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JeenLeen
2009-05-12, 08:00 AM
My party is trying to find a safe way to rest at night. Means such as Rope Trick or Leomond's Magnificent Mansion are out because certain plot items cannot leave the Material Plane. We set a watch, but our Spot and Listen checks don't always roll well enough.

We're considering buying a Daern's Instant Fortress (DMG), but it's 50,000 gp and I'd prefer a cheaper option. Do you know if there's any items one could set up around a campsite to alert us if someone sneaks up?

I've considered the Exploding Spike (I might have the name wrong) from the Magic Item Compendium, but as they are destroyed upon activation, that would get pricey. We have a sorcerer, but he does not know 'Alarm.' I guess we could buy some wands of Alarm. Does anyone know if that spell can be disabled by a rogue?

Darrin
2009-05-12, 12:42 PM
We're considering buying a Daern's Instant Fortress (DMG), but it's 50,000 gp and I'd prefer a cheaper option. Do you know if there's any items one could set up around a campsite to alert us if someone sneaks up?


If you have the money, buy the Instant Fortress. It's worth every penny.

Something cheaper, though... hmm...

Stone of Alarm is fairly cheap (2700 GP), but you need an item to attach it to. A Folding Boat (7200 GP) might work, or any "wall of x" spell with a sufficient duration.

Figurine of Wondrous Power, Blue Quartz Eagle (Races of Faerun p. 173, 5400 GP) might work as a watchdog. It has a +21 Spot check, but can only be used for 24 hours every 10 days... so 3 days out of 10. If you buy 3-4 of 'em, that's still cheaper than an instant fortress.

Psicrystals, animal companions, wild cohorts, or familiars could also be used for guard duty. Or just buy an animal and train it. An eagile has a +16 spot check, an owl has a +16 listen check. Either of those could be trained to guard an area and screach if they see someone they don't recognize.

Swooper
2009-05-12, 12:51 PM
Does anyone know if that spell can be disabled by a rogue?
I'm not sure if it's RAW or not, but a pbp group I was in had the party beguiler disable an alarm spell. I'd say it counts as a magic trap, so why not?

herrhauptmann
2009-05-12, 01:10 PM
Get an eternal wand of Alarm. Eternal wands only cast the spell 3 times a day, but they're great for things like this where you only need them once per day. Same with endure elements, mount and a few others.

Darrin
2009-05-12, 01:26 PM
Get an eternal wand of Alarm. Eternal wands only cast the spell 3 times a day, but they're great for things like this where you only need them once per day. Same with endure elements, mount and a few others.

2/day, actually, and with only a caster level of 1st, it will only last 2 hours.

herrhauptmann
2009-05-12, 01:52 PM
Coulda sworn you could pay more to have them made with higher caster levels like you can a regular wand.

Anyway, you should be standing watches regardless, so if you get attacked in the middle of the night, at least one person isn't flatfooted and prone. So get 2 of them, 4 first level castings of alarm will take you through the entire night.

Alternatively, buy a regular wand of alarm, with a caster level of 4 or greater. Or go the extra mile and get a custom wondrous item of alarm, minimum caster level of 4, and it should be usable by more than just the sorcerer.

JeenLeen
2009-05-12, 02:14 PM
Thanks for the ideas. I think we'll end up getting the fortress as one of the players really wants it. I know it can be repaired by Wish or similiar magic, but does anyone know if it is suppose to regenerate lost HP when in cube form or re-emerges whole after returning to cube form?

What book is Stone of Alarm found in? Magic Item Compendium?

The eternal wands sound useful; I think we'll get one of Mount and Endure Elements at least.

Jack_Simth
2009-05-12, 04:35 PM
What book is Stone of Alarm found in? Magic Item Compendium?Dungeon Master's Guide. It's Core.

Also don't forget Summon Monster III - the Celestial Dire Badger can make a usable five-foot tunnel very easily, and technically speaks Common.

Chronos
2009-05-12, 05:28 PM
You should also be able to get an Eternal Wand of Extended Alarm, which should be priced as a 2nd-level eternal wand and have a caster level of 3, for a 12-hour duration.

Riffington
2009-05-12, 07:21 PM
If you have the money, buy the Instant Fortress. It's worth every penny.

This is something I've missed. Why is it worth it?
To afford it, you should be at least 13th level (let's say 12th if everyone chips in). At that level, it takes about 3 fireballs to destroy.
Now, obviously it gives you warning that enemies are attacking, insofar as they generally have to hit the fortress to get in, and that presumably wakes you. But it also gives your enemies warning that you are there (I mean, it's a huge magic tower that wasn't there yesterday - should attract attention for miles around). And if they attack it at range then retreat, what do you do?

Jack_Simth
2009-05-12, 07:37 PM
This is something I've missed. Why is it worth it?
To afford it, you should be at least 13th level (let's say 12th if everyone chips in). At that level, it takes about 3 fireballs to destroy.

Fireball averages 35 damage (10d6 cap). Fire does half-damage to most objects, prior to the impact of hardness. The fortress has hardness 20. Additionally, it takes damage as a structure, not a creature. Which means that 100 hit points for the walls refers to any given 10x10 section - of which your 20-foot square tower, 30-feet high, has 24. It'll stick around a while. The only problem is you can't fix it easily when it finally does get damaged.


Now, obviously it gives you warning that enemies are attacking, insofar as they generally have to hit the fortress to get in, and that presumably wakes you.
You always stick a watch on the tower, just like you would in any dangerous territory. This one gives you the advantage that you've got a very nice built-in watch point, at the top.

But it also gives your enemies warning that you are there (I mean, it's a huge magic tower that wasn't there yesterday - should attract attention for miles around).
It's only 30 feet high. Most trees are about that tall. Set it up in a forest, nobody will notice unless they get fairly close, or they're above the forest. There will be some, yeah, but not all that many.

And if they attack it at range then retreat, what do you do?Well, first, to actually hurt the tower is fairly difficult. Second, it's set up as a fortress - it has arrow slits and battlements. Does your party not have any ranged effects? You fight back the exact same way, except you've got the bonus of having Cover (or Total Cover - at least as far as spells other than Fireball and Delayed Blast Fireball are concerned) when you're shooting back.

Lycanthromancer
2009-05-12, 11:02 PM
Actually, you should get some blocks of wood (enough to make a building tower of the size you want), and have the party's arcanist cast shrink item + permanency on them (make sure each block is the maximum size he can affect, for the least XP cost - and get a few ironwood spells if you have access to them; otherwise use steel), with all of the castings having the same command word. Then fabricate yourself a tower.

Voila. Considerably less expensive, and much easier to repair or replace, if necessary.

Darrin
2009-05-13, 07:21 AM
This is something I've missed. Why is it worth it?
To afford it, you should be at least 13th level (let's say 12th if everyone chips in). At that level, it takes about 3 fireballs to destroy.


As Jack_Smith pointed out, it's more difficult to damage than you might think (if only it were easier to repair!).

Yes, granted, it doesn't quite beat an eternal wand of rope trick, but there are a variety of other uses for it that don't necessarily involve resting.

* 30' ladder.

* As an area effect, 10d10 untyped damage in a 20'x20' area that you can use every other round.

* If you can't catch your opponents in the 20'x20' footprint or if they make the DC 19 Ref save, you can still deny them that 20'x20' terrain, possibly splitting up their forces or allowing you to isolate weaker opponents.

Silence
2009-05-13, 08:05 AM
This may have already been mentioned, but there's a level 1 or 0 spell, possibly bard, that basically acts as an alarm that can tell you if anyone enters an area (I don't have my books with me at the moment, so sorry.)

Waspinator
2009-05-14, 10:53 AM
Dragon 350 has the "Arcane Fence", which is a set of stakes that for 2000 gp can let you create an Alarm spell effect over any 20 foot square area any time that you want.

Fcannon
2009-05-14, 04:39 PM
A wand of Secure Shelter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/secureShelter.htm) would cost half as much as an instant fortress and last 50 nights. Probably enough time to either be rid of the mcguffin , or at least for your sorcerer to learn the spell.

Triaxx
2009-05-15, 11:52 AM
Perhaps a Ring of Mages Faithful Hound?