Best way to get swift movement for a caster?

[pabelfly]

What's the best, low-level way to get swift-action movement, on yourself, as a caster, that would allow for a full attack after moving?

For example, if I wanted to do a gish psionic character, I'd pick up Dimension Hop - it's a nice ability I can pick up at first or second level. What's the closest equivalent to that for a caster, preferably arcane but divine is okay too?

[Inevitability]

Knight's Move is a paladin/cleric spell that allows for swift action teleportation, but short-distance and into flanking positions only. Arcanes can get it via Silver Pyromancer, and archivists can get it as early as level 3.

Not quite a caster, but Jaunter 2 + Quicken SLA gives six daily swift action transposition effects once you hit 10 HD, assuming you have 18 dexterity.

Abrupt Jaunt is immediate action movement, not swift, but same thing.

[noce]

There's a Person_Man thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?103358-3-X-Ways-to-get-Pounce-or-Free-Movement) for every need.

[Kurald Galain]

What's the best, low-level way to get swift-action movement, on yourself, as a caster, that would allow for a full attack after moving?

Arcanist (or Exploiter Wizard) gets an exploit that does that. PF's Conjurer can do it too (teleportation subschool) but that requires a higher level to get a decent distance out of it.

[pabelfly]

There's a Person_Man thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?103358-3-X-Ways-to-get-Pounce-or-Free-Movement) for every need.

I dug through that thread before posting this, I wasn't seeing anything that appealed to me the same way that Dimension Hop did for psionic characters.


Knight's Move is a paladin/cleric spell that allows for swift action teleportation, but short-distance and into flanking positions only. Arcanes can get it via Silver Pyromancer, and archivists can get it as early as level 3.

Not quite a caster, but Jaunter 2 + Quicken SLA gives six daily swift action transposition effects once you hit 10 HD, assuming you have 18 dexterity.

Abrupt Jaunt is immediate action movement, not swift, but same thing.

Knight's Move doesn't work because our table typically doesn't bother with flanking, and the other stuff can't be put onto a Sorcerer. Thanks for the suggestions though.

[Inevitability]

If you're a sorcerer, the Dragonblooded Sorcerer substitution levels can be used to get some low-level teleportation spell as a SLA, which can then be used as a swift action via Quicken SLA as normal. Still only 3/day, though.

If you're a changeling, two levels of Recaster to pick up Lion's Pounce might also do the trick, but that costs 2 feats and a casting level.

[remetagross]

If you have a familiar, then you can have a dude flanking your ennemy for Knight's Move.

[loky1109]

If you have a familiar, then you can have a dude flanking your ennemy for Knight's Move.

Most familiars don't have reach.

[Rebel7284]

Anklet of translocation (MIC) or Shadow Cloak (DotU) spring to mind as great swift/immediate action teleportation regardless of class.

At higher levels, Polymorph (Blink Dog) + Metamorphic Transfer for *free* action teleportation while being the goodest boy/girl.

[pabelfly]

I think an idea that could work is using Dimension Hop and finding a way to make Quicken Spell cheap to add to it - the Spelldancer PrC, or Divine Metamagic shenanigans could work. Might come up with other ideas, and see if anyone on here has other suggestions that might fit.

[Inevitability]

Wait, I feel like you're misunderstanding Knight's Move: your party doesn't need to be flanking for it to work, you just need to have any creature threatening the enemy, and that'll allow you to teleport into a flanking position with that creature. Does nobody in your party ever enter melee?

[Zarvistic]

You could just take dimension hop anyway with hidden talent and buy something for a few pp a day extra like a cognizance crystal or better.

[pabelfly]

Wait, I feel like you're misunderstanding Knight's Move: your party doesn't need to be flanking for it to work, you just need to have any creature threatening the enemy, and that'll allow you to teleport into a flanking position with that creature. Does nobody in your party ever enter melee?

The problem is not so much that people don't enter melee, but when they do they kill much of what they enter melee with. Hence, flanking is only an occasional consideration at our table.

This would be good for larger enemies that take a few rounds to kill but I dont want to base my entire strategy on that.


You could just take dimension hop anyway with hidden talent and buy something for a few pp a day extra like a cognizance crystal or better.

Dimension Hop (the psionic power) is easy to build around (and fun, too) but I'd like to see what options arcane and divine casters have.

[Rebel7284]

Telflamar Shadowlord can full attack after teleportation. Takes a few levels to get going without early entry, but can be truly ludicrous after that. (Crinti Shadow Marauder has shadow pounce too, but is worse overall)

[Darg]

What's the best, low-level way to get swift-action movement, on yourself, as a caster, that would allow for a full attack after moving?

For example, if I wanted to do a gish psionic character, I'd pick up Dimension Hop - it's a nice ability I can pick up at first or second level. What's the closest equivalent to that for a caster, preferably arcane but divine is okay too?

Hustle is the power you want for a swift move action. Dimension Hop is a 2nd level standard action teleport. As others have said, for low level swift movement and full attack in spell form you basically just have granting yourself pounce, knight's move, or dazing yourself with lesser celerity after you full attack.

Obviously quickened dimension hop or a greater dimension jumper will get you what you want, but those are 6th/9th level spells and thus don't qualify as low level. A belt of battle will grant you 3/day swift move actions.

Another option is to just full attack from range. Who needs to work so hard to get swift action movement when you can get your enemies to waste their actions as you pelt them from a range they can't strike you back? If you want SAD status just grab brutal throw and quick draw. Javelins have a 30 ft range increment, or if you want longer range then a using a repeating crossbow or two is a really easy investment of a single feat that will give you plenty of attacks.

[Menzath]

From what I can find there are a few options for divine casting early on.
Besides the aforementioned Knights move(pld2,clrc3) spell, there are phantom charge(pld4, blkgrd4), and protective interposition(clrc1,pld1).
Phantom charge requires a special mount, and that you be on it. Protective interposition swaps you with a willing ally(including summons and familiars) but the range is touch, and the spell text requires you to start and end adjacent to each other, so no way to change that.

The more costly method for arcane is simply use metamagic-quicken. There are a good host of standard action spells for the sorc/wiz that can be abused.

If going for sorc with quicken besides metamagic reducers you would need the ph2 (pg.61)ACF metamagic specialist(trades out familiar) which would allow you to use metamagic without increasing casting time a few times per day or some of the following feats.

Or you would need either the feat accelerate metamagic, or rapid metamagic. As a prepared caster none of that is needed. Having a race option give you the dragonblood subtype means you could pickup accelerate metamagic really early, and would later let you get a metamgic reducer practical metamagic not otherwise available.

[Maat Mons]

Travel Devotion is good, but you need to spend a swift action to activate the feat, and the effect of the feat is that you can move your speed as a swift action for the next minute. This means you can't actually spend the swift action to move in the same round that you spend a swift action to activate the ability.

[Zamboza]

If magic items are on the table, one of my favourite low-ish costing items are Quicksilver Boots (Magic Item Compendium, page 119) - for 3500gp you get swift action movement twice per day that gives you concealment against AoO and the ability to move across liquid surfaces when active.

[remetagross]

The Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker is also a really cheap item (500gp or 750gp) that lets you move half your total movement 1/day as a swift action. It's so cheap that you could buy a bunch of these and be good to go for a few rounds.

[Daisy]

The Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker is also a really cheap item (500gp or 750gp) that lets you move half your total movement 1/day as a swift action. It's so cheap that you could buy a bunch of these and be good to go for a few rounds.

Unfortunately you can't do that. From the MIC:

"You must wear a chronocharm for 24 hours before you can access its abilities. If it is taken off, it becomes inactive until worn for an additional 24 hours."

And before you ask, you can only wear one of each type.

[remetagross]

Ah, that's too bad then.

One way around that might be to stack the Chronocharm on top of another magic item at a different body slot, as per the MiC rules for that.

[Bonzai]

My two standbys are Anklets of translocation and Belt of battle.