Do you allow Acrobatics and Athletics to be used interchangeably?

[Tallifer]

The rules seem to suggest that it's not the vertical surface that is the problem in and of itself, but one that is "slippery" or "with few handholds" which is when a check might come into play at the DM's option.

I suppose this fits the same RAW which allows even characters with a weak strength to carry an enormous amount of stuff on their backs.

 

[iserith]

I suppose this fits the same RAW which allows even characters with a weak strength to carry an enormous amount of stuff on their backs.

Fifteen times the character's Strength score, yes. Unless you're using the encumbrance variant in which case you lose 10 feet of speed at 5x your Strength score in pounds and suffer significant penalties at 10x your Strength score. I use the variant for dungeon delves because it creates an interesting trade-off in balancing what you bring in versus what you take out. In other games, I use the standard rules.

 

[5ekyu]

I suppose this fits the same RAW which allows even characters with a weak strength to carry an enormous amount of stuff on their backs.

Depends on what you consider weak strength and enormous gear and which encumbrance rule from PHB you use.

Is a little less than adventuring strength 10 "weak"?
Is 40lbs "enormous"?

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Not if they're picking up proficiency in both skills, it doesn't.

A monk with DEX 20 and STR 8 who still couldn't climb anything successfully might disagree.

 

[5ekyu]

A monk with DEX 20 and STR 8 who still couldn't climb anything successfully might disagree.

But the catch is - he can.

if clibing is something he wants - get proficiency in athletics and get likely almost as good or better than most of the other folks who are not dedicated climbers.

With slow fall at 4th, they likely can do quite well as climbers.

The gradually increasing base speed also helps -

There seems at times to be a fallacy that if you cannot get max proficiency and max attribute in a build that is optimized for other stuff you must be unable to do a thing at all as in "cant climb anything".

Athletics is a monk class skill and even if you CHOOSE to bury your strength in point buy minmax, you can always take Athletics to make up a lot for that choice.

 

[guachi]

After reading many responses, I'm still confident in breaking Athletics and Acrobatics into:

Athletics: If you can move a particular distance.
Acrobatic: How you move that particular distance.

Swimming the English Channel? Athletics (Con)
Synchronized swimming? Acrobatics (Dex)

 

[Yaarel]

Synchronized swimming? Acrobatics (Dex)

One of the reasons the six abilities are so imbalanced (and occasionally nonsensical) is they rely on explanations that almost never happen during gameplay.

Personally, I have never had a ‘synchronized swimming’ check, or any kind of dance-off.

I have had many gymnastic stunts during combat, but they are almost always Strength (Athletics) because they involve jumping.



Even running across branches thru trees, I would call it a Strength (Athletics climbing) check.

Strength (Athletics) includes body agility − even swordfighting and sports stunts.

 

[billd91]

Even running across branches thru trees, I would call it a Strength (Athletics climbing) check.

Strength (Athletics) includes body agility − even swordfighting and sports stunts.

Of course the stats are going to seem particularly imbalanced if you redefine them to encroach on each other. You're perfectly free to call for a Dex (acrobatics) check to run across branches through trees by considering it a balance check, particularly if they're not really gaining height (and thus not really climbing) and not jumping to span significant distances.

 

[Yaarel]

Of course the stats are going to seem particularly imbalanced if you redefine them to encroach on each other. You're perfectly free to call for a Dex (acrobatics) check to run across branches through trees by considering it a balance check, particularly if they're not really gaining height (and thus not really climbing) and not jumping to span significant distances.

There are times when Dexterity (Athletics) can be appropriate − slow, small, cautious, sensitive, precise, aim, like an archery trick shot.

But ‘Acrobatics’ as a separate skill lacks a reason to exist. Heh, a person who takes the socalled ‘acrobatics’ cant even perform basic acrobatic maneuvers, which require jumping and climbing.

By contrast, the Athletics skill covers everything relating to gymnastics, jumping, pull ups, climbing rope, carrying another acrobat, and so on.

 

[collin]

Do you allow to a certain degree and in some cases Acrobatics and Athletics to be used interchangeably?

In general: No.

But I can see (as evidenced by some of the examples in other posts in this thread) where one might allow a check of one or the other depending on the character and circumstance.