Idea for a Levitating Character

[Kirstin]

I have been toying with the idea of a PC who levitates a few inches off the ground and flies around that way all the time. Much like the sorceress from Warcraft III. I need to know the feelings of fellow gamers on this build.

The two ways I know to have a PC do this using 3.5 rules is by having a 6th level warlock use Fell Flight or by having the reserve feat Borne Aloft from Complete Arcane, and neither is quite what I'm looking for. Fell Flight says you sprout a streaming, winglike cape of shadows and Borne Aloft only allows 30 ft of movement and it must start and end with you standing on a solid surface.

My idea is of a levitate build, a PC who must use their levitate to get around. So to accomplish that and counteract the benefits of having a continuous ability to cross liquids and not set off pressure plates my PC will be a paraplegic.

Without this power active my PC would suffer the following penalties:
-Cannot stand
-Crawling is the only means of movement(without aid such as a wheelchair)
-Base Speed while crawling 5 ft; cannot run, charge or bull rush
-Cannot move with anything that requires two hands to hold

While the effect is active:
-PC is suspended in the air with feet 2 - 8 inches off the ground, can only suspend self in a generally standing position
-Base speed becomes same as base creature + 5 ft
-Cannot run; bull rush and charge cannot exceed base speed (ie. 35 ft for a human)
-Ignore rubble but rough terrain still halves speed as normal
-Can "stand" up form prone as a move equivalent action that provokes attacks of opportunity
-Can maintain suspended over any generally flat surface to include liquids
-Can use Concentration in the place of Jump, all standard jump rules apply

and of course this ability is a spell-like ability so it has a weakness to dispelling (though it can be reactivated as a free action with a Concentration check DC 15) and it can be interrupted as a spell. Anytime the PC would have to make a Concentration check to maintain a spell, they have to make one to maintain this ability, but he/she gains a bonus to that Concentration check equal to his/her character level. Whenever this ability is interrupted or dispelled the caster falls into the prone.

[Grod_The_Giant]

The two ways I know to have a PC do this using 3.5 rules is by having a 6th level warlock use Fell Flight or by having the reserve feat Borne Aloft from Complete Arcane, and neither is quite what I'm looking for. Fell Flight says you sprout a streaming, winglike cape of shadows and Borne Aloft only allows 30 ft of movement and it must start and end with you standing on a solid surface.

My lady, I give you the elocater. Specifically, his first-level ability:

Scorn Earth (Su)-
At 1st level, an elocater’s feet lift from the ground. From now on, she can float a foot above the ground. Instead of walking she glides along, unconcerned with the hard earth or difficult terrain. While she remains within 1 foot of a flat surface of any solid or liquid, she can take normal actions and make normal attacks, and can move at her normal speed (she can even “run” at four times her normal speed). However, at distances higher than 1 foot above any surface, her speed diminishes to 10 feet per round.

While she remains within 1 foot of a surface, she can make melee and ranged attacks normally, but if she moves any higher, she incurs the penalties on melee and ranged attack rolls as if she were the subject of the psionic levitate power.

Anyway, your proposed ability (flaw?) seems like a fair enough trade-off to me. The power balance might go one way or another, depending on the prevalence of dispel magic, but I don't think it's terrible.

[Kirstin]

I had completely forgotten about Elocaters, that almost exactly the ability I want. The issue being I would like to play either a Wizard/Sorcerer or a Healer and to have the ability from level 1.

[Calmar]

Is it out of question to ask your DM if you might take Scorn Earth as a feat (perhaps without the option to use the true levitation effect)?

[Ralasha]

There are always the Mage feats from Dragon Magazine, but I think those require levels higher than level 1. Hmm... Best idea would be to ask if you could take Scorn Earth, just add in your normal speed limitations, and dispel problems for balance.

[DracoDei]

Depending on the duration, and replacing the speed reduction when too high with a Feather Fall effect, I would call the ability to treat that ability as a first level spell with a range of "Self" as a fair trade for the drawbacks when it isn't active. I would GUESS that 1/hour per level would be about right, perhaps with a minimum of... eh, depending on your group 2 to 4 hours.

This is all of the top of my head.

[Kirstin]

I would GUESS that 1/hour per level would be about right, perhaps with a minimum of... eh, depending on your group 2 to 4 hours.

The problem with doing it this way is that it needs to be active all the time, as in this is his/her only means of movement.

I like the idea of Scorn Earth as a feat with the Concentration nerf thrown in to even it out. Of course I would keep the paraplegic part too.

I'm thinking that a good background would be that the PC grew up in an arcane academy and as a crippled child learned a unique magic ability to get around.

[DracoDei]

The problem with doing it this way is that it needs to be active all the time, as in this is his/her only means of movement.

You say that like it was some sort of absolute limit on the character's utility... which it isn't, mostly because it isn't true (especially with a few tens of GPs for "adaptive devices").

A mule and a one-person cart will get you around on the road. 4 hours a day should be enough for dungeon-delving. If a nobleman wants to meet with you, he can spring for litter-bearers.

Still, your way works too.

[Jallorn]

The flaw isn't a flaw though. With levitation, the character's inability to walk is irrelevant, since they can float.

[Prime32]

May I suggest using control body on yourself? (pass concentration over to your psicrystal)

[DonDuckie]

If you are open to Pathfinder material, I can recommend Air Elemental Specialist Wizard.

To give you the bulletpoints:

• Feather fall at will(self only) at 1st level
• Levitate at will(self only) at 5th level
• Fly(self only) at 10th level

[Kirstin]

The flaw isn't a flaw though. With levitation, the character's inability to walk is irrelevant, since they can float.

Except that the PC can lose actions constantly if taking damage and failing the Concentration check, or even in severe weather or on a badly rocking ship. The "flaw" limits the character dramatically unless he/she can completely avoid such situations or the DM is to lazy to throw in such commonplace things. Also it makes any antimagic or wildmagic zones to be completely disabling, unlike a normal caster who could just walk out of the area. Also having a character who cannot move faster than their base speed is a huge hindrance if things go wrong and a retreat is required.

May I suggest using control body on yourself? (pass concentration over to your psicrystal)

As much fun as that power is, it would only allow a paraplegic to walk, not hover along and passing the Concentration off to the psicrystal would practically eliminate the "flaw" to the ability and then it would be a completely unbalanced ability.

DracoDei, I want the ability mostly for the RP value and not for dungeon delving advantage, part of the idea is that he/she doesn't want everyone to know about the physical handicap.