D&D 5E Levitate is a save-or-die spell

[Oofta]

You can move while incapacitated. You just can't take actions or reactions.

If the entire target is suspended, then the spell would have to have an additional effect for the target to still feel g-forces (which I assume is what you mean by "under the effect of gravity"). If you rule that only part of the target is suspended then the target will definitely feel g-forces, but I'm hard-pressed to see anything in the description that suggests it's only a partial suspension.

It's still a dimension with no gravity and no "up or down".

I also don't see why it matters nor do I care.

In my game being levitated doesn't impose penalties or bonuses to be hit because that's not in the rule description. So I view it similar to floating in water I guess, exception that you can't "push off" the air enough to gain momentum and your movements aren't slowed.

Other than floating in the air, you are as stable as if standing on the ground in games I run. Because magic.

 

[borg286]

Does anyone know when ranged attacks are common? Or when spells are common? Knowing what level the spell simply makes a foe harder to reach would be nice to know how long I can pull this cheese.

 

[Umbran]

Other than defying gravity by floating there suspended anyway. That suspension doesn't have to mean that you aren't under the effect of gravity, but it is an indicator that you might not be.

If you were actually no longer under the effect of gravity, you'd not necessarily stay at a fixed elevation.

 

[Oofta]

Does anyone know when ranged attacks are common? Or when spells are common? Knowing what level the spell simply makes a foe harder to reach would be nice to know how long I can pull this cheese.

Just depends on the monster and what your DM throws. There are CR 1/4 monsters that have ranged attack and high level monsters that do not.

But ... I'd hesitate to use any spell that the DM considers "cheese" too often. It's likely to have negative repercussions on the game.

 

[nevin]

or the Dm will use it on you along with a ton of ale and a silence spell

 

[FrogReaver]

Just depends on the monster and what your DM throws. There are CR 1/4 monsters that have ranged attack and high level monsters that do not.

But ... I'd hesitate to use any spell that the DM considers "cheese" too often. It's likely to have negative repercussions on the game.

To echo that sentiment - I've found my most enjoyable wizards to not be the ones tricked out for combat or utility - but instead the ones designed to be able to save the party from many potentially deadly situations. The goal of my spell choices and when I chose to cast spells wasn't to be most effective but to stop the encounter from overcoming us when things turned bad. That was the most satisfying caster I've ever played.

 

[borg286]

To echo that sentiment - I've found my most enjoyable wizards to not be the ones tricked out for combat or utility - but instead the ones designed to be able to save the party from many potentially deadly situations. The goal of my spell choices and when I chose to cast spells wasn't to be most effective but to stop the encounter from overcoming us when things turned bad. That was the most satisfying caster I've ever played.

Which is why I'm exploring Levitate so much. On a Sorcerer one can levitate 2 squishies, 2 baddies, or one of each, whichever seems to be the best. Previously I was thinking of keeping this till high level, but am afraid that ranged actions would be as effective if they were up in the air. But I've since reprioritized my concentration slots so as to be focused on spells that can affect more creatures than just those 2. Hyptnotic Pattern is also long lasting, with the DM playing along and not using the 1/2 that save to wake up the other 1/2 that failed. Granted that is a lot of wasted actions, but it still means your team is facing the whole army. With levitate it is better against few foes. I think that by the time one gets to high enough level that medium creatures are a thread they'll have ranged options which require a harder form of control. Any brute that lacks a ranged option would likely be large enough to be too heavy for the spell.

 

[jaelis]

Be interesting if you could cast the spell in a higher level slot an increase the weight limit.

 

[Lanefan]

I don't think it's necessarily a bad ruling, I just think if the wind wouldn't move you if your feet were on the ground, it wouldn't move you if you were levitating.

Except your feet aren't on the ground, you're free-floating.

Levitate has no control at all over horizontal movement, which includes that it doesn't hold you in place horizontally.

 

[Lanefan]

After all, you still need to drag yourself around if you want to move. If you didn't need to drag yourself you could propel yourself by simply throwing something in the direction opposite of where you want to go. Probably even "swim" through calm air.

I don't see it as dragging yourself; rather you're using the wall as if weightless to propel yourself.

And yes, throwing something heavy in one direction might move you slowly in the other.

But - and here's another messy question - does the Levitate's caster have any control of the facing-position-etc. of the target? For example, is the target always assumed to be upright with its feet toward the ground, or can it be flipped and-or spun by either itself, external forces, or the caster?

Put another way, how close does anyone's version of Levitate veer towards Telekinesis?