Please critique this spell - Teleport Other

Angel Tarragon · Sep 16, 2004

Teleport Other
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Short (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: Two creatures per five caster levels
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell functions like Greater Teleport, except that you teleport the target creature(s) to a location of your choosing that you know very well. The location you choose to teleport the target creature(s) to must be a safe, firm location. For example, you can not make the target creature(s) materialize somewhere that would cause harm to them. The material component of the spell is a handful of dirt that must come from the place the caster wishes to tleleport his victims to.

You guys think this is balanced?

Anabstercorian · Sep 16, 2004

No. This spell is not balanced, given that you could force six people to make a Will save or be teleported in to the sun or the bottom of ocean for hundreds of d6's of damage. It would not be balanced at ninth level. As a short-range spell that targetted a single creature, at ninth level, then I think it would be balanced, given that you could not only kill a creature instantly (and prevent the corpse from being recovered for resurrection), you could capture the creature, or teleport them directly in to a permanent Cloudkill/Acid Fog at the bottom of a 200 deep pit with perma-Greased walls so you could steal their equipment, or otherwise kill/strip/dispose your target.

Happy Funball · Sep 16, 2004

Frukathka said:
Baleful Teleport
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: Two creatures per five caster levels
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell functions like Greater Teleport, except that you teleport the target creature(s) to a location of your choosing. If you attempt to teleport creatures to a location that you do not have sufficient information of, the target creature(s) disappears and reappears in the exact same location.
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You guys think this is balanced?

I think it is balanced with the caveat that the end location must be "safe." No volcanos or ocean depths, but prison cells would be fine, I think. It might be a little weak, then, compared to Maze. Maybe. You might want to give some minimal damage on a successful save (like 3d6+caster level) to represent the stress involved.

Angel Tarragon · Sep 16, 2004

Happy Funball said:
I think it is balanced with the caveat that the end location must be "safe." No volcanos or ocean depths, but prison cells would be fine, I think.

That is exactly what I had in mind.

Hawken · Sep 16, 2004

Baleful Teleport

Why is it called Baleful? Why not Teleport Others or Mass Teleport? What is so Baleful about it, aside from the potential to teleport unwilling subjects?

It should also have a Somatic component as well, if not a material component too. A spell like this does a lot more than Teleport, so there should be more to the casting process. That said, casting time should probably be increased as well. Perhaps making it a Move action or 1 round casting time.

Range should probably be Short (25' + 5'/2 levels). At Medium range, this kind of spell would make any wizard the ultimate kidnapper/assassin. It would make evil wizards even more deadly and give a migraine to the DM for the speed at which the PCs could 'zap' bad guys into a watery, fiery or otherwise hideous death (teleporting them straight up 50 miles or so, so that they take maybe 20D6 damage or so burning up on re-entry into the atmosphere, while suffocating from lack of breathable oxygen for however many rounds it takes them to get below 10,000 feet, then a measly 20D6 for falling damage when they hit the ground).

If anyone is going to suffer something like that, they should at least see it coming. Maybe make beams shoot out from the caster as a Ranged Touch attack and if they get hit, then "Bamf!" They're gone! Of course, if you do it that way, then change the saving throw to None.

I agree with Happy Funball that the destination must be safe and a location known very well by the caster.

It may be weaker in some ways than Maze but it also has the potential to be a mass version of Imprisonment (9th level spell), so I think some more work needs to be done on this.