Increasing Your Movement Speed in Pathfinder (A Beginner's Guide)

It's been a while since I've done an in-depth piece on how to tweak a particular part of your PC in my favorite game, so I figured it was time to do another one of those! And if you've ever had one of those frustrating moments where you were 5 feet out of range of the enemy, well, then this collection of tips and tricks may be just what you've been looking for!

Oh that's cute... you thought I couldn't get to you!

And if you like this particular guide, you might also want to check out:

- Tips For Building a Whip-Wielding Swashbuckler
- Aid Another in Pathfinder is More Powerful Than You Think
- How To Increase Spell DCs in Pathfinder
- How To Weaponize Your Intimidate Check in Pathfinder

Anyway, onto this week's musings!

Classes and Feats

You can learn to be faster. Here, let me show you!

One of the easiest ways to increase your speed is to invest in a class that gives you the Fast Movement ability. This typically boosts your base speed by 10 feet, but some classes give you additional boosts as you go up in level. The trade-off is that you typically can't wear more than a certain amount of armor while also maintaining said speed. Still, if you don't need a heavy metal tank, you can try out the following options:

- Barbarian (level 1): Add 10 feet to base speed as long as you're wearing medium armor or less, and not carrying a heavy load.

- Bloodrager (level 1): Second verse, same as the first. It's identical to the barbarian ability.

- Monk (starting at level 3): Monks add 10 feet to their movement starting at level 3, and they can add up to 60 feet as they progress. They lose this bonus if wearing any armor, or carrying a medium or heavy load.

- Hinterlander (level 2): A prestige class found in Paths of The Righteous, the Hinterlander gets an additional 10 feet of land speed, but there are no stipulations regarding load or armor for keeping it. Then again, this prestige class has such high prerequisites that you're probably already juggling other concerns.

You're probably noticing a theme here... classes that get fast movement typically have to give up defense. This makes it pretty tough to build a fast-moving tank. Even the feat Fleet (found in the Core Rulebook) comes with the stipulation that you can wear no more than light armor and carry no more than a light load, or you lose the bonus 5 feet of movement it grants you.

Not great options, really. Fortunately, that's what magic is for.

Spells and Magic Items

Now we're getting somewhere...

Magic allows you to re-write the laws of reality, and it's one of the best ways to give yourself a bit of a boost to your speed. So, to start with, here are a few spells you may want to keep in mind if you've got a time for some pre-casting.

- Longstrider: An old standby for rangers, this spell grants you a +10 foot enhancement bonus to your base movement speed, but no other movement types. A greater version of the spell in the Advanced Class Guide grants a +20 foot enhancement bonus to your land speed, and a +10 foot enhancement bonus to any other forms of movement a character actually has. The advantage of these spells (1st and 3rd level respectively) is that they last for hours per caster level, which makes them a great pre-cast. Sadly, they're self only, meaning you need a spell completion item, or the ability to share spells with your target (such as casting this on a mount or a familiar who will be delivering your touch spells).

- Burst of Speed: A solid spell from Ultimate Combat, this spell seems a little weak for a 3rd-level spell slot at first glance. As a swift action you gain a 20 foot bonus to your speed (untyped), or a 10 foot bonus if you're wearing medium or heavy armor. The advantage is that your movement doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, and you can move through spaces of creatures larger than you as long as you don't end your movement there. Again, it's only usable on the self, but it's a handy trick to have up your sleeve if you need to close with an enemy (or get behind them for a flank) in a big damn hurry.

- Haste: Everyone's favorite party boosting spell, haste adds 30 feet to a person's movement in all forms. This counts as an enhancement bonus, so it won't stack with other enhancement bonuses. However, it has the advantage that it can affect several people at once, and that it will boost party members who can fly, swim, burrow, climb, etc. It also eats a 2nd or 3rd level spell slot, depending on your casting class, so you can keep it in spell-completion form, too, should you need it.

- Expeditious Retreat: A lower-level way to give yourself a 30-foot bonus to your speed, expeditious retreat is also treated as an enhancement bonus. It lasts for minutes per level, and it's a great way to get around the limitations placed on you because of heavier armor, shorter movement speeds from size, etc. And, despite the name, you can use this spell to move into an attack position if that's what you'd rather do!

- Blessing of Fervor: A spell that gives you and your allies all sorts of options to pick from, one of them allows you to add 30 feet to your speed. This doesn't stack with haste and other similar spells, but it's another useful spell for giving the party some options.

Again, there's a theme here of spells all granting enhancement bonuses, ensuring that you can't stack them up to suddenly turn yourself into the Road Runner with a greatsword. However, if you don't have spells at your beck and call, or if you just want a more permanent sort of boost like what you'd get from a class feature, then you could also add some of the following magic items to your roster.

- Expeditious Armor: Named after the last spell mentioned above, this enchantment allows you to flick a switch 3 times per day as a swift action, and add a 10 foot enhancement bonus to all forms of movement for 1 round. It can only be put on armor, and while not great, it comes with a flat gold cost rather than a magical enhancement value, so there is that.

- Boots of Striding and Springing: An old standby, these boots add a 10-foot enhancement bonus to the wearer's base land speed, and they're a very common way to overcome penalties from heavier armor. Also, they provide a +5 competence bonus on Acrobatics checks, so that's nice to have as some icing on the cake.

- Boots of Speed: While wearing these boots, as a free action, someone can click their heels together and act as if under the effects of haste for 10 rounds per day. Snazzy if you can find them, and you don't want to wait for your party caster's initiative to come up.

- Horseshoes of Speed: For mounted warriors, or those who managed to convince their DMs to let them play a centaur, these horseshoes add a 30 foot bonus to the creature's land speed. It counts as an enhancement bonus, of course, but with an extra 30 feet how much more do you really need?

While a few options have no doubt slipped through the cracks (and if I missed any really good options please leave them in the comments so I can update the list), these are the options you're going to find the most often.

Why Do You Need All This Speed, Anyway?

Getting the hell away from that, for starters.

While having an increased speed is nice, it might not be clear right away what you can actually do with it. After all, it is going to be kind of situational, as once you're in fighting range it's time to focus on swinging. With that said, though, there are a few reasons to invest in upgrading your ability to get around the battlefield.

The first is so you can play range games with your opponents. Because staying out of reach of your enemies while still being able to harry them is a solid path to victory. Whether you're dealing with shambling undead, or humans in heavy armor who can only move 20 feet or so, if you can hit and move (either with a ranged or reach weapon, a spell, or a feat like Spring Attack) then you can basically dominate a particular fight while not letting yourself get surrounded.

Secondly, the ability to get around a battlefield is often greatly hindered by the abilities of enemies and the terrain itself, and a little enhancement on your part can really help in breaking through those obstacles. Difficult terrain costs double your movement, for example. So does tumbling past opponents to avoid attacks of opportunity, and moving stealthily (without the proper rogue talent, at least). A simple tanglefoot bag can chop your speed in half, and that's without even getting started on all the ridiculous spells there are out there that can stagger you, and make it hard to get around. So it's important to have an ace up your sleeve for when the bad guys think they've got you in a trap.

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