Destroying a Portal ("Elysium Squad" players welcome)

[andargor]

The Planar Handbook has seal portal (Sor/Wiz 6). Dispel magic is required to remove it. A gatecrasher has only one try to break the seal. (This might be the updated version of portal barricade from underdark).

Scramble portal (Sor/Wiz 4) from the Manual of the Planes may achieve the same as blocking a portal, since it changes its destination to somewhere else. Send demons/devils to a good-aligned plane...

Complete Arcane has greater sign of sealing (Sor/Wiz 6), which may help.

If the exact location of the portal is not known, a screen can hide it.

As people have suggested, a disjunction has a chance of destroying a portal, even if it is considered an artifact. Combined with disintegrate or sphere of ultimate destruction (Complete Arcane), you can erase it from existence.

On the offensive end, there's reality maelstrom from Manual of the Planes, which is basically a planar version of a tactical nuclear weapon.

Andargor

 

[Nonlethal Force]

For permanent, the two best things that come to mind are:
1. Miracle/Wish (could be costly, depending).
2. M's Disjunction (if the portal is an artifiact, this is risky).

While the Miracle/Wish had been suggested earlier, I instinctively blew it off, perhaps to my detriment. See, the party is starting off level 4 - and will increase in a few levels before even getting the first chance to destroy one of these evil portals. That pretty much means the party won't be able to cast Miracle/Wish/M's Disjunction. So I shrugged the concept off prematurely. The M's Disjunction got me thinking, though. And it would be the same for Miracle/Wish ... they're all 9th level spells. Using the spellcasting service costs provided in the PHB, though, at a mere 90 gp per caster level we are talking about 90x17 = 1530 gold. Since M's Disjunction doesn't involve a great many expensive spell components ... that one is actually doable. And if the party is smart, that much money could be tucked into the rewards and thus not affect party wealth balance. This suggestion is very doable indeed! Of course, it is up to the party ot implement whatever solution they want. And they'd have to find a mage capable of casting such a spell ... and get his/her attention to even meet with them.

Okay, so far we've got plenty of good temporary and even a permanent solution or two. Keep 'em coming as you think of them!

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Scramble portal (Sor/Wiz 4) from the Manual of the Planes may achieve the same as blocking a portal, since it changes its destination to somewhere else. Send demons/devils to a good-aligned plane...

Complete Arcane has greater sign of sealing (Sor/Wiz 6), which may help.

If the exact location of the portal is not known, a screen can hide it.

As people have suggested, a disjunction has a chance of destroying a portal, even if it is considered an artifact. Combined with disintegrate or sphere of ultimate destruction (Complete Arcane), you can erase it from existence.

Sorry for skipping over you, Andargor, you and I must ahve been typing around the same time.

The Greater Sign of Sealing from CArc is definately an interesting temporary solution if nothing else. I say temporary not because the spell has a limited duration, but because there are ways to make the seal go away.

The Scramble Portal is an interesting thought ... although the MotP is not on the player's approved list. But it is an interesting thought. And I'm sure a few of the players would appreciate this solution specifically given the situation that the portals exist in.

The Sphere of Ultiamte Destruction is also a distinct possibility. Again, the 9th level spell would imply hiring a caster, but that's not out of the question.

The screen is not as good of an option because the portal is on the material plane and destroying it will help reduce the number of bad things coming through.... Now if the other end of the portal were screened ....