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I've got a warlock with Flee The Scene, a dimension door spell-like ability. He's been attacked by monstrous spiders and has 1 STR left, meaning his 15lbs of armour alone is more than a heavy load.
He's not grappled, and he's not unable to move as he would be at 0 STR. Can he use Flee The Scene to jump out of his clothes and sprint naked for freedom?
Yes, you can.
The exact wording of Dimension Door is
You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load.
So it is you to decide, whether you bring your armour with you or not.
I would say that you can even choose what to bring with you and what to leave behind. But if your new maximum load is lower than the total weight of your possessions then you are not allowed to bring everything.
Both Teleport and Teleport, Greater work the same way.
You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load.
... You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load...
Note, the spell says "can", not "must". More of it, you just can't take your armor with you, as it's weight exceeds your new maximum load.
The Dragon #347 Sage Advice column "Official Answers to Your Questions" includes this exchange:
Can you choose not to bring along an item you carry when you cast teleport? If you're manacled, can you teleport out of the manacles?
The teleport spell states that you "can" bring along objects, which indicates that it isn't mandatory. Thus a manacled wizard could cast teleport to free herself from captivity. (81)
…Or, presumably, a warlock could use an effect like the lesser invocation flee the scene (Complete Arcane 134)—the effect of which is based on the spell dimension door which has language identical to the spell teleport—to remove armor or weighty garments (which I assume is usually an easier task than removing manacles).
Note: The Sage at the time was Andy Collins, primary architect of the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 revision. While Dragon magazine was not published by Wizards of the Coast when this column was released, the 100% Official Content seal on the cover of remains.
GM call. As a GM I've allowed it in the past; but only if everything gets left behind. Spellcasting is a hurried affair in combat and the grappled person doesn't have time to take a mental inventory to cherry pick what he brings with and what gets left behind. Others might rule this exploit or outside the intent of the spell (I don't know why, but...) YMMV.
Clarification: the character I made the ruling on had gotten webbed and was caught by several articles of clothing. Not a direct parallel, but there are similarities.
