Attacks of opportunity are taken when you leave melee range. It’s a moment of tension. If you stay in melee range you could go unconscious, but if you create distance the battle could turn in your favor. It’s not exciting to use an action to disengage, it’s a necessity to survive when you’re hurt. Teleporting as a bonus action doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks and more players are getting access to it.
.
D&D 5 edition currently has 14 subclasses with built in teleportation variations. Classes’ teleportation come from class features, summons, or environmental factors like darkness. Built in teleportation differs from subclass spell lists because they are tied to different resources and can’t be counter spelled. Teleportation features are often only accessible at sixth level of higher. There is quite the roster and not all of them are made equal:
Monk
Way of Shadows
Cleric
Peace Domain
Druid
Circle of dreams
Circle of Wildfire
Fighter
Eldritch knight
Echo knight
Ranger
Fey Wanderer
Horizon Walker
Rogue
Soul Knife
Sorcerer
Aberrant Mind
Shadow Magic
Warlock
Archfey (2012)
Great Old One
Wizard,
School of Conjuration
Eldritch invocations, Artificer Infusions, and spells give full and half casters access to short range teleportation at early levels. The most accessible spatial magic to Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Druids, and Paladins is the second level Bonus Action spell- Misty Step:
Briefly surrounded by silvery mist, you teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you can see.
Teleport features and spells are important escape tools- and the market is about to get saturated.
Origins in the Feywild
The Eladrin rework in Monsters of the Multiverse started the trend. The reworked Eladrin is immensely popular with the use of Fey Step. The difference between Fey Step and Misty Step is that Fey step is:
Not a spell, so it can’t be countered.
Has four different 5 ft. effects for an Eladrin fey stepping- damage, fear, charm, and a friendly teleport.
The number of Fey Steps you can use daily scales with your proficiency, a stat you don’t have to dump Ability Skill Improvements into.
Having Fey Step also lets you save your 2 level spell slots for other things besides escapes. Spell casters need escapes, otherwise they get hit once and start screaming their HP at other players. It is more empowering to take control of combat and trade out Misty Step for Hold Person. The craziest part is that you can get the value of two 2 level teleportation spells at level one by picking Eladrin.
Unearthed Arcana Foreshadowing
The new year brings the new 2024 Core Rule Books. Surveys and Playtests have been testing the waters for new player content. Some changes are still up for debate and others are set in stone- races will now be species. A goliath sub species called giant ancestry caught my eye in play test- Cloud Giant. The new goliath sub species have classic martial stuff, welcome but nothing redefining. Cloud Giant ancestry has Cloud’s Jaunt- the long awaited martial misty step scaling with proficiency bonus and resetting on a long rest.
Teleporting martials have powerful burst potential and incredible strategic placement on a battlefield. Teleport in on an enemy caster, action surge, and then join allies for a flanking. Identify an ally isolated out of position and join them in the nick of time with battle maneuvers and refocus the enemy aggression on yourself. Now martial players can diversify their party skill sets with Eladrin and Goliath sub species.
Invest in Canoloth
Five subclasses getting new or reworked teleporting subclasses increases the count by 1/3 if all UA are brought into the new rule books. The shenanigans aren’t limited to existing subclasses as new subclasses, spells, and game mechanics are coming. The Barbarian’s Path of the World tree and the Druid’s Circle of the Moon both are being play tested for teleportation features. DM’s will have reworked find steed with a teleporting otherworldly steed variant and the Bastion system’s teleportation sigil on their mind as well. This is a lot to process, but what can DM’s do to prepare?
Familiarize with canoloth’s feature and concept design. Canoloths are some of my favorite niche fiends for mid to high level adventures. I may be drawn to them being the bulldog or pug of the yugoloth world- I mean just look at that face. They are great guard dogs, hunters, and killers of over reliant teleporters. This is all due to their unique ability:
Dimensional Lock. Other creatures can’t teleport to or from a space within 60 feet of the canoloth. Any attempt to do so is wasted.
This coupled with their grappling tongue attack make them excellent tools for turning the tide unexpectedly on teleporting players. Is this a face you think only the outer gods of pandemonium and limbo could love? Then homebrew creatures with Dimensional Lock and playtest while you have time! Buy Dimensional Shackles now before the price skyrockets! Enchant dungeons and lairs with Hallow for interdimensional interference! Teleporting players- enjoy while the meta is fresh for the taking. DMs- enjoy the villainous moments to come!
if you're already a villainous dm, then aren't you just going to have more bad guys at the location of the teleport or they'll catch up soon anyway? and for every other dm, there's environmental speed bumps before the boss fight to sap spell slots. at least then the players get to use their toy. so why bring a CR8 anti-fun aura to every sword fight? a canoloth is way, way more interesting for it's lore of "always do exactly as asked—never any more, never any less" than it is for its immunity to invisible and misty step.
You bring up a good point about the location of the teleport or catching up soon anyways. This assumes teleportation is withing line of sight. Canoloths can answer particular evasive and flighty parties. What if it is a plane wide teleport or plane shift you are looking to counter? I think the canoloth's interesting lore as an essentially dutiful mercenary fiend and letting the players use their toys can work in tandem. The canoloth may only stay within 5 feet of it's employer, so players can still teleport, but must work around the radius- the canoloth never pursuing, or it is a guard of a treasure of some sort that could be trivialized with teleportation. Or to your point, could players impersonate the employer in someway, disguise self or the Actor feat to convince the canoloth to move the "anti-fun" aura in a beneficial way. I think what is anti-fun can be repurposed as a fun problem-solving challenge for parties.
Also, definitely don't bring a canoloth to every encounter- I agree that would become trite and unfun quickly. I think the suggestions of Dimensional Shackles and Hallow can add interesting encounter dynamics that players with teleports need to think creatively around.
Trying to save a beloved NPC who has been taken hostage? They can't just be teleported out if they are wearing interdimensional shackles. Will the players try to forcefully remove them? Schedule alternate transport? Force them to create a portal?
Is there a location that has been scryed that you want to reveal but keep speedbumps in place for? It can be hallowed with the specification of dimensional interference so that players can still use up spell slots on other speed bumps rather than trading one spell to bypass a dungeon. I agree that player's agency is incredibly important and so is DM prep. If you are a DM who wants to preserve the dungeon and encounters leading up to a climactic room/lair this is a way to do so within the rules.
How would you structure an encounter around the canoloth's lore? I really enjoy them as well.
You bring up a good point about the location of the teleport or catching up soon anyways. This assumes teleportation is withing line of sight. Canoloths can answer particular evasive and flighty parties. What if it is a plane wide teleport or plane shift you are looking to counter? I think the canoloth's interesting lore as an essentially dutiful mercenary fiend and letting the players use their toys can work in tandem. The canoloth may only stay within 5 feet of it's employer, so players can still teleport, but must work around the radius- the canoloth never pursuing, or it is a guard of a treasure of some sort that could be trivialized with teleportation. Or to your point, could players impersonate the employer in someway, disguise self or the Actor feat to convince the canoloth to move the "anti-fun" aura in a beneficial way. I think what is anti-fun can be repurposed as a fun problem-solving challenge for parties.
Also, definitely don't bring a canoloth to every encounter- I agree that would become trite and unfun quickly. I think the suggestions of Dimensional Shackles and Hallow can add interesting encounter dynamics that players with teleports need to think creatively around.
Trying to save a beloved NPC who has been taken hostage? They can't just be teleported out if they are wearing interdimensional shackles. Will the players try to forcefully remove them? Schedule alternate transport? Force them to create a portal?
Is there a location that has been scryed that you want to reveal but keep speedbumps in place for? It can be hallowed with the specification of dimensional interference so that players can still use up spell slots on other speed bumps rather than trading one spell to bypass a dungeon. I agree that player's agency is incredibly important and so is DM prep. If you are a DM who wants to preserve the dungeon and encounters leading up to a climactic room/lair this is a way to do so within the rules.
How would you structure an encounter around the canoloth's lore? I really enjoy them as well.
overheard: "challenge all persons you see walk beneath that arch." players: "i begin to dance..."
overheard: "if they are not myself, attack." players: "hello, myself!" "good morrow, myself!"
overheard: "do not let anyone take the gold coins!" players: "we're just here for the scrolls. and gems. and that sword."
overheard: "let no man but me sully the floor of this treasure room with their filthy, dirty feet!" players: "i am not a man and this is not a wig. i am a flying miniature lady giant wearing clean socks. but if you'll bring me a bag of that treasure, i'll give you this lovely chicken."
overheard: "the password is 'advantage against spell effects but only 5 int? wow. i bet illusions work great on this guy.' and 'INT' is capitalized." players: "..."
overheard: "don't allow burglars in this room." players: "okay. Bilbo, you stay here. the rest of us, uh, sages, yeah sages, will research this treasure."
also, might be some interplay with a teleportation circle that the on-guard canoloth covers by their aura. or maybe there's a cross pattern dungeon floor with the canoloth in the middle and four teleportation circles at the ends. canoloth only retreats down one hallway when told to (via sending spell, illusion, etc) which then un-deactivates exactly one of the circles. all four circles are modified so that disrupted attempts are forwarded to a fifth ring over some nasty pit. so not only do you have to get the demon to move, you have to know you're connecting to the correct circle (via instructions, code, riddle, etc). as a safeguard to exiting, perhaps uncovering all four circles at the same time teleports in a stream of slimes. although, the canoloth itself might be as easy to bypass as mimicing a voice or getting it to look the other way. and imagine if players disabled the four circles (canoloth don't care!) before triggering an alarm only for the bbeg to try porting in and instead being dropped into their pit of doom.
Invest in Canoloth: Misty Step-Likes
Attacks of opportunity are taken when you leave melee range. It’s a moment of tension. If you stay in melee range you could go unconscious, but if you create distance the battle could turn in your favor. It’s not exciting to use an action to disengage, it’s a necessity to survive when you’re hurt. Teleporting as a bonus action doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks and more players are getting access to it.
.
D&D 5 edition currently has 14 subclasses with built in teleportation variations. Classes’ teleportation come from class features, summons, or environmental factors like darkness. Built in teleportation differs from subclass spell lists because they are tied to different resources and can’t be counter spelled. Teleportation features are often only accessible at sixth level of higher. There is quite the roster and not all of them are made equal:
Eldritch invocations, Artificer Infusions, and spells give full and half casters access to short range teleportation at early levels. The most accessible spatial magic to Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Druids, and Paladins is the second level Bonus Action spell- Misty Step:
Teleport features and spells are important escape tools- and the market is about to get saturated.
Origins in the Feywild
The Eladrin rework in Monsters of the Multiverse started the trend. The reworked Eladrin is immensely popular with the use of Fey Step. The difference between Fey Step and Misty Step is that Fey step is:
Having Fey Step also lets you save your 2 level spell slots for other things besides escapes. Spell casters need escapes, otherwise they get hit once and start screaming their HP at other players. It is more empowering to take control of combat and trade out Misty Step for Hold Person. The craziest part is that you can get the value of two 2 level teleportation spells at level one by picking Eladrin.
Unearthed Arcana Foreshadowing
The new year brings the new 2024 Core Rule Books. Surveys and Playtests have been testing the waters for new player content. Some changes are still up for debate and others are set in stone- races will now be species. A goliath sub species called giant ancestry caught my eye in play test- Cloud Giant. The new goliath sub species have classic martial stuff, welcome but nothing redefining. Cloud Giant ancestry has Cloud’s Jaunt- the long awaited martial misty step scaling with proficiency bonus and resetting on a long rest.
Teleporting martials have powerful burst potential and incredible strategic placement on a battlefield. Teleport in on an enemy caster, action surge, and then join allies for a flanking. Identify an ally isolated out of position and join them in the nick of time with battle maneuvers and refocus the enemy aggression on yourself. Now martial players can diversify their party skill sets with Eladrin and Goliath sub species.
Invest in Canoloth
Five subclasses getting new or reworked teleporting subclasses increases the count by 1/3 if all UA are brought into the new rule books. The shenanigans aren’t limited to existing subclasses as new subclasses, spells, and game mechanics are coming. The Barbarian’s Path of the World tree and the Druid’s Circle of the Moon both are being play tested for teleportation features. DM’s will have reworked find steed with a teleporting otherworldly steed variant and the Bastion system’s teleportation sigil on their mind as well. This is a lot to process, but what can DM’s do to prepare?
Familiarize with canoloth’s feature and concept design. Canoloths are some of my favorite niche fiends for mid to high level adventures. I may be drawn to them being the bulldog or pug of the yugoloth world- I mean just look at that face. They are great guard dogs, hunters, and killers of over reliant teleporters. This is all due to their unique ability:
Dimensional Lock. Other creatures can’t teleport to or from a space within 60 feet of the canoloth. Any attempt to do so is wasted.
This coupled with their grappling tongue attack make them excellent tools for turning the tide unexpectedly on teleporting players. Is this a face you think only the outer gods of pandemonium and limbo could love? Then homebrew creatures with Dimensional Lock and playtest while you have time! Buy Dimensional Shackles now before the price skyrockets! Enchant dungeons and lairs with Hallow for interdimensional interference! Teleporting players- enjoy while the meta is fresh for the taking. DMs- enjoy the villainous moments to come!
if you're already a villainous dm, then aren't you just going to have more bad guys at the location of the teleport or they'll catch up soon anyway? and for every other dm, there's environmental speed bumps before the boss fight to sap spell slots. at least then the players get to use their toy. so why bring a CR8 anti-fun aura to every sword fight? a canoloth is way, way more interesting for it's lore of "always do exactly as asked—never any more, never any less" than it is for its immunity to invisible and misty step.
You bring up a good point about the location of the teleport or catching up soon anyways. This assumes teleportation is withing line of sight. Canoloths can answer particular evasive and flighty parties. What if it is a plane wide teleport or plane shift you are looking to counter? I think the canoloth's interesting lore as an essentially dutiful mercenary fiend and letting the players use their toys can work in tandem. The canoloth may only stay within 5 feet of it's employer, so players can still teleport, but must work around the radius- the canoloth never pursuing, or it is a guard of a treasure of some sort that could be trivialized with teleportation. Or to your point, could players impersonate the employer in someway, disguise self or the Actor feat to convince the canoloth to move the "anti-fun" aura in a beneficial way. I think what is anti-fun can be repurposed as a fun problem-solving challenge for parties.
Also, definitely don't bring a canoloth to every encounter- I agree that would become trite and unfun quickly. I think the suggestions of Dimensional Shackles and Hallow can add interesting encounter dynamics that players with teleports need to think creatively around.
How would you structure an encounter around the canoloth's lore? I really enjoy them as well.
overheard: "challenge all persons you see walk beneath that arch."
players: "i begin to dance..."
overheard: "if they are not myself, attack."
players: "hello, myself!" "good morrow, myself!"
overheard: "do not let anyone take the gold coins!"
players: "we're just here for the scrolls. and gems. and that sword."
overheard: "let no man but me sully the floor of this treasure room with their filthy, dirty feet!"
players: "i am not a man and this is not a wig. i am a flying miniature lady giant wearing clean socks. but if you'll bring me a bag of that treasure, i'll give you this lovely chicken."
overheard: "the password is 'advantage against spell effects but only 5 int? wow. i bet illusions work great on this guy.' and 'INT' is capitalized."
players: "..."
overheard: "don't allow burglars in this room."
players: "okay. Bilbo, you stay here. the rest of us, uh, sages, yeah sages, will research this treasure."
also, might be some interplay with a teleportation circle that the on-guard canoloth covers by their aura. or maybe there's a cross pattern dungeon floor with the canoloth in the middle and four teleportation circles at the ends. canoloth only retreats down one hallway when told to (via sending spell, illusion, etc) which then un-deactivates exactly one of the circles. all four circles are modified so that disrupted attempts are forwarded to a fifth ring over some nasty pit. so not only do you have to get the demon to move, you have to know you're connecting to the correct circle (via instructions, code, riddle, etc). as a safeguard to exiting, perhaps uncovering all four circles at the same time teleports in a stream of slimes. although, the canoloth itself might be as easy to bypass as mimicing a voice or getting it to look the other way. and imagine if players disabled the four circles (canoloth don't care!) before triggering an alarm only for the bbeg to try porting in and instead being dropped into their pit of doom.