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

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I want to ask more questions, but I don't have time to write anything up. Absolutely slammed with work right now. Took me the better part of an hour just to read he chapter.
 
DragonParadox said:
*crickets*

No votes yet? I would have thought there would be some discussion on the matter. Is something unclear?
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Sorry, my entire company is doing inventory at all of our branches nationwide simultaneously and it's a fustercluck, as always. Why do people have to be so...people-ish?

[X] What can they tell us of available enemy forces? What do they know of the magic they have access to? How likely are reinforcements, and what kind of response time can we expect?
-[X] Which of the Sultan's servants is in overall charge of this area?
-[X] What forces are available to us if this becomes a pitched battle?
 
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Goldfish said:
X] What can they tell us of available enemy forces? What do they know of the magic they have access to? How likely are reinforcements, and what kind of response time can we expect?
-[X] What forces are available to us if this becomes a pitched battle?
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@Goldfish, the only big thing I have here:

-[] Which of the Sultan's servants is in overall charge of this area?

Get the info on the miniboss specifically.

[X] Goldfish
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jun 11, 2021 at 3:56 PM, finished with 17 posts and 7 votes.
  • [X] What can they tell us of available enemy forces? What do they know of the magic they have access to? How likely are reinforcements, and what kind of response time can we expect?
    -[X] Which of the Sultan's servants is in overall charge of this area?
    -[X] What forces are available to us if this becomes a pitched battle?
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Part MMMDCCCX: Scales of War
  • Threadmarks
    • Scales of War ​

    Ninth Day of the Ninth Month 294 AC

    Alas, the information you have about the Fortress of Izirlic is not as good as one might hope. A slave, even a favored one of Malik Shalhiaina, is not given the run of military installations. Brass hounds are a common sight, prized for their ability to scent out intruders and follow trails while many of their handlers possess in aid of their tasks sight equal to a fury. Between the two of them these alone make navigating the checkpoints difficult, all the more so the closer to the central bunker one gets.

    Speaking of traveling, there are many rods of cold iron piercing the earth and the very fabric of the planes with fel forbiddance, a complement to the artillery positions that could help fight off a determined frontal assault one might care to bring forth, certainly for long enough to move the wardstones back to the vaults of the City of Brass.

    "Why can't we just do a smash and grab on these stones when they are on the ships ready to be deployed against the salamanders?" Dany interjects as the envoy pauses for a rare breath.

    "The wardstones, by their very nature, cannot be traced by magic, only known from such fortunate discoveries as this one," the shaitan shakes his head. "We would have no way of knowing which ships they are sent on and when they might arrive and be set up. One or two of the wardstones will perhaps find their way into the nets of the corsairs and they should make those captains rich enough to be made princes among their folk..."

    Maelor whistles. "They are that valuable? I mean... I heard about wardstones, but I thought they meant, you know, any old thing you could use to express an enchantment over an area. That sounds a lot more particular..."

    "Indeed, young master. It is far more than the work of common enchantment," comes the reply. "You must understand that while these wardstones are not artifacts, not works of loving-craft beyond other magics, in all respects on the battlefield they behave as such, tools of war between the Spheres perfected through millennia of toil and years or even decades of slow patient enchantment."

    "Well I am definitely not doing that," Lya snorts, though her wide eyes betray what her light tone cannot. "When you say these things block powerful spells..."

    "I mean to say that not even your prodigious skill can find a loop in the weave, Your Majesty. Nay, even the fire of dragons cannot burn them. Do not set out on this task expecting to by cunning or might overpower the wards. They are thus precious to the Brazen Throne as they are precious to us all..."

    "So we need to be like ghosts right until we get them or this Malik will take his stones and go," Garin interjects, his voice rising to innuendo on the last words.

    Somewhat to your surprise a brief smile flashes across the face of the envoy, like the spark of diamond in deep places. "You assume Malik Shalhiaina dwells within the fortress when he could much more easily command it from the comfort and ease of the Sultan's Court? No, gracious lord of the night, he does not."

    "Well then, it is good that we are not after his head then, only the stones," you note dryly before adding the question that is doubtless on everyone's mind. "How much time do we have before the stones are shipped out?"

    "Our agent could not say, only that his master is pleased that the doom of the corsairs is near."

    The doom of the corsairs, or the chance to gain a new ally, you muse. So far you have only been able to raid on the Plane of Fire, but none of your assets can stand and give battle, not when the archmages and great champions of the enemy would be sure to reap slaughter upon any force you are foolish enough to leave exposed.

    Ser Richard is clearly thinking about more than the Imperial Armed forces being exposed. "So whatever reinforcements they send through that gate will have full use of magic and wishcraft, but we won't? Fuck, this will be a cast iron bitch."

    The shaitan envoy may not understand the expression, but he clearly grasps the tone and gives the knight a somber nod. "There is peril in such a path to match the rewards."

    "Wait," Dany cuts in. "Are we even sure the stones have arrived already? I mean, the efreeti would have to know they are exposed at Izirlic."

    "They either have or will arrive very soon. The number of ships in harbor are unusual, preparing for a transfer," comes the reply, from the grimace that accompanies it clearly less precise than the speaker might have preferred.

    "So it's a gamble." Maelor does not seem to mind the prospect...

    But you do. "Or a chance to gain further intelligence in the matter." Yet your words are not as firm as you might have liked them to either. Failed intelligence gathering could risk the whole operation. The corsairs might all too easily fall to blade and chain, giving the Brazen Throne the chance to turn its attention towards the Imperium with even more vigor.

    What do you do?

    [] Launch the raid
    -[] Write in plan and composition

    [] Launch into intelligence gathering first
    -[] Write in plan and composition

    [] Write in

    OOC: I know you guys would like to know more, but there is only so much information a single source can give.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Intelligence gathering is the way to go here. There are way too many blind spots for an operation this big. That said, how to do it...
     
    Tricky, very tricky…
    It's obvious to me that we simply cannot simply rush in there without more reconnaissance, but how, exactly, should we go about doing this?
     
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    Can we send in invisible/camo units for intel gathering/stealing? Treat this like a heist and all?

    The guards and dogs might be able to see through magical hiding and dogs smell stuff, but we can take steps to counter those two things.
     
    We've got several options here.

    1. Companion scouting via super invisibility, whatever we can manage under those warding stones.
    2. Ears of the City? If there's one thing soldiers love to do it's talk about their orders. Especially if there are prostitutes around here.
    3. What were our flesh forged infiltrators called again? The ones we make from the corpses of changelings. Obviously we need to find a way to make sure they can't be smelled, but they seem like a good step to take.
     
    Duesal said:
    We've got several options here.

    1. Companion scouting via super invisibility, whatever we can manage under those warding stones.
    2. Ears of the City? If there's one thing soldiers love to do it's talk about their orders. Especially if there are prostitutes around here.
    3. What were our flesh forged infiltrators called again? The ones we make from the corpses of changelings. Obviously we need to find a way to make sure they can't be smelled, but they seem like a good step to take.
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    I'm so tired my eyes hurt, and I still haven't left the office, so I won't be much help planning tonight.

    I think we should try to slip some Umbral Spies and maybe an Umbral Stalker into the place. They would need to be wary of guards with True Seeing, but they are probably our best bet for gathering additional Intel.
     
    I think this should work? They're all very stealthy and can easily remain hidden, even from True Seeing, once bonded to a target. The Umbral Stalkers can also use their Telepathy to coordinate the Umbral Spies and their Mind Probe SLAs to poke around in enemy skulls for useful information.

    [X] Launch into intelligence gathering first
    -[X] Send half a dozen Umbral Spies along with two Umbral Stalkers to act as commanders of their lesser brethren and for especially difficult infiltration targets within the fortress. They will prioritize remaining hidden while seeking out subjects to target with their Shadow Bond abilities. The Umbral Stalkers will use their Invisibility and Greater Invisibility SLAs on themselves and their subordinates as needed, and Superior Invisibility spells will be made available for the initial infiltration attempt, along with whatever other buffs might aid them.

    Gotta be back at work at 6 AM... 😵

    /crashes
     
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