Segev
2014-08-02, 03:12 PM
This thread is for any cool ideas people might have for optimizing these conceptually-interesting items. The obvious applications include riding across water and other liquid surfaces. Since convection doesn't generally exist in the rules, this can even include safely riding across lava. As an interesting side-note, the fact that there's no impact of hoof-on-ground makes it highly arguable that the steed automatically moves in silence. Or at least, the only noises are tack and breathing/whickering and the noises made by the rider.
The exact wording is thus: "They allow a horse to travel without actually touching the ground. The horse must still run above (always around 4 inches above) a roughly horizontal surface. This means that nonsolid or unstable surfaces can be crossed, and that movement is possible without leaving tracks on any sort of ground."
"roughly horizontal" means no running up walls or inclines that would take a climb check. But unstable and nonsolid surfaces present a lot of options. From rickety bridges that would give out under an armored and mounted knight to galloping steadily across a landscape wracked by an earthquake, the horse has firm footing and never breaks through the support.
This leads to interesting notions such as the ability to carry the horse on any conveyance that can get under all four hooves, without transferring the weight below. Four halflings holding up a rigid frame could do it, if the frame was positioned such that all four hooves were supported and the horse could be convinced to stand still. (Interesting question as to whether the horse would move with the frame, or slide off it when it moved out from under the steed.)
Could this also allow a horse to trot across cloth awnings? I think so, if they're flat enough.
Finally, what I come here to ask: Does anybody have ideas for how to get a pathway into arbitrary position at a horse's galloping speed? I'd thought of having a broad and long piece of cloth supported by unseen servants or mage hand, but the former have to stay close to the ground and the latter is too slow. (One could probably make a piece of diaphonous cloth big enough that weighed 5 lbs. or less, so that wouldn't stop Mage Hand. It's the speed that's an issue.) The path need not be cloth; it can be anything that counts as "a surface" and can be maneuvered to stay under a galloping horse.
Additionally, any other cool ideas people might come up with for getting the most out of these interesting items are welcome!
The exact wording is thus: "They allow a horse to travel without actually touching the ground. The horse must still run above (always around 4 inches above) a roughly horizontal surface. This means that nonsolid or unstable surfaces can be crossed, and that movement is possible without leaving tracks on any sort of ground."
"roughly horizontal" means no running up walls or inclines that would take a climb check. But unstable and nonsolid surfaces present a lot of options. From rickety bridges that would give out under an armored and mounted knight to galloping steadily across a landscape wracked by an earthquake, the horse has firm footing and never breaks through the support.
This leads to interesting notions such as the ability to carry the horse on any conveyance that can get under all four hooves, without transferring the weight below. Four halflings holding up a rigid frame could do it, if the frame was positioned such that all four hooves were supported and the horse could be convinced to stand still. (Interesting question as to whether the horse would move with the frame, or slide off it when it moved out from under the steed.)
Could this also allow a horse to trot across cloth awnings? I think so, if they're flat enough.
Finally, what I come here to ask: Does anybody have ideas for how to get a pathway into arbitrary position at a horse's galloping speed? I'd thought of having a broad and long piece of cloth supported by unseen servants or mage hand, but the former have to stay close to the ground and the latter is too slow. (One could probably make a piece of diaphonous cloth big enough that weighed 5 lbs. or less, so that wouldn't stop Mage Hand. It's the speed that's an issue.) The path need not be cloth; it can be anything that counts as "a surface" and can be maneuvered to stay under a galloping horse.
Additionally, any other cool ideas people might come up with for getting the most out of these interesting items are welcome!