Teleport Query

[Tetsubo]

If you had a photograph or illusion of an individual, could you use that to focus on for the purposes of a Teleport spell? Would it be consider a Familiar location? Could you use a picture (or illusion) of a location to allow a Teleport? I realize that Greater Teleport makes this question moot.

We did this in an old 1st Edition campaign. We let one of our party get arrested for being publicly drunk (he was actually sober) so that the party could Teleport into the city jail. I don't think we scryed on him at all...

 

[Taloras]

Personally, id make the person casting the illusion succeed on an intelligence check to get the details right...but thats just me. And id allow it if they succeeded. if they didnt, id use the False Location(or whatever it is) rule

 

[Someone]

You can´t teleport to somebody´s location: you must target specifically the location itself, not "the place where this guy is" so, a creature´s picture or description doesn´help with Teleport (or Greater teleport). You would have to scry the creature, then teleport to that location.

As to use an illusion to get or improve a location´s description, after reading carefully the spell I´d say it´s possible, with familiarity depending on how long you study the illusion. I´d rule, though, that you can´t get a better familirity with a location that the illusion caster´s.

 

[the Jester]

'Never seen,' imho.

 

[andargor]

A photograph or illusion of a location would qualify as "studied carefully".

'Studied carefully' is a place you know well, either because you can currently see it, you've been there often, or you have used other means (such as scrying) to study the place for at least one hour.

As has been mentionned, you can't teleport to a creature, but to a location. Use scrying first to see the creature and its surroundings.

Of course, greater teleport is much less stringent on how detailed your knowledge of the target location is.

Andargor

 

[Arnwyn]

If you had a photograph or illusion of an individual, could you use that to focus on for the purposes of a Teleport spell?

No.

Could you use a picture (or illusion) of a location to allow a Teleport?

For my group, I would have to know how detailed the picture/illusion is. If it's just a "picture of some place in a forest" that could look like any other forest, I would rule that it's not enough to get the proper necessary info for a teleport spell.

If the picture/illusion was highly detailed, with several notable features, I would likely allow it, but certainly not beyond the lowest "viewed once" category.