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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 Goldfish on Jul 29, 2020 at 2:43 PM, finished with 35 posts and 14 votes.
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Interlude DCCCLIX: Battle of the Dead Fields, Part Seven
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    • Battle of the Dead Fields, Part Seven​

    Nineteenth Day of the Second Month 294 AC

    He who had once been Nimkuzu Ibila-Sathar looked out over the field of corpses with hollow eyes still as an effigy upon a temple's walls. Fingers of bronze closed on his left hand, wheels of finest artifice turning smoothly as they had long ago at their first forging. The irony did not escape him that it was likely the most alive part of him left, more than this shell of ancient bone and dry flesh, more than the funerary wrappings with the names of dead gods, the arm was his.

    Forged in sorcery and obedient to his will Nimkuzu had borne it ever since the Duel under the Falls, where his 'dear cousin' had crushed the original limb of flesh it had replaced so that he may never be able to take the throne of Sathar, for only those 'whole of body' could do so. She had called it a mercy then, the sorcerer thought looking at the dragons dancing with the shades of the time-lost whose time was ironically running out. It had been nothing less than cruelty and a show of dominance. When the had returned with an arm reforged Namaaru had called it treachery and summoned her hosts to the field. She had won in the end for she was more eager for blood and skilled in its shedding, so he had gone to his grave in bitterness and wrath, and thus he had awoken.

    Now, standing upon this field blessed with sorceries that were anathema to the darkness within, having seen Sumursua die a second death below him under the fires of the skyship, the rage was spent and only parched sorrow remained like the dead grasses crushed underfoot. He would die again at her hand, or he would slay her and burn in dragon fire. Either way this age too would remember him as a monster.

    Nimkuzu could feel the gaze of Anu-Simung at the back of his neck like lightning and charnel-scent deeper than any of his attendants, he could feel it in the back of his throat, a choking for one who had no breath. "I will not break my oath, O Father of the Wide Heavens, but even Thee has no dominion over the regrets of a wasted life," he cast into the black clouds above.

    Then from those clouds he unwound power, coil upon counter coil. The Sky-Smith no longer recalled how to turn his own power to the forging of things, but Nimkuzu did. As the golden chariot approached, flanked by her two defiled 'guards', he motioned to his cousin's chariot and entourage, causing all to fall upwards into the embrace of the God-Shadow save for the living woman with a gaze like ice for she was already floating in some manner.

    "Craven!" Namaaru shouted as the giants awkwardly tried to heft the stones above their heads and toss them down.

    The sorcerer paid her no heed and even less to her feeble attempt to break his spell. When the boulders struck he flickered away, though he could feel a wait upon his magic, cold and heavy like the snows on the crests of the Bone Mountains.

    "Why do you aid her?" Nimkuzu asked, more from curiosity than any hope that she would stop, one did not come to be involved in a battle such as this one by being weak of heart or easily swayed.

    "Because my King asked it of me, though I would have protected Sallosh from your ilk oath or no," she answered, hurling ice shards sharp as daggers at him in the same breath.

    "Sallosh was dead and to the dead it should have been left. The world is vast and there are fields enough in it without having to plow a graveyard," Nimkuzu answered, deftly dodging too bright javelins of frost.

    If she is so like ice than let her become it, the mage thought, speaking secret words that would transmute any substance in the world into any other, for a time at least. To his surprise however though frost covered her flesh it pierced no further, though that was by far the lesser surprise. He had only a moment to feel his spell of false falling be disrupted, though he could not see the culprit before he felt as much as saw time twisting, the Scepter of War burning bright.

    Blackness followed soon after, death a familiar friend.

    Overall Result: Moonchaser suffering from temporal anomalies, chronogeists set loose on the field, Sathari forces beginning to turn the right flank, enemy commander killed

    Losses:
    1. Heavy among the Lesser Dead
    2. Minor among the Chariots
    3. Soft Strider dead

    From what perspective do you wish to see the battle in the center?

    [] Viserys

    [] Daenerys

    [] Write in

    OOC: So I rolled up the fight and it wasn't the most epic of showdowns. I mean, yes, he did almost turn Rina into an ice sculpture and shatter her, but once the queen got into melee... well she did what high level melee characters do to squishy wizards, so I decided that rather than focus on that it would be interesting to see a glimpse of the world through Nimkuzu's eyes to show a bit of the political nuance in the background. For anyone wondering the reverse gravity was dispelled by Malarys passing overhead and getting to try out his new Mythic dispelling.
     
    Last edited:
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    • DragonParadox said:
    Battle of the Dead Fields, Part Seven​


    Nineteenth Day of the Second Month 294 AC

    He who had once been Nimkuzu Ibila-Sathar looked out over the field of corpses with hollow eyes, still as an effigy upon the temple walls. Fingers of bronze closed on his left hand, wheels of finest artifice turning smoothly as they had long ago at its first forging. Ihe irony did not escape him that it was likely the most alive part of him left, more than this shell of ancient bone and dry flesh, more than the funerary wrappings with the names of dead gods, the arm was his.

    Forged of his sorcery and obedient to his will, Nimkuzu had borne it ever since the Duel under the Falls, where his 'dead cousin' had crushed the limb of flesh it had replaced that he may never be able to take the throne of Sathar, for only those 'whole of body' could do so. She had called it a mercy then, the sorcerer thought, looking at the dragons dancing with the shades of the time-lost whose time was ironically running out. It had been nothing less than cruelty and a show of dominance. When he had returned with an arm re-forged, Namaaru had called it treachery and summoned her hosts to the field. She had won in the end, for she was more eager for blood and skilled in its shedding, and so he had gone to his grave in bitterness and wrath, and thus he had awoken.

    Now, standing upon this field blessed with sorceries that were anathema to the darkness within, having seen Sumursua die a second death below him under the fires of the sky ship, the rage was spent and only parched sorrow remained, like the dead grasses crushed underfoot. He would die again at her hand, or he would slay her and burn in dragon fire. Either way, this age too would remember him as a monster.

    Nimkuzu could feel the gaze of Anu-Simung at the back of his neck like lightning and charnel-scent, deeper than any of his attendants. He could feel it in the back of his throat, a choking for one who had no breath. "I will not break my oath, O Father of the Wide Heavens, but even Thee have no dominion over the regrets of a wasted life," he cast into the black clouds above.

    Then from those clouds he unwound power, coil upon counter coil. The Sky-smith no longer recalled how to turn his own power to the forging of things, but Nimkuzu did. As the golden chariot approached, flanked by her two defiled 'guards', he motioned to his cousin's chariot and entourage causing all to fall upwards into the embrace of the God-Shadow, save for the living woman with gaze like ice for she was already floating in some manner.

    "Craven!" Namaaru shouted as the giants awkwardly tried to heft the stones above their heads and toss them down.

    The sorcerer paid her no heed, and even less to her feeble attempt to break his spell. When the boulders struck he flickered away, though he could feel a drain upon his magic, cold and heavy like the snows on the crests of the Bone Mountains.

    "Why do you aid her?" Nimkuzu asked, more from curiosity than any hope that he would stop. One did not come to be involved in a battle such as this one by being weak of heart or easily swayed.

    "Because my king asked it of me, though I would have protected Sallosh from your ilk, oath or no," she answered, hurling ice shards sharp as daggers at him in the same breath.

    "Sallosh was dead and to the dead it should have been left. The world is vast and there are fields enough in it without having to plow a graveyard," Nimkuzu answered deftly, dodging too bright javelins of frost.

    If she is so like ice than let her become it, the mage thought, speaking secret words that would transmute any substance in the world into any other for a time at least. To his surprise, though frost covered her flesh it pierced no further, though that was by far the lesser surprise. He had only a moment to feel his spell of False Falling disrupted, though he could not see the culprit before he felt as much as saw time twisting, the scepter of War burning bright.

    Blackness followed soon after, death a familiar friend.

    Overall Result: Moonchaser Suffering from temporal anomalies, Chronogeists set loose on the field, Sathari forces beginning to turn the right flank, Enemy commander killed

    Losses:
    1. Heavy among the Lesser Dead
    2. Minor among the Chariots
    3. Soft Strider dead

    From what perspective do you wish to see the battle in the center?

    [] Viserys

    [] Daenerys

    [] Write in

    OOC: So I rolled up the fight and it wasn't the most epic of showdowns. I mean yes, he did almost turn Rina into an ice sculpture and shatter her, but once the queen got into melee... well she did what high level melee characters do to squishy wizards, so I decided that rather than focus on that it would be interesting to see a glimpse of the world through Nimkuzu's eyes to show a bit of the political nuance in the background. For anyone wondering, the reverse gravity was dispelled by Malarys passing overhead and getting to try out his new Mythic dispelling. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox. I highlighted one word red. I think it was supposed to be 'dear', but given the context, 'dead' could fit, too.

    Good job making the enemy seem somewhat sympathetic.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    A 5th level item is not going to stop a mythic caster using an eight level spell.
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    It blocks hostile Polymorph effects.
    There are few enough of those that I don't think it's too broad.
    Particularly compared to Protection from Evil or Freedom of Movement.

    Now if the enemy had a mythic ability specifically to cancel immunity/blocks to his Transmutation spells or something similar that's fair, but the spell should not win automatically because it's higher leveled.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    It blocks hostile Polymorph effects.
    There are few enough of those that I don't think it's too broad.
    Particularly compared to Protection from Evil or Freedom of Movement.

    Now if the enemy had a mythic ability specifically to cancel immunity/blocks to his Transmutation spells or something similar that's fair, but the spell should not win automatically because it's higher leveled.
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    That is the idea, sorry for any confusion. The ideas is that this is Mythic Polymorph Any Object not that it's relevant on the player side since the spell is not something I want to police. It can get silly fast.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    It blocks hostile Polymorph effects.
    There are few enough of those that I don't think it's too broad.
    Particularly compared to Protection from Evil or Freedom of Movement.

    Now if the enemy had a mythic ability specifically to cancel immunity/blocks to his Transmutation spells or something similar that's fair, but the spell should not win automatically because it's higher leveled.
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    DP has ruled in the past when I asked about it that a Mythic Baleful Polymorph spell would have a chance to overcome a Bead of Newt Prevention based on caster level. I don't have an issue with the same applying here.
     
    @Goldfish Keep in mind, @DragonParadox stated that the guy was definitely trying to seize her throne... and he didn't really have any significant legal precedent to do so other than strength of arms and it being commonly accepted that tradition would be too set against him to make the attempt without being whole of body (lack of legitimacy even if he beat his cousin).

    Unless... @DragonParadox this is definitely his perspective, albeit warped by unlife, but did she cripple him (rather than kill him) to deny him honor specifically? She didn't really come across as spiteful. Then again, it's not like we offended her.
     
    Honestly, Nimkuzu has shades of Qyburn, it feels like. Not insane so much as obsessive. Once the dead-but-not-quite-dead god is dealt with, could possibly turn him into an asset.

    And yes, I've been lurking all this time. Been some time since I last posted. :D
     
    Paradosi said:
    Honestly, Nimkuzu has shades of Qyburn, it feels like. Not insane so much as obsessive. Once the dead-but-not-quite-dead god is dealt with, could possibly turn him into an asset.

    And yes, I've been lurking all this time. Been some time since I last posted. :D
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    Bit late for that. The guy is deader than a door-nail. More so than usual, anyway.
     
    Crake said:
    @Goldfish Keep in mind, @DragonParadox stated that the guy was definitely trying to seize her throne... and he didn't really have any significant legal precedent to do so other than strength of arms and it being commonly accepted that tradition would be too set against him to make the attempt without being whole of body (lack of legitimacy even if he beat his cousin).

    Unless... @DragonParadox this is definitely his perspective, albeit warped by unlife, but did she cripple him (rather than kill him) to deny him honor specifically? She didn't really come across as spiteful. Then again, it's not like we offended her.
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    I only said he was 'somewhat sympathetic'. At least from his internal monologue, which could easily be full of self-deception, willful ignorance, or outright delusion, he seemed like a potential edge case as far as BBEGs go. He lost his arm to his cousin so he builds a bitchin' prosthetic, so she kills him instead. That had to suck for him. Of course, he probably built it then raised an army to usurp the throne, so my sympathy is limited at best.
     
    Crake said:
    @Goldfish Keep in mind, @DragonParadox stated that the guy was definitely trying to seize her throne... and he didn't really have any significant legal precedent to do so other than strength of arms and it being commonly accepted that tradition would be too set against him to make the attempt without being whole of body (lack of legitimacy even if he beat his cousin).

    Unless... @DragonParadox this is definitely his perspective, albeit warped by unlife, but did she cripple him (rather than kill him) to deny him honor specifically? She didn't really come across as spiteful. Then again, it's not like we offended her.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The truth as is often the case in matters like this is somewhere in the middle. Nimkuzu was definitely trying to seize the throne in the service of his vision for Sathar, he had some legal precedent, the succession was not set in stone in those days, but he was unpopular among a significant portion of the nobility for being 'too Valyrian'.

    As for the queen's precise reasons for breaking his arm it could be mercy it could be spite, it could even be a bit of both.
     
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