Getting citizens in an impossible locale.

[UnjustCustos]

This may be an impossible task but I figured I would ask before throwing up my hands. Imagine a nation with decent land that is, for all purposes, isolated from other peoples. Is there anyway to get breathing citizens quick, fast, and in a hurry? Any idea is welcome.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

We're gonna need a *lot* more context.

Are you looking for a way to do this mechanically, as a player? Are you looking for a way to justify this as a DM?

What does "Quickly" mean? Within a round? A day? Five years?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Teleportation circle or wish?

[Menzath]

yes a clearer definition of what is wanted would be helpful.

As far as convincing people to move to this locale.. You don't need a HUGE reason, but enough. like say actually giving people the land they live on, or funding your area/nations tax's in alternate methods that most citizens don't have to pay.
Or freedom of religion.
Or just about any other reason people have moved to other areas in the past.

[UnjustCustos]

We're gonna need a *lot* more context.

Are you looking for a way to do this mechanically, as a player? Are you looking for a way to justify this as a DM?

What does "Quickly" mean? Within a round? A day? Five years?

Ha, sorry. Imagine a large countryside with a protective "kill everything" circle around it. The problem is that it has no off switch and no holes. Teleporation is off because even attempting to teleport through it kills people. Mechanically would be best, justify would be nice. And years is acceptable. Anything less than "Let the party breed for several generations". I know there are tons of spells I know nothing of so anything that speeds up aging or fertility could work, I suppose, if those exist.

[limejuicepowder]

To be *entirely* isolated in a standard DnD world is damn near impossible. If a wizard or cleric wants to find you, he/she can. For most purposes though, anonymity is the way to go - even a wizard can't teleport/plane shift to something he has no knowledge of.

Edit: swordsage'd by the info update. I don't know nearly as much a some, but that doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of. A miles-wide auto-kill zone is probably very much in the realm of fiat. If it's just a one-time deal that the players shouldn't expect to recreate, why bother finding some crazy way to do it with the expressed rules? Make up a reason in-game and continue on.

[UnjustCustos]

So far the only option I'm seeing is a planar caravan style. Why I came here. Hoping for to make that a Plan B.

[Matticussama]

Does the circle's effects cross planar boundaries? If not, you have Ethereal Jaunt and Shadow Walk as possible ways to move across it and other similar spells.

[Pally din]

Wish, miracle, some form of mass teleport, epic teleport (as seen in the comic), fast time demi plane, awaken (on trees), awaken undead (animal bones? They are intelligent, but technicaly not breathing.), gate. I suppose even some of the summon spells get a few beings there for a short time. Depends on how many spells you have and want to blow on it. If it is just an isolated land mass, you could probabaly use various spells to speed ships there, or use flying mounts to bring in a few, or a fast flying flying castle (crafted) to bring in a castle load.

If you tell us level, class, and time limits, that will narrow the problem down.

Edit: dispel, disjoin, cancel, or negate the killing effect, then walk. Antimagic field at the circle boundary might create a safe passage route.

[UnjustCustos]

Does the circle's effects cross planar boundaries? If not, you have Ethereal Jaunt and Shadow Walk as possible ways to move across it and other similar spells.

Unknown. We haven't tried to cross planes yet. Yet. And because of the situation we can't really map it out without lots of dead "something".


Wish, miracle, some form of mass teleport, epic teleport (as seen in the comic), fast time demi plane, awaken (on trees), awaken undead (animal bones? They are intelligent, but technicaly not breathing.), gate. I suppose even some of the summon spells get a few beings there for a short time. Depends on how many spells you have and want to blow on it. If it is just an isolated land mass, you could probabaly use various spells to speed ships there, or use flying mounts to bring in a few, or a fast flying flying castle (crafted) to bring in a castle load.

If you tell us level, class, and time limits, that will narrow the problem down.

Not really a time limit, just a desire. And the party is hovering around 10th level with the only casters being a Sorc, a Cleric, and a Wizard.

[Tvtyrant]

Create an AMF at the point of the field so that people can walk through? If you want to let a lot of people through you can throw a Hallow spell up with an attached Anti-Magic Field. This nets you a year where there is a hole in the barrier that anyone can cross.

[UnjustCustos]

Create an AMF at the point of the field so that people can walk through? If you want to let a lot of people through you can throw a Hallow spell up with an attached Anti-Magic Field. This nets you a year where there is a hole in the barrier that anyone can cross.

You can hallow an AMF? And THIS is why I come to the boards.

[Tvtyrant]

Shoot I lied. It was Dispel Magic.

[sktarq]

Well it depends a bit on the rules of crossing the boundary.
If the party can have allies outside see if you can be shipped a dais of raise dead. Let people die either as they come over or just before and raise them on the other side. Sure 1st gen looses a con point. Offer to hold onto and protect "things that should not be" and similar church artifacts to get this boon.
Also cross planar caravan may only be a caster with a few wands of shadow jaunt. If that works. Don't tell anyone of your protected areas existance.

[Slipperychicken]

How did you get in?

[UnjustCustos]

Got in by a plot fiat. We are destined to have the land, it seems.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Hallow makes a particular site, building, or structure a holy site. This has four major effects.

First, the site or structure is guarded by a magic circle against evil effect.

Second, all Charisma checks made to turn undead gain a +4 sacred bonus, and Charisma checks to command undead take a -4 penalty. Spell resistance does not apply to this effect. (This provision does not apply to the druid version of the spell.)

Third, any dead body interred in a hallowed site cannot be turned into an undead creature.

Finally, you may choose to fix a single spell effect to the hallowed site. The spell effect lasts for one year and functions throughout the entire site, regardless of the normal duration and area or effect. You may designate whether the effect applies to all creatures, creatures who share your faith or alignment, or creatures who adhere to another faith or alignment. At the end of the year, the chosen effect lapses, but it can be renewed or replaced simply by casting hallow again.

Spell effects that may be tied to a hallowed site include aid, bane, bless, cause fear, darkness, daylight, death ward, deeper darkness, detect evil, detect magic, dimensional anchor, discern lies, dispel magic, endure elements, freedom of movement, invisibility purge, protection from energy, remove fear, resist energy, silence, tongues, and zone of truth. Saving throws and spell resistance might apply to these spells’ effects. (See the individual spell descriptions for details.)

An area can receive only one hallow spell (and its associated spell effect) at a time. Hallow counters but does not dispel unhallow.

Note that the list says include, not "these are the only spells that you can apply".

[BRC]

when you say "Plot Fiat", do you mean that, as the Destined Rulers of the Land, you can cross the Circle of Instant Death, or was there some other mechanic.

If the Former, then the DM probably wants you to be alone here, and will foil any plans to do otherwise.

If the Latter, then explore that mechanic. If it was a magical gateway, see if you can reopen and stabilize it.
Otherwise an Antimagic Field could serve as a gateway (You could even shut it off in order to seal the gate).

Personally, if the DM created something as arbitrary as a giant magical circle that kills anything that crosses it, he probably wants you to be alone there

[icefractal]

It would be expensive, but if you had people come in one at a time, you could use Revivify to bring them back to life - cheaper than Raise Dead, and no Con loss.

[Eldonauran]

Note that the list says include, not "these are the only spells that you can apply".

The entire list of spells that may be tied to the hallowed spell are all listed in one sentence. Unless that sentence ends with a phrase similar to 'amoung others', then the popular "the rules don't say that I can't" pops up.

[Shining Wrath]

First of all, you have described Oz, surrounded by the Deadly Desert. The canonical solution is therefore a Wizard with a balloon. :smallbiggrin:

More seriously ... if the death field is not spherical, extending both above and below the nation, flight and tunnels work.

If that doesn't work, then Ethereal or Planar travel. Leave PMP, travel to corresponding point, re-enter PMP.

If that doesn't work, something like the border of Xanth in A Spell for Chameleon, where certain people had the innate ability to shut down the field at the edge of Xanth for a little while. PCs have to find the member of the party who has the inner ability to make a hole in the field for a little while.

If that doesn't work, a subterranean labyrinth with one exit on the other side of the field, inhabited by Minotaurs of sufficient upgrades to daunt your party.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Considering the heavy level of fiat and uncertainty (i.e. we don't know what it does because it's all in the DM's head) in this scenario I would be very wary of any attempted rules-based ways of getting people around. For instance, planar travel is still a [Teleportation] effect generally speaking, so it may kill people who end up trying to get in. If the kill barrier is a [Death] effect, and that's all it does, Death Ward negates magical [Death] effects, but for some reason I don't imagine the DM letting this work.

[UnjustCustos]

Considering the heavy level of fiat and uncertainty (i.e. we don't know what it does because it's all in the DM's head) in this scenario I would be very wary of any attempted rules-based ways of getting people around. For instance, planar travel is still a [Teleportation] effect generally speaking, so it may kill people who end up trying to get in. If the kill barrier is a [Death] effect, and that's all it does, Death Ward negates magical [Death] effects, but for some reason I don't imagine the DM letting this work.
Pretty much. Figured I would at least ask though. Thanks for all the assistance, peeps.

[Slipperychicken]

Got in by a plot fiat. We are destined to have the land, it seems.

The surest path to the solution, then, is to read your DM's mind.

[Gavinfoxx]

The death field -- is it blocked by line of effect? A thin sheet of lead? Is it an Emanation? An area effect?

Does it work on animals?

Monstrous Humanoids?

Only Humanoids?

How high up does it extend?

How deep into the ground does it extend?

Seriously, look at the thing with Arcane Sight.

[Jack_Simth]

Ha, sorry. Imagine a large countryside with a protective "kill everything" circle around it. The problem is that it has no off switch and no holes. Teleporation is off because even attempting to teleport through it kills people. Mechanically would be best, justify would be nice. And years is acceptable. Anything less than "Let the party breed for several generations". I know there are tons of spells I know nothing of so anything that speeds up aging or fertility could work, I suppose, if those exist.
Does the child of a simulacrum inherit the simulacrum's limitations? If not, you have a solution: Make a zillion fake people (you'll need to cheat the components somehow - Planar Bind Efreeti, maybe... although that never ends well) and have them breed in real people.

Edit: Oh, there we go. Polymorph Any Object. Turn medium mammals into medium humanoids (Duration Factors: kingdom, class, size = Permanent) and small mammals into small humanoids (Duration Factors: kingdom, class, size = Permanent)... although the children are likely to be rather odd. Make sure that, initially at least, you make many more females than males.

[avr]

If there are slaves, free them. Instant citizens.

Get Awaken as an SLA; possibly even slower than natural growth, sadly.

If you can find a way to bypass the XP cost, manifesting Mind Seed on monsters would work similarly.

[Mnemnosyne]

Is there anything living already in the field? If so, awakening it might work, if you're just looking for people, even somewhat nonstandard people. A country of awakened animals or plants is still a country full of intelligent people, etc. In a scenario where the land within the field is totally devoid of all life, then if you can procure the means to create golems and then use awaken construct on them, you can have a nation of golems.

If the field kills anything that touches it, is that a death effect? Would death ward be sufficient? What about the undead? Does it destroy undead that touch it? If not, procure undead citizens. Mindless undead can be granted sentience with awaken undead, so you could simply animate mass skeletons, then awaken them.

If you and your party can get in and out, you can also transport people via extra dimensional space. Or turn them to stone, and therefore not alive, for transport through the field, then turn them back.

[Juntao112]

First of all, you have described Oz, surrounded by the Deadly Desert. The canonical solution is therefore a Wizard with a balloon. :smallbiggrin:

The League of Steam approves of this idea.

[Vaz]

Gate in a load? Origin of Species epic spell.

[BowStreetRunner]

Unless death is generally permanent, you simply plan to have every teleportation event be followed by a resurrection event. For instance, as soon as the new arrivals appear on the teleportation podium, someone casts revivify on them.