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

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[X] Duesal


I don't want to have to deal with this shit again in six months, so we should make the punishments memorable enough to scare people straight.

Any found guilty of fomenting violent racial discrimination against the far touched should be required to watch a 12 part documentary series filmed by Elaheh and Qyburn going over the truth of the matter in excruciatingly gory detail. :V
 
BronzeTongue said:
[X] Duesal


I don't want to have to deal with this shit again in six months, so we should make the punishments memorable enough to scare people straight.

Any found guilty of fomenting violent racial discrimination against the far touched should be required to watch a 12 part documentary series filmed by Elaheh and Qyburn going over the truth of the matter in excruciatingly gory detail. :V
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So a sequel to their sex-ed documentary?
 
[X] Duesal

Beyond racism itself being a mess, such practically invites fiery demagogues and foreign agents in the realm. Best not play around, this sort of sentiment tends to grow roots if unattended.
 
Nickan said:
[X] Duesal

Beyond racism itself being a mess, such practically invites fiery demagogues and foreign agents in the realm. Best not play around, this sort of sentiment tends to grow roots if unattended.
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Precisely. That is exactly why I want to crack down hard on this ASAP. If we go soft and allow people to toe the line and only punish them when they get violent rather than when they incite violence and/or preach against "undesirables" we have a land of would-be demagogues who are ever so secure in their safety. Absolute nightmare to rule.

Also, that does bring up a possibility. This could actually be foreign agents fucking with us by inciting unrest. That shit is right up their alley.
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jul 20, 2021 at 7:29 AM, finished with 37 posts and 19 votes.
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Part MMMDCCCLV: Secrets of the Sea
  • Threadmarks
    • Secrets of the Sea ​

    Twelfth Day of the Eleventh Month 294 AC

    As you read the reports from Oldtown you are at once relieved and disappointed. There could all too easily have been blood running in the streets if both Duke Hightower and the Citadel had not acted just right, coordinating with the Inquisition and the Lantern Bearers, but on the other hand the peril is not passed, simply grown more subtle.

    'They spew words like oil on dry kindling,' Brightsmile calls them and you are minded to agree. Hate and fear are both powerful things, ones you have not shied from using. How much easier would they be to turn such against those touched by the power Beyond the Farthest Sphere than against mere men, slavers and murderers though they might be?

    The Imperium cannot stand for this, it cannot afford for such poisoned words to take root and grow beneath the surface. You send a formal letter of advisement to Parion Dyodrys that he is to see prosecuted not only those who are directly inciting to violence and the destruction of property, but anyone using anti-Deep One rhetoric as a cover to breed ill-will towards their fellow citizens. Those who are demanding exile from the city or the realm...

    You pause for a moment, the golden stylus of your assistant frozen obediently in midair. "Let them receive a stern warning from the Lawmen or the Inquisition, whichever is deemed more likely to see them reconsider their path. They tread on perilous ground."

    Of course, as Marwyn's own letter on the matter notes, the rabble rousers may not be moving of their will alone. It would be very like the cruel and methodical intellects of the Dominion to use the very loathing of their foes against them and so you turn now your eye to more secret correspondence, the sort that none who are not high in the Inquisition or the Scholarum are likely to see. Your diviners had cast a wide net seeking for the touch of the Far Realm and they had found much that you have known of and some that you had not even suspected.

    Oldtown
    The taint is pervasive, though it does not run particularly deep, a sort of miasma that is enough to cause many of the mutations seen there as well as make many fey ill at ease. This may be a halo of their many works or it might be a veil cast with purpose and foresight to prevent one from divining their hand with more certainty, so long as they remain subtle in their workings.

    Or it may be a miasma they knew would fall over the city and are now using as cover, you note mentally upon reading the report in more detail. Nothing says your foes cannot be thrifty in their works after all. You turn the page to an account that is less revelation and more confirmation...

    Temporal Research Facility (Shivering Sea)
    The marks of this installation have been found right where it was suspected to be, though in truth for those with eyes to see its strange light it is as the sun in the sky, their echoes rippling outwards along the ley lines. Those who dwell there in make no effort to hide their hand, perhaps because they cannot. Space and time is warped here, twisting and turning in patterns that defy description in any mortal tongue. Of particular note is the fact that the distortion does not pass the Shadow of the Wall, but instead crashes against it as the sea against the breakers. These eddies to seem to make this area particularly unstable, though as we speak of dark and empty ocean what that might mean in practice cannot be divined without eyes closer at hand.

    The Thousand Isles
    The touch of the Beyond here is faint, but it is present just the same, almost eclipsed by that which lies to the north of it.

    Brandon's work again proves its worth against even foes it had not been directed against. The notion that there is a line of temporal anomalies out in the deep waters of the north is a touch unnerving, but given that it has by all accounts been there for six thousand years and more it is not something to be overly concerned about. As for the islands, one could deduce as much from sailors' tales, though you are glad to hear that the taint does not hang too heavily upon them.

    Island of Toads Outpost (Abandoned)
    While the full purpose of these ruins remains shrouded in mystery it is clear that occupation had started to decline centuries ago with the last few structures emptied out approximately a year ago, coinciding with the capture of the Isles by the Imperium. The status of the facility has been confirmed by local patrols, not merely through divination.

    About what you had suspected, hoped for in fact. With the Spring of the Ferryman on the island the last thing you needed was a local Deep One presence, but then one supposes that the same can be applied in reverse. Your foes would have little reason to challenge your Imperium or the Lord of the Sea over an outpost that had all but outlived its use, whatever it may have been. Alas, the next report is nowhere near so comforting.

    Blackwater Bay Taint
    A large stretch of sea between five hundred and a thousand feet below the waves has been tainted by the touch of the Far Realm. After significant investigation it has been ascertained that the taint is not the marker of some settlement or fortress, but of a creature or series of creatures weakening the planar boundaries by its very presence. In the areas of heaviest taint this has transformed the sea entirely, though none of the denizens therein can survive long in more natural waters. The source itself is under a mind blank, not a more generalized ward, leading credence to the notion that it is one of a very small number of creatures.

    You send word to the King's Landing and the lordly houses nearby at once, though given the fact that this stretch of tainted sea was only found in divination you suspect the locals already know to avoid it though they may not know why. Odd that nothing had been found nearer to Crackclaw Point. Perhaps the enemy had moved on from those hunting grounds..

    When you return to your desk you again find a surprise, though this time one that is much farther afield.

    Yeen
    The pulse of power is so weak as to be almost beyond sending for all our arts and the power of the wardstones yet it is there, a steady dissonance gnawing at the back of one's mind when the ear is turned to listen to it.

    K'Dath
    Significant Far Realm taint detected, of greater intensity that Yeen it is suspected, though given the distances involved no further details could be gleamed from the seer's glass alone.

    Leng
    The songs of madness echo strong there, but with a purpose that distance and the malice of the singers hides most skillfully.

    The first part almost has to have been written by one of the fey seers newly sworn to the Imperium. Likely as not that is why they had the sensitivities to hear of the strange city from as far off as Gogossos. Regardless, if your guess is right or not your seers have proven their worth to see so far so quickly. A pity the next city you receive a report on is not a distant one and it is not directly from the House of Mirrors either. It is from the Inquisition...

    Lys (Cult of the Drowned Star)
    The cult started among former slaves who were contacted by the Illithid at first in dreams and then in person, though their understanding of their masters is quite limited. Their actions spread a minor amount of taint which was not detected by patrols though an active sweep of the Foundry Ward was enough to catch their scent. Though they had started to dig tunnels towards the Forge, not knowing why, the watchmoles would have sensed their approach as they drew near regardless.

    The report does not mention why these newly made slaves had chosen to offer themselves in bondage to new masters, though you can make some guesses on the matter. At this point it matters little you supposed.

    Iron Islands
    Camps of Sahuagin, Skum and Deep Ones that were seemingly the backbone of Illithid control over the area were located all around the islands in depths from one hundred and fifty to a thousand feet. Of far greater note was a source of fainter, but more complex arcane and psionic echoes which with the aid of Triton patrols was discovered to be an ancient wreck... a Dominion Spelljammer that must have rested in its grave on the seafloor for many long ages of the world, hidden even from the eyes of its makers.

    "Well I will be damned," you murmur softly on reading the last part of the account. You had sought foes and foes you had found, but also treasure unlooked for.

    "Who managed to damn you?" Varys asks from her perch, one slitted eye half open in amusement.

    "No one, I just need to figure out what do do about a literal damn sunken treasure ship in the Sunset Sea," you reply, not even managing a dirty look for form's sake. Speaking of the Sunset Sea, it is odd that the sweep had not found any outposts westward beyond the Islands when your interrogation of the Ulitharid had marked one to be there. What else are you missing?

    What do you do about the situation around the Iron Islands?

    [] Secure the Spelljammer at once
    -[] Write in who to send

    [] Wait, it has lain there for millennia, it can wait a while longer while your patrols ensure you can enter it without tipping your hand to the Dominion

    [] Write in

    OOC: Well your rolls for this one were... *points wildly above*. You were not supposed to find that spelljamer on the first try or get pings off all those distant cities and realms.
     
    Last edited:
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    • I think that this music could be pretty good for the deep ones stuff.
    In how deep of water does it lie? Probably pretty deep, right?
     
    Last edited:
    DragonParadox said:
    Secrets of the Sea ​

    Twelfth Day of the Eleventh Month 294 AC

    As you read the reports from Oldtown, you are at once relieved and disappointed. There could all too easily have been blood running in the streets if both Duke Hightower and the Citadel had not acted just right, coordinating with the Inquisition and the Lantern Bearers. On the other hand, however, the peril has not passed, but simply grown more subtle. 'They spew words like oil on dry kindling,' Brightsmile calls them and you are minded to agree. Hate and fear are both powerful things, emotions you have not shied from using. How much easier would they be to turn such against those touched by the power Beyond the Farthest Sphere than against mere men, slavers and murderers though they might be?

    The Imperium cannot stand for this. It cannot afford for such poison words to take root and grow beneath the surface. You send a formal letter of advisement to Parion Dyodrys that he is to see prosecuted not only those who are directly inciting to violence and the destruction of property, but anyone using anti-Deep One rhetoric as a cover to breed ill will towards their fellow citizens. Those who are demanding exile from the city or the realm...

    You pause for a moment, the golden stylus of your assistant frozen obediently in mid air. "Let them receive a stern warning from the Lawmen or the Inquisition, whichever is deemed more likely to see them reconsider their path. They tread on perilous ground."

    Of course, as Marwyn's own letter on the matter notes, the rabble rousers may not be moving of their will alone. It would be very like the cruel and methodical intellects of the Dominion to use the very loathing of their foes against them, and so you turn now your eye to more secret correspondence, the sort that none who are not high in the Inquisition or the Scholarum are likely to see. Your diviners had cast a wide net seeking for the touch of the Far Realm and they had found much that you have known of and some that you had not even suspected.

    Oldtown
    The taint is pervasive, though it does not run particularly deep, a sort of miasma that is enough to cause many of the mutations seen there as well as make many fey ill at ease. This may be a halo of their many works or it might be a veil cast with purpose and foresight to prevent one from divining their hand with more certainty, so long as they remain subtle in their workings.

    Or it may be a miasma they knew would fall over the city and are now using as cover, you note mentally upon reading the report in more detail. Nothing says your foes cannot be thrifty in their works. You turn the page to an account that is less revelation and more confirmation...

    Temporal Research Facility (Shivering Sea)
    The marks of this installation have been found right where it was suspected to be, though in truth for those with eyes to see its strange light, it is as the sun in the sky, their echoes rippling outwards along the ley lines. Those who dwell there make no effort to hide their hand, perhaps because they cannot. Space and time is warped here, twisting and turning in patterns that defy description in any mortal tongue. Of particular note is the fact that the distortion does not pass the Shadow of the Wall, but instead crashes against it as the sea against the breakers. These eddies do seem to make that area particularly unstable, though as we speak of dark and empty ocean, what that might mean in practice cannot be divined without eyes closer at hand.

    The Thousand Isles
    The touch of the Beyond here is faint, but it is present just the same, almost eclipsed by that which lies to the north of it.

    Brandon's work again proves its worth against even foes for which it had not been intended. The notion that there is a line of temporal anomalies out in the deep waters of the north is a touch unnerving, but given that it has by all accounts been there for six thousand years and more, it is not something to be overly concerned about. As for the islands, one could deduce as much from sailor's tales, though you are glad to hear that the taint does not hang too heavily upon them.

    Island of Toads Outpost (Abandoned)
    While the full purpose of these ruins remains shrouded in mystery, it is clear that occupation had started to decline centuries ago with the last few structures emptied out approximately a year ago, coinciding with the capture of the Islands by the Imperium. The status of the facility has been confirmed by local patrols, not merely through divination.

    About what you had suspected. Hoped for, in fact. With the Spring of the Ferryman on the island, the last thing you needed was a local Deep One presence, but then one supposes that the same can be applied in reverse. Your foes would have little reason to challenge your Imperium or the Lord of the Sea over an Outpost that had all but outlived its use, whatever it may have been. Alas, the next report is nowhere near so comforting.

    Blackwater Bay Taint
    A large stretch of sea between five hundred and a thousand feet below the waves has been tainted by the touch of the far realm. After significant investigation it has been ascertained that the taint is not the marker of some settlement or fortress, but of a creature or series of creatures weakening the planar boundaries by its very presence. In the areas of heaviest taint this has transformed the sea entirely, though none of the denizens therein can survive long in more natural waters. The source itself is under a mind blank rather than a more generalized ward, leading credence to the notion that it is one of a very small number of creatures.

    You send word to the King's Landing and the lordly houses nearby at once, though given the fact that this stretch of tainted sea was only found in divination, you suspect the locals already know to avoid it though they may not know why. Odd that nothing had been found nearer to Crackclaw Point. Perhaps the enemy had moved on from those hunting grounds..

    When you return to your desk, you again find a surprise, though this time one that is much farther afield.

    Yeen
    The pulse of power is so weak as to be almost beyond sending, for all our arts and the power of the wardstones yet it is there, a steady dissonance gnawing at the back of one's mind when the ear is turned to listen to it.

    K'Dath
    Significant Far Realm taint detected, of greater intensity than Yeen, it is suspected though given the distances involved no further details could be gleamed from the seer's glass alone.

    Leng
    The songs of madness echo strong there, but with a purpose that distance and the malice of the singers hides most skillfully.

    The first part almost has to have been written by one of the fey seers newly sworn to the Imperium. Likely as not that is why they had the sensitivities to hear of the strange city from as far off as Gogossos. Regardless, if your guess is right, or not, your seers have proven their worth to see so far so quickly. A pity the next city you receive a report on is not a distant one, and it is not directly from the House of Mirrors, either. It is from the Inquisition...

    Lys (Cult of the Drowned Star)
    The cult started among former slaves who were contacted by the Illithid, at first in dreams and then in person, though their understanding of their masters was quite limited. Their actions spread a minor amount of taint which was not detected by patrols, though an active sweep of the Foundry ward was enough to catch their scent. Though they had started to dig tunnels towards the Forge not knowing why. The watchmoles would have sensed their approach as they drew near regardless.

    The report does not mention why these newly made slaves had chosen to offer themselves in bondage to new masters, though you can make some guesses on the matter. At this point it matters little, you suppose.

    Iron Islands
    Camps of Sahuagin, Skum, and Deep Ones that were seemingly the backbone of Illithid control over the area were located all around the islands in depths from one hundred and fifty to a thousand feet. Of far greater note was a source of fainter, but more complex arcane and psionic echoes which, with the aid of Triton patrols, was discovered to be an ancient wreck... a Dominion Spelljammer that must have rested in its grave on the seafloor for many long ages of the world, hidden even from the eyes of its makers.

    "Well, I will be damned," you murmur softly on reading the last part of the account. You had sought foes and foes you had found, but also treasure unlooked for.

    "Who managed to damn you?" Varys asks from her perch, one slitted eye half open in amusement.

    "No one, I just need to figure out what to do about a literal damn treasure ship in the Sunset Sea," you reply, not even managing a dirty look for form's sake. Speaking of the Sunset Sea, it is odd that the sweep had not found any outposts westward beyond the Islands when your interrogation of the Ulitharid had marked one to be there. What else are you missing?

    What do you do about the situation around the Iron Islands?

    [] Secure the Spelljammer at once
    -[] Write in who to send

    [] Wait, it has lain there for millennia, it can wait a while longer while your patrols ensure you can enter it without tipping your hand to the Dominion

    [] Write in

    OOC: Well your rolls for this one were... *points wildly above* You were not supposed to find that spelljammer on the first try or get pings off all those distant cities and realms. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    She was a big'un! 🤓
     
    Something that went a bit under in the write-up is that this is the result of the Boundary Wards being used for some active triangulation beyond their usual range, so how easy or hard something was to find with this action was mostly determined by where those had been located.
     
    @Azel, so our spaceships are already awesome. What improvements can we make on them with a functional spelljammer to dissect and reverse engineer?
     
    Duesal said:
    @Azel, so our spaceships are already awesome. What improvements can we make on them with a functional spelljammer to dissect and reverse engineer?
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    How intact it is remains to be seen, but it's about 1,300m deep (beyond what the Illithid usually can tolerate and on the edge of what is risky for a Moonchaser-class vessel to dive) and buried under sediment, so you shouldn't expect mint condition.
     
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