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

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@Azel
Have you considered Corpsespun for your next abominations?
Might be a bit hard to get the template, unless one changes the fluff, but in itself it looks quite good.
INT 1, near mindless undead would also be a good next step to work on. Something to experiment with little moral trouble, if we don't want to start with truly intelligent undead.
 
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Interlude DCCV: Stars and Shadow
  • Threadmarks
    • Stars and Shadow​

    Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Western Shore of the Rhoyne, Volantis, New City

    Eleana Aetharis had not traveled over the Long Bridge to the newer western shore in almost ten years, not since her father was alive and she had to pretend to care about the Trading House he had forged, the wealth and power by which he had managed to win the hand of a daughter of the Old Blood. Eleana's mother had never forgiven him for it, but it was not disdain akin to her mother's that kept the sorceress away from the crooked streets of the new city.

    Trade had its place just as craftsmen did in the life of the city, it just did not belong in her life. When her teachers had introduced her to higher mathematics she had fallen in love with the play of abstract numbers, but found it almost impossible to concentrate on their practical applications. When they had taught her navigation by the stars she had become fascinated instead by the beauty and harmony of the firmament, and for over eight years after her father's death had none nothing to add to the family coffers, only spend. Though unlike most in her position she had spent modestly.

    There were, after all, only so many instruments one needed to buy if you were actually going to use them rather than polish them to a shine and show them off, and as for books... well if you made the right friends rather than easily impressed fools there were books in Volantis more than one could read in a lifetime... a mortal lifetime at least.

    Though the summer air was stifling the sorceress shivered slightly at the reminder of the devil's soft blandishments whispered in her ear. It had not been lying, not about the secrets it could teach her, not about the power she would hold, and not, she suspected, about earthly eternity. Time, after all, was on Hell's side, by folly or mischance she would have perished eventually and the more she learned, the stronger she became, the brighter her soul would have been in Mammon's grasp in the end, one more bauble for her collection. Watcher guide my steps, she gave a short prayer to Meraxes. Eleana had never been particularly religious, settled in a soft of comfortable sophisticated disbelief that did not require more than the odd nod to the silent shrines of the Fourteen, but when a goddess willfully extracts one's soul from the grasp of eternal damnation at some risk to her still flickering presence that was more than enough to engender a measure of gratitude.

    As she entered the offices of the Keeper of the River Gates, the harbormaster in the low tongue, the mage noticed the two warrior women guarding the way, Teana's guards... and themselves baatezu. Oddly enough she did not feel any fear in their presence, for all she knew they would show as little mercy in the service of their new lord as their old one. What she felt instead was satisfaction, it was petty, almost childish, and not terribly becoming of a lady of the Old Blood much less a sorceress invested with the two-headed key of a Mistress of the Mysterium, but she had long since learned that running away from one's own feelings was far more tiresome than simply hiding them from others. Others such as the woman she had come here to meet...

    "Wisdom Teana," she gave a Three-Quarters Spring Form bow, fitting for a superior with whom one had once shared an equal relationship with, though her position two and a half years ago had been far less clear. A good bit of the shadow-weaver's power came from speaking with Zherys' voice and having his ear as one who shared his bed.

    "My apologies for calling you out here, my lady. I've been spending most of the day trying to get proper seals for free trade in arcane reagents and I am concerned that if I vanish off even for a moment the functionaries may think I was some manner of phantasm of unwanted work and forget about me."

    Eleana laughed at least half-sincerely. It was common knowledge that after Archon Zherys had rooted the corruption out of these offices three times over the remaining... surviving functionaries were very careful of the proprieties, to the point of being rather slow. Still, she did not doubt for a moment that the other woman had called her here so that she would have to pass through the New City, to see with her own eyes the people to whom the Mysterim would have to open its gates to now that it had become part of the Dragon King's Scholarum. "The teaching methods you propose will prevent some from achieving their full potential, you understand that?" she asked solemnly.

    "Yes, they also allow far more mages to actually attain some potential beyond that of glorified servants to fetch one's tea, Wisdom," Teana replied. "The Scholarum counts over a thousand mages trained in its halls, and there are over thousand places you can put a mind and a pair of eyes trained in the arcane. A bit more skill, a higher circle of spells, all these things help, but not if you need a hundred sorcerers for every ten you have. After all..." her shadow flowed into a perfect duplicate of the younger mage that spoke in perfect synchronicity. "Most people can't be in more than one place at once."

    "A point, a definite point," Eleana allowed dryly, not allowing any of her surprise to show. As was often the case with unfamiliar magic it was one thing to know about it and another to experience it with one's own senses. "I assume you have called upon me because my methods are easier to adapt to gentler teachings than either the Disciples or the Flame Binders?"

    "Yes," Teana confirmed. "Idealy you can retain considerable capacity to train more advanced courses, also there are more teachers available for when the Mysterium finishes its restructuring."

    "I can interview some of them three days from tomorrow, perhaps you could find some with magic in the blood that is not the blood of magic..."

    And so they talked the day away until the first stars rose over the Black Wall.

    OOC: Well this flowed well, not sure if I have one more update in me today though.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Stars and Shadow ​

    Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Western Shore of the Rhyone, Volantis, New City

    Eleana Aetharis had not traveled over the Long Bridge to the newer western shore in almost ten years, not since her father was alive and she had to pretend to care about the trading house he had forged, the wealth and power by which he had managed to win the hand of a daughter of the Old Blood. Eleana's mother had never forgiven him for it, but it was not disdain akin to her mother's that kept the sorceress away from the crooked streets of the new city.

    Trade had its place, just as craftsmen did in the life of the city, it just did not belong in her life. When her teachers had introduced her to higher mathematics, she had fallen in love with the play of abstract numbers, but found it almost impossible to concentrate on their practical applications. When they had taught her navigation by the stars, she had become fascinated instead by the beauty and harmony of the firmament, and for over eight years after her father's death had done nothing to add to the family coffers, only spend. Unlike most in her position, however, she had spent modestly.

    After all, there were only so many instruments one needed to buy if you were actually going to use them rather than polish them to a shine and show them off and as for books... Well, if you made the right friends rather than easily impressed fools, there were books in Volantis more than one could read in a lifetime... a mortal lifetime at least.

    Altough the summer air was stifling, the sorceress shivered slightly at the reminder of the devil's soft blandishments whispered in her ear. It had not been lying, not about the secrets it could teach her, nor about the power she would hold, and not, she suspected, about earthly eternity. Time was on Hell's side, after all. By folly or mischance she would have perished eventually, and the more she learned the stronger she became, the brighter her soul would have been in Mammon's grasp in the end, one more bauble for his collection. Watcher guide my steps, she gave a short prayer to Meraxes. Eleana had never been particularly religious, having settled into a sort of comfortable sophisticated disbelief that did not require more than the odd nod to the silent shrines of the Fourteen. When a goddess willfully extracts one's soul from the grasp of eternal damnation at some risk to her still flickering presence, that was more than enough to engender a measure of gratitude.

    As she entered the Offices of the Keeper of the River Gates, the harbormaster in the low tongue, the mage noticed the two warrior women guarding the way, Teana's guards... and themselves baatezu. Oddly enough, she did not feel any fear in their presence, for all she knew they would show as little mercy in the service of their new lord as their old one. What she felt instead was satisfaction, it was petty, almost childish, and not terribly becoming of a lady of the Old Blood much less a sorceress invested with the two-headed key of a Mistress of the Mysterium, but she had long since learned that running away from one's own feelings was far more tiresome than simply hiding them from others. Others, such as the woman she had come here to meet...

    "Wisdom Teana," she gave a Three-Quarters Spring Form bow, fitting for a superior with whom one had once shared an equal relationship, though her position two and a half years ago had been far less clear. A good bit of the shadow-weaver's power then came from speaking with Zherys' voice and having his ear as one who shared his bed.

    "My apologies for calling you out here, my lady. I've been spending most of the day trying to get proper seals for free trade in arcane reagents, and I am concerned that if I vanish off even for a moment the functionaries may think I was some manner of phantasm of unwanted work and forget about me."

    Eleana laughed at least half-sincerely. It was common knowledge that after Archon Zherys had rooted the corruption out of these offices three times over, the remaining... surviving functionaries were very careful of the proprieties, to the point of being rather slow. Still, she did not doubt for a moment that the other woman had called her here so that she would have to pass through the new city, to see with her own eyes the people to whom the Mysterim would soon have to open its gates, now that it had become part of the Dragon King's Scholarum. "The teaching methods you propose will prevent some from achieving their full potential, you understand that?" she asked solemnly.

    "Yes, but they also allow far more mages to actually attain some potential beyond that of glorified servants to fetch one's tea, Wisdom," Teana replied. "The Scholarum counts over a thousand mages trained in its halls, a over thousand places you can put a mind and a pair of eyes trained in the arcane. A bit more skill, a higher circle of spells, all these things help, but not if you need a hundred sorcerers for every ten you have. After all...." her shadow flowed into a perfect duplicate of the younger mage that spoke in perfect synchronicity with the original. "Most people can't be in two or more places at once."

    "A point, a definite point," Eleana admitted dryly, not allowing any of her surprise to show. As was often the case with unfamiliar magic, it was one thing to know about it and another to experience it with one's own senses. "I assume you have called upon me because my methods are easier to adapt to gentler teaching than either the Disciples or the Flame Binders."

    "Yes," Teana confirmed. "Ideally, you can retain considerable capacity to train more advanced courses also. There are more teachers available for when the Mysterium finishes its restructuring."

    "I can interview some of them three days from tomorrow. Perhaps you could find some with magic in the blood that is not the blood of magic..."

    And so they talked the day away, until the first stars rose over the Black Walls.

    OOC: Well this flowed well, not sure if I have one more update in me today though. Not yet edited.
    Click to expand...
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Scholarum sheets updated with latest teachers, but I didn't add the Lillends we were planning to summon during the 12th month because AFAIK that hasn't happened yet. Right?
     
    OK Vote closed on the main update. Level up vote open.
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 17, 2020 at 2:48 PM, finished with 117 posts and 10 votes.
    • [X] Remain in Mardja and try to find more mercenaries
      -[X] With the festival in full swing for another two weeks, there may not be any sizable mercenary companies in the area who are not already bound by contract. If we cannot find any within a day, we will travel to Kelasi to learn more of the conflict between the Emir and Galzerai. Rather than seeking to speak to the Emir himself, we will instead spend the day seeking out more rumors and accounts from those citizens we are able to speak with, along with using Divination magic such as Ears of the City to learn more.
      -[X] If there are mercenary companies available to hire, however, we will attempt to arrange meetings with their representatives to learn the size of their companies, the composition of their forces, and the price for their services.
      -[X] If you're at the point where available mercenaries have to be hunted down personally because it isn't immediately obvious if there are any mercenaries available, PC or otherwise, you are instead going to use the day to 'instigate' (pay for) a few rumors to be spread yourself, telling prospective champions (individuals selling their premium services) and Free Company captains to offer their services at your Embassy in Vialesk. You will also insert the pay that your two current companies managed to secure (long-term contract at equitable terms plus many, many services from yourself that they couldn't hope to find elsewhere) among those rumors. You will spread similar rumors in Vialesk when you pick up your orders. If that doesn't drive anyone with empty pockets and no contract towards your war, you don't really know of anything that will.
      [X] [Azel] Proceed to not care.
    Click to expand...
     
    Inserted tally
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 17, 2020 at 2:48 PM, finished with 117 posts and 10 votes.
    • [X] Remain in Mardja and try to find more mercenaries
      -[X] With the festival in full swing for another two weeks, there may not be any sizable mercenary companies in the area who are not already bound by contract. If we cannot find any within a day, we will travel to Kelasi to learn more of the conflict between the Emir and Galzerai. Rather than seeking to speak to the Emir himself, we will instead spend the day seeking out more rumors and accounts from those citizens we are able to speak with, along with using Divination magic such as Ears of the City to learn more.
      -[X] If there are mercenary companies available to hire, however, we will attempt to arrange meetings with their representatives to learn the size of their companies, the composition of their forces, and the price for their services.
      -[X] If you're at the point where available mercenaries have to be hunted down personally because it isn't immediately obvious if there are any mercenaries available, PC or otherwise, you are instead going to use the day to 'instigate' (pay for) a few rumors to be spread yourself, telling prospective champions (individuals selling their premium services) and Free Company captains to offer their services at your Embassy in Vialesk. You will also insert the pay that your two current companies managed to secure (long-term contract at equitable terms plus many, many services from yourself that they couldn't hope to find elsewhere) among those rumors. You will spread similar rumors in Vialesk when you pick up your orders. If that doesn't drive anyone with empty pockets and no contract towards your war, you don't really know of anything that will.
      [X] [Azel] Proceed to not care.
    Click to expand...
     
    Part MMMCCXCV: A Turn of the Path
  • Threadmarks
    • A Turn of the Path​

    Seventh Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Making the rounds of every tavern and feasthall in the city in search of sellswords will gain you a... unique understanding of the local culture, but it is unlikely to be worth your time. Thus, though it is hardly the most glorious or kingly of endeavors, you spend the remainder of the day spreading tales about yourself, specifically the coin you are willing to spread with an open hand to any and all who would be willing to battle the Deep Ones in your service. Vialesk and your embassy there may be further away for most trading vessels other than the Moonchaser can manage, but you have no doubt a determined mercenary can make the journey.

    "A job fairly done, or as much as can be managed over the din of feasts and revelry," you say, shaking your head at the sight of a mephit swimming with a bit too much wine in his stomach becoming tangled in an old cecaelia's tentacles much to the latter's annoyance. You learn three new curse words out of the bargain.

    "Well you could have tried playing the minstrel all the way and sung about the gold and glory they are likely to get," Lya suggests slyly.

    "I could, couldn't I?" It is a frivolous use for a wish you cannot deny, but still you conjure a song from memory and empty water to briefly envelop the two of you, drawing a laugh from Lya.

    ***​

    "You want me to turn the ship around because you found out about another dragon kidnapping a princess over in Kelasi?" Another captain might have asked the question incredulously, perhaps even with a trace of disapproval. Moonsong is excited at the tale. "So you say whoever kills the dragon and rescues the princess can marry her, right?" she continues after a moment.

    "Yes," you nod, curious to know what she is playing at. You doubt it's anything as simple as teasing you over having to explain you do not want to marry anyone but Lya.

    "Could I help with the killing if you end up doing it? That way you can tell the emir I did the deed," the fey captain finishes, much to the silent amusement of her bridge crew.

    "You want to marry a marid princess?" Lya asks bewildered and little wonder. Moonsong and marriage go about as well together as Azema and celibacy.

    "No, but can you imagine the face the emir would make if he thinks I do?" the sprite laughs so hard she spontaniously shapeshifts into her smaller form. "It would make a hell of a song that would, though I'm not sure if a lute's the right instrument to get that across," she adds, finally catching her breath.

    "And what would be the right instrument?" you prompt.

    "A sack full of tumbling rocks maybe," comes the perfectly timed reply. "So are you staying with the ship this time or joining us when we get to Kelasi?"

    What do you reply?

    [] Stay with the ship for the full five days travel to Kelasi
    -[] Write in activity

    [] Head to the Reach, there are lords that need persauding as much or more than the marid emirs
    -[] Write in which to visit first

    [] Write in

    OOC: I made the roll for mercs and realized the next update wouuld be very short regardless as I could not just have Viserys sit around waiting for five days so I wrote it tonight.
     
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    • Moonsong is great. I'm in favor of letting her participate if we do end up fighting that Dragon, despite the risks to her health. We can always Rezz her and take it out of her pay or something.
     
    Am I the only one that think Viserys distaste of marrying off the princess kidnapped by the dragon overblown?

    Because unless he forgot, people had to content with NPC classes until very recently, or make do with race HD. So if the local king wants to marry off his daughter to the guy who rescue the princess and slay the dragon, maybe it is because the king both want to have someone strong enough to beat a dragon on his bloodline to add to the strength of their family, and as a bribe for said dragon slayer not to one day decide he wants to conquer or raid that particular kingdom.

    And let's be honest, unless your name is Viserys if a PC becomes king they will push around 90% of the ruling to the family he married into, and the princess will do most of the job and make most of the important decisions unless it catches the interest of the PC.

    Hell, Viserys himself pushes an ungodly amount of work on Alinor despite working near 24/7.

    Maybe someone needs to remind him that not everyone can turn a mountain into a volcano pre-epic, or is even inclined to get the necessary trauma world experience to advance past level 5.

    EDIT: It's several hours late but I wanted to leave this particular comment.
     
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    ryuan said:
    Am I the only one that think Viserys distaste of marrying off the princess kidnapped by the dragon overblown?

    Because unless he forgot, people had to content with NPC classes until very recently, or make do with race HD. So if the local king wants to marry off his daughter to the guy who rescue the princess and slay the dragon, maybe it is because the king both want to have someone strong enough to beat a dragon on his bloodline to add to the strength of their family, and as a bribe for said dragon slayer not to one day decide he wants to conquer or raid that particular kingdom.

    And let's be honest, unless your name is Viserys if a PC becomes king they will push around 90% of the ruling to the family he married into, and the princess will do most of the job and make most of the important decisions unless it catches the interest of the PC.

    Hell, Viserys himself pushes an ungodly amount of work on Alinor despite working near 24/7.

    Maybe someone needs to remind him that not everyone can turn a mountain into a volcano pre-epic, or is even inclined to get the necessary trauma world experience to advance past level 5.
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    Viserys hates slavery. Considering the rights of a married woman in his own culture, he seems to consider forced marriage tantamount to slavery and rape. If a single dragon-slayer could conquer your Kingdom, then how did you have it in the first place?

    Yes, marrying your daughter to a Dragon-slayer makes perfect sense for the King. But from the point of view of the daughter, it's cruel and likely won't end well.

    Oh, and the people here didn't have to contend with NPC classes or anything. They kept their magic, their powers, and their high fantasy high-level bullshit available.
     
    Kind of miss the point, since if that were enough they both A) didn't get the princess kidnapped in the first place, and B) didn't need to offer the princess hand as reward.

    It's a royal marriage, those things tend to be a very big deal even if she's not the heir.
     
    ryuan said:
    Am I the only one that think Viserys distaste of marrying off the princess kidnapped by the dragon overblown?

    Because unless he forgot, people had to content with NPC classes until very recently, or make do with race HD. So if the local king wants to marry off his daughter to the guy who rescue the princess and slay the dragon, maybe it is because the king both want to have someone strong enough to beat a dragon on his bloodline to add to the strength of their family, and as a bribe for said dragon slayer not to one day decide he wants to conquer or raid that particular kingdom.

    And let's be honest, unless your name is Viserys if a PC becomes king they will push around 90% of the ruling to the family he married into, and the princess will do most of the job and make most of the important decisions unless it catches the interest of the PC.

    Hell, Viserys himself pushes an ungodly amount of work on Alinor despite working near 24/7.

    Maybe someone needs to remind him that not everyone can turn a mountain into a volcano pre-epic, or is even inclined to get the necessary trauma world experience to advance past level 5.

    EDIT: It's several hours late but I wanted to leave this particular comment.
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    He does not just object to it morally, he thinks it's pragmatically stupid. Power does not guarantee good will. A fiend could kill that dragon, a malicious sentient undead etc...
     
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