What spells do you use to protect your stronghold

[silverwolfer]

You got your gold, you are the gleaming eye of every jealous monarch, and have up setted the plans of a million evil world dominators, while you leave your loved ones at home as you go adventuring.


Now you are the target, what spells do you use, to protect your home, while you adventure?

[molten_dragon]

You got your gold, you are the gleaming eye of every jealous monarch, and have up setted the plans of a million evil world dominators, while you leave your loved ones at home as you go adventuring.


Now you are the target, what spells do you use, to protect your home, while you adventure?

Genesis. That's pretty much all you need.

[Aethir]

It really depends on your spell level budget. For the lowest I'd go, it'd have to be Forbiddance. Stopping all sorts of travel into an area with it may be pricey, and the password may be extra, but it's very real protection.

[Phelix-Mu]

Guards and wards is pretty standard.

Glyph of warding is extremely versatile, but it may be limited in usefulness depending on just whom/where you are trying to protect.

Antipathy/Sympathy can be good for creating areas that are particularly unfriendly to normal people, but one should be careful since the final effects of the spell are pretty open-ended.

Shambler can create some excellent minions for a really long term.

[Erik Vale]

Contigency Miracle-
Whenever someone hostile to me enters my (Insert building name here), plane shift them to [Worst possible plane]/Teleport them to [next to volcano/middle of desert, on occasionally twisting platform above volcano, insert other here].

Deals with most problems. Given by the OP, god should like you. And if not, replace Miracle with wish.
The problem is getting some overlays at reasonable cost, but there are some ways.

[Jack_Simth]

You got your gold, you are the gleaming eye of every jealous monarch, and have up setted the plans of a million evil world dominators, while you leave your loved ones at home as you go adventuring.


Now you are the target, what spells do you use, to protect your home, while you adventure?

You pretty much don't. As you have so aptly demonstrated on multiple occasions at this point, there really isn't a perfect defence. At best, you can make it expensive to get there. With enough work, you can have a location that is only accessible via Wish... of course, then you're burning a lot of resouces to get there. With a little bit more work, you can have a location that is accessible only via Wish, or YOU Sending a particular message to a particular target, followed by Plane Shift, Gate, or similar.

The how-to:
First, make a Genesis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm) demiplane.
Second: Go there.
Third: Make a carefully-shaped Supernatural Forbiddance (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/forbiddance.htm) by one of a number of methods (Dweomerkeeper (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20040522a)'s Supernatural Spell + Wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm) or Miracle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm) for Forbiddance (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/forbiddance.htm) is one way, but not the only way; you specifically want it to be Supernatural, so as to bypass SR), set to cover the entire plane... other than one small area.
Fourth: You put a totally trusted minion (a Simulacrum (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/simulacrum.htm) of a strong, unaging creature is recommended, due to the clause in the spell that says "At all times the simulacrum remains under your absolute command.") in the Demiplane.
Fifth: You place a block of Riverine (Stormwrack) such that it completely covers the hole in the Forbiddance.

To get in: You Send (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sending.htm) your Simulacrum to have it move the block away. Then you Plane Shift / Greater Plane Shift (spell Comendium), or Gate to the hole, step out of it, and tell your Simulacrum to put the block back.
To leave: You tell your simulacrum to move the block, and put it back immediately after you leave. You then wait for the simulacrum to move the block, step into the spot, and Gate or Plane Shift out.

The only way in is the Transport Traveler's clause of Wish, being capable of ordering your Simulacrum around (Warning: There are a few ways, but they're really tricky), or having really good timing.

Note: If you don't leave the gap in the Forbiddance at step 3, then the only way in or out is via Wish.

Oh yes, and for added security, you can put up a lot of tuned Symbol spells or other traps that can work off of identity.

[Vaz]

Make it on a demiplane and have the portal only accessible by an Invisible Portal surrounded by several Anti Magic Field bubbles set up to form a labyrinth entrance (hit the AMF wall and plummet like a rock) unless you have some natural form of flight.

Backed up by numerous antipathy/forms of impulsion to keep people away.

That is the High Magic route.

I prefer low magic myself; much moreso; little things like having beds provide good resting bonuses, permanent heroes feasts, magical siege weapon ammunition like Daylight.

[koboldish]

As previously stated, Genesis is all you need at high levels. If on a budget, I wouldn't use spells at all! Kobolds, rocks, and murder holes. You could add alchemetial items or wands for the kobolds, and you could add illusion spells to hide them (like silent image covering the murder holes with flat ceiling, or invisibility on the kobolds). Things to buff and protect the kobolds would be helpful, but nothing comes to mind right now besides globe of invulnerability, which wouldn't be that effective in my opinion.

[Matticussama]

The Landlord feat from Stronghold Builder's Guide can help you out a lot. As was stated above, the problem with protecting your home is that it gets really expensive. The Landlord feat gives you extra gold per level that can only be used for building a stronghold/keep/defense. Then, if you do use your own gold to add defenses, those funds are matched in equal amount.

Use this gold to build your stronghold/keep/whatever, pay wizards and clerics out of these funds to cast magical wards and other defenses on your keep, and you don't have to worry about burning your own XP or sacrificing too much of your character wealth. For roleplaying purposes it helps if you are some sort of nobility, or at least a landed knight, but for mid-level adventuring it shouldn't be too hard to get some sort of title. After defeating so many evil enemies with their maniacal plans, surely you have at least some favor in your home kingdom.