Psychonaut
2011-07-16, 11:04 PM
I was reading the Tired of all this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207531) thread, and a number of people mentioned that the Order of the Stick has committed several tactical blunders in their current encounter with the Linear Guild. So I was curious what they would do in the same set of circumstances.
1) Events between 787 and 796: What tactical blunders do you think the members of the OotS have committed since the LG showed up, and what would you do differently? What do you think Haley/V/Elan should have done when they realized that Thog was in the arena? What should they have done when Zz'dtri showed up? What should V have done when Yukyuk showed up? How should Roy have handled the fight with Thog? And so on. Basically, what would you do in each of these circumstances, given that all previous events had transpired the same way as they did in the comic? (Your answers may, of couse, result in events transpiring in a different way, but since we can't know what exactly would change, I prefer to stick to discussing each blunder as though all previous blunders had occurred.)
2) Starting at 796: Given their current situations, what do you think is the best next move for each OotS member?
Assumptions:
* V has a general set of all-purpose spells prepared, while Zz'dtri has prepared spells specifically with the idea in mind that he'd be facing another spellcaster today. He is also likely to have cast spells before the battle to augment his defenses. (Small aside: Is the proper word here "cast" or "casted"?)
* The other members of the LG are also probably specifically prepared to fight the OotS.
* The members of the OotS were genuinely surprised by the appearance of Thog, having believed that the core members of the LG died in Azure City. Thus, any strategy that requires collaboration between multiple members of the OotS would have to be planned after Thog's appearance. Whether or not they do so in Tarquin's presence is up to you, but keep in mind that none of the three members watching the arena fight trust him and that if they leave his presence, they'll still probably end up walking into Zz'dtri's/Yukyuk's ambush (since they were waiting in the arena lobby).
* The party has no way of instantly contacting Durkon, since they would have used that instead of sending Elan away if they did.
* The LG likely has some sort of nasty surprise planned for Durkon as well, so even if the party doesn't need his help, they should try to get word to him as soon as possible.
* Roy, being in a gladiatorial arena, has neither access to outside help and his usual inventory nor any easy escape route (and in any case, Thog has a greater movement rate).
* The party can't rely on outside assistance or unconfirmed possibilities. For instance, any plan that requires an audience member to throw Roy's sword back into the arena or for Roy to escape through the hole Thog just made in the wall - which may not actually lead anywhere - is inherently problematic. Exception: Belkar can probably rely on Ian to provide aid unless it would require him to risk going into battle. Though whether Belkar would do anything before Mr. Scruffy shows up to give him a good dose of inspiration is debatable.
All other implications about the party's lack of optimization from the rest of the comic also apply (see the Class and Level Geekery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131219) thread for a good summary of the items and abilities known to be available to them). Any responses along the lines of "Well, first of all, I would never have made a single-class fighter" are irrelevant, as are any that require the party to have items that they haven't previously been shown to possess.
1) Events between 787 and 796: What tactical blunders do you think the members of the OotS have committed since the LG showed up, and what would you do differently? What do you think Haley/V/Elan should have done when they realized that Thog was in the arena? What should they have done when Zz'dtri showed up? What should V have done when Yukyuk showed up? How should Roy have handled the fight with Thog? And so on. Basically, what would you do in each of these circumstances, given that all previous events had transpired the same way as they did in the comic? (Your answers may, of couse, result in events transpiring in a different way, but since we can't know what exactly would change, I prefer to stick to discussing each blunder as though all previous blunders had occurred.)
2) Starting at 796: Given their current situations, what do you think is the best next move for each OotS member?
Assumptions:
* V has a general set of all-purpose spells prepared, while Zz'dtri has prepared spells specifically with the idea in mind that he'd be facing another spellcaster today. He is also likely to have cast spells before the battle to augment his defenses. (Small aside: Is the proper word here "cast" or "casted"?)
* The other members of the LG are also probably specifically prepared to fight the OotS.
* The members of the OotS were genuinely surprised by the appearance of Thog, having believed that the core members of the LG died in Azure City. Thus, any strategy that requires collaboration between multiple members of the OotS would have to be planned after Thog's appearance. Whether or not they do so in Tarquin's presence is up to you, but keep in mind that none of the three members watching the arena fight trust him and that if they leave his presence, they'll still probably end up walking into Zz'dtri's/Yukyuk's ambush (since they were waiting in the arena lobby).
* The party has no way of instantly contacting Durkon, since they would have used that instead of sending Elan away if they did.
* The LG likely has some sort of nasty surprise planned for Durkon as well, so even if the party doesn't need his help, they should try to get word to him as soon as possible.
* Roy, being in a gladiatorial arena, has neither access to outside help and his usual inventory nor any easy escape route (and in any case, Thog has a greater movement rate).
* The party can't rely on outside assistance or unconfirmed possibilities. For instance, any plan that requires an audience member to throw Roy's sword back into the arena or for Roy to escape through the hole Thog just made in the wall - which may not actually lead anywhere - is inherently problematic. Exception: Belkar can probably rely on Ian to provide aid unless it would require him to risk going into battle. Though whether Belkar would do anything before Mr. Scruffy shows up to give him a good dose of inspiration is debatable.
All other implications about the party's lack of optimization from the rest of the comic also apply (see the Class and Level Geekery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131219) thread for a good summary of the items and abilities known to be available to them). Any responses along the lines of "Well, first of all, I would never have made a single-class fighter" are irrelevant, as are any that require the party to have items that they haven't previously been shown to possess.