# Fastest Race?



## Squnk (Mar 21, 2011)

I'm trying to create a messenger character and looking for one of the fastest races. I've done some research online and looking through my books but I'm not having any luck in finding a race with an ideal base land speed.  I was hoping you guys could help with any suggestions for races or a build for a messenger.  Thanks.


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## Dandu (Mar 21, 2011)

Build, you say?


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## Havoc123456 (Mar 21, 2011)

what level build do you want? for a race, catfolk have a speed of 40ft. but they have +1 LA, but at first level you could take barbarian and have 50ft. and ECL 2. another option (if you are using the forgotten realms stuff) is to play a human or elf from certain areas and take the fleet of foot feat which is a regional feat that gives +10 speed from the player's guide to faerun i think


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## Fallenibilis (Mar 21, 2011)

Ranger (wild shape varriant) gets +10 movement at first level scout gets +30 movement over 20 levels. Monk get its speed boosty thing. Swiftblade get a +20 feet over 10 level while giving a bunch boosts to Hast which ups you speed even more. 

Something i've always wanted to try was Scout 3/Ranger (wild shape)1/ Sorcerer 6/ Swift blade 10.  +40 additional speed on top of haste so average speed is about 100 ft per round but you can make up to 3 move actions every round.


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## Thanael (Mar 21, 2011)

Check out the elf, with Barbarian/Ranger/Wildrunner/Cleric (Celerity domain) here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-le...moving-melee-character-build.html#post4146513



> With Boots of Striding and Springing, he has a base speed of 70 (only the boots' 10 ft. bonus is an enhancement bonus; everything else is just an increase in land speed).


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## Jhaelen (Mar 21, 2011)

Quicklings are most probably the fastest race. I'm not sure if they exist in 3e, though.


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## ValhallaGH (Mar 21, 2011)

Dandu said:


> Build, you say?




That's ... simultaneously disgusting and awesome.  Thanks for sharing.


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## Havoc123456 (Mar 22, 2011)

another option if you are taking a spellcasting class is bladedancer from oriental adventures. +30 spd at first level


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## BENINHB (Mar 22, 2011)

Nezumi have 40ft movement speed with no LA.


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## Animal (Mar 22, 2011)

Varags from MM IV have base speed of 60 ft. but start at 5 ECL.


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## Squnk (Mar 23, 2011)

ECL doesn't matter all that much, I'm just trying to make an NPC to aide one of the main villains as a a spy/messenger character.


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## Squnk (Mar 23, 2011)

Dandu said:


> Build, you say?




I'm looking more for a track star not so much a character that can defy physics.  Don't get me wrong that build is epic and very glad you shared it,  I just might try and incorporate him later in my campaign.


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## Dandu (Mar 23, 2011)

Squnk said:


> I'm looking more for a track star not so much a character that can defy physics.



It doesn't defy physics; physics is simply an incomplete description of the world that has yet to catch up to Chuck E. Cheese.


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## TarionzCousin (Mar 23, 2011)

Not a chubby halfling.


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## airwalkrr (Mar 23, 2011)

Squnk, it might help if you offer a few parameters. Are you looking for a design for a single character who is a well-known messenger in your world or a group of characters who follow a similar path? Also, is this for a player character or an NPC in a game you run? If its a PC, then it would help to know what your DM is allowing and what sort of speed you are hoping to accomplish, whether it needs to be base land speed, or whether you need to include fly, swim, burrow, and climb as well. If its an NPC, any race or class known for speed could work, depending on what you have in mind. Scout or monk are simple classes. Plenty of races have 40 base speed and a few have 50. Although ultimately if it is an NPC you don't need to worry too much about the mechanics. Your messenger can move at the speed of plot. If you intend the players to face this messenger as an opponent and you want to feel more "legit" then what sort of target speed are you hoping for in tactical combat?

Sorry, but I find your original post a bit too open-ended to think an answer would help. I could offer any one of a dozen or so race/class/magic solutions, none of which might help depending on what you had in mind.

The simplest solution to me would be an awakened animal like an eagle. Fly speed of 80 is hard to beat for an intelligent messenger. If you wanted to make it magebred (from Eberron) that adds +10 to the speed too. Add a couple magic items to the creature...

edit: I see you are looking for a "track-star" and an "NPC messenger" to "aid a villain." I think I will stick with awakened magebred eagle though.


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## Ravamunk (Mar 31, 2011)

*Staff of Celerity*

Can anyone tell me what book has the staff of celerity in it? i figured a thread about speed might be a good place to ask thank you


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## TarionzCousin (Apr 1, 2011)

Ravamunk said:


> Can anyone tell me what book has the staff of celerity in it? i figured a thread about speed might be a good place to ask thank you



I couldn't find it, but perhaps [MENTION=23396]Drowbane[/MENTION] could.


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## Drowbane (Apr 23, 2011)

Hmm, no idea actually. MiC?


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## TarionzCousin (Apr 23, 2011)

Ravamunk said:


> Can anyone tell me what book has the staff of celerity in it? i figured a thread about speed might be a good place to ask thank you



It's not in the Magic Item Compendium.

There is a Runestaff of Time therein, but it doesn't have _Celerity _as a power.

[MENTION=6673441]Ravamunk[/MENTION], are you certain a Staff of Celerity was ever written up?


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## Arkhandus (Apr 24, 2011)

Xephs (Expanded Psionics Handbook and the SRD) are quick, but only in short bursts.  Since they're naturally psionic, though, they could take the Speed of Thought psionic feat at 1st-level or later for +10 ft. of speed as long as they maintain psionic focus and don't wear heavy armor or the like.  Since it's an insight bonus, it stacks with stuff like Barbarian or Monk Fast Movement as well as the Xeph's Burst racial ability (which is a competence bonus).  So a 1st-level Xeph Barbarian with Speed of Thought could move at 50-ft. speed normally, improved to 60 ft. speed for short periods of time (and the Xeph's Burst improves over time, peaking out at +30 ft. of speed at 9th-level onward).


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## airwalkrr (Apr 24, 2011)

Arkhandus said:


> Xephs (Expanded Psionics Handbook and the SRD) are quick, but only in short bursts.  Since they're naturally psionic, though, they could take the Speed of Thought psionic feat at 1st-level or later for +10 ft. of speed as long as they maintain psionic focus and don't wear heavy armor or the like.  Since it's an insight bonus, it stacks with stuff like Barbarian or Monk Fast Movement as well as the Xeph's Burst racial ability (which is a competence bonus).  So a 1st-level Xeph Barbarian with Speed of Thought could move at 50-ft. speed normally, improved to 60 ft. speed for short periods of time (and the Xeph's Burst improves over time, peaking out at +30 ft. of speed at 9th-level onward).



...which is still slower than a light riding horse with horseshoes of speed or an awakened eagle for that matter.

It seems like the OP is hoping there is some race out there that moves at base speed 100 or something but yet is still considered a "normal" PC-type race. I honestly don't think that exists.


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## Tharkon (Apr 24, 2011)

Considering the following things:


It's an NPC.
ECL does not matter.
It's a messenger on the PCs side, so unlikely to fight with or against them.
It has the ability to possess magic items which the PCs are not going to steal from him.
Then just give him whatever speed you want him to have, no explanation needed, you can make him of a race the PCs don't know but that isn't needed.
His speed could come from classes the PCs have no access to, from magic items the PCs don't possess or from spells that have been permancied trough some ritual the PCs are not familiar with, by a spellcaster that is dead/gone/unwilling to cooperate/suffering from amnesia/gone insane.


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## Arkhandus (Apr 25, 2011)

airwalkrr said:


> ...which is still slower than a light riding horse with horseshoes of speed or an awakened eagle for that matter.
> 
> It seems like the OP is hoping there is some race out there that moves at base speed 100 or something but yet is still considered a "normal" PC-type race. I honestly don't think that exists.



Unfortunate that Boots of Striding and Springing were so toned down in 3.5.

Still, slap on a level of Sorcerer to that Xeph Barbarian, then he can cast Expeditious Retreat several times per day for +30 ft. speed enhancement like a mount with Horseshoes of Speed.  True, it's not as long-lasting and it is slightly slower when the Xeph isn't using Burst.

I also don't think there's any race out there with more than 40 or 50 ft. movement speed.  Short of taking something really unusual (Awakened animal or the like).

A 5th-level or higher druid can, at least, take on a fast animal-form for several hours at a time, multiple times per day as they advance in level.

Other than that, a Xeph Monk with Speed of Thought is probably the best bet for a fast messenger NPC.


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## Tharkon (Apr 26, 2011)

If you want a messenger, why not consider a spellcaster with some of the following spells:


Dimension Door
Dream
Greater Teleport
Message
Refuge
Sending
Teleport
Transport via Plants
Tree Stride
Whispering Wind
Word of Recall
And yes, for mundane or semi-mundane messengers it's better to look for a suitable mount, since birds and quadrupeds are usually faster and can still benefit from enhancement magic.
Oh, does a druid retain class features from other classes in wildshape?
Druid/Barbarian/Scout or something so you get extra bonuses when wildshaped in a cheetah.


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## Arkhandus (Apr 27, 2011)

From the SRD:


			
				SRD said:
			
		

> Wild Shape (Su)
> *snip*
> This ability functions like the alternate form special ability, except as noted here.





			
				SRD said:
			
		

> Alternate Form
> *snip*
> The creature loses the natural weapons, natural armor, and movement modes of its original form, as well as any extraordinary special attacks of its original form not derived from class levels (such as the barbarian’s rage class feature).
> The creature gains the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its new form.
> ...



So, you retain your Extraordinary class features from any/all classes when Wild Shaped.  A Wild Shaped Druid/Monk could potentially have incredible movement speeds in the right form.  A Xeph Druid would retain their Burst supernatural ability while Wild Shaped, also.


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## Tharkon (Apr 28, 2011)

Just too bad that you don't gain the Cheetah's sprint ability, since it's a special quality, not a special attack, just realized that.

From animals in MM1...
Fastest flyer: Eagle (80ft.)
Fastest swimmers: Porpoise, Giant Squid (80ft.)
Fastest runner: Light Horse (60ft.)
Fastest climbers: Ape, Baboon, Monkey (30ft.)
Fastest diggers: Badger, Wolverine (10ft.)

The Badger, Baboon, Eagle, Porpoise and Wolverine are available for 5th-level Druids.
Light Horse and Ape become available at 8th level, Monkey at 11th level and Giant Squid at 15th level.

A druid would also serve as a good spy and scout using different animal forms. Add one level of barbarian and 3 levels of scout (or monk) for extra speed. Note that a barbarian does not lose fast movement when becoming lawful. However, the scout and barbarian only enhance landspeed, while monk levels enhance all movement modes.


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## Havoc123456 (Apr 29, 2011)

how about a centaur barbarian/scout/monk, whatever, with horse shoes of speed. one level of barbarian and a few of scout will get you to 100ft. add half dragon and you have 100ft flying too.


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## Tharkon (Apr 29, 2011)

Havoc123456 said:


> how about a centaur barbarian/scout/monk, whatever, with horse shoes of speed. one level of barbarian and a few of scout will get you to 100ft. add half dragon and you have 100ft flying too.




Even faster than 100 ft. flight, monk levels boost fly speeds as well.

Make it a tauric human-light warhorse instead of a centaur though, that will give you a base-speed of 60 ft. Not sure how else it differs from the centaur. It has the same racial HD but one higher LA.
I'm guessing centaurs are based on heavy warhorses.

Then add shadow to increase it to 90 ft.
That's LA +5 and 4 racial HD though.

Class levels using some variants can give you:
Barbarian level 1: +10
Ranger (UA variant) level 1: +10
Ranger (CW variant) level 6: +10
Monk level 3, 6, 9, etc.: +10
Druid level 5 would give +30 for 5 minutes.

6th level Ranger is a bit useless since 3 Monk levels already give the same.

You could get 110 ft. at level 11 with 10ft. more at every 3 levels thereafter.

Actually it might be better to just get a shadow catfolk:
LA +3, no racial HD, base speed of 60 ft.
That would be 80 ft. at level 5 with 10ft. more at every 3 levels thereafter.
No the tauric one is faster after all, large though, so not as great for sneaking, but can carry a lot more since it's also quadrupedal.

Xeph's burst ability only lasts for 3*3 rounds/day max, so hardly useful for a messenger, 270 ft. (1/20th of a mile) isn't making a difference on trips measured in miles.
Even when assuming the boost is used during a sprint and with the Run feat, then it's 1/4 a mile per day in 3 sprints.

The Druid's aspect of nature ability lasts 50 rounds/day in one trip, only 10 of those can be spent running, rest possibly hustling, that's 3/4 of a mile.
This at the cost of 5 levels.

Three Monk levels (or the first level of Ranger/Barbarian) for comparison give 9 miles/day extra without the need of running or hustling or anything, so the Druid class and Xeph race are not worth it.

It might be worth to investigate if there is a race that is able to hustle all day, or walk for longer than 8 hours without penalty. This would require immunity to nonlethal damage. Maybe some intelligent undead creature?
Since they don't need to sleep and are immune to nonlethal damage it basically means they can hustle 24 hours/day increasing their daily speed by factor 6. Vampires are out of the question since they can't travel during the day. And any undead with clearly undead appearances might not be suitable for messengers.

I think this post is about long enough now, lol.


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## TarionzCousin (Apr 30, 2011)

Tharkon said:


> Just too bad that you don't gain the Cheetah's sprint ability, since it's a special quality, not a special attack, just realized that.



That would be cheetah-ing.


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## Havoc123456 (May 1, 2011)

there is a regional feat in one of the forgotten realms books (dont remember which) called fleet of foot. it gives +10 ft but is only available to elves or humans of certain regions iirc. add quick trait and a level of barbarian/ranger/druid avenger etc., and you have 60ft at first level. add monk or other classes and you can get a pretty fast human/elf. no LA no racial hit dice.


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## Tharkon (May 2, 2011)

Havoc123456 said:


> there is a regional feat in one of the forgotten realms books (dont remember which) called fleet of foot. it gives +10 ft but is only available to elves or humans of certain regions iirc. add quick trait and a level of barbarian/ranger/druid avenger etc., and you have 60ft at first level. add monk or other classes and you can get a pretty fast human/elf. no LA no racial hit dice.




Make sure to note that it's the PGtF version of Fleet of Foot since CW has one too, which allows you to change direction when charging.

Add one level of a psionic class to gain access to the Speed of Thought feet.
The baseline is 10ft/3 levels for Monk, anything that achieves more than that is a good deal. That is why catfolk can be a good choice if you're not in Faerun.
Combine the Druidic Avenger with the druid variant a few pages later in UA, and you got a Druid with both the barbarian's and the monk's fast movement abilities built-in. You can be lawful and still rage too .

I am not sure if you can gain the Barbarian's multiclass ability 3 times by multiclassing as Druid/Ranger/Barbarian though, but if so then you could get 
110ft. with Psion 1/Ranger 1/Barbarian 1/Druid 3 with the Quick trait (UA), Fleet of Foot (PGtF) feat and Speed of Thought (EPH) feet applied to an Elf or Human from the right regions. (I suggest one with Favored class (Druid) or (Any))
Your ECL will be 6, speed will increase by 10 ft. every 3 levels later.
Note that this Druid has lost the ability to wildshape.


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## Havoc123456 (May 2, 2011)

Tharkon said:


> Make sure to note that it's the PGtF version of Fleet of Foot since CW has one too, which allows you to change direction when charging.
> 
> Add one level of a psionic class to gain access to the Speed of Thought feet.
> The baseline is 10ft/3 levels for Monk, anything that achieves more than that is a good deal. That is why catfolk can be a good choice if you're not in Faerun.
> ...




add in a level of blade dancer from OA for a bonus 30 ft. and by level 20 you could have a speed of 180ft. if i did my math correctly


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## Tharkon (May 2, 2011)

Havoc123456 said:


> add in a level of blade dancer from OA for a bonus 30 ft. and by level 20 you could have a speed of 180ft. if i did my math correctly




The bladedancer class is very badly worded, but technically it does not give a bonus of 30 ft., it changes your speed from 20ft. to 40 ft., 30 ft. to 60 ft or from 40 ft. to 80 ft. it does not list what kind of change this is or when it should be applied, so I guess this is up to the DM.


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## Imbir (May 3, 2011)

Or easy way to make intelligent fast character.

Avariel + Air Heritage feat will net you 80 ft flight speed and just take hustle or run action


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## Havoc123456 (May 3, 2011)

Tharkon said:


> The bladedancer class is very badly worded, but technically it does not give a bonus of 30 ft., it changes your speed from 20ft. to 40 ft., 30 ft. to 60 ft or from 40 ft. to 80 ft. it does not list what kind of change this is or when it should be applied, so I guess this is up to the DM.



i think i saw an errata on OA once that said +30ft at first level.


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## Tharkon (May 4, 2011)

Imbir said:


> Or easy way to make intelligent fast character.
> 
> Avariel + Air Heritage feat will net you 80 ft flight speed and just take hustle or run action




Most of the other speed increasers don't work on flight though.



Havoc123456 said:


> i think i saw an errata on OA once that said +30ft at first level.




I forgot about errata, but I just checked it, and although they made the bladedancer non-chaotic and allowed Enchanted Blade III to choose a I and a II ability, but it doesn't say anything about speed.


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## Havoc123456 (May 8, 2011)

Tharkon said:


> I forgot about errata, but I just checked it, and although they made the bladedancer non-chaotic and allowed Enchanted Blade III to choose a I and a II ability, but it doesn't say anything about speed.



i could have swore it was in there. but i guess not. i only tried that class once and i think my dm and i decided that it was just easier to do +30 plus 10 per three levels. that might be where i got the +30 flat thought


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## Tharkon (May 8, 2011)

Havoc123456 said:


> i could have swore it was in there. but i guess not. i only tried that class once and i think my dm and i decided that it was just easier to do +30 plus 10 per three levels. that might be where i got the +30 flat thought




Using material from different rulesets always requires some extra thought and houseruling.

Just like you shouldn't just flat-ought put a monster from 3.0 in a 3.5 game without adjusting DR.

In the end all that matters is that everyone at the table is having fun.


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