Lord Lemming
2014-02-27, 04:57 AM
Is this possible?
To elaborate, I recently picked up the core rulebook and bestiary for Pathfinder, and wound up studying the section on magical items. When I stumbled across the Decanter of Endless Water, I found the idea extremely entertaining. If a 2-lb decanter expels enough water fast enough to knock over the person holding it, and do damage to those in front, then it probably has enough force to fly off on it's own if you let it go. Then I realized: if it can support it's own weight, it can probably carry a little extra. And thus the idea of the decanter rocket, which will get to space by drenching deserts into swamps, was born.
My current plan for reaching space with medieval technology and universe-shattering magic stands thus: (Prices for magical items assume that my character is building them himself)
Boat, folding, 3600 gp, weighs approximately 12,000 lbs when unfolded.
Flying Carpets, 25 count, 10x10 ft, 750,000 gp, 20,000 lb capacity.
Bottles of air, 2, 7250 gp
Walls of Force (permanent), 12,500 – 75,000 gp, depending on GM ruling
Wall of Fire ? (permanent), 10,000 gp
Mage’s Private Sanctum (permanent, optional) 12,500 gp
Decanters of Endless Water (optional), 8, 36,000 gp
Animate Objects (permanent, optional), 15,000 gp
The boat is the base of the whole crazy endeavor. It doesn’t have to be folding, but I like the idea of carrying a spaceship in my backpack. The flying carpets are stitched into the frame of the boat, and support its weight. The carpets respond to verbal command, so control is not a problem. The bottles of air provide life support against the airless void of space.
The Walls of Force require a tiny bit of extrapolation. The description of the spell says that they block breath weapons, but the description for Cube of Force, which casts basically the same thing, elaborates by saying that it ‘keeps out gases, wind, ect.’ I think it’s reasonable to assume that a Wall of Force spell can be cast around the ship and made permanent, that will keep breathable air in the vicinity of the ship. A possible sticking point is that the wall are immobile, but since all motion is relative I might be able to cast the spell with the ship as the reference point. Requires a GM ruling.
The Wall of Fire is one solution I’ve come up with for providing heat to the ship. It need not be very big, and can be placed in a furnace or other container and made permanent. Possible problem is that if it can’t be turned off, the ship might OVERHEAT.
The last three items are optional. Private sanctum is there to protect the ship from being attacked. After all, you can’t plan an attack against something you don’t know anything about. The decanters are placed on the outside of the ship, facing backwards. They act as afterburners to boost speed. Animate Objects is cast on the ship to make the whole thing act as I command.
In summary, I have a boat large enough to comfortably hold an adventuring party and their gear, can float indefinitely at a speed of 40 at any altitude, can turn continents into oceans as it flies above for the sake of a slight boost of speed, and can travel into space and protect the crew from vacuum. And the whole thing costs a minimum of 783,350 gp, 909,350 with the optional features, and probably more like 1,000,000 all told. Still cheaper than the space program.
So, any thoughts? Can this be done? Is it crazy? Should my wizard be institutionalized?
To elaborate, I recently picked up the core rulebook and bestiary for Pathfinder, and wound up studying the section on magical items. When I stumbled across the Decanter of Endless Water, I found the idea extremely entertaining. If a 2-lb decanter expels enough water fast enough to knock over the person holding it, and do damage to those in front, then it probably has enough force to fly off on it's own if you let it go. Then I realized: if it can support it's own weight, it can probably carry a little extra. And thus the idea of the decanter rocket, which will get to space by drenching deserts into swamps, was born.
My current plan for reaching space with medieval technology and universe-shattering magic stands thus: (Prices for magical items assume that my character is building them himself)
Boat, folding, 3600 gp, weighs approximately 12,000 lbs when unfolded.
Flying Carpets, 25 count, 10x10 ft, 750,000 gp, 20,000 lb capacity.
Bottles of air, 2, 7250 gp
Walls of Force (permanent), 12,500 – 75,000 gp, depending on GM ruling
Wall of Fire ? (permanent), 10,000 gp
Mage’s Private Sanctum (permanent, optional) 12,500 gp
Decanters of Endless Water (optional), 8, 36,000 gp
Animate Objects (permanent, optional), 15,000 gp
The boat is the base of the whole crazy endeavor. It doesn’t have to be folding, but I like the idea of carrying a spaceship in my backpack. The flying carpets are stitched into the frame of the boat, and support its weight. The carpets respond to verbal command, so control is not a problem. The bottles of air provide life support against the airless void of space.
The Walls of Force require a tiny bit of extrapolation. The description of the spell says that they block breath weapons, but the description for Cube of Force, which casts basically the same thing, elaborates by saying that it ‘keeps out gases, wind, ect.’ I think it’s reasonable to assume that a Wall of Force spell can be cast around the ship and made permanent, that will keep breathable air in the vicinity of the ship. A possible sticking point is that the wall are immobile, but since all motion is relative I might be able to cast the spell with the ship as the reference point. Requires a GM ruling.
The Wall of Fire is one solution I’ve come up with for providing heat to the ship. It need not be very big, and can be placed in a furnace or other container and made permanent. Possible problem is that if it can’t be turned off, the ship might OVERHEAT.
The last three items are optional. Private sanctum is there to protect the ship from being attacked. After all, you can’t plan an attack against something you don’t know anything about. The decanters are placed on the outside of the ship, facing backwards. They act as afterburners to boost speed. Animate Objects is cast on the ship to make the whole thing act as I command.
In summary, I have a boat large enough to comfortably hold an adventuring party and their gear, can float indefinitely at a speed of 40 at any altitude, can turn continents into oceans as it flies above for the sake of a slight boost of speed, and can travel into space and protect the crew from vacuum. And the whole thing costs a minimum of 783,350 gp, 909,350 with the optional features, and probably more like 1,000,000 all told. Still cheaper than the space program.
So, any thoughts? Can this be done? Is it crazy? Should my wizard be institutionalized?