Hmmm... 654?

[Ridureyu]

You know, the next strip will be Exactly five strips since Belkar mentioned killinx Xykon in five strips.

Any predictions?

[enarch3t]

Two really good jokes, and the MiTD reveals itself saving O-chul and V.

[Timberboar]

My prediction: 653 marks the "fifth strip."

Reasoning: While only the fourth strip, it's actually the fifth page (seeing as 651 and 652 were both a page and a half long) so that when read in dead tree format, 653 will appear to have been five strips.

[[TS] Shadow]

My prediction: 653 marks the "fifth strip."

Reasoning: While only the fourth strip, it's actually the fifth page (seeing as 651 and 652 were both a page and a half long) so that when read in dead tree format, 653 will appear to have been five strips.

That's five pages. Not five strips. Even the 2-4 page comics still count as one strip, even in the Giant's perception. In the books, he marks the multipage strips with the same number.

[spargel]

Hmm... maybe V gets a Deux Ex Machina and kills Xykon?

[Toa]

All for it. Go V!

[Olo Demonsbane]

V kills Xykon with a Disentegrate (Xykon's immunity was ended), and then Redcloak downs V, and Xykon comes back to life/death/undeath/whatever. It will be more of how powerless V is feeling.

[krossbow]

Guy with a halberd will appear to save the day.

[Skeppio]

Guy with a halberd will appear to save the day.

Hilarity ensues.

[Borris]

V cannot win at this point. This would only make V believe that all that ultimate arcane power was not necessary in the first place, and that V had the power to defeat Xykon all along, only increasing V's ego and self-importance. But V can't die either. We're just about to solve the problem of one dead PC; I don't think we can take a second one so soon.

So rescue will have to come from anotehr source. With a 10 minutes casting time for resurrection and no one to cast teleport, it can't be the rest of the OotS. So I'm looking at O-Chul and/or the Monster in the Darkness. Few would say O-Chul doesn't deserve his freedom by now (and Tahn could sure use the help). As for the MitD, I wonder what would happen if Xykon were to throw it out. Maybe it would seek redemption and join a group of good-hearted heroes, like the Linear Guild.

[JeptCloak]

Well, technically the rest of the order could be summoned in, I don't know if V has such a spell though...

[shadzar]

Sure V can win and win big. Disintegrate on RC's holy symbol. RC takes the damage form the destruction of a phylactery, and probably Jirix takes some too. This leaves Xykon powerles once his body is destroyed now, and means he must flee, probably leaving not only O'Chul, but MitD behind until he can find backup. V puts on the Crimson Mantle (?) and learns all that Xykon knows. P'Chul takes his chance to turn MitD to the light side of the force.

Roy still has to track down Xykon and complete the blood oath before Xykon can open one of the gates.

Xykon flies off to Girard's gate in the hopes of using its power with the little from the diary, and meets the Linear Guild along the way. Now Xykon officially teams up with the Linear Guild and supports them more closely. Along the way Xykon makes more flying undead, or just undead in general to serve him.

Tsuki follows her beloved as the necroph...necromancer she is because she was able to survive the destruction of Xykon's phylactery. Heck maybe she even dons the Crimson Mantle herself after RC falls.

There is plenty of stuff that could happen in V's favor that would still leave giant holes to be filled with more plot and story.

[RMS Oceanic]

Well, technically the rest of the order could be summoned in, I don't know if V has such a spell though...

Since the soul splice is at an end, and V's source of conjuration spells is fleeing, I'd say (s)he definately doesn't have such a spell.

[Dalenthas]

My prediction: Xykon kills V and traps hir soul. The Order finds out much, much later from O-Chul.

[Ellye]

I suppose we'll be switching scenes to the IFCC for a quick while. They'll probably take V out of there if they can - even if one of the three must use up his time with V for this.
V is just too useful for them to die already. As I see it, this is the "deus ex machina" that will save V.

[Dr. Cthulwho]

V is just too useful for them to die already. As I see it, this is the "deus ex machina" that will save V.

I don't think it would be any more of a deus ex machina then if V had managed to teleport out. We know the IFCC are powerful, watching and have an interest in V's future, their intervention would be perfectly reasonable.

A deus ex machina for me would be if the Order somehow teleported in and sent the weakened Team Evil scurrying away or something to that effect.

[Morgan Wick]

Sure V can win and win big. Disintegrate on RC's holy symbol. RC takes the damage form the destruction of a phylactery, and probably Jirix takes some too. This leaves Xykon powerles once his body is destroyed now, and means he must flee, probably leaving not only O'Chul, but MitD behind until he can find backup. V puts on the Crimson Mantle (?) and learns all that Xykon knows. P'Chul takes his chance to turn MitD to the light side of the force.
V puts on the Crimson Mantle and immediately is turned to the Dark Side and recruited into the Dark One's plan. (Note: I haven't read SoD so this may be bull****.)

Seriously, even if V knows to take out the phylactery Eugene never told Roy what the phylactery WAS (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0293.html), and V has even less chance to know what the Crimson Mantle is.

[Cracklord]

I suppose we'll be switching scenes to the IFCC for a quick while. They'll probably take V out of there if they can - even if one of the three must use up his time with V for this.
V is just too useful for them to die already. As I see it, this is the "deus ex machina" that will save V.

Really? What plans are you talking about?
For all you know, the IFFC wants Xykon to succeed, to lessen good in the world and allow evil to begin to take over, and sent V to fight Xykon to get rid of V.

[Snake-Aes]

Really? What plans are you talking about?
For all you know, the IFFC wants Xykon to succeed, to lessen good in the world and allow evil to begin to take over, and sent V to fight Xykon to get rid of V.

The IFCC doesn't want an evil god having leverage through risky usage of a dangerous being like the snarl. More likely, they want to use it themselves.

[Cracklord]

The IFCC doesn't want an evil god having leverage through risky usage of a dangerous being like the snarl. More likely, they want to use it themselves.

Why? They survived the last time it came out (Sabine is older then the universe). It's not a problem to them, but that doesn't mean they want to draw attention to themselves. Let the Dark One take the risks, he kills off all the gods, making them the most powerful beings in the universe. What's not to like? A victory for evil.

[shadzar]

V puts on the Crimson Mantle and immediately is turned to the Dark Side and recruited into the Dark One's plan. (Note: I haven't read SoD so this may be bull****.)

Seriously, even if V knows to take out the phylactery Eugene never told Roy what the phylactery WAS (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0293.html), and V has even less chance to know what the Crimson Mantle is.

Crimson Mantle = big honking magic item not destroyed by big honking magic explosion of the phylactery. RC was helping Xykon shouting out things to do, why can't O'Chul shout out things to V telling what item or attack would most hurt Xykon?

[David Argall]

Why? They survived the last time it came out (Sabine is older then the universe). It's not a problem to them, but that doesn't mean they want to draw attention to themselves. Let the Dark One take the risks, he kills off all the gods, making them the most powerful beings in the universe. What's not to like? A victory for evil.
Well, for starters, evil does not like to cooperate, even with other evil. A win for evil is not a win for these fiends. So they want to get their hands on it, not Xykon's hands on it.
Then we have the problem that Xykon has already had 3 shots at the prize, and broke 3 gates. You see the pattern? There is quite a chance he will screw up the next gate too. Much better somebody competent take over the jobs. [Of course we are competent. How could you possibly think otherwise?]

[Haven]

Why? They survived the last time it came out (Sabine is older then the universe).

Where's this from? Is it one of the bonus strips in one of the collections?


V puts on the Crimson Mantle and immediately is turned to the Dark Side and recruited into the Dark One's plan. (Note: I haven't read SoD so this may be bull****.)

Although it was never actually said, I'd think the Crimson Mantle only works for goblins, since it was created by their god to advance their Plan.

[Badgercloak]

Will be great no matter what happens.



Zing!:smallbiggrin:

[shadzar]

Will be great no matter what happens.



Zing!:smallbiggrin:

Kazumi will give birth and Daigo will pass out form it, and Elan will get a tingling in the bardic force that some dramatic event has happened and starts crying because he wasn't around for it.

[Linkavitch]

Hilarity ensues.

Hilarity and pure awesomeness.

What I think might happen is :xykon: and :redcloak: capture :vaarsuvius: and put him in a cage with :mitd: and O-chul. Then, when Xykon takes his army to go conquer somewhere (or anywhere, or nowhere, or maybe even wherever:smallbiggrin:) the rest of the party will sneak in and rescue them.

[Volkov]

Xykon turns himself into a demi-lich, thus making you have to wait even longer to see girard's gate. MUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAAAA!!!

[Zherog]

Sure V can win and win big. Disintegrate on RC's holy symbol. RC takes the damage form the destruction of a phylactery, and probably Jirix takes some too.

Nothing at all in the description of the lich's phylactery suggests that it causes damage to those nearby when it is destroyed.

[Optimystik]

Enarch3t was closest, though none of us got it. This is a nailbiter! And almost certainly the end of O-Chul :smallfrown:

[David Argall]

Plenty of ways for O-Chul to survive, and maybe prosper.
I like O-Chul distracting Xykon, who decides not to kill his torture toy, and thus merely knocks him out again. Redcloak now intervenes to insist V might have useful information. So the two are put back in O-Chul's cage until torture time [Redcloak is not going to change his schedule if he can help it.]
In the cage, the fiends invoke Time Stop again, and say they are disappointed with the result of their spell, but if V will sign this endorsement of the spell, they will be able to tell other fiends it was a success. [Lie to our fellow fiends? Well of course. We are evil after all.] In return, they will reapply the splice for one round, allowing V the time to epic teleport out of there, and back to the party, possibly taking O-Chul with him.
Team Evil now finds a mysteriously empty cage and gets scared, and on the road to the next gate. The fiends get clear title to about an hour of V's time, collectible at their whim, which will be at the gate.
A minor addition might be Qarr becoming V's familiar.

[Eric O'Really]

i hate to say this, because i like that old stubborn guy, but o-chul is probably going to die. i think xykon killing our pala friend will have a huge impact on MitD and this will be the first event that leads him to turn against xykon in the end, just not now. my prediction is, that the distrust for the lich and RC will grow over the time and in the final battle MitD will snap and distroy xykon himself.

although i could see v and o-chul together destroying xykons phylactery. i also hope that this line of story will lead to v trying to redeem himself, because it would be more interesting than just seeing him die now.