[DF] Limited Teleport Spell: an acceptable option?

[simply Nathan]

Personally, I've always allowed Blink so adding another teleport to my list could work.

[Carlos]

Originally Posted by DavidSev

It also lets people teleport through locked doors or bars or other obstacles you can see through.

I seem to recall that sorta thing was given in the book as why it's banned.

Not really. Elemental bodies (like Body of Air) already can make the wizard pass through locked doors or bars.

The reason of why it was forbidden was to avoid instant and (at some degree) easy dungeon escape and return, as Toadkiller said.

Originally Posted by bcd

Even with a LoS limitation on teleport, Earth Vision can get you a long way (up to 50 yards through earth/uncut stone) although it is a bit of an energy drain. Depending on the dungeon this could be enough to get you in and out, not quite a word of recall but still.

That's why I said...

Originally Posted by Carlos

As I said previously, I think that Teleport spell is amazing to give wizards mobility in the battle map (like the Diablo II Sorcerer), so the Line of Sight would exclude supernatural abilities as a way to cheat.

So if the spells that extends the wizard's sight is a problem, just say "No supernatural ability that improves the wizard's vision work with this spell".

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by Carlos

So if the spells that extends the wizard's sight is a problem, just say "No supernatural ability that improves the wizard's vision work with this spell".

You need to decide if spells like Dark Vision or Night Vision are covered; if not, you can't teleport without light.

I'd probably allow teleporting blind, but start with a -10 (same as sudden blindness in combat) plus normal spell penalties.

[b-dog]

Teleport is not the problem as much as the fact that spell is too powerful for the cost. If the range is reduced to short distances then there would not be too unfair.

[Kromm]

The issue with the Teleport spell isn't range, energy cost, casting time, or any other basic statistic, but the fact that it lets you teleport to any place you've ever seen, carrying up to Heavy encumbrance. It robs a DF adventure of all tension if the wizard can ferry loot to the Secret Hiding Place shortly after it's found, make regular supply runs for healing potions and arrows, zap himself to town to charge his power item whenever the party rests, and even grab a wounded pal for a visit to the Temple of Great Healing. The entire issue of resource-management – encumbrance effects of loot forcing difficult choices, consumables being expended, hard calls about when to use healing, etc. – goes out the window, rolled into an additional FP cost that, however large the GM makes it, can be negated by using some of the extra loot the heroes cart to town to pay for extra paut or a quick refill of a power item.

The two changes that would fix all the problems are:

1. Line of sight only. If you can't see a place (and that means "see the entire space you want to teleport into," forbidding teleportation directly behind enemies or solid obstacles), you can't go there, even if you've been there 1,000 times.
   
   
2. Basic Lift only. No teleporting with friends, no teleporting with massive packs of gold, and in fact most likely no teleporting in full armor . . . well, unless you happen to be incredibly strong.

With those tweaks, the adventure would work again.

Note that the issue of peering through keyholes, using Wizard Eye to see faraway places, etc. isn't terribly relevant to why we removed Teleport from DF. A wizard who wants to blink off to some place that only he can visit (and possibly one that only he can see, if using vision magic!) will get what he deserves. If the GM wants to make this a bigger risk, then have Teleport announce its arrival with a bright flash and a loud noise.

[Carlos]

Originally Posted by Kromm

1. Line of sight only. If you can't see a place (and that means "see the entire space you want to teleport into," forbidding teleportation directly behind enemies or solid obstacles), you can't go there, even if you've been there 1,000 times.
   
2. Basic Lift only. No teleporting with friends, no teleporting with massive packs of gold, and in fact most likely no teleporting in full armor . . . well, unless you happen to be incredibly strong.

With the "Line of Sight only" limitation, is the encumbrance really a relevant issue? Wizards with personal itens (and why not Wizard-Knights/Knight-Wizards in full plate?) would have serious problems with that. After all, this modified version of Teleport would not allow him to go too far away.

Originally Posted by Kromm

Note that the issue of peering through keyholes, using Wizard Eye to see faraway places, etc. isn't terribly relevant to why we removed Teleport from DF. A wizard who wants to blink off to some place that only he can visit (and possibly one that only he can see, if using vision magic!) will get what he deserves. If the GM wants to make this a bigger risk, then have Teleport announce its arrival with a bright flash and a loud noise.

By the way, the Teleport's "special effect" is not defined on the spell. Is that a matter of player's preference?

[Kromm]

I'd restrict encumbrance before restricting the use of magical vision to target Teleport, put it that way. Most wizards would be very tempted to use magical scrying to "see" distant Teleport destinations if that were possible . . . and to be honest, that wouldn't bug me at all. That would be using magic in an intelligent manner, which is what wizards are supposed to do; it's part of what puts the "wise" in "wizard."

However, if you allow that, then you're back to wizards teleporting loot and pals to safety out of combat, unless you impose another drawback to forbid that very, very abusive effect. I think that an encumbrance limit would be perfect – not to mention more consistent with the Warp advantage. Hauling around big loads of armor and weapons is not what wizards are supposed to do. DF has stiff niche protection, and hefty loadouts are barbarian and knight territory, not wizard territory. I feel no guilt about telling wizards to suck it up; if they want to teleport with gear, then they should do the wizardly thing and get enchanted robes and magically lightened armor.

Thus, you use "line of sight" to restrict the worst battlefield abuses (like making every attack a backstab and rendering magical obscuration worthless against teleporters), with the secondary effect of making out-of-combat abuses harder to arrange (remote viewing is failure-prone and spoofable). You use "Basic Lift only" to restrict the worst out-of-combat abuses (like ferrying loot and associates to town after remote viewing), with the secondary effect of making battlefield abuses harder to arrange (you can teleport behind the enemy if you're clever, but you won't be showing up in full armor). The two sort of support one another.

As for the "special effect," Teleport isn't especially noticeable by default. I would say that it doesn't have a special effect as written in Magic. However, I'd strong counsel adding one as a third, minor limit on the spell in DF, and making this the GM's choice – not the player's. I've found that a bright flash and a loud pop, allowing anyone with vision or hearing to spot the wizard and foil all chance of Stealth, to be adequate.

[Kromm]

Here's how I'd rewrite the spell for DF:

Teleport (VH)

Special

Instantly moves the caster to another location. However, the farther away the target spot, the greater the energy cost and the stiffer the skill penalty, as follows:

Distance		Cost	Skill Penalty
Up to 10 yards		3	0
Up to 20 yards		4	-1
Up to 100 yards		5	-2
Up to 500 yards		6	-3
Up to 2 miles		7	-4
Up to 10 miles		8	-5
Up to 100 miles		9	-6
Up to 1,000 miles	10	-7
×10 distance		+1	-1

You may only teleport to a place that you can see. If your Vision roll to see that spot would be at a penalty, then you must attempt a Vision roll at that penalty; if you fail but cast Teleport anyway, the spell fails automatically. Failure is likewise guaranteed if the destination is completely concealed from you: behind an enemy or a wall, over the horizon, etc. You can use vision-assisting magic or remote viewing to "see" your objective – whether this means using Dark Vision in the dark or Wizard Eye to scout ahead – but this gives an extra -2 to the Teleport roll.

This spell is dangerous, too. If you fail your roll by 1, you suffer 1d of injury and arrive at your destination physically stunned (HT roll to recover). If you miss by more than 1, you are uninjured but go somewhere else. The location is up to the GM! A critical failure can send the caster anywhere the GM likes – make it interesting! – and cause physical injury, as long as it doesn't kill the caster outright.

Even a successful teleport can be confusing. The wizard must roll vs. Body Sense (p. B181) in order to act on the turn in which he teleports. Failure means disorientation – no actions except defense are possible on that turn. Critical failure means he falls down, physically stunned. A teleporter arrives in the same position he started in. He may be facing a different direction, but this makes the Body Sense roll harder: -2 to change facing, -5 to go from vertical to horizontal or vice versa!

Teleportation isn't subtle, either. On arrival, there's a bright flash and a loud pop. This prevents stealthy use of the spell, and gives even those looking away from the destination a Per+4 roll to hear the noise and/or see the reflected light. In worlds where this spell is known, anybody who succeeds will suspect a teleporter.

Anything carried on your person, up to Basic Lift, goes with you. Regardless of how strong you are, you cannot take anyone with you.

This is also a Gate spell.

Prerequisites: Either IQ 13 or better and at least one spell from 10 different colleges, or Hawk Flight.

[Carlos]

Amazing! And I liked the flash and loud pop effect because I had imagined a lightning-based teleport (like Raiden's Teleport from Mortal Kombat series).

By the way, two more questions:

• Teleport is a movement spell. Is there any chance of elementalists to have an elemental-based teleport? (Like the Lightning Teleport mentioned above)
  
• What are the chances of this issue to be published in a future Pyramid Magazine or even in a DF book?

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Carlos

[LIST][*]Teleport is a movement spell. Is there any chance of elementalists to have an elemental-based teleport? (Like the Lightning Teleport mentioned above)

]

Anything's possible when the GM allows it...

Originally Posted by Plant Magic

Six Embezzled Spells
Sometimes a spell is a variant of another, customized for a different college.
For example, Animate Plant is a specialization of Animate, and Arboreal
Immurement is based on Entombment.