The Nevernever as a break-in tool

[Deadmanwalking]

These are good ideas, yes.  I hope that none of my players think of them!

(I was actually looking for a good justification for things not going their way-- not to do this myself.)

I don't think either of those would actually allow one to ignore the Threshold. Though a powerful enough monster can simply power its way through.

[Ghsdkgb]

(click to show/hide)

Cat Sith pops from the Nevernever directly into Thomas's place. Due to it's threshold he is bound by the traditions of hospitality. There's a discussion.

That had nothing to do with him coming from the Nevernever, though. Harry explicitly says that, if their intentions are friendly, they can come in without an invitation. Same as his cleaning service.

It's about intentions, not method of entry.

[Deadmanwalking]

That had nothing to do with him coming from the Nevernever, though. Harry explicitly says that, if their intentions are friendly, they can come in without an invitation. Same as his cleaning service.

It's about intentions, not method of entry.

Which was precisely my point. People were talking about using a method (the Nevernever) to circumvent Thresholds. I was using that as an example of how method didn't matter, so they couldn't do that.

[Haru]

Oh, well... my bad 

Well then, let's create some defenses, shall we?

Ok, wards, first and foremost. A wizard that thinks about it could try and ward his home from the other side as well. Lea did that for Harry, but Edinburgh and Archangel are protected by wizards, not shide. As far as I understand it, they closed up the nevernever around those places and only left one entrance open, easy to defend. But still a pretty straight forward attempt at defending things. I like a more indirect approach.

For example, you could redirect the entrance to your home, instead of reinforcing it. Force your way inside, and the ward will use your strength against you and catapult you out on the other side, back into the nevernever. Or maybe even a whole other place in the nevernever, if the wizard in question is really good at that sort of things.
Or a similar idea, make it a multilevel entrance, so that when you get into the first door, you land in a different patch of the nevernever, from where you can enter the real home. Forcing your way in will still lead you to the wrong place, so you will actually have to disable the wards.

Inside the home itself, you could put down iron on the floor. I think a lot of the shide go barefoot, just because it's their style (and I like the trope), therefore a floor with steel tiles worked into it would work wonders to slow them down.

You can install steel doors with steel handles. If they try to bust through the walls: iron paint. There is magnetic paint out there that you can use to create a magnetic wall anywhere you want. Painting all your walls like that is pricey, but it will be pretty shide proof after that. Though this is a few levels of paranoid, I think. Then again, if someone is being followed, he might have good reason to do so.

That's it for now. If I can think of more things, I'll get back to you

[Taran]

If you knew where the entrances into your home were...like say there was a portal coming out of the fireplace...you could put a binding circle there, so anyone who walks through the door steps into a circle and is trapped there until they bust through the ward.  Put an alarm on it, so if/when whatever gets free it "pings".

I would think that some of the more paranoid wizards - and I count most wardens as paranoid - would explore the various entrances into the Nevernever from their house and take precautions.  Although, this might make it easier to open portals into their house.

Simple alarm wards on doorways would work too.  You could have them on various doorways inside the house.

Old fashionned security techniques: squeaky floors/doors.  These are just simple aspects.

Wards on the Nevernever side.

How about some very high tech equipment in a circle preventing magic from getting in.  Put it near the doorway where the where the wizard is sleeping.  Anyone crossing through breaks the circle allows the magic to hex the Tech and cause it to explode with a loud "pop".  Sounds a bit silly now that I re-read it.

If he knows which room the portal would open to, make the wards prevent things from going INTO the nevernever.  Then turn that room into a prison.  Steel walls, reinforced door.  Anything that walks in through the portal is trapped there and has to get past wards to get back into the Nevernever.

[Sanctaphrax]

Finding the part of the Nevernever which leads to the house you want would be a challenge in itself, I think.

And even if you know which part of the Nevernever to go to you still need to get there. Not easy, given how dangerous the Nevernever can be.

I don't think you'll have trouble making this hard for your players.

[Gozer]

You could always set up a Ward that bounced the intruders back somewhere specific in the NeverNever... somewhere specifically unpleasant. And underwater.
The options are fairly limitless, for a creative Wizard. And it seems that most of them are.

[admiralducksauce]

Finding the part of the Nevernever which leads to the house you want would be a challenge in itself, I think.

And even if you know which part of the Nevernever to go to you still need to get there. Not easy, given how dangerous the Nevernever can be.

I don't think you'll have trouble making this hard for your players.

I'm with Sanctaphrax here. Figure they can take an easy cab ride to the target's home and then have a terrifying home invasion vs. a prepared (if sleepy) wizard, or have a terrifying safari through God knows what followed by a relatively easy kidnapping. Terrifying safari should be marginally easier than terrifying home invasion, but then the cab ride should be easier than the kidnapping of the wizard, so maybe it evens out.

[nick012000]

Actually, I'm pretty sure you can use the Nevernever to bypass Thresholds, because that's what Harry does in the climactic battle in Ghost Story.

Of course, if the Threshold you're trying to bypass belongs to anyone with much magical talent or spiritual protection, you can probably expect the local Nevernever to be fortified with static defenses, wards, and goon squads.

[Taran]

I think he used it to bypass wards, not thresholds.

[Tedronai]

Harry uses passage from the Nevernever to bypass the Wards, and passage through an open portal from the Nevernever to bypass the Threshold.
The open portal served as a 'standing invitation' allowing him entry through the Threshold in a manner similar to the calling spell that had allowed him access previously.

[Taran]

ah, I see.  So this wouldn't apply in the case of a bunch of people busting into a wardens house, obviously.

[Tedronai]

If he has an open, unwarded portal sitting in his basement on a regular basis, then it might.  Otherwise...no, sorry, no luck.

[Mr. Death]

Harry uses passage from the Nevernever to bypass the Wards, and passage through an open portal from the Nevernever to bypass the Threshold.
The open portal served as a 'standing invitation' allowing him entry through the Threshold in a manner similar to the calling spell that had allowed him access previously.

The portal wasn't the "standing invitation." The standing invitation was when he followed the other shades in the previous day.

[Tedronai]

The portal wasn't the "standing invitation." The standing invitation was when he followed the other shades in the previous day.

Unless you're reasserting your previous position that entering from the nevernever itself is a way of bypassing a threshold, I see no other way to interpret those events.