Is anyone else really psyched for the Roy and Hinjo combination?

[spectheintro]

I really like their dynamic in these past few strips. And I think Hinjo is far cooler than Shojo or Miko. (Although Shojo will always have a place in my heart, ever since he threw the dessicated corpse of his court wizard at Roy. You will be missed, Shojo.)

I also wonder if the OotS is going to guard Hinjo, or if only Roy will do the bodyguarding, since Belkar will be imprisoned, and we don't know how any of the other party members (besides Elan) feels about Hinjo. (Although I suspect V and Hinjo will get along by default.)

[the_tick_rules]

Well Roy ia a prisoner of his own morality so he'll do it.

[Krellen]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)

[Tilian]

I really hope we get to see Elan throw himself into a Secret Service role.


An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)

But what of your shins?

[chibibar]

heheh.. looks like Hinjo is getting a good grasp of what his uncle is really doing all this time :)

[Lord Zentei]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)

Belkar is a hateful little blighter, but he is a great character. The OOTS would be a lot more dull without him.

[Fighteer]

Hinjo can't join the OotS because he's the legal ruler of a Lawful Good city, with no other immediately apparent heir.

[Dausuul]

I really like their dynamic in these past few strips. And I think Hinjo is far cooler than Shojo or Miko. (Although Shojo will always have a place in my heart, ever since he threw the dessicated corpse of his court wizard at Roy. You will be missed, Shojo.)

I also wonder if the OotS is going to guard Hinjo, or if only Roy will do the bodyguarding, since Belkar will be imprisoned, and we don't know how any of the other party members (besides Elan) feels about Hinjo. (Although I suspect V and Hinjo will get along by default.)

Well, I expect Elan will be all about helping guard Hinjo, as will Durkon. Haley might be more dubious, but both she and V could likely be persuaded by the offer of a suitable reward. Belkar is the interesting one...

[White Rook]

Definitely, I love the increased Hinjo involvement; he's a great character. I love OotS's involvement in a sort of "secret service" role now, and Belkar will certainly be interesting, but I think the liking that he took to Shojo sort of rolls over to Hinjo as another anti-Miko, if you will.

[Lial Swiftlight]

I find it interesting to note that Hinjo hasn't had Belkar re-arrested on the spot and thrown back in jail. It is possible Hinjo will honour the deal Shojo originally struck with Roy and let Belkar go on bail until the whole Xykon business is over.

[elliott20]

And he might just conveniently forget about Belkar after all that business is done on the grounds that they just don't have resources to deal with him.

[Fighteer]

I'm afraid that "conveniently forgetting" isn't on the list of things paladins are allowed to do, no matter how nicely they are played. Belkar owes them one murder trial, whether the guard was raised or not.

Although resurrection does put a slight kink in the basic concept of a murder trial, wouldn't you think?
"You stand accused of murder."
"But the guy's standing right there. How can I have killed him if he's alive?"
"... I got better."

[elliott20]

"She turned me into a newt!!"
"a newt?!"
"well I got better..."

[Krellen]

Hinjo can't join the OotS because he's the legal ruler of a Lawful Good city, with no other immediately apparent heir.
Give it a day.

[Twilight Jack]

Hinjo may well decide to honor Shojo's deal with Roy and the rest of the OotS, allowing Belkar to remain in Roy's custody via the Mark of Justice until this business with Xykon is through. Since he can't hurt anyone, can't run away, and can't even piss his jailer (Roy) off too bad without some serious suffering, all of the basic definitions of imprisonment apply to Belkar's situation. All that's missing is the building.

And in the meantime, the little blighter may prove useful in the coming battle.

[EvilAndProud]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)

I think I know where this is going. And since he's ONLY wearing kidney guards.... :smallwink:

[Roderick_BR]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)
I think Roy and Hinjo are too much alike. They probably are a killer team, but in the long run, they'd be boring working together for a long time.
Belkar, in the other hand, is a everyday fun (to look from a distance, of course)

Durkon will surely join, if not in an advanced group, at least in a support role.
Elan likes Hinjo and the city, he's likely to help.
Helan enjoys her well-being too much to join a war, but since she's not a bad person, she would help however she can, specialy if Elan will stay.
Vaarsavius has no much interest, but can be convinced to join. Defending a major city does count points when you need favors later. The chance of exercicing his blaster spells is good enough for a more direct approach, though he'd be in a support role as well, or go into an advanced team, specially if he learns from Roy that Xykon is alive. He is an ancient wizard, after all.
Belkar can do a deal with Hinjo to drop the charges if he works for him. Higly unlikely, though.

[kerberos]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)
*stabs and harvests liver*. It's not kidneys, but it will do.

[Hel65]

Yeah. Hinjo and his big bodyguard. Cool.

I think he'll be available for recruitment soon...

Maybe Durkon's prophecy will kick in during the battle and Hinjo will be his replacement?

[Krellen]

*stabs and harvests liver*. It's not kidneys, but it will do.
Ahh, halflings. So puntable.

*punt*

[Silverlocke980]

Roy and Hinjo will be a hilarious and awesome team, because they'll be a lot like Miko and Roy could have been- an incredibly effective, deadly team that can probably one-round anything they meet in physical combat. Roy's raw strength and Hinjo's paladin skills mean, in essence, the two become a physical juggernaut at close range. Roy can also simply take damage for Hinjo, since Hinjo can then just heal him. And remember, Roy gets random bonuses against undead, so that's a big plus against Xykon's horde.
(Remember all the creatures he turned undead in the Tower?)

To address a different question, I don't think they'll be boring at all- the two will have excellent banter, I believe- Hinjo is more cool-headed than Roy and might have some fun counterpoints to Roy's enraged combat banter.
(I, for one, love his battle quips, but to hear anybody give a counterpoint would rock in my book.)

If you add in the rest of the OotS, Hinjo might well nigh be invincible. Durkon is a good melee fighter, but his major power as a bodyguard is healing Hinjo, who, as a paladin, is tought to kill to begin with. V can destroy any "big targets" (like Xykon's zombie dragon) that melee warriors Roy and Hinjo can't handle. Belkar is just devastating in close combat, what with his knives and speed- darting in and out of battle, he'll be hard to kill and great at killing, though history proves he's not so good at bodyguard work (battle with Xykon- remember?). Haley gives ranged support and Elan's new Dashing Swordsman class means he can probably hold his own in melee combat, especially with a +3 rapier.

In short? Hinjo's going to be damn tough to kill, no matter whether it's just Roy or the entire OotS helping him.

(Side note: Believe only Roy will help. V will be of more use on the walls making hobgoblins eat fireballs.)

[Grod_The_Giant]

An OotS where they trade Belkar for Hinjo would be alright with me. Down with psychotic halflings (good thing I'm wearing my adamantine kidney guards.)

NEVER!!! BELKAR FOREVER!!!

[Ave]

I don't think Hinjo will go with the team.
I expect that the city gets destroyed.
Hinjo dies.
Linear guild escapes with Miko (and Xykon).
Oots hunts them down.

[atteSmythe]

Give it a day.
Ha! That's exactly what I was thinking. I doubt he'll be joining the OotS, but it'd be nifty if he could.

Realistically, though, even if the city falls, Hinjo stays behind to rebuild it.

Edit: I would totally take a Hinjo/Belkar swap. To compensate for the lack of dark humor, Belkar could join the Linear Guild instead of dying.

[Fighteer]

Hinjo can't join the OotS because he's the legal ruler of a Lawful Good city, with no other immediately apparent heir.Give it a day.

Well, yeah, that's the obvious answer. But I don't see Hinjo leaving his city after this battle, whether it's intact or not. Rulership, especially the hereditary kind, is a "till death do us part" kind of thing.

There's no reason why he and Roy and the rest of the OotS can't have a nice climactic battle with Xykon and his crew, though.

[Tokeloshe]

My question is...

Xykon is coming to invade a city full of Paladins right?

Would an entire city's worth of Paladins, all turning undead at the same time, create some sort of super-turn undead capable of "killing" Xykon?

[Krellen]

Would an entire city's worth of Paladins, all turning undead at the same time, create some sort of super-turn undead capable of "killing" Xykon?
Nope. Each turn check is independent of the others, none of which affect Xykon in the slightest. (It would take an Epic Cleric to turn him, most likely.)

[Lial Swiftlight]

Also, Xykon has a buffer of several hundred zombies and ghouls around him. If anything less than a god tried to turn him as-is, he'd feel a slight tingle at most.

Still, it'd be fun to watch the paladins try.

[Fighteer]

My question is...

Xykon is coming to invade a city full of Paladins right?

Would an entire city's worth of Paladins, all turning undead at the same time, create some sort of super-turn undead capable of "killing" Xykon?
Not according to the core ruleset. Unless there's a cleric present whose class level is more than twice Xykon's Hit Dice (adding double his +4 Turn Resistance), he's safe from being destroyed. Even if they combine turning attempts using the Aid Another action (something not explicitly defined in the rules for turning), the most they can do is improve the turning skill check, which determines the most powerful undead that can be affected.

At a rough estimate, if Xykon is 18th level, it would take a minimum 18th level cleric to be able to turn him, rolling the maximum possible turn check (22+, for +4 levels). To destroy him would require a 44th level cleric. :smalleek:

Granted that OotS is a parody, it does tend to follow the d20 ruleset unless there's a particular story interest in doing otherwise.

[Hyrael]

I'm afraid that "conveniently forgetting" isn't on the list of things paladins are allowed to do, no matter how nicely they are played. Belkar owes them one murder trial, whether the guard was raised or not.

Although resurrection does put a slight kink in the basic concept of a murder trial, wouldn't you think?
"You stand accused of murder."
"But the guy's standing right there. How can I have killed him if he's alive?"
"... I got better."
But, Hinjo now knows that Belkar was arrested in the first place under false pretenses. Therefore, he was semi-entitled to escape, though he did kill the guard. Repparations and a MoJ seem to me to be just punishement, and what a court should arrive at anyway. Just call Hinjo the judge at belkar's impromptu hearing.

[Fighteer]

But, Hinjo now knows that Belkar was arrested in the first place under false pretenses. Therefore, he was semi-entitled to escape, though he did kill the guard. Repparations and a MoJ seem to me to be just punishement, and what a court should arrive at anyway. Just call Hinjo the judge at belkar's impromptu hearing.
To be pedantic, Miko and Hinjo overheard Shojo say he rigged the trial, but they didn't hear his earlier explanation for why he ordered it in the first place. That was given to Roy, in private, after the trial. As far as any of the paladins know, the charges against the OotS were legitimate.

Killing a guard in cold blood is murder, whether you were in prison for a good reason or not. Escape is justified only in a PoW situation, and Azure City isn't at war with Belkar... at least not yet.

[V Junior]

I think I know where this is going. And since he's ONLY wearing kidney guards.... :smallwink:

I want his lungs and liver. Then I'm cutting down to grab his kidneys... Krellen, that is.

As for the Roy/Hinjo thing? It's gonna be interesting- Roy's face when her realised that he was Hinjo's bodaygaurd said that for me.

[Krellen]

I want his lungs and liver. Then I'm cutting down to grab his kidneys... Krellen, that is.
Halflings are still very, very puntable.

*punt*

[Kyace]

Krellen, paladins shouldn't know that word... Oh wait, you said punt? nevermind...

[kerberos]

To be pedantic, Miko and Hinjo overheard Shojo say he rigged the trial, but they didn't hear his earlier explanation for why he ordered it in the first place. That was given to Roy, in private, after the trial. As far as any of the paladins know, the charges against the OotS were legitimate.

Killing a guard in cold blood is murder, whether you were in prison for a good reason or not. Escape is justified only in a PoW situation, and Azure City isn't at war with Belkar... at least not yet.
Says who? Belkar was deliberately and unjustly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and based. How does that not justify escape? Of cause he's guilty of all sorts of crimes he wasn't imprisoned for, but that's beside the issue.

[kerberos]

Ahh, halflings. So puntable.

*punt*
*looks up the word "punt"*

*cuts both Krellens legs of above the knee*

*gets an ogre to punt Krellen*

[Teh_Jakester]

Hinjo won't join the OotS, because he has a city to run, and Belkar won't get out without dying or until they defeat Xykon, because of the Mark.

[Krellen]

*cuts both Krellens legs of above the knee*
Greaves are such handy things.

Outta the way, Peck! *punt*

[Lord Zentei]

Says who? Belkar was deliberately and unjustly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and based. How does that not justify escape? Of cause he's guilty of all sorts of crimes he wasn't imprisoned for, but that's beside the issue.

So, in your perception, it is acceptable to kill police officers who place you under arrest if the charges were, unbeknownst to them, trumped up?

And I imagine that this means that anyone found innocent of a crime in the court of law would have been justified in killing their jail guards in order to escape?

Is this seriously what you are arguing?

[kerberos]

Greaves are such handy things.
Yes, very handy, unfortunately for you they only protect the legs below the knee, not above them *watches as Krellen attempts to walk around on his stubs*.

[Copacetic]

*gets automatic-punter in case I get attacked by a mob of halflings looking for my kindenys*

Anyway I think the OOTS becaome more like the elite Squad of Hinjo for a while then go back to adventuring.

[kerberos]

So, in your perception, it is acceptable to kill police officers who place you under arrest if the charges were, unbeknownst to them, trumped up?

And I imagine that this means that anyone found innocent of a crime in the court of law would have been justified in killing their jail guards in order to escape?

Is this seriously what you are arguing?
That would depend on the exact circumstances of the case. If say you were arrested by a police officer from a foreign power who promptly attacked you when you tried to figure out what on Earth was going on and in general acted like none-to-stable religious fanatic, then yes.

If circumstances leads you to the reasonable conclusion that you probably wouldn't get a fair trial and trying to escape seems perfectly justified, even if you have to hurt or kill people who deliberately stand in you way, even if it’s possible they aren’t in on it. I wouldn't feel obligated to let people kill me just because some of them might be acting in good faith.