Teleportation as forced movement: off a cliff?

[Tav_Behemoth]

If you use a power or a bull rush to push someone off the edge of a cliff, they get a saving throw to prevent going over the edge.

What if you have a power that lets you teleport someone X number of squares? Can you teleport them into midair above the cliff and make them fall? Do they get a saving throw, and where do they wind up if they make it? In the absence of a cliff, could you teleport them straight up and make them fall X squares?

 

[James McMurray]

The RAW answer is "it depends on the power and the GM." The James answer is "no, never, sorry." Otherwise every power that teleports someone now deals an extra Distance in squares / 2 d10 extra damage at a minimum. Because diagonals and horizontals are the same, there will rarely be a reason not to put someone above the square you want them in, at the maximum height your power allows.

If you do allow it, and the players go overly buck wild on it, feel free to toss in an encounter with level apprpropriate teleporting enemies. Green Slaad (level 18) have the highest teleport in the MM (the target goes 10 squares). It bumps the creature's damage from 1d10 + 5 (decent for a controller) to 6d10 + 5 (really strong for a brute). But if 18th is too high, a group of NPC sword mages will do in a pinch.

 

[BendBars/LiftGates]

By my understanding, teleportation is indeed this deadly. But everyone should just follow the rules as they were intended (lateral movement not off cliffs) for it to work.

As DM, you should just not have your PCs get teleported fifty feet into a lava field. It's probably less deadly than that encounter conceivably could have been, but being a DM isn't about showing off how quickly you can kill PCs. As for your PCs, if they start dropping enemies off cliffs, that's part of the game. PCs can do it occasionally. It's stupid if it happens too much, so if that starts to be the case, then include fewer precipices in your encounters, or retaliate with deadly teleporters in return, or say that enemies end the teleport adjacent to the nearest ledge, or just tell them to knock it off.

 

[Ibixat]

The simple ruling that unless otherwise stated by the power the destination must be a square that the target could otherwise stand in without danger to itself unless it's willing to be teleported to the square in question. Or rule that no matter the range, a teleport above solid ground instead deposits them on the ground safely.

Or you can then enforce the STRICT raw interpretation (yes RAW interpretation, think the old MTG card that said opponent loses next turn and how that meant in one interpretation they lose the game next turn) of fey step "Teleport up to 5 squares (see “Teleportation,” page 286)." to mean that they teleport UP to 5 squares (in height), and promptly drop down to the ground.

 

[Runestar]

I agree that teleportation should not be be able to transport someone into the middle of the air. This seems reminiscent of the 3e rules for summoning, where the creature had to be brought into an environment which could support it (so no summoning whales on top of your foe and crushing him).

 

[Mort_Q]

Forced movement, as defined in the PH, does not allow you to move creatures vertically.

 

[James McMurray]

Teleportation is not forced movement (as defined in the PHB), hence the confusion.

 

[Mort_Q]

How is teleporting an NPC not forced movement?

 

[James McMurray]

As you said, forced movement is defined in the PHB. Teleportation is not one of the things that Forced Movement encompasses. Only pull, push, and slide are. They're separate headings and not related to one another.

Likewise, phrases such as "whether through forced movement or teleportation" show that the two were not intended to overlap.

I agree that they should be, and wish I knew why the designers didn't think of a way to merge the two systems.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Remember, if you're being constantly teleported against your will, you can shut down most of the effects that will do it by closing your eyes.

(Which has its own disadvantages, of course.)

-Hyp.