The Spell Featherlight

[darthauthor]

The Spell Featherlight from page 208 of the Rifts Ulitmate Edition.


Question #1:
The spell has a duration of 10 minutes per level.
So does it apply as one object per casting or can one pick up and put down objects over the whole duration of the spell?

Question #2:
Can you cast it upon a vehicle you are driving or riding in?
The intent is to make it weigh less for the purposes of speed and saving gasoline.
A 6th level mage casting this spell could take off 1,200 lbs (544 Kilograms) of weigh rideing shotgun on a truck for 60 minutes.
I can imagine it making a difference while going over a dangerous bridge.
A car or motorcycle making a ram jump over something; taking off 100s of pounds makes a difference.
Likewise, driving a snow-mobile over an ice covered lake so it weighs no more than you body weight.

Question #3:
Just to be sure, corpses are not-living creatures, so one could carry 100s of pounds of a dead Xiticix with them?

Question #4:
IF you used the spell to pick up a boulder and then put it down on top of them while they slept or were knocked out, would it pin or cursh them?

Question #5:
IF a mage cast the spell "Superhuman Strength" then this spell of "Featherlight" and someone (like a crazy) were to climb on top of a boulder, could the mage hurl the boulder with the Crazy on top riding it the hundreds of feat it would fly before it harmlessly landed?

[ShadowLogan]

Q1:
The text indicates that it is limited to 1 item per casting (under Limitations paragraph).

Q2:
Per Text "provided the spell caster can affect the weight of the entire object - half an object [...] can NOT be made Featherlight, it must be the entire thing."

Which would mean the Robot/Vehicle's weight must fall within the 200lbs per level or it won't work. So to use your example, lets say we have a 2023 Ford F-150 pickup truck model and it weighs 5,000lbs (there is a range of weights and I don't know if an actual model comes in at this weight), the mage casting Featherlight would have to alter all 5,000lbs of weight or it won't work (FYI they would need to be Level 25, unless on Ley Line or Nexus boost).

Now a TW could get around this limitation IMHO via a TW Device, but not via spell casting.

Q3:
Yes that is possible, though each dead Xiticix will require its own casting of the spell (see Q1)

Q4:
During the time the spell is active it would not pin/crush them. That is possible when the spell wears off (it can't be canceled is how I read the text) that such a boulder could pin/crush depending on weight of the boulder and PS of the subject.

Q5:
A SN PS of 30 means they can carry x50 their PS (so 1,500lbs). They follow the rules for throwing heavy items per RAW (pg286 RUE) found under the WP Targeting skill (RUE pg328) which means 1/2 their carry capacity a distance of 5ft per PS point (15x5=75ft). Granted WP Targeting doesn't consider tossing another person, but objects.

Technically Featherlight on the boulder would not be required as a SN PS of 30 could toss a person.

[darthauthor]

Good points.

You left off the situation of a motorcycle doing jumps and such while under the influence of the Featherlight spell.

Average motorcycle weighs 600 pounds.

[ShadowLogan]

I think the motorcycle jump idea is going to be complicated. While you reduced the weight of the bike to practically nothing, it also means that it will be a lot easier to get blown around/off course. It should also be noted that the weight of the bike might be an asset when it comes to jumping (if you can throw a heavier ball farther than a lighter ball is anything to go by).