Planar Shift Tracking?

[CalleroftheDeep]

Hello All,

My campaign has recently taken a plane-chasing twist. Our BBEG seems to be able to planeshift away, and I was wondering what sorts of tools might be available to follow a plane-shifter. So far all I have found are typical divinations like scry etc., the Planar Tracking and Astral Tracking feats, and the Ranger variant from the Planar Handbook.

Divinations and Planeshifting are excellent, but still not a very efficient solution. Assuming one divines on a planeshifter in order to find their location, the subject fails their saves, and then the party planeshifts in pursuit, the inaccuracy is likely to mean at least a day's worth of navigation and tracking, after which the quarry is going to have the ability to shift once more.

Planar Tracking and Astral Tracking are excellent for knowing how and where someone shifted, but the requirements are pretty steep. Even then, our tracker is a low-magic type. He makes the DC, but then how does he communicate the information to the party's caster? Once again, we have a problem with inaccuracies and tracking and all that.

The Planar Ranger variant gets the ability, at 8th level, to Plane Shift in order to follow a favored enemy. This is exactly what we are looking for, but unfortunately requires 8 levels of ranger, of which our party has none.

Does anyone have any other ideas for following a planeshifter?

I realize there are abjurations like Dimensional Lock, but I am just astounded by the limited options available for *following* a teleporter/planeshifter.

[Jowgen]

I feel your pain, it is quite annoying how the tracking people down side of planar things never really got any real support.

My guess would be your best bet lies in employing the services of a creature that has a specific planar tracking ability. There is no shortage of things with a fluff off "hunts its quarry across the planes", and at least ONE of them should a) actually have an ability that lets it do that, and b) be within the realm of being hire-able by means of planar binding or even just finding one and negotiating the service.

If no one can think of anything off the top of their heads, I'll do a dive to look.

[timeeater14]

The Hellbreaker prestige class from FC2 has an ability to stow away on teleportation effects. Alternately, Dimensional Anchor/Lock could lock him down long enough to finish him off.

Some monsters also have the ability to block teleportation: Chief in my mind is the Orthon, also from FC2, which can emit an aura that prevents planar travel and is available on the Summon Monster list for an an LE caster. Helpfully, the aura’s an immediate action. That could lead to a sequence like:

Summon an Orthon next to him. It readies an action to run after him.
His turn comes around, he IDs it with a knowledge check, moves away. Orthon chases him. If he tries to Plane Shift out, field activates and cuts him off. He’s now wasted a standard action, kill him.

Spellthief (one level +master spellthief feat on a caster) could possibly grab his Plane Shift before he can cast it. If it’s an SLA, Spellthief, the above-mentioned Hellbreaker, and Ur-Priest can take that away too.

Feeblemind, Programmed Amnesia/Mindrape, or the River Styx could remove his ability to find a location to teleport to.

Steal or sunder his spell component pouch so he can’t use Plane Shift.

Counterspell/Dispel Magic readied is wasteful, but it could buy an extra round to kill him.

The plane Carceri can’t be plane shifted off of, considering it’s a prison plane (according to fluff). More mechanically, within Lolth’s domain of the Demonweb, “uncontrolled teleportation is impossible, blocked by Lolth‘s divine will.” (ETTDWP, page 54)

[Bronk]

There's the "Planar Tracker' feat in Dragon 306, and the Dimensional Tracking Net in Dragon 308.

[Khedrac]

If you have access to 8th level cleric spells then discern location will give you their exact location after a 10 minute casting time, and that location includes the relevant plane of existance as well as country, town, street etc.

[timeeater14]

If you have access to 8th level cleric spells then discern location will give you their exact location after a 10 minute casting time, and that location includes the relevant plane of existance as well as country, town, street etc.

That’s not the problem, though. The problem is that, even though they can find the person via divination, they can’t Plane Shift to catch him due to the inaccuracy involved.

Assuming one divines on a planeshifter in order to find their location, the subject fails their saves, and then the party planeshifts in pursuit, the inaccuracy is likely to mean at least a day's worth of navigation and tracking, after which the quarry is going to have the ability to shift once more.

He could use Greater Teleport to catch the BBEG after both Plane Shift, but he says that he can’t “communicate that location correctly”. If you’ve got an arcane caster in the party, try Rary’s Telepathic Bond to target the teleport correctly.