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

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Random thought: We should send a B-Party to the Wall next turn and get started on evacuating Wildlings. Secondary goal is to recruit Tormund.
 
Azel said:
Random thought: We should send a B-Party to the Wall next turn and get started on evacuating Wildlings. Secondary goal is to recruit Tormund.
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I'd like to put a bit of Companion time into plundering the lands there for sacrifices. Every time we go there the Others just can't seem to resist sending something to face us.

Also, I wanted to show up at the Fist of the First Men to offer the giants a Large Valyrian Steel Greatsword (+2), a set of Large Reinforced Segmented Adamantine Fullplate (+1), a PfE Ring, and a Healing Belt. It's high time we recruited them.
 
Duesal said:
Several things:

1. For the tourney, meddling from our enemies is a guarantee (Lannisters, Devils, Deep Ones, etc), so we'll need to ramp up the divinations and security.
2. The smith should get a Ring of Sustenance. We need him working nonstop, but him killing himself through overworking will only waste a Raise Dead diamond.
3. I'd like to get around to expanding the arena specifically for the tournament. We already set aside the space for it, and now that we have millions of citizens and are about to hold a grand tournament this is the perfect time to finally do it.
4. For the ultimate grand prize of the tournament, to make it interesting, I was thinking of the following: 1 Valyrian Steel Greatsword (+2), 1 Reinforced Segmented Adamantine Fullplate (+1), 1 Healing Belt, 1 PfE Ring, 1 Hippogriff mount. The reason for this is it ups the stakes for everyone, including those who are mostly used to magic. This is a fantastic deal. Also it's something we could easily make happen, especially since we'll be buying Hippogriffs in bulk very shortly.

Also, we still need to go around Sothoryos and collect Triceratops mounts for our Minotaurs.
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Forgot to add to this. I think we should have something to do personally that isn't straight up knighting, which we want to make rarer and more prestigious by encouraging a set of guidelines/behavior to adhere to.

So less a step between Knighthood, and more disassociating knighthood with singularly martial valour. That's an important aspect, but only a single component to it in the end.

More like creating another title aside from Noble Peerage of a variety or Companion? One is hereditary, one is non-hereditary, but both come with certain responsibilities and expectations. But one which focuses directly on martial valour, with all responsibilities stemming from it mostly relating to their ability to dish out the pain in service to the Realm. Not everyone who is a good fighter or caster is going to be virtuous like a Waymar, see Bronn. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be recognized. It's just that Companion is basically one part close friend, one part Official. It's clear our relationship with the Bronns of the world are more professional than anything else.

Thus, I propose Paragon. Which can be applied to a distinguished individual who has displayed surpassing skill in some matter, be it arcane, militarily, artistically or scholastically.

Thoughts, @everyone?
 
Azel said:
Random thought: We should send a B-Party to the Wall next turn and get started on evacuating Wildlings. Secondary goal is to recruit Tormund.
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To be fair, we have years and it's going to be a pain. On the other hand, just establishing contact with the Wildlings is important, and Tormund is amazing. Mance Ryder is also pretty cool, might want to try and nab him.
 
Tomcost said:
The Minor action still says that we will sacrifice Tor to Yss and ask other stuff. But I wanna free the Drow too.
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I rephrased the wording on the vote that is threadmarked some time ago, for the sake of those few wanting to give Tor a chance.
But I still want to get answers from Yss.

And I pointedly do not want to de-curse drow now, if only because that will get us Underdark as another plate to juggle.
Can we not, please?

At least in 3-4 months?
:(

...Adding.
 
egoo said:
I rephrased the wording on the vote that is threadmarked some time ago, for the sake of those few wanting to give Tor a chance.
But I still want to get answers from Yss.

And I pointedly do not want to de-curse drow now, if only because that will get us Underdark as another plate to juggle.
Can we not, please?

At least in 3-4 months?
:(

...Adding.
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See, if we uncurse the Drow or not it doesn't matter. Things happen regardless of we paying it attention or not.
 
Tomcost said:
See, if we uncurse the Drow or not it doesn't matter. Things happen regardless of we paying it attention or not.
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Sure they will.

But i'd rather not pay attention to underdark-matters whatsoever, as we can't do anything about it anyway and all it would do is give me another enemy to worry about all the time.
 
Crake said:
More like creating another title aside from Noble Peerage of a variety or Companion? One is hereditary, one is non-hereditary, but both come with certain responsibilities and expectations. But one which focuses directly on martial valour, with all responsibilities stemming from it mostly relating to their ability to dish out the pain in service to the Realm. Not everyone who is a good fighter or caster is going to be virtuous like a Waymar, see Bronn. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be recognized. It's just that Companion is basically one part close friend, one part Official. It's clear our relationship with the Bronns of the world are more professional than anything else.

Thus, I propose Paragon. Which can be applied to a distinguished individual who has displayed surpassing skill in some matter, be it arcane, militarily, artistically or scholastically.
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Can't say I'm enthusiastic. Things like that really work a lot better when they generate organically, and I think Waymar's Knightly Orders are going to serve as an excellent 'level up' from regular knighthood.

On that note, however, I've been thinking about the Kingsguard. There ain't a lot of enthusiasm for just re-establishing them, and I can see people's points - the whole institution got really bad near the end. Still, just like the Iron Throne, there is a lot of history behind them and I don't want it to go to waste. Then I had an idea! One big problem about the Kingsguard is that it's, well, a guard for the king. Which we don't exactly need, so they'd be kind of pointless at best and liabilities at worst. That's not to say having Kingsguard knights is pointless, it's an ultimate level of prestige and chivalry, and can act as useful public agents and PR magnets.

Previously, I raised the idea of melting the Iron Throne down and turning it into weapons for our Varangian Guard (I'd have used Pretorian guard, but that didn't end so well IRL). How about having our elite company of supersoldiers take on the role of our new Kingsguard? Have them dress in pure white armor - it'd make a cool contrast to the Legion - be decked out in incredibly top quality gear and all of them being incredible ass-kickers in their own right, whether famous knights or veteran legionaries. They'd have 49 regular members, with the 50th being the Lord-Commander of the Kingsguard. The whole thing would be the 'elitest of the elitest,' capable of following high-level adventurer parties as something more than cannon fodder, and generally being as cool as all hell.

We could emulate Visenya with the original Kingsguard, and have the Grand Tournament be used to select its first candidates.
 
LonelyWolf999 said:
Can't say I'm enthusiastic. Things like that really work a lot better when they generate organically, and I think Waymar's Knightly Orders are going to serve as an excellent 'level up' from regular knighthood.

On that note, however, I've been thinking about the Kingsguard. There ain't a lot of enthusiasm for just re-establishing them, and I can see people's points - the whole institution got really bad near the end. Still, just like the Iron Throne, there is a lot of history behind them and I don't want it to go to waste. Then I had an idea! One big problem about the Kingsguard is that it's, well, a guard for the king. Which we don't exactly need, so they'd be kind of pointless at best and liabilities at worst. That's not to say having Kingsguard knights is pointless, it's an ultimate level of prestige and chivalry, and can act as useful public agents and PR magnets.

Previously, I raised the idea of melting the Iron Throne down and turning it into weapons for our Varangian Guard (I'd have used Pretorian guard, but that didn't end so well IRL). How about having our elite company of supersoldiers take on the role of our new Kingsguard? Have them dress in pure white armor - it'd make a cool contrast to the Legion - be decked out in incredibly top quality gear and all of them being incredible ass-kickers in their own right, whether famous knights or veteran legionaries. They'd have 49 regular members, with the 50th being the Lord-Commander of the Kingsguard. The whole thing would be the 'elitest of the elitest,' capable of following high-level adventurer parties as something more than cannon fodder, and generally being as cool as all hell.

We could emulate Visenya with the original Kingsguard, and have the Grand Tournament be used to select its first candidates.
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This idea is evocative of the wrong ideas. You claim that things need to evolve organically, but that is not how titles and the strictures of any society originally developed. Citing your own post, see Visenya's establishing of a Kingsguard. Would not a company of Household Guards have served better? Seven men, no matter how skilled, aren't guaranteed to stop a coordinated effort to assassinate someone, simply stop one avenue of assassination, and given history, not even all the time, maybe not even half the time.

I think you're arguing in bad faith. Maybe not intentionally, but you turn down my idea of trying to create something new, rather than letting it all be to the dictates of circumstance and what "the people" find popular, and then turn around and suggest appropriating and cannibalizing failed ideas.
 
Wait speaking of minor actions would casting commune with nature be minor or major? Because if it's minor we can hitch it to the other minor actions we have this turn
 
To expand on my Paragon idea, since I don't think it's fair to just let the conversation die away to one trade here, Viserys believes in a Nobility of Talent. Why wouldn't he try to officially recognize these beliefs and actually put them into practice in a way that doesn't disrupt the current balance at all, but does make people stand up and realize the meritocratic reality that he as a King believes in?

And don't be mistaken, while recognizing and promoting/employing/rewarding people based on their skills is a thing we can do personally, it only becomes an institutional practice that becomes something everyone emulates when it becomes tied to status. No one wants to bust ass and get a boss that just so happens to not care about that shit because of politics of personal feelings.

However, regularly adding this reward to the every-day functions of holding court, we can steadily make sure everyone knows how we operate. You want an audience with the King? He just so happens to like talented people. It becomes a characteristic everyone is informed of as part of a simple non-esoteric knowledge check. You would see a lot less petty bribes and a lot more passive bonuses from people trying to actually put in an effort in their respective spheres.
 
Azel said:
Random thought: We should send a B-Party to the Wall next turn and get started on evacuating Wildlings. Secondary goal is to recruit Tormund.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We can use Demiplane portal Gates to relocate 10s of thousands of Wildlings at a time. The biggest hurdle to mass migration is getting enough of them together in one place within a given window of time.

That's where our efforts there should focus; arranging a central collection point, diplomancing the tribes and clans to convince them to participate, and establishing a place in our territory for them to inhabit without becoming a dangerous nuisance.
Crake said:
Forgot to add to this. I think we should have something to do personally that isn't straight up knighting, which we want to make rarer and more prestigious by encouraging a set of guidelines/behavior to adhere to.

So less a step between Knighthood, and more disassociating knighthood with singularly martial valour. That's an important aspect, but only a single component to it in the end.

More like creating another title aside from Noble Peerage of a variety or Companion? One is hereditary, one is non-hereditary, but both come with certain responsibilities and expectations. But one which focuses directly on martial valour, with all responsibilities stemming from it mostly relating to their ability to dish out the pain in service to the Realm. Not everyone who is a good fighter or caster is going to be virtuous like a Waymar, see Bronn. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be recognized. It's just that Companion is basically one part close friend, one part Official. It's clear our relationship with the Bronns of the world are more professional than anything else.

Thus, I propose Paragon. Which can be applied to a distinguished individual who has displayed surpassing skill in some matter, be it arcane, militarily, artistically or scholastically.

Thoughts, @everyone?
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Exemplar.
 
Goldfish said:
We can use Demiplane portal Gates to relocate 10s of thousands of Wildlings at a time. The biggest hurdle to mass migration is getting enough of them together in one place within a given window of time.

That's where our efforts there should focus; arranging a central collection point, diplomancing the tribes and clans to convince them to participate, and establishing a place in our territory for them to inhabit without becoming a dangerous nuisance.
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We could settle them in Andalos. :evil:

Spreading them around our various colonies is another option, though. It would make any headaches from them more of a minor demographic issue as opposed to having any form of organization that needs to be negotiated with ongoingly. The other side of that is that it would take more work to organize, and on the other hand, many might recognize what is being done. Some wildlings are bound to be more than not stupid. Some are bound to actually be clever enough to piece together the politics of the move. Mance Rayder would certainly guess at the motive, he's shrewd as a primary characteristic.

Problem with being dismissive of Mance in this case is that the Wildlings by this point are probably starting to respect him, and you're trying to convince the smart ones to follow your lead. The majority are just going with what their chieftains say, otherwise their gut instinct would be to say "fuck the kneelers!" even if the conversation isn't remotely about feudal obligation.
 
I prefer just having a highly competent household guard. I never want a kingsguard for our family after the last one failed so spectacularly. There are dozens of other PR opportunities, like Waymar's knightly griffon riding order.
 
I like the idea of a non-hereditary recognition for prowess. It just seems like a good idea in general, and it does send a message to the usual seekers of royal favor about what we like. At least some of them might be smart enough to parse it, too.
 
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