Spell: Flying Broom
Transmutation
Level: Witch 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: touch
Effect: self and broom touched
Duration: 10 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: yes (harmless)
So long as the witch is seated on his broom and uses one hand to control it, he can fly at a speed of 60 feet. Three factors reduce that speed by 20: (1) If he wears medium or heavy armor, or (2) if he carries a medium or heavy load, or (3) if he carries a creature smaller than him as a passenger. If one of those conditions applies, the speed is reduced to 40; if two apply, to 20. The speed is also reduced by two steps (to 20) if a passenger is the same size as the witch. (If the speed is reduced to 0, the broom cannot move, but will float in midair, and could conceivably be towed.) The witch's spirit familiar does not count as a passenger. The broom can ascend at half speed and descend at double speed, and its maneuverability is good, or average if the speed is reduced to 40, or poor if reduced to 20. Using a fly spell requires only as much concentration as walking, so the subject can attack or cast spells normally, but only one hand is free to be used for such purposes. A witch on a broom spell can charge but not run. The witch gains a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to 1/2 your caster level.
Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The broom floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends safely in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.
The spell only lasts for so long as the witch remains on the broom. The witch (and passengers) can get on or off the broom as a swift action. If the witch gets off the broom, it will float alongside the witch for one minute, after which the spell ends. The witch and passengers cannot normally be forced to get off the broom (they are not subject to being knocked off in the ways that a rider can be knocked off a mount).
