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Old 05-10-2011, 06:31 AM   Top  -  End  -  #1
Blood_caller
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Default Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Rant (just ignore)
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The Short of it is, I believe that the travel from point A to point B can be a great part of the adventure or history, as much as point A or B in themselves, the Teleport line of spells totally remove the journey from many adventures/histories so I made this fix for that:

Spells
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Spell-like abilities & items
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Last edited by Blood_caller : 05-15-2011 at 03:13 PM.
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Old 05-10-2011, 09:18 AM   Top  -  End  -  #2
Cipherthe3vil
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Love it! I'm now implementing it into my games from now on.
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Old 05-10-2011, 09:21 AM   Top  -  End  -  #3
elpollo
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

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Originally Posted by Blood_caller View Post
Rant (just ignore)
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Now were would the fun be in that, and would that end up being a epic story.
You are quite right - that would be a terrible story. This is, of course, D&D, not Lord of the Rings. When Drofo throws the ring into Mount Hope, it turns out the ring contained (and kept bound) a hundred thousand damned souls, who flock out and try to possess new bodies to enjoy their new freedom. Or something.

The point is that the expectations of what magic can achieve in D&D is in no way compatible with the way magic works in Lord of the Rings. Just because you don't walk places doesn't mean you don't have journeys - you just tend to have bigger, flashier journeys that end with you fighting a possessed Nauros over a pit of boiling nothingness that threatens to consume the world (how can nothingness be boiling? Shut up, that's how).


Quote:
Originally Posted by Blood_caller View Post
The Short of it is, I believe that the travel from point A to point B can be a great part of the adventure or history, as much as point A or B in themselves, the Teleport line of spells totally remove the journey from many adventures/histories so I made this fix for that:
They can be, but they don't have to be, and a great deal of the time (particularly in roleplaying games) they equate to random encounters put in to make the journey more exciting (see what's happening here? We're having a journey to encounter the monster that was only there to stop the journey from being dead time to gloss over).

Regardless:

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Spells
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So... what stops you from just planning ahead? Casting a beacon onto a stone and paying/forcing a demon (or angel, if you want less chance of trickery) to transport it to a specified location (say, just outside of Mordor) whilst invisible and leaving it there? Scry it first to be sure it's safe and all you've done is added a week or two of waiting time to each journey. People will still do it because it's safer and generally quicker over long distances, but now instead of being a powerful magic able to join two points in space it's a magical taxi cab, having to wait patiently for the thing to arrive before you can go off and adventure.

I mean, the spells seem fine, but they won't change the way high level magic works in D&D. If a caster doesn't want to fight, they ain't having a fight. If you want to focus more on a Lord of the Rings style adventure then E6 (or another system) is the way to go, not just reducing the potential of teleport.
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Old 05-10-2011, 10:32 AM   Top  -  End  -  #4
averagejoe
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Quote:
Originally Posted by elpollo View Post
I mean, the spells seem fine, but they won't change the way high level magic works in D&D. If a caster doesn't want to fight, they ain't having a fight. If you want to focus more on a Lord of the Rings style adventure then E6 (or another system) is the way to go, not just reducing the potential of teleport.
It may be that he's changing one thing that was problematic for him and his, not trying to change the way D&D is played for everyone. LotR style journeys aside, I think this is, at the least, a more fun option.

However, you do bring up a good point. Maybe you could make it so the teleportation beacons fade with distance traveled, or somesutch. Also, I think the last one should be called, "Teleport Circle Fix."

But, yeah, good stuff.
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Old 05-10-2011, 01:20 PM   Top  -  End  -  #5
Gamer Girl
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Your idea is not bad, but it just won't work.

The New Plot: The wizard Gandark knows he will need to go to Mount Hope sometime for something. So he simply summons a bat, gives it the teleport token, and has it fly over and drop the token on Mt. Hope. Then, maybe years later when he meets Dodo and sees the magic necklace of Rixx, it's a simple teleport to destroy.

A spellcaster can easily cover a continent with teleport tokens, so that handycap won't even make them blink. At the most easiest way, you could simply hire a messenger to take a teleport token to a distant spot and drop it there. In core, a wizard would need to scry on a location, in your fix they just need to get a token to that location...not much change.


The much better teleport fix is: They don't know where to go.

Plot--Dodo-"How can we destroy the One Locket?"
Gandark-"I have no idea...''

See, he can't teleport right to Mount Hope, if he does not know that is where to go.

And Plot--Gandark-"The sage Elt might know..."
Dodo-"Good, teleport us to him at once so I can finish this quest''
Gandark-"He wanders a lot..."

See they can't teleport right to Elt as he could be anywhere. Sure they could teleport hop around, but the only way to find him is old fashioned searching.

And so on...
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Old 05-10-2011, 01:44 PM   Top  -  End  -  #6
Glimbur
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Quicker and easier is to just ban any long distance teleportation.
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Old 05-10-2011, 03:41 PM   Top  -  End  -  #7
Nero24200
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Not really a fan of the Fix (mostly because I agree with the "Teleporting makes A to B journary's pointless!" crowd). Having said that if I must have teleport spells I think would prefer these versions.

They actually impose a very respectable limit on the spell (I.E you have to have been to the place before and actively set-up a rune to allow for teleportation). It means that most PC's are likely to use this more for returning to their safe house or base of operations rather than dodging an entire enemy dungeon.

Quote:
I mean, the spells seem fine, but they won't change the way high level magic works in D&D. If a caster doesn't want to fight, they ain't having a fight. If you want to focus more on a Lord of the Rings style adventure then E6 (or another system) is the way to go, not just reducing the potential of teleport.
True, but magic fixes have to start somewhere. Every time someone prompts a quickie magic fix on this forum the first few comments will almost always be "Change the spells not the system". What's wrong with starting with just one group of problematic spells?
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Old 05-10-2011, 06:05 PM   Top  -  End  -  #8
SPoD
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Try changing Teleport Beacon to be focused on a point in space within 30 feet of the caster, rather than painted on an object or a living creature. If someone can see the beacon, they just see a glowing rune hanging in midair. There's no way to move a point in space, so many of the "cheats" that have been mentioned will be nullified.

Change that, and it's not bad as a quick fix.
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Old 05-11-2011, 04:08 AM   Top  -  End  -  #9
Cipherthe3vil
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

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Originally Posted by SPoD View Post
Try changing Teleport Beacon to be focused on a point in space within 30 feet of the caster, rather than painted on an object or a living creature. If someone can see the beacon, they just see a glowing rune hanging in midair. There's no way to move a point in space, so many of the "cheats" that have been mentioned will be nullified.

Change that, and it's not bad as a quick fix.
^-- This .
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Old 05-15-2011, 03:14 PM   Top  -  End  -  #10
Blood_caller
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

Quote:
Originally Posted by SPoD View Post
Try changing Teleport Beacon to be focused on a point in space within 30 feet of the caster, rather than painted on an object or a living creature. If someone can see the beacon, they just see a glowing rune hanging in midair. There's no way to move a point in space, so many of the "cheats" that have been mentioned will be nullified.

Change that, and it's not bad as a quick fix.
Teleport Beacon changed
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Old 05-15-2011, 03:48 PM   Top  -  End  -  #11
Epsilon Rose
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

I'm not sure "fixing" teleport is actually a good idea. On one hand teleportation does make the epic journey harder to pull off, on the other hand if your players are continually bypassing the journey via teleport they're sending you a message about what kind of game they want. In this case it makes more sense to either A) focus on the other parts (i.e. where do we have to go, what do we have to do once we get there, whats even going on, and of course the actual doing once they're there) or B) have a gentleman's agreement with the wizard (much like the one that says he won't chain-gate solars or otherwise break the game) saying that the campien is to be focused on the epic journey and he shouldn't use greater teleport to by pass 90% of it (if he says "no" that means you should either try convincing him or rework you concept because if the players don't want to play your game it doesn't make sense to force them), which has the advantage of them not looking for loopholes.

If you're dead set on keeping the "fix" though, you might want to knock it down a few level since it's nowhere near as useful.
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Old 05-15-2011, 07:27 PM   Top  -  End  -  #12
SPoD
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

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If you're dead set on keeping the "fix" though, you might want to knock it down a few level since it's nowhere near as useful.
It doesn't need to be as useful, that's largely the point. It doesn't need to be knocked down a few levels if it is the ONLY teleportation option available. If players don't want to take it, then they don't take it. No skin off the DM's nose. But even a teleport that only works back to home base and back is enormously powerful, allowing players to sleep in their own beds every night during a dungeon and buy whatever item needed to solve a dungeon puzzle.

Bottom line, a DM is not obligated to balance a piece of homebrew against a core rule if that core rule is being eliminated from their game. Since the stated goal is to make teleport less powerful and thus remove the incentive to use it constantly, keeping it the same level will do the job nicely.
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Old 05-16-2011, 12:53 AM   Top  -  End  -  #13
1of3
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

I like the approach in 4e even better, as the Teleport Circles are not personal. Anybody can use your Teleport Circles, if they know its sigil sequence. It's even more like Stargate that way.

I think it offers more interesting opportunities:
- You can steal a fortresses sequence.
- They can try to steal yours.
- You can mislead foes be giving them the wrong sequence.
And so on.


Of course, in 4e it costs 100 gp every time, too.
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Old 05-16-2011, 02:52 AM   Top  -  End  -  #14
Lord Vukodlak
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

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Originally Posted by Epsilon Rose View Post
I'm not sure "fixing" teleport is actually a good idea. On one hand teleportation does make the epic journey harder to pull off, on the other hand if your players are continually bypassing the journey via teleport they're sending you a message about what kind of game they want.
No they aren't. There sending the message they use the tools that are available to them. Your simply assuming there sending a message. If teleportation is available you can't really have the epic journey even if the PC's WANT an epic journey. It breaks the verisimilitude of the game to have the epic journey when they can skip most of the hassle.
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Old 05-16-2011, 10:53 AM   Top  -  End  -  #15
Ashtagon
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

I'd utilise a couple of fixes.

First, teleport is not instantaneous over long distances. At one mile, it takes one round of subjective duration for the trip. For longer distances, it's a number of rounds equal to the square root of the distance in miles, rounded off. The maximum range at 20th level (2000 miles) would take 44 rounds (4 1/2 minutes) of subjective time. A more typical teleport of 100 miles would take 10 rounds.

During this entire period, a visible beacon is present at the destination. Aside from acting as an early warning of an incoming teleport, it also allows a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + number of rounds) to determine the origin point.

Second, A similar beacon is present at the departure point after leaving, for the same number of rounds. This can likewise be used to determine where the person went to.

Third, that time is spent in the Far Realm. And you are exposed to some mind-blowing stuff. Make a Will save (DC = 5 + number of rounds) for each spell you have in memory or lose it. Make Another Will save (DC = 5 + number of rounds) for each of Int, Wis, and Cha, and take one point of ability damage for each point you failed the save by. Finally, make a Will save (same DC as above), and lose 1d6 hp for each point you fail this save by (max 20d6).

Finally, you can only pick destinations that you have visited -- all the usual 'familiarity' restrictions apply.

The above rules really put a dampener on "scry and die" tactics, since any caster who teleports is fairly drained, and even melee types are likely to be feeling queasy. Even quick shortcuts to 'friendly' places would have to be acts of desperation.

Basically, teleport is a major storyboard thing, more often used by NPCs or as a desperate escape manoeuvre, rather than as a shortcut for sipping a few wandering monster encounters.
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Old 05-30-2011, 04:17 PM   Top  -  End  -  #16
roscoe
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

This fix means that teleportation cannot be used in scry'n'die tactics which basically puts a stopper to that. Tbh I've always found that tactic a bit distasteful so I don't have a problem with that.
With this fix you can still use it to get back and forth from certain destinations which means you don't die of old age because of travelling.
Imo this fix means the spell is reduced to what it should be.
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Old 05-30-2011, 05:06 PM   Top  -  End  -  #17
Zale
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

You could just make it more cost-prohibitive. No one's going to abuse a spell that costs an arm and a leg.


Because, honestly, with Ashtagon's fix.. you might as well just die where you are. At least then aberrations wont eat you.
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Old 05-30-2011, 05:17 PM   Top  -  End  -  #18
Cipherthe3vil
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

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Third, that time is spent in the Far Realm. And you are exposed to some mind-blowing stuff. Make a Will save (DC = 5 + number of rounds) for each spell you have in memory or lose it. Make Another Will save (DC = 5 + number of rounds) for each of Int, Wis, and Cha, and take one point of ability damage for each point you failed the save by. Finally, make a Will save (same DC as above), and lose 1d6 hp for each point you fail this save by (max 20d6).

Finally, you can only pick destinations that you have visited -- all the usual 'familiarity' restrictions apply.
It was cool until there. 1) Thats a helluvalotta rolls.
I'd go DC 10 + Spell level or lose 1d4 spells from that level. Or 5+5 per 100ft or lose 1d20 spells chosen by DM.
And that is only for unfamiliar places.
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Old 05-30-2011, 05:22 PM   Top  -  End  -  #19
Zale
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Default Re: Teleport Fix [3.5e] (Please PEACH)

That sounds more reasonable.
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