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Balance (Dexterity; Armour Check Penalty)

Balance
Wilhelm Simmler (1840–1914) Auf dem Hochseil

This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.

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

Narrow SurfaceBalance DC1Difficult SurfaceBalance DC1
7-12 inches wide10Uneven flagstone102
2-6 inches wide15Hewn stone floor102
Less than 2 inches wide20Sloped or angled floor102
1 Add modifiers from Narrow Surface Modifiers, below, as appropriate.
2 Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the character can’t run or charge, but may otherwise act normally.
Narrow Surface Modifiers
SurfaceDC Modifier1
Lightly obstructed+2
Severely obstructed+5
Lightly slippery+2
Severely slippery+5
Sloped or angled+2
1 Add the appropriate modifier to the Balance DC of a narrow surface.
These modifiers stack.

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.

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.

Synergy

If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks.

Liber Mysterium

The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

Any bonuses in balance can aid a witch while standing on a broom in flight.

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