Gaining a flight speed without items or wings

[Crake]

Is there any way for a character to gain a permanent flight speed without the use of wings or magic items? I don't like to rely on magic items for things like flight, because a bad dispel can result in death, and as for no wings, I'm playing in a low magic setting, so a person walking around with wings sprouting from his back can draw some unwanted attention

[Lord Ruby34]

Try animal devotion. It's a feat from Complete Champion that can give you a variety of effects, one of which is flight, but only one each day unless you can spend Turn Undead attempts.

[JoeYounger]

Is there any way for a character to gain a permanent flight speed without the use of wings or magic items? I don't like to rely on magic items for things like flight, because a bad dispel can result in death, and as for no wings, I'm playing in a low magic setting, so a person walking around with wings sprouting from his back can draw some unwanted attention

The only way I know of is to be a caster =/ But depending on your level you should be able to do it as a cleric/wiz/favored soul/sorc/or any of the full manifester psionic classes.

[ericgrau]

Most magic items work like a fly spell and thus make you fall slowly for 1d6 rounds after the spell ends, even with a dispel. Plus the enemy needs to know which item to target and spend his turn to maybe stop your flight without hurting you. Making an enemy blow a turn makes an item even more worth it.

Otherwise... I dunno besides race or gishing.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Use a Wish spell to gain the "Air" subtype.

[Crake]

i guess ill just have to pick up a magic item, thanks guys


Use a Wish spell to gain the "Air" subtype.

thats not actually a bad idea, although its a bit past our level to be casting wishes

[Sgt. Cookie]

Ask your DM if you can go on a side quest or something to get a wish spell cast on your behalf for free.

[Flickerdart]

Candle of Invocation, Gate in a Noble Genie, get him to grant you the wish? CoI can be super abusive, sure, but it's not like you're doing Pun-Pun loops with it.

[Crake]

thats fair enough, worth asking about


Candle of Invocation, Gate in a Noble Genie, get him to grant you the wish? CoI can be super abusive, sure, but it's not like you're doing Pun-Pun loops with it.

My DM plays the game rather hardcore, if I use gate to try and politely call in a noble genie, he'll likely refuse, and if i forcefully bring him through, there'll be some repercussions down the track

Getting a free (XP wise anyway) wish spell isnt gonna be that easy

[Psyren]

Is there any way for a character to gain a permanent flight speed without the use of wings or magic items? I don't like to rely on magic items for things like flight, because a bad dispel can result in death, and as for no wings, I'm playing in a low magic setting, so a person walking around with wings sprouting from his back can draw some unwanted attention

Actually, dispelling magical flight generally causes you to float safely to the ground.

But Shape Soulmeld (Airstep Sandals) gives you 10ft. of flight (+10/essentia, good maneuverability) but you have to land between "jumps." Opening your Feet Chakra (Open Least Chakra) bumps it up to perfect, and by RAW allows you to fly without having to land.

[Crake]

Actually, dispelling magical flight generally causes you to float safely to the ground.

But Shape Soulmeld (Airstep Sandals) gives you 10ft. of flight (+10/essentia, good maneuverability) but you have to land between "jumps." Opening your Feet Chakra (Open Least Chakra) bumps it up to perfect, and by RAW allows you to fly without having to land.

I'm unfamiliar with soulmelds, what book are they from?

[SaintRidley]

I'm unfamiliar with soulmelds, what book are they from?

Magic of Incarnum

[Gavinfoxx]

You do know that magic items are only suppressed for a little while with a dispel, right?

www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851

Also, per Dispel Magic

"If the object that you target is a magic item, you make a dispel check against the item’s caster level. If you succeed, all the item’s magical properties are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, after which the item recovers on its own."

And anyway.. Falling damage isn't all that great. Also, make the magic item look like another type of item, so it doesn't use the common look of items that give flight...

[Crake]

You do know that magic items are only suppressed for a little while with a dispel, right?

www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851

Also, per Dispel Magic

"If the object that you target is a magic item, you make a dispel check against the item’s caster level. If you succeed, all the item’s magical properties are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, after which the item recovers on its own."

And anyway.. Falling damage isn't all that great. Also, make the magic item look like another type of item, so it doesn't use the common look of items that give flight...

yeah, i was aware that magic items are merely supressed, but i was of the impression that if the item was activated, then you could dispel the effect rather than the item itself, thus, if you only have limited uses per day you'd have to spend another use of the item to keep flying?

[Gavinfoxx]

Not necessarily. It said *surpressed*. But a DM might say that doesn't, ah, fly. Regardless, you could choose something that is limited by total time used and not amount of charges per day?

Also, there are TONS of cheap items that are basically 1 use Feather Fall...

The cheapest is the Feather Fall Talisman from Sharn City of Towers. 50 gp.

Anyway, Dragonscale Cloak? Winged Mask? Phylactery of Change?

[nedz]

Become an air elemental - or get one to carry you.

Ways of doing this.
Dip an arcanist class and get caster level 5, possibly with Practiced spellcaster.
If the arcanist class doesn't give you a familier then take the feat Obtain Familier.
Take the feat Improved Familier and choose an Air Elemental (small)
These have a strength of 10 and so can carry 33 lbs and still fly.
So if you are a (non-fat) Halfling you should weigh less than this.
Gnomes are probably slightly too heavy - but you can always get your air elemental a strength buff item. Who on earth is going to think: "Dispel those hovering gloves to stop the little guy flying" ? You should have Feather fall anyway - its a 1st level arcane spell.

[ericgrau]

Again, you don't take falling damage when fly is dispelled.



Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

[Fouredged Sword]

A rebuked air elemental is a great flying mount. Not a fly speed, but it can run at high speeds without rest. You can hit an overland speed of 400ft per round, and it can go 24 hours a day. That leads to 100s of miles of travel per day. You need the air domain power and 16th level to do it though. I think you can get that as a feat though

You can do it as a small creature with a medium elemental. That lowers the needed level to 8th level.

[Particle_Man]

Take 6 levels in Warlock, and then take the Fell Flight invocation! :) Note that this might be one case where dispel magic can cause you to fall to your doom, however. :smalleek:

[Feralventas]

Ghostwalk source. Pick up Ghost Glide, then Ghost Flight, then Improved Ghost Flight. 1st one gives you 5ft flight speed; weak, but non-combat useful. 2nd one gives you a flight speed of 30, but no running. 4th one brings you to 40ft speed and allows run actions. Technically, you'll need to be a ghost of some kind before using these, but mechanically speaking you'll be spending 3 feats for flight speed which is a pretty high cost to get something the 'casters pick up between 5th and 10th level and that a fair few races can get automatically.

[Psyren]

Again, you don't take falling damage when fly is dispelled.

Well, you can if you're really high up (>360 ft.), but this is pretty unlikely.

[Shadowknight12]

Become a ghost or some other incorporeal undead.

[Rossebay]

Well, you can if you're really high up (>360 ft.), but this is pretty unlikely.

Anywhere between 60 feet and 360 feet, actually. That could get dangerous. And, couldn't they dispel that effect, too?

[Flickerdart]

A rebuked air elemental is a great flying mount. Not a fly speed, but it can run at high speeds without rest. You can hit an overland speed of 400ft per round, and it can go 24 hours a day. That leads to 100s of miles of travel per day. You need the air domain power and 16th level to do it though. I think you can get that as a feat though

You can do it as a small creature with a medium elemental. That lowers the needed level to 8th level.
Planar Touchstone (Catalogues of Enlightenment) for the Air Domain ought to do the trick.

[Psyren]

Anywhere between 60 feet and 360 feet, actually. That could get dangerous. And, couldn't they dispel that effect, too?

True, but the chances of only 60ft. of safety are pretty small. You have a 5/6 chance to be safe for at least 120 ft, and very few battles are likely to be at a longer range than that anyway.

As for dispelling it, no - the spell has already ended when the "slow-fall" kicks in, thus there is nothing left to dispel again.

[Zombulian]

Take 6 levels in Warlock, and then take the Fell Flight invocation! :) Note that this might be one case where dispel magic can cause you to fall to your doom, however. :smalleek:

^ +1 to that
INFINITE FLIIIIIGHT

[JeminiZero]

as for no wings, I'm playing in a low magic setting, so a person walking around with wings sprouting from his back can draw some unwanted attention

I have had characters who had wings, but they used Disguise to make their wings look like a cloak, so that they did not attract attention. See if your DM will let you use a Hat of Disguise in this manner.

You probably still have to unfurl them to actually take flight during combat, but fights usually happen in secluded areas so attrcting attention won't be a concern. And if you are fighting in the city, then the ruckus of the fight is likely to attract more attention then the fact that you have wings.

[Rubik]

Become a dragonborn of Bahamut (wings type), from Races of the Dragon.

You can also take the Shape Soulmeld feat for a number of soulmelds from Magic of Incarnum.

Technically grafts aren't magic items after you surgically implant them.

The Planar Binding spell can get you a lackey.

The Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) feat can get you a mount. You can also buy one. Awaken it if you want to give it class levels after you train it and apply the warbeast template (from MM II).

There're also the anthropomorphic bat (from MM II) and raptoran (from Races of the Wild) races, and they have flight and +0 LA (though the bat is considered broken with it's echolocation and +6 to Wis in exchange for 5' move speed and 20' flight).

Contract lycanthropy from some flying creature, like hawk or eagle.

There are ways and there are ways.

[Kaeso]

Try animal devotion. It's a feat from Complete Champion that can give you a variety of effects, one of which is flight, but only one each day unless you can spend Turn Undead attempts.

I have to recommend this for clerics and paladin.
Unless you're using divine metamagic, you're not going to spend your turn undead uses on anything else, and animal devotion is versatile enough to be useful in any situation. If you're in combat, it gives +2 strength which is always useful. If you need to fly, you can gain flight for 2 minutes, on land you gain extra speed. Even if you happen to end up unarmed and unarmoured and you don't have improved unarmed attack or natural weapons, you gain a bite attack that deals 1d3 constitution damge but no hit point damage. Nevertheless, constitution damage is pretty darned nasty. Since the fortitude save against this bite attack is 10 + 1/2 your CL + your Cha mod, it remains significant from lvl 1 all the way to lvl 20 and allows you to fight the good fight until you've found a substitute weapon.

In conclusion, animal devotion gives you as good as permanent flight (ie. flight that you can invoke whenever needed without using spells, items or natural wings) while also giving you some other goodies.

[OracleofSilence]

Its very late game, and of only questionable legality, but 17th level battle dancers can fly with a Tumble Check (they are in Dragon Compendium)

[Thurbane]

4 levels of Elemental Warrior (Planar Handbook) can get you flight 20 (perfect) as an "always on" supernatural ability (only works in light or no armor, though)...

[Rejusu]

As already noted just grab a flight spell/magic item and watch your height and you should be fine. You can always carry a contingency magic item/spell that grants feather fall if you're really worried too.

One thing you could do if you're really worried about dispel "magic" in particular is check what the psionics/magic transparency is with your DM. If psionics and magic are separate then you could use Psionic Fly instead. Of course then you'd have to worry about Dispel Psionics, but you'd be safe from Dispel Magic at least.

[Rubik]

Levels in monk or unarmed swordsage + a necklace of natural weaponry (from Savage Species) could get you a number of weapon enhancements that could work.

Throwing and distance (along with Far Shot), for instance, would let you hurl your body on a flurry, which lets you aim yourself into a space in midair for effective flight.

[Crake]

As already noted just grab a flight spell/magic item and watch your height and you should be fine. You can always carry a contingency magic item/spell that grants feather fall if you're really worried too.

One thing you could do if you're really worried about dispel "magic" in particular is check what the psionics/magic transparency is with your DM. If psionics and magic are separate then you could use Psionic Fly instead. Of course then you'd have to worry about Dispel Psionics, but you'd be safe from Dispel Magic at least.

thats not an entirely bad idea, psionics/magic came up a while back in our campaign, and hes playing them as different.

That said, im liking the idea of an air elemental familiar carrying me around at 100 fly speed. Since it'd be like riding, id be able to do full round actions while still moving. I realise i'd have to be a halfling for it to work, and even then id need a +str item for my familiar, or it would be carrying a medium load, but it just sounds so awesome