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

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Azel said:
- Magic
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Since we are trying to make someone who is not a mage himself, due to conflicts with being under Scholarium-authority, but knows enough about magic not to be percieved as a stranger send to cat-herd them by the mages, I think it might be a good idea to pick an Outsider here. Someone inherently close to magic to understand what comes with it, but not technically one.
Dragon would also work, but a dragon with the patience for bueraucracy is probably too rare to be a realistic option.

Alternativly an Arcanum is a decent option here as well.

Azel said:
- Diplomatic
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What exactly is our mother right now, officially?

Since she is not an adventurer and already deeply involved with our diplomatic efforts she'd make a good fit here.
 
[X] Randyll Tarly

Will be good at job and would force him to learn to be more accepting of things as a matter of course, which might help with connecting with son.
 
DragonParadox said:
On Military Matters ​

Ninth Day of the Fifth Month 294 AC

The choice is simpler than it had been in other instances. The Ministry of Health can afford a soft touch more than most other places. If it should perhaps breed a touch of corruption in Hern's shadow then you count it a price well paid in exchange for the man's sincerity. As for his dislike of the faith in Westeros, it is mild and can be managed well enough, though alas 'a merchant from Gulltown that dislikes septons' is unlikely to make the lords of Westeros feel represented among the ministers as you might have hoped.

"Well, it will give them something other than the devil to argue over in their cups, at least," Tyene japes, though there is an edge of serious concern there. Of curias and votes the lords know little, but they understand Ministries more than well enough—a Small Council by another name, and that is a power many desire.

The trouble, of course, being that you have only just taken the Seven Kingdoms for your own. Thus, though a thousand pearls or administrative skill may be strewn before your gaze to the west, you cannot see them for all you might turn every seer in the House of Mirrors there. The only Westerosi in your service that you know something of are exiles, malcontents, heretics and lords which you would be well served keeping in their current seats for the moment.

It is with this in mind that you turn your attention to the matter of the Ministry that they would count the greatest prize of the lot, the Ministry of War. True, the name does not the whole story tell, and the Minister shall hold no dominion or command of the armies, but still they shall hold great sway in matters martial, for it may be a truism that an army marches upon its stomach, but something does not grow into a truism without being true. Thus, you find yourself parsing through lists of candidates with an eye to loyalty as much as any other qualification.

Who could be more loyal than an Arcanum, born of Lya's wandering thoughts? Beryl had worked at many of the arcane projects that concerned the Legion. From steam to the Warden Armor, she understands the new ways of making war better than any other, though her origins are likely to cause some talk and put more of a spotlight on Lya. According to your mother, whispers and conspiracy about her are already starting to take shape at court.

"There is a certain sort of lord in Westeros and in Essos too that would far sooner believe that of a woman than any man, and sense has little to do with it," she says, pouring herself a cup of spiced chocolate with what one would be inclined to call weary frustration. "They shall hear Arcanums and think 'spies and puppets', never mind that they are their own beings, and well..."

"Yes?" you prompt. Your mother likely does not want to add anything unflattering after having just relayed the words of fools on the matter.

"Among her sisters, Beryl is rather blunt and unwilling to suffer fools, and I have heard it said that she supports more of a voice for the Voices as it were and the common man. Not that unusual to hear in the Deep, of course, and for myself I could not even say I wholly disagree, but I could see her manner and her opinions converging to make for a rather adversarial relationship with many of those who are First by Blood," she explains. After a moment, she adds thoughtfully, "On the other hand, she would be the Minister of War not Diplomacy, unruffling feathers is not to be her task."

"Alright then, mother. If you were to name a lord of the Seven Kingdoms for the post of Minister of War, who would it be?" you ask, expecting her to name one of the loyalists who had shown themselves most eager to embrace the Imperium in all its forms.

Her answer still surprises you, though perhaps it should not have. "Randyll Tarly. Yes, the man is a pain to talk to, and the less said of how he chose to raise his son the better, but he has been taking in the new ways of making war like a man who has found water in the wastes, talking to commanders and trying to judge what he can and cannot implement for his own troops, and it is clear he grieves that the latter is a far longer list than the former. As minister he would be willing to listen to council as long as it is from those well-equipped to give it."

Your talks with the Lord of Horn Hill had revealed a man more skilled in logistics and other less than glorious parts of war than you had assumed he would be, you muse. It is not that he is a fool, just narrow of sight, but then a Minister does not have to see broadly beyond his domain.

"Politically," your mother continues with another sip of her cup, "Naming a Westerosi Duke to the position, even one who had to abdicate for it, would serve the throne well, showing off how they might gain power and prestige in Imperial service, and it will be seen as rewarding those who well served during the War of the Usurper. The only ones who might be bitter with the naming are the Tyrells, and I do not think their thoughts weigh too heavily in the scales of choice for the moment."

"Yet for all his enthusiasm, he is still learning the new ways of making war," you conclude. "He would have to count on his subordinates a good while yet, and war shall not be slow to come, I fear."

For a long while both of you are quiet, contemplating with whom, with what that war may be fought, before you turn your eye to the last candidate. In many ways Neneros Alarte is the expected choice for the post, a Legion man who served almost from the start. He is known to all the marshals from his stint as the commander of Westhaven, he has more of a head for the politics of power than most soldiers have a cause to possess, and is a fair organizer besides. Alas, he has almost no actual experience in command, and much of it policing the Western reaches of Essos which has left him with an abiding dislike it the landholding magisters of the region, something the Latifundiari toughly reflect in kind.

Who do you choose for Minister of War?

[] Beryl the Strategist
+Unwaveringly Loyal
+Artificer's Supervisor
+/-Somewhat Socially Liberal
-Whispers of Conspiracy
-Blunt

[] Randyll Tarly
+Skilled Commander
+A Head for Logistics
+Honors to the Western Lands
-Behind the times
-Socially and Economically Conservative

[] Neneros Alarte
+Legion Connections
+Diplomatic
+Organizer
-Limited Command experience
-Dislike of the Magisters

[] Write in

OOC: I thought about putting Yrael up here, but on consideration of his characterization I do not think he would actually want to leave Mantarys, for all he would be quite skilled In a military posting. The last few years have changed him in more ways than the color of his wings.
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Made some additional edits to the chapter, DP.
 
Artemis1992 said:
Since we are trying to make someone who is not a mage himself, due to conflicts with being under Scholarium-authority, but knows enough about magic not to be percieved as a stranger send to cat-herd them by the mages, I think it might be a good idea to pick an Outsider here. Someone inherently close to magic to understand what comes with it, but not technically one.
Dragon would also work, but a dragon with the patience for bueraucracy is probably too rare to be a realistic option.

Alternativly an Arcanum is a decent option here as well.
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Parchment Dragon would work, but we don't have any yet.

I'm expecting a Volantene compatriot of Zherys who couldn't awaken his magic here.

Kinda could see a Fey here too, since it's not a post with much business as usual.

Artemis1992 said:
What exactly is our mother right now, officially?

Since she is not an adventurer and already deeply involved with our diplomatic efforts she'd make a good fit here.
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Nothing. She's my default pick for the post.
 
Aren't beings with inherent magic technically under the rules of the Scholarum too? I mean otherwise it could lead to some odd situations. Where does innate power end and sorcery begin?

Maelor: Did someone call? :V

No seriously he is actually a spell-caster but a full warlock would be all SLA and Supernatural ability. On the other hand where do you fit a dragon, is their breath magic?

Thinking about it i think a shadow dragon might be able to do the job quite well, they are not all as adventurous as the Twins.
 
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[X] Beryl the Strategist

Artemis1992 said:
Since we are trying to make someone who is not a mage himself, due to conflicts with being under Scholarium-authority, but knows enough about magic not to be percieved as a stranger send to cat-herd them by the mages, I think it might be a good idea to pick an Outsider here. Someone inherently close to magic to understand what comes with it, but not technically one.
Dragon would also work, but a dragon with the patience for bueraucracy is probably too rare to be a realistic option.

Alternativly an Arcanum is a decent option here as well.
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Azel said:
Parchment Dragon would work, but we don't have any yet.

I'm expecting a Volantene compatriot of Zherys who couldn't awaken his magic here.

Kinda could see a Fey here too, since it's not a post with much business as usual.
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What about a Guardian Naga or Bloom?

Alternatively, if we want to appoint a mage who is far removed from the Scholarium, we could select Lady Saenena. She's skilled and intelligent, plus she has experience with what passed for the Valyrian Freehold's magic institutions, at least enough to know what not to do.
 
Magical_Duck said:
I do wonder what Sam's status and title will be after this though.
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If he's lucky, we'd put him in a special Deep Strike Squad with other highly-killy PCs and watch as he rakes up enough money and prestige that he won't ever need to use his family name.

If he is particularly tenacious and lucky, we'd appoint him as a Count or Governor of a newly annexed Imperial Land.
 
Goldfish said:
What about a Guardian Naga or Bloom?
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Not sure Bloom would suddenly want to go high up in admin-work, she seems to do well with a small holding.

Saenena should work, she is technically under the Scholarium's authority, but it's not like she is really involved into the work there, or has strong ties to any teachers or fellow mages in the system.

EDIT: OTOH, I don't want her full-time occupied with a Ministry, she is too useful as an adventurer and researcher.
 
Artemis1992 said:
Not sure Bloom would suddenly want to go high up in admin-work, she seems to do well with a small holding.

Saenena should work, she is technically under the Scholarium's authority, but it's not like she is really involved into the work there, or has strong ties to any teachers or fellow mages in the system.

EDIT: OTOH, I don't want her full-time occupied with a Ministry, she is too useful as an adventurer and researcher.
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Artemis1992 said:
They still have a lot less touchpoints with the Scholarium than the regular graduate or teacher, so the minister-posting should be open to them.
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The problem is the inherent ability of the Scholarum to extort a mage by using it's regulatory capacities against him. Or in his favor. This is always an issue for all posts, but putting any kind of caster as the MoM is bound to exerberate the issue, last but not least because it becomes hard to distinguish corruption / extortion from regular work.

Which is why a properly oath bound fey would work best of all magicals, but a skilled muggle is still by far the most desirable option.
 
Azel said:
The problem is the inherent ability of the Scholarum to extort a mage by using it's regulatory capacities against him. Or in his favor. This is always an issue for all posts, but putting any kind of caster as the MoM is bound to exerberate the issue, last but not least because it becomes hard to distinguish corruption / extortion from regular work.

Which is why a properly oath bound fey would work best of all magicals, but a skilled muggle is still by far the most desirable option.
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What regulatory issues could exactly come up for some Outsider, Dragon or Fey who doesn't do magic besides his innate abilities?

Unless the hypothetical MoM also engages in magical research or runs a magic-based business I can't see many problems. And things like that should be dropped regardless for the duration of their ministerial work.
 
Azel said:
The problem is the inherent ability of the Scholarum to extort a mage by using it's regulatory capacities against him. Or in his favor. This is always an issue for all posts, but putting any kind of caster as the MoM is bound to exerberate the issue, last but not least because it becomes hard to distinguish corruption / extortion from regular work.

Which is why a properly oath bound fey would work best of all magicals, but a skilled muggle is still by far the most desirable option.
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The problem is that there are pretty slim pickings for such 'properly skilled muggles'. You guys have a lot of ways to gain magic in the cards. So if someone wants magic badly enough to get all those skills (Since I am assuming you do not want Expert 3 for your minister it is going to be someone with a lot of drive and will to improve) odds are they can get some kind of magic.

The Volantine mage who really wanted spellcraft either drank something off brand and died of magic overdose or got themselves turned into a warforged or got reincarnated into a kobold etc... there are ways and means to get that power.
 
Artemis1992 said:
What regulatory issues could exactly come up for some Outsider, Dragon or Fey who doesn't do magic besides his innate abilities?

Unless the hypothetical MoM also engages in magical research or runs a magic-based business I can't see many problems. And things like that should be dropped regardless for the duration of their ministerial work.
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For one, the Scholarium could spool up spurious investigations into their use of magic. Their innate abilities are still magic after all.

There's also the risk of the MoM being seen as prejudiced in favor of the Scholarium or one group of magical creatures or another.

It's pretty much impossible to avoid this snarl entirely, but we should be aware of the potential issues.
 
DragonParadox said:
The problem is that there are pretty slim pickings for such 'properly skilled muggles'. You guys have a lot of ways to gain magic in the cards. So if someone wants magic badly enough to get all those skills (Since I am assuming you do not want Expert 3 for your minister it is going to be someone with a lot of drive and will to improve) odds are they can get some kind of magic.

The Volantine mage who really wanted spellcraft either drank something off brand and died of magic overdose or got themselves turned into a warforged or got reincarnated into a kobold etc... there are ways and means to get that power.
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I'm aware of how slim pickings this leaves. So we are likely ending up with some Lawful creature / Outsider. A Kobold would be fun though.

Speaking of the little buggers, they should probably get a minority seat in the Curia Vocium.
 
Azel said:
I'm aware of how slim pickings this leaves. So we are likely ending up with some Lawful creature / Outsider. A Kobold would be fun though.

Speaking of the little buggers, they should probably get a minority seat in the Curia Vocium.
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Does every race get a seat? Poor Child of the Forest who has to sit through this bullshit.
 
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