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

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DragonParadox said:
[] Lormar Tyos
+Skilled Administrator (Good at actually managing the day to day tasks of any bureaucracy)
+Fixer (Has been sent to solve many tangled bureaucratic messes and come out on top)
+Xenophile (Works well with those of other cultures)
-Old Justice (A convert to the Old Gods, he is an outspoken adept of expanding blood sacrifice to all capital offenses)
-Immortal Meritocracy (Has a tendency to hire on long-lived or immoral subordinates whom he sees as more competent and more likely to last in their posts)
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Pretty much a non-starter due to how bad the optics of his ideas are and how he would quickly turn the Ministry of Justice into a calcified hodge-podge of whatever he can scrounge up from the planes.

Definitely not.
DragonParadox said:
[] Kora 'the Kindly'
+Scholar of Military Law
+Transition Expert
+Well Known Impartiality
+/-Socially and Economically Liberal
-Ambitious
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Being a liberal is a pretty big downside with how the High Court has shaken out. That will be a constant stream of clashes between the two institutions.

Nope.
DragonParadox said:
[] Maester Petyr
+ Westerosi (one of the few Westerosi who could serve as a Ministert all, naming him would alley the fears of an Essosi dominated High Court)
+ Quick (Marwyn praised his wit, which is praise he rarely gives)
+ Aura of Competence (over the years in the Citadel, he has cultivated the ability to appear knowledgeable and skilled, even when he was not)
- Untested (while he has some theoretical knowledge of litigating, he never did so in practice)
- Reluctant (part of feigning skill is to make sure nobody can ever test you to notice the lack thereof, so he is wary of accepting a position where he can not disappear easily)
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His lack of practical experience is less of a problem here, but I'd wager he will just let his underlings run things and slack of himself.

Nope.
DragonParadox said:
[] Syrio Coltherys
+ Experienced (has two decades of experience as a lawyer and worked as a Imperial judge for the past two years in Tyrosh)
+ Unassuming (he is skilled at making himself look uninteresting and harmless, having led to many underestimating him)
+- Ambitious
- Secret Life (in private, he likes the company of whores and the taste of hard spirits, which would greatly harm his reputation if it became public)
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Still a rock solid candidate. Nothing exiting, but also nothing really bad.

Yes.
DragonParadox said:
[] Thomond Rain
+ Experienced Judge (three decades as a lawyer and one decade as a judge is about as much experience as a mortal man can have)
+ Diplomatic (has been rubbing shoulders with keyholders and the Braavosi elite since he was a boy and will make a good showing for himself on the political floor)
+- Favoring Wealth (he is a firm believer into the idea that amassing wealth is a proof of good character and will nearly always judge in favor of traders and other moneyed elites)
- Whispers of Bribery (while no actual cases of bribery have been found, that will hardly stop people from accusing him of such)
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Still no. The last thing we want is someone who will not investigate gentry misbehaviour.

Hell no.
DragonParadox said:
[] Maekar the Mongrel
+ Experienced (has been working as a lawyer for two decades)
+ Uncontroversial (he is still well liked by the former slaves as one of their own, while Magisters consider him non-threatening)
+ Good Orator (has experience in public speaking and served in the in the Council of Voices of the Hegemony of Volantis, making him a good spokesman in the Curia)
+- Socially Conservative
- Overreach (is likely to try to not only interpret, but also to adjust and create laws with his rulings)
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His overreach is an absolute deal killer in this position. His job would be to lead the agencies actually investigating crimes and enforcing the law, so he can literally use his discretionary power to stop enforcing laws he disagrees with.

Absolutely not.
DragonParadox said:
[] Parion Dyodrys
+ Experienced (worked two decades as a lawyer and has been acting as the highest judge in Tolos for years)
+ Diplomatic (has played a large part in keeping the peace in Tolos by negotiating with the local nobles and Relath, wich makes it likely that he will prosper in the Curia)
+ Clean Reputation (there have never been any scandals involving him and the background checks imply that this is very unlikely to change, as he lives a rather unremarkable and calm life)
- Stench of Nepotism (he is very much Relath's candidate in the eyes of many, making his appointment seem mostly a favor to the dragon)
- Old Entanglements (he had to make some deals in his role in Tolos, so some Tolosi nobles might try to cash in old favors)
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He pretty much has on-the-job experience in his function as Relaths law guy, which is a big bonus. I think we can afford to show some favoritism to Relath at this junction and the Old Entanglements can be dealt with as long as he is smart enough to talk with Garin when someone tries to extort him.

Sold.


Favourite:
[X] Parion Dyodrys

Bland Compromise:
[X] Syrio Coltherys
 
We should really do more approval voting when we have clearly enumerated options to pick from. In the early days of the quest, we always had these FTPT issues, before in the era of Write-Ins, we basically had no competing options at all most of the time. So having some actual choice and people being able to speak up for their real preferences is rather nice.
 
[X] Kora 'the Kindly'
This is an administrative job, and while our pick must of course be competent in matters of justice they also need actual administrative experience. None of the old pics seem to have any experience there, so they're out. Between Kora and Lormar, Kora seems like a better pick to me. We've been doing a lot of military administration and having someone good at that could help us with any future temporary impositions of full Imperial authority over the locals, and of course she doesn't have Lormar's potential immortal gerontocracy issues. Some turnover in the justice system is IMO important, if only so that it reflects changing social mores.
 
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TalonofAnathrax said:
[X] Kora 'the Kindly'
This is an administrative job, and while our pick must of course be competent in matters of justice they also need actual administrative experience. None of the old pics seem to have any experience there, so they're out. Between Kora and Lormar, Kora seems like a better pick to me. We've been doing a lot of military administration and having someone good at that could help us with any future temporary impositions of full Imperial authority over the locals, and of course she doesn't have Lormar's potential immortal gerontocracy issues. Some turnover in the justice system is IMO important, if only so that it reflects changing social mores.
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To be fair being in charge of the Ministry, means being in charge of the prosecution and the enforcement of the law, there is plenty of room for legal counsel there.
 
Regarding Lormar and his desire to replace hanging by tree-sacrifice:
I'm not against feeding the trees more per se, but people do have a right to the respectful treatment of their body, so IMO they should at least be given the choice to refuse. Honestly, I'd be all for spreading "will you give your death to the trees and/or your body to the Forge?" all across our Empire. Even some propaganda in favor of that could be good. But I'm against making it compulsory, because that will offend every other religion around all at once + anyone who finds it disgusting or disrespectful.
We sacrifice certain criminals who made pacts with potential apocalypses, but that is IMO a part of the punishment and cleansing. Doing it for everyone seems a little excessive. What next, using their bodies as experiment-fodder for our budding Necromancy-focused Scholarum branch?

Actually, did we ever bother to ask our Legionnaires if they mind having their corpses used en masse for the Forge? I'm guessing they don't mind because we never heard any complaints about it (and because Azor Ahai, etc), but still. It's not like we couldn't implement an opt-in/opt-out system of marked dog-tags like IRL organ donor cards or something if we wanted to.
 
DragonParadox said:
By Pale Moonlight ​

Tenth Day of the Fifth Month 294 AC

The sun had already set and the moon is starting to creep over the sky above the pale rim of the Circle of Battle when you and Malarys finally decide upon the last of the four candidates. Selecting both of the immortals for their skills and for their tendency to think of policy and precedent had been the easier choice, though on the matter of who to balance them with you had argued back and forth for long enough that empty tea cups now littered the table like the skulls of some great, hard fought battle.

Malarys had wanted the Tyroshi, Syrio Coltherys, on the reasoning that he would cause less talk and rumblings from east or west so long as his personal life should remain personal, which should be easy enough. You, on the other side, had argued for the formerly piratical Morwyn of Deepcleft on the reasoning that he would help balance out a court otherwise too cold and impersonal with his own brand of rugged practicality.

"All very well and good for Your Majesty to say that. He should be useful as a counterbalance to such as Javad Rahbar, but the fact of the matter is that they call the latter a hanging judge and not without cause, whereas five years past, Morwyn would have been one of the men being hanged by any civilized nation," your friend argues with a faintly displeased twist of his lips. He had not ever shared a table with a pirate, though that might have been an issue once, before he had seen how the realm could put down roots in the most unlikely of soil, but simply having to play peacemaker in the face of beings who have honed their opinions and manner over centuries.

You incline your head and bend your ear to the matter. "Alright then..." you sweep Maekar's file off the table. "Say we get rid of him, you no longer have to watch over his attempts to play lawmaker. Would that make the task more bearable?" You had liked the idea of 'the slave lawyer' on the bench, his story would resonate with a significant portion of the population without being overly controversial.

"Who do you have in mind then, Your Majesty?" he asks, looking over the remaining offers. The faintest glimmer of amusement sparks in his eyes as he looks over the one you had scarce touched. "Not the fey, I hope?"

"I'm trying to make your job easier, not drive you to drink," you snort. "Vynar Jokarys, the man should satisfy some of the Westerosi at least, having been long in the service of one of their High Lords, even if he hails from Lys..."

"In the service of the Prince of Dorne," he corrects. "There are many in the Sunset Kingdoms who count the descendants of the Rhoynar as foreign as they would me, and they are worried over the influence the Prince wields through his niece."

"Then we can remind them that he is not actually Dornish and we can remind those who are worried over too many Essosi on the bench that he has served long in Westeros." You sweep your hand over the chamber and onto the tall floor length mirror. "What it shows is all about what angle you set it in. By the end of the third month, I would wager most of those who actually have to deal with Master Vynar will be more concerned with his manner than his origins regardless, and in discussions he is like to be the voice of moderation you need when you need it against the intransigence of the undying."

"A fair assessment," he nods, and with that the decision is settled sure as a seal laid upon it. The nominations will be announced on the morrow with full fanfare, but it was in this room and in this hour that they were made, and before the night was out another name for another post would be added, the Minster of Justice, the one holding not the gavel of a judge but the quill of an administrator.

"Any of the previous candidates, bar the priest and the shadow fey, could serve I think, but there were two more options looked over by the Inquisition, were there not?" Malarys continues. "There is Lornmar, who is in many ways the perfect organizer for a realm that is stitched together from so many threads, and stitched so swiftly, but for his more unusual opinions..."

"You mean the fact that he thinks we are not feeding the trees near enough?" you snort. That is not entirely a fair assessment of Lormar Tyos, you admit inwardly. The man is more than just some fanatic of the Old Gods. He had solid philosophical and ethical reasoning for why all capital offenses should go to the common good by way of blood sacrifice, it is just that he is not all that aware of the optics of his suggestions outside the circles of Sorcerer's Deep's academia. The fact that he is also a proponent of choosing the best for any job, which is often an immortal where and when he can find them, also make his appointment to high office less sure than it otherwise might have been.

The other person whom you might name is Kora 'the Kindly', a woman who earned her name early in your military campaigns as a legal attaché to the legions for supposedly being as cruel as the furies whom some would call 'Kindly Ones' so as not to incur their ire. In truth, the woman is a trained Braavosi solicitor, scrupulously fair, and an expert in transitions from military to civilian administration. If she could be said to have a flaw, it is her ambition and at times her disdain for what she sees as the follies of the old order. Thankfully, she has no links to the power structures of Braavos and her speech and manner remind one more of the Deep than the Secret City, so at least you would not be blamed for yet more Braavosi favoritism.

Choose One:

New Options

[] Lormar Tyos
+Skilled Administrator (Good at actually managing the day to day tasks of any bureaucracy)
+Fixer (Has been sent to solve many tangled bureaucratic messes and come out on top)
+Xenophile (Works well with those of other cultures)
-Old Justice (A convert to the Old Gods, he is an outspoken proponent of expanding blood sacrifice to all capital offenses)
-Immortal Meritocracy (Has a tendency to hire on long-lived or immoral subordinates whom he sees as more competent and more likely to last in their posts)

[] Kora 'the Kindly'
+Scholar of Military Law
+Transition Expert
+Well Known Impartiality
+/-Socially and Economically Liberal
-Ambitious

Old Options:

[] Maester Petyr
+ Westerosi (One of the few Westerosi who could serve as a Ministert all, naming him would alley the fears of an Essosi dominated High Court)
+ Quick (Marwyn praised his wit, which is praise he rarely gives)
+ Aura of Competence (Over the years in the Citadel, he has cultivated the ability to appear knowledgeable and skilled, even when he was not)
- Untested (While he has some theoretical knowledge of litigating, he never did so in practice)
- Reluctant (Part of feigning skill is to make sure nobody can ever test you to notice the lack thereof, so he is wary of accepting a position where he can not disappear easily)

[] Syrio Coltherys
+ Experienced (Has two decades of experience as a lawyer and worked as a Imperial judge for the past two years in Tyrosh)
+ Unassuming (He is skilled at making himself look uninteresting and harmless, having led to many underestimating him)
+- Ambitious
- Secret Life (In private, he likes the company of whores and the taste of hard spirits, which would greatly harm his reputation if it became public)

[] Thomond Rain
+ Experienced Judge (Three decades as a lawyer and one decade as a judge is about as much experience as a mortal man can have)
+ Diplomatic (Has been rubbing shoulders with keyholders and the Braavosi elite since he was a boy and will make a good showing for himself on the political floor)
+- Favoring Wealth (He is a firm believer in the idea that amassing wealth is a proof of good character and will nearly always judge in favor of traders and other moneyed elites)
- Whispers of Bribery (While no actual cases of bribery have been found, that will hardly stop people from accusing him of such)

[] Maekar the Mongrel
+ Experienced (Has been working as a lawyer for two decades)
+ Uncontroversial (He is still well liked by the former slaves as one of their own, while Magisters consider him non-threatening)
+ Good Orator (Has experience in public speaking and served in the in the Council of Voices of the Hegemony of Volantis, making him a good spokesman in the Curia)
+- Socially Conservative
- Overreach (is likely to try to not only interpret, but also to adjust and create laws with his rulings)

[] Parion Dyodrys
+ Experienced (Worked two decades as a lawyer and has been acting as the highest judge in Tolos for years)
+ Diplomatic (Has played a large part in keeping the peace in Tolos by negotiating with the local nobles and Relath, which makes it likely that he will prosper in the Curia)
+ Clean Reputation (There have never been any scandals involving him and the background checks imply that this is very unlikely to change, as he lives a rather unremarkable and calm life)
- Stench of Nepotism (He is very much Relath's candidate in the eyes of many, making his appointment seem mostly a favor to the dragon)
- Old Entanglements (He had to make some deals in his role in Tolos, so some Tolosi nobles might try to cash in old favors)

OOC: I also took out Hightower without a mention in the narrative, that is intentional, Malarys did not take him seriously at all.
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Made some additional edits to the chapter, DP.
 
DragonParadox said:
[] Syrio Coltherys
+ Experienced (has two decades of experience as a lawyer and worked as a Imperial judge for the past two years in Tyrosh)
+ Unassuming (he is skilled at making himself look uninteresting and harmless, having led to many underestimating him)
+- Ambitious
- Secret Life (in private, he likes the company of whores and the taste of hard spirits, which would greatly harm his reputation if it became public)
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[X] Syrio Coltherys
Safe option, might want tell him to tone it down a notch. That or have him choose a brothel that's in our pay so there's no info-leak.

DragonParadox said:
[] Parion Dyodrys
+ Experienced (worked two decades as a lawyer and has been acting as the highest judge in Tolos for years)
+ Diplomatic (has played a large part in keeping the peace in Tolos by negotiating with the local nobles and Relath, wich makes it likely that he will prosper in the Curia)
+ Clean Reputation (there have never been any scandals involving him and the background checks imply that this is very unlikely to change, as he lives a rather unremarkable and calm life)
- Stench of Nepotism (he is very much Relath's candidate in the eyes of many, making his appointment seem mostly a favor to the dragon)
- Old Entanglements (he had to make some deals in his role in Tolos, so some Tolosi nobles might try to cash in old favors)
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[X] Parion Dyodrys
A clean rep and experience is rather hard to find. That and nepotism is par for the course for Westorosi.

DragonParadox said:
[] Lormar Tyos
+Skilled Administrator (Good at actually managing the day to day tasks of any bureaucracy)
+Fixer (Has been sent to solve many tangled bureaucratic messes and come out on top)
+Xenophile (Works well with those of other cultures)
-Old Justice (A convert to the Old Gods, he is an outspoken adept of expanding blood sacrifice to all capital offenses)
-Immortal Meritocracy (Has a tendency to hire on long-lived or immoral subordinates whom he sees as more competent and more likely to last in their posts)
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[X] Lormar Tyos
Give him a note to tone it down on the sacrifices and pick more mortals and we're golden. These flaw are easy to fix.
 
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[X] Parion Dyodrys

Could possibly have him resolve any deals and favours before he takes office, along with a offer of aid with it if applicable.
 
[X] Parion Dyodrys

I always liked Relath and Tolos so I don't see any problems with him.
 
Azel said:
He pretty much has on-the-job experience in his function as Relaths law guy, which is a big bonus. I think we can afford to show some favoritism to Relath at this junction and the Old Entanglements can be dealt with as long as he is smart enough to talk with Garin when someone tries to extort him.
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My reasoning as well. He has the right skills and experience for the job, a compatible personality, and we couldn't care less about the appearance of nepotism, especially if it appears to be a bit of favoritism to another Dragon ally. Those 'old entanglements', whatever they may be, can be handled as necessary, but aren't likely to be anything major.

[X] Parion Dyodrys
 
[X] Parion Dyodrys

yeh he seems a right man for the job and problems that can be handled by the inquisition if they come up
 
[X] Parion Dyodrys

We've had Westerosi, we have Tyroshi, Braavosi. Lyseni, Pentoshi, Deepsman, Celestials, and even an honest-to-God Baatezu.

We never had much screen time for Tolos (Mantarys have more interaction with us, and they're on the other side of Imperial territory), 'cept for Relath. Let's have some diversity, eh?
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Actually, did we ever bother to ask our Legionnaires if they mind having their corpses used en masse for the Forge? I'm guessing they don't mind because we never heard any complaints about it (and because Azor Ahai, etc), but still. It's not like we couldn't implement an opt-in/opt-out system of marked dog-tags like IRL organ donor cards or something if we wanted to.
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The thing is we've never used their corpses. We've only ever used enemy corpses. We're totally in a position where we can convince them to donate, though.

[X] Parion Dyodrys
 
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