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Well, I figure eventually I will either exhaust all of my thoughts about this spell or my mind will just stop wondering about it. But not yet. So, on we press.

There are two schools of thought regarding levitation. The first is you are levitated and you remain fixed on that Z axis. You cannot pull yourself forward, push yourself back, or have some outside force to that for you. It's like you're in the grasp of an invisible fist holding you in that place. The other is as if you are being lifted on a platform, and you can move around forward or back or even spin. So, I'll be taking both of these into account with my questions.

1. What sort of surface is necessary to levitate? Can you levitate above water? Could you levitate out of water? I think we had agreed that the surface from which you're levitating needs to be able to hold you standing on it. So, there is some opposite if not equal force being pushed down. Of course, this is magic so Newtonian physics need not apply. But you could levitate from the deck of a ship, right?

2. Do you levitate perpendicular to the surface, or just in the opposite direction of the gravitational pull of the ground/planet?

3. If you levitate from the surface of moving object, like the ship in #1, do you remain anchored to the deck of the ship, and thus maintain the linear movement of the ship as it travels? So you wouldn't stay in the air as the ship moves under you and then fall when it passed from underneath you. If you're in that fixed position relative to the boat, that does raise another question. If you can be moved laterally, would wind push you around like a balloon with an invisible string? Could you levitate from the crowsnest instead of the deck, in order to gain a higher vantage? How large of a surface would you need to leviate from? Would you bob and bounce in your position in the air as the fixed position below you does the same? What about something smaller like a flat wagon, or even horse back?

4. For further complications what if you're on the back of a large flying creature or someone's magic carpet or fly spell? Would your altitude change as the flying surface does? Are you whipped along with them, just x feet above them? If you're locked into place does that drag you create slow down the flyer? Or would it blow you flat like the balloon? What if the flying thing rolls? Do you remaing perpendiclar to the gravitational pull, or the flying surface?

5. Finally, the stupidest question. If you are levitating from the nearest stable surface, could you climb giant steps? Say each step was 30ft high. Could you levitate to one step, then climb onto it, walk to the next riser, and levitate again? Or would it require a second use of the power and thus more PPE or ISP?

6. Wait, an even stupider one. Let's assume you have a person who can levitate and who has telekinesis (maybe Super TK), and you have two table tops. Could you levitate to your max height, and use the TK to bring the table tops with you. Then, you hold the table top in mid-air and use that as the new suface for levitation. Then you repply levitation, and use the 2nd table top as your platform. You then bring the first table top up and raise it above your head. Then you levitate up to that, daisy chaining your way up until you run out of oxygen or PPE/ISP. This might require multiple people.

-Vek
"I really want someone to say #6 is viable."

1. Solid enough to hold your weight normally.
2. Opposite direction to gravity
3. No, yes, correct, you fall, yes wind pushes you, yes but a crowsnest is usually too unstable to levitate from as it's likely to move out from under you. The radius of the outermost part of your main body mass when levitated. Bob and bounce yes, horse back not so much but wagon definitely.
5. I believe it lasts 10 melees, so if you are within the time limit no extra casting necessary.
6. I play telekinesis that it can't be the base to hold you up, so you can't telekinetically fly by moving your pants around, so no to this to, as tk is still the base. (Someone else could do it with tk though as long as nobody used any part of the chain for a base for their tk). In this 2 people using telekinesis can fly by manipulating the others ride. I'd likely add both the weights together though for the weight limit.

I could see a (minor)Hero NPC or side-character NPC or minor Villein NPC in the HU game doing this as a gimmick to 'fly'.

However, for player characters and main opponents I agree woth kiralon.

Levitation only works in up and down over a fixed point on ground, water or vessel below the victim. The person isn't on a table top and has no control. Unless they are using another outside force (grabbing a robe or cliff wall, wings, telekinesis etc...). They are just suspended in air without control. Think Charlie in the Chocolate Factory during the bubble scene.

If a player/person is on a vessel, like a ship, levitation would move with the ship or vehicle. If you wanted to suspend them separate from the ships movement and have them hover over the point under the ship on the water, I would think that would be reasonable for a caster to accomplish. With the results is the player stays in 1 location and the ship moves from under them. Smaller things like flying carpets, broomsticks, wagons etc... I wouldn't think you could levitate over.

There is no push force in the opposite direction.

Things you could accomplish:
- Levitate someone and tether a rope to them and drag them through the air.
- Use as a means to stop a fall
- Can be used to help transport heavy person or object
- Scaling walls (fast climbing), getting to a high scouting or vantage point
- Subdue most enemies (victims can only move their limbs about). Ground walking, non-spellcasters or psionics users are powerless against spell.
- Great for setting up a trap (200lbs+ object) can create some serious blunt force damage dropping on those under the weight
- Avoiding melee combat. Great for spell casters or ranged weapon users.
- Launching ranged attacks from high ground
- Moving object or person from hidden behind cover. Setting off trap/ward (levitating the golden idol in Indian Jones movie from a safe distance).

I don't think levitate is a great means for stopping a fall of a decent distance, better than just hitting the ground if that's your only option but wouldn't be my pick to do so. Stopping 180ft above the ground with no give would hurt.
Is there give?, how much depends on how much levitate strength you use? Can levitate pancake you with a dead stop from a high drop?
Fly like an eagle is a much better choice.

IMHO (my initial thoughts):

1.Something that is holding your normal weight.
2. Gravity
3. Nope - ship moves on (if it was a flying ship you'd better be able to float down somehow or your screwed).
4. Nope (see #3)
5. No. You levitate within reach, grab on, cancel spell and you can now move onto the step. Walk up to the next step and recast. Repeat.
6. If you have enough PPE to TK lift the table and the table can therefore hold your weight (see #1) then yes you could cast levitate from that. So with telekinesis a low weight person (gnome etc.) can use TK to make a flying carpet, table etc. and ride it (akin to the fly spell). But I don't have TK being a very controlled movement so I might house rule some control roles for anything too dexterous).