Tumble Bonuses in Med Armor?

[woolybearundertaker]

The 3.5 tumble rules state that you cant use the tumble skill if your speed has been rduced by armor, etc.

If you have 5 ranks in tumble and are wearing med or hvy armor (and arent a dwarf):

-Would you still get the +2 synergy bonus to balance and jump checks, even though you cant use the tumble skill itself?

-Would you get +3 dodge bonus when fighting defensively instead of the normal +2?

I can t find anything in the rules saying why you wouldn t get the above bonuses, and I guess I d give you the bonuses to balance and jump, but I would not want to give someone the +3 dodge bonus in armor b/c it s so against the flavor of the rules. Has there been any official ruling on this?

 

[AuraSeer]

Those bonuses do still apply.

They are granted when you have 5 ranks in the Tumble skill. Even when you can't use the Tumble maneuver, you still have 5 ranks in the skill; wearing armor doesn't make you forget anything.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Personally I would allow the synergy bonuses to jump and balance, but I wouldn't allow the benefits to dodge bonus when fighting defensively. If pushed into a corner I'd disallow both before allowing both.

Cheers