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

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Absoloot said:
Well, that's true. You should reread that section tough.most often you guys go off script, right something clever in, and go cautiously. Narraitvely this whole arc reads terribly because the party's incompetence is so out of character.
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Maybe we were just off our game that arc? :V
 
Vote closed. I'm doing the Volantis interlude though so we can get the Information on Mysterium mages.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 2, 2019 at 8:11 AM, finished with 113 posts and 13 votes.
  • [X] Duesal
    [X] Ask the mages questions about their nature or their mistress' experiments
    -[X] Have Viserys use Brain Spider via Miracle to hurry along the interrogations. It can scan eight minds simultaneously for similar subjects.
    -[X] Have Varys on the lookout for intelligent minds, reporting their type, approximate intellect, and locations as we go.
    -[X] Ask what other forces their mistress had and their exact nature and locations (also get a detailed explanation of all traps and contingencies)
    -[X] Ask about every past, current, and future experiment of import their mistress had
    -[X] Ask how their mistress became a Brainstealer Dragon, and what other Deep Ones she has been in contact with
    --[X] Does she know of any other Deep Ones plots, or if any other Brine Dragons have been struck by similar idiocy?
    -[X] Ask what plans their mistress had both active and in active
    -[X] Ask about all treasures their mistress had and their locations and guardians/wards
    -[X] Get all locations of importance they're aware of marked on your new map of the Plane of Water, along with any Deep Ones strongholds they're aware of in this plane or others
    -[X] Try to catch more illithidae for experimentation, then go secure the hoard and as much research as possible. Strip the lair bare of everything of note.
    --[X] Once done, get an accounting of the spoils, decide how to split them, and decide what to do with the defeated subjects of Fearex once you get an understanding of how warped they've become.
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Interlude DCXXVII: Heirs of Mystery
  • Threadmarks
    • Heirs of Mystery​

    Eighteenth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    The halls of the Mysterium were ever quiet, broken only by the soft tread of apprentices or at most hurried whispers as likely to bear news of intrigue as arcane secrets. Those ambitious enough to rise high through the circles of the Wise of Volantis quickly learned to let sorcery bear their words unspoken for the walls had ears and the windows eyes.

    Of the bold and hopeful gathered from the Freehold's heirs, be they of the Old Blood or slaves newly unshackled, none were more proud than the maegi of the Order of Omens, the starseers and ritual crafters whose task it was to work with forces too grand and truths too terrible to harness in an instant. They gathered under obsidian vaults studded with glittering moonstones as priests whose temple was the sky, their creed their own desires, that fate and fortune might turn to their whim and of course to the glory of Volantis. It was clear to those mages with eyes to see that they had erred or fallen out of favor a few months past, their most promising students harrowed under the gaze of the High Speaker and even the Omencaller herself, Elaena Aetharis, had seemed lessened and exhausted after returning from seclusion, though she also seemed to find renewed faith in Meraxes, a fact which the mages of a more patriotic bent were cheered by. After all, where might fortune and grand ritual be best used if not in battle?

    Mistress of the Order of Omens, Elaena Aetharis

    Name: Eleana Aetharis
    Alias: The Omencaller
    Age: 44
    Alignment: Lawful Neutral
    Race:     Human (Medium Humanoid)
    Level: 10
    Class: Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 4
    Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Axiomatic Bloodline, Lawful Discipline, Practiced Ritualist, Ancient Tradition (Culture B, Valyrian)
    Class Features: Blood of Syberis, Esoteric Discovery (Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana)), Student of Mysteries, Stabilize Ritual, Occult Expertise, Cautious Rituals

    HP: 46
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +1
    Attack: +5 BAB
    Weapon Proficiency:
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    12 (+1) Constitution
    14 (+2) Intelligence
    10 (+0 ) Wisdom
    17 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6/8
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 7 + 0 + 2 = 7/9 (+3 vs Mind-affecting)

    SKILLS:
    Concentration: 13 + 1 (CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (History): 6 + 2 (INT) = 8
    Knowledge (Nature): 7 + 2 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (Religion): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (The Planes): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Spellcraft: 13 + 2 (INT) +2 (Syn) = 17

    Sorcerer Spells Known (CL10):
    0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation, Mending, Arcane Mark, Detect Poison, Resistance, Drench
    1st: Detect ChaosB, Touch of Blindness, Shadow Trap, Keep Watch, Heightened Awareness, Mage Armor
    2nd: Locate ObjectB, Mirror Image, Minor Image, Ice Slick, Spectral Hand, Touch of Idiocy
    3rd: Magic Circle against ChaosB, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Detect Desires
    4th: Locate CreatureB, Scrying, Earth Glide
    5th: DismissalB, Magic Jar

    Order of Omens:
    • 2 Adjunct Starseers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 2)
    • 5 Magister Seekers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 1)
    • 8 Seekers of the Third Circle (Sorcerer 6)
    • 16 Seekers of the Second Circle (Sorcerer 5)
    ***​

    No matter how high the ambition of those who sought truths in the heavens or how lofty the pride few were those among their number who could contend with the forked tongue of the Disciples of Forniss. Of rich purple were their robes like the richest of merchant lords, scales of gold and silver their jewels in honor of their lord, with a few going so far as to add silver rings to their tongues as well as splinting it. Apprentices oft claimed that the Disciples had no master but Formiss the Thought-Twister himself, but those who rose higher in the ranks of the Mysterium were much more sanguine about the matter.

    The High Speaker had reached an understanding with the serpent years ago, by which he would not try to directly enchant any sorcerer of the Mysterium, not even the merest initiate, and he would only exercise his arts upon other citizens and freemen within the confines of the law of Volantis, now the law of the Dragon. It did not escape those sharp of eye that many of the Disciples were in fact freed slaves rather than the Old Blood who still dominated much of the rest of the Mysterium's upper echelons. This had lead to a certain spirit of egalitarianism among the disciples who do not recognize distinctions of rank, only of skill. Not few are those among the Old Blood, even their fellow mages who count the disciples demagogues and rabble-rousers. The recent anexation of Volantis to the wider empire had lead to many of those most deserving of this epithet considering work with the Scholarum outside Volantis.

    Master of the Order of the Forked Tongue, Forniss the Thought-Twister

    Name: Forniss
    Alias: Thought-Twister
    Age: Unknown
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Psyche Serpent (Tiny Magical Beast)
    Level: 9
    Class: Psyche Serpent 3 (Counts as Mesmerist for Casting only)/ Mesmerist 6
    Feats: Mastery of Dreams, Spellfocus (Enchantment), Spellcasting Prodigy, Versatile Spellcaster
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Consumate Liar, Hypnotic Stare, Mesmerist Tricks (Compel Alacrity, Linked Reaction, Psychosomatic Surge, Slip Bonds), Painful Stare, Towering Ego, Bold Stare (Sabotage), Touch Treatment, Manifold Tricks, Mental Potency
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     51
    AC: 10 +3(DEX) = 13
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +7 Bab -2 (STR) +2(Size) =+7(1d3-2 +Poison)

    STATS:
    6 (-2) Strength
    16 (+3) Dexterity
    13(+1) Constitution
    13 (+1) Intelligence
    13 (+1 ) Wisdom
    16 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 5 + 2 = 7
    REFLEX: 8 + 1 = 9
    WILL: 6 + 2 +3 (Towering Ego)= 11

    SKILLS:
    Bluff: 12 +3(CHA) +3 (Consumate Liar)= 18
    Concentration: 12 +1(CON) = 13
    Diplomacy: 12 +3(CHA) +2 (Syn) +4 (Race)= 21
    Knowledge (Arcana): 8 + 1 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (The Planes): 4 + 1 (INT) = 5
    Spellcraft: 12 + 1 (INT) = 13

    Supernatural Abilities:
    Hypnotic Hood (Su)

    A psyche serpent can use the hypnotism occult skill unlock to implant suggestions as a full-round action (instead of taking 1 minute) an unlimited number of times per day. While it hypnotizes its targets, it sways from side to side with the spiral pattern of its hood fully displayed. A successfully hypnotized victim can recall this spiral pattern but otherwise has no memory of the act of hypnotism unless the psyche serpent wishes it to.

    Painless Bite (Ex)
    A psyche serpent's venom has a powerful numbing effect, causing its bites to inflict no pain and allowing it to inject its poison without alerting its victims or awakening them from sleep. Even if the victim succeeded at its saving throw, it remains unaware it attempted a save against a psyche serpent's venom.

    Poison (Ex)
    Bite    —injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Wisdom, and a creature that takes Wisdom damage from this poison is considered a willing creature for the purposes of the psyche serpent's hypnotism occult skill unlock until the Wisdom damage is healed; cure 2 consecutive saves. The DC includes a +2 racial bonus.

    Mesmerist Spells Known (Level 9):
    0th (6): Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5): Beguiling Gift, Command, Color Spray, Hermean Potential, Paranoia
    2nd (4): Invisibility, Detect Thoughts, Enthrall, Glitterdust
    3rd (4): Charm Monster, Draconic Malice, Fear, Enchantment Foil

    Disciples of the Forked Tongue
    • 3x Mesmerist 6
    • 4x Mesmerist 5
    • 7x Mesmerist 4
    • 13x Mesmerist 3
    • 11x Mesmerist 2
    • 11x Mesmerist 1
    ***​

    Last of the three Great Orders were oft counted the Gold Robes, the Fire-Tamers, who craft their spells not by the dreams of dragons but by knowledge and perseverance, though it is a foolish apprentice indeed who repeats such words before the High Speaker. The last and only time it happened has already passed into Mysterium legend as the only time anyone heard Kaelos Zherys raise his voice in anger. "I studied more of sorcery in the Waning Days than any score of you could dream of if you rotted in your beds until you were a hundred years old!" he had thundered presumably before Lord Mlog could apply his enchanted hammer to the offending skull.

    As the elder students told the story to the younger ones, the foolish Seeker might have preferred that fate to the countless chores and tasks the Fire Tamer gave him over the next few months. What few knew and none spoke too loudly of was that the maegi had eventually become one of the Order of Fire-Tamers, abandoning the deep fires of the dragon blood for the wide breadth of scholarly knowledge. Mlog,it was said, was no respecter of heritage and one would be better served searching for springs in the Red Waste than kindness in the depths of his soul, but he did appreciate diligence and hard work. The jest most often going around about the Gold Robes was that they sweated blood more often than they spilled it.

    Mlog the Fire Tamer, Master of the Order of Flame-Binders (Colloquially Gold Robes)

    Name: Mlog
    Alias: The Fire Tamer
    Age: 228
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Human (Medium Humanoid) (Mentally Azer)
    Level: 9
    Class: Wizard (Conjurer) 9
    Feats: Scribe ScrollB, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell, Metamagic School Focus (Conjuration)
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Abrupt Jaunt (4/day), Domain Granted Power (Fire), Forbidden Schools (Illusion, Necromancy)
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     37
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +4 Bab
    Weapon Proficiency: Simple and Martial (Azer): All Hammers and Axes
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    14 (+2) Constitution
    19 (+4) Intelligence
    14 (+2 ) Wisdom
    8 (-1) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 2 + 2 = 7/9
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 6 + 2 + 2 = 8/10

    SKILLS:
    Appraise: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Concentration: 12 +2(CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (Religion): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (The Planes): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Spellcraft: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16

    Supernatural Abilities:

    Fire Domain Power:
    Granted Power: Turn or destroy water creatures as a good cleric turns undead. Rebuke, command, or bolster fire creatures as an evil cleric rebukes undead. Use these abilities a total number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This granted power is a supernatural ability.

    Abrupt Jaunt (conjuration): You teleport up to 10 feet as an immediate action. You can't bring along any other creatures.

    Wizard Spells Prepared (Level 9):
    0th (4): Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5+1): Grease, Mage Armor, Obscuring Mist, Wall of Smoke, Magic Missile, Raging Flame
    2nd (5+1): Glitterdust, Incendiary Slime, Pyrotechnics, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Summon Monster II
    3rd (4+1): Sculpted Acid Breath, Alter Fortune, Dispel Magic, Sculpted Haboob, Caustic Smoke
    4th (3+1): Extended Summon Monster IV, Solid Fog, Dimensional Door, Orb of Force
    5th (1+1): Teleport, Sculpted Black Tentacles

    The Order of Flame Binders
    • 10 Flame Shields of the Third Circle (Abjuration Wizard 5)
    • 13 Flame Shields of the Second Circle (Abjuration Wizard 3)
    • 17 Flame Shields of the First Circle (Abjuration Wizard 1)
    ***​

    Beyond the Great Orders the Mysterium also hosts those unfortunates with talents too wild or too meager to properly set upon the path of the sorcery. Those with a scholarly inclination often stayed on as scribes and assistants, occasionally looked down upon but generally well treated for well trained hands were not so common that a mage could afford to spit upon them, while those of a more martial bent were taught to turn the tempestuousness of their magic into another weapon besides cold steel, though with the most skilled of their number having returned to manage the family lands, their hopes of becoming a true and recognized order now lie with the Dragon King and the wider Scholarum.

    Spellblades
    • 1x Hexblade Level 5
    • 7x Hexblades Level 4
    • 2x Hexblades Level 3
    • 9x Hexblades Level 1
    ***​


    Last in the orderings of the Mysterium were those who walked the softest yet spoke the loudest, for they had not yet learned their elders' skills, the initiates who dreamed of either joining the Order of Omens or being allowed to pursue their own studies with the full backing of the Mysterium, some even hoping to draw the eye of the High Speaker himself, though none had so far reached the lofty heights required to receive training in his arts.

    Unaffiliated Sorcerers and Junior Students:
    • 14x Sorcerer 6
    • 7x Sorcerer 5
    • 3x Sorcerer 3
    • 19x Sorcerer 2
    • 11x Sorcerer 1
    OOC: This came out as more of a rumor post cultural sample of the Mysterium than a report in the end since I feel this encapsulates the place better than a formal report would. You guys may notice the utter lack of any second string classes. That is because the Mysteryum is rather elitist. If you can't use 'proper magic' then you had best learn to swing a sword and be a hexblade. Otherwise it's 'gofer' for you. Thanks once again @Artemis1992 for the sheets.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Heirs of Mystery​

    Eighteenth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    The halls of the Mysterium were ever quiet broken only by the soft tread of apprentices or at most the hurried whispers as likely to bear news of intrigue as arcane secrets. Those ambitious to rise high though the circles of the Wise of Volantis quickly learned to let sorcery bear their words unspoken for the walls had ears and the windows eyes.

    Of the bold and hopeful gathered from the Freehold's heirs be they of the Old Blood or slaves newly unshackled none were more proud than the maegi of the Order of Omens, the starseers and ritual crafters whose task it was to work with forces too grand and truths too terrible to harness in an instant. They gathered under obsidian vaults studded with glittering moonstone as priests whose temple was the sky, their creed their own desires, that fate and fortune might turn to their whim and of course to the glory of Volantis. It was clear to those mages with eyes to see that they had erred or fallen out of favor a few months past, their most promising students harrowed under the gaze of the High Speaker and even the Omencaller herself Elaena Aetharis had seemed lessened, and exhausted after returning from seclusion, though she also seemed to find renewed faith in Meraxes, a fact which the mages of a more patriotic bent were cheered by. After all where might fortune and grand ritual be best used if not in battle.

    Mistress of the Order of Omens Elaena Aetharis

    Name: Eleana Aetharis
    Alias: The Omencaller
    Age: 44
    Alignment: Lawful Neutral
    Race:     Human (Medium Humanoid)
    Level: 10
    Class: Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 4
    Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Axiomatic Bloodline, Lawful Discipline, Practiced Ritualist, Ancient Tradition (Culture B, Valyrian)
    Class Features: Blood of Syberis, Esoteric Discovery (Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana)), Student of Mysteries, Stabilize Ritual, Occult Expertise, Cautious Rituals

    HP: 46
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +1
    Attack: +5 BAB
    Weapon Proficiency:
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    12 (+1) Constitution
    14 (+2) Intelligence
    10 (+0 ) Wisdom
    17 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6/8
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 7 + 0 + 2 = 7/9 (+3 vs Mind-affecting)

    SKILLS:
    Concentration: 13 +1(CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (History): 6 + 2 (INT) = 8
    Knowledge (Nature): 7 + 2 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (Religion): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (The Planes): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Spellcraft: 13 + 2 (INT) +2(Syn) = 17

    Sorcerer Spells Known (CL10):
    0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation, Mending, Arcane Mark, Detect Poison, Resistance, Drench
    1st: Detect ChaosB, Touch of Blindness, Shadow Trap, Keep Watch, Heightened Awareness, Mage Armor
    2nd: Locate ObjectB, Mirror Image, Minor Image, Ice Slick, Spectral Hand, Touch of Idiocy
    3rd: Magic Circle against ChaosB, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Detect Desires
    4th: Locate CreatureB, Scrying, Earth Glide
    5th: DismissalB, Magic Jar

    Order of Omens:
    • 2 Adjunct Starseers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 2)
    • 5 Magister Seekers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 1)
    • 8 Seekers of the Third Circle (Sorcerer 6)
    • 16 Seekers of the Second Circle (Sorcerer 5)
    ***​

    No matter how high the ambition of those who sought truths in the heavens or how lofty the pride few were those among their number who could content with the forked tongue of the Disciples of Forniss. Of rich purple were their robes like the richest of merchant lords, scales of gold and silver their jewels in honor of their lord, with a few going so far as to add silver rings to their tongues as well as splinting it. Apprentices oft claimed that the Disciples had not master but Formiss the Mind Slaver Himself, but those who rose higher in the ranks of the Mysterium were much more sanguine about the matter.

    The High Speaker had reached an understanding with the serpent years ago, by which he would not try to directly enchant any sorcerer of the Mysterium, not even the merest initiate and he would only exercise his arts upon other citizens and freemen within the confines of the law of Volantis, now the Law of the Dragon. It did not escape those sharp of eye that many of the Disciples were in fact freed slaves rather than the Old Blood who still dominated much of the rest of the Mysterium's upper echelons. This had lead to a certain spirit of egalitarianism among the disciples who do not recognize distinctions of rank only of skill. Not few are those among the Old Blood, even their fellow mages who count the disciples demagogues and rabble-rousers. The recent anexation of Volantis to the wider empire had lead to many of those most deserving of this epithet considering work with the Scholarum outside Volantis.

    Master of the Order of the Forked Tongue Forniss the Thought-Twister

    Name: Forniss
    Alias: Thought-Twister
    Age: Unknown
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Psyche Serpent (Tiny Magical Beast)
    Level: 9
    Class: Psyche Serpent 3 (Counts as Mesmerist for Casting only)/ Mesmerist 6
    Feats: Mastery of Dreams, Spellfocus (Enchantment), Spellcasting Prodigy, Versatile Spellcaster
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Consumate Liar, Hypnotic Stare, Mesmerist Tricks (Compel Alacrity, Linked Reaction, Psychosomatic Surge, Slip Bonds), Painful Stare, Towering Ego, Bold Stare (Sabotage), Touch Treatment, Manifold Tricks, Mental Potency
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     51
    AC: 10 +3(DEX) = 13
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +7 Bab -2 (STR) +2(Size) =+7(1d3-2 +Poison)

    STATS:
    6 (-2) Strength
    16 (+3) Dexterity
    13(+1) Constitution
    13 (+1) Intelligence
    13 (+1 ) Wisdom
    16 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 5 + 2 = 7
    REFLEX: 8 + 1 = 9
    WILL: 6 + 2 +3 (Towering Ego)= 11

    SKILLS:
    Bluff: 12 +3(CHA) +3 (Consumate Liar)= 18
    Concentration: 12 +1(CON) = 13
    Diplomacy: 12 +3(CHA) +2 (Syn) +4 (Race)= 21
    Knowledge (Arcana): 8 + 1 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (The Planes): 4 + 1 (INT) = 5
    Spellcraft: 12 + 1 (INT) = 13

    Supernatural Abilities:
    Hypnotic Hood (Su)

    A psyche serpent can use the hypnotism occult skill unlock to implant suggestions as a full-round action (instead of taking 1 minute) an unlimited number of times per day. While it hypnotizes its targets, it sways from side to side with the spiral pattern of its hood fully displayed. A successfully hypnotized victim can recall this spiral pattern but otherwise has no memory of the act of hypnotism unless the psyche serpent wishes it to.

    Painless Bite (Ex)
    A psyche serpent's venom has a powerful numbing effect, causing its bites to inflict no pain and allowing it to inject its poison without alerting its victims or awakening them from sleep. Even if the victim succeeded at its saving throw, it remains unaware it attempted a save against a psyche serpent's venom.

    Poison (Ex)
    Bite    —injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Wisdom, and a creature that takes Wisdom damage from this poison is considered a willing creature for the purposes of the psyche serpent's hypnotism occult skill unlock until the Wisdom damage is healed; cure 2 consecutive saves. The DC includes a +2 racial bonus.

    Mesmerist Spells Known (Level 9):
    0th (6): Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5): Beguiling Gift, Command, Color Spray, Hermean Potential, Paranoia
    2nd (4): Invisibility, Detect Thoughts, Enthrall, Glitterdust
    3rd (4): Charm Monster, Draconic Malice, Fear, Enchantment Foil

    Disciples of the Forked Tongue
    • 3x Mesmerist 6
    • 4x Mesmerist 5
    • 7x Mesmerist 4
    • 13x Mesmerist 3
    • 11x Mesmerist 2
    • 11x Mesmerist 1
    ***​

    Last of the three Great Orders were oft counted the Gold Robes, the Fire-Tamers, who craft their spells not by the dreams of dragons but by knowledge and perseverance, though it is a foolish apprentice indeed who repeats such words before the high speaker. The last and only time it happened has already passed into Mysterium legend as the only time anyone heard Kaelos Zherys raise his voice in anger. "I studied more of sorcery in the Waning Days than any score of you could dream if you rotted in your beds until you were a hundred years old!" he had thundered presumably before Lord Mlog could apply his enchanted hammer to the offending skull.

    As the elder students told the story to the younger ones the foolish Seeker, might have preferred that fate to the countless chores and task the Fire Tamer gave him over the next few months. What few knew and none spoke too loudly of was that the maegi had eventually become one of the Order of Fire-Tamers abandoning the deep fires of dragon blood for the wide breadth of scholarly knowledge. Mlog it was said was no respecter of heritage and one would be better served searching for springs in the Red Waste than kindness in the depths of his soul, but he did appreciate diligence and hard work. The jest most often going around about the Gold Robes was that they sweated blood more often than they spilled it.

    Mlog the Fire Tamer, Master of the Order of Flame-Binders (Colloquially Gold Robes)

    Name: Mlog
    Alias: The Fire Tamer
    Age: 228
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Human (Medium Humanoid) (Mentally Azer)
    Level: 9
    Class: Wizard (Conjurer) 9
    Feats: Scribe ScrollB, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell, Metamagic School Focus (Conjuration)
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Abrupt Jaunt (4/day), Domain Granted Power (Fire), Forbidden Schools (Illusion, Necromancy)
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     37
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +4 Bab
    Weapon Proficiency: Simple and Martial (Azer): All Hammers and Axes
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    14 (+2) Constitution
    19 (+4) Intelligence
    14 (+2 ) Wisdom
    8 (-1) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 2 + 2 = 7/9
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 6 + 2 + 2 = 8/10

    SKILLS:
    Appraise: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Concentration: 12 +2(CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (Religion): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (The Planes): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Spellcraft: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16

    Supernatural Abilities:

    Fire Domain Power:
    Granted Power: Turn or destroy water creatures as a good cleric turns undead. Rebuke, command, or bolster fire creatures as an evil cleric rebukes undead. Use these abilities a total number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This granted power is a supernatural ability.

    Abrupt Jaunt (conjuration): You teleport up to 10 feet as an immediate action. You can't bring along any other creatures.

    Wizard Spells Prepared (Level 9):
    0th (4): Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5+1): Grease, Mage Armor, Obscuring Mist, Wall of Smoke, Magic Missile, Raging Flame
    2nd (5+1): Glitterdust, Incendiary Slime, Pyrotechnics, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Summon Monster II
    3rd (4+1): Sculpted Acid Breath, Alter Fortune, Dispel Magic, Sculpted Haboob, Caustic Smoke
    4th (3+1): Extended Summon Monster IV, Solid Fog, Dimensional Door, Orb of Force
    5th (1+1): Teleport, Sculpted Black Tentacles

    The Order of Flame Binders
    • 10 Flame Binders of the Third Circle (Conjuration Wizard 5)
    • 13 Flame Binders of the Second Circle (Conjuration Wizard 3)
    • 17 Flame Binders of the First Circle (Conjuration Wizard 1)
    ***​

    Beyond the Great Orders the Mysterium also hosts those unfortunates with talents too wild or too meager to properly set upon the path of the sorcery. Those with a scholarly inclination often stayed on as scribes and assistants, occasionally looked down upon but generally well treated for well Trained hands were not so common that a mage could afford to spit upon them, while those of a more martial bent were taught to turn the tempestuousness of their magic into another weapon besides cold steel, though with the most skilled of their number having returned to managed the family lands their hopes of becoming a true and recognized order now lie with the Dragon King and the wider Scholarum

    Spellblades
    • 1x Hexblade Level 5
    • 7x Hexblades Level 4
    • 2x Hexblades Level 3
    • 9x Hexblades level 1
    ***​


    Last in the orderings of the Mysterium were those who walked the softest yet spoke the loudest, for they had not yet learned their elders' skills, the initiates who dreamed of either joining the Order of Omens or being allowed to pursue their own studies with the full backing of the Mysterium, some even hoping to draw the eye of the High Speaker himself, though none had so far reached the lofty heights required to receive training in his arts.

    Unaffiliated Sorcerers and Junior Students:
    • 14x Sorcerer 6
    • 7x Sorcerer 5
    • 3x Sorcerer 3
    • 19x Sorcerer 2
    • 11x Sorcerer 1

    OOC: This came out as more of a rumor post cultural sample of the Mysterium than a report in the end since I feel this encapsulates the place better than a formal report would. You guys may notice the utter lack of any second string classes. That is because the Mysteryum is rather elitist. If you can't use 'proper magic' then you had best learn to swing a sword and be a hexblade. Otherwise it's 'gofer' for you. Thanks once again @Artemis1992 for the sheets. Not yet edited.
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    The Mysterium is rather less powerful than I was expecting, but I suspect if it had come to blows between us and Volantis, Zherys would probably have chosen a more oblique angle of attack than outright war. He rather liked "let's you and him fight" as a tactic, and using Qohor as a punching bag is another favorite of his.
     
    Crake said:
    The Mysterium is rather less powerful than I was expecting, but I suspect if it had come to blows between us and Volantis, Zherys would probably have chosen a more oblique angle of attack than outright war. He rather liked "let's you and him fight" as a tactic, and using Qohor as a punching bag is another favorite of his.
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    I remember he also tried to deflect us to Qarth and the Lannisters right before we cornered him and got him to swear fealty.
     
    Heirs of Mystery​

    Eighteenth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    The halls of the Mysterium were ever quiet, silence broken only by the soft tread of apprentices or at most the, hurried whispers as likely to bear news of intrigue as arcane secrets. Those ambitious enough to rise high through the circles of the Wise of Volantis quickly learned to let sorcery bear their words unspoken, for the walls had ears and the windows eyes.

    Of the bold and hopeful gathered from the Freehold's heirs, be they of the Old Blood or slaves newly unshackled, none were more proud than the maegi of the Order of Omens, the Starseers and ritual crafters whose task it was to work with forces too grand and truths too terrible to harness in an instant. They gathered under obsidian vaults studded with glittering moonstone, as priests whose temple was the sky, their creed their own desires, that fate and fortune might turn to their whim and of course to the glory of Volantis. It was clear to those mages with eyes to see that they had erred or fallen out of favor a few months past, their most promising students harrowed under the gaze of the High Speaker. Even the Omencaller herself, Elaena Aetharis, had seemed lessened and exhausted after returning from seclusion, though she also seemed to find renewed faith in Meraxes, a fact which cheered those mages of a more patriotic bent. After all, where might fortune and grand ritual be best used if not in battle?

    Mistress of the Order of Omens Elaena Aetharis
    Name: Eleana Aetharis
    Alias: The Omancaller
    Age: 44
    Alignment: Lawful Neutral
    Race:     Human (Medium Humanoid)
    Level: 10
    Class: Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 4
    Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Axiomatic Bloodline, Lawful Discipline, Practiced Ritualist, Ancient Tradition (Culture B, Valyrian)
    Class Features: Blood of Syberis, Esoteric Discovery (Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana)), Student of Mysteries, Stabilize Ritual, Occult Expertise, Cautious Rituals

    HP: 46
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +1
    Attack: +5 BAB
    Weapon Proficiency:
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    12 (+1) Constitution
    14 (+2) Intelligence
    10 (+0 ) Wisdom
    17 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6/8
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 7 + 0 + 2 = 7/9 (+3 vs Mind-affecting)

    SKILLS:
    Concentration: 13 +1(CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (History): 6 + 2 (INT) = 8
    Knowledge (Nature): 7 + 2 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (Religion): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Knowledge (The Planes): 13 + 2 (INT) = 15
    Spellcraft: 13 + 2 (INT) +2(Syn) = 17

    Sorcerer Spells Known (CL10):
    0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation, Mending, Arcane Mark, Detect Poison, Resistance, Drench
    1st: Detect Chaos(B), Touch of Blindness, Shadow Trap, Keep Watch, Heightened Awareness, Mage Armor
    2nd: Locate Object(B), Mirror Image, Minor Image, Ice Slick, Spectral Hand, Touch of Idiocy
    3rd: Magic Circle against Chaos(B), Haste, Lightning Bolt, Detect Desires
    4th: Locate Creature(B), Scrying, Earth Glide
    5th: Dismissal(B), Magic Jar

    Order of Omens:
    • 2 Adjunct Starseers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 2)
    • 5 Magister Seekers (Sorcerer 6/Ritualist 1)
    • 8 Seekers of the Third Circle (Sorcerer 6)
    • 16 Seekers of the Second Circle (Sorcerer 5)
    ***​

    No matter how high the ambition of those who sought truths in the heavens, or how lofty their pride, few were those among their number who could be content with the forked tongue of the Disciples of Forniss. Of rich purple were their robes, like the richest of merchant lords, scales of gold and silver their jewels in honor of their lord, with a few going so far as to add silver rings to their split tongues. Apprentices oft claimed that the Disciples had no master but Forniss the Mind Slaver Himself, but those who rose higher in the ranks of the Mysterium were much more sanguine about the matter.

    The High Speaker had reached an understanding with the serpent years ago, by which he would not try to directly enchant any sorcerer of the Mysterium, not even the merest initiate, and he would only exercise his arts upon other citizens and freemen within the confines of the law of Volantis, now the Law of the Dragon. It did not escape those sharp of eye that many of the Disciples were in fact freed slaves rather than the Old Blood who still dominated much of the rest of the Mysterium's upper echelons. This had lead to a certain spirit of egalitarianism among the disciples who do not recognize distinctions of rank, only of skill. Not few are those among the Old Blood, even their fellow mages, who count the disciples demagogues and rabble-rousers. The recent annexation of Volantis to the wider empire had lead to many of those most deserving of this epithet considering work with the Scholarum outside Volantis.

    Master of the Order of the Forked Tongue Forniss the Thought-Twister
    Name: Forniss
    Alias: Thought-Twister
    Age: Unknown
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Psyche Serpent (Tiny Magical Beast)
    Level: 9
    Class: Psyche Serpent 3 (Counts as Mesmerist for Casting only)/ Mesmerist 6
    Feats: Mastery of Dreams, Spellfocus (Enchantment), Spellcasting Prodigy, Versatile Spellcaster
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Consumate Liar, Hypnotic Stare, Mesmerist Tricks (Compel Alacrity, Linked Reaction, Psychosomatic Surge, Slip Bonds), Painful Stare, Towering Ego, Bold Stare (Sabotage), Touch Treatment, Manifold Tricks, Mental Potency
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     51
    AC: 10 +3(DEX) = 13
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +7 Bab -2 (STR) +2(Size) =+7(1d3-2 +Poison)

    STATS:
    6 (-2) Strength
    16 (+3) Dexterity
    13(+1) Constitution
    13 (+1) Intelligence
    13 (+1 ) Wisdom
    16 (+3) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 5 + 2 = 7
    REFLEX: 8 + 1 = 9
    WILL: 6 + 2 +3 (Towering Ego)= 11

    SKILLS:
    Bluff: 12 +3(CHA) +3 (Consumate Liar)= 18
    Concentration: 12 +1(CON) = 13
    Diplomacy: 12 +3(CHA) +2 (Syn) +4 (Race)= 21
    Knowledge (Arcana): 8 + 1 (INT) = 9
    Knowledge (The Planes): 4 + 1 (INT) = 5
    Spellcraft: 12 + 1 (INT) = 13

    Supernatural Abilities:
    Hypnotic Hood (Su)

    A psyche serpent can use the hypnotism occult skill unlock to implant suggestions as a full-round action (instead of taking 1 minute) an unlimited number of times per day. While it hypnotizes its targets, it sways from side to side with the spiral pattern of its hood fully displayed. A successfully hypnotized victim can recall this spiral pattern but otherwise has no memory of the act of hypnotism unless the psyche serpent wishes it to.

    Painless Bite (Ex)
    A psyche serpent's venom has a powerful numbing effect, causing its bites to inflict no pain and allowing it to inject its poison without alerting its victims or awakening them from sleep. Even if the victim succeeded at its saving throw, it remains unaware it attempted a save against a psyche serpent's venom.

    Poison (Ex)
    Bite    —injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Wisdom, and a creature that takes Wisdom damage from this poison is considered a willing creature for the purposes of the psyche serpent's hypnotism occult skill unlock until the Wisdom damage is healed; cure 2 consecutive saves. The DC includes a +2 racial bonus.

    Mesmerist Spells Known (Level 9):
    0th (6): Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5): Beguiling Gift, Command, Color Spray, Hermean Potential, Paranoia
    2nd (4): Invisibility, Detect Thoughts, Enthrall, Glitterdust
    3rd (4): Charm Monster, Draconic Malice, Fear, Enchantment Foil

    Disciples of the Forked Tongue
    • 3x Mesmerist 6
    • 4x Mesmerist 5
    • 7x Mesmerist 4
    • 13x Mesmerist 3
    • 11x Mesmerist 2
    • 11x Mesmerist 1
    ***​

    Last of the three Great Orders were oft counted the Gold Robes, the Fire-Tamers, who craft their spells not by the dreams of dragons but by knowledge and perseverance, though it is a foolish apprentice indeed who repeats such words before the High Speaker. The last and only time it happened has already passed into Mysterium legend as the only time anyone heard Kaelos Zherys raise his voice in anger. "I studied more of sorcery in the Waning Days than any score of you could dream if you rotted in your beds until you were a hundred years old!" he had thundered, presumably before Lord Mlog could apply his enchanted hammer to the offender's skull.

    As the elder students told the story to the younger ones, the foolish Seeker might have preferred that fate to the countless chores and tasks the Fire Tamer gave him over the following months. What few knew and none spoke of too loudly, was that the maegi had eventually become one of the Order of Fire-Tamers, abandoning the deep fires of dragon blood for the wide breadth of scholarly knowledge. Mlog, it was said, held no respect for heritage and one would be better served searching for springs in the Red Waste than kindness in the depths of his soul. He did, however, appreciate diligence and hard work. The jest most often going around about the Gold Robes was that they sweated blood more often than they spilled it.

    Mlog the Fire Tamer, Master of the Order of Flame-Binders (Colloquially Gold Robes)
    Name: Mlog
    Alias: The Fire Tamer
    Age: 228
    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Race: Human (Medium Humanoid) (Mentally Azer)
    Level: 9
    Class: Wizard (Conjurer) 9
    Feats: Scribe Scroll(B), Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell, Metamagic School Focus (Conjuration)
    Flaw:
    Class Features:     Abrupt Jaunt (4/day), Domain Granted Power (Fire), Forbidden Schools (Illusion, Necromancy)
    Skill Tricks:

    HP:     37
    AC: 10 +1(DEX) +4 (Mage Armor) =15/17
    Initiative: +3
    Attack: +4 Bab
    Weapon Proficiency: Simple and Martial (Azer): All Hammers and Axes
    Immunities:     Possession/Mental Control

    STATS:
    8 (-1) Strength
    13 (+1) Dexterity
    14 (+2) Constitution
    19 (+4) Intelligence
    14 (+2 ) Wisdom
    8 (-1) Charisma

    SAVES
    FORTITUDE: 3 + 2 + 2 = 7/9
    REFLEX: 3 + 1 + 2 = 4/6
    WILL: 6 + 2 + 2 = 8/10

    SKILLS:
    Appraise: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Concentration: 12 +2(CON) = 14
    Knowledge (Arcana): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (Religion): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Knowledge (The Planes): 12 + 4 (INT) = 16
    Spellcraft: 12 + 4 (INT) = 16

    Supernatural Abilities:

    Fire Domain Power:
    Granted Power: Turn or destroy water creatures as a good cleric turns undead. Rebuke, command, or bolster fire creatures as an evil cleric rebukes undead. Use these abilities a total number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This granted power is a supernatural ability.

    Abrupt Jaunt (conjuration): You teleport up to 10 feet as an immediate action. You can't bring along any other creatures.

    Wizard Spells Prepared (Level 9):
    0th (4): Detect Magic, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation
    1st (5+1): Grease, Mage Armor, Obscuring Mist, Wall of Smoke, Magic Missile, Raging Flame
    2nd (5+1): Glitterdust, Incendiary Slime, Pyrotechnics, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Summon Monster II
    3rd (4+1): Sculpted Acid Breath, Alter Fortune, Dispel Magic, Sculpted Haboob, Caustic Smoke
    4th (3+1): Extended Summon Monster IV, Solid Fog, Dimensional Door, Orb of Force
    5th (1+1): Teleport, Sculpted Black Tentacles

    The Order of Flame Binders
    • 10 Flame Shields of the Third Circle (Abjuration Wizard 5)
    • 13 Flame Shields of the Second Circle (Abjuration Wizard 3)
    • 17 Flame Shields of the First Circle (Abjuration Wizard 1)
    ***​

    Beyond the Great Orders, the Mysterium also hosts those unfortunates with talents too wild or too meager to properly set upon the path of the sorcery. Those with a scholarly inclination often stayed on as scribes and assistants, occasionally looked down upon but generally well treated for well trained hands were not so common that a mage could afford to spit upon them. Those of a more martial bent were instead taught to turn the tempestuousness of their magic into another weapon beside cold steel, though with the most skilled of their number having returned to manage his family lands, their hopes of becoming a true and recognized order now lie with the Dragon King and the wider Scholarum.

    Spellblades
    • 1x Hexblade Level 5
    • 7x Hexblades Level 4
    • 2x Hexblades Level 3
    • 9x Hexblades level 1
    ***​

    Last in the orderings of the Mysterium were those who walked the softest yet spoke the loudest, for they had not yet learned their elders' skills. These were the initiates who dreamed of either joining the Order of Omens or being allowed to pursue their own studies with the full backing of the Mysterium, some even hoping to draw the eye of the High Speaker himself, though none had so far reached the lofty heights required to receive training in his arts.

    Unaffiliated Sorcerers and Junior Students:
    • 14x Sorcerer 6
    • 7x Sorcerer 5
    • 3x Sorcerer 3
    • 19x Sorcerer 2
    • 11x Sorcerer 1
    OOC: This came out as more of a rumor post cultural sample of the Mysterium than a report in the end since I feel this encapsulates the place better than a formal report would. You guys may notice the utter lack of any second string classes. That is because the Mysteryum is rather elitist. If you can't use 'proper magic' then you had best learn to swing a sword and be a hexblade. Otherwise it's 'gofer' for you. Thanks once again @Artemis1992 for the sheets. Not yet edited.
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox.

    This was really neat and some of the best worldbuilding we've seen for Volantis in a long time. It's also a good reminder that even what we now treat as midling magic is, from the perspective of most Planetosi humans, considered mighty magical power, possession of which is enough to render one fit to gather acolytes, apprentices, and devotees.
     
    Total rejection of weaker classes, eh?
    Will that change now that they have entered our system, or do I not have them produce any weaker magelings on the sheet?
     
    DragonParadox said:
    You guys may notice the utter lack of any second string classes. That is because the Mysteryum is rather elitist. If you can't use 'proper magic' then you had best learn to swing a sword and be a hexblade. Otherwise it's 'gofer' for you.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Well that's gonna change fast. We get every Archivist, Enchanter or Alchemist in the city crafting, scribing or brewing on the double next month. Volantis doesnt want Alchemical Factories? Fine more in Sorcerors Deep.
     
    Archivists aren't bad casters TBH... I think DP meant mostly Hedge Mages, Adepts, etc.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    They can start producing them as of next month, Zherys is fine with that change as long as you do not give the dabblers any important work
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    In a way, we kind of are compared to "office gofer". A Level 5 Hedge Mage is the equivalent of a highly trained skilled professional still, but they also have MAGIC. Really piddly magic, but more than most people in the world.

    And we have over a dozen of them managing production facilities for mass producing alchemical products.
     
    Crake said:
    In a way, we kind of are compared to "office gofer". A Level 5 Hedge Mage is the equivalent of a highly trained skilled professional still, but they also have MAGIC. Really piddly magic, but more than most people in the world.

    And we have over a dozen of them managing production facilities for mass producing alchemical products.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Zherys is quite impressed by those, he personally did not have much experience with alchemists and neither did his most experienced mages so he could not look into the option much.
     
    Last edited:
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