Say you have a PC or even an NPC, who created a permanent demi-plane, and he exhibits a habit of retreating to this demi-plane. How would his enemies eventually find it? A knowledge check? Commune?
The rules seem to be fairly silent, unless I've missed something. I'm also assuming that once the enemy knows the demi-plane exists, a planeshift spells will get them there.
To plane shift into a plane, and thus a demiplane, you need a fork attuned to that particular plane. It's costless and it should be inside a spell component pouch, but that's depend on your gm. To circumvent this, you can use Gate, which forces the creature (or a person) to enter your actual plane. There is no better ambush than this. Then cast Dimensional Anchor/Lock and stop him from running away.
By strict rules, a spell component pouch has a plane shift focus fork attuned to every demiplane that exists/has existed/will exist throughout all of time and space. You're probably not likely to find a GM that would let that fly, though. :P
As for a solution, you could have someone try to steal the focus next time you see them. There are spells and skills to help with this.
Do demiplanes have permanent entrances? You could try finding that, if I'm not mis-remembering.
I would let the mists of Ravenloft deal with them - nature's own Cowboy Builders.
Oops wrong edition, and game world, and reality.
Hmmm. I could have sworn I stumbled across something that would reveal the location of a personally created demi-plane somewhere. But I could be imagining it.
To be clear, I'm thinking on this from both the player's perspective and the DM. I'm running a homebrew where the PC's will have access to this spell soon, and they may run into a few enemies with their own demi-plane safe houses set up.
While I don't think I'll go with every focus fork is tuned to every plane ever, I may figure out some way in which the PC's or an enemy of the PC's may discover and locate said demiplane.
If an enemy's plane has been around for a while, I may allow some research to provide a knowledge check (DC 20+), or I may drop some clues where the enemy has been. Otherwise, it appears that divination spells would be required, and then the creation of the focus fork.
It's a fun potential adventure hook.
Alternatively, an journey through the astral plane could locate it. Or is it the ethereal plane...? One of those, I'm sure.
I've often wondered about this myself and the rules aren't clear/are silent.
I think you shouldn't be allowed to just plane shift there without researching it or something.
But what you should have to do to get to it is unclear.
You normally need an attuned fork. How you get that tuning fork that is attuned to non-common planes (forks to the astral plane or elemental planes etc should be common while forks to personal demi-planes probably shouldn't exist except for the creator) is the real question.
That's what really needs to be addressed. Some sort of research or a spell should probably be able to do it. Like a spell cast immediately after a foe plane shifts should probably tell you the information you need to know (what the "frequency" of the plane is) and then with a craft check of some sort should allow you to create it.
Contact other plane - legend lore to discover the fork.
Contact other plane might work, if the being contacted knew about the plane. Just because the being is a deity doesn't mean they know. Unlike many peoples' concepts of deities, Pathfinder deities don't know everything. Though some might have the information you seek. This is a grey area.
Legend lore does seem like it might be a reasonable way to learn about the plane, though it may take more than 1 casting. Creature normally capable of casting create demiplane are generally at least level 13 so legend lore should apply. Even if the character isn't level 13 they are doing something that a legendary character (level 11+) can so it should still qualify.
I agree that the rules aren't clear, but I also think it may be a good plot hook. Odd thing is, that in this particular campaign the BBEG is an arcane caster who has many spell casters under him, and is tied to a spy organization. So in my mind, the PC's could potentially run into many enemies with their own private planes. Working against them is the fact that they've had a real hard time fighting a spy organization that seems to have several people bought off in almost any populated area they need to work in. Someone will eventually see them disappearing (spellcraft check), or overhear about the planes existence. Then it's just a matter of the enemy casting enough divination spells.
I also agree on that idea that deities may not know everything. At least in my homebrew, I think the general attitude would align with "why would I ever look into what all the puny archmages are doing with minor demiplanes?"
As for the bad guys, I'm thinking that if they ever brought someone else to that demiplane, and that certain someone told someone else about it, and then maybe it is mentioned in a piece of correspondence that the PCs recover, that would also be a nice "mundane" way of giving them a clue.
My group has a Seer archetype oracle, so they don't have any problems with divination. However, sometimes the sheer power of being able to ask anything causes little to be asked at all.
A very careful spellcaster can make it basically impossible to learn about his personal demiplane.
That being said, make it a plot hook. They have to go on an adventure, perhaps through the other planes, perhaps breaking into the wizard's tower to read his notes, perhaps talking to one of his trusted allies, in order to learn about it. This is probably best left as a campaign hook as opposed to a "Make X check to learn about his secret demiplane" kind of thing. IMHO.
I don't think False Focus actually works for this. It only replaces a Material component with a Focus component, but we need a Focus component, not a material component.
Basically, we would need reverse-False Focus.
Scry to locate and then wish to get there.
Scry works across planes.
You can observe a creature at any distance. If the subject succeeds on a Will save, the spell fails. The difficulty of the save depends on how well your knowledge of the subject and what sort of physical connection (if any) you have to that creature. Furthermore, if the subject is on another plane, it gets a +5 bonus on its Will save.
Wish can take you anywhere:
Transport travelers. A wish can lift one creature per caster level from anywhere on any plane and place those creatures anywhere else on any plane regardless of local conditions. An unwilling target gets a Will save to negate the effect, and spell resistance (if any) applies.
Now if the target was mind blanked.... it would be harder.
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Contact other plane might work, if the being contacted knew about the plane. Just because the being is a deity doesn't mean they know. Unlike many peoples' concepts of deities, Pathfinder deities don't know everything. Though some might have the information you seek. This is a grey area.
Sure, but if it's the right kind of deity, he might know a guy who knows a guy. Any kind of planar travel campaign is going to hinge around how to obtain information, the most precious of all commodities. Obtaining this sort of information should definitely be up to the DM, but the methods mentioned in this thread certainly show interesting potential. Any decent DM can work with that and make a gripping adventure out of getting a few bits of info.
A very careful spellcaster can make it basically impossible to learn about his personal demiplane.
That being said, make it a plot hook. They have to go on an adventure, perhaps through the other planes, perhaps breaking into the wizard's tower to read his notes, perhaps talking to one of his trusted allies, in order to learn about it. This is probably best left as a campaign hook as opposed to a "Make X check to learn about his secret demiplane" kind of thing. IMHO.
I agree and I see that I should have been more clear.
There will be a couple demiplanes which belong to a family of casters (or an organization in another case), which have been permanent for generations. The planes exact location is fairly secret, but some research with the right people, may point them in the right direction on how to obtain the information on these hideouts.
The personal demiplanes will be much harder, and there may be few clues that they even exist. The PCs will need to find the right information through the adventure, in particular by capturing the enemies notes and documents, maybe interrogating the right captured enemies .
Pickpocket the BBEG's fork off him when in a fight.
I'd also allow find the path while in the astral plane, might be a ways away but you would know the direction.