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

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I just read @egoo's rant. Weirdly, it makes me enthusiastic.
Azel's plots vanished or never existed in the first place, so having lots of opposition is the best difficulty setting we'll get !
 
egoo said:
My cognitive dissonance, over having expected at least 4-5 interludes with strategic and political information to plan around by now, instead of 1 we got, isn't helping.


And same as above, we are just not getting enough information, we just aren't involved enough with the war - both IC (why dp chose to not give us detailed rumors) and OOC (not getting enough interludes from infiltration).

Yea, they very likely will. And info learned of their history IC makeshift but inevitable and necessitates us looking into it - not in the least because our subject serpentfolk will immediately enter war with Drow.

A lot of my involvement around here was about being a paranoid wreck, and trying to react to enemies around us.
Well, said wreck all burned out, can no longer put out any paranoia, and feels even more paranoid because of that.

Too many things to try to react to.
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That is entirely fair on me not giving you enough information and I'm sorry for skimping on it. What do you guys say to 2-3 CoBvoting interludes in a row once we are done with Sothoryos, rumors, shopping the works?
 
DragonParadox said:
That is entirely fair on me not giving you enough information and I'm sorry for skimping on it. What do you guys say to 2-3 CoBvoting interludes in a row once we are done with Sothoryos, rumors, shopping the works?
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That'd certainly be nice. For now, however, I'd like to loot as much of Sothoryos as we can while we're on our mini adventuring vacation.
 
DragonParadox said:
That is entirely fair on me not giving you enough information and I'm sorry for skimping on it. What do you guys say to 2-3 CoBvoting interludes in a row once we are done with Sothoryos, rumors, shopping the works?
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I appreciate this DP, sometimes I feel you're a little over cautious on the OOC engagement side and sell yourself short on the ability to write something we will love whether it be fluffy worldbuilding or strategic necessities (who wouldn't love it!!) but really I do understand tastes differ and it's hard for me to look past my own excitement to see others not sharing it.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Jul 19, 2019 at 5:52 AM, finished with 96 posts and 8 votes.
  • [X] Execute the enemy while you can, hopefully before its master learn anything of value from it.
    -[X] Vee casts Heal on Malarys once more after returning from her temporal jaunt.
    -[X] Viserys uses Greater Shadow Enchantment to cast Apparent Master on the remaining Constructs.
    -[X] Question the caretaker about the armory; what wards are there, traps, etc., and is there any reason we shouldn't quickly loot anything of apparent value, such as curses?
    --[X] Once this is done, or postponed should there be considerable hazards which must first be overcome, learn from the Caretaker how to reach the Oblivion's prison chamber, along with everything it can tell us about the area (traps, wards, etc).
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jul 19, 2019 at 7:38 AM, finished with 100 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] Execute the enemy while you can, hopefully before its master learn anything of value from it.
    -[X] Vee casts Heal on Malarys once more after returning from her temporal jaunt.
    -[X] Viserys uses Greater Shadow Enchantment to cast Apparent Master on the remaining Constructs.
    -[X] Question the caretaker about the armory; what wards are there, traps, etc., and is there any reason we shouldn't quickly loot anything of apparent value, such as curses?
    --[X] Once this is done, or postponed should there be considerable hazards which must first be overcome, learn from the Caretaker how to reach the Oblivion's prison chamber, along with everything it can tell us about the area (traps, wards, etc).
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Part MMCMLXIV: Scales of Victory
  • Threadmarks
    • Scales of Victory ​

    Eleventh Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    "End it!" you shout over the sound of steel and stone. Whatever may be left of the ancient warrior you will not find it in this warped reflection yearning for oblivion. That final gift at least you can give, or rather Vrath does.

    As the assassin's blade turns red as blood in the light of the binding magics to part the puppet's head from its shoulders, it speaks but a three words: "Remember the fall." Honest advice, a final shard of emptiness cast to take root in your minds, or perhaps something in between?

    A moment later Vee manifests again where she had stood, just as the corpse collapses to its knees and falls apart into a wave of oily black slime. "Fuck, watch where you're pointing that!" she shouts, echoed a moment later by Malarys, though laced with less profanity.

    Though one of the two-headed constructs does finally manage to pierce Ser Richard protections before you can tangle them in their shadows and command them to halt, soon enough the battle ends, the elementals fade, leaving the eight of you standing in the half-wrecked armory filled with rising dust and Lya's conjured wind. The caretaker slides off to halt the earth-mover while Vee sees to healing Malarys and Ser Richard.

    Once the hall is no longer the stage of a battle you take the time to look around at the arms and armor of the ancient serpentfolk. The puppet had left nothing behind but his daggers and breastplate, both as black as his scales had been, and a belt of yellow silk threaded with silver gleaming dully among the foulness that looks nothing like any of the other works of the Children of Yss you had seen.

    "A gift from Yi Ti," Dany guesses, sounding wistful as she runs it through her fingers. "A pity to see it defiled by that..."

    "And that the body did not endure long enough to pass into the forge," Malarys finishes pragmatically. Without another word he takes the arms and armor to hand to you, but the rest of the contents of the armory prove to be more difficult to recover...

    Row upon row of ancient bronze breastplates, thirty in all are lined across the wall. What seems at first to be green tarnish flows instead into arcane knotwork that marks them as the arms of the Citadel Guard, old even when the city was young. Alas that only one in three of them holds any lingering magic, though even those that are 'merely' works of exquisite mundane craftsmanship should prove a boon to Riz'Neth's colony, his growing colony hopefully. Beside them are glaives with Adamantine edges crafted for facing the titan lizards of the jungle as much as any mortal foe, and bows of Duskwood to arm each warrior so armored.

    Standing on three hexagonal daises in the center of the room are a Horacalum scimitar, a shield of Inubrix wrought with an image of the night sky, and an ornate Djezet mace bound in gold, the weapon of a sorcerer-priest.

    "These cannot be taken from their places by any save he who is acknowledged as heir of the city," the caretaker explains almost apologetically. "The makers left word that once the eggs are hatched and the young ones past their Third Molting that they may arm themselves against the world."

    "And what of those others among your kindred that have survived all this time in an unbroken line to the makers?" you ask. "Are they not deserving to be the heirs of such treasures?"

    "That is not a choice for me to make..." It gives a shrug, the gesture strange indeed on one who possesses neither shoulders nor limbs, but still honest you suspect. "Bring the lord of the lost before the spirit of the spiral and it will judge him by the makers' words."

    "What of the other mechanisms?" Lya motions towards the constructs and the array of gears and parts that is piled in the corners. "Are we not even to use those to battle the darkness that threatens this place?"

    "That is permitted," the caretaker agrees after a moment of hesitation.

    What do you do next?

    [] Speak to the controlling spirit

    [] Secure the hatchery

    [] Secure the library

    [] Return to the shaft and fight the Spirit of Oblivion

    OOC: Sorry this took so long, I was busy IRL again. The enchanted armor is +2 Bastion Reinforced Segmented Breastplates, the glaives are +2 keen Adamantine weapons, and the bows are +2 Penetrating Duskwood Longbows. The Skymetal weapons are going to take actually using the Identification Ritual on.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Return to the shaft and fight the Spirit of Oblivion
    -[X] Caution everyone to remain within the protection of the Spellbane effect blocking Time Stop, Disintegrate, and Deeper Darkness effects.
    -[X] Before we enter the Oblivion's chamber, Lya uses her Bead of Karma plus Harmonic Chorus and Moment of Greatness to raise her caster level to 24 while casting Owl's Insight on Malarys, in order to raise his Wisdom attribute by another 12 points, increasing his spell DCs to 24 + spell level.
    --[X] Before we enter the Oblivion's chamber, Malarys activates his Bead of Karma to raise his caster level to 19th. Upon encountering the Oblivion, he cancels his Sign buff to maximize his Initiative check, casts Assay Spell Resistance, then targets the Ooze with a Reached Sacramental Seal spell (Will DC 32) to capture it.
    ---[X] Vee casts Mass Aid again and uses Summon Nature's Ally VII to Summon 1d4+2 Huge Orglash-templated Air Elementals.
    ---[X] Richard activates his armor's Greater Celestial Healing and Holy Aura powers.
    -[X] If Malarys fails to capture the Oblivion;
    --[X] Viserys and Lya both cast Assay Spell Resistance then target the Oblivion with Avasculate.
    -[X] Dany casts Assay Spell Resistance, then targets the Oblivion with a Reached Heal spell.
    -[X] Vee sets all of her Summoned Elementals to blast the Oblivion with their Cone of Cold SLAs, and targets it with a Pillar of Life spell.
     
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    [X] Goldfish

    It seems that recovering everything may be somewhat difficult...
    Hopefully, Riz'neth would not be considered an abomination by the system Ancients built.
    We would have noone else to get the stuff via otherwise :O
     
    egoo said:
    [X] Goldfish

    It seems that recovering everything may be somewhat difficult...
    Hopefully, Riz'neth would not be considered an abomination by the system Ancients built.
    We would have noone else to get the stuff via otherwise :O
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    No? Even if Riz'Neth is deemed an abomination (and I highly doubt the worry there is justified) we still have Svitran, or even Vrath.
     
    Duesal said:
    we still have Svitran, or even Vrath.
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    And would they really be counted worthy successors here?

    I mean, sure, the pool of candidates is very small :V

    But Magical AIs aren't known for intelligent choices.
    It may decide thathaving eggs hatch and mature and just wait is better.
     
    egoo said:
    And would they really be counted worthy successors here?

    I mean, sure, the pool of candidates is very small :V

    But Magical AIs aren't known for intelligent choices.
    It may decide thathaving eggs hatch and mature and just wait is better.
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    Okay, this is literally just paranoia running rampant, again.

    The eggs hatching and maturing on their own isn't feasible because someone needs to take care of and teach the hatchlings. At the facility's height maybe the construct oozes could have done that, but as they are now they're barely keeping the place running. At bare minimum they're smart enough to recognize that adult serpentfolk are needed to rear the eggs. So they'll look at the current candidates and pick someone, probably Riz'Neth, as the designated heir to the city.

    They aren't stupid enough to look over the candidates and not pick any of them when their entire facility is on the verge of collapse, especially after we destroy the power source keeping the eggs preserved in time.
     
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