Psionic Portal Ideas - FR

[kalos72]

So, I am trying to devise a portal system for my campaigns mercantile takeover of the North while using a new design of the portals themselves, making them psionic.

My group is working to consolidate The North and The Heartlands and only so much can be done through settlement and conquest. I don’t want to militarily take over say Citadel Adbar, for example, but I need leverage to make them want to join our “group” so merchant power came up.

I don’t think there is a psionic feat/skill for making portals so that’s issue one. But I am also not sure if the portal can truly be psionic, I guess it could be “powered” by a psi-crystal type device maybe, that can be removed or destroyed perhaps?

Past that, the idea is these portals can open to any other location “joined” to the portal ring, maybe organizing them into regions. Making like a regional distribution center for the products and then having the portals spin out from there? Or perhaps just having each location I have a merchant house, be able to use their portal to go to any other location directly. I am thinking about that for more of a security perspective, if all regional portals just go to the regional DC, it’s the RDC that anyone will want to control if they are thinking about being bad.

I had thought about all items going directly to Neverwinter via conventional travel and then distributing from there over the portal network but if we are using portals I am not sure that makes sense from the merchant perspective. Although I do like the idea of other cities being required to move their goods to Neverwinter before getting shipped where ever. Puts more of the power in Neverwinter versus the local “houses” themselves I think.

There would be “Portal Sentinels” on either side of the portal to manage traffic. One Sentinel would need to touch the portal and psionically communicate through the portal to the Sentinel at the other location. A password would be used and communicated again psionically and the receiving location Sentinel would then psionically allow the portal to open. The portal can only be opened on the receiving side.

The portals would also have the another “key” requiring the person trying to open the portal, or use the portal to travel through have a “House Symbol” of Neverwinter, in addition to being psionic in the first place.

Another security measure would be a physical “block” on each side sitting IN the portal itself, preventing the portal from operating regardless if the other “security measures” are overcome. I would also suggest a simple ruse, imitate a spell or verbal incantation to give anyone watching the idea the key was not psionic maybe.

I had also thought of another step in the process from a security perspective, maybe the original Sentinel contacts the destination location Sentinel and makes the request, “Please hold” and then another Sentinel tries to communicate with the original Sentinel outside the portal to verify. That way even if you get through the two “keys” you still must BE the original Sentinel that is assigned that portal, at that time, to get through.

I am not sure how to organize the network yet, any advice there is welcome of course, but the new type of portal is my primary concern.

Also there is the "construction" side of this scenario, how to I ACTUALLY build this device/network? Portal instructions in the FR Guide are kind of limited and that using a magical basis.

Thoughts?

[Sheogoroth]

There's a danger in psionics to turn it into "magic by other means", that is to say that psionics should not be able to replicate everything magic can do but with a different flair and power points.
I believe that portals are one of those things that should be left to wizards.

That being said, portals do change economics because they severely reduce the role and necessity of merchants and traders.
If you take goods hundreds of miles through harsh weather, inhospitable terrain, and bandits, you've earned the right to haggle. Also, the caravaneers take a portion of the income. But with portals, the movement of goods is instantaneous and guaranteed, so those people are out. Also, prices of imports and exports between the two locations would plummet and then normalize. Eventually the two connected cities would begin to function a bit like a globalized modern economy does, like a functionally local market, but is actually separated by a large distance. Your best bet at making money would be to impose a flat percentage on goods moving in and out of the portal and let it run.
Creating a bunch of portals to different cities and spreading them throughout your citiy turns yours into a trading hub, like the Suez Canal. Everyone going anywhere with anything slips you some cash.
Scatter the portals throughout, so foreigners have to travel through your city and spread their wealth around. Fosters the local economy as well as lines your pocket.

[finaldooms]

Not really helpful. ..but isnt there a city called portal? Or something similar that does this? Everywhere connects to it from somewhere ( its im the demonweb module and i forgot the name lol)

[kalos72]

Our concern here is more influence than true monetary benefit.

One idea was that perhaps the portal network would be the benefit offered to neutral cities. Join our "league" and we will install a portal network giving your merchants access to hundreds of cities around Faerun?

That seems like a more direct influence then if the portal network is in Neverwinter but I do like the idea of forcing all the goods through one of my cities to influence the local markets.

Regarding the portal, I guess leaving it magical ad just using a psionic "key" would be fine....