Wild speculation re: Gate Ritual

[Flame of Anor]

Preface: I know this is far-fetched.

What if the only way to permanently fix the Prime Material Plane is to use the Gate Ritual to move the rifts to a plane that no one cares about? Clearly, that's not exactly the Dark One's plan. But what if the ritual is changed or sabotaged? If Durkon is somehow thrown in with Team Evil, he could have enough loyalty to his former cause--and clerical know-how--to throw a wrench in the works for Redcloak. Maybe he would give the power to Nergal, or even Thor. Heck, or Banjo!

[EmperorSarda]

Preface: I know this is far-fetched.

What if the only way to permanently fix the Prime Material Plane is to use the Gate Ritual to move the rifts to a plane that no one cares about? Clearly, that's not exactly the Dark One's plan. But what if the ritual is changed or sabotaged? If Durkon is somehow thrown in with Team Evil, he could have enough loyalty to his former cause--and clerical know-how--to throw a wrench in the works for Redcloak. Maybe he would give the power to Nergal, or even Thor. Heck, or Banjo!

Durkon would still have to get the ritual out of Redcloak's head first.

[SavageWombat]

Kill Redcloak and give the Mantle to Right-Eye's long-lost daughter.

[MoleMage]

The inherent problem with using the ritual at all is that Redcloak and Xykon (or whichever two casters eventually do use it) don't really have a say in things.

In 830 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html), Redcloak says that the ritual passes control over the gate to the Dark One. So either way completing it is bad.

[Flame of Anor]

Durkon would still have to get the ritual out of Redcloak's head first.


The inherent problem with using the ritual at all is that Redcloak and Xykon (or whichever two casters eventually do use it) don't really have a say in things.

In 830 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html), Redcloak says that the ritual passes control over the gate to the Dark One. So either way completing it is bad.

Ah, but if the ritual takes weeks, Durkon could see what it was doing. Then, just perhaps, he could add his own secret modifications during the casting, so that it didn't grant control to the Dark One after all.

[Copperdragon]

What if the only way to permanently fix the Prime Material Plane is to use the Gate Ritual to move the rifts to a plane that no one cares about?

I have thought of this for years. It would be a perfect fix for the situation at hand. The gods need to create an isolated mini-plane that is locked and move all rifts to there.

If the Snarl turns out to be still dangerous (and not something else, for example a planet/a new pantheon of gods/whatever) this seems to be one of the "good" solutions for the Gate/Rift-problem.

[Olinser]

The inherent problem with using the ritual at all is that Redcloak and Xykon (or whichever two casters eventually do use it) don't really have a say in things.

In 830 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html), Redcloak says that the ritual passes control over the gate to the Dark One. So either way completing it is bad.

Really? He specifically said that the DIVINE half of the ritual is what gives control of the plane shift to his God.

I was under the impression that the arcane half took control of it - and then the divine half usurped that control and gave it to somebody else.

That just reinforces the OP's train of thought: no spell is EVER target-specific. If Redcloak could enact the ritual to give control to the Dark One, Durkon could enact it to give control to Thor.

In fact, Durkon is now in a unique position to actually find out the ritual. Presumably at some point VERY soon, Team Evil and the Linear Guild are going to come across each other - and they're going to talk about the ritual in front of Durkon.