Climb

A character with the Climb skill can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) at one-quarter of normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more. Attempting a climb that requires a grade higher than your character has results in no progress. Attempting a climb that requires more than 1 grade higher than your character has results in a fall from whatever height has been attained so far. A climber's kit gives you 1 grade to Climb.

Difficulty Grades

 * Grade 1: A slope too steep to walk up, or a knotted rope with a wall to brace against.
 * Grade 2: A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell.
 * Grade 3: A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship’s rigging.
 * Grade 4: An uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a dungeon or ruins. Any surface with adequate handholds 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.
 * Grade 5: A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall, an overhang or ceiling with handholds but no footholds.

A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface cannot be climbed.

You need both hands free to climb, but you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can’t move to avoid a blow. You also can’t use a shield while climbing.

Accelerated Climbing
You try to climb more quickly than normal. By accepting a -1 penalty to your Climb grade, you can move half your speed (instead of one-quarter your speed). If taking the penalty makes you unable to climb what you were attempting to climb, you instead make no progress.

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 meter of distance. As with any surface that offers handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it requires a Climb grade of 4. In the same way, a climber with a handaxe or similar implement can cut handholds in an ice wall.

Catching Yourself When Falling
It’s practically impossible to catch yourself on a wall while falling and requires 5 grades in Climb. It’s much easier to catch yourself on a slope, only requiring 3 grades.

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 3 grades in Climb. 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 by 1 grad or less, you fail to stop the character’s fall but don’t lose your grip on the wall. If you fail by 2 or more, you fail to stop the character’s fall and begin falling as well.

Special Considerations

 * 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 halfling has a +1 racial bonus toClimb grade because halflings are agile and surefooted. You must still expend at least one Skill point at character creation or learn the skill before this bonus applies.
 * The master of a lizard familiar gains a +1 bonus to Climb grade. You must still expend at least one Skill point at character creation or learn the skill before this bonus applies.
 * If you have theAthletic feat, you get a +1 bonus to Climb grade. You must still expend at least one Skill point at character creation or learn the skill before this bonus applies.
 * A creature with a climb speed has a +3 racial bonus to Climb grade. If a creature with a climb speed chooses an accelerated climb, it moves at double its climb speed (or at its land speed, whichever is slower). Opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing.
 * If you have 2 or more grades in Use Rope, you get a +1 bonus to Climb grade when trying to climb a rope, a knotted rope, or a rope-and-wall combination.