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A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

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Only thing about Aemon is I'm not sure why he would want to come back. He was dealt a supremely shitty hand, as far as Targaryens go.
 
DragonParadox said:
I hesitate to mention this, but there is one person into whose possession Dark Sister would willingly pass even now: Aemon the Dragonknight, If you somehow managed to return him to the realm of the living, simply because of all her bearers he exemplified both peerless skill and loyalty.
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Okay so grab Aemon's bones when we hit level 15 and resurrect him got it.

It's not been much more than a hundred years since he died, so by the time Dany has learned Resurrection he will be a valid target, and we could use a competent kingsguard, unless there's not even a shard of his bones left at this point of course.
 
tarrangar said:
Okay so grab Aemon's bones when we hit level 15 and resurrect him got it.

It's not been much more than a hundred years since he died, so by the time Dany has learned Resurrection he will be a valid target, and we could use a competent kingsguard, unless there's not even a shard of his bones left at this point of course.
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There is also the question of whether or not he would wish to return.
 
Takesis said:
That doesn't mean it can't be described in a play that would tell of our glorious adventures. Behold, one of the Omake plays to spread the true tales of Viserys Targaryen!



City of Demons: The Play​


Act I

Viserys and company arrives at Mantarys on foot. Viserys asks Lya again about the prophecy made by a friend. Lya answers: "Deep within a tower in faraway Mantarys, lies a doorway to the Abyss. Ride forth King and kith, lest tides of demons you face, should victory you miss."

Maelor then notes the Minotaurs, having never seen them before while he lived on Mantarys. Viserys uses magesight and notes that they are not demons, nor beasts, but like men and have souls that are corruptible.

They are barred from entering by two minotaurs and a quasit, who demands a companion as a slave in exchange for entry. Viserys is insulted of course and orders Ser Richard to kill it. The company trounced the minotaurs but are pelted by arrows from the walls and stones from attacking Hala demons.

Viserys decides enough is enough and casts a symbol of fear which causes everyone to stop. The act brings down the Vrock who asks who they are and why are they here. Viserys introduces himself under a false name and says they're traders looking for magic. The Vrock decides to let them pass after deciding that ones which such power surely has pacts with demons greater than him.


Act II

Viserys splits up with his company to gather information. He, Dany and Ser Richard are intrigued by minotaurs and finds a shady seller. The seller sells them "tame" minotaurs who the demons deem useless as they aren't agressive enough. After paying for them with a "Magic Box of Discord", he talks to them and finds out that minotaurs are not demonspawn but formerly humans experimented on by demons and can never be turned back. He frees them on the spot but asks them to keep quiet. They stay among the sellers, offering items for sale to avoid suspicion. Mostly magical dusts and reagents.

Tyene and Garin gets jumped on by guardsmen because of their suspicious questions, but they bribed them off.

Maelor and company rescues a distraught maiden from a pack of dog demons. They learn that she was a pet slave of the strongest demon of the city, Ras'nar, the Mallor, and ran away as the demon is prone to eating his slaves alive if he tires of them. They learn that most of the high born of the city has sided with the demons due to fear, and that hundreds of slaves are made to ascend the tower, never to come down.

The company gathers as evening falls and Maelor takes them to one of his old haunts, a haunted ruin but with a benevolent spirit that hates demons.


Act III

Deep into the night, they are visted by the minotaur seller and offers them a suspicious bargain for a minor item, an arcane marked stone in exchange for information about the Listener. The spirit of the ruins grew agitated allowing Daenerys to decipher the true nature of the seller. A devil in disguise who tried to trick them into signing a contract that will end up with paying for their souls. They of course mob the devil and kill it.

They find a gem hidden among the devil's belongings. The mournful reaction of the spirit gets Dany to realize that a virtuous being is trapped inside, and have Ser Richard break it. An Archon emerges from the shattered gem and thanks them.

He introduces himself as Yrael and that he's leading a group of angels and archons in acting against the demons and their plots for this city, but got captured by the devil by trickery. He then tells them about the secret of the Listener. He is called so, because he is the Listener in the Dark. While he broods in the darkness of the tower, he listens to all words spoken in the city and can hear them.


Act IV

Realizing that they have been exposed, the party decides to attack the demons right away by "sending" and talking about doing it as dawn comes. Viserys and Daenerys starts by flying into the massing demon army in front of the tower and burns them all. Yrael signals his allies of his return and they assault the storm demons in the sky. While mopping up the survivors, they almost got jumped on by the Mallor. But thanks to Waymar's warning and Lya's spells, they managed to break it's invisibility.

A fight of terrifying proportions ensues including Ser Richard being lanced twice, Vee summoning a unicorn to even the odds, and Waymar wailing upon the snake demon thunderous strikes, all the while others are firing spells after spells until the Mallor falls unconscious.

As they heal up their injuries, Yrael asks to lay the final blow. Viserys convinces him otherwise as that will just cause the demon to reform in the Abyss. He speaks of an ally that offers True Death to an immortal. A god of rebirth, as he is a god of life, death and time.

Vee takes off her belt and listens to it's whispers. She then picks up a broken spear shaft and casts it on the ground. The shaft reforms into a snake which bites the Mallor, causing it to burn up. The snake, grows and grows, changing colors, and falls into slumber as the godling ascends. Right before it falls asleep, the Avatar of Yss warns: "Ware... the bite of treachery unwitting."


Act V

Before the group can decide to act, the Vrock attacks and carries off Tyene. While the party shoots it with spells, she suddenly switches into a huge man carrying a shield. A Shield Archon who used one of his spells is quite heavy, causing the Vrock to crash. Tyene, furious, drops a sun on it which does not harm the Archon, but burns the demon completely.

After making sure she's alright, Viserys decides that some should stay behind to guard the way to the tower, and to guard the godling that just came to be. Viserys, Daenerys, Lya, Ser Richard, Waymar, Maelor, Glyra and Yrael, go up the tower. They find not just horrors, but also sorrow at the destruction of Valyria's legacy the Listener and his company inflicted on the tower's contents.

Lya especially is distraught on finding out that it used to be a place of learning after finding destroyed books and scrolls. She launches a tirade about demons and their nature to destroy all that's beautiful in the world. She warns the audience that no good ever comes out of deals with them, noting parables from her readings.

The group finds themselves on a circular chamber where they can't pass. An invisible voice asks them to choose a champion, for the barrier will only fall if he is defeated one on one.


Act VI

Ser Richard volunteers of course, and was able to enter the chamber. The party watches in horror as Ser Richard struggle against an unseen enemy and almost die the second time today. However, using his own pouring blood, he manages to catch the hidden enemy by the drops that hit it allowing him to mortally wound it. The unseen warrior is revealed to be a war-priest cultist who uses a scythe in combat. Ser Richard beheads it after honor among fighters are exchanged.

The chamber opens and Ser Richard is healed up. They go on further and find another chamber where the doorway to the Abyss is found. Before it, the cultists gather around a ritual circle, the Listener in the Dark foremost among them, gloats a welcome to witness the birth of a new age. The Age of Demons.


Act VII

No words or banters are answered back for who would answer a madman? The party launches an all out attack fighting the guards and slaying the cultists among the circle. Their deaths don't disrupt the ritual circle though. A Shadow Demon suddenly drops from the chamber ceiling and engages Maelor and Yrael. Shadow upon shadow and light fights, until they manage to make it flee into the portal. Soon, only the Listener is left.

The Listener fires off spells fueled by the death of his comrades to Yrael, who almost succumbs. Only then does Viserys realizes the Listener's intention and Yss' warning. Yrael's death is the key to opening the portal completely. As he shouts a retreat, and just before the Listener casts another spell to end the Archon, Glyra appears on top of the cult leader's head and hammers him silly.

The Listener snarls in frustration and tries to cast another spell, only to slip in ice. The gremlin has struck him again with his own spell which she stole, giggling as she turns invisible once more. Annoyed completely, the Listener casts a spell to break all enchantments, which does reveal Glyra... and unravels his painstakingly crafted ritual, fueled by hundreds of lives, to open the gate completely to the Abyss.


Act VIII

Acting quickly, Viserys seals the unravelled ritual in a magical sphere. The Listener can only look in horror as to what became of his plans and comically stands there aghast while Ser Richard cuts him down.

After healing up Yrael, they consult with Lya and decide to redesign the ritual into sealing the doorway completely. They shove the redesigned raw power ritual into the portal. The tower, doesn't really shake but a "bell" sounds and they find themselves outside the tower. It had disappeared leaving it's shadow behind. Lya theorizes that it folded into its own shadow due to the modified ritual. She of course starts to study it.

Yrael gives his thanks and flies off to rejoin his troupe in routing the demons from the sky. The moonlight finally breaks through as the storm demons fall in droves.


Act IX

Viserys decides to bring the city into order as the demons falling will ensure chaos. For that, he and Dany seek out the guardsmen. Finding them indecisive, he reveals himself as the last Dragonlord and bring news of the Snake Demon's fall and the death of the Listener in the Dark and his followers. He orders the city guards to cooperate with the slaves and ensure order is set before dawn comes. They answered that they can subdue the people, but troublesome rioters have been reported. The minotaurs have rebelled and are looting the city.

Viserys leaves Dany to organize the guardsmen and goes to bring the minotaurs to heel. He finds the minotaurs unruly smashing things as they are led by an armored flying one with demon wings. Realizing they only respect strength, Viserys goes Half-Dragon form and wields the Mallor's spear, declaring that they killed it and call the rioters in order.

The winged minotaur take umbrage and declares he'll take Viserys' head... by trying to cleave his torso. Viserys snaps back that it's not his head and engages the winged minotaur in an aerial fight, struggling as its nature as a half demon protects it against his fiery breath. He finally manages to kill the minotaur by diving from the sky impaling it with the Mallor's spear.

The act impresses the minotaurs enough to follow orders to return to their barracks. Especially after he ordered barrels of drinks to be rolled over to them.


Act X

The dawn breaks into Mantarys who's skyline is now permanently missing a tower. The Archons are victorious and are celebrated as the liberators of the city. Yrael decides to rule Mantarys, heal it of the demons' machinations, and abolishing slavery. City of Demons no more, it will become the City of Angels instead. Viserys decides not to contest and helps organize city while Lya is studying the strange phenomenon of the shadow tower.

He introduces the minotaurs to Ser Richard as his sworn sword. The minotaurs of course decide to test his strength, and ended up in the arena. It served a much needed entertainment to the freed people of Mantarys. It also gave Viserys the idea to set one up in his holdings in the future.

Just as the last minotaur has been defeated and swore fealty, Lya unlocks the secret of the tower and finds a way to enter it again, and even how to carry it away. After discussing with the archons, Viserys decides to take the minotaurs with him to Sorcerer's Deep into a new home of their own, and a tomorrow that will belong to them alone... in freedom.


Notes: This started with full dialogues but I realized that I'm not a playwright.
Edits: Spellings and corrections.
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How had I not noticed this Omake before now?

This play sounds awesome, but hellish to show on stage and much too long to be an actual play.
It would make a great film though, when we finally get our "illusion theatre" going. Or maybe a 3-film epic full of beautiful set pieces and locations that nerds will still be drooling over in two decades?
 
Scribbler said:
The tattoos seem pretty good so all those problems might be worth solving, but I don't think it's practical to apply them this way.
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Thinking further on that, we could get the spell via AA and teach it to Lya. That would sidestep most of the issues here, assuming generating spells like that is legal. @DragonParadox, is it? I don't expect that teaching Lya spells we cast via Blood Wish would be, but that's a different mechanism.

Then we'd only have to argue that Lya has the required modicum of artistic talent via one of her existing craft skills. Or we'd have to invest a single skill point into a new one. Or she'd cast a spell on herself that temporarily gives her the necessary level of talent, but that comes back to the issue of regularly draining spells per day.

...Or we could go with the Pathfinder version of the magical tattoo system. Those tattoos actually are permanent, but they're basically a kind of item crafting with the advantage of not taking up normal slots. A more serious investment of resources.
 
[X] Speak to Valaena.
-[X] Offer her a choice between adamantium thinblade like garins or vs longsword
-[X] Give Valaena her dragon egg and pass on the dragonlore advice you received from Bloodraven.

I don't wanna hear her idiot dad talk smack abot us giving his fragile little (helpless) flower a diabloic weapon.

And he will eventually learn what it is.

There will probably be a more thought out vote later, but giving the sapient devil weapon to a 14yo NPC is just not something i'm in favor of.
 
Crake said:
Don't underestimate the peril-filled storied history behind Booty the Backup Dagger. :mad:
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Artemis1992 said:
We likely will, we are now man of sword and armor, for our own claws shall be as swords, our skin as armor, our words death.
But that is yet a bit away.

While it won't want to move on to the next wielder while we live, it might prefer that to lying around, so I'm optimistic we'll sooner or later find a more fitting wielder, a man or woman who can live and die by the blade.
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@DragonParadox

If I remember correctly when we shift into full dragonform our equipment transforms with us in a helpful form, so wouldn't the blade integrate into our claws and help us this way?
 
[X] Talk to Azema about her learning magic
-[X] Ask how it's going and how she gets along with Dany in her training
-[X] Tell her that you, as well as your sister and Maelor all had chances to draw power from our heritage, she will likely have too. That's not a bad thing, not a temptation to be resisted, but something she should keep under control, lest she becomes a full demon without considering all consequences.
-[X] Talk about the things of beauty in this world she enjoys, poetry, cooking and interesting people and ask her if she knows a single true demon who could enjoy such things.
-[X] Promise that she can walk in the Deep openly soon, concealing her appearance was lately more for her spy-work's sake than because of her fiendish features.
--[X] Suggest that she spends some time among your people before her magic awakens.
 
BeepSmile said:
I don't wanna hear her idiot dad talk smack abot us giving his fragile little (helpless) flower a diabloic weapon.
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Meh. We can smooth that over with our superior social skills.
BeepSmile said:
There will probably be a more thought out vote later, but giving the sapient devil weapon to a 14yo NPC is just not something i'm in favor of.
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She's a PC and Viserys isn't that much older for whatever that's worth (was younger when the quest started).

@Diomedon I'll fold in my vote since I got no traction. I don't like how micromanagey your plan is and I'd prefer to leave the specifics to IC Viserys, especially since the WIS checks are now a thing and I trust him to have the appropriate level of caution. And the "spend time away from the weapon" thing seems like its too far and will just scare her needlessly. But I guess I just haven't assimilated the level of paranoia voters around here have.

[X] Diomedon
 
Prince Sheo said:
Genetics have cursed me with a high blood pressure and I've been blessed by inheriting my fathers competitiveness and temper, so I always try to stay away from conflict because I tend to commit when I'm a part of one and that usually ends badly for me.
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I'm sorry, but I can't help but imagine:
"I enter Rage!"
"Alright, roll a Fort save... Red faced and frothing at the mouth, you pass out before your terrified enemy."
Goldfish said:
Wheel of Time is on a roll again. He must be over-caffeinated.
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Nah, that's FunkyEntropy catching up. WoT must be thinking "that ain't no paper!" when looking at FE's avatar.
Diomedon said:
things rather than accept surrender, and thus she should be cautious, particularly during sparring.
--[X]Finally, it is able to speak to it's wielder, and it is likely to give her bad advice if they will listen, or even worse, seemingly good advice designed to make her rely upon it, and use that reliance to twist her to its purposes.
--[X]If she does take up this weapon, you advise her to not carry it with her at all times, and in particular ensure she has time spent with comrades away from the thing every week.
--[X]If it's too much, she doesn't have to accept it, you simply think it could be useful from the back of a dragon, but there are other ways to squeeze use from things. Additionally, if she accepts and finds it too difficult or too grating, you'd prefer she'd tell you and exchange it rather than suffer needlessly. She is much more important and valuable than some rusty chain, no matter how magical it is.
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... This ranges from conjecture to straight up false.
 

[X] Speak to Valaena.
-[X] Offer her the Coils of Agony but warn her that the chain likes to kill things and isn't picky about what. Be careful about listening to its advice when it's about anything but fighting. It can't actually affect her, however. Her amulet makes her immune to it, and a spellcaster's trained will should make her highly resistant. The most it can do is talk.
-[X] It is, however, a truly phenomenal weapon. Especially good for someone mounted on a flying beast, and at the same time great for the style we are seeing her develop. Getting anything comparable would be highly unlikely. We trust her good sense in handling it, it's a weapon, a great and unique weapon, it just has some unique safety warnings, much like any other weapon might. She shouldn't let herself be scared of it.
--[X] If she accepts encourage her to train with the weapon before the expedition to Daemon's Folly.
--[X] If it's more trouble than it's worth, just tell us and we will help her.
-[X] Give Valaena her dragon egg and pass on the dragonlore advice you received from Bloodraven.

There, the weapon is a bloodthirsty puppy, not a shoulder demon.
 
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TotallyNotEvil said:
[X] Speak to Valaena.
-[X] Offer her the Coils of Agony but warn her that the chain likes to kill things and isn't picky about what. Be careful about listening to its advice when it's about anything but fighting.
-[X] It is, however, a truly phenomenal weapon. Especially good for someone mounted on a flying beast, but also great for the style we are seeing her develop.
--[X] If she accepts encourage her to train with the weapon before the expedition to Daemon's Folly.
-[X] Give Valaena her dragon egg and pass on the dragonlore advice you received from Bloodraven.

There, the weapon is a bloodthirsty puppy, not a shoulder demon.
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I suggest you reread the rules about intelligent items, it can talk to her at any time and cannot be turned off. Though you're right, it's not a shoulder demon, it's a shoulder devil. :p
 
Duesal said:
[X] Diomedon
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Takesis said:
[X] Diomedon
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Scribbler said:
[X] Diomedon
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TalonofAnathrax said:
[X] Diomedon
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May I ask you to reconsider? "It will want to kill things when sparring because it can't accept a retreat.". "It will try to twist you for its own purposes". "Don't carry your own damn weapon."

This is ranges from straight up false to purely conjecture. Seems to be trying to scare her away more than anything.

It's an intelligent evil weapon. But it's purposes are well known and more or less set in steel. Ironically, it's greatest desire should be fighting demons.

It's not a contract devil sitting on her hip, whispering evil and malice. It has no powers beyond being a good weapon.
 
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Duesal said:
This isn't true. It was also because of her fiendish features. Bloodraven explicitly warned us about the PR consequences of showing Azema openly.
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That argument about her spywork was what decided the last vote on asking her to stay hidden or not.

By now we have several fiend-blooded citizens and a regular guy won't be able to easily tell the difference between a Tiefling with stronglyy demonic features and a Half-Fiend.
I'm not saying she should tell people she's been an agent of Chaos and Evil for centuries, just that she can openly stretch her wings.
 
Artemis1992 said:
That argument about her spywork was what decided the last vote on asking her to stay hidden or not.

By now we have several fiend-blooded citizens and a regular guy won't be able to easily tell the difference between a Tiefling with stronglyy demonic features and a Half-Fiend.
I'm not saying she should tell people she's been an agent of Chaos and Evil for centuries, just that she can openly stretch her wings.
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Yeah, that was the most effective point and so that's what I argued for. The other is that having an Alu Demon openly work for us is pretty terrible PR overall, especially when we're doing our best to pound into our populace that we stand firm against monsters.

[X] TotallyNotEvil
 
TotallyNotEvil said:
May I ask you to reconsider? "It will want to kill things when sparring because it can't accept a retreat.". "It will try to twist you for its own purposes". "Don't carry your own damn weapon."

This is ranges from straight up false to purely conjecture. Seems to be trying to scare her away more than anything.
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Eh. I agree that it seems like Diomedon's plan is too much, but yours is too little. Maybe add a generic IC "explain what Viserys knows of the dangers of such weapons," or "present her with a primer on the baatezu who had once wielded this weapon and whose semblance it bears."
 
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TotallyNotEvil said:
I'm sorry, but I can't help but imagine:
"I enter Rage!"
"Alright, roll a Fort save... Red faced and frothing at the mouth, you pass out before your terrified enemy."

Nah, that's FunkyEntropy catching up. WoT must be thinking "that ain't no paper!" when looking at FE's avatar.

... This ranges from conjecture to straight up false.
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Thank you, I very much enjoyed that :lol

[X] TotallyNotEvil
 
Duesal said:
Yeah, that was the most effective point and so that's what I argued for. The other is that having an Alu Demon openly work for us is pretty terrible PR overall, especially when we're doing our best to pound into our populace that we stand firm against monsters.
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Yes, but we are also trying to define a monster.

Xor is Beholderkin, an Aberration born of incomprehensible madness with a lot of crazy evil relatives.
Glyra is a Gremlin, an incarnation of petty violence and brutal slapstick.
Yet neither are what we call monsters.

I like what DP said about Dany's view, those within the circle of fire contributing to society and the others.
Azema is in. She doesn't fit in very well, but to the best of our knowledge she's keeping to the rules and deals we made. So she's not a monster here.
That's something we can tell our people, especially if we keep her backstory in the dark.

Edit: And our Westerosi-PR targets couldn't tell a Halfdragon from a Demon, nevermind an Alu from a Tiefling.
 
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