Checkov's Gun in #038.

[MatrixStone93]

Remember in panel #038, when that poison got Roy, and got him badly? He'd survive, he just couldn't move, so Belkar and Elan drew on him and around him. Later, Belkar says he'll see if he can get some of that poison off the trap...

It's a Checkov's Gun. Belkar did get some of that poison. And he will use it upon Vampire!Durkon, who will STILL be unable to fix it.

(Also, on an unrelated note, I think the face seen in the most recent comic is either someone from the thief's guild, or Thog.

[littlebum2002]

Vampires are immune to poison.

[NerdyKris]

As are dwarves.

[Keltest]

As are dwarves.

dwarves are merely resistant to it I believe.

[SaintRidley]

To the tune of +2 to saves against poison.

But yeah, vampiric immunities. Can't poison the dead and all.

[orrion]

Remember in panel #038, when that poison got Roy, and got him badly? He'd survive, he just couldn't move, so Belkar and Elan drew on him and around him. Later, Belkar says he'll see if he can get some of that poison off the trap...

It's a Checkov's Gun. Belkar did get some of that poison. And he will use it upon Vampire!Durkon, who will STILL be unable to fix it.

(Also, on an unrelated note, I think the face seen in the most recent comic is either someone from the thief's guild, or Thog.

Durkon was only unable to fix it because he didn't have the spell prepared. He fixed it the next morning (see the final panel of comic #40). It's not some poison that Clerics can't cure.

And, yeah, moot because the vamp can't be poisoned anyway.

[Kornaki]

And, yeah, moot because the vamp can't be poisoned anyway.

Does Belkar know that? It would be pretty funny if he tried using it. I'm not sure what the script would look like exactly but I'm sure the Giant could make it work.

[Keltest]

Does Belkar know that? It would be pretty funny if he tried using it. I'm not sure what the script would look like exactly but I'm sure the Giant could make it work.

Even if Belkar inexplicably forgot that undead were immune to poisons, it is unlikely that the poison would have remained potent for so long.

[Darth Paul]

Even if Belkar inexplicably forgot that undead were immune to poisons, it is unlikely that the poison would have remained potent for so long.

It also strikes me that Belkar, if he had gotten some of the poison in the first place, would have used it long ago on the first person to vex him severely enough. Miko, for instance- who also would most likely have made her saving throw.

[NerdyKris]

Not to mention there was nothing particularly special about the poison. It was just plain old poison. Durkon simply didn't have the spell prepared. So Belkar would have to have picked up the completely normal everyday poison, carried it on his person for almost 2 years, and then decide to use it on an undead dwarf who has gained quite a few levels since their level appropriate encounter with the trap.

It just seems incredibly forced, even for Belkar.

[Procyonpi]

No, Chekov's gun is OBVIOUSLY zombie Trigak, who will be the REAL end boss! :P

[Reddish Mage]

No, Chekov's gun is OBVIOUSLY zombie Trigak, who will be the REAL end boss! :P

Are you kidding? We were just talking about "level-appropriate encounter." To be level-appropriate he would have to be a vampiric half-troll, half-dragon lycanthropic fiendish Trigak! He got bit by this guy (http://www.ookoodook.com/store/media/comics/OOTS/OOTSSnipsSnailDragonTales2.jpg).

[Emperordaniel]

Are you kidding? We were just talking about "level-appropriate encounter." To be level-appropriate he would have to be a vampiric half-troll, half-dragon lycanthropic fiendish Trigak! He got bit by this guy (http://www.ookoodook.com/store/media/comics/OOTS/OOTSSnipsSnailDragonTales2.jpg).

Would it not be simpler for Trigak to just take some class levels?

[Procyonpi]

Are you kidding? We were just talking about "level-appropriate encounter." To be level-appropriate he would have to be a vampiric half-troll, half-dragon lycanthropic fiendish Trigak! He got bit by this guy (http://www.ookoodook.com/store/media/comics/OOTS/OOTSSnipsSnailDragonTales2.jpg).

Ah, but you're assuming that Trigak is actually a Chimera. He's actually the MitD's dad, shape shifted. That's why the MitD wanted to go after the Order when Trigak died. The only reason the order was able to kill him was because he was severely weakened from fighting and killing the Snarl.

He was, of course, reanimated by Right-Eye's daughter.

[Darth Paul]

At the risk of derailing this thread, the MitD's dad is the half-vampiric, lycanthropic, psionic, draconic snail from the Dragon magazine strips. And I may have left out a template or two there.

[littlebum2002]

At the risk of derailing this thread, the MitD's dad is the half-vampiric, lycanthropic, psionic, draconic snail from the Dragon magazine strips. And I may have left out a template or two there.

Can't be. His eyes are too high.

It has to be TWO sons of
half vampiric, lycanthropic, psionic draconic snails
Standing on to of each other.

The MitD and his twin brother DitM

[Killer Angel]

Remember in panel #038, when that poison got Roy, and got him badly? He'd survive, he just couldn't move, so Belkar and Elan drew on him and around him. Later, Belkar says he'll see if he can get some of that poison off the trap...

It's a Checkov's Gun. Belkar did get some of that poison. And he will use it upon Vampire!Durkon, who will STILL be unable to fix it.


Is this a serious thread, or a joke? :smallconfused:

Because, even leaving aside vamps' immunities, at the very best, it's VERY unlikely. A percentage ala "win the national lottery".

[137beth]

It could be a Beckett's gun (where it's expected to go off but doesn't)....except no one expected it to matter either, so probably not that.

[littlebum2002]

OR....maybe Belkar accidentally stabs himself with the poison, and Durkon refuses to heal him and he dies!

EDIT: Oh, except Elan has Neutralize Poison now. Darn.

[MatrixStone93]

I thought this thread was going to be a serious one where everyone (Or most people) congratulated me for coming up with the right answer.

1. What level IS V, anyway?
2. Why didn't they try to bring back Nale for a teamup VS Tarquin.
3. Tarquin is a pun because it sounds like tarkin, tahkin, talking. Niuqrat sounds like neocrat, so he might have a good twin.
4. I got the secret Trigak pun. Gak gak gak!
5. Why didn't V use Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion on Xykon, Redcloak, That bigger black dragon that got hit with Familicide,
6. Why didn't Roy sell the lame bag of animals and buy something better with the money?
7. Why doesn't the team "Look the other way" or allow themselves to be led away while Haley and Belkar rob a town?
8. Why is Xykon so mean? I know he's evil and all, but srsly. Guys. He's mean.

(Also, I thought Mitd WAS the darkness. That's the joke.)

[Keltest]

I thought this thread was going to be a serious one where everyone (Or most people) congratulated me for coming up with the right answer. Im sure if it happens, in between the outraged cries of how silly it is, people will be congratulating you on guessing it correctly.


1. What level IS V, anyway?
He is whatever level Rich needs him to be. The class and level geekery thread has made an educated guess.

2. Why didn't they try to bring back Nale for a teamup VS Tarquin. besides the fact that he is dead and they have no means of resurrecting him?


5. Why didn't V use Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion on Xykon, Redcloak, That bigger black dragon that got hit with Familicide, Rich has decided that joke was in poor taste and retired it.

6. Why didn't Roy sell the lame bag of animals and buy something better with the money? Probably because the idea of adventurer's marts where you can just buy whatever magical doodad you want is silly.

7. Why doesn't the team "Look the other way" or allow themselves to be led away while Haley and Belkar rob a town? well for starters, because "looking the other way" is as much against the moral codes of the people who would object (Roy and Durkon) as actively participating in the theft. Plus, it doesn't shield them from the consequences of having just robbed a town.


(Also, I thought Mitd WAS the darkness. That's the joke.)
Rich has stated that he knows what it is, that it is not something unique that he made up for the comic, and it could conceivably be guessed before the reveal. There is also a thread dedicated to figuring that out.

[Jay R]

Remember in panel #038, when that poison got Roy, and got him badly? He'd survive, he just couldn't move, so Belkar and Elan drew on him and around him. Later, Belkar says he'll see if he can get some of that poison off the trap...

It's a Checkov's Gun. Belkar did get some of that poison. And he will use it upon Vampire!Durkon, who will STILL be unable to fix it.

Chekov wrote that any element introduced in a play must be used in the play. That poison was introduced in a joke-a-day strip, and it was used for a joke.

Neither Chekov nor any other writer has said that all elements introduced as jokes have to become large plot elements, and even if they had, there's no evidence that Rich agrees.

[AvatarVecna]

1) Vampires are immune to poison.

2) Durkon is a dwarf cleric; that means he's got a higher-than-average Constitution, several levels worth of good base Fortitude save, and a racial +2 to saves vs poison (with an additional +2 if it's magic poison).

3) As a high-level cleric, I imagine that Durkon has Neutralize Poison prepared; even if he doesn't, Elan will.

4) The poison wasn't necessarily all that good to begin with. Sure, 17 doses managed to drain Roy's Strength to 0, but Roy has a lot of Strength and a good Fort save; depending on the DC of the poison, it's possible that Roy could've survived a few less doses (say, maybe even 10-15). This means that, on top of everything else, the poison isn't lethal in any way.

That means that, for that poison to be useful against Durkula, Belkar would've had to save it when past situations would've made this poison fun to use, it would have to somehow bypass undead immunity to poison, it would have to bypass Durkula's no-doubt ridiculous Fortitude save, and the Strength damage would have to be enough to reduce Durkula's Strength to 0. If any of that doesn't happen, Durkula is still capable of casting after being dosed with the poison, and the plan is therefore unsuccessful.

[martianmister]

Who is Checkov? This guy? It's funny because Chekov is an alternate spelling of Chekhov
http://i.imgur.com/IzRIc36.jpg

[Darth Paul]

That's Pavel Chekov. I think we're discussing Anton Chekhov.

(Damn, I had to look that up to make sure I was spelling it right.)

However, those are definitely Chekov's Guns. :smallcool::smallwink::smallsmile:

[MatrixStone93]

I thought this thread was going to be a serious one where everyone (Or most people) congratulated me for coming up with the right answer.

1. What level IS V, anyway?
2. Why didn't they try to bring back Nale for a teamup VS Tarquin.
3. Tarquin is a pun because it sounds like tarkin, tahkin, talking. Niuqrat sounds like neocrat, so he might have a good twin.
4. I got the secret Trigak pun. Gak gak gak!
5. Why didn't V use Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion on Xykon, Redcloak, That bigger black dragon that got hit with Familicide,
6. Why didn't Roy sell the lame bag of animals and buy something better with the money?
7. Why doesn't the team "Look the other way" or allow themselves to be led away while Haley and Belkar rob a town?
8. Why is Xykon so mean? I know he's evil and all, but srsly. Guys. He's mean.

(Also, I thought Mitd WAS the darkness. That's the joke.)

[littlebum2002]

I think this has become the most confusing thread.

[hopeful1212]

Who is Checkov? This guy? It's funny because Chekov is an alternate spelling of Chekhov

I must know... Did Chekov ever fire those guns?

[orrion]

I thought this thread was going to be a serious one where everyone (Or most people) congratulated me for coming up with the right answer.

Why are you posting this one again?

We can't really congratulate you on having the right answer when we don't know what the answer is. Moreover, we can't do that because it doesn't make sense what with vampires being immune to poison and no guarantee Durkon couldn't just cast Neutralize Poison right away in any case. So, you made a few errors likely due to a lack of DnD knowledge.


1. What level IS V, anyway?

Geekery thread has V at 16 right now, I think.



2. Why didn't they try to bring back Nale for a teamup VS Tarquin.

How? The whole point of Laurin using Disintegrate on Nale's corpse was to make it nearly impossible to resurrect him. They would need True Resurrection, and apart from the Order having no access to that spell there's the fact that the Giant doesn't like True Resurrection and so it's very unlikely he allows its use in the comic. Besides, there's no guarantee of Nale helping them and every indication that he'd be right back to trying to kill the Order again after (or even before) they fought Tarquin.



5. Why didn't V use Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion on Xykon, Redcloak, That bigger black dragon that got hit with Familicide,

'Cause V doesn't have that spell anymore. It was a one-off gag that the Giant now feels was inappropriate for the comic. It's not being used again.


6. Why didn't Roy sell the lame bag of animals and buy something better with the money?

That's like asking why the Giant gave him the bag instead of something better, and the answer is because the bag was funny and sometimes useful.


7. Why doesn't the team "Look the other way" or allow themselves to be led away while Haley and Belkar rob a town?

Haley is the Robin Hood type of robber by all accounts, which means she doesn't just rob indiscriminately. Belkar is more about killing than stealing. Roy and Elan and (the real) Durkon's characterization is such that they aren't the type to let such a thing happen. Aside from that.. what reason would there be for them to rob a town?


8. Why is Xykon so mean? I know he's evil and all, but srsly. Guys. He's mean.


He's an unrepentant evil maniac, that's why.

[Darth Paul]

I must know... Did Chekov ever fire those guns?

IIRC, he was out-drawn by the villain and gunned down like the dog he was. Wait, did I just type that? :smalleek:

But he got better.

[martianmister]

That's Pavel Chekov. I think we're discussing Anton Chekhov.

A. I thought we're discussing Checkov's gun.

B. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov_%28disambiguation%29

[MatrixStone93]

You know how some people use blue text to show sarcasm? We need a new one, one that shows when you are joking. Maybe pink, like Pinkie Pie's mane? In Neverwinter Nights, my character was a Human Wizard with Pinkie Pie as a diety. I think he'd have been more fun as a sorcerer.

[Darth Paul]

You know how some people use blue text to show sarcasm? We need a new one, one that shows when you are joking.

Assume that I am joking, when I'm responding to a picture of Walter Koenig with six-guns. Also, when I "correct" people's spelling of names that originally are from a different alphabet. (Example- Mao Tse-tung is also Mao Zedong, depending on which transliteration one subscribes to.) But "Chekhov's Gun" is the spelling used on TV Tropes, and the one which I stick with.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Well, they also use Chekov's Gun, but that's a different trope (and a joke, to boot).

You know, I think pink is actually a much better color for sarcasm than blue. One of the reasons why I choose not to color my sarcastic remarks is because there's no way anyone could agree on a color that best represents sarcasm.

[MatrixStone93]

Oh, I wasn't joking about the name being spelled wrong, that was auto correct.

[Lord Torath]

I thought this thread was going to be a serious one where everyone (Or most people) congratulated me for coming up with the right answer.Welcome to the forum. :smallamused: Where the idea you start a thread with has almost no bearing on how the thread turns out.