This section describes each skill, including common uses and typical modifiers. Sometimes skills can be used for purposes not mentioned here (example, a bunch of pilotsmight be impressed by making a Pilot check).
Balance
You can keep your balance in situations that could otherwise make you fall, such as a narrow edge.
• Ability: Dex
• Load Check Penalty: Yes • Training: No
• Take 10 or 20: No
Check: You make a Balance check as part of a movement. A
successful check lets you move half your speed for 1 round, along a precarious surface. You can move at full speed with a Balance check if you take a -5 penalty and you can even make a run in that round if you take a -20 penalty on the check. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure for 5 or more means you fall. The DC of the Balance check varies with
the surface, as detailed in the tables above.
Note: The table presents Narrow Surfaces for medium sized creatures. For smaller sized creatures just reduce by half the value indicated on the table for each size reduction (example: a Balance check DC 15 represents a Narrow Surface of 3
– 6 inches wide for small creatures and a Narrow Surface of 1,5 – 3 inches wide for a tiny creature). For larger sized creatures double the value indicated on the table for each size increase (example: a Balance check DC 15 represents a Narrow Surface of 12 – 24 inches wide for large creatures and a Narrow Surface of 24 – 48 inches wide for huge
creatures).
Being attacked while Balancing: You are considered
flat-footed while balancing. If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while
balancing. If you take damage directly to your HP, while balancing, you must succeed on another Balance check against the same DC or fall either from the Narrow
Surface or fall prone on the Difficult Surface.
Resist Trip: If you have 8 or more ranks in Balance,
you can make a Balance check in place of a Strength or Dexterity check to avoid being tripped by an opponent. You take a -8 penalty on your Balance check. If you succeed you are not tripped and you may
not attempt to trip your opponent.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you
gain a +2 bonus on Climb checks.
Narrow Surface Balance DC
12 – 182 inches wide 10
6 – 12 inches wide 15
3 – 5 inches wide 20
Less than 3 inches wide 30
Difficult Surface Balance DC1
Uneven Terrain 12
Moving Surface 14
Violently Moving Surface 18
Surface Modifiers DC Modifier4
Lightly obscured (scree, light debris) +2 Severely obstructed (natural cavern floor, heavy debris) +5
Lightly slippery (wet floor) +2
Severely slippery (ice sheet) +5
Sloped or angle +2
Degrading Narrow Surface (unstable narrow surface, falling debris)3
+4
1. Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the creature can’t do so, but can otherwise act normally.
2. Above 21 inches no check is necessary but squeezing movement and combat rules apply if space is lower than 5 ft
3. Only applies to Narrow Surface 4. These modifiers stack
Biotics
You can identify biotic powers and understand how they work. This skill is also vital to all biotic users as it determines their power capabilities.
• Ability: Int
• Load Check Penalty: No • Training: No
• Take 10 or 20: No
Check: Use this skill to determine the effects
of an incoming biotic power or of one already in use. The typical DC for this check is 16 + number of specialization of the power. It requires no more than a free action to identify the power and you can even use this check during the round of an opponent, to identify any power he might be using.
Biotic users also need a certain number of ranks in this skill to be able to access biotic powers.
Try Again: Yes but only for powers that have a
duration other than instantaneous.
Bluff
You can make the outrageous or the untrue seem plausible, or use doublespeak to deliver a secret message to another character. The skill encompasses acting, conning, fast talking, misdirection, prevarication and misleading body language.
• Ability: Cha
• Load Check Penalty: No • Training: No
• Take 10 or 20: No
Check: A Bluff check is opposed by the target’s Sense Motive
check. A Bluff check made as part of a general interaction is at least a full-round action, but it can take much longer if you try something more elaborate.
Favorable and unfavorable circumstances weigh heavily on the outcome of a bluff. Two circumstances can weigh against you: The bluff is hard to believe, or the action that the target is asked to take goes against its self-interest, nature, personality, orders, or the like. If it’s important, the GM can distinguish between a bluff that fails
because the target doesn’t believe it and one that fails because it just asks too much of the target.
A successful Bluff check indicates that the target reacts as you wish, at least for a short time (usually 1 round or less) or believes something that you want it to believe. Bluff, however, is not a mind controlling effect. For example, you could use bluff to put a shopkeeper off guard by saying there is an object on the ground. At best, such a bluff would make the shopkeeper glance down. It would not cause him to ignore you and try topick up
the object.
A bluff requires interaction between you and the target. Creatures unaware of you cannot be bluffed.
Creating a Diversion to Hide: You can use the
Bluff skill to help you hide. A successful Bluff check gives you the momentary diversion
Circumstance Sense Motive modifier
Target wants to believe you -5
Bluff is believable and doesn’t affect the target much +0 Bluff is a little hard to believe or puts the target at risk +5 Bluff is hard to believe or puts the target at great risk +10 Bluff is almost too incredible to consider +20
you need to attempt a Hide check while people are aware of you.This usage does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Delivering a Secret Message: You can use Bluff to
get a message to another character without others understanding it. The DC is 15 for simple messages, or 22 for complex messages, especially those that rely on getting across new information. Failure by 4 or less means you can’t get the message across. Failure by 5 or more means that some false information has been implied or inferred. Anyone listening to the exchange can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the Bluff check you made in order to intercept your message.
Heckling: You can heckle a performer by taking 1
minute and making a Bluff check opposed by the performer’s Concentration check. If you win, the performer must make a new Perform check with a -2 penalty plus an additional -2 for every 5 points in which you won the opposed check. If you lose, the audience sides with the performer, who gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the Perform check for that performance. Some audience members might be unfriendly toward you if the performer’s Perform check is successful.You can only make one check to heckle during a given performance.
Feinting in Combat: You can also use Bluff to mislead an
opponent in melee combat (so that it can’t dodge your next attack effectively). To feint, make a Bluff check opposed by your target’s Sense Motive check, but in this case, the target adds its BAB to the roll along with any other applicable modifiers. If your Bluff check result exceeds this special Sense Motive check result, your target is denied its Dexterity bonus to Defense (if any) for the next melee attack you make against it. This attack must be made on your current turn.
Feinting in this way against a non-humanoid – such as an elcor – is difficult because it’s harder to read a strange creature’s body language; you take a –4 penalty on your Bluff check. Against a creature of animal Intelligence (1 or 2) it’s even harder; you take a –8 penalty. Against a non-intelligent creature, it’s impossible.
Feinting in combat does not provoke an attack of opportunity and requires an action. It can also be made as a part of an action in which you move at least 5 feet (can’t be made in 5-ft steps).You can try to feint more than one opponent by making other Bluff checks to feint other opponents. However, each opponent beyond 1st gains a +3 cumulative circumstance bonus on his Sense Motive check.
Try Again: Varies. Generally, a failed Bluff check in
social interaction makes the target too suspicious for you to try again in the same circumstances, but you may retry freely on Bluff checks made to feint in combat (can only make one feint for each target
in each round). Retries are also allowed when you are trying to send a message, but you may attempt such a retry only once per round. Each retry carries the same chance of miscommunication.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus
on Diplomacy,Intimidate and Sleight of Hand checks, as well as on Disguise checks made when acting in character.
Climb
This skill represents your ability to climb up or down walls or other similar vertical surfaces.
• Ability: Str
• Load Check Penalty: Yes • Training: No
• Take 10 or 20: only take 10
Check: With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down,
or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed.
A slope is considered to be incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.The DC of
Climb – Example Surface or Activity DC
A slope too steep to walk up, or a knotted rope with a wall to brace against
0 A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope 5 A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as very rough wall or a ship’s rigging
10 Any surface with adequate handhold’s and footholds (natural or artificial), such as a very rough natural rock surface or a tree, or an unknotted rope, or pulling yourself up when dangling by your hands
15 An uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a cavern
20 A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall 25 An overhand or ceiling with handholds but no footholds 25 A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface -
Example Surface or Activity Modifier to DC
Climbing a chimney (artificial or natural) or other location where you can brace against opposite walls
- 10 Climbing a corner where you can brace against a
perpendicular wall
- 5 Climbing at half speed instead of one-quarter speed + 5
Climbing at normal speed + 20
Climbing while retaining Dexterity bonus to AC + 20
the check depends on the conditions of the climb. Compare the task with those on the following table to determine an appropriate DC. Add to that DC any applicable modifier, as indicated on the previous table.
Taking other actions while climbing:You need both hands free to climb, but you may cling to a wall with one hand while you use a biotic power or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can’t move to avoid a blow, so you lose your Dexterity bonus to Defense (if any). You also can’t use a shield while climbing. However, you can take a -20 penalty on your Climb check and retain your Dexterity bonus to Defense while climbing.
Combat Climb: Any time you take damage directly to
your HP, while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage (see Environmental Hazardsfor more information on falling damage).
Making Your Own Handholds and Footholds: You can
make your own handholds and footholds by pounding pitons into a wall. Doing so takes 1 minute per piton, and one piton is needed per 3 feet of distance. As with any surface that offers handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it has a DC of 15.
Rappelling: You can use a rope and climbing gear to make a
rapid descent while climbing. You must have a climber’s kit, rope and at least 1 rank in Climb. While rappelling, you can descend at your base land speed down a wall of any surface type with a DC 10 Climb check, or you can take a full-round action to move twice your speed. You can take a full-round action to descend at 4 times your speed by making a DC 20 Climb check. You take normal DC modifiers for a slippery wall and trying to retain your Dexterity bonus to AC, and the DC increases by 10 if you have no wall to brace against.
Catching Yourself When Falling: It’s practically impossible to
catch yourself on a wall while falling. Make a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 20) to do so. It’s much easier to catch yourself on a slope (DC = slope’s DC + 10) or while rappelling (DC = DC to rappel + 10).
Catching a Falling Character While Climbing: If someone
climbing above you or adjacent to you falls, you can attempt to catch the falling character if he or she is within your reach. Doing so requires a successful melee touch attack against the falling character (though he or she can voluntarily forego any Dexterity bonus to Defense if desired). If you hit, you must immediately attempt a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 10). Success indicates that you catch the falling character, but his or her total weight, including equipment, cannot exceed your heavy load limit or you automatically fall. If you fail your Climb check by 4 or less, you fail to stop the character’s fall but don’t lose your grip on the wall. If you fail by 5 or more, you fail to stop the character’s fall and begin falling as well.
Action: Climbing is part of movement, so it’s generally part of an action
(and may be combined with other types of movement). Each action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. Catching
yourself or another falling character doesn’t take an action.
You can use a rope to haul a character upward (or lower a character) through sheer strength. You can lift double your maximum load in this manner.
A creature with a climb speed has a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC higher than 0, but it always can choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing. If a creature with a climb speed chooses an accelerated climb (see above), it moves at double its climb speed (or at its land speed, whichever is slower) and makes a single Climb check at a –5 penalty. Such a creature retains its Dexterity bonus to Defense (if any) while climbing and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It can use the Run action while climbing provided it runs in a single line.
Try Again: Yes
Concentration
You are particularly good at focusing your mind. • Ability: Con
• Load Check Penalty: No • Training: No
• Take 10 or 20: No
Check: You must make a Concentration check whenever
you might potentially be distracted (by taking damage, by harsh weather, and so on) while engaged in some action that requires your full attention. Such actions include hacking a computer terminal, maintaining a performance, disabling a bomb, piloting a ship and even talking with someone in a relaxed position. In general, if an action wouldn’t normally provoke an attack of opportunity, you don’t need to make
a Concentration check to avoid being distracted.
If the Concentration check succeeds, you may continue with the doing what you were doing as normal. If the check fails, you are forced to stop whatever you were doing, that required concentration, for 1 round or until the distraction has passed, whichever takes longer. For example, if you were in the process of hacking something but then someone annoying started speaking, you
simply stop the attempt but may continue after that person ceases talking (although, depending on what you were trying to hack, taking too long in the hacking
attempt might alert someone or completely shut the computer terminal).
The following table summarizes various types of distractions that cause you to make a Concentration check, and the DC of such check. If more than one type of distraction is present, make a check for each
that the task is not completed.
Making a Concentration check doesn’t take an action; it is either a free action (when attempted reactively) or part of another action (when attempted actively).
Being distracted by something doesn’t necessarily force you to stop doing whatever you were doing. If a heated argument in the CIC of a ship distracted the pilot and forced him to stop piloting the ship, then everyone would be in trouble. In that case the pilot can still force himself to pilot the ship, although the argument still causes some momentary distractions on him which reduces his performance.
Continued Distraction: In situations where you are being
continuously distracted (ex: an heated argument is occurring right next to you) but still wish to continue performing whatever action you were doing, you take a -1 penalty on all checks related to that action for one round. Each additional round the distracting source persists, you take an additional and cumulative -1 penalty. When this penalty makes you fail that which you were doing, then you are forced to stop (and you
should remove the distracting source, otherwise whenever you wish to do something that requires concentration, you take the entire penalty for continued distraction ever since it started).
Try Again: Yes, but only in the sense that you can be interrupted
several times while performing an action. If you are interrupted once, by failing a Concentration check, but later resume whatever you were doing, you can be distracted once again thus forcing you to make new Concentration checks while still performing the same action. Being interrupted several times doesn’t apply any sort of penalty but a continued distraction does (see above).
Special: Although combat can be quite distracting, the adrenaline
it pumps into one’s organism is enough to force him to concentrate on his action. Thus a character can dismantle a bomb right in the middle of a battlefield without penalty. If he takes damage, however, the action he is performing might be interrupted if taking damages does interrupt such action.
Class Skill: Concentration is considered as a class skill for all classes.
Damping
This skill represents one’s ability to disable an electronic system, or at least to negate its effects for a short period of time. It is especially
useful against security systems. • Ability: Int
• Load Check Penalty: No • Training: Yes
• Take 10 or 20: only take 10
• Prerequisites :Requires Electronics 4 ranks
Check: The time required to use this skill varies with the
difficulty of a given task as shown in the table below. Using this skill requires concentration on the task and interrupting it has a 50% chance of forcing one to start over, instead of just continue his work.
Remember that when you use this skill to shut down security