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hcobb · 08-24-2022, 08:57 AM

Is levitation by a spell (or disease) the same effect as winged flight?

Levitation vs Winged Flight in The Fantasy Trip
By Henry Cobb

While the actual listed adjustments for attacks from or against flying creatures in the TFT rulebooks are correct, the same word "flight" is used for two different concepts. The Flight spell (ITL 25), its enchantment, and vampirism provide Levitation, while flying carpets, gargoyles, dragons, bats, birds and the like have winged flight.
The differences are:

Levitating figures are at -2 DX for all actions, and an additional -2 DX (total -4) for all thrown weapons or missile attacks, but they have no further penalty to attack landed figures.
As a levitating figure isn't using wings it is immune to special effects from wing shots and will remain hovering in midair even if entangled.
If a levitating or winged flight figure has twice its own height in vertical space available then it is attacked at -4 DX and it only engages and is engaged by landed figures if it chooses to be. (If currently engaged by landed figures then it can take a Shift maneuver to rise out of engagement in its current location.)
A winged flight figure is at -4 DX to attack landed figures (except for dragon fire).
Winged flight figures have at least doubled MA high up outside of combat.
The note of "Target is a multi-hex figure in flight -1" from the GM Screen is a simplification from the Wizard boardgame. GMs may use either this or "Oversized Targets" (ITL 116).
The Air elemental is a special case as it normally attacks an area and has no penalty to do so, while being itself attacked as a winged flier.

08-24-2022, 08:57 AM	#39
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Re: DX penalties for attacking a flying critter Is levitation by a spell (or disease) the same effect as winged flight? Levitation vs Winged Flight in The Fantasy Trip By Henry Cobb While the actual listed adjustments for attacks from or against flying creatures in the TFT rulebooks are correct, the same word "flight" is used for two different concepts. The Flight spell (ITL 25), its enchantment, and vampirism provide Levitation, while flying carpets, gargoyles, dragons, bats, birds and the like have winged flight. The differences are: Levitating figures are at -2 DX for all actions, and an additional -2 DX (total -4) for all thrown weapons or missile attacks, but they have no further penalty to attack landed figures. As a levitating figure isn't using wings it is immune to special effects from wing shots and will remain hovering in midair even if entangled. If a levitating or winged flight figure has twice its own height in vertical space available then it is attacked at -4 DX and it only engages and is engaged by landed figures if it chooses to be. (If currently engaged by landed figures then it can take a Shift maneuver to rise out of engagement in its current location.) A winged flight figure is at -4 DX to attack landed figures (except for dragon fire). Winged flight figures have at least doubled MA high up outside of combat. The note of "Target is a multi-hex figure in flight -1" from the GM Screen is a simplification from the Wizard boardgame. GMs may use either this or "Oversized Targets" (ITL 116). The Air elemental is a special case as it normally attacks an area and has no penalty to do so, while being itself attacked as a winged flier. __________________ -HJC Last edited by hcobb; 08-24-2022 at 09:27 AM.