Acrobatics vs AoO


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Can someone explain the rules governing moving through threatened squares using acrobatics to avoid the AoO?

I know it is double the movement cost, but here are my issues.

1) How is the acrobatics check calculated when moving more than one square? Suppose one of more squares are diagonal.

2) What about difficult terrain? Is the movement cost doubled again, or is the acrobatics check harder, either or both?

3) What happens if the check is failed? I have been playing that the move completes but the attacker gets an AoO attack. Others say the acrobat falls prone when it fails, or that happens only if the attacker hits.


First, the relevant portion of the rules:

SRD wrote:


In addition, you can move through a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity from an enemy by using Acrobatics. When moving in this way, you move at half speed. You can move at full speed by increasing the DC of the check by 10. You cannot use Acrobatics to move past foes if your speed is reduced due to carrying a medium or heavy load or wearing medium or heavy armor. If an ability allows you to move at full speed under such conditions, you can use Acrobatics to move past foes. You can use Acrobatics in this way while prone, but doing so requires a full-round action to move 5 feet, and the DC is increased by 5. If you attempt to move through an enemy’s space and fail the check, you lose the move action and provoke an attack of opportunity.

1) Number of squares moved through has no effect on the DC. Moving through or adjacent to more than one creature does. Likewise diagonal has no effect on the acrobatics DC itself, only on distance you can move in the normal 1-2-1 movement cost. The DC is the opposing creatures CMD. If moving through the creatures space (as opposed to adjacent to it) add 5.

2) Acrobatics makes you move at half speed (or add another 10 to the DC). Rough terrain doubles (or more) the movement cost. These two things stack, or effectively doubles the cost again.

3) Take an AoO and stop moving (if you were trying to move through an enemy - see bolded part above).
3a) Do you fall prone? Under the acrobatics rules for crossing narrow surfaces we have this additional sentence.

SRD wrote:


If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must immediately make another Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid falling or being knocked prone.

There are opposing views on that sentence. Some believe it only applies to taking damage while crossing narrow surfaces/uneven ground (note that the rules do not define rough terrain as uneven ground - the rules on acrobatics talk about not falling on uneven ground - there are no rules that say characters moving in rough terrain are ever at risk of falling - so, the two do not appear to be the same thing). Others believe that sentence in the one paragraph of acrobatics applies to all the different sections of acrobatics. I personally am of the opinion it is the former.

Silver Crusade

1) Thx 4 this clarification. What I wanted to know was is there a second Acrobatics check for the second square of movement, or does the first one give the acrobat safe passage on all the threatened squares of the attacker?

3) Lose the move action. This only applies to moving through the enemy's space and does not say if the acrobat goes back to where the move started, or stops just prior to where the check was attempted.
My opinion is in line with the latter.

It also does not address the issue of what happens when the check is failed when moving through an enemy's threatened square which is not the enemy's space.


If you fail the check to avoid AoOs, then you provoke AoOs. You may or may not be flat-footed against that AoO, depending on rules reading. And, if you are hit, you may or may not have to make a new Acrobatics check with the same DC, again depending on reading, which carries with it falling prone in the square you were attempting to move out of if you fail the DC.


Jokem wrote:

1) Thx 4 this clarification. What I wanted to know was is there a second Acrobatics check for the second square of movement, or does the first one give the acrobat safe passage on all the threatened squares of the attacker?

3) Lose the move action. This only applies to moving through the enemy's space and does not say if the acrobat goes back to where the move started, or stops just prior to where the check was attempted.
My opinion is in line with the latter.

It also does not address the issue of what happens when the check is failed when moving through an enemy's threatened square which is not the enemy's space.

A single check is required for each target you are avoiding AoO's from. But if there is only one target, regardless of how many threatened squares of theirs you move through, one acrobatics check only to pass or fail.

You would lose the move action, at the point you tried, and failed, to move into their square.

So if you move 10', then try to enter their square and fail, you've still moved that 10', but cannot move any further.

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