“And lo!---the fourteen gates of Pesh were sundered and disjoined. And a great Nothing rippled across the plains,
swallowing them in utter blackness, and carving the deep abysses that lay there
now, where once the Marshals of Law marched against the multitudes of
Chaos. Only their echoes
remain---forlorn and lost, beyond the edge of time.”
--- “The Fall of Aaqa” in The Fables
of Burdock
On the Destruction of
Gates
Player characters often seem to need to destroy gates and portals, prior to Something Wicked
This Way Coming, in one form or another.
This brings up an interesting query, namely, how is a gate destroyed? A number of possible means to destroy gates immediately leap to mind,
including:
- hit
it with lightning bolts, fireballs,
ice storms, cones of cold and whatever other attack spells are
available
- disintegrate it
- shatter it
- destroy
the gate’s grounding frame/location/henge,
for without its moorings, the gate
cannot exist and dissipates into wisps of nothing
- open
a second gate within the first gate (the Babylon 5 solution)
- destroy
all of the portals leading to/from the gate
(the Morgaine solution)
Some or even most of these methods may not be available to
most PCs, however, while others offer little to no hope for the characters to
continue on in their current setting (C. J. Cherryh’s Morgaine regularly
travels from world to world, closing each gate
behind her---never able to return to her home or to travel back from whence she
came). I recommend that you make the
methods of destruction for each gate
unique, but also remain flexible to allow player ingenuity to provide
inspiration. That way you can roll on
the table below once the gate has
been nuked successfully!
d100 Result
01-55 Nothing: the gate
is destroyed with no ill effects or unintended consequences
56-73 Explosion causing 6-15 d6 damage (roll
3d4+3 d6s) to all within a 50’ radius
(unmodified
save vs. Breath Weapon for ½ damage); reduce damage by 2d6
and
extend radius in 50’ increments until no further damage dice remain;
round down to 0
if only 1 die remains for the final 50’ radius increment)
74-79 Implosion: everything within the radius is sucked into
the singularity and
destroyed; roll
d100 again for specifics:
d100 Result
01-70 Small
and slow implosion in a 0-40’ radius:
([2d6]-4) x 5’; 1 in 20
small
implosions result in the creation of a sphere
of annihilation
71-100 Large and fast implosion in a 50-5000’ radius: (5d100) x 10’; 1 in 3
large implosions
result in the creation of a sphere of
annihilation
Small
implosions allow 1 segment of reaction time per 10’ of distance from
the gate; large implosions allow 1 segment
of reaction time per 1000’ of
distance from the
gate.
Gentle and Benevolent DMs may allow PCs
unmodified saving
throws vs. Breath Weapon to avoid destruction, in which
case each PC is
cast into a random plane and each item in their possession
must make an
unmodified saving throw vs. disintegrate or not survive the
implosion.
80-88 Spatial/Temporal/Planar
Distortion: the space-time continuum
and the megaflow buckle in response to the destruction of the gate:
d100 Result
01-34 PCs
are randomly plane shifted to
somewhere across the span of
planes that the gate normally traverses
35-49 Space in a (4d6) x 10’ radius warps into non-Euclidean geometry
50-77 Space in a (6d12) x 10’ radius is distance distorted and slowed
78-90 PCs remain in place but are thrown forward or backward in time (roll 1d6 three
times, for Results 1, 2, and 3):
d6 Result 1 Result 2 Result 3 Result 4
1 1d3
days historical past feet
2 2d6 weeks normal future yards
3 4d12 months alternate past fathoms
4 8d24 years alternate future furlongs
5 16d30 centuries bizarre past miles
6 32d100 millennia bizarre future leagues
91-97 A reality maelstrom is unleashed, centered on the previous
location of the
gate; roll 1d4 on the table above for
Results 1 and 2
to determine its duration
98-99 1d3-1
planes associated with the gate begin
to bleed into the
plane where the
gate was destroyed: matter, flora, and fauna,
“invade”; if a
0 is rolled, planar matter from the location of the
gate bleeds away into the newly-adjacent plane; duration and extent
of the bleed is based on 1d4+1 for Results 1, 2, and 4 above
100 Roll twice.
Do not ignore subsequent rolls of 100.
80% of the distortions above are
temporary in nature, and will fade within (roll 1d6 for Results 1 and 2 on the
time travel table).
89-100 Planar
Rift: the planar boundaries are
rent, and a new planar geography begins to emerge in response to the
destruction of the gate:
d6 Result
1
The plane splits in two, over the span of (roll 1d6
for Results 1 and 2
on the time travel table above)
2
The plane fragments into 2d4+1 planelets, over
the span of (roll 1d4
for Results 1 and 2 on the time travel table above)
3
An area spanning (1d3+3 Results 1 and 4 on the
time travel table above) sloughs off as a new demi-plane, in (1d3 Results 1 and
2)
4
The gate
is not destroyed, but is instead amplified as a fixed conduit
to a single destination;
the gate’s size increases to (1d3 for
Results 1
and 4 above)
5
The gate’s
destruction triggers a planar collision, as 98-99 planar
bleed above, but more
widespread and catastrophic in nature:
the
geographies of the planes smash together, their atmospheres mingle,
earthquakes and volcanoes arise in response, etc. (think of this as
planar
plate tectonics: eventually one plane
will grind another away,
or perhaps they’ll simply bounce apart in time…)
6
The gate’s
destruction triggers a multi-planar collision, in which
2d4-3 planes collide;
for any result of 0 or less than zero, treat this as
a planar-wide implosion
over the span of as the plane collapses into
itself over (roll 1d3+1 for
Results 1 and 2)
80% of the rifts above are
permanent in nature; if temporary (and actually reversible), they will fade
within (roll 2d3 for Results 1 and 2 on the time travel sub-table above).
I encourage all Dungeon Masters to let loose the hounds of
insane imaginings when modifying this table for use in your own campaigns!
New Magic-User Spells
“I have analyzed the dweomers, notes, and formulae within
Yagrax’s tome, and extracted herein those that bear the most promise for
further development. While his efforts demonstrate
his facility for conjurations, he is clearly building upon key principles that enable
gates to function. These laws are the
foundational elements through which we travel the multiverse---Keoghtom clearly
mastered these precepts when he forged his rod, but from what sources did he
and Yagrax gain their knowledge? I must
find their original source---even if from Gresil, and no matter his price.”
--- The Witch of Perrenland, The
Demonomicon
If you want to establish gate-related
magics as more-readily accessible in your campaign (as when playing in Michael
Moorcock’s Eternal Champion multiverse, or in Philip Jose Farmer’s World of
Tiers settings, for example), consider reducing the level for all of the
following spells by one (i.e., Detect
Gate becomes first level, Identify
Gate second level, etc.). Similarly,
if gates are wondrously rare
artifacts in your campaigns, feel free to raise the level of the spells by one
(Detect Gate becomes third level,
etc.). In my campaigns, Identify is a second level magic-user spell, which is why Identify Gate is one level higher than Detect Gate to begin with. In addition to deciding how to adjust the spell
levels in your campaigns, you may want to consider the rarity of these
spells. Again, in my campaigns, I assign
scarcity to all named spells, as well as various others based on how I manage
magic in the campaign: spell frequency
follows that of monsters---Common (65%), Uncommon (20%), Rare (11%), Very Rare
(5%), and Unique---and I generally assign all spells new to the campaign a
frequency at least Uncommon, if not perhaps Rare or Very Rare. PCs may need to discover these spells from
the long-lost spellbooks of ancient mages, or to perform a geas or quest for the
order that guards their secrets. Drive the
availability of the spells by how common the knowledge and workings of gates will be in your campaigns, because
these tools strongly empower PCs to break the “broken” spells: for example, using force gate, a PC can trail a foe who fled “to safety” via dimension door or word of recall or similar escape magics.
New Magic-User Spells
Second Level: Detect
Gate
Third Level: Identify
Gate
Fourth Level: Dimensional
Anchor, Gatetrace
Fifth Level: Force Gate
Sixth Level: Dimensional
Lock
Detect Gate (Divination)
Level: 2 (and see
below)
Range: 0
Duration: 1 round/2
levels
Area of Effect: 1”
wide path, 1” long/level
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This spell enables a magic-user to scan for gates and teleporters; in a manner similar to detect magic, up to 60 degrees may be scanned each round, out to a
range of 1” per level of the caster. Detect gate also detects
extra-dimensional pockets (rope trick,
Leomund’s Tiny Hut or Secret Chest, a portable hole, etc.), astral
spell, maze, Murlynd’s Void, phase door,
plant door, prismatic sphere or wall (so
long as the violet layer remains in effect), shadow door, shadow walk,
transport via plants, and similar
magics, as well as a sphere of
annihilation, amulet of the planes,
cubic gate, well of many worlds, etc. if such magic items are within range and actively
in use. It will not detect monsters existing in more
than one plane (level-draining undead, for example), lesser conjurations (monster or animal summoning, beckon,
implore, etc.), spatial warping effects (displacement, distance
distortion, reverse gravity, etc.),
or other near-instantaneous gates (Chariot of Sustarre, plane shift, prismatic spray; see below also on recency,
however). If any detectable objects are
present within range, the caster will know their relative numbers and relative
distances within scanning range (i.e., “You discern two teleporters to the SW at 5” and 9” ranges, and a gate 25 feet away in the same
direction”). Detect gate is blocked just as other
divination magics are (by 1/12” of metal, 1’ of stone, etc.), with the caveat
that very strong (or more powerful) gates
may sometimes be detected even through thick stone walls or perhaps even
through lead.
The spell also allows a base 10% for each level above 3rd
for the caster to determine one or more of the following outer traits
about a detected teleporter or gate.
Some gates are easier to
detect based on the intensity of their
auras, as well as their recency of usage (see below for modifiers); some magic
items may also boost these detection percentages. Each outer trait requires one round of
concentration with no further scanning for the presence of gates; the caster may attempt to detect one outer trait per round, and
must begin with intensity, although subsequent rounds of detection may occur in
any order desired:
- intensity: a measure of the strength of the gate’s magical and planar auras and
connections; detection levels are: none/inactive,
dim, faint, moderate, strong (detects +10%), very strong (detects +25%),
intense (detects +50%), overwhelming (detects +100%)
- recency: a measure of the when the gate was most-recently used last;
detection levels are: fresh (used within
1 round/level; detects at +50%), recent (within 1 turn/level; detects at
+25%), waning (within 1 hour/level, detects at base), dwindled (within 1
day; detects at -25%), stale (within 1 day/level; detects at -50%), lapsed
(within 1 week/level; detects at -75%), atrophied (within 1 month/level;
detects at -125%), eroded (within 1 year/level; detects at -200%)
- ethos: a measure of the alignment components of
a gate’s destination(s) (if any); detects as: none, law, chaos, good, evil, neutrality
(no detection modifiers)
If a caster fails the roll, they may receive no reading, or
perhaps misinformation about the trait sought---“dim” detects as stronger;
while “law” and “good” ethoi result in opposed values or read as none perhaps; recency
resolves as at least two places removed from actuality, etc.---DMs must adjudicate
such instances.
Some clerics are able to cast detect gate as a third level clerical spell if it fits within the
portfolio for their deity; however, like detect
magic, most clerical casters are not able to divine more than the presence
or absence of a portal, and they cannot discover any of its outer traits. The material component is a small platinum
tuning fork, carefully fashioned to vibrate when gates are detected (cost 800 gp; the ‘fork is reusable).
Identify Gate (Divination – Conjuration)
Level: 3
Range: ½”/level
Duration: 1 segment/2
levels
Area of Effect: One gate or teleporter
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 turn
Saving Throw: Special
This spell allows a magic-user to identify one or more inner attributes about a gate, teleporter, or similar magical transportation feature (pool,
archway, etc.). Note that unlike the
first level spell identify, the
magic-user is not required to touch or to directly handle a gate or teleporter since the spell may be cast at range (albeit a very short
one). The caster has a base 20% chance
to identify an attribute, plus 5% per level above 5th. The caster may attempt to identify one or
more of the following attributes of a gate,
in any order, at the rate of one trait per segment:
- activation method(s): general details about how the gate is activated---by walking
through, by command phrase, by proximity of some sort of key or item, by
ritual, etc.; specific details beyond walking through the gate often require
research via consultation with a sage or bard, legend lore or contact
other plane, or similar efforts to glean the full information
- destination(s): the caster discovers how many
destinations to which the gate
leads; if the gate can access
more than one plane, planes will be identified from most- to
least-commonly travelled destinations
- periodicity: determines if the gate is always on, or periodic; a second check will determine
the frequency of the gate’s
operative periods---every other round, once per day, upon command, during
the new moon, etc.; a third check will determine the duration for the gate’s activity cycle---always on
during the full moon, one use during a full moon, for one hour after the
third person to walk through during a full moon, etc.
- sweetness: a measure of the discomfort that passage
through a gate causes, based on
a 14 Constitution; adjust upward or downward from Con 14 using detect gate’s intensity scale to
determine PC impact, if any: none
(no effect; the gate is “sweet”), faint (mild dizziness), moderate
(dislocation), strong (mild nausea), very strong (nausea), intense (strong
pain), overwhelming (unconsciousness); each level of effect is cumulative,
and exact effects are left to the DM to adjudicate
- symmetry: does the gate shift travellers’ physical positions during transit, or
do they arrive in the same positions relative to one another, to the gate
itself, etc.
- temporality: does the gate shift travelers forward or backward in time, or have a
discernable lag during transit time
- cardinality: is the gate one-way or bi-directional?
- traps*: the caster identifies one trap on the
gate, if any, along with the trap’s level of threat (use detect gate’s intensity scale)
- usage restrictions: identifies whether or not the gate restricts usage in some
manner, such as by home plane, race, sex, alignment, class, level, eye
color, family lineage, etc. ; the first check provides a yes/no response,
while subsequent checks provide one restriction per check
After casting the spell, and determining what can be learned
from the gate, the magic-user loses 8
points of Constitution, and must rest for 1 hour per point in order to regain
them. (See the first-level spell
Identify for further effects of Constitution loss).
The material component of this spell is an alchemical
infusion that consists of a 500 gp violet garnet, which is powdered by the
magic-user and then mixed with red wine and the ocular juices from a roc, giant
eagle, ki-rin, beholder, or similar creature with far-seeing and/or magical
vision. The component must be drunk (and
is consumed) with each casting of the spell.
* If detect traps
(Cleric 2) is cast on a gate, most
clerics will have a 7% chance per level above 3rd to detect if a magical or
mundane trap exists on a gate, with a
maximum chance of 63% at 12th level.
Some clerics may have higher or lower chances, depending on their
deities’ spheres of influence.
If a thief, thief-acrobat, assassin, monk, or bard attempts
to Find Traps upon a gate, such PCs
have their usual chance to determine whether any small, physical traps exist on
a gate and its associated housing (if
any). For gates with an intensity or sweetness of strong or greater, the PC
may suffer a penalty to their ability, due to distraction caused by the gate’s aura.
Dimensional Anchor (Alteration – Conjuration/Summoning, Abjuration)
Level: 4
Range: 2” plus
½”/level
Duration: 1
turn/level
Area of Effect: One
to four creatures
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 5
segments
Saving Throw: Negates
This spell prevents target creatures from employing
extra-dimensional travel. The caster may
select up to four creatures as targets, and those that fail their saving throw
are limned with a deep emerald aura. If
three or four creatures are targeted, each saving throw is standard; targeting two
creatures reduces saves by -1; if a single creature is targeted, it saves at
-3. Forms of movement barred by a dimensional anchor include the usage of astral spell, blink, dimension door, displacement, etherealness, gate, maze, plane shift, phase door, rope trick, shadow walk, teleport,
and similar spell-like abilities or magic items (including the usage of
free-standing gates and teleporters, bags of holding, cubic gates, portable holes, etc.).
A dimensional anchor does not
interfere with the physical movement of affected creatures, or affect creatures
already in ethereal, astral, or shadow forms when the spell is cast. The spell does not block extra-dimensional
perception or attacks including the ability for undead to energy drain, nor
does it prevent summoned creatures from disappearing at the end of a summoning
spell’s duration. The material components
are one 3” long pin formed from adventurine (green quartz) per targeted
creature, as well as a swatch of fine, earthen-hued silk, into which the pins are
stuck. The fine silk costs 25gp, and is
consumed in the casting; each pin costs 250gp, and may be reused.
Gatetrace (Divination – Conjuration)
Level: 4
Range: 3”
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: one portal
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 4
segments
Saving Throw: None
This spell informs the caster of the destination for the
last usage of any gate or teleporter, including the destinations
for the residual and temporary portals created by spells like dimension door, plane shift, teleport without
error, a ghost or phase spider entering the Ethereal Plane, psionic Probability Travel, etc. In order to trace the destination of a
non-permanent gate, the caster must first employ detect gate to identify where to focus the gatetrace spell (if detect
gate was unsuccessful in determining a gate’s
intensity, recency, or ethos, gatetrace
will provide aligning, although equally incorrect, information). The destination is given as a plane, as well
as a complex string of multi-planar coordinates, which can be used to arrive at
the same destination if the caster has some form of appropriate magical
transport available (dimension door, teleport, gate, etc.). The coordinates
remain in the caster’s memory for one round per level of the caster, and may be
transcribed by the caster for future usage if he or she does not currently have
an appropriate spell memorized or device to enable immediate travel to the
destination. Coordinates require 1d4
rounds plus a varying amount of time to transcribe, based on the following
table:
Destination is
Within
|
Transcription Time
|
Prime Material Plane
|
no additional time required
|
Demi-plane or other non-standard Prime Material Plane
location (other planet, etc.)
|
+1 round
|
Alternate Prime Material Plane
|
+2 rounds
|
Demi-plane or other non-standard Alternate Material Plane
location
|
+3 rounds
|
Ethereal Plane
|
+2 rounds
|
Elemental
or Quasi-Elemental Plane
|
+3 rounds
|
Other Inner Plane (Shadow, Positive or Negative Material,
Concordant Opposition, etc.)
|
+4 rounds
|
Demi-plane within Inner Planes
|
+5 rounds
|
Astral Plane
|
+7 rounds
|
Demi-plane within Astral Plane
|
+9 rounds
|
Outer Planes – The Abyss, Pandemonium, or Limbo
|
+16 rounds
|
Outer Planes – all others
|
+10 rounds
|
Demi-plane within The Abyss, Pandemonium, or Limbo
|
+24 rounds
|
Demi-plane within all other Outer Planes
|
+12 rounds
|
Another Multiverse
|
+ 30 rounds
|
Instantaneous communication of the coordinates string is
possible using telepathy, ESP, Rary’s Telepathic Bond, etc. and the
various Extension spells will allow
the coordinates to remain in the caster’s memory for a longer duration, of
course. The material component for the
spell is a pair of 5” by 1” electrum bars, beaten wafer-thin and finely
polished on one side; the two are twisted into an infinite loop during the
casting of the spell, with the reflective sides facing each other across the
middle of the ouroboros helix. The
component costs 400gp and is consumed in the casting.
Force Gate (Alternation – Conjuration/Summoning)
Level: 5
Range: 3” + ½”/level
above 11th
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: one portal
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 3
segments
Saving Throw: None
Force gate allows
the caster to force open (to fissure) and activate a gate that is inactive or that is otherwise unusable by the caster, whether
due to unknown activation methods, pre-specified times only during which the gate will function, being on the wrong
side of one-way transit options, or due to other usage restrictions. The spell affects permanent and temporary gates, including those portals created by
abjure, word of recall, transport via
plants, blink, dimension door, maze, astral spell and
similar transportational and conjuration/summoning spells and magic items.
In general, the forced gate
remains open and available to use for 1 turn plus 1 turn per level above 11th;
during that time it can be used normally by any creature, with our without the
presence of the caster. For spells with
instantaneous durations, such as teleport
without error, the forced gate
remains open for 2 rounds plus 1 round per level above 11th. The spell functions for just one side of a
portal: thus, if an MU and party pass
force a gate and pass through to the other side, the first casting of force
gate will not allow them to use the gate to return unless it is normally
available for their usage.
Note that there is no material component for this
spell.
Dimensional Lock (Alteration – Conjuration/Summoning, Abjuration)
Level: 6
Range: ½”/level
Duration: 1 day/level
Area of Effect: Special
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 hour
Saving Throw: None
This spell creates a shimmering emerald ward that prevents extra-dimensional
travel into or out of the area of effect.
The caster may effect up to a single 40’ cube in volume, plus another
40’ cube per level above 13th.
All forms of movement barred by the fourth level spell dimensional anchor are warded against by
a dimensional lock. In addition, a dimensional lock prevents the physical crossing into the area of
effect while in an extra-planar form (ethereal ghosts must materialized in the
Prime in order to cross into a dimensionally
locked room, for example). It also
blocks extra-dimensional perception into the prescribed area of effect, so that
ethereal creatures, for example, cannot see into the area of effect, nor could
cross-planar scrying originating from outside the plane of the warded area. Once the dimensional
lock is in place, it may be concealed or be built-over---such cosmetic
changes do not impair its protection. Dimensional lock may be made permanent.
Some variations on dimensional
lock allow the caster to designate creatures present during the casting of
the spell to be immune to the dimensional lock, and therefore they are permitted
to travel into and/or out of the circumscribed area while others cannot. The material component may take a variety of
forms, depending upon the exact application of the spell in the target
environment; in general, the material component consists of four gallons of a magical
paint, wash, or mortar, which outlines the protected area to be warded. The formula for the planar sealant requires three
months to distill per 40’ volume affected, and costs 640 gp---but ten times
that if the spell is to be made permanent!.
It is consumed in the casting of the spell.
Various other gate-related magics have been rumored to exist,
or to have been used by mages prior to the twin cataclysms. Such legends speak of mages who temporarily blocked
a gate’s functionality, and who
diverted the gate to an unexpected
destination (to catch a pursuer unawares); wizards would peer through a gate to scry all of its destinations,
and bind gates into servitude. Others could track and follow a creature
fleeing across the planes, no matter how many gates and planar changes to its
destination. Archmages would banish one
or both terminuses of gate, and could
hide a gate, even one of overwhelming
intensity. These spells are just the
beginning---the possibilities are, of course, endless!
Look for another new gate-related spell in The Twisting Stair #2 (Summer 2017): The Multi-Faceted Portal-Penetrating Gaze, a level 4 Magic-User divination spell.
Allan.
"The Theory and Use of Gates in Campaign Dungeons, Part 2: On the Destruction of Gates; and, New Magic-User Spells" first appeared in Knockspell Magazine #4 (Spring 2010).
