The need for speed.


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

Grand Lodge

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I’m looking for ways to increase the land speed of a human 6th level cleric of Desna with the travel domain. She already has the untyped bonus from the travel domain and routinely casts longstrider gaining her a +10 enhancement bonus to speed, and she took the fleet feat once. So usually during play her base speed is 55’ (base 30’ + untyped 10’ bonus from travel domain + untyped 5’ bonus from fleet feet + 10’ enhancement bonus from longstrider).

Class “dips” into monk and barbarian aren’t really an option for story reasons for this character, so those means are out. I’d hate to use another feat slot for the stackable fleet bonus (though at this point it’s the only thing I’ve found). And every magic item I’ve found that increases land speed provides an enhancement bonus and so doesn’t stack with her longstrider casting.

Is there something I’m missing? I was hoping maybe there’d be an ioun stone or something that provided a non-enhancement bonus to speed, but if there is, I’m not finding it.

Completely changing tacks, as a sidelight on my research into this I decided to figure out what the fastest creatures in the game are, for values of “fastest” that involve tactical speeds measured in feet and ignoring things like teleportation effects and non-standard movement modes like earthglide. Confining my checks to the five Bestiaries, it seems like they are:

Land speed: the cerynitis from Bestiary 5 with a speed of 180’, beating out the second place quickling by full 60’.
Fly speed: the anemos from Bestiary 5 with a fly speed of 480’ (the fastest creature in the game as near as I can tell).
Swim speed: the mogaru kaiju from Bestiary 4 with a swim speed of 100’ (there are various swimming creatures with “jet” speeds that beat this, though).
Climb speed: the titan centipede from Bestiary 2 with a climb speed of 60’. Note that this creature also has a land speed of 60’ so it’s crazy fast.
Burrow speed: here we have a tie between the shaitan genie in the first Bestiary and the glaistig in Bestiary 5, both with burrow speeds of 60', but note that the glaistig also has land and climb speeds of 60’!

And finally, a highly honorable mention must be given to the penguin, found with other familiars in Bestiary 5, for having the fastest—and as far as I was able to find, also the slowest—“toboggan” speed in the game at 30’.


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Haste or expeditious retreat wouldn't stack w longstrider, but they are larger bonuses for shorter durations. Greater longstrider is just a doubled strength longstrider. Alas, none of these are on your spell list, so UMD or get a friend.


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Aside from the ones you mentioned, the only untyped speed bonus that I can think of is the Sylph alternate racial trait, Like the Wind.

Grand Lodge

Thanks to both of you.

Java Man, I think greater longstrider is a personal-ranged spell, so UMD would be the only option. That would be what, a 12K wand or so at lowest caster level from a druid, using a non-class skill and Intelligence. So, yes, "alas" is the operative word.

As for the sylph alternate race trait, hmmm. Is there some feat or trait that allows a human--long after character creation--to take another race's alternate race trait?


Sarabel Hieronymus wrote:

Thanks to both of you.

Java Man, I think greater longstrider is a personal-ranged spell, so UMD would be the only option. That would be what, a 12K wand or so at lowest caster level from a druid, using a non-class skill and Intelligence. So, yes, "alas" is the operative word.

As for the sylph alternate race trait, hmmm. Is there some feat or trait that allows a human--long after character creation--to take another race's alternate race trait?

It's a racial trait, not a race trait, so I'm afraid not.

Grand Lodge

Ah, I see, thanks.

This is interesting, and I can only imagine it's quite by design. All the options stacked together for non-monk PCs really do seem to top out at about 60' or so for consistently reliable ground speed, and even that's stretching it.

This carries over to monsters as well, really. I reviewed the speeds of every creature in all five Bestiaries--what is that, a thousand critters?--and only came up with fifty-five with base land speeds of 60' or greater.


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I found another untyped bonus. An Occultist with the Transmutation Implement School can select the Focus Power:

OA wrote:
Sudden Speed (Sp): As a swift action, you can expend 1 point of mental focus to grant yourself a burst of speed. This increases your land speed by 30 feet for 1 minute. This ability does not stack with itself.

It's temporary and requires a dip, but I thought I'd mention it for completeness.


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You could try to polymorph into a creature with a high base speed.

Grand Lodge

Heh, okay, let's see if I've got this right.

Assuming a light load and light or no armor, if a sylph character (base 30') takes the alternate racial trait like the wind she adds an untyped bonus of +5 (base 35'). She begins her adventuring career as a cleric, worshiping a deity who grants her the travel domain with its attendant +10' untyped bonus (base 45'). Our sylph cleric then undergoes a radical change in personal philosophy and takes up the ways of the barbarian, gaining the extraordinary fast movement ability and another 10' untyped bonus (base 55').

That seems to be as far as she can go with permanent untyped bonuses, but now she wants mooohhhr speeeed! So our cleric 1/barbarian 1 becomes a druid and sticks with it long enough (five levels!) to get a third level spell, greater longstrider, which provides a reliable +20' enhancement bonus for a big chunk of the adventuring day. During most encounters, she's moving now at 75'.

She always has her ear to the ground, though, and hears about the exciting new possibilities provided by occultism. Setting aside the Green Faith as she set aside Desna and, what, barbarism I guess, she starts collecting antiques and, as a cleric 1/barbarian 1/druid 5/occultist 1 spends her time and talent on the ability to use the sudden speed implement power, adding an untyped 30' bonus to her habitual 75' for one minute. So for one encounter per day, she's really moving at 105'/round.

Hey! That beats a 20th level monk!

Now that would be a weird character.

Grand Lodge

Melkiador wrote:
You could try to polymorph into a creature with a high base speed.

Do the various polymorph spells actually give you the land speed of the creature you transform into? They usually specifically call out other movement modes (see the descriptions of the various beast shape spells, for instance) but not land speed.

That said, most of the really fast creatures aren't humanoids. Quicklings are fey, and the fastest critter in the books, the cerynitis, is a large magical beast, requiring at least a 6th level spell by my reading, if it does, in fact, provide the listed land speed.

Surely there's some transmutation/polymorph spell that lets you change into a fey creature though. Off to dig.

Grand Lodge

Digging and finding nothing. Do you know, I think it might take a spell as powerful as polymorph any object to change a PC into a quickling? Huh.


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Not quite the same, but a Aerokineticist can pull off some crazy speeds with ride the blast. I think they can go about 1000 feet per turn in the higher levels.


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Under the Polymorph subschool, "Your base speed changes to match that of the form you assume." So you always get the land speed of whatever you turn into. You're right though, there is no "Fey Shape" spell, so PAO is the only way to get a Quickling.

Grand Lodge

Bob Bob Bob wrote:
Under the Polymorph subschool, "Your base speed changes to match that of the form you assume." So you always get the land speed of whatever you turn into. You're right though, there is no "Fey Shape" spell, so PAO is the only way to get a Quickling.

Thank you! Those meta-rules in the schools and subschools always fall right out of my mind.

I don't guess you can change into an ooze or a vermin without very high level magic, either. Want to be an elf? Knock yourself out with alter self, a second level spell. Want to be an earthworm? Well, begin by becoming one of the most powerful spell casters in the world.

I understand the design principle, really, I guess it's more or less sympathetic magic--a halfling wizard changing into an orc seems like a big step, but in the larger scheme of things it's nowhere near as big an actual physical change as that halfling becoming a cricket. I was about to type something about the oddity of it taking such powerful magic to transform into something comparatively mean and small, but that's really not all that fair to crickets.


get reincarnated as a viloaraptor and have a base speed of 60 then at level 17 get greater eldrich heratige with the fire elemental bloodline for a +30 base land speed your now move speed is now at 90 feet get just the strideing part of boots of spring and stride and following the patern of multiplying the cost by 4 to increase items effect by the base effect spend roughly 32k to get another +30 to land speed you now have 120 land speed now with the +10 from travel domain multi class 1 level into barbarian and 1 level into bloodrager all together thats another +30 so your land speed is now 150. you are now an angery raptor cleric of desna with a land speed of 150 and it should probably terify some people. (i know you said no dips but it would be funny)

Grand Lodge

I just found another 10' for our cleric/barbarian/druid/occultist. She was born under the sign of the Wagon (meaning her birthday was between 21 Erastus and 10 Arodus), gaining a trait that lets her increase her speed by that amount for one round, once per day. Hey, every little bit helps.

(Trait is from the list of Cosmic Caravan traits at page 37 of the fabulous 2014 Campaign Setting supplement, Occult Mysteries.)

Liberty's Edge

Horizon walker - plains.
In fact, there's nothing particularly weird about a barbarian/travel cleric explorer, who becomes a horizon walker. I've made that character. Or, for more fun, Shaman, in order to get cheetah sprint.
30 ft base
10 ft barbarian
10 ft travel domain
10 ft enhancement (longstrider or the like)
10 ft horizon walker
=70ft essentially permanently. Or, be a druid with the travel domain, so save yourself multiclassing, and get greater longstrider too.

Enjoy charging 600 ft!
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/cheetah-s-sprint

Of course, combining this with the occultist/other powers can easily increase that.


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I think the number 1 in terms of speed belongs to the Great Wyrm Solar Dragon with its "Beam of Light" ability, which allows it to move as far as it wants to as long it is in line of sight - which I guess is technically non-standard movement but worth mentioning.


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Flame Oracle has the Cinder Dance revelation which grants an untyped 10 ft move speed bump.

Just don't select the lame curse!


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Get a Harrow Deck of Many Things, draw the Cricket card, then three more cards for the cumulative +30 permanent enhancement to your base speed.

The mutant template offers a +10 enhancement to base speed as one of its 21 possible benefits.


Plausible Pseudonym wrote:

Get a Harrow Deck of Many Things, draw the Cricket card, then three more cards for the cumulative +30 permanent enhancement to your base speed.

The mutant template offers a +10 enhancement to base speed as one of its 21 possible benefits.

go with the mutant creture template instead its far better


Elf could have been 35 ft base speed, with the alternate racial trait long-limbed from Horror Adventures, sacrificing weapon familiarity. I know that's likely no option for this character, but might be one for another.


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zefig wrote:

Flame Oracle has the Cinder Dance revelation which grants an untyped 10 ft move speed bump.

Just don't select the lame curse!

Go with the Blind Curse instead, to simulate Morrowind.


Bloodrager with celestial bloodline? For fluff it is being touched by the divine. Make it an urban Bloodrager for controlled rage. That's +10ft right there and good aligned weapons. Then take the feat trial scars (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/tribal-scars) for another +5ft.

That's 70ft movement.

And while its thematically incorrect, I will say with elemental bloodline while raging you could get another +30ft, for a total of 100ft a round. At which point your GM should let you use a lance while charging.


Grumbaki wrote:
Make it an urban Bloodrager for controlled rage. That's +10ft right there and good aligned weapons.

no such thing as an urban bloodrager

Scarab Sages

Hero/streets begs to differ, providing that archetype


blood conduit,bloodrider,crossblooded,greenrager,metamagic rager,primalist,rageshaper,spelleater,steelblood,untouchable and then the 3rd party blood scoundrel are all the archetypes i can find for bloodrager


Lady-J wrote:
blood conduit,bloodrider,crossblooded,greenrager,metamagic rager,primalist,rageshaper,spelleater,steelblood,untouchable and then the 3rd party blood scoundrel are all the archetypes i can find for bloodrager

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/archetypes/paizo- --bloodrager-archetypes/urban-bloodrager-bloodrager-archetype

There you go. It's a pretty good archetype. Diplomacy as class skill and can get +4 Str without AC penalty (or other bonuses...)


hmmm weird that its not posted in the main archetype list for bloodragers but in a small sub list only boosting 1 stat and no will save boost really hurts though


Then again add Primalist to it. Get beast totem for an AC boost. Rage without losing AC. Suddenly raging makes you into an AC tank. You can also go half orc sacred tattoo to make up for the lost Wis while raging.

Half Orc
Primalist Urban Barbarian (1)
Elemental Bloodline (fire)
Fate's Favored and Clever Wordplay (Int for diplomacy)
Intimidating, Sacred Tattoos, Darkvision, City Raised
Str-18 Dex-14 Con-14 Int-12 Wis-12 Cha-7
Diplomacy: +5
Intimidate: +4
Sense Motive: +5
Perception: +5
Knowledge Local: +7

Fort: +6 Ref: +4 Will: +3

Power attack and rage with a falchion. +5 hit, 2d4+1d6+12 damage.
AC 17 and 30ft movement with scale mail

Get barbarian damage and speed while raging while keeping your AC. And a great list of class skills. Eventually can get 70ft movement while raging, and can get huge AC bonuses from Primalist->beast totem.

Seems like a good archetype to me.


i was thinking about asking my dm if i could take the archtype until i saw what i would be missing out on durring a rage if i did so as i would gladly trade 2 ac on my antipaladin bloodrager graveknight for +2 hit +3 dmg +2 hp/hd +4 fort +2 reflex +4 will during a rage (and if im smiting something the bonus goes up even more)


Wish spells grant a one time inherient bonus to an ability score, you may be able to convince your DM to grant that as a speed boost instead??..I'd probably allow it, of course it'd require a side quest to find a wizard and then probably complete some task for him/her and then still have to pay in gold and maybe xp but I would allow it if the player really wanted it.


kainblackheart wrote:
Wish spells grant a one time inherient bonus to an ability score, you may be able to convince your DM to grant that as a speed boost instead??..I'd probably allow it, of course it'd require a side quest to find a wizard and then probably complete some task for him/her and then still have to pay in gold and maybe xp but I would allow it if the player really wanted it.

why would it cost exp?

Liberty's Edge

Travel domain gets dimension door. I would go for the dimensional agility feat line...


Lady-J wrote:
kainblackheart wrote:
Wish spells grant a one time inherient bonus to an ability score, you may be able to convince your DM to grant that as a speed boost instead??..I'd probably allow it, of course it'd require a side quest to find a wizard and then probably complete some task for him/her and then still have to pay in gold and maybe xp but I would allow it if the player really wanted it.
why would it cost exp?

Doesn't have to, I just know some old school DM's would probably require it

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