Climbing

MtG Seek the Wilds by depingo

Climbing

While climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain), unless a creature has an independent climbing speed. For every move action you take climbing, it requires a Strength (Athletics) check. This means taking the dash action to increase your movement gives you another check.
Moving at half speed gives you advantage on these checks.
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall 1d6*5 feet distance in that attempt (assuming that the character can move 30 ft. Half the roll for standard 15 climb movement for players) back to the starting point of the check.

Progress Made

Example if the character can climb 30 feet and fail the check by 5, but rolls a 2 on fall distance, that means that the difference travelled is 20 feet of progress taking 10 feet of fall damage. A roll of 1 means that the character has fallen the maximum distance possible based on climb speed (including any previous distance climbed if the GM is so inclined).

Gear

• The use of a rope give you advantage in climbing.
• The use of a climbing kit allows you to spend an action to anchor yourself to a point, preventing any fall of more than 25 feet(Though it limits upward movement to 25 feet as well unless another action is spent to unachor) . Climbing gear also allows you to spend a reaction to half distance from a fall (as you blindly find any handhold). Still take full fall damage

The Game is about story.

Skill checks should be made when it matters.

Mountaineer

Example 1: We are climbing up a 30 foot wall during an exploration phase. No encounters are planned and nothing of consequence is dependent on the PCs making/failing a check here. Don't force a climb check....they automatically pass. Failing is of zero consequence to the scene.
Example 2: We are climbing this same 30 foot wall, except now we are being chased by several irate guards Now is when it makes sense to roll a climb check, as there are consequences to passing or failing the check.