Balance

• Ability: Dexterity.
• Requires Training: No.
• Classes: Assassin, Bard, Breach Guard, Civilian, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Shadowdancer, Skincarver, Weapon Master, Wild Shot, Witch Hunter.

A character with good balance is able to avoid attacks in combat, positioning themselves safely at all times.

Every ten points in this skill increase the character's armour class from Dodge bonuses by +1. Armour check penalties reduce the effectiveness of Balance, however all sources of Balance skill points, not just invested ranks count towards the Dodge bonus to AC. This means items with + Balance skill, buffs such as Guidance and the Bard's Inspire Competence song all contribute towards obtaining the bonus Dodge AC.

Additionally, a character can Tumble as a special move.

Check: When using the Tumble ability, the character makes a Balance check. For every 10 points on the check, they gain +1 Dodge AC. In addition, they suffer a -2 penalty to damage. The effects last for 3 rounds. This Special Move has a cooldown of 2 rounds, and stacks with itself.

Special: Characters can only activate one Special Ability per round. This includes Demoralize, Feint and Tumble checks, as well as Animal Empathy, Called Shot, Circle Kick, Disarm, Knockdown, Pick Pocket, Reckless Blow, and Shield Bash abilities.

Use: Select Skill Set -> Tumble in the class menu.

Related Feats: Saddleborn, Sailor

Notes

Modified Balance rank = Balanced Rank + Dexterity Modifier + (Armour Check Penalty) + (Item Bonus/Penalty to Balance) + (Spell Buff/Debuff to Dexterity/Balance)

Example 1.

A 1st level character with a Balance Rank of 4, 16 Dexterity, and wearing studded leather armour would have a Modified Balance Rank of 6. This character does not benefit from the +1 AC as they did not reach a Modified Balance Rank of 10. Therefore, they would have 16 AC--3 base AC from armor and 3 from Dexterity Modifier.

Modified Balance Rank 6 = Balance Rank 4 + Dexterity Modifier 3 + (Armour Check Penalty -1)

Example 2.

A 5th level character with a Balance Rank of 8, 17 Dexterity, and wearing studded leather armour would have a Modified Balance Rank of 10. This character does benefit from the +1 AC as they reached a Modified Balance Rank of 10. Therefore, they would have 17 AC--3 base AC from armor, 3 from Dexterity Modifier, and 1 from Modified Balance Rank of 10

Modified Balance Rank 10 = Balance Rank 8 + Dexterity Modifier 3 + (Armour Check Penalty -1)

Example 3.

A 8th level character with a Balance Rank of 11, 18 Dexterity, wearing magic studded leather armour that grants +2 Balance Rank, under the effect of Guidance, and 4th level Bard Song : Inspire Competence would have a Modified Balance Rank of 20. Therefore, they would have 19 AC--3 base AC from armor, 4 from Dexterity Modifier, and 2 from Modified Balance Rank of 20. The character has reached the maximum dexterity bonus on studded leather armor due to having a Dexterity Modifier of 4 (other bonus source), but Balance adds AC as a dodge bonus source--not calculated into maximum Dexterity bonus.

Modified Balance rank 20 = Balanced Rank 11 + Dexterity Modifier 4 + (Armour Check Penalty -1) + (Item Bonus to Balance +2) + (Guidance +1) + (4th level Bard Song : Inspire Competence +3)

Refer to Armours and NWN wiki's Armour Class page for information about armour and AC sources.