Post/Author/DateTime	Post
stlthmnky 06-30-04, 12:27 PM	I was just wondering, could a squad of characters with access to featherfall spell (via ring, straight spell, or contingency) effectively be used as a paratrooper squad? It sounds reasonable to me, but anybody please tell me what they think.
Krelios 06-30-04, 12:29 PM	Sure. I can't see why not except that rings of Feather Fall would be WAY too expensive to outfit more than a few elite troops. The other question is, of course, Paratrooping in from what?
GoodTeletubby 06-30-04, 06:47 PM	Giant Eagles
Bluebrush 06-30-04, 07:52 PM	Or airships. Also, Potions of Featherfall might be a better idea. As one-use items, there's no need to worry about losing expensive rings to the enemy when a feathertrooper is captured/killed/slightly maimed. Though if you're maintaining an elite squad of paratroopers who have a tendency not to be killed, rings may save money in the long run.
Edward 06-30-04, 08:46 PM	A ring is worth the same as 44 potions. So unless the attrition rate is less than one in 44 man missions potions are more economical. (Although you could have survivors bring back the rings of dead comrades where at all practical). Even then I would go with potions. Dam I wish I could remember the rest of that song Edward
elindred 06-30-04, 09:28 PM	bear in mind that a standard clvl 1 potion of feather fall will only last for 1 round, affect one person, and safely bring him only 60'. increasing the caster level of the potion will add 1 target per caster level and extend the duration by an extra round, or 60 feet. brewing a single potion of heightened caster level would economize on money cost and time spent brewing the potions (at least one day per potion according to the rules) if your end duration is less than the intended length of the fall, you could instruct your elite troops to perform a sort of 'halo jump', where they freefall to somewhere within the potion's effective range before they imbibe their potions, decelerating them to a safe speed for the last leg of the fall.
stlthmnky 06-30-04, 09:42 PM	Potions does sound like a much better idea, economically, but as you said, there is the problem of caster levels and spell duration. The HALO jump thing is a good idea though, but I wonder what kind of check it would take to be able to drink the potion while freefalling from an airship. (Yes, I was thinking airship from the start, because I'm playing Eberron, where such things are commonplace), because that can't be a very simple thing to do. BTW, whoever was looking for the rest of that song: here it is (http://www.angelfire.com/tx/atomicveteran/jump.html)
elindred 06-30-04, 10:24 PM	eberron definitely sounds cool. if there were any sortof check it would be a concentration check at some obscure dc. another alternative might be for a wizard/sorceror to cast the spell on the troops from the airship, either using the enlarge spell feat or a minor metamagic enlarge rod. i'll leave the logistics to you. the halo jump strategy would also allow a more precise landing as prevailing winds will have less time to affect the troopers (though i'm not sure what the exact rules would be), as compared to having them feather fall all the way.
[GSV] Kirstar 07-01-04, 03:27 AM	you could use wands of feather fall. or probably better make a new spell, say 3rd or 4th level that lets the affected character activate a feather fall ability within the next 24 hours ....
Edward 07-01-04, 05:16 AM	If you don’t want to do halo (which I what I imagined) then have a spell caster on the airship cast it before the jump. Using scrolls if necessary If you where doing halo I would imagine specially designed potion containers where you can suck the potion out rather than poor it out. It would require significant training to accurately judge distance to the ground. But I don’t know what skill. Just an after thought. Considering any nation doing this has sky ships they have great military magical resources. In most cases a TP circle would be preferable to risking the sky ship and reducing the level of surprise. A TP circle at clvl 17 will transport 6800 well-disciplined troops and all they can carry. More effective would be 2 circles send 4000 troops threw each and then support units such as pack animals loaded with food and supplies. Edward Edward
[GSV] Kirstar 07-01-04, 06:28 AM	except that at that level of magical battle, anti teleportation effects are created. or an entire country already has permanent teleportation links set up its not really that hard, you can either use permanancy or creat magic items, in my mind permanency is the more logical method, they cost less to create in GP but more in XP.
Edward 07-01-04, 07:30 AM	Wide aria ante teleportation magic is not exactly feasible. You could protect a city but not the farmland surrounding it. The only exception to this I have heard of is the underdark and I believe that is a natural phenomenon and being underground sky ships are not very practical. Edward
Amaron Blackthorn 07-01-04, 11:39 AM	the best use of featherfall was in Dragons of Autumn Twilight when Fizban and Tas are falling away from Ember and Fizban says feather and then all you heard was a splat!!
Ertai Planeswalker 07-01-04, 01:36 PM	Well hte mages could craft balls of wax with feather-fall potion at it's core, like cheryy bon-bons. The troopers could put one in their cheek before falling, and then just bite them open the moment they reach their desired altitude. On a sidenote, 60Ft. is only 20 meters... i think you need at least 100 meters for the potion to start affecting you at the speed you're falling. This comes down to 5th casterlevel.
Amaron Blackthorn 07-01-04, 01:49 PM	Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn the best use of featherfall was in Dragons of Autumn Twilight when Fizban and Tas are falling away from Ember and Fizban says feather and then all you heard was a splat!!