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

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DragonParadox said:
So I have a small request from you guys, did anyone happen to save Zherys' pic? The site I used to save it on originally for the forum is dead and I can't find it in my image folder, I think it must have gotten deleted somehow. Otherwise I have to go hunting through practically all my pathfinder books since that is all I reember about the source (some kind of canon pathfinder material, maybe an Azlanti mage).
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If you google Zherys and D&D it still shows up?
:
 
I'm in favor with sacrificing the herald to R'hllor, partly to sanctify his SD temple. About bloody time we speak to him again and get that Godspeaker title.

Diplomancing him and getting that Flamesense would be the bonus.

For all the thread's glee at sacrificing things, we'd have gotten so much more fiery things done had we've been working with the one faith canon has shown that has definite power with blood magic.
 
R'hllor is slowly changing due to influence from his newly freed worshipers, but that process could take a very long time. The issue with making sacrifices of any sort to a god is that the power allows them to reinforce themselves, protecting their personality and tenets from worshiper-induced shifts. That's all well and good when we want Yss to stay just the way he is, but that would just make Burny's redemption even slower.
 
Goldfish said:
The issue with making sacrifices of any sort to a god is that the power allows them to reinforce themselves, protecting their personality and tenets from worshiper-induced shifts.
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That doesn't stop all the other Red faithful from sacrificing stuff. That's why I suggest we deal with him again and get him on our side.

*Cue in R'hllor tossing out a sword which Lya had to imbue part of her soul to tame. Sword becomes lightsaber... Azor Ahai intensifies :V
 
Takesis said:
That doesn't stop all the other Red faithful from sacrificing stuff. That's why I suggest we deal with him again and get him on our side.

*Cue in R'hllor tossing out a sword which Lya had to imbue part of her soul to tame. Sword becomes lightsaber... Azor Ahai intensifies :V
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Yeah, but more of them would be sacrificing goats or other creatures of negligible significance, especially compared to a high HD/CR Fire-aligned being potentially invested with some portion of a god-like Fire-aligned Fey's power.

One is an unsalted wheat cracker while the other is a nine course food porn extravaganza.
 
Takesis said:
I know you're not that familiar with ASOIAF lore, but the Red Faith in canon is notorious for human sacrifice. Bennero flat out stated that they sacrificed people to seal the mansion.
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I'm vaguely aware of them, mostly from fan fiction and this quest, but I just assume that with the changes we've brought to Essos that there would be a significant decrease in human sacrifice to Burny. Also, a standard human isn't that much more metaphysically juicy than a goat, CR/HD wise, at least those likely to be sacrificed.

It's a lot easier to gather up ten level 1 Commoners to toss into the fire than it is one level 10 warrior, but it's even easier to buy a small herd of goats and not have to worry about the Inquisition learning of your activities.
 
Goldfish said:
I'm vaguely aware of them, mostly from fan fiction and this quest, but I just assume that with the changes we've brought to Essos that there would be a significant decrease in human sacrifice to Burny. Also, a standard human isn't that much more metaphysically juicy than a goat, CR/HD wise, at least those likely to be sacrificed.

It's a lot easier to gather up ten level 1 Commoners to toss into the fire than it is one level 10 warrior, but it's even easier to buy a small herd of goats and not have to worry about the Inquisition learning of your activities.
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Yeeesh, all of these years amasing enemies, piling bodies, and drinking their blood for succor has left all of you a bit... apathetic to human lifes don'cha? I can't believe I'm listening to a comparison and difference between a human sacrifice to an animal sacrifice and the benefits behind said act.

Good Lord, what fandom have I gotten myself wrapped up into...

(Disclaimer, I'm saying this in a fond albeit with a bewildered undertone. Not judging or anything nor am I condescending)
 
Jack vile Ripper said:
Yeeesh, all of these years amasing enemies, piling bodies, and drinking their blood for succor has left all of you a bit... apathetic to human lifes don'cha? I can't believe I'm listening to a comparison and difference between a human sacrifice to an animal sacrifice and the benefits behind said act.

Good Lord, what fandom have I gotten myself wrapped up into...

(Disclaimer, I'm saying this in a fond albeit with a bewildered undertone. Not judging or anything nor am I condescending)
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All hypothetical speculation based on what we've learned throughout the quest. Different gods have different priorities when it comes to sacrifices, but there is an underlying system they all work within.

For example, Dalla, one the the OG worshiping Mountain Clan folks from the Vale, regularly sacrificed dozens of captured Westerosi people to gather a relatively small amount of power because they had such little metaphysical weight to them due to their low levels, whereas as we could accomplish much more from sacrificing a single low-level Demon.

Burny is probably similar, rewarding little for weak sacrifices because they don't offer him much power to work with.

Unfortunately, for sacrificial purposes, possession of a soul isn't always enough to make you worth much.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Oct 12, 2019 at 6:04 AM, finished with 113 posts and 22 votes.
  • [X] Plan Extreme Closure
    -[X] Final Buffs (assuming all normal combat buffs with a duration longer than round/level have already been cast by the party while hunting N'Gath), as well as:
    --[X] Teana (in her Shadow-Traced form) will leave one of her Shadow duplicates behind before entering the chamber as an emergency escape measure. She creates a Ghost Wolf to accompany her into battle.
    --[X] Zherys casts Repulsion using his Runestaff of Abjuration, then Arcane Spellsurge and Greater Blink.
    --[X] Viserys casts Searing Agonizing Mass Fire Shield on everyone, Greater Blink, Transdimensional Freezing Glance, and Arcane Spellsurge. He activates his ring to gain a +2 bonus to his Dispel checks immediately before entering the chamber.
    --[X] Rina casts Veil of Undeath on herself.
    -[X] Upon entering the chamber and sighting N'Gath, Viserys acts first, followed by the others as the Initiative order dictates;
    --[X] Viserys casts Nerveskitter (raising his Initiative bonus to +16), targets N'Gath with a Transdimensional Chain Dispel spell via Wild Arcana (+24 Dispel check bonus, rolled twice if necessary due to Eldritch Breath), then uses Transdimensional Freezing Glance against it as a Free Action (DC 30 Will save to avoid being Paralyzed).
    --[X] Zherys casts True Casting as a Swift Action then targets N'Gath with a Maximized Disintegrate spell (DC 26 Fort save reduces damage from 216 HP to just 30 HP).
    --[X] Rina casts Assay Spell Resistance, then targets N'Gath with a Maximized Fell Drain Destruction spell (DC 24 Fort Save-or-Die; successful save reduces damage to 60 HP and one Negative Level).
    --[X] Teana sets her Ghost Wolf to attack N'Gath as a Free Action, casts Assay Spell Resistance, then targets it with Greater Shadow Enchantment to duplicate the effects of a Feeblemind spell (DC 32 Will save to avoid having Int & Cha reduced to 1 point).
    -[X] If N'Gath survives the initial onslaught without being destroyed or Feebleminded, Viserys casts Celerity followed by Time Stop.
    --[X] Once he recovers from being Stunned by Celerity, Viserys casts Assay Spell Resistance, assumes True Dragon form, then waits for the Time Stop to end. When time resumes, he targets N'Gath with Freezing Glance as a Free Action and Stun Ray via Miracle (Stunned for 1d4+1 rounds; DC 33 Fort save reduces Stun to 1 round) as a Swift Action. If the Stun Ray strikes N'Gath, Viserys then uses Transdimensional Polar Midnight via Wild Arcana as a Standard Action (DC 33 Fort save). If Stun Ray misses, Viserys instead targets N'Gath with a Transdimensional Avasculate (Halves remaining HP and Stunned for 1 round; DC 31 Fort save prevents Stun).
    [X] Dirriz Level Up
    -[X] Class: +1 Oracle
    -[X] Skills (7 points): +1 Appraise, +1 Bluff, +1 Concentration, +1 Diplomacy, +1 Knowledge (Arcana), +1 Spellcraft, +1 Use Magic Device
    -[X] Spells:
    --[X] Cantrip:
    ---[X] Retrain: Flare >>> Prestidigitation
    --[X] 1st Level: Resurgence, Tap Inner Beauty
    ---[X] Retrain: Magic Stone >>> Barbed Chains
    --[X] 2nd Level: Close Wounds, Cure Moderate Wounds
    ---[X] Retrain: Spiritual Weapon >>> Ironskin
    --[X] 3rd Level: Ancestral Awakening, Cure Serious Wounds
    -[X] Revelation: Scaled Toughness
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Part MMMCXII: Mortality's Triumph
  • Threadmarks
    • Mortality's Triumph ​

    Second Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    Teana's form ripples as one of her shadow forms separates and moves deeper into the chamber, an anchor for swift escape should the battle go poorly, before conjuring a snarling spectral wolf to serve as her guard. All the while while Zherys writes runes of warding into the air to bar any who would approach him.

    For her part Rina draws a long slow breath and utters a spell not of frost, but something darker by far. Her already fair skin turns waxen and her unbound hair becomes a halo of darkness around her head. Were it not for her eyes still showing the same spark of dogged courage, you would think her again in the thrall of the Others upon their icy thrones. Were this another time, another place, then you would ask again if she is well, but battle calls and so you speak only a word of fire, shields of boiling water rippling across all your company.

    With that you swim through the hole edged in white hot iron to at last lay eyes upon your foe, a sphere of ever-shifting flame and elder glyphs that mark both its service of Ymeri and the tale of its being. No eyes has it, only a crown of fire wrought to mark which way it turns, but even were you blind you would know the weight of N'Gath's hateful gaze.


    A spell of unbinding you speak into being, to strip its wards and protections... but the creature's fire merely consumes it with seemingly no will or effort in the doing. Without pausing for breath you turn your gaze to the ice, seeking to entomb it in the water that hisses angrily against its fiery form, but this too is thwarted by a flick of the foe's flames.

    Perhaps the foe grows tired, though, for when Zherys flashes a line of black forward between them the spell finds its mark, not slaying the foe utterly as it might have almost any lesser being, but drawing a hiss of pain nonetheless. "You should have taken my offer!" the Herald of Ymeri roars, and you know not if it speaks to you or the Lord of Volantis, but N'Gath's curse is for Zherys, a chain of white-hot sorcery to strangle life and magic from him.

    "My power is not yours to take, creature," the High Speaker proclaims, severing the chain with his staff before it can fully form.

    As though emboldened by the words, Teana's wolf charges the Herald to restlessly bite a mouthful of flames, even as they begin to unravel its own form. As for the sorceress herself she weaves of shadow a spell to steal N'Gath's mind, but it scarce seems to notice.

    "Such feeble sorcery this failing age possesses," the Fire Spirit mocks. "I shall purifying you all in flame as the forge purifies steel, and only those worthy shall have the honor of serving..."

    You would never know what honor the servant of Ymeri spoke of for in that moment Rina speaks a single word. Rina's voice that seems to echo from the depths of some forgotten grave uttered in all mortal tongues and none: "Die."

    The flames of N'Gath, favored Herald of Ymeri, go out like like a candle before the cold breath of the northern wind, not one more word to mark its passage.

    ***​

    Your eyes snap open to the sight of soot stained stone and blackened wood, no trace of the luxurious study you had seen in the vision remaining, and the specter of Tagar remaining unchanged. Ser Richard has not shifted an inch from where you had last seen him but Benerro came to lean over Rina. "Are you entirely well, my lady?" the priest asks carefully.

    "Yes, it's only a spell, I..." she begins uncertainly, looking down at hands that seemed to have long suffered the touch of the grave.

    "I assumed as much," the Flame Keeper assures her. After a moment's hesitation he adds, "It is a heavy burden you bear, one many are willing to help you with as much as can be done, but also a great honor."

    Rina looks up at the old priest, the disbelief in her eyes louder than words.

    "Death is not itself an evil, nor is the night the rightful domain of horrors that would consume us all, by the arts you wield you reclaim both at least in some small measure and in doing so you remind us all that the Enemy can be not only driven back for a time, but defeated utterly, cast out from the world of form," he continues, the words soft and kind, but the belief behind them unshakable as stone.

    Turning to face you he adds: "Now come, I believe we have much work ahead of us removing any dangerous relics and remains from this house lest they fall into the wrong hands." This too he means, of course, but from the faint shadow of a smile in the corner of his mouth you suspect he knows full well him much you wish to claim those relics he spoke of and from the looks of it he minds not at all.

    "Indeed," Zherys agrees. "I would very much like to know just what the Awakening was and how the Herald of Ymeri came to be called."

    What do you do next?

    [] Question the Wraith
    -[] Write in

    [] Search the House for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire

    [] Write in

    OOC: The way I fluffed Epic Counterspell was as a sort of reactive super SR, so he did not get the normal SR a CR 23 fey would have gotten.
     
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    • DragonParadox said:
    You would never know what honor the servant of Ymeri spoke of for in that moment Rina speaks a single word Rina voice that seems to echo from the depths of some forgotten grave uttered in all mortal tongues and none: "Die."
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    Yeah, the power of Others (and therefore Void) is kinda fucking scary.

    Yay us, the fuck is dead.
    Not soul-dead as we'd surely prefer... but ded nonetheless.

    [X] Split up
    -[X] Have Varys, Rina and Teana question the Wraith (questions pending).
    --    [X] Answers to the questions would be ralayed to Viserys via Varys.
    -[X] Search the house for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire.

    Basically, we are agaisnt a bit of clock for the remains to go up in (Fey)fire.

    And then we also need to keep a fair bit of spellslots ready to buff up before eating it.
    That means we need at least one Miracle and Mythic Power ready for the act, and I assume we can copy the rest of the buffs via Bloodwish easily enough.

    @Duesal, some halp on questions, if we have any that is?
    I also assumed we can talk to Varys at any moment/distance, but I couldn't find the rules off a quick googling, may be wrong there.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    Mortality's Triumph ​

    Second Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    Teana's form ripples as one of her shadow duplicates separates and moves deeper into the chamber, an anchor for swift escape should battle go poorly, before conjuring a snarling spectral wolf to serve as her guard. All the while, Zherys writes runes of warding into the air to bar any foe who would approach him.

    For her part, Rina draws a long slow breath and utters a spell, one not of frost but of something darker by far. Her already fair skin turns waxen, her unbound hair becoming a halo of darkness around her head. Were it not for her eyes still showing the same spark of dogged courage, you would think her again in the thrall of the Others upon their icy thrones. If this was another time, another place, then you would ask again if she is well, but battle calls and so you speak only a word of fire, shields of boiling water rippling across all your company.

    With final preparations complete, you swim though the hole edged in white hot iron to at last lay eyes upon your foe, a sphere of ever-shifting flame and elder glyphs that mark both its service to Ymeri and the tale of its being. No eyes has it, only a crown of fire wrought to mark which way it turns, but even were you blind you would know the weight of N'Gath's hateful gaze. A spell of unbinding you speak into being, to strip its wards and protections... but the creature's fire merely consumes it with seemingly no will or effort in the doing. Without pausing for breath, you turn your gaze to ice, seeking to entomb it by the water that hisses angrily against its fiery form, but this too is thwarted. by a flick of the foe's flames.

    Perhaps the foe grows tired, though, for when Zherys flashes a line of black force between them, the spell finds its mark. It does not slay the foe utterly as it might have almost any lesser being, but draws a hiss of pain nonetheless. "You should have taken my offer!" the herald of Ymeri roars. You know not if it speaks to you or the lord of Volantis, but N'Gath's answering curse is obviously meant for Zherys, a chain of white-hot sorcery to strangle life and magic from him.

    "My power is not yours to take, creature," the High Speaker proclaims, severing the chain with his staff before it can fully form.

    As though emboldened by the word, Teana's wolf charges the herald to restlessly bite a mouthful of flames, even as they begin to unravel its own form. As for the sorceress herself, she weaves of shadow a spell of to steal N'Gath's mind, though it scarce seems to notice.

    "Such feeble sorcery this failing age possesses," the fire spirit mocks. "I shall purify you all in flame, as the forge purifies steel, and only those worthy shall have the honor of serving..."

    You would never know what honor the servant of Ymeri spoke of, for in that moment Rina speaks a single word that seems to echo from the depths of some forgotten grave, one uttered in all mortal tongues and none: "Die."

    The flames of N'Gath go out like like a candle before the cold breath of the northern wind, not one more word to mark its passage.

    ***​

    Your eyes snap open to the sight of soot stained stone and blackened wood, no trace of the luxurious study you had seen in the vision remaining. The specter of Tagar remains unchanged. Ser Richard has not shifted an inch from where you had last seen him, but Bennero came to lean over Rina. "Are you entirely well, my lady?" the priest asks carefully.

    "Yes, it's only a spell, I..." she begins uncertainly, looking down at hands that seemed to have long suffered the touch of the grave.

    "I assumed as much," the Flame Keeper assures her. After a moment's hesitation, he adds. "It is a heavy burder you bear, one many are willing to help you with as much as can be done, but also a great honor."

    Rina looks up at the old priest, the disbelief in her eyes louder than words.

    "Death is not itself an evil, nor is the night the rightful domain of horrors that would consume us all. By the arts you wield, you reclaim both, at least in some small measure, and in doing so you remind us all that the Enemy can be not only driven back for a time, but defeated utterly, cast out from the world of form," he continues, the words soft and kind, but the belief behind them unshakable as stone.

    Turning to face you, he adds, "Now come, I believe we have much work ahead of us removing any dangerous relics and remains from this house lest they fall into the wrong hands," this too he means, of course, but from the faint shadow of a smile in the corner of his mouth, you suspect he knows full well how much you wish to claim those relics he spoke of, and from the looks of it he minds not at all.

    "Indeed," Zherys agrees. "I would very much like to know just what the Awkening was and how the Herald of Ymeri came to be called."

    What do you do next?

    [] Question the wraith
    -[] Write in

    [] Search the House for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire

    [] Write in

    OOC: The way I fluffed Epic Counterspell was as a sort of reactive super SR, so he did not get the normal SR a CR 23 fey would have gotten. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    MVP Rina! Was hoping Teana could get the final blow in, but this works nicely, too.
     
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    [X] egoo

    Our narrative just took a heavy reinforcement too I think, we dragged the semi-divine herald, enemy of the Imperium, forward to face judgement and destruction with the aid of powerful allies.

    I should add, through wards that even their patron was stymied by.
     
    egoo said:
    Yeah, the power of Others (and therefore Void) is kinda fucking scary.

    Yay us, the fuck is dead.
    Not soul-dead as we'd surely prefer... but ded nonetheless.

    [X] Split up
    -[X] Have Varys, Rina and Teana question the Wraith (questions pending).
    --    [X] Answers to the questions would be ralayed to Viserys via Varys.
    -[X] Search the house for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire.

    Basically, we are agaisnt a bit of clock for the remains to go up in (Fey)fire.

    And then we also need to keep a fair bit of spellslots ready to buff up before eating it.
    That means we need at least one Miracle and Mythic Power ready for the act, and I assume we can copy the rest of the buffs via Bloodwish easily enough.

    @Duesal, some halp on questions, if we have any that is?
    I also assumed we can talk to Varys at any moment/distance, but I couldn't find the rules off a quick googling, may be wrong there.
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    Teana can send her three Shadow duplicates out to help with the search. More hands and eyes doing the looting are always helpful.

    [X] egoo
     
    [X] Split up
    -[X] Have Varys, Rina and Teana question the Wraith.
    --    [X] Prioritise learning where would Herald's essense most likely remain after it's death, where exactly are the valuables (i.e lore, artifacts, or plain money), inside the mansion, the exact locations of traps and ways to disarm them.
    --[X] Answers to the questions would be relayed to Viserys via Varys.
    --[X] Teana will also send off three of her Shadow copies into the mansion for searching.
    -[X] Search the house for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire.

    @Goldfish, how are we on spellslots?
    Can we mindlink with everyone for this, what spells can we use aside from Wayfinder, etc?
     
    egoo said:
    [X] Split up
    -[X] Have Varys, Rina and Teana question the Wraith.
    --    [X] Prioritise learning where would Herald's essense most likely remain after it's death, where exactly are the valuables (i.e lore, artifacts, or plain money), inside the mansion, the exact locations of traps and ways to disarm them.
    --[X] Answers to the questions would be relayed to Viserys via Varys.
    --[X] Teana will also send off three of her Shadow copies into the mansion for searching.
    -[X] Search the house for N'Gath's remains and any other magical artifacts or lore than may have survived the fire.

    @Goldfish, how are we on spellslots?
    Can we mindlink with everyone for this, what spells can we use aside from Wayfinder, etc?
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    We're fine on spell slots. Plenty of everything except 9th level slots, and we can fudge those using doubled up 8th level slots. The only thing we're really low on is Mythic Power, which is down to two, I believe.

    A Blood Wished Telepathic Bond would be good, along with a Find the Path spell to find the resting place of N'Gath's remains. After casting them, have Viserys use his Orb of Mental Renewal to heal his Charisma damage.

    Viserys also has a PoSK for Spontaneous Search which could help a lot, too.

    Spontaneous Search – Spell – D&D Tools

    Complete list of all D&D spells, rulebooks, feats, classes and more!
    dndtools.net
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    CR 23 fey
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    Huh.
    That just happened.

    Hey, isn't that more powerful than Mammon's avatar was..?
    :V

    *content sigh*
    I'm just glad we took this sort of resource from Ymeri, even though he was imprisoned awhile now without doing anything.
    Not sure if she can easily resurrect him, but it's still a damper on how much the fuck can act for some time.


    Goldfish said:
    We're fine on spell slots. Plenty of everything except 9th level slots, and we can fudge those using doubled up 8th level slots. The only thing we're really low on is Mythic Power, which is down to two, I believe.

    A Blood Wished Telepathic Bond would be good, along with a Find the Path spell to find the resting place of N'Gath's remains. After casting them, have Viserys use his Orb of Mental Renewal to heal his Charisma damage.

    Viserys also has a PoSK for Spontaneous Search which could help a lot, too.

    Spontaneous Search – Spell – D&D Tools

    Complete list of all D&D spells, rulebooks, feats, classes and more!
    dndtools.net
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    [X] Split up
    -    [X] Viserys will Bloodwish a Telepathic Bond with everyone, after that he'll use his page of Spell Knowledge for Spontaneous Search (and Zherys and Teana woulld cast it regularly) on members of the group who'll be looking through the mansion. Finally, Viserys will cast Find the Path spell to the remains of N'Gath and restore his Charisma damage with Orb of Mental Renewal.
    -[X] Rina and Teana question the Wraith, prioritising learning where exactly are the valuables (i.e lore, artifacts, or plain money) inside the mansion, the exact locations of traps and ways to disarm them.
    --[X] Teana will also send off three of her Shadow copies into the mansion for searching.
     
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