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

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[X] Secure Saenena then go to the Forge to secure any evidence there
 
By the by, results of the past month's RA into Psionics are brought into question with this too.
We had far too much success with those rolls OOC, so IC it may just be the result of the enemy action.

I think we should scrap those and start from the top, just to be safe.
Chances are, Urak's mental corruption is the result of looking too deeply into Jennye's psi-body and triggering some contingency of illithid's.
 
egoo said:
By the by, results of the past month's RA into Psionics are brought into question with this too.
We had far too much success with those rolls OOC, so IC it may just be the result of the enemy action.

I think we should scrap those and start from the top, just to be safe.
Chances are, Urak's mental corruption is the result of looking too deeply into Jennye's psi-body and triggering some contingency of illithid's.
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Yeah, best to proceed with ultimate paranoia.
 
Remaining RAs:
- Secrets by Devils' Blood Wrought (exotic effects of VS) (??/12)
- Waves of the Sea, on Depths and Fire Turned (wards for Efreeti ritual fortress) (??/15)
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@DragonParadox, if we start from the ground up in the research into Psionic templates, and decide to put truly... draconic safety measures, would the Progress required (base 40) be increased?
 
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Part MMMDLXIII: Wardens of Flesh
  • Threadmarks
    • Wardens of Flesh ​

    Twenty Seventh Day of the First Month 294 AC

    There is a hiss of smoke and a sigh of relief as Lady Saenena is herself sealed away for her own safety and yours. Both bottles go into your cloak beyond the gaze of all but gods or those akin to them in power. You turn to the others, offering your hand to to carry them to Gogossos. Hanging on to your sister's other hand Vee asks, the marshes a little stronger in her voice than usual, "'Are we goin' to the Snare?"

    "No, for two reasons," you reply at length. "One is because she suggested it and as she said she could be contaminated, perhaps unknowingly, and the second is because interrogations will keep, evidence in the Forge might not depending on procedure of dealing with contaminants."

    Lya nods firmly. "There should be no one but Urak and the Lady there today, the others are seeing to their business in Sorcerer's Deep and the Dreadfort respectively. It's just the automated defenses, probably why Urak chose the day under the effects of whatever it was..."

    As it turned out the automated defenses were out in force. The guiding intellect of the Forge had sent its servitors scouring the streets of Gogossos, liaisoning with the legion presence and even sending scuttling hands onto the street as observers. There is a full seeker patrol marching to the docks to the unease of the local traders.

    "Report!" you you will towards the constructs telepathically.

    "Attempting to prevent secondary infiltration by most common vector, standing procedure,"     one replies in like manner before disgorging a truly prodigious string of numbers and letters that makes you wonder how many contingencies the Forge actually has.

    Within the Forge itself there is deeper silence and fewer guardians, though thankfully not so few as to raise an alarm. The guiding minds are restless. "Seven of the birthing bods have been contaminated with Far Realm sigils... concepts... transmutations," the sounds emerge from all around you without a clear source. "Recommend study... dissection... termination"

    And here you thought the Seeker's emotionless voice was disturbing,     you shake off the thought. "Was anything born down there?"

    "Unknown, filaments damaged, connection unsafe..." one begins, but another voice interjects, sounding a touch less fractured and far more melodic. This had been a Singer in life, a Greenseer, and not one of the minds you had recovered from the Forge itself. "The pods can breed no more but one once they have begotten. Sounds there are but without voice, tred there is but without feet. Something moves down there. Spies, perhaps paraistes. They must be hunted down to the last for the sanctity of this place."

    "Understood, where are they?" you ask urgently.

    "The lower capillaries, nothing larger than a human child may fit there," the entity replies.

    "Well then, looks like we're out of luck," Lya tries to jest, though the attempt falls into uneasy silence. "What shapes should we take then, and how?"

    Therein lay the question did it not. Between the two of you, you could certainly manage countless transmutations, but which is best fighting in tight corners against a Far Realm tainted Flesh-Forge creations?

    [] Write in buffs and shape

    OOC: Very short, but I figure since that small forms are not Viserys' forte this was worth a tactical vote.
     
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    • ...Just filling the infested parts with Wyldfire is not an option then, I presume?
     
    egoo said:
    ...Just filling the infested parts with Wyldfire is not an option then, I presume?
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    If we want to know exactly what just popped out of the pods and don't want to make a mess of the forge then no we can't, plus that option may have already been taken into consideration so poring wyldfire down there could just make things worse, best case scenario we just annoy whatever they are, worst case scenario earth shattering kaboom levels of worse.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    Wardens of Flesh ​

    Twenty Seventh Day of the First Month 294 AC

    There is a hiss of smoke and a sigh of relief as lady Saenena is herself sealed away for her own safety and yours. Both bottles go into your cloak, beyond the gaze of all but gods or those akin to them in power. You turn to the others, offering your hand to to carry them to Gogossos. Hanging on to your sister's other hand, the marshes a little stronger in her voice than usually, Vee asks, "'Are we goin' to the Snare?"

    "No, for two reasons," you reply at length. "One is because she suggested it and as she said she could be contaminated, perhaps unknowingly, and the second is because interrogations will keep, while evidence in the forge might not, depending on procedure of dealing with contaminants."

    Lya nods firmly. "There should be no one but Urak and the lady there today, the others are seeing to their business in Sorcerer's Deep and the Dreadfort respectively. It's just the automated defenses, probably why Urak chose today, under the effects of whatever it was..."

    As it turned out, the automated defenses were out in force. The guiding intellect of the forge had sent its servitors scouring the streets of Gogossos, liaising with the legion presence and even sending scuttling hands onto the street as observers. There is a full Seeker patrol marching to the docks to the unease of the local traders.

    "Report!" you you will towards the constructs telepathically.

    "Attempting to prevent secondary infiltration by most common vector, standing procedure," one replies in like manner, before disgorging a truly prodigious string of numbers and letters that makes you wonder how many contingencies the forge actually has.

    Within the forge itself, there is deeper silence and fewer guardians, though thankfully not so few as to raise and alarm. The guiding minds are restless. "Seven of the birthing pods have been contaminated with Far Realm sigils...concepts... transmutations," the sounds emerge from all around you without clear source. "Recommend study... dissection... termination"

    And here you thought the Seeker's emotionless voice was disturbing, you shake off the thought. "Was anything born down there?"

    "Unknown, filaments damaged, connection unsafe..." one begins, but another voice interjects, sounding a touch less fractured and far more melodic. This had been a Singer in life, a Greenseer, and not one of the minds you had recovered from the forge itself. "The pods can breed no more, but once they have begotten. Sounds there are, but without voice, tread there are, but without feet. Something moves down there, spies, perhaps parasites. They must be hunted to the last for the sanctity of this place."

    "Understood, where are they,?" you ask urgently.

    "The lower capillaries, nothing larger than a human child may fit there," the entity replies.

    "Well then looks like we're out of luck," Lya tries to jest, though the attempt falls into uneasy silence. "What shapes should we take then and how?"

    Therein lay the question did it not. Between the two of you you could certainly manage countless transmutations, but which is best fighting in tight corners against Far Realm tainted flesh-forge creations?

    [] Write in buffs and shape

    OOC: Very short, but I figure since that small forms are not Viserys' forte this was worth a tactical vote. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Happily, the Heart Tree with Shapechanger's Gift is right there.

    Use such, turn everyone into a Charda (Small size, swim speed, 4 arms and bite for 5 natural attacks or to be holding Rods and similar, +1 attack, +1 AC, +2 Dexterity, +1 natural armour) without expending any sort of wishcraft or wild arcana which might just be needed later. Can still cast spells in this form just fine of course.
     
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    Anyone got any better ideas for Dany's Greater Spell Immunity buff? Right now I've got it blocking Magical Backlash, Maze, Shivering Touch, Dimensional Anchor, and Avasculate.

    I think this is reasonably thorough. Casting simultaneously the group can be ready to descend in less than three minutes.

    [X] Exterminatus
    -[X] Viserys uses Wild Arcana to cast Shapechange on himself, initially taking the form of a Pseudodragon for now. He Blood Wishes a Greater Reduce Person spell on Lya and Vee, and Dany assumes her preferred Mercury Dragon Wyrmling form. Neither Lya nor Vee are accustomed to using alternative forms, so this will allow them to remain in a familiar form while having full access to their equipment. Vee, Lya, and Dany all activate their Beads of Karma to increase their caster levels by +4 before buffing up.
    --[X] Viserys casts Nine Lives on Dany, Vee, Lya, and Varys, Freedom of Movement on Varys, Magic Vestment on Lya. He casts Shield, Mirror Image, Scintillating Scales, Starmantle, Greater Arcane Sight, Grand Destiny (using Greater Shadow Enchantment), Healer's Vision, Ironskin, See Invisibility, Magic Vestment, and Maximized Venomfire (using a Maximize Metamagic Rod) on himself. He uses Greater Blink on himself and Searing Agonizing Mass Fire Shield on everyone just before the group descends into the potentially infected area.
    ---[X] If there are suitable tracks to use with the spell, Viserys will Blood Wish a Replay Tracks spell in an attempt to guide the group through the capillaries leading to the infestation. He will maintain the spell using the Swift Concentration skill trick until combat is imminent.
    ---[X] Before descending into the infected capillaries, Viserys uses his Orb of Mental Renewal to heal any Charisma damage caused by Blood Wish.
    --[X] Varys activates all of her equipment buffs, in addition to sharing the various spell effects Viserys cast on himself.
    --[X] Vee casts Mass Aid, Mass Resist Energy (Acid, Fire, and Electricity), Barkskin, and Tyche's Touch on everyone, Fly on Dany, and Greater Magic Fang on Varys. She casts Fly, Sign, True Seeing, Divine Insight, Entropic Shield, Healer's Vision, Freedom of Movement, Shield of Faith, and Shield of Warding on herself.
    ---[X] She uses her Dragonbone Divination Sticks and Hallucinogenic Smoke spell augmented Augury spell to determine whether our actions will bring good or bad results (95% accuracy, will know if the "Nothing" result really means nothing or indicate failure).
    ---[X] Before the group descends into the capillaries of the Forge, she casts Summon Nature's Ally VI three times, with each spell Summoning 1d4+2 Jannis. They will shrink themselves using their Reduce Person SLAs, become Ethereal and Invisible, then act as scouts while remaining in Telepathic contact with one another and our group.
    --[X] Lya casts Bless, Blessed Aim, Life Bubble, Mass Energy Resistance (Sonic and Cold) and Moment of Greatness on everyone, True Seeing on Viserys, and Fly on Viserys and Varys. She casts Fly, Freedom of Movement (expending Greater Invisibility to do it), Battlemagic Perception, Heightened Awareness, Shield, Mirror Image, True Seeing, See Invisibility, Shield of Faith, Starmantle, and Divine Insight on herself. She uses Greater Blink on herself just before the group descends into the potentially infected area.
    --[X] Dany casts Fickle Winds on everyone, and Greater Magic Fang on Viserys. She uses Stormrage, Shield of Faith, Shield of Warding, Entropic Shield, Ironskin, Healer's Vision, Sign, Divine Insight, Battlemagic Perception, Freedom of Movement, and True Seeing on herself.
    ---[X] She uses her Dragonbone Divination Sticks and Inspired Spell to cast a Divination spell as a Standard Action (95% accuracy) to learn what she can of the infestation.
    ---[X] While boosted by one of Lya's Harmonic Chorus spells (augmented by canceling a Moment of Greatness by Viserys), Dany casts a Reached Chained Mind Blank on the group at 23rd caster level (27th for the purpose of resisting Dispels). She then casts a Reached Chained Greater Spell Immunity spell (augmented by another Moment of Greatness spell cast by Viserys) using Inspired Spell (25th caster level, 29th to resist Dispelling) to render the group completely Immune to the following spells: Magical Backlash, Maze, Shivering Touch, Dimensional Anchor, and Avasculate.
     
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    So first things first; securing the critical areas of the forge. I think we should use either Lost Passage blocks around key areas and places we think they might go, or just jump straight to
    Lost Locale. Then we Puzzle Box all of the important equipment that we can't actually move, and possibly some of the exits as a final layer of defense. This will be so much easier if they can't tell where they are half the time, and need to make significant checks to use any equipment or operate the doors leading out of the sections they're in.

    Then we go from room to room and purge them, preferably using minion spells that deal in things not easily messed with by Psionics. Slime Hurl and Mantle of the Slime Lord, for example, would let us build up a force of mindless hyper acid balls to do the dangerous bits. Few things they "fuck organics" like Green Slimes, and these aberrations are relatively small bio constructs.

    I'd also like to have Stars of Mystra up if we can actually cast it. Followed by Sonic Weapon and Body Ward since they're cheap and give extra damage they're unlikely to have a resistance to or make it harder for them to cripple us with stat damage. Which I assume we'll face since these are aberrations that could have been soaked in negative energy nonsense or something equally nasty growing in subverted flesh forge pods of all places.
    edit:
    ... wait, this place is one big tree right? Is Forest Eyes based scry-and-die on the table?

    [X] Goldfish
     
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    BronzeTongue said:
    So first things first; securing the critical areas of the forge. I think we should use either Lost Passage blocks around key areas and places we think they might go, or just jump straight to
    Lost Locale. Then we Puzzle Box all of the important equipment that we can't actually move, and possibly some of the exits as a final layer of defense. This will be so much easier if they can't tell where they are half the time, and need to make significant checks to use any equipment or operate the doors leading out of the sections they're in.

    Then we go from room to room and purge them, preferably using minion spells that deal in things not easily messed with by Psionics. Slime Hurl and Mantle of the Slime Lord, for example, would let us build up a force of mindless hyper acid balls to do the dangerous bits. Few things they "fuck organics" like Green Slimes, and these aberrations are relatively small bio constructs.

    I'd also like to have Stars of Mystra up if we can actually cast it. Followed by Sonic Weapon and Body Ward since they're cheap and give extra damage they're unlikely to have a resistance to or make it harder for them to cripple us with stat damage. Which I assume we'll face since these are aberrations that could have been soaked in negative energy nonsense or something equally nasty growing in subverted flesh forge pods of all places.
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    Oh, Lost Passage and Lost Locale are neat. Those are really useful tools to have in our magical toolbox.

    We'll have to see how bad the corruption is before we determine how best to purge it. Viserys and Lya both have Fiery Burst, so that's infinite Fire power on top of their are number of spells or spell slots, and Vee can Summon dozens of Fire Elementals. There are other options, too, like the Green Slimes you mentioned. The Slime Wave spell is a good way to employ their destructive power without risking a different sort of infestation.

    Body Ward would be nice, but it's not worth expending high level resources like Blood Wish, Miracle, Wild Arcana/Inspired Spell, or Dany's Ideas to cast it right now. Sonic Weapon has the same issue, plus a 20th level Venomfire spell on Viserys and Varys will add plenty to their melee damage, if that's called for.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Oh, Lost Passage and Lost Locale are neat. Those are really useful tools to have in our magical toolbox.

    We'll have to see how bad the corruption is before we determine how best to purge it. Viserys and Lya both have Fiery Burst, so that's infinite Fire power on top of their are number of spells or spell slots, and Vee can Summon dozens of Fire Elementals. There are other options, too, like the Green Slimes you mentioned. The Slime Wave spell is a good way to employ their destructive power without risking a different sort of infestation.

    Body Ward would be nice, but it's not worth expending high level resources like Blood Wish, Miracle, Wild Arcana/Inspired Spell, or Dany's Ideas to cast it right now. Sonic Weapon has the same issue, plus a 20th level Venomfire spell on Viserys and Varys will add plenty to their melee damage, if that's called for.
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    Fair enough. How about the forest eyes thing though? If we port over to the other forge and use that as our designated connection point do you think it's reasonable to get full coverage of the infested one? That particular spell doesn't seem to be written with this situation in mind, but it also doesn't specify a maximum size or that you can't view stuff like the areas around the roots of the target plant.
     
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