Boots of Haste

Fan art of Boots of Haste, by BlackSalander.

The **Boots of Haste** (not to be confused with the Boots of Speed) are an item that can be clicked together with a Bonus Action to cast the *Haste* spell on the wearer. They require attunement.

## **Properties**

The Boots of Haste in *Critical Role* are a combination of the Boots of Speed from D&D 5e and the corresponding Boots of Speed from Pathfinder. Vax's boots follow the D&D rules for activation, but originally had the Pathfinder effect of casting *Haste*. Based on that, they would have the following properties:[*presumed*]

*Requires Attunement
While you wear these boots, you can use a Bonus Action and click the boots' heels together. If you do, you benefit from the effects of the* Haste *spell for the duration of this effect. If you click your heels together again, you end the effect.
When the boots' property has been used for a total of 10 minutes, the magic ceases to function until you finish a Long Rest.*

The Boots as used by Vax'ildan have reduced the effect to be able to be activated only once per long rest, only for a total of one minute. Unlike the normal *Haste* spell, the boots' effect does not require concentration and does not cause lethargy after use.

### **In the *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn***

In the *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn*, the boots have the following properties:

* You can use a bonus action to click the heels of the boots to cast *Haste* on yourself.
* You do not suffer from lethargy effects when the spell ends if cast from the boots.
* The boots can be used once until the next dawn.

There is no mention of the spell needing concentration or not.

## **History**

### ***Vox Machina Origins Series III***

When Eskil Ryndarien was arrested for alledgedly detonating a crystal egg and freezing the citizens of Westruun druing the Winter's Crest festival, Vax'ildan helped clear his name by speaking with those actually responsible for bringing the egg to Westruun, the Clasp. Once Eskil was released, he produced the Boots of Haste from his Bag of Holding and gave them to Vax'ildan as a reward.

### **Campaign One: Vox Machina**

“
**Keyleth:**  "I think all of us can speak a little bit to the fact that items don't grant you as much inner power as you expect them to."**Vex'ahlia:**  "Unless they're boots, and then they're amazing."**Keyleth:**  "Unless they're very highly argued and debated-upon boots."
”

–
"The Fear of Isolation" (1x105)
[edit]

Vax'ildan owns a pair of these boots that have caused a long-standing competition between him and his sister, Vex'ahlia.

* Vex first tried on the Boots of Haste for the fight with Umbrasyl in "In the Belly of the Beast" (1x54). She was reluctant to return the Boots when Vax demanded them in "Hope" (1x56), but he said he'd just steal them overnight if she refused, and she relented.
* Vax again lent the Boots of Haste to his sister in "The Siege of Emon" (1x78), and in "Deadly Echoes" (1x82) when he requested them back and he argued he could get more out of them, she gave him some sass before assenting.
* Vex claimed the Boots from a disintegrated Vax, and when he miraculously returned a short time later, she initially refused to give them back despite his guilting her and she used them in a critical race against time in Elysium, but soon took pity on him and returned them.

Following a frustrating fight with Vorugal and Yenk and a prior battle with Saundor in which Grog had trouble reaching the party's enemies, a conversation between Vex and Grog seemed calculated to make Vax feel guilty about not giving Grog at least one of his three extremely powerful mobility-enhancing items: the Boots (bonus action to gain, for one minute, double movement speed and an extra action each turn that can be used to Dash or Disengage), Deathwalker's Ward (bonus action to gain a 60-foot flying speed for one hour), and now Whisper (effectively granting a 60-foot teleportation once per turn).

## **Trivia**

* CritRoleStats has examined which of the twins actually gets the bigger benefit from these boots in Who Wore It Better: Boots of Haste.
* Matthew Mercer has stated that the Boots of Haste are a holdover from the Pathfinder campaign, and were designed before he truly understood the "action economy" of D&D 5e. He has also made suggestions as to how they could be better balanced. Suggestions included adding a Concentration requirement, adding an effect consistent with the lethargy after *Haste* wears off, or only letting the effect last for 1d4+1 rounds.

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn*, p. 194.
2. ↑ Vex'ahlia states that she is attuning to the Boots of Haste that she was given by her brother.  See "The Siege of Emon" (1x78) at 2:21:46.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matthew Mercer confirms that the Boots of Haste are a "carry-over from Pathfinder" on Reddit. See /u/MatthewMercer's comment on the thread [Spoilers E102] Boots of Haste
4. ↑ See *Vox Machina Origins Series III*, Issue #5.
5. ↑ See "The Fear of Isolation" (1x105) at 1:37:34.
6. ↑ Vax, who took off the Boots so he could attune the circlet to control Fassbender, offered to lend the Boots to someone else, and Vax accepted.  See "In the Belly of the Beast" (1x54) at 2:19:40.
7. ↑ See "In the Belly of the Beast" (1x54) at 2:43:43.  Vex first uses the Boots in combat.
8. ↑ Vax demands the Boots back.  See "Hope" (1x56) at 0:37:03.
9. ↑ Vex'ahlia states that she is attuning to the Boots of Haste that her brother gave her.  See "The Siege of Emon" (1x78) at 2:21:46.
10. ↑ See "Deadly Echoes" (1x82) at 0:10:56.
11. ↑ Vax: "Well, you think about it. You think about what you've done. I know you'll do the right thing, eventually."  See "The Fate-Touched" (1x103) at 2:18:53.
12. ↑ Vex clicks the Boots right before Scanlan turns her into a dragon.  See "Elysium" (1x104) at 1:49:02.
13. ↑ See "The Fear of Isolation" (1x105) at 0:43:24.
14. ↑ See "Vorugal" (1x71) at 0:51:47.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Fan art of Boots of Haste, by BlackSalander (source). Used with permission.
2. ↑ Fan art of Boots of Haste, by Joma Cueto (source). Used with permission.