Climbing: budget movement before making a check

SRD 5.2.1 · Movement

At the table

1. Without using a Climb Speed, budget two feet of movement for each foot climbed.
2. In Difficult Terrain, the climbing cost is three feet of movement per foot.
3. A slippery surface or few handholds may call for DC 15 Strength (Athletics), as the GM decides.

Example decision

A character without a Climb Speed has 30 feet of movement and climbs an ordinary wall. No check or other effect changes the climb. How far can that movement take them?

15 feet, because each foot climbed costs two feet of movement.

Each foot of climbing costs its normal foot plus one extra foot. Thirty feet therefore pays for fifteen feet of climbing. A Climb Speed used for the climb would remove that extra climbing cost. A check on a slippery surface is a separate issue from paying for the distance.

Watch for this mistake

Do not charge three additional feet in Difficult Terrain. The wording says two extra feet, for a total cost of three feet per foot climbed.

Ask the table

Which movement mode is being used, and what is the total cost per foot on this surface?

Source rule

While you’re climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Climb Speed and use it to climb. At the GM’s option, climbing a slippery surface or one with few handholds might require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Source: SRD 5.2.1, 178–179. Online guide.