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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Garthanos" data-source="post: 7521800" data-attributes="member: 82504">Pole Vaulting? are we doing it out of combat or in a low stress situation? Is it an improvised tool or one designed for it with nice spring and the right length. Generally speaking its a tool for bonus to jumping someone can use it without training and get a circumstance bonus for an individual jump. Out of combat they were commonly used to cross bogs and similar terrains in faster safer fashions over long distance travel.If I am not practiced with it and it was a plot significant circumstances must get to church on time cannot take safer route must do it fast (which also means not avoiding dangerous things in the bog by travel route) hence with somethings challenge level appropriate interfering I would use skill challenge considerations based on athletics/maybe acrobatics.  I might spend a healing surge to assure I can get to the church on time we are heros after all and sometimes its worth it. The HS might meant a bite from the icky thing or a bruise on your forehead or similar fun... or achey muscles that make you less smooth in the important dance which follows.Additionally If the hero is practiced at it (Xena or Cormac McArt the lowlander perhaps) this is reliable and avoids a large chunk of the mobility problems of long distance travel through that area and reduces the likelihood of encounters with annoying icky things in the bogs. No roll required to get their promptly however depending on a skill check doing so may or may not cost a healing surge, if this is a dangerous bog with sink holes and nastier critters and time is of the essence and so part of a skill challenge it isn't a walk in the park. Now without the skill challenge circumstances If a hero not practiced with it I have to make relatively mundane skill checks to avoid being slowed down (and hence not getting the benefit) and wont have any benefit about not encountering icky things unless I roll really well but the icky things are also relatively mundane I get teased and mildly laughed at on the other side because I have a leach attached and mom says dinner is cold. And if not challenging the practiced individual can simply narrate getting through the bog quickly and surely.Another out of combat application is used in an athletics competition to impress onlookers and everyone will be using the tool and to win (you may need to fake losing for the sake of diplomacy and having better control can help that too). Now if that impressing onlookers is an important plot point ie to be a challenge in higher level fiction you will have very picky people who are significant to this part of the story. The class feature would also be a bonus to either. In combat using a jumping move reliably may hinge on using a combat trick because it could be easy stopping someone (perhaps with an opportunity attack) from gaining some benefit like smashing an enemy back further or suddenly navigating across a hole out of the way of an attack or putting yourself behind enemy lines.OK I think I just answered very similar to Lanefan but with more words and more elaboration on how system mechanics might make it fully reliable in 4e fashion.Now if 5e had combat tricks I could only use against an enemy who hasn't seen me use it (ie real encounter powers) and ways for martial types  to choose to learn and declare they have auto successes in out of combat situations.</blockquote>

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