How to foil teleporters

[Theodred theOld]

Between dimension door and shadow jaunt, the party I currently dm for is bypassing many deadly obstacles (most notably a hallway criss-crossed with razor filaments held taut by contact explosives hidden behind the wall). Short of making every goal just past their range can anyone think of another method to thwart these wannabe nightcrawlers?

[The Glyphstone]

Dimensional Lock.

Antimagic Fields.

The Divert Teleport psionic power.

[Necroticplague]

Forbiddance, Dimensional Lock, Dimensional Anchor, making the traps non-obvious enough that they don't know when to teleport or where to, Antimagic field, Teleport Trap, Zone of Respite, Unhallow/Hallow, Halastar's Teleport Cage.

[Kraken]

You could drop a weirdstone in the dungeon (Player's Guide to Faerun, 124). That shuts down teleportation, and anything similar in very broad language that'd be tough to get around. They're a 250k item, but you could probably make a lesser one for a dungeon, as presented they cover a 6 mile radius.

[Geddy2112]

Illusion magic. Keep it outside detection range-does not even have to be hard to beat if they interact with it normally, but make it too late to realize the floor they D. Doored onto is not there and a spike pit. Or even things they just can't see- once they d. door they end their turn, so it would be a real shame if they just blindly jaunted to the end of the hall, and something dangerous was around the corner. Antimagic fields also work.

Also, this does count as an X/day resource-if the party wants to burn their spells to bypass danger, it is their right and prerogative to do so. However, they might need those spells later, so ensure that the dungeon has enough challenges that forces them to be judicious in using X/day resources.

[nedz]

Build a trans-dimensional dungeon: Teleport doesn't work across planes.

Use teleportation portals: Dim door would leave them being shunted through solid rock.

Build a dungeon on another plane with non-euclidean geometry: Dim door will miss it's target.

[Theodred theOld]

I think in this scenario anti-magic fields and some well placed illusions will work just fine. Thanks guys and keep em coming.

[Fouredged Sword]

Put a trap in the obvious teleport spot. Something simple like a pressure plate and a poison gas cloud. The ideal thing is that this doesn't have to be done every time, just enough for the party teleporter to get the message that the rogue goes first.

Another good method is fog. A nice bank of fog prevents LOS and thus teleportation and can be natural. Good for hazards that are not man made.

[MisterKaws]

The most mundane way is to simply build the dungeon with turns every 5 meters, this either foils D.Door, or forces them to use divination magic constantly to see their teleportation target, doubling the resource consumption.

[Crake]

Put a trap in the obvious teleport spot. Something simple like a pressure plate and a poison gas cloud. The ideal thing is that this doesn't have to be done every time, just enough for the party teleporter to get the message that the rogue goes first.

Another good method is fog. A nice bank of fog prevents LOS and thus teleportation and can be natural. Good for hazards that are not man made.

Many teleport abilities don't require line of sight, some don't even need line of effect.

I've always been partial to the forbiddance option personally. If the owner of the dungeon is expecting to have his place invaded by anything with teleportation magic, it's only a natural course to take. Hallow/Unhallow with a dimensional anchor effect doesn't prevent you from teleporting IN, just from teleporting out, which is something I don't like. If I recall correctly there's also teleport cage, which creates a barrier of sorts allowing travel within the cage, but not into or out of. Useful for segmenting areas of a dungeon in which you still want some kind of teleportation ability (such as having a teleportation room that takes you to another area of the dungeon, have the teleportation cage link the two areas).

[Geddy2112]

Areas of silence will foil spells with verbal components. Grappling, adverse conditions etc can foil spells with somatic components. A room full of strong weather or some kind of damage/time ability can cause spells to be lost.

[Flickerdart]

Use challenges more appropriate for a 7th level party.

[Theodred theOld]

Use challenges more appropriate for a 7th level party.
This might work if they were 7th level. Turns out they're 11th. Go figure.

[Flickerdart]

11th level is literally legendary. Legendary people are way past Spy vs Spy style traps.

[ApologyFestival]

Flickerdart has the right of it. Even if you do use a method of shutting down teleportation, you should expect your players--being apparently smart people roleplaying as legendarily super-smart people--to figure out a way to negate, dispel, or otherwise destroy that prevention before they will consider running the gauntlet.

[Nibbens]

If the party is Dimension Dooring and Shadow Jaunting, or teleporting etc. through your room based traps and dungeons, then they are burning resources to overcome obstacles. This means they net full XP for defeating the trap you set up. Also, this means that they are handling it exactly they way they're supposed to. Encourage creative thinking (such as this) and reward such behavior.

However, that doesn't actually answer the question does it? I'd suggest using traps and puzzles in the form of situations now that your party is able to use these abilities, to truly challenge them, your challenges need to evolve. The best way to do this is to pick up your monster manual and flip through it. Many monsters are puzzles themselves.

For example: The colour out of space (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/oozes/colour-out-of-space).

On its own as a random encounter, this creature is nothing difficult. However, as a "party hears about a town where its inhabitants never leave" becomes a plot hook. You players may spend a whole session or whole sessions on rooting out/figuring out/defeating this thing.

This is a puzzle and a trap and a monster all in one. Change your idea of what a trap is, and you'll never have a party member teleport to solve it.

[Segev]

Design your dungeon expecting them to use their mobility powers. Heck, require it, to some extent. Have impassible walls that can be shadow jaunted through. Have chambers which are only accessible by very small things due to the long tunnels leading to them being less than a foot tall and/or wide, but which can be seen down so dimension door can pop to the other side.

Don't fight it; use it.

[Hiro Quester]

Opponent casting Anticipate Teleportation (or its Greater version) is a fun response. Hour/level, or 24 hour duration for greater version.

The opponent gets knowledge of the precise location, size and number of arriving creatures. They get a one round delay to the teleporting creatures' arrival, to prepare. A three round delay with Greater version.

The teleporting creatures are unaware of the delay. It's like they are arriving into a one round or three round time stop.

Clever opponents should be able to take good advantage of the foreknowledge of the arriving party. The PCs arrive to find opponents with spells and attacks readied, and launched as soon as the party arrives.

As devastating, and as flexible as the opponents' best tactics and responses.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A false door with a deadly trap right before it, so they teleport into a solid wall and then get shunted into the trap. Or just put a deadly trap on both sides of the door, and unlocking the door from one side temporarily disables the trap on the opposite side, if they teleport past it they trigger the second trap. Or just put a gelatinous cube just on the other side of the trapped door, which they teleport right into.

[ryu]

Why has no one considered simply placing encounters near to your trap choke points with somewhat decently well hidden alarm spells? Using anti-teleport tactics is overkill when your enemies are using multiple teleport effects per dungeon and leaving traps directly at their back. It also makes the traps still relevant even if bypassed. After all I bet your party prefers being able to fall back when necessary without much penalty. Wanna burn more spells getting out of the situation you forced? Be my guest. This is the difference between using magic as a hammer and being an evil genius mage. For an example of what I mean I want you to compare the cost of items or levels of spells suggested to building alarm into your dungeon designs.

[frost890]

Contingency spell to dispel a force wall that traps them in the hall. I can also let the water flow in from the lake nearby... And so starts the skill challenge...

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Do you want a mundane way to force people not to teleport? Well, you could use pressure plates that MUST be stepped on to unlock the magic door to the next level of the dungeon. A line of those plates exactly on the path with the razors could work.

Well-hidden traps would bypass the teleportation problem entirely, though. Unless they can teleport as an immediate action, it's not possible for use it against a surprise spray of acid, for example.

If they are actually detecting all the traps and overcoming the trap encounters, this means they are well-prepared dungeoneers, and it's probably a lot of fun to them... why would that be a problem?

[Lhurgyof]

Anticipate Teleport is a spell that could work. It needs to be cast on a creature though, so have it cast on a mimic or an animated object situated near traps. This will give said guard a round to move to the exact square the party member will arrive in. They take 1d6 points of damage and are shunted into the trap.

It would make sense that characters of this mythical power level have made the big baddies list, so he has had time to study them found ways to try and foil them.

I would afterwards tell them that bypassing every trap with Dimension Door and Shadow Jaunt is total BS and if they keep abusing it in that way you'll win the BS battle.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Cover the location in an (Un)Hallow spell that puts Dimensional Anchor on anyone who enters the area that's not (race/alignment/religion/etc.) for as long as they stay within the area.

[Venger]

Between dimension door and shadow jaunt, the party I currently dm for is bypassing many deadly obstacles (most notably a hallway criss-crossed with razor filaments held taut by contact explosives hidden behind the wall). Short of making every goal just past their range can anyone think of another method to thwart these wannabe nightcrawlers?

explain your concerns to them and tell them it's frustrating for you when they bypass encounters you had planned on them enjoying together and ask them to do it less often.

[Crake]

Flickerdart has the right of it. Even if you do use a method of shutting down teleportation, you should expect your players--being apparently smart people roleplaying as legendarily super-smart people--to figure out a way to negate, dispel, or otherwise destroy that prevention before they will consider running the gauntlet.

If it's being generated by wondrous architecture, then the only way to destroy it would be to literally destroy the dungeon, or to disjoin it (which is still outside of their realm of capability for now), which would also destroy all the loot, or whatever else they're there for.

[Tvtyrant]

Glyphs and wards set up to attack people teleporting in. I particularly like invisible spell on Explosive Runes, so see invisiclbility and true seeing kill the party but the occupants are safe.

[Theodred theOld]

It would make sense that characters of this mythical power level have made the big baddies list, so he has had time to study them found ways to try and foil them.

I would afterwards tell them that bypassing every trap with Dimension Door and Shadow Jaunt is total BS and if they keep abusing it in that way you'll win the BS battle.

Already done.

[Psyren]

From Teleport:

"Areas of strong physical or magical energy may make teleportation more hazardous or even impossible."

Put your bad guy's dungeon behind a waterfall or in a volcano, or put an evil altar or even the Big Bad Ritual in their basement - all standard things for bad guys to do. This lets you mess with their teleporting to your heart's content. Have it put them off-target, or in a hazardous location, or have it hurt them or screw with their buffs. Or simply have them wink out and reappear in place. The sky's the limit. A lot of players ignore that part of the spell and assume teleport will just work no matter where they are, even with the 76% success rate - you have the license to disabuse those notions.

Because that clause mentions "teleportation" you can apply it to any teleportation effect by RAW.

[nedz]

From Teleport:

"Areas of strong physical or magical energy may make teleportation more hazardous or even impossible."

Put your bad guy's dungeon behind a waterfall or in a volcano, or put an evil altar or even the Big Bad Ritual in their basement - all standard things for bad guys to do. This lets you mess with their teleporting to your heart's content. Have it put them off-target, or in a hazardous location, or have it hurt them or screw with their buffs. Or simply have them wink out and reappear in place. The sky's the limit. A lot of players ignore that part of the spell and assume teleport will just work no matter where they are, even with the 76% success rate - you have the license to disabuse those notions.

Because that clause mentions "teleportation" you can apply it to any teleportation effect by RAW.

I once used a rift on the Astral to similar effect. It wasn't obvious until it blocked your bamf.

[Segev]

Generally speaking, think about the dungeons' design and designers. What were they interested in? What did they want to defend against?

If they know that teleporters are coming, they'll have defenses set up against them. One way to try testing this is to build yourself a party of NPCs designed along the same levels of optimization as the PCs. Then have an NPC hire the PC party as "consultants" to help him design a dungeon to protect his MacGuffin of choice. Make it something they won't want to steal, themselves.

Let the PCs show you how to overcome their own powers, or what they think to defend against. Then test it with this other party.

[Theodred theOld]

From Teleport:

"Areas of strong physical or magical energy may make teleportation more hazardous or even impossible."

Put your bad guy's dungeon behind a waterfall or in a volcano, or put an evil altar or even the Big Bad Ritual in their basement - all standard things for bad guys to do. This lets you mess with their teleporting to your heart's content. Have it put them off-target, or in a hazardous location, or have it hurt them or screw with their buffs. Or simply have them wink out and reappear in place. The sky's the limit. A lot of players ignore that part of the spell and assume teleport will just work no matter where they are, even with the 76% success rate - you have the license to disabuse those notions.

Because that clause mentions "teleportation" you can apply it to any teleportation effect by RAW.
And the award for most useful post goes to.....

[Psyren]

Happy to help.

One thing I will suggest is that you don't spring this on your players. Give them some way (like a low-DC spellcraft check) to detect that there is a lot of "background radiation" and therefore a good chance for their spell to go awry. ("As you begin to cast the spell, you feel a steadily-bulding tingle, and your gestures seem to be increasingly difficult. Give me a Spellcraft check.") Teleportation should still be an option (especially in a desperate situation), but it should be one that makes traversing the dungeon the way you intended an attractive alternative.