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A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
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- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
Part MMCCLXXXVIII: Balance and Measure
Balance and Measure
Seventh Day of the Fifth Month 293 AC
"I am Viserys, head of House Targaryen, a king upon the Realm of Balance," you reply with a carefully measured smile. "I have other names, other titles, though none that would be relevant in this place and time. Know, however, that though I do not blame your for proffering it I have little love for the title you gave me. I am no master of slaves and do not wish to be one for slavery is foul to me, folly and wickedness all at once. Thus it is the law of my realm that any thinking being brought in bondage into my lands will be freed."
As you speak Siduri arches one delicate eyebrow quizzically: "That seems an odd taboo given my mother's tales, ultimately they could illuminate the merest corner of what Valyria was, and of course nothing that followed in its wake. Tell me, how did you survive in a realm bereft of magic?"
"I was born to it," you reply simply. Seeing her surprise, you add, "Now that I have given you a clue, can you guess how old I am?"
"Less than a score years," Yrten interjects before his companion can speak. He snorts: "It's the way you talked to Kur that nailed things for me, took his advice really seriously on the traps and waited for him without saying a word, instead of trying to give advice, walk right through the traps, or some other madness born of too many years brooding over your own power."
"If that was your last clue, then what was the first?" you ask curiously.
"The company you keep," Siduri picks up the thread of what you suspect had been at least a planned conversation. "Most look to count around as many years." Looking towards Dany she frowns and adds, "I can't quite guess how old you are, beyond older than that form would imply."
Your sister flies down from her perch near Rina and takes human form once more: "I can count eight full years... and I think I'll take that as a compliment, albeit an uncommon one."
"Those must have been an eventful eight years," the fiend-kin mage replies, matching her lighthearted tone.
Dany's grin grows almost against her will, you suspect caught between satisfaction at being treated in such a matter-of-fact manner and the undeniable knowledge that both of your hosts are unapologetic slavers who would only follow the law of your realm for practicality's sake. In the end she settles on introducing herself in full.
"I suppose given the company I find myself in I too have another name to offer. By the laws of a sundered land I would be Siduri Laethyos. It is no accident that my kindred were named for the River of Unmindfulness, for we have long been sages of Baator. Faced with its fel secrets and temptations, the ability to forget is a wondrous gift, or so at least I have been told. My own interests as I have explained before lie more in enchantment than conjuring and binding, though of necessity I have acquired some skill in those arts."
Thus you come to share something of your own story as the hours whittle by, intermixed with those of your companions. The food is excellent while the drink, Fire Fennel Tea is, surprising with every sip. Unsurprisingly Rina is almost completely silent throughout while Ser Richard keeps his own remarks as brief as humanly possible, and Tyene is more concerned with learning more of your hosts tale than sharing her own. It takes you quite a while to realize what she is doing: having Waymar break the ice so that when all eyes and ears are on him she can subtly steer the conversation into a telling anecdote or a unique piece of lore.
The young Valeman himself seemed to have learned quite a bit on how to play this game, leveraging what would otherwise be a weakness into a strength.
Waymar personal improvement reveled: +3 bonus skill points invested into Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive
Once you are reasonably certain the two corsairs are not only clever, but naturally inclined to caution in the pursuit of self interest, you wait for a lull in the discussion then pose a question over the rim of your teacup: "Are there any allies of yours in Dis who find the dominion of Dispater loathsome?"
"To find oneself in the company of devils in anything besides a position of unassailable strength is loathsome to any rational mind," the mage replies, obviously unsure where you aim to take the conversation.
"Should they seek out the service of the Lord of the Third I would be able to aid them to break free of the chains of Baator entirely, for I was able to win the privilege of accepting willing traitors from Mammon's service without invoking the power of the First Pact."
"Dare I ask how you attained this dispensation?" Siduri asks, her idle tone at odds with the sharpness of her gaze.
You answer in full, making no effort to boast, for the deed itself is enough of a cause for pride. Alas doubts remain after you have said your part, not that you can truly blame them. The gamble itself was great even by your standards and won as much through Mammon's folly as skill you and your companions showed.
"Just show them the body," Dany suggests reasonably, and so you do, the glittering form the Lord of the Third has so briefly worn tumbling upon the hard floor, clearly broken but also recognizable to any diligent student of diabolic lore.
Yrten whistles while his subordinate seems quite beyond words for a brief while.
"You going to make an armor out of this?" the raider captain asks. "I know a fellow who's really good with a smith's hammer if you need one."
"A cloak, actually, and skillful as your acquaintance might be there is more power to be found in those who slew the fiend for reforging his hide," you reply.
"I request the chance to study in your realm for a while," Siduri regains her voice. "Under the snake's tutelage and otherwise, that means of course a safe port for the Golden Wind to trade so long as we keep to the local laws."
"Of course," you nod, already considering closer ties, though unwilling to commit for the moment.
Hearing this Yrten huffs, sending hundreds of sparks flying from his beard. "Well now, that calls for a gift. How about the statue of a she-devil we just got? It's finely made and fits uncannily good."
Gained Dragonglass Erinyes statue
You had considered buying the thing off him regardless, so the gift seems a particularly thoughtful touch, as well as one more reminder that beneath his gruff exterior the Azer captain is canny and perhaps even wise in his own fashion.
As you are about to move on Dany decides to buy the dragonscale talisman also for a relatively small price.
Lost 50 Gold
Gained Green Dragonscale Talisman
What do you do next?
[] Raid Whalers
[] Raid Efreeti trade
[] Slay the Brazen Throne's garrison to one of the vassal Salamander realms to encourage rebellion
[] Write in
OOC: Tyene's been tutoring Waymar for a while, but it never seemed like the right time to reveal it until now.
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Evaunit02mark1
S-s-smell the Prey, S-s-start the Hunt.
[X] Raid Whalers
We had our fun, so it's really time for us to help our nice Whale friend viciously murder the bastards trying to kill and eat her friends and family. It's only fair. Besides, these jerks probably don't have anything we want to loot so we can destroy them all utterly without a need for hesitation.
It'll be remarkably therapeutic for all involved.
Well, maybe not the Whalers, but the field upon which I grow my fucks has been barren for some time, so I'm afraid they're just going to have to deal with it.
We had our fun, so it's really time for us to help our nice Whale friend viciously murder the bastards trying to kill and eat her friends and family. It's only fair. Besides, these jerks probably don't have anything we want to loot so we can destroy them all utterly without a need for hesitation.
It'll be remarkably therapeutic for all involved.
Well, maybe not the Whalers, but the field upon which I grow my fucks has been barren for some time, so I'm afraid they're just going to have to deal with it.
- Location
- France
And autoleveling Waymar strikes again! This time, out of combat!
Good to see Daenerys treated well, even if it is by unreliable slavers.
If she studies in our realm, will that cost us precious PC time? Will we have an opportunity to offer her a better deal? Because right now Viserys has agreed to let them trade in our port and learn in our city without them actually promising us any payment :/
Good to see Daenerys treated well, even if it is by unreliable slavers.
If she studies in our realm, will that cost us precious PC time? Will we have an opportunity to offer her a better deal? Because right now Viserys has agreed to let them trade in our port and learn in our city without them actually promising us any payment :/
The comma here is wrong. That's the only typo I noticed in the whole chapter though!
- Location
- United States
@DragonParadox, can Yrten give us quick and up-to-date intel on all the best targets available to us?
- Location
- Germany
That went well.
Tiefling Wizard aquired, let's see if, with time and good offers, we can keep her.
[X] Meet your black market contacts on the Bazaar of Beggars, find out if the Bey of Beggars is still the same and if an attack on him looks promising.
Tiefling Wizard aquired, let's see if, with time and good offers, we can keep her.
[X] Meet your black market contacts on the Bazaar of Beggars, find out if the Bey of Beggars is still the same and if an attack on him looks promising.
- Location
- France
@DragonParadox, I want to craft some sort of actual deal with these guys. Does the wizard have any crafting feats? She has access to spells of up to the 6th circle right?
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
@Duesal, @Azel, @Goldfish, @TotallyNotEvil, I suggest making a round of divination and a short action looking though all maps we have of PoF.
If luck is on our side, we can get some more promising targets, or hunt down whalers more quickly.
Aaaand we can drop off at the Brass horseman and loot 'im before going home.
Or is hunting down more ships for bounty out of plans now?
If luck is on our side, we can get some more promising targets, or hunt down whalers more quickly.
Aaaand we can drop off at the Brass horseman and loot 'im before going home.
Or is hunting down more ships for bounty out of plans now?
No PC time required. This is just an agreement in principle to let her study with the snake which you guys already voted on.
She has no crafting feats and yes she has access to 6thlevel spells.
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- Location
- Germany
The taxes are a certainty.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
The classes were wierdly specific, which is strange, because Pathfinder allows such a huge degree of customization, the magic system had been gutted AND dumbed down, combat wasn't changed too much, but weapons and armor we're just ridiculous I a hard to describe way (far too powerful, far too expensive, and completely overshadow everything else), magic item usage and availability was minimized horribly, and the way stats and abilities were represented, including hit points, was just a mess. It's like they tried to simultaneously simply and complicate the entire system, while half-heartedly introducing a new edition.
I honestly think 4E D&D was better.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
Can we reach an agreement with her to have all knowledge she gets from snake recorded and given to us, for a reasonable fee?
We'll get all that out of Coatl either way, but like that it would simply be more efficient, seeing as she'll be asking questions in her own time.
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- Location
- United States
@DragonParadox, is Siduri descended from one of the Forty Families? We have three sources of lore on the Forty Families—the ghost lady we met on the Demon Road who told us about them and gave Lya the Robes of Retaliation, the scroll on the Forty Families we got from Hermetia's father, and Malarys—so IC we should recognize the name.
- Location
- Brazil
From what I know, armour and weapons are essentially how you level, ain't it? Get to level X, spend most of your gold upgrading your gun so you can hurt ECL-appropriate enemies?
Sure, that makes sense
Whatever you choose it will be using all the intel he has available, if you have any specific questions just ask in the thread and I'll answer OOC.
She is not.
- Location
- United States
Great.
@DragonParadox
1. What current targets are there that we could hit? Military convoys, special expeditions, perhaps even retaliation forces sent out against us?
2. Which areas are the most densely packed with Efreeti whaling ships? Where can we find the biggest fleet to capture?
3. Name all the subjugated tribes that pay homage to the Brazen Throne and give a scale of the magnitude of difficulty it would take to conduct a raid against the Efreeti stationed there.
4. What efreeti fortifications are worth attacking in the Plane of Fire and aren't too heavily defended?
- Location
- Germany
Well. Apparently we carry Mammon around in our Bag of Holding.
Which begs a very important question.
@DragonParadox, have we already hollowed him out to use him as a sock-puppet?
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
*Pulls out support beam of book-keeping out of closet and places it upon the table with a resounding dusty "Thud"*
See what I did there?
I shall keep this in mind. Yes.
Finally, some more book-related stuff for me to remember and try to remind you of.
I was getting restless lately :/
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- Location
- United States
I was pleasantly surprised by that, too.
I presume we're doing that after we have our cloak and our treasure maps. Really we just need his head for sock puppet purposes.
- Location
- Germany
@DragonParadox, how long would it take for us to go over to Molten Skies and steal every single one of those Planeshfit focus statues?
Evaunit02mark1
S-s-smell the Prey, S-s-start the Hunt.
No no no, we are a perfectionist. We will not settle with our mockery good sir, nay in fact I will go so far as to say we will be complete and utter bastards.
That and the fact that we could simply plop the damn thing into a room and make most of our enemies panic for at least half a second, even more if it looks like it's moving under its own power.
- Location
- ?????????
I thought the head was being given to the Old Gods... or was that the guts? Can we get a
"what goes where" list for parts of this corpse?
"what goes where" list for parts of this corpse?
- Location
- Germany
You know... there is that thing called Effigy Creature...