History Main / TeleportersVisualizationClause

* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': This is one of the rules of the Gates, magical portals wizards can use to teleport vast distances. The wizard casting the spell must be intimately familiar with the destination he's going to. This fact is what helped Urtho's forces disrupt Maar's supply lines as they retreated during the Mage Wars, and in fact is a distinct advantage to any defending or retreating army.

* ''Franchise/XMen'': Nightcrawler can only teleport to places he either has line-of-sight to, or for which he has a good idea where he's going. Technically, he can teleport without this, but doing so risks him teleporting inside a solid object.
* The ''ComicBook/PowerPack'' once helped a mutant child given the name "Lighttrakker" because her teleportation power is involuntarily triggered by any strong light source she sees to transport her to it. This can be anything from studio lights to a beacon light on a radio tower. To prevent this from happening she wore SunglassesAtNight to stop it from activating.
* ''ComicBook/SecretWarriors'' introduces Eden Fesi, codename Manifold, who can teleport seemingly [[SpaceMaster anything anywhere within the universe]] so long as he has his bearings. If he gets turned around in an enclosed space with no visual references to the outside for his location, he can't use his powers.

{{Subtrope}} of TeleportationWithDrawbacks. This is an OmnipresentTrope of WarpWhistle systems in video games: in order to prevent SequenceBreaking, you can only use quick-travel to get to locations you've already reached once the hard way.

--->"Permanent circle" means a permanent teleportation circle whose sigil sequence you know.\\
"Associated object" means that you possess an object taken from the desired destination within the last six months, such as a book from a wizard's library, bed linen from a royal suite, or a chunk of marble from a lich's secret tomb.\\
"Very familiar" is a place you have been very often, a place you have carefully studied, or a place you can see when you cast the spell.\\
"Seen casually" is someplace you have seen more than once but with which you aren't very familiar.\\
"Viewed once" is a place you have seen once, possibly using magic.\\
"Description" is a place whose location and appearance you know through someone else's description, perhaps from a map.\\
"False destination" is a place that doesn't exist. Perhaps you tried to scry an enemy's sanctum but instead viewed an illusion, or you are attempting to teleport to a familiar location that no longer exists.

* ''Franchise/XMen'': Nightcrawler can only teleport to places he either has line-of-sight to, or for which he has a good idea where he's going.

** ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition'': The Teleportation spell can work with places the caster hasn't been, but the risk of failure decreases with the level of familiarity with the place. Only a magic circle and having an object associated with the target location are completely safe.