Fleet-footed flying heroes - any official ruling?

[marelion]

A couple of days ago I was buliding an Avenger for my 4e-group and picked the Favored Soul PP. Heaven`s Boon, the 16th level benefit nets you a fly speed of 6. Taking a look at the available feats I noticed fleet-footed, a +1 feat-bonus to speed (Paragon Tier, PHB).

Would the speed bonus to the fly-speed as well? Would you rule differently fore a pixie`s racial fly-speed? I was looking through HotFW for a clue but coud not find any clarification. I am not a DDI-Subscriber, so pardon me, if this question has already been tackled in one of the recent articles there.

Could somebody enlighten me please?

Thanks a lot in advance

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

This is one of those areas people argue about all the time. Favored Soul says you get a fly speed of 6, so it is a separate speed from your speed, which is a 'walking' speed (they don't really label the basic ground movement mode). Since Fleet Footed gives you a +1 to speed I'd think it is to that speed, not flying speed. OTOH the rules aren't perfectly consistent about this kind of thing. I think it doesn't add to your flying speed, but reasonable people may disagree on that one.

 

[keterys]

That way lies madness - soon people are arguing that being slowed doesn't reduce their other special speed to 2. Better off just applying everything, bonuses, penalties, and conditions, to all speeds.

 

[On Puget Sound]

That way lies madness - soon people are arguing that being slowed doesn't reduce their other special speed to 2. Better off just applying everything, bonuses, penalties, and conditions, to all speeds.

Agree. If fly speed isn't speed, then pixies are immune to slow.

 

[mach1.9pants]

I'd give the +1 to all modes cos it is not game breaking but, yeah, DM discretion until WotC announce further.

 

[Unwise]

I think the rules are very clear on this. If it an ability gives you a set amount of squares you can move/leap/whatever that makes no reference to your speed stat, then increasing your speed stat will not change it.

The problem is, although this is clear to players, the developers keep forgetting that and stuffing up. In a system like 4ed with very specific language and constructs to make rules clear, they really drop the ball on this one. I see no ambiguity in the language, they have the 'syntactical construct' of speed well defined to make the rules clear.

I would say RAW Pixie cannot be slowed while flying. A whole bunch of monsters can also not be effectively slowed. I believe that this is due to lax writing on the developers part though. So I play that any speed that could reasonably be construed as deriving from your speed stat can be increased/decreased by things affecting speed. In an otherwise precise rules system, that has all the tools for clarity, I kind of resent having to do that.

 

[the Jester]

I would say RAW Pixie cannot be slowed while flying. A whole bunch of monsters can also not be effectively slowed.

You guys are talkin' crazy here.

From the Rules Compendium, pg. 233:

Slowed: The creature's speed becomes 2 if it was higher than that. This speed applies to all of the creature's movement modes (walking, flying, swimming and so on) but it does not apply to forced movement against it, teleportation or any other movement that doesn't use the creature's speed.

EDIT: I see no real reason why Fleet-Footed wouldn't apply to the pixie's fly speed; it is a movement speed, after all.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I think fleet footed counts towards speed, all speeds. What the speed started oat is immaterial.

As for Dwarves, I find it a bit more problematical, if the dwarf is in heavy armor, but I would allow the speed increase. I usually allow bonuses and penalties on the sheet to be counted in the most advantageous order.

Of course combat level stuff always counts last.

 

[marelion]

Thank you for the insight. Personally, should it ever come up when I`m GMing I will rule that speed penalties and bonusses apply to all speeds.