Athletics

Athletics (Str)

Athletics represents your character’s ability to climb and swim. Since all of these can get you into pretty inhospitable areas; high-level athletes also learn to do things like holding their breath for absurd periods of time.

Break Restraints

With a successful Athletics check, you can break out of physical restraints, such as handcuffs or chains. Breaking out of restraints normally takes 2 [Rounds] of effort, but you can reduce the DC by 2 by taking 5 [Rounds] to attempt to break out, or you can attempt to break out as a standard action if you increase the DC by 5. Some examples of bindings, with appropriate DCs, follow:

• DC 10: Hastily-tied ropes.
• DC 15: Handcuffs or light manacles.
• DC 20: Steel-reinforced straight jacket.
• DC 25: Runed adamantine manacles.
• DC 30: Form-fitted stone or ice.
• DC 35: The crushing gravity of a prison world.

Climbing

Once per [Round], you may make an Athletics skill check to begin climbing an obstacle, surface, or even air at half of your normal movement speed. Generally speaking, one check is good enough for a given surface, unless something happens to increase the difficulty of climbing. If your check exceeds the DC of the task by 5 or more, you can move at your full movement speed. A few representative climbing surfaces, with appropriate DCs, follow:

• DC 10: A steep rocky slope with frequent handholds and footholds and no rattlesnakes at all.
• DC 15: A smooth tree with very few branches.
• DC 20: The outside of a castle wall, in the dead of night.
• DC 25: An overhanging defensive wall kept artificially slick and equipped with fake handholds.
• DC 30: The outside twigs of a never-ending world tree. You can climb the air itself, gaining the Fly movement mode for one [Round]. (You may immediately use a free action to lift off, gaining the {{Bracket|Flying} condition.) At the beginning of your turn, if you are [Flying], do not possess the Fly movement mode, and you gained the Fly movement mode as the result of an Athletics skill check within the last one [Round], you must make another successful Athletics skill check to gain the Fly movement mode again or suffer a Trivial Fall, Hazardous Fall, or Dramatic Plunge, as determined by the GM.
• DC 35: Falling snowflakes. You gain the Fly movement mode for three [Rounds]. (You may immediately use a free action to lift off, gaining the {{Bracket|Flying} condition.) At the beginning of your turn, if you are [Flying], do not possess the Fly movement mode, and you gained the Fly movement mode as the result of an Athletics skill check within the last one [Round], you must make another successful Athletics skill check to gain the Fly movement mode again or suffer a Trivial Fall, Hazardous Fall, or Dramatic Plunge, as determined by the GM.

Swimming

With a successful Athletics check, you can move through a liquid medium at half your normal movement speed, or surface from [Swimming] as a move action. Generally speaking, one check is good enough for a given medium, unless something happens to impede your ability to swim. If your check exceeds the DC of the task by 5 or more, you can move at your full movement speed. A few representative environments, with appropriate DCs, follow:

• DC 10: A calm pool of cool water.
• DC 15: A cold mountain river.
• DC 20: Frigid river rapids.
• DC 25: An underwater whirlpool with unpredictable outside currents.
• DC 30: A death trap deep within the underwater Sahuagin sanctum.
• DC 35: The leading edge of a tsunami.

Scaling Bonuses

Your training gives you certain bonuses when you have a given number of ranks in Athletics. All of these abilities are considered extraordinary abilities.

• 1 rank: You gain a bonus to your movement speed equal to 5 ft, plus an additional 5 ft per 5 ranks you have in Athletics.
• 5 ranks: You take no damage from extreme hot or cold weather.
• 10 ranks: If your game uses the Suffocation environmental effect, you can hold your breath for 1 minute per point of Constitution, or for 1 [Round] per point of Constitution in a hard vacuum before you begin suffocating.
• 15 ranks: You are not damaged by even the most extreme environmental hazards, and automatically succeed on saves against environmental hazards.