Climb

(Str) (Armor Check Penalty)

Climb Something

With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with 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.

• 0: A slope too steep to walk up, or a knotted rope with a wall to brace against.
• 5: A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell.
• 10: A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship's rigging.
• 15: Any surface with adequate handholds and footholds (natural or artificial), such as a very rough natural rock surface, or a tree, or an unknotted rope, or pulling yourself up when dangling by your hands.
• 20: An uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a dungeon or ruins.
• 25: A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall.
• 25: An overhang or ceiling with handholds but no footholds.
• 35: A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface.
• 45: A perfectly smooth, flat, overhang or ceiling.

The particular situation can also apply additional modifiers:

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.

Any time 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 can try to climb more quickly than normal during a given move action. By accepting a -5 penalty, you can travel half your speed instead of one-quarter your speed. You can climb at your full speed with a -20 penalty.

Climb Speed: If you have a climb speed you get a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks, and you can always Take 10 on such checks. Creatures with a climb speed don't lose their Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing. Creatures with a climb speed making an Accelerated Climb move at either double their climb speed or their land speed (whichever is slower) by taking a -5 on their Climb check. You cannot use the Run action while climbing.

Making 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 3 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 a wall if their implement can damage the wall. A normal iron tool can damage ice or wood, but not stone. An adamantine tool can damage stone.

• Action: Move.
• Try Again: Yes, though if you fail by 5 or more you fall.

Catching 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 forego 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 or her total weight, including equipment, cannot exceed your heavy load limit or you automatically also 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 also begin falling yourself.

• Action: Immediate.
• Try Again: No.

Catching 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).

• Action: Immediate.
• Try Again: If you fail to catch yourself while falling you'll probably hit the ground before you get another action, but if you're falling for long enough you can try again next round I guess.