Strip 448 - Just a thought

[Foryn Gilnith]

I was strolling through the archives due to a few links in some of these threads, and something occurred to me.

In this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0448.html), what if O-Chul had thrown his katana to damage the gem rather than charging up to get it? Paralyzing touch wouldn't have done much good for Xykon then.

[Narazil]

Pretty sure the old guy's dex isn't exactly mindblowing - there'd be hefty penalties for throwing a katana through a room riddled with fight, too.

[xyzzy]

Fun fact: when O-Chul throws a weapon, the pain of not being held by O-Chul any more causes it to explode instantaneously. Because the warm touch of O-Chul's mighty hand is too amazing to ever lose.

[Spiryt]

Probably beacuse even under D&D rules destroying it with such throw would way too unprobable.

Penalty to attack, range increment of only 10ft, standard action to do it instead of just charge, low damage (no + 1.5 from strenght, no Power Attack or other feats/abilities he may have)

So katana would probably just miss, or slip away beacuse it won't hit well.

The question is how fragile the gem was, though.

[Starscream]

He did think he had a shot of tossing that phylactery all the way to the rift, although he was unsure enough of his chances to request any magical assistance V could provide.

[CrimsonAngel]

I have a felling it would bounce off.

[Foryn Gilnith]

The gate is an inanimate object, and its AC is 3+size modifier. Assuming it is Diminutive, that's AC 7. O-Chul could 5' step towards the gate and take a full-round action to line up his shot for a +5 bonus. O-Chul was 45' away from the gate when his turn started (two move actions put him 5' away from the gate). He would attack with a -7 penalty, and assuming Dexterity 10 and sixth level, he would still have a 65% chance of hitting.

Only now do I realize how pointless this is, because the gate was destroyed anyway... >_< But still, it might have ended differently.

[NerfTW]

He did think he had a shot of tossing that phylactery all the way to the rift, although he was unsure enough of his chances to request any magical assistance V could provide.

Throwing something so that it overcomes air resistance is a far cry from shattering an object with it. When shattering the object, his arms are still exerting the same force, whereas once you've thrown it, there's no more force being exerted to overcome the force of the sapphire pushing back against it.

For example, grab a glass and drop it on the counter. Now slam it down on the counter. Notice how it shattered this time? That's because you continued to apply force against the counter.

Please do not try the above example.
(I know this explanation makes no sense, I just thought suggesting someone try it with a glass was amusing.)


Plus, a katana isn't exactly a throwing weapon, is balanced towards the back end, and will tend to curve in one direction or the other, causing a glancing blow.

[Haven]

The Sapphire Guard's oath also includes everything on the Evil Overlord list, so he would have been forbidden from throwing his sword.

Also, I'm not sure physics-related arguments make a difference since the world is running on D&D rules whether or not they make sense.

[skim172]

Or, more likely, miss. It's not exactly aerodynamically sound. Weighted towards the grip, curved back, it wouldn't work too well as a javelin or as a boomerang. And how often would a guy practice throwing his valuable sword at tiny objects?

That would make for some embarrassing questions up in Paladin heaven.

"So you thought you could throw the sword ... and break it?"

[Herald Alberich]

Besides the fact that it likely wouldn't work, O-Chul is a Fighter/Paladin, and from what I know about martial training of any kind, one of the first rules is "Never throw away your only weapon." Having an epic lich in the same room only makes that one more important.

[Andore Mordre]

Because it's in the script. :smalltongue:

[DBJack]

Also, you could consider that O-Chul wasn't expecting to be stopped from smashing the gate. Why would he stand next to a lich killing his comrades and lob his sword at a gem?

[kusje]

Only now do I realize how pointless this is, because the gate was destroyed anyway... >_< But still, it might have ended differently.

Yeah. Miko would have lived.:smallbiggrin:

O'Chul killed Miko!:smallamused:

[Optimystik]

Fun fact: when O-Chul throws a weapon, the pain of not being held by O-Chul any more causes it to explode instantaneously. Because the warm touch of O-Chul's mighty hand is too amazing to ever lose.

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