Keep in mind that it's a 9th level spell and the "invincible" wizard inside the sphere is effectively trapped also if he wants to keep his "invincibility."
Note that unlike in earlier version of the game, Prismatic Sphere in PF is actually a sphere area of effect:
A sphere-shaped spell expands from its point of origin to fill a spherical area. Spheres may be bursts, emanations, or spreads.
By this, the sphere is going a to scupper any teleportation or magical travel into it.
It's a great spell to combine w/ Flyby Attack, though enemies in that instance can still ready attacks to hit you.
And it is a purely defensive 9th level spell. In a game that heavily rewards offense. Nothing wrong with it.
Pretty much the entire point of prismatic sphere is that it's the ultimate defensive spell. It should stop all things, that's what it's for.
Except a very angry barbarian with spell sunder.
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If you read the color effects under prismatic wall, it become obvious that the last color stops everything. No spells, attacks, psionics, etc. gets to the evil wizard inside until all colors are destroyed.
Truely evil way this spell can be used: evil wizard casts prismatic sphere to keep good guys off him. On his turn, steps through sphere, casts timestop. Spends timestop rounds summoning creatures and laying delayed blast fireballs and longer term area spells. On last timestop round, uses move action to return to sphere. Comedy ensures.
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Except a very angry barbarian with spell sunder.Pretty much the entire point of prismatic sphere is that it's the ultimate defensive spell. It should stop all things, that's what it's for.
Very interesting. Should be an auto sunder at that level (DC 24). Unless the GM rules that sunder is an effect, and blocked by the last color. Which would be a stretch.
also wall of suppression
There is never any free space "inside" (within) the sphere. It is not just a (hemi)spherical shell (it was once upon a time, but now it is a sphere). By the definition of the sphere area of effect, the 7 prismatic effects fill the area, with the caster being immune to them (it will still block line of sight for the caster, though).
Whilst primarily a defensive spell, certainly, the prismatic sphere is also the ultimate "don't get in melee range of the arcane caster" offensive spell, too.
Once fought a lich in a high level game. He cast this spell, teleported out, and ambushed the party with a huge host of buffed summoned monsters as we all wasted time trying to bring down his ward.
We were all like "yay, the ward is dow--wait, where's the lich?"
That's when everything went to sh1t.
More like we went from having him completely surrounded by a superior force to having us being completely surrounded by a superior force.
Always pump your initiative. :P
i don't see why it would block dimension door. dim door is being cast on yourself(target : you), not the person in the sphere or the area within it, and teleportation effects use the astral plane, going around the plane of existence you are currently in. none of the descriptions of prismatic sphere, prismatic wall, or abjuration spells say they go into other dimensions.
if the sphere acts like the wall, then it is a thin sphere with a safe area within, because the wall does not give a thickness, just a height and width (not cubes) so the inside should be safe.
and still, my earlier comment of wall of suppression would work also to suppress it if your caster level is equal to or greater than the prismatic sphere's caster level.
if the sphere acts like the wall, then it is a thin sphere with a safe area within, because the wall does not give a thickness, just a height and width (not cubes) so the inside should be safe.
My point is that the only thing a sphere does similarly to the wall is the specific effects of the colours. Unless we are presented with errata, it is a sphere, and "A sphere-shaped spell expands from its point of origin to fill a spherical area." Effect 6 of the prismatic sphere (which "fill[s] a spherical area") blocks ALL spells. In other words, the other end of the door can't open within the sphere.
Teleportation effects do not need line of effect. They do not involve "passing through" a space. It's just point A to B.
Prismatic Sphere does nothing to block teleporting, just as resilient sphere and solid force cage (which both also block line of effect) do not stop it.
It will stop summoning things into it, though. Since you need line of sight/effect for popping critters in.
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How can "blocks all spell" mean "blocks all spells except teleportation"? The arguments against a prismatic sphere blocking seem to be as a result of "edition relapse".
Let me try it again, just in case I am not being clear (if I am, please let me know):
A prismatic sphere in PF is not an infinitely thin shell of prismatic effect. It is a "solid" sphere of prismatic effect. The prismatic effects are in existence throughout the area enclosed by the sphere, because the effects fill that area. It is not possible to teleport inside a prismatic sphere from the outside, because each and every square that falls inside the area is constantly filled with all 7 prismatic effects, including Indigo, which blocks all spells. That includes wish.
Dimension door allows you to short-range teleport to any point of your choosing with no chance of error.
If the target point has "blocks all spells" applied to it, so that even a wish can't affect it, what hope does a lowly 4th level spell have?
Prismatic sphere is the bee's knees, the dog's b~@@$*%s, of protective magic. It is explicitly designed to be completely impenetrable. If a 4th level spell were capable of bypassing that protection, I would expect "blocks all magic" to include a caveat about allowing teleportation.
Chemlak has a point. It's prismatic sphere, not prismatic ward or prismatic shell.
Thank you for the words of support.
I will, for the sake of completeness, point out that in earlier editions (2nd and 1st AD&D), every description of a prismatic sphere that I saw indicated that it was a shell, rather than an effect that fills the area.
That may still have been the intention with 3.x and PF (and the fact that the spell description uses "globe" in the text is certainly an indicator that the "sphere" area of effect may be in error, but globe is undefined).
I came upon this issue with prismatic sphere only a few weeks ago when I was researching details for the "wall of ice" discussion that was happening at the time, and I was checking whether "hemisphere" appears as a defined term in any spell description. It doesn't. I was hugely shocked to discover that prismatic sphere is as detrimental to allies as it is to enemies - I had always considered it to be a "gather close, I can protect us!" sort of spell. But by RAW it isn't. It is actually the quintessential example of "get too close to the arcane spellcaster and you're screwed".
This thread reminds me how much I want to put this item in a high level game. A staff that casts all 7 spells needed to break through a Prismatic Sphere or Prismatic Wall.