can a wizard with 0 strength and overland flight fly?

[taltamir]

If a wizard has overland flight cast and he has been reduced to 0 strength, can he still fly?

[Friend Computer]

Yes, but cannot do anything else, including casting non-still'd, non-silence'd spells...

[HunterOfJello]

RAW from the SRD says "Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground."


Therefore, he could not fly unless the ground was moved since he is lying helpless, "on the ground".

[magic9mushroom]

No, because he's overburdened. You can normally only fly with a light load.

[Alaris]

No, because he's overburdened. You can normally only fly with a light load.

And if he's wearing absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back (which don't count against his carrying capacity)? Can he fly then?

[HunterOfJello]

And if he's wearing absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back (which don't count against his carrying capacity)? Can he fly then?

possibly, if he had a ring of featherfall on also

[Gnaritas]

possibly, if he had a ring of featherfall on also

WTH does a ring of featherfall has to do with it!?!?

[Mastikator]

And if he's wearing absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back (which don't count against his carrying capacity)? Can he fly then?

With a strength of 0, your maximum carrying capacity is also 0. So with while carrying a load of 0 you've hit the max and is therefore overburdened.

[Optimystik]

No, because he's overburdened. You can normally only fly with a light load.

The two flight spells explicitly let you carry a medium or heavy load.

"This spell functions like a fly spell..."

"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)."

[Radar]

No, because he's overburdened. You can normally only fly with a light load.

Which is very weird anyway. Since when power of your spells is based on your STR score?

[Saph]

By RAW, no. Strength 0 means you can't move, a fly speed is a movement speed, therefore you can't fly.

By RAI, it depends on how you interpret the fly spells. Do they require some kind of physical component or are they completely mental? If the first, then you can't move; if the second, then you can still fly, although with all the elegance of a sack of potatoes. However, since your strength is 0, any weight whatsoever will put you over your carrying capacity and you won't be able to move at all.

So it's probably best for the mental health of the party if you just lie there, rather than treating them to the image of a naked paralysed wizard flying and flopping around.

[Roderick_BR]

By RAW, no. Strength 0 means you can't move, a fly speed is a movement speed, therefore you can't fly.

By RAI, it depends on how you interpret the fly spells. Do they require some kind of physical component or are they completely mental? If the first, then you can't move; if the second, then you can still fly, although with all the elegance of a sack of potatoes. However, since your strength is 0, any weight whatsoever will put you over your carrying capacity and you won't be able to move at all.

So it's probably best for the mental health of the party if you just lie there, rather than treating them to the image of a naked paralysed wizard flying and flopping around.

DM: Ok, everyone roll against insanity.
Player: But we are not playing Ravenloft.
DM: Your character wishes we were.

[Trekkin]

If your wizard can afford it, buy an effigy of something bulky enough to carry him or her around and strap him/her onto it (give the wizard a Hand of the Mage, too, so they can lift at least some things). It tends to solve most strength zero problems if you can cast overland flight on the effigy.

If somatic components are a problem there is always clockwork armor from WOTC online content.

[ericgrau]

Normally, no, you can't fly. As for the spell, it depends how the magic works. The spell lets you hustle without overexerting yourself but a forced march does tire you. I mean sitting still for more than 8 hours is not normally a problem. It's open to interpretation but I think that means there is some small physical exertion and thus you cannot fly when you can't move.

[herbe]

If a wizard has overland flight cast and he has been reduced to 0 strength, can he still fly?

Do you mean during or then or after?
IF
1. round: cast the spell
2. round: reduced to 0 str
I think he can fly because he fly by his will not with his disabled limbs...

[Curmudgeon]

Assuming the spell was cast before the caster's Strength reduction, the spell would continue to function. As to whether the caster could continue to control the spell, I think the answer is yes. They're helpless, but that doesn't preclude the purely mental actions needed to control the spell.

A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions.

The caster isn't paralyzed, so their lesser impairment shouldn't have any impact on mental actions. Overland Flight lets you fly by magical means: it doesn't impart a fly speed to the character, and so restrictions based on natural movement modes aren't relevant.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

The two flight spells explicitly let you carry a medium or heavy load.

But a heavy load has an upper limit. There are special rules for going beyond maximum load. For instance, a character with a Strength of 10 has a heavy load when carrying between 67 and 100 pounds, inclusive. If carrying 101 pounds, that character is carrying more than a heavy load and can, at best, stagger around.

Note that 0 Strength means you have a maximum load of 0 and so cannot even do that much.

The caster isn't paralyzed, so their lesser impairment shouldn't have any impact on mental actions. Overland Flight lets you fly by magical means: it doesn't impart a fly speed to the character, and so restrictions based on natural movement modes aren't relevant.

But if movement through the use of fly and its descendants is purely mental, why does having a medium or heavy load reduce your flight capability?

[NMBLNG]

If a wizard has overland flight cast and he has been reduced to 0 strength, can he still fly?

My first thought was: No, because the wizard is dead. Most dead things (not UNdead, just plain dead) have a strength of 0.

Though I could see it if the wizard has some special contraption to support his body weight while flying. Kinda like the highliner pilots from Dune.

[Lappy9000]

WTH does a ring of featherfall has to do with it!?!?

Falling with style

[Eclipse]

But if movement through the use of fly and its descendants is purely mental, why does having a medium or heavy load reduce your flight capability?

Because more weight means more momentum, and therefore harder to control flight.

No, I don't care about the catgirls.

On a more serious note, ask your GM. I would rule you can still make use of your current flight spell, though nothing else, but others might rule differently. RAW does seem to say you can't.

[Eldariel]

My first thought was: No, because the wizard is dead. Most dead things (not UNdead, just plain dead) have a strength of 0.

Nonability means you lack Strength-score, which is something dead do. Strength 0 means he's merely unable to move; Strength 0 is helpless, not dead (except if damaged by a Shadow at any rate*). Further, many creatures (most notably Incorporeals), for example, have "Str -" while still being creatures.

So no, it definitely does not mean that. Though he's one Coup de Grace away from death, probably, but that's a completely unassociated matter.


* 'cause someone would point it out otherwise.

[randomhero00]

Well you often cast/control spells with physical movements and mutterings (talking requires muscles.) So Fly may also be controlled that way while you're up in the air.

[ericgrau]

But if movement through the use of fly and its descendants is purely mental, why does having a medium or heavy load reduce your flight capability?

This is a good point because a medium or heavy load is dependent on your strength score, not some other measure of momentum. With this an the fact that you can get tired from flying all day, I'm learning more towards "no flying at strength 0". I don't think it's purely mental.

Or if you want a RAW answer go with the rule that you can't take more than a 5 foot step when above your heavy load, or really can't move at all when above your max load . As for the corner case of having an ally walk up to you and remove all your gear for a 0 lb. load, let's just hope we never run into that situation, heh.

[QuantumSteve]

RAW from the SRD says "Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground."


Therefore, he could not fly unless the ground was moved since he is lying helpless, "on the ground".

I don't see more than one way to interpret this RAW. 0 Strength != 0 Carrying Capacity. It's a special condition with specific effects.

A more interesting question, IMO, is can a wizard with 1 Str carrying more than 10lbs. still fly 5ft a round, or is he borne to the ground.

[ericgrau]

Dunno about the fly spell, but he can't overland fly. Overland flight has average maneuverability which means you'll stall if you move too slow.

[Irreverent Fool]

RAW from the SRD says "Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground."

This begs the question: What happens if you're paralyzed by being reduced to 0 Str while in the air? Are you suddenly lying on the ground?

A similar question comes up when you 'drop prone' from in the air.

obnoxious
sig

[Curmudgeon]

But if movement through the use of fly and its descendants is purely mental, why does having a medium or heavy load reduce your flight capability?

Those just happen to be built-in limitations of the spell. Let's step through this problem.

• Your body and clothing weight aren't counted for encumbrance calculations.

  A beginning character is assumed to have an artisan’s, entertainer’s, explorer’s, monk’s, peasant’s, scholar’s, or traveler’s outfit. This first outfit is free and does not count against the amount of weight a character can carry.

  A character with no gear other than clothing has a load of 0 lbs.
• Table 9–1: Carrying Capacity (Player's Handbook, page 162) has no entry for Strength 0. If we extrapolate the table down to Strength 0, we would find the medium or heavy load to be 0 lbs.
• Overland Flight specifically allows flight at 30' if carrying a medium or heavy load.

  This spell functions like a fly spell, except you can fly at a speed of 40 feet (30 feet if wearing medium or heavy armor, or if carrying a medium or heavy load) with average maneuverability.

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

Flight, walking, running, etc. are types of movement.
Movement requires strength.
Strength 0 means you have no strength.
Ergo, no, you cannot move.

Unless you were an incorporeal creature, like an Unbodied (Cool because you are also Psionic and therefore not a Wizard) or Ghost (lame, You're dead).

[QuantumSteve]

This begs the question: What happens if you're paralyzed by being reduced to 0 Str while in the air? Are you suddenly lying on the ground?

A similar question comes up when you 'drop prone' from in the air.

obnoxious
sig

I think most creatures fall. Dragons, I know, have an ability that causes their wings to pop out if they're paralyzed and they spiral to the ground.

Not sure there's a ruling about prone flying either. Maybe you're just flying parallel to the ground (like Superman) and the normal bonuses and penalties apply. Although it would definitely be easier to hit a "prone" target directly above you with a ranged weapon than if they were "standing up".

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Because more weight means more momentum, and therefore harder to control flight.

What does “Momentum” have to do with magical willpower?

This begs the question: What happens if you're paralyzed by being reduced to 0 Str while in the air? Are you suddenly lying on the ground?

It’s called falling.

Those just happen to be built-in limitations of the spell.

But what creates those limits? The rules say nothing about whether or not it is purely mental. Why would a purely mental activity give a rat’s fig about something based on a physical score?

Table 9–1: Carrying Capacity (Player's Handbook, page 162) has no entry for Strength 0. If we extrapolate the table down to Strength 0, we would find the medium or heavy load to be 0 lbs.

There’s no data with which we can consider that an accurate extrapolation. As I pointed out earlier, there is a category of weight beyond a heavy load. Since the character cannot move at all, one can just as easily assume a 0-Strength character is considered as having over twice his or her maximum load.