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

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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Dec 3, 2019 at 3:22 AM, finished with 69 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] Be cautious, this is not Rickard's body any more than any of the thousands of others he has worn. Rickard cannot leave his human host unattended for long, however, else he will be missed and questions eventually raised which could make the identity less useful to him.
    -[X] Teleport to Stone Hedge with Richard and Rina but remain hidden for now, casting Greater Arcane Sight and Blood Wishing a See Beyond spell to aid our investigations.
    --[X] Examine the keep for wards and lingering magical effects and auras while Dany keeps Rickard's insensate host under constant surveillance using Scrying. If Rickard takes possession of the body before we are ready to capture him, Dany will keep us updated to his movements so that we can ambush him at the most opportune time.
    ---[X] While investigating Stone Hedge, ask Bloodraven to quickly tell us more of what a Warg is, especially one that exists without a true body of its own; is it a common spirit, a unique form of Undead, an Incorporeal entity which is technically alive, self-perpetuating psychic energy, etc? What manner of spell can reveal the presence of a disembodied Warg, if there is any such thing. Can Wargs even exist in between host bodies, or do they transfer directly from one to the next? If they can exist between hosts, in what manner do they perceive their surroundings?
    ----[X] We will determine how best to handle Rickard depending on what we learn from Bloodraven.
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Dec 3, 2019 at 3:22 AM, finished with 69 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] Be cautious, this is not Rickard's body any more than any of the thousands of others he has worn. Rickard cannot leave his human host unattended for long, however, else he will be missed and questions eventually raised which could make the identity less useful to him.
    -[X] Teleport to Stone Hedge with Richard and Rina but remain hidden for now, casting Greater Arcane Sight and Blood Wishing a See Beyond spell to aid our investigations.
    --[X] Examine the keep for wards and lingering magical effects and auras while Dany keeps Rickard's insensate host under constant surveillance using Scrying. If Rickard takes possession of the body before we are ready to capture him, Dany will keep us updated to his movements so that we can ambush him at the most opportune time.
    ---[X] While investigating Stone Hedge, ask Bloodraven to quickly tell us more of what a Warg is, especially one that exists without a true body of its own; is it a common spirit, a unique form of Undead, an Incorporeal entity which is technically alive, self-perpetuating psychic energy, etc? What manner of spell can reveal the presence of a disembodied Warg, if there is any such thing. Can Wargs even exist in between host bodies, or do they transfer directly from one to the next? If they can exist between hosts, in what manner do they perceive their surroundings?
    ----[X] We will determine how best to handle Rickard depending on what we learn from Bloodraven.
Click to expand...
 
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Part MMMCCX: The Final Hunt
  • Threadmarks
    • The Final Hunt​

    Twenty Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    Though you would very much wish to end the threat with a final decisive move, you cannot be certain of what that move must be. Your knowledge of wargs is limited to the writings of an admittedly knowledgeable madman and the experiences of young Thora Crowl who has been with the Scholarum for less than six weeks. Thankfully there is one sorcerer whom you may call upon in such matters, both knowledgeable and implicitly trustworthy. "Lord Bloodraven, what do you know of wargs who endure without bodies, are they a form of parasitic undead, self-perpetuating psychic force or something more obscure?"

    Though you feel his will shift from some other task, like a craftsman carefully laying down his tools, he is quick to reply, dispensing with greetings at the urgency of your tone. "A warg who has chosen one or more bodies, often from been banished from their own body, is not dead, though parasitic is apt, they cannot risk remaining in the same vessel for long lest they bond indivisibly to the body. If it is a body unsuited for the gift of warging they simply lose it altogether, even in the body of another warg, difficult to gain access to to begin with, there is no certainty that they can replicate the circumstances of their first unmooring without doing catastrophic damage to their own mind..."

    "Watch the body," you motion to the scrying mirror for Dany, Waymar and your mother, that should be more than enough to deal with the host body should it awaken before you had properly scouted Stone Hedge. "Do not move unless he looks like he is about to escape somehow, keep us appraised of his movements "

    At your sister's grim nod you, Ser Richard and Rina cross the gulf of space to Stone Hedge, to the corridor outside the false huntsman's chambers. You see not wards upon the door, no sign of sorcery at all.

    Bloodraven's voice, which had faded in the brief moment of translocation, resumes the moment your feet touch solid ground again. "As they are not specters, nor among those who pray on them, wargs do not travel through what the Valyrians called the Ethereal Sphere, but rather through the Dreamlands, hence why warging usually manifests reflexively while sleeping. Unfortunately for your current purpose that means that wargs cannot be spied by means of spells meant to reveal lurking phantoms."

    "Is there another spell that might serve the task then?" you ask, beginning to wonder how much of a headache rogue wargs might prove to your inquisitors if you are having so much trouble pinning one down.

    "Alas, nothing so simple, Your Grace. The Dreamlands are too layered and complex, filled with the shades of memories and expectations, fears and hopes, to see into that realm while rooted in the waking world would reveal nothing more than a confusing flicker of a thousand-thousand veils," comes the reply, not pleasant hearing but useful just the same. "The best way to find an unbodied warg would be to dream-walk. I will seek him." You feel the greater of his attention flicker away.

    Inside the the huntmaster's chamber you find no hint of the being that has possessed him. A silver arrow rests prominently on a shelf, the prize to some archery contest, boots tucked in a corner complete with the ornate spurs of knighthood, even a copy of the Seven-Pointed Star tucked away next to the bed, nothing to draw suspicion, nothing to form attachment to.

    Then you notice the odd smell in the air, bitter and woodsy, like loam and half-rotted berries, you spy a mostly used cup next to the bed, perhaps some alchemical formula to help him reach achieve the needed trance. As you lift it you notice something odd about the unglazed rim, thin shallow scratches too fine to have been made with a knife. Made by cat's claws, or at least the claws of something just as small and nimble.

    "I cannot find any wanderers among the dreams of Stone Hedge, the warg you seek has already taken a body..." Bloodraven's voice returns a moment later.

    "And I think I know just which one," you reply. The thought flows seamlessly into your next spell, seeking a particular sort of beast.

    Most cats are hunting at this hour, for they prefer to do their stalking under the cover of night, but only one is moving with a purpose down the corridors of the keep and towards the southwest, inside Lady Catelyn's tower, you realize with a lurch in your stomach. Rickard means to possess her and the poisoned claws are his insurance should she be able to fight off his presence.

    Though you had never been within the lower parts of the tower in person you do not have the time to walk there and instead choose to translocate blind just in front of it. Knowing that you will likely not have a second chance you cast a spell to bind the possessing spirit to possessed form with the full strength of your sorcery.

    For the briefest moment you feel the rage and malice of the ancient Stark king contest the spell, but the enchantment holds firm. As he turns about desperately to flee Ser Richard nimbly picks the cat up at the nape of the neck, a most unceremonious end to his age old search for vengeance, though the scars remain. A possessed cat does not make the best common foe for Bracken and Blackwood to come together against.

    What do you do next?

    [] Speak to the Bracken and Blackwood heirs as planed
    -[] Mention the vengeful Warg
    -[] Do not mention the vengeful Warg

    [] Appeal directly to one of the feuding lords in light of your discovery
    -[] Lord Jonos Bracken
    -[] Lord Tytos Blackwood

    [] Write in

    OOC: You guys were lucky I rolled low for how advanced Rickard's latest scheme would be. On a higher roll you would have had to deal with a possessed Catelyn somehow and let's just say his plans would not have been nice on any level.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • This twist on why the Blackwoods and Brackens have been feuding for centuries need to be made known to the two lords. If they doubt it, lets turn the spirit in front of their eyes as a book, then give them each a copy.

    A threat and a solution at the same time.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    The Final Hunt​

    Twenty Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    Although you would very much wish to end the threat with a final decisive move, you cannot be certain of what that move must be. Your knowledge of wargs is limited to the writings madman, though an admittedly knowledgeable one, and the experiences of young Thora Crowl who has been with the Scholarum for less than six weeks. Thankfully, there is a sorcerer whom you may call upon in such matters, one both knowledgeable and implicitly trustworthy. "Lord Bloodraven, what do you know of wargs who endure without bodies? Are they a form of parasitic undead, self-perpetuating psychic force, or something more obscure?"

    You feel his will shift from some other task, like a craftsman carefully laying down his tools. He is quick to reply, dispensing with greetings at the urgency of your tone. "A warg who has chosen, or more often been banished from their body, is not dead. Calling them parasitic is apt, as they cannot risk remaining in the same vessel for long lest they bond indivisibly to the body. If it is a body unsuited for the gift of warging they simply lose the gift altogether. Even in the body of another warg, difficult to gain access to to begin with, there is no certainty that they can replicate the circumstances of their first unmooring without doing catastrophic damage to their own mind..."

    "Watch the body," you motion to the scrying mirror for Dany, Waymar, and your mother. That should be more than enough to deal with the host body should it awaken before you had properly scouted Stone Hedge. "Do not move unless he looks like he is about to escape somehow. Keep us appraised of his movements."

    At your sister's grim nod, you, Ser Richard, and Rina cross the gulf of space to Stone Hedge, arriving in the corridor outside the false huntsman's chambers. You see no wards upon the door, no sign of sorcery at all.

    Bloodraven's voice, which had faded in the brief moment of translocation, resumes the moment your feet touch solid ground again. "As they are not specters, nor among those who pray on them, wargs do not travel through what the Valyrians called the Ethereal Sphere, but rather though the Dreamlands, hence why warging usually manifests reflexively while sleeping. Unfortunately, for your current purpose that means that wargs cannot be spied by means of spells meant to reveal lurking phantoms."

    "Is there another spell that might serve the task then?" you ask, beginning to wonder how much of a headache rogue wargs might prove to your inquisitors if you are having so much trouble pinning one down.

    "Alas, nothing so simple, Your Grace. The Dreamlands are too layered and complex, filled with the shades of memories and expectations, fears and hopes. To see into that realm while rooted in the waking world would reveal nothing more than a confusing flicker of a thousand, thousand veils," comes the reply, not pleasant hearing but useful just the same. "The best way to find an unbodied warg would be to dream-walk. I will seek him." You feel the greater part of his attention abruptly withdraw.

    Inside the the huntmaster's chamber you find no hint of the being that has possessed him. A silver arrow rests prominently on a shelf, the prize to some archery contest. A pair of boots tucked in one corner of the chamber, complete with the ornate spurs indicative of knighthood, along with a copy of the Seven Pointed star tucked away next to the bed, each a reminder of a life subsumed. Nothing to draw suspicion, nothing to form attachment.

    Then you notice the odd smell in the air, bitter and woodsy, like loam and half rotted berries. You spy a mostly empty cup next to the bed, perhaps containing some alchemical formula to help him reach achieve the needed trance. As you lift it for a closer examination, you notice something odd about the unglazed rim. There are markings, thin and shallow scratches too fine to have been made with a knife, but rather carved by a cat's claws or those of something just as small and nimble.

    "I cannot find any wanderers among the dreams of Stone Hedge. The warg you seek has already taken a body..." Bloodraven's voice returns a moment later.

    "And I think I know just which one," you reply. The thought flows seamlessly into your next spell, seeking a particular sort of beast.

    Most cats are hunting at this hour, for they prefer to do their stalking under the cover of night, but only one is moving with a purpose down the corridors of the keep and towards the southwest. It is inside Lady Catelyn's tower, you realize with a lurch in your stomach. Rickard means to possess her, and the poisoned claws are his insurance should she be able to fight off his presence.

    You had never been within the lower parts of the tower in person, but you do not have the time to walk there. Instead you choose to translocate blind, appearing just in front of the possessed cat. Knowing that you will likely not have a second chance, you cast a spell to bind a possessing spirit to its host with the full strength of your sorcery.

    For the briefest moment you feel the rage and malice of the ancient Stark king contest the spell, but the enchantment holds firm. As he turns about desperately to flee, Ser Richard nimbly snatches the cat up at the nape of the neck. A most unceremonious end to his age old search for vengeance, though the scars remain. A possessed cat does not make the best common foe for Bracken and Blackwood to unite against.

    What do you do next?

    [] Speak to the Braken and Blackwood heirs as planned
    -[] Mention the vengeful Warg
    -[] Do not mention the vengeful Warg

    [] Appeal directly to one of the feuding lords in light of your discovery
    -[] Lord Jonos Bracken
    -[] Lord Tytos Blackwood

    [] Write in

    OOC: You guys were lucky I rolled low for how advanced Rickard's latest scheme would be. On a higher roll you would have had to deal with a possessed Catelyn somehow and let's just say his plans would not have been nice on any level. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Last edited:
    I wonder if we should even bother trying to convince the currents Lords Bracken or Blackwood of the truth, that their unending feud was engineered solely to punish the Blackwoods for a crime one of them committed thousands of years ago.

    Viserys: Behold the Doom Kitty, architect of all your woes.
     
    [X] Speak to the Bracken and Blackwood heirs as planned
    -[X] Mention the vengeful Warg and question the heirs whether or not they believe the truth is enough to overcome the enmity between their Houses.
     
    Goldfish said:
    I wonder if we should even bother trying to convince the currents Lords Bracken or Blackwood of the truth, that their unending feud was engineered solely to punish the Blackwoods for a crime one of them committed thousands of years ago.

    Viserys: Behold the Doom Kitty, architect of all your woes.
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    We can always polymorph him back into a man, sure it can be dispelled, but for the purpose of forcing him to confess, there's no problem with using polymorph to make him human.
     
    ryuan said:
    Not so funny when it's not a level one commoner, huh?
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    Eh, it is still pretty funny.

    Next time we meet Catelyn we should probably mention that the ancestral enemy of her house intended to kill her with a house cat, and would she get some way to defend herself please, because I'm pretty sure that cat would have stood a shot at killing her even without the poison.
     
    ...We could Permanence the Imprision Posessor btw, y'all, if we'd ever want to go for a really cruel and unusual punishment for a Warg.

    }: V

    Not that we would, a book is more useful and is free.
    Still, something to think about... :drevil::drevil::drevil:

    [X] Goldfish
     
    egoo said:
    ...We could Permanence the Imprision Posessor btw, y'all, if we'd ever want to go for a really cruel and unusual punishment for a Warg.

    }: V

    Not that we would, a book is more useful and is free.
    Still, something to think about... :drevil::drevil::drevil:

    [X] Goldfish
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    The spell is already permanent, unless it's removed he's not getting out of that cat.

    Or at least that's how I understand the fact, that the spells duration say permanent.
     
    @Goldfish I think the heirs are more likely to trust Viserys simply because they funnily enough have lived the better part of a generation without much overt conflict between Blackwood and Bracken, unlike their parents, so they aren't enthused about the blood feud. It's this fucking cat that kept kicking it off and encouraging the ones who did live through further conflict, such as Jonos and Tytos.

    The key here is, you are right, convince the heirs of the truth, and try to get them to reconcile. Secondary to that, convince both Lords to support us as we support them in their respective interests. Catelyn becomes a Lady, Tytos' claims to those lands is formally recognized by the Crown, both Houses gain a strong trade partner and further influence in the East, and of course both Houses naturally reap the rewards from swearing fealty to us, protection for service, and all the improvements to the realm that comes with it.

    [X] Goldfish
     
    I wonder if a Speak with Animals spell would be enough for Rickard!Kitty to communicate with people? He's not technically an animal, but he is inhabiting one. @DragonParadox?
     
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