Fly = Move silently?

[Gahrer]

A few sessions ago one of my players proposed to use the spell fly to fly very close to the ground and essentially use it to override the need for move silently.

Does the spell work like that or do you need to roll move silently anyway when sneaking past someone?

[taltamir]

I would rule it gives a bonus to move silently, their armor still creaks, they breath, etc...

all invisibility does, for example, is give you +20 to hide while moving, and +40 to hide while standing still.

if he wants to have perfect move silently he could use the "silence" spell, that makes it impossible to hear him, it does however mean that someone might notice a moving pool of silence, and that spells with verbal components cast in the silence fail.

[Sinfire Titan]

A few sessions ago one of my players proposed to use the spell fly to fly very close to the ground and essentially use it to override the need for move silently.

Does the spell work like that or do you need to roll move silently anyway when sneaking past someone?

RAW: Move Silently is required by everyone who isn't Incorporeal/Ethereal.

RAI: Only if the character isn't wearing loud armor/clothes (robes make quite a bit of noise depending on how fast you are moving). If it's baggy cloth, only if he's moving more than half his magical fly speed.

[Shademan]

If I were the DM I'd say "flying makes a faint wovovovovovovooooo noice."

So no. you gotta roll them bones!

[Gahrer]

I would rule it gives a bonus to move silently, their armor still creaks, they breath, etc...

all invisibility does, for example, is give you +20 to hide while moving, and +40 to hide while standing still.

This is a really good idea. Ill go for it, thanks!

[elonin]

I'd recommend giving a bonus to the attempt, but I'm a player of rogues so may be biased. There are other things that can give your position away, armor clanging against armor etc.

[edit]that's a record for me. Ninja'd by 4 posts!

[AtwasAwamps]

I would rule it gives a penalty to move silently because I cannot imagine anyone flying around like Superman and not singing their own private theme song to themselves.

Or at least going “Woooosh!” excitedly.

[Starscream]

If I were the DM I'd say "flying makes a faint wovovovovovovooooo noice."

I think it makes John William's Superman theme play in the background.

Causes a penalty to MS checks, but well worth it for the effect.

[elonin]

I would rule it gives a bonus to move silently, their armor still creaks, they breath, etc...

all invisibility does, for example, is give you +20 to hide while moving, and +40 to hide while standing still.

if he wants to have perfect move silently he could use the "silence" spell, that makes it impossible to hear him, it does however mean that someone might notice a moving pool of silence, and that spells with verbal components cast in the silence fail.

The silence spell doesn't work. If the prey is in the 10' of silence he'll know something is up.

[Corlindale]

The silence spell doesn't work. If the prey is in the 10' of silence he'll know something is up.

Sculpt Sound ought to do it, though - but that may be harder to get access to.

[FishAreWet]

Monsters with Flying (Perfect) often get a racial bonus to Move Silently (Naga is what comes to mind).

Because the rule exists but only for Perfect flying, I wouldn't give it to any other type.

[Another_Poet]

There's also breathing, the jangling of gear, bumping into things, etc.

If a spell doesn't offer a bonus to a skill then don't hand one out for free.

[Lysander]

I would rule that the rustle of their clothing, the sound of wind caused by their passage, etc. would still require move silently checks with no bonus. However the spell still helps them because it changes their move speed:

Your Move Silently check is opposed by the Listen check of anyone who might hear you. You can move up to one-half your normal speed at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your full speed, you take a -5 penalty.

The subject can fly at a speed of 60 feet (or 40 feet if it wears medium or heavy armor, or if it carries a medium or heavy load).

The subject's "normal" move speed is now 60 for the duration of the spell, in three dimensions. So you could fly with a speed of 30 feet with no move silently penalty, or 55 feet with a -5 penalty. You'd also bypass any circumstance penalties based on the type of terrain you'd otherwise walk on, such as walking on rubble or through a bog.

[LibraryOgre]

I would rule that it removes the penalty for MS due to speed, and any penalty associated with the ground (dry leaves and the like). He can still make noise in other ways... rustling cloth, clanking armor, getting hit in the face with a leaf-covered tree limb...

[Tyndmyr]

RAI: Only if the character isn't wearing loud armor/clothes (robes make quite a bit of noise depending on how fast you are moving). If it's baggy cloth, only if he's moving more than half his magical fly speed.

Being naked DOES make you stealthy.

[AslanCross]

If I were the DM I'd say "flying makes a faint wovovovovovovooooo noice."

So no. you gotta roll them bones!

I am SO implementing that in my campaign.

[Ravens_cry]

Being naked DOES make you stealthy.

Other things slap around as well.
Ever seen naked skydiving?

[Mystic Muse]

naked skydiving

no I haven't and I don't plan to either

[Ravens_cry]

no I haven't and I don't plan to either

Technically, it's better described as topless skydiving as you still need the harness and parachute, but yeah, terminal descent winds do funny things to the squishy parts of the human body.

[maestro78]

By RAW, an Owl, an animal honed by thousands of years of natural selection to ambush prey while on the wing, has a +14 racial bonus to Move Silently.

Do you think a clumsy wizard with his robes flapping around his skinny ankles will be as quiet as that?

I'd give a +4 bonus, tops, with movement and armor penalties as normal.

[Thurbane]

As others have suggested, I would let it give a (smallish) circumstance bonus only. Move Silently isn't only about your feet hitting the ground, it's about scabbards rattling, coughing at an inopportune moment, potions sloshing about in their containers, coin purses clinking etc.

[Surrealistik]

I would rule that it removes the penalty for MS due to speed, and any penalty associated with the ground (dry leaves and the like). He can still make noise in other ways... rustling cloth, clanking armor, getting hit in the face with a leaf-covered tree limb...

This is the right answer.