From: samik@maths.tcd.ie (Samik Sen)
Subject: Rolemaster-Portal spell
Summary: POrtal in Rolemaster
Keywords: Portal
Organization: Dept. of Maths, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 14:49:16 GMT

 In one of my advebtures(I was the GM)I played a mage who was put under
suggestion to help another person escape.The party was situated on the second
floor of an inn and they were questioning this person.The mage was a member
of the group.
 On getting the suggestion he cast a portal under the floor of the captive and
he fell through.When another member of the party tried to follow he close
the portal when he was half way down.What happens?I wasn't sure so I let
the party member survive though disorientated for 1d10 rounds(as if he was
subject to a teleport spell whose destination was solid?).
 I have several possible outcomes and am going to list a few,please give
me your suggestions:

1-A disruption crit as the material tries to materialise in the person,
 Whose severity is found by consulting the touch of disruption spell table
 i.e. fail your RR by 1-20 get an A disruption(Note:Didn't see spell description
 just saying 1-20 for example).Pretty brutal option though.
2-Let the material materialise around the person so in my example the party
 member would be stuck in the wall half in and half out,with the floor around
 him(He could easily get out by tightening his stomach etc..) 
3-Let the mage decide which side the person is thrown to,i.e.pushes him back out
 or in etc.
4-Let the person decide(RR perhaps)
5-Dies,chopped in half,no RR(realistic perhaps but far too brutal)

 Unless option 3 or 4 are used portal becomes a very potent attack spell as
well as a great spell anyway.One other idea I used was that the spell is
like a computer program type thing which the mage just learnt.It would
have a safety clause since it's supposed to be used for transport etc.A
high level mage could research  a portal spell himself without the
safety clause and use the other options,i.e.Some of the baddies.Using
RMCV you wouldn't have to be high level.I like thia option since in my
world for one magic can be learnt by many(spell users) but only pure
spell users(or hybrids etc)can truly understand what is going on.It's
like science,with engineers knowing many spell lists but not being able
to change them as easily as a pure magician who spends his whole life
trying toi understand a few lists and knows what each part of the spell
does and is proficient is writing  his/her own.Again in my world using
RMCV ,a maga is not a recognised mage till he/she writes 2 or their
own spell lists,and they are usually good at spell mastery to reflect
their mastery in magic and their inherent understanding of it.I.E.The 
paladin casts airwall say(if you gave it tpo him) but can't alter
the dimension while a mage can so is far more dangerous with spells
than the semi spell users who might even have the same spell but can't
use it too the same effect as can a mage(Specially a mage with the RMCV
skills etc..)

Sorry about drifting of about my world system there but ...
Samik

P.S.I have changed the 3rd level ranger spell in nature's guises,I think,
which used to be freeze to cloak odour so wargs/wolves etc can't smell
a ranger adding great strength to them in the woods maybe packed with them