Ways to preserve a clone

[Syrinth]

Hello playground!

So, I made the questionable choice of Focused Specialist Diviner going Unseen Seer with Necromancy and Evocation as my banned schools.

My character is particularly paranoid and wants to be able to set up a contingency in the event of his untimely and unlikely death. Thanks to Use Magic Device, I'm easily able to cast the Clone spell off of a scroll.

Now, the problem comes with preserving the wretched thing.

The key thing here is that my character is, as stated, extremely paranoid and untrusting. Paying someone else to come in and gentle repose the clone to prevent it from rotting is not an option. UMDing scrolls of Gentle repose himself is... doable but that money is going to accumulate over time and i'd rather not.

So I leave it to the playground, any ideas?

I think Sequester might work...

[Psyren]

UPD a dorje of Quintessence (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/quintessence.htm) - this lasts forever without needing to be recast.

[Syrinth]

Wouldn't that result in permanent stasis if I died then since I'd awaken in a body removed from the time stream and floating in a vat of quintessence?

Also, I'm assuming a dorje has 50 charges like a wand does, I'd think it'd take more than 50 ounces...

[Mystia]

There's also the Shirt of Gentle Repose (...BoEF), which should be pretty cheap.
Cheapest solution would be a flask of Unguent of Timelessness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#unguentofTimelessness), 150 gp each. It won't preserve it forever, but I think that you'll probably have enough money to cover even more clones before even a single year passes.
Edit: Though your DM can nitpick on the "When applied to any matter that was once alive... " part... But you can argue back saying that if it wasn't once alive for the purposes of the Unguent, it won't decay either. (not sure how many DMs would allow that one to pass)

[Syrinth]

Oooh wasn't aware of that one, that might just do the trick :D

[Deca4531]

to get around your distrusting nature you could always Geas/Quest (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Geas) a person

[Carth]

There is a spell called stasis clone...somewhere. I know it's in a real 1st party book, not Dragon Magazine, Dragonlance, Kalamar, or some such. Anyway, it's exactly like clone, but the clone doesn't decay. So if you can get a scroll of that, you're set.

[herrhauptmann]

There is a spell called stasis clone...somewhere. I know it's in a real 1st party book, not Dragon Magazine, Dragonlance, Kalamar, or some such. Anyway, it's exactly like clone, but the clone doesn't decay. So if you can get a scroll of that, you're set.

That's i lords of darkness (3.0 book).
I think it was 'made' by Manshoon, it's what started the Manshoon wars with a bunch of his clones waking up at once.

But honestly, if you can cast 8th and 9th level spells, the cost of getting someone to cast gentle repose on your body is trivial compared to your wealth at that level.
Heck, at that level, you should be paying in favors and not just gold. Cast wall of X for your local church, have them send an acolyte down to the basement to keep your clones intact every few days.
The DM will like it too, since it gives him another plot hook.

[Syrinth]

That's i lords of darkness (3.0 book).
I think it was 'made' by Manshoon, it's what started the Manshoon wars with a bunch of his clones waking up at once.

But honestly, if you can cast 8th and 9th level spells, the cost of getting someone to cast gentle repose on your body is trivial compared to your wealth at that level.
Heck, at that level, you should be paying in favors and not just gold. Cast wall of X for your local church, have them send an acolyte down to the basement to keep your clones intact every few days.
The DM will like it too, since it gives him another plot hook.

The problem there is that I intend to set the clone up around 10th/11th level.

and I'm trying to avoid anyone knowing I have clones, and ESPECIALLY anyone knowing where my clones are kept.

Unsure, if I'll be able to manage that special clone spell...

[herrhauptmann]

The problem there is that I intend to set the clone up around 10th/11th level.

and I'm trying to avoid anyone knowing I have clones, and ESPECIALLY anyone knowing where my clones are kept.

Unsure, if I'll be able to manage that special clone spell...

If you want to do this at 10th/11th level, you got to put that in the first post...

Just noticed something really important. Clone is a necromancy spell. You banned necromancy. You'd have to UMD a high level spell with crossclass ranks.

So you're going to buy a scroll of Clone?
If you want to keep these clones secret, you can't buy the scroll.

In your paranoia, you've got to remember to account for mundane methods of spying and tracking. Someone might be unable to scry you or use legend lore, but if they sit outside your favorite magic shop, they can find out what you've bought. Is the shopkeeper protected from divinations? Torture? Once someone knows you bought a scroll of Clone, they'll know to look for your clone.
It's like saying you're going to make a super secret doomsday bunker in your back yard, but then having Lowes or Home Depot deliver the lumber, concrete, and equipment to your door.
You have to either find the scroll as loot, or cast the spell off your own spell slots.
You'll also still need the labratory. The scroll covers the material component and creates the embryo or whatever that becomes your new body, but it's not going to furnish a vat for 2-8 months.

On the other hand, it's useless to go overboard on the secrecy. It's like protecting a spellbook from theft. At some point, the book is going to get stolen if the DM decides he wants that to happen. In the same way, someone will eventually find out about your clones.

You're making clones, you know they're not going to come out with any spells memorized, right? So you'll have to duplicate your spellbook and any expensive components too. Which means you'll have to come back regularly and update your spare spellbooks, or else your clone will arise with even less power than the original. Easy pickings for whoever killed the original.

[Syrinth]

I am well aware of the annoyances in the regard of secrecy limitations. The scroll of clone is unavoidable.

As an Unseen Seer I am going to take Guidance of the Avatar so +20 bonus on any skill check. Additionally, I have UMD as a Class skill.

The protections for my Clones and my plans for backup spellbooks should be more than adequate.

One or two people who have little to do with me knowing I have clone is fine. I can probably arrange for the scroll to be bought out of town, and even if not, the mages in this city are quite uncaring about most things.

I have a severe problem with someone knowing where my clones are which is why I can't just have some mook come in to gentle repose for me.

[herrhauptmann]

UMD as a class skill? Nice.

How about crafting a magic trap of gentle repose? It's a tippy-verse type solution (create food and water trap in the pantry, open the door to activate the trap).

[Rubik]

Don't forget to grab yourself a thought bottle so you don't have to worry about gaining levels in the time between casting Clone and dying. Just make sure to update your XP total in the bottle every level or so, and you should be okay.

[Syrinth]

Technically I should fix this before someone comments:

In our games, once a class is a class skill it's always a class skill. So since I have one level in Rogue, I can freely put points into UMD.

While that would work, Magic Traps are just so... urgh. Once they exist, it becomes hard to justify not using them all the time.

I'm probably either going to go for the Unguent of Timelessness or try to get a custom magic item.

[DruidAlanon]

Finding a way to hide the clone in a frost demiplane? Is ti viable?

[Psyren]

Wouldn't that result in permanent stasis if I died then since I'd awaken in a body removed from the time stream and floating in a vat of quintessence?

That's what minions/cults are for! :smalltongue:
Yeah, waking up could be a problem.

[Rubik]

There's always Astral Seed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralSeed.htm).