Reflex

Skill Rate: Staggered

Uses :

Initiative: Your Reflex bonus is added to your Dexterity when you make an Initiative check to determine the order that characters take their turns in at the beginning of combat. Further, there are a number of techniques (Nerves, Jittery Nerves, and Iron Nerves) that increase your odds of going first.

Dodging: The Reflex skill is used to make dodge defence rolls. Every rank in Reflex grants you an additional dodge defence roll per turn. Mobility penalties apply to dodges, as they are dexterity-based. A dodge against a damaging area attack reduces damage by 3 points instead of ignoring it altogether, and non-damaging effects cannot be dodged at all without special GM permission.

Catch Yourself: If you fall off a ledge, are falling by a branch or ledge, etc. you can make a Reflex check with DC 4 to try to catch the ledge and not fall. This counts as one dodge attempt per round, and can be done on anyone‚s turn. You can then make an Athletics check to pull yourself up (a 4SA).

Catch Something: To catch an object that you‚ve dropped (such as by being disarmed) you require a free hand. Make a Reflex check against DC 6. This counts as one of your dodge attempts per round, but does not otherwise take any time. This can be done on anyone‚s turn. To catch something that has been thrown, it must pass through an area in your reach. Make a Reflex check against DC 6 to catch it, as above (counting as a dodge attempt) unless the thrower is deliberately trying to make it difficult to catch. If so, the Reflex DC is equal to the Defence DC of the thrown object (typically 4+the thrower‚s Ranged Skill bonus).

Techniques:

Passive Techniques

1.   Evasion: You may make dodge rolls against area attacks and non-damaging effects completely. Normally, a dodge against a damaging area attack reduces damage by 3 points, and non-damaging effects cannot be dodged at all without special GM permission.
2.   Nerves: Increase the die size by one for initiative checks. Typically this means you roll a d8 (unless Reflex is your focus skill, in which case you roll a d10)
3.   Jittery Nerves:   [Requires Nerves, three ranks in Reflex] Increase the die size by one for initiative checks. Typically this means you roll a d10 (unless Reflex is your focus skill, in which case you roll a d12)
4.   Iron Nerves:   [Requires Jittery Nerves, six ranks in Reflex] : Increase the die size by one for initiative checks. Typically this means you roll a d12. If you already were using a d12 for initiative, you instead gain a +2 bonus to initiative checks.

Active Techniques

1.   Harm's Way:   [Requires Lightning Reflexes] You may make a dodge check in place of an adjacent creature. If you succeed, you are hit by the attack in the creature's place. You can use this ability after the creature has tried (and presumably failed) to defend. This uses one of your dodge defences per round.
2.   Thrown Into Danger: [Requires Harm‚s Way] Before using Harm‚s Way, you can spend 2 of your round‚s allotment of dodge attempts to make an Immediate 1-second move. This move must be used to move towards a target that you are using Harm‚s Way to defend.
3.   Efficient Dodger:   [Requires 5 ranks in Reflex] Once per round, when you make a successful dodge, you can choose to redirect the attack to a creature adjacent to you. The attacker makes an attack roll using identical modifiers, weapons, abilities, etc. as the original attack. The new target must be a valid target for the original attacker ƒ in reach or range, no intervening obstacles, etc. The new target may defend normally.