Portals?

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

How would you handle creating portals, as a power, in Savage Worlds? This would be something more powerful, and thus open to abuse, than teleport. It can like different worlds, possibly different planes of existance or dimensions, and can in theory be used by anyone.

So how would you handle creating portals in SW?

[ValhallaGH]

How would you handle creating portals, as a power, in Savage Worlds? This would be something more powerful, and thus open to abuse, than teleport. It can like different worlds, possibly different planes of existance or dimensions, and can in theory be used by anyone.

So how would you handle creating portals in SW?

That's a campaign level decision, not a simple design question.
You want to have long-distance, reality-hopping gateways? Do they just open? How are they directed? What impact do they have on the economy, military action, communications?

If they're random-ish natural events then you can look at how Rifts for Savage Worlds handles it.
If you want to have something like Gate then you're looking at a new power.

Your question is a bit like asking "Suns?"

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I meant more as an invoked power, like the other powers (i.e. Teleport). I meant creating a "portal" through arcane magic, weird science, or chi power (where you punch reality really, really hard). This would be a top-tier level power, and Gate is a 9th level spell. But aside from something like making Veteran status and Teleport as requirements, how would you handle creating "portal" as an in-game power technically available to the PCs?

[gigacanuck]

Let's start by asking some fundamental questions: how big can these portals be? How long can they be open? Where can they go?

[Matchstickman]

I mean, PCs can already open portals to other worlds. If something steps out of those portals to attack your foes that's the Summon Power with a portals trapping, if groups of your foes are sucked into another dimension then that's the Blast Power, with those who do not take enough damage to incapacitate them surviving by grabbing hold of something so they don't get pulled in, and those who do take enough damage just never being seen again.

If you are just using it as a conveyance from point A to point B, what is the point of the power, why is it not a vehicle? What makes it desirable for a PC to take over other abilities?

[Kristian Serrano]

I assume what the OP means is something that will facilitate a plane-hopping or planar-themed campaign. Spells for finding or creating portals, gates, planar influences on a material world, etc.

At The Immaterial Plane, we're working on some ideas for a planar supplement for Savage Worlds, something to assist with planar travel and incorporating planar traits into encounters and exploration. It'll possibly be our next "small" release.

[ValhallaGH]

I meant more as an invoked power, like the other powers (i.e. Teleport). I meant creating a "portal" through arcane magic, weird science, or chi power (where you punch reality really, really hard). This would be a top-tier level power, and Gate is a 9th level spell. But aside from something like making Veteran status and Teleport as requirements, how would you handle creating "portal" as an in-game power technically available to the PCs?

Given that you're trying to launch a SWAG product about hopping through realities, I should point out that anything a member of these forums posts on these forums is automatically copyright the author and cannot be reproduced for sale without the poster's written permission.
Trying to sell an obvious derivative work would open you up to legal issues.
And it would be a violation of this forum's rules.

[Kristian Serrano]

Ah, I didn't know about the KS announcement. I'm working on something completely different, and I don't plan to use any content from the forums.

[ValhallaGH]

Honestly, I wasn't worried about it. You've been around here for a while, have released numerous products, and have not displayed any worrying behaviors.
The OP doesn't have that history of good behavior on these forums, so it seemed worthwhile to bring up the issue now. An ounce of prevention or a pound of cure.

[Deskepticon]

Copyright law doesn't protect ideas or game mechanics.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I'm not attempting to steal anything. I was asking for thoughts and brainstorming on creating portals as power, as something under the control of the PCs. In the supplement it is not something the PCs create,it is something that happens to them. There is a world of difference between the two.

[ValhallaGH]

Nifty.
You can already do spatial portals as a trapping on teleport, especially the Additional Recipients modifier. The portal costs +1 PP per person that hops through. Not a perfect match for the description, but within the existing rules.
The other direction is to make a new power. Probably Veteran rank, give it a Range (Smarts x2 probably), maybe a Duration of 5, probably 10 PP. The portal opens enough to let Normal scale creatures through, allows travel one way. Modifiers to allow larger scales to travel (+2 per step, probably put an upper limit so you can't portal a luxury liner through), and to allow two way travel (+5 PP), then another setting specific modifier for planes hopping (either +5 or +10 PP, depending on other setting rules).
If you want long range portals, like cross country or cross continental, then you need to address the setting effects. They are not trivial.

Aside: Long-range teleportation is great for bypassing adventures and revamping the economic, military, and political landscape of a setting, which makes long-range teleportation a SETTING issue, not a RULES issue. If a setting falls apart because of long-range instant travel via portals then it should not have them at all.
If you want ranges in the miles then you need to change the Range. Smarts times X miles, where X could be 1 or 1,000 depending upon the setting, is a decent approach.

[Deskepticon]

Portals /gates are just a Trapping of teleport. It requires some abstraction, but essentially the gate only stays open long enough to allow whoever you designate through, then "closes" behind them. In the event that someone not designated (i.e., the extra PP were not spent for them) tries to jump through, the GM would need to figure out how that works. Perhaps the mage would be forced to pay the extra +1, but that's a pretty lame thing to do. Instead, the "freeloader" might need to roll Athletics or be automatically shunted (as if they 'ported into a solid object). On a success, they travel with the rest of the gang.

There are other things you can do, such as changing the power's duration to 5 and dropping a token on the battle mat to mark the portal, but you'd need to come up with some new rules for that.

[mikeawmids]

Alternativly, you could add a ritual trapping to the Teleport power, requiring 10 minutes / 1 hour to open a portal/gate over a much greater distance than what would normally be allowed under the Teleport power. You might also rule that a team of mages or specific device need to concentrate/operate to keep the gate open, but this does veer into setting rules territory.

I'm thinking of the Portal Gun from Portal. Maybe a device that creates two permanent portals, but you can only place them within x" of the caster.

I introduced an item in a homebrew fantasy game called Dimensional Chalk. They came in two sticks, one orange and one blue. If you drew a circle with each, it created a portal between the two that lasted one hour.

[steelbrok]

One option might be to say that all uses of the teleport spell produce a portal. Until the caster has regained the power points used the portal remains in place. Good for friends but perhaps good for enemies sometimes too.
And yes, I'd say that spending a benny to regain power points would mean the portal closes.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I'm not being heard and that is my fault.

Teleport, by definition, "Teleport allows a character to disappear and instantly reappear up to 12″ (24 yards) distant, or double that with a raise."

A Portal should link different worlds, planes, continents, and the like. It should like distances further apart than 75 feet or so.

[Deskepticon]

I'm not being heard and that is my fault.

Teleport, by definition, "Teleport allows a character to disappear and instantly reappear up to 12″ (24 yards) distant, or double that with a raise."

A Portal should link different worlds, planes, continents, and the like. It should like distances further apart than 75 feet or so.

That was already addressed in Post #2 above. Basically, if you want "instant travel" further than 24-48 yards, just allow teleport to do that. I've reasoned that +4 PP is a fair exchange for that utility (provided it's in a proper setting), and you can read about my custom Power Modifiers here.

The real issue is how such travel is going to affect the setting. The game world needs to reflect the fact that people can just "pop" from one place to another. Perhaps some cities have strict rules forbidding it, or only allow 'porting into/from designated areas. High magic settings might utilize wards in certain areas, such as the queen's court/chambers, or even the entire palace.

The issue with creating static "gates" or "portals" is a resource one, with heavy game-balance implications. Specifically, what's it costing the mage to open a gate which allows an unspecified number of people through? Core teleport costs 2 PP, +1 per additional traveler. If a gate that stays open for 5 rounds can allow, let's say, three people per round to step through, that's potentially 16 PP worth of utility. Add another +4 PP for long distance, or +8 for extraplanar, travel (see my posted link).

It's not that you aren't being heard... it's that the answer is very nuanced, and near impossible to give satisfactorially without knowing what you intend to do with the rules. If you said, "It's for a High Magic setting," you'll get one answer; if you say, "It's for a murder-mystery noir setting," you'll get a very different one.

[mikeawmids]

You could add the following modifiers (or something silmilar) to the Teleport power;

Portal (+10): Create a teleportation portal to any location on the player's current plane of existence, regardless of distance. +2 to roll if the caster is familiar with destination, -2 if unfamiliar, -4 if caster has never seen destination.

Inter-Dimensional Portal (+20) As above, but caster can create a teleportation portal to any plane of existence.

You could also allow the caster to maintain the portal for 1 power point per minute after it has been established.

[Deskepticon]

Those are some solid numbers. Although I would use a base duration of 5 rounds and normal maintenance rules. I might also rule that each time a portal's duration is extended it becomes increasingly unstable. (Game effect not yet determined, but Bumps & Bruises and/or a deviated destination are contenders.)