Floating - Advantage, Perk, or 0-point feature?

[Xilodel]

Howdy, y'all.

I have a question for the forum brain trust regarding floating. A wizard PC of mine wants to have a familiar in the form of a housecat sized fire elemental. He wants the creature to float by his side, rather than slither along the ground, but doesn't necessarily want Flight (read: doesn't have the points to buy it).

If the familiar has the ability to float at a constant height above the ground (possibly changing altitude by no more than a foot), but can still be stunned, shoved aside, "knocked down" (essentially losing body orientation and flailing helplessly in space), is this an advantage, a perk, or a 0-point feature?

My initial instincts are telling me 0-point feature, since it doesn't seem to be any more or less advantageous than No Legs (Bounces, Rolls, or Slithers). And my apologies ahead of time if this has been brought up in the past, my search-fu is still pathetic after all these months.

[The_Nightwatch]

It should be a minor advantage, depending on your campaign. If the familiar might ever encounter a pressure plate or tripwire, floating is an advantage. Ditto if it can float across water.

Now, if those aren't going to happen, or the familiar never leaves the PC's side and suffers equally from any traps the PC sets off...maybe it's a 0-pointer.

[Stripe]

I vote Feature for the reasons you mentioned, if this floating is its only means of propulsion.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by The_Nightwatch

It should be a minor advantage, depending on your campaign. If the familiar might ever encounter a pressure plate or tripwire, floating is an advantage. Ditto if it can float across water.

Floating across water probably does qualify for an advantage, and floating across obstacles that involve ground height changes - e.g. pits - or any resistance to falling damage, would too. But I think the pressure plate issue can be considered sufficiently offset by the inability to get to the ground. For example the unfortunate firecat will never be able to play games with mice, because they are down on the ground out of reach.

If you can envision it as moving on a "floor" that's always a fixed distance above the solid surface below, I think it's a legitimate zero point feature - yes that lets you skate across shallow water, but nothing your master can't wade through. Actually I suspect in play you'll very quickly find it a serious *dis*advantage, since *lots* of stuff in the world will be out of your reach below your personal ground.

[PK]

The ability to "walk over water", avoid all tripwires, pass without leaving a trace, etc., is a fairly potent one. I'd be very careful about calling it a feature.

If the cat is floating at least a few feet up, cannot land, and thus cannot reach the ground under any circumstances -- it's probably fair to say that balances out and it's a feature.

[Stripe]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

The ability to "walk over water", avoid all tripwires, pass without leaving a trace, etc., is a fairly potent one. I'd be very careful about calling it a feature.

If the cat is floating at least a few feet up, cannot land, and thus cannot reach the ground under any circumstances -- it's probably fair to say that balances out and it's a feature.

I'm swayed by the reverend. Perk, then.

And, I read that as a house cat too, but it's a house cat-sized fire elemental. XD

[Ego Archive]

Personally I would add in that it can't move across water (uhh, fire elemental), and that it would be suseptible to knockback from wind, and call it a wash.

.02

[Ulzgoroth]

If it has vertical movement, it should be a highly limited form of flight, combined with Legless (aerial). All the 'flaws' except the altitude constraint are normal for flight.

Flight (5-foot ceiling -25%) is the core. You could get some extra points back if, say, 3-foot floor is worth a limitation. You could use Lighter than air -10%. You could buy down air speed. Planetary -5% would probably be point crock...

[Mgellis]

I don't think you need to bend the rules too much here...

Flight (Low ceiling, lighter-than-air, magical, always on, -65%) [14]

Okay, if you want Flight "for free," give the poor critter some disadvantage that isn't already part of the fire elemental template. Assuming you're using the 40-point one from Magic, did you check the ST? If it is cat-sized, and you have not adjusted the ST from the template, you can drop it down to 4, which will give you those 14 points and then some. Or, if you don't mind it being dumb as a molten rock, drop its IQ by one more point (the template gives it an IQ of 8...this drops it to 7, pretty stupid, but still sapient).

Mark

[nick012000]

Lighter-than-air means that it can't control its movement, which doesn't seem to be the case. Also, if it's flying all the time, it should take Soaring (+10%) so it could float all the time (like, for instance, when it's asleep), as normally flying's as fatiguing as hiking.