So, how do you keep'em from just 'porting away?

[Whimsical]

Another option is the develop wizard and cleric spells that ward an area from teleport (and probably astral travel, since I think the one includes the other). A villain who wanted to create a prison for high level people would probably ward the area, the same way he'd probably have fire resistance if he was afraid of fireballs.

The spell already exists. It's Hallow/Unhallow with dimentional anchor linked to it. It lasts a year, covers a 40' radius, and it doesn't affect the people that its set to ignore. If 40' radius emanation is too small, cast several to cover your site. Or design the critical area of your fortress of evil to fit within 40' radius.

Problem: it's a spell that can be dispelled like any other. Technically, the radius is blocked by walls and floors like any other line of effect. Just ignore that last part.

Me? I learned how to stop worrying and love the bomb. I write adventures that require teleport to advance through it.

 

[Jolly Giant]

This is the advice that D&D's designers give, and it's lousy.

---

See, this is the sort of advice I'm expecting from Heroes of Horror. I have something I want to do that has only one or two hard-n'-fast requirements. The advice, to use the term loosely, is "well, you can't do that with D&D--it's too over-the-top, which according to our demographics is how everyone but you likes it--but you can do something else that we think is pretty cool...

What is it that is so lousy about having to present high-level characters with challenges that are different from the challenges that you present to low-level characters? I've heard this very same complaint from so many DMs, and every time it sounds very much to me like their real problem is that they hate having to come up with something new! "Why isn't the adventure I made for level 1 characters any fun when I run it with a party of level 10 characters? There must be something wrong with D&D!"

If the game don't change as the PCs progress in levels, why not drop all that tiresome level business completely? Let the PCs stay level 1 for ever, and keep hacking their way through one more-or-less-random wilderness encounter after the other. You'd never even have to write another adventure, just keep going over the same old routine over and over again! "If tracking down those goblin cattle rustlers was good enough at level 1, it should dang well be good enough now that the PCs are all level 20!"

*End rant mode* (Sorry about that, I just had to blow off a little steam! )

Seriously though, what you are complaining about here is quite literally that a plot device that is suitable for a low-level game isn't suitable for a higher level game. Some of us are very grateful for that, and doesn't think it is lousy at all. Some of us actually think it is an important part of what makes D&D so great. You can run a really long campaign, take the PCs through 10, 20, 30 levels, and it doesn't stay the same all the time! The game changes as you go, keeping it fresh and interesting.

Again, I'm sorry for being somewhat less than polite, but it was your post that provoked me into it.

 

[gizmo33]

Me? I learned how to stop worrying and love the bomb. I write adventures that require teleport to advance through it.

Monte Cook's advice is sound for the DM, and I don't think that the DM should just nerf powers for no reason. However, it seems logical to me that high level casters would have developed counters for high level abilities (similar to the way that someone developed fire resistance vs. fire spells) IMO DnD is underdeveloped in this area.

In a scenario where you have a high level villain who knows something about magic, and he has the gp/ability and interest in imprisoning persons he knows can cast teleport (like many extra-planar creatures) I think it makes sense that he would have developed counter measures.

Monte's advice could extend to not having fire elementals in your adventure because it nerfs the wizard's fireball ability - I don't think it was meant to go that far.

 

[Tuzenbach]

You don't "keep" them from teleporting. Instead, you "anticipate" that they have the ability to do so and you plan your game accordingly, knowing that any sort of teleportation will not serisouly "ruin" the plot or flow of what you have planned.

 

[BSF]

Felon, if you are unwilling to change the playstyle as the PCs increase in power and you are unwilling to modify spells, I really don't know how to help you here. I can think of ways to create adventures where teleport is undesirable. I can think of ways to create adventures that have the PCs being 'stalked'. But those are play style changes.

But I can still try to be helpful.

If your players rely on teleport as their method of retreat, make them use it 'early'. Create situations that require a teleport to get where the PCs need to be. Use adversaries where other high level spells will be very useful to win. This forces the PCs to manage their resources.

Look at spells that can trace a teleport, or can redirect a teleport. Have an adversary dispel the teleport as the PCs try to cast it. Be very stringent about teleport success/failure. Walking into a room, getting your butt handed to you in a matter of seconds and teleporting out barely qualifies as 'viewed once'. Especially if they didn't see the entire room when they fought. Have the BBEG use an 'environmental change' policy. If trespassers suddenly teleport away, the BBEG has the furniture in each room changed and rearranged. It's time to remodel, and to plan for an ambush.

To create a feeling of being hunted, scry the PCs and have adversaries follow them. Teleport Trace immediately after they have run away and follow them to their secret hideaway. Allow them to hear street rumors that there is a bounty out for them and then have them start being followed. Allow all sorts of folks to scry the PCs. they will fail much of the time as the PCs make saves, but knowing there are multiple people scrying can increase the level of paranoia.

These are a few things you can try to make teleport less the safety net your PCs are using it as.

 

[Rackhir]

The Complete Arcane has two spells, Anticipate Teleportation (4th lvl) and Greater Anticipate teleportation (8th lvl). The first delays the arrival of the teleportees for 1 round and tells the caster where they will be arriving. Greater gives you three rounds. I would expect that they should pretty much put paid to the scry and fry sequence after the first time they arrived surrounded by prepared and buffed enemies.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Which might impose a tactical problem in the heat of battle, but I'm talking about creating an entire adventure with a mood of claustrophobia and paranoia.

If you're looking for a single adventure that disallows teleport, an Unholy Temple that is completely unhallowed is sensible and fits the bill.

If you're talking about a campaign that disallows teleport, well, just disallow teleport. Personally I like teleport, both as a DM and as a player. But I'd say if you don't, simply removing it as a House Rule is the simplest solution.

In a high-level game that does allow teleport, there are still plenty of counters, such as dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, hallow, unhallow, etc. etc. Good for PCs and NPCs alike. In our current 12th-level game, we've had the opposite problem. Our enemies don't care to stay around and get whacked when things go against them. Trying to slap a dimensional anchor on them is vital.

 

[Whisper72]

In most games I DM, I have house rules along the lines that lead, orichalcum or other mundane or special materials block teleport. Since the BBEG would protect his/her inner sanctum against teleporting _in_, it would also be impossible to TP _out_ of those places. Thus, PC's will find that in some locations, TP ceases to function, based on very logical and 'normal' D&D ways...

 

[ThirdWizard]

There is nothing wrong with PCs having cool powers. There is nothing wrong with teleportation. If you want to make the PCs sweat, worry, and feel like the world is coming down on them, then make the world come down on them. It's more exciting to make consequenses for them running away, leave them with a failrure, time-tables, guarding places, dealing with others who they can't just walk away from, and things of that nature.

There's an army amassing outside where they live. Sure, they can run.
A prince has asked them to guard a new holding from raiders. Sure, they can run.
The lich will open a portal to the negative energy plane in three days. Sure, they can run.
They'll soon learn not to, however.

Now, for claustrophobia, for an adventure where they feel dogged, etc, you can still build upon their paranoia without teleport ruining anything. Make them have to stay in the area. Make them want to stay, in fact, despite the danger that is brought upon them by remaining. That should make them feel even more pressed by the adventure, because they know they could get away if they really tried, but they can't because there would be consequenses. So they soldier on, despite the hardships pressed upon them.

Use NPCs to your advantage. Make sure they know that not everyone is trustworthy, but they don't know who is the one selling them out. But, they have to rely on others to suceed at whatever they're trying to do. That way, you can build into the plot the paranoia that they feel as they try to figure out who to trust and who not to.

At high levels, a good way to keep PCs interested in a place is to give them some kind of responsibility toward it. Land ownership, granted titles, religious affiliations, etc. I'm soon going to make an NPC who my PCs adventured with a lot at lower levels into Captain of the Guard of a city they frequent. They owe her, she owes them, it will lead to even stronger ties to the location. As PCs rise in levels, their responsibility goes up as well. They can't just run away from their problems without losing respect, power, and possibly making enemies out of friends.

High level games have to go more and more into the political. At low levels, you can challenge them with mundane things that normal people would fear. Hunger, canyons, rivers, bandits. At higher levels, you just can't do that anymore unless you're just interested in bigger numbers. Plots have to get more complicated. Murder mysteries won't work, dungeon become less exotic, and PCs will never trip over their own feet. In order to keep a campaign really moving, it is best to plan with these things in mind.

 

[fba827]

well, a couple thoughts.

1) If escape is the goal then they are somewhere that they are meant not to escape from. it is not unreasonable if a place is supposed to trap people that it would have antimagic or at least antimagic against teleportation magics. Just don't over do it and give them some sort of hint that this is the case.

2) toss in some minor goal aside from escape. someone will be excuted at some time if they don't get some proof or evidence or something else that is also in that same area/location as they are by some certain time.