A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
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- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
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- United States
That would be the Blackwoods, and I agree. That happens to be Bloodraven's family on his mother's side.
- Location
- Australia
Like leads to like, we are quite capable of finding them with mortal magic.
[X] Crake
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[X] Crake
Add in the general set of books on threats we sent to lords too. This guys could probably use them. If only just for the comfort.
Add in the general set of books on threats we sent to lords too. This guys could probably use them. If only just for the comfort.
Canon Omake: The Dragon in the Room
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
The Dragon in the Room
Twenty First Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC
Luther hadn't known what he was expecting when Viserys Targaryen showed up in his study. He had met Rhaegar Targaryen, so that answered one question. The two were nothing alike. Oh, aye, there were similarities to be sure, why wouldn't there be? They were brothers, the two of them, yet one of them was dead and the other before him here and now, and if he had to weight and measure the worth of Princes one against the other, it was as simple as saying that one had divided the realm and the other sought to unify it into one as Aegon of old had set out to do when he first sighted Western shores.
Viserys, no, he supposed it was King Viserys, for though he had not decided yet if he would bend the knee, since that decision in itself might be contingent on what aid the man who was a dragon might offer him, and to that end he gave to them more than the simple courtesy but also the title along with it, ungrudging, for this was a man who reigned over millions even now and still sought not to hold his own coronation, from what could be told. It couldn't be more obvious why, Luther thought, unless he was shouting it from the top of the Red Keep, that is.
"They said he was a Tyroshi, that's near enough an accusation, isn't it?" It had seemed reasonable enough an assumption to Luther, at any rate, being manipulated like that rankled but he had tried to stake a price on his loyalty back then and even now would go on to do the same with this man, and at the very least Viserys Targaryen seemed every bit as unflappable and level-headed as his reputation made him out to be. Not another chip off the old block, then, Luther thought of Aerys, of Rhaegar and all the other cruel or mad from their line, the Maegors and the Aerion Brightflames. If you let a Septon preach it, he was every bit as vicious as the latter and twice as vindictive as the former. That's just twice as many dead fanatics, he grumbled inwardly.
Purple eyes danced with dark amusement, then curiosity, before resolving in a decision in a handful of heartbeats. That in itself was disconcerting to Luther, after all what he hadn't seen from the boy so far was a single ounce of surprise. "This bears further investigation," King Viserys said, almost absently, tucking his hands inside of his ornate robes' sleeves, cloak of golden scales dancing around his sinuous frame. He spied the ruby adorning his sheathed blade of Valyrian Steel held against one hip, a flicker of recognition floating through the Lord's mind, some book on arsenals in his study... "Would you be greatly opposed to reconvening after I have discovered the source of this Blight?"
Doubt threaded through Lord Luther's mind, not anger at the casual dismissal, and he would hardly forget his courtesies when he was curious of what angle the Dragon King was playing at. "Not at all, Your Grace," he spoke quickly, wondering why they would bother paying attention to something like as not some Lannister lick-spittle had dreamed up when told in half as many words to make of themselves a nuisance. It was their own time to waste, after all, and the famine wasn't going anywhere far as he could tell. Maybe it would teach them not to trust everything in spells and portents, even if they had gotten him this far.
It could hardly hurt a King to learn a little humility before they took up their crown and scepter in full.
***
He returned not long after that, on the same day, and Luther was more confident it was a ruse of some sort... if not for how grim he appeared, no longer the almost affable air about him, more alike with a man preparing to go to war, a cloying sense of power and leashed anger swirling around him even as he delivered the news with a perfectly polite razor-thin smile that made the back of his neck tingle and hairs stand up on end.
This is a man who shoved a dozen inches of spell-steel into a man's eye before tens of thousands to make a point, far more than the prosaic one implicit, 'even if I were not turning you into burning effigies from the air I could come down there and kill you at your own game', and all the fools with their blades and lances could understand that simple message.
"So you solved the mystery then," Luther spoke, more bemused than anything else, still wondering at the point of all this. "Just like that."
"It's not the first time I've hunted down fiends," Viserys replied politely, which was even more disconcerting. He speaks of them like vermin swept out of the pantry.
"Of course," Luther said, introducing Benjen to hide his distraction.
***
And the rest of the facade faded away as he looked in the face the foulness that had been lurking right under his nose, poisoning his land, and to his own horror found it no comfort that as it turned out, the only one speaking any sense that day since the first turning of the sun when magic had seemingly come back into the world like the braying call of hunting horns in the distance, in wild spree and haunted backwoods, was the other truth thus revealed.
It hadn't stayed in the backwards places of the world, nor the wild lands, Luther thought, pale as chalk. It's here and it's staying. That is why he had given his pledge without thinking of what he might gain by it, already he knew the answer, survival. And not, he had thought, from obvious threats of dragon flame. If anything King Viserys seemed to act with a degree of obligation about applications of force, and naught once had he demanded fealty before all courtesies were even dispensed. What concern are common arms to him when they are barely fair wards against mundane treachery or invaders? He's here to do his duty, and anyone who gets in the way is simply exasperatingly naive.
Let them burn their granaries in rage, then the drought will come, King Viserys murmured, as if idly musing upon the impetus behind the plot, one he was directly connected to, from his own spread of the self same rituals, and he spoke not with horror or nursed anger, but with a sense of... not respect, exactly, but an acknowledgement, as if to say 'that might have worked, if you weren't so dogshite at this game'.
Gods, not everyone can turn into a dragon, he wanted to shout, but couldn't find his voice. When he finally did, he could only ask, "Your Grace, what is there to do?" What could anyone do beyond pray, and in that insight lay another revelation, finally, why men bothered to pray for results as if that would actually do something. You have to hope they'll turn up at the end, or you're fucked either way.
"Thankfully the Maledaemon is the center of the ritual, with her on hand it should be possible to shatter it." The King smiled at him calmly. He had done nothing but offer to help from the moment they first spoke, but it was this very smile that frightened the Lord the most. I have everything under control, it said.
Worse than a Maegor, worse than an Aerion, he's a bloody Jaehaerys and a wise Maekar with a dash of fucking Bloodraven.
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- Location
- US
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- He/Him
Do we ever get more details? Because this whole thing was super tense, then super anticlimactic. The ending boiled down to 'and you win.'
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Yes. I mean, it's still kind of coming along. Because she's a character with agency, DP always introduces more elements of an individual's character arc as we go along, rather than just info dumping, unless we literally shake down poor Bloodraven for it, or do something ordinarily insane like bribe Yss to play lawyer for us.
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- United States
Uncle Bloodraven would be so proud.
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- US
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- He/Him
Ah, I didn't mean about her as character. I'm expecting DP to develop her character over time and do a good job with it like always, given how good he is with characters. I meant more context of her original body, the curse, the fallout, etc. It's just not viscerally fulfilling to get a one paragraph description of Viserys listing his staff, and bam he wins. The chapter didn't even mention which curse he used or what they were hoping for. Which is odd.
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- United States
Basically it was an advanced fungal curse to rot every trace of Jeyne that the Deep Ones had. Everything, from her original body to any parts they harvested off of her. And then we purged the curse from the psionic body so that it would become her new body.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Well, we specifically went for this option because we had special tools that nobody really expected us to possess since they were just random junk we picked up on our travels, and then made even better by acts of literal gods.
Talon was complaining earlier because, rightfully so, even if we don't just pay a god to fix something for us, we probably paid them to make us the thing so we could go fix it ourselves, which is the same thing in the end.
Because Gacha Gods are too damn useful.
Also, the plan for the update itself mentions all of the mechanics, the curse used, and plans in general usually even describe our motives for taking them. And the discussion expands even further in details.
You're doing Reader Mode only, right? That's fine, and you can still participate pretty well even with only that, but you're missing 90% of the decision basis by not reading discussion, and discussion informs on the reasoning Viserys uses for taking those actions, which all current and up to date readers are aware of.
- Location
- E-Girl Deseret
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- She/Her
On the other hand, 14,221 pages takes a looong time to get through.
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- Australia
Interesting and I like it, does everyone know/believe Viserys can turn into a Dragon?
I thought the rumours of it was that it was just rumours, it's almost a little strange to run into someone who believes it given the interactions we have.
Even Luther seems far too calm for a man who believes.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
The flesh is weak, but the mind can be steel.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Viserys has repeatedly and casually taken on the appearance of a dragon before a large number of people and those rumors are getting more and more consistent thanks to MirrorVision spreading mostly the same news.
- Location
- United States
This. Viserys makes absolutely no secret about what he is. Even freaking Robb Stark and Jon Snow heard rumors, which Jon probably confirmed in a dream.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Also don't read too much into Luther's calmness--he's not, he just has other more pertinent concerns, he repeatedly displays he's not exactly comfy in Viserys' presence, sometimes treating him like a tiger that wandered out of its cage, and lastly those more consistent reports have had months to circulate and confirm even older rumors, so I imagine if you're not breaking down into a fit of hysterics at the mere sight of Viserys, you're adaptable enough to set it aside to a degree.
- Location
- US
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I've read a lot of the discussions, like for level ups, turn votes, major decisions, the mythic path etc. But if course I miss a lot, 14k pages of discussion is just not happening.
Most times the narrative does a great job of capturing the discussion and the naunce, and outcomes feel weighty and potent.
This chapter just left me wanting a lot, where the curse was very brief and not elaborate at all. Granted having a God staff of cursing is a pretty good win stick all on its own, so maybe more detail wasn't needed. I was just hoping you'd gotten more info from future deep one raids or something.
This is Kind of like when you attacked the Lannisters with that wood rot mold. The discussion was interesting and the solution clever, and I was really excited to get a description of the fallout, imagining Tywin pulling out his hair. But there was literally no fallow up for 40 chapters until a one paragraph insert by Bloodraven.
Most times the narrative does a great job of capturing the discussion and the naunce, and outcomes feel weighty and potent.
This chapter just left me wanting a lot, where the curse was very brief and not elaborate at all. Granted having a God staff of cursing is a pretty good win stick all on its own, so maybe more detail wasn't needed. I was just hoping you'd gotten more info from future deep one raids or something.
This is Kind of like when you attacked the Lannisters with that wood rot mold. The discussion was interesting and the solution clever, and I was really excited to get a description of the fallout, imagining Tywin pulling out his hair. But there was literally no fallow up for 40 chapters until a one paragraph insert by Bloodraven.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
That's geopolitical terrorism and asymmetric warfare for you. We have too much to do to waste time watching the fireworks from our latest hijinks, so instead we get a report in triplicate from our growing spy network, or else a debriefing from our spymaster.
The quest sometimes takes on more of that "bottom up" describing each proceeding step to events when we bother to set aside rule to go and act like an actual PC again, but we slide back into top-down regularly to handle business, and thus that innately compartmentalizes actions which are obviously "and then we do this thing, make sure it goes off, then pop deuces because we have other shit to do".
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- Australia
I am aware but we've also routinely seen people dismiss the rumours as merely that or at best achieved with magic, illusion or otherwise.
But this was only part of my point...
I see that he's not exactly comfortable but there's a difference between seeing Siegfried and Roy and having tea with them sitting opposite an unrestrained 300 kilo killing machine without leaving the room immediately.
This is very much more than that, I'm not sure I can count a man sane to sit in a room with a man he believes to be a multi-ton Fire breathing killing machine capable of reducing your multi-generational keep to slag if not making it explicitly clear you are an ally through and through.
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Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
- Location
- Australia
Yes the mitigating factor is growing up in a world where 95% of Tigers won't eat you without a warning and almost certainly not in your own home - Honor and Guest right.
But we still aren't just a Tiger, props to him for showing Viserys the respect to make this assumption and props to Viserys for earning it despite propaganda.
Everyone involved is still definitely effing crazy but it's a little more understandable.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
The damn consistent thing in this world is people keep assuming things will just work out, for one reason or another. "I am invincible", "my mighty House", "the Pride of the Lannisters", "The Gods are on my side", "I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" - Tiamat, circa 5000~ BC, probably.
Great job on the Luther omake @Crake I would have liked to cover his state of mind more deeply but I could not justify it in the narrative with so many other things left to do. The omake slotted in perfectly. I loved the moment of realization, the ironic part is that Viserys thinks the catalyst was just the daemon but for Luthor it was just as much if not more Viserys himself.