Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Athletics

Athletics
The athletics skill is a movement skill. It allows you to ascend surfaces, swim through waters, or swing through a jungle on vines that would otherwise block you. Those with a lot of skill in athletics can even climb walls of force or swim against tsunamis and in other conditions that have no terrestrial analogue.

Key Attribute: Constitution

Climb and Hang
Walls and barriers are meant to be overcome, and it’s often easier to climb over, along, or around it than it would be to smash it down. You can move up, down, across, or even just cling desperately to a slope (an inclined surface of 46 to 60 degrees), a wall (an inclined surface of 61 to 120 degrees), or overhang (an inclined surface of 121 to 180 degrees). With this level of skill, you can not even attempt to climb surfaces with a base DC greater than 20 and automatically fail them with the worst result.

You must roll an athletics check each round that you are climbing or hanging onto a surface, even if you don’t want to go anywhere. The DC is indicated in the table above, and you gain a bonus or penalty to your check based on conditions. Your check result determines how quickly you progress across the surface with a move action. Even if you do not want to make any progress, you must spend a move action to remain attached to the surface, or you simply let go and fall if you are not secured. This is why most climbers secure themselves with ropes and pitons - they allow a climber to rest in addition to reducing the maximum possible falling distance on a failure.

You are less able to dodge blows while you are holding on to a wall, and are considered flatfooted while climbing. You need to use both hands and feet to make any progress while climbing. While you may use one hand to steady yourself while attacking, casting a spell with your other hand, or bringing a shield to bear you may not progress along the surface regardless of how good your check result was and must content yourself with remaining in position. Because you need both of your hands to assist in the climbing, it is difficult to charge while climbing unless you have a bite attack, tail swipe, or similar ability.

Taking any damage ends your movement immediately in the space you suffered the damage. If you take damage exceeding twice your athletics ranks while holding on to a surface, you begin falling. You must immediately make a new check against the surface’s DC. Your results determine how far you slip, it at all, and if you are required to make any other checks. Future checks are made with a penalty, as indicated above. You may also attempt to grab others who slip and fall past you, in which case you do not suffer a penalty for their falling.

Long-term climbing is very difficult if the conditions are too difficult for you to take 10 on the check; the likelihood of failing and falling to the bottom in as short a period as one minute is simply too high. If you can take 10, you probably won’t fall off if you’re not attacked, but you run the risk of fatigue instead. Unless you reach an area that you can sit comfortably or secure yourself to the side of the surface with rope and pitons, you can not rest while climbing. Because of this, your greatest enemy while climbing a surface that isn’t particularly difficult is time. See the revised movement and fatigue rules for more information.

Special: Creatures with a climb speed do not need to make checks to move up, down, or across an inclined surface, always move their full climb speed as a move action, and are not flatfooted while climbing. They may charge and take flat-out movement actions with their climb speed that otherwise mimics the run action. Climbing is no more tiring than walking for these creatures, and they may rest at any time while climbing a surface. Unless otherwise noted in their description, they may use a limb for both movement and attacking in the same round, though they may not perform a charge with a limb used for movement. A creature with a climb speed must still make a check to remain on the surface if they suffer damage greater than twice their ranks in athletics, however. A creature is always considered to have ranks equal to their CR for the purposes of climbing only if they do not have more ranks in athletics. These virtual ranks may also be used to avoid special hazards or perform special maneuvers, if necessary.

Swim
Sometimes the moat is too wide or you’ve walked the plank, and water is just one more obstacle to overcome. The swim ability is used to traverse liquids you can’t generally walk on or need to dive into, like water, acid, lava, and other fun things. With this level of skill, you can not even attempt to swim in conditions with a base DC greater than 20 and automatically fail them with the worst result.

You must roll an athletics check each round that you are suspended in liquid, even if you don’t want to go anywhere. The DC is indicated in the table above, and you gain a bonus or penalty to your check based on conditions. Your check result determines how quickly you move through the liquid with a move action, or which action you must spend to tread water and remain afloat. You must either spend the move action to traverse the liquid or the indicated action to tread water, or you fail to keep your head “above water” and sink one-half of your height into the liquid.

You are less able to dodge blows while you are trying to pull and kick yourself through a liquid, and you are considered flatfooted while swimming. As it is difficult to quickly bring a shield to bear in the water, you do not benefit from its use while swimming unless you spend the round treading water. You need both hands to make significant progress while swimming. The penalties for not keeping your hands free are shown in the table above.

If you take damage while swimming, it ends your movement. If you take damage exceeding twice your athletics ranks while swimming, you must immediately make a new check against the current DC. Unlike the standard check, if you do not succeed on this check by a significant amount, your swim is interrupted and you slip beneath the surface. Repeated attacks can not cause you to sink a distance greater than your height in a single round.

Long-term swimming is very difficult if the conditions are too difficult for you to take 10 on the check; the likelihood of failing and drowning in as short a period as one minute is simply too high. If you can take 10, you probably won’t drown if you’re not attacked, but instead you run the risk of fatigue. Unless you are skilled enough to tread water as a free action in the conditions, you can not rest while swimming. Because of this, your greatest enemy in even calm water is time. See the revised movement and fatigue rules for more information.

Special: Creatures with a swim speed do not need to make checks to swim in a liquid, always move their full swim speed as a move action, and are not flatfooted while swimming. They may take flat-out movement actions with their swim speed that otherwise mimics the run action. Swimming is no more tiring than walking for these creatures, and they may rest at any time while floating within a liquid. Unless otherwise noted in their description, they may use a limb for both movement and attacking in the same round, though they may not perform a charge with a limb used for movement. A creature with a swim speed must still make a check to retain their position if they suffer damage greater than twice their ranks in athletics, however. A creature is always considered to have ranks equal to their CR for the purposes of swimming only if they do not have more ranks in athletics. These virtual ranks may also be used to avoid special hazards or perform special maneuvers, if necessary.

Brachiation
There are lots of places where it’s easier to swing around instead of walk. Swinging by your arms and occasional leg, you can move through tree branches, jungle vines, banquet hall chandeliers, complex monkey bars, etc. at half of your base land speed. This is considered a natural base speed, so you can run and charge at no penalty, but you need both of your arms free to assist your movement. If one hand is full, you may only take a single move action in this fashion before you have to return to the ground. The objects used to brachiate must be able to swing within one square of each other to be usable for movement in this way.

Combat Athlete
You’re getting the hang of moving in different ways while people try to fill you with arrows or spears or whatever. You are no longer flatfooted while climbing or swimming.

Fleet of Arm and Leg
You are quite proficient at dragging and kicking yourself through liquids. You may swim, and make progress, in any conditions with a base DC of 30 or less.

Touch of a Spider
Your fingers are amazing at finding things for you to grip. You may climb any surface with a base DC of 30 or less.

Arms of a Monkey
You’ve got some nice coordination and muscle strength. Your brachiation speed is now equal to your land speed. You may also brachiate with one hand occupied at half your base speed. The objects used to brachiate must still swing to within one square of each other.

Ein Hander
You only need one hand free to climb walls or swim, and freeing up a hand comes with a few perks.

While swimming, you no longer suffer a penalty if you have a hand occupied with a weapon or other implement. While climbing, you can still progress up a surface in the same round as you use your other hand for a non-climb action. You may benefit from a shield bonus at any time while climbing or swimming. You can also use both hands for an action while climbing, but you can not make any progress up the surface for that round. Additionally, you only need one hand free to catch yourself if you begin falling.

Just because you only need one hand free to climb or swim, doesn’t mean you should only keep one hand free. You can make quite a bit of progress if you dedicate both hands to the job. If you climb or swim with both hands free, you may take a flat out action similar to a run. You make two checks for the round, using the better result, and also quadruple the speed at which you would move based on your check result. As this is a flat out action, it tires you out as if you were running.

Touch of a Gecko
Your fingers are amazing at finding things for you to grip. You may climb a surface of any DC; there really isn’t much that stops you.

Torpedo
You swim better than most fish. You can swim, and make progress, in any liquid conditions regardless of DC.

Nein Hander
Your toes, feet, and legs are very strong and well adapted. They're about all you need to to swim against a tsunami or stand on a cliff overhang.

You suffer no DC adjustments for swimming with both of your hands full. You also suffer no penalties for fighting underwater. You still have to manage breathing normally though. Similarly, you don’t need any hands free to climb walls, and can progress up a surface even while swinging a greatsword. You do not need any free hands to catch yourself if you begin falling.

You may gain the one-handed benefits of Ein Hander with no hands free, and the two handed benefits with only one hand free. You gain no additional benefits for having both hands free, however.