Aperture Science and DnD

[Maerok]

Would a tweaked wand of circle of teleportation emulate a Portal Gun?

[Yukitsu]

Giving the Aperture science hand held portal device to DMs has been found to comply with all regulatory regulations. Giving the Aperturescience hand held portal device to players has not. Do not sell the device, do not offer the device as loot, and do not point the operational end of the device at player characters. Failure to do so, may result in an unsatisfactory campaign module, and death.

In other words, i've seen it work when the DM used one, but I don't know if it's something you can give to players. My intuition says no.

[jcsw]

Except in the sense that you only need to place one circle, and the circle's duration is 10 minutes/level, and the casting time is 10 minutes.

Try using ring gates (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#ringGates) instead.

[Edan]

Tweaked Dimension Door perhaps?

[Nerd-o-rama]

Also you can't make wands of Teleportation Circle. Wand of Dimension Door is probably the way to go.

[jcsw]

Also you can't make wands of Teleportation Circle.

Technically true, but you can make staffs of teleportation circle...

[Tengu_temp]

How many posts until someone makes a "the cake is a lie" joke, as if that dated meme was the only piece of humour in whole Portal? Make bets!

[chiasaur11]

How many posts until someone makes a "the cake is a lie" joke, as if that dated meme was the only piece of humour in whole Portal? Make bets!

I don't know, but I hope they burn in android hell.

[Icewalker]

At this point it's only funny when used in an interesting and unique way.

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't represent the actual functionality of the portal gun, and if you gave the players something that did, bad things would happen.

[Maerok]

Oh, like what?

Aside from Grand Theft Everything.

[mikeejimbo]

What if you gave them puzzles that required them to think with Portals?

[Deth Muncher]

Now I want someone to stat up a Companion Cube...


Anyway, on this very subject, it appears as though ther ewas a homebrew PrC for casters on some other forum under the Dungenomicon article. It's in the "What's the point of Lightning Bolt?" thread right now, but basically, the gist of it is that you get all the 2e magic effects like bouncing lightning, expanding firebals, and, dingdingding, portals when you cast teleportation spells, that LoE exists through. Cast Dim Door, make it into two portals as opposed to using it, suddenly the caster rains arcane doom from above the BBEG's head.

[SurlySeraph]

Homebrew for the win! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59740)


Now I want someone to stat up a Companion Cube...

Already been done. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59724&highlight=Portal)

[Waspinator]

"That thing you burned up isn't important to me. It's the fluid catalytic cracking unit. It made shoes for orphans. Nice job breaking it, hero."

[Enlong]

I think a tweaked version of Ring Gates would work the best. Just make a wandlike thingy that creates portals on flat surfaces within some set distance of the object, and steal most of the stats from the Ring Gates. and voila, you have the Portal Gun.
To any DM wanting to use this in their game, understand just what you're getting yourself into by giving players this kind of physics juggernaut. They WILL try to drop the BBEG off a nearby cliff, or throw stones at terminal velocity. Not to mention it ruining any sort of broken bridge.

Edit:

Also, one of the best GLaDOS lines: "Here, I'll put you on" "Hilooo" "THAt's you! That's how DUMB you sound."

[Heliomance]

Cake is a MEME!

[Pronounceable]

Everyone likes memes.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Everyone likes memes.The meme is a lie.

[Heliomance]

The lie is a cake!

Wait...

[Studoku]

The cake is a pie.

[charl]

Give the thing a weakness or flaw. Say, it's magic top is made from fragile glass or ceramics, or fire wreaks havoc on it. Something like that anyway, so that you have a way to take it away from players.

[Heliomance]

The cake is a pie.

The pie is in the sky.

[Project_Mayhem]

The pie is in the sky.

This is rapidly becoming 4chan

[Fishy]

Give the thing a weakness or flaw. Say, it's magic top is made from fragile glass or ceramics, or fire wreaks havoc on it. Something like that anyway, so that you have a way to take it away from players.

On the contrary, the Aperture Science Portal Device has been tested to withstand temperatures of up to four thousand degrees.

[Heliomance]

This is rapidly becoming 4chan

4chan is a lie.

[Bayar]

Give the thing a weakness or flaw. Say, it's magic top is made from fragile glass or ceramics, or fire wreaks havoc on it. Something like that anyway, so that you have a way to take it away from players.

It doesnt mix with water...

[Maerok]

Or plasma balls.

[mikeejimbo]

I think the biggest limitation is that if you have the Portal Gun, you're also trapped in a sadistic rat maze controlled by a mad, pedantic, sarcastic and cruel AI.

[Tacoma]

I think the biggest limitations of the portal gun are a short range, the fact that you need to fire the other side of the portal (so you cannot use it to travel from place to place unless you visit the place normally anyway) and the fact that anyone can use the resulting portals while they're operational.

Also note that most of the fun physics challenges of Portal worked in the game because it was a video game. Some ideas do not translate well to tabletop gaming.

But why bother trying to come up with a spell that halfway mimics the portal gun? Just say it works just like the Portal version. What spell does it use? No way to find out - it's a lesser artifact. Which also prevents manufacturing of 50 of them.

Note also that the portal gun has a short-range telekinetic function.

[Yukitsu]

Note also that the portal gun has a short-range telekinetic function.


I think that's more a protagonist ability for all valve games, rather than the portal gun.

[The_Snark]

Oh, like what?

Aside from Grand Theft Everything.

Expect to have to make some rulings on falling damage, whether people get a save to avoid falling into a portal underneath them, whether they get a save to avoid falling/rapidly moving objects tossed through a portal, whether they can make said save every time they pass through a portal or just the first time they fall, whether or not an attack roll should be made to properly place a portal so that falling objects hit someone in front of/above/below it, how far away the portals can be placed, whether or not the portals work underwater(/underacid/underlava), and doubtless many, many other uses I haven't thought of yet.

There's just something about the portal gun that inspires attempts to exploit its full physics-breaking potential.

[insecure]

4chan is a lie.

This whole damn thread is a lie.

[RandomNPC]

I think the biggest limitation is that if you have the Portal Gun, you're also trapped in a sadistic rat maze controlled by a mad, pedantic, sarcastic and cruel AI.

but wouldn't that make the name of the thread "Aperture Science and Paranioa"?

[mikeejimbo]

but wouldn't that make the name of the thread "Aperture Science and Paranioa"?

The temptation to combine those two is beginning to overpower me, now...

[charl]

That would be a very fitting combination.

"Citizen, the blue portal isn't available for your security clearance. Please stick to the red ones."

[RandomNPC]

The temptation to combine those two is beginning to overpower me, now...

let me know how it goes. seriously, i'm looking for the paranoia rules right now....

[mikeejimbo]

The problem is, I don't remember how to play Paranoia, and I've never played. I have the rules lying around here somewhere (from the discount section of the local comic store. Used, too.) And, alas, I haven't got a group into Paranoia.

[bosssmiley]

I think the biggest limitation is that if you have the Portal Gun, you're also trapped in a sadistic rat maze controlled by a mad, pedantic, sarcastic and cruel AI.

So...nothing like D&D then? :smallconfused:

[Sstoopidtallkid]

The problem is, I don't remember how to play Paranoia, and I've never played. I have the rules lying around here somewhere (from the discount section of the local comic store. Used, too.) And, alas, I haven't got a group into Paranoia.You are not cleared to know the rules, citizen. Please report to your superior for immediate torture and execution, and have a nice day.

[Saph]

Ever since playing Portal, I've wanted to run a game based on it. Just for the looks on the players' faces when you get to this bit:

"Congratulations! The test is now over. All Aperture technologies remain safely operational up to 4000 degrees Kelvin. Rest assured that there is absolutely no chance of a dangerous equipment malfunction prior to your victory candescence. Thank you for participating in this Aperture Science computer-aided enrichment activity. Goodbye!"

One of my favourite game moments ever. But it just doesn't work without the element of surprise, and as soon as I started doing GLaDOS' voice they'd know what was coming. Pity . . .

- Saph

[charl]

Ever since playing Portal, I've wanted to run a game based on it. Just for the looks on the players' faces when you get to this bit:

"Congratulations! The test is now over. All Aperture technologies remain safely operational up to 4000 degrees Kelvin. Rest assured that there is absolutely no chance of a dangerous equipment malfunction prior to your victory candescence. Thank you for participating in this Aperture Science computer-aided enrichment activity. Goodbye!"

One of my favourite game moments ever. But it just doesn't work without the element of surprise, and as soon as I started doing GLaDOS' voice they'd know what was coming. Pity . . .

- Saph

Then lock them into a small room with a suspicious-looking hatch in the ceiling and grills in the floor. Then start GLaDOSing:

"Congratulations, the test is now over. The results are within the set perimeters of *static* so please do not. Furthermore Aperture Science would like to remind you that failure to *static* potentially lethal consequences. As promised, here is cake."

Then the hatch opens and a cake is lowered down, with a candle and everything. When the players start being confused say:

"Nice job, hero(es)!"

That would surprise them.

[Dervag]

The cake is a pie.And, by all appearances, a rhubarb pie.


The temptation to combine those two is beginning to overpower me, now...The Computer meets GLaDOS... and proposes marriage within the first million processor cycles.

[Enlong]

Then lock them into a small room with a suspicious-looking hatch in the ceiling and grills in the floor. Then start GLaDOSing:

"Congratulations, the test is now over. The results are within the set perimeters of *static* so please do not. Furthermore Aperture Science would like to remind you that failure to *static* potentially lethal consequences. As promised, here is cake."

Then the hatch opens and a cake is lowered down, with a candle and everything. When the players start being confused say:

"Nice job, hero(es)!"

That would surprise them.
For greater effect, record all of your GLaDOSing with Text-To-Speech software, record it into various MP3s on your computer, and play them back instead of talking.

For more fun, GLaDOS some quintessential DND phrases and DM responses.