Climbing

“Even monkeys fall from trees.” [If you aren't in harms way, don’t put yourself there]

—Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, Korean saying

Climbing steep slopes and scaling walls is tough. It takes strength, skill and courage to risk injury or death from falling. Expert climbers can scale seemingly sheer vertical cliffs and even overcome overhangs, but despite their expertise accidents inevitably happen.

Strength Factor

Physical strength is tested to its limits to overcome gravity in climbing.

Carrying Factor

Climbing is hampered by carrying more than you can support.

Simulation: With each climbing success, you can advance up, down, or across a slope or a wall or other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) one-half your speed as an exclusive 1 seond movement. You can move half that far, one-fourth of your speed, as a simultaneous movement. A slope is considered to be any incline of less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline of 60 degrees or steeper.

A climbing failure means that you make no progress, and a failure by 30% or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. Falling more than 3m risks 5% lethality per 2m fallen.

Climbing Equipment Factor

A climbing kit is essential for safety and gives a +10% Climbing chance.
Knotted rope +50%
Rope +30%
Wall to brace legs against +20%

The risk of the climb depends on the conditions of the slope.

Surface Factor

The more slippery the surface, the greater the risk of the climb.

Risk% Example

Slope, Wall or Surface 0 A slope too steep to walk up.

A knotted rope with a wall to brace against. 30%

A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope 50%

Ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship’s rigging. 70%

Adequate handholds and footholds (natural or artificial), such as a very rough natural rock surface or a tree. An unknotted rope. 100%

Uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a dungeon or ruins. 120% A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall. 120% Overhang or ceiling with handholds but no footholds. — A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface cannot be climbed. –50%

* Climbing a chimney (artificial or natural) or other location where one can brace against two opposite walls (reduces % by 50%). –30%

* Climbing a corner where you can brace against perpendicular walls +30%

* Surface is slippery.

• These modifiers are cumulative; use any that apply.

Grabbing & Hanging From Ledges

You can grab onto ledges by jumping and catching them or catching them if you fall or drop down from above.

Catching Fallers

If someone else falls you can take a chance to catch them.

Since you can’t move to avoid a blow while climbing, enemies can attack you as if you were stunned: An attacker gets a +10% bonus, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to Defense. You cannot use a shield while climbing. Any time you take damage while climbing, make a Climb test against the risk of the slope or wall. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage.

Rapid Climbing

You try to climb more quickly than normal. As an exclusive action, you can attempt to cover your full speed in climbing distance, but you suffer a –20% climbing chance and you must make two tests each round. Each successful test allows you to climb a distance equal to one-half your speed. By accepting the –25% penalty, you can move this far as a move-equivalent action rather than as a full-round action.

Making Your Own Handholds and Footholds

You can make your own handholds and footholds by pounding pitons into a wall. Doing so takes 1 minute per piton, and one piton is needed per meter. As with any surface with handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it has a risk of 70%. In the same way, a climber with a handaxe or similar implement can cut holds in an ice wall.

Catching Yourself When Falling

It’s practically impossible to catch yourself on a wall while falling. Make a Climb test (risk = wall’s risk + 100%) to do so. A slope is a lot easier to catch yourself on (risk = slope’s risk + 50%). Cathing yourself falling from an overhang is impossible.

Catching Another Falling Person

You can also attempt to catch a falling climber if you are tied together using appropriate gear. In addition to the falling climber’s own climbing chance to catch himself or herself, you can make a climbing chance (risk = slope’s risk + 50%). However, if you fail, you fall too. Without gear to hold you, you have a –50% less chance.

Rope Use Synergy

Someone with 30% or more rope skill gets a +10% climbing chance climbing with ropes.

Techniques

Some simple practical climbing tips.

Training

There are many opportunities to learn climbing skills. There are many places that offer classes in climbing.

Types Of Climbing

Rapelling

Rapelling down faces with a harness, rapelling belt or leg technique

Chainlink Fences

Wide-toed boots (how many centimeters?) won’t fit into most chain links and impede your ability to climb the fence. quote from Sean’s LJ. Chainlinks are also subject to cutting by intruders (see intrusion).

Barbed Wire

Barbed wire is an effective deterrant that threatens anyone climbing over with sharp, pointy hurt. Bypassing barbed wire is possible with an effective covering thick enough to prevent the barbs from penetrating.

Tree Climbing

Tree climbing is difficult in most trees but you can usually find a climbable tree if you have the skills to do so.

Rock Climbing

Climbing cliffs and mountains is a lot different from climbing urban architecture. Recreational rock climbers typically climb routes proven relatively safe by climbers who have gone before them. Most climbers use safety ropes. Climbing virgin rocks without safety ropes is a dangerous activity with great risk falling to a fatal injury, so it should only be attempted in a life-or-death situation or by a fearless climber with a death wish.