Callen's comments are to the point.
Also, my compliments on having good taste in books, but... do you remember how much Croaker hated those flying carpets? And he was not a timid man. If your intent is to take grogs along, which the 2 magnitudes for extra weight seem to indicate, you might want to give some thought to their comfort. 
Indeed, this is another device that would be well designed with Auto Concentration and Unlimited Use.
Also, using the baseline of (mph= twice base magnitude), I am coming up with a speed of 10mph (base 3, +2m extra speed equals 5, times 2 = 10mph). Is that accurate?
a) Most shield grogs have Brave personality traits.
b) Croaker wasn't timid, but he really, really liked to complain. 
Yes, of course, I was just noting the base effect, as if it was a basic spell.
Only a madman would rely on his own concentration of prolonged flight. For flight at all, in fact 
Gee, thanks 
Well... She just doesn't think about it And IMO, it's better if you have that carpet and the guys just loathe using it, or puke all the way (now, who's got Motion Sickness?)
If/When she does it, it'll be as a Charged Item (gotta use that Craft Magic), so limited uses only. Although, yes, given the level, doing a few as lesser items might very well be worth it.
For the speed, your guideline doesn't work with published spells (Wings of the Soaring Winds would be at best 30mph, at worst 10), would also preclude any really fast spell (base level 40 to fly at 16mph???), nor with the +1 mag = x10 rules. But that rule also quickly gives insane speeds (even if it is used by teleport spells!), even if starting at only 2mph: +2 mag and you’re at 200mph!!!).
I usually tended to discard precise measurement in favor of the rough following:
- Slower than a man walking (Base, burdened). Say, 1mph if this is really important for you.
- As fast as a man can walk (lowest applicable guideline.). This is, say, 4mph
- As fast as a man can run (LAG +1). Say, 14 mph
- As fast as a horse can run (LAG +2). That’s… about 30 mph
- As fast as an eagle can fly (LAG +3, not very comfortable). About 80 mph.
- Faster (never happened, would really need protection)
If burdened by a weight at most equal to base Ind, I would take the speed back 1 step. Over that, no flight.
So, the carpet: The wood, by itself, would fly at 3mph. With too much weight on it, it wouldn’t even fly, but I’ve got 2 magnitudes to take care of that, cancelling the “burden” from people. The 2 extra mags pump the base speed, so it’d fly as fast as an horse.
Isn't it +1 magnitude = x(square route of 10)? I thought it went 5, 15, 50, or something like that. I'll have to look at the books when I get a chance. Perhaps I misremember.
There is a magical horse in RoP:M that has movement-affecting powers and has adjustments for Load.
I screwed something up in my base calculation.
I think what I was thinking is Base Level = Level sans parameters (R/D/T).
So, WoSW is base 20 (5, +2m Highly Unnatural, +1m Rego) = 4omph
Wizard's Leap (Base 15, 50 paces), if mastered and cast every round results in 1000 paces per diameter (one Roman Mile), which is 30,000 paces in an hour (30mph)
So for the Black Carpet, I now calculate 30mph as well (Base 15: 3, +2m Weight, +2m Speed)
And for whatever version of flight, being burdened does slow things down. Figure the carpet can carry (x) number of passangers with light burdens and travel at that speed, adjusted accordingly (as you calculate is reasonable I suppose).
And concentration is important. Carmen created her Talisman just around the concept of it concentrating on flight for her. If you check this page (scroll halfway down), you will see why.
Thinking on my above calculation (which can be tweaked when needed), I suppose we can back calculate speed per round.
Paces per hour = 1000 x mph. 20 rounds per diameter times 30 diameters in an hour equals 600 rounds in an hour.
So... (using the Roman Mile of 1000 paces)...
(mph x 10) divided by 6 equals Paces per Round.
Bae 20: 40mph = 66 paces per round (hawk in flight)
Base 15: 30mph = 50 paces per round (galloping horse)
Base 10: 20mph = 33 paces per round (something)
??: 15mph = 25 paces per round (a fit athletic human running)
Base 5: 10mph = 16 paces per round (horse walking)
Base 4: 8mph = 14 paces per round (average human running)
Base 3: 6mph = 10 paces per round (??)
Base 2: 4mph = 6 paces per round (brisk walk)
Base 1: 2mph = 3 paces per round (slow walk)
IIRC, 5, 50, 500, 1 league, 7 leagues, Arcane.
Thanks for the horse.
IMO, this is discutable on several levels.
- The +2 unnatural is due to the way the winds are created (that is, disconnected from any natural source), not to their strenght. That is covered by the base 5, create a very severe weather phenomenon (hurricane force winds), which is also the base for lightning. It thus shoudln't count
- The +1 rego allows control of the winds, not extra force. So it shouldn't count either.
=> The speed is due to the hurricane force winds, that is, base 5 only. This seems logical: Someone swept in a hurricane will be carried quite fast, after all.
Really, you're putting to much into this, IMO.
For the record, I had a pleasant surprise yesterday, since someone in tC&tC thinks just like me: On p148, you've got a design for a flying carpet, that flies... "as fast as a horse can run" (yes, that's official now 8)).
For the record, it goes on like this (disregarding duration):
ReAn base 1 ("Manipulate items made from animal products")
- 2 very unnatural motion (since the base 1 does not really covers telekinesis)
- 1 carry person on the carpet
- 1 speed
= lvl 4 for a carpet that, on its own, flies as fast as a horse, +1 magnitude to allow it to carry one person.
And that is something I try to avoid
WoSW is 40mph (as described in RAW).
The Carpet gives you 30mph, as fast as a Horse runs.
'Nuff Said
Spider of Magical Detection
Base level: InVi 20.
By putting this little spider in his hand and activating it, once can detect magic of magnitude 3 or higher: The watchful little bug will "smell" magic, and shake his legs once it does. The more potent the magic, the more you feel like you've got a spider moving in your hand.
Design notes: InVi Base 4, +1 touch, +1 Conc, + 2 Smell. In fact, the spider grants the person it touches the ability to smell magic, and it is that smell that is used for all purposes. But as a cosmetic effect, it insteads manifests as the legs moving.
cool idea 
Well, I'm trying to come up with a lot of "spider gadgets", traps and tricks she may do, since
- She sucks at spont, so she needs to be prepared (which is something I love)
- She is a trapster, and what I want to do with her
While she's talking to vulcanus, but I put this here so as not to derail the other thread:
Oh, by the way. I intend, among other things, to learn how to, and then to summon, earth elementals that will protect this covenant. Which poses the problem of their control.
I can get around it in various ways*, but these are all temporary, and I would prefer it to endure once I'm gone. The solution I've thought up relies on a constant item, able to maintain a Group of fourth magnitude spells. Obviously, this is a powerful enchantment, almost reaching the 8th magnitude**, but I believe that, if several andorra magi work together, we might be able to achieve it under a season as a Lesser item. Obviously, this is not something we'll do right now, but it might be doable in about a year. Would you like to cooperate on such a project?
- Namely by crafting spider gadgets of control. With a ReVi CT of 41, she can craft a Moon duration control spider with 3 charges.
**ReVi gen for lvl +2 mag, +1 touch, +2 sun, +2 group => sustains (lvl - 3 magnitudes), so we need a lvl 35 enchantment. Add +4 for Constant effect.
Vulcanus is completely gobsmacked. "You want me... to serve as your lab assistant?!?!" His mouth opens and closes a few times.
He offers no further response, and this is likely the insult that sends him off back to the forge for the day
( )
Arachné is taken aback by vulcanus reaction. There's no shame in helping someone for the good of all.
More so, as she meant it, it could have been her serving as Vulcanus assistant, should he have proved better at this than her.
And then, she remembers Dimir Taar.
Oh. Damned Verditius, or Valdarians as these call themselves. Them and their stupid pride 
(Thanks! Nice way not only to show the Verditius Hubris, but also the difference between them and Rustic Magi )
For Vulc it's not about collaboration or about aiding others... It's that she just told him, essentially, that three magnitudes to Arachne's lab total is a more valuable use of Vulc's time than anything he could do on his own in the same amount of time. Which is so patently false, it's absurd to even entertain the notion
Inventive Genius makes anyone a great lab assistant; to get Vulc's assistance would require a lot of pre-emptive "now I know your time would be so much better spent crafting your own items, but if you could help me in the lab I just know I could learn so much from you..." He's the craftsman equivalent of that really pretty girl in high school: you CAN get her to go out with you, because she loves it when people tell her how pretty she is
That may have worked for you, but it has never worked for me 
...You're pretty too, Marko.
:LOL:
Ok, I've been thinking to this Ballista project, although with Herbam instead of Terram, and it seems relatively easy, easier than what I would have though.
So, did I miss something?
- Fire at will
ReHe base 3, personnal, mom, +1 flexibility, unlimited uses = lvl 14, to have the hook release, seize and pull the bow. This can be enchanted as a lesser item who's assembled with the rest of the ballista. - Reload
ReHe base 3, +1 touch, mom, +1 complexity, unlimited uses = lvl 15 to take a bolt and put it in its place. I figure a box with bolts. This can, again, be done as a lesser device. - Hovering Balista
ReHe base 3, personnal, +1 size, +2 sun, +4 constant = lvl 14 to have it hover and move slowly. If one doesn't concentrate and gives orders, it just overs in place. Yet another lesser device.
In fact, it might be worthwhile to instead create items that does that to any ballista, such as a wand with 3 rings:
- Ring of Hook Control
ReHe base 3, +2 voice, mom, +1 flexibility, unlimited uses = lvl 20 - Ring of Reload
ReHe base 3, +2 voice, mom, +1 complexity, unlimited uses = lvl 20 - Fly
ReHe base 3, +1 Touch, +1 size, +2 sun, one use per day = lvl 10
If willing to add +3 for a linked trigger to "fire at will", another enchantment can be added for a mental command
InMe base 15, +1 touch, + 2 sun = lvl 30 too hard.