See also: Skills
Use this skill to scale a cliff, to get to a window on the second story of a building, or to climb up an antenna array after falling out of an airway at the bottom of a floating city.
Special: Someone using a rope can haul a character upward (or lower the character) by means or sheer strength. Use the Encumbrance rules to determine how much weight a character can lift. You can Take 10 when Climbing, but you can't Take 20.
Climb Surface[]
With each successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds). A slope is considered to be any incline of less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline of 60 degrees or steeper. You can climb at one-half of your Speed as a Full-Round Action. You can move half that far- one-fourth of your Speed- as a Move Action.
A failed Climb check indicates that you made no progress, and a check that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. The DC of the check depends on the circumstances of the climb:
| DC | EXAMPLE WALL OR SURFACE | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Slope too steep to walk up; knotted rope with a wall to brace against. | |
| 5 | Rope with a wall to brace against or a knotted rope, but not both. | |
| 10 | Surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall. | |
| 15 | Surface with adequate handholds and footholds (natural or artificial), such as a very rough natural rock surface or a tree; or an unknotted rope. | |
| 20 | Uneven surface with narrow handholds and footholds. | |
| 25 | Rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall. | |
| 25 | Overhanging or ceiling with handholds but no footholds. | |
| - | Perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface cannot be climbed. | |
| -10* | Climbing inside an air duct or other location where one can brace against two opposite walls (reduces normal DC by 10). | |
| -5* | Climbing a corner where you can brace against perpendicular walls (reduces normal DC by 5). | |
| +5* | Surface is slippery (increase normal DC by 5). |
*These modifiers are cumulative; use any that apply.
Since you can't move to avoid an attack while climbing, opponents get a +2 bonus on attack rolls against you, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to your Reflex Defense. Any time you take damage 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.
Accelerated Climbing[]
You can try to Climb more quickly than normal, but you take a -5 penalty on Climb checks. Accelerated Climbing allows you to Climb at your full Speed as a Full-Round Action. You can move half that far- one-half of your Speed- as a Move Action.
Catching Yourself When Falling[]
It's practically impossible to catch yourself while falling. Make a Climb check (DC = wall's DC + 20) to do so. A slope is relatively easier to catch yourself on (DC = slope's DC + 10).
Making Handholds and Footholds[]
You can make your own handholds and footholds by ponding pitons into a wall. Doing so takes 1 minute per piton, and one piton is needed per meter. As with any surface with handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it has a DC of 15. In the same way, a climber with an ice axe or similar implement can cut handholds or footholds in an ice wall.
Additional Climb Applications[]
The following applications of the Climb skill are compiled from the subsequent Reference Books released for Saga Edition:
Climbing in Low or High Gravity[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
When climbing in Low Gravity environments, Climb DCs are halved and movement is doubled. When climbing in High Gravity environments, DCs are doubled and Climb Speed is halved (minimum 1 square).
Extreme Conditions[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
Climbing in extreme conditions (high altitude, weather, temperature, or unusual climbing surfaces) brings additional challenges. Proper climbing and survival gear is required. Extreme conditions can increase the DC by 5 for each circumstance in addition to the regular DC modifiers. Specialized climbing gear can negate these penalties to Climb checks under those conditions; typically, such gear costs the same as a Field Kit.