Skills Overview
Skill Descriptions
Skills are presented in alphabetical order, in the following format. Entries that do not apply to a particular skill are omitted in that skill’s description.
Skill Description Format
Skill Name (Key Ability) Trained Only; Armor Penalty
The skill name line and the line beneath it include the following information:
**Key Ability:**The abbreviation for the ability whose modifier applies to the skill check. Exceptions: Speak Language and Read/Write Language have “None” given as their key ability because the use of these skills never requires a check.
Trained Only: If “Trained Only” appears on the line beneath the skill name, a character must have at least 1 rank in the skill to use it. If “Trained Only” is omitted, the skill can be used untrained. If any particular notes apply to trained or untrained use, they are covered in the Special section (see below).
**Armor Penalty:**If “Armor Penalty” appears on the line beneath the skill name, apply the armor penalty for the armor the character is wearing to checks involving this skill.
Check: What a character can do with a successful skill check, and the check’s DC.
Try Again?: Any conditions that apply to repeated attempts to use the skill for a particular purpose. If this entry is omitted, the skill check can be tried again without any inherent penalty other than taking additional time.
Special: Any particular notes that apply, such as whether a character can take 10 or take 20 when using the skill.
Untrained: Any details about using a skill untrained. If this entry doesn’t appear, it means the skill works the same even when used untrained, or that an untrained character can’t make checks with this skill (true for skills that are designated “Trained Only”).
Time: How much time it takes to make a check with this skill.
Balance (Dex) Armor Penalty
Check: 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.
| Narrow Surface | DC* | Difficult Surface | DC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7–12 in. wide | 10 | Uneven or angled | 10 |
| 2–6 in. wide | 15 | Slippery surface | 10 |
| Less than 2 in. wide | 20 | ||
| *Add +5 to the DC if the narrow surface is slippery or angled; add +10 if it is both slippery and angled. |
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.
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.
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.