Exploration in worlds where magic exists

[Umbran]

There's also the simple fact that teleporting from point A to point B means you're not covering the intervening space. What if that space actually holds something interesting? Jumping around covering only a few isolated points is a horribly inefficient way to explore.

 

[Mallus]

It's a question of how widely knowldege gets disseminated. And how long its preserved.

The world might have been mapped down to the square milimeter by wizards in ages past. But that doesn't mean that knowledge is available to the present-day cultures.

Besides, powerful wizards and clerics aught to be involved in more pressing, and well, metaphysical pursuits than geographic survey...

"Damn, the Eleventh Choir of Angels is about to sing me the true name of the Demiurge, but I'm past my deadline on this freelance gig mapping all of Lower Slobovia for King Freon."

 

[Henry]

An analogy from the real world: Europeans knew what the continent of Africa was actually shaped like LONG before they knew what the heck was inside of it. For that matter, we STILL don't know, in a manner of speaking.

All land on earth has been claimed by somebody, but there are still bleak spots in this world what no human being has walked, ever - or at least in many, many years. Who's to say WHAT is in a given glen, forest, or valley, other than what overall spy satellites or magical scrying will show.

If your game is high level, explorations have an ever better target: The Planes. Infinite in size, the planes of existance are a prime spot for the unknown, the fantastic, and the exquisite.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Again, thanks everyone for your input. Regarding Henry's post, I have to admit I'm not a fan of interplanar adventuring, and neither are my players. The times I've tried such in the past met with rousing rounds of apathy. However, all the advice here can be applied to more mundane exploration of one's own metaphorical backyard!

 

[Janx]

Disregarding the limits on Teleport and scrying type spells, assuming magic exists to "poof" anywhere you need to go, then what you're describing is the basis for the StarGate TV show. Every week, they "poof" to some new place and explore what's there.

The lesson is:
At high levels, the physical trip to the location is unimportant. It's what happens at the other end that matters. Being high level doesn't mean you stop exploring, you just stop walking really long distances.

Now the ideal low-risk munchkin replacement to actual exploring is, much like someone else's suggestion of constructs:
write a spell for remote viewing of locations. Use it to "walk" the map. This will get you familiarity with an area, as you will have effectively seen how you got there and taken lots of time to study the target zone. In fact, normal teleport doesn't assume you know the route from there to here, only that you are familiar with "there" itself, so this is pretty simple, scroll really fast until you see something interesting, then study that area.

Now that yo've studied the area, you could teleport in, or teleport a servant in, or write a spell to teleport something out of there to here. (or port the servant in, with a timed teleport to yank him back after he grabs the thing of interest).

I'd assume you have a special containment chamber for these teleport grabs (kinda like the grey aliens and their anal probes). Certainly wouldn't want anything bad to happen if you had a quarrantine issue.

Anyway, I hope I've shed light on how the enterprising wizard can explore at the comforts of his own tower, with little risk or expense to himself.

The above example might make an interesting NPC encounter (people getting "taken" and returned with a sore arse for instance). Or if a PC decides to use those methods, interesting things like containment breaches, and things that have to be directly visited to use/take/see can make such methods dangerous and fun.

Janx

 

[focallength]

In most games where players start out at first level, its going to take a while before your even able to cast teleport, so you have no choice but to take month (or more) long trips. I feel it provides more role playing opportunities and is in general more dramatic when you reach your destination. Plus, what do you do when you get there? you have to have plenty or supplies and provisions, to sustain your adventure and even if your lucky enough to be near a town or city, the local customs and life may be completly alien to you. I personally have never had a charater who could even cast teleport, always start at first level and never usually make it to, what? 10th for teleport.

 

[WayneLigon]

Here's a good twist:

Obviously for the exploration fleet to be using such things, they have to have a high level spell caster capable of casting the teleports, the scrying spells, etc. The spellcasters among the PC's are probably advanced apprentices or aides sent by whatever group is funding the expedition but they themselves have no idea how to cast those spells.

But you have this guy, let's call him Master Vorax. Master Vorax is a uptty-'leventh level mage that is the linchpin in this expedition. He has all these high-level travel spells that make a mockery of the rest of the expedition member's skills.

Play as usual, with the fleet advancing quickly along it's assigned route due to magic. Maybe even make it a little boring. Master Vorax is such a good mage that, well, the PC's are pretty useless. They find themselves being dismissed to help the mundane sailors and such. A few adventures are had. Maybe even kind of 'half-adventures', because just as soon as things get rolling, Master vorax shows up and whips the opposition into fondue.

Then one night, when the expedition is way the hell and gone into unknown previously uncharted territory.... Master Vorax, eating alone in his cabin as usual, chokes to death on a fishbone. In his struggles, he sets his cabin on fire, so all his scrolls and notes are gone gone gone. His body is totally destroyed in the blaze.

Now the PC's are the highest level people on this expedition beside maybe one or two crewmen, and they are the only spellcasters. Catapulted into the limelight, they have to complete the expedition's mission AND get all these people home safely.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Very cool, WL! Very cool!