phindar said:
I was wondering what resources one could use to build a "typical" D&D throne room. My initial thought was what sort of spells a mage could Permanency, but there isn't that much on the list that would help. Private Sanctum is one that can be set up on the throne room, but everything else requires the mage to pretty much be there.
Sticking fairly close to the SRD and assuming in this case protecting our fantasy king would be akin to protecting a modern president or prime minister, what sort of safeguards would you set up in a typical throne room? And sort of variations would you expect for the protections of the king or queen of the elves as opposed to the dwarves? (For the purposes of this exercise, I'm considering the ruler to not be a high level PC class, and more reliant on "in-place" protections.)
Well, let's see...
On either side of the throne, you place a guard (at least one, preferably several).
This guard is a Fighter, with a tripping polearm, improved trip, and Combat Reflexes (plus anything needed to boost ability in that polearm). You try to Charge the king, you soak two (or more) AoO's on which a trip attempt is made against you (with follow-up smash). The goal is to stop someone in their tracks. Sure, Tumble could get you past... but to do so reliably, you need a reasonably high-level Rogue ... and if you've got a reasonably high-level rogue on your tail, very little you can do will help anyway, so....
There's a nifty clause in the Symbol line of spells: You can make any trigger condition you wish. A Symbol of Sleep, attuned to the King and maybe a few very loyal bodyguards, set so that the trigger condition is someone not attuned to the Symbol approaches to within a particular distance of the throne (say... 35 feet, as the limit of a Rogue's sneak attack is 30) will do quite nicely. If anyone the king doesn't want dead is in the area, they just sleep it off. A Symbol of Stunning or Persuasion can sub quite easily, as can a (rod Maximized) Symbol of Weakness. Or better yet, use all of them. All can be Permanencied, too.
Except for the damaging aspect, Beads of Force are a must-have for the bodyguards... as a Resilient Sphere is a very handy way to keep a charge out of a battle. Possibly have a few retainers with scrolls/wands and the ability to use them. Improved Initiative is a must. Their orders? Entrap the king if things go south.
Get the King some Glammered Full-Plate, ideally with Heavy Fortification and Greater Silent Moves. Also one of those nifty Scarabs that absorb death attacks. A Cape of the Monteback (or boots of Teleportation) and a Ring of Invisibility are also required. The idea being that, push come to shove, the King can soak a hit or two, and vanish. Even better - someone who knows the setup can't be sure if the King is still there but invisible, or if the King has left the building.
Most of these are low-profile; the only thing obvious in the room is the guards ... until things are set off.
