Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Goldfish said:
Casting Magic Army on the Legion's weapons will help, too. Everyone having +3 weapons is a significant boost on their already top quality equipment.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

With +3 weapons they will shred through most mundane troops.

And the ones which are not mundane will fall to concentrated fire, so I doubt that they have something we should worry about besides PCs.
 
Tomcost said:
Plus, we have crossbowmen too. They won't survive indefinitely under crossbow fire.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ehhh, plate and gambesons protect against arrows and bolts. Technically even chainmail and gambesons will keep you safe from arrows.

Not that you want to get pelted with bolts or arrows for the most part, or why would they still find usage on medieval battlefields (aside from being effective against less armored enemies).

Mechanically tho since there's a pretty straight forward statistical gradient for the kind of damage D&D ranged weapons will do in mass combat, yeah, our arbalest-style crossbows will do some nasty things, if they manage to hit.

Of course there's also enhancement bonus'd weapons.
 
Crake said:
Ehhh, plate and gambesons protect against arrows and bolts. Technically even chainmail and gambesons will keep you safe from arrows.

Not that you want to get pelted with bolts or arrows for the most part, or why would they still find usage on medieval battlefields (aside from being effective against less armored enemies).

Mechanically tho since there's a pretty straight forward statistical gradient for the kind of damage D&D ranged weapons will do in mass combat, yeah, our arbalest-style crossbows will do some nasty things, if they manage to hit.

Of course there's also enhancement bonus'd weapons.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Oh, I remember hearing from full plated knights getting to the front lines terribly bruised and abttered from arrow fire.

In D&D terms, though, 1 out of 20 shots is a crit, so we will obliterate them.
 
We could also feed our crossbowmen the Enlarge-type Fairy Caps, so that they'll be Large-sized. It's bad enough when a +3 heavy crossbow bolt hits you, but when that bolt is basically as large as a ballista bolt the dude behind you probably has to worry, too.
 
Tomcost said:
Oh, I remember hearing from full plated knights getting to the front lines terribly bruised and abttered from arrow fire.

In D&D terms, though, 1 out of 20 shots is a crit, so we will obliterate them.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The horses tend to be considerably less protected, barding or no.

Can't exactly armor their legs.
 
[X] As a friend of the faith

Does it matter much if the knights are better than most our fighters?
To really get an impact they have to ride together in a big attack, and then any student can throw Entangle and Grease on the ground to stop most of them cold.
 
While Knights are technically an issue, they are underequipped, rather too few and worst of all; not at all organized. Further, they have yet to realize glorious charges are a thing of the past with even the barest of magical support. Recall how our mages used scrolls of humble Entangle of all things in Lys to foul up everything. Each casting is a 40ft radius and even if they somehow scrounge up ways to counter it, weight of spells cast shall still bury them.

Am not factoring them in. No point.
 
Artemis1992 said:
[X] As a friend of the faith

Does it matter much if the knights are better than most our fighters?
To really get an impact they have to ride together in a big attack, and then any student can throw Entangle and Grease on the ground to stop most of them cold.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It honestly doesn't matter at all, no.

Even if they're better than levies, they're not better than the Legion or the supporting mages. They're not better than our Flesh Forged vassals. They're not better than our hero units. And their equipment is just laughable in comparison.

Not to mention all the knights we've recruited to our side who will more than keep them in check.
 
I wonder, how much time until we can have a round table with our allied deities in the Imperium?

And I don't mean Heralds, but the deities themselves. We are going to need to have one to make the Imperial Deity and have everyone agree simultaneously.
 
Last edited:
Tomcost said:
I wonder, how much time until we can have a round table with our allied deities in the Imperium?

And I don't mean Heralds, but the deities themselves. We are going to need to have one to make the Imperial Deity and ahve everyone agree simultaneously.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The easiest way to make this happen is probably to have the metaphysical architecture to make simultaneous manifestations workable.

I get the impression that Deities aren't really able to reliably interact with mortals, let alone each other, in a timely manner. It's not a matter of "can I pay attention to the buzzing mayfly right now" so much as "are the stars in alignment? Have I met all the pre-requisites to bypass the facets of my being which bind me from acting out of turn?"

And so on.

Having an indirect means to communicate with multiple Gods seems like a mega-project of its own. Even talking with multiple avatars at the same time should cause some issues, chief among them being that it's not really the Prime Instance of that God you are talking to anyway.
 
Crake said:
The easiest way to make this happen is probably to have the metaphysical architecture to make simultaneous manifestations workable.

I get the impression that Deities aren't really able to reliably interact with mortals, let alone each other, in a timely manner. It's not a matter of "can I pay attention to the buzzing mayfly right now" so much as "are the stars in alignment? Have I met all the pre-requisites to bypass the facets of my being which bind me from acting out of turn?"

And so on.

Having an indirect means to communicate with multiple Gods seems like a mega-project of its own. Even talking with multiple avatars at the same time should cause some issues, chief among them being that it's not really the Prime Instance of that God you are talking to anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yet this is too something that will need to happen at some point. We won't be able to unilaterally decide things about the Imperial Deity on our own, as the others will be the ones feeding from it.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Part MMMDLV: Of Hidden Embers
  • Threadmarks
    • Of Hidden Embers ​

    Twenty Ninth Day of the First Month 294 AC

    It is easy enough to find a small patch of greenery in what must have once been some noble's park before the surrounding buildings crept close enough to leave it a shadowed weed choked place where actual goats now graze on tough hardy weeds that do not mind the stony soil and swift harsh rains of Norvos.

    "Hail and well met, though strange it has been the circumstances of our meeting I greet you as a friend to the faith," you begin as Dany waves cheerfully, somewhat to the bemusement of the would-be assassin.

    The sentiment is not helped any when your sister adds upon your words while setting herself down on the bench: "I for one am sorry you couldn't go through with it, but it would have made a bloody mess of our negotiations... er, probably literally."

    "I...Your Excellency..." The title sits uncomfortably upon her tongue as though she would rather give you another. "I am Lysandre, a humble servant of the Lord of Light. I was trained to be a priestess, but only part way before the fist of the heathens came down upon us all. Now I am as you saw me, a spy, sometimes an assassin."

    For the first time in quite some time you feel embarrassed, though you manage to keep the heat off your cheeks of course. You are not the Chosen of R'hllor and have no intention of using her mistaken presumption. "As I said I am a friend, I would hazard to say all of us here are, though I must confess I cast a spell to look upon the surface of your mind when I spotted you earlier and for that I apologize." That should handle it. While Azor Ahai might apologize for his own reasons, you doubt most members of the Red Faith imagine that particular figure as needing spells to know one's soul.

    Lysandre nods and you can practically see the assumptions realign behind her eyes like wheels spinning quick and bright. "There is nothing to forgive, others would have had more abrupt reactions to my deeds at the inn. I will find some other place and time to kill the Pig and the Boar..."

    "'Pig and Boar?'" Garin prompts curiously.

    "Oh, the Voice is the Pig because he squeals a lot and the Axe is the Boar because he gores folk wherever he goes and rolls around in the mud." Though she speaks the words lightly, you can hear the hatred and the pain that birthed those insults. Not just her own either.

    "Are there others working with you?" you ask carefully, knowing that she might refuse to answer, but interested just the same.

    "Some, a little over two dozen in my lot, a few other groups scattered throughout the city, mostly escaped slaves and some house and pillow slaves with freedom to move about the city. There are other groups I know of, but we don't tell each other much in case the damn Harrowers get to us. From faint embers a fire rises...." she says it like a quote but you do not recognize it from any holy text, something local then.

    "How do you fight the Bearded Priests when you aren't trying to poison their leaders?" Dany asks in the same cheerful tone she oft uses to disarm suspicions.

    "Keep priests safe, smuggle out those we need to when we can get to them, strike out at the worst of the Harrowers, organize large groups of slaves working together, and build up weapon caches for when the pot finally bubbles over."

    "And when do you think that might happen?" Waymar asks gravely, likely considering the horrors a slave revolt might unleash. What happened in some scattered places in Tyrosh and its hinterlands was bad enough, but without a Legion or Lawmen to stop them things could get very bleak indeed.

    "Not yet, not anytime soon," Lysandre replies. "We need more freedmen on our side, more weapons, more magic...." she trails off looking at you in askance, clearely curious to see if you have anything to offer along those lines.

    What do you do?

    [] Offer some overt aid to the Red Faith in Norvos
    -[] Write in

    [] Do not offer some overt aid to the Red Faith in Norvos

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are, almost done with Norvos entirely.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Of Hidden Embers ​

    Twenty Ninth Day of the First Month 294 AC

    It is easy enough to find a small patch of greenery in what must have once been some noble's park before the surrounding buildings crept close enough to leave it a shadowed weed-choked place where actual goats now graze on tough hardy weeds that do not mind the stony soil and swift harsh rains of Norvos.

    "Hail and well met, though strange have been the circumstances of our meeting, I greet you as a friend to the faith," you begin as Dany waves cheerfully somewhat to the bemusement of the would be assassin. The sentiment is not helped any when your sister adds upon setting herself down on the bench, "I for one am sorry you couldn't go through with it, but it would have made a bloody mess of our negotiations... er, probably literally."

    "I...Your Excellency...." The title sits uncomfortably upon her tongue as though she would rather give you another. "I am Lysandre, a humble servant of the Lord of Light. I was trained to be a priestess, but only part way before the fist of the heathens came down upon us all. Now I am as you saw me, a spy, sometimes an assassin."

    For the first time in quite some time, you feel embarrassed, though you manage to keep the heat off your cheeks of course. You are not the Chosen of R'hllor and have no intention of using her mistaken presumption. "As I said, I am a friend, I would hazard to say all of us here are, though I must confess I cast a spell to look upon surface of your mind when I spotted you earlier and for that I apologize." That should handle it. While Azor Ahai might apologize for his own reasons, you doubt most members of the Red Faith imagine that particular figure as needing spells to know one's soul.

    Lysandre nods and you can practically see the assumptions realign behind her eyes like wheels spinning quick and bright. "There is nothing to forgive. Others would have had more abrupt reactions to my deeds at the inn. I will find some other place and time to kill the Pig and the Boar..."

    "Pig and boar?" Garin prompts curiously.

    "Oh, the Voice is the Pig because he squeals a lot, and the Axe is the Boar because he gores folk wherever he goes and rolls around in the mud a lot." Though she speaks the words lightly, you can hear the hatred and the pain that birthed those insults. Not just her own either.

    "Are there others working with you?" you ask carefully, knowing that she might refuse to answer, but interested just the same.

    "Some, a little over two dozen in my lot. There are a few other groups scattered through the city, mostly escaped slaves and some house and pillow slaves with freedom to move about the city. There are other groups I know of, but we don't tell each other much in case the damn Harrowers get to us. From faint embers a fire rises...." she says it like a quote, but you do not recognize it from any holy text, something local then.

    "How do you fight the Bearded Priests when you aren't trying to poison their leaders?" Dany asks in the same cheerful tone she oft uses to disarm suspicions.

    "Keep priests safe, smuggle out who we need to when we can get to them, strike out at the worst of the harrowers, organize large groups of slaves working together, and build up weapon caches for when the pot finally bubbles over."

    "And when do you think that might happen?" Waymar asks gravely, likely considering the horrors a slave revolt might unleash. What happened in some scattered places in Tyrosh and its hinterlands was bad enough, but without a legion or lawmen to stop them things could get very bleak indeed.

    "Not yet, not anytime soon," Lysandre replies. "We need more freedmen on our side, more weapons, more magic...." she trails off looking at you in askance, clearly curious to see if you have anything to offer along those lines.

    What do you do?

    [] Offer some overt aid to the Red Faith in Norvos
    -[] Write in

    [] Do not offer some overt aid to the Red Faith in Norvos

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are, almost done with Norvos entirely. Not yet edited.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Okay, several way to use this.

    I think that we should empower them, but economically. Former slaves, slowly buying themselves into freedom via trading contacts in the Imperium, while we shower the elite classes with enough deals to make them dependant on us will make them eventually both more accepting of us, and more tolerating towards the prospect of ending slavery. After all, they re getting rich anyway!

    Or, we could simply go and arm them and cause enough unrest and blooodshed that they come pleading to us for protection. That works too.
     
    [X] More reliable, untraceable methods of smuggling their most vulnerable out of the city through the auspices of the local Inquisition.
    -[X] Coordination between them and the Inquisition, effectively focusing on expanding your information network and intelligence apparatus.
    --[X] Rather than arming militants, you will be favoring freedmen and raising up business interests in Norvos sympathetic to their, and by extension your own, cause, will create small oases in Norvos free of persecution, at least to the degree that any sensitive matters they need to discuss can be disguised as regular movements and sensitive information can be exchanged and coordinated behind anti-divination wards.
    ---[X] As for the more direct assurances, you have not forgotten that slavery still exists in Norvos, and the people are suffering as all under the yoke of iron chains suffer in Essos. Promise that the twilight of the priesthood's rule is here already, but you are concerned, as you have always been, with the degree of suffering that all people free or enslaved might undergo if the socio-economic and political transition is not handled with care. As in other states, all those who have committed unconscionable atrocities, whether out of personal greed or due to ideological differences or in the name of a creed, will be brought to judgement fairly and swiftly under the law of the day.
    ----[X] Your advice is to keep the network tightly focused so as not to lead the First Axe into rolling up multiple cells one after another, and rather than focus on arming a slave rebellion, utilize the resources those bearing the Book and Sword provide to gather information. About the Priesthood, about the nobility and supporters of the Harrowers, their vulnerabilities and advantages which can be wrung by setting one group against another.
    -----[X] Privately to yourself, you note that depending on her performance in the next few months with Imperial assets at her disposal, you might consider extending the Inquisitor's badge to her. If she can bring herself to act within the tenets set by the Inquisition, your agents here will report that information to you accordingly.
     
    Last edited:
    [] "Now is not the time to press the Bearded Priests, Lysandre, nor the Norvosi authorities they control. If you and your compatriots were to give them an excuse, they might fall upon you all with the full force and fury available to them." We might have helped to sow a few seeds of discord among the Bearded Priests, seeds which may sprout into outright factional conflict if we are lucky, but providing them with an internal threat could unite them as surely as an invasion.

    I was starting to write up a plan, but my Summoning powers have grown so powerful that I retroactively Summoned @Crake before I could even post. /flex

    [X] Crake
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top