"Need a lift? Who needs crazy mechanical contraptions when we have the hand of the sky to carry us along?"
Level: 14 / Category: Travel, Exploration / Cast Time: 1 hour / Duration: 8 hours / Component Cost: gems valued at 1000 gp / Market Price: 4200 gp / Key Skill: Arcana / Special: Costs a healing surge to perform or scribe this ritual, as its sheer power is nearly too much to wield. If you do not have any healing surges left, you may instead drain a number of hp equal to a healing surge. If you have neither, you cannot cast the ritual.
Flavor text: "The gems you were clutching crumble into fine sand leaving an irridescent rune burnt into your hand. You can feel your hand trembling with building force, and the skies are aflutter as clouds from distant lands gather up and an unseen force clumps them together like globs of white clay. The vapor forms into a massive cloud below you. The rune glistens, awaiting the command to lift off, and with a rumble and a woosh you feel your stomach drop to your knees as Mordecai's Magnificent Cloud propels you and your cargo to the open skies!"
You touch an object, usually a large platform or a modified boat, and it begins to hover. The maximum volume/weight/speed of the object you can levitate in this manner depends on your Arcana check (see below).
Directing the craft will be a minor action so long as you remain in contact with the ship. The object you levitate has a move speed of up to 15 squares per round (determined by Arcana check), and can go up to an altitude of 20 squares.
-Command to Hover. Move Action. You must be in contact with the object. You may command it to hover in one place. This is a form of standby. If you go more than 15 squares away while in Hover, the expediture of effect is doubled until you return (lasts 4 hours tops)
-Not in direct contact. less than 10 squares away: Move Action to direct.
-Not in direct contact. 15 squares or less away: Standard Action to direct. Expenditure of effect quadrupled (lasts 2 hours tops).
-Any round the craft is not actively being directed it will attempt to follow the last command given.
-More than 15 squares away without going into Hover mode: The effect immediately ends.
When the effect ends, the objects touches down gently within 4 rounds (falls a rate of roughly 5 squares per round).
Arcana Check:
Result.........Speed(sq)..Weight(tons)..Maximum Volume(cu)
19 or less....8.................1....................12 (3x2x1, rowboat, 4 medium creatures, plus 600 lbs. of gear (all that the rowboat can hold))
20-29..........10...............2....................25 (4x2x2, light sailboat, 8 medium creatures, plus 2,500 lbs. of gear)
30-39..........12...............4....................50 (6x2x3, pinnace boat, 20 medium creatures, plus 4,000 lbs. of gear www.wizards.com/dnd/images/Map_ECG/10.jp...")
40 or more..15...............8..................100 (8x4x3, modified airship, 30 medium creatures, plus 10,000 lbs. of gear [see Adv.Vault, pg. 18])
EDIT: Changed volume to scale up to the volume of the airship from AVault (minus ballon). Raised DCs by 5. Lowered carryable weight. Raised level of the ritual and initial cost, but lowered component cost. Allowed characters to use hp instead of surges if they are out of surges but need to cast the ritual in order to peace out.
-=Balance ideas? Feedback?=-
since I have one eval, and its a good one; any other feedback from the community would be appreciated. my main concerns are:
-is 12th level a good level to be thinkin bout airships even?
-what about the 3000 gp cost?
-and the control limitations, too open?
-or too complicated?
-most importantly, how you would feel if this were in your game? and/or how could it be improved?
bump.
since I have one eval, and its a good one; any other feedback from the community would be appreciated. my main concerns are:
-is 12th level a good level to be thinkin bout airships even?
-what about the 3000 gp cost?
-and the control limitations, too open?
-or too complicated?
-most importantly, how you would feel if this were in your game? and/or how could it be improved?
I'm starting a paragon campaign (at 11th level) with airships, and there are paragon paths that grant overland flight so the level seems right. The cost I'm less sure about.
The cost I'm less sure about.
Hm. Okay yea I didn't know where to put it. Wizard I am guessing? I mustve missed that one..I looked (I thought) for all the flight stuff I could find for benchmarks, and then honed in on rituals - which I came up with Phantom Steed, and short of enchanting flying carpets (Lvl 25 item..), not much else. Maybe make it 20 pp instead of 30 pp?
Oh theres Shadow Walk too, but thats not gonna transport a bunch of stuff as well..
-wizard Mass Flight is level 22, and lasts for about a round
-wizard personal Fly is level 16, lasting again for about a round
-clerics can flight a bit as well, at level 13
-items that grant flight for a turn are lvl 22+
-a flying carpet is level 20 and holds at most 300 lbs...but at least thats constant (its what I based alot of my research on.) it costs 125,000 gp
-Scion of Arkhosia paragon gets wings at lvl 16, again personal and flight speed is 12
-Flight of Dragons sorcerer utility 22 could do a group of people in a close burst 2, but thats a lvl 22 daily, and its sustain minor and a fly speed equal to each character's land speed.
-oh, and I found a gargantuan vehicle in dragon magazine #375, costing 3,125,000 gp!! and its got overland flight 15, fly 12 (hover) and can carry a crew of 40, and 100 tons of cargo. thats pretty damned expensive..well outside a paragon level party's bankroll.
Im gonna have to respectfully disagree, and say I do not think that mass overland flight is in the realm of a paragon tier character's reach, and barely within the reach of epic tier. no matter WHAT class he is.
you will change my mind to agree more if you could point me to something that grants some substantial overland flight for an least an hour (anything below 20th level..)
I think I just debunked my own design with a broader search..poop.
*if you have a boat
The boat requirement really limits it's potential for causing any trouble.
-Ornithoptor: 3400 gp, solo flight device, holds 1 medium person and 300 lbs of cargo (2x2x1 volume). poor example..on the other hand there is this:
-Airship: 85000 gp, group flight device, pilot must man the wheel at all time, and in addition to the pilot it requires crew of 5 all using standard actions to help control it (reduce speed of 15 overland by 4 for each crew member not present), carries up to 30 medium creatures and 60,000 lbs of cargo (8x4x6 volume, includes balloon though).
Average party level (of six same level characters) to afford a mundane airship but have NO magic items: about 9th* (assuming DMG character gear, and letting them trade in all their items at 100% price: 8th level item value in coin + 8th level item value + 9th level item value + 10th level item value = about 16,000 gp, multiplied by 6 thats 96,000 gp).
Average party level (of six same level characters) to afford a mundane airship without being way underpowered (would have items as well as the extra coin on hand to pool their money into buying one): about 14th (assuming DMG character gear, and using only cash on hand: 17,000 gp)
*Also, a 14th average party level for a DM that doesnt let them trade in all their 9th level gear at 100% value (as it probably was intended to be..)
My guess at the level of a group of six to have a ship that does what this airship can do without having to be piloted or crewed at all times: at least 18th okay..maybe 14th too
Then, I reexamined the weight and weight capacities of the airship, pinnace, and rowboat. They simply carry too much weight to be fully stocked when they lift off, but the caster could at least carry the boat, a bunch of people, and a LOT of gear, which is fine.
Last, due to the initial caster level being 14, the roughly highest Arcana bonus for that level I figured as +18 (+7 for level/2, +5 for training, and a class with Int as the primary ability, a +6). So upon first getting the ritual, the casters Arcana check could range from 19 to 38. Low rolls should get you a small boat up, and high rolls could get a medium to large boat up, but not an airship off the ground right away without more training AND a very high roll. Which seems to work well for limitations.
Thus there are a few updates, and I retract my previous statement about it being 18th+ lvl, but I still think it shouldn't get you an airship any sooner, even if only for a day..
EDIT: Reduced the DCs slightly (by 5). Making it just out of reach at 14th level to get a full airship lifted without having skill focus (arcana) and a high roll.
rewrote some of the lines to allow characters to leave the airship for longer. no sense in going into a dungeon only to find you are out of surges/hp and can't take off