Teleportation

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This article is about the generic act of transporting a person or object instantly from one place to another. For the subschool of conjuration, see Teleportation (subschool). For permanent magical links between locations or planes, see portal. For the spell, see teleport (spell).

Teleportation is the transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. While it does not require access to other planes, teleportation is often accomplished through magical means of traversing the Astral Plane particularly via spells like teleport and similar spells in the Teleportation subschool of conjuration magic. as well as abilities related to certain domains, divine gifts, or oracular mysteries of divine magic.

Permanently applied teleportation effects are sometimes referred to as teleporters.

Restrictions

Blightburn is highly disruptive to teleportation.

Teleportation is almost always a one-way process and cannot be dispelled or inherently undone.

Safety

Objects and creatures cannot be teleported into other objects or creatures, and teleportation spells by design must have a clear, supported surface as a target. Intentional teleportation attempts into life-threatening environments always fail. However, some permanent teleporters might still attempt to teleport creatures or objects to a location that was once safe but has since been destroyed, resulting in especially inconvenient or dangerous results.

Teleportation mishaps

Magical teleportation also often requires the spellcaster to at least be familiar with the destination in order to teleport to it; a lack of knowledge about the destination can result in failure, teleporting to an unexpected destination, or a painful teleportation mishap. This familiarity can be gained simply by reading a map of the destination.

Powerful spellcasters who make mistakes during the use of teleportation magic become warped aberrations of jumbled limbs and alternate versions of themselves known as amalgamites.

Planar travel

While a few rare instance of teleportation magic can cross planar boundaries beyond the transitive planes, most cannot. Teleportation is also subject to any restrictions against travel to or from the Astral Plane.

Created by spells

Certain spells specifically interdict or prevent teleportation, such as dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, and forbiddance.

Summoned creatures

Summoned creatures cannot be teleported, nor can they use any teleportation abilities they might possess.

Resistance

Some forms of teleportation can be used against unwilling subjects, though they can sometimes resist being teleported.

Disabling and interdiction

Certain spells like teleportation circle can sometimes be disabled through mundane means similar to trap disarmament, and permanent teleporters can be linked to devices that can enable and disable them. Some locations have wards against teleportation, such as the jyoti city of Arudrellisiir on Creation's Forge, which intercepts all unsanctioned teleportation attempts and redirects their passengers into prison cells.

Blightburn prevents all but the most powerful magical teleportation in its presence, and is always highly disruptive even when its effects can be overpowered. Certain auras can also anchor or interdict planar travel, including teleportation, with often painful results.

Range

Many teleportation effects have a limited range, whether a fixed distance or a sensory limit, such as line of sight. However, these limits can sometimes be astronomical in scale—for example, spells such as interplanetary teleport can move creatures and objects from one planet to another.

When invoking teleportation effects that can be shared with or imposed onto others, they most often require direct physical contact with the objects or creatures being teleported.

Scope

Most methods of teleportation are limited to a single creature and objects it wears or carries. Stronger versions can be shared with a few others. But a few rare and truly epic forms of teleportation can move entire buildings, and sometimes even parts of other lands, from one place to another. For instance, magically powerful city planners might use teleportation magic move entire unoccupied buildings across a city district.

Side effects

Teleportation is often inherently disorienting, though some methods (such as the dimension door spell) are more disorienting than others.

Alternative methods

Druidic magic allows a form of teleportation via two different living plants of the same type, regardless of their distance apart. Similar magic can also allow for teleportation-like travel by entering and exiting different trees of the same species.

The illusion spell shadow step provides a teleportation-like effect from one dim or dark shadow to another.

Several types of magical specialists, including non-spellcasters, have innate teleportation abilities. For example, certain types of magi can teleport a bound or specific item, such as a weapon, to their hand. Certain types of rangers, investigators, and even fighters who are exceptional planar scholars have access to teleportation abilities.

While portals are distinguished from teleportation by their permanence and broader potential planar reach, some people have mastered the use of short-lived portals to effectively teleport short distances.

The edges of an unbounded plane will teleport any who attempt to cross them to their opposite edge.

On Golarion

The Lady's Light features permanent teleporters.

The Thassilonian ruins of Crystilan are encased in crystal that prevents teleportation to the city visible within.

The College of Dimensional Studies in Katapesh lacks doors between its rooms, requiring its students to be capable of teleportation and other transport magic.

The sun orchid elixir is sometimes transported via teleportation magic, although this is considered taboo due to repeat mishaps.

The interior of the Adella Necropolis is riddled with permanent teleporters and other forms of teleportation magic, while also restricting teleportation into the Necropolis from outside. The Lady's Light, a statue of ancient Thassilon, also contains many permanent teleporters.

The wardstones of Mendev are designed to prevent teleportation across its borders.

Wizards deliver supplies to Kyonin from outside its borders via teleportation.

In magic items

Teleportation abilities can also be imbued in magic items, such as scrolls, clothes, rings, and armor. Such items can reproduce a teleportation spell's abilities in whole or with certain limits, such as binding its target to the location of a specific creature.

When damaged, the Harrow Deck of Many Things teleports to a random location elsewhere on a single plane of existence. One of its cards, the Desert, can teleport a group and a ton of items to a known destination with enough power to bypass most barriers against teleportation.

The brass dragon orb is imbued with a powerful teleport spell.

Annually on or near 20th Pharast, Saint Cuthbert's Mace can teleport anywhere within a plane, or shift across planes, to appear where those who fight for law and good need it the most.

Shin-Tari, one of the Seven Swords of Sin, can teleport a creature that it wounds.

Vesper's Rapier grants its wielder limited teleportation abilities.

In religion

Alseta, elven deity of doors and portals, is often (if unofficially) considered the patron deity of teleportation.

In the Great Beyond

A rare side effect of a teleportation maneuver used by shield and lantern archons results in the explosive creation of a bastion archon.

Mobile valharut inevitables use teleportation at will to move quickly across a battlefield.

Sahkils are masters of teleportation, and parts of Phantasmagoria's Maw—the entrance to their realm of Xibalba—are inaccessible without teleportation.