An interesting situation came up in my last session. Here I had the gamers all trapped in an elevator (Arcology - Brainscan) where the roof cables were in immanent danger of being severed at the 176th floor. The runners the blew a hole in the bottom, cast a barrier spell underneath and let the elevator fall onto the barrier. Now this is a unique way of using barrier (rather than say levitate), and I am curious if anyone ever figured out exactly how much can a barrier support before it gives way? It's not a matter of falling rules (for it was less than a meter), and there are no rules on this.

My ruling on the spot was that it held for JUST LONG ENOUGH for them to get to a floor exit, then it collapsed. So the issue isn't pressing. Can anyone tell me what rules they used (or if there is canon, lemme know!)?

Thanks in advance.

We had a similar situation come up at a con game a few years back. The GM at the time compared the spell barriers rating versus items on the barrier table to determine the relative strength of the spell barrier. Then he made a judgment call as to how much weight an abject made out of that material could hold.

At one point the immobility of the barrier came under question, but it was ruled that it would disperse before it moved e.g. truck vs. barrier.

All of this seemed to please the rules lawyers at the table.

Catching a falling person with a barrier was also discussed, but no rulings were made as it didn't come to play during that game. The general consensus was that you could catch a falling person with a barrier. The person would take falling damage, and the barrier would have to be strong enough to stop the person falling. It was also mentioned that multiple weak barriers might be used to slow then stop a falling person.

Fair enough - then I guess the next question is how much can various barriers hold before collapsing?

Maybe that can help you.. According to official FAQ...

Heh - that's perfect, thanks!