Summary
- PCs flying speeds in Dungeons & Dragons are a contentious topic, with some believing they should be restricted until level 5.
- Various game mechanics, such as spells like Investiture of Wind and Wind Walk, can grant characters flight abilities.
- Other options for flight include using spells from certain classes and subclasses, acquiring magic items, or choosing a species with inherent flying abilities. Discuss with your DM for approval and to ensure balance.
PCs (Player Characters) with flying speeds is a hotly debated topic in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons community. Some feel that flying speeds are so powerful that PCs should be disallowed from accessing them un🐎til t💯hey reach level 5.
Others believe that flight is no big deal and simply requires a DM (Dungeon Master) to be slightly more inventive with their encounters. Whatever side you're on, chances are you've considered gifting your character with the power of flight once before. Today, we'll take a look at the plethora of game mechanics that will take you to the skies.
8 💯 Investiture Of Wind
Starting off with the lesser known and lesser used high-level flight spells, investiture of wind is a 6th-level transmutation spell that requires concentration and lasts for 10 minutes. While it remains active, this spell gives you a flying speed of 60 feet and forces all ranged attacks against you to suffer a♈ disadvantage.
In addition, you also gain an action that can be used to create a 15-foot cube of harsh wind that forces all creatures inside of it to make a Constitution saving throw. The creatures take 2d10 bludgeoning damage or half as much on a save. If they fail the save, creatures Large size or smaller are also pushed up to 10 feet away from the cube's center.
Usually, you can do a lot better for a 6th-level spell slot and your concentration, however, the disadvantage this spell imposes on ranged attackers is worth considering. Furthermore☂, this spell could prove more useful than it looks in a situation where you have the ability to push multiple creatures off of a high ledge.
7 Wind Walk
This is a rather strange travel-based spell that's only accessible to Druids. Wind walk is a 6th-level transmutation spell that takes a minute to cast and lasts for the next 8 hours.
During this time, you and up to ten willing creatures turn into clouds with a flying speed of 300 feet. While you ar♛e a cloud, you have resistance to damage from nonmagical weapons and can only take the Dash action.
It also takes a full minute for a creature to revert from its cloud form to its original formಌ. In other words, you would only ever use this spell to cover a large amount of distance quickly.
According to the travel rules in the DMG (Dungeon Master's Guide) on page 242, the speed this spell gives you translates to a travel rate of up to 320 miles per day at a fast pace. For reference on how far that might deliver you, the Sword Coast spans 1,000 miles from the Forests of Tethir all the way to the Sea of Moving Ice.
6 Gaseous ꧃Form
This underused 3rd level transmutation spell turns you i൩nto a puff of smoke with a flying speed of 10 feet. The gaseous form requires concentration and lasts for♛ up to an hour.
While this is an underwhelming flight speed, the real magic here is the ability toꦑ pass through incredibly small spaces such 🧔as cracks in a wall or the space beneath a door.
While in this form, you have resistance to nonmagical damage as well as advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws. You also can't attack or cast spells. In other words, this is another niche travel spell that shines when 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:exploring a dungeon rather than covering a large distance.
Be careful scouting with this spell though: you may be a cloud, but you're still quite visible to enemies.
5 Fly
Here's the most commonly used method of gaining a flight speed, and it's unlocked at the 5th level for many full spellcasting classes.
The existence of this spell is what has caused many DMs to argue that PCs shouldn't be able to access flight prior to level 5. After all, the spell becomes rather useless if they can.
Fly is a concentration spell with a duration of ten minutes 𓃲that gives a single target a flight speed of 60 feet. When you upcas🎃t this spell, you can give one additional target the same flight speed per additional level of the spell.
While a flight speed of 60 feet is incredible, the concentration requirement makes anyone flying with this spell susceptible to quite a bit of fall damage should the caster's concentration break.
4 Mounts
You're unlikely to get a chance at acquiring a flying mount until you reach the third tier of play (levels 11-16). That being said, there are some really great options between the pegasus, griffon, peryton, nightmare, and more.
Some DMs may even consider allowing super exotic mounts such as a chimera, manticore,🤪 or dragon.
Unfortunately, your mileage will𝓡 vary with this option. Mounted combat is often a subject of homebrew variation, so your mount may not even be able to access its own attacks while you are astride it.
We would argue that the inherent risk of your mount dying in battle ought to be enough of a trade-off for it to make some attacks, but every DM's game is different.
3 🐎 Class And Subclass Abilities
Here's a much more reliable option though it's always advised to double-check with your DM that they're okay with having a PC with a flight speed in their game. Class abilities such as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Wild Shape and subclass abili🐼ties from classes including the Genie Warlock, Swarmkeeper Ranger, Circle of Stars Druid, and more can all provideܫ your PC with flight for a limited duration.
Older subclasses such as the Tempest Cleric and Draconic Sorcerer wouldn't allow flight until well into the third tier of play, but newer subclasses like the ones mentioned above allow a flight speed as early as the 6th or 7th level.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, just be sure to inform your DM that you'll gain access to Flight early if you want to play one of these character builds. Transparency is always the best policy.
2 💖 Magic Items ꦡ
There are a handful of magic items that imbue a PC with flight including the Broom of Flying, Winged Boots, Cloak of the Bat, Carpet of Flying, and more. Interestingly enough, both the Broom of Flying and the Winged Boots are only 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:uncommon rarity magic items ♋that are worthy of discovery by PCs in the first 🐬tier of play (levels 1-4).
That being said, the Winged Boots are widely considered to be a misprinted item that should have a higher rarity. If your character doesn't have access to spellcasting or subclass abilities that will provide them with flight, you can always spend your downtime researching the potential location of magic items that will accomplish this job.
Alternatively, you can simply tell your DM that you as a player would really like to uncover such an item. Typically, DMs love it when their players make these kinds of requests as it shows that you're interested in the game.
1 Species
Finally and most controversially, you can always choose a species that comes with an inherent flying speed. These include the Aara♑kocra, Fairy, Owlin, Protector Aasimar (legacy), 👍and Winged Tiefling.
This is the best way to ensure yo🎃u have acജcess to flight at all stages of the game. However, some DMs may not be comfortable with a PC having flight from level one.
As mentioned previously, please speak with your♚ DM on whether these species are acceptable before brin🍎ging one to a game.
Especially in the case of beginner DMs, PCs with flight can sometimes make encounter building into a frustrating challenge that sucks the fun out of the game. The goal of D&am🎃p;D is for everyone to have fun, and that includes your DM. After all, there are tons of other ways to get flig𒉰ht mentioned on this list; you may just have to wait a few levels.