Pathfinder 1E Spell to block Plane Shift

[koesherbacon]

I'm looking for a spell, hope you guys can help. I think that "Dimensional Lock" would work, but its area of effect is too small.

Let me give you a little bit of detail about what the PCs will be encountering.

The group loves to teleport from place to place now that they're level 14 and the Cleric and Summoner can both cast Greater Teleport. (As opposed to the previous method which was to take their ship from port to port and then huff it to their destination). This time however, when the teleport to their next planned destination, I am going to DM Fiat that instead of arriving at their destination, they will end up on another plane (The Boneyard, if that makes a difference). Since both the Cleric and Summoner can cast Plane Shift, transporting them against their will to The Boneyard really won't be a big deal.

Here's my question...

Is there a spell that will stop them from simply Plane Shifting back to the Material Plane and then teleporting to their actual destination? Or, should I just tell them that any of the spells they use to try to transport back to the Material Plane just do not work for an unknown reason?

"Dimensional Anchor" seems like a great option, but the problem with it being previously cast on their arrival location is the fact it's only a 40-ft radius. Is there's a similar spell, possibly higher level, that would affect an area much larger (let's say a couple miles)? That would be perfect. I suppose I could say that there are multiple castings of a "permanencied" "Dimensional Locks" cast spreading thousands of feet in either direction, but that sounds pretty ridiculous.

Aside from my first DM Fiat I'd like to follow the rules, but if I have to break a couple rules in order for them to have a good time trying to figure out how to get back then I will.

I don't intend for them to stay in The Boneyard very long, just long enough for them to explore the plane before finding an place outside the area of the plane that is not allowing teleportation spells to work.

Thanks a bunch, I know that was a lot of info to process. I hope you guys and gals can help me out!

 

[MarkB]

One option that would allow multiple 40-foot-radius Dimensional Anchors is the Hallow (or Unhallow) spell. Each casting, incorporating the Dimensional Anchor effect, would last a year, so there's no problem setting them up over time, but the component cost is very expensive, at around 5000 gp per casting.

I'd suggest another possibility: Have them land without gear, finding that their items have been stripped out in transit. Most of their combat gear has been stored nearby and are recoverable after an easy encounter, but whoever brought them there has gone off with the casters' spellbooks to peruse them.

Even if the casters have Plane Shift memorised, unless they've been keeping backup spellbooks they won't want to depart until they've retrieved them.

 

[Nagol]

The short answer is no.

It's probably better the provide carrots to get the party to stay than try to lock them in. Drop them in media res into a situation they need to immediately resolve with strong hooks into a larger situation they'll want to resolve. If they still want to bail, let them.

 

[paradox42]

I'd suggest another possibility: Have them land without gear, finding that their items have been stripped out in transit. Most of their combat gear has been stored nearby and are recoverable after an easy encounter, but whoever brought them there has gone off with the casters' spellbooks to peruse them.

Even if the casters have Plane Shift memorised, unless they've been keeping backup spellbooks they won't want to depart until they've retrieved them.

Won't work for the OP- he specifically mentioned a Cleric and a Summoner as the pair who could cast Plane Shift. The Cleric just needs to pray to god(dess), and the Summoner's a spontaneous caster who doesn't use spellbooks.

Nagol's idea of dropping them right into the middle of a conflict is probably the best way to keep them in the Boneyard- engage the players' interest and it'll be their idea to stay.

Another option, though, is semi-GM fiat. If they "happen" to end up inside the realm of a deity, or deity-level creature like a Demon Lord or something, then that being is able to alter the way dimensional transport magics work. So they'd have to find a way to leave that territory before they could shift out. But this will probably get the players to demand an answer to the question (for example): "Well, why wasn't Orcus stopping people from getting in, then?" Of course, if they end up in a maze/labyrinth where all the walls and corridors are D-Locked, then they may not even find out who built it or why (let alone question how it's doing what it's doing).

You could also use an artifact as the excuse, for similar reasons- maybe the Codex of the Infinite Planes is nearby, and screwing with the dimensions when they try to get away. Again, this is pretty much GM fiat, but the artifact is a perfect excuse/cover to use it. No player who's ever heard of that item should doubt that it might be capable of such feats, even though it's not specifically listed as a power. Just point to the way the "catastrophes" which occasionally hit the owner affect huge areas and you're golden. Indeed- who says this strange disruption of dimensional travel isn't just such a catastrophe, hitting a now-desperate (or erstwhile) owner?

In 3.X, an Epic spell would do the trick nicely for you, but PF doesn't really have anything like that yet (or at least, nothing official from Paizo). No spell below Epic has ever had a range large enough to cover what you're looking for, except Control Weather or something similar.

 

[koesherbacon]

I do like the idea of just plopping them into The Boneyard and have a combat/skill encounter trigger immediately. Once it's over they could Plane Shift themselves back to the Material Plane without even questioning whether they could have done so a minute ago.

I will certainly look up that artifact. I've never heard of it before but it sounds pretty cool to use some other time in the campaign.

Just out of curiosity, what is the Epic spell you're referring to? I know next to nothing about epic levels aside from the fact they're a nightmare to both DM and play a PC.

Thanks dude!

 

[paradox42]

There is no specific Epic spell that fulfills your criteria. The Epic spell system was designed to be freeform, and expandable as desired- thus, you the GM would need to figure out the spell's specifics and make them.

Using the "artifact excuse" as I suggested is likely to be a plot hook for future, very-high-level gaming after your party has tackled whatever was causing them to Teleport in the first place and thus end up offplane. They will probably be interested in the artifact, and wonder how they might use it for their own ends (or even better for game-plot purposes, destroy it so nobody can ever use it again).

Epic levels aren't a nightmare, if you have certain details figured out and can pay attention to such; the trouble most people have is that they can't deal with those details. For example, you have to figure out how to convert relatively large skill modifiers (such as a +40 to Acrobatics) into story details- what does that even mean in game terms? The number of bonuses one needs to track when figuring out what a PC or appropriately-levelled NPC can do also becomes relatively difficult to handle (hint: Excel is your friend).

In my experience, many (if not most) GMs can't handle the sort of thinking necessary to do that, so they label Epic-level games a "nightmare" and avoid running them at all. This is unfortunate, because Epic games provide the chance to run stories that cannot possibly be run any other way (for example, one in which the configuration of the game world's pantheon of gods changes- with some gods leaving and others entering, probably with one or more PCs being/joining the "entering" portion).

 

[mr_outsidevoice]

DM Fiat is a wonderful thing

There is a property of the Plane that allows people to shift in, but they need a Key(Literal or Figurative) to leave. The Key happens to be where the Climax for the adventure. be it treasure or worn by the Big Bad Boss.

Make the plane they are arriving in a Pocket Realm, the Entity that hijacked them need not be the villain for the adventure.