Charging and jumping?

[DarkEternal]

How does it work, and does it work? I've tried reading it from various sources and there are different sections. Some say you can do it normally, as long as the rules for charge apply(can't do it over rough terrain, must have at least 10 feet of space that you're charging over), others say that you can only do a long jump in a charge(which kind of makes sense), third say you can only do it if you have the feats for it(like Battle jump or Leap attack), so how exactly does it work? What's the DC for doing it? You charge an enemy, say you're gonna jump, and the DM decides what's the DC, given the distance he has to charge over?

[OldTrees1]

The Rules Compendium details several skills(Balance, Jump, and Tumble) that can be used as expected during a charge without needing any sort of feat/class feature.

How it works:
1) The player says they want to charge
2) The player describes the movement portion of their charge
2a) Charges generally have to be in a straight line(there are features that grant explicit exceptions) in the flat plane(vertical movement is an exception due to flying and jumping rules).
2b) If any Balance, Jump, or Tumble checks are required (running down a slippery slope, jumping over a tripwire, charging past a foe) then those are now rolled (see the PHB for DCs).
3) The player describes the attack portion of their charge

So I may decide to charge 55ft(more than the 10ft minimum, but no more than twice my speed) at my foe. My path is a straight line 40ft east and 30ft north(so 50ft by Trig but 55ft by D&D). The first bit of my path is accross uneven flagstones(Balance DC 10). On my path there is knight that I want to tumble past(Tumble DC 27 from accellerated tumbling, lightly obstructed). Finally there is a 2ft high fence that I am jumping over(Jump DC 8). Replace that 2ft high fence with a 10ft long pit and look at the horizontal jump DCs instead(Jump DC 10).

Sidenote: Jump is weird, there is no Long Jump vs High Jump, they both use the same skill result and then tell you the maximum height you could have achieved and the maximum distance you could have achieved. In some sense the task/DC is determined after the roll.

[DarkEternal]

I see. But is there a way to "shorten" your distance by jumping? Meaning, can you get more feet of movement by jumping than you would by walking over there?

[Curmudgeon]

I see. But is there a way to "shorten" your distance by jumping? Meaning, can you get more feet of movement by jumping than you would by walking over there?
Your path through space will grow if you add jumping arcs, though your D&D movement distance won't change. Unless you're jumping through a dimensional rift, there's no way that bouncing around can shorten the distance you move.

[OldTrees1]

I see. But is there a way to "shorten" your distance by jumping? Meaning, can you get more feet of movement by jumping than you would by walking over there?

No.

But diving can "shorten" the distance by doubling your speed(flying maneuverability rules) which in turn doubles your maximum charge distance(the Psionic power Skate does similar for downhill).

Also remember you have a Swift action. Perhaps there is something that can get you closer before the charge(Sudden Leap Maneuver, Anklets of Transposition, Shadow Blink maneuver)?