Fighting against teleport at will

[Isil]

In our current campaign we are going up against a devil (Imp with class levels?) with the ability to teleport at will. We found this out in a much earlier encounter with the devil (which was played out outside of initiative, to underline our inability to pose a threat). At the time we were allowed to stay alive, because the devil was amused by us. Go figure.

Ever since that encounter, I have the feeling the devil is toying with us through various behing-the-scenes machinations.

Now the party has decided the time has come to end this devil. We think we've figured out where it is currently hiding out and we're ready to start an assault on it's stronghold. But is there a way to deal with the teleport at will part? The only plan we have so far is to surprise it and deal massive damage before it has the chance to get away.

The party:
Sorceror (6), mostly direct damage spells
Bard (5) / Druid (1), Dire Wolf animal companion
Rogue (5)
Swashbuckler (5)
Cleric (5)

Any suggestions for magic items or spells that could help us out?

[ryu]

If you're confident you can kill the thing have you considered dimensional anchor?

[ahenobarbi]

Well teleport at will is cool but is not encounter winner on it's own. I mean if you teleport on round 1, then everybody gets to act, you do something on round 2 (everybody gets to act in that round too), then you can teleport away. If you follow rules that is. So talk to your DM to follow the rules.

(It is possible to take great advantage of it but it needs something more than just teleport at will (for some means to remain unnoticed after teleporting but before acting).

[Mnemnosyne]

A scroll of dimensional anchor, if it's sufficiently important that he not get away. 700 gp, but the sorcerer or cleric should be able to cast it.

Anticipate teleportation would be great if he tries a tactical teleport mid-combat. It holds him up, you know where he's going to appear, and can ready actions to hit him the moment he reappears.

Another option might be to have someone dedicated to the task of readying attacks to interrupt when he begins to teleport away, and hope he doesn't succeed in his concentration check to cast anyway.

[Slipperychicken]

You could focus on shutting him down with SoL before he can teleport.

If it's an SLA, it still provokes just like a spell, and you can ready actions to interrupt it. Or lay down damage-over-time effects to force concentration checks when he tries to cast it.

If he's casting it as spell, then you can do all the SLA stuff, and also try to counterspell with Dispel Magic.

[Bronk]

There is a magic weapon property from Magic Item Compendium called Binding. For a +1 bonus, on a hit, the opponent is unable to use any form of extradimensional travel for ten minutes, no save. Put it on a magic bow (so the imp can't fly out of reach) and go to town. Actually, I suggest ranged weapons all around for that reason.

I'd watch out for this imp though... regular imps can't teleport at will, so if this one really does have class levels, it could either be really tough (high enough level to cast greater teleport multiple times per day) or really weak (tricking you and only using abrupt jaunt sorcerer ACF). Either way, it sounds like it has all kinds of plot armor...

[Isil]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Scroll of Dimensional Anchor looks like the right solution. Keep it simple for now. We should probably be able to find one somewhere or have it made to order.

The advice with regards to spells, spell-like abilities and attacks of opportunity is also usefull. I'm so used to SU abilities myself, I'd almost forget about it.

Also, can anyone tell me what the SoL means? Slipperychicken mentions it in his/her post.

[ahenobarbi]

Also, can anyone tell me what the SoL means? Slipperychicken mentions it in his/her post.

Save or Lose. A kind of spell (or another effect) that affects target in a way it has effectively lost the fight (if it fails saving roll). For example hold person. Most opponents affected by that spell are as good as dead (sometimes better).

[Slipperychicken]

Save or Lose. A kind of spell (or another effect) that affects target in a way it has effectively lost the fight (if it fails saving roll). For example hold person. Most opponents affected by that spell are as good as dead (sometimes better).

It basically refers to effects which incapacitate targets without killing them. Such effects typically allow a saving throw (hence the "Save-Or" part of the acronym), and do not deal hit point damage. While they do not deal damage or kill the target outright, they usually leave the opponent more-or-less completely at your mercy, allowing you to perform a Coup De Grace (CDG) or otherwise do with them as you please. Examples include (but are not limited to) Sleep, Hold Person, Glitterdust, Dominate Person, Stinking Cloud, and Bands of Steel, although a number of non-spell effects can achieve similar results. It is advisable to possess save-or-lose effects which target each saving throw (Fort, Will, and Reflex), and make sure that no one immunity invalidates your whole loadout (for example, many creatures are immune to [Mind-Affecting] spells, spells which only target humanoids are ineffective against most monsters, and undead/constructs are immune to many Fortitude save-or-lose).

Some people also refer to them as "Save-Or-X" or "Save-or-be-Screwed". When used effectively (that is, using an effect which targets the opponent's weak save, and the opponent is not immune to), it can make fights quite easy, frequently ending encounters with a single roll, including many "bossfight" encounters. Many gamers consider such an outcome unsatisfying or anticlimactic, so some groups have unwritten "gentleman's agreements" not to use such effects excessively. Imagine most of your battles, including the final boss, playing out like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84JxpJMwqg4#t=0m15s), and you can quickly see why it would be considered unfair.


In contrast to SoL effects, those which do kill the target outright are referred to as SoD (Save or Die), and are typically less appealing because they almost always target Fortitude saves, or grant the target multiple saving throws to resist (as is the case for Phantasmal Killer), do not allow for nonlethal takedowns, and can result in unsatisfying PC deaths. Effects which do not allow a save are typically referred to as "No-Save-Just-Lose" (No acronym is used for this).

[Bronk]

You know, imps do have invisibility at will... maybe that one time at a much lower level you were all just fooled into thinking it was teleporting?