Pilot Skill

Pilot (Dex)
Trained Only
Use this skill to operate a vehicle, whether it performs in land, sea, air, or space.

Check: Typical piloting tasks don’t require checks. Checks are required during combat, for special maneuvers, or in other extreme circumstances or when the pilot wants to attempt something outside the normal parameters of the vehicle.

As a rule of thumb, easy vehicle maneuvers – including low-speed turns and loops – do not require a check; they only require movement. Stunts – actions in which the pilot or driver attempts to do something complex very quickly or in a limited space – require Pilot checks. Using a ship’s afterburners to increase speed has a DC of 10, and using braking thrusters to slow a ship down rapidly has a DC of 15. Performing a tight loop is somewhat more challenging (DC 25), and the DC for avoiding hazards ranges from very easy (DC 0) to nearly impossible (DC 40).

Each vehicle’s description includes a maneuver modifier that applies to all Pilot checks made when operating the vehicle. (For starships, this modifier derives directly from the size of the ship.)

See Vehicles and [Starships] for descriptions along with Ground Combat and Starship Combat for maneuvers and combat.

Special: Any Pilot check made to operate a starship has a -4 penalty unless you have the appropriate Starship Operation feat.

You can take 10 when making a Pilot check, but you can’t take 20.

A character with the Spacer feat and at least 1 rank in this skill gets a +2 aptitude bonus on Pilot checks.

Time: Using the Pilot skill is a move action.

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