Balance [DEX; Armor Check]

You can keep your balance while walking on a tightrope, a narrow beam, a slippery ledge, or an uneven floor.

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 Surface Balance DC 1 Difficult Surface Balance DC 1
7-12 inches wide 10 Uneven flagstone 10 2
2�6 inches wide 15 Hewn stone floor 10 2
Less than 2 inches wide 20 Sloped or angled floor 10 2

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

Surface DC Modifier
Lightly obstructed (scree, light rubble) +2
Severely obstructed (natural cavern floor, dense rubble) +5
Lightly slippery (wet floor) +2
Severely slippery (ice sheet) +5
Sloped or angled +2

Add the appropriate modifier to the Balance DC of a narrow surface. These modifiers stack.

 

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.