greg kaye
Explorer
So one wizard sits on a pony, horse, phantom steed, broom of flying, carpet of flying or other moving thing and ritual casts a succession of floating disks. Hopefully, this can be done so that subsequent disk can replace those preceding. Other ritual casters sit on these floating disks and ritual cast more disks. More ritual casters sit further back among this next generation of floating disks... and so on. Anyway, that's the idea.
Of course, things could start small, but how might a party get the best milage, so to speak, out of this kind of thing even from lower levels?
Mules and ponies are great but faster transport can be achieved with horses. In RL a lean riding horse may weigh around 900 lbs. while a pony can weigh under 500 lbs. Floating disk can carry 500 lbs and a board that's, say, 10 foot long could comfortably span two disks. With the right fittings the board could even hold onto the disks to keep things secure. However, for those also with adventuring in mind, a sufficiently wide, 10-foot-long board might be considered an inconvenience. This is where a second-level Artificer might be of use because that infused portable hole could provide convenient space a 10 ft board long with a width up to 6ft and perhaps leave space for, who knows, something like a ballista.
But the main thing needed is a wizard or wizards with the ability to ritual cast the first-level floating disk spell. (Who knows, perhaps that artificer, that one all dressed in protective armour and with their con save proficiency established, has decided on some wizarding as a way to fast-track their spell progression).
With disks ready and board in place, a well-trained horse and trusting horse may be encouraged to mount up. Alternatively, a well-trained pony might be encouraged to mount a single disk. Either way, another board may also be suspended on a different floating disk to allow the portable hole to be opened upon it so as to allow the ballista or other equipment to be brought out as needed and other disks may be summoned for the transport of the party.
So with one horse or pony ready to be transported, another horse or pony is either could either be directed by a party member that can communicate with animals or otherwise be directly ridden. Either way, a wizarding party member needs to be on the mount and able to ritual cast disks which can hopefully replace preceding disks in succession. If needed, the character controlling the mount could gain some familiarity with the ritual and slow down or stop physical movement at times when new disks are ready to be formed.
A 5e riding horse can carry 480 lb., a pony can carry 225 lb. while, oddly, a cut-price mule can carry 420 lb and move just as fast as the pony. A 5e human may "weigh from 125 to 250 pounds" while a 5e gnome may "weigh 40 to 45 pounds".
PHB, Ch. 5: Equipment:
Mounts and Vehicles. For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace. If fresh mounts are available every 8 to 10 miles, characters can cover larger distances at this pace, but this is very rare except in densely populated areas.
Riding horses are described as having a speed of 60 ft while ponies and mules have a speed of 40 ft but maybe this can be taken to assume the "faster" pace mentioned.
So perhaps a horse can ride fast for a while and walk for a bit intermittently while the other horse rest for stints and, hopefully, both horses can cover eight hours of travel in a day. Longstrider, may also be used in non-ritual castings by Artificers, Bards, Druids, Rangers, and Wizards to increase a target’s speed 10 feet for hourly spell durations.
Of course, everything here may get a lot more manageable with progress such as the artificer getting their wizardry up to 5th level so as to permit the acquisition of the phantom steed spell.
Phantom Steed "... uses the statistics for a riding horse, except it has a speed of 100 feet and can travel 10 miles in an hour, or 13 miles at a fast pace." At the easier pace of 10 mph, 88 feet in a six-second round while at 13 miles per hour equates to a speed of 114.4 feet of straight-line travel per round. However, depending on ruling, an average speed even of 11.36.. mph (which would equate to exactly 100 feet per round) but might be interpreted to be too fast for floating disks to keep up.
Floating disk says that: "If you move more than 20 feet away from it, the disk follows you so that it remains within 20 feet of you. It can move across uneven terrain, up or down stairs, slopes and the like, ..." and that "If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can’t move around an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends." We might imagine that the spell would facilitate a smooth and consistent catching up with a moving caster but it's still possible to interpret a maximum speed of 80 feet per round or 9.09.. mph.
A small-sized carpet of flying, at 3 ft. x 5 ft., has a carrying capacity of 200 lb. (perhaps good for a human, maybe a couple of elves, or four or more gnomes) and has a convenient speed of 80 feet. This, along with a further contingent of 1st-level wizards, might be capable of rapidly transporting anything up to an army. Well, that's the theory.
Of course, things could start small, but how might a party get the best milage, so to speak, out of this kind of thing even from lower levels?
Mules and ponies are great but faster transport can be achieved with horses. In RL a lean riding horse may weigh around 900 lbs. while a pony can weigh under 500 lbs. Floating disk can carry 500 lbs and a board that's, say, 10 foot long could comfortably span two disks. With the right fittings the board could even hold onto the disks to keep things secure. However, for those also with adventuring in mind, a sufficiently wide, 10-foot-long board might be considered an inconvenience. This is where a second-level Artificer might be of use because that infused portable hole could provide convenient space a 10 ft board long with a width up to 6ft and perhaps leave space for, who knows, something like a ballista.
But the main thing needed is a wizard or wizards with the ability to ritual cast the first-level floating disk spell. (Who knows, perhaps that artificer, that one all dressed in protective armour and with their con save proficiency established, has decided on some wizarding as a way to fast-track their spell progression).
With disks ready and board in place, a well-trained horse and trusting horse may be encouraged to mount up. Alternatively, a well-trained pony might be encouraged to mount a single disk. Either way, another board may also be suspended on a different floating disk to allow the portable hole to be opened upon it so as to allow the ballista or other equipment to be brought out as needed and other disks may be summoned for the transport of the party.
So with one horse or pony ready to be transported, another horse or pony is either could either be directed by a party member that can communicate with animals or otherwise be directly ridden. Either way, a wizarding party member needs to be on the mount and able to ritual cast disks which can hopefully replace preceding disks in succession. If needed, the character controlling the mount could gain some familiarity with the ritual and slow down or stop physical movement at times when new disks are ready to be formed.
A 5e riding horse can carry 480 lb., a pony can carry 225 lb. while, oddly, a cut-price mule can carry 420 lb and move just as fast as the pony. A 5e human may "weigh from 125 to 250 pounds" while a 5e gnome may "weigh 40 to 45 pounds".
PHB, Ch. 5: Equipment:
Mounts and Vehicles. For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace. If fresh mounts are available every 8 to 10 miles, characters can cover larger distances at this pace, but this is very rare except in densely populated areas.
Riding horses are described as having a speed of 60 ft while ponies and mules have a speed of 40 ft but maybe this can be taken to assume the "faster" pace mentioned.
So perhaps a horse can ride fast for a while and walk for a bit intermittently while the other horse rest for stints and, hopefully, both horses can cover eight hours of travel in a day. Longstrider, may also be used in non-ritual castings by Artificers, Bards, Druids, Rangers, and Wizards to increase a target’s speed 10 feet for hourly spell durations.
Of course, everything here may get a lot more manageable with progress such as the artificer getting their wizardry up to 5th level so as to permit the acquisition of the phantom steed spell.
Phantom Steed "... uses the statistics for a riding horse, except it has a speed of 100 feet and can travel 10 miles in an hour, or 13 miles at a fast pace." At the easier pace of 10 mph, 88 feet in a six-second round while at 13 miles per hour equates to a speed of 114.4 feet of straight-line travel per round. However, depending on ruling, an average speed even of 11.36.. mph (which would equate to exactly 100 feet per round) but might be interpreted to be too fast for floating disks to keep up.
Floating disk says that: "If you move more than 20 feet away from it, the disk follows you so that it remains within 20 feet of you. It can move across uneven terrain, up or down stairs, slopes and the like, ..." and that "If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can’t move around an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends." We might imagine that the spell would facilitate a smooth and consistent catching up with a moving caster but it's still possible to interpret a maximum speed of 80 feet per round or 9.09.. mph.
A small-sized carpet of flying, at 3 ft. x 5 ft., has a carrying capacity of 200 lb. (perhaps good for a human, maybe a couple of elves, or four or more gnomes) and has a convenient speed of 80 feet. This, along with a further contingent of 1st-level wizards, might be capable of rapidly transporting anything up to an army. Well, that's the theory.
