Favorite Protection Spells/Enchantments?

[Vincent_Hamlin]

What spells do you guys actually use for protecting yourself or your items? What kinds of things do you put on the door to make sure people who ignore your sanctum marker and can get past any mundane locks can't trash your lab and won't come back? (Includes enchantments, not just regular spells) What kinds of defensive spells or enchantments do you like to put on your own apparel before you leave the safety of the covenant in case your shield grogs fail at their jobs? What spells do you put on Watching Wards on your enchanted items to laugh at all those losers who try to investigate them (possibly after you die)? Any of your favorite things in that rather general category of "(passively?) protecting yourself and your stuff."

[Erik_Tyrrell]

I like to vary things based on the character. I had a magus who had a minor magical focus of oak. His covenant was surrounded by a ring of oak trees upon which all sorts of circle spells were cast. He had wooden armor (made supernaturally hard) and a tree that acted as a guard.

I like Ranulf from Magi of Hermes (disclosure, I wrote that chapter so I naturally wrote what I was fond of). One of his themes was doing everything as an ignem spell regardless of the availability of non-ignem ways to accomplish his goals. His talisman detected arrows (shriek of the impending shaft) and incinerated them (a linked trigger creo ignem effect). He has a spell that engulfed him in fire to convince others not to attack him lest they burn their attacking limbs off.

In the Aeldelbert thread [url]Adelbert, a "Magi of Hermes" look at intellego and Astrology] I had an intellego focused magus who developed spells to read the intentions of those around him so he could evade their blows more easily and hear violent thoughts from the minds of people or animals around him.

In fact I'll just copy and paste the unique defensive spells he's developed here so you needn't go searching through 16 pages of awesomeness to find them

Sounds of Aggression
InMe 30
R: Pers., D: Sun, T: Hearing
The caster perceives aggressive emotions as sounds that reflect the caster’s sigil. In the case of Adelbert, typically ominous music singing words dealing with what the thinks of the aggressive thought see or would wish to see. Aggression towards the caster sounds unique and any minds that are intending on imminently attacking the caster are easily discerned. The level of aggression controls the perceived volume of the sound (the more the louder).
(base 5 +2 Sun, +3 Hearing)

See the Strike
InMe25
R: Eye, D: Diam., T: Ind.
For the duration of this spell the caster knows how the target is intending to move his body. This understanding gives the caster a +6 to defense totals when in melee combat with the target, the target's parry totals against the caster are reduced by 3, and dodge totals are reduced by 6. Adelbert’s sigil expresses itself by making his irises match the color of the target’s for the duration of the spell.
(base 15, +1 eye, +1 Diameter)

Unwavering Sight of Flesh
InCo 20
R: Per., D: Sun, T: Vision
The caster gains a magical perception that allows them to see human skin as truly is. This is magically enhanced sense is, in most cases, indistinguishable from normal vision. However in the case of an invisible person the caster will see a naked hairless human form with empty holes at the location of their eyes and mouth. Muto Imaginem spells that change the location or appearance of a person’s skin can also sometimes create unusual sights that the caster can notice. Being a magical sense spell, this spell will not allow the caster to see targets that are protected by magic resistance that the spell does not penetrate. Adelbert’s spell allows him to intermittently see eyes in the eye sockets of an invisible person (not for more than a third of the time for any eye and only both eyes at once as a matter of chance) as a result of his sigil.
(base 3 +2 Sun, +4 vision)

A way to detect spirits

Humiliate the Unclothed Spirit
InVi 30
R: Pers., D:Conc., T: Vision
This spell gives the caster the ability to see invisible spirits associated with the magic realm even when they are incorporeal, (providing of course the spell penetrates the spirit's defenses)
(base5, +1 concentration, +4 vision)

Vision of Movment
InMe 50
R: Touch, D: Hours., T:Vision.
For the duration of this spell the target can see how anyone they observe is intending to move their body, perceiving the intended position of their body as a ghostly reddish image. This understanding gives the target a + +6 to defense totals when in melee combat with someone whose intended movements they can see. Also, parry totals against the target are reduced by 3 and dodge totals are reduced by 6. This spell will often allow the perception of invisible creatures. Adelbert’s sigil expresses itself by making the target's irises match the color of the eyes of whomever they are looking at (multiple colors for multiple people) for the duration of the spell.
(base 15, +1 touch, +2 hours, +4 vision)

Fortelling the Predator's Intent
InAn 45
R: Touch, D: Hours., T:Vision.
For the duration of this spell the target can see how any creature he or she observes is intending to move their body, perceiving the intended position of their body as a ghostly reddish image. This understanding gives the target a + +6 to defense totals when in melee combat with some beast whose intended movements they can see. Also, parry totals against the target are reduced by 3 and dodge totals are reduced by 6. This spell will often allow the perception of invisible creatures. Adelbert’s sigil expresses itself by making the target's irises match the color of the eyes of whatever creature they are looking at (multiple colors for multiple animals) for the duration of the spell.
(base 10,+1 touch +2 hours, +4 vision)

[Never-Ending_Winter]

My biggest problem with using spells or enchantments to protect my items or favored locations is simply how weak magi are outside their specialties. Unless my character is specifically focused on protection spells (and I've never made such a character) then they won't be very good at making protection spells, as a rule. I mean, I've made Rego specialists, and most good defensive spells involve repelling things, which Rego does well. But any skill-level-appropriate challenge by my SG's definition of the term will not be deterred by a spell unless I've got both the Technique and Form going into said spell full-force, and the wards against things like fire and scrying are rather high-level by necessity, meaning that any non-Rego specialist just has no chance of pulling them off with a useful amount of Penetration.

So, in short, I haven't developed very many passive protection spells. Mostly, I'll use Waiting Spell with a vis-boosted spell set to go off, with another spell on the item to protect it from the element I'm using. Ward Against Flames and Ball of Abysmal Flame have been a nice combination for my Ignem specialists. I'll just hope that whoever is stupid enough to trigger my item proceeds to die from it, and call it a day, rather than putting shells and tricky illusions and wards against physical touches and whatnot; it's really expensive to make those last for a significant amount of time without Ring duration, at any rate.