Burnt Bridges

[ReaderAt2046]

By driving off Laurin, V has just backed Tarquin into a corner. He no longer has a means of retreat, so either he succeeds in taking out the ship or he dies. There is no longer a middle ground. The stakes have just been raised big-time.

[LogicalOxymoron]

Tarquin's death this arc has seemed inevitable for a while.

[NerdyKris]

By driving off Laurin, V has just backed Tarquin into a corner. He no longer has a means of retreat, so either he succeeds in taking out the ship or he dies. There is no longer a middle ground. The stakes have just been raised big-time.

I think they were already raised pretty high when he sent an army to kill them in the crater. This didn't change much for his plan. His plan was to kill Elan's allies by any means possible since he surrounded them. Even if Laurin hadn't been convinced to flee, she could have said "I'm leaving, do you want to come with me?" and Tarquin still would have said no and been in the same position.

[KoboldRevenge]

That or he pulls an another ring out of his @$$.

[sims796]

That or he pulls an another ring out of his @$$.

Is there a feat that makes you completely invincible to all forms of attack? It seems so.

[NerdyKris]

Is there a feat that makes you completely invincible to all forms of attack? It seems so.

We've seen that he has an arrow grabbing feat and he can throw small size characters. He also seems to have some improved dodge and parry feats. That's not invincible. That's just tricking his opponents by making them think he was Thog, so they used attacks aimed towards a dumb brute instead of a finesse fighter.

We clearly see him getting hit and taking damage during the fight when flanked. Had Malack not ended the fight with a flame strike, they probably would have started gaining the upper hand.

[Tiiba]

Are we so sure that Laurin really means to just leave Tarquin alone with the mess he made? I mean, if she did, I totally sympathise, but I think she either knows that he can get away, or intends to return (if only to grab him and pop out again).

[Ridureyu]

Well, considering that not a single hit against Tarquin has landed or resulted in HP damage, and not one of his has missed or some anything less than a one-shot, it is safe to say that he could take out every other character in this strip even if they all attacked at the same time, up to and including the SNarl.

There, now that the silly hyperbole is out of the way, I think Tarquin is going to look like he has the upper hand at first, but then get his ass royally handed to him.

[BlackDragonKing]

I dunno. Tarquin is crazy, and Tarquin is evil, but Tarquin's not stupid. Even with his crazy side flaring up full-tilt in response to things not going how they're supposed to, I have some trouble believing Tarquin's capacity to assess what's going to happen if he doesn't cut his losses now somehow vanishes because we can't just have him drop into the desert and deal with him later.

This can't be the first time things have gone off the rails for Taquin, he's had a long frigging career. He could justify pretty much everything up until now operating on his crazy narrative-logic, but at this point Tarquin has to be aware that the narrative calls for one of two things; the bad guy getting killed when his supports are all gone and he's on a ledge but not willing to quit, or for the bad guy to exit stage left, swearing revenge.

If Tarquin seriously picks the former just because he's freaking out that much, I have no idea how the hell we're supposed to believe he lived to be this old.

[Forikroder]

By driving off Laurin, V has just backed Tarquin into a corner. He no longer has a means of retreat, so either he succeeds in taking out the ship or he dies. There is no longer a middle ground. The stakes have just been raised big-time.

unless she popped over to him and plans a longer distance pop

besides the ground is pretty soft, Tarquins pretty high level he could probably
jump and not even be inconvenienced


I dunno. Tarquin is crazy, and Tarquin is evil, but Tarquin's not stupid. Even with his crazy side flaring up full-tilt in response to things not going how they're supposed to, I have some trouble believing Tarquin's capacity to assess what's going to happen if he doesn't cut his losses now somehow vanishes because we can't just have him drop into the desert and deal with him later.

This can't be the first time things have gone off the rails for Taquin, he's had a long frigging career. He could justify pretty much everything up until now operating on his crazy narrative-logic, but at this point Tarquin has to be aware that the narrative calls for one of two things; the bad guy getting killed when his supports are all gone and he's on a ledge but not willing to quit, or for the bad guy to exit stage left, swearing revenge.

If Tarquin seriously picks the former just because he's freaking out that much, I have no idea how the hell we're supposed to believe he lived to be this old.

thats what i thought, but Tarquin chasing them onto the ship was just plain stupid he should know Laurin was low on PP, knows the ship would ahve a full crew and knows that while theyve done well theyve exhauted alot of there resources and trying to 2 man the crew of the mechane, the OoTS and scoundrel is suicide

[sims796]

We've seen that he has an arrow grabbing feat and he can throw small size characters. He also seems to have some improved dodge and parry feats. That's not invincible. That's just tricking his opponents by making them think he was Thog, so they used attacks aimed towards a dumb brute instead of a finesse fighter.

We clearly see him getting hit and taking damage during the fight when flanked. Had Malack not ended the fight with a flame strike, they probably would have started gaining the upper hand.

I was sorta playing off of his "ring out of the @$$" comment.

[Quartz]

Well, considering that not a single hit against Tarquin has landed or resulted in HP damage

Not quite correct: Haley stabs him in 934 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0934.html).

[Sunken Valley]

Well, considering that not a single hit against Tarquin has landed or resulted in HP damage, and not one of his has missed or some anything less than a one-shot, it is safe to say that he could take out every other character in this strip even if they all attacked at the same time, up to and including the Snarl

Haley hit him in 934.

Julio hit him here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0932.html)

The Order hit him 3 times here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0851.html)

And Amun-Zora hit him here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0757.html)

Tarquin can take damage.

[ReaderAt2046]

If Tarquin seriously picks the former just because he's freaking out that much, I have no idea how the hell we're supposed to believe he lived to be this old.

Tarquin doesn't have to pick the former, Laurin already has picked it for him. It's not that Tarquin won't retreat, it's that he physically can't.

[zimmerwald1915]

Tarquin doesn't have to pick the former, Laurin already has picked it for him. It's not that Tarquin won't retreat, it's that he physically can't.
Are you sure? He might survive a fall.

[Fitzclowningham]

It looks like Haley's sneak attack damage is gone in 935, fwiw.

[CombatOwl]

Tarquin is epic or nearly epic. 20d6 of falling damage isn't a problem. 60 damage on average? Meh.

[Amphiox]

Are you sure? He might survive a fall.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure he can jump overboard and tank the fall damage. It is a shorter distance than Roy's fall and the sand is softer ground.

And villains like Tarquin never die just from a fall like that!

[Angel Bob]

Haley hit him in 934.

Julio hit him here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0932.html)

The Order hit him 3 times here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0851.html)

And Amun-Zora hit him here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0757.html)

Tarquin can take damage.

Although Ridereyu wasn't using blue text, that paragraph was sarcastic, as might have been inferred from the comment about Tarquin's ability to beat the Snarl in a fair fight. [/dontexplainthejoke]

[BlackDragonKing]

Tarquin doesn't have to pick the former, Laurin already has picked it for him. It's not that Tarquin won't retreat, it's that he physically can't.

Actually, there's a fairly easy retreat for him here. Toss off a good one-liner about this not being over, let go of the ship, take your fall damage like a man, and regroup to plan your next move.

Tarquin's easily got enough HP, especially with that ring of Regeneration, to survive a fall onto sand even from some height. If his smarts didn't magically vanish because things aren't going his way, he'll take that option now, if for no other reason than he's got a better chance of soloing a lot of people with his axe than a frigging dagger.

[Learuis]

What do evil people do when they're backed into a corner and have no obvious plan of escape? Take a hostage.

He could grab Haley and hold his +plot dagger to her throat, demanding that things go his way. Promise that he will let Haley go if they drop him off back at EoB... then probably kill her anyway.

[NerdyKris]

AIf his smarts didn't magically vanish because things aren't going his way, he'll take that option now, if for no other reason than he's got a better chance of soloing a lot of people with his axe than a frigging dagger.

I feel like we're reading two different stories here. Tarquin is completely confident in his ability to win because of narrative convention. He's not going to back down and regroup, because that's not how these things work. If that were so, he wouldn't have gone up on the ship in the first place. He'd have gone back and gotten Miron, Jacinda, and pauldron-dude and come back for a second shot.

This isn't Tarquin being stupid, this is Tarquin acting exactly the way Tarquin has always acted.


What do evil people do when they're backed into a corner and have no obvious plan of escape? Take a hostage.

He could grab Haley and hold his +plot dagger to her throat, demanding that things go his way. Promise that he will let Haley go if they drop him off back at EoB... then probably kill her anyway.

It's not a +plot dagger. Nale was already extremely low on HP from the explosion. It's not going to be able to magically kill a high level rogue who hasn't sustained much damage. And they have diamond dust and a cleric on board, so threatening to kill someone isn't more than a minor setback.

[loodwig]

I can't be the first to predict this, but I have a feeling Tarquin is about to lose a hand.

Maybe I'm unfamiliar with the way combat mechanics work, but a fully recharged Roy, a flanking Julio, V has spells, Durkon is not useless, Belkar now has access to potions and can probably rise for the occasion, and I'm guessing a cure serious wounds would even bring Haley back into the fight. This has been demonstrated as more than enough to overcome Tarquin's regeneration, and if Tarkie follows a Vayder trope, it won't be long until Elan is cradling his dead father in his arms.

Maybe it's too much to wish for, but I'm ready for Mr. T's bag of tricks to end (like probably everyone else). It's been a great story so far, and we as an audience are chomping at the bit to the point of predicting how he'll die, and how soon.

[Rodin]

This isn't Tarquin being stupid, this is Tarquin acting exactly the way Tarquin has always acted.



I would correct that slightly and say that Tarquin is being stupid, while also acting the way he has always acted.

Tarquin just can't recognize that he's trying to follow the wrong plot.

[Learuis]

1d4+Plot.

In all seriousness, it was my intention that Nale was very badly wounded. The dagger was not intended to be some massive unstoppable super-dagger; the idea was to emphasize that Nale was acting rashly in the first place. He didn't realize that he was dancing a dagger-wound away from death the whole time.

While you're right about Nale, it is indeed a +plot dagger.

Though he doesn't have to kill her, he could just keep breaking limbs to torture Elan into going along with what he wants.

[Rogar Demonblud]

He doesn't have to jump from the ship. It would probably be more dramatically apropos to grab a rope, launch a last quip, and swing away, dropping once he reached (length of rope) closer to the ground. It'd save him some falling damage, and look cooler (which we all know is uppermost in his mind).

[zimmerwald1915]

He doesn't have to jump from the ship. It would probably be more dramatically apropos to grab a rope, launch a last quip, and swing away, dropping once he reached (length of rope) closer to the ground. It'd save him some falling damage, and look cooler (which we all know is uppermost in his mind).
You seem to have confused Tarquin with Julio. Julio's paramount concern is looking cool. Tarquin's paramount concern is getting his way.

[BlackDragonKing]

I feel like we're reading two different stories here. Tarquin is completely confident in his ability to win because of narrative convention. He's not going to back down and regroup, because that's not how these things work. If that were so, he wouldn't have gone up on the ship in the first place. He'd have gone back and gotten Miron, Jacinda, and pauldron-dude and come back for a second shot.

This isn't Tarquin being stupid, this is Tarquin acting exactly the way Tarquin has always acted.

I actually disagree, unless we assume that Tarquin's previous strong points all went to "off" because he's mad now.

The Giant has pointed out that Tarquin's success derives primarily from the fact that he's gathered a non-dysfunctional and very competent evil party around himself and kept them from making the same mistakes villains always make in the stories, and it's hard to beat him in a truly satisfying way because he knows how these things go for the villain in the end and plans around that, too.

It completely flies in the face of that being Tarquin's strong point if he is incapable of assessing what USUALLY happens to a bad guy who pushes his luck in his situation instead of pulling the much safer villainous exit stage left, because that's a mistake stupid bad guys make all the time and therefore one Tarquin should be keenly aware of. It feels to me like if Tarquin doesn't grasp that the "narrative" is calling really strongly for a "we'll meet again" moment for him right now, it'll really feel like Tarquin's established greatest strength went out the window more or less the moment we needed to wrap this plot up, which I feel is a very different matter from miscalculating how important the gate plot is.

Not being able to realize a vaguely-described villain's plan for world domination is a bigger deal than you is one thing; NALE is a grandiose villain with plans to rule the world with the gates, and look where that got him. Plans to rule the world never, ever, ever work, so most people would assume pretty reasonably that someone who's worked out relatively risk-free regional domination is going to be more successful in the long run.

Completely ignoring that you're in a situation that always goes belly-up for the bad guy when your established recipe for success is studying where in the narrative things go belly-up for the bad guy and then AVOIDING THOSE THINGS while you consolidate your power and prepare for the inevitable is quite a different matter.

[Snails]

Tarquin could choose to jump at anytime. He is likely to survive the fall, which would probably cap at 20d6 onto softish sand from merely hundreds of meters up.

Even if he goes massively negative, he seems to have a 1eish Ring of Regeneration that might simply bring him back.

A simple Potion of Featherfall could help here as well.

[Gnome Alone]

I'm guessing that if Tarquin does fall, it'll be: a) caused by Elan, b) consistent not with D&D falling damage rules but instead with the usual real-life result of falling out of aircraft without a means to slow one's descent, and c) shortly followed by V swooping down to disintegrate his corpse.

[BlackDragonKing]

I'm guessing that if Tarquin does fall, it'll be: a) caused by Elan, b) consistent not with D&D falling damage rules but instead with the usual real-life result of falling out of aircraft without a means to slow one's descent, and c) shortly followed by V swooping down to disintegrate his corpse.

Wouldn't count on it. It's already well-established that D&D rules ARE the laws of physics in this comic.

[Snails]

It completely flies in the face of that being Tarquin's strong point if he is incapable of assessing what USUALLY happens to a bad guy who pushes his luck in his situation instead of pulling the much safer villainous exit stage left, because that's a mistake stupid bad guys make all the time and therefore one Tarquin should be keenly aware of. It feels to me like if Tarquin doesn't grasp that the "narrative" is calling really strongly for a "we'll meet again" moment for him right now, it'll really feel like Tarquin's established greatest strength went out the window more or less the moment we needed to wrap this plot up, which I feel is a very different matter from miscalculating how important the gate plot is.

True, to a point. Tarquin is perfectly aware that the narrative calls for a "we'll meet again" moment. What he is fighting over is what flavor of that moment Elan will suffer.

Keep in mind that, at some level, Tarquin expects the universe to endorse his plans for the reason that they make a more satisfying narrative than what Elan is pushing for. That is a somewhat cracked way of thinking that opens the door for all kinds of irrationality.

Even though the Giant has implied as much, I do not think we need to take it for a given that Tarquin's narrative theories are correct in any respect. His success might merely be chalked up to the fact his team was the first to methodically avoid obvious mistakes, while employing a long term non-obvious plan for conquest in a region where leadership turnover is high.

[Snails]

I'm guessing that if Tarquin does fall, it'll be: a) caused by Elan, b) consistent not with D&D falling damage rules but instead with the usual real-life result of falling out of aircraft without a means to slow one's descent, and c) shortly followed by V swooping down to disintegrate his corpse.

The fact that Miron and Laurin escaped makes a later appearance by Tarquin seem likely, as he will be backed up by a very effective team. The Giant could have "rolled the dice" differently, and had both these spellcasters end up dead.

[angry_bear]

If he falls off the ship, he's got to use feather fall somehow... The joke has been waiting to be used for a couple hundred issues at this point.

[Gnome Alone]

Wouldn't count on it. It's already well-established that D&D rules ARE the laws of physics in this comic.

It's also established that the author no longer gives a flying snargleflarf at the moon if the comic perfectly reflects Dungeons and Dragons rules anymore.


The fact that Miron and Laurin escaped makes a later appearance by Tarquin seem likely, as he will be backed up by a very effective team. The Giant could have "rolled the dice" differently, and had both these spellcasters end up dead.

Sigh. Good point. And also stupid Laurin's stupid favor is probably not going to end up a dangling plot thread. But who knows, it's not like "Chekhov's Gun"/conservation of detail is an actual rule plots have to follow. It's just a freaking opinion. Otherwise we'd have seen the love-child of Fyron's son and Redcloak's niece show up by now.

[zimmerwald1915]

It's also established that the author no longer gives a flying snargleflarf at the moon if the comic perfectly reflects Dungeons and Dragons rules anymore.
It's not a matter of "perfectly reflecting Dungeons and Dragons rules" but of internal consistency. Roy thought he had a chance at tanking the falling damage if he were at full health, (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html) so it is established that surviving long falls is something characters in this story can do.

[Benthesquid]

You know who we haven't seen in awhile? The Flumphs.

[Keltest]

You know who we haven't seen in awhile? The Flumphs.

Yeah, but theyre only used when the characters are supposed to land unharmed. Unless we want this story arc to go on a lot longer, Tarquin needs to take enough damage to at least incapacitate him for a bit while he regenerates. Most likely that will involve the loss of limbs, since those take a while to regenerate even with magic.

[Taelas]

True, to a point. Tarquin is perfectly aware that the narrative calls for a "we'll meet again" moment. What he is fighting over is what flavor of that moment Elan will suffer.

Keep in mind that, at some level, Tarquin expects the universe to endorse his plans for the reason that they make a more satisfying narrative than what Elan is pushing for. That is a somewhat cracked way of thinking that opens the door for all kinds of irrationality.

Even though the Giant has implied as much, I do not think we need to take it for a given that Tarquin's narrative theories are correct in any respect. His success might merely be chalked up to the fact his team was the first to methodically avoid obvious mistakes, while employing a long term non-obvious plan for conquest in a region where leadership turnover is high.

To put the success of Tarquin's party in more succinct terms: Tarquin prevents the others from making classic villain mistakes. The others prevent Tarquin from following his "story thing" off the deep end.

Guess what they've failed at doing this time.

If Tarquin wasn't beyond enraged and was witnessing the situation from afar, I have no hesitation in believing that he'd recognize the impending death of the villain. But he's blind-sided by rage, and he's trying to force the narrative back to what he sees as the "right" path.

[Quartz]

You know who we haven't seen in awhile? The Flumphs.

I expect we'll see them very soon if Tarquin jumps from the airship.

[Quartz]

c) shortly followed by V swooping down to disintegrate his corpse.

I like it.

[Snails]

To put the success of Tarquin's party in more succinct terms: Tarquin prevents the others from making classic villain mistakes. The others prevent Tarquin from following his "story thing" off the deep end.

Guess what they've failed at doing this time.

Given we have seen two different teammates drop very dismissive comments about Tarquin, your summary looks very accurate.

[Metahuman1]

He can still get away. A couple of cross class UMD ranks and a scroll of feather fall, a potion of feather fall, a ring of feather fall, and the drop won't even scratch him. Alternatively, since he's super high level and seems to have loads of HP and at least some regeneration/Damage Reduction, he could probably jump and even he absolute max falling damage possible, not die, as long as he does it before he takes to many more hits.

Mind, I want him to be killed by Roy or Belkar or Durkula or V or Hayley or Julio or a member of Julio's crew, but the option to survive isn't totally off the table yet.

[Keltest]

He can still get away. A couple of cross class UMD ranks and a scroll of feather fall, a potion of feather fall, a ring of feather fall, and the drop won't even scratch him. Alternatively, since he's super high level and seems to have loads of HP and at least some regeneration/Damage Reduction, he could probably jump and even he absolute max falling damage possible, not die, as long as he does it before he takes to many more hits.

Mind, I want him to be killed by Roy or Belkar or Durkula or V or Hayley or Julio or a member of Julio's crew, but the option to survive isn't totally off the table yet.

As a fighter, floating downward at the speed of a feather is NOT a position you want to be in against a flying MU with 25 spells left.

[sims796]

As a fighter, floating downward at the speed of a feather is NOT a position you want to be in against a flying MU with 25 spells left.

"Flying MU"?

[Keltest]

"Flying MU"?

Flying Magic User (in this case, V). Sorry, got into personal slang there.

[sims796]

Flying Magic User (in this case, V). Sorry, got into personal slang there.

I was trying to think about what that could be, and I assumed some sort of Oriental class from a splatbook.

[Keltest]

I was trying to think about what that could be, and I assumed some sort of Oriental class from a splatbook.

in ye olde 1.0, which is what my dad taught me as a wee young'in, wizards were called magic users. Never dropped the abbreviation. Its also accurate in this case. A flying sorcerer would be as dangerous as a wizard. a cleric might be slightly less so, but still not something you want against you while feather falling.

[Metahuman1]

Doesn't feather fall just mitigate the damage?

[Keltest]

Doesn't feather fall just mitigate the damage?

Feather fall makes you fall at the speed of a feather. Literally. You outright do not take damage at that speed, unless you land in a rose bush or something.

[sims796]

in ye olde 1.0, which is what my dad taught me as a wee young'in, wizards were called magic users. Never dropped the abbreviation. Its also accurate in this case. A flying sorcerer would be as dangerous as a wizard. a cleric might be slightly less so, but still not something you want against you while feather falling.

And a flying druid would be an eye gouger, genius!

[ryuplaneswalker]

Feather fall would prevent the fall damage, but the point they are trying to make is Tarquin would be at the mercy of V, who can fly as he pleases and fling spells at a defenseless target.

[sims796]

Feather fall makes you fall at the speed of a feather. Literally. You outright do not take damage at that speed, unless you land in a rose bush or something.

For 10d20 damage per thorn.

[Sniffnoy]

For those who do think Tarquin is about to die, this seems an appropriate time to point out the existence of the death pool thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272967). :)

[Ramien]

He doesn't have to jump from the ship. It would probably be more dramatically apropos to grab a rope, launch a last quip, and swing away, dropping once he reached (length of rope) closer to the ground. It'd save him some falling damage, and look cooler (which we all know is uppermost in his mind).

I doubt the rope would make much difference, since the Mechane is probably well over 200 feet, so it's max falling damage either way. Just ask Roy, he's had a lot of time to become an expert on falling damage.

[DavidBV]

The story can't go on with a permanent threat over the Order of, anytime and anywhere, a wormhole opening with a full team Tarquin showing up. So either something happens which makes certain Tarquin gives up in his plans, or he has to die. And the later is the one that makes sense, taking into account the last 20 pages, but again, Rich always surprises us, doesn't he?

What surprises me here is how Laurin escaped, without trying to help Tarquin at all. She was low on points, but as low as to not being able to afford a wormhole below T for him to jump into? Although as far as we know, maybe it *has* to be vertical and resting on stable ground, much like Teleportation Circle has to be horizontal and on the ground. Anyhow, I would expect her to try to save him, if only because of their shared plans of controlling the continent and all.

[dtilque]

What do evil people do when they're backed into a corner and have no obvious plan of escape? Take a hostage.

He could grab Haley and hold his +plot dagger to her throat, demanding that things go his way. Promise that he will let Haley go if they drop him off back at EoB... then probably kill her anyway.

Hostage taking has already been done once in this strip: I didn't know I was going to be the girl (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0590.html). But I suppose it could be done again.

I think the scene will be resolved with Tarquin hanging off the edge by one hand and Elan above him holding T's knife.

Elan: "you still have most of your hit points, right?"
T: "Huh?"
E: "You'll live"
Chops off Tarquin's hand; T falls to the ground after exchanging pleasantries with Julio on the way down.

I'm not sure Elan has changed enough to do that, but it certainly would be an interesting conclusion.

[Keltest]

Hostage taking has already been done once in this strip: I didn't know I was going to be the girl (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0590.html). But I suppose it could be done again.

I think the scene will be resolved with Tarquin hanging off the edge by one hand and Elan above him holding T's knife.

Elan: "you still have most of your hit points, right?"
T: "Huh?"
E: "You'll live"
Chops off Tarquin's hand; T falls to the ground after exchanging pleasantries with Julio on the way down.

I'm not sure Elan has changed enough to do that, but it certainly would be an interesting conclusion.

Im positive he hasn't changed enough. Hes the good twin, not the neutral twin.

[JBiddles]

Im positive he hasn't changed enough. Hes the good twin, not the neutral twin.

Good people are often willing to kill others, especially Evil people, for the greater good. Elan's a touch more realistic now than he was earlier in OotS. He was OK with Haley murdering Crystal to protect herself and future victims; he'd probably be willing, if reluctant, to temporarily inconvenience Tarquin with a lost limb (which the Ring of Regeneration will let him grow back) and 20d6 damage, which Tarquin could probably take even if he rolled high for falling damage.

[Bulldog Psion]

A third major possibility is Tarquin being taken prisoner, either through direct surrender or just being rendered helpless by either one of V's spells or through concerted efforts to capture him by the OotS.

So, as far as I can see, he could win, escape, die, be captured/surrender, or might even talk the Order around to standing down in some way (unlikely though that may be). So I don't perceive this as a win or die situation for the old wretch.

[RadagastTheBrow]

A flying sorcerer would be as dangerous as a wizard. A cleric might be slightly less so, but still not something you want against you while feather falling.

Clerics don't get Fly. They get Stormrage (http://dndtools.eu/spells/magic-of-faerun--20/stormrage--1800/). Slightly scarier, if I may say so.

[Keltest]

Clerics don't get Fly. They get Stormrage (http://dndtools.eu/spells/magic-of-faerun--20/stormrage--1800/). Slightly scarier, if I may say so.

No, but they can have it cast on them. Or they can go the Gandalf way and find a large flying animal to ride on (admittedly significantly less likely).

[Astroturtle]

What is this 'fall damage' everyone keeps talking about? It should be obvious that Tarquin has a potion of feather fall wedged up his bum for just such an emergency.

[Keltest]

What is this 'fall damage' everyone keeps talking about? It should be obvious that Tarquin has a potion of feather fall wedged up his bum for just such an emergency.

I think at this point weve established it would be safer for him to eat the fall damage rather than get caught by V in mid air.

[rbetieh]

By driving off Laurin, V has just backed Tarquin into a corner. He no longer has a means of retreat, so either he succeeds in taking out the ship or he dies. There is no longer a middle ground. The stakes have just been raised big-time.

I thin he has enough HP to survive just jumping off the airship. That is unless a Wizard fires a few spells at him first...

Seeing as though he has flat out destroyed the order in Melee, it seems as though the End of Tarquin would have to mirror the End of Kubota...

[veti]

Feather fall makes you fall at the speed of a feather. Literally. You outright do not take damage at that speed, unless you land in a rose bush or something.

Actually (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/featherFall.htm), it makes you fall at 60' per round, which is pretty fast for a feather.

Also it has a limited duration, so if you quaff your potion before stepping off the airship, there's every chance the effect would wear off before you reach the ground. The correct procedure would be to free-fall until you're within a short distance of the ground, then quaff. Which raises all sorts of interesting questions about how quickly you can drink while in free-fall... :smallbiggrin:

[Keltest]

Actually, it makes you fall at 60' per round, which is pretty fast for a feather.

Also it has a limited duration, so if you quaff your potion before stepping off the airship, there's every chance the effect would wear off before you reach the ground. The correct procedure would be to free-fall until you're within a short distance of the ground, then quaff. Which raises all sorts of interesting questions about how quickly you can drink while in free-fall... :smallbiggrin:

If a feather were the size of you, it would fall that "fast" too.

[veti]

If a feather were the size of you, it would fall that "fast" too.

Oi! Don't make assumptions about my size! Just because it's Christmas, doesn't necessarily mean I've been putting on weight like Santa.

(The scenario brings back happy memories of playing 'Morrowind'. If you used one of the Scrolls of Icarian Flight, you could jump half-way across the map in one go, with no irritating encounters on the way; the tricky part was timing the spell effect to keep yourself from splatting horribly on landing, particularly as visibility was limited to a few hundred feet, which meant by the time you could see the ground at all, you were already fast running out of casting time.)

[sims796]

No, but they can have it cast on them. Or they can go the Gandalf way and find a large flying animal to ride on (admittedly significantly less likely).

Lighting out of their goddamn eyeballs?!

[Firechanter]

I guess the one thing that is currently effectively preventing Tarquin's ultimate demise is the favour he owes Laurin.
Who, btw, probably didn't "book it" all the way home, but maybe she DDed to the ground, in order to regroup with T. once he's left the ship.

Otherwise, it might be Elan's turn to want his father dead -- and not despite his Good alignment, but because of it. He should now have realized that as long as T. lives, he will be a threat to the lives of his friends.

But this way or other, the whole Tarquin arc has to be resolved now, once and for all.

[Kish]

Oi! Don't make assumptions about my size! Just because it's Christmas, doesn't necessarily mean I've been putting on weight like Santa.
Let the record state that veti is one inch tall, weighs 0.345 of a pound, and writes posts by jumping from key to key.

[Keltest]

Let the record state that veti is one inch tall, weighs 0.345 of a pound, and writes posts by jumping from key to key.

Is he a laboratory mouse involved in an elaborate scheme for world domination?

[Obscure Blade]

You know who we haven't seen in awhile? The Flumphs.I can see it now.

The Flumphs standing around, one of them commenting that "At least out here nothing's going to fall on us!"

Then Tarquin falls from the sky...and goes CRUNCH! into the ground next to them.

Flumph: "...See!"

[Menas]

By driving off Laurin, V has just backed Tarquin into a corner. He no longer has a means of retreat, so either he succeeds in taking out the ship or he dies. There is no longer a middle ground. The stakes have just been raised big-time.


I think they were already raised pretty high when he sent an army to kill them in the crater. This didn't change much for his plan. His plan was to kill Elan's allies by any means possible since he surrounded them. Even if Laurin hadn't been convinced to flee, she could have said "I'm leaving, do you want to come with me?" and Tarquin still would have said no and been in the same position.

I think ReaderAt2046 meant the stakes have been raised for Tarquin big time.

The stakes have been large for the OotS since they arrived at this gate, first to try to save the gate (and not die while doing so) and then to try and escape with their lives. This is the first time Tarquin has truly engaged in a high amount of personal risk in order to accomplish his plan. As long as he had his army and his companions with him, he wasn't risking much. Now, with this many forces aligned against only Tarquin and Tarquin alone, he is risking a lot in order to continue with his plan at this point.

[Bedinsis]

I can see two options for Tarquin, one more reasonable than the other:

1. Take Scoundrél hostage. Seriously, just run over and grab the rope, threatening to cut it if his will doesn't get through. The Mechane crew wouldn't abandon their captain. He could even decide that "If I don't get to make Elan the party leader, at the least I shall kill his mentor. He's to important to the plot for me to risk him not returning.", simply killing him.

2. Undo the curse that affected Bloodfeast. I know nothing of the rules, but if he has an item that could do this, the Mechane is destroyed and will crash to the ground. He can tank it, but the others V will use feather fall on(as he recalls from his first encounter with Elan, where V was unwilling to sacrifice her means of escaping if that would mean sacrificing a party member). After that, I don't know what he would do, but at least he has stopped their escape.

[zimmerwald1915]

1. Take Scoundrél hostage. Seriously, just run over and grab the rope, threatening to cut it if his will doesn't get through. The Mechane crew wouldn't abandon their captain. He could even decide that "If I don't get to make Elan the party leader, at the least I shall kill his mentor. He's to important to the plot for me to risk him not returning.", simply killing him.
"Killing Elan's mentor" is exactly what Tarquin thinks he's doing by killing Roy.

[Trillium]

I can see two options for Tarquin, one more reasonable than the other:

1. Take Scoundrél hostage. Seriously, just run over and grab the rope, threatening to cut it if his will doesn't get through. The Mechane crew wouldn't abandon their captain. He could even decide that "If I don't get to make Elan the party leader, at the least I shall kill his mentor. He's to important to the plot for me to risk him not returning.", simply killing him.


http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/6719/scoundrel.png "Crew! Quickly! Throw my Emergency Sheet of Glass right beneath me!"

[Ramien]

"Killing Elan's mentor" is exactly what Tarquin thinks he's doing by killing Roy.

I'll have to disagree. He does see Roy as being in Elan's way, true, but if Roy were his mentor, he wouldn't expect Elan to pick up Rob Redblade in the next tavern he visits. He also knows Roy is similar level to Elan, while a proper mentor is a few levels higher, at least. That and in 931 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0931.html), he does seem to acknowledge Julio Scoundrél as Elan's mentor when he asks if he sees the shape of the scene and Scoundrél acknowledges his role as the mentor.

Killing Roy is being done to free Elan from Roy's shadow as well as making the fight really and truly personal.

[CombatOwl]

What is this 'fall damage' everyone keeps talking about? It should be obvious that Tarquin has a potion of feather fall wedged up his bum for just such an emergency.

IIRC, there were at one point rules for potion suppositories.

[factotum]

It completely flies in the face of that being Tarquin's strong point if he is incapable of assessing what USUALLY happens to a bad guy who pushes his luck in his situation instead of pulling the much safer villainous exit stage left, because that's a mistake stupid bad guys make all the time and therefore one Tarquin should be keenly aware of.

But it's a mistake that only *minor* villains suffer from. Tarquin is the main villain of this story, remember (at least as far as he's concerned), and it would be perfectly plausible for such a person to wreak havoc upon the ship's inhabitants and escape unharmed, leaving the hero of the tale to swear vengeance and chase him down.

It certainly *isn't* any sort of standard storytelling trope for the main villain of the story to run away in the middle of the tale, leaving the hero and his associates largely unharmed!