How would you guard prisoners

if you were a bunch of evil priests? They are very valuable prisoners, whom you intend to execute in a very showy fashion for practicing "forbidden magic".

The PCs in my campaign (about 10th level) are trying to sneak in and rescue one or more such prisoners. I've done a basic job designing the fortress/temple where the prisoners are kept, but I'd like to have some added "evilness" to my designs!

The Priests have lots of low-level fighters, a handful of mid-level clerics and rogues, and a couple of higher level clerics. The PCs will have plenty of help, so I need to plan for many eventualities, including distractions, fires, etc... on their part.

Thanks for any help!

Gilladian

Gilladian said:

How would you guard prisoners...
if you were a bunch of evil priests? They are very valuable prisoners, whom you intend to execute in a very showy fashion for practicing "forbidden magic".

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If wasn't fooling around?

I'd strip them all naked and lock them inside Coffins of Sustenance. then, I'd bury them in a very inconspucuous spot... the rose garden would do nicely... until it's time to execute them.

Who needs guards, when you can't find them, and they can't escape?

Turn them to stone. Then use Shrink Item.

I'd put them in a relatively secure area cast a geas ordering them not to leave a certain area. If I'm worried about there magical skills I'd likely have some kind of mage mask that prevents speaking, I'd strip them of all valuables in a very thourough search, and I'd bind there hands in some way to prevent casting of spells. Sure they can still pull of silent, stilled spells but unless you have antimagic cells or permanant ways to keep them incapacitaed that's the best you can do. In my campaign there are drugs that make any spellcasting difficult(DC20+spell level), and they'd be drugged with that.

You might want to layer effects on tham like slap on a curse or two, the geas, glyps on locks that bind them(maybe chained to a wall). This is a guess but since these priests have 0 arcane casters on call I'd suspect that you can't rely upon arcane based spells or items, heck that may even be the forbidden magic. Anyways for most protection in a priests area the basics are spells like forbiddence, and glyps. You can clamp down on the teleport in stuff with some basic spells, and the glyps are fairly good traps since the right people can walk on past. With symbol split up in 3.5(boooh, actally I don't care that there are split versions I jssut don't like them also removing combined versions) there may be some available to you. Without knowing what you mean by high level priests its hard to know which ones you can use. I don't think clerics have a permanence like spell but symbols make good permanent and temporary traps

Shard O'Glase said:

In my campaign there are drugs that make any spellcasting difficult(DC20+spell level), and they'd be drugged with that.

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Yeah, IMC we call it alcohol.
(Wouldn't alcohol do it, though?)

If I was an evil cleric? Blind them. Cut out their toungues. Break their hands and feet with hammers. None of these things are needed for a showy execution and will pretty much stop any escape attempts on their part and hinder those made by others. Then put them in manacles that are affixed into the wall. Nothing with locks. Bolt them right one a little too tight so getting them off will require cutting and hammering out the bolts. That will take awhile and cause lots of noise unless freed by magic. Post guards (plural) whose role is to raise the alarm is anything suspicious happens and call the evil clerics. Give them a long acting poison or disease, so that even if they are rescued, they'll still die unless more steps are taken and hopefully infect the rescuers if it is a disease. Perhaps the evil clerics have to keep giving them an antidote every day to keep them alive till the execution. Post an evil cleric there at all times with some fighters whose job is to kill the prisoners if an escape looks likely. Perhaps guards locked in the cell with them who are to preform coup de grace if the guards outside the room are attacked by resucers. Take prisoners of local villagers and let it be known that any resuce attempt will result in the torture and death of said prisoners. Let it be known that any successful rescue will result in even more dead innocents. According to the magic level of the game, take appropriate steps to prevent entry into the prison and cell by magic.

Or just kill them right now and animate the bodies for when you want to march them out later to their showy "execution".

If I thought someone might try to bust my prisoners out, then I'd set up fake prisoners.

Either rogues with disguise, or possibly magical disguise - hats of disguise spring to mind. This would be even better if I had clerics with the trickery domain.

If I knew when someone was coming, I'd planar ally in some outsiders and disguise them up. Just to make the suprise all the better.

I'd keep the real prisoners somewhere unexpected. Perhaps lock them in a living area rather than the prison block.

A different view- I hope

Bestow Curse on all of the prisoners (nothing fancy just the -4 to saves, skills, etc.) then Blind them with Blindness/Deafness (less screaming if they can hear), and lastly chain them to a wall barely within reach of one another (don't let them pass things- like possible lock picks).

Have a couple guards watching them- both "nice" guys, make them friendly, give the prisoners hope- perhaps have the guards telling them about their plans to help the prisoners escape when the time comes right- "you just need to have faith, we will get you out of here," of course in whispered tones. This will keep the prisoners from coming up with their own plans- after all their friends the guards have a sure fire plan to get them out.

Should the prisoners hear a resuce they might even try to alert the guards, thinking the rescue is actually the ritaul people coming for them.

In the end remove the blindness from one or two of the prisoners- the guards tell him something like- "you have to pretend you're still blind," then start sneaking the prisoners out a few days later, right into the ritual. The prisoner will feel betrayed, and lose all hope right then.

Have the guards they trusted strap them down, laughing and telling them- "oh, we're freeing you- this is part of the escape plan," smiling and laughing the whole time.

Bolting the chains makes things difficult for you, breaking hands and feet means you have to feed them (you want them alive and thinking they have a chance at life), expensive gadget magic items are for rich villians and those items can be sold by the PCs later to finance their own activities.

Hope this helps, its what I would do.

Very impressive Harmon.

Pretty much identical to the other 'how would you keep a prisoner if you're a bad guy' thread -

Cut out their tongue.
Strike out their eyes.
Shatter their fingers and wrists.
Hamstring them.