Acrobatics

**Key Attribute:** Dexterity
*Armor Penalty Applies*
## Balancing

The character can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets the character move at half his or her speed along the surface as a move action. A failure indicates that the character spends his or her move action keeping his or her balance and does not move. A failure by 5 or more indicates that the character falls. The difficulty varies with the conditions of the surface.

### Being Attacked While Balancing

While balancing, the character is flat-footed (the character loses his or her Dexterity bonus to Defense, if the character has one), unless the character has 5 or more ranks in Balance. If the character takes damage, he or she must make a Balance check again to remain standing.

### Accelerated Movement

The character can try to cross a precarious surface more quickly than normal. The character can move his or her full speed, but the character takes a –5 penalty on his or her Balance check. (Moving twice the character’s speed in a round requires two checks, one for each move action.)
The character can attempt to charge across a precarious surface. Charging requires one Balance check at a –5 penalty for each multiple of the character’s speed (or fraction thereof) that the character charges.

### Resist Zero-G Bull Rush

Under zero gravity conditions, the Balance skill may be used to resist the increased effect of a Bull Rush attempt. Normally, a successful Bull Rush attempt in zero gravity conditions results in the character being moved 10 feet, as opposed to 5 feet for every 5 points by which the attacker’s Strength check exceeds the defender’s. However, the defender may make a Balance check (opposed by the attacker’s own Balance skill or Dexterity check) in order to reduce the Bull Rush movement to 5 feet per 5 points of success on the Strength check, as per a normal Bull Rush in standard gravity. This check is made as a free action, in reaction to the attacker’s Bull Rush attempt.

## Balancing Special

* A character can take 10 when making a Balance check, but can’t take 20.
* A character with the Focused feat gets a +2 bonus on all Balance checks.

## Balancing Time

* Balancing while moving one-half the character’s speed is a move action.
* Accelerated movement, allowing the character to balance while moving his or her full speed, is also a move action.

## Tumbling

A character can land softly when he or she falls, tumble past opponents in combat, or tumble through opponents.
Try Again?: No.

### Land Softly

The character can make a Tumble check (DC 15) when falling. If the check succeeds, treat the fall as if it were 10 feet shorter when determining damage.

### Tumble past Opponents

With a successful Tumble check (DC 15), the character can weave, dodge, and roll up to 20 feet through squares adjacent to opponents, risking no attacks of opportunity. Failure means the character moves as planned, but provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

### Tumble through Opponents

With a successful Tumble check (DC 25), the character can roll, jump, or dive through squares oc-cupied by opponents, moving over, under, or around them as if they weren’t there. Failure means the character moves as planned, but provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

### Spacewalking

Moving in a zero-gravity environment is very similar to simply having a fly speed, except that the character may only move in a straight line. However, characters who have spent extensive amounts of time in such environments quickly become adept at moving about without the assistance of gravity. Most astronauts throughout PL 5 and beyond master the art of spacewalking while working on spacecraft and satellites or exploring space stations without the benefits of artificial gravity. (Any character can move in zero gravity conditions by clinging to solid objects; see the Zero-G Movement application of the Climb skill, above.)

Under normal Zero-G conditions, a character gains a fly speed but may only move in a straight line and may only change course by pushing off of a larger object, requiring a DC 15 Tumble check. If successful, the character may use any object of his size category (as opposed to a larger object) in order to change direction during his movement rate. So, Medium sized characters need only move into the same square as another Medium-sized object and make the appropriate Tumble check to change their trajectory. A failed check simply means that the character stops his movement at the point where he attempted to change his direction. A character moving in this fashion may attempt to bounce off another character or creature, even a hostile one, during a spacewalking action. A hostile character or creature can make an attack of opportunity as per normal. Friendly characters and creatures may simply allow themselves to be used as a pushing-off point without resisting.

## Tumbling Special

* A character with 5 or more ranks in Tumble gains a +3 dodge bonus to Defense (instead of the normal +2) when fighting defensively, and a +6 dodge bonus (instead of the normal +4) when engaging in total defense.
* A character can take 10 when making a Tumble check, but can’t take 20.
* A character with the Acrobatic feat and at least 1 rank in this skill gets a +2 bonus on all Tumble checks.

## Tumbling Time

* A character can try to reduce damage from a fall as a reaction once per fall.
* A character can attempt to tumble as a free action that must be performed as part of a move action.