Spell to create an Extradimensional Room

[henebry]

I'm working on an adventure in which the players are exploring a ruin from which their nemesis has been mining a precious and dangerous substance. The nemesis got called away a few weeks before the characters arrive on the scene, and was unable (for whatever reason) to carry away with him all the fruits of his labors. While he didn't know the good guys were on his tail, he also didn't want to leave all that precious stuff out unguarded, especially since there are a lot of strange creatures prowling the ruin, and in my campaign aberrations have a special taste for the substance he was mining.

So here's my question: what does the BBEG do in this situation?

The players are lvl 6-8, on the verge of levelling up, and includes a 6 lvl Cleric and 8th lvl Wizard, to give you a sense of their capabilities. The BBEG is a lvl 10 Wizard (school specialization Evocation, with prohibited schools illusion and abjuration), though I could level him up a bit if needed.

My first thought was Wall of Force formed around a tight 20x20 square and filled to the brim with the bleached bones of his former slave troop (now animated skeletons). Mostly because I liked the idea of the players able to see what was on the other side and working hard to dispel the wall, then being appalled when the pile of bones came to life. But Wall of Force can't be dispelled except by means well beyond the reach of the party.

My second thought was Wall of Stone (which doesn't require permanency). He could be planning to return with Passwall among his daily allotment of spells, so the skeleton troop could do the work of loading the precious substance into his airship (or the Secret Chest he's prepared in the interval). Perhaps I'll have the wizard set up the Wall in a place where it interrupts the pattern inlaid with stone in the floor, enabling a Search roll to discover the deception.

But then, thinking of Secret Chest, I started wondering if there's a spell around that allows a magician to create a pocket dimension that isn't portable but becomes a fixture of the dungeon.

Other ideas are welcome. This skeleton troop thing is just the best thing I've come up with so far.

[Bears With Lasers]

The BBEG is a lvl 10 Wizard (school specialization Evocation[b], with [B]prohibited schools illusion and abjuration), though I could level him up a bit if needed.
*twitch. twitch.*


But then, thinking of Secret Chest, I started wondering if there's a spell around that allows a magician to create a pocket dimension that isn't portable but becomes a fixture of the dungeon.

Other ideas are welcome. This skeleton troop thing is just the best thing I've come up with so far.The spell Rope Trick is pretty much what you want, except for the Hours/Level duration. Have your BBEG research a higher-level version that's 2 hours/level (as Magnificent Mansion), or even days/level.

The Wall of Stone thing is a pretty good idea, too.

[Jack_Simth]

Phase Door. Sor/Wiz 7. Conjouration(Creation). Useage-based duration. Cast it, carry stuff in, leave it there. Use all but one charge sending in Skeletons carrying the stuff (the spell allows a trigger condition based on identity for other creatures - so you can designate X skeletons that can use it, no problems), then make a new one for more, until you've got all the stuff covered. If it's dispelled, everyone inside is tossed out harmlessly. They're all out of sight, nothing can get in to bother them (with a few exceptions), they are recoverable, and it's within the party's recources to get the stuff out (spell is subject to Dispel Magic) although that causes a bunch of skeletons (carrying the stuff) to appear as well.

Edit: Drat, Wiz-10. Oh well. Could still do a Passwall to a room with no other entrances, expire the passwall, and do it again later.

[goat]

Have all the skeletons dig a big hole. Cast wall of stone as a sort of... floor of stone. Cover the whole floor, not just the hole you've dug. This may take several castings. Make sure that the room you've chosen for this purpose is mid-way through the ruin, not at the end.

Now, have the ruin guarded as you would normally for a ruin of that size that holds something vaguely important, but with the final, most dificult to access room being home to some gaudy trinkets that look much more valuable than they are. Make sure it looks enough to be plausibly defended by the guards left behind.

Adventurers will walk straight over the top of your hoarde of loot, not recognising that it's the wrong sort of floor, and claim the useless crap at the end. By the time they've hauled it off into town, you should be back to reclaim your mineral.

[martyboy74]

Eh, make a continuous item of rope trick (12,000 gp). Hope your PCs don't find it.

[henebry]

*twitch. twitch.*

Okay, okay: abjuration's a more valuable school than I realized when I statted this guy out. What would you take as prohibited schools? The idea is that he's a wizard very much into control of the elements.

[martyboy74]

Evocation and illusion/enchantment.

[Amiria]

Lets's see, Illusion is the other prohibited school. Since you like control of the elements, evocation shouldn't be a prohbibited school.

That leaves Enchantment and Necromancy as viable alternatives to drop instead of Abjuration.

Necromancy is usually considered stronger, but with Enchantment you could also control elemental creatures. A tóugh decision.

[martyboy74]

Not necromancy; these are skeletons we're dealing with. Who else would've made them?

[TheOOB]

Generally speaking, Transmutation, Conjuration, and Abjuration are all to valuable to give up for any wizard, which leaves Evocation, Illusion, Enchantment, and Necromancy as viable schools to loose.

Evocation is generally considered a very weak school (especially since conjuration and necromancy both have great damage capabilities) so unless your character concept requires fireballs and magic missiles it's safe to give up evocation.

Illusion and Enchantment have a lot of overlap, and giving up either of them is fine, though I strongly suggest you don't give up both or else you loose most of your ability to manipulate others with magic. Personally, I see enchantment as being more powerful (Dominate Monster is yummy), though illusion is more versitile(especially with the shadow spells).

Necromancy is one of the most potent offensive wizard schools, with damage, debuffs, and instant death to spare, and losing necromancy gives you a serious hit to your offense, however necromancy doesn't have a huge amount of utility so if you give it up it wouldn't kill you.

[Kantolin]

Situationally, as he seems to be aiming for an elemental blaster, I'd drop Illusion and Enchantment.

Those schools are exceedingly important to have at least one of in my opinion... but as a BBEG, I'd say they could potentially be less valuable. He wants to blow stuff up, do so.

The trouble comes if he'd like to control elementals, in which he'd do so with enchantment. So eh.

[Variable Arcana]

With an elemental type, if the dungeon is cold enough (or you're willing to fudge things a bit), a Wall of Ice could give you exactly the effect you're looking for -- being able to see the bones and treasure, and not realizing until they've broken through the wall that the bones are actually skeletons. (Added bonus: if they use fire to get through the wall, it turns into a cloud of fog, and you get skeletons reaching for them through the fog -- nice cinematics).

The twin rock-mud and mud-rock transmuting spells are also good for stashing loot, but you run the risk of the party never figuring out where to look... unless they have divinations to lead them to it (or a dwarf to notice that the rock is not right... or something).

I also really like "Illusory Wall" -- though it's clearly not the right choice for an elemental-specialist with illusion as a barred school.

[Jothki]

He doesn't know that adventurers are on his tail, just that the ruins are prowling with monsters. He wouldn't necessarily want to hide his stuff, just properly defend it against unintelligent foes.

Would a self-resetting fire trap work? Whenever something approaches, have a sheet of flame cover the passageway. That should be enough to deter any monsters, while still being viable to disarm. Depending on how you set up the proximity at which it triggers, it could either be dangerous or a cool bit of flavor.

[henebry]

With an elemental type, if the dungeon is cold enough (or you're willing to fudge things a bit), a Wall of Ice could give you exactly the effect you're looking for -- being able to see the bones and treasure, and not realizing until they've broken through the wall that the bones are actually skeletons. (Added bonus: if they use fire to get through the wall, it turns into a cloud of fog, and you get skeletons reaching for them through the fog -- nice cinematics).

I really like these cinematics—just the effect of the skeletons visible but distorted through the ice wall. But Wall of Ice is an evocation, not a conjuration, and has a listed duration? Would it, by RAW, persist even under arctic conditions?

Not that I'm above fudging the rules by DM fiat. Maybe I should say the wizard's crafted a 5th or 6th level version of W of I, one that makes the wall permanent until destroyed by fire or ice axes.

[Variable Arcana]

I was figuring you were willing to do some fudging, since you mentioned using a wall of force (which has the same duration).

I might house-rule that if it's cold enough, the ice wall remains, though the "cold damage" from reaching through the area where the wall was would last only the listed duration. But, I think your suggestion is better -- up it to a fifth-level conjuration (like an alternate version of wall of stone) that never has a "cold damage" effect.

[DaMullet]

*twitch. twitch.*
Now, when I first read this, I was thinking differently. I thought it was more pointing out the fact that Abjuration, the school of prevention, resistance, and defense, was prohibited. I find that funny.