Athletics

Main > Skills > Athletics

Athletics allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess.

Climb

StrMove ActionCompromising
Requirements: You have both hands free.

You move up, down, or across an incline. Unless it’s particularly easy, you must attempt an Athletics check. You only need to roll Climb for movement once per round.

Anytime you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall.

Climb Tasks	DC
Ladder, steep slope, low-branched tree	01
Rigging, typical tree	51
Unknotted rope	10
Wall with small handholds and footholds	20
Ceiling with handholds and footholds, rock wall, brick wall	25
An overhang or ceiling with handholds but no footholds, or a typical city wall	30
Surface is slippery	+5
Knotted rope	-5
Rope against wall	-5
Climbing a corner where you can brace against perpendicular walls.	-5
Climbing a chimney (artificial or natural) or other location where you can brace against two opposite walls.	-10

¹No Athletics check is needed to climb unless the DC is 5 or higher, or you want to try and move faster than quarter speed.

Success 5+: You move up, across, or safely down the surface at half speed.

Success: You move up, across, or safely down the surface at quarter speed, and you’re flat-footed.

Failure: Unable to move, and you’re flat-footed.

Failure 5-: You fall. If you began the climb on stable ground, you fall and land prone.

Climb Speed: If you have a climb speed you get +8 to Climb checks, move your climb Speed instead of whatever is rolled, and is not flat-footed while climbing. You can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing.

Example DCs:

DC 0: Climb a knotted rope against a wall.

DC 5: Climb an unknotted rope against a wall.

DC 5: Climb an knotted rope.

DC 15: Climb a brick wall chimney.

Force Open

StrStandard ActionCompromising

Using your body, a lever, or some other tool, you attempt to forcefully open a door, window, container or heavy gate. With a high enough result, you can even smash through walls. Without a crowbar, prying something open takes a –2 item penalty to the Athletics check to Force Open.

Surface	DC
simple door, wooden portcullis	15
good door	20
strong door, metal bar	25
stone or iron door, iron portcullis	30
masonry wall (1 ft. thick)	35
hewn stone (3 ft. thick)	50

Success: You break the door, window, container, or gate open, and the door, window, container, or gate gains the broken condition. If it’s especially sturdy, it take damage but not be broken.

Failure: You fail to force the object open.

High Jump

StrMove ActionCompromising

Move at least 10 feet in a straight line, then make a vertical Leap and attempt an Athletics check. Divide the check by 4 to get the number of feet leaped. If you didn’t move at least 10 feet, divide by 8 instead.

High Jump	Running Start DC	Standing Start DC
1 foot	4	8
2 feet	8	16
2.5 feet	10	20
Greater than 2 feet	+4 per 1 feet	+8 per 1 feet

If you jumped up to grab something, a successful check indicates that you reached the desired height. If you wish to pull yourself up, you can do so with a move action and a DC 15 Climb check (reduced to DC 10 if you only need half your reach (4 ft. for medium size)).

Creature Size	Vertical Reach
per size larger	double reach per size
Medium	8 ft.
Small	4 ft.
per size smaller	half reach per size

Success: Jump the desired height.

Failure: Jump as high as your check allows you.

Example DCs:

DC 10: Jump onto a 2.5 ft. table from a running start.

DC 20: Jump onto a 2.5 ft. table from a standing start.

Long Jump

StrMove ActionCompromising

Move at least 10 feet in a straight line, then make a horizontal Leap and attempt an Athletics check. Leap a number of feet equal to the check. If you didn’t move at least 10 feet, leap half the distance instead.

You can’t Leap farther than twice times your Speed per move action. If you have insufficient movement to complete the jump, you end your movement in the air, and must spend future move actions to finish the jump.

High Jump	Running Start DC	Standing Start DC
5 feet	5	10
10 feet	10	20
Greater than 10 feet	+5 per 5 feet	+10 per 5 feet

Success: You land on your feet at the far end.

Failure: You don’t clear the distance, but you can make a DC 15 Reflex save to grab the far edge of the gap. You end your movement grasping the far edge. If that leaves you dangling over a chasm or gap, getting up requires a move action and a DC 15 Climb check.

Failure 5-: Jump as high as far as your check allows you.

Example DCs:

DC 10: Jump 10 feet after a running start, jump 5 feet after a standing start.

DC 20: Jump 20 feet after a running start, jump 10 feet after a standing start.

Swim

StrMove ActionCompromising

You propel yourself through water. Unless it’s particularly easy, you must attempt an Athletics check. You only need to roll Swim for movement once per round.

If you end your turn in water and haven’t succeeded at a Swim action that turn, you sink 5 feet. However, if your last action on your turn was to enter the water, you don’t sink or move with the current that turn.

Water	DC
calm water	10
rough water	15
stormy water, rapids	20

If you are underwater, either because you failed a Swim check or because you are swimming underwater intentionally, you must hold your breath. You can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to twice your Constitution score, but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is reduced by 1 round. After that period of time, you must make a DC 10 Constitution check every round to continue holding your breath. Each round, the DC for that check increases by 1. If you fail the Constitution check, you begin to drown.

Success 10+: Swim half your speed.

Success: Swim one quarter of your speed, and you’re flat-footed.

Failure: You fail to move, and you’re flat-footed. If there is a current you move with it.

Failure 5-: You fail to move and sink 5 feet. If there is a current you move with it.

Swim Speed: A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered when swimming. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line.

Open Gaming License Version 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Open Gaming Content On This Page From:

System Reference Document

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook

Pathfinder 2: Core Rulebook