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

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Crake said:
Goldfish's Kindle is some kind of memetic cognito-hazard...
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I expect Kyle Reese to show up any day now to destroy it before it can become Skynet.

If he fails and it ends up destroying Human civilization, I hope it looks kindly upon me for keeping it charged and exposing it to the internet...

I'm fucked.
 
Goldfish said:
I expect Kyle Reese to show up any day now to destroy it before it can become Skynet.

If he fails and it ends up destroying Human civilization, I hope it looks kindly upon me for keeping it charged and exposing it to the internet...

I'm fucked.
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At least you could always go home for a while until the whole "reign of the machines" thing has blown over.
Poor mortals are stuck with the result of your eldritch-intelligence-infested autocorrupt.
 
@Crake, @Azel, any idea how we can push through Vialsesk getting a Planar Terminus in the coming months, considering this loredump?

I think that's our biggest goal with them at the moment, squid-war being pushed back OOC-like.

I'll phrase the action in the turnvote accordingly.
egoo said:
[] Heart of Waters, Darker Tides (continuation): [More diplomancing the Marids: Squids bad, Efreeti-man bad, Planar Terminus good]
----[] Hermetia; Grazdan the Grim; Koron Redmane; Lothos Saan; Menel Goldtooth; Living Ship Queen Rhaella & Diana the Sea Sprite; 1x Herald; 5x Advanced Erynies;
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Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Sep 4, 2020 at 2:23 PM, finished with 30 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] There Are Multiple Ways of Digging a Trench
    -[X] Eventually, from a simple matter of logistics, it would be economically pragmatic to expel the Deep Ones from the Material Plane and open up vast trade lanes to the populous cities across its surface world. And the Imperium could direct more effort toward trade if, ultimately, it was less concerned concerned by threat of extraplanar invaders who are known to be subversive in their attacks, as demonstrated by Viserys' personal thwarting of an agent of theirs in Vialesk months ago.
    --[X] Assure the Purples that this is no plot of ours. Their interests align with our own, and it is unfortunate that we are both caught up in such a divisive climate.
    -[X] Be more aloof on the matter of Gerlos themselves, the man caught a case of bad optics, but you don't need to give your own opposition in the city more ammunition.
    -[X] Note: You expect the prevailing sentiment in the Purples would also be to try letting this blow over, but maybe you can both coordinate efforts against the group that seems to have it out for your common interests? At the end of the day it was they who shed light on this situation in the first place and you have certain... resources, which can be applied. You merely need actionable information to know where to start.
    [X] You will also try attempt to reach out to the Greens, since they can sway policy for us and might be a viable way to force policy changes though threat of a coup if things require drastic steps. Though we won't communicate that idea... right away, anyway. Baby steps.
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Crake said:
@Azel, why would the Golds implicate the Purples, their allies in the Senate?
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No faction is monolithic and political alliances are usually filled with daggers.

There will be elements in the Gold who do not like the alliance with the Purples and will want to damage them on principle due to ideoly.
There will be some among the Golds who want to weaken the Purples to make them more pliable.
There will be those who think that damaging the more outspoken elements will make the moderates more compliant with their goals.
Etc.

The important question is "what do the Illithid want from Vialesk?" and the answer to that is "isolationism". Even if the Illithid are behind this, then it is a plot to damage the interventionist factions in favor of the isolationist ones. The Golds and the Illithid are natural allies, since they both want Vialesk far away from the war coalition. Same goes for the Golds and the Efreeti.
 
egoo said:
@Crake, @Azel, any idea how we can push through Vialsesk getting a Planar Terminus in the coming months, considering this loredump?

I think that's our biggest goal with them at the moment, squid-war being pushed back OOC-like.

I'll phrase the action in the turnvote accordingly.
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Tell the Purples and the Greens that we would love to make the Terminus in Vialesk, but are considering other options if the project remains in political limbo.
Make some public inquiries with other nearby city-states, gauging trade potential and asking totally noncommittally about their building ordinances.

A few will be pissed at us for "disrespecting" them, but that's just political theatre. In the end, they will greenlight the project post haste, lest they loose the massive economic and diplomatic benefit of the Terminus.
 
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Winning Vote
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Sep 4, 2020 at 2:23 PM, finished with 30 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] There Are Multiple Ways of Digging a Trench
    -[X] Eventually, from a simple matter of logistics, it would be economically pragmatic to expel the Deep Ones from the Material Plane and open up vast trade lanes to the populous cities across its surface world. And the Imperium could direct more effort toward trade if, ultimately, it was less concerned concerned by threat of extraplanar invaders who are known to be subversive in their attacks, as demonstrated by Viserys' personal thwarting of an agent of theirs in Vialesk months ago.
    --[X] Assure the Purples that this is no plot of ours. Their interests align with our own, and it is unfortunate that we are both caught up in such a divisive climate.
    -[X] Be more aloof on the matter of Gerlos themselves, the man caught a case of bad optics, but you don't need to give your own opposition in the city more ammunition.
    -[X] Note: You expect the prevailing sentiment in the Purples would also be to try letting this blow over, but maybe you can both coordinate efforts against the group that seems to have it out for your common interests? At the end of the day it was they who shed light on this situation in the first place and you have certain... resources, which can be applied. You merely need actionable information to know where to start.
    [X] You will also try attempt to reach out to the Greens, since they can sway policy for us and might be a viable way to force policy changes though threat of a coup if things require drastic steps. Though we won't communicate that idea... right away, anyway. Baby steps.
Click to expand...
 
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Interlude DCCCLXXXVIII: Upon Deeper Currents
  • Threadmarks
    • Upon Deeper Currents ​

    Fourteenth Day of the Second Month 294 AC

    Hermetia did not like Guildmaster Sergun, but she did understand him and both for much the same reason, finely scaled skin and swirling tentacles aside he could have been an old Tiger talking about restoring the glory of Volantis that never was. The hard part with that sort was telling sincere ambition from smooth-talking mummery for others to throw gold at like passers by into a street storyteller's hat. As she sipped her own ten year old Myrish strongwine and considered the cecaelia opposite to her she found that she still could not tell which was which.

    Glamour shrouded her and arcane insight whispered in her ear, but she was not the only one availing herself of those tools, as each in turn reflected in the mirror of sorcery borrowed and true the face they thought the other would like to see. "Allow me to clear the air in the matter of your nephew. There was no malicious intent towards him, his guild, or the Purples as a whole." Perhaps it was an edge of frustration at such games that caused her to err on the side of plain speaking, but it seemed to be working as intended. "Only a fool would discard an existing ally chasing the favor of a weaker rival."

    "The Blues hold more seats than us," the Guildmaster noted, tentacles coiling slowing through the pool she was 'seated' in

    "They have worse positioning," the ambassador sniffed. "Or do you imagine a Blue-Gold coalition appearing? What was it they called it last time such a thing was birthed, the 'monstrous coalition', I think?"

    "For fear of the possible consequences of our alliance with the Greens, and not to put too fine a point on it, the Fleet, or so they claimed at least. My predecessor was inclined to fiery rhetoric." The word did not have quite the same connotation in Aquan as it did in Valyrian or any of the other tongues Hermeia spoke. It carried shades of 'foolish' and 'headstrong'. "But it would never have come to anything, not while the Star Admiral is in command. He would sooner see the whole fleet lost to the Dark Waters than see it turned against the city."

    Hermetia stifled a sharp in-drawn breath with the skill of long practice. That was a touch too close close to the mark on the, admittedly vague, ultimate intentions of their approach to the Greens over the last few days. Aubert would not have breathed a word about it. Warrior from the Sunset Land or no, she trusted the man's discretion implicitly and the skills of his long life also. Perhaps it was simply reflexive suspicion of any move made by a dragon or a dragon's agents?

    Outwardly, she gave the matter no more than a nod of acknowledgement before moving on to what she expected to be the principal matter of the meeting. "The scandal seems suspiciously ill-timed to sow distrust between us just as the Sea Guard comes closer to unraveling who is bankrolling the rabble that has been protesting my king for a tyrant. I suspect we share a foe and would perhaps be well served in putting our resources together in revealing who that might be, and seeing that they are dealt with to the full extent of the law."

    "Fair words," Sergun replied, tilting his head slightly to the side as though trying to physically see her from a different angle. "Yet I must ask hypothetically, what would you do if you find blue threads in this tangle?"

    "Report it, with due nuance of course. Better to have such animosities in the open rather than hidden behind proxies," she replied carefully. "It could hardly be that all the Blues would be involved in such a conspiracy. They are a..." Hermetia struggled to find a polite word to describe the chaos of the Blues on many issues, "fractious lot."

    "Oh indeed, my lady," the guildmaster replied with a perfectly formed smile that failed to reach his yes. "What would you say to dealing with some of the worst of them, by spreading some news of our own, that would sit better upon your lips than ours."

    Blackmail then, the sorceress understood at once. Not for nothing was she a daughter of Volantis the Great, where lives could be ruined with a single whisper in the right ear, and careers made and broken in the span of a single day. "What do you have in mind, hypothetically?"

    "Lady Bhuia in the Office of Trade has expanded her institution in expectation of the Terminus, but far more on paper than in practice, and she is pocketing the salaries. We can provide you with documents. All that is needed is to pass them on to your contacts in the Sea Guard, and then come out with a statement confirming what is in there when the wave breaks."

    "And in exchange you will put all your resources towards finding the source of the tritons' funds and the matter of Gerlos?" Hermetia dropped a few or the pretenses, though the decision was hardly spontaneous.

    The Guildmaster nodded, his smile did not waver.

    Do you take the deal?

    [] Yes, pass incriminating documents about a prominent Blue leader to the Sea Guard

    [] No
    -[] You do not need the purples
    -[] You have a counter-proposal (Write in)

    OOC: The reason you guys have connections in the Sea Guard is because you foiled that Deep One plot with the false dragon envoy.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Upon Deeper Currents ​

    Fourteenth Day of the First Month 294 AC

    Hermetia did not like Guildmaster Sergun, but she did understand him, and both for much the same reason. Finely scaled skin and swirling tentacles aside, he could have been an old Tiger talking about restoring the glory of Volantis that never was. The hard part with that sort was telling sincere ambition from smooth-talking mummery for others to throw gold at like passers by into a street storyteller's hat. As she sipped her own ten year old Myrish strongwine and considered the cecaelia opposite to her, she found that she still could not tell which was which.

    Glamor shrouded her and arcane insight whispered in her ear, but she was not the only one availing herself of those tools, as each in turn reflected in the mirror of sorcery borrowed and true the face they thought the other would like to see. "Allow me to clear the air in the matter of your nephew. There was no malicious intent towards him, his guild, or the Purples as a whole." Perhaps it was an edge of frustration at such games that caused her to err on the side of plain speaking, but it seemed to be working as intended. "Only a fool would discard an existing ally chasing the favor of a weaker rival."

    "The Blues hold more seats than us," the Guildmaster noted, tentacles coiling slowing through the pool she was 'seated' in

    "They have worse positioning," the ambassador sniffed. "Or do you imagine a Blue-Gold coalition appearing? What was it they called it last time such a thing was birthed, the 'monstrous coalition', I think?"

    "For fear of the possible consequences of our alliance with the Greens, and not to put too fine a point on it, the Fleet, or so they claimed at least. My predecessor was inclined to fiery rhetoric." The word did not have quite the same connotation in aquan as it did in Valyrian or any of the other tongues Hermeia spoke. It carried shades of 'foolish' and 'headstrong'. "But it would never have come to anything, not while the Star Admiral is in command. He would sooner see the whole fleet lost to the Dark Waters than see it turned against the city."

    Hermetia stifled a sharp in-drawn breath with the skill of long practice. That was a touch too close close to the mark on the, admittedly vague, ultimate intentions of their approach to the Greens over the last few days. Aubert would not have breathed a word about it. Warrior from the Sunset Land or no, she trusted the man's discretion implicitly and the skills of his long life also. Perhaps it was simply reflexive suspicion of any move made by a dragon or a dragon's agents?

    Outwardly, she gave the matter no more than a nod of acknowledgement before moving on to what she expected to be the principal matter of the meeting. "The scandal seems suspiciously ill-timed to sow distrust between us just as the Sea Guard comes closer to unraveling who is bankrolling the rabble that has been protesting my king for a tyrant. I suspect we share a foe and would perhaps be well served in putting our resources together in revealing who that might be, and seeing that they are dealt with to the full extent of the law."

    "Fair words," Sergun replied, tilting his head slightly to the side as though trying to physically see her from a different angle. "Yet I must ask hypothetically, what would you do if you find blue threads in this tangle?"

    "Report it, with due nuance of course. Better to have such animosities in the open rather than hidden behind proxies," she replied carefully. "It could hardly be that all the Blues would be involved in such a conspiracy. They are a..." Hermetia struggled to find a polite word to describe the chaos of the Blues on many issues, "fractious lot."

    "Oh indeed, my lady," the guildmaster replied with a perfectly formed smile that failed to reach his yes. "What would you say to dealing with some of the worst of them, by spreading some news of our own, that would sit better upon your lips than ours."

    Blackmail then, the sorceress understood at once. Not for nothing was she a daughter of Volantis the Great, where lives could be ruined with a single whisper in the right ear, and careers made and broken in the span of a single day. "What do you have in mind, hypothetically?"

    "Lady Bhuia in the Office of Trade has expanded her institution in expectation of the Terminus, but far more on paper than in practice, and she is pocketing the salaries. We can provide you with documents. All that is needed is to pass them on to your contacts in the Sea Guard, and then come out with a statement confirming what is in there when the wave breaks."

    "And in exchange you will put all your resources towards finding the source of the tritons' funds and the matter of Gerlos?" Hermetia dropped a few or the pretenses, though the decision was hardly spontaneous.

    The Guildmaster nodded, his smile did not waver.

    Do you take the deal?

    [] Yes, pass incriminating documents about a prominent Blue leader to the Seaguard

    [] No
    -[] You do not need the purples
    -[] You have a counter-proposal (Write in)

    OOC: The reason you guys have connections in the Seaguard is because you foiled that Deep One plot with the false dragon envoy. No yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Well I am sure they are relieved to have found the secret plot to overthrow the city. :V

    Meeting a dragon who didnt instantly and transparently try to play them against each other must have made them genuinely worried for just a moment.
     
    @Azel, your thoughts? My gut says to take the offer, but it does seem like the Blues are the Populist faction.
     
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    I may be a bit to honest but this feels a bit off, is it possible to verify this before we take the deal?
     
    Wait, so Azel earlier commented that this stuff was probably coming from the Golds, not the Blues... yet we're being turned against the Blues (which seems the dead obvious ringer for the people 'riling up the crowds' against the Imperium) which seems mighty convenient.
     
    Crake said:
    Wait, so Azel earlier commented that this stuff was probably coming from the Golds, not the Blues... yet we're being turned against the Blues (which seems the dead obvious ringer for the people 'riling up the crowds' against the Imperium) which seems mighty convenient.
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    ...Is this the Bright One situation all over again and we've found the Illithid patsy by rng (and paranoia) alone?
    :V
     
    Part of me is tempted to take the evidence, then go to the Blues with it. But either way we should carefully consider the consequences of this.
     
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