Balance DCs
| Narrow Surface |
Balance DC1 |
Difficult Surface |
Balance DC1 |
- Add modifiers from Narrow Surface Modifiers, below, as appropriate.
- Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the character can’t run or charge, but may otherwise act normally.
|
| 7-12 inches wide |
10 |
Uneven flagstone |
102 |
| 2-6 inches wide |
15 |
Hewn stone floor |
102 |
| Less than 2 inches wide |
20 |
Sloped or angled floor |
102 |
Narrow Surface Modifiers
| Surface |
DC Modifier1 |
-
Add the appropriate modifier to the Balance DC of a narrow surface.
These modifiers stack.
|
| Lightly obstructed |
+2 |
| Severely obstructed |
+5 |
| Lightly slippery |
+2 |
| Severely slippery |
+5 |
| Sloped or angled |
+2 |
Check
You can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface, as follows:
Being Attacked while Balancing
You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing. If you take damage while balancing, you must make another Balance check against the same DC to remain standing.
Accelerated Movement
You can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If you accept a -5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. (Moving twice your speed in a round requires two Balance checks, one for each move action used.) You may also accept this penalty in order to charge across a precarious surface; charging requires one Balance check for each multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof) that you charge.
See also: epic usages of Balance.
Action
None. A Balance check doesn’t require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation.
Special
If you have the Agile feat, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks.
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