Failed Tumble check... now what???

[Ogrork the Mighty]

So you try and tumble past/thru an opponent's square but fail the Tumble check and instead remain where you started and draw an AoO. Then what? Was the tumble a full move action, a partial move action, a 5-foot step, no movement at all? Can you still move without making a double move?

 

[dcollins]

Skill says you "Tumble at one-half speed as part of normal movement...", so it generally had to be part of a move action.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I follow it that far, but if you fail how much of your speed have you exhausted? If it's just 5 feet, why can't you just keep trying to tumble thru/around?

 

[Caeleddin]

The Tumble is your move action. You failed, it fizzled. It is over. It is like attacking someone. You missed, but the attack is still counted. So, no. You don't get a retry, at least, not in that round, unless you want to spend your standard action to try and Tumble past as well.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Action: Not applicable. Tumbling is part of movement, so a Tumble check is part of a move action.

You can keep trying, but if they have Combat Reflexes they can keep getting AoOs against you (AoO for moving into their square, not for generic movement) assuming you actually do move into their square at some point during the move. That brings up the question, if you try to move through an opponent's space and fail, do you fail to move at all, and does it count against your movement for the round if you didn't actually move into their square?

EDIT: My thought is that you do move into their space, taking the extra movement, and they "push you out" or whatever. I'm not sure if this is accurate, though.

 

[Ovinomancer]

TUMBLE (DEX; TRAINED ONLY; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)
You can’t use this skill if your speed has been reduced by armor, excess equipment, or loot.
Check: You can land softly when you fall or tumble past opponents. You can also tumble to entertain an audience (as though using the Perform skill). The DCs for various tasks involving the Tumble skill are given on the table below.

Tumble DC Task
15 Treat a fall as if it were 10 feet shorter than it really is when determining damage.

15 Tumble at one-half speed as part of normal movement, provoking no attacks of opportunity while doing so. Failure means you provoke attacks of opportunity normally. Check separately for each opponent you move past, in the order in which you pass them (player’s choice of order in case of a tie).
Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the Tumble DC.

25 Tumble at one-half speed through an area occupied by an enemy (over, under, or around the opponent) as part of normal movement, provoking no attacks of opportunity while doing so. Failure means you stop before entering the enemy-occupied area and provoke an attack of opportunity from that enemy.
Check separately for each opponent. Each additional enemy after the first adds +2 to the Tumble DC.

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Tumbling around someone and failing means you burn double the amount of movement for entering your intended destination square (and you still DO enter it), but you draw an attack of opportunity from any enemy who can and wishes to do so. You may continue to move as normal, drawing AoO as normal.

Tumbling through someone/thing is a little different. If you fail you stop your movement (no more movement for that action) and draw an AoO. If you still have a move action or a standard action left, you may attempt again. Or do something else. Your call.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Tumbling through someone/thing is a little different. If you fail you stop your movement (no more movement for that action) and draw an AoO. If you still have a move action or a standard action left, you may attempt again. Or do something else. Your call.

That depends on if you interpriet it to mean "stop for the round" or "don't move forward into their space." I've seen both interprietations multiple times on the board, and happen to fall in with the latter.

 

[Ovinomancer]

True, it is open to interpretation.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

The problem with allowing try-agains is that someone with only one AoO (which are the vast majority of creatures) blows that on the first failed attempt and that pretty much takes away the limiting factor of tumbling; you might as well not bother making the checks b/c the tumbler will just keep rolling until he gets it.

Personally, I like the idea that a failed tumble uses up a move action.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Well, it is using up 10' of movement to try to move into their space. Then 10' to move out. So, if you have a 30' movement, then after you fail a second time, you can't try again.