Hello to All!
I'm a bit confused with Spider Climb spell wording.
Let's have a look:
"The subject gains a climb speed of 20 feet and a +8 racial bonus on Climb skill checks; furthermore, it need not make Climb checks to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface (even upside down)"
So why does it give any kind of bonus to Climb checks if you automatically travel any surface regardless of its dificulty? Am I missing something?
You might need to climb a rope, or something else....
I'm not sure exactly, but I wouldn't complain about getting the bonus.
Edit: Maybe this:
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. Anytime 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.
Double edit: It also seem to the contrary of this part of the climb description:
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 can always 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.
Probably the specifics of the spider climb ability mean you just don't need to make the check, despite the general rule for having a racial climb ability just makes it very easy to do so.
The climb skill is also used to catch a falling character (not you) while climbing. This is not an auto-success for Spider Climb, but does become easier.
