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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Magus Coeruleus" data-source="post: 1243021" data-attributes="member: 1704">My reasonsMy reasons for not allowing FD to be used as a personal transportation device:1) If this were intended, it would the most useful function of the spell, far more primary than carrying equipment and treasure.  As such, the spell description would explicitly mention this function and if anything would leave out the part about being able to carry other stuff, leaving one to interpret that the way people are trying to interpret personal transpo into it.2) Allowing non-following movement based on the phrase "If not otherwise directed" seems to me to be an egregiously overly-generous interpretation.3) My interpretation of "If not otherwise directed, it maintains a constant interval of 5 feet between itself and you" is that you can turn this following behavior "off" like a toggle, so that YOU can move closer to IT and put stuff on or take it off.  I don't think you can direct the FD to come to you to do this.4) While I don't think this is clear from the rules at all, I further believe that the FD follows at an interval of 5' or does not follow at all, period.  That is, no following at 1 foot, 10 feet, etc.  I think of it as a toggle.  Follow or don't.  Of course if you turn the following off, move 10' away, and turn following back on, it will stay 10' away because it moves at your speed, but I don't see you having the FD follow at less than 5', and following at more than 5' is based on putting extra distance between you while following is off and then reinstating following.5) Note that "The disk also winks out if you move beyond range or try to take the disk more than 3 feet away from the surface beneath it."  Notice the very conspicuous absence of the condition "or try to direct/take it beyond range" in this sentence.  Two conditions are mentioned.  One is YOU moving beyond range.  The other is trying to TAKE (not MOVE) the disk more than 3 ft from the surface.  To me this clearly indicates that the disk only moves by following you.  You cannot even TRY to move it more than 3 ft from the surface, but if you try to TAKE it there (by moving more than 3 ft from the surface yourself), it's gone.  And if you move beyond range, it's gone, but not if you move IT beyond range, because you CAN'T, since you cannot direct it to move, only to follow.6) As an aside, I would and have allowed the FD to be used for self-transportation IF someone else did the pulling.  In this case, following is turned off and the caster climbs on.  The FD won't move on its own, but someone else can pull it.  I only wish the rules gave guidelines on what it's like for someone to try and push or pull the disk (this is relevant regardless of your opinion on personal transpo functionality).  The stuff on the disk has its full weight, but there is less friction pulling the disk along in the air than if the disk were somehow on the floor for you to drag.7)  I really really like brento766's wagon analogy.  Given my (nonauthoritative) views on the 5' following interval, I would modify it only by arguing that there is a length of string tied to the wagon equal to Range, and your options are to grasp the string at your current distance, or hold it slack.  If you move back to the wagon, you have to take back your slack.  Also, you cannot hold the string less than 5' from it.  If you ungrasp the string and move beyond the length of the string (Range), you lose hold of the string altogether and the wagon is lost to you.  You can hop in the wagon but then it doesn't go anywhere unless someone else pulls it (but they of course can't access your string).</blockquote>

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