Porting of the Tele kind

[S'mon]

I'd suggest checking into a number of "mundane" solutions to Teleportation issues (like the supposed Assassination run), because paper streamers a few inches apart can keep from teleporting into a room (matter collision).

Why would paper streamers prevant teleport any more than the air in the area teleported to would? Or how about the water in an undersea teleport - displacing a human-sized volume of water must take vastly more energy than moving aside some paper streamers. It doesn't make sense - I would just go with lead shielding prevents extra-planar access, including teleport.

 

[Bauglir]

Well, even if they didn't physically impeded the teleportation, they would mean that anyone attempting to scry to 'get a lock' would see nothing of any use..

 

[ruleslawyer]

Here is a question for the "experienced" DMs out there, when running your high-level campaign.

Have you found Teleport a problem, specifically in terms of a) running the campaign in a certain area and having the characters pop-off to go get something elsewhere and then return (items not available where they are) or b) if you are running a dungeony crawl do the characters pop-off to rest somewhere before popping back in.

How about "yes and no" for an answer?

I've never considered the use of teleport a problem vis-a-vis the convenience angle; you're a 17th-level wizard who wants to be able to pop into a store halfway across Faerun to buy your material spell components, no problem! Where I do consider it a problem is in its ubiquity. After DM-ing for a few years with high-level PCs, it became extremely contrived-sounding to have to impose blocks to teleportation in order to explain why it wasn't being used in a radically-increased number of situations. F'rex, there's no reason why a campaign with even one or two 17th-level wizards around with any bent for a quick coin will not have teleportation circles all over the place; this creates not only difficulties explaining why teleport isn't always used for small package transfer, but also creates massive security holes and necessitates the creation of teleportation ward-type defenses for every city and stronghold with a reasonable infrastructure behind it. Sorta silly.

IMC, I've made teleport slightly rarer by boosting the level; teleport is now 7th level, with greater teleport at 9th level. The teleportation circle ability is now only accessible through the Craft Portal item creation feat (FR), which I've made an epic feat. What this does is brought into regular use some of the (IMHO) more colorful high-level transportation magics (shadow walk, wind walk, transport via plants, etc.) and provided me with an in-campaign explanation for why teleportation (and anti-teleport wards) are at least slightly less common.

However, as Pcat said, you really do want to try to script high-level adventures so that use of the PCs' high-level abilities (like teleport) becomes a requirement rather than a stumbling block to your design. Many high-level adventures are, for example, set in environments with no safe resting places and no supply lines; teleportation becomes a must if the PCs are to survive for longer than a few encounters in such settings.

 

[jerichothebard]

Exactly the reverse, actually. It was damn smart of them. I wouldn't exactly consider the players outthinking me to be a problem.

Anyways, I'll just recycle those encounters into a totally different scene at some point in the future. No harm done.

I guess I wasn't thinking about it in that light. Looking back, I was quite pleased myself recently when the PC's learned from a previous encounter with my BBEG and didn't raid his (new) lair, which, like the last, was a death-trap. They instead took the fight to their own ground, laid a beautiful ambush, and wasted the BBEG without any casualties on their part (at all - not a single point of damage, except to the half the party staging the diversion, which was only to a reckless NPC cohort).

They totally out thought me, and it wasn't even a matter of using a special ability or spell I had forgotton about... just old-fashioned tactics. LOTS of XP were earned that day. And, without the BBEG in it to bolster the defense and prime the traps, cleaning out the death-trap later was just a matter of mopping up.



Now, of course, they have to contend with the Bigger Badder Evil Guy. muhahahahaa...

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Run them through Undermountain. They'll never Teleport again!

Any teleport in Undermountain strips them of all their clothing and equipment and deposits them in the lair of a Great Wyrm Red Dragon which happens to be in one of the lowest levels of the Dungeon. Even if they escape from the Dragon (unlikely), they'll have to then find their way out of the deepest dungeon in the Forgotten Realms without ANY equipment.

 

[Plane Sailing]

b) if you are running a dungeony crawl do the characters pop-off to rest somewhere before popping back in.

For all practical purposes this isn't much different to them using a 2nd level rope trick spell to rest somewhere secure if you think about it.

I agree with Monte Cooks statement that PC's should be allowed to enjoy using their high level powers and spells. Plus, you know that defenders can have permanent walls of force in their complex (only bypassed by teleporting) and you'll see the PCs glad that they've got teleport... even if it means that they had to use up spells in places which they didn't expect!

Cheers

 

[S'mon]

Well, even if they didn't physically impeded the teleportation, they would mean that anyone attempting to scry to 'get a lock' would see nothing of any use..

If the room was _that_ full of paper it wouldn't be much use for everyday use, now would it?

 

[reiella]

Why would paper streamers prevant teleport any more than the air in the area teleported to would? Or how about the water in an undersea teleport - displacing a human-sized volume of water must take vastly more energy than moving aside some paper streamers. It doesn't make sense - I would just go with lead shielding prevents extra-planar access, including teleport.

Well actually, the reason you can't teleport into other solid objects.

Hmm, interestingly enough, nothing seems to prohibit you from doing that by the 3.5 SRD entry.

Ah I see where I got it from, Dimension Door and assuming its rules applied to Teleport (most likly in error).

Very odd, since both travel the same way, oh well. I was a bit wrong, but it does tend to stop folks from D-Dooring in your safe room at least .

 

[Morrus]

I've got two "teleport discouragement" methods in operation in my game. I don't prevent teleportation (I hate arbitrarily nullifying a character's abilities), but they do have to think carefully about whether or not to do it.

1) Teleportation can be sensed with a spellcraft check. The higher the spellcraft score, and the higher level the transportation spell (i.e. dimension door, teleport, gate or whatever), the further away the spell can be sensed.

2) My players have in their custody an NPC who - for whatever reason - is immune to all magic. She can't be teleported and, being a six-year old girl, can't be left alone to defend herself. This means that some of the PCs can teleport, but they can't all teleport without making some arrangements first.

 

[S'mon]

1) Teleportation can be sensed with a spellcraft check. The higher the spellcraft score, and the higher level the transportation spell (i.e. dimension door, teleport, gate or whatever), the further away the spell can be sensed.

I use this, although it requires a special ability to sense alterations in the magical flux that not all spellcasters have. I also use lots of anti-teleport shielding, both mundane (lead or other heavy element) and magical, in critical areas like BBEG's thronerooms & bedrooms. I don't generally want to nerf teleport magic though, normally it is a boon at higher levels since it allows PC groups to come together at short notice, which could be a big problem with 1 PC being king of a kingdom 1000 miles from the main campaign area!