Acrobatics
Attribute: Dexterity
Armor Penalty: Yes
Untrained: Yes
Description: 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.
BALANCE
Whenever any effect would grant you a Reflex save to avoid losing your balance, dropping prone, or being forcibly moved, you can make an Acrobatics check instead. Treat this check as a saving throw, applying any special effects that only apply to saves, including the benefits of natural 20s and natural 1s. The DC to balance on a narrow surface equal to your size is 5. The DC increases by 5 for every size smaller that it is.
JUMP
During a move or shift action, you can make a vertical jump or horizontal leap so that part of your movement is unaffected by chasms, holes, mud, puddles, and other difficult terrain or falling. You can jump or leap a distance up to a number of feet equal to half your check result -4. You fall prone if your check result is a negative number. If you get a head start of at least 5 feet as part of running, you gain circumstance bonus to this check equal to one-fifth the the distance moved in feet before the jump.
SLOWFALL
If you fall while you are not helpless, you can make an Acrobatics check as a reaction or action ever round to reduce the distance you fall that round by a number of feet equal to half your check result. If you intentionally jump down, you apply your full check result. When you land, you make another check result and reduce the falling damage by the check result. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can choose to land standing upright instead of prone.
Falling Damage: When you fall, you take an amount of damage equal to the distance in yards/meters + 1d20 up to a maximum of 1d20 + 300. Creatures decrease this damage by 10 per size smaller than Medium (minimum 1d20 + 0) and increase this damage by 10 per size larger than Medium. Falling into a liquid or soft surface, the damage is converted to nonlethal. If the liquid is half as deep as the fall was long or deeper, the damage is also halved before applying damage adjustments from the check results, size, etc.
TUMBLE
When you use the Shift action (or take any other action that allows you to shift as part of the action), you can make an Acrobatics check as part of the movement. You get a Dodge modifier to your Dodge defense equal to one-fifth your check result (rounded down) until the end of the movement.
MODIFIERS
The following modifiers apply to all Acrobatics skill checks. The modifiers stack with one another, but only the most severe modifier for any given condition applies.
Table: Misc. Acrobatics Modifiers
Acrobatics Modifiers DC Modifier
Lightly Obstructed (gravel, sand) +2
Severely Obstructed (cavern, rubble) +5
Slightly Slippery (wet) +2
Severely Slippery (icy) +5
Slightly Sloped (<45°) +2
Severely Sloped (>45°) +5
Slightly Unsteady (boat in rough water) +2
Mildly Unsteady (boat in a storm) +5
Severely Unsteady (earthquake) +10
Move at full speed on narrow or uneven surfaces +51
1 This does not apply to checks made to jump.
SKILL UNLOCKS
Skill unlocks give characters new abilities and ways to use their skills upon reaching 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill. Any character with the Signature Skill feat can earn skill unlocks for a single skill, and they are a prime feature of the revised version of the rogue who uses her rogue’s edge ability to gain skill unlocks for several of her most iconic skills. Alternatively, you might make skill unlocks a universal part of the game, but you should be aware they add significant power and flexibility to skills, so giving them for free to all classes would grant power boosts to other highly skilled classes such as the investigator and bard, particularly in comparison to the rogue. Another alternative is to eliminate access to the Signature Skill feat, limiting skill unlocks to rogues and rogues alone.
With sufficient ranks in Acrobatics, you earn the following.
5 Ranks: You can move at normal speed through a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity by increasing the DC of the check by 5 (instead of by 10). You aren’t denied your Dexterity bonus when attempting Acrobatics checks with DCs of 20 or lower.
10 Ranks: You can attempt an Acrobatics check at a –10 penalty and use the result as your CMD against trip maneuvers. You can also attempt an Acrobatics check at a –10 penalty in place of a Reflex save to avoid falling. You must choose to use this ability before the trip attempt or Reflex save is rolled. With a successful DC 20 Acrobatics check, you treat an unintentional fall as 10 feet shorter plus 10 feet for every 10 by which you exceed the DC, and treat an intentional fall as 10 feet shorter for every 10 by which you exceed the DC.
15 Ranks: You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when standing up from prone.
20 Ranks: You double the result of any Acrobatics check when jumping and never fall prone at the end of a fall as long as you remain conscious.