Protecting Rooms? 3.5

[~xFellWardenx~]

I've got a nice and swaggin' 14th level generalist wizard who just made a few very powerful enemies, and several of my extradimensional workspaces have been ransacked, though luckily I was present at the (non-extra-dimensional) main workplace of mine (that contains all my spellbooks and most of my magic items and research records, though sadly I lost much data), which was built in an area that naturally radiates a field that blocks all forms of teleportation and planar travel both ways.

I was at my main place during the ransacking of my other workspaces and have returned my character to said main base upon learning of them immediately and set up some basic warding spells and traps. But I need a more permanent solution or I'll never be willing to leave my study.

So, yeah. I need to find spells, items, guards, everything. Except that I can't really Call anything directly here because planar travel is blocked, and anyway I don't know if anything I can Greater Planar Bind will be strong enough. (Especially since for in-character reasons I wouldn't bind any nongood creatures, which removes a lot of the strongest stuff)

What in the Nine Hells (or Heavens as the case may be) can I use to properly guard my prized possessions?

[Red Fel]

The most powerful, permanent solution I can think of is a Weirdstone, but that would be a pretty hefty investment, and probably out of your price range. On the plus side, it blocks astral and ethereal travel, teleportation, and divination spells in a huge radius. On the minus side, it does so indiscriminately - you're not exempt. But when you absolutely, positively, have to block out every **** in the cosmology, accept no substitute.

[Cicciograna]

The Stronghold Builders Guidebook has many suggestions on how defend rooms and spaces.
Please do note that it's 3rd Ed material, and the prices listed into its pages are generally considered absurdly high.

[Syrinth]

Personally, I would abandon any old places and start again elsewhere. If it's been ransacked once, it can be done again.

I tend to prefer underground locations because they're harder to access. With a bit of planar binding, and transmute rocks to mud you can do pretty much anything you need.

Illusions can be used to disguise the main entrance as well as Earth Lock from the SpC to prevent further travel.

Permanent Mage's Private Sanctum would be useful to prevent anyone from getting in since it prevents divination and thus blind teleportation.

The absolute 100% best defense is to have a stronghold that no one even knows is there. Guards can be bypassed, but as long as you can prevent anyone knowing where your base is, pretty much nothing can get into it.

Run Detect Scrying to ensure that no one is scrying on you before you return to your new base and good luck to them.

If you can, place your base nowhere near any interesting landmarks to throw off 20 questions Contact Other Plane attempts.

[~xFellWardenx~]

My place is already effectively warded against Scrying. And technically the place I'm at hasn't been sacked.

I suppose changing locales might work, but I happen to like my current place because teleportation doesn't work to get where my place is anyway.

If I try to tear down and move though, I'll have to release my wards. I guess I can get the party to help so my stuff isn't defenseless, but... Agh, moving is even MORE work in this world.

[Syrinth]

My main fear would be that they've been there once, they can get there again.

Although my next question is how exactly did they get there if it's already warded?

[~xFellWardenx~]

My main fear would be that they've been there once, they can get there again.

Although my next question is how exactly did they get there if it's already warded?

My bad, I thought I was being more clear. I'm trying to guard the only place they haven't gotten to yet. I had multiple, I've abandoned the ones that already got sacked.

[Renegade Paladin]

What are you talking about? You're a wizard! Find these enemies and kill them. :smalltongue:

[~xFellWardenx~]

What are you talking about? You're a wizard! Find these enemies and kill them. :smalltongue:

I only wish. Unfortunately, the laws of game theory dictate that, if played with the same level of skill, casters without 9th level spells lose ten times out of ten against casters with 9ths.

[Syrinth]

Not necessarily. If they have ninths and you don't and you're still alive then they clearly don't want to kill you all that much XD

[hemming]

Guards are a really cheap addition - I think the cost is 2 silver per day for the lowliest of guards (something like 16 gp/day for an ogre mage in stronghold builder arms and equipment guide)

Also the possibility of making one room in the fortress/base the vault and pouring a ton of resources into protecting that one space

[~xFellWardenx~]

Guards are a really cheap addition - I think the cost is 2 silver per day for the lowliest of guards (something like 16 gp/day for an ogre mage in stronghold builder arms and equipment guide)

Also the possibility of making one room in the fortress/base the vault and pouring a ton of resources into protecting that one space

Would be feasible and I might even still do it since this is an emergency, but that probably won't help in a practical sense, especially if I need my materials to help beat these guys. I've got the uber filled hallways and such that things are condensed as much as I've found possible space-wise without me having to pull a bunch of stuff out to find any particular thing. But yeah, I might just shove everything that isn't fragile into Handy Haversacks and such spaces and throw them in a vault or something if that would make defending it all easier.

Ogre mages probably wouldn't be any help, honestly. I just need some unbreakable magic defenses or something.

@Syrinth: whether or not they particularly care if I'm alive or not doesn't change that I'd have a hard time beating them if I could do so at all. But that's not really the question I'm asking here.

If it'll really help much, I'll grab that Weirdstone... Avoiding losing my research materials and magic items is worth a huge amount to me, including the magic items I'll probably have to part with in the market to afford this Weirdstone. What book is it from?

[Telok]

Here is a tower I worked up for an NPC caster in my game. He's a 15th level sorcerer with some long term enemies he want's to avoid. One of the key things here is to realize that Limited Wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) can be used to cast such spells and powers as Hallow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hallow.htm) and Psychic Reformation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicReformation.htm). This guy used the druid version of Hallow because he was a good-ish necromancy sorcerer, you may wish to use the cleric version. I suggest that you do not enchant the walls of your place, my caster had a way around the costs (flavor/background stuff and favors used up) to do that. I suggest using Stone Shape and Wall of Stone then applying Hardening(SpC) and Stone Metamorphosis(Und p61) to your walls.

Tower 40' diameter, 80' high, flat top. One door (wooden hardness 5, 20 hp, break dc 35, wizard lock dispel check 26), no windows. Enchanted hewn stone basalt walls 3' thick (hardness 16, 1080 hp, climb dc 25, break dc 70, saves +9).

Forbiddance inside and within 10' of the walls (but only 2' above the top), so no teleportation, plane shifting, or summoning. Minor Creation a 25" high platform on the roof for calling spells.

Permanent False Vision shows the tower abandoned and empty to all scrying attempts. In the vision there are stairs in the tower.

The first floor is druid Hallowed. Giving Freedom of Movement to anyone who worships Sif Muna on that level and Magic Circle vs Evil alignment (non-good summoned creatures cannot enter [SR 28+ ignores], everyone is immune to mental control, and everyone has +2 AC and saves vs evil aligned attacks and spells.

Each floor has an Illusionary Wall spell that seems to be a staircase going to the other floors.

First floor: Wood paneled walls and ceilings, a couple of wooden closets with travel clothes, a large table in the middle of the room with six chairs, a decent couch upholstered in green lizard leather against one wall, and a Continual Flame lamp hanging on a chain from the center of the ceiling. The ceiling is a permanent Minor Creation wood panel 1/2" thick. On the stone ceiling (same as the tower walls) are inscribed Symbol of Weakness (Necro, save no, SR yes, 3d6 Str dmg), Symbol of Sleep (Ench, compulsion, mind affecting, Wneg20, SR yes, <10HD sleep for 3d6*10 min), Symbol of Pain (Necro, evil, Fneg20, SR yes, -4 attacks skills ability checks for 1 hour), Symbol of Persuasion (Ench, charm, mind affecting, Wneg21, SR yes, charmed for 15 hours), Symbol of Fear (Necro, fear, mind affecting, Wneg21, SR yes, up to 150hp of targets panicked for 15 rounds). There is a Glyph of Warding on the Continual Flame lamp hanging from the ceiling, it will cast Dispel Magic on the false ceiling if there is an attack made within 30 feet by anyone other than Solberg or his familiar.

Second floor: A nice big four poster bed, a kitchenette, a big easy-chair, a table piled with books, and the same lighting fixture as the first floor. The Symbols are on the walls here and the dispelling Glyph is on the bed posts, the trigger remains the same.

Third floor: Bookshelves line the walls and five tables with books and magical paraphernalia on them clutter the room. The Symbols of Weakness, Sleep, and Pain are on the ceiling, while the Symbols of Persuasion, Fear, and a second Weakness are on the floor. These Symbols are not covered and will activate if anyone but Solberg or his familiar enter the room.

The rooms are 12' tall with 3' thick ceilings/floors. In an 80' high tower this leaves a 30' high 'attic' waiting to be filled. It's empty except for some stone chests with huge bones in them (three complete hill giant skeletons in six chests and one 11 headed hydra skeleton in four chests). The Symbols are on the ceiling five feet from the wall and spaced equidistantly. These Symbols are not covered and will activate if anyone but Solberg or his familiar enter the room.

Movement between floors is by means of Gaseous Form through S-shaped pencil sized holes in the ceiling/floor. The holes are spaced five feet apart around the circumference of the rooms. The first and second floor holes are concealed behind carved wooden molding at the join between the wall and ceiling or floor. On the third floor the holes are hidden behind the floor to ceiling bookshelves. The holes in the ceiling of the 'attic' lead outside two feet below the top of the tower.

Do note that if someone wants you dead they can just splurge on scrolls of Disintegrate and True Seeing, and then throw some called monsters at you untill you flee or run out of spells. Defenses can buy you time but will almost certainly you have to take down your opposition directly.

[~xFellWardenx~]

Here is a tower I worked up for an NPC caster in my game. He's a 15th level sorcerer with some long term enemies he want's to avoid. One of the key things here is to realize that Limited Wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) can be used to cast such spells and powers as Hallow (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hallow.htm) and Psychic Reformation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicReformation.htm). This guy used the druid version of Hallow because he was a good-ish necromancy sorcerer, you may wish to use the cleric version. I suggest that you do not enchant the walls of your place, my caster had a way around the costs (flavor/background stuff and favors used up) to do that. I suggest using Stone Shape and Wall of Stone then applying Hardening(SpC) and Stone Metamorphosis(Und p61) to your walls.

Tower 40' diameter, 80' high, flat top. One door (wooden hardness 5, 20 hp, break dc 35, wizard lock dispel check 26), no windows. Enchanted hewn stone basalt walls 3' thick (hardness 16, 1080 hp, climb dc 25, break dc 70, saves +9).

Forbiddance inside and within 10' of the walls (but only 2' above the top), so no teleportation, plane shifting, or summoning. Minor Creation a 25" high platform on the roof for calling spells.

Permanent False Vision shows the tower abandoned and empty to all scrying attempts. In the vision there are stairs in the tower.

The first floor is druid Hallowed. Giving Freedom of Movement to anyone who worships Sif Muna on that level and Magic Circle vs Evil alignment (non-good summoned creatures cannot enter [SR 28+ ignores], everyone is immune to mental control, and everyone has +2 AC and saves vs evil aligned attacks and spells.

Each floor has an Illusionary Wall spell that seems to be a staircase going to the other floors.

First floor: Wood paneled walls and ceilings, a couple of wooden closets with travel clothes, a large table in the middle of the room with six chairs, a decent couch upholstered in green lizard leather against one wall, and a Continual Flame lamp hanging on a chain from the center of the ceiling. The ceiling is a permanent Minor Creation wood panel 1/2" thick. On the stone ceiling (same as the tower walls) are inscribed Symbol of Weakness (Necro, save no, SR yes, 3d6 Str dmg), Symbol of Sleep (Ench, compulsion, mind affecting, Wneg20, SR yes, <10HD sleep for 3d6*10 min), Symbol of Pain (Necro, evil, Fneg20, SR yes, -4 attacks skills ability checks for 1 hour), Symbol of Persuasion (Ench, charm, mind affecting, Wneg21, SR yes, charmed for 15 hours), Symbol of Fear (Necro, fear, mind affecting, Wneg21, SR yes, up to 150hp of targets panicked for 15 rounds). There is a Glyph of Warding on the Continual Flame lamp hanging from the ceiling, it will cast Dispel Magic on the false ceiling if there is an attack made within 30 feet by anyone other than Solberg or his familiar.

Second floor: A nice big four poster bed, a kitchenette, a big easy-chair, a table piled with books, and the same lighting fixture as the first floor. The Symbols are on the walls here and the dispelling Glyph is on the bed posts, the trigger remains the same.

Third floor: Bookshelves line the walls and five tables with books and magical paraphernalia on them clutter the room. The Symbols of Weakness, Sleep, and Pain are on the ceiling, while the Symbols of Persuasion, Fear, and a second Weakness are on the floor. These Symbols are not covered and will activate if anyone but Solberg or his familiar enter the room.

The rooms are 12' tall with 3' thick ceilings/floors. In an 80' high tower this leaves a 30' high 'attic' waiting to be filled. It's empty except for some stone chests with huge bones in them (three complete hill giant skeletons in six chests and one 11 headed hydra skeleton in four chests). The Symbols are on the ceiling five feet from the wall and spaced equidistantly. These Symbols are not covered and will activate if anyone but Solberg or his familiar enter the room.

Movement between floors is by means of Gaseous Form through S-shaped pencil sized holes in the ceiling/floor. The holes are spaced five feet apart around the circumference of the rooms. The first and second floor holes are concealed behind carved wooden molding at the join between the wall and ceiling or floor. On the third floor the holes are hidden behind the floor to ceiling bookshelves. The holes in the ceiling of the 'attic' lead outside two feet below the top of the tower.

Do note that if someone wants you dead they can just splurge on scrolls of Disintegrate and True Seeing, and then throw some called monsters at you untill you flee or run out of spells. Defenses can buy you time but will almost certainly you have to take down your opposition directly.

Ah, thanks! I'm pretty sure I can glean some ideas off of this. And yeah, of course I will take the offense to them, I'm not hiding there, I just want to leave my stuff safe when I leave.