Climb (Str; Armor Check Penalty)

     You are skilled at scaling vertical surfaces, from smooth city walls to rocky cliffs.

Check: 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.  A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.  The DC of the check depends on the conditions of the climb.  Compare the task with those on the following table to determine an appropriate DC.

     You need both hands free to climb, but 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 lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).  You also can’t use a shield while climbing. Anytime you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall.  Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage.

ACCELERATED CLIMBING

     You try to climb more quickly than normal.  By accepting a –5 penalty, you can move half your speed (instead of one-quarter your speed).

MAKE YOUR OWN HANDHOLDS AND FOOTHOLDS

     You can make your own handholds and footholds by pounding pitons into a wall.  Doing so takes 1 minute per piton, and one piton is needed per 5 feet of distance.  As with any surface that offers handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it has a DC of 15.  In the same way, a climber with a handaxe or similar implement can cut handholds in an ice wall.

CATCH YOURSELF WHEN FALLING

     It’s practically impossible to catch yourself on a wall while falling.  Make a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 20) to do so.  It’s much easier to catch yourself on a slope (DC = slope’s DC + 10).

CATCH A FALLING CHARACTER WHILE CLIMBING

     If someone climbing above you or adjacent to you falls, you can attempt to catch the falling character if he or she is within your reach.  Doing so requires a successful melee touch attack against the falling character (though he or she can voluntarily forgo any Dexterity bonus to AC if desired).  If you hit, you must immediately attempt a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 10).  Success indicates that you catch the falling character, but his total weight, including equipment, cannot exceed your heavy load limit or you automatically fall.  If you fail your Climb check by 4 or less, you fail to stop the character’s fall but don’t lose your grip on the wall.  If you fail by 5 or more, you fail to stop the character’s fall and begin falling as well.

Retry: Yes.  If you fail your check by 4 or less, you make no headway and may attempt to do so again.  If you fail by 5 or more, then you fall from whatever height you are at, and once at the bottom you may attempt to climb the obstetrical  again if you survive the fall.

Special: You can take a 10 and a 20 when making a climb check.  You cannot take a 20 when performing accelerated climbing, nor may you take a 20 when attempting to catch yourself or someone else while climbing.

• Rope: You can use a rope to haul a character upward (or lower a character) through sheer strength.  You can lift double your maximum load in this manner.
• Climb Speed: A creature with a climb speed has a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks.  The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC higher than 0, but it can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing.  If a creature with a climb speed chooses an accelerated climb (see above), it moves at double its climb speed (or at its land speed, whichever is slower) and makes a single Climb check at a –5 penalty.  Such a creature retains its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it.  It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing.
• Size: Any creature of Tiny or smaller size should use its Dex modifier instead of its Str modifier for Climb checks.

Time: 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.  Catching yourself or another falling character doesn’t take an action.

ROPE USE

     As a climber use ropes will be an essential part of this skill.  You can make firm knots, undo tricky knots, and bind prisoners with ropes.

Task                                                            DC

Tie a firm knot                                          10

Tie a special knot, such as one that

 slips, slides slowly, or loosens with

 a tug                                                           15

Tie a rope around self one-handed    15

Splice two ropes together                     15

     When you bind another character with a rope, any Escape Artist check that the bound character makes is opposed by your Climb check when using ropes.  You get a special +10 bonus on the check because it is easier to bind someone than to escape from being tied up.

Retry: Varies.  If you fail at tying a knot you can attempt it again.  However, you won't know if you succeeded in binding two ropes together until they have a load on them.  Also, once you have bound someone and they succeed an Escape Artist check, you can't bind them again until you catch them again.

Special: You can take a 10 and a 20 on Climb checks to use rope.

• Silk ropes gives a +2 equipment bonus on all rope use Climb checks.
• If you cast an animate rope spell on a rope, you get
  a +2 circumstance bonus to any use rope checks you make when using the rope.
• If you have 5 or more ranks in Escape Artist you gain a +2 synergy bonus when binding someone.

Time: Most checks for using rope take a standard action.  Binding someone takes a full-round action, and splicing two ropes together takes 5 minutes.

CLIMBING UNCHAINED

     By taking the Signature Skill feat, you can unchain the following special bonuses:

• 5 Ranks: You are no longer denied your Dexterity bonus while climbing.
• 10 Ranks: You gain a natural climb speed (but not the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks) of 10 feet, but only on surfaces with a Climb DC of 20 or lower.
• 15 Ranks: You gain a natural climb speed (but not the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks) equal to your base speed on surfaces with a Climb DC of 20 or lower, and of 10 feet on all other surfaces.
• 20 Ranks: You gain a natural climb speed equal to your base speed on all surfaces. If you have both hands free, you gain a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks.