scry/buff/teleport query

On Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:24 +0100 (BST), jrowlandstuart RemoveThis @cix.co.uk
(JOanna Rowland-Stuart) wrote:

>> So long as the air leaks away slowly enough
>> that you can empty your lungs in time you'll take no damage and can
>> function normally until you pass out. If it's faster than that,
>> though, it's going to come out and shred your lungs and throat in
>> the
>> process.)
>Under Spelljammer rules, a character ejected into space retained a certain amount
>of air surrounding their body, proportionate to their mass, which stayed with them
>(slowly becoming foul). There was no decompression effect. Instead one suffocated
>unless one could replenish or purify one's personal atmosphere.
>
>It all depends on the world set-up - even if interplanetary space is vacuum, is it
>treated like the world we know, or is it Wildspace? Are solar systems actually
>crystal spheres floating on a sea of phlogiston?
>
>And so on
>
>If you go via real-world rules, one dare not go much beyond ten miles up (50,000
>feet), or one risks passing out from anoxia before being able to do the next
>Teleport.

You can't remain conscious above 30,000 without aid of some kind and
above 44,000 you need magic. (In the 30..44k range I would permit
alchemical approaches--oxygen generators of some kind.) Above 44k
it's going to have to be something that negates the need to breathe
entirely. It has never become an issue but I would be inclined to say
-1 to all stats for every thousand feet above 15k, or 30k if using
non-magical aid.

>That said, nothing to say one cannot go twenty miles at a 45 degree angle (thus
>maximising height and horizontal distance with the takeoff), 100 miles with the
>second and subsequent Teleports, then a teleport down to just above one's
>destination, and a final Teleport when one has a clear view of the landing spot.
>
>To be honest, I'd prefer Shadow Walk (1 hr/level @ 50 miles/hour) which is a 5th
>level spell same as Teleport, or Greater Teleport (unlimited range) which is a 7th
>level spell.

If you're high enough I would let you go as much as 300 miles on a
level teleport. With practice I would allow this to be
lengthened--you learn exactly what angle and range you need to pop in
at a safe altitude. The tolerances grow very tiny as the range goes
up, though--it's not something you do without a lot of practice and
expect to survive it.

I also wouldn't use a bunch of teleports coming down--just drop and
feather fall when you get close. If you have a specific landing spot
you recognize you probably don't need to play games teleporting in the
sky.

On 2009-06-13, Kyle Wilson wrote:
> In any reasonable world, I'd expect that someone would have researched
> items that limit teleport and probably items that can either foil
> scrying or detect it and trace it back. I'd also expect area spells
> that do the same to exist. These would not be of much interest to
> lower level adventurers or other low power types (and thus might be
> assumed to be overlooked) but would become very relevant once the
> players reached levels where teleport effects become common.

I once ran a game where I made it obvious that one ought to be a bit
careful with teleport early on, long before any of the players could
actually cast teleport. You can work that into lower level stuff
easily enough (NPC: "Normally I'd just teleport over, but people who
'port to that area tend to vanish, so I need someone to check this
site out on foot.") and it makes it seem less like you're just doing
an a$$ pull when they get to a level where s-b-t becomes possible.

--
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