teleporting tricks

[King of Nowhere]

I'm wondering how much control you have about the fine tuning of teleport. Can you:

- if you are bound (but still capable of teleporting), teleport yourself without teleporting the ropes with you - effectively freeing yourself
- teleport yourself inside a suit of armor, effectively donning it. or teleporting a suit of armor around you, with the same effect.
- teleporting yourself so that your hand is grasping an object. possibly even a moving one.
- holding a pair of manacles in your hands, teleporting yourself close to someone else in a way that will make the manacles pop around his wrists, effectively trapping your target
- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.
- when hit by a weapon, teleport yourself with the weapon - possibly stealing it from whoever was holding it
- if breathing poisonous gas, teleport yourself without teleporting the gas in your lungs - possibly reducing its effects
- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)

feel free to also insert more

[Biggus]

- if you are bound (but still capable of teleporting), teleport yourself without teleporting the ropes with you - effectively freeing yourself


The wording off the spell is "you can bring along objects" so presumably you can choose not to.



- teleport yourself inside a suit of armor, effectively donning it. or teleporting a suit of armor around you, with the same effect.
- teleporting yourself so that your hand is grasping an object. possibly even a moving one.
- holding a pair of manacles in your hands, teleporting yourself close to someone else in a way that will make the manacles pop around his wrists, effectively trapping your target


I don't think the rules really cover things like this. I probably wouldn't allow them myself, although if a player really wanted to I might let them invent a feat called something like "Teleportation Specialist" which gave them this level of precision. If I was feeling generous I might allow a Dexterity check instead.



- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.


I think this is covered by the same wording as teleporting out of ropes.



- when hit by a weapon, teleport yourself with the weapon - possibly stealing it from whoever was holding it


Yes, but the weapon (or its wielder) would get a Will save (and spell resistance, if they have it).



- if breathing poisonous gas, teleport yourself without teleporting the gas in your lungs - possibly reducing its effects
- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)


These seem beyond the scope of Teleport to me, although there isn't any RAW either way as far as I know.

[sleepyphoenixx]

I'm wondering how much control you have about the fine tuning of teleport. Can you:

- if you are bound (but still capable of teleporting), teleport yourself without teleporting the ropes with you - effectively freeing yourself
Debatable. I agree with Biggus' interpretation.

- teleport yourself inside a suit of armor, effectively donning it. or teleporting a suit of armor around you, with the same effect.
Not with normal teleportation effects, no. Donning a suit of armor includes a lot of adjusting and tightening of straps etc. that normal teleportation spells just don't account for.
There's an armor enhancement that does that though iirc.

- teleporting yourself so that your hand is grasping an object. possibly even a moving one.
- holding a pair of manacles in your hands, teleporting yourself close to someone else in a way that will make the manacles pop around his wrists, effectively trapping your target
No. Teleportation places you in a 5ft square (or a bigger square if you're large) but no printed teleport spell is accurate enough for either of those.
If i were to allow a custom one as a dm it'd require an attack roll or similar check.


- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.
- when hit by a weapon, teleport yourself with the weapon - possibly stealing it from whoever was holding it
The first is imo the default. Not that important either because only a few special weapons do damage on removal.

Taking the weapon with you is possible but would grant it a save as an attended item (assuming your enemy doesn't want you to teleport his weapon away).
It also wouldn't work with Teleport since that targets creatures and gear they carry (and your enemies weapon can hardly be said to be carried by you).
You'd need to use Teleport Object or another spell that can target items. Which would require a touch attack on the weapon and still allow a saving throw, so it's not that useful.


- if breathing poisonous gas, teleport yourself without teleporting the gas in your lungs - possibly reducing its effects
The rules don't support reducing effects that way. You're either affected or you're not.
The only option would be an immediate-action teleport to avoid the effect entirely, but those working is hardly in question.


- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)
No, since parasites in D&D are a condition, not creatures. You can no more leave them behind when teleporting than you could being cursed or poisoned.

[Jay R]

First of all, doing any of these would require researching a feat, which would require at least four spell levels. Or you could research a higher level teleport.

A spell of a certain level won't give you significantly more than spells of that level give.


- if you are bound (but still capable of teleporting), teleport yourself without teleporting the ropes with you - effectively freeing yourself
Maybe, maybe, with the right additional feat you could choose to teleport nothing with you. I can't believe that you can pick and choose. So if this worked at all, you would now be somewhere else without the ropes -- and also without your magic items, backpack, and clothes.


- teleport yourself inside a suit of armor, effectively donning it. or teleporting a suit of armor around you, with the same effect.
I assume that you have never put on armor. It squeezes you a little bit, just like a belt or bra strap. Since you aren't currently in that shape, you can't fit in it, so you would appear next to it. If all the straps are loose enough, and you are in the exact same position (including tilt of head, exact angle of elbows, etc.), then it would still take almost as long to tighten every single strap.


- teleporting yourself so that your hand is grasping an object. possibly even a moving one.
Again, if your hand is at the wrong angle or wrong position, even by a degree or a millimeter, you would appear next to it.


- holding a pair of manacles in your hands, teleporting yourself close to someone else in a way that will make the manacles pop around his wrists, effectively trapping your target
Same problem, coupled with the fact that it's an attack. If I allowed it all, I would require at least a natural twenty, plus a saving throw. Remember that the positioning must be much, much more precise than a sword blow.


- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.
Cute, but unnecessary. The D&D rules don't add more damage for removing a weapon. Also, of course it doesn't go with you -- you aren't holding it.


- when hit by a weapon, teleport yourself with the weapon - possibly stealing it from whoever was holding it
You're not holding it, and the other guy is. This won't work, for this same reason you have to pick something up to carry it with you.


- if breathing poisonous gas, teleport yourself without teleporting the gas in your lungs - possibly reducing its effects
Unless you think you can tell poison molecules from air molecules, individually, this would leave a total vacuum in your lungs. This would cause an internal blow the equivalent of 15 pounds per square inch.


- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)
Assuming it works at all, the parasites in your stomach are essential to digestion. You now have no head lice, but you'll be very sick for awhile.

Points like these are why it's essential for the DM to make judgment calls.

Counterpoint: these are my judgment calls, and they don't matter in your game. The only relevant question is what your DM thinks. But if that DM asked for my advice, this is what I would offer.

[Biggus]

If all the straps are loose enough, and you are in the exact same position (including tilt of head, exact angle of elbows, etc.) [...]

Again, if your hand is at the wrong angle or wrong position, even by a degree or a millimeter, you would appear next to it.

I was thinking similarly, the precision required would be extreme. Given the things high-level D&D characters can do, not necessarily impossible, but definitely requiring a feat, a high-DC check, or similar.



You're not holding it, and the other guy is. This won't work, for this same reason you have to pick something up to carry it with you.

I think this one is debatable, as the spell description says "Only objects held or in use (attended) by another person receive saving throws and spell resistance" and nowhere says you have to be holding things to teleport them with you, only touching them.



Unless you think you can tell poison molecules from air molecules, individually, this would leave a total vacuum in your lungs. This would cause an internal blow the equivalent of 15 pounds per square inch.

Yeah, the effects of suddenly having a vacuum in your lungs would probably be worse than most poisons. Would require a fortitude save to avoid damage at the least (assuming you could do it, which I don't think you can).



Assuming it works at all, the parasites in your stomach are essential to digestion.


Technically, the bacteria in your digestive system are symbiotes, not parasites :smalltongue:

[Crake]

No, since parasites in D&D are a condition, not creatures. You can no more leave them behind when teleporting than you could being cursed or poisoned.

It would actually depend on the parasite. There are some creatures that worm their way into a creature to similar effect, but then there are also those that are treated as a disease.

[Psyren]

I'm wondering how much control you have about the fine tuning of teleport. Can you:

- if you are bound (but still capable of teleporting), teleport yourself without teleporting the ropes with you - effectively freeing yourself
- teleport yourself inside a suit of armor, effectively donning it. or teleporting a suit of armor around you, with the same effect.
- teleporting yourself so that your hand is grasping an object. possibly even a moving one.
- holding a pair of manacles in your hands, teleporting yourself close to someone else in a way that will make the manacles pop around his wrists, effectively trapping your target
- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.
- when hit by a weapon, teleport yourself with the weapon - possibly stealing it from whoever was holding it
- if breathing poisonous gas, teleport yourself without teleporting the gas in your lungs - possibly reducing its effects
- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)

feel free to also insert more

1) Yes, you should be able to teleport out of bonds, restraints, grapples etc (provided you succeed at casting the spell or activating the ability.)

2) I'd say you don't have line of effect to the inside of a suit of armor, and even if you did, putting that on usually requires a separate action that you're not able to perform during the action to teleport. Same with grasping an object or putting manacles/restraints on someone.

3) I would view teleporting out of impalement or entanglement similar to teleporting out of restraints.

4) A weapon hitting you is attended, so you can't steal it. If they threw it however (or were otherwise not holding onto it), you could abscond with it then.

5) Whatever effect the gas already had on you would remain. D&D doesn't distinguish between inhaled poisons being in lungs vs. bloodstream etc. You'd protect yourself from whatever effects would occur had you remained in the area though.

6) I'd say parasites would go with you for a couple of reasons: (a) they're usually treated like a condition, similar to pathogens, and (b) the fine control required to leave them all behind feels like you'd need something more powerful, like Wish or Miracle, because you're effectively teleporting and ending a condition with the same spell.

[Elves]

- if infested by parasites, teleport yourself without the parasites (coolest way to get rid of head lice ever)
I would base it on whether they're treated as a creature or a condition, which also usually corresponds to their size -- microsopic, no, discernable other creature, yes. For lice I would say you could leave behind the head lice, but not the head lice eggs.

[King of Nowhere]

i agree that those kind of tricks should be very difficult. i personally would not ban outright the possibility for a player that wanted to do it, though, as it could be a nice character concept, and not broken (i mean, how often being able to teleport out of bonds or inside an armor is going to help you in practice?).
A feat tax looks quite expensive, a skill check would likely involve some skill the wizard is already maxxing. I'm thinking a skill trick could be a good price.

to be clear, nobody is trying this at my table. the closest thing we have is the dm homebrewing an item that encases a target in a layer of ice, and i wondered if you could teleport out of the ice without teleporting the layer, and that gave me the general idea for this thread.
unless we accidentally hit the wizard in the aoe, and he fails the saving throw, and he happens to be holding a rod of still spell, i don't think it will ever be relevant



I assume that you have never put on armor. It squeezes you a little bit, just like a belt or bra strap. Since you aren't currently in that shape, you can't fit in it, so you would appear next to it. If all the straps are loose enough, and you are in the exact same position (including tilt of head, exact angle of elbows, etc.), then it would still take almost as long to tighten every single strap.



well, i did put on paddings for medieval fencing, which is a bit of armor. yeah, i know it's a bit of a stretch, and even if you could you'd still need to tighten the straps. then again, everything i posted is a stretch in some way.

[Saintheart]

- if impaled by a weapon, teleport yourself without the weapon impaling you - effectively removing it without damaging the wound.

I had one cool use I fiated through in one of my campaigns: a character had been hit by a harpoon and impaled, so the party Duskblade flew down, grabbed the butt end of the harpoon, and then channelled Dimension Hop through it onto the impaled character, teleporting the impaled character off it and five feet away.

[Antipositive]

2) I'd say you don't have line of effect to the inside of a suit of armor, and even if you did, putting that on usually requires a separate action that you're not able to perform during the action to teleport. Same with grasping an object or putting manacles/restraints on someone.


Do you need line of effect to teleport? I'd assumed not because that would mean you couldn't teleport into or out of a building without an open door or window, which would also make things like Forbiddance, Anticipate Teleportation or Weirdstones much less useful. After all, why bother with any of those when you can just make sure your doors and windows are shut.

[Psyren]

Do you need line of effect to teleport? I'd assumed not because that would mean you couldn't teleport into or out of a building without an open door or window, which would also make things like Forbiddance, Anticipate Teleportation or Weirdstones much less useful. After all, why bother with any of those when you can just make sure your doors and windows are shut.

Point, I misspoke - what you need is "a clear idea of the location and layout of the destination." I'd rule that getting this for a very small enclosure like the inside of clothing or a suit of armor is a level of precision that isn't possible with these spells.