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

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Wow. Someone who's username I didn't recognize liked my last post (the Omake): turns out they've been a member since 2014, but haven't posted once in all that time!

That's some lurking.
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
And as for lesser expenses like immediate housing, or food that hadn't spent millennia in a transfigured haversack?
Well, there was always theft. Beastkin with poor senses should know better than to stockpile money, really. And what kind of Dragon would object to seizing assets from mere Wingless?
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Viserys: "You get to brake my laws once. Ie., I won't punish you serverely for this transgression. Don't do that a second time."
 
@TalonofAnathrax very nice omake.

I had not considered having the mage play familiar using polimorph, but that is a very drow thing to do, strength in treachery and cunning. Also the inner thoughts were spot on. The only thing I do not think they would do is steal, since they do not know what rules can be broken without ending in dragon-fire.
 
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Interlude CDXXVIII: Witch's Wiles
  • Threadmarks
    • Witch's Wiles ​

    Twenty-Eighth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC

    Braga, called Man-Slayer among his own folk for the almost uncanny way his arrows found the flesh of his foes through the vales and peaks of the Frostfangs, looked upon his foes across the great fighting pit with a measuring eye. None of them were men, that much was certain. There was the stout warrior with beard and hair aflame and skin like gleaming bronze, the tall one with skin black as night and squinting against the glare of the southern sun, and the woman with curing horns and silver hair. That one he would know for a witch for certain, not that she wasn't easy on the eyes.

    "Like what you see?" she asked in a voice that flowed like honey and mead, so entrancing was it that it took a moment for him to realize she had spoken in the tongue of the First Men as clear as any woman of Thenn. More witchery...

    "Aye, but it won't spare you," he called back, seeing no reason to lie.

    The Bull-Man next to him laughed, clapping Braga so hard on the shoulder it almost sent him reeling. "Good thought, she have strong magic, shoot hard, shoot true." He would know, the hunter supposed, being that he was a greenseer or something like one, if greenseers were more interested in lopping off heads than weaving slow and cunning spells like in the tales.

    The Tree didn't comment. It being a tree Braga was not particularly surprised, that it could walk around and work magic and smash things aside was more than enough for him. The Child of the Forest just looked between them with a glimmer of something that might have been amusement in those deep green eyes.

    There wasn't much chance to say anything after that. The crowd cheered, a dull roar like a storm through the forest, the horns called, and battle was joined in earnest. Braga being ever true as his word shot three arrows one after another, fit to pin the witch into the ground but give the healers time enough to patch her up before she bled out.

    Her pretty purple eyes widened... then she was gone in a flash of light and color, appearing three long steps to the side so the arrows cut through empty air. The Flame-Man didn't take that well, charging the Tree of the Old Gods with his flaming hammer and a war cry like the bellows of some mighty forge. Two great cracks resounded as the holy tree swayed, its eyes burning bright angry green, its leafy hands working some magic.

    As Braga looked again at his foes he was bewildered, for where before there had been two of the dark-skinned folk now there were three, and they were all the same man, with the other having seemingly vanished... two of the three vanished with a weirwood arrow passing through them.

    "Hur, Har, Hrrum!" the Tree called, more like the howl of wind through benches than any tongue of men. His branches glowed green as they smashed into the flame-bearded one just as Scarbrand sheathed his greataxe already dripping with his own blood into the back of his foe. The Flame-Man was a hardy warrior, though, and didn't falter, not even when Braga's arrow sprouted from his shoulders

    Then the hunter realized his mistake... he had forgotten the witch.

    Words like coiling serpents hissed through the air, through his mind until he was rooted to the spot as surely as if he had been chained with iron. He could only watch as one of the strange red-eyed warriors savaged the Bull-Man with his blade dripping slick poison as the flame bearded one struck again and again into the legs of the Wandering Tree.

    The great Tree toppled, just as Scarbrand brought the warrior to his knees. Mightily did Braga struggle against the enchantment, the magic still echoing in his ears, but it was no use. His fingers did not move, though he took some pride in seeing a weirwood shaft strike the witch in the arm. Her blood was just as red as his at least.

    Alas that the satisfaction lasted only a moment as with a wave of her hand and more soft sibilant words she cast the Child of the Forest into slumber there on the sands, leaving Scarbrand to bellow one last challenge and cleave into the assassin's arm before one more cut of the blade sent him down also.

    "Well fuck me," Braga sighed when he felt the magic on him lessen as the healers rushed onto the sands.

    Somehow the witch heard him over the din: "Isn't it a little early for that? I have not even gotten to know you?" she asked sweetly.

    The worst part of it was some part of him still wanted to see how far he could get.

    OOC: Braga actually hit with all three attacks and got a crit on one of them on the first round, so Siduri had to use Celerity and Dimensional Door to get out of the way lest she be unceremoniously downed in the first round. For anyone wondering what Tuin was doing, he just turned invisible and buffed his brother.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Yrten earned a new title, the "Tree Feller", but he can't brag about it out in the Planes because no one knows what a tree is.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Witch's Wiles ​

    Twenty-Eighth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC

    Braga called Man-Slayer among his own folk for the almost uncanny way his arrows found the flesh of his foes through the vales and peaks of the Frostfangs looked upon his foes across the great fighting pit with a measuring eye. None of them were men, that much was certain. There was the stout warrior with beard and hair aflame and skin like gleaming bronze, the tall ones with skin black as night and squinting against the glare of the southern sun, and the woman with curing horns and silver hair. That one he would know for a witch for certain, not that she wasn't easy on the eyes.

    "Like what you see?" she asked in a voice that flowed like honey and mead, so entrancing was it that it took a moment for him to realize she had spoken in the tongue of the North as clear as any woman of Thennhold. More witchery...

    "Aye, but it won't spare you," he called back, seeing no reason to lie.

    The Bullman next to him laughed, clapping Braga so hard on the shoulder it almost sent him reeling. "Good thought, she have strong magic, shoot hard, shoot." He would know, the hunter supposed, being that he was a greenseer or something like one, if greenseers were more interested in lopping off heads than weaving slow and cunning spells like in the tales.

    The Tree didn't comment. It being a tree Braga was not particularly surprised, that it could walk around and work magic and smash things aside was more than enough for him. The Child of the Forest just looked between them with a glimmer of something that might have been amusement in those deep green eyes.

    There wasn't much chance to say anything after that. The crowd cheered, a dull roar like a storm through the forest, the horns called, and battle was joined in earnest. Braga being ever true as his word shot three arrows one after another, fit to pin the witch into the ground but give the healers time enough to patch her up before she bled out.

    Her pretty purple eyes widened... then she was gone in a flash of light and color, appearing three long steps to the side so the arrows cut through empty air. The Flame-Man didn't take that well, charging the Tree of the Old Gods with his flaming hammer and a war cry like the bellows of some mighty forge. Two great cracks resounded as the holy tree swayed, its eyes burning bright angry green, its leafy hands working some magic.

    Braga looked again at his foes he saw, bewildered, for where before there had been two of the dark-skinned folk now there were three, and they were all the same man, with the other having seemingly vanished... two of the three vanished with a weirwood arrow passing through them.

    "Hur, Har, Hrrum!" the Tree called, more like the howl of wind through benches than any tongue of men. His branches glowed green as they smashed into the flame-bearded one just as Scarbrand sheathed his greataxe already dripping with his own blood into the back of his foe. The Flame-Man was a hardy warrior, though, and didn't falter, not even when Braga's arrow sprouted from his shoulders

    Then the hunter realized his mistake... he had forgotten the witch.

    Words like coiling serpents coiled through the air, through his mind until he was rooted to the spot as surely as if he had been chained with iron. He could only watch as one of the strange red-eyed warriors savaged the Bull-Man with his blade dripping slick poison as the flame bearded one struck again and again into the legs of the Wandering Tree.

    The great Tree toppled, just as Scarbrand brought the warrior to his knees. Mightily did Braga struggle against the enchantment, the magic still echoing in his ears, but it was no use. His fingers did not move, though he took some pride in seeing a weirwood shaft strike the witch in the arm. Her blood was just as red as his at least.

    Alas that the satisfaction lasted only a moment as with a wave of her hand and more soft sibilant words she cast the Child of the Forest into slumber there on the sands, leaving Scarbrand to bellow one last challenge and cleave into the assassin's arm before one more cut of the blade sent him down also.

    "Well fuck me," Braga sighed when he felt the magic on his lessen as the healers rushed onto the sands.

    Somehow the witch heard him over the din: "Isn't it a little early for that? I have not even gotten to know you?" she asked sweetly.

    The worst part of it was some part of him still wanted to see how far he could get.

    OOC: Braga actually hit with all three attacks and got a crit on one of them on the first round, so Siduri had to use Celerity and Dimensional Door to get out of the way lest she be unceremoniously downed in the first round. For anyone wondering what Tuin was doing, he just turned invisible and buffed his brother.
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    I doubt they can pull it off, but of all the teams, Siduri's would be the most interesting to see win, I think. What an odd group to be gifted land by the Dragon King.
     
    Goldfish said:
    I doubt they can pull it off, but of all the teams, Siduri's would be the most interesting to see win, I think. What an odd group to be gifted land by the Dragon King.
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    Yeah, the three main contenders are Melisandre's team, Amrelath, and Riz'Neth's team.

    Also, regarding the land, we haven't voted on any of the prizes for the team battles yet much less handing out land. We don't have to if it's inconvenient for us.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    @TalonofAnathrax very nice omake.

    I had not considered having the mage play familiar using polimorph, but that is a very drow thing to do, strength in treachery and cunning. Also the inner thoughts were spot on. The only thing I do not think they would do is steal, since they do not know what rules can be broken without ending in dragon-fire.
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    > Implying the hairless monkeys will ever figure out it was them.
    More seriously, I deliberately put that in as another "stranger in a strange land" thing. A Drow ruler wouldn't give a damn about petty theft from some commoners, nor would a normal Red Dragon.
    If you mention it IC then they were caught somehow (Garin following them?), otherwise they got away with sneaking into someone's house and stealing his cash.
    Or perhaps straight-up stealing food from a stall or something. They have the required skills and magic to get past our lawmen easily, even lawmen who (unlike the one I wrote in the omake) can't be intimidated away.

    And of course they would go after someone rather poor, to avoid attention.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    Or perhaps straight-up stealing food from a stall or something. They have the required skills and magic to get past our lawmen easily, even lawmen who (unlike the one I wrote in the omake) can't be intimidated away.
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    Hmm.. this does seem most likely, though only if Viserys forgot to give them some kind of other option, and that would be a rather large lapse, enough so that I would say it's not in character. He knows these are dangerous assassins from a civilization of demon summoners, he really would not want them out on the streets hungry, or even peekish.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    > Implying the hairless monkeys will ever figure out it was them.
    More seriously, I deliberately put that in as another "stranger in a strange land" thing. A Drow ruler wouldn't give a damn about petty theft from some commoners, nor would a normal Red Dragon.
    If you mention it IC then they were caught somehow (Garin following them?), otherwise they got away with sneaking into someone's house and stealing his cash.
    Or perhaps straight-up stealing food from a stall or something. They have the required skills and magic to get past our lawmen easily, even lawmen who (unlike the one I wrote in the omake) can't be intimidated away.

    And of course they would go after someone rather poor, to avoid attention.
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    To be honest Viserys would probably be able to figure that out after thinking about it for a few seconds. If it ever get's brought to his attention He'd probably word it like this.

    "This Kingdom is my hoard, these people are my hoard, their things are my hoard. When you steal from them you steal from me." Not 100 percent true, but like all lies we were told in schools it's true enough to get the point across.

    They're new here so we have to teach them the proper procedure.

    If you want to steal stick to acceptable targets and then take everything that isn't nailed down, the stuff that is, the walls, the floor, their skin, meat, bones, fine china and possibly their souls if you have the time.
     
    Vote closed.
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Apr 3, 2019 at 9:04 AM, finished with 217 posts and 15 votes.
    • [X] Plan So Long And Thanks For The Psionics - Mark III
      -[X] Prepare the body for a ritual akin to Soulbind, so that it takes in Jeynes soul when her original body dies. Include preparing the body to resist the curse or to decurse it immediately if necessary.
      -[X] Check by Divination if her original body would survive the first check of Mummy Rot. If not proceed, else use @Goldfish plan.
      -[X] Also check if examining or waking the knight would negatively affect our chances to pull this off and do so if it doesn't.
      --[X] Brief him on the how and why of everything. He has no say in this, but there is no reason to make this obvious when we can make him feel included.
      -[X] Use the sympathetic connection to her original body and all others parts of her, and use the Greater Curse staff, in conjunction with Viserys and Lya throwing their full Mythic might behind it to curse Jeynes parts with Contagious Mummy Rot, DC and CL adjusted to Viserys levels.
      -[X] If you can conduct a 2 hour ritual and have both effects hit at the end of it simultaneously, also curse her CON to 1.
      [X] Attempt to rescue Jeyne;
      -[X] Use multiple Divination spells, along with assistance from Vee's Hallucinogenic Smoke & Augury spells, to determine A) if it will be safe to temporarily wake Jeyne to warn her come back when we call for her, explaining that she will understand when the time is right (if it is safe, do so, if it is not, we'll have to chance it without warning her first), B) is what we plan to attempt possible, and C) would examining Roger decrease our odds of successfully freeing Jeyne.
      -[X] If the plan has a chance of succeeding, after fully preparing themselves (using Divine Insight, Grand Destiny, Nine Lives, etc.), the group attempts to draw Jeyne's soul and consciousness fully into the puppet body.
      -[X] Malarys will use the sympathetic connection the puppet body shares with her original body to curse Jeyne using the Staff of Ages, reducing her Constitution attribute to one point.
      --[X] Lya prepares Malarys to use the Staff of Ages first by activating her Bead of Karma to increase her Divine caster level to 20th, then casting Moment of Greatness and Harmonic Chorus on herself. She then cancels her Moment of Greatness spell to increase the caster level bonus from Harmonic Chorus to +4 while using Inspired Spell to place a 26th level Owl's Insight spell on Malarys, raising his Wisdom attribute to 39 and his Wisdom bonus to +14 (increasing the save DC of Bestow Greater Curse to 31). She places another Moment of Greatness and Harmonic Chorus spell on him before he completes the ritual, so that he can use them in conjunction with his own Bead of Karma to increase his caster level to 22.
      --[X] Timing it so that he completes the spell just as Malarys finishes cursing Jeyne's true body, Viserys uses Ancestral Awakening to learn the Maximize Spell Metamagic feat then casts a Maximized Nightmare spell using Wild Arcana to inflict 10 points of damage upon her, slaying her instantly.
      --[X] As the original body dies, Dany will simultaneously assist Lya in locating the Astral link shared between Jeyne and her flesh puppet so that she can use the full weight of her Mythic Power and deep understanding of the mysteries of the human soul to funnel Jeyne's liberated soul into the vacant puppet via Inspired Spell (nebulously borrowing from such Divine spells as Cyclic Reincarnation, Resurrection, Magic Jar, etc).
      --[X] Vee remains on standby to assist however she can, from providing additional Divine magic to the impromptu ritual to using Alter Fortune should it prove necessary.
      -[X] If successful, immediately return her to a Smoky Confinement bottle until a ritual to destroy her original body can be devised or we can receive Divine aid (from Yss, the Merling King, etc) to accomplish it.
      [X] Before doing anything to rescue Jeynes, check Roger per the previous methods to make sure that by rescuing one we don't condemn another.
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    TalonofAnathrax said:
    > Implying the hairless monkeys will ever figure out it was them.
    More seriously, I deliberately put that in as another "stranger in a strange land" thing. A Drow ruler wouldn't give a damn about petty theft from some commoners, nor would a normal Red Dragon.
    If you mention it IC then they were caught somehow (Garin following them?), otherwise they got away with sneaking into someone's house and stealing his cash.
    Or perhaps straight-up stealing food from a stall or something. They have the required skills and magic to get past our lawmen easily, even lawmen who (unlike the one I wrote in the omake) can't be intimidated away.

    And of course they would go after someone rather poor, to avoid attention.
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    Frankly they should be getting a stipend as our new vassals, they shouldn't need to steal at all. We didn't pay in sacrifices to decurse them just to leave them penniless and needing to steal not to starve.
     
    Now see I want to use them to get more Intrigue actions...but I trust them little. However they did make an oath in front of Yss so they re so boned if they screw us.
     
    One Autumn Leaf said:
    Now see I want to use them to get more Intrigue actions...but I trust them little. However they did make an oath in front of Yss so they re so boned if they screw us.
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    They definitely need to be watched and indoctrinated for our purposes.

    At minimum I trust in their desire for revenge against Lolth and recognition that we're their best shot at it.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Hmm.. this does seem most likely, though only if Viserys forgot to give them some kind of other option, and that would be a rather large lapse, enough so that I would say it's not in character. He knows these are dangerous assassins from a civilization of demon summoners, he really would not want them out on the streets hungry, or even peekish.
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    They were cursed with their equipment on them, personally I was just assuming they had some money on them, I mean these are reasonably high level PCs from a rich land and time, why wouldn't they have at least a few dozen gold coins on them?

    Not that I don't think they shouldn't be paid a stipend, but I could see that taking a few days to arrange, but I wouldn't assume that was a problem, as I wouldn't assume they were penniless.
     
    I definitely want to give Braga a Dragonbone Longbow before he gets sent back to the other Thenn.
     
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