[...]A fast travel system should be just that... fast travel. No actual magical teleportation. Just move the party. Let us imagine they actually traveled that distance by foot. Or better yet, move an icon on a map. Don't invent crazy magical things that make no sense where you don't need them. Or explain the teleportation system in the game. Something like that would be a huge thing. Wizards from all over would flock to examine the powerful Netherese magic that apparently doesn't even require a power source. Rich nobles and nations would try to extract those rocks with the runes and use the teleportation system to cut down trading costs.
The runes could still be waypoints even without the nonsensical teleportation powers. And how is it that they are somehow disabled in combat, being otherwise instantly activated?
The thing is, currently BG3's fast travel has both "imagined walking" and teleportation. The game explains that you can only teleport from rune to rune, but fast travel is allowed anywhere. Thus, if you're in the Grove and fast travel to camp for example, your characters are in-game walking to the Grove rune, teleporting to the rune closest to camp, and then walking to camp.
Given ^, why not just get rid of the runes entirely and represent fast travel as just walking from place to place???
