Looking for "getaway" spells

[Oryan77]

I want to allow a powerful mage to give the PC's 1 opportunity to contact him and have him open a portal for them to flee to his location...using the cheapest method possible.

They can use a Sending Scroll to contact him, but isn't there an easier way for allies on separate planes to contact each other?

Is there a spell that would allow this mage to open a portal wherever the PC's are so they can hop it without the mage being at their location?

 

[Jack Simth]

For communication:

Scrying

Divination (Scrying)
Level: Brd 3, Clr 5, Drd 4, Sor/Wiz 4 Components: V, S, M/DF, F Casting Time: 1 hour Range: See text Effect: Magical sensor
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You can see and hear some creature, which may be at any distance. If the subject succeeds on a Will save, the scrying attempt simply fails. The difficulty of the save depends on how well you know the subject and what sort of physical connection (if any) you have to that creature. Furthermore, if the subject is on another plane, it gets a +5 bonus on its Will save.
Knowledge Will Save Modifier
None1 +10
Secondhand (you have heard of the subject) +5
Firsthand (you have met the subject) +0
Familiar (you know the subject well) –5
1 You must have some sort of connection to a creature you have no knowledge of.

Connection Will Save Modifier
Likeness or picture –2
Possession or garment –4
Body part, lock of hair, bit of nail, etc. –10

If the save fails, you can see and hear the subject and the subject’s immediate surroundings (approximately 10 feet in all directions of the subject). If the subject moves, the sensor follows at a speed of up to 150 feet.

As with all divination (scrying) spells, the sensor has your full visual acuity, including any magical effects. In addition, the following spells have a 5% chance per caster level of operating through the sensor: detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, detect magic, and message.

If the save succeeds, you can’t attempt to scry on that subject again for at least 24 hours.

Arcane Material Component: The eye of a hawk, an eagle, or a roc, plus nitric acid, copper, and zinc.

Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard Focus: A mirror of finely wrought and highly polished silver costing not less than 1,000 gp. The mirror must be at least 2 feet by 4 feet.

Cleric Focus: A holy water font costing not less than 100 gp.

Druid Focus: A natural pool of water.

(Emphasis added)
The Greater version lets the same spell list operate reliably, and lasts longer. A thousand GP mirror, and two spells, and you have a reasonable chance of chatting with your friends across the planes for a minute/level (duration of Scrying is shorter than the duration of Message; that's 10 minutes/level for the greater version, as the duration of Greater Scrying is longer than the duration of Message - but you can recast Message just about all you want).

As for opening a portal across the planes? Nothing short of Gate does the job, although you can approximate the job with a flunky that can cast both Plane Shift and Teleport - a Cleric-9 with the Travel domain, say, and a scroll of Teleport (flunky needs to cast it twice - once to correct for error when finding the party, once to correct for error landing in the caller's home).

Do note, though, that technicaly, a Candle of Invocation can just cast Gate without actually Calling anything.....