How to detain an Eladrin Rogue? ie, teleporting

[katahn]

The eladrin teleport is not "teleport with a 5 minute recharge", it is "teleport then you can't teleport again until you take a short rest". A short rest is not "walking around trying to avoid the guards", it is "sitting quietly, not moving, not acting, and resting."

So big deal, the eladrin can teleport up to 25ft in line of sight. He can do it once and then has to quickly find a spot where he can rest for at least five minutes or else he can't do it again.

Basically... breaking out of a jail is one long encounter. The fey step power will potentially make one part of it easier, but it will hardly trivialize it in all but the most, well, trivial of circumstances.

 

[pawsplay]

Basically... breaking out of a jail is one long encounter. The fey step power will potentially make one part of it easier, but it will hardly trivialize it in all but the most, well, trivial of circumstances.

Hopefully, the local magistrate is comfortable conducting the trial with the eladrin not present in the court room.

 

[Kordeth]

Hopefully, the local magistrate is comfortable conducting the trial with the eladrin not present in the court room.

That's where manacles and a hood come in handy.

Eladrin are exactly hard enough to capture and detain that breaking one out of jail requires a lot of luck, panache, or a cunning plan. And that, IMHO, is exactly as it should be.

 

[pawsplay]

That's where manacles and a hood come in handy.

A hood is notoriously easy to circumvent. Just as Uri Geller and James Randi.

 

[Jorunkun]

I wouldn't allow teleportation if the subject is manacled or chained to a wall. Likewise, LOS-rules nonwithstanding, I wouldn't allow teleportation through, say, a keyhole either. The way I envision it, the fey step teleportation is more like accelerated "swoosh"-style movement, as seen in superhero comicbooks. I'd let a teleporter cross a chasm though.

 

[robertliguori]

Huh. Can't an eladrin teleport 0 squares, since they maintain line of sight to themselves? Even blinded, no effect can obscure a square's line of sight to itself, based on the way the sighting lines from corners are drawn. So, if you try the blindfold deal, he can just teleport into his own square (leaving behind the hood and manacles, then run like hell. It's not an ideal strategy, of course, and you can circumvent it with a box, but holding Eladrin captive is more tricksy than just visual tricks.

 

[Danip]

A quick and cheap solution...the village well.

Not a long term solution, but good enough until a trial can be convened. Incarceration as punishment probably isnt practical unless you have a serious prison/dungeon made with Eladrin in mind.

 

[Green Knight]

Personally, I like the "Eladrin in the Iron Mask" idea. Something like THIS, except there are no eye holes, and the mouth hole may be a bit bigger in case you need to forcefeed the prisoner. That's a pretty lowtech solution, as any town blacksmith can make something like that, and much better then a simple hood or a blindfold, as the prisoner won't be able to remove it. I imagine prisons in even the smallest towns have a few of those lying around in case of Eladrin criminals.

 

[Journeymanmage]

Ah, well. That would be pretty good. It still seems pretty likely that the eladron could eventually put a small hole somewhere in the cell.

... and the guards never notice the Eladrin scratching and scraping away at 1'-2' thick stone walls or 2" thick oak doors with his fingers ...

If you want to use lots of magic to keep the Eladrin in place go ahead. But as has been said before, simple methods are available.

Windowless room or 30' deep pits ... add in shackles and a hood/blindfold. Place a heavy tarp outside of the door to block "line of site" to the hall. In the hall are extra guards and they are not there to make sure your rest is peaceful.

The Eladrin is not going anywhere ... want to add more security, have a guard or 2 keep watch, "if you try to remove the hood (which we have tested for effectiveness) Ted and I will club ya till you stop moving (and a bit more), and we don't have the keys to let you out."

Want to teleport into an open hallway / or courtyard in front of two or three guards "with held action: shoot the bugger if he teleports" ... go for it.

Oh, you want to teleport away while being escorted to the trial? While shackled/hooded? ... 2 min delay on bringing the Eladrin to the judge. Judge: "why is the defendant full of arrows?" Jailer: "Tried to escape". Judge: "ah, guilty it is then."

Any town that has had to deal with Eladrin or anything that can teleport 10 to 30 feet, is going to have figured out the basics on keeping him around.

If the DM wants the Eladrin (PC/NPC) to have a chance, he'll get one. The level of difficulty depends on 1. how creative your escape plan will be ... and 2. How the escape effects the story-line.

 

[chaotix42]

Huh. Can't an eladrin teleport 0 squares, since they maintain line of sight to themselves? Even blinded, no effect can obscure a square's line of sight to itself, based on the way the sighting lines from corners are drawn. So, if you try the blindfold deal, he can just teleport into his own square (leaving behind the hood and manacles, then run like hell. It's not an ideal strategy, of course, and you can circumvent it with a box, but holding Eladrin captive is more tricksy than just visual tricks.

Well, when you teleport you bring along what you're wearing and carrying. I think that blindfolds and shackles count too.

Unless of course you let eladrins teleport out of their clothes.