Fly spell variants

[Edena_of_Neith]

Hey there folks.
We all know the Fly spell, which gives you a flight speed of about 30 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour or so.)
That is too slow. What we need is a spell that enables truly high powered flight.

My inspiration for this is that I am just returned from Cedar Point, and from my first-ever ride on the Millennium 2000.
This roller coast reaches 315 feet, and has a peak speed of 92 mph.
More importantly, the coaster maintains speeds of 90 mph or so throughout the entire 2 minute ride.

I know that many people have described riding this coaster - my description of it is that it is like being on a rocket that had gone berserk.

Now, in Harry Potter, in the Quiddich (is that the right spelling?) Game, the players were definitely going that fast - maybe even over 100 mph, and they were making turns as hard as the Millennium does, or harder.
Why they did not fly off their broomsticks (for that matter, why they weren't thrown off forcefully even if they were holding on with all their possible strength) is beyond me, but Quiddich and the Millennium seem to have speed and sudden changes in direction in common.

Now, what we need in Dungeons and Dragons is a spell that allows the intrepid wizard to rocket around like that.
A Fly spell that gives a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160 to 170 kilometers per hour), super manueverability (in 2nd edition terms, Maneuverability Class A), and the ability to suddenly accelerate and decelerate from not moving to full speed, or from full speed to not moving, in a single (3rd edition, 6 second) round.
Plus, the ability to hover at will.

Such a spell should have been around long ago, but I have never seen one.
I would put a spell of this level of power at about 5th level.

There should be a 6th level variant that allows speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
There should be a 7th level variant that allows speeds up to 300 miles per hour.
There should be an 8th level variant that allows speeds up to 400 miles per hour.

And there should be a 9th level variant that allows speeds up to 600 miles per hour.

Supersonic speeds should be possible with 10th level spells, of course.

So, what's your take on this matter?

 

[DerianCypher]

Well, its a good idea

the only problem is that at speeds exceeding 400mpg (I think, maybe faster, maybe slower) the air friction would tear the skin off your body. Of course, this could be fixed using magic. Other than that I like it.

DC

 

[Darkness]

Hmm...

Moved to House Rules...

 

[Piratecat]

I believe that there's a psionic power that gets you up to 60mph or so, a speed of 180'.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

Well, its a good idea

the only problem is that at speeds exceeding 400mpg (I think, maybe faster, maybe slower) the air friction would tear the skin off your body. Of course, this could be fixed using magic. Other than that I like it.

DC

But I LIKE my skin...

 

[Crothian]

If anyone feels like looking through the forum, this topic weas discussed and some very good fly spell variants were produced.

 

[Whodat]

I used a similar effect for Fly in another group.

The caster can increase flight speed (at greater spell levels) all the way up to about 240 mph – which is the terminal velocity for a falling human body. This means that it’s as fast as your body can force air out of the way as it falls without loosing body parts, such as that all-important skin.

Still – that’s 240 mph. Not too shabby.

Of course that’s 240 mph in the city. 220 mph on the highway. Your mph may vary.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Stoneskin Supplement to the Fly Spells

A special variant of Stoneskin needs to be developed to accompany the high-speed Fly spells.

A normal Stoneskin will not protect against crashes, bumps, or falls.
What is needed is a Stoneskin that will grant such protection, and then additional protection against various things (It needs to also be a Stonelungs spell, for example.)

In this way, your mage can rocket around, and if he meets a tree at 200 miles per hour, we do not have sushi mage-goo.
Also, the Stoneskin would protect against the occasional direct collision with birds - leaving squished birds but an intact mage.
Furthermore, the Stoneskin would protect against the inevitable pinprick hits of insects (which aren't so pinprick, at 200 mph!) and the buffeting force of the wind itself.

It would be reasonable to assume that, after a given amount of time in the air at 200 mph (more time if the mage is flying slower than that, less time if he is flying faster) one Stoneskin charge is lost, expended to protect the mage from the wind and insects.
If it is drizzling, double the rate of loss.
If it is raining lightly, triple it.
If it is raining moderately, quadruple it.
If it is raining heavily, quintuple it.
If it is a thundercloud with hail and deluges, the rate of loss is ten times normal.

This special version of Stoneskin will not work if the mage deliberately (but NOT accidental collisions!) targets a moving object with the intent to collide to cause damage, be it a golem, undead, animal, human or demihuman, or an animated tree.
So, the mage could run into a solid granite wall, bounce off, and take no damage.
But if the mage runs into a dragon, both the dragon and the mage take the 20d6 damage from the impact (the maximum possible such damage for collisions.)
In addition, the mage loses a Stoneskin charge from the impact, despite having received no benefit from it, but the rest of the charges remain until used up.

If the mage spends more than 30 minutes above 10,000 feet, a Stoneskin charge is lost.
This drops to 15 minutes, above 15,000 feet.
10 minutes, above 20,000 feet.
5 minutes, above 25,000 feet.
3 minutes, above 30,000 feet.
2 minutes, above 40,000 feet.
1 minute, above 50,000 feet.
30 seconds, above 60,000 feet.
3 rounds, above 70,000 feet.
2 rounds, above 80,000 feet.
1 round, above 90,000 feet.
2 charges per round, above 100,000 feet.
4 charges per round, above 120,000 feet.
6 charges per round, above 140,000 feet.
8 charges per round, above 160,000 feet.
10 charges per round, above 180,000 feet.
Flight above 200,000 feet is not possible in the atmosphere of an Earth-like world.

The Stoneskin does protect the recipient from the harmful effects of sudden attitude changes - that is, from abrupt changes in air pressure.
The Stoneskin enables the caster to breathe (at the cost in charges given above) up to 200,000 feet.

The Stoneskin does NOT protect the caster from cold or heat - additional spells must be cast for this purpose.

I am guessing this version of Stoneskin would be around 5th level. Possibly 6th level.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Actually, Edena, a normal Stoneskin will protect a caster from collisions such as you've described without any modification, though additional protection will be needed for windburn (Resist Elements: Fire should do it) and possibly having your skin slough off (Stoneskin should be enough, but Resist Elements: Sonic should take care of it otherwise.) A custom spell (Breathe Void) should take care of oxygen issues.

 

[RogerBacon]

I think all flying speeds should be faster than they are in third edition. The most pathetic flying speed I ever saw was the Dragon Disciple from Tomb and Blood. The guy could fly at the same speed as a human can walk. When one of my players thought he was so cool because he could fly we pointed out ot him that he was actually falling behind the rest of the party because he only moved at half pace while gaining altitude.

The minimum flight speed should be at least double a human walking speed and the number should go up from there. To determine the level of a spell for flight, one has to ask, “What is the purpose of flying?” If the purpose is to get somewhere fast then 4th level should be the most expensive spell available because at 5th level you get teleport. Nothing gets you there faster than teleport.

If the purpose of flight spells is to give a combat advantage, then top speed really doesn’t matter as long as you can move faster than your opponent. Maneuverability is more important. Perhaps instead of giving a high top speed of several hundred miles per hour you might consider giving a dodge bonus.

If the purpose of flying is purely evasion then perhaps a flight spell that allows you to increase your base rate by sacrificing other options, like the ability to cast spells while moving faster than x1 movement speed.

All of the variants described above probably wouldn’t be higher than fifth level, simply because teleport is the ultimate “fly” type spell at fifth level.

Roger Bacon