Shield of....lighter...ness?

[Mud Puppy]

Morning all. Couple quick questions for the group, in our next campaign I am playing a homebrew Battle Medic with a soldier background. For RP reasons I have him carrying a modified tower shield with some extra straps secured to the inside and four cut outs along the left and right edges so the shield can double as a stretcher.

My questions are 1.) Is there a way to permanently enchant said shield so that when held horizontally any object placed on the inside of it would weigh less? The RP idea being, one of our party is a Jotunn and if he goes down no one is dragging him out of the line of fire. 2.) For the DMs out there, what would you charge for this kind of enchantment?

For the record, I know I have a ton of options as a half-caster with the Cleric spell list to keep the party on its feet or get them back on their feet in a hurry, but for a purely RP flavor I'm curious to know what my options are.

Thanks!

[Frozenstep]

Morning all. Couple quick questions for the group, in our next campaign I am playing a homebrew Battle Medic with a soldier background. For RP reasons I have him carrying a modified tower shield with some extra straps secured to the inside and four cut outs along the left and right edges so the shield can double as a stretcher.

My questions are 1.) Is there a way to permanently enchant said shield so that when held horizontally any object placed on the inside of it would weigh less? The RP idea being, one of our party is a Jotunn and if he goes down no one is dragging him out of the line of fire. 2.) For the DMs out there, what would you charge for this kind of enchantment?

For the record, I know I have a ton of options as a half-caster with the Cleric spell list to keep the party on its feet or get them back on their feet in a hurry, but for a purely RP flavor I'm curious to know what my options are.

Thanks!

A shield doubling as a stretcher...I actually really like that idea.

Anyway, giving the shield the ability to cast Tenser's floating disk on itself once a day shouldn't be too expensive from a DM standpoint. Less then a circlet of blasting or something.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Tenser's floating disk was my thought as well. 3.5 had rules (and 5E may as well, but I don't know offhand) for custom magic item pricing, with a provision for reducing the price of an effect if it had restricted conditions. I wonder how much something like a permanent floating disk effect would cost combined with a provision that it only worked when carrying an injured humanoid.

[Vogie]

Morning all. Couple quick questions for the group, in our next campaign I am playing a homebrew Battle Medic with a soldier background. For RP reasons I have him carrying a modified tower shield with some extra straps secured to the inside and four cut outs along the left and right edges so the shield can double as a stretcher.

My questions are 1.) Is there a way to permanently enchant said shield so that when held horizontally any object placed on the inside of it would weigh less? The RP idea being, one of our party is a Jotunn and if he goes down no one is dragging him out of the line of fire. 2.) For the DMs out there, what would you charge for this kind of enchantment?

For the record, I know I have a ton of options as a half-caster with the Cleric spell list to keep the party on its feet or get them back on their feet in a hurry, but for a purely RP flavor I'm curious to know what my options are.

Thanks!

I'd just make an effect that it act as a floating disk, holding up to 500 lbs. As it's emulating a Common spell, it'd be pretty cheap based on the XGtE tables, but you can up it depending on how often it can be used:

based on charges, that renew at dawn
activated by a player expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher
have an internal setting, such as 2x/Long Rest, or 1x/short or long rest
have it at-will, whenever the shield is placed horizontally
have the spell used be levitate rather than floating disk, giving it a 2nd level price rather than 1st level.
You could also have them come across an object they can transform into that shield - such as, having it made from the base of a enchanted minecart, a floating gangplank or something similar.

[Willie the Duck]

'This thing also acts as another (mundane) thing, maybe with a little extra convenience,' is in line with common magic items (introduced in XGtE). This is what I'd charge for a shield that can be a stretcher, perhaps also halving the weight of an unconscious character and their gear (in the situation that you are hauling them around like cordwood, not as a mobile battle platform for an archer or the like).

'This things acts like a useful (but highly specific) low-level spell,' is in line with an uncommon magic item. I'd do that for a full Tenser's disk (particularly if it is long-lasting, and thus useful for a multi-hour trek with an injured buddy). I know that sounds a little harsh, but you've effectively negated the primary issue of having a stabilized-but-below-1-hp ally. That should cost something.

Exactly what those cost in your campaign will be DM-dependent.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Willie, I'd say the line there might be whether it requires the controlling character to act to move the stretcher/shield. If it requires that the character actually take actions to drag or pull the stretcher, even if the character on the stretcher is effectively weightless, it hits action economy really hard as the medic removes the injured character from the field. If it's a full floating disk effect, it has some level of independent movement, allowing the medic to have his hands free as he exits the combat.

[Willie the Duck]

That is a good point, and would certainly make the difference on where I'd put it.

[Guy Lombard-O]

I think I'd actually prefer a (charges) casting of a Reduce only Enlarge/Reduce, which only lasts as long as the target remains in contact with the shield (and maybe ends if target is conscious?).

That way, you can use it in rugged terrain (more than 10' change in elevation), and it also gives a better feeling of it actually being a stretcher, with 2 people needing to carry it. Action economy is much worse than Tenser's, of course. But the flavor seems better.

[Mud Puppy]

Thanks for the insights here. This is my second campaign ever so I'm not super familiar with a lot of the spells that are out there.

The original concept was that any time the shield is horizontal and a load is placed upon it (PC/NPC or equipment) that load's weight is reduced by half or completely, much like Willie's second suggestion, but would cost actions to lift/move the stretcher/patient.

So what I'm reading, sounds like the consensus is that to permanently enchant a shield this way would be the equivalent of an Uncommon Magic Item, the cost of which would be up to my DM.

Have I missed anything?

[Man_Over_Game]

There's another solution. There was a hammer in Morrowind that was far too heavy for you to use, so it compensated by granting you a massive buff to your Strength.

You could do something similar. For as long as both of your hands are on the shield, the amount that you can carry or lift is increased as if you were one size larger.

[Galithar]

Since Tenser's Disk is a ritual I would probably allow this to be at-will with the condition that the shield allows you to cast it as a ritual. With the shield acting as the disk, but with all other qualities of the spell. That way you have time to cast. But I would likely also allow a once per day activation as an action for those times where time is critical. I don't know of any shenanigans that can be done with floating disk so I would make it equal to a common item and use pricing as such (shield cost + the cost of a common item)

[Man_Over_Game]

Since Tenser's Disk is a ritual I would probably allow this to be at-will with the condition that the shield allows you to cast it as a ritual. With the shield acting as the disk, but with all other qualities of the spell. That way you have time to cast. But I would likely also allow a once per day activation as an action for those times where time is critical. I don't know of any shenanigans that can be done with floating disk so I would make it equal to a common item and use pricing as such (shield cost + the cost of a common item)

I think the biggest thing is that you might not want a flying creature to easily cast Tenser's Disk, as it allows them to basically become the party's mode of transportation.

[Dalebert]

I'd just keep it simple and say the shield can be transformed into a tensors floating disk once a day. Would not be attunement for just that. Anything else is needlessly complicated.


I think the biggest thing is that you can't allow a flying creature to easily cast Tenser's Disk, as it allows them to basically become the party's mode of transportation.

Uhm... Why? Isn't that potential there whether flying or not? The disk can't fly regardless. Is your concern just with how fast the flight may be? Someone on a warhorse is really fast.

[Man_Over_Game]

I'd just keep it simple and say the shield can be transformed into a tensors floating disk once a day. Would not be attunement for just that. Anything else is needlessly complicated.



Uhm... Why? Isn't that potential there whether flying or not? The disk can't fly regardless. Is your concern just with how fast the flight may be? Someone on a warhorse is really fast.

The Disk can float up to 10 feet in the air. This might be an issue, it might not. I can say that flying races aren't allowed in Adventure League, and officially, there's no way to grant a flying Familiar or something Tenser's Disk to do the same thing, so it's impossible to duplicate easily in official play.

I don't necessarily think it's a big deal, but someone might, and it's the only thing I can think of that'd be a problem.

[Sigreid]

Your DM should give you a +1 Corpse Carrier shield.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Floating disc can't traverse elevation changes of more than 10', and ends if it's more than 100' from the caster. That means it'll be blocked by gullies, ravines, cliff edges and even perhaps some steep staircases. It also doesn't move if it's within 20' of the caster, so at least one person has to walk or ride or whatever. So it's not a foolproof means of transport by any means.

But that's also a bit out of the original intent of the request.

[Galithar]

It can also only carry 500 pounds... What party and their gear weighs less then 500 pounds??

[Dalebert]

What you do is tinker up a crane arm to clamp onto it. Then you hang a chair from that arm 25ish feet from the disk. The caster sits there. Works best for a gnome. Then you rig some way for the gnome to pivot the crane in order to steer. Now it's self-propelled!

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

It can also only carry 500 pounds... What party and their gear weighs less then 500 pounds??

https://www.retailmenot.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Frodo-Sam-image-frodo-and-sam-36091705-1920-796-1411140272.jpg

[Kurt Kurageous]

Used to be a Spartan mom's blessing to their sons, "Come back with your shield or on it."

I'd go one more, the litter does gentle repose and/or spare the dying on the target.

[Mud Puppy]

Used to be a Spartan mom's blessing to their sons, "Come back with your shield or on it."

I'd go one more, the litter does gentle repose and/or spare the dying on the target.

This was actually in the back of my mind when I thought up the shield as stretcher/litter concept, but I never even considered having the shield put someone in the "stasis" of gentle repose. I was honestly just thinking of using it as a way to move a casualty to a safer location for ongoing treatment and the utility of being able to lift heavier loads of large sized party members and their equipment.