Hank

[A Quiet Person]

Would I be wrong to suggest that Belkar now has competition for the role of coolest Halfling in OoTS?

While Belkar is a sexy shoeless god of war, Hank is very different: a quick-witted, understated rogue and possibly the slickest operator and opportunist in the Thieves' Guild.

I mean, Celia did quite well when the OoTS were on trial. Granted, the trial was a fix, but she nonetheless represented them well.

But Hank took her on at negotiating and utterly owned her. From a position of disadvantage, taking into account that Haley and Belkar were winning, he was able to get Celia to agree to a contract in which the Guild takes all the victories and Haley gets screwed. What's more, he's also managed to argue his case so effectively that Haley now seems to be bound by it.

I know that a lot of readers seem to be mad at Celia for the deal, but I think that I've got to give credit to Hank as well.

Frankly, if Bozzok or Crystal try to double-cross Haley on the deal, they'll be missing the point. The plan that Hank's hatched is so punitive that it's far better than anything that could have been achieved simply by killing Haley.

[SSGW Priest]

Would I be wrong to suggest that Belkar now has competition for the role of coolest Halfling in OoTS?

Yes it would, Blasphemer! Though the soul patch is beguiling.

[Optimystik]

But Hank took her on at negotiating and utterly owned her. From a position of disadvantage, taking into account that Haley and Belkar were winning, he was able to get Celia to agree to a contract in which the Guild takes all the victories and Haley gets screwed. What's more, he's also managed to argue his case so effectively that Haley now seems to be bound by it.

That doesn't speak so much for his debate skills as Celia's airheadedness. In fact, if Haley thought the Sending had gone off without a hitch, she'd be telling them both to shove their contract into their nether regions.

Since we haven't seen him fight much, the only thing we have to rate Hank on is his gift of gab; I put Serini far ahead of him for being able to calm down epic-level combatants. That's one hell of a Diplomacy check.

[BRC]

I got the impression that Celia included the raising of the dead thieves, not Hank. Hank was probably the one who mentioned the 50% thing though.

[Optimystik]

I got the impression that Celia included the raising of the dead thieves, not Hank. Hank was probably the one who mentioned the 50% thing though.

Celia included raising Roy, the only person she gives a rat's hit die about.

[Moff Chumley]

Um, no Belkar remains the most awesome halfling evar.

[PANdemonium]

Hank is decidedly awesome, just a completely different kind of awesome. I'm going to call it a tie.

[Voyager_I]

Celia included raising Roy, the only person she gives a rat's hit die about.

Hank states explicitly in the comic that the resurrection of the guild casualties was Celia's condition. She's the one who values the lives and welfare of others, not him. I wouldn't give Hank too much credit as a debater, either. Although Celia was arguing from an advantageous position, she most likely did not know how the fight was going at the time (and had previously seen Haley in mortal danger), and more importantly, would probably be willing to concede that advantage to bring about a peaceful resolution, as she cares about the lives of her enemies more than the does Haley's money.

[Ganurath]

Your analysis assumes that Celia is a competent negociator on account of her winning a trial for the party. I would like to counter that point by noting that the trial was rigged to her favor. I do hope Haley drops that bomb on her at some point.

[Finwe]

Hank states explicitly in the comic that the resurrection of the guild casualties was Celia's condition. She's the one who values the lives and welfare of others, not him. I wouldn't give Hank too much credit as a debater, either. Although Celia was arguing from an advantageous position, she most likely did not know how the fight was going at the time (and had previously seen Haley in mortal danger), and more importantly, would probably be willing to concede that advantage to bring about a peaceful resolution, as she cares about the lives of her enemies more than the does Haley's money.

Celia was arguing from a DISADVANTAGEOUS position. When she ran into the room, she still thought Belkar was comatose, and Haley was fighting an opponent several levels higher. She negotiated the contract with the intention of saving her team's life, not milking the guild.

However, upon seeing her side victorious, she made the unforgivable mistake of not re-negotiating. Imagine you were being prosecuted for murder, and the evidence seems to prove that you did it. Initially, your lawyer negotiates a settlement where you serve 10 years in prison. Now, if you uncover evidence that completely exonerates you, but she encourages you to take the original deal anyways, would you think "ha ha, she's just being a little ditzy" or would you find a new lawyer?

(I'm not suggesting Haley should dump Celia by the wayside, I'm simply saying that her mistake goes way beyond the realm of "air-headed-ness" and into the sinking hole of criminal stupidity.)

[Voyager_I]

I think I'll roll with your analysis, although Celia may have had a slight advantage from the fact that she can fly and shoot lightning, and the thieves most likely did not know she would be unwilling to do so.

[A Quiet Person]

I still think that Hank is due a little credit, even in the context of all the Celia-hate.

His real strength is clearly as a spin doctor; his plan for playing Haley's defection as a scam to put assassins in parties that hire Guild "scabs" is pretty cool.

Hank's a "cover the bases" kind of guy. Even when we first meet him, he tips off Haley that Bozzok plans to have her killed. Even when someone becomes an enemy of the Guild, he still puts something in place so that he is on speaking terms with that enemy, and can work out a deal.

While I don't hate Celia, I can see why others do; her recent character development has made her harder to like. I think that I'm jumping on the bandwagon of people who think that Celia's IQ has sharply dipped of late. The trial was rigged, but Celia's performance in Azure City made her look sensible. Her entire defence of the Order was predicated on the idea that black-and-white approaches to judging a situation do not work.

Now, she's a moral absolutist, and her not-understanding-and-not-even-asking-how-the-material-world-works schtick is getting tiresome fast. I am appalled that she insisted on the resurrection of all of the dead thieves. What she does know is that they're cutthroats; if they return, they'll kill innocent people in the long run. Letting murderers whom you didn't kill yourself stay dead doesn't violate the tenets of Lawful Good. The old Celia was a big picture thinker and I would have expected her to know that.

Hank's a flexible thinker who can shift his position in an instant to suit his situation. Celia's become an inflexible thinker, and a different character in the process. I know who I like more right now as a character in the story.