Originally posted by kgauck

Such a figure maintains a minimal court at best, and probabaly has a reputation of paranoia. Even smallish noble houses were maintained by what would look to us as an army of servants. [...]
Yes and no. As the high priestess of a Temple of Khirdai, she has only about 3 to 5 direct servants (maintenance costs are paid for other things :) ). Yes cooks, etc. are servants too, but only in her bedroom are these wardings (she lives in a temple). A Kitchen etc. can can be crossed by anyone. [To stop the next idea: She ALWAYS has prayed for a "detect poison" ;) or a priest at hand, who has]


[...] Even so, contraversial nobles who lived in times of greatest risk of assasination (Italian Renaissance, English & French Reformation) endured a high ratio of attempted assasinations to successful ones. [...]
That's right. There is Napoleon, who had the constant paranoia of being poisoned. That's why he gave himself always a little bit of Arsenic to get a resistance (we all know, he fell because of other things).