Tensor's Floating Disk as Travel...

[Hypersmurf]

Posting this in the Rules Forum might get you more responses.

Agreed - let's take a trip!

-Hyp.
(Moderator)

 

[Norfleet]

I read the spell to state that it follows its caster.. it'll always be behind the wizard, and not close enough for him to sit upon without it saying "Whoa I'm not behind him!" and then back away in time for him to land on the floor.

It's not always behind the wizard. If it was, the wizard would never be able to put anything on it, because anytime he turned around to try to put something on it, it would move to be behind him.

It "floats along horizontally within spell range" and "If not otherwise directed, it maintains a constant interval of of 5 feet between itself and you.". This means that the wizard is able to direct it to move anywhere within the range, and presumably, therefore, may sit on it, provided he is not too fat as to overload it. The more interesting question becomes, "What happens if when the wizard does not otherwise direct it, while sitting on it?". Obviously, the thing can no longer maintain this constant 5' interval, because you are sitting on it, and any attempt it makes to move will take you with it. However, this is not a termination condition for the spell.

My ruling on the matter is that, if the disk is not being directed by a wizard who is sitting on the disk, it will fly in random directions at the wizard's normal movement rate until the wizard falls off, gets off, or directs it again. If the wizard has a very hig normal movement rate, thus giving the disk a very high movement rate, the odds of him falling off the disk are increased.

 

[Norfleet]

Another interesting question with TFD is "What is the strength of the disk?". Assuming that a Tenser's Floating Disk is not of infinitesimal thickness, and therefore constitutes a monofilament weapon, how much force can it exert, or damage does it inflict, upon an object that it accidentally, or intentionally, collides with while moving? I would assume that the force exerted or damage inflicted is directly related to the casting wizard's normal movement rate.

 

[Scion]

Riding the disk is fun, there are very few things that are really 'abusive' and they are mostly fixed by just saying that the surface you are floating over would have to be able to support you anyway. Done and done.

 

[Scion]

Another interesting question with TFD is "What is the strength of the disk?". Assuming that a Tenser's Floating Disk is not of infinitesimal thickness, and therefore constitutes a monofilament weapon, how much force can it exert, or damage does it inflict, upon an object that it accidentally, or intentionally, collides with while moving? I would assume that the force exerted or damage inflicted is directly related to the casting wizard's normal movement rate.

Wha..? It is a 'plane of force', it has no thickness.. being magic and undefined you cannot 'enter it from the side'. If that is causeing problems then just say it curls around itself on the edges forming something like a very thin bubble that cannot deal damage to anything. Nothing can pass into the 'space' that it takes up, it is a plane of force that cannot be broken by normal means (it has no hardness, and just like other force effects is effectively indestructable).

 

[dcollins]

So... has anyone ever seen a Tensor's Floating Disk used as a form of travel? Like, can it carry enough weight to be used as a levitating platform with which the wizard can just sorta... float along... ?

For 25 years whenever this question has been brought up to the D&D designers the answer has been "no". The Tenser's Floating Disk is intended for carrying gear, not personal transportation.

 

[MerakSpielman]

I don't think it's "supposed" to be used for personal transport, but I don't think it's game-breaking if you allow it, as long as you rule that:

It cannot float over a surface that could not support the weight of the caster (i.e., over water, quicksand, etc...)(it also can't be used for crossing pits or chasms, since the distance above the ground is set at 3')
and
It cannot move faster than the caster would be able to move if walking.
and
It does not protect from attacks from below (not that this would come up very often)

...all of which make it little more than an impressive, hey-look-what-the-wizard-can-do spell. Or a handy footstool.

I would also rule that, as far as being "directed otherwise" goes, that it can't be directed to enter a space already occupied by a solid object or creature. If a creature enters the space where it is, it is harmlessly shunted off to the side.

This seems to fix any munchkinisms that might derive from this spell... did I miss any?

 

[Plane Sailing]

We used to have tensers floating wagon trains back in 1e. The 5th level wizard casts fly, then casts TFD. A low level apprentice climbs on the TFD and casts one himself, which the next apprentice climbs on. That apprentice in turn casts TFD. Excess carrying capacity was then made up with assorted goods or rocks (for dropping). For offensive purposes the apprentices might be given wands of magic missile or whatever.

The lead wizard then takes off, and all the other disks with associated apprentices followed along in a line like a roller coaster

 

[Norfleet]

Wha..? It is a 'plane of force', it has no thickness.. being magic and undefined you cannot 'enter it from the side'. If that is causeing problems then just say it curls around itself on the edges forming something like a very thin bubble that cannot deal damage to anything. Nothing can pass into the 'space' that it takes up, it is a plane of force that cannot be broken by normal means (it has no hardness, and just like other force effects is effectively indestructable).

The interesting aspect of "indestructible" is that indestructibility effectively equates to infinite hardness: If no amount of force can cause it to crack, chip, or shatter, then it has infinite hardness. However, I don't think TFD is indestructible, since it clearly has an overload point, which therefore has an equivalent amount of force it can withstand.

I don't think it's "supposed" to be used for personal transport, but I don't think it's game-breaking if you allow it, as long as you rule that:

It cannot float over a surface that could not support the weight of the caster (i.e., over water, quicksand, etc...)(it also can't be used for crossing pits or chasms, since the distance above the ground is set at 3')

That's certainly a possible interpretation, if you feel that the quicksand doesn't constitute ground. What about, for instance, lava, which is certainly dense enough to support the weight of the caster, but would be greatly injurious if he actually attempted to test this? Do hazardous, but supportive, surfaces disallow the floating? If so, what defines hazardousness?

It does not protect from attacks from below (not that this would come up very often)

Well, I would think it would offer some degree of protection. After all, it's capable of withstanding 100 pounds of force per level of caster.

...all of which make it little more than an impressive, hey-look-w
I would also rule that, as far as being "directed otherwise" goes, that it can't be directed to enter a space already occupied by a solid object or creature. If a creature enters the space where it is, it is harmlessly shunted off to the side.

Since the TFD moves at a "normal" speed for a caster, for most normal casters, it's unlikely that the disk will be able to move fast enough to inflict actual damage by ramming an opponent: However, the possibility for collision exists. What happens when, for instance, two wizards on floating disks decide to play bumper cars with them? By you assertion that if a creature attempts to ram a stationary disk, or, presumably, a disk attempts to ram another object or creature. You propose that the disk is harmlessly shunted off to the side: At what speed is the disk "harmlessly" shunted? By "harmlessly", do you mean for the contacted object or creature, or the contents of the disk? Obviously, a human can sustain a much higher level of force that is deemed "harmless", than, say, an egg.

 

[Gez]

I remember a clever idea: having a flying familiar (like an owl, bat, raven, etc.) cast the spell through the spell link, and the disc would follow the familiar rather than yourself. Then you would sit in the disc and be able to move above dangerous surfaces (trapped, slippery, unstable, etc.).

This wasn't reallly rule-legit (since familiars are only supposed to share spells or to deliver touch-range spells for you), but was nice.