Might

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Epic Path \ Skills \ Might


  • Ability Score Used: Strength
  • Usable Untrained? Yes
  • Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes

Might is a general skill, allowing characters to perform acts of strength, such as the classic "bend bars and lift gates" from 1st edition AD&D. In addition, Might is the skill used for climbing up ropes and vertical surfaces, such as city walls and cliff-faces.

Creatures with a natural burrow speed frequently gain a racial bonus to Might checks.


You can perform a feat of strength, such as tearing the bars out of a barred window, bending the bars of a portcullis, punching a camel and knocking it out cold, or even knocking over large, heavy objects. This use of the Might skill is broad in application, and GM's are the final arbiters of how it can be used.

As a general rule of thumb, Might should not be used in place of an existing combat maneuver, such as sunder, to replicate its effects. In such a case, the creature needs to use CMB to determine the outcome. This means that actually breaking an object cannot be achieved with the Might skill, though deforming the object is very frequently possible. However, GM's may decide that a raging barbarian who wants to smash in the gates of the keep with his bare fists is just so cinematic that it should have a chance to work, even though smashing gates is usually so hard it requires siege weapons and hours or days of pounding on the gates to smash them in. Sometimes, it's important to let the players be superheroes, so again, GM's are the final arbiters of what is possible here.

GM's may also want to grant a free Intimidate check to anyone who successfully pulls off a particularly showy Feat of Strength.

By their very nature, feats of strength are showy things, and any attempt, even unsuccessful, is going to bring attention to the person doing it. You cannot attempt to brute-force your way out of a jail cell without making any noise.

Action Required:

Standard action

DC of Check:

Depending on the action, typically a Hard DC vs. the level of the owner of the thing being acted upon, or the campaign level.

Modifiers to Check
  • A creature cannot affect any object that weighs more than their maximum Heavy Load for their Strength score.
  • Feats of Strength cannot be used on a creature (that's what combat is for!)
  • Some feats of strength are so absurd that they require an Impossible DC check for the level of the owner of the thing being acted upon, or the campaign level. However, GM's should use this sparingly, as impossible checks are aptly named.
Take 10? / Take 20?

{{{Take10-Take20}}}

Allows Assists?

{{{Assist}}}

Results of Success

{{{Success}}}

Consequences of Failure

A failure means you are unable to pull off the attempt. A failure by less than 5 might mean partial success, if the GM decrees it so.

Retry Allowed?

Yes

Provokes AOO?

Yes


You can catch yourself while falling, by grabbing onto some piece of passing terrain, such as a tree branch, a cliff's edge, an abutment, etc. By doing so, you take only the falling damage you have accumulated by falling up to this point.

Similarly, you can grab onto a creature which is falling past you, to attempt to arrest their fall.

You must have at least one hand free to attempt this.

Action Required:

Immediate action

DC of Check:

10 + the amount of damage the falling creature takes up to the point where the fall might be halted.

Modifiers to Check

If you have both hands free, the DC is reduced by -5.

Take 10? / Take 20?

{{{Take10-Take20}}}

Allows Assists?

{{{Assist}}}

Results of Success

{{{Success}}}

Consequences of Failure

If you fail the check, you do not stop the fall of yourself or the falling creature. The fall continues all the remaining distance to the ground, and all of the falling damage is added together before any defenses, such as DR, are applied.

Retry Allowed?

No

Provokes AOO?

Yes


You can enter a larger creature's space, to set up internal flanks by moving under, onto, or amidst the target creature. Clamber is NOT used to move through an enemy's space (you have to use the Overrun combat maneuver for that), nor can it ever affect multiple creatures. You must begin a Clamber action from a space adjacent to your target.

Clamber includes avoiding the attack of opportunity from the target creature, but not from other nearby creatures who also threaten you. Those creatures require a tumble check, using acrobatics, to avoid provoking from, if you wish to do so. However, the target creature of clamber only gets an attack of opportunity against you if you fail your clamber check by 5 or more (see failure).

The target creature must be at least 2 size categories larger than you.

If you succeed, you may move up to your speed, and position yourself anywhere inside the target creature's space, assuming you have movement enough to reach it.

Action Required:

Standard Action

DC of Check:
  • A player attempting to enter a creature's space with Clamber must roll a Hard DC vs. the CR of the target creature.
  • Monsters and NPC's who wish to enter a PC's space (assuming the PC is at least 2 size categories larger than the monster or NPC attempting it) must target a DC of either 10 + half the PC's level + the PC's Strength modifier, or 10 + the PC's Might bonus, whichever is higher.
Modifiers to Check

Take 10? / Take 20?

{{{Take10-Take20}}}

Allows Assists?

{{{Assist}}}

Results of Success

{{{Success}}}

Consequences of Failure

If you fail, your standard action is expended, but you do not move from your starting space and cannot set up an internal flank with this action. If you fail by 5 or more, you also provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature.

Retry Allowed?

Requires another move action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed.

Provokes AOO?

Only on a check that fails by 5 or more