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Posted by: weblife Apr 14 2008, 01:12 PM

Ok, I fell over another thread, the poll about muscle powered transportation.

And it hit me, that it would be insanely awesome to have a hoverboard.

But then all sorts of questions start cropping up...

How will it act if I kick along the ground as a skateboard? - I get some speed, up to 24km/h, from the spell it self, but how should I treat additional power affecting its vector?

How do I measure how much speed I can add by kicking the ground? - Can i?

Posted by: Stahlseele Apr 14 2008, 04:51 PM

in case of the spell levitation, the spell does the moving, nothing else . . not even gravity or centrifugal power, two of the strongest, if not THE strongest powers in the universe can do anything against that . . know why? 'cause it's frigging magic, that's why! . . movement on the other hand . . but why would you make a hover-board from magic? much too expansive both money and karma wise and probably not useable by anybode but yourself . . just turn a small hover-drone into a skateboard, if it has enough lifting power to carry a person . . or utilize the hover-feet from augmentation technology *g*

Posted by: Kerris Apr 14 2008, 08:24 PM

Piece of Sheet metal + Levitate = hoverboard

Seems fair (and awesome) to me

Posted by: Stahlseele Apr 14 2008, 08:56 PM

but . . but . . the technology ;_;
you CAN' T build something hover without technology <.< . .
that's just not right in my eyes >.< hover things need to do the hovering sound and not just silently sit there without any technological means . .

Posted by: O'Donnell Heir Apr 14 2008, 11:04 PM

Erm.. I think calling gravity the strongest power in the universe is kind of...off? Magnetism can certainly "defy" gravity fairly easily, and we do it ourselves just by walking upright, certainly no magic there, eh?

Personally I like the idea of a VTOL type hover board, though it may be particularly noisy and inefficient.

Posted by: Cabral Apr 14 2008, 11:43 PM

You only list one Force. Centrifugal force is not a force and is the misinterpretation of another effect, inertia. Inertia is the tendency for a body in motion to remain in motion without outside forces (ie, friction) acting upon it. When you turn, your inertia causes you to keep moving forward, but because of the turn, it feels like you are being pulled away from your turning point.

Posted by: Malicant Apr 15 2008, 08:03 AM

Last time I checked magnetism did not bend time and space, so my money goes to gravity. Or maybe we should ask gravities granddad. "Hello Mr Black Hole, what do you think, who's the strongest force in the universe" Hm, guess he can't hear us, because gravity made the universe stop around Mr Black Hole.

A hoverboard should be based on the microskimmer drone. *vrooooooom*

Posted by: Muspellsheimr Apr 15 2008, 08:23 AM

Gravity is the weakest of the four forces. Second is electromagnetism, followed by weak nuclear, and finally strong nuclear being the strongest force known. Seriously, this is very basic physics. Gravity is a very weak force (at least in comparison to the other three).

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_forces

Posted by: Malicant Apr 15 2008, 08:41 AM

To this I only say 1) Wikipedia and 2) Black Hole.

Seriously, this was never about physics. Also, you use the weakness thingy a little out of context.

Posted by: weblife Apr 15 2008, 08:43 AM

So, no suggestions as to adding speed to levitation?

I guess there is Movement power, with the added benefit that, due to magic, there are not increasing trouble with maneuvering.

So if I use Levitate on an object and then start tugging it, I can't move it? - But this is in direct conflict with the rules regarding using Levitate on a person. They get to roll strength+body vs. Forcex2 don't they?

That implies being able to move the object levitated in another direction, by applying enough force. In that case, applying force in the same direction should add the powers.

Example: Motorcycle jumping between skyscrapers at 100 km/h (before movement power).

The rider casts levitate on his bike, since its kinda risky business to do this without it... And since he is willing the bike in the direction he wants, but not letting it lose traction (while on the roofs), the power of the levitation spell should help the bike in acceleration and jumping length. Beyond the minimum speed still maintained by the levitate spell when the bike loses the rest of its own momentum.

And again, if I want to fly along with Levitate, but start taking bullets, I want to drop to the ground at near falling speeds, and then stop the fall using levitate. - But since force CAN affect levitate, in this case I would be wise to allow a safe distance to decelerate again or I'd hit the ground.

So the power of Levitate can probably be figured in newton, since we are given a maximum weight and speed to work with.

Of course this is unlikely to be relevant in most campaigns...

Posted by: O'Donnell Heir Apr 15 2008, 04:55 PM

It's weak comparatively. For the amount of mass needed to hold us to the ground, a magnet the size of a finger nail or smaller can easy defy it. For the amount of mass that's required to make a black hole, yeah, you'd expect it to do something. Magnetism, however, doesn't exist in that great a concentration (for what we know). If it did, it would have it's own gravity, but surprise, based on the charge of the magnet it might be more powerful than gravity in pulling ferrous metals inwards or in shooting them outwards (or both, depending on what pole you're near). We just happen to know more about gravity on a large scale than we necessarily do about magnetism (mainly because it's the great conundrum of physics and black holes).

Back on topic however, It depends on how you want to make the board. If you want to use magic, expect to be casting every time you jump on it. I'd add a seat to it, because you might want to rest off any stun damage. Levitation provides it's own movement, so you wouldn't even need new rules for it. For all it matters you could be sitting on a levitating lazyboy recliner or couch. Foot kicks would probably just be for style point.

If you're trying to do a mundane version, look at either VTOL or VSTOL just for some ideas as to how it's kept afloat.

Posted by: Tarantula Apr 15 2008, 06:53 PM

You're incorrect in using your link to state that magnetism is stronger than gravity. That link describes electromagnetism. To quote the page, "This phenomenon includes the electrostatic force, acting between charges at rest, and the combined effect of electric and magnetic forces acting between charges moving relative to each other." It goes on to describe radio and light as part of it. So, you are comparing a rather LARGE spectrum against gravity, not just specifically magnetism.