Compressing air

[Fero]

Is anyone aware of a viable method to compress and store large volumes of air or other gases in 3.5?

[Paragon]

Is anyone aware of a viable method to compress and store large volumes of air or other gases in 3.5?

The Bottle of air (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#bottleofAir) item comes to mind. It doesn't say anything about "compressing air" per say, but it is not stupid to infer if from what it does

[Algolei]

There's a lot of physics involved in compressing air, and I think 3.5 went out of its way to avoid dealing with physics -- except to replace it with "magic".

I'm unaware of any magic item that specifically compresses air. One of my characters has a necklace of adaptation so I'm familiar with that item, and it just "wraps the wearer in a shell of fresh air, making him immune to all harmful vapors and gases (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, as well as inhaled poisons) and allowing him to breathe, even underwater or in a vacuum." The description violates so many concepts on reality that I just have to suspend my disbelief and not question anything! Physics be damned!

If you're going to apply magic to everything, you could always create pills of dehydrated air -- just add water. :smallbiggrin:

[Jay R]

Since there is no defined method in the rules, the answer is for your character to spend the time and effort to research a spell to do what you want.

But before you start compressing air, I think you'll need to research what kind of container can hold compressed air, and how to create such a container.

[Inevitability]

Closed areas of force + teleportation should let you get arbitrary amounts of air in a confined space.

[ixrisor]

Closed areas of force + teleportation should let you get arbitrary amounts of air in a confined space.

Eventually, I suppose, the air would become liquid or solid and you wouldn’t be able to teleport anything in there.

[Chronos]

I think this is a case where we need to look at the actual goal. Your goal probably isn't compressed air, per se. What do you want to use the air for? Powering a pneumatic piece of machinery? Keeping a spaceship habitable? Blowing things around? All of those have other ways to accomplish them, and those other ways are likely to be easier.

[Fero]

I think this is a case where we need to look at the actual goal. Your goal probably isn't compressed air, per se. What do you want to use the air for? Powering a pneumatic piece of machinery? Keeping a spaceship habitable? Blowing things around? All of those have other ways to accomplish them, and those other ways are likely to be easier.

Honestly, and I know I am on dangerous ground here, I am trying to write a guide on Shrink Item. One issue that I am addressing in the guide is the utility of shrinking various substances (sand, water, lava, etc.) As applicable here, I am trying to identify possible uses of shrunken air, gases, etc. (or tanks thereof). Unfortunately, Shrink does not easily shrink enough volume to impact large AoEs, for example clearing away a stinking cloud. It struck me that compressing the air before shrinking could increase the ultimate area of released air (although it will still be fairly modest). I assumed I could fund some sort of published air tank, but no such luck. I am pretty sure that the Romans and Renaissance Europeans, and possibly Medieval Europeans knew how to compress air so it seemed like a reasonable line of inquiry.

[Zombimode]

Honestly, and I know I am on dangerous ground here, I am trying to write a guide on Shrink Item. One issue that I am addressing in the guide is the utility of shrinking various substances (sand, water, lava, etc.) As applicable here, I am trying to identify possible uses of shrunken air, gases, etc. (or tanks thereof). Unfortunately, Shrink does not easily shrink enough volume to impact large AoEs, for example clearing away a stinking cloud. It struck me that compressing the air before shrinking could increase the ultimate area of released air (although it will still be fairly modest). I assumed I could fund some sort of published air tank, but no such luck. I am pretty sure that the Romans and Renaissance Europeans, and possibly Medieval Europeans knew how to compress air so it seemed like a reasonable line of inquiry.

Shrink Item does not affect an area, it affects an object limited by volume.

[Fero]

Shrink Item does not affect an area, it affects an object limited by volume.

Correct. However, it also states that "even a burning fire and its fuel can be shrunk by this spell." This means, to me at least, that "pile of sand," "pool of water" and "tank of air" are also viable targets. Ultimately it is a DM call either way.

My reference to areas was in reference to the area that an unshrunk object can fill once unshrunk. For example, if I somehow got CL 63 I could shrink a volume of sand sufficient to fill a 5' cube.