A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
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- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
- Location
- Germany
But how would you play office politics then?Imagine, if you legitimize and direct genius, they don't go rogue and start improvising.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Despite our best efforts I'm sure we'll find out eventually. The only reason we don't have more headaches from ambitious people is our uncanny ability to identify them and separate them onto a track with fewer rails and glass ceilings.
Vote closed.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
Winning vote
Part MMMDCXXVIII: Spirits Great and Petty
Spirits Great and Petty
Twenty Seventh Day of the Second Month 294 AC
You make an offer of reagents, purified Living Brass and Valyrian Steel in quantities that make the young priest gulp uneasily, but Zathir is unsurprisingly not so easily shaken. He politely refuses the latter and explains that he is unlikely to use quite so much Living Brass, but some could be of use to him. However, when Dany brings up the notion of asking other gods and powers for aid the Winged Serpent almost demurs entirely.
For a god the work of forging is not as it is for mortals, they do not craft things wholly apart from themselves, but instead bind a fractal imprint of their being into the craft. To collaborate would be akin to crafting the Well of Eternity, a difficult and in some ways dangerous task. Still, he would take the notion under advisement at least and he would wait until Lya can witness the deed and gain what insight she can at the sight.
With that the priest departs at some unspoken signal of his patron and another god arises in spirit, not flesh, from the marble floor of the temple. Though his scales are crimson light, deep shadows flow between them and gold like long dead suns the light of his eyes. Zathir's former patron is present only in will and in voice.
"Ssspeak..."
You recount the powers of the crown and what you would wish to gain from it, power over the domain for yourself and for a yet unforged god of the Imperium without the limitation of being chained to the land and suffering its ills.
Zathir sits in silence, as though trying to recall something all but lost to memory, but it is Yss who speaks first and who gives a warning: "A perilouss thing to take the power and let the debt go... Ssssomething you do not like might choose to pay it for you and then it will have the power."
Dany frowns in thought. "You mean to say that if we try to use the crown to bind someone or something to the land without binding the land to them some enemy might come between the two..."
The Great Serpent nods. "Unequal bargainssss, uneven sscaless, an invitation to thievesss and liarssss," he replies. "A lesssson learned of old. I can forge a bargain fair."
You consider the matter. If the crown could be made palatable to the nascent god of the Empire you would not find it so onerous to see it bound to the land, after all it would have more than enough power to fend off attack.
Zathir interrupts your thoughts. "The moment the crown is broken there will be war with the subjects of he who bore it. Choose the moment well..." Or do not choose at all, echoes in the silence. It is hardly a surprised that he would prefer peace to war, but the Court of Stars' machinations do not make you hopeful for such a resolution.
Still, it is cause enough not to break the crown now. At least now you know that Yss can do what you asked.
Bowing out from the presence of the divine you and Dany return to the keep to meet a troubled Lya pacing in the hall. "What did they do?" you ask, expecting to hear of some failed ritual or alchemical explosion.
She sighs. "What is the legal punishment for summoning imps again?" Before you can answer the story pours out, in times more weary than angry. "Some of the younger initiates figured that if you could have devils standing guard in imperial colors then they could bind imps as familiars, and rather than be adversely affected themselves they would turn the imps to constructive work. If Arwyn hadn't caught on and told the proctors I don't know how many of the little menaces we would have loose in Sorcerer's Deep. The House of Mirrors is working to track them down, but I think it is going to go public, imps being imps they are likely to cause chaos just for spite if they know their time on this plane is limited anyway."
How do you handle the incident of minor diabolic summoning in the Scholarum?
[] Suspension from lessons
[] Suspension from lessons and a fine to be paid from their eventual salary
[] Expulsion
[] Write in
OOC: You guys can also choose to reward Arwyn Frey for telling on her fellows.
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Aren't the rules around summoning covered pretty explicitly? Why would they go about binding summoned familiars without talking to their teachers about what they were choosing and why in the first place? I'm skeptical about this being unprompted idiocy on the part of these students.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
Yes there most certainly are rules and laws for that matter, but young mages who think they know better will sometimes do stupid things. I have emphasized the advantages of ambition in this brave new world before, now you get to see one of the disadvantages.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
[X] Firstly, you are highly suspicious as a matter of course. While the action of summoning and binding imps might have been 'innocent', the inception of that thought into their minds had to be anything but. The Scholarum will facilitate and provide mages with a familiar suitable toward them, and they can likely even work toward an arrangement with the Crown for one crafted in Gorgossos or Lys if it can't be acquired on an open market. This is part of the benefits to being a Mage in the Imperium, and the most basic principles about conjuring make it explicit that nothing is simple and clean with the works of Baator or their inhabitants, and one must exercise rigorous standards and have absolute oversight before making the attempt.
-[X] Basically, this is directed malice, and you will find the perpetrator. Study the students' memories, chambers or rooms they might have engaged in pertinent discussions with malefactors, and ensure it does not occur again, at least from this vector.
-[X] The Inquisition will be locking down the entire Campus District, not just the Shadow Tower, with any and all assets necessary to conduct the cordon. Depending on the degree of involvement and the agency of specific actors, detention, remedial lessons and fines are not the worst punishment that someone could suffer as a result of this. In fact, if you find an agent of Baator here, you will be executing them with extreme prejudice, and will likely mandate the entire student body show up when that example gets made via Breathweapon. After extensive interrogations in an Inquisition black site, of course.
[X] As to the students, remediate them, fine them for any damages incurred as a result of the summoning, and ensure each person understands why you are capable of forging a new link with an Outsider and why any compact they make of their own is doomed to bitter and inevitable failure. Siduri could likely greatly expand on this subject, given the topic of Imps and her experiences in Dis.
-[X] Basically, this is directed malice, and you will find the perpetrator. Study the students' memories, chambers or rooms they might have engaged in pertinent discussions with malefactors, and ensure it does not occur again, at least from this vector.
-[X] The Inquisition will be locking down the entire Campus District, not just the Shadow Tower, with any and all assets necessary to conduct the cordon. Depending on the degree of involvement and the agency of specific actors, detention, remedial lessons and fines are not the worst punishment that someone could suffer as a result of this. In fact, if you find an agent of Baator here, you will be executing them with extreme prejudice, and will likely mandate the entire student body show up when that example gets made via Breathweapon. After extensive interrogations in an Inquisition black site, of course.
[X] As to the students, remediate them, fine them for any damages incurred as a result of the summoning, and ensure each person understands why you are capable of forging a new link with an Outsider and why any compact they make of their own is doomed to bitter and inevitable failure. Siduri could likely greatly expand on this subject, given the topic of Imps and her experiences in Dis.
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- Location
- United States
It's pretty explicitly guided by the teachers. This might be a devil plot for sure. @DragonParadox, what archduke do the imps serve?
Evaunit02mark1
S-s-smell the Prey, S-s-start the Hunt.
Props for initiative but they really need to learn proper safety and caution.
These kids seems just sharp enough to cut themselves.
What they don't get, and something we and Vee for that matter should beat into their delicate little skulls, is that even the "smallest" creature can be dangerous if improperly handled. They don't know how to handle imps, they summoned the little shits anyway, so now we have to clean up their mess.
Pretty sure it is but if they thought they could do it and get away with it they'd probably jump at the chance because if we can do it surely they can too if they aim low enough.
These kids seems just sharp enough to cut themselves.
What they don't get, and something we and Vee for that matter should beat into their delicate little skulls, is that even the "smallest" creature can be dangerous if improperly handled. They don't know how to handle imps, they summoned the little shits anyway, so now we have to clean up their mess.
As far as Lya ca tell looking at the summoning rituals, it was blind summoning, though of course if someone at the other end was expecting blind summoning in a certain place and time they could insert what imps they wished.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
- Location
- Germany
Basically the Scholarum as a whole does have the right to research or act in restricted magic, so there are no imperial laws broken.
But, as mere students, they definitly needed the permission of a higher ranking member to do this, so they can be punished as far as internal rules of the Scholarum allow.
If they were not members of that institution, this could have easily cost them their heads.
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- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Crake
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
/begins to cast Summon @Crake, but is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a wild Crake!
[X] Crake
- Location
- ?????????
[X] Crake
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
I was wondering when someone would try something like this, TBH, but I expected it to happen in Tolos or Mantarys.
@DragonParadox I guess having the city run by Celestials or run by a True Dragon who probably greatly leans on his connections with the local Inquisition Commissariat has some perks/something to do with it.
@DragonParadox I guess having the city run by Celestials or run by a True Dragon who probably greatly leans on his connections with the local Inquisition Commissariat has some perks/something to do with it.
That's what it looks like, but I wouldn't frame it as assured suffering; as long as we keep the land healthy and protected it will be fine. It is a vulnerability, but that's it the same thing as directly trading suffering for power.
How close are we to building the imperial god anyway? We keep loading more features onto it, and we're still working on the components for the basic functions.
Maybe we should break this one off onto a high CR platform that we'll actually be able to build before the end of 2020.
Thats fair, it just seems weird that they'd jump this particular direction unprompted when they have plenty of good local options for familiars.
I'll buy them being dumb enough to think they can win this particular game, but with the various flavors of mini dragon, plant creatures, and fey running around I don't see why they'd want to.
Everyone, including imps, hate the little bastards and only work with them when they don't have other options. If they were getting a discount deal on something stronger I'd at least see the temptation, but this just seems like the kind of thing that anyone with prior knowledge of the topic would need to be prodded into doing under these conditions.