Skills
 
APPRAISE (INT)
Check: You can appraise common or well-known objects with a DC 12 Appraise check. Failure means that you estimate the value at 50% to 150% (2d6+3 times 10%,) of its actual value.
Appraising a rare or exotic item requires a successful check against DC 15, 20, or higher. If the check is successful, you estimate the value correctly; failure means you cannot estimate the item’s value.
A magnifying glass gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Appraise checks involving any item that is small or highly detailed, such as a gem. A merchant’s scale gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Appraise checks involving any items that are valued by weight, including anything made of precious metals.
These bonuses stack.
Action: Appraising an item takes 1 minute (ten consecutive full-round actions).
Try Again: No. You cannot try again on the same object, regardless of success.
Special: A character with the Diligent feat gets a +2 bonus on Appraise checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 ranks in any Craft skill, you gain a +2 bonus on Appraise checks related to items made with that Craft skill.
Untrained: For common items, failure on an untrained check means no estimate. For rare items, success means an estimate of 50% to 150% (2d6+3 times 10%).

AUTOHYPNOSIS (WIS; TRAINED ONLY)
Check: The DC and effect depend on the task attempted.

Task                           DC
Resist fear                    15
Memorize                    13
Ignore caltrop wound   13
Tolerate poison             Poison’s DC
Willpower                    15

Resist Fear: In response to a fear effect, the character can make an Autohypnosis check on his or her next round even if overcome by fear. A successful check grants another saving throw with a +4 morale bonus to resist the fear effect.
Memorize: The character can attempt to memorize a long string of numbers, a long passage of verse, or other particularly difficult piece of information (but can’t memorize magical spells or similarly exotic scripts). Each successful check allows the character to memorize up to 800 words (or strange sigils or numbers that would fill one piece of regular parchment, though multiple checks allow the character to remember multiples of 800). A character always retain this information; however, he or she can only recall it with another successful Autohypnosis check.
Ignore Caltrop Wound: If the character is wounded by stepping on a caltrop, his or her speed is reduced to one-half of normal. A successful Autohypnosis check removes this movement penalty for a period of 10 minutes. The wound doesn’t go away - it is just ignored through self-persuasion.
Tolerate Poison: In response to being poisoned, the character can make an Autohypnosis check on his or her next action. A successful check grants a +4 morale bonus on the saving throw to resist the poison’s secondary damage.
Willpower: If reduced to 0 hit points (staggered), the character may make an Autohypnosis check. If successful, he or she can take a normal action while at 0 hit points without taking 1 point of damage. The character must make a check for each strenuous action taken. A failed willpower check carries no penalties other than failure—the character can choose not to take that strenuous action. If the character does so anyway, he or she drops to –1 hit points.
Retry: See above.

BALANCE (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: You can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface, as follows:

Narrow Surface             Balance DC*       Difficult Surface          Balance DC*
7–12 inches wide             10                         Uneven flagstone            10**
2–6 inches wide               15                         Hewn stone floor            10**
Less than 2 inches wide    20                         Sloped or angled floor    10**
* Add modifiers from Narrow Surface Modifiers, below, as appropriate.
** Only if running or charging. Failure by 4 or less means the character can’t run or charge, but may otherwise act normally.

Narrow Surface Modifiers   

Surface                       DC Modifier*
Lightly obstructed        +2
Severely obstructed     +5
Lightly slippery            +2
Severely slippery         +5
Sloped or angled         +2
*Add the appropriate modifier to the Balance DC of a narrow surface.
These modifiers stack.

Being Attacked while Balancing: You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing. If you take damage while balancing, you must make another Balance check against the same DC to remain standing.
Accelerated Movement: You can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If you accept a –5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. (Moving twice your speed in a round requires 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.
Action: None. A Balance check doesn’t require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation.
Special: If you have the Agile feat, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Balance checks.

BLUFF (CHA)
Check: A Bluff check is opposed by the target’s Sense Motive check. See the accompanying table for examples of different kinds of bluffs and the modifier to the target’s Sense Motive check for each one.
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, you 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. For instance, if the target gets a +10 bonus on its Sense Motive check because the bluff demands something risky, and the Sense Motive check succeeds by 10 or less, then the target didn’t so much see through the bluff as prove reluctant to go along with it. A target that succeeds by 11 or more has seen through the bluff.
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 suggestion spell.
A bluff requires interaction between you and the target. Creatures unaware of you cannot be bluffed.
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 may add its base attack bonus 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 AC (if any) for the next melee attack you make against it. This attack must be made on or before your next turn.
Feinting in this way against a nonhumanoid 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 nonintelligent creature, it’s impossible.
Feinting in combat does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Creating a Diversion to Hide: You can use the Bluff skill to help you hide. A successful Bluff check gives you the momentary diversion 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 across to another character without others understanding it. The DC is 15 for simple messages, or 20 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 to transmit in order to intercept your message (see Sense Motive).
Action: Varies. A Bluff check made as part of general interaction always takes at least 1 round (and is at least a full-round action), but it can take much longer if you try something elaborate. A Bluff check made to feint in combat or create a diversion to hide is a standard action. A Bluff check made to deliver a secret message doesn’t take an action; it is part of normal communication.
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. 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.
Special: If you have the Persuasive feat, you get a +2 bonus on Bluff checks.
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 you know you’re being observed and you try to act in character.

Bluff Examples

Example Circumstances                                                            Sense Motive Modifier
The target wants to believe you.                                                    -5
The bluff is believable and doesn’t affect the target much.               +0
The bluff is a little hard to believe or puts the target at some risk.    +5
The bluff is hard to believe or puts the target at significant risk.       +10
The bluff is way out there, almost too incredible to consider.          +20

CLIMB (STR; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
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 any 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.
A climber’s kit gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks.
The DC of the check depends on the conditions of the climb. Compare the task with those on the following table to determine an appropriate DC.

Climb DC     Example Surface or Activity
0                   A slope too steep to walk up, or a knotted rope with a wall to brace against.
5                   A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell.
10                 A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship’s rigging.
15                 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.
20                An uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a dungeon or ruins.
25                A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall.
25                An overhang or ceiling with handholds but no footholds.
--                 A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface cannot be climbed.

Climb DC Modifier*     Example Surface or Activity
-10          &                     Climbing a chimney (artificial or natural) or other location where you can brace against two opposite walls (reduces DC by 10).
-5                                 Climbing a corner where you can brace against perpendicular walls (reduces DC by 5).
+5                                Surface is slippery (increases DC by 5).
*These modifiers are cumulative; use any that apply.

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, so you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). You also can’t use a shield while climbing.
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 try to climb more quickly than normal. By accepting a –5 penalty, you can move half your speed (instead of one-quarter your speed).
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. 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. 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).
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 AC 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 a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. Catching yourself or another falling character doesn’t take an action.
Special: 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.
If you have the Athletic feat, you get a +2 bonus on Climb checks.
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 Armor Class (if any) while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a +2 bonus on Climb checks made to climb a rope, a knotted rope, or a rope-and-wall combination.

CONCENTRATION (CON)
Check: A character can make a Concentration check to manifest a psionic power despite distractions, such as taking damage or getting hit by an unfriendly spell. A character can also use this skill to maintain focus on things other than psionic powers.
The accompanying table summarizes the various types of distractions that cause a character to make a Concentration check while manifesting a psionic power. “Power level” refers to the level of the power the character is trying to manifest.

Task: Injury or a failed saving throw during the manifestation (for powers with a manifesting time of 1 full round or more) or injury by an attack of opportunity or readied attack made in response to the power being manifested (for powers with a manifesting time of 1 action).
DC: 10 + damage dealt + power level

Task: Suffering continous damage.
DC: 10 + half of continous damage last dealt + 10 level

Task: Damaged by psionic power.
DC: 10 + damage dealt + power level.

Task: Distracted by nondamaging power.
DC: Distracting power's save DC + power level (if the power allows no save, use the DC it would have if it did allow a save).

DC:                       Task:
20 + power level    Grappling or pinned.
10 + power level    Vigorous motion (on a moving mount, bouncing wagon, boat in rough water, belowdecks in a storm-tossed ship).
15 + power level    Violent motion (galloping horse, very rough wagon ride, boat in rapids, on deck of a storm-tossed ship).
20 + power level    Affected by improved telekinesis (or earthquake spell).
10 + power level    Weather is wind-driven hail, dust, or debris.
15 + power level    Manifesting defensively (so as not to provoke attacks of opportunity).
5 + power level      Weather is a high wind carrying blinding rain or sleet.
15                          Caster entangled by a net, snare, tanglefoot bag, or power or spell that similarly entangles the manifester.

Retry: Yes, though a success doesn’t cancel the effects of a previous failure, which almost always is the loss of the power being manifested or the disruption of the power being concentrated on.
Special: A character with the Combat Manifestation feat gets a +4 bonus on Concentration checks made to manifest a power while on the defensive.

CRAFT (INT)
Like Knowledge, Perform, and Profession, Craft is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Craft skills, each with its own ranks, each purchased as a separate skill.
A Craft skill is specifically focused on creating something. If nothing is created by the endeavor, it probably falls under the heading of a Profession skill.
Check: You can practice your trade and make a decent living, earning about half your check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. You know how to use the tools of your trade, how to perform the craft’s daily tasks, how to supervise untrained helpers, and how to handle common problems. (Untrained laborers and assistants earn an average of 1 silver piece per day.)
The basic function of the Craft skill, however, is to allow you to make an item of the appropriate type. The DC depends on the complexity of the item to be created. The DC, your check results, and the price of the item determine how long it takes to make a particular item. The item’s finished price also determines the cost of raw materials.
In some cases, the fabricate spell can be used to achieve the results of a Craft check with no actual check involved. However, you must make an appropriate Craft check when using the spell to make articles requiring a high degree of craftsmanship.
A successful Craft check related to woodworking in conjunction with the casting of the ironwood spell enables you to make wooden items that have the strength of steel.
When casting the spell minor creation, you must succeed on an appropriate Craft check to make a complex item.
All crafts require artisan’s tools to give the best chance of success. If improvised tools are used, the check is made with a –2 circumstance penalty. On the other hand, masterwork artisan’s tools provide a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
To determine how much time and money it takes to make an item, follow these steps.
1. Find the item’s price. Put the price in silver pieces (1 gp = 10 sp).
2. Find the DC from the table below.
3. Pay one-third of the item’s price for the cost of raw materials.
4. Make an appropriate Craft check representing one week’s work. If the check succeeds, multiply your check result by the DC. If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in sp, then you have completed the item. (If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you’ve completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time. Other multiples of the DC reduce the time in the same manner.) If the result × the DC doesn’t equal the price, then it represents the progress you’ve made this week. Record the result and make a new Craft check for the next week. Each week, you make more progress until your total reaches the price of the item in silver pieces.
If you fail a check by 4 or less, you make no progress this week.
If you fail by 5 or more, you ruin half the raw materials and have to pay half the original raw material cost again.
Progress by the Day: You can make checks by the day instead of by the week. In this case your progress (check result × DC) is in copper pieces instead of silver pieces.
Creating Masterwork Items: You can make a masterwork item—a weapon, suit of armor, shield, or tool that conveys a bonus on its use through its exceptional craftsmanship. To create a masterwork item, you create the masterwork component as if it were a separate item in addition to the standard item. The masterwork component has its own price (300 gp for a weapon or 150 gp for a suit of armor or a shield) and a Craft DC of 20. Once both the standard component and the masterwork component are completed, the masterwork item is finished. Note: The cost you pay for the masterwork component is one-third of the given amount, just as it is for the cost in raw materials.
Repairing Items: Generally, you can repair an item by making checks against the same DC that it took to make the item in the first place. The cost of repairing an item is one-fifth of the item’s price.
Action: Does not apply. Craft checks are made by the day or week (see above).
Try Again: Yes, but each time you miss by 5 or more, you ruin half the raw materials and have to pay half the original raw material cost again.
Special: You may voluntarily add +10 to the indicated DC to craft an item. This allows you to create the item more quickly (since you’ll be multiplying this higher DC by your Craft check result to determine progress). You must decide whether to increase the DC before you make each weekly or daily check.
To make an item using Craft (alchemy), you must have alchemical equipment and be a spellcaster. If you are working in a city, you can buy what you need as part of the raw materials cost to make the item, but alchemical equipment is difficult or impossible to come by in some places. Purchasing and maintaining an alchemist’s lab grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks because you have the perfect tools for the job, but it does not affect the cost of any items made using the skill.
Synergy: If you have 5 ranks in a Craft skill, you get a +2 bonus on Appraise checks related to items made with that Craft skill.

DECIPHER SCRIPT (INT; TRAINED ONLY)
Check: You can decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic form. The base DC is 20 for the simplest messages, 25 for standard texts, and 30 or higher for intricate, exotic, or very old writing.
If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing about one page long (or the equivalent). If the check fails, make a DC 5 Wisdom check to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text. (Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; failure means that you do.)
Both the Decipher Script check and (if necessary) the Wisdom check are made secretly, so that you can’t tell whether the conclusion you draw is true or false.
Action: Deciphering the equivalent of a single page of script takes 1 minute (ten consecutive full-round actions).
Try Again: No.
Special: A character with the Diligent feat gets a +2 bonus on Decipher Script checks.

DIPLOMACY (CHA)
Check: You can change the attitudes of others (nonplayer characters) with a successful Diplomacy check; see the Influencing NPC Attitudes sidebar, below, for basic DCs. In negotiations, participants roll opposed Diplomacy checks, and the winner gains the advantage. Opposed checks also resolve situations when two advocates or diplomats plead opposite cases in a hearing before a third party.
Action: Changing others’ attitudes with Diplomacy generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive full-round actions). In some situations, this time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed Diplomacy check can be made as a full-round action, but you take a –10 penalty on the check.
Try Again: Optional, but not recommended because retries usually do not work. Even if the initial Diplomacy check succeeds, the other character can be persuaded only so far, and a retry may do more harm than good. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly committed to his position, and a retry is futile.
Special: A half-elf has a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks.
If you have the Negotiator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), or Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.

INFLUENCING NPC ATTITUDES
Use the table below to determine the effectiveness of Diplomacy checks (or Charisma checks) made to influence the attitude of a nonplayer character, or wild empathy checks made to influence the attitude of an animal or magical beast.

Initial Attitude  ————— New Attitude (DC to achieve) ———————
                          Hostile               Unfriendly         Indifferent       Friendly         Helpful
Hostile                Less than  20     20                    25                  35                  50
Unfriendly           Less than 5        5                      15                  25                  40
Indifferent           —                     Less than 1       1                    15                  30
Friendly              —                     —                    Less than 1     1                    20
Helpful               —                     —                     —                  Less than 1     1

Attitude       Means                                   Possible Actions
Hostile          Will take risks to hurt you        Attack, interfere, berate, flee
Unfriendly     Wishes you ill                          Mislead, gossip, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult
Indifferent      Doesn’t much care                 Socially expected interaction
Friendly        Wishes you well                      Chat, advise, offer limited help, advocate
Helpful          Will take risks to help you       Protect, back up, heal, aid

DISABLE DEVICE (INT; TRAINED ONLY)
Check: The Disable Device check is made secretly, so that you don’t necessarily know whether you’ve succeeded.
The DC depends on how tricky the device is. Disabling (or rigging or jamming) a fairly simple device has a DC of 10; more intricate and complex devices have higher DCs.
If the check succeeds, you disable the device. If it fails by 4 or less, you have failed but can try again. If you fail by 5 or more, something goes wrong. If the device is a trap, you spring it. If you’re attempting some sort of sabotage, you think the device is disabled, but it still works normally.
You also can rig simple devices such as saddles or wagon wheels to work normally for a while and then fail or fall off some time later (usually after 1d4 rounds or minutes of use).

Device      Time              Disable Device DC*    Example
Simple      1 round           10                               Jam a lock
Tricky      1d4 rounds      15                               Sabotage a wagon wheel
Difficult     2d4 rounds      20                              Disarm a trap, reset a trap
Wicked    2d4 rounds      25                              Disarm a complex trap, cleverly sabotage a clockwork device
*If you attempt to leave behind no trace of your tampering, add 5 to the DC.

Action: The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task, as noted above. Disabling a simple device takes 1 round and is a full-round action. An intricate or complex device requires 1d4 or 2d4 rounds.
Try Again: Varies. You can retry if you have missed the check by 4 or less, though you must be aware that you have failed in order to try again.
Special: If you have the Nimble Fingers feat, you get a +2 bonus on Disable Device checks.
An engineer who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more can study the trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (along with her companions) without disarming it.

OTHER WAYS TO BEAT A TRAP
It’s possible to ruin many traps without making a Disable Device check.
Ranged Attack Traps: Once a trap’s location is known, the obvious way to ruin it is to smash the mechanism—assuming the mechanism can be accessed. Failing that, it’s possible to plug up the holes from which the projectiles emerge. Doing this prevents the trap from firing unless its ammunition does enough damage to break through the plugs.
Melee Attack Traps: These devices can be thwarted by smashing the mechanism or blocking the weapons, as noted above. Alternatively, if a character studies the trap as it triggers, he might be able to time his dodges just right to avoid damage. A character who is doing nothing but studying a trap when it first goes off gains a +4 dodge bonus against its attacks if it is triggered again within the next minute.
Pits: Disabling a pit trap generally ruins only the trapdoor, making it an uncovered pit. Filling in the pit or building a makeshift bridge across it is an application of manual labor, not the Disable Device skill. Characters could neutralize any spikes at the bottom of a pit by attacking them—they break just as daggers do.

DISGUISE (CHA)
Check: Your Disguise check result determines how good the disguise is, and it is opposed by others’ Spot check results. If you don’t draw any attention to yourself, others do not get to make Spot checks. If you come to the attention of people who are suspicious (such as a guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate), it can be assumed that such observers are taking 10 on their Spot checks.
You get only one Disguise check per use of the skill, even if several people are making Spot checks against it. The Disguise check is made secretly, so that you can’t be sure how good the result is.
The effectiveness of your disguise depends in part on how much you’re attempting to change your appearance.

Disguise                                             Disguise Check Modifier
Minor details only                                 +5
Disguised as different gender*               –2
Disguised as different race*                  –2
Disguised as different age category*     –2**
*These modifiers are cumulative; use any that apply.
**Per step of difference between your actual age category and your disguised age category. The steps are: young (younger than adulthood), adulthood, middle age, old, and venerable.

If you are impersonating a particular individual, those who know what that person looks like get a bonus on their Spot checks according to the table below. Furthermore, they are automatically considered to be suspicious of you, so opposed checks are always called for.

Familiarity                 Viewer’s Spot Check Bonus
Recognizes on sight       +4
Friends or associates    +6
Close friends                +8
Intimate                       +10

Usually, an individual makes a Spot check to see through your disguise immediately upon meeting you and each hour thereafter. If you casually meet many different creatures, each for a short time, check once per day or hour, using an average Spot modifier for the group.
Action: Creating a disguise requires 1d3×10 minutes of work.
Try Again: Yes. You may try to redo a failed disguise, but once others know that a disguise was attempted, they’ll be more suspicious.
Special: If you have the Deceitful feat, you get a +2 bonus on Disguise checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Disguise checks when you know that you’re being observed and you try to act in character.

ESCAPE ARTIST (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: The table below gives the DCs to escape various forms of restraints.
Ropes: Your Escape Artist check is opposed by the binder’s Use Rope check. Since it’s easier to tie someone up than to escape from being tied up, the binder gets a +10 bonus on his or her check.
Manacles and Masterwork Manacles: The DC for manacles is set by their construction.
Tight Space: The DC noted on the table is for getting through a space where your head fits but your shoulders don’t. If the space is long you may need to make multiple checks. You can’t get through a space that your head does not fit through.
Grappler: You can make an Escape Artist check opposed by your enemy’s grapple check to get out of a grapple or out of a pinned condition (so that you’re only grappling).

Restraint                      Escape Artist DC
Ropes                            Binder’s Use Rope check at +10
Net                                20
Manacles                       30
Tight space                    30
Masterwork manacles    35
Grappler                        Grappler’s grapple check result

Action: Making an Escape Artist check to escape from rope bindings, manacles, or other restraints (except a grappler) requires 1 minute of work. Escaping from a net or an animate rope, command plants, control plants, or entangle spell is a full-round action. Escaping from a grapple or pin is a standard action. Squeezing through a tight space takes at least 1 minute, maybe longer, depending on how long the space is.
Try Again: Varies. You can make another check after a failed check if you’re squeezing your way through a tight space, making multiple checks. If the situation permits, you can make additional checks, or even take 20, as long as you’re not being actively opposed.
Special: If you have the Agile feat, you get a +2 bonus on Escape Artist checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Escape Artist, you get a +2 bonus on Use Rope checks to bind someone.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a +2 bonus on Escape Artist checks when escaping from rope bonds.

FORGERY (INT)
Check: Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged, enough light or sufficient visual acuity to see the details of what you’re writing, wax for seals (if appropriate), and some time. To forge a document on which the handwriting is not specific to a person (military orders, a government decree, a business ledger, or the like), you need only to have seen a similar document before, and you gain a +8 bonus on your check. To forge a signature, you need an autograph of that person to copy, and you gain a +4 bonus on the check. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of that person’s handwriting is needed.
The Forgery check is made secretly, so that you’re not sure how good your forgery is. As with Disguise, you don’t even need to make a check until someone examines the work. Your Forgery check is opposed by the Forgery check of the person who examines the document to check its authenticity. The examiner gains modifiers on his or her check if any of the conditions on the table below exist.

Condition                                                          Reader’s Forgery Check Modifie
Type of document unknown to reader                 –2
Type of document somewhat known to reader    +0
Type of document well known to reader             +2
Handwriting not known to reader                        –2
Handwriting somewhat known to reader             +0
Handwriting intimately known to reader              +2
Reader only casually reviews the document         –2

A document that contradicts procedure, orders, or previous knowledge, or one that requires sacrifice on the part of the person checking the document can increase that character’s suspicion (and thus create favorable circumstances for the checker’s opposing Forgery check).
Action: Forging a very short and simple document takes about 1 minute. A longer or more complex document takes 1d4 minutes per page.
Try Again: Usually, no. A retry is never possible after a particular reader detects a particular forgery. But the document created by the forger might still fool someone else. The result of a Forgery check for a particular document must be used for every instance of a different reader examining the document. No reader can attempt to detect a particular forgery more than once; if that one opposed check goes in favor of the forger, then the reader can’t try using his own skill again, even if he’s suspicious about the document.
Special: If you have the Deceitful feat, you get a +2 bonus on Forgery checks.
Restriction: Forgery is language-dependent; thus, to forge documents and detect forgeries, you must be able to read and write the language in question. A barbarian can’t learn the Forgery skill unless he has learned to read and write.

GATHER INFORMATION (CHA)
Check: An evening’s time, buying drinks and making friends, and a DC 10 Gather Information check get you a general idea of a city’s major news items, assuming there are no obvious reasons why the information would be withheld. The higher your check result, the better the information.
If you want to find out about a specific rumor, or a specific item, or obtain a map, or do something else along those lines, the DC for the check is 15 to 25, or even higher.
Action: A typical Gather Information check takes 1d4+1 hours.
Try Again: Yes, but it takes time for each check. Furthermore, you may draw attention to yourself if you repeatedly pursue a certain type of information.
Special: If you have the Investigator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (local), you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.

HEAL (WIS)
Check: The DC and effect depend on the task you attempt.

Task Heal                        DC
First aid                             15
Long-term care                  15
Treat wound from caltrop   15
Treat poison                       Poison’s save DC
Treat disease                      Disease’s save DC

First Aid: You usually use first aid to save a dying character. If a character has negative hit points and is losing hit points (at the rate of 1 per round, 1 per hour, or 1 per day), you can make him or her stable. A stable character regains no hit points but stops losing them.
Long-Term Care: Providing long-term care means treating a wounded person for a day or more. If your Heal check is successful, the patient recovers hit points or ability score points (lost to ability damage) at twice the normal rate: 2 hit points per level for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 4 hit points per level for each full day of complete rest; 2 ability score points for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 4 ability score points for each full day of complete rest.
You can tend as many as six patients at a time. You need a few items and supplies (bandages, salves, and so on) that are easy to come by in settled lands. Giving long-term care counts as light activity for the healer. You cannot give long-term care to yourself.
Treat Wound from Caltrop: A creature wounded by stepping on a caltrop moves at one-half normal speed. A successful Heal check removes this movement penalty.
Treat Poison: To treat poison means to tend a single character who has been poisoned and who is going to take more damage from the poison (or suffer some other effect). Every time the poisoned character makes a saving throw against the poison, you make a Heal check. The poisoned character uses your check result or his or her saving throw, whichever is higher.
Treat Disease: To treat a disease means to tend a single diseased character. Every time he or she makes a saving throw against disease effects, you make a Heal check. The diseased character uses your check result or his or her saving throw, whichever is higher.
Action: Providing first aid, treating a wound, or treating poison is a standard action. Treating a disease or tending a creature wounded by a spike growth or spike stones spell takes 10 minutes of work. Providing long-term care requires 8 hours of light activity.
Try Again: Varies. Generally speaking, you can’t try a Heal check again without proof of the original check’s failure. You can always retry a check to provide first aid, assuming the target of the previous attempt is still alive.
Special: A character with the Self-Sufficient feat gets a +2 bonus on Heal checks.
A healer’s kit gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Heal checks.

HIDE (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: Your Hide check is opposed by the Spot check of anyone who might see you. You can move up to one-half your normal speed and hide at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a –5 penalty. It’s practically impossible (–20 penalty) to hide while attacking, running or charging.
A creature larger or smaller than Medium takes a size bonus or penalty on Hide checks depending on its size category: Fine +16, Diminutive +12, Tiny +8, Small +4, Large –4, Huge –8, Gargantuan –12, Colossal –16.
You need cover or concealment in order to attempt a Hide check. Total cover or total concealment usually (but not always; see Special, below) obviates the need for a Hide check, since nothing can see you anyway.
If people are observing you, even casually, you can’t hide. You can run around a corner or behind cover so that you’re out of sight and then hide, but the others then know at least where you went.
If your observers are momentarily distracted (such as by a Bluff check; see below), though, you can attempt to hide. While the others turn their attention from you, you can attempt a Hide check if you can get to a hiding place of some kind. (As a general guideline, the hiding place has to be within 1 foot per rank you have in Hide.) This check, however, is made at a –10 penalty because you have to move fast.
Sniping: If you’ve already successfully hidden at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack, then immediately hide again. You take a –20 penalty on your Hide check to conceal yourself after the shot.
Creating a Diversion to Hide: You can use Bluff to help you hide. A successful Bluff check can give you the momentary diversion you need to attempt a Hide check while people are aware of you.
Action: Usually none. Normally, you make a Hide check as part of movement, so it doesn’t take a separate action. However, hiding immediately after a ranged attack (see Sniping, above) is a move action.
Special: If you are invisible, you gain a +40 bonus on Hide checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Hide checks if you’re moving.
If you have the Stealthy feat, you get a +2 bonus on Hide checks.
A 10th-level ghost can attempt a Hide check in any sort of natural terrain, even if it doesn’t grant cover or concealment, even while being observed.

INTIMIDATE (CHA)
Check: You can change another’s behavior with a successful check. Your Intimidate check is opposed by the target’s modified level check (1d20 + character level or Hit Dice + target’s Wisdom bonus [if any] + target’s modifiers on saves against fear). If you beat your target’s check result, you may treat the target as friendly, but only for the purpose of actions taken while it remains intimidated. (That is, the target retains its normal attitude, but will chat, advise, offer limited help, or advocate on your behalf while intimidated. See the Diplomacy skill, above, for additional details.) The effect lasts as long as the target remains in your presence, and for 1d6×10 minutes afterward. After this time, the target’s default attitude toward you shifts to unfriendly (or, if normally unfriendly, to hostile).
If you fail the check by 5 or more, the target provides you with incorrect or useless information, or otherwise frustrates your efforts.
Demoralize Opponent: You can also use Intimidate to weaken an opponent’s resolve in combat. To do so, make an Intimidate check opposed by the target’s modified level check (see above). If you win, the target becomes shaken for 1 round. A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You can intimidate only an opponent that you threaten in melee combat and that can see you.
Action: Varies. Changing another’s behavior requires 1 minute of interaction. Intimidating an opponent in combat is a standard action.
Try Again: Optional, but not recommended because retries usually do not work. Even if the initial check succeeds, the other character can be intimidated only so far, and a retry doesn’t help. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly resolved to resist the intimidator, and a retry is futile.
Special: You gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a –4 penalty on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are smaller than your target.
A character immune to fear can’t be intimidated, nor can nonintelligent creatures.
If you have the Persuasive feat, you get a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.

JUMP (STR; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: The DC and the distance you can cover vary according to the type of jump you are attempting (see below).
Your Jump check is modified by your speed. If your speed is 30 feet then no modifier based on speed applies to the check. If your speed is less than 30 feet, you take a –6 penalty for every 10 feet of speed less than 30 feet. If your speed is greater than 30 feet, you gain a +4 bonus for every 10 feet beyond 30 feet.
All Jump DCs given here assume that you get a running start, which requires that you move at least 20 feet in a straight line before attempting the jump. If you do not get a running start, the DC for the jump is doubled.
Distance moved by jumping is counted against your normal maximum movement in a round.
If you have ranks in Jump and you succeed on a Jump check, you land on your feet (when appropriate). If you attempt a Jump check untrained, you land prone unless you beat the DC by 5 or more.
Long Jump: A long jump is a horizontal jump, made across a gap like a chasm or stream. At the midpoint of the jump, you attain a vertical height equal to one-quarter of the horizontal distance. The DC for the jump is equal to the distance jumped (in feet).
If your check succeeds, you land on your feet at the far end. If you fail the check by less than 5, you don’t clear the distance, but you can make a DC 15 Reflex save to grab the far edge of the gap. You end your movement grasping the far edge. If that leaves you dangling over a chasm or gap, getting up requires a move action and a DC 15 Climb check.

Long Jump Distance   Jump DC*
5 feet                             5
10 feet                           10
15 feet                           15
20 feet                           20
25 feet                           25
30 feet                           30
* Requires a 20-foot running start. Without a running start, double the DC.

High Jump: A high jump is a vertical leap made to reach a ledge high above or to grasp something overhead. The DC is equal to 4 times the distance to be cleared.
If you jumped up to grab something, a successful check indicates that you reached the desired height. If you wish to pull yourself up, you can do so with a move action and a DC 15 Climb check. If you fail the Jump check, you do not reach the height, and you land on your feet in the same spot from which you jumped. As with a long jump, the DC is doubled if you do not get a running start of at least 20 feet.

High Jump Distance*    Jump DC**
1 foot                               4
2 feet                               8
3 feet                               12
4 feet                               16
5 feet                               20
6 feet                               24
7 feet                               28
8 feet                               32
* Not including vertical reach; see below.
** Requires a 20-foot running start. Without a running start, double the DC.

Obviously, the difficulty of reaching a given height varies according to the size of the character or creature. The maximum vertical reach (height the creature can reach without jumping) for an average creature of a given size is shown on the table below. (As a Medium creature, a typical human can reach 8 feet without jumping.)
Quadrupedal creatures don’t have the same vertical reach as a bipedal creature; treat them as being one size category smaller.

Creature Size    Vertical Reach
Colossal              128 ft.
Gargantuan          64 ft.
Huge                   32 ft.
Large                  16 ft.
Medium               8 ft.
Small                   4 ft.
Tiny                    2 ft.
Diminutive           1 ft.
Fine                    1/2 ft.

Hop Up: You can jump up onto an object as tall as your waist, such as a table or small boulder, with a DC 10 Jump check. Doing so counts as 10 feet of movement, so if your speed is 30 feet, you could move 20 feet, then hop up onto a counter. You do not need to get a running start to hop up, so the DC is not doubled if you do not get a running start.
Jumping Down: If you intentionally jump from a height, you take less damage than you would if you just fell. The DC to jump down from a height is 15. You do not have to get a running start to jump down, so the DC is not doubled if you do not get a running start.
If you succeed on the check, you take falling damage as if you had dropped 10 fewer feet than you actually did.
Action: None. A Jump check is included in your movement, so it is part of a move action. If you run out of movement mid-jump, your next action (either on this turn or, if necessary, on your next turn) must be a move action to complete the jump.
Special: Effects that increase your movement also increase your jumping distance, since your check is modified by your speed.
If you have the Run feat, you get a +4 bonus on Jump checks for any jumps made after a running start.
If you have the Acrobatic feat, you get a +2 bonus on Jump checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Jump checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Jump, you get a +2 bonus on Tumble checks.

KNOWLEDGE (INT; TRAINED ONLY)
Like the Craft and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of unrelated skills. Knowledge represents a study of some body of lore, possibly an academic or even scientific discipline.
Below are listed typical fields of study.
• Aliens (Xel'Naga, Zerg)
• Architecture and engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications, technology)
• Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people)
• History (colonies, migrations, founding of cities, wars)
• Local (personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)
• Nature (critters, plants, seasons and cycles, weather)
• Psionics (psionics)
• Religion (mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition)
• Space (asteroids, black holes, planets)
• Tactics (assessing a battle, planning strategy)
Check: Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).
In many cases, you can use this skill to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities. In general, the DC of such a check equals 10 + the monster’s HD. A successful check allows you to remember a bit of useful information about that monster.
For every 5 points by which your check result exceeds the DC, you recall another piece of useful information.
Action: Usually none. In most cases, making a Knowledge check doesn’t take an action—you simply know the answer or you don’t.
Try Again: No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn’t let you know something that you never learned in the first place.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (architecture and engineering), you get a +2 bonus on Search checks made to find secret doors or hidden compartments.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (geography), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made to keep from getting lost or to avoid natural hazards.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), you get a +2 bonus on bardic knowledge checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (local), you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made in aboveground natural environments (aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountains, or plains).
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion), you get a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (space), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while flying through space.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Autohypnosis, you gets a +2 bonus on Knowledge (psionics) checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks.
Untrained: An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, you know only common knowledge (DC 10 or lower).

LISTEN (WIS)
Check: Your Listen check is either made against a DC that reflects how quiet the noise is that you might hear, or it is opposed by your target’s Move Silently check.

Listen DC   Sound
–10               A battle
0                   People talking*
5                  A person in medium armor walking at a slow pace (10 ft./round) trying not to make any noise.
10                An unarmored person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise
15                A 1st-level rogue using Move Silently to sneak past the listener
15                People whispering*
19                A cat stalking
30                An owl gliding in for a kill
* If you beat the DC by 10 or more, you can make out what’s being said, assuming that you understand the language.

Listen DC Modifier    Condition
+5                                Through a door
+15                              Through a stone wall
+1                                Per 10 feet of distance
+5                                Listener distracted

In the case of people trying to be quiet, the DCs given on the table could be replaced by Move Silently checks, in which case the indicated DC would be their average check result.
Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to hear something in a reactive manner (such as when someone makes a noise or you move into a new area), you can make a Listen check without using an action. Trying to hear something you failed to hear previously is a move action.
Try Again: Yes. You can try to hear something that you failed to hear previously with no penalty.
Special: When several characters are listening to the same thing, a single 1d20 roll can be used for all the individuals’ Listen checks.
A fascinated creature takes a –4 penalty on Listen checks made as reactions.
If you have the Alertness feat, you get a +2 bonus on Listen checks.
A sleeping character may make Listen checks at a –10 penalty. A successful check awakens the sleeper.

MOVE SILENTLY (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: Your Move Silently check is opposed by the Listen check of anyone who might hear you. You can move up to one-half your normal speed at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your full speed, you take a –5 penalty. It’s practically impossible (–20 penalty) to move silently while running or charging.
Noisy surfaces, such as bogs or undergrowth, are tough to move silently across. When you try to sneak across such a surface, you take a penalty on your Move Silently check as indicated below.

Surface                                                                                      Check Modifier
Noisy (scree, shallow or deep bog, undergrowth, dense rubble)    –2
Very noisy (dense undergrowth, deep snow)                                 –5

Action: None. A Move Silently check is included in your movement or other activity, so it is part of another action.
Special: If you have the Stealthy feat, you get a +2 bonus on Move Silently checks.

OPEN LOCK (DEX; TRAINED ONLY)
Attempting an Open Lock check without a set of thieves’ tools imposes a –2 circumstance penalty on the check, even if a simple tool is employed. If you use masterwork thieves’ tools, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
Check: The DC for opening a lock varies from 20 to 40, depending on the quality of the lock, as given on the table below.

Lock                    DC     Lock             DC
Very simple lock   20      Good lock      30
Average lock        25      Amazing lock  40

Action: Opening a lock is a full-round action.
Special: If you have the Nimble Fingers feat, you get a +2 bonus on Open Lock checks.
Untrained: You cannot pick locks untrained, but you might successfully force them open.

PROFESSION (WIS; TRAINED ONLY)
Like Craft, Knowledge, and Perform, Profession is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks, each purchased as a separate skill. While a Craft skill represents ability in creating or making an item, a Profession skill represents an aptitude in a vocation requiring a broader range of less specific knowledge.
Check: You can practice your trade and make a decent living, earning about half your Profession check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. You know how to use the tools of your trade, how to perform the profession’s daily tasks, how to supervise helpers, and how to handle common problems.
Action: Not applicable. A single check generally represents a week of work.
Try Again: Varies. An attempt to use a Profession skill to earn an income cannot be retried. You are stuck with whatever weekly wage your check result brought you. Another check may be made after a week to determine a new income for the next period of time. An attempt to accomplish some specific task can usually be retried.
Untrained: Untrained laborers and assistants (that is, characters without any ranks in Profession) earn an average of 1 silver piece per day.

PSICRAFT (INT; TRAINED ONLY)
Use this skill to identify psionic powers as they manifest or psionic effects already in place.
Check: The character can identify psionic powers and psionic effects.

DC                       Task
15 + power level    Identify a power as it manifests. (The character must sense the power’s display, or see some visible effect, to identify a power.) No retry.
20 + power level    Identify a power that’s already in place and in effect. (The character must be able to see or detect the effects of the power.) No retry.
20 + power level    Identify materials created or shaped by psionics. No retry.
30 or higher            Understand a strange or unique psionic effect. No retry.

Additionally, certain powers allow a character to gain information about psionics provided that he or she makes a Psicraft check as detailed in the psionic power description.
Retry: See above.
Special: A psion gets a +2 bonus when dealing with a power or effect from his or her primary discipline.
If a character has 5 or more ranks of Use Psionic Device, he or she gets a +2 synergy bonus on Psicraft checks to decipher powers encoded in power stones.

SEARCH (INT)
Check: You generally must be within 10 feet of the object or surface to be searched. The table below gives DCs for typical tasks involving the Search skill.

Task    Search DC
Ransack a chest full of junk to find a certain item    10
Notice a typical secret door or a simple trap          20
Find a difficult trap (engineer only)                         21 or higher
Notice a well-hidden secret door                           30
Find a footprint                                                     Varies*
* A successful Search check can find a footprint or similar sign of a creature’s passage, but it won’t let you find or follow a trail. See the Track feat for the appropriate DC.

Action: It takes a full-round action to search a 5-foot-by-5-foot area or a volume of goods 5 feet on a side.
Special: If you have the Investigator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Search checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Search, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks to find or follow tracks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (architecture and engineering), you get a +2 bonus on Search checks to find secret doors or hidden compartments.
Restriction: While anyone can use Search to find a trap whose DC is 20 or lower, only a engineer can use Search to locate traps with higher DCs.

SENSE MOTIVE (WIS)
Check: A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed (see the Bluff skill). You can also use this skill to determine when “something is up” (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone’s trustworthiness.

Task                             Sense Motive DC
Hunch                            20
Sense enchantment         25 or 15
Discern secret message   Varies

Hunch: This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another’s behavior that something is wrong, such as when you’re talking to an impostor. Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy.
Discern Secret Message: You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a –2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.
Action: Trying to gain information with Sense Motive generally takes at least 1 minute, and you could spend a whole evening trying to get a sense of the people around you.
Try Again: No, though you may make a Sense Motive check for each Bluff check made against you.
Special: If you have the Negotiator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Sense Motive checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.

SLEIGHT OF HAND (DEX; TRAINED ONLY; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: A DC 10 Sleight of Hand check lets you palm a coin-sized, unattended object. Performing a minor feat of legerdemain, such as making a coin disappear, also has a DC of 10 unless an observer is determined to note where the item went.
When you use this skill under close observation, your skill check is opposed by the observer’s Spot check. The observer’s success doesn’t prevent you from performing the action, just from doing it unnoticed.
You can hide a small object (including a light weapon or an easily concealed ranged weapon, such as a dart, sling, or hand crossbow) on your body. Your Sleight of Hand check is opposed by the Spot check of anyone observing you or the Search check of anyone frisking you. In the latter case, the searcher gains a +4 bonus on the Search check, since it’s generally easier to find such an object than to hide it. A dagger is easier to hide than most light weapons, and grants you a +2 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it. An extraordinarily small object, such as a coin, shuriken, or ring, grants you a +4 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it, and heavy or baggy clothing (such as a cloak) grants you a +2 bonus on the check.
Drawing a hidden weapon is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity.
If you try to take something from another creature, you must make a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to obtain it. The opponent makes a Spot check to detect the attempt, opposed by the same Sleight of Hand check result you achieved when you tried to grab the item. An opponent who succeeds on this check notices the attempt, regardless of whether you got the item.
You can also use Sleight of Hand to entertain an audience as though you were using the Perform skill. In such a case, your “act” encompasses elements of legerdemain, juggling, and the like.

Sleight of Hand DC     Task
10    Palm a coin-sized object, make a coin disappear
20    Lift a small object from a person

Action: Any Sleight of Hand check normally is a standard action. However, you may perform a Sleight of Hand check as a free action by taking a –20 penalty on the check.
Try Again: Yes, but after an initial failure, a second Sleight of Hand attempt against the same target (or while you are being watched by the same observer who noticed your previous attempt) increases the DC for the task by 10.
Special: If you have the Deft Hands feat, you get a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks.
Untrained: An untrained Sleight of Hand check is simply a Dexterity check. Without actual training, you can’t succeed on any Sleight of Hand check with a DC higher than 10, except for hiding an object on your body.

STABILIZE SELF (CON)
Use this skill to keep from succumbing to a mortal wound.
Check: A character can attempt to subconsciously prevent him or herself from dying. If the character has negative hit points and are losing hit points (at 1 per round, 1 per hour, or 1 per day), he or she can substitute a Stabilize Self check (DC 15) for his or her first normal stabilization roll to become stable. If successful, the character regains no hit points, but does stop losing them. If the first Stabilize Self check is unsuccessful, the character goes back to making normal stabilization checks each round.

SPOT (WIS)
Check: The Spot skill is used primarily to detect characters or creatures who are hiding. Typically, your Spot check is opposed by the Hide check of the creature trying not to be seen. Sometimes a creature isn’t intentionally hiding but is still difficult to see, so a successful Spot check is necessary to notice it.
A Spot check result higher than 20 generally lets you become aware of an invisible creature near you, though you can’t actually see it.
Spot is also used to detect someone in disguise (see the Disguise skill), and to read lips when you can’t hear or understand what someone is saying.
Spot checks may be called for to determine the distance at which an encounter begins. A penalty applies on such checks, depending on the distance between the two individuals or groups, and an additional penalty may apply if the character making the Spot check is distracted (not concentrating on being observant).

Condition                     Penalty
Per 10 feet of distance    –1
Spotter distracted           –5

Read Lips: To understand what someone is saying by reading lips, you must be within 30 feet of the speaker, be able to see him or her speak, and understand the speaker’s language. (This use of the skill is language-dependent.) The base DC is 15, but it increases for complex speech or an inarticulate speaker. You must maintain a line of sight to the lips being read.
If your Spot check succeeds, you can understand the general content of a minute’s worth of speaking, but you usually still miss certain details. If the check fails by 4 or less, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion about the speech. The check is rolled secretly in this case, so that you don’t know whether you succeeded or missed by 5.
Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to spot something in a reactive manner you can make a Spot check without using an action. Trying to spot something you failed to see previously is a move action. To read lips, you must concentrate for a full minute before making a Spot check, and you can’t perform any other action (other than moving at up to half speed) during this minute.
Try Again: Yes. You can try to spot something that you failed to see previously at no penalty. You can attempt to read lips once per minute.
Special: A fascinated creature takes a –4 penalty on Spot checks made as reactions.
If you have the Alertness feat, you get a +2 bonus on Spot checks.

SURVIVAL (WIS)
Check: You can keep yourself and others safe and fed in the wild. The table below gives the DCs for various tasks that require Survival checks.
Survival does not allow you to follow difficult tracks unless you are a ranger or have the Track feat (see the Restriction section below).

Survival DC     Task
10                     Get along in the wild. Move up to one-half your overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). You can provide food and water for one other person for every 2 points by which your check result exceeds 10.
15                     Gain a +2 bonus on all Fortitude saves against severe weather while moving up to one-half your overland speed, or gain a +4 bonus if you remain stationary. You may grant the same bonus to one other character for every 1 point by which your Survival check result exceeds 15.
15                     Keep from getting lost or avoid natural hazards, such as quicksand.
15                     Predict the weather up to 24 hours in advance. For every 5 points by which your Survival check result exceeds 15, you can predict the weather for one additional day in advance.
Varies               Follow tracks (see the Track feat).

Action: Varies. A single Survival check may represent activity over the course of hours or a full day. A Survival check made to find tracks is at least a full-round action, and it may take even longer.
Try Again: Varies. For getting along in the wild or for gaining the Fortitude save bonus noted in the table above, you make a Survival check once every 24 hours. The result of that check applies until the next check is made. To avoid getting lost or avoid natural hazards, you make a Survival check whenever the situation calls for one. Retries to avoid getting lost in a specific situation or to avoid a specific natural hazard are not allowed. For finding tracks, you can retry a failed check after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes(indoors) of searching.
Restriction: While anyone can use Survival to find tracks (regardless of the DC), or to follow tracks when the DC for the task is 10 or lower, only a ranger (or a character with the Track feat) can use Survival to follow tracks when the task has a higher DC.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself.
If you have the Self-Sufficient feat, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while underground.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks in aboveground natural environments (aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountains, and plains).
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (geography), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made to keep from getting lost or to avoid natural hazards.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while on other planes.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Search, you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks to find or follow tracks.

SWIM (STR; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
Check: Make a Swim check once per round while you are in the water. Success means you may swim at up to one-half your speed (as a full-round action) or at one-quarter your speed (as a move action). If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress through the water. If you fail by 5 or more, you go underwater.
If you are underwater, either because you failed a Swim check or because you are swimming underwater intentionally, you must hold your breath. You can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution score, but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is reduced by 1 round. (Effectively, a character in combat can hold his or her breath only half as long as normal.) After that period of time, you must make a DC 10 Constitution check every round to continue holding your breath. Each round, the DC for that check increases by 1. If you fail the Constitution check, you begin to drown.
The DC for the Swim check depends on the water, as given on the table below.

Water              Swim DC
Calm water       10
Rough water     15
Stormy water    20*
* You can’t take 10 on a Swim check in stormy water, even if you aren’t otherwise being threatened or distracted.

Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Swim check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue.
Action: A successful Swim check allows you to swim one-quarter of your speed as a move action or one-half your speed as a full-round action.
Special: Swim checks are subject to double the normal armor check penalty and encumbrance penalty.
If you have the Athletic feat, you get a +2 bonus on Swim checks.
If you have the Endurance feat, you get a +4 bonus on Swim checks made to avoid taking nonlethal damage from fatigue.
A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. The creature always can choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered when swimming. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line.

TUMBLE (DEX; TRAINED ONLY; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
You can’t use this skill if your speed has been reduced by armor, excess equipment, or loot.
Check: You can land softly when you fall or tumble past opponents. You can also tumble to entertain an audience (as though using the Perform skill). The DCs for various tasks involving the Tumble skill are given on the table below.

Tumble DC     Task
15                    Treat a fall as if it were 10 feet shorter than it really is when determining damage.
15                    Tumble at one-half speed as part of normal movement, provoking no attacks of opportunity while doing so. Failure means you provoke attacks of opportunity normally. Check separately for each opponent you move past, in the order in which you pass them (player’s choice of order in case of a tie).
Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the Tumble DC.
25                   Tumble at one-half speed through an area occupied by an enemy (over, under, or around the opponent) as part of normal movement, provoking no attacks of opportunity while doing so. Failure means you stop before entering the enemy-occupied area and provoke an attack of opportunity from that enemy.
Check separately for each opponent. Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the Tumble DC.

Obstructed or otherwise treacherous surfaces, such as natural cavern floors or undergrowth, are tough to tumble through. The DC for any Tumble check made to tumble into such a square is modified as indicated below.

Surface Is . . .                                                                                              DC Modifier
Lightly obstructed (scree, light rubble, shallow bog*, undergrowth)                  +2
Severely obstructed (natural cavern floor, dense rubble, dense undergrowth)    +5
Lightly slippery (wet floor)                                                                               +2
Severely slippery (ice sheet)                                                                            +5
Sloped or angled                                                                                             +2
* Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.

Accelerated Tumbling: You try to tumble past or through enemies more quickly than normal. By accepting a –10 penalty on your Tumble checks, you can move at your full speed instead of one-half your speed.
Action: Not applicable. Tumbling is part of movement, so a Tumble check is part of a move action.
Try Again: Usually no. An audience, once it has judged a tumbler as an uninteresting performer, is not receptive to repeat performances.
You can try to reduce damage from a fall as an instant reaction only once per fall.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you gain a +3 dodge bonus to AC when fighting defensively instead of the usual +2 dodge bonus to AC.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you gain a +6 dodge bonus to AC when executing the total defense standard action instead of the usual +4 dodge bonus to AC.
If you have the Acrobatic feat, you get a +2 bonus on Tumble checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Balance and Jump checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Jump, you get a +2 bonus on Tumble checks.

USE PSIONIC DEVICE (CHA; TRAINED ONLY)
Use this skill to activate psionic devices, including power stones and dorjes, that otherwise the character could not activate.

Task                                      DC
Contact power stone               25 + power level
Emulate psionic power             20
Emulate psionic feat                 20
Emulate psionic class feature    25
Emulate ability score                25
Emulate alignment                    30
Activate blindly                        25

Check: A character can use this skill to decipher a power encoded in a power stone or to activate a psionic item. This skill lets a character use a psionic item as if he or she had the appropriate psionic power or feat. It doesn’t allow the character to use psionic items that require paying power points to operate.
When a character is attempting to activate a psionic item using this skill, he or she does so as a standard action. The checks that the character makes to determine whether he or she is successful at emulating the desired factors to successfully perform the activation are instant, however. They take no time by themselves and are included in the activate psionic item standard action.
A character makes emulation checks each time he or she activates a device such. If the character is using the check to emulate a quality in an ongoing manner, he or she needs to make the relevant emulation checks once per hour.
The character must consciously choose what to emulate. That is, he or she has to know what it is he or she is trying to emulate when making an emulation check.
Note: In cases described below in which effective level is important, it is okay to have an effective level of 0.
Contact Power Stone: This works just like learning a power from a power stone with the Psicraft skill, except that the DC is higher.
Emulate Psionic Power: This use of the skill allows a character to use a psionic item as if he or she had a particular power on his or her class power list. To activate a power stone (an object that stores a specific power) or use a dorje, the character must have a particular power on his or her class power list. By using the skill this way, the character can use such an item as if he or she did have the power on your list. The character’s effective manifester level is the check result minus 20. If the character’s effective level is lower than the manifester level, he or she might fail to manifest the power.
This skill does not let a character manifest the power. It only lets the character use it from a power stone or dorje as if the power were on the character’s class list. Note: If the character is manifesting it from a power stone, he or she has to contact it first.
Emulate Psionic Feat: Sometimes a specific psionic feat is needed to activate a psionic item. This skill does not let a character use that feat. It just lets him or her activate psionic items as if he or she had it.
Emulate Psionic Class Feature: Sometimes a psionic class feature is needed to activate a psionic item. The character’s effective level in the emulated class is the check result minus 20.
This skill does not let the character use another class’s class feature. It just lets him or her activate psionic items as if he or she had it.
If the class whose feature the character is emulating has an alignment requirement, the character must meet it, either honestly or by emulating an appropriate alignment as a separate check.
Emulate Ability Score: To manifest a power of a particular discipline from a power stone, the character needs a high score in the key ability A character’s effective ability score is the check result minus 15.
Emulate Alignment: It is possible that some items have positive or negative effects based on the user’s alignment. A character can use these items as if he or she was of an alignment of his or her choice. A character can emulate only one alignment at a time.
Activate Blindly: Some psionic items are activated by special thoughts or actions. A character can activate such items as if he or she were using the command thought or action even if the character is not and even if he or she doesn’t know it. The character does have to use something equivalent. The character gets a +2 bonus if he or she has activated the item at least once before.
If the character fails by 10 or more, he or she suffers brainburn (see below). Note: This brainburn is in addition to the chance for brainburn that a character normally runs when manifesting a power from a power stone and the power’s manifester level is higher than the character’s level.
Retry: Yes, but if the character ever rolls a natural 1 while attempting to activate an item and fails, then the character can’t try to activate it again for a day.
Special: A character cannot take 10 with this skill.
If a character has 5 or more ranks in Psicraft, he or she gets a +2 synergy bonus on Use Psionic Device checks related to power stones.

Brainburn: When things go awry, the user of a psionic item sometimes improperly manifests the stored power. The resultant psionic surge persists for 1d4 rounds, unless the item is flung 15 feet or feet away or destroyed. The surge deals 1d4 points of electricity damage per power stored per round and arcs across multiple targets. The user is the primary target, and one ally within 15 feet is the secondary target (chosen at random).

USE ROPE (DEX)
Check: Most tasks with a rope are relatively simple. The DCs for various tasks utilizing this skill are summarized on the table below.

Use Rope DC    Task
10                       Tie a firm knot
10*                     Secure a grappling hook
15                       Tie a special knot, such as one that slips, slides slowly, or loosens with a tug
15                       Tie a rope around yourself one-handed
15                       Splice two ropes together
Varies                 Bind a character
* Add 2 to the DC for every 10 feet the hook is thrown; see below.

Secure a Grappling Hook: Securing a grappling hook requires a Use Rope check (DC 10, +2 for every 10 feet of distance the grappling hook is thrown, to a maximum DC of 20 at 50 feet). Failure by 4 or less indicates that the hook fails to catch and falls, allowing you to try again. Failure by 5 or more indicates that the grappling hook initially holds, but comes loose after 1d4 rounds of supporting weight. This check is made secretly, so that you don’t know whether the rope will hold your weight.
Bind a Character: When you bind another character with a rope, any Escape Artist check that the bound character makes is opposed by your Use Rope check.
You get a +10 bonus on this check because it is easier to bind someone than to escape from bonds. You don’t even make your Use Rope check until someone tries to escape.
Action: Varies. Throwing a grappling hook is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Tying a knot, tying a special knot, or tying a rope around yourself one-handed is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Splicing two ropes together takes 5 minutes. Binding a character takes 1 minute.
Special: A silk rope gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Use Rope checks. If you cast an animate rope spell on a rope, you get a +2 circumstance bonus on any Use Rope checks you make when using that rope.
These bonuses stack.
If you have the Deft Hands feat, you get a +2 bonus on Use Rope checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a +2 bonus on Climb checks made to climb a rope, a knotted rope, or a rope-and-wall combination.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a +2 bonus on Escape Artist checks when escaping from rope bonds.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Escape Artist, you get a +2 bonus on checks made to bind someone.