Help me bump up the JUMP skill :) Ways to get really high jump checks?

[RedSwan78]

Hey all, I'm playing in a new campaign and the DM is allowing me to play a new kind of Character, a Dragoon

If you've played Final Fantasy games before, this should be familiar to you, they where the armored fighters with spears/lances that would jump up way high in the air, then come down on their opponent and impale them

I found a "Dragoon Core Class" on the net, and since the DM is pretty easy going we're going with it. I'm having alot of fun with it! I can get bonuses to dmg if I jump so high, such as if I jump and fall on them from 40 feet, I get to add that 4d6 falling dmg to my dmg that I do to the enemy!

So basically, I need ways to bump my Jump Skill. I have an 18 STR, and Skill Focus: Jump, I'm also Cross-classing Tumble skill so I can get the +2 synergy bonus from it. Now, I DON'T want to go into any other classess for higher speed (such as Monk or Barb), so that's out the window, I want to stay full Dragoon.

I know there is Ring of Jumping which adds +30 to jump checks, then there's Boots of Striding and Springing which give +10 to jump and Double my speed. Since my speed will be doubled, my jumping distance/height should be doubled, yes?

Ok, then there is the Run feet, which adds 1/4 to the height/length of the jump to any running jump you make.

Then the spell Expeditious Retreat says it doubles both your movement and Jumping Distance. Is it possible to have a Ring of Expeditious Retreat? How much would it be? How would this work with the Boots of Striding and Springing? I take it that Expeditious Retreat would just double your *base* movement, and so would Boots of S&S, so your movement would be tripled, not quadrupled?

Ok, so if the Expeditious Retreat thing doesn't work, that's cool too, I still need other ways to bump up the Jump Skill! What am I overlooking? Anything? Help!

Also, does anyone know of any comp. programs that I could just plug my jumping info into (ranks, attribute bonus, skill bonuses, speed multiplier) into and then just put in the Roll I make and it computes it all in one easy step? (like a table type thing already had the different kinds of jumps and there multipliers and all that in it already and you just plugged in your roll into whatever kind of jump you are doing, ie- standing jump, running jump, etc)

Ok, pick it apart and bump it up all you can! Thanks in advance and lets have fun!

 

[Dimwhit]

First, I suspect that the Ring of Jumping, Boots of Striding and Springing, and Expeditious Retreat won't stack. I think they all grant the same bonus, so just stick with the Ring of Jumping. The Boots might stack with them, but Expeditious Retreat and the boots do not.

You can get Skill Focus: Jump as well. It's only 2 points, but it's a start.

 

[RedSwan78]

Well, I had already said that I had taken Skill Focus: Jump

The Ring and Boots would stack, they're different bonuses, my questionable thing I was wondering about was the Expeditious Retreat.

Here's a different question.. Attacks of Opportunity in 360 degrees. Basically, If I'm standing next to a person and I jump up 10 feet, then back down on them, am I moving through his threatened range? I mean, do you threaten 360 degrees around you (basically, the Z axis, up and down)...? Any thoughts/rules pointings about this?

 

[Vivictus]

The Ring and Boots would stack, they're different bonuses, my questionable thing I was wondering about was the Expeditious Retreat.

Here's a different question.. Attacks of Opportunity in 360 degrees. Basically, If I'm standing next to a person and I jump up 10 feet, then back down on them, am I moving through his threatened range? I mean, do you threaten 360 degrees around you (basically, the Z axis, up and down)...? Any thoughts/rules pointings about this?

The first part... You could have a ring of expeditious retreat, but it's exactly the same as Boots of Striding and Springing. If you look at the boots, that's the spell required to make them. So that wouldn't stack.

The second part... Yes, AoO are 360 in all views. That's how come flying creatures can get AoO against them for flying away, just as someone running away. So to your jump idea to pounce on them, then yes, if you start in the threatened area, then you would be subject to an AoO.

 

[Thimble the Squit]

Jump (but not Monk)

I'd say you can use either expeditious retreat or boots of striding and springing but not both (the boots being better 'cos they also give a +10 to Jump checks). The Run feat is useful only if you're taking a running jump, though Dash, from Song and Silence might be useful -- it adds +5 ft speed, and basically anything that ups your movement rate is going to be useful; in the end, that usually has a greater effect on your overall jumping distance / height than your actual roll.

So, sums-wise, let's say you're a 6' tall human Ftr2 with Str 18, Jump 5, Tumble 5 and you have the feats Run, Dash and Skill Focus: Jump; you're unencumbered and wearing light armour at most; you wear a ring of jumping and a pair of boots of striding and springing. That's +53 Jump, a movement rate of 35 and you add +25% distance to your overall jumping distance. Let's assume you roll an 11 (that's 50-50), for a standard running jump of 54 feet, times 1.17, times 1.25 (and I'm really not sure how fractional multiplicands work in 3e!) = 78 feet. Of course, Jumping is actually limited to your maximum movement rate per round, so that particular jump would take one full-round action and a move action the round following to complete...

Now, take the above for a 20th-level monk (with Str 30 and Jump 23) and you get +67 (not actually that much better than your 2nd-level fighter, really): that movement rate 180 (with the boots) makes for an average jump of 255 feet!

 

[Pax]

First, I suspect that the Ring of Jumping, Boots of Striding and Springing, and Expeditious Retreat won't stack. I think they all grant the same bonus, so just stick with the Ring of Jumping. The Boots might stack with them, but Expeditious Retreat and the boots do not.

You can get Skill Focus: Jump as well. It's only 2 points, but it's a start.

The Ring and the Boots work fine together.

Being an 8th-level Monk helps too. As does being a Barbarian (even, at the same time). With a speed of 50(monk) +10(barbarian), all doubled (boots) ... you have a 120 move.

That means, all your jump check results are quadrupled.

Now, as for skill:

Maximum ranks (+12)
Strength 14, and Raging for Strength 18 (+4)
5+ ranks in Tumble (+2)
Ring of Jumping (+30)

That's a +48, with a non-stellar Strength score no less (a Half-Dragon/Half-Orc with the same roll would have a 24 strength, raging for 28, for +5 MORE, or, a +53 jump check).

With that, a running broad jump would be:

Roll 1 (minimum) = 49, for 44 feet base, multiplies to 176 feet. (or 201 feet, with Run)
Roll 10 (average) = 58, for 53 feet base, multiplies to 212 feet. (or 254 feet, with Run)
Roll 20 (maximum) = 68, for 63 feet base, multiplies to 252 feet. (or 302 feet, with Run)

Now, get truly ludicrous ... lose the Boots (you won't need them). 27th level Monk, moving 120 feet. 30 ranks of skill, +10 from Epic Skill Focus (Jump), +30 for the ring, say +10 more for heavily buffed Strength ... 30 ranks of Tumble is a +4 synergy bonus ... that's a Jump of +84, and all resutls still quadrupled:

Roll 1 (minimum) = 85, for 80 feet base, multiplies to 320 feet. (or 384 feet, with Run)
Roll 10 (average) = 94, for 89 feet base, multiplies to 356 feet. (or 427 feet, with Run)
Roll 20 (maximum) = 104, for 99 feet base, multiplies to 396 feet. (or 475 feet, with Run)

And that's without going the munchkin route of "milk every bonus type in sight" ...

 

[RedSwan78]

The problem is, if you read the first post I made, I don't want to multi-class. I want to stay a pure Dragoon, so no speed bonuses from Monk or Barb.

Still looking for more insights/thoughts/advice

 

[Pax]

Then, Ring of Jumping (for the +30), Boots of Striding and Springing (for the double speed), and the Run feat (for the +20% result on Running jumps).

Other than that, max out yoru Strength, yoru ranks of Jump, and any modifiers you can get (+2 form skill focus, or +4 from greater skill focus, or +10 from Epic skill focus; +2 synergy from Tuble 5+ ranks; etc).

 

[RigaMortus]

Just to clarify, according to the SRD:

Ring of Jumping gives you a +30 (unnamed) bonus to Jump and requires the Jump spell to create.
Boots of Striding and Sprining give you a +10 Competance bonus to Jump AND double normal movement and requires the Expeditious Retreat spell to create.

I would say these two items stack.

 

[Darklone]

Get haste spells for movement increases ?