doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
also I'm pretty sure fabricate has size limits that don't work for making vehicles.
New spells like Mordenkainen's Faithful 4x4, or Drawmij's Instant Nitro? Perhaps Bigby's Smooth Handling, or Snilloc's SUV Summoning are more to your taste? I'm a big fan of the cantrip Drive Casual personally, and also Summon Lesser Lifeboat.Thus, new spells.
While amusing, no.New spells like Mordenkainen's Faithful 4x4, or Drawmij's Instant Nitro? Perhaps Bigby's Smooth Handling, or Snilloc's SUV Summoning are more to your taste? I'm a big fan of the cantrip Drive Casual personally, and also Summon Lesser Lifeboat.
Vehicles have always been an afterthought in D&D for the most part. Probably because D&D tends to focus on the location at the end of the road rather than the road itself. Games that do index exploration don't often involve vehicles other than ships because of terrain concerns (yes, a vast generalization, I know). The general lack of road systems puts a damper on a lot of ground vehicles in many fantasy settings.
The best source of 5e rules for cool magical vehicles is probably Aquisitions Inc., which has some pretty awesome rules for that very thing. Not spells mind you, but cool vehicles. If I wanted that sort of thing plus spells I'd probably start there. Spells that would effect ground vehicles shouldn't prove too tough to kitbash if all you want is stuff like speed and cargo space type stuff. IDK, it doesn't seem complicated though.
Personally, I'd go right to airships. I'd start with the AI rules and work out form there. Just my two cents of course, YMMV.
There are no vehicle spells in 5e D&D. No “make the thing go faster”, no “teleport this vehicle to a different place”, no “make this vehicle move silently and leave no trace”, no “create a vehicle with these limitations”, no “this vehicle can fly for X time, nada.
I think I’d want to separate some of that out into multiple spells, but yeah I think providing a statblock just like the new UA spells do for critters is a good idea.Spitballing some features...
AC 16, 60 HP
1. Self propelled Mv 25'
2. Covered
3. Fast Mv 40' - roads and flat surfaces only
4. Relentless - extra tires, off-road capability, 25' move only
5. Smugglers Hold - small dimensional storage for you legally-adjacent goods
6. Armored - AC 18, +20 HP - requires covered
Upcast abilities could include burrowing, water movement, submarine capability, levitation, flight, weaponry, etc
A related idea is using a version of Drawmij's Instant Summons to summon an already existing vehicle from storage.