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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 11, 2019 at 3:23 PM, finished with 71 posts and 18 votes.
  • [X] Speak with the Red Priests of Volantis and commune with the Red God himself to ask for aid against Tiamat
    [X] It is long past the time to meet and deal with Faceless Men of Braavos.
    -[X] They are a part of the realm now - and so they fall under the laws of Scholarum, they shall submit all the lore they have.
    --[X] Ensure all the lore of Faceless Men is submitted to review, but with how strong of an organization they are, they may desire for trade instead.
    --[X] Trade for artifacts and/or magic items, if they possess any.
    -[X] And while we are at it... Their organization shall either have a tight set of limits on what they can do within the confines of your Empire - or have no place in it at all. We cannot afford an unaffiliated cult of Assasins running around.
    --[X] Talk to the leadership of the Faceless, and try to find a middle ground - we'd waste far too much time purging them, after all, and there will always be better targets to turn their ire towards, than mere mortal men.
    [X] Speak to the Mallery Brothers and see if you can contact Mother Earth though the younger of the two
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Part MMMCCXXVI: The Ordering of Faith
  • Threadmarks
    • The Ordering of Faith ​

    Twenty Fifth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    From He'Nekar you head west, but not as far west as you had come, only to Volantis the Great, newest and, according to those who live here, grandest part of your realm. While you would not go so far as to agree with the point in all matters, the city does hold much more that is remarkable, not least in the arcane arts. The Mysterium had been sharing its lore since the first day after the proclamation of the city's acceptance of your crown and laws, but the Red Priests had been more hesitant for they had already sworn themselves no Another long before your dominion had come to these shores. You have much to say to them, and hopefully to Him also.

    Given your purpose here you are not the least surprised to find Lya joining you, though Ser Richard you had not expected. "I remember that first journey to Lys as well as you do, Your Grace," the knight points out.

    "Ah... poor Haldon, he was in dreadful straights," you shake your head. "I doubt any communication will resemble that. I understand R'hllor a fair bit more than I did then," in ways that would be rather awkward to admit to some of His priests, you think but do not say. "And I hope He knows us all better for our works, not least here in Volantis."

    Unlike in He'Nekar you enter the Great Temple wearing your own face for its myriad of doors and hidden ways allow you to do so discretely and without disrupting service or devotions, said doors opening the way to a labyrinth of corridors complex enough that you feel you might need a Wayfinder or other magic to manage it without a guide.

    Thankfully said guide, a tall somewhat taciturn Lorathi with the fading brand of slavery upon his cheek, treats you with the expected courtesy due a king and nothing more. As you pass a group of young women wearing flame shaped silver bells, Lya breaks the silence surprised: "That is still happening?"

    "They are not slaves, but yes, some of the temple courtesans have remained in service of the Lord of Light after they have been freed, many more have come seeking employment. They trust the Flame Keeper far more than they do brothel keepers that not so long ago made use of the whip or the threat of withholding food to obtain their compliance."

    "What of those who left?" you press. Many of the Fiery Hand had joined the Legion and some of them have risen quite high, but it had not occurred to you to ponder what had happens to those who were sworn to the Red God in other ways.

    "Most sought their fortunes in other ports. It is..." the man hesitates. "Not shameful, of course, for them to set aside their vows when the law of the land has shifted to allow them to seek new paths in life, but it was unprecedented. I am afraid there was some mockery from those who do not like all the changes, the women were easy targets. Those who left were given silver and a blessing by the Flame Keeper, just as we would do with any priest who finds that he does not have the vocation to serve the Lord of Light in that way."

    Part of you wants to probe further, but you know that no matter how powerful you become you are unlikely to slay the demon of malicious gossip. You are content that matters had been settled amiably and as for present agreements, while you can imagine quite a few septons railing against a temple that also serves as an accredited brothel, you have no reason to meddle in either worship or business.

    "Ah... here we are," your guide knocks on a familiar door and you find yourself once more in the austere quarters of Flame Keeper Benerro.

    The priest greets you graciously, but also with a genuine smile for your company. Still, there is only so much time for pleasantries and you must soon come to the reason for your visit.

    "Article Three," the old priest sighs before giving the quote. "To hold fealty to the Scholarum above petty partisan interests and never willfully work against its interests." With a shake of the head he adds. "I do wish the language were less abrupt, it had caused some trouble among the Keepers of Records. We who keep alive the Flame of Our Lord, consider his will neither petty nor partizan for it is the concern of all men, but I understand the spirit of it and I am convinced the Lord of Light does also. The concern I have with the matter is more practical. Much of the magical lore we keep here in Volantis is meant to be used by those who have been inducted into the priesthood. It would be perilous to call upon them as they are for those not inducted. I have no doubt that there is much to be learned from it by those with the inclination and the skill," here he nods to Lya.

    "But you would rather not share them with the Scholarum at large?" you prompt. You can sympathize with the point certainly, they have been guarding this lore for centuries, and to the responsibility of any reasonable mage to preserve his fellow man they must consider their responsibilities to their god. That said you would very much prefer to have the books available, both because there are many others besides Lya whom you suspect could benefit from the lore and because you do not wish to set a precedent of censoring knowledge sight unseen.

    "Nothing so drastic," Benerro replies. "I wish to send an observer to Sorcerer's Deep, an invested priest and skilled sorcerer in his own right whose role it would be to advise on matters of borrowing or otherwise making use of the ritual lore. Nothing would be binding upon the Scholarum as a whole, of course, only consultation."

    What do you reply?

    [] Accept

    [] Refuse
    -[] Write in reasoning

    [] Offer a counter-proposal
    -[] Write in

    OOC: Benerro is in a rather delicate position here because apart from the Record Keepers being less than enthused with the idea the lore he was asked to share comes with the very real possibility of divine smiting if misused, like someone figuring 'sympathetic connection to R'hllor, I'm going to try to leech his power'.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    "Nothing so drastic," Benero replies. "I wish to send an observer to Sorcerer's Deep, and invested priest and skilled sorcerer in his own right whose role it would be to advise on matters of borrowing or otherwise making use of the ritual lore. Nothing would be binding upon the Scholarum as a whole of course only consultation."
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    @DragonParadox, will this lore include the ritual to ward against tainted flame which Benerro used to trap N'Gath in that burning mansion?

    I was hoping we could use that as a much wider barrier encircling our genie fortress so that we can have as few escapees as possible once the Living Brass scheme goes into effect.
     
    Duesal said:
    @DragonParadox, will this lore include the ritual to ward against tainted flame which Benerro used to trap N'Gath in that burning mansion?

    I was hoping we could use that as a much wider barrier encircling our genie fortress so that we can have as few escapees as possible once the Living Brass scheme goes into effect.
    Click to expand...
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    Yes, it does, though it would need to be heavily modified. that was designed for that situation alone.
     
    tarrangar said:
    I would like to have one of my reagent trees planted in SD, the earlier we start the blood drive charity, the earlier it can begin to pay for making healers to travel our empire.
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    Thats a lower priority in my mind as we are swimming in money and the seeds I pointed out provide a much more immediate benefit. Plus there is no mechanical bonus to provinces for keeping healers in the new system as such its a waste of to put them there. I guess it would slowly pump up our numbers of healers but Its much easier to just buy them outright no? Its akin to a minor source of income, instead of that might as well open a new company, at least that will give more profit. But if you can convince me that its worth it, I will support it.

    @DragonParadox Any update on mass PvE banner mechanic?
     
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    Trek said:
    Thats a lower priority in my mind as we are swimming in money and the seeds I pointed out provide a much more immediate benefit. Plus there is no mechanical bonus to provinces for keeping healers in the new system as such its a waste of to put them there. I guess it would slowly pump up our numbers of healers but Its much easier to just buy them outright. Its akin to a minor source of income, instead of that might as well open a new company, at least that will give more profit. But if you can convince me that its worth it, I will support it.

    @DragonParadox Any update on mass PvE banner mechanic?
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    I'll do that first thing in the morning. It's past midnight for me right now.
     
    Yes...

    There's also the question of how USEFUL a lot of this lore would be without a positive connection to R'hllor.

    As far as this issue goes... hm.

    The guy they send is pretty much a fig leaf, but I feel like he might have struck on the ore of a useful idea here.
     
    We should accept but with conditions to restrict his actual power and ensure it REMAINS an advisory role rather than one of administrative power. Also we should meet said person to gauge them for ourselves before we commit to anything
     
    As always this guy is the most amicable and likeable priest in the quest. Honestly I'd say anyone who tries that should be given the Auran Waters award for cleansing the gene pool.

    Same goes for all divine lore really. It's there in the Scholorum because it's the law all lore is in the Scholorum. If any twobit hedgemage decides that constitutes a right to siphon divine power from any deity he feels like he's not even worth feeding to the Old Gods with that kind of a low intelligence penalty.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    "Nothing so drastic," Benero replies. "I wish to send an observer to Sorcerer's Deep, an invested priest and skilled sorcerer in his own right whose role it would be to advise on matters of borrowing or otherwise making use of the ritual lore. Nothing would be binding upon the Scholarum as a whole of course only consultation."
    Click to expand...
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    Alright, let's break this down.

    If it's only an advisory role then the power of any decisions still rests in our hands, and the lore as a whole still goes to Lya's library.

    This honestly isn't a bad arrangement for us.

    @DragonParadox
    1. Would we be allowed to use this cleric for ritual wardings of various places?
    2. Can we get the mechanics of these wards tomorrow?
     
    DragonParadox said:
    The Ordering of Faith ​

    Twenty Fifth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    From He'Nekar, you head west, but not as far west as you had come, only to Volantis the Great, newest and, according to those who live here, grandest part of your realm. While you would not go so far as to agree with the point in all matters, the city does hold much more that is remarkable, not least in the arcane arts. The Mysterium had been sharing its lore since the first day after the proclamation of the city's acceptance of your crown and laws, but the Red Priests had been more hesitant, for they had already sworn themselves no another Lord long before your dominions had come to these shores. You have much to say to them, and hopefully to Him also.

    Given your purpose here, you are not the least surprised to find Lya joining you, though Ser Richard you had not expected. "I remember that first journey to Lys as well as you do, Your Grace," the knight points out.

    "Ah... poor Haldon, he was in dreadful straights," you shake your head. "I doubt any communication will resemble that. I understand the R'hllor a fair bit more than I did then." In ways that would be rather awkward to admit to some of His priests, you think but do not say. "And I hope He knows us all better for our works, not least here in Volantis."

    Unlike in He'Nekar, you enter the Great Temple wearing your own face, for its myriad doors and hidden ways allow you to do so discretely and without disrupting service or devotions. Those doors open the way to a labyrinth of corridors complex enough that you feel you might need a Wayfinder or other magic to manage it without a guide.

    Thankfully the guide, a tall somewhat taciturn Lorathi with the fading brand of slavery upon his cheek, treats you with the expected courtesy due a king and nothing more. As you pass a group of young women wearing flame shaped silver bells, Lya breaks the silence in surprise, "That is still happening?"

    "They are not slaves, but yes, some of the temple courtesans have remained in service of the Lord of Light after they have been freed. Many more have come seeking employment. They trust the Flame Keeper far more than they do brothel keepers that not so long ago made use of the whip or the threat of withholding food to obtain their compliance."

    "What of those who left?" you press. Many of the Fiery Hand had joined the Legion and some of them have risen quite high, but it had not occurred to you to ponder what had happened to those who were sworn to the Red God in other ways.

    "Most sought their fortunes in other ports. It is..." the man hesitates. "Not shameful, of course, for them to set aside their vows when the law of the land has shifted to allow them to seek new paths in life, but it was unprecedented. I am afraid there was some mockery from those who do not like all the changes, and the women were easy targets. Those who left were given silver and a blessing by the Flame Keeper, just as we would do with any priest who finds that he does not have the vocation to serve the Lord of Light in that way."

    Part of you wants to probe further, but you know that no matter how powerful you become you are unlikely to slay the demon of malicious gossip. You are content that matters had been settled amiably, and as for present agreements, while you can imagine quite a few septons railing against a temple that also serves as an accredited brothel, you have no reason to meddle in either worship or business.

    "Ah... here we are," your guide knocks on a familiar door and you find yourself once more in the austere quarters of Flame Keeper Benero.

    The priest greets you graciously, but also with a genuine smile for your company. Still, there is only so much time for pleasantries and you must soon come to the reason for your visit.

    "Article Three," the old priest sighs before giving the quote. "To hold fealty to the Scholarum above petty partisan interests and never willfully work against its interests." With a shake of the head, he adds. "I do wish the language were less abrupt. It has caused some trouble among the Keepers of Records. We who keep alive the Flame of Our Lord consider his will neither petty nor partizan, for it is the concern of all men, but I understand the spirit of it and I am convinced the Lord of Light does also. The concern I have with the matter is more practical. Much of the magical lore we keep here in Volantis is meant to be used by those who have been inducted into the priesthood. It would be perilous to call upon them as they are for those not inducted. I have no doubt that there is much to be learned from it by those with the inclination and the skill," here he nods to Lya.

    "But you would rather not share them with the Scholarum at large?" you prompt. You can certainly sympathize with the point. They have been guarding this lore for centuries, and to the responsibility of any reasonable mage to preserve his fellow man, they must consider their responsibilities to their god. That said, you would very much prefer to have the books available, both because there are many others besides Lya whom you suspect could benefit from the lore and because you do not wish to set a precedent of censoring knowledge, sight unseen.

    "Nothing so drastic," Benero replies. "I wish to send an observer to Sorcerer's Deep, an invested priest and skilled sorcerer in his own right, whose role it would be to advise on matters of borrowing or otherwise making use of the ritual lore. Nothing would be binding upon the Scholarum as a whole, of course, only consultation."

    What do you reply?

    [] Accept

    [] Refuse
    -[] Write in reasoning

    [] Offer a counter-proposal
    -[] Write in

    OOC: Benero is in a rather delicate position here because, apart from the Record Keepers being less than enthused with the idea, the lore he was asked to share comes with the very real possibility of divine smiting if misused, like someone figuring 'sympathetic connection to R'hllor, I'm going to try to leech his power'. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Duesal said:
    Alright, let's break this down.

    If it's only an advisory role then the power of any decisions still rests in our hands, and the lore as a whole still goes to Lya's library.

    This honestly isn't a bad arrangement for us.

    @DragonParadox
    1. Would we be allowed to use this cleric for ritual wardings of various places?
    2. Can we get the mechanics of these wards tomorrow?
    Click to expand...
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    1. Sure, but he's not anything special in and of himself, you could ask other clerics for it just as well
    2. Yes, I'll get to it in the morning
     
    Trek said:
    Thats a lower priority in my mind as we are swimming in money and the seeds I pointed out provide a much more immediate benefit. Plus there is no mechanical bonus to provinces for keeping healers in the new system as such its a waste of to put them there. I guess it would slowly pump up our numbers of healers but Its much easier to just buy them outright no? Its akin to a minor source of income, instead of that might as well open a new company, at least that will give more profit. But if you can convince me that its worth it, I will support it.

    @DragonParadox Any update on mass PvE banner mechanic?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The profit of such a tree, is relative to how many people give blood offerings to it, so the profits are likely to not be that high at first, but they will climb, as more people decide that donating blood to create healers is a worthy cause, and it will promote charity in our people.

    And pumping up our number of healers might not give many mechanical benefits, but story benefits are quite good, and the program will be serious good PR, for the old gods and blood sacrifice, it's non-lethal blood sacrifice, and it create healers that will travel our empire, and heal people for free.
     
    tarrangar said:
    The profit of such a tree, is relative to how many people give blood offerings to it, so the profits are likely to not be that high at first, but they will climb, as more people decide that donating blood to create healers is a worthy cause, and it will promote charity in our people.

    And pumping up our number of healers might not give many mechanical benefits, but story benefits are quite good, and the program will be serious good PR, for the old gods and blood sacrifice, it's non-lethal blood sacrifice, and it create healers that will travel our empire, and heal people for free.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Right but as it's liked to the pop shouldn't we wait till we have westros to do that so that it actually has a meaningful impact? Because we would need a shit ton of trees to do that as our current lands has much lower pop than westros.
     
    His offer seems pretty reasonable. Nothing binding and a advisor for this kind of lore might even be a small benefit.
     
    [X] Accept
    -[X] Ask that Benerro further develop the ritual he used to ensnare the Herald of Ymeri inside the Burning Mansion -- we have applications for it, but need to drastically increase the range.
     
    [X] Accept
    -[X] Going one step further, Benero's chosen advisor will have the ability to temporarily withhold any requests for access to R'hllorite lore which he feels particularly dangerous or sensitive, pending approval from Viserys, Lya, Teana, or another qualified expert selected by us at a later date. This is a privilege which we can withdraw should we determine the representative of the Red Faith has abused it.
    --[X] We will revisit this topic in no more than one year, sooner if the advisor causes unacceptable issues, and each year thereafter, until we agree that such a position is no longer necessary.
    -[X] Ask that Benerro further develop the ritual he used to ensnare the Herald of Ymeri inside the Burning Mansion -- we have applications for it, but need to drastically increase the range.
     
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