Dorukan's Gate?

[Dreadn4ught]

Xykon wanted someone of pure heart to touch Dorukan's gate in his first dungeon. What would happen if that came to pass?

Soon's gate was probably touched by someone of pure heart many times. Didn't seem like it affected that one.

[Temassasin]

There are different wards for both.

[QDI]

Yes, Dorukan's castle was full of these sigils that must be touched by someone of pure heart. I guess it was his way to protect the place.

[PirateMonk]

Xykon wanted someone of pure heart to touch Dorukan's gate in his first dungeon. What would happen if that came to pass?

Soon's gate was probably touched by someone of pure heart many times. Didn't seem like it affected that one.

Dorukan magically warded his Gate to vaporize anyone who touched it (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0115.html) unless they were pure of heart (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0097.html). In that case, the wards would have gone away and Xykon would have been free to perform the ritual.

Soon did not believe that magic could effectively defend a gate (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html), and so relied on Azure City, the Sapphire Guard, and other measures (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0449.html). His Gate was never warded.

[KingFlameHawk]

Dorukan magically warded his Gate to vaporize anyone who touched it (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0115.html) unless they were pure of heart (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0097.html). In that case, the wards would have gone away and Xykon would have been free to perform the ritual.

Soon did not believe that magic could effectively defend a gate (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html), and so relied on Azure City, the Sapphire Guard, and other measures (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0449.html). His Gate was never warded.

He's got it right. It would seem Xykon's plan was to set up a mock battle for the heros to win, get one of them to touch the gate thinking it would ruin his plans, have the hero (Elan) undo the wards, kill all the heros (with the monster in the darkness) and do the ritual to take control of the gate. Would most likely have worked if not for Haley.

[Morquard]

He's got it right. It would seem Xykon's plan was to set up a mock battle for the heros to win, get one of them to touch the gate thinking it would ruin his plans, have the hero (Elan) undo the wards, kill all the heros (with the monster in the darkness) and do the ritual to take control of the gate. Would most likely have worked if not for Haley.
Well, Soon's plan didn't work that fabulously better either.
No, "It would have worked if not for Miko" doesn't count, the fact that a single maniac can blow up half your city and the gate with it means that you had a serious flaw in your defense plan.
Also a plan that relies on your entire army getting killed first so they can become ghosts... I dunno, it also seems lacking.

SOD spoiler:
Neither did Lirian's approach of having nature itself guard it

They'd probably should have combined their approaches. Sure Soon didn't think magic alone could protect the gate, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any magic involved. Had the gate been warded in some way, AND the saphire guard been there as well, not sure Miko could have just slashed it like that.
Then add in some illusions to make it invisible or whatever...

[bladesyz]

Well, Soon's plan didn't work that fabulously better either.
No, "It would have worked if not for Miko" doesn't count, the fact that a single maniac can blow up half your city and the gate with it means that you had a serious flaw in your defense plan.
Also a plan that relies on your entire army getting killed first so they can become ghosts... I dunno, it also seems lacking.

SOD spoiler:
Neither did Lirian's approach of having nature itself guard it

They'd probably should have combined their approaches. Sure Soon didn't think magic alone could protect the gate, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any magic involved. Had the gate been warded in some way, AND the saphire guard been there as well, not sure Miko could have just slashed it like that.
Then add in some illusions to make it invisible or whatever...

No defense is invincible. Just because those defenses were thwarted/destroyed by an epic-level lich doesn't mean they weren't good defenses.

[Gnoman]

And having a last-ditch defensive plan (that WOULD have destroyed the epic lich if Miko hadn't prevented it) is hardly "relying" on losing your army.

[Phishfood]

No defense is invincible. Just because those defenses were thwarted/destroyed by an epic-level lich doesn't mean they weren't good defenses.

Lets not forget the epic level cleric. The same duo that defeated an epic level V.

[martianmister]

We don't really know about magic of Dorukan's gate. "Pure heart" thing is just Xykon's teory, not really confirmed by anything. For all we know, it could kill Elan as well...

[KingFlameHawk]

Well, Soon's plan didn't work that fabulously better either.
No, "It would have worked if not for Miko" doesn't count, the fact that a single maniac can blow up half your city and the gate with it means that you had a serious flaw in your defense plan.
Also a plan that relies on your entire army getting killed first so they can become ghosts... I dunno, it also seems lacking.

SOD spoiler:
Neither did Lirian's approach of having nature itself guard it

They'd probably should have combined their approaches. Sure Soon didn't think magic alone could protect the gate, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any magic involved. Had the gate been warded in some way, AND the saphire guard been there as well, not sure Miko could have just slashed it like that.
Then add in some illusions to make it invisible or whatever...

Soon's plan was for his gate to be protected by a legion of paladins which he believed to be the most effective, just like Durokan believed his magic wards was best, Lirian's belief that nature was the best, Girard's belief in the power of illusion and lies, and Serini's/Kraagor's belief in physical strength. they eached choose what they belived was the best way to protect their gate. You are right that they should have worked together to defend the gates but as shown here (http://http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html) because of Kraagor's recent death and blame they would not have been able to do that (do you really think Girard would have let a group of paladins guard his gate).

Also a) the plan was not to have the paladins die, the ghost army was plan b, they just knew that plan a (beat Xykon and stay alive) was unlikely to work and had a trump card left to play. And b) Miko was an unexpected factor, I really don't think that Soon ever expected a paladin to to both flip out like that and be that stupid and it is speculated that Soon left the gate out in the open so that the leader would always know what was at stake and as O-Chul showed easily placed in the event it needed to be destroyed (just like the self destruct on Durokan's).

[factotum]

They'd probably should have combined their approaches. Sure Soon didn't think magic alone could protect the gate, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any magic involved.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it has the problem that you don't actually get to put it into effect until AFTER the issue has already been resolved. :smallsmile: The members of the OotScribble were entirely convinced that their own way of protecting their gate was infallible, so they didn't need any additional protection from the others!

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it has the problem that you don't actually get to put it into effect until AFTER the issue has already been resolved. :smallsmile: The members of the OotScribble were entirely convinced that their own way of protecting their gate was infallible, so they didn't need any additional protection from the others!
And being convinced that your idea and one’s own idea alone is infallible is the height of arrogant foolishness.

Yeah, I can see why the acted the way that they did. Doesn’t make them any less foolish.

[snikrept]

In hindsight Soon would have had a much better defense, and beaten Xykon, if the throne had been moved a yard forward and the Sapphire encased in a thick slab of adamantine or something.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0278.html
Panel 4 Shojo explicitly states that their gate does not have a magical self-destruct mechanism. And yet it does - the gate itself turns out to be amazingly fragile; the entire gate is made out of magical self-destruct mechanism :)

This is actually kind of weird when you consider it. It's implied this was not a design choice by Soon - Dorukan and Lirian built all the gates. Why did they choose to build the one at Azure City with such obvious structural weakness? Was this some premeditated act by Dorukan to impose his theory of having a self-destruct backup on Soon even though he wasn't technically allowed to interfere? Or were they all this weak and only later did Dorukan reinforce the gate he himself was guarding?

[Gnoman]

Logically, all the gates can be destroyed in such a manner, by brute strength. Soon probably chose this method because it didn't draw attention (it looks like a bauble on a throne, not some hulking door in a blank wall) and so, in the end, an honorable paladin could destroy it lest it fall into the hands of an enemy.

[Morquard]

The "pure heart" sigil on Dorukan's gate was not for the gate itself, it was for the added magical ward around it, which was one of Dorukan's defenses.
Soon didn't have that, so it could easily be destroyed by a blow. If Dorukan didn't have it and you find an appropriately big sword, you could have destroyed the gate that way too.

[SoC175]

Lets not forget the epic level cleric. The same duo that defeated an epic level V. Redcloak isn't epic