Let's ban Teleport!

[AuraSeer]

I've got you beat. In my campaign, I refuse to allow PCs to move at any pace faster than a brisk walk, because running and jogging/hustling are clearly unbalanced.

You let them walk? You're playing with fire! Let your characters walk around the map, and next thing you know the players will be walking all over you. Me, I've banned movement entirely. All PCs must be of a custom race I call "Shriekerling," which has a movement rate of 0, no intelligence or perception, and no way of interacting with the world in any manner.

I've found that this is the only way to make sure those darn heros don't screw up my carefully planned campaign plots.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

Keep the spell, change the effect

The problem with teleport is in allowing instant and safe travel. So why not cripple it a bit?

Allow teleport to only work with specific, established anchor points. A caster can prepare an anchor point, but doing so takes a good number of hours, and can only go to another established anchor point.

This ends up allowing you to blatently rip off a tried and true game design element from video games, specifically, the town portal from Diablo 2.

For campaign travel purposes, 6 hours is as good as 6 seconds for casting time anyway.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Dark Jezter]

You let them walk? You're playing with fire! Let your characters walk around the map, and next thing you know the players will be walking all over you. Me, I've banned movement entirely. All PCs must be of a custom race I call "Shriekerling," which has a movement rate of 0, no intelligence or perception, and no way of interacting with the world in any manner.

I've found that this is the only way to make sure those darn heros don't screw up my carefully planned campaign plots.

You win.

 

[Thanee]

Geez, guys (that is Gez and Piratecat), if you don't see the difference between Teleport and a Giant Eagle or a Wagon, then I guess I cannot help you there.

Teleport does make certain campaign styles impossible (unless it is "simply not used all the time", or the DM tailors "almost everything" (at least where it counts) to make it "Teleport unfriendly"), so I can see only two reasonable options... don't play such campaigns, or tweak/ban Teleport.

It's not like I want to ban it for all D&D or anything...

I'm actually not so much worried about BST, much less concerning any BBEG, but more the explore for one hour or until daily resources are used up, teleport into safety and come back later to continue, which makes a lot of things obsolete. It's surely a fair use of Teleport normally, but in some campaigns/settings this use just isn't such a good thing.

@Talon5: That's one thing, I totally not agree with. A character who can teleport doesn't use it simply because the adventure isn't really prepared for this power at this moment? This "metagamish" approach isn't exactly what I prefer to do. If a character can teleport and it makes sense to do so, then the character uses this ability. Unfortunately, it's very often the best option.

Teleport (as much as Resurrect) also isn't often really considered into campaign settings or adventures. In so many cases, this option is simply ignored and only used, when it isn't inconvenient. Often, the question, why these "simple" (in relation to the other options, I don't consider them cantrips or anything like that ) spells havn't been used, altho they would've totally foiled the complete plot, is completely unanswered. It's obvious why... but it isn't exactly great to simply ignore them, or is it?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Beholder Bob]

I've found wagons and carriages to be substantially unbalancing to the game. Not only do you get there more quickly than walking, but you can carry a near-unlimited amount of supplies or goods in the process! That's just nuts. I house rules this by declaring that no one had invented the wheel yet, and my game runs much more smoothly as a result.

Ye-gods man, what have you done? You stopped the wheel, only to leave the pogo stick free reign! Will nothing stop the hordes of pogo-hopping goblins from striking across the plains...? Oh, that was close. Thank god for gophers!


Aside from that, I have removed all teleport spells in my home brew game. But its impact is further reaching then just PC and merchant trade - gods, devils, demons, angels - none of them can teleport. Planar travel is only possible into Faerie and the Shadowlands. You can also climb up to heaven or go through caverns down to hell. The elemental planes can be sailed to - they are the borders of my realm, physically touching.

Teleport ruins a good plot device (besides the many obvious ones) - like why ask the heroes for help when the good guy can teleport over and kick Darth Jr's ass (he's a threat to your 4th level characters, not to the uber powerful 9th level good guy). When teleport is not available, people have to delegate authority more often, info travels slower, and young guns are trusted with dangerous tasks. It also requires more tactics ("What do you mean I can't teleport home to recover after a battle or two? I want to go to Caesar’s palace and gamble, heal, and whore for 2 days! I have to sleep in a dungeon...but I'm a gold member!?!"). You need to conserve your abilities instead of going all out, whomp 1-3 encounters, then retreat via teleport. You need to plan on escape routes, worry about reprisals, etc. Teleport also allows too much dues ex machina - '...suddenly appears, saving/ruining/annoying the..... another sticky situation....ice cream....yawn'.


Now onto the skateboard crisis....... not in my dungeon! All walls have clear signs indicating no skateboards or rollerskating on mall dungeon property. I'm also planning on installing some speed bumps...

BB

 

[MDSnowman]

I'm in agreement with Thanee on this one. I hate teleport spells, just imagine Lord of the Rings with greater teleport, or teleport circle, whoosh everyone is dropped outside of mount doom, and whoosh they drop the ring in end of book, end of movie. I play in a game where teleporting is an every day occurance and I can't stand it... I've got the ride skill and it's entirely useless because I can't remember the last time we actually RODE somewhere.

I like how Arcana Unearthed handles teleport spells. First you decide how long it takes to cast the spell... the longer you take to prepare the better your odds of arriving at your destination. When you're actually done casting the spell you make a caster level check, the DC depends on how long you took to cast the spell and how familiar you are with the location you're teleporting to. This way teleport isn't a quick fix to get somewhere... most of the time you're better off walking. Because those level checks can be downright nasty and a botched teleport could land you damn near anywhere.

 

[Gargoyle]

I've found wagons and carriages to be substantially unbalancing to the game. Not only do you get there more quickly than walking, but you can carry a near-unlimited amount of supplies or goods in the process! That's just nuts. I house rules this by declaring that no one had invented the wheel yet, and my game runs much more smoothly as a result.

Getting tired of explaining how to challenge teleporters I see.

 

[Creamsteak]

Thanee, what campaign styles are you talking about?

 

[MDSnowman]

Thanee, what campaign styles are you talking about?

I think she means quests where getting from point A to point B is half of the fun behind the adventure.

 

[Gargoyle]

Teleport does make certain campaign styles impossible (unless it is "simply not used all the time", or the DM tailors "almost everything" (at least where it counts) to make it "Teleport unfriendly"), so I can see only two reasonable options... don't play such campaigns, or tweak/ban Teleport.

It's not like I want to ban it for all D&D or anything...

Yeah, I see your point. But as you point out, ressurection is another spell that makes certain campaign styles impossible. Another spell that gives D&D games a superhero feel rather than a Lord of the Rings feel is fly. It's only a 3rd level spell and readily available to everyone with a wondrous item, yet it negates the need for skills like Balance, Climb, and Jump, and the effectiveness of fantasy staples such as pit traps, cliffs, flying mounts, etc.

The editorial in the latest issue of Dragon points out that darkvision and low light vision, and continual flame are abilities that also change the nature of the campaign. With those abilities readily available, dark places just aren't very spooky most of the time. By the time your characters are brave enough to challenge the Underdark, the darkness itself doesn't even matter. Might as well call it the Underdim.

If you're going for a campaign where the heroes aren't flying/teleporting/plane hopping/coming back from the dead legends, you're going to have to modify more in D&D than just teleport. Nothing wrong with that, but if you're going to nerf teleport in an attempt to get that feel, I would think about a more major overhaul.

Specifically, I would consider changing teleport so that you can't bring others with you. It just seems ok to me for a wizard or sorcerer to vanish and reappear across the continent, and it keeps teleport somewhat useful without letting the entire party skip the dungeon you've built. Likewise, you could limit magic items that allow flight or teleportation, so that the spellcasters are the only ones directly benefitting from these type of spells. That might be a good compromise, although you may have to deal with a party that is split up more often.