casting Aqueous orb into air

[Natural 1s]

Is it possible to cast Aqueous orb so it starts to exist in the air?

I want to eventually use it to hit some flying creature a hope it will still have chance of engulfing it and fall with it to the ground. I don't think normal rules for falling should apply, because the falling creature will not hit the surface of water and the mass of water will absorb some of kinetic energy from the fall.

So following questions are:

Will the standard rules for nonleathal damage, reflex save and engulfment apply?

Are there any rules for falling in mass of water?

What will happen with aqueous orb when it hits ground?
Will it end or will it continue to work as if nothing has happened?

[Byakko]

It seems that you can cast the Aqueous Orb is midair.
It also appears to be affected by gravity: "The aqueous orb can move up to 30 feet per round, rolling over barriers less than 10 feet tall."

Most of your questions aren't explicitly answered in the rules, so it's going to vary by GM.

Here are my recommendations:

I would apply the spell as normal. Then use the following rule to determine the associated falling damage (despite not technically being 10' deep, I feel this is fair):

Quote:

If the water is at least 10 feet deep, the first 20 feet of falling do no damage. The next 20 feet do nonlethal damage (1d3 per 10-foot increment). Beyond that, falling damage is lethal damage (1d6 per additional 10-foot increment).

The orb should be fine and intact upon hitting the ground. It's held together by strong magic and will continue to function normally.

[Natural 1s]

Thanks Byakko – sounds reasonable.

Would you allow it to move in the same (1st) round?

[Grey_Mage]

GM fiat territory so YMMV.

I would allow it with caveats. It can be created in air. It can move in the first round (downward only). Otherwise we are playing road runner and people are running off cliffs until they realize gravity should apply to them.

If this downward movement exceeds the spells controlled movement (30') the spell ends affecting people damage wise as described by Byakko above.

[dragonhunterq]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but conjured objects cannot appear floating in empty space.

You could argue that Aqueous Orb is a spell effect and not an object, but I'm not sure that holds much water (pun intended).

[Natural 1s]

Thanks!

[Byakko]

dragonhunterq wrote:

Sorry to be a party pooper, but conjured objects cannot appear floating in empty space.

You could argue that Aqueous Orb is a spell effect and not an object, but I'm not sure that holds much water (pun intended).

Ah, this is indeed correct. I almost looked up that rule, but thought it only applied to summoned creatures.

This situation might still come up if the orb somehow becomes airborne after being summoned, however, so is still worth thinking about. But looks like it can't be used to deal with a flying creature unless you roll it off a higher surface directly above your target.