I think I would need at least 2. One for moving past the enemies occupied square and another for the threatened square, but do I need an acrobatics check for every threatened square I move past or just one check for all of them?
For example;
At the start of my turn I (a medium sized creature) am not in any threatened squares. I want to move past a medium sized creature with 5 ft reach right in front of me completely and in a straight line. That means I would need to move through 1 threatened square, then his occupied square, then another threatened square to clear my way to the other side into an square that isn't threatened. How many checks would I need? 2 or 3?
Also, if 2 enemies are threatening the same square the table states that I simply increase the check by 2, but what if they have different CMD? Do I take the highest one and increase it by 2?
Best Answer
The DM will probably be the ultimate authority about
Using the Acrobatics Skill to Avoid Attacks of Opportunity
The rules are contradictory. In one part of the description of the skill Acrobatics, an Acrobatics skill check is made to move through a threatened square (i.e. roll once per creature per square), while elsewhere in the skill description an Acrobatics skill check is made to move through a threatened area (i.e. roll once per creature per threatened area). Luckily, the FAQ clarifies this to mean threatened area, otherwise that could be a lot of die rolls.
However, complicating matters is that the Acrobatics skill check to move through an enemy's space seems to be intended as a separate Acrobatics skill check, but the FAQ believes that moving through an enemy's space can only occur simultaneously with provoking an attack of opportunity for normal movement, ignoring the possibility of enemies with reach.
The examples below, then, are predicated on the following:
The examples below assume Medium-size creatures, none threatening squares beyond those adjacent to their spaces.
Example 1: By One Foe
A
wants to reach pointo
, butB
doesn't wantA
to reach pointo
.Not Using the Skill Acrobatics
Using the Skill Acrobatics
To avoid the attack of opportunity for leaving a threatened square during Figure 3
A
makes an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through a Threatened Area.A
provokes an attack of opportunity fromB
.A
continues taking his move action, provoking no further attacks of opportunity for normal movement fromB
.A
doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity fromB
butA
's normal movement is halved whileA
continues his move action inB
's threatened area.Example 2: Through One Foe
A
wants to reach pointo
, butB
doesn't wantA
to reach pointo
.Using the Skill Acrobatics
During Figure 3
A
must make an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through an Enemy's Space.A
doesn't move intoB
's space, the move action ends, andA
provokes an attack of opportunity fromB
.A
continues his turn with the battlefield looking like it did in Figure 2.Success means
A
continues his movement throughB
's space. To avoid the attack of opportunity for leaving a threatened square during Figure 3A
makes an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through a Threatened Area.B
is not an additional opponent, therefore the Acrobatics skill check DC remains unchanged even if it was previously successful versusB
(see Table: Acrobatics DC's to Move Through Threatened Areas).A
provokes an attack of opportunity fromB
.A
continues taking his move action, provoking no further attacks of opportunity for normal movement fromB
.A
doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity fromB
butA
's normal movement is halved whileA
continues his move action inB
's threatened area. However,A
's movement while inB
's space probably isn't reduced because most creatures don't threaten their own space (i.e. from the section Threatened Area under Attacks of Opportunity: "You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack,... that means everything in all squares adjacent to your space.")Note: Most foes will only be able to make one attack of opportunity each round, but even if the foe's incapable of making the attack of opportunity the foe's space still prevents the creature's movement unless the foe's helpless, the creature is 3 or more Size categories smaller than his foe, or the creature's Size is Fine, Diminutive, or Tiny.
Example 3: By Two Foes
A
wants to reach pointo
, butB
andC
don't wantA
to reach pointo
.Not Using the Skill Acrobatics
Using the Skill Acrobatics
To avoid the attack of opportunity for leaving a square that
B
's threatening during Figure 3A
makes an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through a Threatened Area.A
provokes an attack of opportunity fromB
.A
continues taking his move action, provoking no further attacks of opportunity for normal movement fromB
.A
doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity fromB
butA
's normal movement is halved whileA
continues his move action inB
's threatened area.To avoid the attack of opportunity for leaving a square that
C
's threatening during Figure 3A
makes an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through a Threatened Area. This Acrobatics skill check DC is increased by 2 ifA
has already succeeded on an Acrobatics skill check to Move Through a Threatened Area of another foe--y'know, likeB
--this round (see Table: Acrobatics DC's to Move Through Threatened Areas).A
provokes an attack of opportunity fromC
.A
continues taking his move action, provoking no further attacks of opportunity for normal movement fromC
.A
doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity fromC
butA
's normal movement is halved whileA
continues his move action inC
's threatened area.Note 1: If there's a choice, the player chooses the order in which to make the Acrobatics skill checks versus the foes.
Note 2: I am of the opinion that movement isn't increasingly reduced by further successful Acrobatics skill checks as a cumulative movement penalty would be the result of a single source, but this is not stated by the Pathfinder rules.
References