Can Jaunt Boots, which allow the wearer to take a 15-foot 5-foot-step up to three times/day, bypass obstacles?
This question is based on the boot's construction components, which includes the spell Jester's Jaunt. Jester's Jaunt is a teleportation spell, so does it follow that Jaunt Boots effectively allow teleportation up to 15 feet away?
1) Can Jaunt Boots therefore be used to bypass difficult terrain?
2) Can Jaunt Boots be used to teleport past a 10-foot wide cavern?
3) Can Jaunt Boots be used to teleport up a 10-foot high cliff?
From Jester's Jaunt - "You teleport the target to a space you can see within 30 feet of the target", so yes you can use the boots to as required.
The problem with these boots is that as written, they are not useful in combat and allow unexpected moves:
"Three times per day, on command for 1 round when the wearer makes a 5-foot step, he can move up to 15 feet. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity."
'on command' - so it takes a standard action to start this, vs the free action of the Boots of Speed.
"for 1 round when the wearer makes a 5-foot step", so this can be read as using your 5-foot step you can move 15 feet (leaving you a move equivalent action) OR for each 5-foot of you movement, you can move 15 feet. (which would allow a character with 30 foot movement to move 90 feet.)
I would re-write the Description to read "As a free action (up to 3 times per day), the wearer of the Jaunt Boots can click her heels together, teleporting her up to 15 feet to a space that she can see. This uses the 5-foot step action for that round. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity."
Cool, thanks
Regarding 5-foot vs standard action, this may be up to a DM's ruling because otherwise the boots are practically worthless yet come with a 7200gp price tag. A good discussion on this topic can be found here.
I think the key part of the Jaunt Boots description is that the user can activate them when the wearer makes a 5-foot step. To me that implies it's use is 5-foot step equivalent, and it is only useful in combat if that is the case, but the "command" activation confounds that interpretation.
Corollary to this question. Since the boots apparently teleport, could one, say, teleport out of a grapple?