Bobthebiobitan's page

Oh absolutely. However, since we know nothing of the game I was making a reference to PnP. I was talking about how in PnP the problems of flight aren't there, and why I would see no problem with creating limited duration magical flight in PFO.

They've said multiple times that they are keeping to "Feel/Spirit" of PnP without converting it completely. Things just don't work from PnP to an MMO. However, I highly doubt that they would look at their reference material and say "Hmmmmm... Well this spell here seems to be pretty limited. You go a little faster, can fly, but need to make skill checks while doing so. Hmmm... Okay, lets make it a 24 hour persistent buff and lets make a magic item of fly cheap so everyone can have it."

I'm not putting any words in your mouth or meaning any ill will. However, they have said that they're using the PnP as reference. They're going to look at it, see how it would best fit in their MMO and apply it in such a way. As such, I think it's completely relevant to bring up PnP examples. How did things work there? Was it unbalanced because the PCs could dive attack groups of enemies, retreat to 500 feet, heal, and then go back at it? What was their resource expenditure for that tactic? What sort of counter is there to prevent them from doing it?

I imagine that as a skill based MMO, one of the things that every good player will dump some time into is using magical devices. Magical fly becomes moot when everyone on the battlefield is carrying wands of dispel magic. Expensive in PnP? Sure, but it's a counter. What fighter doesn't walk around with at least one ranged weapon? What rogue doesn't have a crossbow strapped to their back? I don't think magical flight, mount flight, or wondrous item flight would be abusable in the least. Sure, if you're hunting less experienced characters you might be able to pull it off, but you probably could have melted their faces without flying in and out of range.

I wouldn't worry too much about flight in this game. Remember, time is supposed to pass at 4x the real life speed. The fly spell lasts for 1 min/lvl, which turns into 15 seconds a level. That means sixth level wizard/sorcerer is only flying around for a minute and a half per casting. The caster travels at a speed of 60ft per round, or 40ft if they are wearing medium/heavy armor. You cannot run while flying.

A carpet of flying gives you a fly speed of 40ft and can be used continuously. Meanwhile a horse travels at a speed of 50ft. The horse is faster and can actually Run for short periods of time increasing its speed to 250ft.

Flight gives you some advantages. You move faster than a person on foot and have a greater maneuverability. However, the duration is quite short unless you invest a vast amount of gold into an item. I could see rich/important players investing in flight items as a slower but safer way to travel between towns.

EDIT: A griffon has a flight speed of 80ft. It *can* run while flying. However, I imagine that the upkeep of these creatures can be quite high. The game could have requirements to make them into a luxury. You could have to create exotic stables for them, feed them something very rare/expensive, and pay for groomers to keep the intelligent creature socialized and happy.