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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 MMXXII: Unbound Spirit
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    • Unbound Spirit​

    First Day of the Third Month 293 AC

    There is a time for mercy, for reasoned negotiation and for magnanimity in victory, yet they attacked without provocation, scorned words of peace... and the battle is not over. You dive... Fire spills from your jaws, bright as the heart of the sun, magic and flame twined together. One of the archers and two of the axe-bearers take the full brunt of the blaze, burning... the dreadfully familiar stink of cooked meat mingles with the bitter miasmas of the flats as the giants shout in alarm, their sight stolen by the flame though the hardiness of their stone keeps them from perishing.

    Again a pair of arrows fly, one chipping off the tip of your crown of horns, the other lodging itself painfully in your underbelly. A long keening sound of steel is the only warning you get when one warrior's axe spins through the air to cleave at your left wing. It is enough...barely to once more guard yourself with sorcery against the blow.

    You take 17 Damage

    As the ward fades before your sight you notice the weapon has returned obediently to the warrior's hand, and in some distant corner of your mind you cannot help but weigh its worth as spoils. Thunder rolls at Lya's command but the foe keep their feet and their wits, though they are not so fortunate as Dany once more cuts through the air in a dive far steeper than you had done and conjures a snare of dried sinewy and blackened bone from the earth flinging both of them into the ground. The gates behind them are filled with flame and the screams of their fellows rushing to their aid... Lya's work you know at once reaching beyond the boundaries of time. How many were there, how many willing to die for this?

    You do not ponder the question long as from behind the flames another giant emerges, shorter than the others and raises his hands in supplication to the powers of the earth. A net of pulsing green flies towards you cast swift and true... Yet even as you feel it tangling your wings you hear Dany's voice upon the air and you know that you have escaped and so it is the magic twisting fate.

    "Your lord is bound to lowly flesh, your champions are blind and kneeling in the dirt. Surrender!" you call for the third time that day.

    "I am never bound to flesh!" the giant laughs, the same pride you had heard before in his words. He had been wearing a warrior's flesh before, to take advantage of his strength and hardiness, you realize distantly.

    Ser Richard is a flash of shadow and flame-touch steel as he spurs his spectral steed across the field of battle, narrowly avoiding a geyser, ducking under the blows of a warrior, sighted or not with the skill of long practice, driving Oathkeeper again and again intro the sorcerer's flesh even as you reign down fire from above.

    Somehow the sorcerer lord still stands to try one last desperate gambit... he tries to flee, but sword and knight together are ready for the ploy. The giant falls, his leg cut off from under him before the sword slips between his ribs and cuts through the heart. Now at least he is truly unbound by flesh, you think with grim amusement.

    Viserys 1563

    Daenerys and Ser Richard 2100

    Lya 2817

    Tyene 3600

    Xor 6250

    The remaining giants reluctantly lay down their arms, or simply drop them in the dirt in the case of those who had been blinded.

    What do you do?

    [] Write in

    OOC: That was a lot closer than it looked. If Viserys had gotten trapped in the Earth-bind the giants would have tried to swarm you and your companions would have had to try and cut their way to you.
     
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    • DragonParadox said:
    OOC: That was a lot closer than it looked. If Viserys had gotten traped in the Earth-bind the giants would have tried to swarm you and your companions would have had to try and cut their way o you.
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    Or we cast a Teleport.
    I mean, aside from the fact that they'd be in melee with a dragon, which sounds less good than being in melee with a Sorcerer.

    For the giants I'd say we graciously accept the surrender, loot the sorcerer and the warriors that attacked us and then get to talking nice and calm.
     
    Yes, yes, drink deeply of the Cup of XP, Lya, drink the tears of our enemies, the nectar of their despair. Let its power flow into your soul, so that you might work ever greater magics upon the world!

    :drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil::drevil:

    Sorry, got a little carried away, thanks to the awesomeness of that fight, @DragonParadox. I love it when a plan comes together.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Or we cast a Teleport.
    I mean, aside from the fact that they'd be in melee with a dragon, which sounds less good than being in melee with a Sorcerer.

    For the giants I'd say we graciously accept the surrender, loot the sorcerer and the warriors that attacked us and then get to talking nice and calm.
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    We'll be looting the reinforcements, too. Anyone that took up arms against us is getting robbed blind.
     
    [X] While the spoils are being collected, find out who can speak for the tribe that still lives.
    -[X] Negotiations have broken down, and reluctantly, you realize you're not so much seeking terms anymore so much as delivering an ultimatum.
    -[X] You might have entertained sheltering a small group of exiles as is your nature, but no more. Hostages will be secured, the closest conspirators will be executed.
    -[X] The only salve for the rest of the tribe at large is that should they resume loyal service for a period of time deemed acceptable for broaching the subject by House Adjar, better terms may be sought.
    -[X] Should they actually have a point of redress worth listening to, due to undue hardships beyond any reasonability to continue operations under, promise to appeal to the Shaitan, but no more.
     
    [X] Collect their weapons and let them bring you to the village for further negotiations.

    Waiting for them to strip their armor is a waste if time. It's time to dictate terms.
     
    I really like the use of Magic Jar for fighting with an expendable body.
    Nice trick, no use for Viserys but I bet Lya could use it well.

    Goldfish said:
    We'll be looting the reinforcements, too. Anyone that took up arms against us is getting robbed blind.
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    We'll see, they'll need weapons and armor if we can convince them to return to their job.

    I'm reasonbly sure to keep them effective we'll either have to keep most of their best warriors alive, or leave them the good gear for the rest.
    We can decide after a round of talking when we know if we have to kill anyone else.

    By the way @DragonParadox , is there a reason why someone on the Plane of Earth happened to have a Wingbind ready?
    I would have thought that's a rarely useful spell here.
     
    @Artemis1992 Unfortunately, divination. The bane of all impromptu fights and non-Mindblanked high level parties.

    "What danger will the tribe face in the following month?"

    "Blah blah blah dragon allegory."

    "Hm, better keep some spells handy."

    *later*

    "That's the dragon? Oh shit, oh shit. Okay, I came prepared."

    Etc. It's kind of lame, but divination helps against a power like the Shaitan who probably spam it while laughing at barbarians.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Or we cast a Teleport.
    I mean, aside from the fact that they'd be in melee with a dragon, which sounds less good than being in melee with a Sorcerer.

    For the giants I'd say we graciously accept the surrender, loot the sorcerer and the warriors that attacked us and then get to talking nice and calm.
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    Since the net would have been tangled with you not a static force effect, it would have teleported with you.
     
    [X] Plan "Dragon Diplomacy 101"
    -[X] Loudly demand that all Stone Giants who attacked you, or who attempted to reinforce the aggressors, immediately divest themselves and their dead of their armor and weapons, then have them pile it all beside the dead Sorcerer's corpse. While they are doing so, they are to send for the highest remaining authorities within the tribe.
    -[X] Ask Lya to Fabricate an ornate stone table and chairs, appropriately sized for Stone Giants, with a throne fit for your Huge Half-Dragon form, in the area scoured clean by our breath weapon. This is where we will meet the tribe's remaining leaders in order to discuss what must happen next.
    -[X] Once they are disarmed and stripped of their armor, ask that Tyene, with Richard and Dany watching over her should any of them be exceedingly stupid, heal the wounds of the surviving Giants to the best of her ability without losing access to her more powerful spell levels.
     
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    Artemis1992 said:
    We'll see, they'll need weapons and armor if we can convince them to return to their job.

    I'm reasonbly sure to keep them effective we'll either have to keep most of their best warriors alive, or leave them the good gear for the rest.
    We can decide after a round of talking when we know if we have to kill anyone else.
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    They're each a CR 8 Large-sized killing machine, at a minimum. They live in a mining community and have slaves working the forges. They can make new armor and weapons. They might not be Mithral, and they won't be enchanted any time soon, but they're hardly going to be defenseless in the meantime.
     
    [X] Goldfish
    ...one more scull to the scull rack, few more questions from @Duesal to ask, one more trophy for the trophy room.
    Right next to Fire Giants, methinks.
     
    Azel said:
    [X] Collect their weapons and let them bring you to the village for further negotiations.

    Waiting for them to strip their armor is a waste if time. It's time to dictate terms.
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    They have time to remove their armor while the clan's elders are being retrieved. We should also have the meeting outside the gates, where evidence of our quick, devastatingly effective victory is plainly obvious for all to see. It also makes further attacks and ambushes on us much less likely.
     
    Eh.
    It's too bad he wasn't influenced by devils/demons/illithids/other_evil_shit.
    We would've gotten some really nice sacrifice HD that way.
    But whatever.
    XP for Lya is great too.
     
    tenchifew said:
    Yes, but using teleport not to get swarmed and to reunite with allies should be a viable tactic.
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    Even if it was rather easily escaped via Teleportation, it would still eat up a minimum of two high level spell slots, and whatever time is necessary to get out of the net. That's going to take at least 18 seconds, or three combat rounds. As we just showed, a whole hell of a lot can happen in just a couple rounds.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Even if it was rather easily escaped via Teleportation, it would still eat up a minimum of two high level spell slots, and whatever time is necessary to get out of the net. That's going to take at least 18 seconds, or three combat rounds. As we just showed, a whole hell of a lot can happen in just a couple rounds.
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    If it was really life or death we could Bloodwish Disintegrate to deal with the net.
    It's explicitly vulnerable to that.

    One round, one slot, one Charisma.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    If it was really life or death we could Bloodwish Disintegrate to deal with the net.
    It's explicitly vulnerable to that.

    One round, one slot, one Charisma.
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    Eh, still a pretty good trade off; a low level spell scroll versus a 7th level spell slot your enemy won't be able to use to do terrible things to reality in order to make you suffer.

    Good planning on the Sorcerer Giant's part, just not enough power to see it through to an advantageous conclusion. Spell scrolls should only rarely be used against enemies if the effect can be totally negated by a saving throw, since they always have a minimal save DC.
     
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