Lesser Teleport (PEACH)

[Lysander]

Here's a version of teleport for a lower level caster. It's slow but still a lot faster than traveling by mundane means.

Lesser Teleport
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 4, Travel 4
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 hour/25 miles
Range: Personal and touch
Target: You and touched objects or other touched willing creatures
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None and Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: No and Yes (object)

As Teleport, but with the following limitations. The maximum range is 25 miles/level and the spell requires one hour to cast per 25 miles traveled. A distance of less than 25 miles still requires 1 full hour. Passengers do not need to be present during the casting until the moment you complete the spell. Other than the magical gestures of the spell the caster must remain stationary for the entire casting or the spell is lost.

[Cieyrin]

Looks to me like a supplant to Dim Door.

Also, an hour per 25 miles of casting? Whose going to want to stand around for that long, really? This is less spell and more ritual at this point.

[arguskos]

Looks to me like a supplant to Dim Door.

Also, an hour per 25 miles of casting? Whose going to want to stand around for that long, really? This is less spell and more ritual at this point.

See, what the party does is have the wizard start casting, go buy stuff, come back, and then whisk off to their adventure. Sounds fine to me.

Also, how is this a supplant for Dim Door again?

[Lysander]

Looks to me like a supplant to Dim Door.

Also, an hour per 25 miles of casting? Whose going to want to stand around for that long, really? This is less spell and more ritual at this point.

It's a strict limitation, but meant to keep it balanced at low levels. This is still pretty useful. In four hours you can travel 100 miles, avoiding all obstacles and hazards along the way. Way faster than walking. But the slow casting time makes it useless in combat or for quickly hopping around the world.

[arguskos]

You can do that distance faster with Phantom Steed though, last I checked, and that's lower level than this is. Methinks Lesser Teleport should be level 3 maybe. Course, that's just me.

[Ashtagon]

You can do that distance faster with Phantom Steed though, last I checked, and that's lower level than this is. Methinks Lesser Teleport should be level 3 maybe. Course, that's just me.

Phantom steed doesn't let you take the whole party with you, and this spell also avoids all the pesky wandering monsters and villagers asking you to perform "side quests".

[arguskos]

Phantom steed doesn't let you take the whole party with you, and this spell also avoids all the pesky wandering monsters and villagers asking you to perform "side quests".

Depends on the size of the party. You can just prep it twice and take 4 people, if you need to (each horse can reasonably carry two folks). As for side quests, isn't that the point of being an adventurer?

Eh, I like Lesser Teleport, just think it should drop to level 3 maybe. 'twas just a thought for Lysander.

[Lysander]

Depends on the size of the party. You can just prep it twice and take 4 people, if you need to (each horse can reasonably carry two folks). As for side quests, isn't that the point of being an adventurer?

Eh, I like Lesser Teleport, just think it should drop to level 3 maybe. 'twas just a thought for Lysander.

The steed can bear one rider plus 10 pounds/level, which means a second passenger is out until higher levels (unless you carry a child or gnome).

Also, it's not really that much faster. One hour overland travel at a walking speed of 240 (the maximum of the phantom at level 12) is 24 miles. So it's pretty much the same. As a non-living thing can the steed hustle? If so it's maximum is 48/hour (but only at level 12) which is about twice as fast but doesn't have the advantage of bypassing the distance. You can use Lesser Teleport to exit a dungeon without finding your way to the surface.

[Zeta Kai]

As a DM, I would never allow this. It gives control of the flow & pace of adventuring to even lower level parties. Wizards already have numerous means of getting from A to B in obnoxiously-fast ways (fly, dimension door, etc.), so giving them another is something that I'd never do. I prefer to craft adventures that take the journey into account; if the party can just blink their way to where they wanna go, then they've skipped all the stuff that I had planned for the road, & I have to have their destination ready that much sooner. I'm already used to this for higher levels, but I don't want this kind of player freedom in the hands of 8th-level parties; their already dangerous enough to the plot as it is.

[arguskos]

The steed can bear one rider plus 10 pounds/level, which means a second passenger is out until higher levels (unless you carry a child or gnome).

Also, it's not really that much faster. One hour overland travel at a walking speed of 240 (the maximum of the phantom at level 12) is 24 miles. So it's pretty much the same. As a non-living thing can the steed hustle? If so it's maximum is 48/hour (but only at level 12) which is about twice as fast but doesn't have the advantage of bypassing the distance. You can use Lesser Teleport to exit a dungeon without finding your way to the surface.

Eh, I worked the math out once. Phantom Steed is stupid fast, since yeah, I believe they can hustle (golems can, IIRC, and never tire). I'll see if I can dig it out later maybe.

Thought they could carry more though, that limits them somewhat in my eyes. Thanks for catching it though. 'twas just a thought. Don't think I don't like it though, it's an elegant spell for sure.

@Zeta: Eh, me too actually. I don't like mass transportation effects, but then again, for a game where they're incorporated into the world, they really do make sense. I tend to write them out by altering the laws of physics and magic so they can't function (current game has issues with the Transitive Planes not being there, kinda, so Teleport doesn't exist, etc.). I'm still getting the whole, "travel adventures" trick set though.

[Lysander]

As a DM, I would never allow this. It gives control of the flow & pace of adventuring to even lower level parties. Wizards already have numerous means of getting from A to B in obnoxiously-fast ways (fly, dimension door, etc.), so giving them another is something that I'd never do. I prefer to craft adventures that take the journey into account; if the party can just blink their way to where they wanna go, then they've skipped all the stuff that I had planned for the road, & I have to have their destination ready that much sooner. I'm already used to this for higher levels, but I don't want this kind of player freedom in the hands of 8th-level parties; their already dangerous enough to the plot as it is.

Obviously it depends on the game. In some games it makes sense to eliminate teleportation entirely, even at high levels. One possible way to limit teleport is to replace Teleport with Lesser Teleport, making teleportation in your game a slow drawn out affair rather than a quick hop. Then maybe Greater Teleport is reduced to Teleport and Greater Teleport becomes a ninth level spell.

[Zeta Kai]

Obviously it depends on the game. In some games it makes sense to eliminate teleportation entirely, even at high levels. One possible way to limit teleport is to replace Teleport with Lesser Teleport, making teleportation in your game a slow drawn out affair rather than a quick hop. Then maybe Greater Teleport is reduced to Teleport and Greater Teleport becomes a ninth level spell.

That sounds like a more reasonable solution. Good idea.

[DracoDei]

I have always thought that Fly and Dimension Door were too short range to make a difference to overland travel speed. Granted they can be useful for avoiding specific terrain features (or even individual encounters), but they don't change the SPEED of the party.

[Stycotl]

Obviously it depends on the game. In some games it makes sense to eliminate teleportation entirely, even at high levels. One possible way to limit teleport is to replace Teleport with Lesser Teleport, making teleportation in your game a slow drawn out affair rather than a quick hop. Then maybe Greater Teleport is reduced to Teleport and Greater Teleport becomes a ninth level spell.

that is a dangerously nice idea there...

[Lysander]

I got rid of the magic circle part. It was flavorful but too different from Teleport and Greater Teleport if it's supposed to be a similar spell. However the caster still has to remain in one place the entire time.