The spell states "Any creature that enters the portal instantly appears within 5 feet of the destination circle or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied."
My group was wondering if you place the permanent teleportation circle in a 15 foot by 15 foot room seal it off and fill it with water or do something else so there is no unoccupied space what happens when someone tries to teleport to that circle. Do you end up in another room? Does teleport fail?
In our last game session an npc tried using one and we discussed the dangers of following him afterwards.
The spell does exactly what it says; you appear within 5ft, or the nearest unoccupied space. There's always an unoccupied space somewhere unless you've set up the circle inside a tiny cave in a plane of infinite stone.
If you set up a circle inside a 15ft cube room flooded with water, the creatures would appear in whatever the nearest empty space was, be it an adjacent room or whatever.
The immediate destination for a teleport circle will typically be safe since otherwise you wouldn't bother creating the circle. It will also either be an area that's easy to defend against or completely outside the defenses of the destination.
The spell does exactly what it says; you appear within 5ft, or the nearest unoccupied space. There's always an unoccupied space somewhere unless you've set up the circle inside a tiny cave in a plane of infinite stone.
If you set up a circle inside a 15ft cube room flooded with water, the creatures would appear in whatever the nearest empty space was, be it an adjacent room or whatever.
The idea that you teleport to the nearest unoccupied space no matter how far away was one of things my group was talking about. Why is there no limit?
The spell does exactly what it says; you appear within 5ft, or the nearest unoccupied space. There's always an unoccupied space somewhere unless you've set up the circle inside a tiny cave in a plane of infinite stone.
If you set up a circle inside a 15ft cube room flooded with water, the creatures would appear in whatever the nearest empty space was, be it an adjacent room or whatever.
The idea that you teleport to the nearest unoccupied space no matter how far away was one of things my group was talking about. Why is there no limit?
Probably just so the DM doesn't have to go "okay now what?"
Keep in mind, it takes a LOT or resources and a full year of casting for someone to create a permanent teleportation circle. You don’t just create one as a “gotcha” unless you’re Halaster-level certifiable. You create one because it’s in a location you want to be able to return to quickly at all times.
Water is easy to displace but difficult to compress. Inserting a person won't change the volume of water the way it could air; the water has to go somewhere. If the room is truly filled and sealed, it has nowhere to go. Without someplace for the water to go, the space is just as occupied as if it were stone.
Water is easy to displace but difficult to compress. Inserting a person won't change the volume of water the way it could air; the water has to go somewhere. If the room is truly filled and sealed, it has nowhere to go. Without someplace for the water to go, the space is just as occupied as if it were stone.
Dealing with water compression versus displacement might be, along with many other magical effects, a level of physics that D&D doesn’t really handle well, especially since in D&D “occupied” is a term typically used to refer to creatures, terrain, and physical obstructions occupying spaces.
Hello
The spell states "Any creature that enters the portal instantly appears within 5 feet of the destination circle or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied."
My group was wondering if you place the permanent teleportation circle in a 15 foot by 15 foot room seal it off and fill it with water or do something else so there is no unoccupied space what happens when someone tries to teleport to that circle. Do you end up in another room? Does teleport fail?
In our last game session an npc tried using one and we discussed the dangers of following him afterwards.
Personally, I'd just say the teleport failed, same as if someone had wrecked the circle.
You are over thinking it. I might have traps on the other side, but nothing this headache inducing.
The spell does exactly what it says; you appear within 5ft, or the nearest unoccupied space. There's always an unoccupied space somewhere unless you've set up the circle inside a tiny cave in a plane of infinite stone.
If you set up a circle inside a 15ft cube room flooded with water, the creatures would appear in whatever the nearest empty space was, be it an adjacent room or whatever.
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The immediate destination for a teleport circle will typically be safe since otherwise you wouldn't bother creating the circle. It will also either be an area that's easy to defend against or completely outside the defenses of the destination.
The idea that you teleport to the nearest unoccupied space no matter how far away was one of things my group was talking about. Why is there no limit?
Probably just so the DM doesn't have to go "okay now what?"
Keep in mind, it takes a LOT or resources and a full year of casting for someone to create a permanent teleportation circle. You don’t just create one as a “gotcha” unless you’re Halaster-level certifiable. You create one because it’s in a location you want to be able to return to quickly at all times.
I'd consider water as an unoccupied space
Water is easy to displace but difficult to compress. Inserting a person won't change the volume of water the way it could air; the water has to go somewhere. If the room is truly filled and sealed, it has nowhere to go. Without someplace for the water to go, the space is just as occupied as if it were stone.
Dealing with water compression versus displacement might be, along with many other magical effects, a level of physics that D&D doesn’t really handle well, especially since in D&D “occupied” is a term typically used to refer to creatures, terrain, and physical obstructions occupying spaces.
I agree completely. I'm just explaining why contained water is as much a "physical obstruction occupying a space" as a block of stone.
You don't need to make things too complicated. Better try to understand what was the intent of a rule.
Keep it simple, keep it funny - I'd totally allow such a trap (but it would be really hard to set up such a thing)