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I'm trying to understand how useful the Athletics skill is, and by extension, how useful the Gravity Boost Solarian power is. I'm considering a movement based Solarian. However, while reading up, I have come across some things about movement speeds and athletics actions which aren't clear to me.
1) On page 259, under Climbing, it states:
"You can move double your climb speed with a successful Athletics check to climb, but you take a –5 penalty to the check."
There are a few ways to gain a climb speed equal to your land speed, namely Climbing Master (feat), available at 5th level, or Versatile Movement (Operative Exploit at 10th).
Is it intended that characters be able to double move their land speed as a single move action, with a take 10 on a climb roll? I'm worried this leads to the non-intuitive situation where characters want to climb instead of walking/running because it is faster. Possibly even "climbing" on the ground - although that perhaps makes sense in zero-G.
2) Can you combine climbing movement if you have a climb speed with a charge? From the climbing section (pages 136 and 259), it doesn't sound like it, as it describes climbing when used with a move action only. However, it does explicitly forbid running, a full action, while climbing. It doesn't explicitly forbid a charge. The charge action itself says you move up to double your speed, without specifying what type. Presumably climbing speed counts as a speed?
3) If you can charge while climbing, can you make an athletics roll at -5 while climbing to double your double speed movement for 4x times climb speed during a charge? The wording makes it sound like it only applies to move actions though.
4) The climbing suckers augmentation (page 211) which is level 3 and only costs 1,200 credits are in the feet slot. They provide a climb speed of 20 feet, and let you traverse vertical and horizontal surfaces. You explicitly don't benefit from them unless you are barefoot or wearing custom clothing on your feet.
Do these allow you to climb with one or both hands free, using just your feet, or do they follow the athletics skill which requires both hands to climb, and one hand to cling? To follow up, does that hand restriction apply to anything with a climb speed? Say from the Climbing Master feat, from the Arachnid power armor, or as a racial ability listed in a monster's stat block? The Spider Climb spell specifically calls out restrictions that these others do not.
5) The 2nd level Solarian power Gravity Boost (page 104) at 6th level has a clause that states:
"At 6th level, you can move along
vertical surfaces and even upside down along ceilings for 1
round. This functions as spider climb, but it leaves your hands
free and you can also run. You must end your movement on
a surface that can support you normally. If you end your
movement while you are standing on a vertical surface or
ceiling, you fall unless you succeed at an Athletics check to
climb to remain in position."
Spider climb has a base climbing speed of 20 feet. If you already have a higher climbing speed through other means (such as the Climbing master feat), can you use the other benefits with that higher speed (namely running and hands free). I.e. do you simply take the highest climbing speed, similar to spells which provide multiple benefits, some but not all of which are suppressed by already existing larger bonuses.
6) With Gravity Boost, when do you need to make the Athletics check to stay on an vertical surface or ceiling? Since it lasts for 1 round, is it at the start of your next round? Or is it immediately at the end of a move action if not followed by a second move action?
7 Can you make athletics climbing checks at -5 to double your speed while climbing at a run?
Jumping
8) Can you combine a jump only with a single move action or can you combine it with any action which involves movement such as a charge or a run?
Falling
9) At high level, can a Solarian with Gravity Boost and Ultimate Graviton combine a fall (presumably started as a move action), land with no damage as a reaction and thus not prone, and then take a standard action afterwards? How far does a character fall in a single move action?
