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

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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Apr 6, 2020 at 3:10 PM, finished with 35 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] You have hundreds of lesser phoenixes right now; Look for one delighted to educate, to advise, to sing and be pampered at a distant land. Not only can it passed off as a symbol of R'hloor instead of the Dread Emperor's overt hand, but is also able to whisper propaganda constantly, prevent any.. unreasonable activities and serve as a unbiased point of contact.
    -[X] Should no willing phoenix be found, instead offer: A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know.
    [X] A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know
    [X] A bird from the Plane of Air, subtly enhanced in the Flesh Forge (Advanced Temple, NA +2, all attributs except Int +4; Magebred, gaining Excellent Learner, Alertness, +4 Dex, +2 Str, +2 Con).
    [X] A rare Sothosi bird
    [X] A flesh-forged bird of extraordinary song and plumage
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[X] A bird from the Plane of Air, subtly enhanced in the Flesh Forge (Advanced Temple, NA +2, all attributs except Int +4; Magebred, gaining Excellent Learner, Alertness, +4 Dex, +2 Str, +2 Con).

Hrrrmm yeah, I'm worried if we give him a lesser Phoenix, he'd treat it as a pet as opposed to a sentient being.
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Apr 6, 2020 at 3:43 PM, finished with 44 posts and 17 votes.
  • [X] A bird from the Plane of Air, subtly enhanced in the Flesh Forge (Advanced Temple, NA +2, all attributs except Int +4; Magebred, gaining Excellent Learner, Alertness, +4 Dex, +2 Str, +2 Con).
    [X] You have hundreds of lesser phoenixes right now; Look for one delighted to educate, to advise, to sing and be pampered at a distant land. Not only can it passed off as a symbol of R'hloor instead of the Dread Emperor's overt hand, but is also able to whisper propaganda constantly, prevent any.. unreasonable activities and serve as a unbiased point of contact.
    -[X] Should no willing phoenix be found, instead offer: A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know.
    [X] A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know
    [X] A rare Sothosi bird
    [X] A flesh-forged bird of extraordinary song and plumage
Click to expand...
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Why is a foreign bird any better than a Sothosi bird? They're both animals with Int 2, and from the perspective of a single bird the Planetosi sky is effectively infinite anyway.
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How smart can we make something withouth full-blown personhood?

A bird that can take care of itself and not be tricked into eating poison is a nice idea.

Though now I am thinking of vanity projects for later, after we get things settled. Basically amagic botanical garden, full of natural and forged plants, birds, and butterflies.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Apr 6, 2020 at 3:43 PM, finished with 44 posts and 17 votes.
  • [X] A bird from the Plane of Air, subtly enhanced in the Flesh Forge (Advanced Temple, NA +2, all attributs except Int +4; Magebred, gaining Excellent Learner, Alertness, +4 Dex, +2 Str, +2 Con).
    [X] You have hundreds of lesser phoenixes right now; Look for one delighted to educate, to advise, to sing and be pampered at a distant land. Not only can it passed off as a symbol of R'hloor instead of the Dread Emperor's overt hand, but is also able to whisper propaganda constantly, prevent any.. unreasonable activities and serve as a unbiased point of contact.
    -[X] Should no willing phoenix be found, instead offer: A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know.
    [X] A bird from the Endless sky itself such as the world has never know
    [X] A rare Sothosi bird
    [X] A flesh-forged bird of extraordinary song and plumage
Click to expand...
 
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Part MMMCDXXXII: Gifts of Song and Spell
  • Threadmarks
    • Gifts of Song and Spell ​

    Twenty-Seventh Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Though you briefly consider asking a phoenix to serve as your liaison to Lord Mullendore you decide against it in the end. Convenient as that might be you do not know the old lord at all and could not say if he would treat a phoenix with appropriate respect. He would, after all, be used to seeing his birds as ornaments and pets, not givers of counsel and bearers of wisdom. Best to keep to a bird, though no common creature.

    The Cloud Swallow is an impressive enough bird on its own merits, its feathers subtly shifting through a thousand shades of blue to match the colors of the Endless Sky, its swift trills and complex harmonies filling the air almost from the moment you took it off the merchant's hands. Bred long ago by the djinn from the larger and far less tractable Storm Swallow, surprisingly affectionate for a bird Lya points out, you can still make some improvements of your own. Showing your alliance with the djinn is all well and good, but even better to shape the bird with a flesh-smith's arts to counter any darker rumors about the craft..

    By the time it leaves Elaheh's care the bird is certainly more striking, its feathers blurring at the edges into mist and dew when it flies, eyes bright with the reignited power of the storm. It can also probably crack a man's skull with a well-timed jab of its beak.

    ***​

    As you had hoped the elderly Lord of Uplands finds the notion of a bird as beautiful of feather and song as it is lethal utterly charming. "Hah... best bit of magic I've seen so far. You say it's clever, Your Grace? Do you think it could be trained to hunt like a hawk? It'd be a hell of a thing to show up to one of Tarly's hunts with a songbird better than his falcon."

    You consider the matter a moment as the swallow literally puffs out its chest and gives a complex multi-tonal trill. "Perhaps, it's still on the small side for a hunting bird and strength alone cannot truly make up for trying to snatch up something comparatively too large."

    "Do you favor hawking, Your Grace?" Lord Martyn asks curiously.

    "I fly, the same principles apply from sparrows to dragons," you reply. A touch ruefully you add. "I used to be able to take smaller forms as my sister still can, but as I grew into my power I became constrained to... well, shapes I could not truly demonstrate without calling down stags and lions on your head." The best boasts are the ones that do not sound like boasts at all, you had long since learned.

    "Part of me is jealous of your wings, Your Grace, but I've spend three score and ten years with my feet firmly planted on the ground, probably best not to part ways now eh?"

    "Flying by sorcery is more intuitive than it might seem, my lord," Lya interjects, gently floating out of her seat with neither word nor gesture to mark the magic for the air itself obeys her.

    The offer is too much for Lord Martyn's curiosity and a few moments later he is flying around the solar. Sadly, a room chosen for its privacy does not make the freest venue to practice flight in, but he makes the best of it under the gaze of the seemingly bemused swallow.

    Once the lord has had his fill of flying you return to more serious fare, explaining just what the fey plan for the Reach and its lords, the implications of the pact he was offered. Somewhat surprisingly the Lord of Uplands does not seem particularly troubled by the news. "Figured it was something like that. Fey live in tales and trade in them after all. Who doesn't make a deal with an eye to becoming rich?"

    Before you can reply to that unexpected bit of insight he continues. "I'm not going to lie to you, Your Grace, if you hadn't shown up with a better offer I would've taken theirs and counted myself content in it, but you did so here we are? Do you want me to toss them out or keep trading and such going, maybe keep an ear to the ground for their plans?"

    What do you advise Lord Mullendore?

    [] Break off contact with the Court of Stars

    [] Continue trading and open relations with the Court of Stars after politely refusing the offer of protection

    [] Try to gather information on the Court of Stars for you

    [] Write in

    OOC: Hopefully these last updates have been interesting in spite of the lack of explicit conflict. Not everywhere can have intrigues and plots or else they start to feel too run-of-the-mill when you do encounter them.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I think he should continue accepting trade because that is some information on its own part.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Gifts of Song and Spell ​

    Twenty-Seventh Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Although you briefly consider asking a phoenix to serve as your liaison to Lord Mullendore, you decide against it in the end. Convenient as that might be, you do not know the old lord at all and could not say if he would treat a phoenix with appropriate respect. He would, after all, be accustomed to seeing his birds as ornaments and pets, not sources of counsel and bearers of wisdom. Best to keep to a bird, though no common creature.

    The Cloud Swallow is an impressive enough bird on its own merits, its feathers a subtly shifting through a thousand shades of blue to match the colors of the Endless Sky, its swift trills and complex harmonies filling the air almost from the moment you took it off the merchant's hands. Bred long ago by Djinn from the larger and far less tractable Storm Swallow, and surprisingly affectionate for a bird, Lya points out you can still make some improvements of your own. Showing your alliance with the Djinn is all well and good, but even better to shape the bird with a flesh-smith's arts to hopefully counter any darker rumors about the craft.

    By the time it leaves Elaheh's care, the bird is certainly more striking, its feathers blurring at the edges into mist and dew when it flies, eyes bright with the reignited power of the storm. It can also probably crack a man's skull with a well-timed peck of its beak.

    ***​

    As you had hoped, the elderly Lord of the Uplands finds the notion of a bird as beautiful of feather and song as it is lethal utterly charming. "Hah... best bit of magic I've seen so far. You say it's clever, Your Grace? Do you think it could be trained to hunt like a hawk. It'd be a hell of a thing to show up to one of Tarly's hunts with a songbird better than his falcon."

    You consider the matter a moment as the swallow literally puffs out its chest and gives a complex multi-tonal trill. "Perhaps, it's still on the small side for a hunting bird and strength alone cannot truly make up for trying to snatch up something comparatively too large."

    "Do you favor hawking, Your Grace?" Lord Martyn asks curiously.

    "I fly, the same principles apply from sparrows to dragons," you reply. A touch ruefully, you add. "I used to be able to take smaller forms as my sister still can, but as I grew into my power I became constrained to... well shapes I could not truly demonstrate without calling down stags and lions on your head." The best boasts are the ones that do not sound like boasts at all, you had long since learned.

    "Part of me is jealous of your wings, Your Grace, but I've spent four score and ten years with my feet firmly planted on the ground, probably best not to part ways now eh?"

    "Flying by sorcery is more intuitive than it might seem, my lord," Lya interjects, gently floating out of her seat with neither word not gesture to mark the magic for the air itself obeys her.

    The offer is too much for Lord Martyn's curiosity and a few moments later he is flying around the solar. Sadly a room chosen for its privacy does not make the freest venue to practice flight in, but he makes the best of it under the gaze of the seemingly bemused swallow.

    Once the lord has had his fill of flying, you return to more serious fare, explaining just what the fey plan for the Reach and its lords, the implications of the pact he was offered. Somewhat surprisingly, the lord of the Uplands does not seem particularly troubled by the news. "Figured it was something like that. Fey live in tales and trade in them, after all. Who doesn't make a deal with an eye to becoming rich?"

    Before you can reply to that unexpected bit of insight, he continues, "I'm not going to lie to you, Your Grace, if you hadn't shown up with a better offer I would've taken theirs and counted myself content in it, but you did so here we are. Do you want me to toss them out or keep trading and such going, maybe keep an ear to the ground for their plans?"

    What do you advise Lord Mullendore?

    [] Break off contact with the Court of Stars

    [] Continue trading and open relations with the Court of Stars after politely refusing the offer of protection

    [] Try to gather information on the Court of Stars for you

    [] Write in

    OOC: Hopefully these last updates have been interesting in spite of the lack of explicit conflict. Not everywhere can have intrigues and plots or else they start to feel too run-of-the-mill when you do encounter them. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    Damn, Mullendore is 90? That's like 120 in medieval Westerosi years. We should drop a Heal spell on him before we leave, y'all.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    He has a amulet of protection from law int and wis boosters (+2 and +3 respectively) and a healing belt.
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    Nice. He may be a bit of a weirdo, but at least he has his priorities straight. Protection from X is the first thing you buy!
    The rest is just gravy. Ultimately a luxury purchase for him, but still probably much better than just fancy clothes or something.

    By the way, did he already swear to us in the past? Or is he just super chill about calling us "Your Grace" and implying he'll take our orders?
     
    Goldfish said:
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    Damn, Mullendore is 90? That's like 120 in medieval Westerosi years. We should drop a Heal spell on him before we leave, y'all.
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    Oops, that's a typo, should be three score and ten, he's seventy, not young by any standard, but not pushing towards Aemon's age

    TalonofAnathrax said:
    By the way, did he already swear to us in the past? Or is he just super chill about calling us "Your Grace" and implying he'll take our orders?
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    The latter, he is unusually cavalier about discussing his plans before getting to the formalities and after all the trouble Viserys' had over the last few days he is minded to let him. Eccentricity he can deal with.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    Oops, that's a typo, should be three score and ten, he's seventy, not young by any standard, but not pushing towards Aemon's age



    The latter, he is unusually cavalier about discussing his plans before getting to the formalities and after all the trouble Viserys' had over the last few days he is minded to let him. Eccentricity he can deal with.
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    Definitely old enough to benefit from a Heal. Your body really starts punishing you around that age.
     
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