Hey all,
In an evil campaign, we have the opportunity to take over an existing structure and create our base of operations there. There will be several foul rites going on and flocks of good guys will be trying to stop the operation.
We need to hold out for about a year in there and it will become increasingly known that bad things are afoot there.
There is a town nearby that will probably be the staging area for any good party that will try to stop us and we have our spies there. We also have access to certain illicit items and we have casters on board. Three of our party have the Leadership feat (divine, arcane, fighter, level 6/7).
The lair is basically a spire and on each of three levels it has an entrance. There is a backdoor through the base of the spire that we know of. So we have three entrances to take care of. There are trapdoors at each entrance, that catch very stupid adventurers, but anything else needs to be built in.
My question is: how would you defend the lair?
You will probably need to look in to hiring a trap maker, or doing it yourself if you don't trust others. If you have a level 6+ cleric, get them to prepare a Stone Shape to cover up that pesky back door, or you could use it to make those pitfalls deeper. Permanency + alarm to let you know if someone comes it, or if you want to go low tech just put a bell above the door.
Go buy something exotic and deadly and stick it in your basement. It's got to be at least a CR 5. If you have a Druid this will be easier to do.
Just get creative with it.
Three entrances plus a backdoor sounds really vulnerable. Traps will only go so far, and if adventurers of a similar level are trying to stop you, there are numerous ways to get around them. You might be beyond conventional defenses...
That being said, I would still trap every inch of the place.
If possible, have your minions shack up there to make it look like something is going down, and move the operation to an undisclosed area in the hills beyond. If that can't be done, then definitely blockade at least two of those entrances, leaving one main door and the hidden backdoor.
Beyond that, go the unconventional route:
Loose monsters into the surrounding wilderness that aren't necessarily uncommon to the area. If the town's eye is focused elsewhere, they won't be as quick to get wise to your doings at the spire. In the same note, your party could kill some of those same monsters to appear as though they're defending the town.
"Contribute funds" to the local authorities. Become an economic boon to the area, and perhaps the citizens of the town will turn a blind eye... Not just bribes mind you. Buy stone work for improvements to the tower from local masons. Have your minion uniforms made by local seamstresses. Get your metal work done at the local blacksmith. Marry off some of your higher level minions to influential families in the town. Sponsor festivals in the town square. Ingrain yourself into the community as much as possible.
If all else fails, and your back is to the wall, demand nobles from the town stay as "guests" in your tower. Don't harm them, even treat them well, but make sure people know they're in your "care." Be as nice as possible, even after you're forced to execute one of them so the town can learn its lesson about letting outsiders interfere with you.
If you've just acquired a prime piece of evil real-estate, you owe it to these people to be the best villains you can be.
Sublet a portion of the stronghold to a den of Kobolds, who will fear you as their lord (landlord anyhow) and you can fund their devious trapmaking and "training"
Nothing is quite as depressing to an adventuring party as the thought of following well equipped and leveled up Kobolds into a tunnel maze of blind corner and traps.
I would agree with others that you have too many weak points, someone with wall of stone could help with some quick and dirty re-enforcement/ expansion in ways that could mitigate your mundane vulnerabilities.
My evil wizard's tower is essentially nothing but a maze of traps, illusions and nasty monsters except the top floors which is where he lives. He pretty much never goes into the lower floors unless he needs to clean things up and reset traps. He has secret entrances at the upper floors.
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Go the Machiavellian route and leave the tower as a red herring. Take over the town itself and sell gear to wood be adventurers going to "clear out the tower." (turn a profit so you can buy more traps & monsters). Be sure to stock the tower with all sorts of traps & monsters. Then ambush the characters either at the final level or at an opportune moment via use of a scrying device (stealth or teleport as level dependent). Honestly I think watching is half the fun.
You're already familiar with "the heroes" and can even plant something in their gear to leave them none the wiser. Healing potion is actually poison, or dust of disappearance that acts as glitterdust, etc. etc.
As various adventuring bands come and fail, declare there must be a change in leadership of the town to combat this fearsome evil. Once you put your puppet (not yourselves) in place....takeover the town. Then "clear" the tower yourselves and invite tourists to view the remnants of your "adventure."
You're now "the heroes of mudwater or something" So retire, make a good museum tour and sell tickets. You'll have plenty of odd stuff to display with a host of dead adventurers having done the deeds and fallen to your machinations. Make a memorial to those "brave heroes" somewhere nearby. Collect donations there (widows and orphans fund)
Then take break until the heat is off. Place an injunction against the tower owners (you) and spurn any further investigations of the tower as its been deemed a nuisance and unfit for habitation. Post a very clear "danger public nuisance sign, do not tresspass by town edit on each door.
Then do as you like in refilling the tower again. Oh and that puppet can be removed again if "evil is afoot." New boss same as the old boss.
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If you can influence some humanoids with money / religion / whatever, then all the better.
If that works, I hope you have a cleric amongst your rank of leaders. Have your bands of humanoids raid crypts for corpses, and animate them as undead. Even if you go beyond the limit of how many you can conrol, who cares - set them loose around your place as a buffer, or in any other spot you just want dangerous critters lurking. Animals might also be caught in traps (like bears/wolves) and turned undead.
Similarly, try to grab any and all local critters that you can to help buffer the area. Ogres/trolls/oozes if you can get them would make great allies/guards.
Start a plague and offer up the cure to plague, after you off any locals that can otherwise cure it, in exchange for what you need.
Also see Brian's advise above.
In the end, have fun...but dont sink to far
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Lair = deathtrap central.
Actual "evil guy HQ" is housed in the local Elks Club basement, in between bingo & cub scouts meetings.
Play up the misdirection with bought off "old man quest givers" and tons of fake "evil guy secret plans" all over.
Recruit dumb, but strong monsters (orcs and/or ogres) and seed the countryside with them.
Get your minions to work as guides/loot carriers/torch bearers, and lure the nascent heroes into danger.
Finally, install a deadfall system of traps (rocks, lava, toxic waste, etc) on the level of your lair just below the leader's level. When it comes time, flood that level and execute your contingency plans to escape.
Remember, just because you're evil, that doesn't mean you eat babies and smell like rancid milk. Look normal, act polite, and have a plan to kill everyone you ever meet.
Grimtooth's Traps
Seconded.
I'm guessing Way of the Wicked part II, yes? Don't necessarily close off secret entrances. Smart adventures seeking to thwart you will be looking for ways to bypass your defenses. Few places are better for an ambush than an secret door than obviously hasn't been used in a long time. If you have any portals that emerge inside your base, consider the virtues of a pool of acid/alchemist's fire/ooze/slime/etc. directly beneath.
One very effective, and hideously difficult to counter, trap is to set up two air-tight doors at either send of a corridor and carpet the flour with flammable materials, straw, oil, coal, all of the above, work fine. Once the adventures enter the hall, shut and bar the doors and then ignite the floor. Not only will our heroes have to deal with fire damage and smoke, they will also have to make constitution checks or suffocate.
Other classics include the ever popular pit trap with gelatinous ooze or green slime at the bottom. Oil also works well. Rig a flask of alchemist's fire to break when the trap is triggered for instant barbecue pit. For additional villainy, have minions ready on the other side with crossbows, oil flasks, or alchemical items.
For non-lethal traps, because those damsels in distress have to come from somewhere and sometimes you just need someone to interrogate/monologue to, greased pit traps with darkness and silence one-shot items attached are great. Particularly good at catching fetching elven mages.
Also make contact with the locals. Capturing local hazards not only gets cuts down on complaints about your spire of evil, but they make great defense mechanisms too.