I'm sorry if this has been asked, but I couldn't find it in my search.
RAW, long jump states "For a running jump, the result of your Acrobatics check indicates the distance traveled in the jump..."
If I need to cross a 10 foot gap, but only intend to land on the other side, but my Acrobatic result is a 46, does that mean I have to travel the 46 feet? How do others handle this aspect of Acrobatics? Would you make a player roll if his minimum check is a 26 and he only wants to jump 10 feet? What if they wanted to jump 15 or 20 feet? Do you allow them to target a square within their range at a penalty?Assume that as long as he can jump past it, he could land on it?
I don't play PFS, so I'm sure a specific answer is out there, but any help is appreciated.
No, because that is a silly result. It means a player would need to carefully manage their static bonus versus the DC they wanted to accomplish (which is likely to change). It would also mean that getting better at something could make you worse. Or that success would have negative consequences.
All of which would be ridiculous.
No, instead if the character's roll exceeds the DC they land where they want to.
I agree, it is a very silly questions, but there are those that abide by rules as written very strongly.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
I believe you may be looking at old text. The current entry for acrobatics makes it clear that distance sets the DC.
Beating the DC in a jump check isn't a failure any more than beating the DC in an attempt to pick a lock. Even the older wording, when read in totality, made it clear that this was a DC, but that particular sentence was poorly phrased.
For the record I am firmly of the same opinion as Claxon. In any game I run you land where you want if you beat the DC, and I would have strong words with a GM who ruled otherwise.
However this sentence still exists in the current PRD that Dave linked too.
For a running jump, the result of your Acrobatics check indicates the distance traveled in the jump (and if the check fails, the distance at which you actually land and fall prone). Halve this result for a standing long jump to determine where you land.
My only concern/question is: are (for example) PFS GMs bound by this? There doesn't appear to be any wriggle room in this if you are an absolute literal reader of the rules or bound by them with no discretion. It doesn't include any 'up to' qualification. The preceding sentences only refer to base DCs and make no reference to exceeding it.