- Location
- United States
That's a good idea. I should go ahead and color code the eggs in the info post.
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
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
It was a well-reasoned argument. Not to say that Talon didn't raise any points earlier, but your was more compelling to me in an immediate sense. Maelor just didn't seem to care and truthfully he wouldn't get too much mileage out of a dragon. He seems like someone with his feet firmly planted on the ground.
Ceria on the other hand would love the sense of freedom and agency it would grant her, but in a way the egg is probably better, less scary even. Less second guessing everyone's motives.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Number eight does sound like a good match for a Favored Soul of the Storm God.
They are distinct, but Casterly Rock is a castle with an associated town. It's valuable, but not the same thing as ruling a major metropolitan area in terms of lifestyle.
- Location
- France
@Crake, to be clear I don't hate your OCs or omakes or anything. You did a good job, and I liked what DP did with them.
But Ceria really, really isn't the kind of person I would want as a dragonrider. If I made a list of prerequisites, she would meet exactly none of them. So giving her an egg just feel so wrong.
To be a dragonrider (prerequisites) :
If she gets another 7 levels I'd be all for it, but for now it's very premature.
But Ceria really, really isn't the kind of person I would want as a dragonrider. If I made a list of prerequisites, she would meet exactly none of them. So giving her an egg just feel so wrong.
To be a dragonrider (prerequisites) :
- Be loyal, unquestionably so. Or at least very very loyal and theoretically predictably disloyal.
- Be powerful on a personal level, or very important politically. We give our reanimated Valyrian PCs Dragons because it cements their loyalty and because they're mighty PCs we want to keep. We give Valaena a Dragon because it's a clear symbol to other Westerosi houses, and because we really wanted Velaryon.
- Not having hangups inimical to our rule and Empire - unless you have an awfully pragmatic personality we can manage, and are extremely worth it to make it worth the risk.
If she gets another 7 levels I'd be all for it, but for now it's very premature.
Last edited:
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Valaena is barely more suitable than say, Laena Velaryon in that she can keep it in her pants rather than just assuming "everything will work out", and she's still a fan girl even having read the history.
I guess one of the qualifying pre-requisites would be having too much tying them down to ever contemplate abusing the position, which she (Valaena) certainly does, but have you ever considered everything she (Ceria) does is motivated by wanting roots to lay down and not having someone holding an axe above her head every day, threatening to uproot her?
She's wary and cautious, not ungrateful or disloyal. Hell, she risked life and limb for random strangers on a journey of self discovery out of loyalty to her friends, because they were kind to her.
Have you considered you just don't understand her character at all?
That sounds about right. I presume then that Maelor established that they wanted the metropolitan area rather than just a castle and I forgot the distinction. In which case Qarth should be a good fit for the reasons mentioned previously.
So is anyone up for after the Brass Bastard is dealt with taking over Qarth with Maelor as a final exam/bonding moment for maximum fluff (and city conquering, but we do that like clockwork so it does not mean a lot).
*looks over discussion of character with some wariness*
I love to see more debate in the thread, but try not to get too fired up guys. I know this warning is probably not necessary, but for an overnight vote I would rather err on the side of caution.
I love to see more debate in the thread, but try not to get too fired up guys. I know this warning is probably not necessary, but for an overnight vote I would rather err on the side of caution.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
I'm trying to not be inordinately upset that the underlying facets of my writing were just totally overlooked, but there were neon signage levels of subtext that Ceria was contemplating using everyone as a tool to get ahead, and when it came time to consider doing it she didn't just blink, she turned away from it in abject disgust and did the exact opposite.
Either read the background and then object loudly or you'll probably get disregarded. All I'm saying.
- Location
- ?????????
Qarth is...complicated. It is a magocracy with mages that we have been warned to avoid. Once we kill them all we could give it to him sure.
- Location
- France
Perhaps I'm a complete idiot who forgot something huge, but AFAIK despite being a badass with trust issues and a hidden vulnerable side (TM) Ceria doesn't seem especially attached to the Empire or us. She's attached to her friends and companions (yay Misfits!) and probably grateful to us, but that isn't the same thing as loyal.
So far I got the impression that she served us because we promised a place of safety, without stigma, and where she could do good. Indeed she fights with our baby PCs not just because if the amazing pay and power (buying gratefulness is a great strategy when you're rich like us!) but because she's a good person who values human lives.
All of these are good things... But if her friends quit or if she thought our Empire wasn't good, she would leave. Basically she feels fundamentally driven by ideals and friends, and we don't really have a firm grip on the friends (and our Good Vs Evil meter is just weird).
This is why I still don't consider her dependable.
She isn't pragmatic and obviously open to incentives like Malarys, but she isn't a true believer in our Empire either.
Meanwhile Valaena is stupidly grateful and deeply tied to us through loyalty+family+ambition+personal rapport, her power-leveling is going very well, and more importantly giving her a Dragon was a huge symbol given to the world : old allies should return, and they won't be forgotten !
It also got us her dad (who has been super useful in the 7K) and didn't cost us much, as she came with her own egg.
Last edited:
The warlock's tower could be the oversized energy field Maelor eats for his Journeyman project.
- Location
- France
I'm hoping we don't even have to kill them ! They're stupidly immortal, anyway.
I wonder if we can loot them somehow?
- Location
- ?????????
Feed them into Yss or turn them into a book for their knowledge. They scare me way more than they probably should. Plus immortality is already a limited concept...considering we just killed something functionally immortal.
- Location
- United States
I don't trust them at all. I'm all for exploring, but they're on the level of Euron Greyjoy for me in terms of recruitability.
- Location
- France
- Location
- Australia
I share a lot of your thoughts @TalonofAnathrax however I see assigning a Dragon Egg as an effective means of sculpting and binding Ceria into an effective asset.
A full grown Dragon is too powerful and would encourage what I see as currently negative aspects of her character while a baby Dragon does quite the opposite.
She's not going anywhere for a good long while after hatching the Dragon, she needs to accept help and guidance from prominent and highly loyal members of our Imperium.
She will train alongside our other fledgling Dragonlords, children and outcasts and family members all. People she will have to share mutual respect with and each of them having every reason to have full personal loyalty.
Ceria is going to end up in a position where either she believes everyone that has helped her and her dragon a liar and/or fool, or she comes to see the aspects of the Empire we most strive for.
Edit:
Does it help to view her as part of a faction/family that is The Misfits?
One of them is somehow courting the Princess of Dorne so it's much like binding the secondborn daughter of a mid-level house to an Imperial Institution.
A full grown Dragon is too powerful and would encourage what I see as currently negative aspects of her character while a baby Dragon does quite the opposite.
She's not going anywhere for a good long while after hatching the Dragon, she needs to accept help and guidance from prominent and highly loyal members of our Imperium.
She will train alongside our other fledgling Dragonlords, children and outcasts and family members all. People she will have to share mutual respect with and each of them having every reason to have full personal loyalty.
Ceria is going to end up in a position where either she believes everyone that has helped her and her dragon a liar and/or fool, or she comes to see the aspects of the Empire we most strive for.
Edit:
Does it help to view her as part of a faction/family that is The Misfits?
One of them is somehow courting the Princess of Dorne so it's much like binding the secondborn daughter of a mid-level house to an Imperial Institution.
Last edited:
- Location
- United States
The House of the Undying had better be a Mythic Demiplane when we get around to looting it or I will be a very sad magpie.The warlock's tower could be the oversized energy field Maelor eats for his Journeyman project.
- Location
- United States
So with Volantis all sewn up, what are we conquering next?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
We're tying up loose ends, strengthening our positions, and preparing to deal with the Golden Company in a permanent fashion, along with dealing a decisive blow to Tiamat. We've also started to lay the groundwork for our efforts in Slaver's Bay to get an idea of how entrenched the Cult of Asmodeus has become, and what we'll need to do to combat it.
- Location
- United States
Lorath will probably be annexed diplomatically. Norvos is a bit of a problem but shouldn't take too much work. Qohor and Slaver's Bay are equally big headaches, the latter of which needs to be handled ASAP thanks to Asmodeus.
I've been wondering something about the devils in slaver's bay. So the old gods could curse people selectively on the basis of ethnicity and national affiliation. That's the only way the fertility curse that hit andalos could have worked without hitting their Westerosi relatives. Especially given how weak the blood connection would be between a random selection of a population and every other member in it. If the anadals were closely related enough for a regular family curse to work the old gods wouldn't have needed to do anything to ruin their fertility.
So if ethnicity/nationality is a valid connection for major curses, does the Pact Primeval count? It physically changes those sworn to it into a recognizably related group that are universally part of single nation.That's a metaphysical connection at least as deep as being in the same ethnic group, and an avowed national connection.
could we smack the free fiends around directly by sacrificing some of asmy's devils to the old gods?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
That sounds like something that could maybe work, but it could also draw more heat than we could handle. The reason we haven't been flooded under a wave of Devils is because we have yet to pose any sort of existential threat, certainly not enough to unite feuding Archdukes or divert overmuch attention from the Blood War.
It could also backfire and seriously weaken the OG.
- Location
- Australia
Pact Primeval > OG.
A sad truth but a truth all the same, reactionary Devils isn't even my first concern here but backlash by the Pact and/or Existence itself.