I am looking for a way to enchant a lift.
Our covenant is situated in a canyon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdon_Gorge).
The problem is that for daily conveniency, it would be of a great help to be able to reach the top part of the cliff without having to follow the river (15km) then walk back the cliff.
Sure, magi can fly or teleport. But magi are not always available for that, they prefer to stay in their lab.
So, we think about creating a big well in the stone of the cliff, and enchant a stone platform to act as a lift.
So far, we got this:
Rego Terram lvl 20 effect, base 3 (move dirt in unnatural fashion), +1 stone, +1 concentration, +1 Size (6m diameter, 30cm thick), +5lvl Item maintain concentration, +5 lvl (24 uses per day)
When someone put his hand on a specific part of the platform and say "rise", the platform will rise slowly until it reach the top of the well, were it will stay levitating (so as to not fall suddenly ). When someone put his hand on that same specific part and say "fall", the platform will slowly go down until it reach the depth of the well.
We are unsure about few details here.
Is the effect correctly designed for such a device?
Should it be one or two enchantment? (one to rise, another one to go down?)
Is it possible to set the maximum height to be reach by the lift?
No parma would apply on this kind of effect, right?
Item is well calculated. Make the item stop when you say stop and that will be it. You might need to ivnest in a PeVi unravel the fabric of Terram to do that, but since it is a level 10 spell it would be easy to put it around. Making rings with the Level 10 unravelling would be useful to give to Custos.
IMS it would be a single effect for rise and fall, but that is a YSMM case.
Yet, suppose the platform is at the top of the well (somewhat 500 or 600 meters above the depth of the well).
Wouldn't Unravel the Fabric of Terram make the platform suddenly fall down with everything it carries instead of just staying still, levitating?
Maybe the command "stop" should just make the platform stop moving, but keep concentration on levitating itself? Would it add magnitude?
(by the way, i was able to guess what means IMS, but what means YSMM? Your Saga M.... M....?)
I think the design is exactly right the way it is. I don't see any need for a PeVi spell: one Rego spell/effect can be used to move a target in many different ways based on the desires of the caster/wielder (see the discussion on ArM5 p.99 of items maintaining concentration for a discussion of levitation in particular, and consider how the ReTe spells Unseen Arm and The Unseen Porter and the ReCo spells Rise of the Feathery Body and Lifting the Dangling Puppet are used in practice). I think it's well within parameters of designing an effect to say that the platform can only stop at the top and bottom and that it won't ever go higher than the top. Just be sure that nobody's on the platform at sunset or sunrise, at least if they don't know how to concentrate on the platform's behalf....
Come to think of it, why do we need multiple uses per day? I take the lift up in the morning; it hovers there under its own concentration for an hour; I take it back down; it "hovers" at the bottom under its own concentration; the next person takes it up again, and so on. You could put those 5 levels into an extra magnitude for speed if you wanted - I think a base-level movement rate would take 10 minutes or so to travel 500m.
I agree that Parma Magica wouldn't affect the effect. The item made its Aiming roll when you stepped on it.
I like the idea of a magnitude to rise the speed, although too much speed wouldn't be good for passenger. We don't need a rocket In the other hand, i think a magnitude dedicated to speed could also allow a speed raise and slow down at departure and arrival, so as to be fair to delicate passenger's stomach.
Leaving it hovering at the top at sunrise or sunset would be bad. Falling 500 paces would probably break the stone, enchantment, passengers, sheep sleeping in the shade at the bottom...
Constant duration would be better for reliability. Though that's boring
Looks fine. I would raise number of uses per day a bit though. The raise in levels is small compared to the number of extra uses. +1 more more than doubles the number of uses.
One. Either use is just moving the same way even if its the opposite direction.
IMO, yes. Add "stop" or similar as a third command to allow it to stop anywhere between the two endpoints.
Just add a command to make it go fast and another to go slow.
Are you sure you want that? Unravelling the spell would mean making it fall down?
Mmm, true. 2 uses per day, just enough to activate at sunrise and sunset is enough thanks to the item keeping concentration up.
I think constant effect is indeed needed to make sure the slab doesn't fall when there is no one around to concentrate on sunrise/sunset. Although you could put a "bell-boy" on it, if you want concentration. I'd let both up and down work with the same effect, although that's more arguable - especially for the constant-effect.
I have to admit I don't particularly like the idea of having a lift in Mythic Europe. Doesn't feel very... Mythic. I would have preferred a more creative solution - perhaps bubbles that rise up and one can hop to, or tamed giant eagles, or something. But whatever works for your saga
Your Saga May.... Vary, or in Xavi's case, I guess it may Marry...
Make it keep concentration, make it so that touching a spot causes it to rises as long as spot is touched and another spot causes decent and touching neither causes it to remain still (hovering).
Then add requisite that it has to stay within 1/2 foot of earth or rock so that it can't float out of the hole too high (see the Spellwiki for Stone Palaquin for sort of effect you are looking for).
If you enchant the spots to cause it to rise properly (maybe tap in a specific pattern to trigger up/down), You can make it so strangers won't know how it is triggered and enemies can be trapped in the shaft at need.
There's a couple other options that might be more mythic, although I don't have my books to calculate spell levels.
"Criamon's Infinite Loop". Instead of a stone platform, use Rego on a rope (with extra enchantment to make it as strong as metal) or a chain. Run it through a pulley at top and bottom, and you can have a basically endless loop that would carry a platform up one side, then back down the other. This could theoretically support multiple platforms at different points on the rope, and you could give commands byy touching the rope. Might be more vulnerable to sabotage from above, unless the top pulley was embedded in rock or something like that.
"Levitation of Archimedes" Archimedes screw. Supposedly the idea of archimedes, so very appropriate for mages to rediscover. The original idea was that the bottom end would be in water, and as the screw turned water would naturally be lifted upwards. You could maybe use a 12 foot tall screw section, then the magic would make it turn as it rose (or lowered). Mechanically, same effect as you describe but maybe a shape bonus, and it might be more in line with medieval thinking.
"Goblin Tunnel". Third alternative would be some sort of magical tunnel. If it opened a couple paces in front of you and closed up behind as you moved, it would be much more secure than an elevator.
). When someone put his hand on that same specific part and say "fall", the platform will slowly go down until it reach the depth of the well.