- Location
- Who knows?
Well makes sense. Too bad we aren't learning more world breaking secrets. Though keeping Qyburn happy is its own reward.
A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
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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
He was a Savant Creature psion. the 'eye' was an implanted item.
Ace of Scarabs
Mechanoid Pilot
- Location
- Singapore
[X] Azel
Interlude CMLXXXIII: Wizards' Work
Wizards' Work
Twenty Third Day of the Fourth Month 294 AC
Lya was not surprised to see the Samwell Tarly approach her as she sat on the marble bench under the rustling branches of the Godswood. She knew from Aebys that the boy had been looking for her, but between designing a spell to pull enemies through space and being herself pulled through time she did not have as much time as she might have preferred, even when all of her was taken into consideration.
What did surprise and perturb her a touch was how pale the boy looked. Oh, he was usually stammering and nervous when he worked up the nerve to approach her, more so than any of Viserys' other wards, but this looked more serious. "Is something the matter?" She had gotten better at small talk over the years, but part of that process was figuring out when it was more a hindrance than a help.
"My father is coming for the coronation," he blurted out.
Lya did not ask what was the matter with that. Anyone with working eyes and ears in the keep knew what was the matter with Randyll Tarly where his son was concerned. "I'm sure he will be pleased to hear about how you have been progressing in your studies," she replied diplomatically.
Alas, the boy was having none of it. "Will he now? I'll show him all the pages I've written in my grimoire, more than half with spells that couldn't hurt a fly..."
His voice was not so much fearful or wary as hollow and defeated, and that angered Lya most of all. Since she could not very well turn the Lord of Horn Hill into a toad she instead conjured a piece of parchment from an enchanted bag along with a stylus she rarely used and sketched out a few lines of spell-script before handing them to him. "Do you know what this is?"
"A... light spell?" He spoke slowly as if expecting a trick question.
"A barely functional light spell patched together from old scrolls and guesswork," she confirmed. "Also, the first piece of magic I ever did about four and a half years ago." As his eyes widened in disbelief she continued sternly, for she knew sympathy alone would not get through. "Mages like us, Samwell, don't get to pick our spells out of some cosmic armory, we don't get to dive into a sea of souls and memories, and we do not get to ask the gods for boons of knowledge. What we get to do is learn to turn the gears of reality to our will, smallest to greatest. If your father proves himself less than impressed by your progress when he arrives send him to me and I'll show him what wonders sorcery can weave."
The boy's shock gave way to a slightly trembling smile. "That's alright, Wisdom, I... er don't want you to turn him into a toad." As the words slipped out of him mouth he seemed shocked by his own daring.
"I didn't mean that?" Lya half-lied. She had not meant it seriously at least. "I could take him to the front of Sarnor and blast some of the maddened dead, not really my forte but..." She conjured a flash of white hot flame above her left palm. "I can do it."
Samwell, clever student that he was, caught on to the nature of the magic at once. "That's not a spell, is it?" What Lya did not expect were the next words. "Could you teach me that, please?"
It would not take that long, he was a quick learner and she had no other pressing project for this body this month. "Certainly."
OOC: Help, this interlude ambushed me. It's fun to be able to say that again. I rolled up Sam's studies for the past few months and he crit hard enough to hit the soft cap, level 5... and he still thinks he is not good enough.
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- Location
- France
He hasn't been sufficiently traumatized to level further, has he? Poor child.
Honestly, I don't want to power-level him any further. It won't fix any of his issues, and he's got the absolute worst personality for an adventurer.
IIRC (in the books at least) Sam isn't the coward who'll suddenly "man up" and save the day. The Walker-kill was complete luck, and didn't give him an advanturer's madness/courage - and if that wasn't enough, then what could possibly be?
Samwell has got a whole lot of other good qualities, but "able to effectively fight for his life" isn't one.
Honestly, I don't want to power-level him any further. It won't fix any of his issues, and he's got the absolute worst personality for an adventurer.
IIRC (in the books at least) Sam isn't the coward who'll suddenly "man up" and save the day. The Walker-kill was complete luck, and didn't give him an advanturer's madness/courage - and if that wasn't enough, then what could possibly be?
Samwell has got a whole lot of other good qualities, but "able to effectively fight for his life" isn't one.
- Location
- Germany
Did he just learn the Fiery Burst feat?
- Location
- France
Honestly, teaching him Fiery Burst might actually improve his father's opinion of him.
Lord Tarly has a poor opinion of his son for several reasons:
- Samwell is a coward who doesn't work well in a crisis
- We've seen magic help with that in the past. Once he gets over his crippling fear of [bad things], he can manage. He should either get an item of Remove Fear, or simply change his definitions of [bad things] to, for example, no longer include disappointing his father or being publicly embarrassed or whatever.
- Lord Tarly has zero respect for "pulling tricks out of old books" instead of being able to think of your own
- This... Honestly isn't Samwell's fault. Lord Tarly is just a dumbass. Best solution would be Diplomancy to convince him he's wrong, or perhaps simply letting Samwell repeatedly succeed anyway. Or getting Samwell to stop emphasizing all the elements of his ideas which come from books.
- Samwell isn't good in a fight, and being a strong combatant is important to Lord Tarly and Westerosi Lords in general
- Fiery Burst + the spells a level 5 wizard gets should honestly be enough to make Samwell at least as good as other Lords. Sure he'll never be winning tourneys with it, but it's immediate, unmistakable combat ability. It's not perfect for a Lord (no nonlethal setting to spar with) but it's not bad.
Not yet, Lya offered to teach it to him over the next few days.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Answers in a Jar
Twenty Third Day of the Fourth Month 294 AC
A hypothetical intruder who made it past the deadly flesh-forged guardians, the rune-forged traps and the half-lidded eye of the Forge's guiding intelligence, and somehow slipped under the eye of the black armored 'knights' who stood silent vigil at the laboratory's door, might have thought the place eerily silent save for the slow arrhythmic thumps of the various masses and samples growing. Yet if one had the gift to listen closely to sounds no human ear was ever meant to detect, it would be possible to catch a sort of vibration in the air coming from the shifting tentacles of the laboratory's master as he glided inches above the floor. For all he had changed, Qyburn still had the habit of humming to himself when he was pleased with his latest work.
It's not perfect, no definitely not that, he thought looking at the brass bound jar in which the captured illithid's brain floated with deceptive serenity. But it will do, it will do very well indeed for something crafted so swiftly. Above the jar, a simple unliving guardian glared down with balefire eyes affixed upon the dial on the opposite shelf, a detection method for the brain attempting to wield its innate powers. Even without a body, even without senses, the illithidae could still technically use the powers of the mind to escape, but not without being detected, and when the guardian noticed the slightest fluctuation it would administer a painful, though not harmful, burst of necrotic energy, just enough to break concentration.
Given a bit more time the flesh-smith was certain he could link detection and shock in the same being, but this would do for now. Now for the important parts... "Are you inclined to cooperate?" he sent to his prisoner.
The wave of rage, loathing, and contempt that washed over him in reply was all too familiar. How one could be part of a fellowship of like-minded and distinct beings like the Dominion for all those ages and lack basic courtesy was one mystery he was quite certain he would never decipher.
Unfortunately, being several thousand years behind the times meant that many of the plans the prisoner knew of were of no real relevance to anything but historical study. If the Empire ever did organize an expedition to the Thousand Islands then perhaps the knowledge of the inhabitants' former customs and the layout of their now ruined realm would be of some use, but he doubted it would be anytime soon. King Viserys did have an affinity for odd subjects granted, but he did not let it get in the way of more practical concerns.
Gained Binder of Information on the Thousand Islands (+10 to knowledge rolls about their past; more likely to be able to engage in diplomacy with the locals)
I can still get more use out of the power and other knowledge locked within. Qyburn thought for a moment that the brain in the jar shivered away from the glass before he shook away the fancy with a slightly higher vocalization that sent crystalline instruments humming in counterpoint, a chuckle. It did not have anything to shiver with.
His good mood did not survive the encounter with the chronomancer's corpse. Attempts to invest it with a semblance of life in order to extract its secrets only produced an incoherent jumble of sound and light bubbling through its flesh that might have been mistaken for a cunning trap by another mage. The truth was far simpler if more frustrating. The being to which the corpse had belonged to was simply too alien, too immersed in the energies of the Beyond for the spell-matrix to catch. Not even the Wisdom attempting to replicate the spell with her mastery of the arcane showed a different result.
Aboleth Corpse cannot be affected by Speak with Dead or similar spells
What next?
[] Write in
OOC: Not your best rolls this turn, but Qyburn is having fun at least.
- Location
- Germany
Seconding this. Due to his temperament, he is much more suited for research or maybe enchanting. We should throw him as an aid to some research projects and see how it goes. Nothing too complicated, since he is low-level, but still.
1. This is easier said then done, unless you want Qyburn to do some personality readjustment on him. Getting over a deeply ingrained fear of a parent is something that people tend to struggle with their whole lives. Though it could help if he gets positive reinforcement while he directly sees and experiences his father being rebuffed for his behaviour.
We should arrange for Zherys to be present when Sam and Randyll meet again.
2. I don't think you can really change that aspect of Randyll. Though we can always try anyway and expose him to people who are not taking his shit and who don't need to kowtow before him due to his rank. See Zherys. We are looking for people with smarts, a lack of decorum and who are either far outside of the feudal order or ranking significantly and obviously above Tarly. Relath would also be an option. Maybe some planar scholars if they show up.
3. While Fiery Burst is probably a step in the right direction, I have a feeling it will never be enough for Randyll. Maybe if we held another tourney and Sam was making a good showing in the competition. The problem with Tarly is not solely what he seeks from Sam, but also that he has very high standards.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
Very nice to wake up to two updates. Both of them were really fun, too, if in completely different ways. Mad science in one and the glory of magic in the other. Good stuff!
How old is Samwell now?
He's just turned eleven.
- Location
- Germany
Wait, Zherys is very much a "scary older person", even if Sam sees his father verbally flayed by Zherys, it absolutly won't help his underlying fears, only add Zherys to the list of things to be afraid of.
- Location
- Germany
Not the point. There are two options:
1. Randyll is aware of Zherys background and has to hold his tongue about his son being a useless bookworm. In fact, he will probably be forced to... praise him... for appearances sake. Disingenuous as it would be, it will likely mean a lot to Sam, since it amounts to his father having to grudgingly admit that he was wrong.
2. Randyll is not aware of Zherys background and runs headfirst into the trap. Keep in mind that Zherys is a politician as much as he is a sorcerer. When he sees some Westerosi barbaroi berating his son, he will both see an idiot in need of a dressing down and an opportunity. He will defend Sam, simply to get in his good graces, since getting into the good graces of the young heir is much more valuable in the long term then tolerating the old idiot.
Either way, he will have the experience that his fathers opinions are not universally correct assessments of objective reality. Either due to his father apparently admitting to have erred, or due to another authority figure taking Sams side over his.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Samwell is young and highly intelligent. As a 5th level Wizard at 11 years old, he's got decades ahead of him to learn. If he never progresses further, his future is already secure as both the heir of a prosperous bit of land and a mage in the new order we've established. It also doesn't hurt to have friends in high places, and he's certainly got that covered.
That said, Samwell might be the type who progresses through self-study, breaking the level barriers in some means other than trauma. Maybe he'll make a momentous discovery or invent a new technique that will allow him to push into higher levels. I can easily imagine him becoming a respected Loremaster in the years ahead.
- Location
- Germany
I don't think there are many people less suited to interacting with Sam then Qyburn.Now if only we could combine the two updates... making Qyburn Samwell's new father figure?
I'd rather have him hang around with Elaheh for a while to build confidence and that's already not a good idea.
Sam is at level 5 already? Am I the only person considering making him an Inquisitor? He is already almost qualified level wise and he is someone we could trust with the position. Maybe in a few years? We could have him apprentice with a more established one to learn the ropes?
Edit: Also he is worried about that not being enough for his dad? 5th level is when you get 3rd level spells! That is when you get my favorite spell. explosive runes! Their is no problem you can't solve with explosive runes!
Edit: Also he is worried about that not being enough for his dad? 5th level is when you get 3rd level spells! That is when you get my favorite spell. explosive runes! Their is no problem you can't solve with explosive runes!
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Not to mention Tongues, Dispel Magic, Tiny Hut, Major Image, the iconic Fireball, Fly, Haste, and more!
Third level has a number of really good offensive and utility spells. Being able to do that at 11 is impressive.
Basically:
Sam: Oh no! My dad's not going to be impressed by my progress!
Also Sam: Warping time and space, blowing up enemies with fire.
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- Location
- ?????????
Yeah Sam needs some perspective on his shit considering that he can fly and shoot fireballs. Sure he isn't an archmage but he would fit right in with the uppermost mages in the Empire...that aren't traumatized.