It's a simple enough little spell. Wizards tend to be frail and small of stature, always in need of someone or something to carry the heavy things for them. So that's what they use it for. But it can be much more than that. It can be an extension of your very self, and a powerful one at that... if you know how to use it.

Tenser's Floating Disk Evocation [Force] Level: Sor/Wiz 1 Components: V, S, M Casting time: 1 standard action Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Effect: 3-ft.-diameter disk of force Duration: 1 hour/level Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No You create a slightly concave, circular plane of force that follows you about and carries loads for you. The disk is 3 feet in diameter and 1 inch deep at its center. It can hold 100 pounds of weight per caster level. (If used to transport a liquid, its capacity is 2 gallons.) The disk floats approximately 3 feet above the ground at all times and remains level. It floats along horizontally within spell range and will accompany you at a rate of no more than your normal speed each round. If not otherwise directed, it maintains a constant interval of 5 feet between itself and you. The disk winks out of existence when the spell duration expires. The disk also winks out if you move beyond range or try to take the disk more than 3 feet away from the surface beneath it. When the disk winks out, whatever it was supporting falls to the surface beneath it.

Spoiler: The Rules of the Disk

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1. "Ground" is a broad term in D&D, often used interchangably with "floor" and "surface". "Ground" can be made out of of anything, as the elemental plane of fire has "ground" made of compressed plates of ever-shifting flame, and DMG talks about "floors" made out of all kinds of materials (even walls of force). Judging by the "Standing in Tight Quarters" rule from page 30 of the DMG, the rules of lying prone, falling, and the descriptions of different form of ground for the purposes of the track skill, any surface that a creature can fight on, fall onto, lie prone on and/or leave tracks on on qualifies as "ground" for that creature.

Bottomline: Defining "Ground" as anything other than "a given solid horizontal surface" results in a myriad of inconsistencies across different rule-sets.



2. The extent to which a floating disk can be controlled based on the "otherwise directed" clause has been the topic of much debate. For the purposes of this mini-guide, I will be taking the conservative stance that the disk is straight up incapable of moving in any direction unless the DoT is moving in that direction, being otherwise limited to be stationary. "Maintain relative distance" and "Stay still" are basically the two commands it can execute .



3. Conversely, the disk is impervious to being moved by anyone or anything baring the DoT's directions or movement, as it is explicitly stated to stay 3 ft off the ground and capable of maintaining a constant distance to the caster. The world's strongest ogre would at best sink into the ground trying to lift it and not even a commoner-railgun type effect could move it sideways.



4. The disk's ability to overcome obstacles is not defined and must thusly be assumed to be minimal at best. The Disk could be expected to maneuver around a corner or tree as part of its ability to "follow/accompany", but it can not exert any physical force on external things, just as the disk itself can't be moved by external force. In short, the Disk is not a battering ram and will not break down any straight barrier hindering it from accompanying the DoT. Unless specifically told by the DoT, the disk will under no circumstances attempt any form of movement that it is not stated to be capable of performing, especially if that activity would cause it to "wink" out.



5. When the disk moves, it does so instantaneously, with no delay to its movement or variability to the horizontal distance between it and the caster at any point in time. It is an active spell effect, it doesn't care about initiative.



6. The disk is an Evocation (Force) effect, meaning it is not strictly defined as an object, but it does extend into the etheral plane and is immune to all damage. The only way to "destroy" it is via the use of specialized magic (e.g. dispelling/disjunction/forceward), or by meeting one the conditions that are stated to cause it to "wink out" (e.g. overburdening).