[RPG] How to deal with rope trick in particular circumstance

dnd-3.5espells

Foreword:

As it's my first post here, I can't insert more than a couple of links, so you'll have to find information on some of these feats and spells yourself on d20srd.

The Question:

Let's say in D&D 3.5E a party wants to get a number of artifacts1 from a cabal of wizards2.

Wizards in this cabal have the Improved Familiar feat and air elementals working restlessly as the alarm. They have other means of getting information of the moment when the party is approaching.

When the cabal knows that the danger is near, they get a fly speed from a spell (such as fly) or otherwise, get high in the sky and cast Rope Trick, hiding there and eventually winning against the siege.

How do I prevent the rope trick abuse of hiding characters and valuable items indefinitely long? Sadly, this problem can be reversed — how does a NPC group get the characters from a rope trick (linked above) of theirs?

Please note that I'm not asking about killing a party in a rope trick, I know how to do that, I'm asking about something more delicate — getting them alive/getting their items.

Footnotes

  1. i.e. the powerful magical items that are capable to impact the game dramatically
  2. a group of wizards, working together

Please don't post answers that copy the spell description and/or describe the same things but with different words, I can read.
Also, please don't tell me that I have to appeal to the Golden Rule™, this is a last resort.

I need a hard counter to Rope Trick. If there is none, please answer "The closest counter to Fly Speed + Extended Rope Trick I know about is «X». But I don't think that it can be hard-countered".
If there will be significant amount of answers of latter form I'll just ban Rope Trick.

Example

1200ft above the ground there is a rope trick interface behind which there is a young, yet powerful wizard Sauron, wearing the Ring of Awesomeness and a medium load worth of ropes and a wooden door.
At a random moment of the duration of extended rope trick spell Sauron flies out from the interface under haste, (head first) creates another Rope Trick (within his surprise round) and climbs it.
The round he gets in, he brings up the rope and closes the interface from the inside using
Your task is to get the Ring of Awesomeness from him. You haven't seen the moment of creation of the interface.

Best Answer

Effects Preventing Extradimensional Movement Stop the Rope Trick Spell

The spell rope trick [trans] (PH 273) creates an extradimensional space. Entering that extradimensional space requires climbing up a rope. Crossing from the rope to the extradimensional space is an act of extradimensional travel.

Extradimensional travel has a variety of hard counters, even in core.

  • The 4th-level Sor/Wiz spell dimensional anchor [abjur] (PH 221) grants the caster a ray that, if it hits, for 1 min./level stops the affected creature from using extradimensional travel. As a ray, it requires a ranged touch attack, and not!Sauron probably has defenses against those (e.g. ray deflection [abjur] (SpC 166), miss chance).
  • The 5th-level Clr spells hallow [evoc] (PH 238) and unhallow [evoc] (PH 297) can be cast so that they ward an area with an effect like the spell dimensional anchor for 1 year.
  • The 6th-level Clr spell forbiddance [abjur] (PH 232) permanently wards an area versus extradimensional travel but the caster can makes allowances for their buddies.
  • The 8th-level Sor/Wiz spell dimensional lock [abjur] (PH 221) for 1 day/level wards an area versus extradimensional travel.

All of these stop the wizard from entering a rope trick; none force them out of an in-place rope trick. Even if the DM disallows dispel attempts on the rope trick proper, the trick will expire eventually, and then it's a game of rope trick leap frog to catch not!Sauron if they've devoted enough resources to this tactic (which I applaud, by the way--how cowardly and underhanded!), even moreso if they're out in the open (which prevents forbiddance and hallow/unhallow). That's okay. We're talking a high-level person who's devoted their resources to the spell rope trick and literally holing up, and that's weird.

A high-level person teleports away--they don't rope trick. A high-level person goes to their backup Batcave on another plane--they don't rope trick. The only reason they continually use rope trick is if something they want is nearby. That becomes the adventure: there's a reason not!Sauron chose rope trick--which in most cases is vulnerable and which everyone knows they can wait out--over just straight-up leaving. Find what they want, and threaten the wizard into a (semi)fair fight.

The Question's Scenario

Day 1

  • Surprise Round: The rope trick spell ends. Assuming not!Sauron's maneuverability lets them hover, they use the surprise's round's standard action to cast rope trick.
  • Round 1: not!Sauron wins initiative and takes a move action to climb the rope into the rope trick. Then they take a move action to retract the rope. Combat ends if the DM disallows dispel attempts on the rope trick.
  • Remaining Day: The PCs go into town and buy a staff of dimensional lock (8th-level spell at caster level 15) (300 gp + 1,800 gp/charge; 4 lbs.). They use 1 charge on the area where the rope trick was cast.

Day 2

  • Surprise Round: The rope trick spell ends. Assuming not!Sauron's maneuverability lets them hover, they use the surprise's round's standard action to cast rope trick.
  • Round 1: not!Sauron wins initiative and takes a move action to try to climb the rope into the rope trick; they can't enter, prevented by the dimensional lock. They take a standard action to cast a spell, possibly eliminating a PC. The PC with the staff readies an action to activate it if not!Sauron casts a spell that the spell dimensional lock can prevent (an individual DM's interpretation of the ready action may vary). Remaining PCs attack wizard.
  • Remaining Rounds: Fight!

This scenario is vastly simplified and ignores infinite variables, but it's to show the means above in action.

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