted by their current character class.
- Any 5-foot steps taken use up all bonus attacks that would normally be taken at the same to-hit bonus. That is, if you have a bonus attack that uses your worst to-hit, and you trade away your worst to-hit for a 5-foot step, you also lose that bonus attack. You do not get additional 5-foot steps for these bonus attacks; they are simply lost when the attack with the same to-hit bonus is traded away for the 5-foot step. Since your best to-hits are used up last, bonus attacks that use your best to-hit are only used up if you take a number of 5-foot steps equal to your full base number of attacks.
- Monsters cannot trade attack actions for 5-foot steps during a full-attack actions; this feature can only be used by player characters.
Class Features, Racial Traits, Feats, etc.
- A creature may gain access to a 5-foot step by using a feat, class feature, racial trait, monster ability, or any other legal source (subject to GM approval, of course). For example, some classes (e.g. Prowler) and races (e.g. Bru-Kin) have special abilities that allow them to make more than one 5-foot step in a single round, or in rounds in which they have already moved. The listed rules may also specify different limitations for using the ability (e.g. the additional 5-foot step may cost a swift or move action to perform). In these cases, the specific ability's rules take precedence over the rules listed here.
Action Point
- If a creature has an Action Point that can be used to grant a move action, they may spend the action point to take a 5-foot step instead (using up the move action), even if they have previously moved this round, or have already taken a 5-foot step. Using action points in this manner deliberately breaks the normal rules for 5-foot steps, since action points are meant to simulate truly heroic deeds.
Other Considerations
- A creature can't take a 5-foot step if the space they are attempting to move in to is considered difficult terrain or impeded terrain, unless they possess a movement type that allows them to ignore that type of difficult terrain, and that also allows the use of 5-foot steps (e.g. Hover).
- A creature can't take a 5-foot step if they are attempting to move into a space that is concealed, either partially or totally (typically due to dim light or darkness, but sometimes fog, or other conditions may cause this), unless they have some means of seeing normally in those conditions (e.g. Darkvision).
- Any creature with a move speed of 5 feet or less cannot ever take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature.
- No creature may take a 5-foot step using a form of movement for which they do not have a listed speed.
Crawling
Type of Action: Move Action
While Quelled, Prone, or Splayed, you can crawl 5 feet as a move action. Crawling provokes attacks of opportunity from enemies who threaten a square you are attempting to leave when crawling. A crawling character begins and ends the crawling movement with the same Quelled, Prone, or Splayed status condition as they started with. Also see the Fast Crawl (Feat) and those feats it unlocks for more options while crawling.
Description
Ability Score Used: Dexterity Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes
You are skilled at large, powerful movements to orient your own body in space. This encompasses flying, swimming, and climbing vertical walls. "Movement" is an athletic skill that encompasses your ability to control your own body and how you are positioned. Note that this is NOT Acrobatics, which is large, powerful movements to move yourself through space. Note that the two skills are similar, and having skill ranks in Acrobatics can help with some uses of Movement. Having the Movement skill allows you to swim with a skill check, but it does NOT allow you to fly with a skill check in normal gravity and atmosphere conditions. Movement does not give you either a Swim move score or a Fly move score.
Movement is often affected by Environmental Effects.
As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.
Roll Initiative
| At the start of each encounter, all player characters and enemy creatures roll a special Movement skill check to determine their initiative order for that combat. Once all initiatives are rolled, each player character and enemy creature acts in order of that initiative, from highest to lowest, taking turns until everyone has gone. Once everyone has acted, the round ends, and a new one begins, starting at the highest initiative, and working down again.
In the event to that two or more characters or creatures are tied for a particular Initiative result, they are resolved using the following tie-breakers, in order, until the order is clarified:
It is possible to have modifiers to a character's Initiative check that doesn't apply its bonus to the character's entire Movement skill. An example of this is the Improved Initiative feat. Such bonuses are only applied to a character's initiative if their movement skill doesn't already have an equal or higher bonus of the same type (e.g. feat bonus). Bonuses of the same type never stack (except for Dodge, Circumstance, and Untyped bonuses); instead, only the highest bonus available is used. Also, it should go without saying that a bonus to Initiative is NOT a bonus to the character's Movement skill as a whole. Initiative checks are always rolled at the start of each encounter, including those encounters with a surprise round. Typically, once an initiative order is set, it remains static throughout the duration of the encounter. In some rare cases, however, a character or creature may have some means of altering their initiative after the encounter has already begun, in which case, the initiative order can be rearranged. Furthermore, characters or creatures that hold their actions are moved down in the initiative order until the point at which they act; once set, they act from that spot in the initiative order for the remainder of the encounter (unless they hold their action again). Characters or creatures that ready an action do NOT alter their position in the initiative order, even though the readied action may trigger at some point outside of their normal turn. | |
| Action Required: |
Free action at the start of each encounter |
| DC of Check: |
Opposed by everyone else's Initiative check. There is no fixed DC. |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You act earlier in the combat than those who rolled lower than you. Note that you can critically succeed on an initiative check, as long as you possess at least 1 skill rank in the Movement skill. Normally, a critical success happens only on a result of a natural 20 on the die, and adds +5 to the final result (some feats may alter your crit range and crit bonus, if you have them). |
| Consequences of Failure |
You cannot fail an initiative check. A low roll, even a natural 1 on the die, merely means your total roll is lower than average for someone of your ability. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Charge
| Charge is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
Charge allows you to move up to your move speed, and make an attack against one enemy at the end of the movement, all with a single standard action. While this is very advantageous, there are numerous restrictions that must be followed in order to perform a charge:
In addition, some weapons deal special damage during a charge, or are particularly effective against creatures that charge their wielder:
| |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to your speed, and end your movement adjacent the target creature. You then inflict the same as the damage you deal with your normal melee attacks (i.e. it includes your ability modifiers, feat bonuses, weapon enhancement bonuses, bonus damage from magic weapon properties, etc.). This is instead of the damage normally dealt by combat maneuvers (not in addition to it). However, you may not add any types of precision damage, such as a rogue's Sneak Attack, ranger's Quarry, etc., nor may you apply any effects that rely upon an attack, like a paladin's Smite Enemy, a prowler's Imperiling Jolt, or a fighter's Challenge. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target creature, but you do provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, but you do not inflict any damage to the creature. You provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if your check critically fails. |
Clamber
| Clamber is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can enter a larger creature's space, to set up internal flanks by moving under, onto, or amidst the target creature. Clamber is NOT used to move through an enemy's space (you have to use the Overrun combat maneuver for that), nor can it ever affect multiple creatures. When you spend an attack action to perform a clamber, it includes a move of up to half your normal speed. This movement must include moving into the target monster's space, but it can also include moving up to the monster. This movement is considered forced movement, and normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity (but see 'failure' below). In addition, since forced movement is not normal movement, the movement performed during a clamber does not prevent the use of 5-foot steps. Difficult terrain in your path still costs twice as much movement to move into, which can be costly for your already-halved speed. The target creature must be at least 2 size categories larger than you. Note that all internal squares of a creature are considered to be threatened by that creature. | |
| Action Required: |
Attack Action (i.e. as a standard action, or in place of any attack during a full attack action). |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). Assisting ally must be adjacent to you at the start of your clamber attempt. |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to half your speed, and end your movement in one of the interior squares of the target creature's space (assuming you have enough movement to reach it). You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from a different enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Clamber maneuver. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature, and from any other nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement. Any remaining movement in your attack action is lost. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Requires another attack action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, if your check fails, or you do not exceed the target DC enough to avoid the attacks of opportunity of nearby threatening creatures. |
Climb Vertical Surface
| With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.
You need at least one hand free to climb, and you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed against any attacks. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your Shield Bonus to AC. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Climbing is part of movement, so it's generally part of a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
The DC of climb checks is based on the surface you are attempting to climb:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
You can take 10 (as long as you are not in combat), but you cannot take 20. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 5 allies). Allies must either be adjacent to you, or adjacent to a rope or similar implement you are using to climb. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You climb up the surface a distance equal to 1/4th your normal Walk speed, rounding down to the nearest 5 foot increment. This distance can be greater, if you increased the DC for accelerated climbing. If you reach the top of the surface at some point during this movement, you move to a standing position at the top, and may continue your movement at your normal speed, if you have any remaining. Once at the top, you are no longer flat-footed. However, if you have a shield or buckler, because you used that hand for something besides defense this round, you do not recover your shield bonus to AC until the start of your next turn. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress but do not fall, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Fly
| You are able to perform skillful maneuvers and fly competently, remaining oriented and even fight, while airborne. This skill use pertains only to flight from either an innate ability, a spell, or a magic item which allows you to propel yourself through the air without the aid of a vehicle or other conveyance. If an item grants you a flight speed, this skill use applies to you. If an item requires you to be in/on it (e.g. a flying carpet), this skill use does not apply (see Piloting instead). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
A move action, or part of a move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
You generally need only make a Fly check on calm days when you possess Lesser Flight. Without making a check, a flying creature with Lesser Flight can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. At the beginning of the next turn, you can move in a different direction than you did the previous turn without making a check. Taking any action that violates these rules requires a Fly check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the chart, and modified below. If a creature possesses Hover they must follow the more restrictive rules of that movement type. Note that you cannot hover in open space with only Hover, no matter how well you may roll on a Movement check. If a creature possesses Greater Flight they are not required to roll a Movement check to either fly at less than half speed or Hover in open space. If a creature possesses Greater Flight, they receive a +8 modifier on all Movement skill rolls and ignore all modifiers for winds or gusts, although they are still affected by fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Yes, a Dragon can fly through a tornado a lot better than a Fairy. Size matters! Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A hurricane is a different environment than a thunderhead, but both are very difficult to fly through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. A violent storm is nigh-impossible to fly through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You fly up to your flight speed, or are able to perform the intended maneuver without losing altitude or orientation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet towards the ground, possibly taking falling damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mitigate Falling Damage While Flying
| You can attempt to lessen the damage you take from a fall while you are flying. This is different than trying to reduce falling damage when you fall off of or jump from a cliff or structure, in that you have a means to stop the fall before you hit the ground, and you are not close to a solid object. At the GM's discretion, it may be possible in crowded conditions (such as flying through trees or along city streets) to make a Might skill check to catch hold of something nearby as you plunge toward the ground.
These rules are strictly for creatures flying: Vehicles and Bogeys use the vehicle rules for all aspects of their movement. Most vehicles and Bogeys are large and sturdy enough to ignore most weather effects less severe than a full-on raging storm, for example. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
an immediate action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You are able to use your ability to fly to avoid falling. If you took damage while in flight (forced descent), your altitude is still reduced by 10 feet at the end of the attacking creature's turn (or after the attack is resolved, if it was an attack of opportunity). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
No. You may only attempt a movement check once per mishap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overrun
| Overrun is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You attempt to overrun your target, passing through its square. You move up to your speed as part of the maneuver. Overrun does not require you to move in a straight line. You must end your movement after an Overrun in an unblocked, unoccupied space. If there is no open space past your opponent in which to end your movement, you cannot perform the maneuver. You can only overrun an opponent who is no greater than one size category larger than you. When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring a Movement check. If all of your overrun targets avoid you, you complete your movement, as though you had degraded your standard action to a move action. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action, or as Part of a Move Action (special; see below). |
| DC of Check: |
The target's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
Multiple Opponents: You can overrun multiple opponents if you have enough movement to do so. Lay out your desired path and determine how many foes you wish to overrun. Each of your overrun attempts takes a cumulative -3 penalty for each enemy after the first. Thus, if you wish to overrun one enemy, there is no penalty. Overrunning two enemies incurs a -3 penalty to both checks. Overrunning three enemies incurs a -6 penalty to all three checks. Part of a Move Action: You can perform an overrun maneuver as Part of a Move Action. However, when you do so, you may only perform it against a single creature. If successful, you can only pass through its space. You do not deal your combat maneuver damage to the creature, and you cannot knock the creature prone, no matter how much you exceed its Maneuver Defense. If the move-based overrun fails, it is resolved as described in the 'failure' section below. |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
If your target does not avoid you, make a Movement check. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target's space, inflicting your normal damage for a combat maneuver. If your target occupies more than one square, one overrun check will get you through its entire space, but you must have enough movement to make the whole trip. You only deal your combat maneuver damage to an overrun creature once, regardless of how many of its squares you pass through. If your Maneuver Offense check exceeds your opponent's Maneuver Defense by 5 or more, you move through the target's space and the target is knocked Prone. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If your overrun attempt fails, you are stopped in the space directly in front of the opponent that you failed to overrun. If there are other creatures occupying that space, you are shunted back along your declared path to the first unoccupied space. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Swim
| You can swim in a liquid without the proper movement ability (one of Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet).
Movement is used to move around in liquids, such as water, blood, alcohol, lava, etc. The movement skill conveys no protection against the liquid (such as drowning, burning, the ick factor of swimming in blood, etc). Most movement checks in a liquid are used to swim on the surface, where there is air to breathe. If you do not need to breathe, and can withstand any environmental effects of the fluid, you may make Movement skill rolls to move in any direction below the surface. If you are under the surface, either because you failed a movement check or because you are swimming under the surface intentionally, you must hold your breath. Outside of combat, you can hold your breath for up to a couple of minutes (subject to GM discretion), but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is measured as though you are in combat, following the Holding Your Breath rules. A character who cannot hold their breath, or decides to just suck in a lungful of water for any reason, gains the Asphyxiating condition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
Note: Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Swim check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Swim Speed: A creature with a swim speed from either Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet, can move through water at its indicated speed without making movement checks. If it has Greater Swim it gains a +8 racial bonus on any movement check to perform a special action, or avoid a hazard. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a movement check to swim, even if distracted or endangered when swimming, such as moving through a damaging fluid it cannot fully resist. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line. Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! Trying to swim up a cataract of lava you cannot resist while staying under the surface is challenging even to high level adventurers. The GM adjudicates all modifiers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You may swim at up to half your Walk speed as a double-move action, or at a quarter of your Walk speed as a move action. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress. If you fail by 5 or more, you go under the surface if you were attempting to stay on the surface to breathe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burrow
| You are able to dig in loose solid material with or without the use of a dig based movement ability (one of Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide). This dig speed only works on loose, non-packed, non-fluid material like uncompacted loam, freshly deposited damp silt, moist talc, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
full round action | ||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A volcano is a different environment than a glacier, but both are very difficult to dig through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. Note that a volcanic eruption is nigh-impossible to dig through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You successfully burrow 5-feet in the intended direction. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
You make no progress this round, if that applies to the attempted action | ||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, assuming circumstances have not changed (such as a volcanic eruption that hurls you skywards). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Withdraw
| Withdraw is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can use the withdraw maneuver to attempt to move out of a location without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies. To perform the maneuver, you must choose one enemy creature that you can perceive and that is threatening you. This creature is considered the 'primary target' of this maneuver. You may then move up to your speed, and the primary target may not make any attacks of opportunity against you during this movement. Each square of your movement must take you further away from the primary target (it cannot include any squares that are the same distance or closer than any previous square of your movement). This portion of the withdraw maneuver is automatic, and occurs regardless of whether you succeed or fail on the Movement skill check. If you wish to avoid attacks of opportunity from other creatures in the path of your movement, you must roll a Movement check versus the Maneuver Defense of the target creature. If you succeed on the check, you may choose one other creature you can perceive and that threatens any squares in the path of your movement, and that creature may not make an attack of opportunity against you during the move, either. For every 2 by which you exceed the target DC, you may prevent one additional enemy creature you can perceive from making an attack of opportunity against you during your move. Note that you do not need to move directly away from any creatures other than the creature you designated as the primary target. Enemies you are unable to perceive may still make attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're blinded. Because the withdraw action is considered movement, you can't perform a 5-foot step during the same round in which you withdraw. You may not withdraw using a form of movement for which you don't have a listed speed. Note that despite the name of this action, you don't actually have to leave combat entirely. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You move up to your speed, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from your primary target, and also from one additional creature you can perceive, as a result of this movement. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from an additional enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Withdraw maneuver. Unlike other combat maneuvers, the Withdraw maneuver does not inflict any damage. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, you complete your movement, but you provoke an attack of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement, other than the primary target (who does not get an attack of opportunity against you). |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, but retrying does not prevent the consequences of failing a previous attempt. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if you fail the check. |
Climb On Inverted Surface (Epic)
| You can attempt to scramble along the underside of a surface, such as an overhang or a ceiling. As with climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your shield bonus to AC.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. If you have a Greater Climb speed, you do not need this skill use to climb on inverted surfaces. | |
| Action Required: |
Move action, or part of a move action |
| DC of Check: |
45 |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You cling to the inverted surface like some sort of man-spider. |
| Consequences of Failure |
You fall from the surface to the ground below. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Stepover
Type of Action: Part of a Move Action
If a creature is 2 size categories or larger than a nearby creature, it can effectively ignore that creature when moving (though moving still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal). By doing so, the larger creature can step over the smaller creature, ending its move either on or past the smaller creature. Neither creature is considered to be squeezing as a result of a stepover, because the relative size differences are so great.
If the larger creature chooses to end its movement while sharing one or more squares with smaller creatures, those creatures may remain in those spaces, and provide easy Internal Flanking for their allies. The smaller creatures may also move out of the occupied space (provoking as per normal movement rules) if they prefer, using normal movement (or they can tumble out using Acrobatics, to attempt to avoid taking attacks of opportunity). All internal spaces of a creature are considered to be threatened squares of that creature.
If the larger creature is subjected to forced movement, it is possible to make the larger creature stepover legally sized (smaller) creatures as part of that movement.
Note, however, that smaller creatures cannot enter the square of larger creatures with normal movement, but must instead use the Might skill (if they want to stop inside one of the spaces the larger creature occupies), or Overrun (Combat Maneuver) (if they want to move to an unoccupied space on the other size of the larger creature).
Description
Ability Score Used: Dexterity Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes
You are skilled at large, powerful movements to orient your own body in space. This encompasses flying, swimming, and climbing vertical walls. "Movement" is an athletic skill that encompasses your ability to control your own body and how you are positioned. Note that this is NOT Acrobatics, which is large, powerful movements to move yourself through space. Note that the two skills are similar, and having skill ranks in Acrobatics can help with some uses of Movement. Having the Movement skill allows you to swim with a skill check, but it does NOT allow you to fly with a skill check in normal gravity and atmosphere conditions. Movement does not give you either a Swim move score or a Fly move score.
Movement is often affected by Environmental Effects.
As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.
Roll Initiative
| At the start of each encounter, all player characters and enemy creatures roll a special Movement skill check to determine their initiative order for that combat. Once all initiatives are rolled, each player character and enemy creature acts in order of that initiative, from highest to lowest, taking turns until everyone has gone. Once everyone has acted, the round ends, and a new one begins, starting at the highest initiative, and working down again.
In the event to that two or more characters or creatures are tied for a particular Initiative result, they are resolved using the following tie-breakers, in order, until the order is clarified:
It is possible to have modifiers to a character's Initiative check that doesn't apply its bonus to the character's entire Movement skill. An example of this is the Improved Initiative feat. Such bonuses are only applied to a character's initiative if their movement skill doesn't already have an equal or higher bonus of the same type (e.g. feat bonus). Bonuses of the same type never stack (except for Dodge, Circumstance, and Untyped bonuses); instead, only the highest bonus available is used. Also, it should go without saying that a bonus to Initiative is NOT a bonus to the character's Movement skill as a whole. Initiative checks are always rolled at the start of each encounter, including those encounters with a surprise round. Typically, once an initiative order is set, it remains static throughout the duration of the encounter. In some rare cases, however, a character or creature may have some means of altering their initiative after the encounter has already begun, in which case, the initiative order can be rearranged. Furthermore, characters or creatures that hold their actions are moved down in the initiative order until the point at which they act; once set, they act from that spot in the initiative order for the remainder of the encounter (unless they hold their action again). Characters or creatures that ready an action do NOT alter their position in the initiative order, even though the readied action may trigger at some point outside of their normal turn. | |
| Action Required: |
Free action at the start of each encounter |
| DC of Check: |
Opposed by everyone else's Initiative check. There is no fixed DC. |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You act earlier in the combat than those who rolled lower than you. Note that you can critically succeed on an initiative check, as long as you possess at least 1 skill rank in the Movement skill. Normally, a critical success happens only on a result of a natural 20 on the die, and adds +5 to the final result (some feats may alter your crit range and crit bonus, if you have them). |
| Consequences of Failure |
You cannot fail an initiative check. A low roll, even a natural 1 on the die, merely means your total roll is lower than average for someone of your ability. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Charge
| Charge is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
Charge allows you to move up to your move speed, and make an attack against one enemy at the end of the movement, all with a single standard action. While this is very advantageous, there are numerous restrictions that must be followed in order to perform a charge:
In addition, some weapons deal special damage during a charge, or are particularly effective against creatures that charge their wielder:
| |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to your speed, and end your movement adjacent the target creature. You then inflict the same as the damage you deal with your normal melee attacks (i.e. it includes your ability modifiers, feat bonuses, weapon enhancement bonuses, bonus damage from magic weapon properties, etc.). This is instead of the damage normally dealt by combat maneuvers (not in addition to it). However, you may not add any types of precision damage, such as a rogue's Sneak Attack, ranger's Quarry, etc., nor may you apply any effects that rely upon an attack, like a paladin's Smite Enemy, a prowler's Imperiling Jolt, or a fighter's Challenge. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target creature, but you do provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, but you do not inflict any damage to the creature. You provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if your check critically fails. |
Clamber
| Clamber is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can enter a larger creature's space, to set up internal flanks by moving under, onto, or amidst the target creature. Clamber is NOT used to move through an enemy's space (you have to use the Overrun combat maneuver for that), nor can it ever affect multiple creatures. When you spend an attack action to perform a clamber, it includes a move of up to half your normal speed. This movement must include moving into the target monster's space, but it can also include moving up to the monster. This movement is considered forced movement, and normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity (but see 'failure' below). In addition, since forced movement is not normal movement, the movement performed during a clamber does not prevent the use of 5-foot steps. Difficult terrain in your path still costs twice as much movement to move into, which can be costly for your already-halved speed. The target creature must be at least 2 size categories larger than you. Note that all internal squares of a creature are considered to be threatened by that creature. | |
| Action Required: |
Attack Action (i.e. as a standard action, or in place of any attack during a full attack action). |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). Assisting ally must be adjacent to you at the start of your clamber attempt. |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to half your speed, and end your movement in one of the interior squares of the target creature's space (assuming you have enough movement to reach it). You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from a different enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Clamber maneuver. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature, and from any other nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement. Any remaining movement in your attack action is lost. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Requires another attack action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, if your check fails, or you do not exceed the target DC enough to avoid the attacks of opportunity of nearby threatening creatures. |
Climb Vertical Surface
| With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.
You need at least one hand free to climb, and you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed against any attacks. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your Shield Bonus to AC. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Climbing is part of movement, so it's generally part of a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
The DC of climb checks is based on the surface you are attempting to climb:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
You can take 10 (as long as you are not in combat), but you cannot take 20. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 5 allies). Allies must either be adjacent to you, or adjacent to a rope or similar implement you are using to climb. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You climb up the surface a distance equal to 1/4th your normal Walk speed, rounding down to the nearest 5 foot increment. This distance can be greater, if you increased the DC for accelerated climbing. If you reach the top of the surface at some point during this movement, you move to a standing position at the top, and may continue your movement at your normal speed, if you have any remaining. Once at the top, you are no longer flat-footed. However, if you have a shield or buckler, because you used that hand for something besides defense this round, you do not recover your shield bonus to AC until the start of your next turn. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress but do not fall, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Fly
| You are able to perform skillful maneuvers and fly competently, remaining oriented and even fight, while airborne. This skill use pertains only to flight from either an innate ability, a spell, or a magic item which allows you to propel yourself through the air without the aid of a vehicle or other conveyance. If an item grants you a flight speed, this skill use applies to you. If an item requires you to be in/on it (e.g. a flying carpet), this skill use does not apply (see Piloting instead). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
A move action, or part of a move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
You generally need only make a Fly check on calm days when you possess Lesser Flight. Without making a check, a flying creature with Lesser Flight can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. At the beginning of the next turn, you can move in a different direction than you did the previous turn without making a check. Taking any action that violates these rules requires a Fly check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the chart, and modified below. If a creature possesses Hover they must follow the more restrictive rules of that movement type. Note that you cannot hover in open space with only Hover, no matter how well you may roll on a Movement check. If a creature possesses Greater Flight they are not required to roll a Movement check to either fly at less than half speed or Hover in open space. If a creature possesses Greater Flight, they receive a +8 modifier on all Movement skill rolls and ignore all modifiers for winds or gusts, although they are still affected by fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Yes, a Dragon can fly through a tornado a lot better than a Fairy. Size matters! Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A hurricane is a different environment than a thunderhead, but both are very difficult to fly through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. A violent storm is nigh-impossible to fly through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You fly up to your flight speed, or are able to perform the intended maneuver without losing altitude or orientation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet towards the ground, possibly taking falling damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mitigate Falling Damage While Flying
| You can attempt to lessen the damage you take from a fall while you are flying. This is different than trying to reduce falling damage when you fall off of or jump from a cliff or structure, in that you have a means to stop the fall before you hit the ground, and you are not close to a solid object. At the GM's discretion, it may be possible in crowded conditions (such as flying through trees or along city streets) to make a Might skill check to catch hold of something nearby as you plunge toward the ground.
These rules are strictly for creatures flying: Vehicles and Bogeys use the vehicle rules for all aspects of their movement. Most vehicles and Bogeys are large and sturdy enough to ignore most weather effects less severe than a full-on raging storm, for example. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
an immediate action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You are able to use your ability to fly to avoid falling. If you took damage while in flight (forced descent), your altitude is still reduced by 10 feet at the end of the attacking creature's turn (or after the attack is resolved, if it was an attack of opportunity). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
No. You may only attempt a movement check once per mishap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overrun
| Overrun is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You attempt to overrun your target, passing through its square. You move up to your speed as part of the maneuver. Overrun does not require you to move in a straight line. You must end your movement after an Overrun in an unblocked, unoccupied space. If there is no open space past your opponent in which to end your movement, you cannot perform the maneuver. You can only overrun an opponent who is no greater than one size category larger than you. When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring a Movement check. If all of your overrun targets avoid you, you complete your movement, as though you had degraded your standard action to a move action. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action, or as Part of a Move Action (special; see below). |
| DC of Check: |
The target's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
Multiple Opponents: You can overrun multiple opponents if you have enough movement to do so. Lay out your desired path and determine how many foes you wish to overrun. Each of your overrun attempts takes a cumulative -3 penalty for each enemy after the first. Thus, if you wish to overrun one enemy, there is no penalty. Overrunning two enemies incurs a -3 penalty to both checks. Overrunning three enemies incurs a -6 penalty to all three checks. Part of a Move Action: You can perform an overrun maneuver as Part of a Move Action. However, when you do so, you may only perform it against a single creature. If successful, you can only pass through its space. You do not deal your combat maneuver damage to the creature, and you cannot knock the creature prone, no matter how much you exceed its Maneuver Defense. If the move-based overrun fails, it is resolved as described in the 'failure' section below. |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
If your target does not avoid you, make a Movement check. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target's space, inflicting your normal damage for a combat maneuver. If your target occupies more than one square, one overrun check will get you through its entire space, but you must have enough movement to make the whole trip. You only deal your combat maneuver damage to an overrun creature once, regardless of how many of its squares you pass through. If your Maneuver Offense check exceeds your opponent's Maneuver Defense by 5 or more, you move through the target's space and the target is knocked Prone. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If your overrun attempt fails, you are stopped in the space directly in front of the opponent that you failed to overrun. If there are other creatures occupying that space, you are shunted back along your declared path to the first unoccupied space. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Swim
| You can swim in a liquid without the proper movement ability (one of Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet).
Movement is used to move around in liquids, such as water, blood, alcohol, lava, etc. The movement skill conveys no protection against the liquid (such as drowning, burning, the ick factor of swimming in blood, etc). Most movement checks in a liquid are used to swim on the surface, where there is air to breathe. If you do not need to breathe, and can withstand any environmental effects of the fluid, you may make Movement skill rolls to move in any direction below the surface. If you are under the surface, either because you failed a movement check or because you are swimming under the surface intentionally, you must hold your breath. Outside of combat, you can hold your breath for up to a couple of minutes (subject to GM discretion), but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is measured as though you are in combat, following the Holding Your Breath rules. A character who cannot hold their breath, or decides to just suck in a lungful of water for any reason, gains the Asphyxiating condition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
Note: Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Swim check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Swim Speed: A creature with a swim speed from either Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet, can move through water at its indicated speed without making movement checks. If it has Greater Swim it gains a +8 racial bonus on any movement check to perform a special action, or avoid a hazard. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a movement check to swim, even if distracted or endangered when swimming, such as moving through a damaging fluid it cannot fully resist. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line. Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! Trying to swim up a cataract of lava you cannot resist while staying under the surface is challenging even to high level adventurers. The GM adjudicates all modifiers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You may swim at up to half your Walk speed as a double-move action, or at a quarter of your Walk speed as a move action. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress. If you fail by 5 or more, you go under the surface if you were attempting to stay on the surface to breathe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burrow
| You are able to dig in loose solid material with or without the use of a dig based movement ability (one of Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide). This dig speed only works on loose, non-packed, non-fluid material like uncompacted loam, freshly deposited damp silt, moist talc, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
full round action | ||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A volcano is a different environment than a glacier, but both are very difficult to dig through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. Note that a volcanic eruption is nigh-impossible to dig through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You successfully burrow 5-feet in the intended direction. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
You make no progress this round, if that applies to the attempted action | ||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, assuming circumstances have not changed (such as a volcanic eruption that hurls you skywards). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Withdraw
| Withdraw is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can use the withdraw maneuver to attempt to move out of a location without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies. To perform the maneuver, you must choose one enemy creature that you can perceive and that is threatening you. This creature is considered the 'primary target' of this maneuver. You may then move up to your speed, and the primary target may not make any attacks of opportunity against you during this movement. Each square of your movement must take you further away from the primary target (it cannot include any squares that are the same distance or closer than any previous square of your movement). This portion of the withdraw maneuver is automatic, and occurs regardless of whether you succeed or fail on the Movement skill check. If you wish to avoid attacks of opportunity from other creatures in the path of your movement, you must roll a Movement check versus the Maneuver Defense of the target creature. If you succeed on the check, you may choose one other creature you can perceive and that threatens any squares in the path of your movement, and that creature may not make an attack of opportunity against you during the move, either. For every 2 by which you exceed the target DC, you may prevent one additional enemy creature you can perceive from making an attack of opportunity against you during your move. Note that you do not need to move directly away from any creatures other than the creature you designated as the primary target. Enemies you are unable to perceive may still make attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're blinded. Because the withdraw action is considered movement, you can't perform a 5-foot step during the same round in which you withdraw. You may not withdraw using a form of movement for which you don't have a listed speed. Note that despite the name of this action, you don't actually have to leave combat entirely. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You move up to your speed, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from your primary target, and also from one additional creature you can perceive, as a result of this movement. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from an additional enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Withdraw maneuver. Unlike other combat maneuvers, the Withdraw maneuver does not inflict any damage. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, you complete your movement, but you provoke an attack of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement, other than the primary target (who does not get an attack of opportunity against you). |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, but retrying does not prevent the consequences of failing a previous attempt. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if you fail the check. |
Climb On Inverted Surface (Epic)
| You can attempt to scramble along the underside of a surface, such as an overhang or a ceiling. As with climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your shield bonus to AC.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. If you have a Greater Climb speed, you do not need this skill use to climb on inverted surfaces. | |
| Action Required: |
Move action, or part of a move action |
| DC of Check: |
45 |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You cling to the inverted surface like some sort of man-spider. |
| Consequences of Failure |
You fall from the surface to the ground below. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Description
Ability Score Used: Dexterity Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes
You can keep your balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces. You can also dive, flip, jump, and roll, avoiding attacks and confusing your opponents. At very high levels of skill, you can attempt such incredible feats as walking on a spiderweb, or fighting in the top of a windblown bamboo grove.
Acrobatics checks are sometimes affected by circumstance bonuses or penalties, depending on the terrain, weather, or other circumstances. Examples include:
- Lightly obstructed, sloped or slippery terrain can inflict a -2 penalty, while heavily obstructed, icy or steeply sloped terrain can inflict a -5 penalty. These penalties can also be cumulative, if multiple hazards are present (a steep icy slope would be -10).
- Unsteady surfaces, like a small boat, a moving cart, or fighting during an earthquake can also carry circumstance penalties, between -2 and -10. Leaping and fighting on the tips of posts set firmly in the ground (such as the remnants of a burned pier) would be -20 or more, while walking on the tips of precariously balanced logs or rubble (the aftermath of a logjam, avalanche, cave-in, or siege, for example) could be -20 to -30. Far more difficult checks, such as walking only on the tips of a forest of spears balanced on their butt ends, carry a circumstance bonus of -40 or more. Walking across a surface a quicksilver or similar frictionless circumstances, such as riding an Astral String or riding a wave of ether, would be a -50 to the check.
- At the uppermost limits, acrobatics can allow you to do such incredible things as dance on the surface of a dense layer of fog, walk down the surface of a waterfall without getting wet, dodge raindrops in a storm, run across falling stones in midair, and similarly invincible cinematic feats. At the upper end of Acrobatics, referees are encouraged to allow creative and fun interpretations of Acrobatics, as long as such things don't break your story line, of course.
- Note to GM's: These modifiers, both the ones above and below, can be used as examples for the inevitable craziness your players will get into. How do you judge the DC of a Long Jump made from one flying ship down to the deck of another flying ship a hundred feet below? What if the ship you are jumping from is on fire and spinning in a death dive to the ground at the time? In an Ether Storm? During an attack by Red Dragons? You can work up a set of modifiers based upon these suggestions, or, far more simply, you can simply set the Difficulty of such crazy things by GM fiat to be an appropriate check for the campaign DC. (Choose between Average, Challenging, or Hard, for most cases. Easy checks are pretty simple, and Impossible checks are..pretty hard.) Both methods work fine, and both will generally get you to a reasonable number. We recommend the simple way, because it's faster and you're going to get more cases of players pulling off crazy-cool stuff. And that's just fun!
Special: If you have at least 5 ranks in Acrobatics, you gain a +3 dodge bonus to AC when Fighting Defensively instead of the usual +2, and a +6 dodge bonus to AC when taking the Total Defense action instead of the usual +4.
This skill is often subject to Environmental Effects.
As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.
Tumble
| Tumble is a combat maneuver, but it is an unusual one. You can normally never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. However, Tumble can be used in conjunction with any of the other combat maneuvers that include movement, namely: Bull Rush, Charge, Clamber, or Overrun. Tumble cannot be used in conjunction with Withdraw
You can leave a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity from an enemy by tumbling, using Acrobatics. When moving in this way, you move at half speed. This affects the whole move action, not just the squares in which you are avoiding attacks of opportunity. If you wish to combine Tumble with a combat maneuver that also includes movement (i.e., Bull Rush, Charge, Clamber, or Overrun), you may only move at half speed for the maneuver, and the combined maneuver now costs a move action, but you otherwise resolve the other maneuver as normal (instead of rolling for a Tumble maneuver). If the maneuver you are combining with Tumble also halves your speed (i.e. Clamber), your movement is only halved once for the combined maneuver (i.e. not quartered). The DC of the other maneuver is increased by +2 for every potential attack of opportunity you are attempting to avoid, not counting the first (which is 'paid for' by reducing your speed by half). You may also increase the DC of the other maneuver, as described in the "modifiers" section here in Tumble, to increase the distance you move. Any difficult terrain in your path still costs twice as much movement to move into, out of your already-halved speed. Tumble may not be used (by itself) to move through an enemy's space (see Overrun), nor may it be used to move into a larger enemy's internal spaces (see Clamber). | |
| Action Required: |
Move Action at half speed |
| DC of Check: |
The highest Maneuver Defense of any creature you might provoke from, along your path of movement. You roll your Tumble check only once (per move action). Note that, as this is a single move action, you can only provoke once from each creature that threatens a square you are leaving. |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No. |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You complete your move action without provoking an attack of opportunity from one creature along your path whose threatened square (or squares) you are leaving. You may choose which creature this is. For each 2 additional points by which you exceed the target DC, you may select another creature along your path to not take attacks of opportunity from. Unlike other combat maneuvers, the Tumble maneuver does not inflict any damage. However, if it is combined with another maneuver, that maneuver may deal damage as described in its writeup. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail the check, all creatures along your chosen path may make an attack of opportunity against you. However, assuming you survive, you do complete your movement along your intended path. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Requires another move action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed. |
| Provokes AOO? |
That's the whole point, isn't it? |
Cross Narrow Surfaces
| You can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces without falling. A 'narrow surface' is any surface less than half your normal space: Thus, for Small and Medium creatures, a space less than 2 and a half feet wide is considered 'narrow'. (For people who feel this is too strict, YOU go out on a two-foot wide ledge a thousand feet up the side of a building and report whether it feels 'narrow'.) An 'extremely narrow' space is less than one fifth the width of a narrow space, or for a small or medium creature, six inches wide. For further modifiers, see the table below. Walking a tightrope is considered a use of this skill, with the lowest entry on the table below.
Only one check is needed per round. While you are using Acrobatics in this way, you are considered flat-footed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Move action at half speed (+10 to check DC to move at full speed) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You successfully move up to half your speed (or your full speed, if you increased the DC by 10 first) across the narrow surface. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
Failure usually means falling or falling Prone. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
If you are not prone, and have movement remaining, you may attempt to cross again in the same round. If not, it requires another move action. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Long Jump
| A long jump is a horizontal jump, made across a gap like a chasm or stream. At the midpoint of the jump, you attain a vertical height equal to one-quarter of the horizontal distance. If your check succeeds, you land on your feet at the far end. You must declare the target square of your jump and indicate the distance required prior to making the check. Note that a long jump is only required if the space you wish to cross is larger than your own space: A size Huge creature can cross gaps up to fifteen feet wide simply by stepping across them, for example. Conversely, a size Diminutive creature must make a Jump check to cross a gap larger than twelve inches. Further note that the distance of a Jump is not affected by your Size in any way: A ten foot leap means a size Tiny creature is a prodigious leaper, while a size Colossal creature jumping ten feet seems relatively sluggish. | |||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Long jumps are part of a move action, and require as much movement as the distance of the jump. No jump can allow you to exceed your maximum movement for the round (but see Astounding Leap, below). | ||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
Usually not, since falling short of your desired distance likely has undesirable consequences. | ||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). If your assisting ally achieves at least an Challenging DC on the assist, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus, instead of +2. | ||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You jump a distance based on the result of your check, dropping fractions to the nearest 5-foot increment. If the resulting distance is greater than your Walk speed, you may either reduce the distance jumped to your walk speed or less, or spend additional move actions to travel the extra distance. You must spend a number of move actions equal to the same number of move actions it would take you to Walk the same distance. If you cannot spend enough move actions in a single round to complete your jump, you continue your jump on your subsequent turns until enough move actions have been spent. While mid-leap, you are considered Flat-Footed, you cannot make any immediate actions or attacks of opportunity, nor can you perform any standard actions (other than converting them to a move action), unless you have an ability which allows you to perform an action in the middle of movement (such as Spring Attack (Feat)). | ||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail the check, you don't clear the distance. Instead, you leap a number of squares along your path equal to your Acrobatics check result divided by 5 (or 10 if you attempted the jump without a running start), round down, and land prone in that square. If you were attempting to leap across a chasm and failed your check by less than 5, you can make an average Might skill check for your character level to grab the far edge of the gap. You end your movement grasping the far edge. If that leaves you dangling over a chasm or gap, getting up requires an entire move action and an Easy Movement check to climb up for your character level. | ||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
If you are not prone, and have movement remaining, you may retry the jump in the same round. If not, it requires another move action. | ||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||
High Jump
| A high jump is a vertical leap made to reach a ledge high above or to grasp something overhead. You must declare the intended height of your jump and calculate the distance required prior to making the check. Note that 'high above' may vary wildly for creatures of different sizes. A size Tiny creature may need a three foot vertical jump simply to reach a bar stool, while a size Colossal creature may comfortably reach the fourth story of an inn without even standing on tiptoe (see chart below). In no cases does your size modify how well you can jump.
If you jumped up to grab something, a successful check indicates that you reached the desired height. If you wish to pull yourself up, you can do so with an additional move action and an Easy DC Movement or Might check for your level. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
High jumps are part of a move action, and require as much movement as the distance of the jump. No jump can allow you to exceed your maximum movement for the round (but see Astounding Leap, below). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
The difficulty of reaching a given height varies according to the size of the character or creature. The maximum vertical reach (height the creature can reach without rolling to make a Jump check) for an average creature of a given size is shown on the table below. (As a Medium/Small creature, a typical player character can reach 10 feet without rolling. Does a halfling need to work to reach a ten foot window? yes, but it's not so difficult that it requires an actual skill roll, they are just assumed to be used to dealing with a world too big for them.) Quadrupedal creatures don't have the same vertical reach as a bipedal creature; treat them as being one size category smaller for purposes of vertical reach.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
Usually not, since falling short of your desired height likely has undesirable consequences. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). If your assisting ally achieves at least an Challenging DC on the assist, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus, instead of +2. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You jump a height based on the result of your check, dropping fractions to the nearest 5-foot increment. If the resulting height is greater than your Walk speed, you may either reduce the height jumped to your walk speed or less, or spend additional move actions to travel the extra distance. Note that coming back down is a free action and does not count against your Walk speed for height traveled. You must spend a number of move actions equal to the same number of move actions it would take you to Walk the same distance. If you cannot spend enough move actions in a single round to complete your jump, you continue your jump on your subsequent turns until enough move actions have been spent. While mid-leap, you are considered Flat-Footed, you cannot make any immediate actions or attacks of opportunity, nor can you perform any standard actions (other than converting them to a move action), unless you have an ability which allows you to perform an action in the middle of movement (such as Spring Attack (Feat)). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail the Acrobatics check to jump by less than 5, you do not reach the height, and you land on your feet in the same spot from which you jumped. If you fail the check by 5 or more, you land prone in the square from which you jumped. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
If you are not prone, and have movement remaining, you may retry the jump in the same round. If not, it requires another move action. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mitigate Falling Damage
| You can use acrobatics to soften a fall, but only during your turn and when you are aware of the potential of falling. This can be from a failed jump or balance check, or simply dropping down from a height intentionally. Traps and other effects which cause you to fall unexpectedly, or which occur outside of your turn, do not allow a check to mitigate the falling damage they cause.
Note that the act of willingly dropping down from a height eliminates the first 10 feet of falling damage. This acrobatics check determines whether you can also mitigate the second 10 feet of falling damage. | |
| Action Required: |
This is a free action that can only be made during your turn, and when you are aware of the potential for falling. |
| DC of Check: |
15 |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
A successful acrobatics check eliminates the second 10 feet of falling damage. If you take any falling (physical, uncommon) damage from the fall, you are still knocked prone. However, if you are able to eliminate all falling damage from the fall (by any means, including DR), you then land on your feet. See Falling for details. |
| Consequences of Failure |
The second 10 feet of falling damage is still applied as normal. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
Making the check does not provoke. However, any falling movement which qualifies for this skill use is considered intentional movement and therefore provokes attacks of opportunity. |
Hop Up
| You can jump up onto an object as tall as your waist, such as a table or small boulder. Doing so counts as 10 feet of movement, so if your speed is 30 feet, you could move 20 feet, then hop up onto a counter. Note that "as tall as your waist" means one half the size of your space. Thus, a size Gargantuan creature, being 20-feet on a side, can 'hop up' to a surface 10-feet high, such as the roof of a modest house. Conversely, a size tiny faery could 'hop up' to a single step of a stairway. (There's a good reason most faeries have fly speeds: They really need it!)
Creatures with a Lesser Climb or Greater Climb movement speed do not need to make this check, and they do not spend additional movement to hop up to a surface half their height or less. | |
| Action Required: |
10 feet of movement during a move action |
| DC of Check: |
10 |
| Modifiers to Check |
You do not need to get a running start to hop up, so the DC is not doubled if you do not get a running start. |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 2 allies). Assisting ally/allies must be adjacent to both you and the surface you are hopping up upon. |
| Results of Success |
You successfully hop up onto the object. You may continue your move action if you have movement remaining. |
| Consequences of Failure |
You lose 10 feet of your remaining move, and remain in the space just prior to the object you attempted to hop up on to. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, if you have at least 10 feet of movement remaining. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Dive Into Water
| Characters who jump or dive into water take no damage on a successful DC 15 Acrobatics skill check, so long as the water is at least 10 feet deep for every 30 feet fallen. Water 30 feet deep is sufficient for a dive from any height. However, the DC of the check increases by 5 for every 50 feet of the dive.
If the water is not deep enough for a safe dive, add 5 to the DC and treat your dive or fall as 30 feet higher than its actual height on the table below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Diving or jumping into water requires a move action, regardless of the distance of the dive or jump. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You dive into the water without taking any damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
Failure results in taking damage from the jump or dive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
No (unless you go back to the top and jump again). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Astounding Leap (Epic)
| You can make an acrobatics check to perform a long jump with a distance greater than your movement speed, completing the leap in a single move action.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. | |
| Action Required: |
Part of a move action |
| DC of Check: |
Normal long jump DC, +10 per 5 feet of additional movement beyond your Walk speed. |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). The assisting ally must also have at least 21 ranks in acrobatics to assist. If your assisting ally achieves at least an Challenging DC on the assist, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus, instead of +2. |
| Results of Success |
You complete your leap in a single move action, despite it being further than your normal Walk speed. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail the check, you don't clear the distance. Instead, you leap a number of squares along your path equal to your Acrobatics check result divided by 5 (or 10 if you attempted the jump without a running start), round down, and land prone in that square. |
| Retry Allowed? |
If you are not prone, and have movement remaining, you may retry the jump in the same round. If not, it requires another move action. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Light Step (Epic)
| You can balance on a solid surface that could not normally take your body weight. You are able to tightrope walk on surfaces as narrow as a hair, such as walking upon a spider's web, tightrope walking across a single thread, or using an unraveled hem to stair-step your way up a giant. As long as you have some physical substance to traverse, you can use light step to balance upon it, or move across it at up to half your Walk speed.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. | |||||||||
| Action Required: |
Part of a move action | ||||||||
| DC of Check: |
40 | ||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||
| Results of Success |
You are able to balance on, or move up to half your speed (or your full speed, if you increased the DC by 10 first) across the surface in question, without breaking that surface or falling to your doom. | ||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
You fall to whatever solid surface is beneath you, taking falling damage, and your move action is lost. After falling damage is resolved, you may take the remainder of your turn, if you have actions remaining. | ||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
You can attempt to move back onto the flimsy surface (assuming you can reach it from the ground) with additional move actions. | ||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||
Walk On Water (Epic)
| You can attempt to walk across water or another liquid at least as heavy as water at half your normal speed. You must move at least 20 feet each round you attempt this, or you will fall into the water. More dense liquids may or may not be easier or harder. Walking on lava would be easier (assuming you can resist the incredible heat) because lava is often viscous and sticky, but walking on quicksilver would be very, very hard (+50) despite its extreme density. The GM adjudicates all unusual circumstances.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. | |
| Action Required: |
Move action, or part of a move action |
| DC of Check: |
50 |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You move across the surface of the liquid at half your speed (or your full speed, if you increased the DC by 10 first). |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail the check, you sink into the water and must make a Movement skill check to swim, in order to continue any movement. For other fluids, the GM will adjudicate. Falling into lava is its own punishment. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes! If you have fallen into water (or other fluids at the GM's discretion) and wish to climb back onto the surface, you must make a Movement skill check against the DC you would require to walk on the fluid, +10, to delicately rise up onto the surface and start walking again. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Walk on Gaseous Surface (Epic)
| You can walk at half your speed on the surface of a fog, or mist, or even the boundary between hot and cold air. You can use the heat shimmers above a hot surface as a sort of ladder, for example. Note that this is not flight, as any perturbation of the gaseous surface acts as waves or stormy seas and can force you to move quickly to find another place to stand.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. | |
| Action Required: |
Move action, or part of a move action. |
| DC of Check: |
60 |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You walk along the gaseous surface at half your Walk speed (or your full speed, if you increased the DC by 10 first). |
| Consequences of Failure |
You fall to whatever solid surface is beneath you, taking falling damage, and your move action is lost. After falling damage is resolved, you may take the remainder of your turn, if you have actions remaining. |
| Retry Allowed? |
You can attempt to move back onto a gaseous surface (assuming you can reach it from the ground) with additional move actions. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Description
Ability Score Used: Dexterity Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes
You are skilled at large, powerful movements to orient your own body in space. This encompasses flying, swimming, and climbing vertical walls. "Movement" is an athletic skill that encompasses your ability to control your own body and how you are positioned. Note that this is NOT Acrobatics, which is large, powerful movements to move yourself through space. Note that the two skills are similar, and having skill ranks in Acrobatics can help with some uses of Movement. Having the Movement skill allows you to swim with a skill check, but it does NOT allow you to fly with a skill check in normal gravity and atmosphere conditions. Movement does not give you either a Swim move score or a Fly move score.
Movement is often affected by Environmental Effects.
As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.
Roll Initiative
| At the start of each encounter, all player characters and enemy creatures roll a special Movement skill check to determine their initiative order for that combat. Once all initiatives are rolled, each player character and enemy creature acts in order of that initiative, from highest to lowest, taking turns until everyone has gone. Once everyone has acted, the round ends, and a new one begins, starting at the highest initiative, and working down again.
In the event to that two or more characters or creatures are tied for a particular Initiative result, they are resolved using the following tie-breakers, in order, until the order is clarified:
It is possible to have modifiers to a character's Initiative check that doesn't apply its bonus to the character's entire Movement skill. An example of this is the Improved Initiative feat. Such bonuses are only applied to a character's initiative if their movement skill doesn't already have an equal or higher bonus of the same type (e.g. feat bonus). Bonuses of the same type never stack (except for Dodge, Circumstance, and Untyped bonuses); instead, only the highest bonus available is used. Also, it should go without saying that a bonus to Initiative is NOT a bonus to the character's Movement skill as a whole. Initiative checks are always rolled at the start of each encounter, including those encounters with a surprise round. Typically, once an initiative order is set, it remains static throughout the duration of the encounter. In some rare cases, however, a character or creature may have some means of altering their initiative after the encounter has already begun, in which case, the initiative order can be rearranged. Furthermore, characters or creatures that hold their actions are moved down in the initiative order until the point at which they act; once set, they act from that spot in the initiative order for the remainder of the encounter (unless they hold their action again). Characters or creatures that ready an action do NOT alter their position in the initiative order, even though the readied action may trigger at some point outside of their normal turn. | |
| Action Required: |
Free action at the start of each encounter |
| DC of Check: |
Opposed by everyone else's Initiative check. There is no fixed DC. |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You act earlier in the combat than those who rolled lower than you. Note that you can critically succeed on an initiative check, as long as you possess at least 1 skill rank in the Movement skill. Normally, a critical success happens only on a result of a natural 20 on the die, and adds +5 to the final result (some feats may alter your crit range and crit bonus, if you have them). |
| Consequences of Failure |
You cannot fail an initiative check. A low roll, even a natural 1 on the die, merely means your total roll is lower than average for someone of your ability. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Charge
| Charge is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
Charge allows you to move up to your move speed, and make an attack against one enemy at the end of the movement, all with a single standard action. While this is very advantageous, there are numerous restrictions that must be followed in order to perform a charge:
In addition, some weapons deal special damage during a charge, or are particularly effective against creatures that charge their wielder:
| |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to your speed, and end your movement adjacent the target creature. You then inflict the same as the damage you deal with your normal melee attacks (i.e. it includes your ability modifiers, feat bonuses, weapon enhancement bonuses, bonus damage from magic weapon properties, etc.). This is instead of the damage normally dealt by combat maneuvers (not in addition to it). However, you may not add any types of precision damage, such as a rogue's Sneak Attack, ranger's Quarry, etc., nor may you apply any effects that rely upon an attack, like a paladin's Smite Enemy, a prowler's Imperiling Jolt, or a fighter's Challenge. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target creature, but you do provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, but you do not inflict any damage to the creature. You provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if your check critically fails. |
Clamber
| Clamber is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can enter a larger creature's space, to set up internal flanks by moving under, onto, or amidst the target creature. Clamber is NOT used to move through an enemy's space (you have to use the Overrun combat maneuver for that), nor can it ever affect multiple creatures. When you spend an attack action to perform a clamber, it includes a move of up to half your normal speed. This movement must include moving into the target monster's space, but it can also include moving up to the monster. This movement is considered forced movement, and normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity (but see 'failure' below). In addition, since forced movement is not normal movement, the movement performed during a clamber does not prevent the use of 5-foot steps. Difficult terrain in your path still costs twice as much movement to move into, which can be costly for your already-halved speed. The target creature must be at least 2 size categories larger than you. Note that all internal squares of a creature are considered to be threatened by that creature. | |
| Action Required: |
Attack Action (i.e. as a standard action, or in place of any attack during a full attack action). |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 1 ally). Assisting ally must be adjacent to you at the start of your clamber attempt. |
| Results of Success |
You can move up to half your speed, and end your movement in one of the interior squares of the target creature's space (assuming you have enough movement to reach it). You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from a different enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Clamber maneuver. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature, and from any other nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement. Any remaining movement in your attack action is lost. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Requires another attack action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, if your check fails, or you do not exceed the target DC enough to avoid the attacks of opportunity of nearby threatening creatures. |
Climb Vertical Surface
| With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.
You need at least one hand free to climb, and you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed against any attacks. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your Shield Bonus to AC. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Climbing is part of movement, so it's generally part of a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
The DC of climb checks is based on the surface you are attempting to climb:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
You can take 10 (as long as you are not in combat), but you cannot take 20. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
Yes (up to 5 allies). Allies must either be adjacent to you, or adjacent to a rope or similar implement you are using to climb. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You climb up the surface a distance equal to 1/4th your normal Walk speed, rounding down to the nearest 5 foot increment. This distance can be greater, if you increased the DC for accelerated climbing. If you reach the top of the surface at some point during this movement, you move to a standing position at the top, and may continue your movement at your normal speed, if you have any remaining. Once at the top, you are no longer flat-footed. However, if you have a shield or buckler, because you used that hand for something besides defense this round, you do not recover your shield bonus to AC until the start of your next turn. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress but do not fall, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Fly
| You are able to perform skillful maneuvers and fly competently, remaining oriented and even fight, while airborne. This skill use pertains only to flight from either an innate ability, a spell, or a magic item which allows you to propel yourself through the air without the aid of a vehicle or other conveyance. If an item grants you a flight speed, this skill use applies to you. If an item requires you to be in/on it (e.g. a flying carpet), this skill use does not apply (see Piloting instead). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
A move action, or part of a move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
You generally need only make a Fly check on calm days when you possess Lesser Flight. Without making a check, a flying creature with Lesser Flight can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. At the beginning of the next turn, you can move in a different direction than you did the previous turn without making a check. Taking any action that violates these rules requires a Fly check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the chart, and modified below. If a creature possesses Hover they must follow the more restrictive rules of that movement type. Note that you cannot hover in open space with only Hover, no matter how well you may roll on a Movement check. If a creature possesses Greater Flight they are not required to roll a Movement check to either fly at less than half speed or Hover in open space. If a creature possesses Greater Flight, they receive a +8 modifier on all Movement skill rolls and ignore all modifiers for winds or gusts, although they are still affected by fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Yes, a Dragon can fly through a tornado a lot better than a Fairy. Size matters! Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A hurricane is a different environment than a thunderhead, but both are very difficult to fly through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. A violent storm is nigh-impossible to fly through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You fly up to your flight speed, or are able to perform the intended maneuver without losing altitude or orientation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet towards the ground, possibly taking falling damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mitigate Falling Damage While Flying
| You can attempt to lessen the damage you take from a fall while you are flying. This is different than trying to reduce falling damage when you fall off of or jump from a cliff or structure, in that you have a means to stop the fall before you hit the ground, and you are not close to a solid object. At the GM's discretion, it may be possible in crowded conditions (such as flying through trees or along city streets) to make a Might skill check to catch hold of something nearby as you plunge toward the ground.
These rules are strictly for creatures flying: Vehicles and Bogeys use the vehicle rules for all aspects of their movement. Most vehicles and Bogeys are large and sturdy enough to ignore most weather effects less severe than a full-on raging storm, for example. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
an immediate action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You are able to use your ability to fly to avoid falling. If you took damage while in flight (forced descent), your altitude is still reduced by 10 feet at the end of the attacking creature's turn (or after the attack is resolved, if it was an attack of opportunity). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
No. You may only attempt a movement check once per mishap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overrun
| Overrun is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You attempt to overrun your target, passing through its square. You move up to your speed as part of the maneuver. Overrun does not require you to move in a straight line. You must end your movement after an Overrun in an unblocked, unoccupied space. If there is no open space past your opponent in which to end your movement, you cannot perform the maneuver. You can only overrun an opponent who is no greater than one size category larger than you. When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring a Movement check. If all of your overrun targets avoid you, you complete your movement, as though you had degraded your standard action to a move action. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action, or as Part of a Move Action (special; see below). |
| DC of Check: |
The target's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
Multiple Opponents: You can overrun multiple opponents if you have enough movement to do so. Lay out your desired path and determine how many foes you wish to overrun. Each of your overrun attempts takes a cumulative -3 penalty for each enemy after the first. Thus, if you wish to overrun one enemy, there is no penalty. Overrunning two enemies incurs a -3 penalty to both checks. Overrunning three enemies incurs a -6 penalty to all three checks. Part of a Move Action: You can perform an overrun maneuver as Part of a Move Action. However, when you do so, you may only perform it against a single creature. If successful, you can only pass through its space. You do not deal your combat maneuver damage to the creature, and you cannot knock the creature prone, no matter how much you exceed its Maneuver Defense. If the move-based overrun fails, it is resolved as described in the 'failure' section below. |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
If your target does not avoid you, make a Movement check. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target's space, inflicting your normal damage for a combat maneuver. If your target occupies more than one square, one overrun check will get you through its entire space, but you must have enough movement to make the whole trip. You only deal your combat maneuver damage to an overrun creature once, regardless of how many of its squares you pass through. If your Maneuver Offense check exceeds your opponent's Maneuver Defense by 5 or more, you move through the target's space and the target is knocked Prone. In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers. If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).
|
| Consequences of Failure |
If your overrun attempt fails, you are stopped in the space directly in front of the opponent that you failed to overrun. If there are other creatures occupying that space, you are shunted back along your declared path to the first unoccupied space. |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes |
| Provokes AOO? |
No |
Swim
| You can swim in a liquid without the proper movement ability (one of Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet).
Movement is used to move around in liquids, such as water, blood, alcohol, lava, etc. The movement skill conveys no protection against the liquid (such as drowning, burning, the ick factor of swimming in blood, etc). Most movement checks in a liquid are used to swim on the surface, where there is air to breathe. If you do not need to breathe, and can withstand any environmental effects of the fluid, you may make Movement skill rolls to move in any direction below the surface. If you are under the surface, either because you failed a movement check or because you are swimming under the surface intentionally, you must hold your breath. Outside of combat, you can hold your breath for up to a couple of minutes (subject to GM discretion), but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is measured as though you are in combat, following the Holding Your Breath rules. A character who cannot hold their breath, or decides to just suck in a lungful of water for any reason, gains the Asphyxiating condition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
Move action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
Note: Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Swim check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Swim Speed: A creature with a swim speed from either Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet, can move through water at its indicated speed without making movement checks. If it has Greater Swim it gains a +8 racial bonus on any movement check to perform a special action, or avoid a hazard. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a movement check to swim, even if distracted or endangered when swimming, such as moving through a damaging fluid it cannot fully resist. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line. Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! Trying to swim up a cataract of lava you cannot resist while staying under the surface is challenging even to high level adventurers. The GM adjudicates all modifiers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You may swim at up to half your Walk speed as a double-move action, or at a quarter of your Walk speed as a move action. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress. If you fail by 5 or more, you go under the surface if you were attempting to stay on the surface to breathe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burrow
| You are able to dig in loose solid material with or without the use of a dig based movement ability (one of Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide). This dig speed only works on loose, non-packed, non-fluid material like uncompacted loam, freshly deposited damp silt, moist talc, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Action Required: |
full round action | ||||||||||||||||||
| DC of Check: |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Modifiers to Check |
Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A volcano is a different environment than a glacier, but both are very difficult to dig through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. Note that a volcanic eruption is nigh-impossible to dig through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Allows Assists? |
No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Results of Success |
You successfully burrow 5-feet in the intended direction. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Consequences of Failure |
You make no progress this round, if that applies to the attempted action | ||||||||||||||||||
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, assuming circumstances have not changed (such as a volcanic eruption that hurls you skywards). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Withdraw
| Withdraw is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.
You can use the withdraw maneuver to attempt to move out of a location without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies. To perform the maneuver, you must choose one enemy creature that you can perceive and that is threatening you. This creature is considered the 'primary target' of this maneuver. You may then move up to your speed, and the primary target may not make any attacks of opportunity against you during this movement. Each square of your movement must take you further away from the primary target (it cannot include any squares that are the same distance or closer than any previous square of your movement). This portion of the withdraw maneuver is automatic, and occurs regardless of whether you succeed or fail on the Movement skill check. If you wish to avoid attacks of opportunity from other creatures in the path of your movement, you must roll a Movement check versus the Maneuver Defense of the target creature. If you succeed on the check, you may choose one other creature you can perceive and that threatens any squares in the path of your movement, and that creature may not make an attack of opportunity against you during the move, either. For every 2 by which you exceed the target DC, you may prevent one additional enemy creature you can perceive from making an attack of opportunity against you during your move. Note that you do not need to move directly away from any creatures other than the creature you designated as the primary target. Enemies you are unable to perceive may still make attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're blinded. Because the withdraw action is considered movement, you can't perform a 5-foot step during the same round in which you withdraw. You may not withdraw using a form of movement for which you don't have a listed speed. Note that despite the name of this action, you don't actually have to leave combat entirely. | |
| Action Required: |
Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action. |
| DC of Check: |
the target creature's Maneuver Defense |
| Modifiers to Check |
- |
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You move up to your speed, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from your primary target, and also from one additional creature you can perceive, as a result of this movement. In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from an additional enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Withdraw maneuver. Unlike other combat maneuvers, the Withdraw maneuver does not inflict any damage. |
| Consequences of Failure |
If you fail, you complete your movement, but you provoke an attack of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement, other than the primary target (who does not get an attack of opportunity against you). |
| Retry Allowed? |
Yes, but retrying does not prevent the consequences of failing a previous attempt. |
| Provokes AOO? |
Only if you fail the check. |
Climb On Inverted Surface (Epic)
| You can attempt to scramble along the underside of a surface, such as an overhang or a ceiling. As with climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your shield bonus to AC.
This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. If you have a Greater Climb speed, you do not need this skill use to climb on inverted surfaces. | |
| Action Required: |
Move action, or part of a move action |
| DC of Check: |
45 |
| Modifiers to Check |
|
| Take 10? / Take 20? |
No |
| Allows Assists? |
No |
| Results of Success |
You cling to the inverted surface like some sort of man-spider. |
| Consequences of Failure |
You fall from the surface to the ground below. |
| Retry Allowed? |
No |
| Provokes AOO? |
Yes, as with any voluntary movement. |
Overland Movement
Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. Overland movement is measured in miles per hour or miles per day. A day represents 8 hours of actual travel time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing ship, it represents 24 hours.
- Walk: A character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem. Walking for longer than that can wear him out (see Forced March, below).
- Hustle: A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued. A fatigued character can't run or charge and takes a penalty of -2 to Strength and Dexterity. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue.
- Run: A character can't run for an extended period of time. Attempts to run and rest in cycles effectively work out to a hustle.
| Speed | 15 Feet | 20 Feet | 30 Feet | 40 Feet | 50 feet | 60 feet | 70 feet | 80 feet | 90 feet | 100 feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Hour | ||||||||||
| Walk | 1.5 miles | 2 miles | 3 miles | 4 miles | 5 miles | 6 miles | 7 miles | 8 miles | 9 miles | 10 miles |
| Hustle | 3 miles | 4 miles | 6 miles | 8 miles | 10 miles | 12 miles | 14 miles | 16 miles | 18 miles | 20 miles |
| Run | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| One Day | ||||||||||
| Walk | 12 miles | 16 miles | 24 miles | 32 miles | 40 miles | 48 miles | 56 miles | 64 miles | 72 miles | 80 miles |
| Hustle | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Run | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
- Terrain: The terrain through which a character travels affects the distance he can cover in an hour or a day (see Table: Terrain and Overland Movement). A highway is a straight, major, paved road. A road is typically a dirt track. A trail is like a road, except that it allows only single-file travel and does not benefit a party traveling with vehicles. Trackless terrain is a wild area with no paths.
| Terrain | Highway | Road or Trail | Trackless |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert, Sandy | x1 | x1/2 | x1/2 |
| Forest | x1 | x1 | x1/2 |
| Hills | x1 | x3/4 | x1/2 |
| Jungle | x1 | x3/4 | x1/4 |
| Moor | x1 | x1 | x3/4 |
| Mountains | x3/4 | x3/4 | x1/2 |
| Plains | x1 | x1 | x3/4 |
| Swamp | x1 | x3/4 | x1/2 |
| Tundra, frozen | x1 | x3/4 | x3/4 |
- Forced March: In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The rest of the daylight time is spent making and breaking camp, resting, and eating. A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It's possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.
- Mounted Movement: A mount bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage it takes when doing so, however, is lethal damage, not nonlethal damage. The creature can also be ridden in a forced march, but its Constitution checks automatically fail, and the damage it takes is lethal damage. Mounts also become fatigued when they take any damage from hustling or forced marches.
| Mount/Vehicle | Per Hour | Per Day |
|---|---|---|
| Mount (Carrying Load) | ||
| Light horse | 5 miles | 40 miles |
| Light horse (175-525 lbs.)1 | 3-1/2 miles | 28 miles |
| Heavy horse | 5 miles | 40 miles |
| Heavy horse (229-690 lbs.)1 | 3-1/2 miles | 28 miles |
| Pony | 4 miles | 32 miles |
| Pony (151-450 lbs.)1 | 3 miles | 24 miles |
| Dog, riding | 4 miles | 32 miles |
| Dog, riding (101-300 lbs.)1 | 3 miles | 24 miles |
| Cart or wagon | 2 miles | 16 miles |
| Ship | ||
| Raft or barge (poled or towed)2 | 1/2 mile | 5 miles |
| Keelboat (rowed)2 | 1 mile | 10 miles |
| Rowboat (rowed)2 | 1-1/2 miles | 15 miles |
| Sailing ship (sailed) | 2 miles | 48 miles |
| Warship (sailed and rowed) | 2-1/2 miles | 60 miles |
| Longship (sailed and rowed) | 3 miles | 72 miles |
| Galley (rowed and sailed) | 4 miles | 96 miles |
Space and Reach
Space
All figures are considered to occupy a given amount of space on the battlefield. Creatures of size Medium and Small take up one 5 foot square. Smaller creatures take up a smaller space: Tiny creatures take up a 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 foot space, Diminutive creatures take up a 1 foot by 1 foot space, and Fine creatures, no matter how tiny, are defined to take up a 1/2 foot by 1/2 foot space.
This means that small creatures can effectively fit multiple creatures into a 5x5 square. The space of smaller creatures were carefully chosen such they neatly "pack" into a 5x5 square. Thus, 4 tiny creatures fit into a five foot square, 25 Diminutive, and 100 Fine creatures could fit into a five foot square. For practical reasons, it is recommended that no more than four creatures be allowed into one space, no matter how tiny.
- A Size Fine creature requires a space 1/2 foot by 1/2 foot to function without squeezing.
- A Size Diminutive creature requires a space 1 foot by 1 foot to function.
- A Size Tiny creature requires a space 2 and 1/2 feet by 2 and 1/2 feet to function.
- Size Small and Medium creatures require a space 5 feet by 5 feet to function.
On the flip side of the coin, big creatures take up more space on the battlefield.
- A Size Large creature requires a space 10 feet by ten feet to function without squeezing.
- A Size Huge creature requires a space 15 feet by 15 feet to function without squeezing.
- A Size gargantuan creature needs a space 20 feet by 20 feet to function without squeezing.
- A Colossal creature requires a space 25 feet by 25 feet to remain unsqueezed.
- A Titanic creature requires a space 30 feet by 30 feet to remain unsqueezed.
Note that creatures can be larger than Titanic, but it is recommended that all larger figures, no matter how large, be represented in table-top play by figures with a base no larger than 6x6.
- A Titanic-Plus creature requires a space 60 feet by 60 feet to remain unsqueezed.
- A Titanic Two-Plus Creature requires a space 120 feet by 120 feet to remain unsqueezed.
- A Titanic Three-Plus Creature requires a space 240 feet by 240 feet etc.
This progression continues to any size you may wish, but you will likely have to resolve combats involving such creatures using the Theatre of the Mind.
Reach
Reach is how far away a figure can attack another figure with a melee weapon or other melee attack.
Size Medium and Small creatures have a reach of five feet: Namely, they can attack into and thus threaten all squares adjacent to their space.
Size Tiny and smaller figures have no effective reach: They cannot reach into adjacent squares far enough to effectively attack, and thus threaten. For very tiny creatures, they must enter a larger creatures square in order to attack and threaten it. Entering another hostile creatures space requires an Acrobatics roll, no matter the size difference, unless you are the larger creature and you are big enough to perform a Stepover.
Note that a creature always has Reach to all portions of its own space, and therefore can threaten all squares that are within its space.
Large creatures typically have a longer reach. This is not written in stone, however, and every monster should be referred to in their writeup for what their reach is and how they threaten.
As a rule of thumb, creatures have a reach equal to the side of their space, IE, Large creatures reach ten feet, Huge creatures reach 15 feet, Gargantuan creatures reach 20 feet, Colossal creatures reach 25 feet, and Titanic creatures reach 30 feet.
Flanking
You create a flank any time you have maneuvered on the battlefield in such a way as to inconvenience your opponent due to the threatening actions of yourself and your allies. Flanking is the most common way in which teamwork with your friends provides you with a tangible in-game benefit.
If you have a flank against an enemy creature, you gain a +2 flanking bonus to your attack rolls against the creature. The same is true for your ally who is also flanking the creature.
Flanking only counts for melee attacks within your threatened area. If you do not threaten, you cannot flank or gain benefits from a flank. In order to threaten, you must be proficiently wielding a weapon capable of doing lethal damage in one or more of your hands, and able to perceive the target in some way. Some classes, feats, and racial abilities may present other ways to threaten squares.
To determine whether you have a flank, both you and an ally must be threatening the same creature. Trace a line from the center of a square you occupy to the center of a square your ally occupies, and if that line passes through opposite sides or opposite corners of the enemy's space, you have a flank against that enemy.
Corner squares ONLY flank with the opposite corner squares. Thus, a line which passes through a side of the creature's space and exits out a corner of its space (or passes through a corner of the creature's space and exits out a side of its space) is not a flank.
If your line to determine a flank enters the side of a target creature's space and exits an adjacent side (i.e. through the south edge of the creature's space, and out the east or west edge of its space) it is not a flank. Also, any line which passes directly along the border of a target creature's space is not a flank.
However, when determining a flank against a size-large or larger creature, you only have to be able to trace the line against any portion of the opposite side of its space. This means that, against larger creatures, it is usually easier to establish a flank against its side squares than its corner squares.
Only allies which threaten the creature you are threatening can provide flanks. NPC's who are not allies, or allies who are not threatening the creature in question, cannot contribute to a flank. Creatures not wielding a weapon which threatens, or that have a reach of 0 can't flank an opponent because they don't threaten adjacent squares. (Such creatures only threaten squares in their own space.)
If a creature is size-large or larger, it can choose which of the squares in its space it wishes to determine flanks from (i.e. it does not draw its line from the center of its total space, but from the center of any one square within its space). Thus, larger creatures often have an easier time flanking smaller creatures.
If a single square contains more than one creature, and you establish a legal flank to that square, you flank all creatures in that square.
Reach and Flanking
Creatures with reach (or reach weapons) don't have to be adjacent to a creature they're attempting to flank.
In addition, when determining whether they flank a creature or not, they can trace a line from any corner of their own space to any corner of an ally's space who is also threatening the target creature. If this line passes through opposite sides (or opposite corners) of the creature they are attempting to flank, it is a successful flank. As with normal flanks, a line that only passes through adjacent sides of a target creature's space, or only passes directly along a target creature's border, does not grant a flank.
Note that size large or larger creatures with reach can start this line from any corner of any square they occupy.
Internal Flanking
In cases where there are very large size differences between foes on the field (i.e. 2 size categories or more), it is possible for smaller foes to be inside the space of a larger figure. In such cases, then neither figure is considered to be Squeezing.
This often occurs because the larger creature makes use of the Stepover feature to move over top of, stop in the space of, or move past a sufficiently small creature.
For a smaller creature to enter a larger creature's space requires the Clamber feature of Might. Creatures wishing to pass all the way through another creature's space must use the Overrun maneuver. Simply avoiding attacks of opportunity while moving through threatened squares requires the Tumbling feature of Acrobatics.
While inside the space of a creature two size categories larger than itself (or more), a smaller creature can gain internal flanking against the larger creature if he has an ally that threatens the larger creature from any space.
The larger creature flanks the smaller (internal) creature if any of the larger creature's allies are able to threaten the square the smaller creature occupies. The larger creature's ally also gets a flank against the smaller (internal) creature, in this case.
ALL of any creature's occupied squares are considered to be part of its threatened squares.
Alternative Movement Types
A number of alternative movement types exist, allowing a wide variety of surfaces and environments to be more efficiently navigated. Note that these movement types do not provide any useful benefits to movement outside of their native element. That is, a creature with flight is not a better swimmer because of it, and similarly, a creature with earth glide can't move through the air unless it also has flight.
Burrow
Climb
Fly
Swim
Teleport
Combining Movement Types
If a creature has more than one movement type, it may sometimes wish to use more than one movement type during a single move action. This is allowed, using the following rules:
- 1. The cost to enter each square in the creature's path is subtracted from the speed of all movement types the creature possesses, regardless of which type of movement is used to actually enter that square. Difficult terrain or other movement-impairing obstacles are counted in the cost to enter the square.
- 2. Once a movement type has had its speed reduced to 0, it can no longer be used during this move action. Remaining movement types with available speed can still be used, if the appropriate terrain is available in the next square of the chosen path.
- 3. A creature must end its movement in its current square if the next square it wishes to enter requires a movement type whose remaining speed has been reduced to 0.
By way of example, let us imagine a creature with a Walk speed of 30 feet, and a Lesser Swim speed of 120 feet.
- As a single move action, that creature could Walk on the ground up to 30 feet, and if the next square it entered was swimmable water (e.g. a lake), it could swim up to 90 additional feet during the same move action.
- If the lake requires more than 30 feet of Walk speed to get to, the creature cannot reach the lake in a single move action, even though it still has Lesser Swim speed available to it.
- Conversely, if it uses a move action to first swim 35 or more feet, it cannot use its Walk speed during any later portion of that move action, as its Walk speed has been reduced to 0.
Special Movement Rules
Encumbrance
If your character is carrying enough weight, their movement will be slowed. There are three categories of encumbrance, Light, Medium, and Heavy. The pound value of these categories are determined by the character's Strength score on the Carrying Capacity Table.
Each of the encumbrance categories affects your movement exactly as the armor of the same name category. Namely, Medium encumbrance reduces your movement by five feet if your base move is above 20 feet, and Heavy encumbrance reduces your movement by ten feet if your base move is above 20 feet and five feet otherwise. Note that these movement penalties stack!
For example: Wearing heavy armor and carrying enough weight to place you in Medium encumbrance reduces your movement by 15 feet if your base move is above twenty feet or ten feet if your move is twenty feet or below.
If these penalties reduce your base move to zero, you can no longer use a move action to move. You must now use a standard action to move five feet, and can move no more than five feet per round unless you use an action point to take two standard actions in a round.
In addition to the above effects, weight-based encumbrance lowers your speed when you take a Run maneuver. Medium weight encumbrance lowers your Run multiplier to x4. Heavy weight encumbrance lowers your Run multiplier to x3.
Squeezing
Entering a square which requires you to squeeze counts as difficult terrain.
If you end your turn in the same space as another creature, and each of you normally takes up the full space, you are both considered to be squeezing. Squeezing can only occur if the two creatures sharing a space both agree to allow that to happen, or one creature is unable to prevent it (such as being unconscious or stunned). Even if one of the two creatures sharing a space is prone, both creatures are treated as squeezing. However, if one of the creatures is dead, the squeezing rules do not apply. Instead, the dead creature is treated as rough terrain (GM's may elect to ignore the 'dead creatures are rough terrain' rule, since it's kind of annoying to keep track of).
Squeezing can also occur when a character tries to fit through a space that is designed for creatures one size category smaller than he is, but wider than his head. No creature can pass through a space narrower than its head (unless it has some special ability allowing it to break this rule). An example of a narrow space might be a door designed for size-small creatures. A medium-sized creature could fit through there, but their ability to attack or defend themselves while doing so would be greatly impaired. A large-sized creature couldn't fit through the size-small door at all.
Squeezing: Entering a square which requires squeezing is treated as difficult terrain. While squeezing, a creature suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls and a -4 penalty to AC.
Falling
Creatures that fall onto a solid surface take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum determined by the GM. In normal air, on the Prime Material, a maximum of 20d6 is recommended. Falling in the Aether, where there is no normal air, may have no maximum limit at all, while falling in the Plane of Earth might be flat-out impossible. This may also be modified by the surface being impacted. Falling onto jagged broken obsidian shards might add +2 per die, a jumble of broken tree-trunks or solid stone may add +1 per die. Normal unremarkable 'ground' is base damage. Soft loam or deep grass might remove -1 per die. Falling allows no saving throw to reduce the damage, although you may attempt an Acrobatics roll to take some of the sting off (see below). Falling damage is physical bludgeoning damage in most cases, although falling onto something sharp might change that to piercing or slashing at the GM's discretion. In most cases, DR does not reduce falling damage unless the DM rules in your favor. Internal damage sucks. Creatures that take lethal damage from a fall land in a prone position.
If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is nonlethal damage. A DC 15 Acrobatics check allows the character to avoid any damage from the first 10 feet fallen and converts any damage from the second 10 feet to nonlethal damage. Thus, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 damage. If the same character deliberately jumps, he takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 2d6 points of lethal damage. And if the character leaps down with a successful Acrobatics check, he takes only 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 1d6 points of lethal damage from the plunge.
Falls onto yielding surfaces (soft ground, mud) usually take less falling damage (see above) and also convert the first 1d6 of damage to nonlethal damage. This reduction is cumulative with reduced damage due to deliberate jumps and the Acrobatics skill.
A character cannot cast a spell while falling, unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell is an immediate action, such as feather fall. Casting a spell while falling requires a concentration check with a DC equal to 20 + the spell's level. Casting teleport or a similar spell while falling does not end your momentum, it just changes your location, meaning that you still take falling damage, even if you arrive atop a solid surface.
Collisions
Adventurers frequently bash themselves into things through various circumstances. For example, a Barbarian sees a Drow Matriarch with no escorts, so he charges her full speed...only to find the Force Wall in the way. He smashes into the wall full speed, but how much does that hurt? This is treated as a collision, which is a more general case of Falling damage. In this case, since he was in a Charge maneuver which reduced his armor class, he was not considered to be moving cautiously. As a result, he takes 1d6 of damage per ten feet of his speed at the moment of the collision. If he has a base speed of 50 feet and a Haste spell to raise his speed to 80, then he takes 8d6 from this collision. Ouch.
It's made even worse by the Matriarch laughing....
Note that charges, overruns and other deliberate cases of a character ramming into things never causes damage to the character who instigates it, nor are the collision rules applied to the creature or object being rammed into. Collision rules only apply if the collision is unexpected, or outside of the control of the character. Combat maneuvers already deal damage, so the harm caused by an overrun is already built into the rules of that maneuver.
Collisions only happen when you are not moving in a cautious way. If you are swept away by a raging current or massive blast of wind in the Plane of Air, you are not moving cautiously. If you are making a Charge, you are not moving cautiously. Beware the Run maneuver! Running is VERY fast movement, and since you lose your Dex, you are not considered to be cautious. Running full speed into a Wall of Force can be deadly. The GM adjudicates any strange or unusual cases.
If a character is moving in a cautious manner, i.e., a normal move at his base speed, he would take no damage at all from bumping into things; the reward for moving cautiously! Note that making a double-move (converting your standard action to a move action and moving twice) is also considered cautious movement.
Collisions are used for many things, such as being swept away down a boulder-strewn gully by a flash flood, or being run over by a huge round stone that rolled out of the ceiling in a lost temple, or when that nobles carriage runs wild down the streets, or even when the hapless adventurer is being dragged along the ground behind a racing horse. Any time an object bangs into an adventurer in an uncontrolled and violent fashion, this can be resolved using these collision rules.
Note, being dragged by a horse really sucks; you want to get out of that as soon as possible.
Collisions rarely occur between creatures, who are assumed to duck, dodge, or otherwise allow a hurtling character to pass by.
Falling into Water
Falls into water are handled somewhat differently. If the water is at least 10 feet deep, the first 20 feet of falling does no damage. The next 20 feet of falling deals non-lethal damage (1d3 per 10-foot increment). Beyond that, falling damage is lethal damage (1d6 per additional 10-foot increment).
Characters who deliberately dive into water take no damage on a successful DC 15 Swim check or DC 15 Acrobatics check, so long as the water is at least 10 feet deep for every 30 feet fallen. The DC of the check, however, increases by 5 for every 50 feet of the dive.
Falling Objects
| Object Size | Damage |
|---|---|
| Tiny | 1d6 |
| Small | 2d6 |
| Medium | 3d6 |
| Large | 4d6 |
| Huge | 6d6 |
| Gargantuan | 8d6 |
| Colossal | 10d6 |
| Titanic | 15d6 |
Just as characters take damage when they fall more than 10 feet, so too do they take damage when they are hit by falling objects. Note that falling object damage is resolved differently from collisions, because falling objects are typically thrown by a bad guy, rather than being environmental hazards.
Objects that fall upon characters deal damage based on their size and the distance they have fallen. Table: Damage from Falling Objects determines the amount of damage dealt by an object based on its size. Note that this assumes that the object is made of dense, heavy material, such as stone. Objects made of lighter materials might deal as little as half the listed damage, subject to GM discretion. For example, a Huge boulder that hits a character deals 6d6 points of damage, whereas a Huge wooden wagon might deal only 3d6 damage. In addition, if an object falls less than 30 feet, it deals half the listed damage. If an object falls more than 150 feet, it deals double the listed damage. Note that a falling object takes the same amount of damage as it deals.
Dropping an object on or throwing and object at a creature requires a ranged touch attack. Such attacks generally have a range increment of 20 feet. If an object falls on a creature (instead of being thrown), that creature can make a DC 15 Reflex save to halve the damage if he is aware of the object. Falling objects that are part of a trap use the trap rules instead of these general guidelines.
Difficult Terrain
Some terrain is too tricky to move through at normal speed. Such terrain is called "difficult" though this can encompass many scenarios: obstacles, slippery or unstable footing, steep slopes, etc. When moving through difficult terrain, each square moved into counts as two squares (10 feet), effectively reducing the distance that a character can cover in a move. Characters cannot run or charge through difficult terrain, nor can they take 5-foot steps.
Impeded Terrain
Sometimes the terrain is so difficult that you must clamber over it on hands and knees, rather than just carefully navigating it. Examples include junk-strewn rooms, vine-choked jungles, or waist-deep bogs. A creature wishing to move through such terrain must use a full-round action to move 5 feet. This is not treated as a 5-foot step and does provoke attacks of opportunity. Creatures attempting to move through impeded terrain cannot run or charge through such terrain, nor can they maintain any stances, including stealth.
Note that impeded terrain is not the same as blocked terrain, such as walls, locked doors or closed portcullises.
Some impeded terrain may allow an Acrobatics (if obstacles), Might (if climbing) or Movement (if swimming or flying) check to move more than 5 feet per full-round action, at the GM's discretion. As a general rule, however, spending a full round to move 5 feet does not require any sort of skill check.
Blocked Terrain
Blocked terrain is terrain it is impossible to move into without such things as incorporeal powers, burrowing, earth glide, extremely small size, extremely large size, etc. Note that teleport can move through blocked terrain as long as line of sight and line of effect rules are satisfied. Further note that many types of blocked terrain also block line of sight and/or line of effect. The GM adjudicates any unusual cases. Examples of blocked terrain include solid walls, natural stone or dirt, doors, shutters, gates, and portcullises, roofs and roads, pillars, columns, and statues, etc.
Note that weapons with the Unwieldy quality, such as the Long Whip, cannot be used while adjacent to blocked terrain. Weapons with the Cumbersome quality, such as the Great Whip, suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls made while adjacent to blocked terrain.
Cutting Corners
On a square grid, in clear terrain, a character may move into any of the eight squares adjacent to their current square. Sometimes, however, a character will want to move diagonally from one space to another, and a blocked space will occupy a space in between. Cutting a corner of a blocked space may or may not be possible, depending on the object causing the space to be blocked.
If the blocked space which you are attempting to move diagonally past is completely filled, such as the corner of a dressed stone hallway, then you cannot cut a corner to skim past that space. Most buildings and man-made areas feature corners which cannot be cut.
If the space is blocked but not completely filled, such as a rounded cave wall, a statue, a large tree or rounded pillar, then you can still cut the corner to move diagonally past it.
Note that cutting a corner around a blocked space isn't a way to pass through blocked terrain, it is a way of skirting the edges of it. Thus, you cannot cut a corner to somehow pass through a portcullis or closed door.
Hazardous Terrain
Some squares, such as pit openings, lava or the edge of a cliff, or a trapped space are considered hazardous terrain. While the exact effects of moving into a hazardous terrain space can vary, they are inevitably undesirable. Hazardous terrain is not the same as difficult, impeded or blocked terrain, as a character can freely move into spaces of hazardous terrain; they just don't want to. Weapons with the Unwieldy or Cumbersome qualities treat adjacent hazardous terrain as a normal space and can operate unimpeded.
Occupied Squares
An occupied square is any square which falls within the allocated space for a creature's Size. Medium and smaller creatures Occupy one square. Large creatures occupy 4 squares, Huge creatures occupy nine squares, Gargantuan creatures occupy sixteen squares, Colossal creatures occupy twenty-five squares, and Titanic creatures occupy thirty-six squares. Note that occupied squares are NOT blocked, impassable, impeded, or even difficult terrain simply because they are occupied. To enter another creatures squares is not simple, but is possible. Refer to the sections on squeezing, stepover, acrobatics, internal flanking, threatened area, etc.
Threatened Area
To threaten an area, a creature must be capable of inflicting harm upon a foe in a legal fashion as a reactive action, namely, be able to take attacks of opportunity. Usually this requires a creature to be proficiently wielding a melee weapon or possess natural attacks. Ranged attacks almost never threaten squares, and if they do, require special abilities or feats to do so.
Creatures who can make legal attacks of opportunity threaten all spaces they have Reach to and all spaces they occupy. Yes, moving around inside the space of a hostile creature provokes attacks of opportunity, so be careful when seeking that internal flank.
Forced Movement
Most forced movement is handled via the Combat Maneuver system, but there is an added class of "automatic" forced movement which is occasionally available via spells, class abilities, monster powers, etc. All forced movement allows the attacking creature to move an enemy one or more squares from its current location.
It is not normally possible to resist forced movement at all, unless you have a special power or ability which specifically opposes such movement. No matter how the forced movement is inflicted, either by Combat Manuevers, spells, class abilities, etc, all forced movement is resisted by any special powers or abilities that resist forced movement. Such resistance applies after CMB vs CMD rolls are resolved. Note that forced movement reductions stack, so if a character has a means of reducing forced movement from more than one source, such as a class ability or magic item, the character uses the sum of the reductions offered.
Forced movement ignores the penalties to movement for rough terrain, but must be into unoccupied squares of a size and shape equal to the creature being forcibly moved. If there are no unoccupied squares available for the creature to be legally forced into, the forced movement does not take place.
A creature subjected to forced movement may elect to fall prone at any time during the forced movement (including its starting square), immediately ending the forced movement. This tactic is especially useful to avoid being forced into a hazardous square, such as a pit or a trap.
A creature which has voluntarily dropped to Prone can elect to ignore any forced movement inflicted upon it as long as it remains prone. However, a creature which was made prone involuntarily gains no such resistance to forced movement until it has had an opportunity to stand up (usually a move action). Note the creature doesn't need to stand up (and, indeed, doing so would remove its resistance to forced movement), merely have the action available that would allow it to stand up.
Creatures which are immune to prone can still use this option and are not prone afterwards, making them incidentally immune to forced movement. Monsters with roles that render them immune to status conditions can use this tactic, for example. Tank role monsters are immune to all status conditions, so they can use the 'fall prone' election to stop forced movement at any time, and then are not prone, and can do it again as often as required.
Forced movement never provokes attacks of opportunity, unless there is a feat or ability in play which pierces this.
Push
A Push is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in a path away from the attacker. Each square of this forced movement must be further away from the attacker's square(s) than the square being exited. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the push ends in the square prior to this obstruction.
Pull
A Pull is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in a path toward the attacker. Each square of this forced movement must be closer to the attacker's square(s) than the square being exited. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the pull ends in the square prior to this obstruction.
Slide
A Slide is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in any path the attacker wishes. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the slide ends in the square prior to this obstruction.
Three Dimensional Movement
For three dimensional movement, it is strongly recommended to use the above variant rules for counting movement, distance, and areas of effect. The reason is simple: when calculating the range between two objects at different altitudes, using the old rules required trigonometry or guesswork. In the 1 for 1 counting rules, the different altitudes can be ignored, as long as the difference in altitude is equal to or less than the difference between the figures.
For example, a ranger wants to shoot an orc who is hiding thirty feet high in a tree. In these rules, as long as the ranger is thirty feet or more away from the base of the tree, the range is simply defined as the range to the tree's square. If the ranger is closer than thirty feet to the base of the tree, the range is simply thirty feet, no matter where he moves around the base of the tree. This is a tremendous simplification and makes gameplay much faster and smoother.
For this reason, it is strongly recommended that referees enforce 'altitude ceilings' in three dimensional encounters. This is readily accomplished inside large buildings and caves, etc. Outdoors, it is usually simplest to abstract 'up' and 'down', so that the maximum distance between two combatants is always defined as the distance between their figures on the map. Alternatively, the referee may rule by fiat that cloud cover, or a tree canopy, or hazardous smoke/vapor, etc, limits the maximum altitude at which combat is possible.
If these rules are followed, then range and area of effect in three-dimensional movement is no different than in 2-dimensional movement. All squares are visualized as cubes. Moving from cube to cube may be done from face-to-face, or edge to edge, or corner to corner. All moves and ranges are counted as 1 for 1.
As a corollary to this, when three dimensional movement is being used, all characters are considered to be represented as cubes in space, not squares on the map. The cube is a number of squares high equal to the number of squares per side of the figure's size.
Thus, a small or medium creature occupies a cube five feet on a side. A large creature occupies a cube ten feet on a side. A huge creature occupies a cube fifteen feet on a side. Larger creatures continue using this same progression. For game balance reasons, the same number of smaller creatures will fill a cube as fill a same size square. Two Small creatures may occupy a five foot cube without squeezing. Four tiny creatures fill a cube, etc. This rule is to prevent dozens and dozens of enemies from filling a single space.
This system makes it much easier to accommodate feats of derring-do. For example, how high up is a Huge Elephant's back? Fifteen feet! So if a player character jumps to the back of an elephant, that is how far away they are from the ground. The bottom of the character's cube rests upon the top of the elephants cube, and reach and range are determined accordingly.
All cubes that border either a side, edge, or corner are considered adjacent in three dimensional movement.
Reach now affects all adjacent cubes, including the one above your head (and beneath your feet) as well as the ones above and below your adjacent squares.
Areas of effect, defined above as squares, are simply counted as cubes in three dimensional movement. Odd-sized cubes are centered upon a target cube, even-sized cubes are targeted upon the three-axis intersection of eight cubes.
Forced Movement In 3-D
Generally speaking, most forced movement occurs in two dimensions, along the ground. This is true even if the forced movement occurs underwater, as long as the creature being moved is on the bottom of the body of water.
Creatures in the middle of water, with no nearby surfaces, who are subjected to forced movement are moved laterally, as though they were in two dimensions. While this limitation is completely artificial, it makes it simpler to track a battle. Since you can't suffer falling damage when swimming underwater, there's no actual tactical value for treating the environment as truly 3-D, even though it is. Adding 3-D elements to such an encounter needlessly complicates it, without providing any benefit.
In cases where the forced movement occurs to a creature in the air, the forced movement is nearly always directly down. In cases where the type of forced movement (such as a Push) could not be downwards, (for example, a creature on the ground Pushes a creature in the air), then the Pushed creature moves directly up.
Creatures underground cannot be forcibly moved into blocked terrain (such as the ground) even if the acting creature and the target creature have burrowing move speeds (like Earth Glide). Forced movement can never be used to force someone into blocked terrain.
Some special abilities exist which allow forced movement to use three-dimensions. For example, a giant may have the ability to knock a creature up into the air, even when it starts off on the ground. Refer to the special ability for the exact rules to follow in these cases.
GM's should strive to keep this as simple as possible, and limit 3-D forced movement to only directly up or directly down whenever possible. Keep in mind how complicated it can become to track everyone's exact elevation, and evaluate that against how useful or memorable that complexity actually makes the battle. In most cases, 2-D is complicated enough.