- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Wait and see (eh, read), wait and see ...
A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 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
- Location
- Germany
@Duesal
Most likely no Spellbook from our undead friend.
Antilife Shell is not an arcane spell, so if that was his strongest defence, it's more likely he is a Cleric.
We can find out by checking if he had an item of it, but if not the case is clear.
Edit: with that descecrated copy of a shrine around him Ur-Priest seems possible.
Most likely no Spellbook from our undead friend.
Antilife Shell is not an arcane spell, so if that was his strongest defence, it's more likely he is a Cleric.
We can find out by checking if he had an item of it, but if not the case is clear.
Edit: with that descecrated copy of a shrine around him Ur-Priest seems possible.
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- Location
- Germany
Considering that he has built a desecrated shrine on purpose, that sounds rather likely actually.
- Location
- Germany
If he really is I'm inclined to put his head in that undead-cage from Braavos for a while to gain some lore.
But he's too dangerous to do that for long or without PC-supervision.
Do you have any idea how to control a powerful undead long enough to recieve decent amounts of information?
@Goldfish @Deliste
You maybe?
- Location
- Germany
The best way would probably be to turn him into a book like the Unilla. Full access to everything while making him completely harmless.
And given that he lived for centuries, there should be some fine stuff in that book. Especially as I'm getting the impression that he predates the original sundering.
- Location
- Germany
Might be worth it.
We need Spark of Life to make him vulnerable to it though, so I'm not sure if it would be properly permanent?
And if he's a Lich he's immune to Polymorph effects anyway.
Though if he is a divine caster he couldn't be proper Lich. Back to the Huecuva theory with Bob 2.0?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Either turn him into a book like the Unilla, or curse his Wisdom score and saving throws into the ground, bottle him, then use Lya's handy device that lets us compel captured souls to answer questions.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Location
- Brazil
One thing I'm terribly worried about is memetic contamination.
I'm willing to let him keep his secrets to the grave if it means we avoid 15th shenanigans.
I'm willing to let him keep his secrets to the grave if it means we avoid 15th shenanigans.
- Location
- Germany
I remember something about needing arcane caster level 11 as requirement in the description of a phylactery?
Vote closed.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Caster level 11:
d20srd
"The Lich's Phylactery
An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.
Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.
The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40.
Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items."
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
Okay, this guy was a massive dissapointment. I think a side-quest in Tyrosh was more dangerous than this guy's entire plotline.
Side note: as I read this, I realise that I need to have words with my GM because he's an asshole.
GM: Your party has 6 lvl 4 characters, so your BBEG will have 5 named characters with abilities and agenda as support. Also, if any of them live, they may return as villains later (maybe even everyone at once).
Players: But BBEG already is a powerfull necromancer duke with a competent army, can summon a demon that was "born at the dawn of this world", has a dragolich ally and connetctions with dark elves court. Isn't that enough?
GM: No, it isn't. How is 6 (players) vs 3 (necromancer, dragolich, dark elf assassin) fair?
Players: But... the level difference.. and the army...we can't take them all in a fight!
GM: You knew what you were getting into.
So he forces us to use intrigue and guerilla warfare, set traps in advance and then lure enemies into prepared battlefileds, backtrack and outsource help for some hefty prices. And here I see a party "we came to the castle, we tore down the main gate, we subdued the evil guy in a 7v2".
And he had us believe it's a usual difficulty mode.
Players: But BBEG already is a powerfull necromancer duke with a competent army, can summon a demon that was "born at the dawn of this world", has a dragolich ally and connetctions with dark elves court. Isn't that enough?
GM: No, it isn't. How is 6 (players) vs 3 (necromancer, dragolich, dark elf assassin) fair?
Players: But... the level difference.. and the army...we can't take them all in a fight!
GM: You knew what you were getting into.
So he forces us to use intrigue and guerilla warfare, set traps in advance and then lure enemies into prepared battlefileds, backtrack and outsource help for some hefty prices. And here I see a party "we came to the castle, we tore down the main gate, we subdued the evil guy in a 7v2".
And he had us believe it's a usual difficulty mode.
To be fair Damphair was a side quest. A pretty important one because of how it ties back to the source of his powers (and because we got a small Kingdom out of it) but still, definitely not BBEG material.
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- Location
- Philippines
He was supposed to be riding a true dragon when he was to face us and has an army of reavers and unwholesome things.
Too bad, we
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Damphair was also a pawn of a bigger bad, really. If you think about it he's framed as having ultimate authority because people aren't supposed to know the big bad brain eaters are coming for them soon.
So really that encounter was closer to a group of PCs of similar size facing off against just one of those named villain subordinates you listed.
With that said most DMs are not like @DragonParadox. They would not allow you to create so much custom content or streamline things to the point where you had a production center of magic items. Most DMs treat even vanilla magic items as something special, and admittedly they can be, but this is based upon the assumption in most cases that he would like you to have less tools initially to get around his challenges, which magic can allow you to do with a single spell casting sometimes.
DMs might then treat all magic as special and rare simply because of how versatile and powerful it can be in the right situation, used by anyone who has even an ounce of critical thinking.
Update in beta.
- Location
- Germany
To be frank, that campaigns sounds fucking awesome to me, but I also recognize that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.
In unrelated news, that description of he BBEG sounds like a inferior. off-brand copy of Viserys.
- Location
- France
This game is undoubtedly an easy mode D&D. Fun, but not exactly a terrible challenge.
I have no issues with your GM or his game.
Also remember that Damphair wasn't a major boss, that we apparently managed to loot his Dragon before even fighting him, and that this quest isn't exactly known for its incredible difficulty.
- Location
- Germany
Mind you that the prevalence of magic is also to a very large degree tied to the scope of and plot of a given campaign.
If you want your players to use the Awesome Sword of Destiny to defeat That Evil Dude, then you need to make sure that the ASOD is actually awesome and not just a slightly stronger version of the sword they bought last month from Random McVendor.
In the same vein, the more power, and magic is ultimately just one form of power, you give your players, the larger the scope of their actions becomes. If you keep the players poor and ill-equipped, you can run low-stakes dungeon runs with them forever, as they will never outgrow these restricted circumstances.
If you give them large amounts of funds, magic, XP, allies, etc., then they will begin to affect larger and larger scopes of play. This can have detrimental effects if you are planning to run a fixed a plot as they can completely outgrow that plotline and you might have nothing in place that can logically replace the threat scenario that kept the campaign going in the first place.
I mean... *glances at the smoldering remains of the ASWAH setting* ... you can't deny that this can lead to ... *watches a bout of green flame rise from Kings Landing* ... unexpected results.
- Location
- France
That was part of why I hate Elminster. He's a plot device masquerading as an inept old dude who nevertheless somehow manages to get shit done despite mostly sitting around doing nothing when he should have international influence.
Look, is he an adventurer? A king? Neither? Both? So messy!
Where is all his wealth? His minions?
He somehow got great power without any of that accumulating around him, and it irks me.
He should be at least as wealthy and influential as a lv20 PC
EDIT: When you start throwing that kind of power around, you should start getting minions and wealth almost absentmindedly. And he's old, too. He's had the time and opportunity for it!
It also suggests incompetence. You want to defend the world and make it your life's work, but don't give yourself the means to do so? He could at least have friendly ears in royal courts warning him when shit's about to go down somewhere! Estates manages by stewards to fund your good deeds on a massive scale!
Look, is he an adventurer? A king? Neither? Both? So messy!
Where is all his wealth? His minions?
He somehow got great power without any of that accumulating around him, and it irks me.
He should be at least as wealthy and influential as a lv20 PC
EDIT: When you start throwing that kind of power around, you should start getting minions and wealth almost absentmindedly. And he's old, too. He's had the time and opportunity for it!
It also suggests incompetence. You want to defend the world and make it your life's work, but don't give yourself the means to do so? He could at least have friendly ears in royal courts warning him when shit's about to go down somewhere! Estates manages by stewards to fund your good deeds on a massive scale!
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Part MMCDXCIII: A House in Order
A House in Order
Eleventh Day of the Seventh Month 293 AC
It takes the better part of a day to get Shadowbrook in order, a task which was thankfully more concerned with the saying of words than the drawing of swords and is more familiar for all that. One might even think it a sort of rehearsal for the taking of Lys this month, you think very privately behind the mast of the mysterious Master Lieu. The whole ordeal had forced you to add a touch more color to his character, implying that he was the last survivor of an order of mages come from farther east in the lands of the Jade Sea, a wanderer in search of new truths and a man sane enough to hate demons.
"...you were afraid to send word to Lys about demons because of what the Archon would do?" Your words are as cold and sharp as a headman's axe as you look down at the estate's steward, the same man who had so deftly tried to bar your gifts from getting sent. You are not sitting in judgement, not quite, but the tall carved seat backed in red silk is close enough to a throne as to make no difference to the surviving servants and representatives from the nearer villages. "Were you so unconcerned about people vanishing, about children snatched from their beds, and old folk carving out their eyes in the dead of night?"
"We were well treated!" the man defends himself. "Better than most, our children were not sold away, our kin were not whipped raw, our bellies did not ache from hunger..."
"A pig farmer is kind to his hogs also, at least the ones he does not plan to sacrifice," Mereth notes, with malice and forethought, but no less true for it.
"I have no authority over you..." you begin, technically true, practically Lady Lydya had been so happy to be free of the shadows cast over her mind since girlhood that she had said you could do what you wanted with the lot of them. The fact that the poor woman can still even stand here and lend some semblance of credibility to the proceedings, that she tried to warn you even when in the thrall of the sorcerer lord, shown more steel in her spine than many who think themselves bold. "Yet this I call madness and worse than madness, for to see one of the tanar'ri in their true forms is to know their wickedness though you cannot put it into the proper words. There must be order and justice, but mercy also that this day not bring more widows and orphans to settle the urge to righteousness..." How easy it would be if they were all willing servants of malevolence and mad with it...
At least you are not Viserys Targaryen and you have no need to weigh mercy and justice in the same scale as the need for clear and unwavering law to ward against future temptation. Here you are an irascible sorcerer, knowledgeable in the ways of demons, but most of all wishing to put all this to a swift end without bloodshed.
***
So it is by sunset that all the trinkets and charms of the demons have been taken, burned, and scattered to the winds or else given a proper burial if they were grizzly trophies of their foul hunts, all the books that may have been of sorcery or even encoded taken away with the blessing of the new mistress of the House, and the corpses of the slain demons cleared. Alas that not all things could be so easily removed even with the Cloak of Mammon to carry plunder in. The desecrated pool you had discovered to be the origin of the strange vitality that the servants and slaves coveted so, though few indeed had seen it with their own eyes, being brought instead blindfolded and deafened to bathe in its healing waters. If healing you call it...
Library Upgrade:
Knowledge (Religion) +2
Knowledge (Arcana) +2
Craft (Alchemy) +6
8 Quasit
5 Schir
1 Swaithe
1 Yaenit
5 Schir
1 Swaithe
1 Yaenit
The waters give life to the body where the pool in the House of Black and White gives death. Alas that they also shackled the soul where the waters hidden away in Braavos freed it to its fate. Though you are neither alchemist or poison-brewer you are able to gleam that much from brief study: were the Lord of the House still able to think and act in the waking world than he could have turned his servants into raging madmen that would kill until they are slain as surely as the lesser dead in the tunnels below.
As he is now trapped in amber the dead stand idle under no command but to protect themselves, and the living are free to live their lives. Still, the accursed pool is a danger, poisoned by a power you do not fully understand but know to be strong as it is perilous. What do you do about the pool?
[] Outright buy the estate with Jarlar's help (Cost 9,000 Gold)
[] Set one of the Erinyes to guard it until you take over Lys, a monotonous duty to be sure but it will not take long
[] Write in
OOC: After this you will get to talk to the guests, and then it's off to deciding about the Tyrells.
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- Location
- Germany
That's what I mean. The more resources the players get, the less they will be the plucky adventurer troupe you imagine when thinking about D&D. Play shifts away from dungeon delves and over to politics, economics, intrigue, warfare and so on.
If this is awesome or horrible depends on the players and GM and their respective expectations for the campaign.
See, this is what happens when you heap Awesome Stuff on a character and never bother to explore the ramifications of him having that.
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