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

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Part MMMDCCII: Plans and Puppets
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    • Plans and Puppets ​

    Sometime in the Age of Heroes, Before the Rise of Valyria

    Temptation is sweet as mead and honey up on the tongue of all that you might learn or do, of all that you might leave behind to grow unseen and unheard to reap once the time is right. But behind temptation is it's shadow, sharp as broken glass along the edges of your mind. What might you change, what might you lose? The future entire, the answer is grim enough that even Lya and Qyburn are not inclined to seek much further afield than the Iron Islands, not even to the halls of Yss or the Green Dream.

    Thus you make your way south and a little west, not far from where Pyke would be in world unborn. In many ways the hall of Horcas Hardreed is little different from most others in these realms, a round stone tower tapering towards the top, the kind of which you can still see the remains of in many places in Westeros today, with a rickety wooden annex growing out of it like some strange protuberance. There are no runes here to light the way into the night, only the faint light of oil-soaked torches flickering sickly yellow There are no godswoods either and not from traitor's flames. These lands have always been poor and stony, and of late cursed with failed harvests even by their meager standards, buffeted with bitter storms from which many had blamed the Storm God.

    It takes Aife barely a whiff of the air and a glance at the heavy clouds to realize another is to blame, and little wonder. The first you heard of Damphair had been conjuring storms against the Royal Fleet. "Is there a driftwood crown somewhere?" Lya wonders silently. "Or have they not started handing such powers out yet until the Ironbown yoke themselves?"

    Another question to which you cannot yet find an answer, but there are yet other uses you can put those inside to.


    According to the dead you had spoken to these where among the first folk to fall to whispers from the depths, the youngest son had slain his father and brothers to mark and break with the Old Gods that which cannot be mended. Horcas had practically sold his sisters for alliances with the other apostate lords soon after, leaving him to brood alone in the company of fellow killers, often drinking and plotting deep into the night, a traitor shunned even by his fellow traitors, in one sense a perfect fit for your purposes. After all, it would not do for the mask you wear to draw too much attention to itself in the years and decades to come.

    Ideally he will live just enough after the ritual as not to draw undue attention to his demise... though choosing one with so little respect even among his own fellow renegades means you will struggle to persuade them to adopt the shape of the oath you prefer.

    "We have found the 'Drowned Man'," one of the twins whispers in your thoughts. "The only thing he seems to be drowning in presently is wine..." he adds scornfully. "No danger of being discovered there."

    Alas, Qyburn's news is less good. There are some manner of stumble watchers in the well from which the keep gets its water. Delicate, almost translucent creatures that could be crushed by a child's hand, yet which could dominate body and mind as surely as the most skilled of fiends. It is clear the Deep Ones do not wish to enslave all the people here for the Drowned God would gain no worship and no powers from the use of such puppets, but you must be wary that any disguise you take on is at least impenetrable to the senses of such as they.

    "Fuck," Lya curses uncharacteristically. "I hate leaving anyone to the company of things like this... But there's nothing we can do in the long run, is there?"

    "If nothing else the lessons of history show us that these creatures will not last long in the islands. They faded as the ages passed and the magic of the world cooled,"     Qybrun awkwardly tries to offer comfort.

    From the timber of Lya's thoughts she appreciates the sentiment at least.

    How do you take on the semblance of Horcas Hardreed and his household?

    [] Write in

    OOC: It's good you brought the aberration and psionics expert on. The DCs for anyone else finding those puppeteers would have been sky-high.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Plans and Puppets ​

    Sometime in the Age of Heroes, Before the Rise of Valyria

    Temptation is as sweet as mead and honey upon the tongue, of all that you might learn or do, of all that you might leave behind to grow unseen and unheard, to reap once the time is right. But behind temptation is it's shadow, sharp as broken glass along the edges of your mind. What might you change, what might you lose? The future entire; the answer is grim enough that even Lya and Qyburn are not inclined to seek much further afield than the Iron Islands, not even to the halls of Yss or the Greendream.

    Thus, you make your way north and a little west, not far from where Pyke would be in the world unborn. In many ways the hall of Horcas Hardreed is little different from most others in this realm, a round stone tower tapering towards the top, the kind of which you can still see the remains in many places in Westeros your time, with a rickety wooden annex growing out of it like some strange protuberance. There are no runes here to light the way into the night, only the faint light of oil-soaked torches flickering sickly yellow. There are no godswoods, either, and not due to traitor's flames. These islands have always been poor and stony, and of late cursed with failed harvests even by their meager standards, buffeted with bitter storms from which many had blamed the Storm God.

    It takes Aife barely a whiff of the air and a glance at the heavy clouds to realize another is to blame, and little wonder. The first you heard of Damphair had been conjuring storms against the Royal Fleet. "Is there a driftwood crown somewhere?" Lya wonders silently. "Or have they not started handing such powers out yet until the Ironborn yoke themselves?"

    Another question to which you cannot yet find an answer, but there are yet other uses you can put those inside to.


    According to the dead you had spoken to, these were among the first folk to fall to whispers from the depths. The youngest son had slain his father and brothers to mark a break with the Old Gods which cannot be mended. Horcas had practically sold his sisters for alliance with the other apostate lords soon after, leaving him to brood alone in the company of fellow killers, often drinking and plotting deep into the night. He was a traitor shunned even by his fellow traitors, and in that sense a perfect fit for your purposes. After all, it would not do for the mask you wear to draw too much attention to itself in the years and decades to come.

    Ideally he will live just enough after the ritual as not to draw undue attention to his demise... though choosing one with so little respect even among his own fellow renegades means you will struggle to persuade them to adopt the shape of the oath you prefer.

    "We have found the 'Drowned Man'," one of the twins whispers in your thoughts. "The only thing he seems to be drowning in presently is wine..." he adds scornfully. "No danger of being discovered there."

    Alas, Qyburn's news is less good. There are some manner of subtle watchers in the well from which the keep takes its water. Delicate almost translucent creatures that could be crushed by a child's hand, yet which could dominate body and mind as surely as the most skilled of fiends. It is clear the Deep Ones do not wish to enslave all the people here, for the Drowned God would gain no worship and no powers from the use of such puppets, but you must be wary that any disguise you take on is at least impenetrable to the senses of such as they.

    "Fuck," Lya curses uncharacteristically. "I hate leaving anyone to the company of things like this... But there's nothing we can do in the long run is there?"

    "If nothing else, the lessons of history show us that these creatures will not last long in the islands. "They faded as the ages passed and the magic of the world cooled,"     Qybrun awkwardly tries to offer comfort.

    From the timber of Lya's thoughts, she appreciates the sentiment at least.

    How do you take on the semblance of Horcas Hardreed and his household?

    [] Write in

    OOC: It's good you brought the aberration and psioncs expert on. The DCs for anyone else finding those puppeteers would have been sky-high. Not yet edited.
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox.
     
    Okay, there are several spells we can use to help us here.

    On top of using our standard Air of Nobility and Voice of the Dragon spells as needed, we also have Raiment of Command as a PoSK, which will really help us sell the ruse of being Horcas. Raimant of Command also has a long duration, so it can easily be maintained for the whole performance.

    Focused Scrutiny and Cultural Adaptation will both help here as well. We should Blood Wish each of them, then use diamond dust to temporarily Permanency them on ourselves, since their durations are not long enough if we need to play the part for three days, not unless we want to keep using Blood Wish, Miracle, or Wild Arcana to cast them.

    Viserys has a PoSK for the Tongues spell, which he can cast as needed, along with a load of talismans in his cloak that can cast it 1/Day or 3/Day. There should be more than enough for everyone to benefit from the spell as long as needed during the performance.

    Everyone who doesn't already have a Greater Ribbon of Disguise can be loaned one, and one of the casters, preferably Lya using Wild Arcana, can cast a Veil spell for added authenticity. On top of having a very long duration, it can last indefinitely while the caster concentrates on it. Lya can maintain that using her Swift Concentration skill trick.

    The Twins can assume Human form easily enough, so the Veil wouldn't have any problems with them. Aife is a bit more tricky, since she's a Gargantuan-sized Divine Seacat. Either her (using Miracle), Viserys (using Miracle or Wild Arcana), or Lya (using Wild Arcana) can cast a Greater Shapechanger's Gift spell on her each day so she can take on a Human form. Preferably, Aife will just use Miracle on herself, since she can boost her caster level to 24 using her Bead of Karma to insure that each spell lasts a full 24 hours. Viserys will also use the spell on Qyburn to allow him to blend in among normal Humans.

    A single casting of the Greater Magic Aura and Aura Alteration spells is enough to affect everyone and will last the entire duration of the stay, allowing the group to obscure the effects of Mind Blank unless very specific Divination spells or powers are directed at them.

    Qyburn and Varys will help everyone Telepathically communicate, if necessary, to reduce the amount of verbal communication beyond what is needed to play their parts. Detect Thoughts and Brainspider spells will be used as necessary by the group to better fit in among the natives of this time period. Qyburn will also make sure to keep everyone protected using his Conceal Thoughts power.

    Then everyone sets their Channel Vigor buffs to the Spirit aspect for a bonus to Bluff and pretends to be Horcas and his household for a few days after Cloak of Khyber is cast in everyone by Lya or Viserys to firm up their disguises.

    If it hasn't already been taken care of, the Mold puppeted Shoggoth will be placed in a Smoky Confinement bottle after Qyburn's familiar extracts itself. It will remain under Viserys' control via the Ooze Puppet spell for a few more weeks even without the Mold to pilot it.
     
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    Hmm, we need to sell this ruse better. The more people we include in this plan, their position must also be high enough to warrant a Mind Blank or any anti-divination wardings.

    So, Viserys and Qyburn is a must. Should we expand it to just 3-4 people or just disguise us all?
     
    Jack vile Ripper said:
    Hmm, we need to sell this ruse better. The more people we include in this plan, their position must also be high enough to warrant a Mind Blank or any anti-divination wardings.

    So, Viserys and Qyburn is a must. Should we expand it to just 3-4 people or just disguise us all?
    Click to expand...
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    We could just have most of the group hang out in one of Lya's Magnificent Mansions, while Viserys, Richard, and Qyburn do the acting.
     
    @Goldfish, also best specified that we make any illusions inscrutable with Cloak of Khyber.
    And don't forget some false auras on everyone, lest Mindblanks give shit away.
     
    egoo said:
    @Goldfish, also best specified that we make any illusions inscrutable with Cloak of Khyber.
    And don't forget some false auras on everyone, lest Mindblanks give shit away.
    Click to expand...
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    Of course, Cloak of Khyber should go without saying at this point.

    There is only so much we can do to obscure the effects of a Mind Blank, at least in the long-term beyond a short encounter. Greater Magic Aura might be able to help, but it probably isn't necessary. After all, a Mind Blanked person just looks like a normal Muggle unless you try to use some very specific Divination type spells on them.

    EDIT: Alternatively, an Aura Alteration spell might help as well.
     
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    Goldfish said:
    Of course, Cloak of Khyber should go without saying at this point.

    There is only so much we can do to obscure the effects of a Mind Blank, at least in the long-term beyond a short encounter. Greater Magic Aura might be able to help, but it probably isn't necessary. After all, a Mind Blanked person just looks like a normal Muggle unless you try to use some very specific Divination type spells on them.

    EDIT: Alternatively, an Aura Alteration spell might help as well.
    Click to expand...
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    Just slap all Aura-related spells on the party and sprinkle with diamonds.

    We have the money, and better to be overly cautious with this, than not cautious enough.
     
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    I think this will work?

    [X] Viserys and the rest of the group use the following arrangement to insert themselves into Horcas' household. Viserys will fill in for Horcas and the rest will take on whatever roles they determine are most appropriate for the situation and their abilities.
     
    @Goldfish, while I understand you are used to keeping away from "spend money" options out of habit, Diamond Dust'ing all of the spells into permanence costs us little in the long run, and would potentially help here, if only so much.

    I also feel the situation, and the potential reward in front of us, deserve extra assured sneakiness from us - since the Squids will be extra watchful as well.

    [X] Goldfish
     
    @Goldfish, effects less powerful then Polymorph can't fully hide Qyburns magnificence. I'd suggest to use two castings of Hidden Body per day to keep him fused into someone else. That should make detecting him a lot harder.

    Also, I'd use Incarnate to permanence this with diamond dust:
    Conceal Thoughts - +10 Circumstance on Bluff against Sense Motive and +4 untyped against mind reading attempts. - hour/level - 0 Power Points
     
    egoo said:
    @Goldfish, while I understand you are used to keeping away from "spend money" options out of habit, Diamond Dust'ing all of the spells into permanence costs us little in the long run, and would potentially help here, if only so much.

    I also feel the situation, and the potential reward in front of us, deserve extra assured sneakiness from us - since the Squids will be extra watchful as well.

    [X] Goldfish
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    I don't mind spending money at all. The main issue with Permanencing a bunch of spells on everyone is that most of them are near their HD limit for Permanent spells. The only spells which actually need to be made temporarily permanent will be, but most of them have durations in the days per level or hours per level range, so that just isn't an issue.
    Azel said:
    @Goldfish, effects less powerful then Polymorph can't fully hide Qyburns magnificence. I'd suggest to use two castings of Hidden Body per day to keep him fused into someone else. That should make detecting him a lot harder.

    Also, I'd use Incarnate to permanence this with diamond dust:
    Conceal Thoughts - +10 Circumstance on Bluff against Sense Motive and +4 untyped against mind reading attempts. - hour/level - 0 Power Points
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    We can use Greater Shapechanger's Gift on him, just life Aife. If Viserys or Aife cast it on him, it'll last all day.

    EDIT: Added having Qyburn is Conceal Thoughts on everyone. That's a very handy little power.
     
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