I'm hoping for some wisdom to adjudicate an unusual situation. How would you suppose Levitate would work in an area of zero gravity?
If you were on a plane that had no gravity, I would expect the lack of up/down would allow you to determine your own up/down, and so Levitate would work (mostly) like Fly.
However, what if one were levitating in an area of zero gravity on a plane that had normal gravity. How would the spell work then? Technically, there is a cardinal up and down, even though you may not be aware of it.
Our universe has normal gravity, and yet everything is relative. There is no universal perspective. If we could do magic here on Earth, then in an area of zero gravity, levitate would work the same as in a universe without gravity.
ETA: I suppose that magic could take its god's perspective. But then, what if Nethys stands on his head? I really think that it's better to use the lessons of the theory of relativity, and work from the interaction of subjective perspectives.
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Nope. I disagree. normally, Levitate allows you to go up and down, but does not allow for horizontal movement.
So, levitate only affects, negates, or seemingly inverses the effect of 'gravity.' So, your levitate spell wouldn't have any affect.
Levitate only works on a single dimension (up-down). You would have to decide what "up-down" was and then it would allow you to move in those directions only. If nothing else, I'd just randomly determine it.
Well, I think that the "single dimension" argument holds water. The problem which arises is that up/down no longer exists. Up is where your head is, and down is where your feet are. Depending on what angle your body is, that is up and down. Perhaps I would rule levitate at a speed of 20 ft (1/3 of fly), requiring a DC 10 fly check. Penalty would be that you fly in a random direction.
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In essence, Levitate counteracts the effects of gravity - while gravity is pulling you towards the center of the planet, Levitate allows you to float in the opposite direction. It doesn't matter what direction you are facing, or if you are upside down, the effects remain the same. So in that sense, you couldn't really say "up" is where your head is pointing and use it to motor around.
There is no one right answer here. The spell only says "up or down". So sure, let's say that "up" is "the opposite direction of gravity". Fine. In the absence of gravity, maybe "up" is a vector with a length of zero, and maybe it's a meaningless concept. In the former case, "up" would be nowhere; in the latter case, it could be arbitrarily any direction.
It's really a philosophical question that can only be answered by what would be more fun. I favor treating levitate like a weak fly that happens to work better (rather than worse) without gravity, but that's me.
I don't like the scientific approach. In a magic world, something like
Up is where your head is, and down is where your feet are.
is far more appropriate.
I'd combine the "single dimension" approach with the additional possibility to change your direction. Just flail around your arms wildly and try to reposition your body so that your head is pointing in a new direction. That should be quite difficult, perhaps with a flight or acrobatics (DC20) check.
Trying not to be the RAW maniac, but I see the "up where your head is, down where your feet are" getting really exploited. Just cast in the normal world with yourself at an angle, and you can push/pull at will, rather than rise/lower... the perfect bull rush.
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a leather loop or golden wire bent into a cup shape)
Range personal or close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target you or one willing creature or one object (total weight up to 100 lbs./level)
Duration 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Levitate allows you to move yourself, another creature, or an object up and down as you wish. A creature must be willing to be levitated, and an object must be unattended or possessed by a willing creature. You can mentally direct the recipient to move up or down as much as 20 feet each round; doing so is a move action. You cannot move the recipient horizontally, but the recipient could clamber along the face of a cliff, for example, or push against a ceiling to move laterally (generally at half its base land speed).
A levitating creature that attacks with a melee or ranged weapon finds itself increasingly unstable; the first attack has a –1 penalty on attack rolls, the second –2, and so on, to a maximum penalty of –5. A full round spent stabilizing allows the creature to begin again at –1.
Especially since it's a spell that ignores spell resistance and has no saving throw, if you allow this spell to float you to do much more than float you around it is going to get abused...
This is one of those cases where there are no explicit rules and the GM just makes a call.
Indeed; and, that would be me ;-)
Thanks to everyone. You've given me much to think about.
For my first example situation, I am inclined follow the "up" and "down" direction is relative to the pull of gravity. Therefore, in the absence of gravity, I'd rule that levitate would not function. However, I'd let the character use it to stabilize him/herself.
In my second example, there is gravity on the plane, but the levitating character is in an area where that gravity is suppressed. If I treat that the same way that an anitmagic field affects magic, then it is reasonable to rule that the spell "knows" where real gravity is, and the character could move up and down relative to the center of the planet.
This will affect how the PCs interact with this environment. There are rooms with no visible clues as to which way is up. They will have a ready way to bypass that challenge.
If I as the GM were intending this to be a very challenging environmetal factor, I would rule that levitate acts against gravity, so no effect.
However, most of the time I would say that the caster designates up and down at the time of casting. So he can only move along that axis until he casts again.