[PF/3.5] Hang Glider: The Ascension.

[Slipperychicken]

So I was flipping through A&EG and found the Hang Glider for 300gp, but realized the main limit on its usefulness was the fact you need DM Fiat to ascend. There has to be a cheap way to make a Hang Glider go upward (smoke? hot air?) at low levels. My first thought was Eversmoking Bottle, but that put the total cost over that of the Ornithopter, which is essentially a 4000gp magic hang glider which can go upward. But I'd rather have a combination of Hang Glider + Lift to be accessible at low levels, before long-duration magic flight kicks in at level 7.


So, any ideas for how to give a hang-glider some cheap lift? Perhaps a source of smoke, wind, or hot air could suffice?

[Edge of Dreams]

Pathfinder has a "rare" (officially not supposed to be accessible unless you discover it in game, not legal in Pathfinder Society official play) cantrip called Breeze which creates a light wind "that blows against the target, from a direction of your choice." It also has duration of 1 hour. If you choose the direction to be from below, blowing upward, that might count as enough of an updraft for you to gain altitude, or at least not fall as quickly. Because it is a 0-level spell, it would cost 375 gp for a wand of it, 200 gp for a 1/day activated item, or 1000 gp for a continuous/use-activated item (according to Pathfinder's item creation rules and subject to GM approval).

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/rare-cantrips#Disclaimer

[akahdrin]

They're called hang gliders not hang flyers ;)

There are birds that ride the drafts coming up from the ground, but they just circle, not so useful for making progress. If you want to make something that can fly, why not just create a bicycle, attach a boat propeller to it, and create a construct to continuously pedal it forever at whatever pace you deem necessary. Your bottle of smoke, doesn't produce nearly enough draft to push up a hang glider + person. It couldn't even push up a bird with hollow bones.

[Piggy Knowles]

How about Updraft? Shoots you up 90' as a swift action. It's a third level spell, but you can get it as an SLA at for the cost of two feats - Least Dragonmark (Mark of Storm) and Dragonmark Prodigy.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Slipperychicken
So, any ideas for how to give a hang-glider some cheap lift?

Well, I would suggest some sort of piloting check to catch air currents, or an easy spot check to find raptors or vultures circling on thermals.

You've probably looked into this, but a good hang-glider pilot can follow soaring birds as they ascend on one thermal and then glide down to find another, sustaining flight indefinitely. It's not by any means rapid travel, but patience and skill will find you thermals to restore your altitude.

[Vaz]

I used to paraglide (similar mechanics) on Holiday in Spain. Even though you use the Thermal to rise, you can ride the Thermal to hit the height you need, then drop out and fly over tonthe next one.

It is hard to maneuvre in a Thermal; lose it and you'll fall from the sky. My instructor used to say something about "you'll have enough time to realise you made a mistake before you hit the deck"; that's never a good thing.

In short; hotter climates equal more thermal uplift currents, whiter/shinier ground equal more heat reflection equal more uplift. Paragliding is better for catching thermals so can really be done straight off the deck; but a Handglider allows faster horizontal movement.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Piggy Knowles
How about Updraft?

Spell Compendium has a lesser version of Updraft, as a first-level cleric or druid spell that gives you 10 feet/level of altitude. This could be your JATO option.

:smalltongue:

[Piggy Knowles]

Spell Compendium has a lesser version of Updraft, as a first-level cleric or druid spell that gives you 10 feet/level of altitude. This could be your JATO option.

:smalltongue:

Sweet, that's a lot better. I've always liked the flavor of the spell but thought it was a bit underwhelming for third level - I don't know why I never bothered to check if it was updated in Spell Compendium.

[Palanan]

Well, 10 feet/level still seems underwhelming, even for a first-level spell, so you weren't missing too much.

:smalltongue:



Originally Posted by Vaz
It is hard to maneuvre in a Thermal; lose it and you'll fall from the sky.

You've probably got more experience thermalling than most of us, that's for sure.

Here's a discussion of thermalling technique (http://sonomawingsbb.yuku.com/topic/1123/Thermalling-technique-part-2) on a hang-gliding forum, which goes into a fair amount of detail. This gives a strong impression of thermals as organic, unpredictable, ever-shifting structures in the air, which take a good deal of experience and flight intuition to take full advantage of.