I’ve been thinking about the Balance skill, and what it might mean in Echelon.
In Pathfinder, the Balance skill from the Revised System Reference Document got folded into the Acrobatics skill along with Jump and Tumble. Overall I think this was a good change for Pathfinder, I’m not so certain for Echelon. The relevant part of the skill description:
Check: You can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling. A successful check allows you to move at half speed across such surfaces—only one check is needed per round. Use the following table to determine the base DC, which is then modified by the Acrobatics skill modifiers noted below. While you are using Acrobatics in this way, you are considered flat-footed and lose your Dexterity bonus to your AC (if any). If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must immediately make another Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid falling or being knocked prone.
Surface Width Base Acrobatics DC Greater than 3 feet wide 0* 1-3 feet wide 5* 7-11 inches wide 10 2-6 inches wide 15 Less than 2 inches wide 20 * No Acrobatics check is needed to move across these surfaces unless the modifiers to the surface (below) increase the DC to 10 or higher.
Okay, fair enough. As you reach higher level and have more ranks in Balance Acrobatics you can more reliably walk on more narrow surfaces. This is frankly really boring. Let’s see what can be done.
You can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling.
Nice introduction and summary. Moving on.
A successful check allows you to move at half speed across such surfaces—only one check is needed per round.
One check per round, half speed. This means an unencumbered human moves fifteen feet (or thirty with a double move) every six seconds. I can see being able to move faster as a viable improvement to higher skill training (higher-tier Talent).
Use the following table to determine the base DC, which is then modified by the Acrobatics skill modifiers noted below. While you are using Acrobatics in this way, you are considered flat-footed and lose your Dexterity bonus to your AC (if any).
Not being flatfooted (able to make attacks of opportunity) and retaining your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class are also good improvements for higher tiers.
If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must immediately make another Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid falling or being knocked prone.
This looks like a general rule and worth keeping as-is. I may change my mind later.
There are also modifiers for different circumstances (slope, slippery or unstable surfaces, and so on) I haven’t shown here. It might be worth waiving some of them (such as slopes or unstable surfaces) at higher tiers, but that might be handled by the higher check modifiers.
I don’t want to just crank the modifiers, though, and let that account for everything. First, that means that high-level characters can do everything lower-level but trained characters can, and I don’t like that, I want there to be benefits to training that can’t be simply gained through experience. Second, I want there to be qualitative differences; I don’t want bigger numbers, I want new options.
Iron Heroes has the concept of ‘skill challenges’ where you can increase your check DC (or take a penalty to your check — usually effectively the same thing) to aim for greater effect. The description of the Balance skill there includes the following challenges:
Accelerated Movement: You can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If you increase the Difficulty Class by 5, you can move your full speed as a move action. Moving twice your speed in a round requires the penalty plus two Balance checks, one for each move action used. You may also accept this penalty in order to charge across a precarious surface; charging requires one Balance check for each multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof) that you charge.
Perfect Balance: In return for increasing the Balance DC by 5, you can move with such grace and agility that you maintain your active bonus to defense while balancing on a narrow surface.
Perilous Balance: If your DM judges it feasible, you can shake or disturb the object that you must balance upon. If your check succeeds after you increase the Balance Difficulty Class by 5, you keep your balance and inflict a +5 modifier to the Difficulty Classes of all Balance checks that others must make on this surface until your next turn. For example, you could bounce and sway on a tightrope to knock others off of it.
Any of these might be appropriate, but I think perhaps the talent might grant the effects for free at different tiers.
Accelerated Movement might be a good ability for the Expert tier, being able to move at normal speed while balancing, with one check per multiple of base movement in the round. This means one check for a single move action, two checks for a double move, three or more when running. If you have the talent at the Expert tier or higher you take no penalty, if you don’t have the talent at the Expert tier or higher you take a -4 penalty to all such checks. [I thought about having no penalty for everyone, since the Basic tier already gives a +4 bonus, but that means this ability doesn’t actually add anything at the Expert tier.]
Perfect Balance looks like a good option for the Heroic tier, maintaining Dexterity bonus to Armor Class and not being flatfooted when Balancing — but the character still needs to make a Balance check each round. I probably wouldn’t grant this one to characters without the talent at the Heroic tier or higher, but might change my mind later.
Perilous Balance, on the other hand, doesn’t look to me like it’s worth making a distinct ability, I think it might be a regular challenge — add 4 to the Difficulty Class of the Balance check to make things more difficult for everyone.
This still feels a little light to me. Useful abilities, but far from fantastic. The skill as published accounts for width and surface conditions, and Iron Heroes challenges suggest some additional abilities, but I want a bit more.
What about surface materials? At the Expert tier things are normal. At the Heroic tier you can Balance on anything solid (even if technically it shouldn’t support your weight — you could balance on top of a blackberry bush, or on top of a banner fluttering in the wind (higher Difficulty Class because of the unstable surface) or liquid (walking on water). At the Master tier you can balance on particulates (smoke or mist). [I originally had balancing on liquids and particulates a tier higher, but I think those might be out of line power-wise; being able to walk on water at Heroic tier — which wizards can fly, remember — feels pretty good.]
