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

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Tman2033 said:
Oh, is Snowfire not around anymore? That's terribly sad. Those plans right after Rhaella's resurrection were really something.
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We've lost a few in regretful ways but Snowfire's was the worst in how it happened imo, because the climax happened behind closed doors, it seemed entirely avoidable from what we did see and the whole context for his leaving became basically nonexistent within maybe a week of his leaving.

I miss the shaggy dog.
 
Deliste said:
We've lost a few in regretful ways but Snowfire's was the worst in how it happened imo, because the climax happened behind closed doors, it seemed entirely avoidable from what we did see and the whole context for his leaving became basically nonexistent within maybe a week of his leaving.

I miss the shaggy dog.
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Thanks for the info. I usually try to read the comments in between updates, but every once and a while I just skip over them, so I miss some things. Not that I've reached the part where Snowfire stopped appearing, but I might end up missing that part.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 30, 2019 at 4:20 AM, finished with 124 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] Investigate the omens and portents that brought Catelyn and Hoster together if indeed they were real and not rationalization of their feelings.
    -[X] Step one of this process would be the simplest. If Catelyn has had her memories of that time manipulated in anyway, by the auspices of one conspiracy or another, you can restore those with a single Miracle. Ask for her consent of course, though beforehand getting as close an account of what happened that night in the countryside as she can provide, straining her mind for accuracy. If there's any discrepancy, the spell would break through any modification you care to name.
    -[X] If no discrepancy exists, try to thread backwards in another direction and see who might want to attempt Brynden's more subtle brand of manipulations by using details she's provided.
    -[X] Perhaps make use of the spell Hindsight using Wild Arcana?
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@Crake,
if Barbara has a 'I've sworn an oath' problem, could we involve one or the other Chosen? That would show that we actively try to heal old wounds, not exactly what a fire-spewing conquering maniac is expected to do.
 
Crake said:
It was some desperate research created by a madman who was stuck in a really shitty situation. It's really not much of a wonder they didn't use it.

Edit: What really gets me about that whole Lys arc, we brought back our ancestor Laenor Targaryen, and really their situation was arguably even more desperate and even more shitty, yet they remained rational enough to be worth bringing back.

Valyrians... I guess they can't all be like Malarys, and our other ancient Dragonlord would probably be just as paranoiac and murderous if it weren't for the fact that we literally pushed heaven and earth aside to bring her kids back.

For every not-completely-insane or reprehensible dragonlord we revive, there's thirty nine more who are absolute shitbirds though. Which is a real shame.
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The situation was really awful for Laenor, but he wasn't quite trapped alone and isolated for centuries. He had the two other Syrax Clerics to keep him company, for whatever that is worth when all three of them were combined into a single Undead creature. Maddening, but only to a certain degree, I imagine, rather than completely ruinous to one's sanity in the manner the Lyseni Lich experienced.

Probably didn't hurt that Laenor, as a high level Cleric, would have a very high Wisdom attribute, while the Lich was a Sorcerer or Wizard and probably used Wisdom as a dump stat.
 
Crake said:
I mean take a look at Malarys. He's stretched so far past the horizon of enlightenment that he's bound to wrap back around to Lawful Neutral by sheer practicality and lack of nuance to any of his more morally ambiguous actions.
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I genuinely disagree with this whole character arc, you know. It's not my place to write him, but the reasoning here really does feel weak.
Malarys' evil was never sadism, or a drive to see his enemies utterly crushed in all things, or even a tendency towards killing not just the enemy but also all the innocents even vaguely tangential to them. Malarys' evil was "he has so little empathy and regard for sentient life that he can sacrifice random slaves for rational reasons" and that facet of his personality hasn't ended. He may act more like a Neutral person because we've put him in a position where he acknowledges that his PR with the peasants matters, but his personality has shown no signs of changing.
That's great and it's very useful, but should it really come with an Alignment change?
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
I genuinely disagree with this whole character arc, you know. It's not my place to write him, but the reasoning here really does feel weak.
Malarys' evil was never sadism, or a drive to see his enemies utterly crushed in all things, or even a tendency towards killing not just the enemy but also all the innocents even vaguely tangential to them. Malarys' evil was "he has so little empathy and regard for sentient life that he can sacrifice random slaves for rational reasons" and that facet of his personality hasn't ended. He may act more like a Neutral person because we've put him in a position where he acknowledges that his PR with the peasants matters, but his personality has shown no signs of changing.
That's great and it's very useful, but should it really come with an Alignment change?
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I tend to agree, Malarys hasn't really changed he was just always reasonable enough that he'd fit into the system that works.

He is more and more seeing the flaws of the system he used to operate within but those perspective shifts have always been efficiency driven rather than empathy/sympathy driven.

If it ever became clear that sacrificing peasants was the best way to do things again he would do so without blinking, Viserys as an example is different in that he would, at personal cost, strive to find another way and then resort to peasant sacrifice if necessary.
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
I genuinely disagree with this whole character arc, you know. It's not my place to write him, but the reasoning here really does feel weak.
Malarys' evil was never sadism, or a drive to see his enemies utterly crushed in all things, or even a tendency towards killing not just the enemy but also all the innocents even vaguely tangential to them. Malarys' evil was "he has so little empathy and regard for sentient life that he can sacrifice random slaves for rational reasons" and that facet of his personality hasn't ended. He may act more like a Neutral person because we've put him in a position where he acknowledges that his PR with the peasants matters, but his personality has shown no signs of changing.
That's great and it's very useful, but should it really come with an Alignment change?
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There can be a fine line between LE and LN, and Malarys has yet to cross it. If/When he does, I'm sure it will it will be accompanied by sufficient character building to justify the transition.

Right now, like ya'll have said, he's still got some of that Stranger in a Strange Land disassociation going on. He's operating within our cultural/legal framework rather than the one he grew up and matured in, and so far he's seen that it can work just as well if not better than what he knew before the Doom. The biggest difference, however, is that in our service he has a chance to change while in his previous time that was extremely unlikely due to the mores of his society and the reinforcing factors which encouraged him further down the path of LE.

All that said, Malarys is a great minion and even better character who we've seen grow a lot over the past couple years. If he stays LE, that's perfectly fine with me.
 
I agree with Talon and Deliste. If Malarys is confronted with a problem that could either be solved by sapient sacrifice without PR impact or investing time, resources and risking a subpar outcome, he would go for the latter because that's Viserys policy. Not because he'd think it the better option.
 
Jack vile Ripper said:
*smacks forehead*

Ah shit, I forgot about it....

Ahem, about that. Why... did we choose to resurrect him? Is it another examples of our whim? Or something else entirely...

Also, this Laenor. This Laenor Targaryen is the one from Old Valyria, yes? Not that Laenor Velaryion that married Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Dance of the Dragon, right?
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Takesis said:
DuesalMagpie basically. Also because he told us the true name of a Marilith which we fed to Yss to get the nagas.
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Jack vile Ripper said:
Aaaah, mutual benefits and extending the Dragon's Hoard, huh? Understandable. Also he's the one from Old Valyria right?
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No, it wasn't because of me.
1. Because this guy is family, even if he's distant family.
2. We had most of the work already done thanks to resurrecting Amrelath so it really wasn't hard at all.
TalonofAnathrax said:
I genuinely disagree with this whole character arc, you know. It's not my place to write him, but the reasoning here really does feel weak.
Malarys' evil was never sadism, or a drive to see his enemies utterly crushed in all things, or even a tendency towards killing not just the enemy but also all the innocents even vaguely tangential to them. Malarys' evil was "he has so little empathy and regard for sentient life that he can sacrifice random slaves for rational reasons" and that facet of his personality hasn't ended. He may act more like a Neutral person because we've put him in a position where he acknowledges that his PR with the peasants matters, but his personality has shown no signs of changing.
That's great and it's very useful, but should it really come with an Alignment change?
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I really agree with this. The notion of Malarys switching from LE to LN seemed odd and forced to me.
 
TNEs punishment(s) was actually ridiculous, I admire his resilience because I'm not sure I wouldn't have walked off the site with the combo of nonsense they hit him with.
 
Well if someone brings up problematic discussion often (or what you consider to be problematic) it's easier to suspend them than try to bring some nuance to site moderation.
 
Alright, here it is then. Continuation of my proposal for Research-actions...
GENERAL PROPOSAL OF ADVENTURE/DELVE-ACTIONS IN 12th MONTH
ESSOS:
[] Chains and Collars, of Hells and Mortals: Contain the further spread of Asmodeus pawns through the actions of High-ranking Devils that haven't been dealt with the last month. Gain insight into the best approach to take over the Slavers' Bay afterward. -- A month-long action, really.
---- Malarys, Garin, 3 Mind Dragons, Drow!Assasins, Orphne Feylord, 1 Umbral Stalker, 3 Umbral Spies, the Asura, The Misfits (3 - without their alchemist).

BEYOND THE WALL:
[] The Barrows of the Lost Clans: Finish cleaning up the halls of Lost Clans of Freefolk, filled with risen dead – the bodies unburned by foolish people of now nameless clans. (Opposition: ??; Rewards: ??)
---- 1 Yssian Guardian Naga, Velen the Phoenix birb, Oberyn, Thoros of Myr

[] Saltwives' Lament: Standing on the shore of the Sunset Sea upon Sea-Dragon point is a tower of white stone, that seems to have been dipped in salt, local legend claiming from the tears of the kidnapped maidens locked within by cruel ironborn lords. Supposedly such was their sorrow that the sky itself took pity upon them and spat forth a mighty storm to sunder the longships that would take them on to the Iron Isles. Whether they were then slain as witches, or if the deed itself required spilling their heart's blood none can say for certain but all tales agree that one can still hear their sobs and cries whenever a storm strikes those shores. What is clear is that no bird or beast will approach the tower willingly and when Boloodraven drove a raven to do so despite its instincts he briefly spotted pale figure upon the tower's crumbling battlements
Likely Foes: Ghosts and Wraiths
CR: 5-7
---- Danar & Alyssa Crowl, Kira Windgraced, Mors 'Crowfood' Umber

WESTEROS:
[] A Cult of Personality: In Cinderwood Glade near Ashford, what seems to be a small cult dedicated to a charismatic enchanter with little interest beyond fulfilling his base desires through his arts appeared. Marked for possible recruitment by the devils due to being clever enough to keep his hand away from the high nobility unlike most such power-drunk mages, this man needs to be dealt with – one way or another.
(Opposition: ??; Rewards: ??)
---- Aradia the Huntress, Waymar, Tyene

[] The Curse of Brightbarrow: "Brightgallow near Three Towers, the seat of House Costayne in the Reach, is the site of some sort of powerful transformative curse theorized to be caused by wishcraft gone awry. Most of the villagers were put to the sword following instances of banditry and cannibalism, but there is an indication that Garth 'The Gallant', a fey-sworn knight, has preserved the lives of the youngest inhabitants who were them taken to Greyshield in secret. Investigate the site in search of whatever artifact had worked the initial transformation.
(Opposition: ??; Rewards: ??)
---- Rina, Dany, Richard, Mereth

[] Capping off a Danger: Cleaned out as most of darker WylkFae have been by Faith and the clansmen, some still escaped. Hunt down the dangerous Redcap murdering travelers, now moved to Kingswood in search of more prey. (Opposition: ??, Redcaps; Rewards: ??)
---- Glyra, Ser Bonifer Hasty, Ser Gerold 'Darkstar' Dayne, Jeyne Weaver (after visiting Gith), Roger Reyne.

OTHER PLANES:
[] The Rot of Stone, on paths of Trade: Clear out the infestation of Rotstone near the Xorn trade route.
(Opposition: ??, Aberrations; Rewards: ??). -- Guaranteed Aberrations, possibly Beholders.
---- Xor, Lady Saenena, Zherys, 1 Yssian Guardian Naga, The Seeker,

[] A Fire, on Fire Turned: Aid the rebel Salamander Kingdoms by striking at their rivals.
(Opposition: ??; Rewards: ??)
---- Amrelath, Melisande, Siduri & Yrten + crew, 24 Erynies

Unused Companions, Minions:
Teana, Sandor, Nettles&Sheepstealer, Valaena Velaryon, Yrael, Wyla, Anya, Mia, Shara the Inquisitors, Azema (if she's alive after Rakshasa-encounter, kek), Rhango (+ his riders + Devils we supplied him with), Asha & Theon, Blight's Bane , Moonsong (+ Moonchaser)
[] Chains and Collars, of Hells and Mortals: We need to keep a lid on this, so much so that the people assigned won't be moved to dealing with Tiamat's forces, even. While this isn't a full-Companion effort needed to break Asmodeus hold there, it is good enough for now.

[] The Barrows of the Lost Clans: Clean-up that is important in the long run.

[] Saltwives' Lament: More of the above, Others have way too many places of power active there still.

[] A Cult of Personality: We've let this one fester since we heard about it, so it is all but guaranteed to have gotten into bad shit now. Still, it's our place, so we'll cull it out.

[] The Curse of Brightbarrow: Something dark, not cleaned away thoroughly enough?
Do we even need to bet that there's something yet worse there now?

[] Capping off a Danger: Fey are assholes, asshole Fey are even more of assholes, let's kill em off? :V

[] The Rot of Stone, on paths of Trade: Would help our Xorn allies if nothing else - we'll be getting more Iron from them via this, if nothing else.

[] A Fire, on Fire Turned: We can start supporting the Rebellion at any point - but since neither Amy, nor Mely have a good high-level location to visit otherwise, we may as well continue halping War Effort from that direction.
@Goldfish, suggestions about team-copmposition would be appreciated.

@everyone, note, that the above is composed with following 3 actions bein one-off and "free" as such, in mind:
[] Killing off GC spies in Yi Ti
[] Attacking Shadow Fortress
[] Attacking GC main force
 
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 30, 2019 at 4:20 AM, finished with 124 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] Investigate the omens and portents that brought Catelyn and Hoster together if indeed they were real and not rationalization of their feelings.
    -[X] Step one of this process would be the simplest. If Catelyn has had her memories of that time manipulated in anyway, by the auspices of one conspiracy or another, you can restore those with a single Miracle. Ask for her consent of course, though beforehand getting as close an account of what happened that night in the countryside as she can provide, straining her mind for accuracy. If there's any discrepancy, the spell would break through any modification you care to name.
    -[X] If no discrepancy exists, try to thread backwards in another direction and see who might want to attempt Brynden's more subtle brand of manipulations by using details she's provided.
    -[X] Perhaps make use of the spell Hindsight using Wild Arcana?
Click to expand...
 
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Part MMMCCIV: A Frightful Chill
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    • A Frightful Chill ​

    Twenty Third Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    You nod firmly in agreement with the sentiment, but your thoughts race onward to fit more of the pieces of the past few months in place. "My lady, you said that Lord Hoster and you did not trust in omens and portents alone, but there were such signs you interpreted as bringing peace to your two Houses through your union?"

    "Hoster did, I prefer to keep to more... earthly concerns," Lady Catelyn replies, likely unsure of how to politely express a wariness of magic to a gathering almost entirely made up of sorcerers. "The storm was strange though, it came so suddenly." She shivers in memory of an old fright.

    "I see," you answer thoughtfully. "I do not mean to bring up unpleasant memories, but I would look upon your recollections of that day if you would allow it, my lady, to ensure that no malignant power has clouded or altered them. Too often what is taken for sign or portent is a sign of darker things at work."

    "What a dreadful thought, you do not believe in sweetening unpleasant truths to fit a lady's palette do you, Your Grace?" Thankfully the words are said in jest, not reproach.

    "No more than I would to any other," you answer plainly. "Time and again I have found supposed feminine weakness to be more a manner of expectation than any inherent distinction, a fact which present company bears out."

    Dany gives a cheerful wave to exercise the point while Rina merely smiles. Though Lady Catelyn soon joins her, her expression is more wistful. You cannot imagine she has many such confirmations of her worth. Hopefully young Lord Hoster is one, she has a good head on her shoulders for one thrust so young into the world of Westerosi politics.

    As you had done with Joran to spy his supposed mentor you look back through the lady's memories for that fateful day in the Greenwood. There is no blurring of sights nor muffling of sounds save that which the passage of time would account for with the scene coming into terrifing focus when her palfrey charged headlong through the underbrush only to shatter a leg in a mistimed jump and trap her beneath its dying form, her own ankle twisted too badly to support her weight even when she manged to crawls free. Easy enough to see what might have inclined her to charity even towards a Blackwood who would mend the wound with a single seemingly miraculous touch, but it is not that part of the day that concerns you.

    Again and again you return to the moment that the horse first spooked, a difficult prospect as memories are not arrayed as the pages of a book or letters upon a page, the weight of future-fear and future-pain impinges upon the recollection. There... not sight not sound but a feeling, a shiver down the spine not from fear but from a sudden and unnatural chill. Alas, however, as much you strain to sense more Lady Catelyn's memories of the moment can offer no further answers.

    "No one has altered your memories, but there is something that might mark a subtle hand manipulating events," as Bloodraven does, you think but obviously do not say. However, much as the lady might be willing to forgive House Blackwood she would not doubt share the unease of most of Westeros knowing that a particular Blackwood heir yet lives. "Is there anything else unusual about that day, anyone who suggested that you might go riding on that path at that precise time?"

    She shakes her head. "I was visiting the smallfolk in Copperidge, that's about six miles north of here, with food and medicines. Mother used to do that years ago, but she says she is too old these days and 'that's why she went to all the trouble of having so many daughters'." From the smile that accompanies the words it is clear her relationship with her mother had not suffered as much as that with her father.

    "Why did they need food and medicine specifically then?" Rina asks before you have the chance to do so.

    "There was a bout of Sweating Sickness, though a mild one, thank the Mother," Lady Catelyn replies. "You don't think someone could have caused that just to..."

    "In ill hands magic can sicken as easily as heal," Dany confirms gravely. "Though it would probably be simpler to feign a mild case than a fatal attack, a physician might be able to tell the difference from the bodies." From the look she gives you it is clear that the notion of a physician looking over the bodies of dead smallfolk is not really what made her worried. A full blown sweating sickness epidemic might have distracted Lady Catelyn from her budding ill-fortuned idyll.

    So warned you peer into the future and the past for answers reflected in the dreams coiled around history like a serpent around a latter twined. Answers you get, but none that are easily untangled:

    Ware the touch of twice dead hands
    A guest unbidden in the shadow stands
    The victim turned thief at last
    The Bane of those made Outcast    ​

    Whatever had struck Copperidge had not been Sweating Sickness, and something is plotting to turn the rivers red with the blood of Blackwood and Braken both.

    What do you do?

    [] Travel to Copperidge to investigate further
    -[] Write in

    [] Seek out the guards who rode with Lady Catelyn that stormy day, perhaps they noticed something she did not
    -[] Write in

    [] Make use of magic to directly see the storm
    -[] Write in

    [] Split up
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: Sorry this took so long. As always divination verse causing trouble, though in this case I feel it was worth writing up in full instead of summarizing. For anyone interested Sweating Sickness is an actual historical illness for all its bland name.
     
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