animated magic items

[Lightlawbliss]

few questions:
1. Can you animate a magic item?

2. If 1 is yes, can a normal animated object activate "on command" abilities of the item.

3. can a normal animated object be given any/all/some of of the follow commands:
*Ready action
*(assuming 1 and 2 are yes) use a specific variation of an ability. ex.1 : open a gate in an ally in ___ (some city). ex 2. summon an elder elemental (natures ally 9).
*do nothing/stand there
*attack the caster
*specific route to follow

4. Is there a way (shy of haunting) to make an intelligent animated object? (don't want something evil controlling a place I want to make)

5. how to make animated objects as hard to destroy as possible? (protect the investment)


i'm looking at trying to make a pc house that can defend itself at some level when the pc isn't home (LG pc). Any other info that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. Funds in the millions.

Edit: all 3.0 and 3.5 materials fair game for this

[Lightlawbliss]

Any help (or even opinions) would be appreciated greatly.

[Humble Master]

Add chicken legs to your house and name your character Baba Yaga for bonus points!
Anyway here is how I would rule these questions.

1. No, the spell specifies that the object must be made of nonmagical material.

2. Moot

3. You can order that object to attack specific targets but the spell says that the object just "immediately attacks whomever or whatever you initially designate" and that "You can change the designated target or targets as a move action"

4. Try looking at the rules for intelligent magical objects.

5. Abjurations, make the house out of adamantine ect.

I would say just fill your house with golems/animated objects/minions/slaves and traps or something.

[Lightlawbliss]

oh, forgot to mention the pc in question is a LG dragon and said pc doesn't trust anything that might decide "steel the hoard" to be a good business plan that it is capable of performing (mainly cause of dm and previous campaign events). This distrust is so high a lyre of building and minimal required personnel will be making it.

also, I'm planning a house with a lot of relatively big rooms (sized for gargantuan)

the intelligent magic item part is very interesting (tx for pointing me that way). Fulfills everything I want save moving on it's own (magic can solve that... recommendations never hurt)

edit: also: my plan before (and possibly still) was to animate magical defenses to be able to position themselves.

[Emperor Tippy]

few questions:
1. Can you animate a magic item?
Yes, if you hit it with a dispel first to make it non magical.


2. If 1 is yes, can a normal animated object activate "on command" abilities of the item.
Maybe, ask your DM. You really aren't supposed to be animating magical items in the first place.


3. can a normal animated object be given any/all/some of of the follow commands:
*Ready action
Yes.

*(assuming 1 and 2 are yes) use a specific variation of an ability. ex.1 : open a gate in an ally in ___ (some city). ex 2. summon an elder elemental (natures ally 9).
Yes, assuming that you DM allows an animated magic item to use the magic items abilities.

*do nothing/stand there
Yes.

*attack the caster
Yes.

*specific route to follow
Yes.


4. Is there a way (shy of haunting) to make an intelligent animated object? (don't want something evil controlling a place I want to make)
Yes, see step one and either use Awaken Construct (Spell Compendium) to make it intelligent or use Embrace the Dark Chaos/Shun the Dark Chaos to replace one of it's feats (it gets 1 per 3 HD) with Rudimentary Intelligence to give it an Int score equal to the Int modifier of the individual who cast Animate Objects initially.


5. how to make animated objects as hard to destroy as possible? (protect the investment)
Craft Contingent Timeless Body (if psionic/magic transparency is in play, otherwise use Temporal Stasis) set to activate if the item would take damage and a Craft Contingent Wings of Cover set to activate with the first contingency activates.


i'm looking at trying to make a pc house that can defend itself at some level when the pc isn't home (LG pc). Any other info that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. Funds in the millions.

Edit: all 3.0 and 3.5 materials fair game for this

Check out the Stronghold Builders guide. Use Golems with Rudimentary Intelligence as guards, use Ice Assassins or Simulacrum's of powerful creatures and enemies as guards.

[unseenmage]

There's also the Flying enhancement from Magic of Faerun that turns a weapon into an animated object.

Also, Intelligent items can activate any ability they have. Give one Telekinesis at will and it's basically a character at that point. (sans Antimagic Fields but there are few characters who aren't disabled in those.)

[Lightlawbliss]

and tippy strikes again, showing the whole world the crazy loopholes the game has.

my thoughts on having the intelligent item mobile was continuous swift fly. the problem I see with the telekinesis was it eating up actions to control the telekinesis (is this actually the case?)

edit: a few of the ideas I have had for "traps"

intelegent item (chandelier) with continuous swift fly and summon monster 9 (cl 17) on command.
intelegent item (statue) with continuous swift fly and gate (cl 20) on command (with readied action to summon me home if someone attacks)
intelegent item (statue) with telekinesis on command and a spell active on him continuous that will take case of the concentration) located in the armory.

DM just decided to house rule that intelligent items can't be intentionally made. Oh, and the animating magic items through that round about method is out too. any other help?

[frost890]

You might try the "stronghold builders guide". It has all kinds of things like magic traps or having a wall that slides up/down on command to hide the hoard. A maze with illusion walls or invisible walls with just a tiny whole part way up. If the house can rearrange itself it makes things harder and if you can only get to certain parts during noon and others at midnight it makes it harder on the impatient younger races. (You are a dragon a day is a blip in time) A homunculus is a great guard. (The one that crafts, I cant remember the name) As a final note a construct need not be the big psycho smasher. Have a small one to release traps when they are in the room or set off a warning to you when ever someone enters.

[BowStreetRunner]

If you can't animate an object to accomplish what you want, you might try to Awaken (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/awaken.htm) a tree or animal instead. (Scroll of Awaken with UMD if not a druid.) There is a Mass version of the spell on p. 21 of the Spell Compendium.

Take the Craft Construct (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#craftConstruct) feat and make some Golems (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/golem.htm) to do what you need. You can even Awaken a construct with another spell from p. 21 of the Spell Compendium.