Remove ads

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

Reader mode
A team of spellcasters would be hell to fight for most martials at this level. Nerveskitter to win initiative, and then unload everything!
Sorcerers capable of casting fireball for 10d6 can straight-up kill most teams of CR 6 opponents. And then add in flight (through *cough* Lesser Dragonshape *cough*, ie Alter Self with added badass and decreased AC) and amazing spells like Grease or Backbiter than annihilate chargers or power attackers...

Honestly, if there's a team of spellcasters that can contain their ego long enough to work out some strategies, I expect them to win even against Minotaurs.

Although having a meatshield with trip and combat reflexes never hurts, it's true. Unless there's a max team size?
 
DragonParadox said:
The third knight knight to introduce himself
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Repeated.

LockedMind said:
100+200+200+300 equals 800, not 600.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

DragonParadox said:
So it is.

@LonelyWolf999 should I just add to the total numbers or trim then down to 600?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

DragonParadox said:
The core of the band is six-hundred picked men of which a hundred are knights and twice as many squires, and about as many men-at-arms and half again as many skirmishers.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Still need to address this discrepancy in text.
TalonofAnathrax said:
And anyway, nothing good has ever comes from that place (Baelish, Lysa, maybe even Catelyn were pretty terrible).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Definitely.
 
@DragonParadox in OV or AK, has anyone invented a mage's duel-circle where the metamagic "merciful spell" is applied, for free, to all damage spells that the feat is compatible with?

Seems like a) a handy thing to have for mage duels, b) something that would have been invented by now if it is possible :).

edit: Catelyn sucks, so remember, if Lyanna asks us to use "Ghost touch" so they can interact, check what her STR score is, lest Catelyn's head say farewell to her neck from the "Slap that echoed across the North"
 
Last edited:
BeepSmile said:
@DragonParadox in OV or AK, has anyone invented a mage's duel-circle where the metamagic "merciful spell" is applied, for free, to all damage spells that the feat is compatible with?

Seems like a) a handy thing to have for mage duels, b) something that would have been invented by now if it is possible :).

edit: Catelyn sucks, so remember, if Lyanna asks us to use "Ghost touch" so they can interact, check what her STR score is, lest Catelyn's head say farewell to her neck from the "Slap that echoed across the North"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

There's a spell that allows two people to fight a mage's duel that protects spectators, it only stops creatures from being damaged though and doesn't prevent terrain damage or damage to creatures resulting from that. For this reason I dismissed it as irrelevant as anyone of a low enough level to not cause terrain damage isn't too much of a problem.
 
Remove ads
Part MMDCXXXIV: A Gift of Steel and Sand
  • Threadmarks
    • A Gift of Steel and Sand​

    Nineteenth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC

    The first thing you ask of the men before you is an accounting of who might be counted a loyalist in the Riverlands, under other circumstances you might have asked for a distinction between those who are firm in their conviction and the ones playing both sides waiting to see from whence the wind blows stronger, but you suspect that would be rather awkward in Black Walder's company given his great-grandfather's reputation. Walder Frey suddenly developing a deep and principled love of your house is about as likely as Tywin Lannister suddenly abandoning his name and earthly goods to become a begging brother.

    So instead you get a list split clearly in three—loyalists, neutrals, and Tully supporters. Among the first you count Houses impoverished by the Usurpation like Darry and Goodbrook, ones bound to the current rebels by blood like House Hawick and Mooton... and of course the Freys, loyal in the same way the average sellsword company is, which is to say to their own interests and not shy about making that clear. Black Walder is quick to invite you to the Twins for a 'serious discussion' with Lord Walder about the 'sad state of the Riverlands'. Still, you keep your smile pleasant for you are hardly a stranger to working with naked self-interest, so long as it is paired with decent wit. Otherwise the most shaky of the loyalist Houses would have to be House Ryger on account of Tristan Ryger having been close to Edmure Tully not so long ago and Ser Robin Ryger, his uncle, being captain of the guards at Riverrun.

    The neutral houses read more like a gathering of those no one has yet gotten around to courting, which considering the fact that Hoster Tully is their sworn lord of decades and born into it unlike the Usurper in King's Landing, says nothing good about the reach of Riverrun's power. Sharing the sentiment earns you an odd moment of vindictive agreement from Ser Benjicot and Black Walder. "Perhaps the Old Trout would have been better served wedding his daughters to powerful bannermen over far off alliances," says the latter with a smile that reminds one that a weasel is a predator too and among the most vicious besides.

    "The Blackwoods and Brackens will be fighting each other until the war is on their doorstep," Tom begins, counting houses off his fingers with the air of long habit. "The Lychesters are too poor to raise a levy worth a damn, the Lollistons asked for a bigger bribe than the Lannisters were willing to pay to catch us, and then the word got out so now they're sulking."

    That earns a scornful laugh from Derrick but the bard keeps speaking: "The Rootes don't exactly love you for meddling in that business in Harroway, but they don't seem to love the Lannisters much more for using what happened there to needle the Tullys every chance they get. House Smallwood... well we've got a friend there, it just ain't the lord."

    "Yes, I think we've established that," Garin interjects, forestalling any more mentions of the bard's amorous conquests in his notes. "What of House Vypren?"

    "Word is the lord's gotten real faithful, swore off whores and wine, though they haven't shown any sign of getting in bed with the Tullys over it," Tom replies. "I saw one of his cousins in the melee yesterday. He was getting pounded into the ground by a bull-man, so I'm not sure how friendly he is now..."

    "That is why we have healers," you note absently, moving on to House Tully's remaining friends.

    Few but strong, you conclude—the Mallisters of Seagard, both branches of House Vance, and the Pipers of Pinkmaiden. Their scattering throughout the Riverlands is enough to pin down more troublesome vassals in more peaceful times at least. You wonder what Ser Benjicot and the others would think of the fact that you are pondering the fate of House Vance on the basis of age-old grudges dating back to the coming of the Andals.

    "What of foes worse than men?" you ask at length. "You spoke of facing magic and I do not imagine it was merely Lannister mages who troubled you, was it?"

    "Most certainly not..." Tom begins, his voice even more cheerful than it had been, looking like he is about to pick up his harp and launch into a ballad of his own making.

    "Merciful Mother protect us," Ser Garse Goodbrook interjects, exasperated. "Just give a straight accounting."

    "Are you implying that my accounting is crooked?" The minstrel gives such an expression of wounded innocence it's all you can to not to burst into laughter.

    "No, he is implying your accounting is long, Tom," Ser Benjicot's smile takes the sting from his words. "We've fought blood-crazed turn-skins, wights that started walking out of the hollowed hills, a mad wizard of some kind who must have come from Essos though he wasn't exactly in the talking mood when we found and dealt with him, and we've also gone looking for magical treasures of our own." The knight shakes his head. "The Stranger may hate a grave robber, but our need is great and if we hadn't gone after them they would have just ended up in Lannister hands anyway, just like the lads and lasses we spirited away before the Golden Shields could take them."

    "How many mages did you find?" you ask, not hoping for much with the Lannisters searching the same fields.

    The answer you get is pleasing and surprising all at once. They had managed to find and train a full score of mages, though only one of them can so much as work magics of the third circle and she is a healer by inclination, leaving Ser Benjicot's company at a serious disadvantage when facing the Golden Shields on anything besides grounds of their own choosing. Perhaps you should not be so surprised about the number of mages. After all, you had found that adversity awakens power, and the Riverlands have never lacked for that.

    1x Healer lvl 6 (Masie)
    2x Sorcerers lvl 3

    1x Hedge Mage lvl 5
    2x Hedge Mages lvl 4
    3x Hedge Mages lvl 2
    3x Hedge Mages lvl 1

    2x Adepts lvl 5
    1x Adept lvl 4
    3x Adepts lvl 3
    2x Adepts lvl 1

    When asked what magics that they might wish your artisans to make, you receive about the answers you had expected: swords and plate, the latter with an emphases on comfort and ease of use as much as protection for a life of a rebel is filled with surprises, many of them of the unpleasant sort. Tom asks for glamours and some quick way to counter the Golden Shields' mages, preferably one that does not need a mage make use of it.

    It is Black Walder, however, whose request is the most noteworthy: "Some charm or trinket to wake me up if there are enemies about." Somehow you do not think it is Tully assassins he fears. You promise to think on the matter but make no pledge yet.

    Instead you roll out a map of the Riverlands copied from the one Bloodraven had made for you, barring the ancient burial mounds and hoards of cursed ancient treasure, and present them with a plan for how they might slip back into the safety of obscurity while losing nothing of the strength they have gathered so far in their wandering.

    You offer them not only arms, armor, and equipment for their picked band, but also the use of three-eyed raven constructs to carry messages and a Whispering Brazier to speak instantly across a distance, including to summon help.

    "Thus you might spread out even further without fear of being defeated in detail," you explain after demonstrating the magic of the brazier. "Gatherings of one-hundred of your most trusted men can quickly organize the locals to attack, then melt away into the hills and valleys."


    Ser Benjicot looks at the ornate brass instrument as though it were the answer to many prayers uttered over many sleepless nights. Black Walder on the other hand is looking at it as though it were a tame viper and not simply because it is magic, for he had no trouble with talk of sorcery beforehand. He understands the value of instant communication in the hands of the King when the lords have to make do without it. You mark well the insight.

    1 Whispering Brazier
    5 Greater Ravens
    20 Lesser Ravens

    10 Healing Belts

    100 Tons of Steel

    "The best places to establish semi-permanent local bases are in the Bay of Crabs, Darry, the Trident, Southstone and Blackwood. Further outposts in Seagard and The Crossing would also be good. Focus on locations near the major rivers and use excess supplies to start building well hidden caches for the coming invasion," you recount, giving a meaningful look to the representative of House Frey. Seaguard is in the hands of Tully supporters, though the crossing certainly is not.

    "I have heard that dragons can travels swiftly indeed and sorcerers can pass unseen when they desire," Black Walder says carefully. "Thus you are in a better position than me to give the news to my lord grandfather, though I will of course do my utmost to advise you in how best to approach him of course." In other words he was sent here to cut a deal for House Frey, but would be more than glad to cut one for himself so long as it is secret.

    What do you do next?

    [] Ask more questions
    -[] Write in

    -[] Give more commands to the group at large
    -[] Write in

    [] Speak privately with Black Walder
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: I left out the rumors because this update is already very large and dense in terms of information without being a rumor post too.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Oh, that's right! Will we be getting a rumor post from all the visitors to SD? I'm especially interested in extraplanar rumors, actually.
     
    Well, now that the list from @LonelyWolf999 is officially canon, I'm firmly uninterested in speaking with the Tully's. Their allies are exactly the people we will need to kick into the dirt to either make the Old Gods or our most likely allies happy. This is fine. Better use our time on subverting Reach houses.

    [X] Speak privately with Black Walder
    -[X] Ask him plainly what his request and / or offer is. No need to play coy.
    -[X] If he requests something along the lines of our backing for his claim on the Twins, tell him that you will consider it and that you wanted to talk with Walder Prime about sorting our his succession anyway. Even though you can't promise him the twins, competent people in your employ will always find very rewarding positions.
    -[X] Check the time. If you got enough, take Walder Black and visit Walder Prime.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top