Teleportation School Broken?[PF]

[roguemetal]

So, as far as I can tell, the Teleportation school's Shift allows the player to essentially get a freedom of movement, free auto grapple escape, a better version of the acrobatics skill, and all matter of other utility options, a crazy number of times per day, starting at level one, as a Su ability. This appears immediately gamebreaking, and I'm curious how I can keep a wizard with it from overshadowing the other characters in my session which has a rogue, fighter, and underoptimized cleric. Wizards already speak up at every knowledge check, do they need to take care of acrobatics too?

The ability:
Shift (Su): At 1st level, you can teleport to a nearby space as a swift action as if using dimension door. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You must be able to see the space that you are moving into. You cannot take other creatures with you when you use this ability (except for familiars). You can move 5 feet for every two wizard levels you possess (minimum 5 feet). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.

My campaign is probably not going past level 7, so I don't feel like this ability is appropriate, but I thought I'd get feedback from the community.

[Fable Wright]

It's pretty good, but it's got nothing on Abrupt Jaunt from D&D 3.5, which lets you teleport 10ft as an Immediate action about the same number of times per day. From level 1.

As for its brokenness/overshadowing? Not so much. The ability works as if you used Dimension Door, meaning that after using it, you can't take actions until the beginning of your next turn. Moving, what, 5ft and then ending your turn, and then gradually getting up to 10 and 15ft before ending your turn isn't exactly gamebreaking. Sure, it could be nifty to get out of a grapple. It would be niftier if you could move away from the grappler after you got free, but whatever.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Ooh, good catch! I think you're right, though you may have to make a concentration check? It would be difficult for a Wizard not to overshadow that party. If you're looking for a similar alternative that's not T1, the sorcerer gives a lot of flexibility in that you always have the right spell for the job.

[roguemetal]

The ability works as if you used Dimension Door, meaning that after using it, you can't take actions until the beginning of your next turn.

Good catch on that, I hadn't noticed. It's not nearly as bad as I thought, though its' out of combat applications are still kind of silly for first level. Conjurer school already gets a better version at level 8 which is a more appropriate level for this sort of ability. This is coming from a game crafting design, where difficulties at level 1 might be getting past guards, climbing a wall, getting out of a locked cage, escaping a carriage, basically things rogues or fighters should have advantage at doing at that level.

[Fable Wright]

Good catch on that, I hadn't noticed. It's not nearly as bad as I thought, though its' out of combat applications are still kind of silly for first level. Conjurer school already gets a better version at level 8 which is a more appropriate level for this sort of ability. This is coming from a game crafting design, where difficulties at level 1 might be getting past guards, climbing a wall, getting out of a locked cage, escaping a carriage, basically things rogues or fighters should have advantage at doing at that level.

At level 1, you can move into the square next to you as a Swift action. It's not very good for sneaking past guards, no one in their right mind would lock people in cages (given that Rogues, Barbarians, and Teleporters exist), and it's not too difficult to escape a carriage. However, I'll grant you, Teleporters escape cages and carriages best. Of course, they can't take anyone with them, don't have the skills to properly find the keys, and lose the rest of their turn after they do it, meaning that anyone guarding them could recapture the Wizard rather easily (or the Wizard takes damage from moving out of a moving vehicle). It's actually a fairly well balanced ability- interesting, with practical applications, while being mostly useless.

[Blisstake]

It's very powerful, and of course it has to be in the conjuration school, which already has enough going for it :smallsigh:

I'd say it's about on par with the Void School.