Contingency Teleport [Archive] - Wizards Community

Contingency Teleport [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
vivijen
04-18-05, 03:15 AM My DM says that if you have contingency set to a hit point total and have teleport as the triggered spell that if you deal a killing blow that it would stop at the set hit point total that it was set at.
For example, i have contingency teleport to be triggered when i reach 5 hp. I am at 10 and someone dealt me 20 damage. He says you wont die, it will stop at 5 hit points. Is this accurate?
smrtgmp
04-18-05, 04:47 AM No. He's wrong. You would be reduced to -15 hp, though your body might still be teleported. Even that is debatable, as once you are dead you become an object, not a creature.

A contingency that is triggered when you hit 5 hp isn't exactly the smartest way to go. Thats cutting it awfully close.
Seeker95
04-18-05, 09:57 AM Agreeing with smrtgmp here, although I don't see why the object (dead body) would not teleport. It is not attended, so no problem.
vivijen
04-18-05, 11:57 PM i just used the 5 hp as an example....i will have to talk to my dm about it further
smrtgmp
04-19-05, 12:17 AM ...although I don't see why the object (dead body) would not teleport. It is not attended, so no problem.You are correct. I was going off of memeory, but I just checked the SRD. However, if your body weight exceeds your maximum load, there could be a problem, though I suppose your body would probably count as "you" for the purposes of the spell.

Reagardless of the literal interpratation, a contingency that teleports your body back to your lair if you die has been a staple of D&D for as long as I've been playing. As such, I would allow it.
Nom
04-19-05, 03:45 AM I'll add my usual rant - contingency is not a Divination. The event that triggers the contingency must be in some manner objectively observable by the caster. Similarly, contingency cannot interrupt an otherwise atomic event. Only the most foolish reading of the rules would allow a contingency "when I am about to be damaged below 5 hp" that triggered between the damage roll and having it applied to the character. Application of damage is atomic. Possibly, you could have the contingency trigger between a successful hit roll and applying damage, but the idea makes me uncomfortable (precedent: deflect arrows allows you to deflect 1 successful attack per round).

A contingency that triggers "when I reach 5 hp" is actually quite dangerous, as there's no reason to assume it will trigger when you go from 10 hp to -5 hp in a single 15 hp strike.
DM Zoc
04-19-05, 04:24 AM On the other hand, you can look at the source of damage.

Imagine you have this wizard standing around waiting to be stabbed, and he is at 10 hp. Now, a fighter stabs him through the torso with a rapier (rolls 15 damage). There must have been some point where the wizard had taken only 5 points of damage; the rapier does more damage the deeper you insert it, so you should be able to calculate damage as a function of depth (i.e. damage = .7 x depth (in inches)), and solve for the depth which would deal 5 points. When the sword gets that deep, the contingency goes off and the wizard is teleported away (the fighter continues the thrust into empty air).

Now imagine that a wizard is falling off a cliff, and has no Feather Fall handy. He's due to take 15 points of fall damage. Being injured as you fall is a result of your body being compressed, so here again you should be able to calculate damage as a function of compression (compression is mundanely a function of fall distance); as the wizard is 5 hp through being crushed, the contingency goes off. Now, it goes up to a DM call: if teleportation only changes your position and not your momentum, then the wizard will continue to be crushed after arrival, while coming to a sudden stop will stop the rest of the damage from taking place.

Suppose a Magic Missile flies towards the wizard. Magic Missile is a force effect, and the situation is akin to that of the fighter with a rapier; the wizard leaves halfway through the force being transferred. If it were an Acid Arrow, however, the wizard would start being dissolved and then teleport, and then continue dissolving after arriving (just as the wizard would remain blue after teleporting if you take the effort to toss paint on him beforehand).

Ultimately, it's a DMs call.
Seeker95
04-19-05, 08:45 AM I'll add my usual rant - contingency is not a Divination. The event that triggers the contingency must be in some manner objectively observable by the caster. Similarly, contingency cannot interrupt an otherwise atomic event.While technically true, the above seems to be over-applied in the objection.

Although we know "-5 hit points" or "5 hit points" is a metagame concept, it has in-game descriptive blah blah blah that would still qualify for the "observable condition".

The former would be unconscious.
The latter would be bloodied and bruised extensively.

I'd allow it. I wouldn't allow contingency to interrupt the triggering event. It wouldn't prevent you from taking the full damage of the attack that caused you to reach the triggering condition, but it would prevent the next "swing" ina full attack sequence.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
vivijen 04-18-05, 03:15 AM	My DM says that if you have contingency set to a hit point total and have teleport as the triggered spell that if you deal a killing blow that it would stop at the set hit point total that it was set at. For example, i have contingency teleport to be triggered when i reach 5 hp. I am at 10 and someone dealt me 20 damage. He says you wont die, it will stop at 5 hit points. Is this accurate?
smrtgmp 04-18-05, 04:47 AM	No. He's wrong. You would be reduced to -15 hp, though your body might still be teleported. Even that is debatable, as once you are dead you become an object, not a creature. A contingency that is triggered when you hit 5 hp isn't exactly the smartest way to go. Thats cutting it awfully close.
Seeker95 04-18-05, 09:57 AM	Agreeing with smrtgmp here, although I don't see why the object (dead body) would not teleport. It is not attended, so no problem.
vivijen 04-18-05, 11:57 PM	i just used the 5 hp as an example....i will have to talk to my dm about it further
smrtgmp 04-19-05, 12:17 AM	...although I don't see why the object (dead body) would not teleport. It is not attended, so no problem.You are correct. I was going off of memeory, but I just checked the SRD. However, if your body weight exceeds your maximum load, there could be a problem, though I suppose your body would probably count as "you" for the purposes of the spell. Reagardless of the literal interpratation, a contingency that teleports your body back to your lair if you die has been a staple of D&D for as long as I've been playing. As such, I would allow it.
Nom 04-19-05, 03:45 AM	I'll add my usual rant - contingency is not a Divination. The event that triggers the contingency must be in some manner objectively observable by the caster. Similarly, contingency cannot interrupt an otherwise atomic event. Only the most foolish reading of the rules would allow a contingency "when I am about to be damaged below 5 hp" that triggered between the damage roll and having it applied to the character. Application of damage is atomic. Possibly, you could have the contingency trigger between a successful hit roll and applying damage, but the idea makes me uncomfortable (precedent: deflect arrows allows you to deflect 1 successful attack per round). A contingency that triggers "when I reach 5 hp" is actually quite dangerous, as there's no reason to assume it will trigger when you go from 10 hp to -5 hp in a single 15 hp strike.
DM Zoc 04-19-05, 04:24 AM	On the other hand, you can look at the source of damage. Imagine you have this wizard standing around waiting to be stabbed, and he is at 10 hp. Now, a fighter stabs him through the torso with a rapier (rolls 15 damage). There must have been some point where the wizard had taken only 5 points of damage; the rapier does more damage the deeper you insert it, so you should be able to calculate damage as a function of depth (i.e. damage = .7 x depth (in inches)), and solve for the depth which would deal 5 points. When the sword gets that deep, the contingency goes off and the wizard is teleported away (the fighter continues the thrust into empty air). Now imagine that a wizard is falling off a cliff, and has no Feather Fall handy. He's due to take 15 points of fall damage. Being injured as you fall is a result of your body being compressed, so here again you should be able to calculate damage as a function of compression (compression is mundanely a function of fall distance); as the wizard is 5 hp through being crushed, the contingency goes off. Now, it goes up to a DM call: if teleportation only changes your position and not your momentum, then the wizard will continue to be crushed after arrival, while coming to a sudden stop will stop the rest of the damage from taking place. Suppose a Magic Missile flies towards the wizard. Magic Missile is a force effect, and the situation is akin to that of the fighter with a rapier; the wizard leaves halfway through the force being transferred. If it were an Acid Arrow, however, the wizard would start being dissolved and then teleport, and then continue dissolving after arriving (just as the wizard would remain blue after teleporting if you take the effort to toss paint on him beforehand). Ultimately, it's a DMs call.
Seeker95 04-19-05, 08:45 AM	I'll add my usual rant - contingency is not a Divination. The event that triggers the contingency must be in some manner objectively observable by the caster. Similarly, contingency cannot interrupt an otherwise atomic event.While technically true, the above seems to be over-applied in the objection. Although we know "-5 hit points" or "5 hit points" is a metagame concept, it has in-game descriptive blah blah blah that would still qualify for the "observable condition". The former would be unconscious. The latter would be bloodied and bruised extensively. I'd allow it. I wouldn't allow contingency to interrupt the triggering event. It wouldn't prevent you from taking the full damage of the attack that caused you to reach the triggering condition, but it would prevent the next "swing" ina full attack sequence.