- Location
- Philippines
A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
-
- Tags
- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
enigma1995
Gentleman Beholder
[X] Crake
- Location
- Argentina
Nope. We stitched a little part to anotherbeing. The original Tor is forever lost.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
No, Shadow Tor = Shadow Tor = Individual, own consciousness, fragmentary memories with mostly the general important bits about what we wanted to know.
Tor = Tor = Double Dead To Infinity
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
I was really disappointed with the new Hellboy. It only gets 2 out of 8 tentacles up.
Never saw Ocean's 8, but I did catch the Hobbs & Shaw movie a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed it, but there were some definite OTT bits that could have been left out. Originally gave it 7 out of 8 tentacles up, but upon further thought, I'm going to reduce that to 6 out of 8.
Good Boys is fucking hilarious. I laughed so hard it gave me a headache and a sore throat. I've still got the headache.
The Boys looks awesome. Probably gonna renew my Amazon Prime account so I can watch it soon.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
I'mma watch it too. I've just been really busy... I can't fucking wait to get all my weekends back, I might be able to get some fucking work done for the Quest again. I really need that one day to decompress so that I can use the other day afterwards to do Me Stuff (unproductively be productive, basically). I've been dealing with having like one day to shore up the bank of sleep debt I've got going and then it's immediately back into the trenches, and it is really nasty on my mental well-being.
Should be back to normal by this September, though... it better be, or I swear I am going to do something petty, like deliberately make every other notation on my tickets as obtuse as possible while still providing the expected information.
I am talking breaking out a motherfucking thesaurus, my man.
- Location
- Castle
[X] Crake
Don't really read if you don't want to get your hype hit by a bat 
I have a friend that read the comic and it has a few interesting twists, but most are wasted.
It shines on shock value, but the overall message has been done to death
I have a friend that read the comic and it has a few interesting twists, but most are wasted.
It shines on shock value, but the overall message has been done to death
- Location
- Reno Nv
[x]Goldfish
The votes come a knocking and I come a posting.
The votes come a knocking and I come a posting.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
Edits done to Map Collection.
Changelog:
1) Vaes Leisi is marked torquoise as "unofficial Vassal" due to us building there super-fortress for ritual against Efreeti.
2) All of Yi-Ti is marked yellow as "intrigue target".
3) Norvos is marked red as "invasion target".
4) Lorath is marked red as "invasion target".
5) Skagos is marked torquoise as "Unofficial Vassal".
6) Snek-port is re-colored on "Diplomacy"-map.
7) Gogossos is marked as "The Imperium" (with a Whispering Brazier)
8) Volantis is marked as "The Imperium" (since they are swearing to us officialy soon enough, and I can't be bothered to edit it then).
9) Even more names of provinces are now lost on Political Map (Volantis), but since I have no way to add text in Paint Tool Sai I use - deal with it.
10) Terrain is fucked, but I have no idea how Azel kept it while also adding colors over it, so fuck that noise and deal with it too.
Took way longer than it deserved by any right.
Blue - The Imperium
Turquoise - Unofficial Vassals
Green - Allies
Yellow - Intrigue / Diplomacy Targets
Red - Invasion Targets
Blue Brazier - Regular Whispering Brazier for governmental use
Red Brazier - Interplanar Whsipering Brazier for governmental use
ACSEC Shield - ACSESC office
Mirror - Mirrorvision
Changelog:
1) Vaes Leisi is marked torquoise as "unofficial Vassal" due to us building there super-fortress for ritual against Efreeti.
2) All of Yi-Ti is marked yellow as "intrigue target".
3) Norvos is marked red as "invasion target".
4) Lorath is marked red as "invasion target".
5) Skagos is marked torquoise as "Unofficial Vassal".
6) Snek-port is re-colored on "Diplomacy"-map.
7) Gogossos is marked as "The Imperium" (with a Whispering Brazier)
8) Volantis is marked as "The Imperium" (since they are swearing to us officialy soon enough, and I can't be bothered to edit it then).
9) Even more names of provinces are now lost on Political Map (Volantis), but since I have no way to add text in Paint Tool Sai I use - deal with it.
10) Terrain is fucked, but I have no idea how Azel kept it while also adding colors over it, so fuck that noise and deal with it too.
Took way longer than it deserved by any right.
Blue - The Imperium
Turquoise - Unofficial Vassals
Green - Allies
Yellow - Intrigue / Diplomacy Targets
Red - Invasion Targets
Blue Brazier - Regular Whispering Brazier for governmental use
Red Brazier - Interplanar Whsipering Brazier for governmental use
ACSEC Shield - ACSESC office
Mirror - Mirrorvision
- Location
- Brazil
I've thought up what I think is an interesting SI challenge for ASWAH: on the dawn of the twelfth day of the ninth month, 289 AC, the Azure Emperor wakes up with a start, not himself anymore.
You have tbe advantage of knowing of a possible future, aka The Quest, and being a first level spellslinger of your choice. Over a few days you assimilate the knowledge he had.
You are the Azure Emperor (or Empress), absolute monarch of a vast and cultured empire. Theoretically.
In practice, you are an untested teenager whose authority might be shaky in your own palace, as master politicians with decades of experience and intricate webs of allies seek to make you their tool in one way or another and have had said decades to infiltrate every institution they can, your authority is a polite fiction after fifty or so quilometers from your capital, the tradition that gives you even that much is sacred and might very well hold back crucial moves and reforms.
Anonimity was absolutely crucial in our first year in Braavos, given that true personal power won't really kick in until level 8-10.
Building everything from the ground up is a shitload of work, but you are also completely free.
OTOH, you don't have to scrabble in the dirt, run from dothraki in the middle of wilderness or anything.
Of course, a mighty general of a rich trade city, and a sorcerer lord from a legendary city named Carcosa both challenge your rule, or will soon.
Sounds fun?
You have tbe advantage of knowing of a possible future, aka The Quest, and being a first level spellslinger of your choice. Over a few days you assimilate the knowledge he had.
You are the Azure Emperor (or Empress), absolute monarch of a vast and cultured empire. Theoretically.
In practice, you are an untested teenager whose authority might be shaky in your own palace, as master politicians with decades of experience and intricate webs of allies seek to make you their tool in one way or another and have had said decades to infiltrate every institution they can, your authority is a polite fiction after fifty or so quilometers from your capital, the tradition that gives you even that much is sacred and might very well hold back crucial moves and reforms.
Anonimity was absolutely crucial in our first year in Braavos, given that true personal power won't really kick in until level 8-10.
Building everything from the ground up is a shitload of work, but you are also completely free.
OTOH, you don't have to scrabble in the dirt, run from dothraki in the middle of wilderness or anything.
Of course, a mighty general of a rich trade city, and a sorcerer lord from a legendary city named Carcosa both challenge your rule, or will soon.
Sounds fun?
Really? I felt it had such a strong first act.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Sounds like a nightmare to me. By the time the Red Dragon of the West comes to visit, he would be a mighty 18th level Mythic Sorcerer, while we would maybe be 5th or 6th level if we were able to earn a lot of intrigue and politics XP in the palace.
It had some good moments, but they weren't enough to make up for the rest. Lots of good actors stuck with a poorly written movie. I feel sorry for them.
They should have just made a sequel to the first two significantly better movies than do a completely unnecessary reboot. Sure, Rob Perlman is too old to play Hellboy nowadays, but that's what makeup and CGI are for.
- Location
- Brazil
The more I wrote, the more I realized that it isn't remotely as good a position as it sounded at first.
I'd see being able to earn most of your XP from quests, rather than from adventures. Still, I think someone serious about it could power-level themselves... at the cost of looking highly unconventional, or very eccentrict at best.
One can't underestimate someone that feverishly digs into the records they've kept for thousands of years, either.
A really, really good PrC wouldn't be out of order for the Son of Heaven, too.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Think about it, though. The Azure Emperor is under constant scrutiny, always attended by servants, his actions recorded in meticulous detail, while what time he has is monopolized by officials and political duties. And the ceremonial duties and etiquette...maddening.
Sure, you can wield a certain kind of power, and you would be fabulously wealthy, but you would exist in a gilded cage on a death world, relying on others to defend you, since you are a target for ambitious traitors, foreign powers, extraplanar threats, etc.
I would rather be a nobody waking up in the wilderness, but with a chance to grow powerful instead of being trapped as the Emperor of Yi-Ti.
- Location
- ?????????
[X] Goldfish
- Location
- Brazil
Well yeah, that's the entire challenge.
What starting level do you think would balance it out?
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
It would be a super big challenge, honestly, and the stress from knowing everyone wants to kill you, or at least for practical purposes is going to do everything possible to impede you and make you vulnerable to the people that want to kill you, in a position where there are the highest expectations placed upon your behavior, whilst knowing if you want to maintain that luxury and authority you "didn't" have to scramble for, you have to work your ass off and hope you ace it 100% or have the agents of at least one enemy faction who will do horrible awful things to you if they get their hands on you within swinging range pretty much right out the gate, who are going to be gunning for you?
I mean shit, even Viserys' political enemies didn't come swinging at him in Braavos, only the ones he made locally, and Varys and Illyrio didn't try killing him right off the bat, just stealing from him like the consummate thieves they are.
You would have assassination plots aimed your way within your first year on the throne.
Though if you gave me a good PrC as a guarantee, and assuming the first assassination attempts weren't Level 15+ mages siccing high CR fiends on my ass, I'd probably take the deal. On the one hand, sure, I'm utterly boned if I don't get my shit together. But on the other hand, not all of my court are traitorous, moronic or psychotic, unlike if you were Ise-erted into say, Joffrey Baratheon, aged 9-10.
If I was Joffrey in the Red Keep right around now, for example, I would probably instantly suffer a nervous break-down, not start scheming. Then again, you would literally have a worse starting position than Viserys in Braavos did. Who would want to be Isekai'd into the Red Keep, in literally any ruling era?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
A higher starting level would help, but whatever you end up with isn't going to change much simply because earning XP will be painfully slow.
It would have to be high enough that I would have the power and versatility to steal a large part of the royal treasury then disappear or fake my death.
- Location
- Brazil
Yes, being Emperor of Yi Ti is, in an immensely amusing turn of events, actually hard mode.
But as upsides, for one, as you said, there are people who are legitimately and completely loyal to you. I'd say you could get a Dragon-Blooded tier PrC. Yours would be the opportunity to make people say "the Son of Heaven" with serious reverence for more than just your political status.
And think of it like this: you have not only millenia of unbroken, meticulously kept records from the Dawn Age to study, but quests and overcoming challenges = XP.
Yes, it's hard mode. But nothing stops you from leveling faster than Viserys did, as you are dropped into the political equivalent of the Valyrian Heartlands, with a spellbook written by an archmage in your hands, a set of gear to just barely allow you to survive the most basic environs, and knowledge of how fucked you are.
@edit: But yes, you get challenges you should be able to handle, if you play your cards right.
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Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Also you didn't throw us in without a paddle, hypothetical ROB!TotallyNotEvil.
You did say we'd slowly start assimilating his memories, and I'm assuming Court Protocol would be the first to kick in. So we could feign humors for a few days as we slowly remember the important bits and then pick a Concubine to bring into our confidence (we have enough meta-knowledge to know Mei Lin is utterly loyal for example, so another life preserver). Then we use her as our mole to ferret out information from people who think her utterly harmless while also getting a crash course in Everything I Need To Know Not To Die Horribly, and even if Mei Lin has some serious reservations about the possibly totally cracked Son of Heaven, she's instinctually drilled from birth to be utterly unswerving in the most unusual circumstances to his every word.
Would I feel guilty for taking advantage of her naivete? Sure, yes, but I'd make it up to her later. Also she's totally boned with me if I fail, so I'm just doing her a favor.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
I'd say Level 3-5. 3 if we're at quest start, and while there are some rotten apples in the bushel in terms of my officials and inner-palace functionaries, none of them are anywhere near on the level of "about to fucking plot my assured overthrow" like the Eunuch Sorcerer friendo we got cornered here.
5, to verge onto 6 and PrC-dom if I'm already thoroughly infiltrated and have a little less than a year to make serious strides toward securing my power-base before I die a horrible death and then get tortured for all eternity.
With that kind of time pressure though, I think it's actually possible to hit level 15 before Viserys even conquers Tyrosh, though.
- Location
- Brazil
Of course, that'd be just bad game design
Ok, let's make it a little more organized:
- On the twelfth day of the tenth month, 289 AC (aka, the day the Dragon Awakens), you wake up as Bu Gai, the God-Emperor of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti. Congratulations on beating Viserys' time for awakening magic.
- You get to make a charsheet with ROB!TNE, and as I'm a harsh but fair DM, for picking Hard Mode: Political Edition, you get:
-- 34pt buy, Human (or some variant of it).
-- Bu Gai's memories will be assimilated over a few days, you will recall them as if you had throughly paid attention to a documentary, fast-fowarded in your head. Basic protocol that's alike to breathing to someone like Bu Gai will be running almost subconsciously very quickly. You don't have to worry about mortally offending someone by using the wrong term for describing a chair or anything. This translates to background skill bonuses, too.
-- You make a character sheet at level 3, but you start with level 1 in your class of choice and two levels of Expert/Aristocrat to retrain. It will happen quickly, being essentially the "tutorial reward" for getting your footing.
-- You will get a very, very nice custom PrC by yours truly. You get to say what you expect out of it during character creation, and know what you will have to build towards- you will, through some means or another, know what you need to enter and progress it. It would be along the lines of the better of our PC's PrCs, like Dragon-Blooded.
-- You can generally ask for some nice feats in the vein of Greater Draconic Bloodline, Fire Mastery, Combat Rhythm, etc. Perks of being the Son of Heaven.
-- The wealth of material available to study in Yi Ti makes progression through study/training far faster than it would otherwise be, essentially boosting the XP from quests. Of course, if you actually use it in dangerous situations, it goes faster. Ex: charming someone in the middle of court. Some political challenges are no less deadly than dungeon crawls.
And I'm considering if MR 1 would be fair.
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