High mobility character build?

[kroonermanblack]

I saw an old thread while googling something (I think it was 'why is spring attack bad' since that's a very hated feat on these forums) and came across a few interesting topics about building highly mobile, or mobility centric, mundane characters.

Wanted to see if anyone had any concepts for that now, provided that A) No flying, B) melee-based, not ranged, C) Casting is acceptable, but weapon-based abilities should be the bread and butter, aside from being focused on moving around the battlefield.

I was tempted to call it a 'pure dex' build, but that's deceptive since I assume a lot of classes will take int/wis bonuses of some type too.

I guess the old Errol Flynn swashbuckler is my mental image? Someone highly mobile, tricky, lightly armored, etc.

Not for any actual game, I'm just curious and had a few minutes to kill, and always find these discussions interesting.

[infomatic]

Does it have to be spring attack? Because charging builds are very mobile.

[Red Fel]

Scout is literally built around mobility. Its class ability triggers off of motion, and gives bonus damage and AC.

Another option is the Desert Wind discipline of maneuvers from ToB, some of which trigger when you move a certain distance.

What do you mean when you say "mobility?" Do you mean covering large areas of ground? Do you mean making tons of Tumble checks? Pouncing?

[GutterFace]

Pure dex build? Jaunter. hands down

[kroonermanblack]

Does it have to be spring attack? Because charging builds are very mobile.

Nah, doesn't have to be involved in any way. I was just giving a pointless aside on how I came upon those older threads.

Edit: I'd consider high mobility to be covering lots of distance in battle, so in my head, all of the examples would work (lots of tumble checks, pounce, etc.).

[gorfnab]

Telflammar Shadowlord may be worth looking into.

[eggynack]

If I were trying to build some variety of mobility based character, it would likely be of the druid type. Run exalted wild shape, and you're able to dimension door every round as a free action. Buy a mantle of the beast, and you can wild shape as a swift action. Thus, you can foom over to your opponent, wild shape into a bear, and full attack them, all in the same round. You also get every other form of mobility in existence, for though you stated you weren't seeking flight, I can't consider a character truly mobility based if they can't even lift off the ground, and that's next to similar capability with swimming, burrowing, and even climbing. Exalted wild shape is cool.

[Flickerdart]

The problem with a high mobility guy is that in fiction, moving quickly translates to being able to dodge attacks well, while in D&D the two are almost completely divorced. There's just no benefit to being able to run around the battlefield, especially as a melee character. In addition, the reliance of melee characters on a full attack to do anything and the game's stalwart insistence on protecting the idea of an immutable "front line" pretty much nails combatants to one spot until someone is dead.

There are, however, a very limited number of ways that "guy that runs around" can be both hard to hit and deadly.

Scout is the obvious way - Skirmish and Improved Skirmish trigger only when you move a certain amount, and there are other things (Expeditious Dodge, for instance) that can play into the "move at least X every turn to get stronger" idea. You're probably looking at something like Barbarian 1/Scout 4/Cloistered Cleric 1/Ranger 14 setup, using Spirit Lion Totem to charge the enemy for a full attack and then Travel Devotion and Tumble to ninja flip out of there, getting enough distance to charge again the next round.

You can also try and swing a mounted charger. Get a mount that's really fast, use Ride-by Attack (as written, it can be tricky to line up a legal charge with it though, as a consequence of the grid that D&D uses), and slam your enemies for loads of damage with the usual mounted charge optimization.

It's a shame that you don't want flying, because Flyby Attack is the least bad of its type of feats, allowing you a standard action instead of just an attack. Load it up onto a Tome of Battle character, and initiate maneuvers while you blitz past your enemy.

[Grayson01]

Monk/Drunken Master with Fleet of Foot and Frail thrown in so you can Stagger your way around the battle field.

[Thurbane]

If you can spare 3 levels and a feat, or 4 levels, go Binder and bind Paimon. +4 untyped Dex bonus, Whirlwind Attack without the reqs, and most importantly Dance of Death - attack everyone you can reach in a base movement, once every 5 rounds. This can work well with Scout or similar, especially if you have a good base movement.

[Xintas]

Just adding on, Sparring Dummy of the Master turns 5 ft steps into 10 ft with some training (and either a good UMD or a level in Monk).

Snowflake wardance also is that kind of combat style.

Anklets of translocation and Travel Devotion give you a lot of mobility.

In a different way, so does a Belt of Battle.

[Piggy Knowles]

Here's a thug fighter build I put together a while ago, as a way to show off some interesting things that a fighter 20 can do other than just ubercharge or play lockdown:

Azurin, Zhentarim Thug Fighter 20
(using the thug fighter variant, the Zhentarim fighter ACFs, and Skilled City Dweller)

Feat Progression

1- Midnight Dodge, Shape Soulmeld (Shedu Crown)
2- Combat Expertise
3- Shape Soulmeld (Phase Cloak), Skill Focus (Intimidate)
4- Improved Trip
6- Open Least Chakra (Crown), Mobility
8- Spring Attack
9- Mindsight
10- Urban Tracking
12- Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders), Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt)
14- Elusive Target
15- Master Pickpocket
16- Bounding Assault
18- Imperious Command
20- Rapid Blitz

The basic idea is to track enemies via mindsight, even from behind walls, BFC effects, etc. Using the phase cloak's shoulders bind to turn ethereal when you move, you can spring through a wall, make three attacks (including trip attempts), free action pickpocket everything they own, and then spring back behind a wall.

You also have excellent social skills (including the ability to demoralize/Imperious Command as a swift action), you get urban tracking, teleportation for when ethereal movement alone just doesn't cut it, and more.

(Feat rogue could do a similar build, with better skills and some additional abilities, but you wouldn't be able to take Rapid Blitz. YMMV.)

[Dread_Head]

I know you mentioned primarily non casting based but I consider Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327) one of the best mobility based prestige classes and apart from casting Haste 1/encounter you can get away with focusing totally on melee during combat encounters. You get speed boosts, dodge bonuses, initiative boosts, freedom of movement and miss chances from moving so quickly, basically just about everything you'd want from a character that moves quickly.

[Flickerdart]

Monk/Drunken Master with Fleet of Foot and Frail thrown in so you can Stagger your way around the battle field.
And accomplish what with that?

[Fenris-Wolf]

I personally like the Dervish prestige class or a Psionic Warrior with Hustle/Lion's Charge for a highly mobile character. Both classes get lots of neat abilities and most importantly, they are very simple to use. While charger builds can be very powerful they often need a lot of splat-books to optimize and a cunning DM can always screw up a character's ability to charge with difficult terrain and smart positioning.

[Nagukuk]

This is a higher lvl option, but,

Rollibar's Gambit + Evasive Reflexes, allows you a 5' step when ever some one attacks you.

Add in the above mentioned sparring dummy to make it 10'

[MOLOKH]

I've been trying to figure out a decent mobile build fore some time now, but unfortunately my optimization skills are somewhat lackluster. So far I rather like the Spring Attack chain coupled with Hold the Line+Evasive Reflexes+Sparring Dummy/some other way to make bigger 5ft steps, and a very high move speed, so you can spring attack someone, move out of their normal speed range, so they have to charge to get to you, which grants you an AoO, which you use for a 10ft step sideways to counter the charge, then spring attack them again, etc. Improved Trip instead of Evasive Reflexes might work too.
Another one I'm not sure actually works is Spring Attack+Up the Walls and a feat from DotU that causes anyone you hit with a spring attack or charge attack while you're on higher ground to fall prone unless they make a Reflex save. So you use the movement from Spring Attack to get 10ft up a wall, which should grant you the high ground bonus, attack, maybe with some kind of reach weapon, then if the opponet fell you return next to him to get some AoOs when he stands up, or scoot away if he didn't.
Problem is Spring Attack doesn't seem to have any options for additional damage output like charging/full attacking/manuevers etc. You're stuck with a single hit, unless you have something like Snap Kick.

[Rebel7284]

[snip]
Problem is Spring Attack doesn't seem to have any options for additional damage output like charging/full attacking/manuevers etc. You're stuck with a single hit, unless you have something like Snap Kick.

Bounding Assault (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-handbook-ii--80/bounding-assault--262/) and Rapid Blitz (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-handbook-ii--80/rapid-blitz--2362/) give you the option of making more than one attack. Some pretty heavy BAB requirements though. You CAN get Bounding Assault as a bonus feat from swiftblade however, which was already mentioned as being good. =)

[Flickerdart]

This is a higher lvl option, but,

Rollibar's Gambit + Evasive Reflexes, allows you a 5' step when ever some one attacks you.

Add in the above mentioned sparring dummy to make it 10'
Only after they attack you. That's not terribly useful, because all it does is deny you the counter-attack.

[shylocke]

Monk/scout. Buy third edition boots of striding and take all then spring attack and AoO feats. I had a lvl 14 monk that moved 120 feet as a single action. Then I could use abundant step for another 1100

[shylocke]

Also get a training dummy of the master. Allows 10' steps