According to the Rules Compendium, can I charge through a square that would hamper my movement as long as it isn't difficult terrain?

Question

According to the Rules Compendium, can I charge through a square that would hamper my movement as long as it isn't difficult terrain?

Under "Initiating a Charge" (p. 27), it says:

If you don’t have line of sight to the opponent you want to charge at the start of your turn, you can’t charge that foe. To charge, you must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and can move up to double your speed. You must be able to reach the closest space from which you can attack the designated opponent. This movement must occur before your attack. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, is difficult terrain, or contains a creature (not a helpless one), you can’t charge. You can’t charge if the ending space is occupied or blocked. Since you move to charge, you can’t take a 5-foot step during the same turn. You provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for your movement.

It seems that squares that aren't difficult terrain, that only hamper movement but not block it are legal.

This would include Obstacles, Poor visibility (Any time you can’t see at least 60 feet in the prevailing conditions of visibility=Fog or Darkness?), and Squeezing.

Also some spells cause hampered movement that isn't difficult terrain.

Answer 1

No

If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, is difficult terrain, or contains a creature...

This sentence is presenting three separate issues.

1. blocks movement
2. is difficult terrain
3. contains a creature

The confusion may come from the comma before and after difficult terrain, which often indicates additional info like this phrase does, but can be used before the word "and" or "or" to indicate separate items in a list.

This agrees with the SRD's rule, reproduced below:

You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles).

Answer 2

The Rules Compendium allows a creature to charge if its movement is hampered, but the creature still can't charge through difficult terrain

The Rules Compendium on Initiating a Charge does, indeed, in part, say, "If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement [or] is difficult terrain,… you can’t charge" (27).

On Hampered Movement (95) provides a list of conditions that impair movement that includes obstacles that don't block spaces and squeezing but lists difficult terrain separately from other conditions. As both obstacles that don't block spaces and squeezing impair movement yet aren't difficult terrain, the Rules Compendium does allow a creature to charge through spaces that are occupied by obstacles that don't block spaces and—amusingly—even while squeezing. (The other hampered movement conditions likely prevent a charge: poor visibility likely preventing the creature from seeing its target at the start of its turn (see below) and impassable conditions being… um… impassable.)

This is a fairly substantial change to the Player's Handbook's rules on Movement During a Charge that, in part, say that "if any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that… slows movement (such as difficult terrain)… you can’t charge (154–5).

---

Note: The question lists as one hampered movement condition Poor visibility (Any time you can’t see at least 60 feet in the prevailing conditions of visibility) but I'm almost certain this is inaccurate. Movement is doubled when a creature is blinded or in complete darkness, for instance, but movement's typically not doubled when a creature can't see more than 60 ft.! (That's a long way.) While the Rules Compendium has a section on Visibility on the same page as Hampered Movement, Visibility there is a subsection of the Getting Lost section that's a distinct and separate section from the rules on Hampered Movement. Blame the layout department for picking subheaders that are only a few points different from main headers.