Do you think any tome of battle classes will show up?

[krossbow]

As the topic says, do you think rich will ever have any tome of battle classes show up in the comic?


The series seems to be very much grounded in third edition, with no intention to switch to 4th edition (Or, heaven forbid it come out before the end of the comic, 5th edition). As such, tome of battle still fits in its universe.


but do you think it would WORK? Tome of battle is a drastically different melee paradigm after all, and, while interesting, would seem out of place compared to Roy.


Your thoughts/expectations?

[Ursus the Grim]

I don't expect so. Rich has said (pretty recently too) that he barely even references the 3.5 rules anymore. I can't imagine him deciding on a whim to throw in a character with such a different feel. Unless it was, perhaps, part of a "Roy sucks" joke.

[KillianHawkeye]

I agree. It's pretty clear that Rich didn't include any non-Core rule options from the later 3.5 books in his setting. Even psionics barely got a nod, so I wouldn't expect to see anybody in the comic using ToB or incarnum or pact magic or whatever else. If it hasn't been included by now, it probably won't be.

[DreadPirateDB]

My understanding is that Rich doesn't want to use copyrighted works except as one shot gags. The classes of OoTS are open source from the d20 system.

[Timeless Error]

Minor Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales spoiler:
When 4e Roy is fighting 3e Roy, 4e Roy asks why 3e Roy didn't become a Warblade (apparently, it's because 3e Roy's dad refused to pay for a PhD program).

[ORione]

I agree. It's pretty clear that Rich didn't include any non-Core rule options from the later 3.5 books in his setting. Even psionics barely got a nod, so I wouldn't expect to see anybody in the comic using ToB or incarnum or pact magic or whatever else. If it hasn't been included by now, it probably won't be.

Well, Thog is a dungeoncrasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11982830&postcount=391). But noncore stuff is rare in OotS, as fewer people are familiar with it.

[krossbow]

Minor Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales spoiler:
When 4e Roy is fighting 3e Roy, 4e Roy asks why 3e Roy didn't become a Warblade (apparently, it's because 3e Roy's dad refused to pay for a PhD program).


Ouch; that's actually pretty crappy of his father, given how much the tome of battle resembled a melee caster.

I guess nothing BUT a wizard was good enough for him.

[Dr.Epic]

Is there any reason to think he would other than random speculation?:smallconfused:

[Howler Dagger]

The Giant made a post saying he assumes anything on the SRD is commonc knowledge aand that anything is is obscure and rare. I can't see any reason why he would except for the previouksy mentioned comment in SSDT.

[KillianHawkeye]

Well, Thog is a dungeoncrasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11982830&postcount=391). But noncore stuff is rare in OotS, as fewer people are familiar with it.

Yes, but it's a lot easier to include a simple alternate class feature like Dungeoncrasher than it is to use an entire subsystem such as ToB or Incarnum.

Besides, Dungeoncrasher comes from Dungeonscape, a book that the Giant co-wrote. (The same book that gave us acid-breathing sharks!) Let's just say that I have a couple of ideas about which parts were written by him and not the other guy.

[13arrage]

Besides one-of jokes? Naw.


If Rich isn't using 4e he's probably not going to use pseudo4e rules designed to replace every other melee class.

[Dr.Epic]

Minor Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales spoiler:
When 4e Roy is fighting 3e Roy, 4e Roy asks why 3e Roy didn't become a Warblade (apparently, it's because 3e Roy's dad refused to pay for a PhD program).

What!? That doesn't make any sense. We see Roy chose to be a fighter because of his deep respect and love for his grandfather. That's the reason Roy hasn't multiclass despite the horrible build of the core fighter and Roy's other high stats.

[Douglas]

What!? That doesn't make any sense. We see Roy chose to be a fighter because of his deep respect and love for his grandfather. That's the reason Roy hasn't multiclass despite the horrible build of the core fighter and Roy's other high stats.
The dialog goes something like this:
4e Roy: With our intelligence, shouldn't you be a Warblade instead of Fighter?
3.5 Roy: Are you kidding? You know Dad would never have sprung for a PHD program.

It doesn't really say anything about whether Roy would have chosen Warblade if possible, just that Warblade wasn't even an option whether or not Roy wanted it.

[Blisstake]

Well, Thog is a dungeoncrasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11982830&postcount=391). But noncore stuff is rare in OotS, as fewer people are familiar with it.

That's not even referenced in the strip though. He takes creative liberty with the rules of combat, so even if dungeoncrasher didn't exist, I could imagine the fight going the same way.


What!? That doesn't make any sense. We see Roy chose to be a fighter because of his deep respect and love for his grandfather. That's the reason Roy hasn't multiclass despite the horrible build of the core fighter and Roy's other high stats.

Well, it does help that fighters aren't entirely pointless in the un-optimized OotS world.

[Morty]

I'm going to have to join the choir of those saying "extremely unlikely". It wouldn't really serve any purpose and would require at least a few panels to explain.

[The Dark Fiddler]

(Or, heaven forbid it come out before the end of the comic, 5th edition).

Wait, what? Why is this a bad thing? :smallconfused:

[Dr.Epic]

Well, it does help that fighters aren't entirely pointless in the un-optimized OotS world.

That's just because Roy has all amazing stats and everyone else in the Order has only one decent/good stat. By comparison, of course fighters are awesome.

[Kobold-Bard]

I agree. It's pretty clear that Rich didn't include any non-Core rule options from the later 3.5 books in his setting. Even psionics barely got a nod, so I wouldn't expect to see anybody in the comic using ToB or incarnum or pact magic or whatever else. If it hasn't been included by now, it probably won't be.

Well we know there was at least one very high-level Incarnum user in or aroun Azure City during O'Chul's imprisonment. So it does exist in OotSverse.

[Raimun]

I don't expect any named, recurring character to be a member of a ToB-class.

Perhaps some extra might use ToB but only if it would be funny enough?

[hamishspence]

Besides, Dungeoncrasher comes from Dungeonscape, a book that the Giant co-wrote. (The same book that gave us acid-breathing sharks!) Let's just say that I have a couple of ideas about which parts were written by him and not the other guy.

Prepare to be surprised: :smallsmile:

The Giant confirming that he wrote the acidborn shark- but not the dungeoncrasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10722208&postcount=21)

[G-Man Graves]

That's just because Roy has all amazing stats and everyone else in the Order has only one decent/good stat. By comparison, of course fighters are awesome.

Um, Haley has at LEAST two decent stats, as do Elan and Belkar. There is nothing to indicate that Durkon has any penalties beyond his poor charisma. V is the only one firmly indicated to be a one trick pony, stat wise.

[TheFallenOne]

well, a pet theory of mine is that the powerful strike Horace taught Roy is a ToB maneuver picked up through feats. Single attack, great effect, kinda fits.

[Vovix]

I'm pretty sure OOTS is mostly core-only. References to other books are only made as jokes.

[hamishspence]

But also for inclusion of monsters in the strip (3 Xykon decoys, for example).

Thog's Dungeoncrasher build from Dungeonscape isn't exactly a joke.

[Lord.Sorasen]

But also for inclusion of monsters in the strip (3 Xykon decoys, for example).

Thog's Dungeoncrasher build from Dungeonscape isn't exactly a joke.

As an alternative theory, these examples are all independent of the real D&D metagame. You don't really need to know how magic works in D&D to know what a decoy is, and likewise you don't need to know exactly how much damage dungeoncrashing does to realize being slammed into a wall would be very painful. Knowing that thog is a dungeoncrasher is fun for D&D fans but not at all necessary to enjoy the comic.

Tome of Battle seems different to me. It would mean explaining a large number of stances and maneuvers, the way the class switches from one to another, etc etc. The comic would either need to assume you either already knew how that worked, or would need to explain it to us through the comic, which would be tedious. Note that when Xykon made his decoys, they explained in the comic how it worked. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, a couple of the decoys were just regular animated skeletons wearing the same clothing, which is not a written suggestion in the D&D books I think.

[Akal Saris]

Hrm...

Warblade: I could see it being used again in a Roy-related joke. The PrC where you specialize in throwing a weapon is silly/awesome enough to get a mention as well.

Crusader: Probably could get used in another joke about class and titles not being the same. "So you're a crusader? What is that, some sort of paladin prestige class?"

Swordsage: This seems the least likely to make an appearance to me, since ninjas are already part of the story and swordsage doesn't typically differ too much from a ninja archetype.

[jaybird]

well, a pet theory of mine is that the powerful strike Horace taught Roy is a ToB maneuver picked up through feats. Single attack, great effect, kinda fits.

This sounds about right. It's almost certainly a feat, and Martial Study would fit well.

[KillianHawkeye]

Note that when Xykon made his decoys, they explained in the comic how it worked. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, a couple of the decoys were just regular animated skeletons wearing the same clothing, which is not a written suggestion in the D&D books I think.

Nope. They were a death knight, a huecuva, and an eye of fear and flame. All intelligent, skeletal undead creatures with various abilities.