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Regarding Kobolds, how do we handle fractional CR for the forge?
A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
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- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
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For simplicity's sake, a proportional fraction of whatever price we'd pay for a CR 1 creature.
Inserted tally
- Location
- Germany
The question of "What for?" is legitimate, I was just rather annoyed that an off-handed reference to old plans to make Kobolds got me a slavery debate, a lot of luke-warm responses and then Goldfish telling me that the number I tossed out as being too many for the first batch would be, in fact, far too many for the first batch.... yeah...
Just this good old feeling of everyone sitting in their own corner of the room and shouting into the emptiness without listening to the others.
Anyway. Proposal later. I need to do a bit of research.
Part MMMCCLXXXIV: Ward of Flesh and Bone
Ward of Flesh and Bone
Second Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
The news that the formless horror that had for so long haunted his people from beneath the waves can suffer from something as commonplace as defections and revolts is almost enough to make the Lord Regent of Pyke smile. You have no doubt he had been relieved at the news that young Maron Volmark and the other children had been cured of their infestation, but that had been yet another instance of laying sandbags behind the cracked dam where this showed that there may yet be an end to the onrushing tide. Still, a glimmer of hope does not the task's end make and long shall be the doing, though thankfully not without aid.
Unsurprisingly, Ser Harras is most intrigued by the crystal masks that mirror some of his own enhanced perception. "Always feel like I aught to be in ten places at once, this should cut that down to eight," he japes, taking a take a sip of his drink, Myrish black tea as a sort of silent apology for the state you found him in perhaps, though you do not blame him. After first taking Torturer's Deep your own thoughts certainly wandered to the spirits cabinet a time or two, and you might have done more than that if you had the time to brood on it.
- 10 Rings of Protection from Evil
- 10 Healing Belts
- 10 Launchers
- 2 Crystal Masks of Detect Psionics
In matters of alchemy you doubtlessly make Wisdom Henrik happy by refilling the Regent's stocks, including rarer and more expencive substances like sovereign cures against disease and poison as well as enough liquid ice and alchimist's fire to hopefully make the taking of other rebel keeps as comparatively easy as dealing with the enchanted armsmen of House Volmark.
- 200 flasks of Alchemist's Fire
- 100 flasks of Liquid Ice
- 100 Fungal Stun Vials
- 100 doses of Sleep-Smoke
- 400 doses of Healing Salve
- 100 doses of Antiplague
- 100 doses of Antitoxin
- 100 Auran Masks
With the Flesh Forge in Gogossos under your control and skilled flesh-smiths to help midwife new life into the world you can afford to be far freer with such creations. Most of those whose services you aim to second to the Reader are leshy mages to serve as healers, investigators and at need even battle mages, but that is by no means all. Indeed, some of those you send to his aid would serve best if no one saw them fully save Rodrik's most trusted and the servants of the Deep Ones in the brief moments before their untimely death. Thankfully the Iron Isles do not lack for lonely rocks in the middle of the ocean from which to witness their new protectors.
First from the sky come the sea drakes, their wings blue grey lichen, seaweed as much a part of them as their scales coiling around their tails and in their jaws lightning crackling.
"Dragons?" Lord Harlaw shakes his head, though more in wonder than denial. "It's going to be rather hard to argue for my supposed loyalty to King's Landing with those answering my call."
"Everyone knows there's all sorts of strange beasts about these days," Vee says with an uncharacteristically sly smile. "Maybe these ones just don't like the bloody squids. Come on, I'll introduce you."
To his credit he does not balk at a little girl introducing him to dragons of scale and seaweed almost thirty feet long from snout to tail with mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, which only makes the Lord Regent of the Iron Isles hesitate momentarily. He does not have to pay them, of course, as you are still covering their fee commensurate to their skill, but he wastes no time establishing the rules and regulations under which prizes may be claimed, second nature to a man ruling over a land with such a deep tradition for reaving for all he would rather trade.
The next to arrive come not from the sky but the sea, ten of those the tritons called Great Singers, but imbued with the wisdom and the will of the Old Gods even as the leshy are. Never have the gods of the Green Dream taken to the seas before, but you have no doubt their foes will soon grow wary of the threat of a these new Singers of the Green Songs. With them comes a dragon turtle, new in flesh, but as the mind dragons are ancient in the dream, her knowledge as much as her great strength a boon upon the Reader's efforts to keep his people safe.
Last to arrive from the shadows of the deep seas and risen into the shallows are a pair of mighty shadebreacher whales. Imbued with the raw power of the Shadow Plane, the eye seems to slip away from them even under the light of bright midday, but it is hidden below the water's surface that they are most perilous, for there in the fathomless depths there is no wound they cannot heal from given enough time.
"I've always wondered how you planned to bring the fight to the damn things beneath the waves," Ser Harras notes as his uncle is introduced to the whales. "I knew there were potions for breathing underwater, but that seemed a paltry thing to stack against a whole realm of horrors. I'm not wondering anymore."
- 10 Advanced Druid Creature Seaweed Leshy (CR 6)
- 5 Advanced Druid Creature Lotus Leshy (CR 8)
- 10 Advanced Plant-Imbued Orca (CR 8)
- 5 Advanced Plant-Imbued Sea Drake (CR 10)
- 2 Shadebreacher Sperm Whales (CR 12)
- 1 Grand Dragon Turtle (CR 15)
Beyond aid for his realm you also bequeath upon Rodrik three of the rare and ancient Seekers crafted of the Freehold's own art, one to serve as his ears, the second a blade ever ready should he be attacked directly and the third a shield and means of escape both should there be a need. These you explain he does not have to greet, the Valyrians of old had other standards of flesh-craft than you and while you would not imitate their methods there is no reason not to make use of what they left behind.
Rodrik nods as you had expected, a man who knows the worth of using all that comes to hand. His young cousin hesitates a moment longer, but only a moment. The battles he has fought demand no less. How far will that practicality stretch, you wonder.
For the first time when speaking to a Westerosi lord besides Roose Bolton you lay out the particulars of Maester Qyburn's art and his work in rising the dead and ensuring they would not poison land and air. You also explain why the unliving would be so fearsome against the Deep Ones, impossible to compel by the same means as a living being, knowing neither fear nor pain they would fight to the last, or more hopefully to victory in the defense of the Iron Islands. Some of these grim protectors could pass for human, others for less troubling constructs and even those who could not manage either might be stored in silent vigil inside caves or even beneath the waves awaiting battle.
"Can these be dominated instead by a skilled death mage...?" the Reader looks to the pyromancer for the word.
"The term is necromancer, my lord," a pale Henrik explains.
"Yes, though far from easily and the Deep Ones rarely employ such mages," you reply. "It would be far easier to subvert almost any living creature for them than one of the risen dead."
The Lord Regent of the Iron Islands nods once firmly. "Then I will take everything you can give me and gladly,Your Grace."
As you depart Ser Richard says too softly for any but you and Vee to hear: "I could almost feel sorry for the Squids for making that man their enemy... almost." Though you do not turn you can hear the grim smile in his words.
***
From dust to dead flesh they reform, the twisted corpses of the Illithid who had been vanquished at Volmark and from their skulls you manage to wring a few more answers, if not as many as you might wish. They had discovered that the Elder Mind would devour them somehow and decided to rebel, seeking to tear the chained Drowned God from its command and into their own with the aid of a new generation of Drowned Men, more skillful and persuasive than any that had come before.
"Ask 'em how. Maybe there's some weakness to their pet god we can use," Vee suggests. Alas, the limitations of communing with corpses are far too great to learn even arcane rituals from, much less the alien craft of the Deep Ones. Still, like the Reader you are heartened to learn of distension in the ranks of your foes.
What do you do next?
[] Move on to reaching into the Reach
-[] Write in
[] Move on the Plane ot Water diplomacy
-[] Write in
[] Do another minor action
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: I would have liked to end with the Reader's proclamation for narrative reasons, but that would have meant not only ignoring part of the vote, but also having an overnight update without a vote. I hope the last part is not too jarring.
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Okay.
That's a lot to chew on.
First thing, some Squids know the Elder Brain will eat their memories and leave nothing of them behind.
The most important part of their existance, the closest thing they have to a religion is a lie to control them better.
That must have hit. Now I wish these ones had survived, or maybe that they at least convinced some other Deep Ones of this truth before they fell.
Second thing, Drowny is real and a seperate entity from the Elder Brain.
Maybe we should look deeper here. If the Drowned God is, without being puppeted by the Brain, less of an asshole he could be immensly useful for throwing off the Deep One control of their various mortal slaves.
That was indeed the working theory both IC and OOC for a long time and for good reason, the Elder Brain certainly has godlike power and it seems to be in charge of the Deep Ones, however it seems to be taking a delegated approach to Ironborn religion for some reason.
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*snort*
If the squids bring anything strong enough to control even one of the middling Soulforged, the Ironborn can kiss their asses goodbye anyway.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Very cool chapter, @DragonParadox. I love being able to supply our allies so lavishly now.
I'll make adjustments to the Armory and Forge page to track loaned out servitors when I get back to my computer.
I got a good chuckle at the Reader's easy acceptance of the Undead.
"Will they kill squids?"
Yep.
"I'll take everything you've got!"
Meanwhile, Qyburn stands in the back with a tear of pride in one eye and a murderboner tenting his robes.
I'll make adjustments to the Armory and Forge page to track loaned out servitors when I get back to my computer.
I got a good chuckle at the Reader's easy acceptance of the Undead.
"Will they kill squids?"
Yep.
"I'll take everything you've got!"
Meanwhile, Qyburn stands in the back with a tear of pride in one eye and a murderboner tenting his robes.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Yes, that is very interesting.
Not only could there be civil strife among the Deep Ones, but the Drowned God might be a puppet of the Elder Brain rather than being the Elder Brain, or the puppeteer itself.
And some of the Mind Flayers have learned the Elder Brain's most closely guarded secrets. That's a huge development. I bet another faction of the Deep Ones clued them in, maybe the Aboleth but more likely the Neogi, given their general personalities and the use of fleshwarped Neogi spawn as part of the enhancement ritual the children were subjected to.
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That would be really unprofessional. Thankfully he has the means to store it safely when it would be socially inconvenient.Meanwhile, Qyburn stands in the back with a tear of pride in one eye and a murderboner tenting his robes.
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- Germany
I wonder how anyone found out though.
To have a definitive confirmation you need to read the mind of an Elder Brain, or divine the truth.
After all it does actually absorb all the Illithid's memories, so it can perfectly pretend to have incorporated any of its former meals.
Yet a Brain is propably under Mindblank or heavier defences 24/7.
A theory, with little proof for now, would be that these Squids where part of a project to divine through Mindblanks (against us or other enemies) and found out about the truth that way.
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Not at all. I'm more than a little tempted, a faction of rebel Illithids would be amazing. Of course they'd have to go through interrogation and agree to only eat Flesh Forged brains or something.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Yes, unfortunately.
Even rebel Mind Flayers are still unrepentant brain eaters who see Humans and other compatible species as either cattle or tadpole fodder. Best case, we can use their conflict for our own purposes.
I don't really think that's possible. Mind Flayers don't just eat brains because that's what sustains them, but because it's one of their few pleasures in life, and such brains are only tasty if they full of memories and emotions. They don't need to eat brains nearly as often as they actually do, but feed as much as possible because they like it.
Just because they don't like their leadership all of a sudden doesn't make them somehow more tolerable. These are the same beings who just implanted dozens of children with modified Neogi parasites as part of what they expected to be a decades long infesttation and power play.
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We can check for it when poking at their skulls. There's quite a lot of negotiating we could do if we bargain from a position of "Break the deal and we feed you to the Snek."
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That's propably extremly tasteless.
A brain without experiences is most likely like an unspiced raw soybean or so.
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- United States
Regarding the brains, we could probably check to see if the Flesh Forges can replicate that. I wouldn't doubt if a brain full of memories could be produced. Implanting memories and/or dreams on a semi-random basis shouldn't be outside our capabilities.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
That lends weight more toward the Aboleths being the creatures who let the brain eating cat out of the bag rather than the Neogi.
Having existed for hundreds of millions if not billions of years, Aboleths were very surprised and worried when the Illithids suddenly appeared out of nowhere, fully formed and capable of creating and controlling an extraplanar empire. Time travel is a bitch like that.
Just because they ended up as allies doesn't mean they weren't bothered by the sudden appearance. If any faction of the Deep Ones has the magical chops to pierce an Elder Brain's Mind Blank and other mental defenses, it would be the Aboleths, who are masters of ritual magic and other esoteric arts. If they learned the secret of the Elder Brains, that means they probably learned that Illithids are from the incredibly distant future, which has all sorts of interesting existential implications for the Aboleths.
I don't think we can ever work with the Illithids in any kind of capacity, but the Aboleths, despite being extremely alien and super squicky, could maybe be allies of convenience if not true friends.
You could do it sure, the trouble is it would also make the brain sentient. Your best bet for ethical Ilithid feeding would probably be trying to reproduce what the Many do (separate the flesh eating from the memory consumption).
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Forge and Armory pages have been updated.
@Azel, you should definitely turn your Undead forces post into an information page. It's got all of Qyburn's Undead creations, plus we could keep track of all the Undead sent to the Iron Isles.
@Azel, you should definitely turn your Undead forces post into an information page. It's got all of Qyburn's Undead creations, plus we could keep track of all the Undead sent to the Iron Isles.