[OOC] Return to the Rusty Rat

[DM Surranó]

About climbing speed

This may be an interpretation that differs from the majority of the DMs so it's time to mention it. Some of the players are familiar with this ruling from another adventure.

The rule says:

With a successful Climb check, you can advance (...) at one-quarter your normal speed.

The problem is that speed is defined by the rules in unit of "feet" instead of "feet per unit of time" and "feet" is a unit of distance, not speed.
I find it a common misconception that the associated unit of time is one move action i.e. your base land speed (e.g. 30 for humans or 20 for dwarves) is your normal speed in feet per move action. That, however, is your hustle (or combat) speed.

A hustle is a jog at about 6 miles per hour for an unencumbered human. A character moving his or her speed twice in a single round, (...) is hustling when he or she moves.

(math says it should be 6.8mph but assume simplicity overruled math here)

Thus, getting a full round of climbing at one-quarter your normal speed means 7.5 feet per round for the average human or 5 feet per round for the average dwarf. If you want to cover 15 ft per round climbing with a base land speed of 30 that counts as accelerated climbing.
And don't forget that other factors may come into perspective; like darkness halving your speed...

Now you may feel startled by this and think something like "this is a house rule you haven't talked about in advance; if I knew--" but I consider it a rules clarification and not a house rule.

Your opinions are welcome. I did quite some immersive studies when making this decision but who knows; maybe you can show me an aspect that changes my perception of this world.