Athletics
| Skill List |
|---|
General Skill — Strength
The Athletics skill covers actions that require large amounts of physical exertion.
Actions Covered
- Jumping
- Swimming
- Climbing
- Prolonged Exertion
Contents
Specific Uses
Jumping
A jumping action is used concurrently with a move action. Characters must still move the number of feet that they jump through movement actions. The following table of jump distance DCs assumes that the character is getting a 20 foot running start. If this is not the case, the DC goes up by 15.
A character's maximum horizontal jump distance is equal to double his or her speed.
A character's maximum vertical jump is equal to his or her height.
| Action | DC |
|---|---|
| Lateral Jump | |
| - 5 feet | 10 |
| - 10 feet | 15 |
| - 15 feet | 25 |
| - 20 feet | 35 |
| - 25 feet | 45 |
| - 30 feet | 55 |
| Vertical Jump* | |
| -1 foot | 8 |
| - 2 feet | 14 |
| - 3 feet | 18 |
| - 4 feet | 24 |
| - 5 feet | 30 |
| - 6 feet | 34 |
| - 7 feet | 40 |
| - 8 feet | 46 |
| Reduce the fall damage of a downward jump by 10 feet | 15 |
* This is in addition to vertical reach. The average human can reach 8 feet without jumping
Swimming
A swimming action is used concurrently with a movement action. Swimming costs double movement, AKA: for every 10 feet of movement a character spends, that character moves 5 feet.
| Action | DC |
|---|---|
| Calm water | 15 |
| Rough water | 20 |
| Stormy water | 25 |
| Modifiers | |
| Swimming with the current | -5 |
| Swimming against the current | +10 |
| Swimming with equipment | -2 for every 10 lbs over a light load |
Every half hour you swim you must make a fortitude save (DC 20+2 per previous attempt) or take 1d6 points of Sublethal Damage, bypassing normal sublethal damage reduction. If you fail two of these checks in a row you become Fatigued.
Climbing
The climbing action is used in concert with a move action. Characters move at one quarter their speed. Characters who fail a check waste their move attempt. If characters fail by 5 or more, they lose their grip and fall.
| Action | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Climbing in a chimney | -10 |
| Climbing between two walls at a 90º angle | -5 |
| Slippery surface | +5 |
| Climbing… | DC |
|---|---|
| Rope with a wall to brace against | 10 |
| Knotted Rope | 10 |
| Rope without a wall | 15 |
| Surface with plentiful handholds | 20 |
| Surface with limited handholds | 25 |
| Surface with no handholds | 30 |
| Ceiling with handholds | 35 |
| A nearly smooth surface (brick wall) | 40 |
Skill Tiers
This skill starts at Tier Zero. The upgrade cost of skill tiers is 2 + (Current Skill Tier x2) Upgrade Points.
Tier One
A character with Tier One Athletics can substitute an Athletics check attached to his Constitution score in place of a Fortitude Save when attempting to prevent fatigue from extended exertion.
Tier Two
A character with Tier Two Athletics reduces his Sublethal Damage at twice the normal rate: 2 x Constitution + Character level for every night of sleep.
Tier Three
A character with Tier Three Athletics can exert himself for twice as long before having to make a check to fend off sublethal damage.
Further Tiers
Further tiers can give you increased Hit Points, as described on that page.
