So you've opened a portal to a dead magic world; what do you do now?

[unseenmage]

Just like it says on the tin, given a mysterious portal which on your end is your normal D&D/PF-verse of choice and on the other is a dead magic world rich in magic illiterate natives and nonmagic ways of accomplishing goals how do you use your magic to engage with this foreign and potentially hostile environment?

Assume that the dead magic area is world spanning, and that it is more potent than a simple enlarged Antimagic Field. Assume that it is only reversible via the intervention of a deity and/or epic magic.
All books/magazines are at your disposal but mixing campaign settings involves travel to alternate material planes/Spelljamming/etc and getting access to 3.0 materials or PF materials involves time travel wherein 3rd edition stuff is arranged chronologically to how it was released and PF-verse is an alternate prime material future.
Assume as well that random encounters rule the day on both sides of the portal and level inappropriate encounters can happen.


All the 'magic in the real world' and 'transported to D&D-verse' threads got me wondering how the Playground would play with this particular scenario. Left this as vague as possible on purpose as I am more interested in general purpose solutions than 'real world' or campaign setting specific solutions.

Just how limiting is a dead magic zone? Practically not at all with a functioning portal? Cuz that's my suspicion.

[tiercel]

I seem to remember there are workarounds for "dead" magic, so one of those exploits would seem to be indicated.

Assuming that such exploits are not easy or common, though, it seems like one of the most useful properties of such a portal would be for enemy disposal; it would be good to know how the "dead" magic world hooked up (or not) to the afterlife/standard cosmology, so if an enemy is exiled to Nomagica and dies, can they be, e.g. true resurrected back on their home plane, or does their soul now count as "N/A."

[Gildedragon]

Artificer with Ravenloft Device creation feats. Go into the dead magic area become a GOD

[khadgar567]

Get anti magic manacles on local wizards and chuck them to there as mandatory magic edcukation

[Quertus]

Sculpt Self also allows you to do "magic" in dead zones.

So, this depends a lot on the "me" in question. And on the dead world in question.

Let's go with the "me" in question being, well, me, with my knowledge and history, transported to a D&D world, given a new body & class level(s) per various threads. I've taken the Apprentice feat, met up with some of my characters, and power leveled nicely. I've learned lots of spells, and lots of Quertus' tricks.

My general answer, if the dead zone can only be fixed by divine intervention, is

Step 1 - add magic to the world
Step 2 - perform wonders in the world
Step 3 - get worshipped as a god
Step 4 - become God of Magic, Time, and Recursion
Step 5 - return to step 1
Step 6 - profit!

Ok, so I misused the word recursion there. :smalltongue:

As a less general answer, the issue is the world in question. If it's recognizable as, say, the Star Trek or Star Wars universe, cool. If it's recognizable as WH40K or Martyverse, NJNHN. If it's unrecognizable... paranoia?

If the natives haven't noticed the portal, and I thus have time to experiment, Quertus will have studied the portal and deduced how it operates, so I don't need to worry about that. Confirm that my Sculpt Self abilities work on the other end, that Quertus' tricks to use magic in a dead zone work, etc. Collect a party that can shut down the portal, get back without the portal, handle any expected issues based on observations and divination, etc.

IMO, some of the best uses for magic would include +NI spot / sense motive / diplomacy, Tongues, and Simulacrum of native(s) to understand the world.

If it's an even remotely reasonable world, parlay, and see how we can help one another / benefit from one another.

And, if they would benefit from magic, potentially become the God of Magic, as above.

[Manyasone]

So, basically a portal to this magic barren universe?

[Coidzor]

Refresh my memory, can I send undead or construct scouts in there?

[Matrota]

I seem to remember there are workarounds for "dead" magic

You can use a wish to restore magic to an area in a dead zone, Invoke Magic (9th level spell) allows you to cast 4th level spells or lower in a dead zone, epic spells can be cast in dead zones with a sufficient check and an Initiate of Mystra allows you to make a check to cast spells in a dead magic zone.

[Hecuba]

You note that it's more powerful than a standard AMF. How much more powerful?
If invoke magic works, you've got 4s.

If not, time of battle has an awful lot of Ex.

[flappeercraft]

The first thing I would try is the spell Planar Bubble to see if I can get magic to work using that. Then through that start to make the world magical

[Mr Adventurer]

Be from Faerun and be a Spellfire wielder? IIRC you can use Spellfire to get rid of dead magic zones, and it probably counts as 'divine intervention' as well.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The Initiate of Mystra feat in PGtF requires just three levels of Cleric, so a Cleric or a Mystic Theurge should be able to have their way with this newly discovered world.

[unseenmage]

So, basically a portal to this magic barren universe?
Yes, or at the very least a magic barren world.


Refresh my memory, can I send undead or construct scouts in there?
IIRC yes, Constructs and Undead should work just fine. They can't use any of their SU or SP abilities but yeah, they stay animated.
Except in the case of things like Minor Servitor which can be dispelled and whose animating magic poof in an Antimagic Field.


You can use a wish to restore magic to an area in a dead zone, Invoke Magic (9th level spell) allows you to cast 4th level spells or lower in a dead zone, epic spells can be cast in dead zones with a sufficient check and an Initiate of Mystra allows you to make a check to cast spells in a dead magic zone.

You note that it's more powerful than a standard AMF. How much more powerful?
If invoke magic works, you've got 4s.
If not, time of battle has an awful lot of Ex.

The first thing I would try is the spell Planar Bubble to see if I can get magic to work using that. Then through that start to make the world magical
As mentioned in the OP only a deity or epic magic can get rid of this particular dead magic zone.


Be from Faerun and be a Spellfire wielder? IIRC you can use Spellfire to get rid of dead magic zones, and it probably counts as 'divine intervention' as well.
From what I remember of the Spellfire feat printed for 3.x it only lets you absorb spells with a readied action then expel a damaging effect based on how much magic you've absorbed. Doesn't let you do anything with dead magic zones from what I remember.

[Hecuba]

As mentioned in the OP only a deity or epic magic can get rid of this particular dead magic zone.

Invoked magic doesn't get rid of a dead magic zone- it simply let's you cast a single spell despite being in one.

Either way though, that just means the answer becomes "be a high level initiator"

[Segev]

If it has resources that are easier to get there than they are in my magical world, I start using wealth-exploit tricks (wall of iron, wall of salt, etc.) to create things that I can trade with them for their rarer stuff.

If they have superior tech, I try to import that for use here.

Since I can't take magic over there with me, I probably don't want to live there. I'm a powerful wizard, after all, and my paranoia protections rely on magic.

If I'm wicked enough, I might use charm person and hypnotism together to induce fanatical (non-magical) loyalty towards particular goals in minions I send over there. And on captured individuals from over there that I send back. It's not as complete as domination, but that devotion to a particular goal can lead to advantage for me in puppet-mastering parts of that world. As a high-Int wizard, I surely have the brains to plan such programs.

[ATHATH]

Isn't there a Paladin substitution level that lets you repair dead magic zones (since it's a divinely-granted ability, it should work, right?)?

[Psyren]

Just like it says on the tin, given a mysterious portal which on your end is your normal D&D/PF-verse of choice and on the other is a dead magic world rich in magic illiterate natives and nonmagic ways of accomplishing goals how do you use your magic to engage with this foreign and potentially hostile environment?

Assume that the dead magic area is world spanning, and that it is more potent than a simple enlarged Antimagic Field. Assume that it is only reversible via the intervention of a deity and/or epic magic.
All books/magazines are at your disposal but mixing campaign settings involves travel to alternate material planes/Spelljamming/etc and getting access to 3.0 materials or PF materials involves time travel wherein 3rd edition stuff is arranged chronologically to how it was released and PF-verse is an alternate prime material future.
Assume as well that random encounters rule the day on both sides of the portal and level inappropriate encounters can happen.


All the 'magic in the real world' and 'transported to D&D-verse' threads got me wondering how the Playground would play with this particular scenario. Left this as vague as possible on purpose as I am more interested in general purpose solutions than 'real world' or campaign setting specific solutions.

Just how limiting is a dead magic zone? Practically not at all with a functioning portal? Cuz that's my suspicion.

I simply wouldn't step through, problem solved. You said I "opened a portal," not that I actually used it :smalltongue:

More seriously, if I was involved in planar research/exploration I'd probably make a deal with a fellow caster or a djinn to get me wished back out of any inextricable trouble I wound up in, including losing access to my magic entirely. I mean, one typo and I could end up in the Far Realm or something right?

[Coidzor]

Well, since I can send scouts in and can't scry, I'd probably start by sending some scouts in to survey the immediate area, and if it's not full of gribblies, I'd send an animal in to see if it dies or gets sick or explodes because it's actually vacuum over there.

While determining if the immediate area was lethal, I'd send the scouts further afield to get an idea of the local area and region.

If it really seems to be a normal habitable place like the world I was starting from, just lacking in magic, then after quarantining and examining the test subjects that were sent through in detail for exotic diseases or toxins, I suppose I might actually risk going through myself if I weren't a Lich or the like.