Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Cue some idiot making big noises to provoke Richard into a fight just to get roflstomped by one of our lesser knights like Bonifer or Lyomond.
 
So I decided to reread the rumor section for a reminder on who we are dealing with just to be safe. For the convenience of other I quoted all the rumors about these two for anyone to do the same.

I am curious about the Azata summoning somewhat, might be worth it to ask them about it.
To Pay in Steel Coin: Yanda Zaq, Prince of Last Lament, has wed Jola Daa, a princess from the Sweet Lotus Vale upon Jhala, also a priestess who spent some years tending to the Talking Trees in Tall Trees Town, where all the history of the islanders is carved, and according to the envoys of Silver Serpent Enterprise who attended the wedding, a sorceress of no small power. They had seen her wield a Spell of the Sixth Circle to conjure a blessed beast in honor of her marriage to the prince. Yet it is clear to any who know the tide of court that this is a marriage of equals in princely power, if not personal. The steel trade has made Last Lament rich, and so the prince of Last Lament seeks to bring more of Walano under his sway. The next war upon the island will be one to watch, though war upon the islands bears little kinship to what it is in other lands. It will be over in a day or two one way or the other, and not trouble the flow of trade.

Blood-Stained Steel: The Red Flower Vale in western Jhala has been rocked by news of an attack upon their princess. Tarra Xho has been the target of assassins bearing northern steel. With news of prince Yanda Zaq's, Prince of Last Lament, marriage to a priestess of the rival Daa dynasty still fresh in mind many suspect the involvement of the young and impulsive Prince and his sorceress bride. The spirits of the trees have been silent, the priests' mood dire. Many expect next month's Flower War to be a far grimmer affair than anticipated.

Bloody Flowers, Twined Crowns: The Flower War between Red Flower Vale in western Jhala and Last Lament was as bloody as was feared following the assassination attempt on Tarra Xho last year, but rather than ending in favor of the warriors of the Red Flower it was the warriors of Last Lament who carried the day, while their sorcerous queen was responsible for healing many of those involved at battle's end, friend and foe alike.

The breaking or at least bending of ancient custom by the warriors of the Red Flower combined with their enemy's magnanimity is said to have pushed Tarra Xho to accept the sovereignty of Yanda Zaq and Jola Daa. If the latter were indeed behind the attempted assassination which began, the chain of events than they seem to have won more in failure than they ever could have in defeat.

Kindly Spirits: News from Last Lament, the place with greatest concentration of imperial traders and not coincidentally the greatest concentration of the Inquisition and their assets in region. However it is a Scholarum mage on his journey who makes the report which ends up on your desk. He has reported the presence of azata born of embattled Elysium summoned forth to advise the realm in exchange for some unspecified aid in the future. It seems Jola Daa, the Princess of the isle and sorceress of some note, was they one who summoned them. As he was only able to speak to the least of the spirits the mage was not able to learn more than that, though given it was the lyrakien spoke of how it had come to be in Last Lament it is likely that they are not trying to keep the secret too close. Perhaps there will be an unveiling of the celestial alliance in the weeks and months to come.

From the Depths: In a tale that will doubtless be the cause of much grumbling in Dorne, silver was struck on the Isle of Women, once the home of Nymeria and her exiles. The Prince of Last Lament has secured the site, more than happy to have one more source of wealth to extend his growing reach.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Duesal said:
Yeah, a lot of these guys tread too closely to rudeness by constantly bringing up, "You had shitty ancestors. Good on you for not being as bad as them!" What the hell kind of opening greeting is that?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
@DragonParadox, I have to ask, was this on purpose? Did you not mean these people to come across as insulting, or were they supposed to be making snide comments like this? We need that frame of reference for foreign policy with them.
 
Duesal said:
@DragonParadox, I have to ask, was this on purpose? Did you not mean these people to come across as insulting, or were they supposed to be making snide comments like this? We need that frame of reference for foreign policy with them.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

She was definitely trying to needle Viserys a bit to test the waters, same with her husband calling him cousin, though their domains are not even close to comparable size. This is the sort of gentle probing sparring that goes on when two people in high political power meet.
 
What's our social buff scheme right now? I have some free time so I was thinking about digging up some more stuff to try and boost it for the big moment.

Also, as an aside, maybe we should consider using Mass Reflective Disguise on the more humanoid guards at the palace. It's not the strongest, but since this would be on our home ground we could stack the deck to make getting through it harder (via stuff like Hide the Path).

From a diplomatic perspective it'd let us pick when we want to make a point about our minion types, and from a security perspective it'd make it a little bit harder to pick out which kind of guard is which on the fly.
 
DragonParadox said:
She was definitely trying to needle Viserys a bit to test the waters, same with her husband calling him cousin, though their domains are not even close to comparable size. This is the sort of gentle probing sparring that goes on when two people in high political power meet.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
So in that context Viserys response of "Their power was great, their works enduring, but so too were their sins," could be read as something like "You are lucky I am not as cruel as them because my power is just as great and my works will just as enduring."

Anyway I look forward to more of these two, they are an interesting couple and I at least want get a good read on them. I'm curious about why she summoned the Azata and if they are planning to reunite the Summer Islands under them given their expansion so far.
 
BronzeTongue said:
What's our social buff scheme right now? I have some free time so I was thinking about digging up some more stuff to try and boost it for the big moment.

Also, as an aside, maybe we should consider using Mass Reflective Disguise on the more humanoid guards at the palace. It's not the strongest, but since this would be on our home ground we could stack the deck to make getting through it harder (via stuff like Hide the Path).

From a diplomatic perspective it'd let us pick when we want to make a point about our minion types, and from a security perspective it'd make it a little bit harder to pick out which kind of guard is which on the fly.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Viserys would probably only be using Air of Nobility and Voice of the Dragon for social buffs right now, when nothing is pressing and he isn't trying to pull any diplomatic jujitsu on people.

The full list of buffs is around here somewhere, @egoo keeps a saved copy, I think? It includes other spells, such as Grand Destiny, Divine Insight, Serene Visage, Surge of Fortune, etc.
 
Goldfish said:
@Azel I think this covers everything.

Here's the social bonuses to use while approaching Crimson Lotus; Air of Nobility, Blood Wished Focused Scrutiny, Voice of the Dragon, and Wild Arcana'd Greater Heroism modified by the Encouraging Spell Metamagic (learned via Ancestral Awakening). This will add a constant +30 bonus to Viserys' base +48 Diplomacy bonus.

He should also have Divine Insight, Blood Wished Honeyed Tongue, and Moment of Greatness active. Divine Insight and Moment of Greatness can be discharged simultaneously to provide an additional +20 when needed. With Honeyed Tongue, Viserys gets to make all of his Diplomacy rolls twice, taking the higher of the two.

He can use his Orb of Mental Renewal before going into the meeting to heal his Charisma damage from using Blood Wish here.

During the meeting, he should be prepared to Blood Wish Surge of Fortune and Peacemaker's Parley spells. Neither of these spells can be cast too far ahead of time, but Viserys can use them surreptitiously without being noticed; all of his spells are Silent now and he can Still two spells per day using his Bracers. Crimson Lotus won't be able to discern the spells being cast.

All told, he can go into the meeting with a +78 Diplomacy bonus, increase that to +80 with Peacemaker's Parley, and +82 with Surge of Fortune. Using Blood Wish twice will decrease Viserys' Charisma bonus by one point, lowering the overall Diplomacy bonus to +81, a net gain of +3 points. Discharging Surge of Fortune (for an effective Nat 20), Divine Insight (+15), and Moment of Greatness (+5) will increase that to +119. And then add a +1d6 Mythic Surge bonus as a finisher.

+119+1d6 seems likely to have an effect.

PS: You can substitue Sirine's Grace in place of Peacemaker's Parley if you don't mind reducing his maximum Diplomacy bonus by -2 points, reducing the Diplomacy bonus to 117+1d6 in favor of getting a +8 bonus to Perform(Oratory).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is outdated and needs revising, but it is our most comprehensive Diplo buff to date.
 
Goldfish said:
Viserys would probably only be using Air of Nobility and Voice of the Dragon for social buffs right now, when nothing is pressing and he isn't trying to pull any diplomatic jujitsu on people.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That is indeed what 'resting' social buffs look like. There is no point to get out the magical big guns for introductions, especially since his base stills are rather beyond most people to begin with.
 
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...

On days like this, 'diplomats' like you-
Should be burning in hell

Edit: now it's a vid :V
 
Last edited:
I am welcome to any and all needling from our delegates, if they are already intent to avoid coming across like suck-ups.

@DragonParadox Do note that the ones who manage to compliment us without coming across as sycophants will be met with an equally clever compliment that also comes across as a subtle threat, since it will likely be borne of information only an extensive spy network could bring a person.

As for the hecklers... divine the next time a non-mindblanked one will occur and arrange for a squadron of Wyverns and Manticores to loudly pass overhead faster than the speed of sound.

"Do pardon them. Empire waits for no one."
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top