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I was trying to make myself Iron Man in D&D 5e. I selected the Armorer Artificer subclass and got Infiltrator armor for the lightning launchers. Now, I need a way to fly and I can't find a way to get sustained flight without wings. Any ideas?

Edit: I am looking for a way to have permanent flight without having/using wings.

decduck3
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2 Answers2

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Your Artificer can fly without (large) wings at level 10

I don't know of any way for an artificer to gain sustained flight without any wings at all, but if you're willing to accept some small wings on your feet, then at 10th level you can select Replicate Winged Boots as one of your infusions. These don't give you permanent flight, but they do give you 4 hours of flight per day, which is probably as much flight time as you're likely to need during an average day of adventuring. It's not exactly zipping around the sky at Mach 1, but it's better than nothing.

Of course, if you really want no wings, even a moderately lenient DM will probably let you "re-flavor" the boots however you like, e.g. as antigravity hover boots, rocket boots, etc. instead of boots with literal wings on the heels, as long as they produce the same effect. The class description of the Artificer even encourages such embellishment.

Ryan C. Thompson
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    Olymp called, Hermes wants his boots and cap back. – Trish Aug 09 '21 at 09:09
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    When you've flown for 3 hrs 59 minutes: "Seven percent power." "Just leave it on the screen, stop telling me!" – Darth Pseudonym Aug 09 '21 at 13:27
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    Nothing requires winged boots to have wings. DnD names are often figurative or misleading. Chill touch is ranged and doesn't do cold damage. Sneak attack can be done in plain view, etc. There's certainly no balance reason that winged boots would absolutely require wings. – BillThePlatypus Aug 09 '21 at 14:16
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    One level earlier the character could use the fly spell...but that only grants 10 minutes flight. – Lio Elbammalf Aug 09 '21 at 15:02
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    @LioElbammalf Thematically, that could be the character's first prototype flight system, which they later develop into the boots, which work longer and are more stable (no concentration required). – Ryan C. Thompson Aug 09 '21 at 15:10
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    @DarthPseudonym 1 minute is considerably less than 7% of 4 hours—it’s more like 0.4%. 7% power would be 16 minutes and 48 seconds, or perhaps more usefully, 168 rounds. – KRyan Aug 09 '21 at 19:43
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    @KRyan It's a quote from the first Iron Man movie, where power doesn't mean 'percentage of flight duration remaining', but he was on the very edge of having not enough power to stay in the air. It's a thematic reference, not a math problem. – Darth Pseudonym Aug 09 '21 at 20:08
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    @DarthPseudonym I know the reference; the math was intended to be a humorously-similar-in-tone to the initial statement. Clearly didn’t work. (But it really wouldn’t have been difficult to say “3 hrs 43 minutes 12 seconds” which, IMO, would have worked better—the whole point of the joke is the unnecessary specificity of the automated system and Stark’s frustration with it.) – KRyan Aug 09 '21 at 20:23
  • @KRyan Well, that's pi in your face. You know math? e is never funny. – Yakk Aug 10 '21 at 14:08
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    The rules for artificers specifically encourage reskinning effects toward a theme. Make the winged boots into, repulsor boots, and you're there. Importantly, they still don't do anything winged boots can't do (no rocket kicks). – Charlie Bamford Aug 12 '21 at 23:17
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Following the written rules for crafting magical items, you can imbue one of your pieces of armor with the spell Fly, or some variant (e.g. allow it to be cast multiple times a day). Note, however, that this will be extremely time-consuming, incredibly difficult, and excessively expensive. A piece of armor that provides magical protection, AC, and lets you cast Fly even once per day would be either Very Rare or Legendary (or Wondrous, depending) in my opinion.

For the specific requirements on that, I'd refer you to this excellent answer by David Coffron covering the exact requirements for crafting a new magical item. To summarize the time and money costs of creating enchanted items based on the Dungeon Master's Guide:

Rarity Cost Minimum Level
Common 100 gp 3
Uncommon 500 gp 3
Rare 5,000 gp 6
Very Rare 50,000 gp 11
Legendary 500,000 gp 17

and Xanathar's Guide to Everything:

Rarity Challenge Rating Time Cost
Common 1 - 3 1 work week 50 gp
Uncommon 4 - 8 2 work weeks 200 gp
Rare 9 - 12 10 work weeks 2,000 gp
Very Rare 13 - 18 25 work weeks 20,000 gp
Legendary 19+ 50 work weeks 100,000 gp

As you can see, regardless of the system, we're talking a cost of around a year of downtime effort, somewhere between 100,000 to 500,000 gold, and a very high level/DC for any hope at success.

Given the difficulty, this is probably not the easiest or quickest solution, but would be a very effective and reliable one, given enough time... and certainly a reasonable option given the value of what it is you are trying to create. Talk to DM about this and see if you can find a reasonable cost table you can both agree upon.

TylerH
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