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

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Goldfish said:
I hope that Anu didn't inadvertently replicate whatever mental override control method the Old Sarnori built into him into the first batch of Warforged he recently created.

Definitely going to need to check that out.
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Didn't he have someone to check his work? He was working with Svitran. Ask him about the work they did maybe?
 
I'm a sucker for long and clever battles, and this "retreat with traps" thing the enemy is doing now is very much to my liking.
 
Crake said:
Didn't he have someone to check his work? He was working with Svitran. Ask him about the work they did maybe?
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They might have copied Anu's metaphysical mental architecture as a template to use for the new Warforged, or something to that effect. Now that we know about it, however, it should be something we can check for and remedy.
TalonofAnathrax said:
I'm a sucker for long and clever battles, and this "retreat with traps" thing the enemy is doing now is very much to my liking.
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Yeah, it sounds like the fortress group is having a grand ole dungeon crawl.

We sent them in with a large group, and after seeing what they've had to face so far, I'm really glad we did.
Team Zherys: This group will be tasked with assaulting the Shadow Fortress.
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Brilliant Barrier is extremely useful. It's a force effect, so that makes perfect sense. Force shields are generally always a pain in the ass to deal with, unless you're prepared to blow your action economy on circumventing them, which is a problem in a combat situation of itself.
 
Crake said:
Brilliant Barrier is extremely useful. It's a force effect, so that makes perfect sense. Force shields are generally always a pain in the ass to deal with, unless you're prepared to blow your action economy on circumventing them, which is a problem in a combat situation of itself.
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There are 40 of them on the crafting schedule for this month, and might try to add more depending on what else we craft this month.
 
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Canon Omake: The Spice of Magic Part X
  • Threadmarks
    • The Spice of Magic Part X​

    Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
    <<<Previous

    The fog which had been about to descend upon the expedition would have been far more fearful had they not come prepared with spell scrolls, expecting this tactic from a number of sources, along with poison clouds and smoke. The fact that the lights which had been coming closer and closer had instead drawn back, almost hesitant, holding position once it was clear their ambush was spoiled and with no other tricks to fall back upon, had caused Gyles to breathe out an almost exasperated sigh, standing beside the more cautious Baedar.

    "It is almost as if all manner of strange horrors think that the people of this world dug their heads into the sand and would rather plead ignorance whenever some unnatural force reared its ugly head. Did they think we would not be able to counter simple fog that held no other persistent effect beyond its obscuring nature?" Baedar was surprised by the anger that entered the normally congenial man's voice when he next spoke, icy fury restrained by the need to leaf rapidly through his spell book. "That kind of arrogance should be punished."

    The creaking of ships and the shuttering and opening of mage-lit lanterns, which were used to signal rudimentary messages, ones with more priority or complexity passed along by raven construct, was all that filled the air, interrupting their discussion by how unnatural it was. There was an ominous thrum, some half-heard expression of intent, half-felt, a spine-tingling pall that fell over the uncooperative fleet who were forewarned of their foe, if not its exact nature. A wave of scattered laughter rose as siege weapons lobbed pitch-soaked projectiles and their unwanted company surged back, as though startled.

    Baedar was almost consoling when he spoke up again, though he was of a mind that a more temperate approach should be taken regardless.

    "Think about it from their perspective," Baedar replied with an air of forced relaxation, as though taking on the warped mind-set of any number of inhuman beings was a simple exercise, and who could say it wasn't for a man steeped in conspiracy and the arcane, "If it had not been for mages and champions, prescient as they were skilled in battle, dragging half of the world kicking and screaming towards enlightenment, why, they might have had a dozen or so more years to play with their food."

    A process, Baedar would more privately admit, that was more akin to crawling toward a single destination from multiple directions, if one were to be generous, but often lapsed, stuttered and started at the speed set by the slowest and most obstinate men and women to realize the unvarnished truth, that the veil that had been pierced could not be drawn back again.

    "My heart bleeds for them," Armandir quipped from the other side of the bespectacled mage, who, in a moment of rare, if wry, humor, was almost smiling at the byplay.

    They lapsed into silence as the fog bank departed and revealed a score of ships seemingly held together by stubborn will and malice made manifest than it was by any organized arcane rhythm or work of artifice. A small cadre of wraiths bearing the tattered banners of a dozen companies long since lapsed into the annals of history, but all the more pertinent... Gyles thrust a hand out at the ship at the fore, more specifically the tattered colors it flew.

    "Impossible... it has to be a Saan's ship," Gyles spoke as though startled out of his reverie of historical speculation, but Baedar's mind flew instead toward southern shores and its ruler--the concept of betrayal being sheer madness that he all at once dismissed, but found no ready answers to replace the thought, when Armandir let out a breath of realization.

    "Fuck!" He cursed, losing his control in a manner Baedar had never before seen him do, blade flying free from its sheath as he instantly took on a hostile stance, "That's the Band of Nine! Some madman worked their craft on famous cadavers, or we're cursed to Hells and back from the outset!"

    "How do you know--" Baedar almost finished before return fire from a dozen tortured engines landed among their force, cries of agony tearing through the air, more meat and sinew for the grinder.

    Armandir slipped in front of Baedar between one moment and the next, sword smoothly bleeding into twinned colors of blood and amber that recited the dirge of every foe he'd faced, a song that sang through the air but a moment before it cleaved a charging spirit in twain, one that had nearly impaled the Investigator with a lance that seemed to slip in and out of reality. The weapon rolled away on the deck of the Basilisk's Fang, Armandir replying shortly, "Because I was there, boy!"

    Baedar barely got out of the way of a stray arrow--damn foolish thing to die to, he thought almost irreverently, not at all something one would want having listed as possibly their last official entry in the Inquisitorial archives; 'Wherein the Investigator, foolhardy as can be, lost his life in service to the Crown by enemy arrow fire', and should he be so lucky, 'on the high seas' indulgently tacked onto the end.

    "Wisdom," he began stonily, about to prepare the spell to strip the protections from the incoming wraith bearing a banner of twinned tigers, before Armandir jerked his head back toward the aft of the ship.

    "Protect the Captain! He is brave enough to be stupid and dangerous enough to wind up in a situation his bodyguards cannot get him out of." The spell-blade faced down the brunt of the force, backed up by what men to hand they had and their fellow mage, who looked as though they could not choose between writing down information for later review or bring a prepared spell to the fore.

    The obvious struck Baedar like a lightning bolt in spite of himself, Lord Baelon was not just the Captain of the vessel they stood upon, but the leader of the entire expedition who's loss might sign its death knell if they were struck in the middle of the ocean without anything to show for it, so Baedar bit back a harsher response, the thought of leaving a debt unpaid sat ill with him, but it was a fair point.

    He half-sprinted away from the coming tumult of battle, though not before two phantom lancers flew by, intent on reaping a toll on the men just responding to the assault. Baedar resisted a wailing screech from the one in front most stoutly, then sent a flurry of flaming darts screaming back by way of reply.

    Two hovered at either side of Baedar a few heartbeats longer, casting his Valyrian features with a mask of grim humor at the faltering spirit. They died again screaming in flame and fury.

    OOC: Yes, the quality of this series just suddenly went up. I'm putting more effort into it because the interesting parts are coming along soon.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I wrote the above to this, it's 2020 so I've been put into a nostalgic mood. Sitting up late at night in front of my X-Box or Playstation playing classic games with an oversized controller kind of lights up some bittersweet memories and makes me remember adventures through compelling stories, whether it be a Jedi trying to overcome his own inherent dark nature and regain his memories or a police officer coming into work on his first day on the job to a zombie apocalypse, or becoming a knight of the sky and dueling fellow aces with honor, or sometimes with mercenary and ruthless practicality.

    Not all the stories being, y'know, equally sophisticate, but they had an impact and imagery that is hard to let go.

    A Sword Without a Hilt is a great setting to play around in. It's got the bones to be a high fantasy epic, and though it has concessions to make by having game mechanics and the conceit of being a collective game to bow to, there have been great ideas simmering beneath the surface just waiting to get out.
     
    Crake said:
    The Spice of Magic Part X​

    Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
    <<<Previous

    The fog which had been about to descend upon the expedition would have been far more fearful had they not come prepared with spell scrolls, expecting this tactic from a number of sources, along with poison clouds and smoke. The fact that the lights which had been coming closer and closer had instead drawn back, almost hesitant, holding position once it was clear their ambush was spoiled and with no other tricks to fall back upon, had caused Gyles to breathe out an almost exasperated sigh, standing beside the more cautious Baedar.

    "It is almost as if all manner of strange horrors think that the people of this world dug their heads into the sand and would rather plead ignorance whenever some unnatural force reared its ugly head. Did they think we would not be able to counter simple fog that held no other persistent effect beyond its obscuring nature?" Baedar was surprised by the anger that entered the normally congenial man's voice when he next spoke, icy fury restrained by the need to leaf rapidly through his spell book. "That kind of arrogance should be punished."

    The creaking of ships and the shuttering and opening of mage-lit lanterns, which were used to signal rudimentary messages, ones with more priority or complexity passed along by raven construct, was all that filled the air, interrupting their discussion by how unnatural it was. There was an ominous thrum, some half-heard expression of intent, half-felt, a spine-tingling pall that fell over the uncooperative fleet who were forewarned of their foe, if not its exact nature. A wave of scattered laughter rose as siege weapons lobbed pitch-soaked projectiles and their unwanted company surged back, as though startled.

    Baedar was almost consoling when he spoke up again, though he was of a mind that a more temperate approach should be taken regardless.

    "Think about it from their perspective," Baedar replied with an air of forced relaxation, as though taking on the warped mind-set of any number of inhuman beings was a simple exercise, and who could say it wasn't for a man steeped in conspiracy and the arcane, "If it had not been for mages and champions, prescient as they were skilled in battle, dragging half of the world kicking and screaming towards enlightenment, why, they might have had a dozen or so more years to play with their food."

    A process, Baedar would more privately admit, that was more akin to crawling toward a single destination from multiple directions, if one were to be generous, but often lapsed, stuttered and started at the speed set by the slowest and most obstinate men and women to realize the unvarnished truth, that the veil that had been pierced could not be drawn back again.

    "My heart bleeds for them," Armandir quipped from the other side of the bespectacled mage, who, in a moment of rare, if wry, humor, was almost smiling at the byplay.

    They lapsed into silence as the fog bank departed and revealed a score of ships seemingly held together by stubborn will and malice made manifest than it was by any organized arcane rhythm or work of artifice. A small cadre of wraiths bearing the tattered banners of a dozen companies long since lapsed into the annals of history, but all the more pertinent... Gyles thrust a hand out at the ship at the fore, more specifically the tattered colors it flew.

    "Impossible... it has to be a Saan's ship," Gyles spoke as though startled out of his reverie of historical speculation, but Baedar's mind flew instead toward southern shores and its ruler--the concept of betrayal being sheer madness that he all at once dismissed, but found no ready answers to replace the thought, when Armandir let out a breath of realization.

    "Fuck!" He cursed, losing his control in a manner Baedar had never before seen him do, blade flying free from its sheath as he instantly took on a hostile stance, "That's the Band of Nine! Some madman worked their craft on famous cadavers, or we're cursed to Hells and back from the outset!"

    "How do you know--" Baedar almost finished before return fire from a dozen tortured engines landed among their force, cries of agony tearing through the air, more meat and sinew for the grinder.

    Armandir slipped in front of Baedar between one moment and the next, sword smoothly bleeding into twinned colors of blood and amber that recited the dirge of every foe he'd faced, a song that sang through the air but a moment before it cleaved a charging spirit in twain, one that had nearly impaled the Investigator with a lance that seemed to slip in and out of reality. The weapon rolled away on the deck of the Basilisk's Fang, Armandir replying shortly, "Because I was there, boy!"

    Baedar barely got out of the way of a stray arrow--damn foolish thing to die to, he thought almost irreverently, not at all something one would want having listed as possibly their last official entry in the Inquisitorial archives; 'Wherein the Investigator, foolhardy as can be, lost his life in service to the Crown by enemy arrow fire', and should he be so lucky, 'on the high seas' indulgently tacked onto the end.

    "Wisdom," he began stonily, about to prepare the spell to strip the protections from the incoming wraith bearing a banner of twinned tigers, before Armandir jerked his head back toward the aft of the ship.

    "Protect the Captain! He is brave enough to be stupid and dangerous enough to wind up in a situation his bodyguards cannot get him out of." The spell-blade faced down the brunt of the force, backed up by what men to hand they had and their fellow mage, who looked as though they could not choose between writing down information for later review or bring a prepared spell to the fore.

    The obvious struck Baedar like a lightning bolt in spite of himself, Lord Baelon was not just the Captain of the vessel they stood upon, but the leader of the entire expedition who's loss might sign its death knell if they were struck in the middle of the ocean without anything to show for it, so Baedar bit back a harsher response, the thought of leaving a debt unpaid sat ill with him, but it was a fair point.

    He half-sprinted away from the coming tumult of battle, though not before two phantom lancers flew by, intent on reaping a toll on the men just responding to the assault. Baedar resisted a wailing screech from the one in front most stoutly, then sent a flurry of flaming darts screaming back by way of reply.

    Two hovered at either side of Baedar a few heartbeats longer, casting his Valyrian features with a mask of grim humor at the faltering spirit. They died again screaming in flame and fury.

    OOC: Yes, the quality of this series just suddenly went up. I'm putting more effort into it because the interesting parts are coming along soon.
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    Neat twist there, dude. I was expecting Deep Ones. Ghost Ships weren't even on my radar. I wonder who raised them? Or was it a spontaneous instance of Undead forming? There are a surprising number of Undead who form that way without any outside actors arranging it.

    Baedar might not be any tougher than a well geared 6th level Sorcerer, but his Fire spells hit like a fucking truck. Those Elemental Fire Darts he's tossing around are going to be doing 1d6+10 Fire damage each, and he can launch five per casting. I hope he took the time before the fighting started to cast two or three defensive spells, at least Defending Bone and Mage Armor. If he got Shield up, too, that would be great, and he can always use Lesser Dragon Shape in order to take to the air.
     
    There's also the whole "there can only be one dragon" thing we got going for us. :V
     
    Can anyone find the dream-update where we first learned Bloodwish?
    With our distant ancestor being poisoned and healing herself.
    I've tried every combination of keywords I could think of in the search.
     
    Very nice omake @Crake, Curious to see what the backstory behind those ghosts is

    Vote closed.
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 10, 2020 at 4:49 AM, finished with 85 posts and 16 votes.
    • [X] Team Viserys keep to the plan to deal with the temple first, that is the heart of their power.
      -[X] Team Vee will halt Elemental Summoning for the time being. Instead, escorted by Team Minotaur, the Adamantine Golem, and Team Havoc's as of yet undeployed Nekro-Kraken (now under Maester Qyburn's direct control), will make their way close enough to the dimensional breach into the Dreamlands that Vee can attempt to seal it using her Dimensional Lock spells. Their Fireflies and Glass Golems will be used to spring traps rather than attempting to bypass them, where possible.
      -[X] Team Yss, while still in reserve, prepares to intervene should more Nightmare Dragons exit the dimensional breach before it can be closed.
      -[X] Team Malarys:
      --[X] Malarys will use his Reached Sacramental Seal spell to imprison the Stunned Nightmare Dragon before it can regain its senses.
      --[X] Rina will direct her Fell Drain Boreal Wind against the remaining Drakes. If a Nightmare Dragon comes within range, she targets it with all four chains from her Fell Drain Barbed Chains spell. If not, she instead targets the nearest one with Boneshaker, timed so that she can interfere with its movements in some detrimental manner, especially if it is attempting to dodge Tyene's Sunbeam.
      --[X] Waymar targets the two new Nightmare Dragons with a Born of the Three Thunders augmented Extraordinary (ignores SR) Lightning Lance. While the potential damage is nice, the goal is to Stun them using the special effect from the Born of the Three Thunders ability.
      --[X] Tyene casts Assay Spell Resistance, then uses a Sunbeam spell, targeting one of the new Nightmare Dragons in an attempt to Blind it.
      -[X] The Moonchaser, Wyverns, and Erinyes Kill Squads will continue harrassing the Drakes so that they cannot interfere with our other people.
      [X]
      [X]
    Click to expand...
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Personally Mercy could not see what the guardsmen had against the word 'game.' True she was only days old, but she was morally certain she would always enjoy games. Even could she count a hundred years she would never get tired of games... The young woman's mussing on the silliness of people
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    @DragonParadox, I was going back through old inerlude to try to find the one Artemis1992 wanted and I came across some typoes. I think you meant "mortally" and "musings".
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Can anyone find the dream-update where we first learned Bloodwish?
    With our distant ancestor being poisoned and healing herself.
    I've tried every combination of keywords I could think of in the search.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Here you go.

    "Blood Wish" doesn't actually show up in the text of the chapter, but this is the Dragon Dream where Viserys learned it.
     
    Inserted tally
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 10, 2020 at 4:49 AM, finished with 85 posts and 16 votes.
    • [X] Team Viserys keep to the plan to deal with the temple first, that is the heart of their power.
      -[X] Team Vee will halt Elemental Summoning for the time being. Instead, escorted by Team Minotaur, the Adamantine Golem, and Team Havoc's as of yet undeployed Nekro-Kraken (now under Maester Qyburn's direct control), will make their way close enough to the dimensional breach into the Dreamlands that Vee can attempt to seal it using her Dimensional Lock spells. Their Fireflies and Glass Golems will be used to spring traps rather than attempting to bypass them, where possible.
      -[X] Team Yss, while still in reserve, prepares to intervene should more Nightmare Dragons exit the dimensional breach before it can be closed.
      -[X] Team Malarys:
      --[X] Malarys will use his Reached Sacramental Seal spell to imprison the Stunned Nightmare Dragon before it can regain its senses.
      --[X] Rina will direct her Fell Drain Boreal Wind against the remaining Drakes. If a Nightmare Dragon comes within range, she targets it with all four chains from her Fell Drain Barbed Chains spell. If not, she instead targets the nearest one with Boneshaker, timed so that she can interfere with its movements in some detrimental manner, especially if it is attempting to dodge Tyene's Sunbeam.
      --[X] Waymar targets the two new Nightmare Dragons with a Born of the Three Thunders augmented Extraordinary (ignores SR) Lightning Lance. While the potential damage is nice, the goal is to Stun them using the special effect from the Born of the Three Thunders ability.
      --[X] Tyene casts Assay Spell Resistance, then uses a Sunbeam spell, targeting one of the new Nightmare Dragons in an attempt to Blind it.
      -[X] The Moonchaser, Wyverns, and Erinyes Kill Squads will continue harrassing the Drakes so that they cannot interfere with our other people.
      [X]
      [X]
    Click to expand...
     
    Part MMMCCCXXXV: Coat of Red, Coat of Black
  • Threadmarks
    • Coat of Red, Coat of Black ​

    Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    You remember seeing the Minotaurs guarding the Demon-haunted gates of Manatrys. They looked fearsome then, savage filled with the rage of their making, driven by the malice of their demon masters. They are fearsome still, but savage no more, garbed in gleaming Adamantine Fullplate, tall as Giants with horns fit to scrape the sky as they charge. Yet for all that the men of the Golden Company hold, the traps and spells had bought them enough time to file out in ordered ranks even beneath the blinding light and killing frosts. These men know magic, they had seen their officers wield it. They knew monsters, they had fought beneath the shadow of their wings. Alas for them these were more than monsters.

    You are not sure how many Minotaurs die in the pitch of battle, but you see five Myrish Glass Golems shatter in shower of twisting magic and razor sharp shards as golden-armored figures direct some strange mechanisms, half-wood-half-metal carved with runes and stitched into the flesh of their wielders with white hot wires.

    The magic that spews from the ends of the devices seems akin to the breath of the Drakes, twisting impossible colors barely controlled. Enough to blunt the charge but not break it, it is clear these weapons were not meant to be used so soon. One of the flesh-stitched wands shatters under the strain of use, burning the skin from its wearer... just the skin, leaving the man a flayed vision of horror, muscles twitching and writhing in agony as he screams.

    "It seems we are not the only ones to invent new weapons," Lya says with a grimace. For once it is not curiosity you see shining in her eye as she notices a new arcane creation.

    5x Glass Golems Lost

    Too little too late... you can read it in the flow of the battle. More Minotaurs might die than might have otherwise, even with the borrowed strength of Fey magic flowing through their veins, but as Qyburn unleashes the flesh-stitched Kraken the courage of all but the bravest or most fanatical sellswords fails.

    Turning your eyes to the sky to see Malarys binding one of the Nightmare Dragons into a seal that recalls He whom the Valyrians called of War but is not of him. Balerion roars almost as though recalling his namesake's mark from some ancient memory, or perhaps a challenge for the ones still unbound. The other Dragon manages to catch itself at the last moment as it plummets, turning a fall into a dive. It sweeps over Rina like an avalanche of bloodied claw and ebony scale. Chains of ice slash at its wings and seek to bind but do not hold... Rina is the first of your companions to be wounded in the battle. She will not be the last.

    Rina takes 53 Damage

    Waymar's lightning arcs between the two remaining Nightmare Dragons even as the Drakes rush around him, thankfully unable to find purchase against his enchanted bronze. They will be able to breathe soon... you think distantly as the Moonchaser continues to wreak its deadly toll. The matter-of-fact tones of their wing leader announces another Erinyes dead, possibly to the Drakes' death throes.

    7x Drakes Removed from the Field (3 Dead, 4 teleported away)

    1x Erinyes Killed

    Acid bubbles and flows from the Nightmare Dragon's jaws but the nimbler Mind Dragon distracts it at the last moment, allowing you, Dany, Lya, Ser Richard, Sandor, and Teana to finally reach the temple... just as five roars as one fill the air.

    "She is coming. She is almost here," Dany says, a heady mix of fear and anticipation in her voice, then her eyes fall upon the temple and her tone grows more subdued. "There he is too, poor fool..."

    There is no need to ask who she means. Below among the crude columns of the temple you see a boy who cannot be much older than Dany garbed in Dragonsteel armor emblazoned in swirling crimson patterns, like trails of ever dripping blood. At his left side is the woman Tyene had recognized as Ashara Dayne, and at his right an older knight with faded red hair who draws a snarl of anger from Ser Richard: "Connington!"

    It is strange to hear that anger, the one reserved for the traitors and fools of the Usurper's War, with monsters and magic flying all around, but it is somehow grounding, too. Whatever Tiamat's spite may have brewed you are here to put an end to Varys' mad schemes too, to the Blackfyre line.

    The boy raises the fabled blade by which it had all begun and over the Valyrian Steel his eyes are hard. "Welcome uncle, aunt. A pity I cannot offer you hospitality."

    The altar behind him is slick with the blood of sacrifices. You recognize a Shugenja who had delivered a message from Pol Ning staring up at you eyes empty and lifeless.

    What do you do?

    [] Disrupt the ritual, you do not need to deal with and Avatar of Tiamat, just yet
    -[] Write in

    [] Capture Aegon, he is the key to harming the Mother of Dragons herself in a meaningful way
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: I decided not to show every loss this time because it makes sense that Viserys cannot see how every last fight went, and in any case he was busy getting into position to fight Aegon and Company.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • @DragonParadox, is the Worm ready to be called on at moment's notice?

    [X] Goldfish

    F!Aegon or Timmie, we need only one of them for WoE to work.
    But, if we get to grab both, we'll be even in for even a bigger victory here.

    That the Avatar of Tim promises to be an encounter far too many seem to have been waiting for... well, just another reason, I suppose.


    Capturing both is not a priority in the slightest of course, and F!Aegon is obviously an easier target for that.
     
    I think we should stick with the Maw of Chaos for now.
    Aegon will survive a bit of it and the other people in the area will be distracted or dead.
     
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