When are you considered "balancing?"

[ackron]

First of all, my apologies if this has been covered before if so could someone please post a link?

Under what circumstances are you considered to be balancing, and possibly flat-footed? Here is the relevant text from the SRD:

"You can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface, as follows:

Being Attacked while Balancing

You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing. If you take damage while balancing, you must make another Balance check against the same DC to remain standing. "

Action
None. A Balance check doesn’t require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation."

It seems to me that there are four possibilites in reading these rules:
1. You are considered balancing only when you are in the middle of a move action that requires a balance check.
2. You are considered balancing if you made a balance check as part of your movement the last time you moved, and the situation that percipatated the balance check remains (IE the grease spell did not expire).
3. You are considered balancing if any movement you make would requre a balance check (ie, standing on a narrow ledge, or on a greased square).
4. You are considred balancing if any run or charge action you make would require a balance check (ie, on an uneven floor, or in a rough cave).

Personally, I am inclined to read it as option 3, allowing me to use grease to make someone flat-footed, assuming they don't have 5 ranks in balance, however the rules seem to be fairly ambigious, and my DM disagrees. How do you rule balance and what is your reasoning behind it? And is there another way to read the rules that I am missing?

Thanks in advance for any insight you have to share.

 

[shilsen]

I'd say option 3 too.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Personally I'd say the problem here is with the grease spell.

It should have a balance check in place of a reflex save.

Voila. Done.

 

[ackron]

Personally I'd say the problem here is with the grease spell.

It should have a balance check in place of a reflex save.

Voila. Done.

It actually calls for both:

Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target or Area: One object or a 10-ft. square
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: No

A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease. Any creature in the area when the spell is cast must make a successful Reflex save or fall. This save is repeated on your turn each round that the creature remains within the area. A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Balance check. Failure means it can’t move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Balance skill for details). "

So if you are in the area when the spell is cast you have to make a reflex save, but no balance check. If you move when you are in the area of the spell, you have to make a balance check. The spell effect is actually more powerful than normal balancing, since it calls for a reflex save if the balance check is failed by 5 or less, if you are balacing normally, you simply can not move if you fail your check by 5 or less.

It dosn't really address the core of the origional question though, are you considered balancing when you are standing on a balance beam? or do you actually have to be moving along the balacne beam to be considered balacing (I know the way I would rule according to to real life, but IMHO real life is not really relevant to the D&D rules).

Or, is there some differance (within the rules) between balancing on a balance beam and balancing on a greased square?

 

[Orichin]

I vote option 5) you are considered balancing for as long as your character remains in a square that requires a balance check to move though, and until your next initiative if moving across your stopping square would require a balance check.

 

[ackron]

I vote option 5) you are considered balancing for as long as your character remains in a square that requires a balance check to move though, and until your next initiative if moving across your stopping square would require a balance check.

How is that differant from option 3? Is there a situation where moving out of a square that requires a balance check to move through or across would not provoke a balance check?

 

[Saeviomagy]

It actually calls for both:
It dosn't really address the core of the origional question though, are you considered balancing when you are standing on a balance beam? or do you actually have to be moving along the balacne beam to be considered balacing (I know the way I would rule according to to real life, but IMHO real life is not really relevant to the D&D rules).

Or, is there some differance (within the rules) between balancing on a balance beam and balancing on a greased square?

My point is - if grease did NOT require a reflex save, and instead requires a balance check to remain within the area of the spell, you would certainly be balancing while you remain in the area.

As it is, despite the fact that every round you must make a save or fall over, and if you move, you must make a balance check or fall over, you are NOT technically balancing while you remain within the spell.

It's bizarre and unnecessary.

 

[ackron]

you are NOT technically balancing while you remain within the spell.

aha, this is what I am driving at, so when are you "technically balancing?"
Is it in one of the four situations I described above, or is it something else?