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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Justinian" data-source="post: 2542076" data-attributes="member: 6358">As someone mentioned upthread, guards and wards is your go-to spell for protecting a wizard's tower. It has multiple aspects to consider, so I'll break them down one at a time. Text of the spell copied from <a href="http://www.d20srd.org" target="_blank">www.d20srd.org</a>. It's rearranged in some places to group more easily.Use fog with area of effect traps, or with creatures that use area of effect spells. The idea is to force any intruders to roll miss chance, while your own minions do not have to worry about the fog.Placing traps that hamper movement on the stairs can slow invaders to a crawl when combined with web. Damaging spells that also slow, such as spike stones, are even better. A wizard would have to use limited wish for that, of course, but it may be worth it.Each of these effects tend to delay anyone coming in, which can help with bringing reinforcement, or simply allowing time for the master of the tower to cast buff spells. An alarm spell at the entrance is highly recommended.Not that useful, in my experience. Could be used for misdirection if combined with summoned or bound will-o-wisps.Great for dramatic speeches.Combine with any trap or effect that damages over time for best effect - any nauseated creatures will have a significantly harder time escaping.I haven't found this to be very useful. Maybe in combination with a cloudkill spell for quick Con damage.This is the true winner, in my opinion. I've used this before with such simple suggestions as "Open the nearest door" or "Step forward ten feet", where these actions set off a trap. For best effect, make the traps area of effect, so anyone nearby is damaged. As long as none of the suggestions are the same, the "obviously dangerous" escape clause won't help anyone coming in.But that's just one spell. There's almost no limit to what a wizard can prepare, given enough time and an evil mind. For example, to pick one thing from Nightfang Spire (spoiler): [spoiler]A trapdoor that drops people outside the tower, causing them to take falling damage. If the party spellcaster doesn't have line of sight, no feather fall can help.[/spoiler]A few more examples off the top of my head:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hide minions in rope trick spells to provide unexpected reinforcements. If the rope is pulled up, only those with see invisibility on will be able to notice it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Have one room filled with acid so that when the door is opened, it washes out. Not incredibly damaging (except for the one in front), but shocking. For extra complication, put a weakened wall nearby that will release something when the acid hits it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Every object in the tower should be animated to attack intruders. That'll make them waste time destroying everything, and remember that any spell used to blow up your table is one spell that won't be used against you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In whatever final room the intruders will meet the master of the tower, place a wall of force halfway across the room. If they're prepped to unload spells immediately, some of them may be wasted against the wall, or burned to bypass the wall.</li> </ul>As someone else said, make things that are safe only with magic present. One of my favorites here is to use pebbles that are polymorphed into pillars, so that in an antimagic zone, the ceiling falls in.On any poison traps, make sure to use poisons that damage mental ability scores. This will impact any spellcasters that fail.The whole idea of a tower is to slow any invaders and to wear them down by attrition. It should always seem more complex and dangerous to continue onward than to turn around and retreat.</blockquote>

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