PDA

View Full Version : [3.5] Now you're thinking with portals



Heliomance
2009-05-02, 09:38 PM
Currently playing a Ranger 5/Horizon Walker 6/Planar Master 1.

Planar Master is a homebrew class that at level 1 gets an ability called Force Gate. What this does is allow me to hold open or closed any Conjuration (Teleportation) effect for one round per class level. If I hold it closed, this means for example that the BBEG can't teleport away. If I hold a teleport open, it becomes a portal that other people can go through.

House rules: Scrying is a skill check which can be done by any spellcasting class, including Ranger. (Planar Master is not a spellcasting class)

Scrying grants Line of Sight

Dimension Door now has Range: Line of Sight. Line of Effect is not required. I used it this evening to bust my teammates out of a forcecage.

I also have Quicken SLA: Dimension Door, having taken Shifting at HW 6.

Oh, and the party mage has masses of spells that move people about.


My question to the playground: how much fun can I have with this ability? I'm lookng for creative uses of portals for fun and profit, especially in battle. And unfortunately I can't create horizontal portals, only vertical ones. I can't just drop enemies through them, but they can be bull-rushed through. Also I don't have to go through a portal I make.

quick_comment
2009-05-02, 09:58 PM
You could ready an action to open a portal in front of a charging attacker. They either have to stop the charge or go through.


Can you hold open more than 1 portal at a time?

Emong
2009-05-02, 09:59 PM
Can you hold open more than 1 portal at a time?


Or could you post the class here?

herrhauptmann
2009-05-02, 11:53 PM
If the enemy is taking cover behind a wall of force (blocks line of effect, not sight) you could cooperate with wizard.
Open a portal while he has a readied action to send through a heavy duty blasting or save/suck spell. Follow that up with the meatshields rushing through. Better still if you can get the rogue in first, for some heavy sneak attack first.

Heliomance
2009-05-03, 06:53 AM
It takes concentration, so only one portal at a time.

I unfortunately don't actually have the full class details yet, I keep badgering the DM to write it up formally but he's not got round to it yet.

Rogue doesn't even need to go through the portal. If I open a portal right behind the enemy, he can then just shoot through the portal to get sneak attack.

Baalthazaq
2009-05-03, 09:06 AM
The obvious comes at level 4 of Planar Master.

You can now hold open DD's at least as long as your next DD comes into play. (D4 rounds)

Dimension door in the floor, exit above it. Drop a shrink item boulder down it and speak the command word. Let it fall continuously, and hold open the portals.

As it reaches terminal velocity, open up another portal quickened below the boulder, with the exit right behind (or above/below) your enemy.

Use the exact same method with yourself as the boulder to propel yourself through the air.

Lots of fun stuff.

Have you ever played portal?

Heliomance
2009-05-03, 09:24 AM
Unfortunately, I can't create horizontal portals, only vertical ones. I'd imagine it's specifically tostop me doing stuff like that.

quick_comment
2009-05-03, 10:55 AM
It takes concentration, so only one portal at a time.



There is a skill trick in complete scoundrel that lets you concentrate as a swift action. It also comes as a feat.

Heliomance
2009-05-03, 11:52 AM
DM doesn't like skill tricks and it's three levels till my next feat. Also, I can currently only hold them open for one round, so how I'd get another one off I'm not sure.

The Mentalist
2009-05-03, 11:56 AM
A magic item of Sonorous Hum?

Assassin89
2009-05-03, 12:58 PM
Humorous Answers: send the enemy to Aperture Science Enrichment Center or some other death trap.

Serious Answers: Figure out a way to bypass cover, or give a way to attack at a distance.

Stormthorn
2009-05-03, 01:07 PM
Open a portal when the enemy charges at you using a readied action. Have Delayed Fireball waiting wherever it dumps them off at.

Olo Demonsbane
2009-05-03, 02:16 PM
Are your portals visible? If not...

Create the entry in front of a charging enemy and the exit behind him. Functions as a treadmill :smallbiggrin:


And yes, portal is lots of fun :smallsmile:

FinalJustice
2009-05-03, 02:35 PM
Beatstick blitz sniping:
You can 'snipe' at great, great, great distances.
Scry + 'Teleportal' + Beatstick whacking + Close portal before enemy can react.

Repeat in 1d4 rounds.

Aerial assauts:
Can you create portals in the air? (One can teleport in the air, so...)

If yes, you can do some massive aerial attacks. Load a bag of holding with stones/magma/what have you, scry, create a portal on top of the enemy, unload bag of holding.

Does this extend teleportation thingie work with Plane Shift? It can lead to some magma unloading from the plane of fire. It also means that you and your wizard can full heal the party after a fight. Just teleport everyone to a positive energy plane, wait, and come back.

Reshaping line spells:

If your wizard is a blasty kind, you can create portals in front of his line spells. to change their direction or even reaim then. Can be useful and you can possibly hit some foes twice with the same spell. Double damage is nothing to sneeze about.

Heliomance
2009-05-03, 03:34 PM
I suspect it probably does work with Plane Shift, though I'm not sure. We'll be able to do that next level anyway, as the second level ability of the class is Area Shift. 1/day/class level, transport yourself and everything in a certain radius (not sure how big) anywhere on any plane you've been before. This includes land. The area just swaps with the equivalent area at the destination.

As for mid-air portals, no reason why not. That's a fantastic idea, especially as I don't actually have to go through the portal myself.

Also, the portals are visible. I believe they glow blue.

Heliomance
2009-05-07, 07:23 AM
No more ideas? I thought with this title the thread would get tons of hits. Oh well.

The ideas so far are great, thanks! Keep 'em coming?

Olo Demonsbane
2009-05-07, 11:09 PM
So, for that next ability....

Go traveling. Seriously. Go find the world's largest volcano.

Now, when you find your next BBEG...tell your allies to take cover and Area shift you and the BBEG into the volcano. You have a couple turns before you get boiled alive, so hit the BBEG with a scroll of dimensional anchor, then teleport outta there.

Radar
2009-05-08, 06:36 AM
Not very powerfull use, but you can effectively give yourself flanking bonus if you are dual-wielding or if you readied action of using dimension door, you could backstab an opponent while being in front of him. Essentialy you can channel any attack to any place you want. Think of something like this:
http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=4&p=000892

Also it can serve as a nastier version of a wind wall - have a mob of archers be hit by their own arrows.

If someone in your group will get their hands on a gravity altering spell (essentialy like Reverse Gravity, but working sideways), then you can bypass the "no portal on the floor" clause. Accelerate the bad guy (or a reduced Collosal boulder - release the spell before impact) in the portal loop and release in a desired direction after achieving a high enough speed to cause high enough damage.

I would also like to read the whole class description - it seems realy interesting. :-)

Heliomance
2009-05-10, 06:50 AM
Okay, class rundown:

1: Force Gate
2: Area Shift, 10 ft radius
3: Planar Control: Ethereal plane
4: Area Shift, 20 ft radius
5: Planar Control: Astral plane
6: Area Shift, 40 ft radius
7: Planar Control: Inner planes
8: Area Shift, 60 ft radius
9: Planar Control: Morphic Prime-based planes
10: Area Shift, 100 ft radius, Genesis SLA

I'm a little hazy on the radii, I might have got those wrong. The level 9 ability allows me to control most any planar space based on the Prime, though not the Prime itself. It does include Faerieland, the inside of a Rope Trick, Mord's Magnificent Mansion, Portable Holes, etc etc. It also, in conjunction with the level 5 ability, allows me to redirect incoming teleports.

Also, I have the advantage that no-one knows what my abilities can do at the moment, as I'm the second ever instantiated Planar Master in the world.

Tyrmatt
2009-05-10, 07:03 AM
I always liked the idea of a mage-type who dodged incoming spells and and ranged attacks in a manner similar to Marvel's The Spot, by opening small portals to absorb the attack and opening an exit behind the person who fired it.

Nothing says hilarious like warping a fireball into the back of the enemy of who conjured it. Maybe have the wizard ready some actions for you to make a target of yourself and use your abilities to redirect spells against your foes.

Radar
2009-05-10, 08:30 AM
Another nasty way, to use quickened dimension door is to wipe rooms full of enemies without ever going in or setting up a wall of force and blasting through from behind an impenetrable barrier.

Just scry on the room you are about to enter, if full of badies, then send a cloudkill without opening the door. You can also port in (using standard 5' movement) stab and port out (second 5') all in one round. Psychologicaly it's a realy scary tactic.