Thog's murderous rampage.

[krossbow]

think we've seen thog fighting at his fullest in this comic ever? He was apparently intimidated by roy in their fight, yet he was strong enough when raging to tear a prison apart with his bare hands, and the threat of his rage scared even nale.


On the other hand, he's be easily dispatched in all encounters so far; the worst he's done is use a door to beat someone half to death even with the improvised weapon penalty. Granted, he's yet to be in a rage during battles that we've seen (being more in a state of incredible happiness), but his lack of effectiveness is telling.

Thog could actually be the weakest character in the comic so far if what we've seen has been bluster more or less.

[Jagos]

Thog is the case of REALLY STRONG fighter...

With no brains whatsoever to use it with. Basically, he's the muscle of the Linear Guild whereas Sabine and Nale are the actual brains.

[Forbiddenwar]

Yay! resisting arrest is fun! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0362.html)
Seems pretty effective here.
Most of his killing seems to be off panel, though. Also:
A) nobody in Oots is powerful.
B) The linear Guild in particular are weak, how effective is Nale? Sabine? Besides killing civilians, that is.

[krossbow]

Yay! resisting arrest is fun! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0362.html)
Seems pretty effective here.
Most of his killing seems to be off panel, though. Also:
A) nobody in Oots is powerful.
B) The linear Guild in particular are weak, how effective is Nale? Sabine? Besides killing civilians, that is.

Those were low level characters who had trouble with dire centipedes though. they were probably not over level 5 or so. A character of thog's presumed level should have had little to no trouble dealing with such individuals after all.

[Kish]

Thog could actually be the weakest character in the comic so far if what we've seen has been bluster more or less.

Tearing the prison apart was a Hulk joke. Thog's power level is probably comparable to Sabine's, greater than Nale's, and less than any member of the Order of the Stick.

[Jagos]

It should be on par with Roy. Roy is rather strong. He just has magic items, not necessarily raw STR.

[good_lookin_gus]

Thog has been argued to be the most optimized character in OotS:
:thog:Fighter level 3 is dumb level. Thog not take. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0064.html):smallwink:


If you're looking for a mechanical explaination for his ability to break out of prison (literally); consider the Complete Warrior feat, Destructive Rage. It gives you a +8 bonus to breaking stuff while raging.

[GSFB]

Thog could have started out with a 20 STR due to racial bonus. Over 12 levels or so and it could be up to 23. He is probably high enough level for a greater rage. That would put him at 29. We have no idea what magic he might have to further increase it. Between possible inherent increases (up to +5) and temporary bonuses (up to +6) he could potentially hit as high as 40.

Not that he has necessarily ever had that much magical boost, but a lot could have happened off screen since we last saw him. And, he may be getting buffed up by the IFCC.

Do you want to go up against a 40 STR barbarian with a great axe and power attack? Neither does Roy.

[AxeD]

Thog could have started out with a 20 STR due to racial bonus. Over 12 levels or so and it could be up to 23. He is probably high enough level for a greater rage. That would put him at 29. We have no idea what magic he might have to further increase it. Between possible inherent increases (up to +5) and temporary bonuses (up to +6) he could potentially hit as high as 40.

Not that he has necessarily ever had that much magical boost, but a lot could have happened off screen since we last saw him. And, he may be getting buffed up by the IFCC.

Do you want to go up against a 40 STR barbarian with a great axe and power attack? Neither does Roy.

What do you mean by "possible inherent increases (up to +5)"?

[Tass]

Sadly the other thread has teared down my argument that Thogs strength is at least 1104 :smallfrown:

[Shhalahr Windrider]

What do you mean by "possible inherent increases (up to +5)"?
An "inherent bonus" is a type of permanent bonus, typically only granted by the spell wish (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/spellsTtoZ.html#wish) or one of (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-bodily-health) six (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-gainful-exercise) magical (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-quickness-in-action) manuals (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-clear-thought) and (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-leadership-and-influence) tomes (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-understanding). There is a built-in cap of +5 on inherent bonuses. If using wish, you need one casting for each +1 in the bonus, and they must all be cast one after the other.

Given that wish is a 9th-level spell, and the magical books are prohibitively expensive, it is unlikely Thog would have a high inherent bonus.

[AxeD]

An "inherent bonus" is a type of permanent bonus, typically only granted by the spell wish (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/spellsTtoZ.html#wish) or one of (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-bodily-health) six (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-gainful-exercise) magical (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#manual-of-quickness-in-action) manuals (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-clear-thought) and (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-leadership-and-influence) tomes (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItemsWI.html#tome-of-understanding). There is a built-in cap of +5 on inherent bonuses. If using wish, you need one casting for each +1 in the bonus, and they must all be cast one after the other.

Given that wish is a 9th-level spell, and the magical books are prohibitively expensive, it is unlikely Thog would have a high inherent bonus.

Cool, I had heard of those, but thought it unlikely that the linear guild would waste those resources on Thog

[Berserk Monk]

Rich already answered this and many other similar questions. (http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq7)

[Bibliomancer]

Rich already answered this and many other similar questions. (http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq7)

Is your answer to every question relating to character builds to quote the FAQ? Some speculation is an interesting mental exercise, especially if one keeps in mind that the comic was not built with DnD character optimization in mind and the builds are often always superseded by jokes and plot.

[Berserk Monk]

Is your answer to every question relating to character builds to quote the FAQ? Some speculation is an interesting mental exercise, especially if one keeps in mind that the comic was not built with DnD character optimization in mind and the builds are often always superseded by jokes and plot.

All I'm saying this is a comic, not real life. If Rich needs Thog to be able to break down a prison cell with ease, then he can, and if Rich needs Thog to be a poor combatant in some situations, then he can. Writers do these things sometimes. If Rich didn't, Thog would have killed Roy and probably the rest of the Order back in the Dungeon of Durokan, or he wouldn't have been able to bust Elan out of prison in Cliffport and Nale would have killed the Order. Just saying, Rich needs Thog to be as strong and as skilled a fighter as the plot calls for.