[X] Refuse, she and Dawnfyre can do more good elsewhere

Her talents are waving a hellish chain like tue ghost rider and riding a firebreathing lizard. She should be elsewhere
 
Actually, y'all, Valaena could be useful in Driftmark helping those already assigned their as guards, plus the Faceless Men, to locate the assassin. She has a neat Magus ability called Arcane Scent which may help her track down the culprit.

Arcane Scent (Ex): You gain the gain the Scent special quality for 9 hours. This ability can only detect creatures capable of casting spells or using spell-like abilities. Additionally, while this effect persists, you can attempt a Spellcraft check as a Move Action to determine the highest level of spell a detected creature is capable of casting (DC = 10 + target creature's caster level). You can only attempt this Spellcraft check once per target per 24 hours.

[X] Accept Valaena may stay, potentially into next month if the assassin is not caught before then
-[X] This is on the condition that she first return to Sorcerer's Deep for a couple days to receive various equipment upgrades to increase her effectiveness and chances of survival against the assassin if they move against her.
 
Actually, y'all, Valaena could be useful in Driftmark helping those already assigned their as guards, plus the Faceless Men, to locate the assassin. She has a neat Magus ability called Arcane Scent which may help her track down the culprit.



[X] Accept Valaena may stay, potentially into next month if the assassin is not caught before then
-[X] This is on the condition that she first return to Sorcerer's Deep for a couple days to receive various equipment upgrades to increase her effectiveness and chances of survival against the assassin if they move against her.
We can probably whip up something with the ability on the spot, thanks to our crazy-ass fleshcraftwrs.

Hm.
Didn't Seekers have something along the lines, anyway..?

And it is a dud of a search method if the assasin is not a spell caster, but a very well-geared rogue variant.
Thst is, if they even come back to be found at all.
 
We can probably whip up something with the ability on the spot, thanks to our crazy-ass fleshcraftwrs.

Hm.
Didn't Seekers have something along the lines, anyway..?

And it is a dud of a search method if the assasin is not a spell caster, but a very well-geared rogue variant.
Thst is, if they even come back to be found at all.
I don't think we could make something like that without a dedicated research action, since it's a unique magical ability granted by Valaena's Magus class.

Even if it doesn't help, I think we should let her stay for at least a little while. Valaena isn't super important yet, but she was the first new Dragonlord of the Imperium and she's grown quite a bit in our care. Keeping her happy and healthy is important. She hasn't been home except for very short visits for well over a year now. I don't see the harm in letting her spend some time with her family while also trying to root out the assassin, if they're still present. She already has a ring she can use to Detect Poison at will, which I'm assuming she will use religiously while in Driftmark, and we're gonna upgrade her gear to include a set of Soulfire Bracers, which will no-sell various Death Effects magical assassins are so fond of. She'll also have an Erinyes, Shadow Cat, and Lotus Leshy Sorcerer to watch her back.
 
Can we ask a favor of one of our Xorn allies?

This guy moved through walls, we need somebody who can do that on a regular basis. There must be some Xorn tracker on that tribe.
 
Sidebar; can we use sling and gun bullets as launcher ammunition? These things are really cheap, and a few would be really useful for inquisitors playing tag with low to mid level devils.
In particular:
Tracer Bullets
Dustburst Bullets
Boulder Bullets
Alchemist's Bullets

Low saves for the first two, but all of them are really cheap and depending on the encounter pretty useful. A surprise catapult stone could also get a minion out of an encounter with something they weren't prepared for, or let a squad gank someone out of their league.
 
I don't think we could make something like that without a dedicated research action, since it's a unique magical ability granted by Valaena's Magus class.
Hmmm.

We could try to get that creature: Elusa Hound – d20PFSRD
Automatically identifies spellcasters.

UNfortunatly it's intelligent, so we can't just buy one on an interplanar market and throw it in the forge, but it's still a good starting point.
 
Sidebar; can we use sling and gun bullets as launcher ammunition? These things are really cheap, and a few would be really useful for inquisitors playing tag with low to mid level devils.
In particular:
Tracer Bullets
Dustburst Bullets
Boulder Bullets
Alchemist's Bullets

Low saves for the first two, but all of them are really cheap and depending on the encounter pretty useful. A surprise catapult stone could also get a minion out of an encounter with something they weren't prepared for, or let a squad gank someone out of their league.
Those are neat, but mostly superfluous. The Launchers can already fire Alchemical payloads, such as Fungal Stun Vials, Sleep-Smoke, and various special munitions (or just regular vials of the stuff), all of which we can produce purely through Alchemy without using crafter time.
  • Fungal Stun Vial: When broken, a fungal stun vial releases a flash of bright blue light in a 10-foot radius and dim light in a 20-foot radius. All creatures within the flash area must make a Will save (DC 20). Creatures that fail are stunned for 1d2 rounds if they're in the area of bright light, or are confused for 1 round if in the area of dim light.
  • Sleep-Smoke: One dose affects a globe 10 feet in diameter on the first round, expanding outward to a globe 20 feet in diameter on the second round, and being harmless thereafter. A strong wind can move the globe of sleep-smoke. Type: Inhaled DC 15; Initial damage unconsciousness for 1 minute; Secondary damage unconsciousness for 1d3 minutes]
  • Explosive Launcher Munition / Bomb #1 (10 pounds / 4.5 kg): 8d6 Piercing & Bludgeoning damage in a 15 foot blast radius (DC 20 Reflex save for half damage), 2d6 Piercing damage (DC 15 Reflex save for half damage) in an area between 15 (4.5 m) and 30 feet (9 m) from the blast.
  • Liquid Ice Launcher Munition / Bomb #1 (10 pounds / 4.5 kg): 2d6 Cold damage to everything within 5 feet (1.5 m) of the target space and the target itself is Entangled for one round unless it succeeds on a DC 20 Fortitude save. Everything within the area between 5 (1.5 m) and 20 (6 m) feet of the target space must make a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw or take half the Cold damage.
  • Alchemist's Fire Launcher Munition / Bomb #1 (10 pounds / 4.5 kg): 4d6 Fire damage to everything within 5 feet (1.5 m) of the target space and each creature must make a DC 20 Reflex saving throw or catch on fire. Everything within the area between 5 (1.5 m) and 30 (9 m) feet of the target space must make a DC 20 Reflex saving throw or take half the fire damage, but they do not catch on fire.
 
  1. A short ritual
  2. He can have up to 196 linked Drakenbeasts, most other mages are limited to 7 and dragon bloods get 14
  3. There is such a protection but it's not foolproof (no magic really is)
  4. If you made them intelligent they probably would desire possessions since they are partly draconic in nature and aquisitiveness is a large part of that.
  5. It does require a goat yes, though you can develop it to work from a broader base

@DragonParadox

Have any of our Sorcerers bound Drakenbeasts for themselves yet?

Viserys blotting out the sun with Drakenbeast sky-writing proclamations will be amusing.
 
@DragonParadox

Have any of our Sorcerers bound Drakenbeasts for themselves yet?

Viserys blotting out the sun with Drakenbeast sky-writing proclamations will be amusing.
The first blotting out of the sun via Darkenbeasts will probably involve careful aerial formation flying arranged as part of a commercial venture.

Nothing says "Shop smart, shop at S-Mart!" quite like seeing it spelled out in the sky by a thousand flying monsters.

S-Mart being Sorcerer's Mart, of course.
 
[X] Goldfish

A smart enemy, a respectful smart enemy at that. Rather refreshing to be honest.

It's not going to stop me skinning him alive for information, but credit where credit is due.
 
Y'all are wasting Valaena's time by assigning her here.

We already have gome over the mess we have on our hands with all the existential threats around.
She's definitely better spent giving firepower-support to investigators and the Inquisitors we'll send to Sarnor or Qohor than sitting around, doing jack shit but trying find a single assasin... that is likely not going to be there anyway.
 
Y'all are wasting Valaena's time by assigning her here.

We already have gome over the mess we have on our hands with all the existential threats around.
She's definitely better spent giving firepower-support to investigators and the Inquisitors we'll send to Sarnor or Qohor than sitting around, doing jack shit but trying find a single assasin... that is likely not going to be there anyway.
It's not just about her time as a useful NPC, though. She has wants and motivations which we need to take into account, however, and spending some time with her family is important for her character.

We have enough people available to make up for her absence for the rest of this month and next month, if necessary.
 
She has wants and motivations which we need to take into account, however, and spending some time with her family is important for her character.
That is all fine and well, but I'm pretty sure we indulged her not too long ago.

I'm just... ugh, we have nowhere near enough minions and Companions to handle all the shit we have up in the air.
And here we are basically throwing her away for sentimental reasons alone, whereas she could act as a great mid-level Minion and deal with some troublesome elements all on her own if needed.

It's... ugh.
Inefficient.
There, I said it.
:sour:
 
Interlude DCCCXXII: A Bitter Bargain
A Bitter Bargain

Seventeenth Day of the First Month 294 AC

Rolph Caswell was a man Rhaella recalled quite well from her girlhood. Born as second son and raised at court he had been charming and well mannered, skillful enough with a lance to be noted and only about five years her elder. He was the kind of knight her attendants would pose sly questions about, expecting perhaps some suitably tragic sighs over curling auburn locks.

Personally Rhaella thought the man was a little too aware of sighing maidens and too fond of playing into those games for the thrill of it. She had quite enough performing to do as a princess of the Seven Kingdoms without adding to it in a bout of 'appropriate inappropriateness', especially given the rumors she had never been meant to overhear about how he approached more carnal trysts.

The highborn are for courting, the lowborn for bedding, the sentiment was hardly unique she would grant, but it was still distasteful for anyone to make use of their power over smallfolk like that, for there was without a doubt the threat of censure involved in any such coupling no matter how 'kind' the lord presumed to be. The former queen was quietly glad that neither of her sons were ever in the least bit inclined to such acts, though she could not claim to have raised Viserys for long enough to have instilled the value in him herself.

Setting aside the twinge of familiar pain she looked over the streets of Bitterbridge from what the locals called Gate Hill. The keep loomed black on the Mander with a commanding position of both the town and the bridge from which it took its name.

***​

The man who entered the Blooming Lilly, the best of the town's inns, a few hours later bore only a passing resemblance to the knight of Rhaella's faded memories. His girth had increased threefold and his hair was less styled to impress passing maidens and more to hide encroaching baldness, but ultimately she hardly noticed that. After all she was here for a pledge of fealty, not to negotiate a betrothal pact. What she did notice was the way some of the servers stiffed at his approach, one of them outright flinched. All the younger and prettier ones...

It looked as though Rolph Caswell had gotten worse as he aged, a concept Rhaella was sadly all too familiar with. Part of her wondered what her grim deathless guard thought of the matter, for she had no doubt those hell-blessed eyes ever looking for assassins or other threats had caught the same byplay. Did they hold some small measure of contempt for cruelties unspoken, or was their disdain of most mortals too thick to count such things important?

Regardless of the answer as an envoy she was doubly glad she had asked her guard to wear male guise so as not to stand out. She knew some lords presumed female warriors were willing to do more than fight for coin.

Still, if life at court had taught her one lesson above ell else it was that one was not required to like one's allies, merely tolerate them. Perhaps his son would be more tolerable once he ascended. Rhaella was growing increasingly aware that she would outlive her generation, likely by more years than she was entirely comfortable contemplating.

"Your Grace, such a wonder to see the rumors about you were true," the lord said with a too-familiar charming smile. "What brings you to Bitterbridge this fine day?"

"Fair is the day, but grave the news upon the wind..." Rhaella began.

Between the assurances that all the mages he had taken on would be granted the privileges of joining the Scholarum, news of Red Rolly's death in the east and a hefty payment in gold which would go towards warding his keep, which seemed to be his current interest, the lord's fealty was secured.

Lost 10,000 IM

Rhaella tried not to allow her gaze to linger too long upon the dark haired young woman who seemed to have caught Lord Caswell's eye. At least once Westeros was taken back for the Crown she would have some recourse in the courts not beholden to her lord. It was the sort of thing her grandfather had died for, but even Aegon the Fifth had learned upon his ascension that such things were best championed in law, not heroism. There would never be enough heroes for the latter.

OOC: A bit of a character piece for Rhaella, she is a kind person and more moral than many in Viserys' inner circle, but at the end of the day she is also the former queen of Westeros. She is not going to go run off to write wrongs like a knight errant to the detrimental of her actual task, even when they hit close to home.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top