NPC home defense

[AntiTrust]

So you're an outspoken npc socialite and although you've never been the target of a home invasion or robbery you, like many other people, have purchased some home defense. What protection might you have invested in?


Additional/Optional information.

1. Home in Sharn (That's in Breland, part of the Eberron campaign setting)
2. Wealthy (lv 5-7 aristocrat)
3. Naive
4. Outspoken about the need to push the Cyran refugees out of Breland

[Humble Master]

Traps, minions and lead lined walls would be the basics I think.

[watchwood]

Guard Dogs and/or bear traps make for cheap and effective defense at low levels. There's a lot you can do with cheap mundane items, if you're willing to be creative.

[young_genuis]

Constructs, minor spells(Alarm, Hold portal, Silent image, Arcane Lock, Phantom trap)

[Mnemnosyne]

I think defining "wealthy" is going to be key to this. By RAW, an Aristocrat has no advantage over any other character in the wealth by level angle, so saying a level 5-7 aristocrat is the same amount of wealth as a level 5-7 commoner or any other NPC.

Plus if we treat the NPC's income/expenses realistically, it's less a matter of wealth by level and more how much he chooses to invest in his security. So to give reasonable answers, I think you need to determine where his money comes from, how much he actually has available to spend, and how much he's willing and able to spend on his security.

Things to keep in mind: an average person that has no specific reason to think his home is going to be invaded probably isn't going to have dangerous traps. Traps in your home are more of a danger to you, your friends, and your family, than anyone else, and without a clear reason to think you're going to be attacked, there's no sense in laying all sorts of traps in your home. At most, if he's wealthy enough to be able to afford IFF magical traps, he might have his own quarters or bedroom trapped with something that he doesn't have to worry about going off except on a hostile entity.

That leaves locks, probably pretty good ones if he's wealthy, no reason to skimp here; solid walls, but scrying protection is unlikely unless he thinks there's a reason for someone to scry on him, whether that's to attack him or to learn secrets - if he's in a business that requires lots of sensitive information, he may have his walls and such lead-lined, otherwise, it seems unlikely; and minions - guard dogs as mentioned would be typical, he may have a bodyguard but probably won't have his house full of guards unless he's very, very wealthy and has reason to, and constructs and other magical minions are the least likely, again, unless he has a specific reason for them.

For instance, someone that needs 'muscle' like a crime boss may have a very powerful construct or two at their command to act as an enforcer; the boss may be personally weak, but his iron golems keep him safe and crush those that cause him problems. But a typical businessman or minor noble is almost never going to have this sort of protection, unless his business requires him to go on journeys to extremely dangerous places.