When I lose concentration while levitating, do I fall?

Question

The "concentration" description says:

Some spells require you to maintain concentration in order to keep their magic active. If you lose concentration, such a spell ends.

The levitate spell description says:

When the spell ends the target floats gently to the ground if it is still aloft.

Question: When I lose concentration while levitating with levitate, do I fall or do I float to the ground?

Magic is not active anymore because I lost concentration, so there should be no magic to bring me down gently. I think I should fall and the levitate spell description really means "at the end of the duration of the spell you float down"

Help me please Thanks

Answer 1

As it is already pointed out in the question, according to RAW it does not matter how the spell ends, the target floats down. As the DM you are free to rule otherwise, but keep in mind, that:

• You should inform your players of this beforehand, so that there is no misunderstanding about the workings of the spell.
• You can end concentration anytime (PHB 203). The effect is worded that way partially to prevent the caster from levitating something up and then damaging it by letting it fall. Dealing damage that way is restricted to higher level spells (like telekinesis).

Answer 2

No, you float gently down

The spell direction is clear in that when the duration is over (either by fully completing the maximum time or if it ends earlier), you will float gently down.

This is comparable to Haste with it's resulting lethargy occurring at the end of the spell, whether by time or loss of concentration.

Answer 3

When the spell ends, there is no magic anymore either, and yet the subject floats gently to the ground. To me it seems pretty clear.

Answer 4

The wording is clear enough - no matter how the spell ends, the target floats down gently.

If you have issues with the "not active magic", you can imagine that levitation as a spell requires the caster to channel an overhead of magic at all the times (based on its weight and height, however magic and magic energy works), which is then used to float the target down eventually, should the caster be still awake/alive or not.

Answer 5

According to how that spell is written, I'd argue, that the cast of Levitate includes a hidden casting of Featherfall. Physics alone won't let you float gently down. Levitate itself has ended, so it cannot float you gently down => Something else must be in effect.

While Levitate is active, it overwrites the effects of Featherfall. As soon as Levitate ends (either by timeout, by choice, or by interrupted concentration) the Featherfall effect comes to the front and saves the day.

As an addendum to your scope of the question:

Because of this I'd rule as a DM (if there is no other contradicting ruling that I don't know of), that the end of Levitate because of a Dispel Magic on the levitated target would let the target experience the !FUN! of gravity, since the target is now back in the grasp of physics.