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

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Deliste said:
Eh, we just do what any encroaching empire does.

Find a knowledgeable subjugated minority group, put them in charge and give them the military backing to go with the politicking.

They know that if they ever lose our support they'll be torn to shreds.

A story as old as time.
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It is oh so convenient that the Yi Ti of the time is in its own warring states era. :D
 
DragonParadox said:
Yes, they will, though keep in mind you can find elephants in Volantis. Zherys will be glad to sell you some.
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We could, but it just isn't the same as buying them straight from the source. :p

I want a breeding collection of all the rare animals for our Menagerie just in case we ever have to abandon the plane and relocate our base somewhere else.
 
Crake said:
@egoo Minor action.

[ ] Late in the month, arrange a dinner with the family and Lord Paxter and his sons to discuss the political dispositions and activities of the Reach's nobility, as we have at present a very narrow view of such relationships.

OOCly this is a region where we only have tertiary information like "as you know, the Florents hate the Tyrells and the Tarlys are as conservative in stance as their Lord and House Hightower is some kind of self-contained political entity of its own, and as for the Tyrells you can't trust them with a forty foot pole unless you're in their blind-spot leading towards them having a Queen and royal grandchildren".
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Do you want this done this month, or next month?

I'm kinda iffy about adding things to an already voted-on list, tbh.
 
Inserted tally
Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Jul 14, 2019 at 7:55 PM, finished with 67 posts and 13 votes.
  • [X] Viserys uses Wild Arcana to duplicate a Legend Lore spell targeting the council chamber, while Lya uses Wild Arcana to duplicate a Legend Lore spell to learn more about the arcane projectors.
    -[X] Depending on what we learn, we will decide on how to proceed.
    [X] Try to find the graves of some of those you have seen within the necropolis, the bones might help fill in the gaps in the tale
    -[X] Any of the council members you've seen in the flickering image, along with any other skulls from around that time period to help fill the gaps.
    -[X] While this is happening, Lya should try to pry more information from the light projectors.
    --[X] Leave Ser Richard to guard her just in case anything tries to attack her.
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Crake said:
@egoo Minor action.

[ ] Late in the month, arrange a dinner with the family and Lord Paxter and his sons to discuss the political dispositions and activities of the Reach's nobility, as we have at present a very narrow view of such relationships.

OOCly this is a region where we only have tertiary information like "as you know, the Florents hate the Tyrells and the Tarlys are as conservative in stance as their Lord and House Hightower is some kind of self-contained political entity of its own, and as for the Tyrells you can't trust them with a forty foot pole unless you're in their blind-spot leading towards them having a Queen and royal grandchildren".
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I'm all for voting this in. I see no reason we need to be restricted to the current list of minor actions if something happens to come up.
 
For the sake of accuracy.

It's nice that the tally is non-borked now.
Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Jul 15, 2019 at 5:52 AM, finished with 104 posts and 14 votes.
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Part MMCMLV: Vows Broken and Kept
  • Threadmarks
    • Vows Broken and Kept ​

    Eleventh Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    "That seemed like the meeting of some assembly or council," you muse aloud. "The fact that it was recorded as well as the surviving inscriptions would indicate that this was the usual place for such gatherings, which means we could learn more from the chamber itself as well as those," you say, motioning to the serpentstone devices Varys is carefully prying from their ancient resting places.

    "Beyond what memories we might pry from the stone, I wonder if the mechanism itself could be repurposed," Lya says, eagerly taking the first of the stones from your familiar's claws.

    Ser Richard clears his throat. "I'm sure there's a lot to learn here, but that black shit isn't going to clear itself out, and it's eating the magic so there'll be less to go on in the long run." The enchanted shield still turning slowly around him, jumping slightly ahead as he shifts in place. "For all we know it's fucking fish men and they'll be coming out of the tunnels screaming any minute now."

    "We are thankfully quite far from the sea here, and we have seen no sign of infestation in the river," Malarys counters. "Given the proclivities of the local wildlife I cannot imagine an infiltration would be easy to keep secret for long," he ends on a faintly sour note. Of all of you perhaps he is the least intrigued by what you had found, though he might see the sense in searching out the ruins.

    "The slime does seem to also get worse the further down we go," you add, thinking back to some of the stairways you had found coated to thickly the steps almost vanished into a ramp of quivering bile. "I think it is worth taking the time to learn what we can now."

    Dany nods and turns to face the door. "Alright, Vee and me will keep watch..."

    "Vee and I," Malarys corrects absently, even though she had been speaking Common and not Low Valyrian for once.

    "I'm a princess, I could always have them change it," she replies with a bright smile.

    "I suppose the tongue can't really get any more barbaric than it already is," the magelord shrugs, refusing to rise to the bait while Vee snorts in faint amusement and your guide appears bemused.

    ***​

    Setting yourself before the claw as Dany had done you listen to the whispers in the dust, but it is not sound you hear, you look upon the memories of yesteryear but it is not color you see. The stones sigh, disgorging secrets stained in blood, though not quite the ones you had expected.

    You see the old black-scaled warrior, though his scales have more luster to them and his gaze is yet undimmed as he strides before a faceless gathering, their presence too faint to cross the chasm of ages. Behind him are two guards armed with ceremonial great war-maces, long as they are tall that eclipse their bearers utterly in power, but they do not eclipse the one who walks between them. The man is clearly of the blood of Yi Ti, his robes though stained with blood and mud still showing exquisite craftsmanship, the craggy lines of his face radiating defiance. A prisoner then, his spirit unbowed. That the serpentfolk would guard him with flesh rather than shackle his mind shows either respect for a foe or a simple inability to overcome his will.


    "Your lord has broken his vow..." scores and dozens of hissing voices rise from the crowd to meet the man, filled with a cold wrath, and behind them with fear. "Thief and liar we name him, defiler and coward. May the blood boil in him."

    "My Emperor is dead,"     the prisoner proclaims, the words almost painfully precise in their formality, unable to hide the depth of his pain in this sight where it is the heart not the eye that sees. "Chai Fushe now claims the Imperial Seal from accursed Carcosa, and General Xing does his bloody bidding against your kin as others to from the jungles of Lan Que to the Five Watchers."

    "Join us, then,"     the warrior speaks abruptly, out of turn as these halls have rarely seen. "Aid us against the betrayers and you may live with honor among us."

    The Yi Tish man looks between the warrior and the council, struck silent perhaps by the enormity of the offer. For a moment he seems to waver, then he straightens. "I will not by stealth and treachery spill the blood of those I have sworn to serve besides."

    "Then die,"     the words crash over the hall like a wave of hatred.

    Almost too swiftly for the eye to follow the black-scaled warrior moves, decapitating the prisoner with one blow of his sword. As the vision fades you feel the disapproval of the unseen council like heat upon your skin, they had not wished for such a merciful death. The last thing you witness is the warrior... no the general gently picking up the head of the dead envoy and walking from the chamber.

    So it had not just been the Valyrians who made it this far, who bequeathed upon the Children of Yss their distrust and hatred of man, you think as the present floats back into being. Ultimately you cannot bring yourself to be surprised, the tale of such betrayals and pilfering is as old as a buzzard's flight over dying prey. More that that you feel a small amber of pride looking up into Vrath's golden eyes. You had not fallen prey to that old folly and instead offered a helping hand to those fallen to their knees that your realm might be all the richer for it.

    Moments later Lya awakens from her trance. She had not actually seen any more of the final vision as you had hoped, though she had learned more of the inner workings of the projectors, making her confident that she can wring some more useful information from them in a few hours rather than a few days.

    What do you do next?

    [] Continue Exploring
    -[] Seek out the source of the blight
    -[] Seek out the bones of some of those you had seen in the visions (Write in which)

    [] Return to the Deep for the rest of the day to learn more from the projector

    [] Write in

    OOC: For all the times the Viserys' has beaten himself up for not being perfect somehow, I felt he deserved a moment of pride here. He really has treated the serpentfolk with a lot of respect and patience which has gained him much in the long run.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Vows Broken and Kept ​

    Eleventh Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    "That seemed like the meeting of some assembly or council," you muse aloud. "The fact that it was recorded as well as the surviving inscriptions would indicate that this was the usual place for such gatherings, which we could learn more from the chamber itself as well as those," you motion to the serpentstone devices Varys is carefully prying from their ancient resting places.

    "Beyond what memories we might pry from the stone, I wonder if the mechanism itself could be re-purposed," Lya says eagerly, taking the first of the stones from your familiar's claws.

    Ser Richard clears his throat. "I'm sure there's a lot to learn here, but that black shit isn't going to clear itself out and it's eating the magic, so there'll be less to go on in the long run." The enchanted shield still turning slowly around him jumping slightly ahead as he shifts in place. "For all we know it's fucking fish men, and they'll be coming out of the tunnels screaming any minute now."

    "We are thankfully quite far from the sea here, and we have seen no sign of infestation in the river," Malarys counters. "Given the proclivities of the local wildlife I cannot imagine an infiltration would be easy to keep secret for long," he ends on a faintly sour note. Of all of you, Malarys seems the least intrigued by what you had found, though he might see the sense in searching out the ruins.

    "The slime does seem to also get worse the further down we go," you add, thinking back to some of the stairways you had seen found coated to thickly the steps almost vanished into a ramp of quivering bile. "I think it is worth taking the time to learn what we can now."

    Dany nods and turns to face the door. "Alright, Vee and me will keep watch..."

    "Vee and I," Malarys corrects absently, even though she had been speaking common rather than Low Valyrian for once.

    "I'm a princess, I could always have them change it," she replies with a bright smile.

    "I suppose the tongue can't really get any more barbaric than it already is," the magelord shrugs, refusing to rise to the bait while Vee snorts in faint amusement and your guide appears bemused.

    ***​

    Setting yourself before the claw as Dany had done, you listen to the whispers in the dust, but it is not sound you hear, you look upon the memories of yesteryear but it is not color you see. The stones sigh, disgorging secrets stained in blood, though not quite the ones you had expected.

    You see the old black-scaled warrior, though his scales have more luster to them and his gaze is yet undimmed, he strides before a faceless gathering, their presence too faint to cross the chasm of ages. Behind him are two guards armed with great ceremonial war-maces, long as they are tall that eclipse their bearers utterly in power, but they do not eclipse the one who walks between them. The man is clearly of the people of Yi-Ti, and though stained with blood and mud, his robe still show exquisite craftsmanship, the craggy lines of his face radiating defiance. A prisoner then, his spirit unbowed. That the Serpent Folk would guard him in the flesh rather than simply shackle his mind, shows either respect for a foe or a simple inability to overcome his will.


    "Your lord has broken his vow..." scores and dozens of hissing voices rise from out of your view to meet the man, filled with a cold wrath, but behind that, fear. "Thief and liar we name him, defiler and coward. May the blood boil in him."

    "My Emperor is dead," the prisoner proclaims, the words almost painfully precise in their formality, unable to hide the depth of his pain in this sight where it is the heart not the eye that sees. "Chai Fushe now claims the Imperial Seal from accursed Carcosa, and general Xing does his bloody bidding against your kin, as others do from the jungles of Lan Que to the Five Watchers."

    "Join us then," the warrior speaks abruptly, out of turn as these halls have rarely seen. "Aid us against the betrayers and you may live with honor among us."

    The Yi-Tish man looks between the warrior and the council, struck silent perhaps by the enormity of the offer. For a moment he seems to waver, then he straightens. "I will not by stealth and treachery spill the blood of those I have sworn to serve besides."

    "Then die," the words crash over the hall like a wave of hatred.

    Almost too swiftly for the eye to follow, the black-scale warrior moves, decapitating the prisoner with one blow of his sword. As the vision fades you feel the disapproval of the unseen council like heat upon your skin, they had not wished for such a merciful death. The last thing you witness is the warrior... no, the general, gently picking up the head of the dead envoy and walking from the chamber.

    So it had not just been the Valyrians who made it this far, who bequeathed upon the Children of Yss their distrust and hatred of man, you think as the present floats back into being. Ultimately, you cannot being yourself to be surprised, the tale of such betrayals and pilfering is as old as a buzzard's flight over dying prey. More than that, you feel a small amount of pride looking up into Vrath's golden eyes. You had not fallen prey to that old folly, and instead offered a helping hand to those fallen to their knees, so that your realm might be all the richer for it.

    Moments later Lya awakens from her trance. She had not actually seen any more of the final vision as you had hoped, though she had learned more of the inner workings of the projectors, making her confident that she can wring some more useful information from them in a few hours rather than a few days.

    What do you do next?

    [] Continue Exploring
    -[] Seek out the source of the blight
    -[] Seek out the bones of some of those you had seen in the visions (Write in which)

    [] Return to the Deep for the rest of the day to learn more from the projector

    [] Write in

    OOC: For all the times Viserys' has beaten himself up for not being perfect somehow, I felt he deserved a moment of pride here. He really has treated the Serpent People with a lot of respect and patience, which has gained him much in the long run.
    Made some edits to the chapter, @DragonParadox.
     
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    Anyone familiar with ASOIAF lore who might have some clue to how the Yi-Ti folks of distant yesteryear might be linked to the Serpent Folks in general, as well as the slime?
     
    [X] Continue on your exploration as planned
    -[X] Go further down to find the source of the slime

    I think we should go deeper still.
    I suspect, we'll find more clues there.
     
    I wouldn't mind learning more before proceeding, but there is no telling where the remains of the councillors may be located, given the amount of time which has passed and the upheavals which have occurred since then. The Necropolis has been looted multiple times, while also serving as a home for the Serpent Folk for centuries or longer.

    We could waste a lot of time and spells looking, but find nothing of use. I'm not opposed to wasting time, I just want the investment to be fruitful.

    [X] Continue Exploring
    -[X] Seek out the source of the blight
     
    Could be the last of the Golden Emperor, or a color before that. That man seemed to be a sage, or monk...

    A cultivator most likely <cringes>.

    [X] egoo
     
    tarrangar said:
    [x] Goldfish

    I'm going on vacation somewhere I wont have internet, so see you guys Friday.
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    Have fun, dude.

    It doesn't say good things about the society we live in, or about me in particular, that going anywhere on vacation that doesn't have internet access wouldn't be considered a vacation at all, but an exercise in crushing boredom.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Have fun, dude.

    It doesn't say good things about the society we live in, or about me in particular, that going anywhere on vacation that doesn't have internet access wouldn't be considered a vacation at all, but an exercise in crushing boredom.
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    I copied a bunch of stories to my laptop so I have something to read, and it's a family vacation, so we will be playing board games card games and dice games often, and then there's the walks though the forest, where we pick wild blueberries, which my grandmother turn into blueberry jam, and maybe if I'm lucky a blueberry pie, so this is one of the best times of my year, we have been doing it since I was very young(somewhere between when I was 5 and when I was 10 I think)

    But yes I will miss the internet, but every year I find it's worth the sacrifice.
     
    tarrangar said:
    I copied a bunch of stories to my laptop so I have something to read, and it's a family vacation, so we will be playing board games card games and dice games often, and then there's the walks though the forest, where we pick wild blueberries, which my grandmother turn into blueberry jam, and maybe if I'm lucky a blueberry pie, so this is one of the best times of my year, we have been doing it since I was very young(somewhere between when I was 5 and when I was 10 I think)

    But yes I will miss the internet, but every year I find it's worth the sacrifice.
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    A family vacation with no internet? o_O

    Well, it's a good thing you seem to like your family more than I like mine.
     
    tarrangar said:
    I copied a bunch of stories to my laptop so I have something to read, and it's a family vacation, so we will be playing board games card games and dice games often, and then there's the walks though the forest, where we pick wild blueberries, which my grandmother turn into blueberry jam, and maybe if I'm lucky a blueberry pie, so this is one of the best times of my year, we have been doing it since I was very young(somewhere between when I was 5 and when I was 10 I think)

    But yes I will miss the internet, but every year I find it's worth the sacrifice.
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    Snake, Stone and Tree that's wholesome.
     
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