Lifting a character

[neferphras]

Ok i have seen this done in game, but never actually found the ruling on this and no thread seems to specifically address this.

What i have seen done is.

Wizard has air elemental familiar.

Combat starts. Air Elemental has set command to lift Wizard into the air.
he does so
Wizard starts casting spells.

Nor RPG wise this is just a cool thing to see. It was neat.
But how do the mechanics work.

The air elemental is lifting the wizard.. ok, so are we using the lift encumbrance rules?

Or is it a willing grapple, if so does the wizard not gain the grapped condition and now has to worry about concentration checks?

Not surprisingly nothing in core deals with lifting a willing target in combat. so what are the mechanics involved

[Darthslash]

There is one mechanic that deals with this, although your Wizard might night like it.

Whirlwind

Read that and see how it works.

[neferphras]

yeah thats an attack, and definitely not it. Elemental can lift and carry just like anything else.

[Sarrah]

Improved Familiar --> Small Elemental (air) --> 12 Str --> Carrying Capacity 43/86/130 (the wizard has a weight and his/her gear has a weight) <-- theoretically possible.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/feats.html#_improved-familiar
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/elemental.html#_elemental-air

Carry, not mount. Hmmm.... I know the rules say the same character cannot occupy the same space - except with one of the Monkey Style feats. So by carry, we mean either drag or over the head. I am unsure if a person being carried can cast spells. I will research this one.

[Sarrah]

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/additionalRules.html#_carrying-capacity
"A smaller creature can carry less weight depending on its size category, as follows: Small ×3/4"

43/86/130 --> 31/62/93

[Kalridian]

If the elemental has moved in the same round, I would have the wizard make concentration checks for vigorous motion. A Person carrying you around should be as bad for your concentration as a horse, if not worse.

All of this of course if the elemental CAN carry thw wizard. Wasn't there some rule about flying only being possible with a light load?

[neferphras]

yeah i looked for a rule on flight and load and could find nothing on that.

totally agree on the concentration check

[blahpers]

There's no general encumbrance restriction on flight, so the elemental should be able to lift a (willing or helpless) wizard so long as its strong enough to lift the wizard at all. As Kalridian stated, such motion could require a concentration check from the wizard when casting spells.