Babel
First Post
I've been playing D&D in its various iterations for a while, and excessive use of two spells in particular - raise dead (etc.) and teleport (etc.) - have created no end of havoc for DMs and players alike. There've been a few threads on this very topic recently, but since I'm too bone idle to actually read through them here are a few in-game solutions I've encountered/used to fix the teleport problem (because quite frankly, any DM who can't take care of raise dead abuse in-game with, say, a quick visit from Death itself or possessing demons or some other rat bastard horror should hang up his, her or it's dice bag). Oh, and standard player-friendly disclaimer: these aren't designed to turn teleport into a last-ditch insane death-ride to be used only when the dragon has already bitten off one of your arms, but to make that PC wizard think twice before nipping back to town for a hearty lunch inbetween dungeon levels. And so, without further ado...
The Doom/Nightcrawler Solution: Teleport touches briefly on a very, very, very unpleasant alternate dimension/plane/whatever when transporting persons from A to B. The natives of this hellish realm can't do anything to occasional travellers, but those who breach the fabric of their reality too often can be tracked/attacked/pulled bodily into the plane at an inconvenient moment. Or maybe each teleport weakens the boundaries between the PCs' world and the grim Elsewhere, allowing the depraved inhabitants to bring unearthly horror to hapless innocents...
The 'This Land is My Land' Solution: Teleport and its kin actually move travellers through an object or space considered sacred or the exclusive property of an extraplanar race. The odd blip here and there doesn't bother them, but when a person makes a habit of using their god's corpse as a doorway or streaking through astral space like a bottle rocket, well, then it might be time to pay that person a visit and demand a few reparations.
The 'Nice Wand You Got There, Shame If Something Were to Happen To It' Solution: Teleporting in a particular area (the kingdom in which the campaign is set, say) is monitored and controlled by a cabal of mystics who don't take kindly to arrogant spell-jockeys whizzing through the stratosphere. Perhaps they're anxious about possible repercussions against all mages from some powerful force, or have something against the unrestrained use of powerful magic, or maybe they're just looking to corner a monopoly on transportation spells. Whatever their reasoning is, they've got the mojo to make sure people who consistently make trouble get slapped down, hard.
The 'I Can Feel Myself Drifting Away' Solution: It's no great secret among mages that those who teleport too often are...changed by their frequent trips through Elsewhere. They become distant, wan, maybe even spiritually and physically twisted by their constant distortion of space and time. Some have reputedly faded away altogether, or composed some final mad spell to spread their consciousness throughout the entirety of existence at once. Whatever happens to these lost souls, it tends to be distinctly unpleasant, and thus all sensible wonder-workers avoid uncessary teleporting like the plague.
The Propylon Chamber Solution (props to Morrowind for this one): Teleporting is reliant on interactions between a few isolated arcane devices which shunt the caster from place to place. Each of these artifacts (which provide coverage for different areas) requires a magical key to use, which can only be obtained from the person or persons who control them - and who are very particular about who they provide access to...
There you go, enjoy - though I'm certain there are thousands of infinitely better suggestions floating around. Still, any one of these should give that port-happy wizard pause, at least until he hits epic level.
The Doom/Nightcrawler Solution: Teleport touches briefly on a very, very, very unpleasant alternate dimension/plane/whatever when transporting persons from A to B. The natives of this hellish realm can't do anything to occasional travellers, but those who breach the fabric of their reality too often can be tracked/attacked/pulled bodily into the plane at an inconvenient moment. Or maybe each teleport weakens the boundaries between the PCs' world and the grim Elsewhere, allowing the depraved inhabitants to bring unearthly horror to hapless innocents...
The 'This Land is My Land' Solution: Teleport and its kin actually move travellers through an object or space considered sacred or the exclusive property of an extraplanar race. The odd blip here and there doesn't bother them, but when a person makes a habit of using their god's corpse as a doorway or streaking through astral space like a bottle rocket, well, then it might be time to pay that person a visit and demand a few reparations.
The 'Nice Wand You Got There, Shame If Something Were to Happen To It' Solution: Teleporting in a particular area (the kingdom in which the campaign is set, say) is monitored and controlled by a cabal of mystics who don't take kindly to arrogant spell-jockeys whizzing through the stratosphere. Perhaps they're anxious about possible repercussions against all mages from some powerful force, or have something against the unrestrained use of powerful magic, or maybe they're just looking to corner a monopoly on transportation spells. Whatever their reasoning is, they've got the mojo to make sure people who consistently make trouble get slapped down, hard.
The 'I Can Feel Myself Drifting Away' Solution: It's no great secret among mages that those who teleport too often are...changed by their frequent trips through Elsewhere. They become distant, wan, maybe even spiritually and physically twisted by their constant distortion of space and time. Some have reputedly faded away altogether, or composed some final mad spell to spread their consciousness throughout the entirety of existence at once. Whatever happens to these lost souls, it tends to be distinctly unpleasant, and thus all sensible wonder-workers avoid uncessary teleporting like the plague.
The Propylon Chamber Solution (props to Morrowind for this one): Teleporting is reliant on interactions between a few isolated arcane devices which shunt the caster from place to place. Each of these artifacts (which provide coverage for different areas) requires a magical key to use, which can only be obtained from the person or persons who control them - and who are very particular about who they provide access to...
There you go, enjoy - though I'm certain there are thousands of infinitely better suggestions floating around. Still, any one of these should give that port-happy wizard pause, at least until he hits epic level.
