Can one teleport onto or into a moving object? In particular can one teleport onto a ship?
I feel the answer is yes but I wonder what everyone else thinks?
For the priest spell, Dimensional Fold I would argue no. because a) I think it's overpowered and b) I imagine it work very differently, folding the caster to a specific point and place in time. A moving object would have already moved on before the spell was cast.
I would say you could teleport onto a ship, regardless of its location, because you have to know what it looks like. It's still a place, but it just tends to move. You could argue the same of a moving carriage, or wagon, so if it applies to one thing, it would to another. Others might disagree, but I would allow it. They still need to KNOW what it looks like, and thus, there is a degree of danger involved. If the ship changes any of its physical features, teleporting on board could increase the risk!
As for Dimensional Folding, keep in mind it has its own limitations that regulate abuse. You have to get the platinum sheet first of all, and there STILL is a degree of risk involved. And if you make a mistake, you are going to age AND have to roll for System Shock not to die outright from the magical aging!!! Trust me, I keep track of that...and it's curtailed my player from abusing that spell.
But I could see why you wouldn't allow that spell to be used in this case for the reasons you've stated. I'll have to think on it.
Thanks for your input Lanthorn!! Lowering the familiarity leve for a moving 'place' makes sense unless the PCs go out of their way to create a special cabin for that purpose perhaps.
I definitely agree that this question is very Lanthorn-esque!
Okay, let's see here...
Teleport w/o error and dimension door (which likewise has a "no error" component) would work just fine.
A basic teleport spell seems very risky, and perhaps unusable. I would at the very least suggest increasing the amount of risk based on the the movement of the ship:
Ship on still water (i.e. little to no deck movement); no increased risk.
Ship on non-stormy seas: increase high/low probabilities by x2
Ship on rough seas: increase high/low probabilities by x 3.
Ship on stormy seas: increase high/low probabilities by x 4.
Ship on XTREME!!!, The Perfect Storm, hurricane kicking your butt, stormy seas: increase high/low probabilities by x 5.
Basically, it is very risky to teleport to a moving location, more so onto an increasingly erratically moving location, and more so still onto an increasingly erratically moving location that you are increasingly less familiar with. I would allow actual viewing of the ship, through use of a crystal ball for instance, to lessen the high/low probability increases by a factor of 2, meaning a ship on rough seas or less would have no added penalty beyond the regular teleport table, and even a ship caught in an "XTREME!!!, The Perfect Storm, hurricane kicking your butt stormy seas" would only bump those probabilities up by x 3. Even in such a crazy storm, the ship destination would be "very familiar," if it were being literally looked upon through a crystal ball, so just a 6% chance of teleporting high (10-50 ft.) and a 3% chance of teleporting low (10-20 ft.) when attempting to teleport onto a ship in such a crazy situation. A "seen casually" target in an EXTREME!!! storm will give you an overall 36% chance of a mishap resulting in either winding up 10-230 ft. high or 10-110 ft. low! Yikes! Still doable, and nail biting to be sure, but at least you will still end up in the right vicinity as the ship!
Also, if anyone hadn't realized it yet, I really do enjoy hunting down info on/contemplating the stuff you all come up with. It's like a "Problem of the Day!" column, and boy do you come up with some good ones!
Please oh please let the next one be something on the order of
"So, I've got this player in my campaign who plays a necromancer character...that has a vestigial twin (the vestigial twin is a monk and, yes, he was inspired by the 'Chuck Norris beard-fist'). Well, last game session, the vestigial twin was killed. It is assumed the necromancer will soon die too, as the twin rots and infects the necromancer's body. And so the player wants his necromancer to cast create crypt thing on the vestigial twin. Will this prevent the necromancer's own death? Will he too be affected in some way by the spell? Neither? Both? Something else entirely???"
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I agree with Cebrion on this issue. I think the 5th level Teleport spell would work on a moving target like a ship at sea, but it would make it much more difficult and possibly deadly. A smart wizard wanting to try would be smart to "aim" high as opposed to trying to get it exact. Of course aiming high would probably result in a hard drop on the desk or even worse a drop right into the water, just missing the ship. Either of those is better than the instant death of appearing in the middle of a deck though. I'd definitely increase the percentage penalty for the attempt as Cebrion mentioned, and possibly even involve an ability check, additional rolls, etc.
Recall you have to teleport onto a SOLID surface. If you wanted to teleport high, you'd have to do so in the rigging or the crow's nest (but if somebody is in there, that could spell trouble). Teleporting onto the deck is fine, with a low result meaning you likely end up below decks, but with the possibility of doing so in a crowded hold, crew quarters, mess hall, etc. Any of these could spell disaster, depending on the situation.
Yes, it has to be a solid surface. I recall another player, paranoid about a mishap, building a seven level tower with floors exactly 10 ft. apart (the middle 4th floor was the target floor). Paranoia paid off only once when he teleported 10' low. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
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Yikes! Still doable, and nail biting to be sure, but at least you will still end up in the right vicinity as the ship! 
