Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Goldfish said:
Teenage is a state of mind as much as it is an age range. My idiot brother is 26, but I swear he's stuck as a perpetual 13 year old.

The "teenage" Kobolds will stand out from their peers.

/wise grumpy old man nod
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
So you're satisfied with just teenage acting kobolds? I was sure you would insist on a time dilation chamber, so you could have true teenager with attitude.
 
JamesShazbond said:
The Owl has higher base Wisdom and special abilities. We can just say it's raven shaped, of course. It's not really the base chassis that's driving this thing's power.

Can you help with the spells? I've got no idea how to do a prepared caster, nor how many spell slots it actually has.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hang on to it for after the Fungal Forge gets the CR 15 upgrade (hopefully this month if the research goes well), then we'll hash out the details.

I'll need to do some memory refreshing, since I'm not as familiar with Druid spellcasting as I am regular Arcane and Divine stuff.
 
egoo said:
And on the pony-related note, @DragonParadox, those doggo-fiends we bought and rehabbed had been mostly running with Rhango, yes?
Or had they settled down anywhere yet?
Also, what were the Legion Devils doing lately
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

They are with Rhango right now but I would not say they settled down.

Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 22, 2020 at 6:41 AM, finished with 102 posts and 11 votes.
  • [X] Dragon Diplomacy, Galzerai Edition Part One
    -[X] Commence standard Draconic greetings, while remaining polite and respectful, but not acting or accepting a position as an inferior due to our much lower age. Yes, Galzerai is far older than we are, but in terms of personal power he is well within our grasp. We are not here to kowtow to him, nor do we want anything he has, except for perhaps some information.
    --[X] Once greetings have been exchanged, go on to fully explain what happened with Islin, how he learned that we wished to meet with Galzerai and used that in an attempt to bring us into conflict. Islin had extremely detailed information on Galzerai's defenses, such that, had we followed his directions, we would have been able to penetrate almost to the heart of the Wyrm's realm undetected by wards, watch posts, or bystanders. We tell him this not only so that he may secure these vulnerabilities, but so that he may be able to use the knowledge to root out other traitors in his midst.
    ---[X] Islin was merely a single agent of the Deep Ones operating in Vialesk, but his purpose was clear, to sour relations between the powerful Brine Dragon dominions and the local powers, to sow discord and hostility, and to weaken the entire region so that it would be less able to fend off another invasion.
    -[X] If Galzerai doesn't lead the conversation in another direction, go on to explain more of ourselves and our realm, the Garden, though of course nothing sensitive or potentially damaging. We are open to trade between our realm and his own. There are many lucrative opportunities for both our realms to benefit from the exchange, not to mention our hoards.
    -[X] We will refrain from mentioning Galzerai's conflict with the Kelasi Emirate, his missing Anvil, or the kidnapped children, at least until we have established a basic rapport with the Wyrm or learned enough of his personality and character to discern whether it would be ill-advised to do so.
    -[X] We are not trying to bring everyone in the Plane of Water together in friendship, or even as allies, but not all enemies are created equal. Conflict between emirates, principalities, or dominions, no matter how justified, should be of secondary concern when faced with an existential threat like the Deep Ones, beings who aren't always content to kill you, often favoring more gruesome outcomes. The example of Faerex the Brine Dragon turned Brainstealer abomination might serve us well here, if Galzerai proves reluctant to accept our reasoning. She stood alone, alienated her peers, and was too isolated for any being who could have noticed and stopped her corruption from passing the point of no return.
    --[X] Although we are still quite new to the politics of the Plane of Water, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We can make the argument that, as outside observers who are only tangentially involved in local events, we have no reason to play favorites or attempt to set one power against another, not when cooperation between everyone, or at least the absence of conflict, benefits us the most. It allows trade to flow more freely and more swiftly between realms, opens new channels of communication, preserves the lives of those who could fight the Deep Ones rather than one another, and makes it all the more difficult for Deep One machinations to succeed. Islin would have had much more difficulty slipping into the halls of government and influencing those in power if there was greater communication and less mistrust between Vialesk and the Brine Dragon dominions, for example.
    ---[X] If necessary, we can admit to Galzerai that his ongoing feud with the Kelasi Emirate is what drew our attention to him. We don't fully understand the cause of the conflict nor how it has developed, and hoped to learn the truth of the matter from an involved party rather than the third hand rumors spread among the uninformed.
Click to expand...
 
Azel said:
See... if you want me to design six fleshcrafted technicolor murder-ponies to serve as our Six Riders of the Aponycalypse, you just have to ask...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Letting gods and inevitables and stuff keep control of the sun and moon is just irresponsible.

One could say were almost obligated to create magical talking horses to control them instead.
 
zxzx24 said:
Letting gods and inevitables and stuff keep control of the sun and moon is just irresponsible.

One could say were almost obligated to create magical talking horses to control them instead.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Letting magical ponies control them isn't much better, I mean the sun pony has a track record of getting captured, and the Moon pony went mad, and tried to destroy the world.
 
@Goldfish
Now for a bit more complete answer to your challenge:
I'll take the non-Mighty dragon, Loredrake Archetype, 1 level Cleric of Chronepsis, 2 Levels Contemplative and 2 levels Divine Oracle.
Total Domains will be Dragon, Knowledge, Time (1 level Contemplative) and Oracle (1 level Oracle).
I get Divine Health and Slippery Mind from Contemplative and effectivly Evasion from Oracle.
Also a big boost to all Divination spells from my domains and Oracle.
Maybe I'll take a crafting feat, so I can forge myself Boots of Far Travel before I loose access to Teleport on my 18th HD as described below.

That has the giant disatvantage of leaving me as a level 11 Sorcerer and level 5 Cleric.
But, just one more level and I can enter Dispassionate Watcher of Chronepsis, since I finally have enough skill ranks on my 17th HD.
That will instantly turn me into a level 16 Cleric caster, just one level away from 9th level spells.

So, I choose the 3rd variant and enter Planetos in the GRRM version, instead of Viserys-Land.
Now I pursue 2 different objectives. On one hand I infiltrate the Maesters, trying to break up the anti-agic conspiracy and convert them to disciples of Chronepsis, to truly neutral observers that don't meddle in politics
On the other hand I personally do what I can to kill daemons and the Others and foil there plans, since Chronepsis just mostly doesn't care, but is not a fan of world-destroying cataclysms either. This will, hopefully also give me the chance to level at least once with reasonable speed.

Between my Mindblank and my own mastery of Divination over all other disciplines I should be able to foil most such plans rather nicely, without being found our anytime soon.
Eventually, if the people don't manage to fight the Others without a player-directed Hero I might have to leave the Plane, since I'm willing to put the considerable efforts of a CR 15+ Dragon on the issue, but not to unite humanity and force everyone to stand together against the forces of death by myself.

If they manage to fuck that up, I'll switch over to dispassionatly watching the Efreeti/Shaitan war or something else interesting in the infinite planes.

If mankind manages to save itself, or gets rescued by the gods or celestials or Asmodeus, I'll stay and have a ghostwriter among the Maesters record the full and unabridged story of it all.
 
Last edited:
Goldfish said:
Dunno if I would call this a challenge, but maybe more of a thought experiment. It's @TalonofAnathrax's fault for putting me in the right mindset for this.

This is a multi-part challenge.

First, you must decide if you want to be a Mind Dragon or a Mighty Mind Dragon. Each of them are spoiler'd below for ease of reference. "Mighty" is a very strong template, so why would you want to pass on it? It comes with a straight power boost, including tons of bonus HP, enhanced AC, BAB, and melee damage, spell power, poison potency, skill points, etc.

If you choose to be a regular Adult Mind Dragon, however, you also start with five additional class levels (or PRC levels if you qualify for them) and the ability to further customize yourself using a Sovereign Archetype. Basically, you'll be a CR 15 Dragon regardless of your choice.

For example, you could choose the Loredrake Sovereign Archetype and complete five levels of Dragon Mystic (or any other full caster progression), which allow raise your caster level to at least 19th level and you would be able to cast up to 8th level spells. Or you could go in a completely different direction and use the Wyrm of War Archetype to gain some extra combat feats and become a Martial Initiator. There are other Archetypes which would give you other abilities, including access to Cleric spells, though you wouldn't be able to start with the ability to cast any spells higher than 7th level.

Either way you choose, nothing stops you from advancing further after you start, except for the difficulty involved in a CR 15 creature gathering enough XP to level.


Adult Mind Dragon - 61 to 1,000 years (CR 10)
Size/Type: Huge Dragon
Hit Dice: 12d12 + 72 (150 HP)
Initiative: +0
Speed: Ground: 60 ft, Fly: 240 ft (Good)
Armor Class: 23 (-2 Size, +15 Natural), Touch 8, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+20
Attack: Tail Sting +20 (2d6+15 plus poison)
Full Attack: Tail Sting +20 (2d6+15 plus poison), Bite +15 (2d8+10), 2 Claws +15 (2d6+5), 2 Wings +15 (1d8+5), Crush +20 (2d8+15)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft. (10ft. with bite, 30 ft. with tail)
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Blindsense 60 ft, Darkvision 120 ft, Low-Light Vision, Immunity to Sleep & Paralysis, Spell Resistance 24, Telepathy 240 ft
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +8, Will +13
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 11, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Sense Motive +5, plus 135 points
Feats: Iron Will(B), Mindsight(B), Practiced Spellcaster(B), plus 5 feats
Languages: Draconic, plus 3 languages
Alignment: Any Good

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 24; Initial Damage: 1d6 Wisdom damage, plus Dazed for 1 round, Secondary Damage: 2d6 Wisdom damage, plus Stunned for 1d4 minutes. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 Racial bonus.

Spell Tail (Ex): By default, Mind Dragons deliver Touch spells using their long flexible tails rather than their shorter less dexterous claws. They can choose whether or not to inflict damage or inject their poison when making tail-based Touch attacks.

Alternate Forms (Su): If they learn the Alter Self spell, Adult Mind Dragons can assume one of two different forms, that of either a Tiny-sized Pseudodragon or a unique Medium-sized Human.

Telepathy (Su): Mind Dragons can communicate Telepathically with any creature who speaks one of its known languages, provided they are within 240 feet.

Informed Prediction (Su): If the Mind Dragon has successfully used Detect Thoughts against a creature within 24 hours, it gains a +2 Dodge bonus against that creature's attacks and a +2 Insight bonus on saves against that creature's spells and special attacks.

Skills: Mind Dragons gain a +5 Racial bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Caster Level: 12th, At Will: Detect Thoughts (DC 16), 1/Day: Dream, Mind Blank, Phantasmal Killer (DC 18), Telepathic Bond.

Spellcasting: Adult Mind Dragons cast spells as 9th level Sorcerers.

Spells Known (Caster Level 12th): Spell DC = 10 + 4 (CHA) + Spell Level
Level 0: Eight spells known (6/day)
Level 1: Five spells known (6+1/day)
Level 2: Four spells known (6+1/day)
Level 3: Three spells known (6+1/day)
Level 4: Two spell known (4+1/day)



Mighty Adult Mind Dragon (CR 15)
Size/Type: Huge Dragon
Hit Dice: 12d12 + 72 + 120[Mighty] (274 HP)
Initiative: +5 (Mighty)
Speed: Ground: 90 ft, Fly: 270 ft (Good)
Armor Class: 28 (-2 Size, +5 Dodge, +15 Natural), Touch 13, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +17/+25; Melee (+25/+33), Ranged (+15)
Attack: Tail Sting +25 (2d6+20 plus poison)
Full Attack: Tail Sting +25 (2d6+20 plus poison), Bite +20 (2d8+15), 2 Claws +20 (2d6+10), 2 Wings +20 (1d8+10), Crush +20 (2d8+20)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft. (10ft. with bite, 30 ft. with tail)
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 4/--, Blindsense 60 ft, Darkvision 120 ft, Low-Light Vision, Immunity to Sleep & Paralysis, Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects, Spell Resistance 27, Telepathy 240 ft
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +13, Will +18
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 11, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 18
Skills*: Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Sense Motive +5, plus 135 Skill Points; *NOTE: All skills, even untrained ones, benefit from a +5 Competence bonus to all skill checks.
Feats: Iron Will(B), Mindsight(B), Practiced Spellcaster(B), plus 5 feats
Languages: Draconic, plus 3 Languages
Alignment: Any Good

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 31; Initial Damage: 1d6 Wisdom damage, plus Dazed for 1 round, Secondary Damage: 2d6 Wisdom damage, plus Stunned for 1d4 minutes. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 Racial bonus.

Spell Tail (Ex): By default, Mind Dragons deliver Touch spells using their long flexible tails rather than their shorter less dexterous claws. They can choose whether or not to inflict damage or inject their poison when making tail-based Touch attacks.

Alternate Forms (Su): Using their Alter Self spell, Mind Dragons can assume one of two different forms, that of either a Tiny-sized Pseudodragon or a unique Medium-sized Human.

Telepathy (Su): Mind Dragons can communicate Telepathically with any creature who speaks one of its known languages, provided they are within 240 feet.

Informed Prediction (Su): If the Mind Dragon has successfully used Detect Thoughts against a creature within 24 hours, it gains a +2 Dodge bonus against that creature's attacks and a +2 Insight bonus on saves against that creature's spells and special attacks.

Skills: Mind Dragons gain a +5 Racial bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Caster Level: 12th, At Will: Detect Thoughts (DC 23), 1/Day: Dream, Mind Blank, Phantasmal Killer (DC 25), Telepathic Bond

Spellcasting: Adult Mind Dragons cast spells as 9th level Sorcerers.

Spells Known (Caster Level 12th): Spell DC: 10 + 4 (CHA) + 7 (Mighty) = 21 + Spell Level
Level 0: Eight spells known (6/day)
Level 1: Five spells known (6+1/day)
Level 2: Four spells known (6+1/day)
Level 3: Three spells known (6+1/day)
Level 4: Two spells known (4+1/day)

Second, you have to choose when and where you start.

Option 1) You wake up in the Flesh Forge among the latest batch of Mind Dragons grown by the Imperium. You are either a standard Mighty Mind Dragon or a customized Mind Dragon which developed far outside the expectations of the Fleshcrafters. Dragon Dreams are funny like that! The advantages of this choice should be obvious; You aren't alone, but are instead surrounded by friends and allies, the Imperium spares no expense to equip you in enchanted equipment worth a king's ransom, and should you fall in battle, only the most catastrophic turn of events will prevent your Resurrection from being a priority. Disadvantages of this option include A) Your meta-knowledge is of very little use, B) You've got a boss (a pretty good boss by any standards, but still...), and the Imperium has a lot of enemies.

Option 2) You wake up in the Flesh Forge as it explodes in a fiery conflagration which completely destroys the structure and much of the ruins of Goggossos, though you are unscathed except for a few scrapes and bruises. It is the 12th Day of the Ninth Month, 289 AC, the day the quest starts and ASWAH diverges from ASOIAF canon. You should have been decanted from your pod as in Option 1, but something went very wrong and Tiamat was able to strike against the Imperium's affront to Dragonkind (i.e. Tiamat). Among the advantages of this start, you have years of priceless meta-knowledge, you're a CR 15 Dragon(!), and for a long time to come you will be among the Powers (with a capital P) with very little that can stand in the way of your plans. Unfortunately, you can't have the good without the bad. The Flesh Forge, a priceless relic of a bygone era, has been destroyed. In the not so distant future it could have been critical to the survival of humanity upon Planetos. You're alone, short on funds, and you have no enchanted gear. Worst of all, however, is that you have Tiamat's attention. She doesn't know what happened (no knowledge from her future self made the trip back with you), but she got a whiff of her own power and turned her attention to the exploding Flesh Forge quickly enough to get a metaphysical eye full of you. A new species of Dragon that she wasn't aware of, who doesn't worship her, and who somehow came into being in an explosion caused, at least in part, by her power. You better keep your Mind Blank SLA running 24/7 and it would be advised to take advantage of shape-shifting magic as often as possible.

Option 3) Sorta like Option 2, but Tiamat exploded the Flesh Forge extra hard. She didn't knock you into the past, but into an alternate reality entirely. You wake up to an exploding Flesh Forge in 298 AC, on the day Jon Arryn dies by poison. It's ASOIAF canon...except magic has just awakened and the Plane of Balance is once again open for business. All of the threats from ASWAH, not to mention those one is exposed to by simply existing in the D&D 3.5/Pathfinder cosmology, are now on the table, with just one exception. There is no Void and the Celestial Planes were never sundered. The Others are still a threat, of course, but they're no longer linked to the non-existent Void. Your meta-knowledge is still good up to a certain point, but that will rapidly change, so you will have to be quick if you want to exploit it to any significant degree. There might not be a Void nibbling at the edges of reality, but shit is still pretty screwed up and will only get worse as magic returns, and this time there is no Viserys around to save everyone. The Viserys in this timeline is, of course, a delusional cunt and completely useless.

So, what would you do?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Now obviously option 1 is the best option. Take Loredrake, 5 levels of Incantatrix or Unseen Seer, work for Viserys, and call it a day. Sure having a boss sucks, but it's still better than the alternatives and I already live with bosses IRL, so...
EDIT : Actually regardless of the plan it's probably better to go Loredrake but with 4 levels of Dweomerkeeper and a level of Concept Cleric. That way I can create a Simulacrum of myself once a day at no XP cost. I'll have to use feats to qualify for that PrC and to grab extra level 7 spells known though, so it'll be tight there

However if I did have to take another option, I'd have difficulty choosing. Option 2 risks messing up Viserys' leveling but will eventually grant you a lot more direct support, while option 3 leaves you will less support but a much more favorable cosmology.

In option 3, I would immediately start by very publicly going to Oldtown, clearly showing that magic is returning, publicly saying that the Long Night will come again in a decade or two, and asking them to get off their asses and train wizards in large amounts. Wizards are amazing, after all. Make more, and weaponise them properly!
Then I'll probably repeat the process in Volantis, a few major cities in Yi-Ti, Varys and Illyrio, and even Braavos. I'll drop a few warnings to the Faceless Men (there's probably a Lich here, and here, and here - Lys is basically crawling with them!), fly over to Essaria and try to free Malarys, and then focus on taking over and fixing a Flesh Forge. I'll try the "get the Lys Genius Loci to join the OG" plan (hopefully after talking to Bloodraven about it) and then just focus on improving that Forge and having it churn out as many minions as possible. If this works out and I do get the Fungus Forge working with a Tree on top dispensing blessings, I'll straight-up take over the city like Relath did in Tolos and try to develop worship of the OG so that people give their corpses to fuel the Forge.
Actual day-to-day ruling sounds like a chore, so I'll probably try to delegate much of it to Malarys (if I could grab him) or straight-up summon Celestials to handle it.

Doing this risks merely increasing the lethality of inter-city warfare and weakening everyone against the real threats, of course, but I intend to try several things to avoid that :
  • Rooting for Zherys to rule Volantis (and helping him out if he needs it) on condition that he attempts to ally with Celestials. This will involve ending slavery and attempting to make things better for the people. To convince Zherys to go along with this, I'll share some relevant lore (threats, etc) and rely on my 17 HD of skill points to go full Diplomacy.
  • Negociate with Celestials as much as possible. Surely they'd like more influence on the Prime Material as magic returns, right? Well I can cast Greater Planar Binding and such, so if they give me names I can bring them forth. All I want is that they help me end slavery.
  • Spreading Celestials as bodyguards and advisors to various rulers, preferably Celestials who're damn good at Diplomacy. Who could refuse having a friendly Celestial around? And if they do, I'll be sending minor Celestials as healers/preachers to each city, or even Druid Leshies.
  • Regularly popping up again to politely talk and check on how things are going. If they need a hand with something I'm fine with I'll help (devil infestation, etc) and regularly attempt to shift their priorities towards strengthening themselves in the long term. I'm not rooting for worldwide unification or anything, but semi-allied powerful polities who cooperate against existential threats is a solid "points of light" setting.
  • Murder. Archmaesters who are against magic? Varys who dares to exist? Euron who doesn't have Mind Blank yet? Sorry, but there's a Dragon after you now.
    • If I can't (because I certainly couldn't kill people IRL, but who knows what I could do if I were a Dragon with Draconic instincts and dreams?), I'd at least bring them to the Volantenes. They can either imprison them, mind-read them, or execute them. Not quite my problem anymore, psychologically speaking.
  • The real issue will probably be the Seven vs OG fight. I'll be trying to ally with the OG to get a Fungus Forge up and running as fast as possible, but I don't want to start a civil war in the Seven Kingdoms by giving the OG an army or anything. Solving this will probably be a major issue. Sure I can focus on developing "secular" mages in Oldtown and attempt to talk any Chosen and Bloodraven into having their fight after the Long Night, but this isn't exactly solving the problem.

Actually helping the Targaryen siblings is secondary. I'll drop a Heart's Ease, but otherwise prioritize trying to start wizard training everywhere. Once that's started I'll look for them and see how they're doing - Viserys will probably be even crazier or dead, but Daenerys is probably salvageable, can train Dragons if I turn the eggs back to flesh, and I feel bad for her.

Meanwhile for the second option I won't immediately rush to help Viserys. I'll pop by and visit him to give Daenerys a Sending stone (Crafting = easy) "in case he ever dies and you need him raised - don't bother calling otherwise", but then I'll fuck off. He's got things handled on this side of the planet, so I'll go elsewhere for now. Eventually he'll find me again and I'll bend the knee of course, but for now I'll go out and explore. There's another Flesh Forge in Qarth, right? And there's cities in Sarnor full of Undead, and I've always wanted to explore Yi-Ti go check out the Yellow Emperor before magic rises too much.

Crake said:
@Goldfish Speaking of which, if I was #3 optioned, my human persona as a Dragon Sorcerer would be Maegor, that one Targaryen who is probably still alive by canon era but I guess just not extremely relevant. Or if dead, no one really thinks about him, so one can assume I could pass myself off as him with relative ease.

Long lost uncle coming straight out of the blue to rescue you from the Dothraki savage and also simultaneously "smacking some sense" into your idiot brother? Who reunites you with your long lost nephew? Who actually tries to teach you how to be awesome and use magic and bitchslap your enemies with your own hands instead of relying on idiot men to do the work for you since they're drooling over your tits too much to be of any real use?

I can even trollishly redeem the name of Maegor as a peacemaker while my alternate personas do all the dirty work. Who's gonna fucking know, MINDBLANK BITCHES. :V
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Wait, there's a Maegor still alive? Who?
Crake said:
Still prefer 1. It is the only chance I'd get of having my cake and eating it too, as well as being able to make friends without constantly looking over my shoulder for betrayal. I'm legitimately worried that the biggest threat to me in #3 is myself, after I go insane from paranoia.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Real question here : why the paranoia? You're a fucking Dragon. You have an absolutely amazing defensive chassis, and you have the spells to survive almost anything else. You can even sleep in an extradimensional space if you want. Seriously, the worst kind of paranoia I can imagine myself succumbing to here is spamming Detect Thoughts too much and offending people.

Azel said:
Make a dozen Plant-Imbued Shadow-Creature Sorcerer Druid Ravens for Bloodravens birthday.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You know, I really do hope that this is impossible. Stacking spellcasting Templates just feels weird, fluffwise.
Actually the person who's best placed to manage it is Bloodraven himself, our only powerful Sorcerer/OldGods Theurge.
 
Last edited:
TalonofAnathrax said:
In option 3, I would immediately start by very publicly going to Oldtown, clearly showing that magic is returning, publicly saying that the Long Night will come again in a decade or two, and asking them to get off their asses and train wizards in large amounts. Wizards are amazing, after all. Make more, and weaponise them properly!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You start 298 in the third option.
Long Night is optimistically 3 years away.
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Real question here : why the paranoia? You're a fucking Dragon. You have an absolutely amazing defensive chassis, and you have the spells to survive almost anything else. You can even sleep in an extradimensional space if you want. Seriously, the worst kind of paranoia I can imagine myself succumbing to here is spamming Detect Thoughts too much and offending people.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm a dragon. Maybe the Dragon for a while. I don't know who they are. But everyone wants to take a shot at me.

I don't know everyone's capabilities. Assuming everyone will remain their puny canon self indefinitely only works maybe if I befriend or murder them near immediately. And then unknown factors who I can't reliably predict just end up taking their place on the scene as the movers and shakers, leaving known quantities a better alternative.
 
Artemis1992 said:
You start 298 in the third option.
Long Night is optimistically 3 years away.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Damn, I hadn't noticed that. Yeah, that option is definitely my least favorite then. 3 years is short...
Crake said:
I'm a dragon. Maybe the Dragon for a while. I don't know who they are. But everyone wants to take a shot at me.

I don't know everyone's capabilities. Assuming everyone will remain their puny canon self indefinitely only works maybe if I befriend or murder them near immediately. And then unknown factors who I can't reliably predict just end up taking their place on the scene as the movers and shakers, leaving known quantities a better alternative.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There's a big difference between "puny canon self" and "can threaten an Adult Dragon who casts spells as a level 18 Sorcerer". You have a great chassis (saves, HP, mindsight, basically impossible to poison) and on top of that you have magic. Grab divination, magic items, Flesh Forge yourself a legion of spellcasting minions...
True invincibility is impossible, but becoming crazily tough is easy when you start so powerful.
 
I'm with the Sealord. I'm not calming down just because I'm swinging around big boi energy for awhile. No one stays on top forever.

But institutions last longer and I can backload most of my worry or pawn it off entirely on them, and just enjoy myself, since lots of someones are being paranoid on my behalf.
 
Inserted tally
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 22, 2020 at 6:41 AM, finished with 102 posts and 11 votes.
  • [X] Dragon Diplomacy, Galzerai Edition Part One
    -[X] Commence standard Draconic greetings, while remaining polite and respectful, but not acting or accepting a position as an inferior due to our much lower age. Yes, Galzerai is far older than we are, but in terms of personal power he is well within our grasp. We are not here to kowtow to him, nor do we want anything he has, except for perhaps some information.
    --[X] Once greetings have been exchanged, go on to fully explain what happened with Islin, how he learned that we wished to meet with Galzerai and used that in an attempt to bring us into conflict. Islin had extremely detailed information on Galzerai's defenses, such that, had we followed his directions, we would have been able to penetrate almost to the heart of the Wyrm's realm undetected by wards, watch posts, or bystanders. We tell him this not only so that he may secure these vulnerabilities, but so that he may be able to use the knowledge to root out other traitors in his midst.
    ---[X] Islin was merely a single agent of the Deep Ones operating in Vialesk, but his purpose was clear, to sour relations between the powerful Brine Dragon dominions and the local powers, to sow discord and hostility, and to weaken the entire region so that it would be less able to fend off another invasion.
    -[X] If Galzerai doesn't lead the conversation in another direction, go on to explain more of ourselves and our realm, the Garden, though of course nothing sensitive or potentially damaging. We are open to trade between our realm and his own. There are many lucrative opportunities for both our realms to benefit from the exchange, not to mention our hoards.
    -[X] We will refrain from mentioning Galzerai's conflict with the Kelasi Emirate, his missing Anvil, or the kidnapped children, at least until we have established a basic rapport with the Wyrm or learned enough of his personality and character to discern whether it would be ill-advised to do so.
    -[X] We are not trying to bring everyone in the Plane of Water together in friendship, or even as allies, but not all enemies are created equal. Conflict between emirates, principalities, or dominions, no matter how justified, should be of secondary concern when faced with an existential threat like the Deep Ones, beings who aren't always content to kill you, often favoring more gruesome outcomes. The example of Faerex the Brine Dragon turned Brainstealer abomination might serve us well here, if Galzerai proves reluctant to accept our reasoning. She stood alone, alienated her peers, and was too isolated for any being who could have noticed and stopped her corruption from passing the point of no return.
    --[X] Although we are still quite new to the politics of the Plane of Water, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We can make the argument that, as outside observers who are only tangentially involved in local events, we have no reason to play favorites or attempt to set one power against another, not when cooperation between everyone, or at least the absence of conflict, benefits us the most. It allows trade to flow more freely and more swiftly between realms, opens new channels of communication, preserves the lives of those who could fight the Deep Ones rather than one another, and makes it all the more difficult for Deep One machinations to succeed. Islin would have had much more difficulty slipping into the halls of government and influencing those in power if there was greater communication and less mistrust between Vialesk and the Brine Dragon dominions, for example.
    ---[X] If necessary, we can admit to Galzerai that his ongoing feud with the Kelasi Emirate is what drew our attention to him. We don't fully understand the cause of the conflict nor how it has developed, and hoped to learn the truth of the matter from an involved party rather than the third hand rumors spread among the uninformed.
Click to expand...
 
Remove ads
Part MMMCCCIV: Upon Old Triumphs Perched
  • Threadmarks
    • Upon Old Triumphs Perched ​

    Eight Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Your journey is far from a long one, especially considering that one would imagine the riches of Pragnat would have attracted a dragon lairing so close to its walls. Perhaps the Salt Prince had made some sort of bargain with the dragon to keep his independence, or at least the appearance of it. Regardless, you and Lya soon find yourselves swimming under the dim light of a half molten ball of granite that heaved and shifted under some internal turmoil, lines of orange fire forming, spreading and healing upon its face, like a stillborn star. All around, spread out over two hundred leagues and more in every direction, were jagged stones in every form and contortion one could imagine, their edges so sharp one would imagine they had been broken but moments ago, though you know from your guide that this place is even older than the wyrm you have come here to speak to.

    The currents seem to writhe and thrash in unexpected ways. More than once the way forward was to let it carry you with what seemed like bone-breaking force only to fade abruptly moments later. At other times you have to swim against the current, making seemingly no headway even though you are meeting it with the full force of draconic strength and enchantment and your guide lacks both she is also 'caught in the current', until some arcane test is passed and you are allowed to continue. Finally you pass through a canyon between two shards of stone, each large enough to build a small town upon if they had any place flat enough to do so, all amidst slow echoing grinding as though you were about to be crushed between them.

    "I'm starting to think Galzerai does not want visitors," Lya says softly from besides you, drawing a laugh from you that makes the water in front of you hiss as something within it burns without air.

    You do not have long to consider alchemical concoctions for at the end of the passage you come face to face at last with the wyrm, Galzerai coiled upon a throne of salt and stone carved with weathered runes. For a moment as you proclaim your name and lineage once more you are surprised that any dragon, much less one so ancient, would allow his perch to be worn away by the currents, then you realize that the handful of inscriptions you can read have nothing to do with their current purpose. Broken gate plinths and fallen monuments, sundered altars and crushed effigies, the trophies of battles past. It seems that Aegon had not been the only one to come upon that notion, not that you would ever mention the similarity aloud.

    After all, it is one thing for a younger dragon to present himself as the sea wyrm's equal, quite another to compare him to some long dead mortal who flew into battle upon the back of stunted and accursed beasts.

    "Speak of this puppet in the City of Splendid Waves," Galzerai rumbles. "How did its masters think to bind threads to such as... us," there is only a moment's hesitation before the last word as he calculates if he aught to acknowledge you explicitly as an equal. His eyes slide over Lya without a word, for good or ill.

    You recount all you had witnessed, the false envoy and his forged documents, though you refrain from sharing the specifics of who was compromised by the Deep Ones and how. You imagine the Council would not appreciate having such things shared with a dragon who does not even maintain a formal presence in Vialesk, and you value their goodwill more than that of the one before you.

    The dragon stretches, the light of the false star turning sea-green scales to rippling burnished bronze in an instant. "It seems I have not contended myself for too long with those who dwell in the deep chasms if they would make of me nothing more than a target of... opportunity. It is clear to me, young one, that you were the one they wished slain in a conflict between us, or if you had not acted wisely in the matter of this Islin, seeing your reputation smeared."

    "And yet we were both involved, these Deep Ones and the entity that rules over them would make all of us pawns, not merely those in this realm, not merely within my own realm in the Garden, but everywhere. That would seem to me a reason to turn our ire first upon them before other foes, no matter how just the conflict," you reply, keeping from mentioning the Kelasi by name though not by implication.

    "Let us then assume for a moment that I would be willing to join in such an endeavor, and I do believe in your sincerity in proposing, do you imagine there is any oath I could swear that my foes would believe regarding such a peace of convenience, or I them? Is there any power so great that neither would risk breaking an oath spoken before it? Mortals swear by gods, but what can dragons swear by in those blood flows the blood of a goddess, or the genies for whom wishcraft is only a whisper away?"

    "Then let this be a new passage of trade and ideas that speak for itself, no pledge is needed, no action at all, merely an absence of conflict," you point out.

    "You would be opening a new avenue for peace, yes, also a new veiled front in wars," Galzerai replies. "Do you still wish to trade with those who are at war?"

    What do you reply?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Just to be clear, Galzerai is willing to trade with you, he is just pointing out that if the trade network also includes the Kelasi chances are the spies and intrigues will spread to Sorcerer's Deep too as they have done to Vialesk.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] "All who come in peace are welcome in my Realm." Intrigues are known to you, but enemies aplenty also. So long as they stand within the lines you have demarcated long before they knew of the opportunity such exchanges presented, you will arbitrate without domineering or steering them one direction or another. If they both bring themselves to battle within your realm where others might be caught in the crossfire however, sanctions will be levied.
    -[X] "Truly speaking, what gives anyone the impression that my mere leave will stop or start such conflict from crossing over into my borders, when both of you would be equally impressed with my offers and equally hold worries of the other benefiting without further involvement from yourselves? My silence only guarantees none shall benefit at all."
    -[X] "On the other hand, by engaging in open and honest dialogue, both sides might know where they stand," and what they stand to lose.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top