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Old 03-07-2013, 06:06 AM   #41
Icelander
 
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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Originally Posted by Kilmore View Post
How common is it that people fly around in your campaign?
In the immediate area, dragons (and those riding them), powerful priests and powerful wizards are all known to fly. There was historically a cavalry unit located in the area mounted on giant flying lizards, but with the decline of the empire, they've faded away. And the lizards are extinct, at least those of a size to carry humans.

There are maybe around thirty mages in the capital city of the local polity who can fly and then there are sixteen dragons in their service, all of whom can carry people on their back. In total, I guess the dragons can carry around 200 infantry. Then there are the six PCs who opted for the Boots of Dragonflight.

On the other side in the war, there are hundreds (maybe even a couple of thousand) of people who could potentially fly, but I'd guess that only around eighty of them are with the armies in the field in theatre now.

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If it is exceptional, then people will certainly take notice. The local authorities may seek to take control of the character and use him for surveillance,
The local authorities, such as they are, employ the PCs as military consultants and mercenaries. Including surveillance. Since the local authorities are a very fragile coaliation of former rebels, former regime strongmen and assorted warlords and community leaders, the PCs and their army are actually one of the strongest single power blocs around and their support is vital to any government continuing to endure in the region.

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people may pester him with requests ("fly me to the capital!"),
This would be greeted with an exorbitant price quote for such service, unless the one making the request was of major political importance.

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and people with secrets on the ground may not appreciate the airborne interference.
The enemy forces certainly don't appreciate it. On the other hand, their summoned flying creatures, airborne mages or priests in flaming chariots have so far had a miserable time trying to hunt down flying PCs. Mostly they've discovered that when only the most powerful magic-users can participate in aerial battles, it forces them to engage enemies of comparable power without any support or assistance. Which means that all casualties come from among those irreplacable powerful magic-users.

Given the enormous territory the enemy has to patrol for flying saboteurs and scouts, they are unable to match the local concentration of strength that the PCs can focus on any one location.

Granted, that's mostly because the arcane archer among the PCs is deadly with his dragonbone bow at ranges up to half a mile even without Imbuements and with Neutralisation arrows, magic-users are more like fodder to him than proper challenges. Using one flying PC to lure flying enemies into optimal arrow range while he waits hidden on the ground has become a favoured tactic.

The enemy side lost hundreds of flying commandos in a catastrophic defeat and after that, they've been struggling in the air. They still have hundreds of priests and wizards capable of flight, but those are national treasures and useful in nearly any field of endeavour. It's doubtful that fielding them as aerial shock troopers is worth the risk.

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Flying around like that may be raising that character's profile way too much.
Raising profile is what they are all about. They've already inveigled themselves into a position where they are among the movers and shakers of the wartorn country in whose internal politics they are meddling and one PC has assumed the title of Viceroy of their holdings there and aims to become a God-King. Several other PCs gladly proclaim their names, titles and antecedents in front of enemy armies and challenge their best men to come forth and meet them in single combat.
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Old 03-07-2013, 11:02 AM   #42
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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In a world where Dispel Magic targeted at champions is a frequent occurance, it might pose a rather sizable risk.
Permanent transparency is an enchantment, and thus immune to dispel magic. No mana zones could be an issue, but removing your eye coverage while in one is the obvious response.
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:22 PM   #43
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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Permanent transparency is an enchantment, and thus immune to dispel magic. No mana zones could be an issue, but removing your eye coverage while in one is the obvious response.
In my campaign, enchantments can be temporarily dispelled by the Dispel Magic spell. In any event, Imbuments and Powers such as Neutralise work fine on enchantments as well as on more short-lasting magics and all of these exist in the setting and are regarded as a fairly standard countermeasure against any high-powered champion.

So, fine for an easily removable visor, less so for a solid piece helmet that takes work to remove.
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Old 03-08-2013, 08:46 PM   #44
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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If you don't have landmarks, or you mistake them, it's easy (in fact, inevitable) to drift off course . . . People who are used to driving on roads have trouble understanding just how easy this is.
Actually, having become quite lost on country roads not too far from major highways it is perfectly understandable.

Me: "No problem, I know where we are. We turn left at the next intersection, right, then bear left then right and we're at the on-ramp to the interstate."

Actual progress: We turn left at the next intersection, right, then bear left then right and we screech to a stop twenty feet before driving into a major river.

Also -- even on relatively calm days over the desert you've got a very good chance of getting dust in your eye. So handsome knight Lance Sterling would object to goggles -- until the first time he gets grit in his eye and has to squint for a day and a half. Remember also that modern goggles use elastic bands to stay on -- something not too likely to find in a TL-3 society. So you can buckle the goggles on with a leather strap -- but they'd probably fall off as soon as the Hero Flyer tried any radical maneuvers -- voluntarily or non.

Another thing -- remember that any locals on the ground would think that a flying human figure was up to no good -- either some evil fetch or hostile wizard. So the local authorities would probably know within a day or two there's an unauthorized flyer in the territory. They would, one presumes, take appropriate measures. (I.E. -- bring in your own flying wizards or beasts to, at least, bring in the interloper for questioning by the local wizards' FAA. Or -- simply shoot to kill. (See KAL Flight 007.)

One source -- any number of World War One narratives talk about the fatigue and discomfort of open cockpit flight -- even in a mostly enclosed structure with a windshield. Books like Billy Bishop's "Winged Warfare," Cecil Lewis "Sagittarius Rising," Willy Coppens' memoirs, and others. Sometimes after a dawn flight in winter of some 2 hours the pilot, a young and healthy man, would have to be lifted from the cockpit.

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Old 03-08-2013, 10:00 PM   #45
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

It seems to me that Landmark navigation should be a more Viable tactic. A landmark the size of a football field grants a basic perception roll from 5 miles away. And that is using the Vision rules as written which say an average person standing at one end of a football field will miss sighting someone at the other end standing in plain sight 50% of the time.

If you are able to hover while flying, getting your bearings anywhere you are familiar with or have been scouting any length of time should seem routine.

I am lot even talking about the Area Knowledge skill here. just a Half dozen obvious landmarks in the area pointed out by a Local with area knowledge, or gained at default use with a Routine or better modifier. Things like the Nearby town, Potters Hill, that weird rock outcropping that looks like someone picking his nose, the really obvious bend in the river. The Town and surrounding plowed area should be visible many miles away from the air. I can see getting lost going to somewhere, but not getting home. That would have required using Hawkspeed, going several miles past anyplace you knew, as well as not knowing the direction you were going so you could just orient yourself and go back the way you came until things were familiar. They actually did this more than once?
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:22 AM   #46
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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It seems to me that Landmark navigation should be a more Viable tactic. A landmark the size of a football field grants a basic perception roll from 5 miles away. And that is using the Vision rules as written which say an average person standing at one end of a football field will miss sighting someone at the other end standing in plain sight 50% of the time.

If you are able to hover while flying, getting your bearings anywhere you are familiar with or have been scouting any length of time should seem routine.

I am lot even talking about the Area Knowledge skill here. just a Half dozen obvious landmarks in the area pointed out by a Local with area knowledge, or gained at default use with a Routine or better modifier. Things like the Nearby town, Potters Hill, that weird rock outcropping that looks like someone picking his nose, the really obvious bend in the river. The Town and surrounding plowed area should be visible many miles away from the air.
It is fairly easy to navigate in a small area, yes. But it's hard to memorise landmarks over a whole country.

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I can see getting lost going to somewhere, but not getting home. That would have required using Hawkspeed, going several miles past anyplace you knew, as well as not knowing the direction you were going so you could just orient yourself and go back the way you came until things were familiar. They actually did this more than once?
Well, after sailing to a location some 100 miles away from the city where their mercenaries are based, one PC attempted to fly back overnight. Turned out landmarks were hard to see in the dark and he ended up shooting past the city. Didn't find his way there until after dawn.
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:36 AM   #47
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
Also -- even on relatively calm days over the desert you've got a very good chance of getting dust in your eye. So handsome knight Lance Sterling would object to goggles -- until the first time he gets grit in his eye and has to squint for a day and a half.
Is there dust in the air at a 1,000 feet?

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Remember also that modern goggles use elastic bands to stay on -- something not too likely to find in a TL-3 society. So you can buckle the goggles on with a leather strap -- but they'd probably fall off as soon as the Hero Flyer tried any radical maneuvers -- voluntarily or non.
I'd think you could make leather straps that secured goggles fairly well. Elastic means that the same mask can fit many people with a simpler design, but leather and canvas can do the same job, if less efficiently.

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Another thing -- remember that any locals on the ground would think that a flying human figure was up to no good -- either some evil fetch or hostile wizard. So the local authorities would probably know within a day or two there's an unauthorized flyer in the territory. They would, one presumes, take appropriate measures. (I.E. -- bring in your own flying wizards or beasts to, at least, bring in the interloper for questioning by the local wizards' FAA. Or -- simply shoot to kill. (See KAL Flight 007.)
The local authorities, such as they are, know well enough. And in so far as the fragile allegiance of former rebels and former regime strongmen that functions as the government of the rump state remaining in the region can authorise anything, the PCs are authorised to fly whereever they please. The invading armies of the neighbouring state might have objections, but they are the enemy, so they can be expected to try to kill them anyway.

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One source -- any number of World War One narratives talk about the fatigue and discomfort of open cockpit flight -- even in a mostly enclosed structure with a windshield. Books like Billy Bishop's "Winged Warfare," Cecil Lewis "Sagittarius Rising," Willy Coppens' memoirs, and others. Sometimes after a dawn flight in winter of some 2 hours the pilot, a young and healthy man, would have to be lifted from the cockpit.
True. However, I don't know if the same quite applies at 20 mph. Even WWI planes were considerably faster than that.
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Old 03-09-2013, 12:56 PM   #48
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Is there dust in the air at a 1,000 feet?
Yes, but it's usually going to be pretty fine. On the other hand, your eyes will dry out plenty fast at high speeds.

Is there some reason you're opposed to just making Hawk Flight automatically protect you from this, though? Truth is, Hawk Flight isn't actually usable unless it incorporates protection, anything significantly faster than regular Flight requires eye protection all the time, or you simply can't see.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:33 PM   #49
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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The PCs use boots enchanted to grant them Flight and Hawk Flight to travel around. How uncomfortable is it to fly for several hours ...?
I've always wondered how a person with flying boots /shoes/sandals whatever actually holds themselves upright.

If you imagine the "motive power" coming from the boots themselves, then it's actually really awkward: your boots are flying off with you in them, and you have to work pretty hard to remain balanced and upright. Remaining upright at 80mph will be extremely tough, against the air resistance - you're in for a really impressive calf and abdominal workout, at the very least!

Of course, I suspect most people just say that that it's not really the boots flying around with you in them, so much as it's the boots granting you the power to fly around as you wish. Which is fair enough. But just a thought.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:58 PM   #50
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Default Re: Magical Flight Hazards and Other Considerations

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I've always wondered how a person with flying boots /shoes/sandals whatever actually holds themselves upright.
With practice, just like skates or stilts. you shift you weight so that the motive force passes thought your center of mass.

ever play in the pool as a kid where you stool on an adult's hands and then would then launch you into the air? it would feel a bit like that.
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