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Teleportation to Anywhere on Earth


mallet

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Working on a character that can teleport to any place on Earth and got into a debate with a fellow player about what amount of MegaScale would be needed. 

 

I'm of the opinion that since Teleportation "goes through" objects the teleporter could "go through" the Earth and appear on the opposite side. Since the radius of the Earth is about 6500km, then you would only need to go about 13000km to reach any other part of the planet. So a power build at its most basic would be: Teleportation 13m, Megascale 1m = 1000km (36 rp/ap)

 

But my buddy thinks that since any two points on the Earth are at most roughly 21000km apart (according to maps), that the power should be Teleportation 21m,MegaScale 1m = 1000km (51 rp/ap)

 

That might seem like only a slight difference in cost 36 vs 51, but that is only at the most basic build. Once you start adding advantages that point difference can really start to increase and end up equalling a whole heck of a lot. 

 

What is the general consensus about how much teleportation and megascale is needed to go anywhere on Earth? 

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I'm of the opinion that since Teleportation "goes through" objects the teleporter could "go through" the Earth and appear on the opposite side.

 

So a power build at its most basic would be: Teleportation 13m, Megascale 1m = 1000km (36 rp/ap)

 

But my buddy thinks that since any two points on the Earth are at most roughly 21000km apart (according to maps), that the power should be Teleportation 21m,MegaScale 1m = 1000km (51 rp/ap)

 

That might seem like only a slight difference in cost 36 vs 51,

First off, 15 points (or 40% more) doesn't seem slight to me.

 

What will the benefit be? Without this power, would you be unable to succeed in adventures because, by the time you got to where the action is, it would be too late? This strikes me as one of those "wow, cool" game facilitating powers, not a huge advantage that should carry a huge point cost.

 

Why don't you both be right? 3 meters, Megascale 1 m - 10,000 km bakes 30,000 km, more than enough under either interpretation, and it only costs 9 points.

 

 

I would allow the lower range but more-direct build as long as it included Safe Blind Teleport as well.

Definitely a wise inclusion.

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Didn't Vindicator from Alpha Flight comics have this ability as a "get out of jail" free card? Or rather a get away from the other X-Men escape plan?

 

 

He would hold his position in space while the world kept revolving?

 

and I'd go with "3 meters, Megascale 1 m - 10,000 km bakes 30,000 km, more than enough under either interpretation, and it only costs 9 points."

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I've always used straight-line distance (ie the Earth's diameter) rather than surface distance (ie half the Earth's circumference). That's assuming it's traditional teleportation; if it's something like a speedster's ability to run so fast that he can be anywhere, built as Teleport but with "Must cross intervening space" or "Cannot pass though solid objects" or whatever, then I could argue a case for circumference.

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Teleport allows you to move through solid object, like the Earth, unless they are build with an advantage that stops teleportation (in which case you need an advantage to get through), so the actual question you should be asking is "Excuse me, GM, can I teleport through the Earth or not?"

 

Now, as a GM, I'd be inclined to concern over how such a power might be used: it is not a combat ability, it is a strategic advantage, and, as such I'd probably rule that the intense magnetic flux of the Core plays Hell with teleportation.  Maybe it is my nasty mind but I can think of all sorts of thing I would not want my players doing with that sort of power.

 

Now, if you are the sort of GM who is foolish enough to trust their players, go ahead and allow straight line TP through planets, but, if they do start abusing it (and why else would you pay that much for an ability?  Oh, right.  Framework....) build something to teach them the error of their ways.  Like allow a suppression field against adders that covers the villain's base, specifically against Safe Blind Teleport...it won't stop them teleporting in, but it will add uncertainty to what they are teleporting into...

 

It will not be long from a teleport going disastrously wrong to a re-assessment of priorities.

 

Sorry, you wanted to be cheaper, so I'm assuming you are a player, and I've gone and given away the next couple of game sessions...

 

Another thing to think about is that you need to be able to properly identify your destination.  It is not enough to see a picture or a TV feed - you need to know where you are going, so you need to have been there  (and know how you got there) or have a power that lets you target a distant location.  If I could teleport anywhere in the world, I would struggle to get to (say) The Taj Mahal as I have only the vaguest idea where it is and have never personally visited it.

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I've always used straight-line distance (ie the Earth's diameter) rather than surface distance (ie half the Earth's circumference). That's assuming it's traditional teleportation; if it's something like a speedster's ability to run so fast that he can be anywhere, built as Teleport but with "Must cross intervening space" or "Cannot pass though solid objects" or whatever, then I could argue a case for circumference.

Yeah, I've built a Megascaled Tunneling power that can reach anywhere on earth and used the larger 16,000 km figure since the character is traveling along the planet's surface (and can't tunnel through the higher PD of highly compressed core material), but I think for something like Teleportation you'd use the direct line rather than a great circle path. Unless the special effect involved something like a transporter beam rather than warping space, anyway.

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Teleportation by its nature, as I understand it, is inherently indirect, so what's between you and your target only matters if the target is somehow shielded by "cannot be teleported through" material or energy.  That is, a wall doesn't stop you but a force field around your intended landing site would.  So the composition of the planet is irrelevant.

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Teleportation isn't Indirect as far as I know. Unless otherwise noted (such as by Telekinesis or the Indirect modifier) all powers have a straight line path of effect. If an enemy puts a flat 2m by 2m Barrier which Cannot Be Escaped By Teleportation in between the teleporter and themselves, the teleporter cannot teleport straight through the barrier (unless they have the appropriate advantage), they would have to make a two-point jump to circumvent the barrier.

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I've always assumed it was direct, but that intervening obstacles were irrelevent unless otherwise noted; such as by having the obstacle take Cannot Be Escaped By Teleportation, or by having the teleport power take Must Pass Through Intervening Space. I just checked Champions Complete and the word Indirect is never used in its write up of Teleportation. On the other hand it does describe what happens if you accidently teleport into a solid object, from which we can infer that you can teleport through solid objects unless otherwise noted (such as by the modifiers described above).

 

For the record, a power with an Indirect path cannot escape an englobed barrier. In order to englobe yourself in a barrier and "fire through it" the barrier has to be Transparent to the attack, or the Attack has to originate from outside the barrier as a result of an Indirect Origin Point modifier.

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Hmmm...I've always thought of Teleportation as being inherently Indirect, but thinking about it some more that may not be technically accurate. But for most practical purposes they function the same. The opening text on Indirect from 6e1 p335 says Indirect does 3 things:

  1. Alter source and/or path of an attack
  2. Bypass obstacles
  3. Change direction of KB.

#3 is obviously not relevant to Teleportation.

 

#2 obviously does apply: Teleportation lets you "move from one point to another without physically traveling through the space in between." [6e2 p300] Ignoring obstacles is kindof the whole point, unless you've taken the Must Cross Intervening Space Limitation. And yes there are ways to block Teleportation, just like there are ways to block Indirect. Mechanically Counteracts Indirect and Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation are different Advantages (each worth +1/4), but would I allow a Barrier with Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation to also block Indirect, or vice-versa? Depends on sfx, but yeah I think I probably would most times. (We could have the same debate about Affects Desolid, and I suspect I'd come to the same conclusion.)

 

#1 is a little trickier. Setting aside the fact that Indirect seems intended for Attacks and Teleport isn't one, Teleport clearly has a source and a target/destination. But does it have a path per se? RAW doesn't explicitly say either way. But the two examples given in that opening paragraph [6e2 p300 again] are

  • Transforming one's body into energy, and
  • "Short-cutting" through another dimension

The former clearly follows some sort of path from source to destination. The latter technically does, but since the path is in another dimension it's not relevant for this discussion. So we're back to "depends on sfx."

 

But even with the turning-into-energy-and-reforming example, keep in mind that while other forms of movement clearly have paths, those paths don't have to be direct in the sense of a straight line. So using your example of a 2m by 2m Barrier with Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation right in the Teleporter's path, what's stopping them from simply going around it, just like someone with Running can move around a normal Barrier? Sure, if the Barrier is wide enough that going around it exceeds the character's Teleport distance, it might take them more than 1 move, just like running around a conventional Barrier. But particularly at Megascale distances, the number of times where that's likely to come up are going to be pretty rare.

 

I'll also point out the language of the Limitation is Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation, rather than something like Cannot Be Penetrated With Teleportation. That strongly implies to me that it's usually only relevant when applied to an Entangle or englobing Barrier or something similar that completely surrounds and traps the character, rather than simply being in the way. If I built the walls of your prison cell with Cannot Be Escaped, but forgot to do the floor or ceiling, it's not going to impede your escape in any meaningful way.

 

So while I concede it's probably not technically correct to say that Teleportation has the Indirect Advantage, it acts the same in most ways that are relevant. And going back to the relevant question: ignoring physical barriers between here and there is kindof the whole point of Teleportation. So yeah, all that Earth between here are there is not an issue.

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That brings up an interesting question; is teleport indirect?  I've always assumed because of its nature and ability to move beyond enclosed barriers it was.

 

I think the question is misguided. "[indirect] allows a character to alter the Source and/or Path of an attack." (6e1 335) Movement Powers are not attacks (unless bought as such). Teleport is a Movement Power, not an Attack.

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