| TheMightyPotato |
Hello! I've recently encountered a difference in opinion on how the movement of Phantom Chariot in regards to traveling overland. I would like to discuss or get some consensus on how this spell would work since RAW the spell does not include such descriptions.
Now overland rules do not state how spells work in relation to it but from what I can gather it's dependent on whether or not the propulsion source is living or not.
From this paragraph in particular.
"Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. Overland movement is measured in miles per hour or miles per day. A day represents 8 hours of actual travel time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing ship, it represents 24 hours."
Now emphasis on sailing ship. A sailing ship does not require a living source of propulsion (self movement from walking/swimming/flying/climbing/rowing, a chariot pulled by real horses, riding on a mount, etc)
Phantom Chariot, unlike phantom steed, is effectively some vehicle that is pulled by quasi-real (non-living?) horses that are created for movement and is not stated that they need to sleep, eat, or rest. So most likely they cannot hustle like a living creature but can move at constant speed for the duration of the spell.
Compare to Overland Flight which does include these travel rules because the methods of propulsion are centered on yourself.
"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 a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to half your caster level. When using this spell for long-distance movement, you can hustle without taking nonlethal damage (a forced march still requires Constitution checks). This means you can cover 64 miles in an 8-hour period of flight (or 48 miles at a speed of 30 feet)."
Though one could say the sister spell Phantom Steed would not allow for a character to rest or eat/drink while riding, Phantom chariot provides a vehicle in addition to a team of non-living entities. Effectively a car/small boat. Now people have rested and eaten in cars, not the most comfortable experience, but its entirely possible for long distance travel. There's very little physical exertion in this form of travel, compared to a rowboat, walking, or flying.
To further complicate this Phantom Chariot (and phantom steed) at lvl 10 has the at-will ability water walk, which would give it the same effective category as a sailboat and allow for 24-hour travel.
Now if one were to say that the phantom steed and phantom chariot were real, they would be effected by mounted rules. Since the spell Phantom Chariot states that it functions like a normal heavy chariot. Additionally, this is a conjuration (creation) not summoning spell, a fact which further confuses if the horses in phantom chariot require eating/sleeping/resting.
Hustle/forced march Rules:
"Hustle: A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued.
Forced March: In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The rest of the daylight time is spent making and breaking camp, resting, and eating.
A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It's possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard."
Mounted rules:
"Mounted Movement: A mount bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage it takes when doing so, however, is lethal damage, not nonlethal damage. The creature can also be ridden in a forced march, but its Constitution checks automatically fail, and the damage it takes is lethal damage. Mounts also become fatigued when they take any damage from hustling or forced marches."
So this clarification is multiple fold. Base on whats stated here, and other rules that I might not be aware of, would a Phantom Chariot be able to travel for the full distance/time afforded by the spell with no difficulty? or would one have to get off the chariot and rest/eat/drink before traveling again for they 8 hours allowed by overland travel (like overland flight). Additionally, like the horse drawn carriage, if it is treated like a living creature, can it hustle for the remainder of the spell and take damage until the spell ends? And Finally, since there is little physical exertion in controlling the phantom chariot can one eat/sleep/drink inside the chariot until the spell ends?
Deeply sorry for the massive post, but I want to be incredibly thorough and better understand long distance travel rules.