# What do you want in your Wizard's Tower?



## Billboard Baggins (Jan 25, 2002)

I'm drawing up my wizard's future home, a combination of a tower and a manor built around it, surrounded by a stone wall to keep out the peasants (and for privacy). I've included some gardens to grow fresh herbs/food/spell components, along with some general storage and rooms for servants and visitors.

The place will be built on land in a mid- to large-sized city, and is surrounded on the outside by streets and other buildings. I'm having a lot of fun drawing it up!

Here's where I need your help and input - if you were a wizard (7th level today but growing in power), what things do you want in your ultimate wizard's tower?

Here's what I have so far:
   Alchemist's lab
   Library 
   Room intended for summoning - thick walls, underground, one door
   Rooftop for flying creature arrival
   Telescope on rooftop for A) vouyerism and B) astrology
   Private sleeping chambers
   Vault for loot/valuable components
   Chamber appropriate for my familiar, incl. passages for him throughout complex (Lux Astralis, my minidragon familiar)

Your suggestions? This is a mid-to-high magic campaign, and we are currently in the middle of the Return to The Temple of Elemental Evil adventure - kickass BTW, and our GM Rob is doing an awesome job!

- Billboard Baggins


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## Zaruthustran (Jan 26, 2002)

*Security*

My dwarf Abjurer (8th level) is also building his wiz home. Number 1 priority for him is security. 

So, it's underground (in Khundrakar, the setting of The Forge of Fury). It has many stonework traps, many secret doors. But the best part: the vault and library are not physically connected to any other rooms. They're 542 feet away. The only way to reach those rooms is by teleport, Dimension Door, or digging through solid rock.

You should do the same thing for your vault. It'll really stymie mundane thieves and looters. Of course, you gotta beware Umberhulk thieves.

Line the vault with 2 layers of lead to foil detection spells. Sandwich a layer of acid between the lead layers to discourage diggers. Coat the whole thing with all the abjurations you can think of (alarm, glyphs, wards, etc). Enchant the outer lead layer with Nondetection (in other words, create a room-sized magic item that is Nondetectable).

If you have Craft Wondrous Item (and you should), construct guardian items. Not true Constructs, but rather items that automatically cast Alarm every 8 hours, or have See Invisibility and Detect abilities and hit any unrecognised visitors with attack spells. 

Make a Murlynds Spone, a Decanter of Endless Water, and get a cleric friend to help you make some kind of healing item (Stone of Cure Light Wounds 3/day, use-activated). Stash this survival kit somewhere safe (and well hidden) in the room.

Store your stuff in metal chests, and place Arcane Locks, Fire Traps, and other spells on the chests. Don't forget multiple regular Masterwork Locks, trapped with multiple Masterwork traps.

Stock the place with magical traps (costs in the DMG). Make a nice Rug of Smothering and lay it on the floor for unwanted visitors to admire.

Here's the kicker: make a cursed Bracers of Dimensional Anchor, place a fake Nystul's Aura (Protection) on it, and leave it out in the open. Doh! Arcane thieves go in but they don't go out.

As a wizard, you'll have lots of valuable stuff: your first thought should be to security.

After that, go nuts with the usual amenities. Don't forget the big screen TV (window pane of Scrying).


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## Tsyr (Jan 26, 2002)

What, no heated swimming pool?


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## Scarab (Jan 26, 2002)

Blast chamber. A must-have for the aspiring alchemist.


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## Oogar (Jan 26, 2002)

Don't forget the secret passages. What is a good Wizard home without good old secret passages? Boooooooring


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## Wicht (Jan 26, 2002)

A stuffed crocidile or alligator - I stick one in all my wizard's labs. 

One of these days I'll figure out what purpose they serve but until then in they go whether they wanted to or not.


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## Tsyr (Jan 26, 2002)

Oh that's easy.

Set up a contingency spell linked to an "animate dead" spell... Upon uttering a command word, they stuffed 'gator comes to life as a gaurd dog.


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## Scarab (Jan 26, 2002)

Let's not forget the crystal ball for scrying. Well, it doesn't have to be a _real_ crystal ball since they're quite expensive. A glass replica will do just fine for decorative purposes.


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## Zaruthustran (Jan 26, 2002)

And a mirror. Preferably with some kind fo word-riddle running around the edge. Works best if the mirror is mundane (the word riddle comes out to "This Mirror Is Not Magic".

And you have to have statues. All adventurers fear statues. Scatter a few crushed helms around the base of the statues. Should work to keep out the riffraff.


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## Billboard Baggins (Jan 26, 2002)

Haha! You guys are great. I'm stunned by all the possibilities I have missed so far.

The reason I built a tower/mansion was so that (when I, you know, hit 20+ level) can open a mage academy on the grounds. The many rooms in the mansion will be bedrooms and classrooms. The tower will be for high power stuff, my personal rooms, and other master mage types to live in.

I really like the srying-impervious underground vault. What a darn clever idea. I think I just had my feats for the next 10 levels selected for me.

Stupid question related to magic traps for my tower - I was goping to build a few pit traps in main hallways with doors i can trip from various locations. Then I was going to use illusionary wall to mask these doors, so I have an invisible pit I can turn on and off as I choose. Ok, here's the silly question: If I am sneaking down a hall with a pit trap as described, and I have Arcane Sight or detect magic going, do I see/detect the illusion? Not sure how that works.

- Billboard Baggins


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## Tsyr (Jan 26, 2002)

Better idea with statues:

Get a very, very, very good sculpter to create several statues of "adventurer" type people, or theives, better yet. Have them carved in positions of shock and surprise, with possibly a tinge of horror on them.

Then enchant them. First of all, this makes them radiate magic, but second... what you do is, enchant them with a modified version of the "create water" spell... so that there is always a few drops of tears around their eyes. If your really sick, have a minor audible illusion enchanted on them so that if you get up within a foot or so of them, you can hear tortured screams.

Then put them out in front of the gates like gargoyles.


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## Gargoyle (Jan 26, 2002)

As a DM I would have a field-day with the familiar's passages.  Bet I could design a 100 different nasty things to take up residence in those twisty passages.  #1 on the list, an enemy wizard's familiar.  

Be careful who you hire as contractors.  They could easily place an enemy's scrying device into the mortar or something.  Build as much of it as possible yourself, or use trusted allies. 

As for design, I'd keep it simple.  You don't need a 100 different rooms, one for each task, except for the really dangerous areas like summoning rooms, alchemy labs, and blast chambers.  A larger tower is harder to secure and more expensive.  (Though fun I admit).  You can always add on later.  

Also, I'd keep the location a secret if possible.  The best defense is when they can't find you.


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## Zaruthustran (Jan 26, 2002)

Man, I LOVE Tsyr's statue idea. Perfect.

And good idea re: contractors. Mr. Baggins, I'd try to use summoned creatures or Stone Shape whenever possible. Or Polymorph yourself and your buddies into stone giants or something.

When digging out my wiz lair, I polymorphed into an umberhulk. They dig fast. Max ranks in Craft: stonemason and knowledge: engineering, in addition  to the dwarven Stonecunning and my Earth Elemental familiar means that my character's pad is pretty swank.


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## sineater (Jan 26, 2002)

What about a servants quarters. You don't want to do all the upkeep yourself do you? 

Also a kitchen.


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## Tsyr (Jan 26, 2002)

Servant's Quarters?

Bleh.

Take a pair of silk gloves, tied together with a cord, and enchant then with _unseen servant_ . Your "servant's quarters" then become a box under your bed, or whatever space you happen to have.


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## Tsyr (Jan 26, 2002)

Slight problem with the idea of underground rooms seperated by solid rock.

Air.

Granted, this can be overcome by magic, but be sure to do so... otherwise, DMs have a nice little way to kill you


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## JoeGKushner (Dec 23, 2003)

What about places for guests? A manor or a tower should have a place for an apprentice at least.

What about places for horses? In a couple designs I've seen, the first level is for horses, equipment, weapons, hay, etc...

What about a blast chamber where you can test spells? If your character designs spells, that might be a good thing otherwise not truly useful. This can usually be placed below the first level.

What will you be doing for water? A collection at the top or a well at the bottom?

Of course having an alchemist lab is one thing, but what's in that lab?

Same deal with the library. Standard books or ancient ones? Spellbooks, or histories?


Alchemist's lab
Library 
Room intended for summoning - thick walls, underground, one door
Rooftop for flying creature arrival
Telescope on rooftop for A) vouyerism and B) astrology
Private sleeping chambers
Vault for loot/valuable components
Chamber appropriate for my familiar, incl. passages for him throughout complex (Lux Astralis, my minidragon familiar)


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## hong (Dec 23, 2003)

Hello.

Stop with the ing thread reanimation already.

ThaADVANCEnks!


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## JoeGKushner (Dec 23, 2003)

hong said:
			
		

> Hello.
> 
> Stop with the ing thread reanimation already.
> 
> ThaADVANCEnks!




I missed it the first time around.

Mark from Creative Mountain Games was cool enough to keep a listing of useful links and many of them I didn't comment on at the time because I missed 'em due to things like work, playing, going out. Yesterday and today, I've had off, as I will tomorrow and Thursday, so I thought I'd take a look around and see what's new on Mark's thread. As none of these threads are a "Me too!" type of deal, is there an issue with this?


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## tetsujin28 (Dec 23, 2003)

Alicia Witt and Julia Stiles as my oh-so-dutiful apprentices


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## hong (Dec 23, 2003)

JoeGKushner said:
			
		

> I missed it the first time around.
> 
> Mark from Creative Mountain Games was cool enough to keep a listing of useful links and many of them I didn't comment on at the time because I missed 'em due to things like work, playing, going out. Yesterday and today, I've had off, as I will tomorrow and Thursday, so I thought I'd take a look around and see what's new on Mark's thread. As none of these threads are a "Me too!" type of deal, is there an issue with this?



 Taken to email.


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## hong (Dec 23, 2003)

hong said:
			
		

> Taken to email.




... AAaand back out of email again. I've been rather snide to Joe, when he was just trying to contribute. I therefore apologise, it was completely uncalled for.


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## Orius (Dec 23, 2003)

Tsyr said:
			
		

> Better idea with statues:
> 
> Get a very, very, very good sculpter to create several statues of "adventurer" type people, or theives, better yet. Have them carved in positions of shock and surprise, with possibly a tinge of horror on them.
> 
> ...




Of, course you could always pay a medusa to get the real thing for you.  Make sure you've got an active _gaze reflection_ (I think it's called _gaze screen_ now, actually) or some other proff against petrification during negotiations, though.


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