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

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Algalon said:
Why is it Int 4, though? That's barely above human-like intelligence, I believe. Wasn't the Herald also meant to act as diplomat/messenger on occasional (hence the name)? That sounds like a huge downside.

Or is that some sort of construct limitation?
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Int is 14, not 4.

That's a good bit above human average.

Propably morethan most mortal diplomats.
 
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Algalon said:
Why is it Int 4, though? That's barely above human-like intelligence, I believe. Wasn't the Herald also meant to act as diplomat/messenger on occasional (hence the name)? That sounds like a huge downside.

Or is that some sort of construct limitation?
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Int 4? It has 14.
Int 14 is perfectly respectable. You probably don't have Int 14, and I probably don't either. A normal human has 10 Int, a clever person may have 11 or 12. More than that is definitely uncommon and noticeable.
This thing isn't a supergenius, but it's definitely sharp. It's also got great skills, and that's the most important thing.
 
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Part MMCDXXXVIII: Garbed in Stolen Flesh
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    • Garbed in Stolen Flesh ​

    Twenty-Seventh Day of the Sixth Month 293 AC

    "Wait here, do nothing," you hiss at the cringing figures, willing Varys to carry your message in her mind-voice to ensure that there is no confusion in the matter. As Dany darts to claim the bowl none of them react, not even to raise their eyes from the dust, or shield themselves from the poisoned rain. The faithful of the Red God call themselves slaves to their god. Is this then what it is to be an idol of those desperate for some manner of protection against a cruel and uncaring world? Though you know yourself possessed of the full measure of a dragon's pride, your heart holds to temptation to claim such a twisted 'honor.' A thousand times better to be reviled...

    "So, she has not come and it has not even fought to protect her get from sacrifice," the words seem part of the hissing rain. "Foolish creature, still scrambling in the dirt for that which it can never again possess..."

    The one who had been bearing the crude dragonglass dagger begins to twitch and convulse as though in the grip of some rapturous torment. Then under your horrified eyes they are ripped apart from within in a shower of torn flesh and crushed bone without even a scream even as Dany and Lya rush to try and offer some manner of healing. It is far, far too late...

    From the carnage emerges a hideous giant, its skin the color of old bruises, upon its face a bestial grin adorned with jagged fangs and curling tusks below a trio of wide staring eyes. In its four arms it carries blades curling backwards like a reaper's scythe and at its back great ragged wings like a carrion crow's envelop it. You know its ilk though you have never seen it with the eyes of flesh. Tataka... the warriors of the Rakshasa, skillful in battle and ever thirsting for it.


    Fool... The thought is cold as the glare you toss it to freeze body and mind. None of you had any means to see through its guise of mortality. If only it had kept it. Whatever else could be said of it, however, the monster endures the spell with a shake of its misshapen head as it leaps forward... right into Waymar and Ser Richard's blades. Thunder rolls louder than the storm, lightning flashes blindingly bright as blades of bronze and dragonsteel cross in an avalanche of blows, cutting through wards as easily as flesh, savaging its legs and cutting off one arm at the wrist.

    The monster now torn and bloody but still defiant glares at you over the heads of your friends: "Now is not yet the hour of true battle..." A familiar word of power falls from its lips fit to twist the moment into something more perchance that it might flee, but Malarys had been biding his time for his very moment. Spells crash together in disharmony and time does not twist to the fiend's call...

    Yet still the thing moves with unhallowed grace, rolling aside from Lya's spell to bind it in chains of blinding gold. Though battered it endures Tyene's command to fall to dust, enduring through malice alone it seems.

    "Enough!" you roar, spells of terror and frost both in your voice. Thus is the fiend finally bound in a tomb of ice, its features a mask of fear.

    "What did it mean she did not come?" Lya asks urgently.

    "I don't... the dragon?" A thousand thoughts pass through your mind. The fire dragon had seemed a mindless beast, but it sought whatever lay beneath that dome with singular purpose.

    What do you do?

    [] Try to interrogate the Rakshasa
    -[] Write in

    [] Return to deal with the dragon
    -[] Write in how

    [] Write in

    OOC: The poor Tataka. It was only supposed to hit you a few times and run off if you grabbed the bowl, leaving you with some cryptic words, but Malarys decided to keep a readied counterspell up and pulled it off, so no celerity escape for it. If you had tried asking questions it would have used its meat suit to try to deceive you.
     
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    • Readied Counterspell? Glad to see Malarys is still the best.

    I'm pretty sure we took Divine Defiance for Daenerys last level, right? She should be able to counterspell as an immediate action anyway though. I'm sad not to have seen that used, but seeing Malarys be the best boi again was totally worth it!
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    Readied Counterspell? Glad to see Malarys is still the best.

    I'm pretty sure we took Divine Defiance for Daenerys last level, right? She should be able to counterspell as an immediate action anyway though. I'm sad not to have seen that used, but seeing Malarys be the best boi again was totally worth it!
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    An immediate action is not fast enough to deal with someone using their own immediate action to cast celerity. Only a readied action works unless you have supernatural perception or something.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    An immediate action is not fast enough to deal with someone using their own immediate action to cast celerity. Only a readied action works unless you have supernatural perception or something.
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    ? I'm pretty sure that rules-as-written that's incorrect, but you're the GM so if you decide that Celerity is cast so fast it beats normal interrupts your word is law.
    Damn, that's an inconvenient ruling though. Half the reason I pushed for that feat was to avoid having to deal with another Uniila Celerity+Teleport at the worst moment. Ah well.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    ? I'm pretty sure that rules-as-written that's incorrect, but you're the GM so if you decide that Celerity is cast so fast it beats normal interrupts your word is law.
    Damn, that's an inconvenient ruling though. Half the reason I pushed for that feat was to avoid having to deal with another Uniila Celerity+Teleport at the worst moment. Ah well.
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    I know it's not RAW but I don't want to deal with recursive castings of celerity utterly destroying all sense of flow in a battle. You get into this silly situation where the two sides are both manipulating time and you have to decide who is faster in doing so.
     
    Fluff says these things are often the warriors of the Rakshasa Immortals.

    We might have a Maharaja in Lyceos, as they are the only kind of Rakshasa standing above this kind here.

    That would be a Balor-equivalent though.
     
    Despite me being summoned once more for the purpose of murder, I don't think the Fire Dragon is a target in need of killing. In fact, I think we should hurry back to make sure the Erinyes don't harm it.

    I'm guessing it is either an Avatar of Syrax, though perhaps diminished in some manner, or a guardian she set to look after the last remnants of her followers. The Rakshasa probably did something to keep her busy, such as trapping an important person beneath a Wall of Stone spell, while he performed the sacrifice.

    We might need to Resurrect whoever was inside, if that is the case.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    I know it's not RAW but I don't want to deal with recursive castings of celerity utterly destroying all sense of flow in a battle. You get into this silly situation where the two sides are both manipulating time and you have to decide who is faster in doing so.
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    Isn't there a limit of one immediate action per round anyway? I'm pretty sure that that's impossible.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    Isn't there a limit of one immediate action per round anyway? I'm pretty sure that that's impossible.
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    I don't mean one person using 2 immediate actions but something like this:

    Character A: Casts immediate action celerity do say a ranged SoD
    Character B: Does the same thing to drop a force sphere to cut line of effect
    Character C: Uses celerity to try and dispel the force sphere

    If characters can just call their initiative it can get silly fast.
     
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    [X] Return to deal with the dragon
    -[X] Place the Rakshasa in a Smoky Confinement bottle.
    -[X] Use Greater Teleport to transport everyone to the area where we last saw the Fire Dragon, with Dany using Alter Fortune if necessary to prevent a Teleport mishap.
    -[X] Upon locating the Fire Dragon, Viserys attempts to communicate with it using High Valyrian, and if that fails, Draconic.
    --[X] If the Fire Dragon doesn't respond, Viserys will use a Blood Wish to attempt to strip it of any Mind-Affecting effects, curses, or other detrimental enchantments.
    --[X] If necessary, Tyene and Lya will use Chains of Light to restrain the Fire Dragon while Viserys works.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    "I don't... the dragon?" A thousand thoughts pass through your mind. The fire dragon had seemed a mindless beast, but it sought whatever lay beneath that dome with singular purpose.
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    If there was someone hidden under that stone, I'm going to be even more pissed at the idea of stupidly dropping the dragon to the ground when we could see it's directly over the target still.
     
    [X] Goldfish

    Since a Maharaja would be a kinda overpowered foe (we can't really deal with someone with level 9 casting who is active, knows what we are doing and can prepare) and we know from DP that the foe is something magey I could see a very advanced and levelled Marai or common Rakshasa as the most likely enemy here.
    As far as I understand the fluff any Rakshasa can advance through their caste-system and eventually become immortal, they don't get the physically changing promotions of devils and such.
    So a, judging by the body, lesser Rakshasa can be experienced in magic and other skills to the point of standing just below the lords of their race.

    Unless someone can find a Rakshasa that fits better?
     
    We probably can deal with a Maharaja. It wouldn't be easy, but it could be possible. Especially if it doesn't have many allies.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Int is 14, not 4.

    That's a good bit above human average.

    Propably morethan most mortal diplomats.
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    TalonofAnathrax said:
    Int 4? It has 14.
    Int 14 is perfectly respectable. You probably don't have Int 14, and I probably don't either. A normal human has 10 Int, a clever person may have 11 or 12. More than that is definitely uncommon and noticeable.
    This thing isn't a supergenius, but it's definitely sharp. It's also got great skills, and that's the most important thing.
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    My bad, I was actually looking at Init and misread as Int.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    We probably can deal with a Maharaja. It wouldn't be easy, but it could be possible. Especially if it doesn't have many allies.
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    But it has seemingly enough to send a CR15 one after us.

    And as a high-level caster it could Call more if it needs them.

    I would agree that we can deal with a Maharaja in a situation like Mammon's Aspect was in. Put since it has plenty of time to prepare itself and choose the battlefield in Lyceos now I'm not at all optimistic.

    Even assuming it made very bad choices for it's Sorcerer spellselection and has no additional materials in Lyceos it would take a lot of luck to win.
     
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