Float

(See also: Float)

A recipient of this spell becomes more buoyant in water. The creature floats straight up to the surface like a cork, at a rate of 10 feet per level of the caster per round, carrying up to 10 pounds of "baggage" per level of the caster. Air-breathing creatures benefiting from this spell are safe from drowning unless they are prevented from rising to the surface. At roughly 50 feet per round, the ascent is swift, but the creature stops if it encounters some obstacle. A floating creature can move around as it normally would; the spell does not interfere with normal swimming or movement, even if the recipient is diving or swimming downward. However, an individual who stops swimming floats toward the surface. There are no ill effects of this rapid rise, regardless of the original depth. The float spell does not imbue the creature with the swimming proficiency, but it keeps an air-breathing creature on the surface, where breathing is possible, at least until the spell wears off.

A caster touching an object instead of a creature can successfully float a weight of up to 10 pounds per experience level. (This is harder than lifting a creature that in theory is already somewhat buoyant.) For example, an experienced wizard might use float to raise a treasure chest from the sea floor.

The material component of float is a bit of cork. The wizard bites down hard on it when casting the spell.

Notes: Common in Arabian settings; very rare elsewhere.