Ways to Protect a Clone…

[Âmesang]

…because I'd rather not see 'em (nearly) all destroyed after reading about Tenser and Otiluke. :smalltongue:

I'm also leading this off with the thought that if you're powerful enough to create/obtain a clone, then you're probably powerful enough to keep a mind blank up 24/10 (ah, Faerûn and your quirky calendar).

So far three ideas have come to mind:

• Secret Laboratory — The more remote the location the better. My thought was to (A) find some sort of rocky landscape, (B) soften it up with transmute rock to mud, (C) shape it with move earth to reveal the next rocky layer 10 ft. beneath you with earthen embankments on either side, (D) disintegrate an opening 20 ft. × 20 ft. and 10 ft. deep, (E) use some sort of modified wall of iron/polymorph any object or limited wish to create a "wall of lead" and then fabricate it into a hollow "shell" roughly an inch or so thick that fills up the opening's area, (E.2) if possible cast Slerotin's fortitude (DRAGON Magazine #241) to make the lead shell impervious to both physical and magical damage, (F) teleport inside with a light source/darkvision (and preferably with a breathing apparatus like a necklace of adaptation) to fabricate your secret laboratory (with iron, stone, wood, or similar material for the walls, floor, and ceiling), (G) move earth the embankments back into place, covering the lab, (H) dispel the transmute rock to mud to revert it back into rock (being that the spell has a permanent duration), and then get to work growing yourself a clone or three.

The lead shell should keep most divination spells from seeing what's inside and if fabricated to contain no seams or cracks then the Slerotin's fortitude should prevent anyone from breaking in; it doesn't keep anyone from teleporting or using some other form of Astral-based travel to get in, but first they'd have to divine that the place even exists.

• Demiplane — This is probably the least convoluted method: just cast the genesis spell and create your clone in the privacy of your own world… hopefully with enough forked rods/scrolls of plane shift to enable your new self to get out of there.

• Hide in Plain Sight? — Attempt to disguise your clone as a "wax" statue of yourself ("It's so lifelike!") kept inside of a glass display case (possibly employing the same methods as the lead shell above) that's out in a public place, such as a museum, wizards' guildhall, place of nobility, etc.

Of course the hard part is ensuring that the clone remains fresh. As stupid as it sounds I'm actually trying to avoid using stasis clone because, due to FORGOTTEN REALMS® lore, it's essentially a "Manshoon-only" spell and I figure trying to claim it should be an adventure in itself. The cheapest method, and probably the least reliable, would be covering the clone in a flask of unguent of timelessness—the problem being that the clone will still rot, just much more slowly (considering that a single flask can affect up to eight Medium-sized objects, would it be possible to use the entire contents on a single clone for a more concentrated effect?).

The typical method seems to be repeated castings of gentle repose (easy for a wizard, not so much for a sorcerer), or a magic item that replicates the power; in the case of the latter the cheapest version I've seen is Angriz's chest from Races of the Dragon, perhaps modifying it so that instead of being a 4 ft. × 4 ft. × 4 ft. box at 1,000 gp, it's a 5 ft. × 5 ft. × 8 ft. case/coffin/container at 3,125 gp? Being a magic item, though, it could not be subject to Slerotin's fortitude. Alternatively you could make something "inconspicuous" like a ring of gentle repose, but for the "hide in plain sight" option I'd imagine someone would eventually try to teleport into the case to try and steal it. Bleah.

I'm certainly open to new ideas or ways to refine what's already been presented! :smallsmile:

[Divide by Zero]

Of course the hard part is ensuring that the clone remains fresh. As stupid as it sounds I'm actually trying to avoid using stasis clone because, due to FORGOTTEN REALMS® lore, it's essentially a "Manshoon-only" spell and I figure trying to claim it should be an adventure in itself. The cheapest method, and probably the least reliable, would be covering the clone in a flask of unguent of timelessness—the problem being that the clone will still rot, just much more slowly (considering that a single flask can affect up to eight Medium-sized objects, would it be possible to use the entire contents on a single clone for a more concentrated effect?).

The typical method seems to be repeated castings of gentle repose (easy for a wizard, not so much for a sorcerer), or a magic item that replicates the power; in the case of the latter the cheapest version I've seen is Angriz's chest from Races of the Dragon, perhaps modifying it so that instead of being a 4 ft. × 4 ft. × 4 ft. box at 1,000 gp, it's a 5 ft. × 5 ft. × 8 ft. case/coffin/container at 3,125 gp? Being a magic item, though, it could not be subject to Slerotin's fortitude. Alternatively you could make something "inconspicuous" like a ring of gentle repose, but for the "hide in plain sight" option I'd imagine someone would eventually try to teleport into the case to try and steal it. Bleah.

You can always use quintessence.

[sleepyphoenixx]

You don't really need to build secret laboratories in a remote location. In fact if someone is searching for them they'll be a lot more obvious all alone in the wilderness than a secret laboratory in a hidden sub-basement in a city somewhere. Establish a bunch of different identities, buy property in a bunch of different cities, construct you hidden basement that's only accessible via Teleport or Passwall, ward it with Private Sanctum - and then rent out the property above it because nothing says "explore here" like a suspiciously abandoned building in an otherwise bustling city.

Another alternative is to dump a clone with Gentle Repose on it in a crypt somewhere. Just disintegrate the previous "occupant". It's just one body among many in a place where a body is supposed to be, and most hidden crypts and tombs already come with guardians and traps pre-installed, so bonus.

Sadly it's pretty much impossible to shield against sufficiently powerful divination - lower level spells are easily blocked by a permanent Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum, but stuff like Commune is nearly impossible to completely neutralize (given a smart enemy who asks the right questions) and i don't know of any way pre-epic to block Metafaculty.
If you want to prevent someone from getting curious about big-time Abjuration magic where it shouldn't be the Shadow Weave feat Insidious Magic is a good option, because any caster with a divination spell will have to make a CL check to even notice your magic - and you can boost your CL easily before casting your permanent wards, but few people use CL increasers to boost Detect Magic and the like.

On the upside finding a well-shielded hidden lab takes time and high-level spells, so the most important part if someone starts going around and destroying yours is having a way to learn about it so you can take countermeasures - the best defense is a good offense in this case. Otherwise traps and minions to delay are also useful, but you'll have to find a good cost-benefit balance.
As a necromancer you shouldn't have too much trouble getting your hands on a bunch of undead for cheap though, so you can at least guard against casual destruction of your labs.
Make a few of them intelligent and give them a way to alert you and you can show up to crush any adventurers who show up uninvited (and add them to your undead legions, because properly animated adventurer-corpses are highly useful).

[Timble]

For the hide in plain sight one, perhaps get a lot of unusual statues and artwork to make your clone seem normal. Or have many statues of you with your clone in an out of the way area.

[Inevitability]

0. Find a large city, preferably one with low crime rates and no powerful foes, and locate a lone individual with few enemies and a good social position. Study him and his past with divinations.
1. Cast Clone to create a clone.
2. Cast Flesh to Stone on the clone.
3. Cast Stone Shape to turn the clone's features into those of the earlier observed individual.
4. Cast Stone to Flesh to return the clone to non-livingness.
5. Cast Minor Servitor to animate the clone.
6. Cast Incarnate Construct on the fleshy construct to turn it into a fleshy humanoid.
7. Kill the earlier observed individual.
8. Disintegrate the individual's body, replace him with your clone.
9. Cast Mindrape on the clone to make him believe he is the being you killed, as well as give him false memories and the being's memories.
10. Cast Mind Blank on the clone and give it a way to refresh it every day.

You now have a living, breathing being walking around that thinks it is a normal person, looks like a normal person, is save from most mundane dangers, and can even defend itself, call for help, or flee should it need to. The moment you die, however, you'll reawaken inside its body. At this point, I recommend dispelling Minor Servitor to regain full control.

Because your clone is a creature, not an object, Mind Blank protects it from scrying attempts. Because it fits in perfectly, no one (not even the clone itself) will ever suspect it's not what it claims to be.

[Elder_Basilisk]

If you can make the clone into a creature (minor servitor) so as to become a legal target, then binding's minimus containment option seems like a good start. You could set the binding to end once your mind enters the clone.

[Âmesang]

Thank you for the multitude of answers! :smalltongue: Makes me wish I wasn't playing a character who wasn't wholly vain, conceited, selfish, self-centered, egotistical, proud, &c., &c… So I'll have to use the "purchase properties under a multitude of identities" or "make the clone look like someone else" ideas for an arcanist with a slightly higher Wisdom score than 9.

This thread did remind me of a comment some members of my last group had made: "This is D&D! You never revisit places you've been to before!" Maybe they grew up playing Doom? So I guess I could hide the clone in a prior location without any of 'em guessing (I've a particular one in mind, and my original intent on the "secret underground base" was planting it on another planet entirely within the crystal sphere. Thank you, SPELLJAMMER®!). No undead to serve her, sadly, though her preferred minions were hordlings, anyway.

Also I feel like a chaotic evil spellcaster using any kind of minor servitor/incarnate construct could backfire horribly. :smallfrown: It's be Manshoon all over again.*

…speaking of whom, I decided to relent and use stasis clone after all so as to not bother with gentle repose. Statis clone may, in a way, be unique to Manshoon… but it's really not that unique of a spell in and of itself; plus mine is a WORLD OF GREYHAWK® sorceress, so while she's been to Abeir-Toril it shouldn't be impossible to find something similar on Oerth… or Eberron or Krynn or elsewhere.

I am liking Timble's idea of hiding among other statuettes and artwork, perhaps by commissioning wax statues of the other party members to keep their chaotic-minded suspicions away. Is it bad that I trust the party less than any enemy? :smallconfused:

*Upside, she can be her own best friend and she can send herself for pizza…