(3.x) acrobatic games

[Loren]

having recently looked over some of the skill tricks in the complete scoundrel I have a hankering to see characters bouncing of walls, tumbling around enemies, and generally acting like they were in Prince of Persia (or just about any other Ubisoft, Montreal game).
Does any one have advice on how to create a game where acrobatics plays a prominant role?

[CTLC]

i suggest limiting weapons and magic, think intense slums, or collapsed gov't in a city, or really even tribes. any setting where you cant just overdo it with Xbows, bows, or MAGIC. which is the real problem with this idea, the magic.
but leave buffing, brew a bit, and this idea could be really fun!

[FishAreWet]

ban flying or it gets stupid.

and that psionic talent that lets you walk on walls

and teleporting

[Person_Man]

As FishAreWet points out, acrobatics is pretty pointless given the various methods of flying, teleporting, dimension door, etc. 4E makes flight and teleportation slightly less accessible. But honestly, unless you design a system from the group up that lacks those mechanics, there's not much you can do.

Also, you'd need Tumble, Jump, Balance, and potentially Climb. It's very inefficient. No one I know invests in all four of those Skills beyond what is needed to bypass an AoO or qualify for specific feats. Pathfinder was smart enough to combine Tumble/Jump/Balance into the Acrobatics Skill. But if you're not playing Pathfinder game at low levels, it probably won't happen.

[Ernir]

Does any one have advice on how to create a game where acrobatics plays a prominant role?

Tell the players beforehand that the acrobatics skills will be important in this campaign. A smart player will be quick to remember that (s)he really has been wanting to play a daredevil for quite some time.

Keep the campaign low-level. Restricting Fly and such is fine and dandy, but at higher levels, more maneuverability than simple acrobatics can offer is pretty much assumed.

Empasize terrain in the battles, and make sure that characters with the proper skills really do have the opportunity to use them. Instead of a straightforward fight with thugs in an alley, make sure they could gain the upper hand in the encounter by figuring it out where the thugs are hiding and that they could be surprised by dropping on them from the rooftops.

You may want to homebrew obviously powerful feats and skill tricks relating to this.