Unanswered Questions in War and XPs

[Ubergeek]

so, I was going through an archive binge and came across this. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0469.html

Haley: Belkar, you took no damage!
Belkar: Huh. When did I learn evasion?

Is this ever explained?

And on the topic of things without explanation, there's a hooded paladin in the throne room during the final fight for the gate. When the guards are ressurected, he is one of the last ones remaining, and Soon tasks him with fighting Xykon, hinting that Soon trusts him. We never get to see his face.

Did either of these things get an explanation that I missed?

[Goosefarble]

The paladin with a hood is just that. A paladin with a hood. He gets stabbed by one of the insane paladins and then dies. That is all he is. There's one who wears a helmet, too. Why aren't there any threads about him?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

When Belkar says "When did I learn Evasion?" the strip is stating that he has leveled up, and learned Evasion. Sort of on the basis games give you skills you may not realize you have, until you go back and look. Computer RPGs do this to me all the time.

[Eigenclass]

As far as Belkar - Rangers get Evasion at level 9, so he probably started the strip with it if the class & level geekery thread is accurate. The joke is probably that it never came up before, or that in addition to not training his class skills, Belkar doesn't know his own class abilities.

[Dumbledore lives]

Plus I think most people forget ranger's get evasion, because unlike rogues and monks they get it at a significantly higher level, and thus are not as good for dips.

[ti'esar]

This is the second thread I've seen on that hooded paladin - why are people so obsessed with him (or her, you can't really tell) anyway?

[Porthos]

The Evasion bit is just part of a semi-running gag where Belkar shows that he knows next to nothing about Ranger Class Features. :smallsmile:

For instance, he doesn't realize he can cast spells. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0058.html) (even if he does require a Wisdom Boost)

The umpteen number of times he's forgotten about Tracking.

And there's also a bonus comic in NCftPB: where he expresses befuddlement about the whole idea of training animals to do things..

And others, I'm sure.

[Ron Miel]

This is the second thread I've seen on that hooded paladin - why are people so obsessed with him (or her, you can't really tell) anyway?

Because of Belkar's disguise (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0294.html). People see a character with similar appearance, and subconsciously assume there will be some surprise revelation there as well.

[Goosefarble]

Not to mention Miko.

[factotum]

As far as Belkar - Rangers get Evasion at level 9, so he probably started the strip with it if the class & level geekery thread is accurate.

He didn't Evade the chimera's fire breath in strip #19, so he definitely didn't start with it.

[zimmerwald1915]

He didn't Evade the chimera's fire breath in strip #19, so he definitely didn't start with it.
He could easily have started with it. He just needed to fail his reflex save. Evasion only helps you avoid damage on a successful save. You need Improved Evasion to mitigate damage on a failed save.

[Vinsfeld]

Belkar is like that kind of players that starts (or takes level) with Ranger just for the two-weapon fighting feats.

He doesn't seem to care/know about the rest. As the evasion or the fact the he could cast spells if he had a higher wisdom score.

[ManuelSacha]

The first question is answered the very moment Belkar asked it.

Read it as: "Oh, btw, he totally leveled up in the recent past and apparently he took Evasion."

Him being surprised is a gaming joke. Similar to the "Yeah, right, the raven has always been by my side!" joke in the earlier strips.




The second question ("There is a guy with a hood.") isn't even a question. It was never even hinted that he might have been anything else than just a random paladin.

[Bengui]

This is the second thread I've seen on that hooded paladin - why are people so obsessed with him (or her, you can't really tell) anyway?

Considering that he appeared five years ago, that this is only the second thread you saw on it and that it's not even the main focus of the thread, I'd say people don't look ALL that obsessed with it ;)

[ti'esar]

Considering that he appeared five years ago, that this is only the second thread you saw on it and that it's not even the main focus of the thread, I'd say people don't look ALL that obsessed with it ;)

Second thread I've seen since I registered, I should say. Two threads in three months focusing, wholly or in part, on a completely insignificant background character does seem a little odd.

[Porthos]

Considering that he appeared five years ago, that this is only the second thread you saw on it and that it's not even the main focus of the thread, I'd say people don't look ALL that obsessed with it ;)

Oh, that character had its fair share of attention when it first appeared. :smallsmile:

The "OMG MIKO!!!!! Howz Did She Get There?1?!!1" threads/posts were most amusing at the time. :smallsmile:

[LordVader]

This is the second thread I've seen on that hooded paladin - why are people so obsessed with him (or her, you can't really tell) anyway?

The hooded paladin is interesting because he is directly addressed by a significant character (Soon), and speaks once before that; this makes him seem important. Combine that with the mystery of the hood, which is generally utilized in order to hide an important character until a big reveal, and people get understandably curious.

[Elfinor]

He could easily have started with it. He just needed to fail his reflex save. Evasion only helps you avoid damage on a successful save. You need Improved Evasion to mitigate damage on a failed save. Actually, the first comic strip was 3e. Rangers don't get evasion in 3e, so (in my initial interpretation) the joke was that he never really 'learned' evasion at level 9. It just got added to him retroactively and he didn't notice.

I suppose the other interpretations could be right though:smallconfused:

[Spacewolf]

The hooded paladin is interesting because he is directly addressed by a significant character (Soon), and speaks once before that; this makes him seem important. Combine that with the mystery of the hood, which is generally utilized in order to hide an important character until a big reveal, and people get understandably curious.

Also because he seems to be the only one who made his save against the bouncing ball

[fergo]

This is the second thread I've seen on that hooded paladin - why are people so obsessed with him (or her, you can't really tell) anyway?

Because he looks AWESOME! :smalltongue:

[Squieonat]

I always wondered what Xykon was trying to say to Roy in this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0442.html)