Tumble question

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Well, possibly because "Standing up from Prone as a Free Action" has been specifically addressed in the Tumble Skill (by the Epic Level Handbook, and, I believe, Complete Adventurer) with a ridiculously high DC.

DC 35, it's a free action, and it still provokes an AoO.

 

[Hypersmurf]

And remember, that is your rule about if they have the speed listed for that kind of movement its normal movement.

Absolutely, and I flagged it as such.

Besides, if you want to get nitpicky about what is exactly in the book, crawling is listed in the PHB as a movement type for ALL players.

Yup. Following the sentence "Many nonstandard modes of movement are covered under this category."

Nonstandard movement != normal movement...

-Hyp.

 

[Shellman]

DC 35, it's a free action, and it still provokes an AoO.

There is a the Thief Acrobat PrC (out of CAdv) which has the Kip Up ability. It allows the Thief to stand up from Prone without provoking AoO.