How to defend a store

[PK]

I'm trying to come up with good ways for a 5th level Artificer NPC to defend his alchemy store. Assume he's a paranoid with ranks in alchemy and trapmaking. He is involved in selling contraband (poisons, etc), so he is well funded. I figure inside the single front door he has a service window where he can see buyers and pass money and goods back and forth through a two-way drawer. Most of the defenses should be set up if someone tries to break through the second door into his workshop.

The really hard part? I'd like this to be a CR8-10 encounter that goes on for a bit (not a single trap, but maybe a series, then a glyph of warding, then a summons, etc).

And ideas? Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Whimsical]

Start off with the basics. A solid door with an excellent lock and an alarm trap.

Then have two professional guards (multiclass expert/fighters) staring at the door all night long. And they have a well trained guard dog. Each guard has a tower shield, a signal whistile, and a thunderstone. In the case of a serious intrusion they will toss the thunderstone outside to make sure everone can hear it, then move behind cover. In the follow up rounds they will blow on their whistles to summon the town guard while trying to take care of the intruder. If they are seriously threatened, then they will use a standard action to get full cover from the tower shield, then move outside.

 

[Whimsical]

If you have access to it, the Shackled City details Skie's Treasuries magic item shop, which includes defenses and what she does to protect her stock. If you don't, I can post the relevant details.

 

[Stalker0]

Whimsical has a good point, the biggest way to stop most thieves is to draw attention to them. If the whole town knows your being robbed, most thieves will run.

Since your guy is in to poisons, he could have a construct guard a treasure room that's filled with poison gas. Even if the thief can get in, he may not get out.

And then there's the simple classics, a very heavy safe with a big honking nasty lock on it. If the lock is good enough the thief can't pick it...and if the box is heavy enough he can't take it away. That would stop a lot of would be thieves, and save you a lot of having to restock traps, hire guards, etc.

 

[PK]

All of those are great ideas. Let me give a bit more information though...but hopefully not too much in case any of my players see this.

His business in selling poisons is illegal, so he doesn't want the attention of the town watch. It would probably be more of an equivilent to a modern drug den...he has to rely on himself or maybe a few associates for protection. He would probably react to the slightest danger with extreme force, more worried about discovery than anything else.

I really love the idea of the poison gas filled room.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Depends on how you want to play this. IMO, the guy doesn't have more than 3-4 of any item on hand. Most of them are stored in blast cellars in case a container goes bad. (and storing alchemist fire next to thunderstones doesn't seem wise) The place should be full of heavy furniture with slate surfaces, drains, buckets of water/sand/mysterious orange powder, clay-saturated curtains, and heavy metal cabinets.

I'd use some little fun bits suitable for an alchemist. I figure it's better for a craftsman to rely on his own products, both to cut costs and mitigate the knowledge outsiders have of his defenses. The defenses should start at irritating and move up the danger level as they move inward.

itching powder trap

Smokestick trap. Nothing brings help like fire.

tanglefoot bags

sleeping powder

Dark dust - an incredibly fine powder that can hang in the air for many minutes at a time. Being a solid, it obscures darkvision. Dark dust may, or may not, be explosive in the presence of fire.

A shrieker mushroom stored next to the finished products. The alchemist has a powder he blows into the cabinet/blast cellar that will keep the shrieker silent for ~5 minutes (a treasure on its own).

Layered fluids: he could store alchemist fire/acid/caustics in liquid form with light oil on the surface. A hose would siphon the fluid out and into jars/vials. Anyone who seriously agitates the layered fluids could be in for a vicious shock.

Gems in acid: gold and many gems are immune to acids able to dissolve human flesh. A great defense is to keep those items in a tank of said harsh liquid. The alchemist would use glass tongs to collect his loot and a bath of pure water or other diluting agent.

Combine with more complex magic traps for DM giggles.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

All of those are great ideas. Let me give a bit more information though...but hopefully not too much in case any of my players see this.

His business in selling poisons is illegal, so he doesn't want the attention of the town watch. It would probably be more of an equivilent to a modern drug den...he has to rely on himself or maybe a few associates for protection. He would probably react to the slightest danger with extreme force, more worried about discovery than anything else.

I really love the idea of the poison gas filled room.

Remember that even when the legitimate authorities are not someone you want snooping around, there are always some sort of authorities that you can go to for assisstance...

Make friends with the local thief / assassin / bounty hunter organizations. Those people who will be buying your product are not going to want their supply to be messed with...

Get someone to rob your place. "What!?" you might be saying, just now... Bear with me. Get someone to rob your place. IF you are friendly with the local underground, they can get in on this, too. You want it to be someone who is universally despised, disliked, made the butt of jokes, etc... or someone who is new in town, doesn't know/follow the rules, isn't affiliated with anyone who is going to pose a threat.

Then find them and murder the heck out of them in a particularly gruesome and spectacular fashion. Make sure that some of the local underground are there to witness the event and tell everyone about it.

Also, since the place is not one that is concerned about law-abiding or the legitimate authorities anyway, don't bother with low-end annoyance traps. Make sure that your traps are designed to kill or permanently maim whoever triggers them. Big, nasty spells, poisons, diseases, the nastier the better. Oh, and if you can afford secondary effects that will destroy the merchandise if someone removes it from the premises without going through the proper channels first, that's all the better.

Remember, though, that all that firepower is going to eventually draw the attention of some adventurers. Adventurers are always sticking their noses into places that they don't belong, and the presence of deadly traps and heavy security is only going to make them wonder what sorts of interesting and valuable treasures you've got stashed away in there... So your secondary priority is going to be to keep the place looking as unassuming as possible. The whole place needs to look run-down, ill maintained, and generally not worth the attention of wandering adventurers... I cannot stress enough how annoying adventurers can be if they get wind of your secret lair / evil hideout / plan to destroy the world. They'll be there, killing your employees, badmouthing your family, and generally making your like a living hell if they think there's even a single gold piece worth of treasure in it for them. Keep a low profile at all costs...

Whew. Looks like a got a little off track for a minute, there. Anyway, yeah. Even if you don't want the cops sniffing around, there's bound to be someone around who's in the protection racket... er... service.

Later
silver

 

[Stalker0]

Gems in acid: gold and many gems are immune to acids able to dissolve human flesh. A great defense is to keep those items in a tank of said harsh liquid. The alchemist would use glass tongs to collect his loot and a bath of pure water or other diluting agent.

I like this idea

 

[kigmatzomat]

Unfortunately it's not mine. I think it was from a 1990s Dungeon.

There was a 50-gallon drum of "water" with a pile of gems at the bottom. I was a player and suspected mischief, especially as this room was "sunken" (meaning you stepped down into it). One guy had his arm nearly burned off when he reached in to grab them. The group started going through all sorts of rube-goldbergesque plans until I suggested the mage simply Unseen Servant or Mage Hand the items out of the acid. A quick bath in flour neutralized the acid on the gems (total value of the colored quartz: 17gp).

 

[Quartz]

This is an illegitimate business, right? So there's a cover, right? Perhaps the cover is the local distillery? Not only does distilled alcohol burn well, but the vapour will make people drunk. Of course, he and his guards have doses of a potion of immunity (now *that's* worth a lot!). And how many neighbours are going to take kindly to the local distillery being attacked? Particularly if he's generous to the local authorities.