Ways to keep low level adventurers out of your dungeon while minimizing damage

[Sword Magess]

Using the following scenario:

1. Low optimization all around and no "cheese".
2. Planar travel is banned.
3. The dungeon is underground with multiple entrances.
4. The dungeon already is warded against teleportation and similar effects.
5. The owner of the dungeon is a level 30 wizard with epic spellcasting.
6. The wizard has minions who are level 30 wizards, sorcerers, clerics, and druids but without epic spellcasting.
7. Most of the adventurers are level 6 or below. Very rarely you will see someone in the level 9-10 range. No adventurer will exceed level 12 at any point.

What are some ways to keep adventurers out of the dungeon with as little hassle as possible while not doing any permanent damage, such as death, maiming, incurable (by level 12 or below unoptimized characters) conditions, etc?

[Darrin]

Hold on.

Why would you even place a dungeon with so many overpowered NPCs in it anywhere near where the PCs could actually be aware of and interact with the dungeon? It seems to me, the best way to prevent the PCs from entering the dungeon is to make sure it wasn't introduced into the campaign to begin with.

That being said... assuming the dungeon exists in the campaign, I think it would be very easy to say something like:

"You search the entire area, and there is no dungeon here. You check all the possible entrances, and they are just gone. Completely empty, flat, barren terrain. Nothing."

"I search again!/I take 20!/I disbelieve!/I cast dispel magic!/etc."

"You fail. There is nothing here."

If the PCs whine about this, you say, "Epic magic. Put on your big-boy pants and go do something else."

Don't explain. Don't apologize. Don't even let them roll. As soon as you allow the PCs to make a roll, then you're giving them the implicit message that there is a possibility for success.

Yes, you *could* come up with plenty of 30th-level magic traps and crafted contingency spells and no-save shutdowns, and this forum could certainly help with that... but that's a huge amount of work to discourage the PCs from a course of action that really just shouldn't even be there to begin with at their current level.

[zlefin]

Using the following scenario:

1. Low optimization all around and no "cheese".
2. Planar travel is banned.
3. The dungeon is underground with multiple entrances.
4. The dungeon already is warded against teleportation and similar effects.
5. The owner of the dungeon is a level 30 wizard with epic spellcasting.
6. The wizard has minions who are level 30 wizards, sorcerers, clerics, and druids but without epic spellcasting.
7. Most of the adventurers are level 6 or below. Very rarely you will see someone in the level 9-10 range. No adventurer will exceed level 12 at any point.

What are some ways to keep adventurers out of the dungeon with as little hassle as possible while not doing any permanent damage, such as death, maiming, incurable (by level 12 or below unoptimized characters) conditions, etc?

a giant keep away sign/warnings/ it being widely known that everyone should STAY AWAY from there.
And interlopers are punished with losing some/all of their gear and some temporary pain.

someone that big should be able to arrange to have the local kingdom legally recognize the area as a stay away area and have them post some guards. (the guards don't have to be tough), but those keep the rabble away.

does the dungeon need to be accessible to minions of lesser stature, or is it only for the big guys?

not sure how to do this RAW; but a permanency'd wall of force at the entrance with some sort of temporary deactivation code could work.

permanency'd symbol of X spells would also help somewhat (though those have hp limitations and some people would roll nat 20's on the save). you could have several layers of them of growing danger level to discourage people.

[Elkad]

Cover all the exterior walls/entrances in teleport circles.

Without the password/amulet/correct retina patterns, you get teleported to the far side of the area any time you get close. People will use it as a shortcut if it covers enough distance.
It might even be part of the local lore as beneficial. "It's the magic road - built by some ancient being - it heads towards the mountain range, and just when it starts to get too steep for wagons, you are on the other side! It's great!"

Then you back it up with things like...

Symbol of Sleep. (watch out for those pesky elves though)
Symbol of Fear
Anti-life shell
Repulsion
Suggestion to go somewhere else (possibly as part of Guards&Wards)

[16bearswutIdo]

"You search the entire area, and there is no dungeon here. You check all the possible entrances, and they are just gone. Completely empty, flat, barren terrain. Nothing."

"I search again!/I take 20!/I disbelieve!/I cast dispel magic!/etc."

"You fail. There is nothing here."


This is really the correct response. The power differential between a level 30 Epic Wizard and a level 1-12 adventurer is so insanely different that unless the adventurer is a level 12 character made expressly for the purpose of detecting this dungeon, the PCs will not find it.

Hell, even a basic lvl 1 illusion spell will have a DC of like 25+ if it's cast by a WBL appropriate level 30 wizard. If the wizard doesn't want his dungeon found, he can easily make it completely undetectable.

[Kayblis]

Would you like to share why such a dungeon must
1. Exist
2. Be detectable at all
3. Be placed in an acessible enough place that entering is an option for PCs in the first place?

Because, really, what you're saying is "how do I put a golden mine in front of my players and then tell them not to try and mine the gold?"
The players don't know everything inside is god-killingly overpowered. There's probably no sensible way of telling them that without breaking immersion and just giving meta info like "they are 20 levels above you guys and have broken bad book spellcasting". My suggestion is not presenting the idea at all to your players, if you really want it to be an existing thing in your world you should integrate it as folklore and stories from times past, no one ever knowing for sure if the place still exists.

[Anymage]

In both a story logic and an in-universe logic sense, if the wizards inside want to stay secluded they'd have just moved somewhere secluded. They can enjoy their privacy on a distant mountaintop, and any PCs who want to reach them will have to have an adventure to get there first.

If the wizards have some reason to stay near civilization, the'll probably want to build a town around them. Security can then be largely handled the same way any palace or government building would handle it. If there's a series of underground bunkers that they retreat to that are even more heavily fortified, they can pull out all the stops on the logic that any lowbies would have been dealt with by palace security well before they reached the entrance.

[GreatWyrmGold]

a giant keep away sign/warnings/ it being widely known that everyone should STAY AWAY from there.
The OP is asking about how to keep adventurers away, silly, not how to attract them.



The players don't know everything inside is god-killingly overpowered. There's probably no sensible way of telling them that without breaking immersion and just giving meta info like "they are 20 levels above you guys and have broken bad book spellcasting".
This is just plain wrong, and I can prove it by pointing out that video games have been doing it for ages. The simplest way to say "Stay away, PCs!" is with a big, nasty monster that the party knows is way above their level (a bound pit fiend, old red dragon, etc). That's a classic sign of "Don't come here until you can defeat their guard dog with ease". You could also put a complicated lock on the front door that the rogue has no idea how to unlock or something like that (ie, ridiculous skill check DCs).


Of course, you might also consider restricting access to parties with access to high-level utility spells like teleport or plane shift.

[Bronk]

Using the following scenario:

1. Low optimization all around and no "cheese".
2. Planar travel is banned.
3. The dungeon is underground with multiple entrances.
4. The dungeon already is warded against teleportation and similar effects.
5. The owner of the dungeon is a level 30 wizard with epic spellcasting.
6. The wizard has minions who are level 30 wizards, sorcerers, clerics, and druids but without epic spellcasting.
7. Most of the adventurers are level 6 or below. Very rarely you will see someone in the level 9-10 range. No adventurer will exceed level 12 at any point.

What are some ways to keep adventurers out of the dungeon with as little hassle as possible while not doing any permanent damage, such as death, maiming, incurable (by level 12 or below unoptimized characters) conditions, etc?

Given all those preexisting conditions, and the implication that all these guys are staying put in the dungeon for some reason, I'd go with guardian creatures.

There would be tough evil guardian creatures, powerful and scary, at all the entrances.

But! Since no one is leaving the dungeon, have a guild of other protectors or goodly guardian creatures just beyond the evil ones. They'll be there to protect the common folk, including the PCs. Perhaps they'll be under the impression, false or otherwise, that the super powerful dungeon dwellers are only quiescent because no one is bothering them, and so they've formed some kind of organization to keep people away from the dungeons at all costs.

If the PCs really must know about this dungeon, any interactions will be with the good guy protectors and good guy guardian beasts, and their own magical protections and illusions protecting the entrances. They will be tough but fair, use non lethal combat options, calmly explain their reasoning, tell them what they've learned about the dungeon's defenses, and be perfectly willing to point out how tough and bloodthirsty the evil guardian beast is.

If you are having bad guys come out of the dungeon from time to time, they'd be monsters that slipped out while battling the guardians. Perhaps the PCs could donate to the guardians, or even join them.

[BowStreetRunner]

I always liked the defense around the tower in one of the old Dragonlance novels. There was a forest surrounding the tower and somehow anyone who entered the forest was never able to get to the tower unless they knew the secret. Some sort of illusions or bending of reality always found them turned around trying to navigate their way through. You could do the same thing with high-level illusions in the underground access to the dungeon. To anyone who is not sufficient level, was not invited, or does not know the secret then the labyrinthine tunnels always seem to twist around and lead back out again - they can't ever get through to the dungeon itself. Combining illusion with other practical effects (like actual moving tunnels, or having the tunnels actually pass through different planes so that their dimensions don't need to line up with the outside) could make it even more difficult to navigate.

[Vizzerdrix]

Build a bran muffin factory ln top of it. If the players dare go there, make them take a tour of said factoy. Spend a 4 hour session talking about the creation and distrabution of bran miffins. Make the players eat free samples of bran muffins all session long (no other food or drinks during the tour!).

Then, just bar the dungeons doors from the inside.

[Bronk]

I always liked the defense around the tower in one of the old Dragonlance novels. There was a forest surrounding the tower and somehow anyone who entered the forest was never able to get to the tower unless they knew the secret. Some sort of illusions or bending of reality always found them turned around trying to navigate their way through. You could do the same thing with high-level illusions in the underground access to the dungeon. To anyone who is not sufficient level, was not invited, or does not know the secret then the labyrinthine tunnels always seem to twist around and lead back out again - they can't ever get through to the dungeon itself. Combining illusion with other practical effects (like actual moving tunnels, or having the tunnels actually pass through different planes so that their dimensions don't need to line up with the outside) could make it even more difficult to navigate.

Sounds similar to the Dragonlance Towers of High Sorcery... People who weren't powerful enough could never make it down the street to the tower, or something like that.

[Jack_Simth]

Using the following scenario:

1. Low optimization all around and no "cheese".
2. Planar travel is banned.
3. The dungeon is underground with multiple entrances.
4. The dungeon already is warded against teleportation and similar effects.
5. The owner of the dungeon is a level 30 wizard with epic spellcasting.
6. The wizard has minions who are level 30 wizards, sorcerers, clerics, and druids but without epic spellcasting.
7. Most of the adventurers are level 6 or below. Very rarely you will see someone in the level 9-10 range. No adventurer will exceed level 12 at any point.

What are some ways to keep adventurers out of the dungeon with as little hassle as possible while not doing any permanent damage, such as death, maiming, incurable (by level 12 or below unoptimized characters) conditions, etc?

How do you feel about Phase Door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/phaseDoor.htm)? Can be made permanent, by default only works for the caster, but includes ...
You can allow other creatures to use the phase door by setting some triggering condition for the door. Such conditions can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. They can be based on a creature’s name, identity, or alignment, but otherwise must be based on observable actions or qualities. Intangibles such as level, class, Hit Dice, and hit points don’t qualify. (emphasis added)

... which means you can very, very easily make a list of folks who are permitted to use it. PCs simply aren't on The List. Caster's minions are. Use Magic Aura periodically to get rid of the aura of the door, so it's not even found with a Permanent Detect Magic or some such. It's cast on a random five-foot square of stone 35 feet up a 60 foot cliff face. It leads to a 1,000 foot tunnel that winds it's way down, and leads to a completely sealed, immense dungeon full of undead, simulacrums of creatures that don't need to breathe (constructs, mostly), and spell traps (Glyphs of Warding, Symbol spells, and so on)... and no treasure. The air in the tunnel and this dungeon has been systemically used up; you'll need to bring your own.

The dungeon is a decoy. The actual lair is accessed via another Phase Door tunnel with similar precautions, in a similarly-hidden random section of stone in the tunnel leading to the dungeon (this time in the ceiling, again with a regularly-renewed Magic Aura spell to keep it hidden) which leads to the actual lair. The actual lair uses traps and creatures created via Epic magic.

Most folks will never, ever find it in the first place.
Of those that do, most will have no way to get in at all (at caster level 30, that's a 60 foot wall of stone in the way).
Of those that do, most will not be prepared for the lack of air (and will likely immediately turn around and leave).
Of those that are, most will get distracted (and probably killed) by the decoy dungeon.
Of those that don't, most will be handled via the Epic creatures and traps.
Of those that survive that... well, there's Epic Full Casters waiting, hungry for XP, and you've demonstrated that you're a sufficient challenge to be worth some.

Meanwhile, anyone who's on The List can simply be shown the spot on the wall, hold their breath while they walk calmly down the passage to the spot on the ceiling, go through that, then walk past the guards that know to expect them. Very little trouble for an expected user - they'll need to spend one spell on Fly, assuming they don't have an item for it.

[Deophaun]

You could also put a complicated lock on the front door that the rogue has no idea how to unlock or something like that (ie, ridiculous skill check DCs).
If you have a door, you've already messed up. It doesn't matter how fancy or elaborate the lock is once it gets stabbed with a dislocator arrow and winds up 30' away from where it's supposed to be.

[Zanos]

Just put a big guy out front that beats people up with nonlethal damage.

Works for bars. Just need a bigger guy.

[Bronk]

How do you feel about Phase Door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/phaseDoor.htm)?

When you put it that way, keyed portals could do the same thing, and all the methods to force their way through the portals that I can think of only come online at higher levels...

[Jack_Simth]

When you put it that way, keyed portals could do the same thing, and all the methods to force their way through the portals that I can think of only come online at higher levels...
Yes, but: "Planar travel is banned." per the OP. Phase Door is probably already pushing it, hence why I asked that way.

[legomaster00156]

Why not just have this "dungeon" on a private demiplane? It is well within this guy's abilities, and, presumably, resources. :smallconfused:

[Yogibear41]

Why are there level 30 npcs in a game where you don't expect the players to ever go past level 12?

[Quertus]

Cover all the exterior walls/entrances in teleport circles.

Without the password/amulet/correct retina patterns, you get teleported to the far side of the area any time you get close. People will use it as a shortcut if it covers enough distance.
It might even be part of the local lore as beneficial. "It's the magic road - built by some ancient being - it heads towards the mountain range, and just when it starts to get too steep for wagons, you are on the other side! It's great!"

Just add in numerous ancient dragons circling the mountain, and why would any low level PC dare go in?

However, if that's not enough, make sure that one of the dragons dies - and is thereby demonstrated to be a Simulacrum. And is immediately replaced.

[Bronk]

Yes, but: "Planar travel is banned." per the OP. Phase Door is probably already pushing it, hence why I asked that way.

Planar travel is banned... in the dungeon, and for the PCs. That's standard dungeon fare.

Edit: If that's not what the OP is going for, perhaps it could be an option: Having a series of disconnected parts of the dungeon all over the world or multiverse, connected by keyed portals but otherwise having restricted planar travel. Maybe the leader mages want extra space to prevent overlapping spell mishaps during their evil rituals and spell research.

Or, you could have the entire dungeon in one demiplane. Inside, planar travel would be restricted. Outside, you'd only be able to enter via portals in specific areas (where it overlaps on the edges), and those portals would be keyed. They could also be in areas that lend themselves well to my doubled up guardian idea from earlier, like secluded caves or whatnot.

[GreatWyrmGold]

However, if that's not enough, make sure that one of the dragons dies - and is thereby demonstrated to be a Simulacrum. And is immediately replaced.
That's a pretty clear signal that, not only do you need to be able to beat a dragon before proceeding, you need to be able to easily beat dragons before proceeding (since the bad guy can easily produce more).

[Goaty14]

If you make everything out of Aurorum (BoED), and keep all of the aurorum together (i.e one item), then you can reform all of it as a full round action should it ever get destroyed.

Really helps out if any crusaders or sonic-based wizards ever come around.

[Blu]

I had a successful attempt at that recently in my campaign. I said that the mechanism that opened the door was broken from the other side, the door was actually a pretty heavy and thick stone block alongside other hints that it was not a good idea at the moment. Even so party was discussing how to oppen the door, with some "brute force" ideas like staying a day spitting acid or montain hammer hitting the block over and over. Saying the players can't get there does not work.

Then one player uses clairvoyance on the other side of the other to see what was locking, as soon as i start describing "There is an old sword locking the mechanism, you recognize it's construction belongs to an old elf group known as drows." the players gave on the idea and even locked the door from the other side.

[AvatarVecna]

One of the things about D&D is that while magic can counter magic, and magic can counter non-magic, non-magic can't counter magic, and magic is pretty hardcore level-gated for the most part, short of some pretty serious cheese. If you don't want non-epic adventurers to be able to enter, make it so that there's a force field over the whole place. It's too powerful for them to dispel or even disjunction, it's a 3D sphere around the whole place so no flying over or burrowing beneath, you can't teleport/plane shift through (you're either bounced back, or your teleport is redirected), you can't use divinations on anything within, you can't summon anything to the other side of the barrier, you can't make a Gate come out inside the barrier.

There are four methods I am aware of that could get past a force barrier as described here, and I would recommend not allowing this list to be expanded too much:
Use the "Transport Travelers" effect of Wish to ignore local conditions and just immediately appear inside.
Use "Teleport Through Time" to go back to a point where the force field wasn't in place, go to where that fortress would be, and travel forward in time - you are now within the force field.
Craft an Epic Spell specifically for destroying the force field (temporarily or permanently), or an Epic Spell that allows you to pass through the force field; bonus points if it's a long ritual that has to involve multiple casters adding 9th lvl spell slots to lower the DC. This solution to the force field (and the force field idea itself) is borrowed from one of the later parts of KotOR.
Use the epic usage of Escape Artist to slip through a wall of force (or similar force effect) with a DC 120 check.

The point of all of these solutions is that they are very effectively level-gated. Short of extreme cheese, your players won't be casting Wish or TTT until 17th lvl, and will have to spend 5000/1000 XP to do so. They won't be able to cast Epic Spells until at least 21st lvl either, or even participate in the ritual until they can cast 9th lvl spells themselves. And finally, they're going to have a hell of a time making a DC 120 check before they can cast Wish:

Race: Grey Elf
Class: Factotum 11
Alignment: TN
Stats (lvl 1): 6/20/6/20/8/6
Stats (lvl 11, items): 6/26/6/26/8/6

Feats:
HD 1: Nimbus Of Light
Flaw (Frail): Skill Focus (Escape Artist)
Flaw (Pathetic Charisma): Lliira's Blessing
HD 3: Item Familiar
HD 6: Agile
HD 9: Font Of Inspiration

Trait (Skinny)

Items (62622/66000):
(39690) Item of Escape Artist +30 (limited to TN Factotums with at least 14 ranks in Escape Artist)
(15876) Gloves of Dex +6 (limited to TN Factotums with at least 14 ranks in Escape Artist)
(7056) Headband of Int +4 (limited to TN Factotums with at least 14 ranks in Escape Artist)

Bonus (+121):
Ranks 14
Feats 21
Traits 1
Items 30 (competence)
Dex 8
Int 8
Cunning Knowledge 11
Arcane Dilettante: Grease 10 (circumstance)
Arcane Dilettante: Kuo-toa Skin 8 (untyped)
Arcane Dilettante: Flexform 10 (untyped)

Race: Grey Elf
Class: Factotum 20
Alignment: TN
Stats (lvl 1): 9/17/13/16/13/11
Stats (lvl 20, no items): 9/17/13/21/13/11
Stats (lvl 20, items): 20/28/24/32/24/22

Feats:
HD 1: Font Of Inspiration
Flaw (Frail): Font Of Inspiration
Flaw (Vulnerable): Skill Focus (Escape Artist)
HD 3: Item Familiar
HD 6: Knowledge Devotion
HD 9: Font Of Inspiration
HD 12: Font Of Inspiration
HD 15: Font Of Inspiration
HD 18: Font Of Inspiration

Items (491715/760000):
(39690) Ring of Escape Artist +30 (limited to TN Factotums with at least 15 ranks of Escape Artist)
(88200) Belt of Magnificence +6 (limited to TN Factotums with at least 15 ranks of Escape Artist)
(363825) All six +6 tomes/manuals (limited to TN Factotums with at least 15 ranks of Escape Artist)

Bonus (+119):
Ranks 23
Feats 26
Ring 30
Dex 9
Int 11
Cunning Knowledge 20

To summarize those spoiler'd builds: it's theoretically possible to get a guaranteed 120 EA check without outside help by lvl 11 as an extremely-focused factotum with cheesy custom items and spell support...but a more well-rounded Factotum 20 that is only slightly EA focused will be able to make that check just as part of being a well-rounded Factotum 20.

[Goaty14]

I think that if the players entering your lvl 30 dungeon at a level cap of 12 in the world requires 11 levels of factotum, you've already won. Like, there would be so few characters/NPCs that have the 11 levels of factotum necessary to actually pull it off, everything else could just be solved with a single solar (high CR threat that can't be avoided), a portable hole (to carry along the passenger), and two uses of the at-will greater teleport SLA*.

*If you don't get what I mean, I mean that the solar stuffs the factotum into the portable hole, GTeleports to the other side of the planet, drops out the factotum, and comes back.

[Bronk]

Oh, another method would be to make this dungeon (of overwhelming power) a legend, of unknown location, and have any attempts to find it fail.

Really, I don't think any of us are sure why the OP needs this crazy dungeon in the world anyway.

Sword Magess, you haven't spoken up since the opening post. Could you tell us why you want to bait the PCs so badly? This scenario it's guaranteed to piss your players off on some level.

[Peat]

Have a group of comely trustworthy looking types circulating around all nearby taverns, with sob stories about big meanies in the opposite direction and big pouches of gold for those who defeat them.

No adventurers will ever get close.

[ExLibrisMortis]

"It's the magic road - built by some ancient being - it heads towards the mountain range, and just when it starts to get too steep for wagons, you are on the other side! It's great!"
I really like this. It's got that pragmatic look at epic magic that--to me--is part of the most realistic high-magic settings. Ancient, mysterious, provokes deep questions about the nature of the universe, helps me get cabbages to the market.


As for the case at hand, Darrin has the right answer, of course. If you don't want it to be a challenge, don't provoke your players. If you want your players to know there are off-limits high-epic dungeons/NPCs, tell them OOC, or do a ten-minute flashback to the construction of the dungeon.

Assuming you do want a mechanical answer after all, you can use microcosm to trap a group of creatures in a "shared catatonia (the world is a construct, but within the world, the victims can interact with each other)". The power only affects creatures with 30 + 10a hit points, where a is the number of power points you augment the power by (at least 13, for a 30th-level manifester).

Manifesting microcosm a second time ends the effect, so you can simply create a mythal with prevalent power: manifest microcosm on anyone entering or exiting this mythal. A mythal could also explain the ban on planar travel, teleportation, and whatever else you want to limit.

[Calthropstu]

Have an army of a thousand rust monsters guarding the first room.

All with wing grafts.

[Elkad]

"It's the magic road - built by some ancient being - it heads towards the mountain range, and just when it starts to get too steep for wagons, you are on the other side! It's great!"


I really like this. It's got that pragmatic look at epic magic that--to me--is part of the most realistic high-magic settings. Ancient, mysterious, provokes deep questions about the nature of the universe, helps me get cabbages to the market.

Yup. Setup properly, the group could know about from L1, and yet possibly never wonder what it was hiding. It's just "the magic road".
Throw in other fantastic stuff that doesn't have a purpose (the river that runs uphill - which now has no purpose, but used to lead to a long-lost city) and you reduce the odds of them questioning that specific one greatly.
Only if they think to dig into the mystery (or if you drop a clue) will they discover it's hiding something.

[Sword Magess]

Thank you for all the ideas.

That magic road and epic illusion ideas look very enticing and makes for nice story element. I will have to make note of that.

But I was looking for a mechanical way of doing this. The only way I came up with was to use a series of permanent Symbols of Persuasion, and I was wondering whether there was anything better. The Phase Door idea Jack_Smith brought up is exactly the sort of solution that looks simple and requires very little effort. As for the plane travel is banned problem, I was more thinking of things like Plane Shift and Gate, where you physically move to another plane, rather than things that make use of the ethereal plane in a limited fashion. That should be fine.

As for the question of "Why are there level 30 NPCs in a game where the players are level 12 or below":

It is not a game session. It is from watching an anime (Overlord, to be specific).

The world in this anime basically uses plagiarized 3.5e rules. The protagonist is an evil lich necromancer whose level has been estimated to be somewhere in the 30-70 region. He has similarly powerful minions and a big tomb fortress. They are stuck in a world where the most powerful native can cast level 6 spells, and being able to cast level 5 divine spells makes you a nation's secret weapon.

Often I get the thought "the protagonist is doing things this particularly way because he is an evil lich necromancer, not because this is the most efficient way of doing things for an epic wizard". In this particular instance it is "How can he keep the adventurers from looting his tomb fortress" (and which is not "use your undead and fiendish minions to kill them").

I apologize for the lack of context in the first post.

[Jack_Simth]

Thank you for all the ideas.

That magic road and epic illusion ideas look very enticing and makes for nice story element. I will have to make note of that.

But I was looking for a mechanical way of doing this. The only way I came up with was to use a series of permanent Symbols of Persuasion, and I was wondering whether there was anything better. The Phase Door idea Jack_Smith brought up is exactly the sort of solution that looks simple and requires very little effort. As for the plane travel is banned problem, I was more thinking of things like Plane Shift and Gate, where you physically move to another plane, rather than things that make use of the ethereal plane in a limited fashion. That should be fine.
I'm glad to help.

Side note: I'm actually in a game inspired by the same anime....

[Saintheart]

Sounds similar to the Dragonlance Towers of High Sorcery... People who weren't powerful enough could never make it down the street to the tower, or something like that.

They were indeed the Towers of High Sorcery, but different towers' surrounding groves had different effects. The one at Palanthas was a fear-blaster: basically you couldn't get there unless your name was Raistlin/Fistandantilus. Even kender couldn't get in. The one at Wayreth, where Raistlin completed the Test, phased around, i.e. you couldn't actually find the tower unless it (or the mages within it) wanted to be found. Other towers had groves that induced forgetfulness, or forced a person's emotions to increase beyond the point of control, or just made a person fall asleep.

[GreatWyrmGold]

They were indeed the Towers of High Sorcery, but different towers' surrounding groves had different effects. The one at Palanthas was a fear-blaster: basically you couldn't get there unless your name was Raistlin/Fistandantilus. Even kender couldn't get in. The one at Wayreth, where Raistlin completed the Test, phased around, i.e. you couldn't actually find the tower unless it (or the mages within it) wanted to be found. Other towers had groves that induced forgetfulness, or forced a person's emotions to increase beyond the point of control, or just made a person fall asleep.
Did that last one need to send out apprentices every week or two to take sleeping intruders to the nearest town? If not, it sounds like the sheer number of napping people lying around would be more of a liability than just letting people in.