What ways are there to prevent teleportation?

[Piratecat]

I'm working on an adventure that will end up being published, and I'm away from my books. In 4e, how many methods are there for preventing teleportation? I'm trying to figure out how "infiltration-proof" a fortress can be.

Thank you!

 

[Hypersmurf]

Forbiddance, PHB p305 - level 20 ritual. Lasts 24 hours, but you can sustain it each day, and after a year and a day it becomes permanent.

Prevents scrying and teleportation by anyone of lower level than the caster.

-Hyp.

 

[Shadeus]

Although not a method of prevention, I wanted to note a common limitation on teleportation: you have to see where you are going. This isn't 100% true of every teleportation power, but fey step seems to be the most common, along with the warlock powers. I think you need to get to level 10 (warlock's leap?) before you can teleport without knowing where you are going.

It might aid in the discussion if we knew what the expected levels of the PCs were. It might lend itself to the projected resources of your antogonist.

 

[Piratecat]

I'm looking at the lower end of the paragon tier, so nothing too high end - around the 10-14 level.

Thanks for the help! Really useful.

 

[-Avalon-]

Simple Teleports (power based)
Solution: Blindness

Complex Teleports (ritual based)
Solution: Forbiddance

Hope that helps

 

[aurance]

I'm looking at the lower end of the paragon tier, so nothing too high end - around the 10-14 level.

Thanks for the help! Really useful.

Teleportation prevention is sort of built-in at lower paragon tier, because as mentioned above, you need line of sight for short-range teleport powers, and long-range teleport ritual requires the presence of a teleportation circle (not to mention knowledge of the sequence of runes for that circle).

 

[kerbarian]

Teleportation prevention is sort of built-in at lower paragon tier, because as mentioned above, you need line of sight for short-range teleport powers, and long-range teleport ritual requires the presence of a teleportation circle (not to mention knowledge of the sequence of runes for that circle).

In Adventurer's Vault, they added Breaching Armor, which is available starting as a level 3 item -- it lets you teleport to the other side of a wall (up to 10 feet thick) with no line of sight. So blocking line of sight is no longer sufficient even at low levels.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Maybe it isn't the most helpful advice, but if teleportation is too much of an issue for fortresses in the gameworld in general, they're going to end up full of deathtraps.

Bottomless pits, slippery slopes, alarms, you name it.

Bamf = dead.

 

[-Avalon-]

Maybe it isn't the most helpful advice, but if teleportation is too much of an issue for fortresses in the gameworld in general, they're going to end up full of deathtraps.

Bottomless pits, slippery slopes, alarms, you name it.

Bamf = dead.

Actually, that is pretty good advice there... Strahd Von Zarovich (NPC/Vampire of D&D) has several times been mentioned in books and modules as not caring so much about the use of teleportation as with the effects and results of it. He knows people will try and teleport into his castle, so he has several traps of differing levels to guard against it.

The most simple is the mirror shield (prolly a ritual in 4th if they ever made it). Its effects are that the people teleporting into the castle would reflect the teleport in a random direction, the same amount of distance that they traveled to get there. Since most people do not teleport from right outside, this resulted in people ending up in the ground, falling from ridiculous heights, etc etc...

Of course, if someone was high enough level to overcome all of these guards/wards, they would inevitably end up inside and up against him directly, as he knew exactly where they were to appear and when (Think 3.5 spell about postponing incoming teleports hehe)

All of these would be rituals which can be designed easily in 4th, by players and DM's alike.

So, very good advice... stop worrying about preventing teleport, worry with what consequences the players get for teleporting =)

 

[Rechan]

The most simple solution is this: 4e allows for exception based design, and sometimes very persnickety exceptions, so just say "You can't teleport here. The end."

A more helpful solution: a ritual, ward, whathaveyou, that limits line of effect. It's like being blind, except that you are power-blind. This might be a power that continues throughout the entire area; it might even have implications for non-teleportation magic, thus resulting in limiting ranges of various powers. (Yes Mr. Wizard; your magic missile fizzles after two squares.)

Also, as suggested above: assume people will teleport, so build safeguards. For instance, there's 5-10 feet missing between the outer-most wall and the interior floor. So if someone teleported from the outside in, they'd end up falling through the gap. Another solution is a Teleportation Funnel; if someone uses teleportation inside the Fortress, then they are re-directed to a pre-designated location (say, a cell, a monster's cave, etc).