Ignoring Difficult Terrain

[Mountain]

I'm building a character for an upcoming desert-based campaign, and I wanted to know of all the ways (not counting flight) to ignore difficult terrain.

I won't be taking Swordsage or Martial Stance, so Step of the Wind is out.

I also want this to be usable by 1st or 2nd level if possible.



.

[StreamOfTheSky]

If you can use Pathfinder material, Feather Step is a 1st level spell and the mass version 3rd level, and there's cheap (2000 gp, I think) boots that give you the benefit of the spell constantly.

But yeah, step of the wind is usually my go-to for ignoring difficult terrain. That or Freedom of Movement, but one you've ruled out and the other is way too high a level.

[Mountain]

Pathfinder and Dragon Magazine are not allowed.

I found a 2nd level psionic power Body Equilibrium that should at least work for the purpose of running on sand, but it would use a standard action and not be available for a couple levels.

[mabriss lethe]

Earth Devotion from CChamp. 1/day as an immediate action. lasts for 1 minute. As an alternate use, you can create difficult terrain with it. You can also gain extra uses in exchange for 1 turn attempt/use.

[Forrestfire]

The spell Surefooted Stride (Spell Compendium) is a level 1 druid spell and a level 2 sorc/wiz and bard spell.

If you're a dwarf or warforged, you can grab the Stable Footing feat (Races of Eberron) to ignore movement penalties for difficult terrain.

[Curmudgeon]

Two skills can help here.

Balance will let you move along a narrow path, normally at 1/2 speed. (A narrow walkway can be arbitrarily defined along any wider path.) A 7-12 inches wide walkway requires a base Balance DC of 10. Light obstruction (the usual case for difficult terrain) increases the DC by 2; severe obstructions increase the DC by 5. If you accept a -5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. So a Balance check of 17 should let you move at full speed through most difficult terrain. (That's one check per move action, so two checks per full move.)

Tumble is pretty similar. You can Tumble at half speed at DC 15. Add +2 to the DC for light obstructions, or +5 for severe obstructions. By accepting a -10 penalty on your Tumble checks, you can move at your full speed instead of one-half your speed.

[hymer]

This isn't low level, but 6th level scouts get Flawless Stride, which allows them to ignore naturally difficult terrain.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Two skills can help here.

Balance will let you move along a narrow path, normally at 1/2 speed. (A narrow walkway can be arbitrarily defined along any wider path.) A 7-12 inches wide walkway requires a base Balance DC of 10. Light obstruction (the usual case for difficult terrain) increases the DC by 2; severe obstructions increase the DC by 5. If you accept a -5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. So a Balance check of 17 should let you move at full speed through most difficult terrain. (That's one check per move action, so two checks per full move.)

Tumble is pretty similar. You can Tumble at half speed at DC 15. Add +2 to the DC for light obstructions, or +5 for severe obstructions. By accepting a -10 penalty on your Tumble checks, you can move at your full speed instead of one-half your speed.

I'm not sure those really work for ignoring difficult terrain, but if you're going to use skills....why not jump? You're in the air so diff. terrain shouldn't reduce the jump distance, and jump is super easy to get an obscenely high bonus in if you optimize your speed and get the tumble +2 synergy. You just might want to spend a feat on Leap of the Heavens to make standing jumps w/o penalty (since the 20 ft running start WOULD take diff. terrain penalties and jumping w/o the start is basically the same as taking diff. terrain penalty). Or be a Goliath or (I think?) Catfolk, since those races can make no penalty standing jumps as a racial feature.

EDIT: Also the skill trick to jump +10 ft horizontally once per encounter. "Extreme Leap" I think it's called... Shame on no Tome of Battle, though. TC's 3rd level stance is also a big jumping distance boost and Sudden Leap lets you jump as a swift.

[torrasque666]

If you're of a class that can afford it in skill points, invest 5 ranks in balance(so... level 2) and pay two points for the "Nimble Charge" skill trick. It will let you run or charge across difficult surfaces without having to make a balance check.

[Mountain]

Thanks for all the responses. The character is a desert half-elf factotum/chameleon. So yes, skills are helpful.

I like Earth Devotion. Immediate actions are great, though I would still prefer something that's always active. Also, feats are precious.

Nimble charge looks perfect. I'll be grabbing several skill tricks anyway.

[Telok]

Boots of the Mountain King, Magic Item Compendium p78, 1,500 gp.

They cover debris, rubble, stairs, and slopes. It won't help with deep sand unfortunately.

[Baroknik]

If it's just sand you are worried about, SStorm has the feat "Sandskimmer" that let's you walk over sand normally. It can be taken a second time to walk over brittle sand without breaking it.
Bhukas (desert goblins from SStorm) start with sand skimmer once.

At Level 6, a dip into elocator gives you scorn earth which is effectively a Get-out-of-terrain-free card.

[Mountain]

The Elocator dip is interesting, since I plan on dipping Egoist for the minor change shape ability. Mobility and spring attack weren't part of the plan, but the latter is a good feat.

[Baroknik]

You could consider taking Cobra Strike Monk 2 to get dodge/mobility, evasion, and good saves as well. See if your DM will let Spring Attack act as Flyby Attack (you can take a standard action instead of a single attack action). Otherwise Spring Attack is really weak generally :(

[CoffeeIncluded]

If you're going swashbuckler or roguebuckler (rogue/swashbuckler with Daring Outlaw trying the two classes together and doing a damn good job at it) then swashbuckler gives you Acrobatic Charge, which lets you ignore difficult terrain/allies in the way when charging. It's level 7 though, so it'll take a while (especially if you're going roguebuckler) and may not be ideal for you.

[Mountain]

If you're going swashbuckler or roguebuckler (rogue/swashbuckler with Daring Outlaw trying the two classes together and doing a damn good job at it) then swashbuckler gives you Acrobatic Charge, which lets you ignore difficult terrain/allies in the way when charging. It's level 7 though, so it'll take a while (especially if you're going roguebuckler) and may not be ideal for you.

As I said, the character is a factotum/chameleon who will probably dip one or two other classes. 7 levels is not a dip.

I've looked at the variant monks, and there are a couple good ones. Even the PHB monk is a good factotum dip, since I'll use STR and INT for tripping/disarming/grappling. It just isn't worth it for elocater. Spring attack is a decent feat with Iaijutsu focus though, since quickrazors aren't allowed. I'd only be getting one attack most of the time anyway.

[Baroknik]

Cobra Strike Monk 2 + Spring Attack qualifies you for elocator 1, but if you don't have the room, it is what it is.