If V were here...

[SavageWombat]

If V had been present when the gate blew, he would have been with the group when Xykon arrived.

If Xykon recognized V as the wizard who attacked him in the tower - or more likely, if Redcloak pointed it out - Xykon would not have been nearly as likely to just teleport away.

Was it Rich who planned it this way - or was it the IFCC? <dum dum DUM>

[Math_Mage]

Intended or no, it's the result they want: preserve the potential for further unnecessary destructive conflict down the line. A beneficial but secondary (and perhaps unintended) effect of allowing the Gate's destruction (and thus preventing it from falling firmly into Xykon's hands).

[Vinsfeld]

Well, Rich DID plan it. I mean, he's the author

[Demolator]

If V had been present, Zz'dtri would have flown over there and totally wrecked him/her.

[NerdyKris]

If V had been present, Zz'dtri would have flown over there and totally wrecked him/her.

I don't know. I think Z just meant Nale told him to make himself V's opposite. I don't think there's actual hatred going on here. Z was just pushing V's buttons by appealing to V's need to prove himself. I don't think he himself actually cares about V beyond what his orders say to do.

Edit- Actually, I forgot about the glaring. Now I'm not so sure.

[Kornaki]

If V had been present, Zz'dtri would have flown over there

And got shot the heck up by Haley.

Actually Z might still think that V is dead/stuck in the demiplane of eternal torture (otherwise I can't imagine Qarr would be allowed to stick around) so he might have come with a loadout less suitable to fighting V

[Roland Itiative]

Was it Rich who planned it this way - or was it the IFCC? <dum dum DUM>

I guess the only proper answer to that is: yes.

[Rack]

If V were there Xykon would have just found an even more tenuous reason to leave and if V's arc were better served by him being with the Order at this pojnt I imagine that's what would have happened. Technically I imagine neither Rich nor the IFCC planned it this way.

[karkus]

As long as V doesn't come into contact with any of the three groups outside the former pyramid, then they will all live to create more pointless conflict in the future. Also, if V dies, the fiends can't use him/her anymore, so there's reason for the IFCC to protect V until his/her usefulness is up.

[Buretsu]

Well, if they had just wanted him out of the way just so the gate would be destroyed, they probably would have used the shortest of the three times...

[Ill Made Knight]

Z is pretty low on high level spells. I'm not sure he can take V in his current state.

[Gift Jeraff]

Well, if they had just wanted him out of the way just so the gate would be destroyed, they probably would have used the shortest of the three times...

We don't know how long it took them to get out of the pyramid. Could have been more than 3 minutes.

[Reddish Mage]

If V had been present when the gate blew, he would have been with the group when Xykon arrived.

If Xykon recognized V as the wizard who attacked him in the tower - or more likely, if Redcloak pointed it out - Xykon would not have been nearly as likely to just teleport away.

Was it Rich who planned it this way - or was it the IFCC? <dum dum DUM>

I tend to wonder about the plausibility of the IFCC plans if they are really to keep EVERYONE alive at this point. From a story perspective it is doable, but naturally the tendency is to expect with these groups clashing that one will kill the other given the chance.

At this point all of Malack, Nale, and Xykon have passed over the opportunity to TPK the Order of the Stick (sans V). Could the IFCC really have foreseen that?

[F.Harr]

Doesn't V have more spells left than Z?