Acrobatics (Dex; Armor Check Penalty)

You can keep your balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces. You can also dive, flip, jump, and roll, avoiding attacks and confusing your opponents.

Check: This skill has three distinct uses. First, you can use it to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling. A successful check allows you to move at half speed through such situations. Only one check is needed per round to move across such surfaces. Use the following table to determine the base DC, which is then modified by the Acrobatics skill modifiers noted below. While you are using Acrobatics in this way, you are considered flat-footed and lose your Dexterity bonus to your AC (if any). If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must immediately make another Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid falling or being knocked prone.

Surface Width Base Acrobatics DC
Greater than 3 feet wide 01
1–3 feet wide 51
7–11 inches wide 10
2–6 inches wide 15
Less than 2 inches wide 20
1 No Acrobatics check is needed to move across these surfaces unless the modifiers increase the DC to 10 or higher.

This skill can also be used to move past or through opponents without provoking an attack of opportunity. You must make one check per opponent. If you fail your check when moving past an opponent, you continue to move but provoke an attack of opportunity as normal. If you fail your check when moving through an opponent’s square, your movement ends before you enter the opponent’s space and you provoke an attack of opportunity as normal.

Situation Base Acrobatics DC1
Move through a threatened area 15 + opponent’s base attack bonus
Move through an enemy’s space 20 + opponent’s base attack bonus
1 This DC is used to avoid an attack of opportunity due to movement. This penalty increases by +2 for each additional opponent avoided in one round.

You can also use the Acrobatics skill to jump across gaps and pits, as well as soften your fall. Instead of determining the base DC by the surface width, the base DC is equal to the distance to be crossed (if horizontal) or four times the height to be reached (if vertical). These DCs double if you do not have at least 10 feet of space to get a running start. The only modifiers that apply are those concerning the surface you are jumping from. If you fail this check by 4 or less, you can attempt a DC 20 Ref lex save to grab hold of the other side after having missed the jump. If you fail by 5 or more, you fail to make the jump and fall (or land prone, in the case of a vertical jump). Creatures with a base land speed above 30 feet receive a +4 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks made to jump for every 10 feet of their speed above 30 feet.

Long Jump Acrobatics DC
5 feet 5
10 feet 10
15 feet 15
20 feet 20
Greater than 20 feet +5 per 5 feet
High Jump Acrobatics DC
1 foot 4
2 feet 8
3 feet 12
4 feet 16
Greater than 4 feet +4 per foot

The following modifiers apply to all Acrobatics skill checks. The modifiers stack with one another, but only the most severe modifier for any given condition applies.

Acrobatics Modifiers DC Modifier
Lightly Obstructed (gravel, sand) +2
Severely Obstructed (cavern, rubble) +5
Slightly Slippery (wet) +2
Severely Slippery (icy) +5
Slightly Sloped (<45°) +2
Severely Sloped (>45°) +5
Slightly Unsteady (boat in rough water) +2
Mildly Unsteady (boat in a storm) +5
Severely Unsteady (earthquake) +10
Move at normal speed or greater +51
1 This does not apply to checks made to jump.

Action: None. An Acrobatics check is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation.

Special: If you are proficient in the Acrobatics skill, you gain a +3 dodge bonus to AC when fighting defensively instead of the usual +2, and a +6 dodge bonus to AC when taking the total defense action instead of the usual +4.