Gymnastics
Typically used with: Agility.
In short: move or steady your body. An acrobat prefers this skill over most others. The gymnastics skill is used to determine a character's ability to balance, leap, cartwheel, dive, flip, tumble, somersault, kip-up, roll, and other acrobatic maneuvers.
Difficulty
The difficulty depends on the complexity of the action being performed and its setting.
Horizontal Jump
Leap across an open chasm or from rooftop to rooftop. The result of the skill check equals the number of feet the character can move. Thus, if a character rolls a 30, they can jump 30 feet. (For perspective, a world record for the long jump is 29.36 feet). Characters need a good running start to gain sufficient momentum to jump this far. If a sufficient distance is not completed, the GM should determine what impact it has on the distance. (For example, a record for standing long jump is a little over 12 feet. The GM may say that the result should be halved or thirded).
Vertical Jump
| DL | Feet |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1.25 |
| 10 | 2.5 |
| 15 | 3.75 |
| 20 | 5 |
| 25 | 6.25 |
| 30 | 7.5 |
Leap over a fence or out of a pit. The result of the skill check divided by 4 equals the number of feet the character can move vertically. Thus, if the character rolls a 30, they can jump 7.5 feet. (For perspective, the current world record for the high jump is 8.03 feet). Characters need a good running start to gain sufficient momentum to jump this high. If a sufficient distance is not completed, the GM should determine what impact it has on the distance. (For example, the record for the standing high jump is about 6 feet, so the GM may say that the result of the check divided by 5 equals the number of feet moved vertically).
Falling
Gymnastics can be used to soften a fall (for instance, by righting yourself in mid-air, grasping an awning, or tumbling properly once you land). You can subtract your entire Gymnastics check from the distance fallen. If there's anything left over, you can make a Guard check to turn some of the falling damage into steps down the Knockout Track. The rest comes straight out of your HP.
Other uses
| Example | DL |
|---|---|
| Kip up from the ground (1AP) | 15 |
| Tumbling under or over foes (roll for each if going past multiple foes) | 20 |
| Executing a flawless and impressive Olympic gymnastics routine | 30 |
| Landing a couple of cartwheels and a back-hand-spring on a tightrope while carrying a sword in one hand | 40 |
