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

[Rovos]

Pretty much, just that this is more of a long-term investment than anything. We're not going to see what the baby turns out as for quite a while.

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yes sadly not everyone can grow as fast as the changeling babies

 

[egoo]

[X] Duesal
I'm somewhat tempted to go overboard and clear out our whole loot-pile, as is a good tradition of mine...

But alas, we have ~13 Tier-3 Heart Trees to grow this mknth as well, at the very least.

 

[Othan763]

[X] Duesal

 

[Azel]

[X] Duesal

Though I would prefer to overdo it by a whole order of magnitude. Seven is such an ugly multiplier.

@DragonParadox, was Bloodraven speaking in similes or is there actually a metaphysical hand around the kids heart? Because if so, we should stab it and see what we can drag into the Old Gods maw.

 

[Goldfish]

[X] 1 Blade of the Forsaken Champion (Unholy Avenger Valyrian Steel Longsword)

The chance that we get a powerful Antipaladin or similar with an affinity for longswords is already not great.
Best shot are our Eryines Paladin of Tyranny, and she doesn't profit from the effects that much.

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That thing is perfect for Sarell, our Paladin of Tyranny Erinyes.

EDIT: Never mind, I forgot about the caster level of the Paladin limiting the effects of the Greater Dispel Magic. Would still prefer to hold onto it for now, though.

EDIT #2: Actually, upon further thought, it would be a pretty fitting sacrifice here.

We also have this we could use, if we want to over pay some more;

Heartwounder (+3 Profane Burst Bastard Sword), Special: When used against a creature with less than half of its maximum Hit Points, Heartwounder's Enhancement bonus increases by +2 and its Critical Threat Range increases to from 19-20 to 17-20. This effect does not stack with similar bonuses granted by the Keen property or Improved Critical feat.

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[X] Artemis1992

 

[Goldfish]

Perilous Offering ​

Twenty First Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

"The Old Gods take sacrifices of sorcery as easily as blood," you answer plainly, though you do not add that one cannot simply enchant a sword and shatter it before a Heart Tree for a blessing. A detailed account of the Brazen Throne and its forges will not aid you here, only the knowledge of how the two before you might keep their child safe. "I would offer such sacrifices as a gift, if you wish..."

Ser Andrew opens his mouth to speak, though whatever he was to say shall remain a mystery because Jeyne is swifter. "The offering can be made in Skyreach, can it not? It would reassure father to see it with his own eyes."

"Sorcerer's Deep has no small number of Heart Trees, but it should be no trouble if you would prefer it done here in Dorne. I confess that I am curious to see the tree of Skyreach," Dany says. You catch the briefest look in Ser Andrew's direction. It is not a particularly sympathetic expression. Doubtlessn she too is contemplating the prospect of the knight facing the father of the woman he left with child then publicly accused of attempted assassination.

"I do not think I would be welcome at Skyreach Keep," the knight says stiffly. Turning back to you, he adds. "I would be indebted to you, Your Grace, if you or one in your service could recount what transpired there."

Lady Fowler sighs, looking much older than her seven and ten years. "We are both going to Sorcerer's Deep when this is over. I will tell you what happened."

The knight's expression softens slightly as he nods his head in thanks before taking his leave of you and Prince Doran. "I will ensure the truth of the day's happenings will be known in the city."

"A bold man that, or a foolish one, to think he can bridle rumor," Waymar says softly in his wake.

"My agents will also try to spread the truth as much as they can, though of course those not inclined to trust me are unlikely to be swayed," the Prince of Dorne says.

***​

Lord Franklyn Fowler embraces his daughter upon her return, hardly seeming to notice anyone else present until he had assured himself that she was well. He knew about the child, that you already learned, but you are glad to see he seems to genuinely care more for his daughter's well being than saving face, even with the prospect of so many others discovering it. This is Dorne, where the stigma of bastardy is lighter, but that does not mean there is none for doing as Daena the Defiant did and bearing a child with no father.

"Others and their wights," the lord shakes his head as though to clear away unwelcome thoughts. "Such things were easier to deal with when the demons and the monsters were safely on the other side of the Narrow Sea, meaning no offense, Your Grace."

"None taken, my lord. Ensuring that you and all others, high and lowborn alike, have less to do with such horrors is one of my fondest hopes. For now, however, we must look to the gods for protection and be watchful ourselves for the works of the Enemy," you reply, clasping the Dornishman's proffered arm in greeting. "Now let us see about paying the gods their due."

A look into a scrying mirror and a swift spell of translocation sees you elsewhere, almost as far as one can get from the warm shores of Sunspear and still be counted in Dorne. Among these peaks Houses of the First Men, like the Daynes and Fowlers, had resisted first the Andals and then even Nymeria the Rhoynar for a time. Here weirwoods still grew over the long ages, reaching out their branches to the sky even when the faith in the Old Gods faded, not that those who dreamed the Greendream cared for such devotions. As far as those distant slumbering spirits were concerned, while the Heart Tree of Skyreach endured House Fowler kept to their oaths. Little wonder then that they had answered the call of blood and ritual.

"What wore those?" Jeyne asks, looking at the eight sets of rust red plate you laid out besides the tree.

"Giants," Ser Richard replies shortly. Something about his tone convinces Lord Fowler not to press for more in spite of the curiosity in his eyes. He must have been practicing on Saan.

Dark Sister wakes blearily as she is being drawn. "What am I, a blacksmith's hammer?" she asks in jest. "You should join the melee, it's been a while since I have been part of one. You could even kill some of those troublesome lords under another guise."

"I would prefer to talk to them before resorting to assassination," you reply as the blade cuts lesser steel and petty enchantments one by one.

"You are as bad as Allysande," the spirit of the sword grumbles.

Rust red sinks into the pale roots like blood. Although there is no wind, the tree shakes and the eyes upon the carved face snap open. "More," you hear Bloodraven's voice filled with terrible urgently. "Their hand is around the babe's heart. The tree itself could wither if the sacrifice goes ill."

Lost 8 sets of Plate Armor +1

What else do you offer to complete the sacrifice?

[] Write in (Must have a CL of at least 15)

OOC: Of all the places you could have gotten a near crit-fail this is not the worst. Not yet edited.

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Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP. I highlighted one sentence in red, though. Something is missing there.

 

[Duesal]

[X] Duesal
I'm somewhat tempted to go overboard and clear out our whole loot-pile, as is a good tradition of mine...

But alas, we have ~13 Tier-3 Heart Trees to grow this mknth as well, at the very least.

Click to shrink...

[X] Duesal

Though I would prefer to overdo it by a whole order of magnitude. Seven is such an ugly multiplier.

@DragonParadox, was Bloodraven speaking in similes or is there actually a metaphysical hand around the kids heart? Because if so, we should stab it and see what we can drag into the Old Gods maw.

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If this is a chance to outright steal power we can probably afford like 25 more. Hopefully not all of it goes into the baby.

 

[DragonParadox]

[X] Duesal

Though I would prefer to overdo it by a whole order of magnitude. Seven is such an ugly multiplier.

@DragonParadox, was Bloodraven speaking in similes or is there actually a metaphysical hand around the kids heart? Because if so, we should stab it and see what we can drag into the Old Gods maw.

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Similes, there is nothing physically there to stab.

 

[Goldfish]

If this is a chance to outright steal power we can probably afford like 25 more. Hopefully not all of it goes into the baby.

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I don't think this is a good opportunity to steal power at all. A bit of Others-influence exerted to target an unborn child doesn't amount to much. Overpaying drastically on this is just being wasteful, IMO. We will have better things to spend those sacrifices on in the near future, guaranteed.

 

[egoo]

Having thought on it, we prolly should just vote on this sooner rather than later.
@Duesal, you mind amending your vote with this?

Imma nap now, otherwise I would've tried to overtake her vote.

[X] Grow Heart Trees for provinces with active Inquisition Bases (same effects as the Tree of All-Seeing-Eye).
-[X] Stepstones
-[X] Tyrosh
-[X] Lys
-[X] Myr
-[X] Braavos
-[X] Pentos
-[X] Mantarys
-[X] Tolos
-[X] Naath
-[X] Eastern Basilisk Isles
-[X] The Three Snakes
-[X] Western Basilisk Isles
[X] Grow Healing Heart Trees in:
-[X] Lorath

[X] Total of 13 new Tier-3 Heart Trees (260 CL necessary).
-[X] Paid by:
--[X] TBD, I'm actually unable to find relevant stuff in the Armory. Was the equipment we looted off Giants made out of Steel..? @Goldfish, halp.

I slep now

 

[Duesal]

Similes, there is nothing physically there to stab.

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I don't think this is a good opportunity to steal power at all. A bit of Others-influence exerted to target an unborn child doesn't amount to much. Overpaying drastically on this is just being wasteful, IMO. We will have better things to spend those sacrifices on in the near future, guaranteed.

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That's all the confirmation I need. I'm sticking with what I have purely for the sake of insurance now.

Having thought on it, we prolly should just vote on this sooner rather than later.
@Duesal, you mind amending your vote with this?

Imma nap now, otherwise I would've tried to overtake her vote.

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It really depends on if @DragonParadox can fit that in somehow. A lot of the times we vote on these things and they get punted off to the side because the timing wasn't right.

[X] Total of 13 new Tier-3 Heart Trees (260 CL necessary).
-[X] Paid by:
--[X] TBD, I'm actually unable to find relevant stuff in the Armory. Was the equipment we looted off Giants made out of Steel..? @Goldfish, halp.

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Items marked for sacrifice are kept track of in the Larder.

And yes, the Fire Giant weapons and armor are just steel, they are not Living Brass.

 

[silvanknight]

[X] Duesal

 

[egoo]

It really depends on if @DragonParadox can fit that in somehow. A lot of the times we vote on these things and they get punted off to the side because the timing wasn't right.

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Thing is, it was always set as a background thing.
Voted-on as such in MAs for time and time again.

We just need a consensus on what to throw this way for DP to roll as needed.

Hear, @DragonParadox? If that part makes it into any vote, we arent actually asking for this to be a part of the update.

 

[Duesal]

Thing is, it was always set as a background thing.
Voted-on as such in MAs for time and time again.

We just need a consensus on what to throw this way for DP to roll as needed.

Hear, @DragonParadox? If that part makes it into any vote, we arent actually asking for this to be a part of the update.

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Yeah, about that. The main reason I'm able to keep track of the trees is because they make their way into updates in some fashion. At a minimum they should be part of some kind of report.

If we start growing trees with nothing but votes to mark them down, we will lose track of them more often and have repeats of the duplicate Shadow Tower tree. Not a big deal, no, but quite irritating.

 

[Artemis1992]

The Holy enchantment wouldn't see much use, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful in general. This thing counts as both Valyrian Steel and Cold Iron with a +5 enchantment. That's enough to bypass most DR that she'll encounter. And in time as she gains more paladin levels that greater dispel magic feature might actually see some use.

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I just like singular sacrifices more than throwing a pile of crap at the gods.
Aesthetics I guess.

 

[Goldfish]

Combined some votes here, @egoo, @Artemis1992. I don't yet have Heartwound marked with an "X", but it's a viable option if we want to overpay the OG with a good, thematic sacrifice, since it's a powerful magic blade directly associated with Undeath.

[X] Sacrificed to break the Other's influence over Jeyne Fowler's unborn child.
-[X] 1 Blade of the Forsaken Champion (Unholy Avenger Valyrian Steel Longsword)
-[] 1 Heartwounder (+3 Profane Burst Bastard Sword), Special: When used against a creature with less than half of its maximum Hit Points, Heartwounder's Enhancement bonus increases by +2 and its Critical Threat Range increases to from 19-20 to 17-20. This effect does not stack with similar bonuses granted by the Keen property or Improved Critical feat.

[X] Background Heart Tree Growing Spree (could we please get these in a report, @DragonParadox? It helps with tracking)
-[X] Grow Heart Trees for provinces with active Inquisition Bases (same effects as the Tree of All-Seeing-Eye).
--[X] Stepstones
--[X] Tyrosh
--[X] Lys
--[X] Myr
--[X] Braavos
--[X] Pentos
--[X] Mantarys
--[X] Tolos
--[X] Naath
--[X] Eastern Basilisk Isles
--[X] The Three Snakes
--[X] Western Basilisk Isles
-[X] Grow Healing Heart Trees in:
--[X] Lorath
-[X] Correction: We grew a second Heart Tree at the Shadow Tower along the Wall but accidentally duplicated the effects of the first tree. Rather than retcon its existence, here are the effects it should have instead.
--[X] Secondary Effect 1: Heart of Earth, Secondary Effect 2: Greater Magic Weapon, Secondary Effect 3: Magic Vestment
-[X] Total of 13 new Tier-3 Heart Trees (260 CL necessary).
--[X] Sacrificed: 32 Fire Giant Greatsword(Steel) (+1), 20 Fire Giant Fullplate(Steel) (+1)

 

[egoo]

@Duesal, please offer 42 plates of the Fire Giants (CL 5, total CL 210) and 10 more Greatswords (cl 5, total CL 50) with the stuff I wrote up above.

This shit is purely so we have the "this needs voting on, theoretically, since it is us spending resources on something"-part out of the way.

Now, I sleep.

Edit:
Yeah, alright, I will pester DP in PMs until he drops the trees on us on-screen, it's no biggie for me, I would just like to get the "voting on"-part outta the way.
It takes part both in MAs, and the next month's forge-order (for the tree-guardians specifically) to take note in on.

Edit edit: or go goldfish route, that ninja is danger tho.

 

[Artemis1992]

[X] Goldfish

 

[Rovos]

@Goldfish if we do the heart trees now we will also need to restat the second shadowtower tree becouse it has the same tree twice

 

[Duesal]

[X] Offer up twenty Fire Giant Greatswords (+1) CL 5 each for a total combined CL of 100

[X] Background Heart Tree Growing Spree (could we please get these in a report, @DragonParadox? It helps with tracking)
-[X] Grow Heart Trees for provinces with active Inquisition Bases (same effects as the Tree of All-Seeing-Eye).
--[X] Stepstones
--[X] Tyrosh
--[X] Lys
--[X] Myr
--[X] Braavos
--[X] Pentos
--[X] Mantarys
--[X] Tolos
--[X] Naath
--[X] Eastern Basilisk Isles
--[X] The Three Snakes
--[X] Western Basilisk Isles
-[X] Grow Healing Heart Trees in:
--[X] Lorath
-[X] Total of 13 new Tier-3 Heart Trees (260 CL necessary).
--[X] Sacrificed: 32 Fire Giant Greatsword(Steel) (+1), 20 Fire Giant Fullplate(Steel) (+1)

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Done, @egoo. Though that said I won't mind if Goldfish wins this. I'm always happy to preserve sacrifices.

 

[egoo]

Didn't we also want to restat the Teee of Lys, a while ago?

But one effect, but do asked for 100HD in sacrifices, iirc..?

 

[Duesal]

Didn't we also want to restat the Teee of Lys, a while ago?

But one effect, but do asked for 100HD in sacrifices, iirc..?

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Upgrading the Cure Disease to Panacea, yes. But really not a priority.

 

[Goldfish]

@Goldfish if we do the heart trees now we will also need to restat the second shadowtower tree becouse it has the same tree twice

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Added this to my vote:
-[] Correction: We grew a second Heart Tree at the Shadow Tower along the Wall but accidentally duplicated the effects of the first tree. Rather than retcon its existence, here are the effects it should have instead.
--[] Secondary Effect 1: Heart of Earth, Secondary Effect 2: Greater Magic Weapon, Secondary Effect 3: Magic Vestment

 

[Duesal]

Added this to my vote:
-[] Correction: We grew a second Heart Tree at the Shadow Tower along the Wall but accidentally duplicated the effects of the first tree. Rather than retcon its existence, here are the effects it should have instead.
--[] Secondary Effect 1: Heart of Earth, Secondary Effect 2: Greater Magic Weapon, Secondary Effect 3: Magic Vestment

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Adding that to my vote as well. This is as good a time as any to restat it.

 

[Goldfish]

Done, @egoo. Though that said I won't mind if Goldfish wins this. I'm always happy to preserve sacrifices.

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If you want to preserve sacrifices, why not just consolidate with me? If you want to overpay some, I'll go ahead and add sacrificing the Heartwounder sword to my plan, which will mean we pay at least double what is necessary, according to Bloodraven.