The wearer of these soft, low-heeled supple leather boots is endowed with a magically enhanced sense of balance. This has the following important effects:
- A thief wearing the boots gains a +10% bonus to all move silently and climb walls die rolls.
- The Dexterity of any character wearing the boots is increased by one point for all purposes where the hands are not involved. Thus, a thief cannot claim a bonus to skills such as open locks, but a bonus to Armor Class may apply, and likewise a bonus applies to Dexterity checks in certain situations (to avoid a fall).
- The wearer gains the tightrope walking proficiency; if this is already possessed, a -4 bonus modifier applies to all proficiency check die rolls when wearing the boots.
A wearer of boots of balance cannot claim a further bonus for moving silently from mundane aids (such as the use of leather strapping to cross creaky floorboards). Too, the bonuses gained from boots of balance cannot be added to the bonus gained if the wearer also uses gauntlets of dexterity.