OOTS #1011 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Lord Raziere]

Whelp...

nothing ALIVE.

XYKON! YOUR CUE TO UNEXPECTEDLY SAVE THE DAY!

....please? :smalleek:

[Fridolin]

This doesn't look good - anybody cares to give an explanation what Antilife Shell is doing raw?

Edit: I just recognized 2 things - the little guy did not spill the vote of the demigods... and that it isnt really clear how the demigod priests are supposed to enter the voting chamber, thanks to the barrier?!

[FujinAkari]

Nothing Alive?

Its time for Intellegent Undead Miko to have her redemption!

[Iferus]

And once again, Roy is screwed for not having a ranged weapon.

[DataNinja]

I love the title of this one and the last strip put together. :smallbiggrin:

[Laurana]

Didn't see that coming. Now what? Can they penetrate the barrier with a thrown stake? I doubt it. As usual and even moreso, really looking forward to the next one.

I guess Durkon might be able to do something, if he gets out of his depressive stupor.

[Jon0113]

Anyone want to bet that belkar died, has been turned into some kind of undead (......somehow) and can therefore save the day like a lot of people believe?
......,.just me then

[Filippo]

Nothing alive can pass through it, no exeptions, no save,only spell resistance can bypass, defensive only (you cannot crush living beings between it and a wall).

EDIT: You can throw anything except living bullets in the barrier so not a problem for ranged type (Roy, get a bow already :P)

Time for vengeful ghost Belkar?

Anyway, thanks Giant! Hell of a start of a work day here (it's 9 am for me) and a new comic has just made my day better^^

[DarkDain]

Throwing his sword would seem too obvious... Maybe he'll use that scarf as a lasso! Or tie it to the hilt to swing his sword! Or just throw a shoe at him, those hurt too

[Hippie_Viking]

I absolutely love this fight, one of the best in the comic!

[Veya]

Strictly speaking, Roy's sword isn't alive (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks)...

[Kislath]

Well, okay... obviously someone who ISN'T alive is going to get in there with Durkula and clean his clock.

Belkar? One of the recently slain priests? Durkon himself? This should be interesting.

[Phexar]

This doesn't look good - anybody cares to give an explanation what Antilife Shell is doing raw?


You bring into being a mobile, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of most types of living creatures.

The effect hedges out animals, aberrations, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, oozes, plants, and vermin, but not constructs, elementals, outsiders, or undead.

This spell may be used only defensively, not aggressively. Forcing an abjuration barrier against creatures that the spell keeps at bay collapses the barrier.

Doesn't seem to say anything about weapons or any ranged attacks, but only constructs, elementals, outsiders and undead can go through the barrier, making Durkula invulnerable to Roy as long as he chills out within the shell. I'm suspecting Undead Belkar somehow maybe? But I don't know. I don't see any easy constructs, elementals or outsiders available for use.

[wkwkwkwk1]

I don't think the high priest has another spear to spare :smallbiggrin:

Oh, gods, the pun... :smallsigh:

[Yendor]

This looks like a job for...
Celia!

[ben-zayb]

Oh no! Then again, there are people who just wanted so badly for Team Evil to show up! still unlikely, though, unless Xykon wants to get toast.


I doubt that there will be a vampire Belkar, since we haven't seen him go through the vamping process, but being a bodyguard, that's the most logical solution now.

EDIT: Oh, and apparently Durkula isn't running out of Flamestrike slots any time soon.

[Kopmon]

Aha I knew you'd get your comic in sneakily in the late of night! Not this time, Giant!

Aside from my joy, it seems Durkula is bent on stalling this as long as he can. C'mon Demigods, your votes are key! Perhaps the Order will enter from the Airship? I don't know how well the defenses of the moot are but I also don't think they really have any reason to suspect anything is wrong.

Damn it, I'm stumped.

[HarbingerIV]

What about the high priest of Thor, when will he intervine? He recognized Durkons name earlier, as he pardoned him some 600 strips ago (but the messenger was killed on the way)

[shadowpriest]

Oh gosh. What now? Wait for the end of the spell, or hope for an undead Belkar to beat the c**p out of Durkula?

[Edric O]

So... is the HPoH dropping the act and no longer pretending to be Durkon? It sounds that way.

[sotanaht]

ctrl+f "throw"

At least I'm not the only one who thought of it.

[Zindaras]

There's two options:
1) This is a setup so that Roy can talk Durkula down from the ledge. Antilife Shell is clearly a spell designed to end the fight scene and go to more talking. I can't imagine it would happen but I think there's probably going to be a couple of comics about Roy and Durkon's friendship, explaining what just happened.
2) Considering its conspicuous loophole, creating an undead would be possible. Could be Belkar, but he's a bit too absent in my opinion. If he just walks in right now, it'd be a bit random.

[OrcinusDrake]

Time for another Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) skill check?

[shadowpriest]

Wait. Constructs, elementals, outsiders and undead can pass. Seems like the "Celia" theory isn't bad, too :)

[Coalhada]

A smart fighter always has a throwing knife in his boot.

[Deliverance]

Wait. Constructs, elementals, outsiders and undead can pass. Seems like the "Celia" theory isn't bad, too :)
Once again Roy is stymied by not bringing the adventurer's number one tool for solving difficult problems, a 10 foot pole.

[Neltharak]

Xy-kon ! Xy-kon ! Xy-kon ! Xy-kon ! Xy-kon !


Team Evil will save the day !

... Yes, i know it wont happen, let me hope !

[Ilerien]

Well, throwing the sword might work. Especially if it flashes with this fancy green energy again, though I find it highly unlikely.

[ricorum]

So, this is the part where a dead Belkar comes crashing through the ceiling, knocking into Durkon and killing him with blunt force trauma.
...right?

Or, Roy could... throw his sword through the barrier? Or a rock? How is this an obstacle again?

[Wonton]

Add another +1 to the "Xykon saves the day" pool. "Nothing alive can penetrate this shell" seemed oddly specific. Unless we know any other powerful undead that don't want the world to end?

Wait, I got it. Undead Death Knight Miko Miyazaki.

[facw]

Anyone want to bet that belkar died, has been turned into some kind of undead (......somehow) and can therefore save the day like a lot of people believe?
......,.just me then

Even if he's not dead, halflings are known for throwing things.

[Shining Wrath]

Free cake, the bane of dieting adventurers everywhere! Many a scale has been laid low ...

OK, I'm calling it before I read all the comments where someone else has called it. Undead Belkar, enter stage right.

[dmaxno]

If I read the SRD right, the anti-life shell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antilifeShell.htm) is a 10-ft sphere, so a weapon with a 10-ft reach would work. This means that...

It is time for Jimmy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) to save the day!

At the same time making the sacrifices of Geoff and Ivy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0942.html) worthwhile.
Go Polearm Emporium! Sell your first Halberd!

[DarkDain]

Starting to lean towards Belkar throwing stuff at him. Didnt show him die, maybe he tamed a eagle to save him, ranger stuff. Maybe that Protection from Evil pendant ? Throw that in his gob.

[AvatarVecna]

Here is the list of things that can happen.
Roy thinks fast and throws his sword; he's shown surprising skill at it before (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0164.html).
Roy takes out a ranged weapon he purchased for just such an occasion.
Roy holds his Bag of Tricks by the bottom, puts the opening of the bag on the other side, and dumps out the animal; BS happens with the combo of AoEs and extra-dimensional areas, and the spell drops because you can't force living creatures out of the area by casting the spell, and the spell drops.
Roy calls for Celia, and she comes in and gives Durkon a smackdown, because the destruction of the world is potentially more important than her morals.
Roy calls for Celia, and instead of fighting she out-loopholes Hel.
Undead Belkar arrives and begins kicking Durkula's ass.
Living Belkar drops the Amulet of Protection from Evil onto Durkon from above.
Haley shows up with a bow that can Sneak Attack undead (there's multiple ways to do this by RAW).
Vaarsuvius shows up and uses any number of wizard spells that they might have prepared specifically for no-selling the vampire cleric today.
Xykon emerges from the shadows where he's been enjoying some popcorn right up until Blueblade or whatever his name is got no-sell'd by Antilife Shell.
Miko returns from the dead in a blaze of glory, striking down the vampiric version of the member of OotS she trusted both the most often and the furthest.
MitD "ESCAPES" Durkula somewhere else.

Here's a list of things that can't happen:
A scene that's only a couple steps removed from a mustache-twirling villain monologuing to a helpless hero includes a line that's basically "nothing can stop my evil plans now" being spoken in the most condescending tone and under the most condescending circumstances, and the villain turns out to succeed.

[Don Ohnic]

I agree that Belkar throwing things (his new dagger) is most likely.

Another thought: Sabine might enter the shell too, I think.

[FlawedParadigm]

I dunno. We seem low on viable options here.

1) Xykon/Redcloak somehow randomly showing up (presumably for Redcloak to vote, despite his deity not being part of a pantheon) and them deciding to blow up Durkula...who is evil, at the least, and whom they probably don't even remember, instead of killing Roy, who they both have recently remembered as opposing them multiple times.

2) Celia the pacifist showing up and...talking? I dunno. She might be alright attacking undead.

3) The rapidly-turned-undead Belkar, using the powers of whatever random undead critter he became.

4) Someone causing some kind of structural damage, crushing Durkon's host out. Falling rubble isn't alive.

5) The randomly-present-even-though-Azure-City-was-on-another-continent-corpse-of-Miko? This is a theory?

6) Maybe Crystal Golem survived destruction miraculously and tracked the party hundreds of miles away to attack Durkula for no apparent reason?

7) V showing up through some cue; having seen Belkar go out the window, noises, lights, or something, and using, y'know, magic.

8) Nothing stops Durkula right now and he flees, becoming the arc villain for awhile.

Interesting side note; my first thought was the returning priest of Baldr was an illusion. It makes little sense that the demigod priests ignored all his *other* shouting to come running at "free cake." Funny, but at the least damages my suspension of disbelief. Actually kind of sounds like something Elan would have come up with...

ETA: Sabine? Hm. Slightly less impossible than some of the other theories. Somewhat lacking motive, perhaps, but she's not so well-detailed that a reasonable one based on something we didn't know of her before couldn't come up. Would make more sense if she were saving V, but still.

[Quild]

What, still no ranged weapon of your own, Roy? Maybe you can throw a summoned weasel at him.




Revenant Belkar ftw!

[Noodz]

Rich, you're awesome.

When Roy vs Durkula just began, armchair DMs began pouring in advice on how this fight would play out, seeking to leverage the arcane ways DND 3.5 could favor one "player" or another.

So not wanting to be left out, I immediately realized antilife shell is a core spell that is simply too effective to not use. I suggested the HPoH should just cast it on round one and there would be no fight for Roy to win. The abjuration is long on duration, no save, no magic resistance, and absolutely effective against anything that could conceivably oppose the HPoH. Sure, the HPoH would be unable to touch Roy too, but he does have the capability to be lethal at range.

When the HPoH did not cast antilife shell, I understood the story had to go somewhere, and forgot the idea about the HPoH simply wanting a pragmatic victory. We've all seen and enjoyed how the HPoH tried and failed at crushing Roy's spirit. It's healthy for the plot and it's awesome to look at.

And now, after a dramatic battle, after an awesome reveal, you take an ace out of your sleeve and show us that yes, you DO read our armchair analysis, and you do consider how a proficient magic user should be as familiar with the arcane ways of his own spell list as we are all competent on the best way to use our opposable thumbs. As befits a probably centenarian character with a wisdom of 20+

Bravo Rich. Bravo for repeatedly showing us that a gripping plot can survive surprising doses of meta game thinking.

[Dracon1us]

Anyone want to bet that belkar died, has been turned into some kind of undead (......somehow) and can therefore save the day like a lot of people believe?
......,.just me then


I second that!

[Eno Remnant]

For those vetting undead Belkar--which I should add makes total sense, since Belkar is expected to "breathe his last" before the strip is over, and this would be a great way to keep a fan favourite in the game--he'll either be a ghost, or something from Frostburn (he fell into snow-peaked cliffs. It there's snow around, it's almost always from Frostburn. Or the Bleakborn from Libris Mortis. But that wouldn't work in this situation, so Frostburn).

For those vetting Celia, she didn't really leave a way to get in contact with her the second time around (just went back and checked), unless it was off-screen. Whether she did or not, it'd be a deus ex machina, which the Giant tends to avoid unless he's lampshading it, and now doesn't seem like an appropriate time for that.

I think it may come down to the demigods. Or something insufferably clever that we haven't thought of (wouldn't be the first time).

Also, for anyone who might entertain more eccentric ideas--like V raising Roy as an intelligent undead (totally did that for a moment)--remember that V banned necromancy and conjuration, and that Haley probably wouldn't have bought any necromancy wands, for moral reasons. I won't even start on Miko and Xykon theories, for the same reason Celia is out.

In related business, your abrupt no-sell on the battle has raised my dander, Giant. Bless you for a rabble rouser.

[dtilque]

What about the high priest of Thor, when will he intervine? He recognized Durkons name earlier, as he pardoned him some 600 strips ago (but the messenger was killed on the way)

The current HP of Thor is female



Wait. Constructs, elementals, outsiders and undead can pass. Seems like the "Celia" theory isn't bad, too :)

I was going to suggest Sabine, although someone else beat me to it. Niether are really likely to appear, though.



Or, Roy could... throw his sword through the barrier? Or a rock? How is this an obstacle again?

There are bits of stonework loose where Durkula hit the pillar. But those are limited in number. Perhaps he'll make more by hitting it with his sword. Or use Knowledge(archiecture) to collapse the entire pillar on him. The problem with that is that it looks like a load-bearing pillar, so it might collapse the building.

Hmmm... collapsing the building might end the moot prematurely with the vote tied. That may be Roy's best move.


ETA: What does Durkevil mean by "the next phase" in panel 5? Something where having Roy around would not be good for his plan. Any ideas?

[phobiandarkmoon]

Also, remember that the rules forbid the other priests intervening ONLY against a priest's own bodyguards (i.e. Roy and Belkar) - Haley and/or V would get blasted out of existence if they tried to intervene

[AvatarVecna]

The current HP of Thor is female




I was going to suggest Sabine, although someone else beat me to it. Niether are really likely to appear, though.



There are bits of stonework loose where Durkula hit the pillar. But those are limited in number. Perhaps he'll make more by hitting it with his sword. Or use Knowledge(archiecture) to collapse the entire pillar on him. The problem with that is that it looks like a load-bearing pillar, so it might collapse the building.

Hmmm... collapsing the building might end the moot prematurely with the vote tied. That may be Roy's best move.

I feel your signature is amusingly appropriate.

[schmunzel]

Here is the list of things that can happen.
...
Living Belkar drops the Amulet of Protection from Evil onto Durkon from above.
...



The Mechane always (!) arrives in the Nick of time. When could the need (and the Nick) have been more dire ???


sch

[Filippo]

I don't see any easy constructs, elementals or outsiders available for use.

Missed the Outsider exeption! Opens up interesting scenarious! So, for Belkar fans "Sexy etc God of War" or "Vengeful Ghostlkar" or "FireBerkstarter" or "Robo-copKiller"

Or "something completely different" :smallbiggrin:

[Roc Ness]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet what with all the V or Sabine theories flying around, but perhaps now is a great time for the three fiends to cash in 3 minutes of V's soul...?

[dtilque]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet what with all the V or Sabine theories flying around, but perhaps now is a great time for the three fiends to cash in 3 minutes of V's soul...?

V's not doing anything currently, so what would that do?

[Quild]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet what with all the V or Sabine theories flying around, but perhaps now is a great time for the three fiends to cash in 3 minutes of V's soul...?

You do realize that the effect of this would be that V's body, who's on the mechane, would be inanimate during 3 minutes?
Hardly helpful.

Add to this that the (happy) three fiends likely wants the world to be destroyed.

[Roc Ness]

You do realize that the effect of this would be that V's body, who's on the mechane, would be inanimate during 3 minutes?
Hardly helpful.

Add to this that the (happy) three fiends likely wants the world to be destroyed.

Ah, of course. I have sadly forgotten that that was the extent of the possession.

[WindStruck]

Man, I knew Roy needed to keep his attack going!

Now let's see the options. Undead Belkar coming to save the day is just ludicrous. As is Celia, since anything Durkula throws at her means she's toast. Xykon and company popping in also makes no sense. They're off after Kragor's gate.

So the way I see this going, Roy probably will and up throwing his sword through the barrier in spectacular green glowiness. Or perhaps he'll think of some other improvised way to do it like hurling a boulder which pushes Durkula out.

Or maybe something flashy? I'd love if the Mechane could somehow crash through the ceiling. Noticing how Hel's Might was dismissed right after Durkula got hit, it makes me wonder if it also dispelled Durkula's other buffs... such as protection from sunlight.

[Caesar]

The 3 fiends very likely don't want the world to end, as it ruins all of their LE plans and profit, not to mention their own existence. They are also probably watching to see how the game progresses with the gates, which they have a vested interest in. I would say thats a high chance that they intervene, likely by using Belkar.

[War-Wren]

Undead Belkar? Really??

People would be happy to see undead Belkar turn up, and there would be no cries of "Deus Ex Belkar!" in no way shape or form... :smalltongue:

I'm in the camp of three options;

> Roy throws pointy stick (possibly HP of Odin's) at undead abomination
> Roy uses his smarts to drop heavy masonry on HPoH
> Belkar does arrive, not dead or undead (possibly being carried by V, who saved him from falling), and begins to throw sharp pointy metal at HPoH (probably whilst chewing Roy out in a 'Tim the Enchanter' kind of way - "I warned ya! Didn't I warn ya? Oh no, he's just Durkon but different! Idiot!"

I see this fight as character growth for Roy, so I would prefer he finish this himself. Though it also makes good sense to let HPoH get away somehow, to cause havoc in his homeland, whilst swearing to get them, and their little dog too. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0021.html)

I can't see Xykon and Redcloak turning up. It makes no sense, narratively... not that I can see. The last we saw them they were heading for the Kragor's (sp?) gate, and I can't see them detouring (even by teleport) to get involved in this. If they were going to be there as a representative they would have arrived quite a few strips ago.

The process has already had it's 'Not quite yet!' moment, with HPoH making his surprise announcement. For Redcloak to do it again, now that all the votes have been cast, and the demi-god priests are doing their thing, would possibly seem a bit redundant.

[Spore]

How has no one thought of Haley bringing Crystal? I don't think Haley has the patience to wait for Roy to return.

[Wildroses]

I couldn't help wondering if this strip was a callback to the one where Elan evacuated the inn of all patrons before it blew up by offering people free pudding.

I'm going to hope the demi-priests refuse to come in because they realise before crossing the barrier that Baldr's priest was lying about free cake.

Also, has there been much speculation as to what happens if the demi-priests don't break the tie? What do the Gods do if their vote on destroying the world stays a tie?

[War-Wren]

How has no one thought of Haley bringing Crystal? I don't think Haley has the patience to wait for Roy to return.

Crystal's dead, T2 syle (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0981.html)
Or are you referring to a different crystal?

[Lanrezac]

Would the archfiends that bought the use of Vaarsuvius' soul have any ability to intervene, via either Vaasuvius or their agent Sabine? Does their "plasma TV" allow them to watch the proceedings at the Godsmoot?

[Idiotic_Bird]

What about the guy that looks like an undead in #994? Is he undead? Can he like, you know, go bash HPoH???
Kind of far fetched, really. I'm still sticking to sword throwing, but that seems a little too obvious. :smallconfused:

[Jankmaster98]

My thought was that Roy would try and plead with Durkon, real Durkon to try and do something from inside.

:roy: Durkon, if you're still kicking around in that body of yours no would be the time to do something!

If that was the case The best or most I could see Durkon doing is breaking out of his Heroic BSOD and making the HPoH walk outside of the shell if what I understand about the shield is correct. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.

[zottel]

Great Work. Actually I was hoping that it is not Roy who wins this fight. My bet is still with Durkon winning over Durkula somehow...

Lets see how...

Best

[Idiotic_Bird]

How has no one thought of Haley bringing Crystal? I don't think Haley has the patience to wait for Roy to return.

Crystal's dead. Haley killed her in #981. Drowned/burninated in lava. More dead than Malack.:smallwink:

[Quebbster]

Would the archfiends that bought the use of Vaarsuvius' soul have any ability to intervene, via either Vaasuvius or their agent Sabine? Does their "plasma TV" allow them to watch the proceedings at the Godsmoot?

No, they cannot affect the mortal plane directly. That's qhy they need to rely on imps like Qarr to advance their plots on the mortal plane.

I have to admit I winced when I saw the thread title. Definitely going to be interesting to see what happens.
I have to point out that the High Priestess of Hodor is nearby and has a ceremonial staff if a weapon with some reach is needed...

[Diadem]

My vote goes to Roy applying his 'knowledge (architecture)'. Especially with the possibility of Durkula's protection from sunlight being dispelled, that is an interesting option.

[ti'esar]

Wow, so much to ponder so late at night. "The next phase?" And what does it mean that the barrier has gone down so suddenly, and the demigod priests appear on their way without any drama?

If I wasn't absolutely convinced that the Giant has no intention of subverting Belkar's prophecy, I'd wonder if maybe his vengeful ghost is what's going to manage to get through the Antilife Shell.

[Windscion]

The only way anyone not already present can help is by catching Belkar and delivering him to the scene. Anyone else will face the wrath of the assorted HPs (and possibly their gods). At that point, it makes no difference whether that person is V or Sabine. Except that Sabine doing so would reveal more about the IFCC's actions than they probably want, of course.

If Belkar does come back as an undead, my limited knowledge suggests a revenant, a self-willed and self-raised spirit intent on vengeance. Even then, by what I recall, if Revenant!Belkar succeeded in offing Durkula it would then dissipate.

More satisfying answer: the church of Marduk cannot be held resposible if the HPoH happens to be standing under some falling masonry :smallsmile:. However, I see no way for Wrecan to cave in the roof :smallfrown:. But it would be another Durkula shoots self in own foot, which would be satisfying.

[Atomburster]

Ahem. Antilife Shell specifies a 10 ft radius.

Could Roy JUMP INTO THE SHELL?

Or sunder the ground?

[Aasimar]

Ok, crazy theories aside, there are exactly four things I can reasonably see happening here.

1. Roy manages to win somehow, on his own strengths. Like someone said, by throwing something or using the environment against the vampire. I think this is relatively unlikely, but well within reason.

2. Durkon somehow influences the fight or tricks the vampire. I think this is likely to happen at some point, but the stage isn't yet set for it.

3. The High Priest of Hel is foiled and forced to escape, either because the demigods failed to vote as he hoped (or someone has killed a lot of them, like say, Belkar) or for some other reason, the world isn't destroyed, but neither is the High Priest of Hel. He remains a major threat throughout the book, perhaps going to dwarven lands to create more vampires or spread disease or otherwise gather souls for his Mistress, but is ultimately defeated by Durkon outsmarting him at some crucial point. I think this is the most likely option. There's been a lot of foreshadowing about him bringing Death and Destruction to Dwarven lands, and we've recently been seeing a lot of dwarven backstory that I think would be more dramatically appropriate if we're about to see some action there and see what these dwarfs are like today. I think Durkon MAY snap out of his funk if the vampire threatens his mother, for instance.

4. Something Rich is clever enough to think of, but we're not.

[Silferdrake]

Ominous... I wonder what the next phase is. My bet is that this fight is far from over.

[dtilque]

Wow, so much to ponder so late at night. "The next phase?"

I asked the same question. Possibly the next phase, if needed (i.e. the vote fails), is for Durkula to destroy the last gate, thus forcing the gods to destroy the world anyway. Roy would be a hinderance to that, so Durkula would like to eliminate him here.



And what does it mean that the barrier has gone down so suddenly, and the demigod priests appear on their way without any drama?

No one said the barrier has gone down. Most likely the demigods' HPs can cross it inward because they are authorized to be there.

[stupidlazybum]

Undead Belkar seems like the natural answer, but how to bring that about in a plausible manner with an explanation that satisfies audiences?

The only explanation I'd feel somewhat satisfied with is if the oracle, who has a stake in the world not being destroyed, foresaw this turn of events and had made an appointment for some mages to teleport to the base of the mountain where Belkar perished, raise him as an intelligent undead, and then teleport him into the godsmoot to thrash Durkula.

It's convoluted buut...it's about the only explanation I'd accept for an undead Belkar to suddenly appear.

[Quartz]

Roy needs a polearm; the spear of the High Priest of Odin is still sticking in a nearby wall.

[Zwiebelchen]

Roy holds his Bag of Tricks by the bottom, puts the opening of the bag on the other side, and dumps out the animal; BS happens with the combo of AoEs and extra-dimensional areas, and the spell drops because you can't force living creatures out of the area by casting the spell, and the spell drops.
This is like the most absurd creative out-of-the-box solution imaginable.

Let me guess: your GMs hated you, right?

[Wayson]

Undead Belkar seems like the natural answer, but how to bring that about in a plausible manner with an explanation that satisfies audiences?

The only explanation I'd feel somewhat satisfied with is if the oracle, who has a stake in the world not being destroyed, foresaw this turn of events and had made an appointment for some mages to teleport to the base of the mountain where Belkar perished, raise him as an intelligent undead, and then teleport him into the godsmoot to thrash Durkula.

It's convoluted buut...it's about the only explanation I'd accept for an undead Belkar to suddenly appear.

I never thought I would be hoping for Xykon to show up. And yet, here I am.

In an effort to try and logic how/why he would show up, the only thing I can think of is Redcloak manipulating him into showing up for ??? reasons. Possibly because Redcloak needs a ride there in order to cast the vote for the Dark One? It would be a complete deus ex machina to have this happen, but no more so than Undead Belkar would be.

[Dammann]

Maybe Belkar drops in from above, cutting his own throat just before he hits the AoE of Durkula's spell.

[Eireannx]

Also, remember that the rules forbid the other priests intervening ONLY against a priest's own bodyguards (i.e. Roy and Belkar) - Haley and/or V would get blasted out of existence if they tried to intervene

Why? That's not how the rules work.

Members of a delegation who attack another delegation are under immediate sanction. But just as the rules don't hold for delegates attacking their own delegation, we also don't have any explicit 'third parties' rules. The guards outside were meant to keep out non-delegates.

So you now end up with the opposite of before. If priests who favour Durkon intervene to take out the newcomers then priests who favour Roy could intervene to help them. So yet again under that logic they will all sit out and let nature take its course.

Just as if Belkar came in through a window, how many of the delegations actually know Belkar is of Durkon's delegation? None who didn't travel on the Machane have actually seen him, so would he be under immediate sanction too?

[obaryb]

Hey, I know two characters who may eagerly go after the cake:

the High Priest of Banjo,
the Sexy Shoeless God of War.

[Arancaytar]

An Enemy Mine moment with Xykon seems dramatically appropriate. He doesn't want the world to end either.

The only trouble is logistics - he has no idea the whole thing is even happening, because he's presumably in the middle of Kraagor's dungeon right now, trying to get inside and control the gate.

Of course, he doesn't realize that the spell won't be under his control, but under the control of the Dark One, who wants to use it to extort the existing pantheons... woah! I wonder if the gods might be blackmailed into not destroying the world.

(I don't think that's how it'll play out though, because if the goblins actually get that kind of power, they won't stop there.)

[Wonton]

Here is the list of things that can happen.
Roy thinks fast and throws his sword; he's shown surprising skill at it before (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0164.html).
Roy takes out a ranged weapon he purchased for just such an occasion.
Roy holds his Bag of Tricks by the bottom, puts the opening of the bag on the other side, and dumps out the animal; BS happens with the combo of AoEs and extra-dimensional areas, and the spell drops because you can't force living creatures out of the area by casting the spell, and the spell drops.
Roy calls for Celia, and she comes in and gives Durkon a smackdown, because the destruction of the world is potentially more important than her morals.
Roy calls for Celia, and instead of fighting she out-loopholes Hel.
Undead Belkar arrives and begins kicking Durkula's ass.
Living Belkar drops the Amulet of Protection from Evil onto Durkon from above.
Haley shows up with a bow that can Sneak Attack undead (there's multiple ways to do this by RAW).
Vaarsuvius shows up and uses any number of wizard spells that they might have prepared specifically for no-selling the vampire cleric today.
Xykon emerges from the shadows where he's been enjoying some popcorn right up until Blueblade or whatever his name is got no-sell'd by Antilife Shell.
Miko returns from the dead in a blaze of glory, striking down the vampiric version of the member of OotS she trusted both the most often and the furthest.
MitD "ESCAPES" Durkula somewhere else.

Here's a list of things that can't happen:
A scene that's only a couple steps removed from a mustache-twirling villain monologuing to a helpless hero includes a line that's basically "nothing can stop my evil plans now" being spoken in the most condescending tone and under the most condescending circumstances, and the villain turns out to succeed.

Hah! Loved the bit at the end. :smallbiggrin:

[Quantum Glass]

Roy's baby brother!

...Too soon?

[Lordchoculla]

New comic is up.

Argh! Red frustration! Wonder if Belkar is dead?

Thanks, mr. Giant, and all the best wishes from Denmark.

[Wonton]

Crystal's dead. Haley killed her in #981. Drowned/burninated in lava. More dead than Malack.:smallwink:

Check that comic out, by the way... Page 2, Panel 5: "I'm in a really good place right now, assuming the world doesn't get devoured next week."

Rich, you sly dog. That was foreshadowing and none of us even knew! :smallamused:

[Quebbster]

I never thought I would be hoping for Xykon to show up. And yet, here I am.

In an effort to try and logic how/why he would show up, the only thing I can think of is Redcloak manipulating him into showing up for ??? reasons. Possibly because Redcloak needs a ride there in order to cast the vote for the Dark One? It would be a complete deus ex machina to have this happen, but no more so than Undead Belkar would be.
The Dark One is not part of the Northern Pantheon.

[Lordchoculla]

This is like the most absurd creative out-of-the-box solution imaginable.

Let me guess: your GMs hated you, right?

Hope for the rhino, then, eh?!:smallsmile:

[Lordchoculla]

Great Work. Actually I was hoping that it is not Roy who wins this fight. My bet is still with Durkon winning over Durkula somehow...

Lets see how...

Best

.... hmm... well, Durkon IS in fact dead. So maybe...?

[Zwiebelchen]

Check that comic out, by the way... Page 2, Panel 5: "I'm in a really good place right now, assuming the world doesn't get devoured next week."

Rich, you sly dog. That was foreshadowing and none of us even knew! :smallamused:
Good foreshadowing, yes, but it would be bad writing, as Crystal belongs to Haley's plot, not Durkon's or Roy's.

Whatever the solution is, it *must* come from Durkon, Roy or Belkar as these are the only characters involved in the HpoH arc. Everything else would be Deus ex Machina.

[Veya]

What about the guy that looks like an undead in #994? Is he undead? Can he like, you know, go bash HPoH???
Kind of far fetched, really. I'm still sticking to sword throwing, but that seems a little too obvious. :smallconfused:
I am pretty sure that the big guy with the warhammer is supposed to be a Goliath, not any kind of undead.

[dmaxno]

Ominous... I wonder what the next phase is. My bet is that this fight is far from over.

I agree. This foreshadowing means there will be another phase we see. Also, Durkon is supposed to bring death to dwarven lands. If the vote is does not destroy the World, then the HPoH still will be able to bring death and destruction to dwarven lands which may be that next phase.

In terms of actions Roy can take: There are rocks in panel 7. As I read the SRD he can throw rocks (see 2nd paragraph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#sling)) for a minimum of 1D3+7 damage each at a 10ft increment with a -1 penalty. Sadly the HPoH can probably heal at that rate too, since not every rock will hit.
I do not think Roy can collapse the building, as that would be an attack not just on Durkula but on all the priests. This is different from the balcony since it was Wrecan getting close to the fight. (arguable, I know, but that is my opinion). I consider collapsing the building (which is hard) is equivalent to area spells, which the HPoH did not use.
Also, neither Celia nor Sabine can help as they would be blasted on the spot by all those priests, or simply dismissed. The same applies to Xykon.
Considering Belkar's hatred for the undead, I think it is not possible he comes as undead.

Only Roy and Belkar can stop Durkula. Perhaps Durkon may have a way of interfering. Anyone else will be blasted. Hopefully they can get enough damage with thrown weapons together. I am just going to sit tight and try to wait for the next strip. This is intense.

[AvatarVecna]

So the way I see this going, Roy probably will and up throwing his sword through the barrier in spectacular green glowiness. Or perhaps he'll think of some other improvised way to do it like hurling a boulder which pushes Durkula out.

Just wanted to mention that this won't work; the spell is an emanation, so it stays centered on the caster for its duration. No matter how Durkula is moved during the rest of this fight, he'll be inside that spell until it ends.


This is like the most absurd creative out-of-the-box solution imaginable.

Let me guess: your GMs hated you, right?

No they didn't, but that's because I knew better than to pull BS like this within book-throwing range. For the record, I don't think that's what's actually going to happen here, it's just a possibility (since even 3.5 doesn't have rules covering the wielding of extradimensional sacks full of squirrels to swing through an Antilife Shell); I wouldn't even normally consider it a possibility, except the Giant had Belkar complaining fairly often about the possible consequences of mixing range-based magic with extradimensional spaces (when they were carting around Roy's body). It was probably just the Giant giving a reason why Roy's corpse wasn't being kept in an extradimensional space, so that it would make sense for Celia to "steal" the body from Haley if Haley's not carrying it in her pocket...but this is the Giant we're talking about; if my theory about this particular magic item ends up being correct, I'll be surprised for a second, and then I'll start applauding wildly, because that would've been truly awesome foreshadowing.

It's not gonna happen, though, because it's almost definitely a cheap solution; I nearly added the phrase "Roy thinks fast and bull-****ty by..." to the beginning of that, it's that terrible.


Hah! Loved the bit at the end. :smallbiggrin:

I aim to please. There's a lot of things that can happen here (Roy saving the day, or Belkar, or Haley, or Vaarsuvius, or Banjo, or Xykon, or even Miko), but what cannot happen here is the villain trumpeting his inevitable victory...and he wins. No, something's going to screw up his day, there is no way a line like that can be allowed to pass un-karma'd.


Hope for the rhino, then, eh?!:smallsmile:

Assuming that absolute BS rules-lawyering "solution" would work, even a squirrel would do the trick, because the Antilife Shell spell can't force the creature out, and attempting to do so would cause the spell to fail. This is why Durkula can't just back Roy into a corner with that thing and crush him between the wall and the spell.

[Vinyadan]

Pity for the lack of benches. But there's still some big rock.

Seriously, when throwable clerics turn useless, you understand that destiny's plotting against you like a label plotter.

[sabremeister]

Gah, Roy! All you needed to do was punt the Halfling out of the way. That would have given every priest there an excuse to toast you with AoE spells - and because you wouldn't have stopped running you would have been in melee range with Durkula before they could cast, both of you would be dead!

(Admittedly that's not ideal, but two people dead is better than whole world destroyed, right?)

[gorocz]

Crystal's dead, T2 syle (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0981.html)
Or are you referring to a different crystal?

Is she though? We don't see her actually die. We see her submerge under lava and she is still talking even under it...

Don't constructs/golem have some inherent elemental damage resistance? Maybe she survived and just took some time to tunnel herself from the volcano...

Edit: It's funny coincidence that the Not Quite Dead (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotQuiteDead) page on TV Tropes has a character coming back from a fall into a volcano as a page example, but I think Rich doesn't frequent that site...

Anyway, I think we might see Crystal again, although now would not be a good time story-wise, since what the Hel would Crystal be doing attacking Durkula...

[Kareasint]

Whatever the solution is, it *must* come from Durkon, Roy or Belkar as these are the only characters involved in the HpoH arc. Everything else would be Deus ex Machina.

Belkar still has a role to play here. I still feel that he has had time to come up with ways to fight a vampire and counter its abilities. That Antilife Shell spell is very difficult to get around though. As long as HPoH does not move, he cannot drop the shell by accident (forcing a living creature into the shell causes it to drop). If the HPoH moves, the possibility that Belkar and Roy can team up to force the shell into one of them is created. This or a thrown weapon seems to be the only options that I can see at this point that avoid a D ex M.

[Schadrach]

Throwing his sword would seem too obvious... Maybe he'll use that scarf as a lasso! Or tie it to the hilt to swing his sword! Or just throw a shoe at him, those hurt too

I'm sure Roy can find a way to end him rightly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jETLCm7k3sU)...

[Vinyadan]

Is she though? We don't see her actually die. We see her submerge under lava and she is still talking even under it...

Don't constructs/golem have some inherent elemental damage resistance? Maybe she survived and just took some time to tunnel herself from the volcano...

That looked like a Terminator 2 reference to me.

[Wonton]

Is she though? We don't see her actually die. We see her submerge under lava and she is still talking even under it...

Don't constructs/golem have some inherent elemental damage resistance? Maybe she survived and just took some time to tunnel herself from the volcano...

I mean, being submerged in lava deals 20d6 fire damage per round with no save. Pretty sure there's no way she survived that. In fact, that whole storyline almost seems like a quick case of "let's just take care of that loose end real quick" by Rich. No one cares about Crystal or Bozzok, so re-introduce them for 10 pages, have them both die, and then get back to storylines that involve the world ending. :smalltongue:

[AvatarVecna]

Is she though? We don't see her actually die. We see her submerge under lava and she is still talking even under it...

Don't constructs/golem have some inherent elemental damage resistance? Maybe she survived and just took some time to tunnel herself from the volcano...

Edit: It's funny coincidence that the Not Quite Dead (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotQuiteDead) page on TV Tropes has a character coming back from a fall into a volcano as a page example, but I think Rich doesn't frequent that site...

Anyway, I think we might see Crystal again, although now would not be a good time story-wise, since what the Hel would Crystal be doing attacking Durkula...

I think there's actually a forum quote of him saying at some point that he doesn't base his plots off of TvTropes stuff. Of course, it's possible he'd pull that "Not Quite Dead" trick anyway (he's already directly invoked it once with Thog, via Tarquin), so it's possible he'll do it here as well, with Crystal returning at some point. I think her part in this story is over though; the arc between Haley and Crystal seems finished...and as Belkar said back when he fought Crystal: Haley's already got a nemesis, and she's a lot hotter than Crystal. Crystal was one of the last obstacles Haley had to overcome to finally truly cut herself off from the Thieves Guild; with Crystal and the boss both dead, the eventual power vacuum will ensure that Haley's role is forgotten in the fight for the throne...and Haley gets to move on, both emotionally and plot-wise.

Crystal's story got to end; her end was a result of the choices she made (in who to trust), and her choices killed her in the end, twice. But Sabine's story isn't over yet; she still has to get revenge for Nale, at least.

[War-Wren]

I mean, being submerged in lava deals 20d6 fire damage per round with no save. Pretty sure there's no way she survived that. In fact, that whole storyline almost seems like a quick case of "let's just take care of that loose end real quick" by Rich. No one cares about Crystal or Bozzok, so re-introduce them for 10 pages, have them both die, and then get back to storylines that involve the world ending. :smalltongue:

^ This! :smallbiggrin: It was short, succint, and suitably action packed to give the pair a thorough send off. Stick a fork in Crystal, she's toast! :smallcool:

[Bulldog Psion]

To those wondering what Lurky Corpsewhiskers means when he says "I was still hoping to knock Roy off the board in case we needed the next phase" ...

My immediate thought, for what that's worth, was that he's referring to the vampirized Creed of Stone. The Undead Stoners (heh) are a Chekhov's Gun that absolutely has to go off noisily and messily sometime. I assume that his plan is to either swarm the priests with them, if he has a lot of them, or attack the Mechane with them and take it over so that he can go destroy the last gate manually if the vote fails.

Regarding the anti-life shell ...

My immediate thought on THIS topic, for what it's worth, was "undead Belkar." Mind you, I've never thought he would become an undead -- nor did I think he would wiggle out of his prophecy in any way, shape, or form. I've always firmly believed he'll die, permanently, definitely, and finally, no exceptions, no loopholes, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

But the thought of him striding in the door with some comment to the effect of "now, now, let's not be hasty" and a red glow in his eyes did occur to me as the very first thought in response to this.

Now, this is totally implausible even to me, but it did pop into my mind like in the split second that I saw "anti-life shell." :smallbiggrin:

The biggest issue is, how would he go undead?

About the best scenario I can come up with is that he limps in, gets a quick explanation from Roy; Roy kills him, and one of the priests raises him as a free-willed undead. The Death-Belk makes some kind of last quip and charges through the barrier, where he and Lurky kill each other.

I doubt it will happen, but I do suspect Death's Lil Helper will show up very soon, if only to direct a few snarky :belkar: "I told you so"s at Roy.

[Liberivore]

I've said it before but the only way this can end is with the world intact and Durkon still a vampire and probably loose. It's the only way to combine "happy ending for Elan" and "shall bring death and destruction to us all".

So I'm not expecting an undead Belkar just yet. Intervening with the votes of the demigods? Likely.
And while it would be a tad anti-climatic to do so, Roy just needs to kill one of the priests and then gtfo of there.

[Schadrach]

It's convoluted buut...it's about the only explanation I'd accept for an undead Belkar to suddenly appear.

Why? There are several forms of self-raised undead. Usually ones that are pissed off about how they died. Ghost/poltergeist/revenant/whatever-I'm-not-thinking-of-offhand Belkar could reasonably be a thing. Revenants are even specifically created by sheer hatred of their murderer causing them to transcend death for revenge.

In most cases destroying HPoH/resurrecting Durkon would also end living-impaired Belkar, as such a Belkar would literally exist because HPoH getting away with his murder is keeping him from moving on to a proper afterlife.

[Zwiebelchen]

Belkar still has a role to play here. I still feel that he has had time to come up with ways to fight a vampire and counter its abilities. That Antilife Shell spell is very difficult to get around though. As long as HPoH does not move, he cannot drop the shell by accident (forcing a living creature into the shell causes it to drop). If the HPoH moves, the possibility that Belkar and Roy can team up to force the shell into one of them is created. This or a thrown weapon seems to be the only options that I can see at this point that avoid a D ex M.
Let's just say at this point that the anti-life shell spell is bull**** anyway, for the simple reason that it is quite literally impossible not to trap something living inside, even if it is just a small insect lurking beneath the stones.

[AbyssStalker]

I know this has probably been said but...

ROY. THROW. YOUR. SWORD.

(Preferably get very angry first)

[Nightcanon]

Hmm, tricky.
From Roy's face in the last panel, it feels like what should happen next is Roy throws his sword through the anti-life shell, probably in a 'double hander, over the head, down on one knee Last of the Mohicans' kind of a way, impaling Durkula and pinning him to a pillar, which then collapses and crushes any remaining HP out of him.
Other 'fight ends now' options: the return of the Belkster and his amazing throwing daggers (the last of which is a stake), having been rescued in the nick of time by the Mechane or Bugsby's Halfling-retrieving hand; Roy borrows another spear and stakes Durkula with the shaft; the Mechane arrives having rescued Belkar, who has spent the last few rounds explaining things to the rest of the team. Elan is now singing "shoot, shoot, shoot the enchanted wooden ballista bolt into the vampire's heart".
If we don't get a 'one last throw of the dice' immediate resolution from Roy, though, I suspect we'll get some more of Durkon's internal dialogue, with Durkon managing to land a few blows against his tormentor.

[Bulldog Psion]

Why? There are several forms of self-raised undead. Usually ones that are pissed off about how they died. Ghost/poltergeist/revenant/whatever-I'm-not-thinking-of-offhand Belkar could reasonably be a thing. Revenants are even specifically created by sheer hatred of their murderer causing them to transcend death for revenge.

In most cases destroying HPoH/resurrecting Durkon would also end living-impaired Belkar, as such a Belkar would literally exist because HPoH getting away with his murder is keeping him from moving on to a proper afterlife.

True; plus, as I noted:

1. Belkar limps in.

2. Roy explains the situation, they confer briefly.

3. Roy kills Belkar.

4. A priest raises Belkar as a free-willed undead.

5. Belkar attacks.

I doubt it will happen, but it is a way Undead Belkar could make an appearance.

[Kantaki]

My first thought regarding the anti-life shell was: Mhmm, Who is nearby, able to attack Durkula and might qualify as "not alive" thanks to Durkula testing the quality of the Windows with him? Maybe Belkar?
While that is unlkely Durkula's emphasis that nothing living can enter the effect makes me expect that he isn't as safe inside as he thinks.

How exactly does the spell work? What woud happen to Belkar if he jumps into the affected area from above? Time to put that ring of jumping to use again.

[Bulldog Psion]

How exactly does the spell work? What woud happen to Belkar if he jumps into the affected area from above? Time to put that ring of jumping to use again.

Only if the caster aggressively forces the barrier against a living creature does it drop.

Since Belkar jumping on top of it does not constitute Lurky forcing it aggressively against him, I'd assume it won't collapse and he'd just slide off, looking mad.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Okay, so the alive bit has to be important...I'm honestly in the thrown weapon camp.

[Ward.]

Time to use that ass backwards knowledge of construction and drop a wall onto durkula.

[Zombimode]

If I read the SRD right, the anti-life shell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antilifeShell.htm) is a 10-ft sphere, so a weapon with a 10-ft reach would work. This means that...

Actually, a reach weapon would not be enough. A 10 ft. emanation extends 10 ft. in all directions from your square. That means the sphere has a radius more close to 12,5 ft. and for all intents and purposes Durkon is 15 ft. away form Roy.

[super dark33]

Yellow means..... put the pedal in the metal?

[Nightcanon]

That Antilife Shell spell is very difficult to get around though. As long as HPoH does not move, he cannot drop the shell by accident (forcing a living creature into the shell causes it to drop). If the HPoH moves, the possibility that Belkar and Roy can team up to force the shell into one of them is created. This or a thrown weapon seems to be the only options that I can see at this point that avoid a D ex M.
If the shell is centred on Durkula, it offers a pretty effective way of pinning him in place with only 3 living things, or 2 plus a wall. Between them, Roy, Vel and Wrecan ("just standing here watching, man, totally a thing I'm allowed to do") can make it impossible for Durkula to dodge any sword, spear or chunk of masonry that Roy throws at him, without losing the spell.

[MechaBill]

I didn't think it would happen but now I gotta call it...

Belkar saves the day.

According to prophecy, Belkar has "drawn his last breathe". He is now undead. As such, he can penetrate this shield.

How did he become undead though?

I'm guessing chomped on by Durkula turned him into a vampire but normally he would take three days to turn. Also he should be in thrall to Durkula. And the sun probably doesn't help, although it is relatively weak in northern climes. If the fight has gone on long enough for the sun to set though, that might explain why Belkar was delayed...he had to wait for dusk. Vampire would also be a good explanation for how he could get back from the mountains base; he can fly.

All we need is a mechanism for him to convert to undead without having to wait three days.

[Fitzclowningham]

Durkon is standing in the sunlight, fwiw.

[Aeliren]

My theory: Roy uses his Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) and knocks over the already-damaged pillar the High Priest of Hel put his antilife shell next to.

[JSSheridan]

Thanks Giant!

Roy, do you have anything in your bag for a situation like this? Can you throw your sword for a hit? Or will you sacrifice yourself to erase the HPoH?

[Zwiebelchen]

If the shell is centred on Durkula, it offers a pretty effective way of pinning him in place with only 3 living things, or 2 plus a wall. Between them, Roy, Vel and Wrecan ("just standing here watching, man, totally a thing I'm allowed to do") can make it impossible for Durkula to dodge any sword, spear or chunk of masonry that Roy throws at him, without losing the spell.
That is actually a very clever, non-ass-pulled solution to the problem. It's basicly like checkmate in chess.

Kudos to you, sir!



I'm guessing chomped on by Durkula turned him into a vampire but normally he would take three days to turn. Also he should be in thrall to Durkula. And the sun probably doesn't help, although it is relatively weak in northern climes. If the fight has gone on long enough for the sun to set though, that might explain why Belkar was delayed...he had to wait for dusk. Vampire would also be a good explanation for how he could get back from the mountains base; he can fly.

All we need is a mechanism for him to convert to undead without having to wait three days.
Belkar turning into a vampire is out of the question. This would be horrible, horrible writing, having two PCs get vampirized. Besides, it would break all the rules about vampires the Giant has established:
1) it takes several days for a vampirized to turn, unless quickened by the vampire himself, which is clearly not the case here
2) the vampire will lose and lock his personality... so Belkar would not be Belkar after turning, but just another Soul selected by Hel.

If we follow the "undead belkar" theory, it must be a non-vampire undead.

[Grey Watcher]

Yellow means..... put the pedal in the metal?

Wait a minute, wasn't the aura of Belkar's shiny new No-Domination-For-You-Corpsewhiskers bauble yellow?

That's it, I dunno how, but Belkar's going to save the day somehow.

[Killer Angel]

Nice move from Durkula.
And it was also nice, from Roy, to remember Thog. :smallbiggrin:

[mhensley]

sigh... I'm getting tired of waiting to see what happened to Belkar.

[Basement Cat]

Anti life shell? Man, it has been a long time since I've played D&D. And come to think of it Anti Life Shell never seemed as intimidating back in the day as it does when presented here.

I wonder if Roy is going to charge anyway and suffer round by round health loss all in the hopes that he'll be able to take out Durkula and save the world before it's too late.

EDIT: Oh, right--that's not how the spell works. Durn burn it, Roy! Get a range weapon, man.


And yes, Roy: YOU DO TALK TOO MUCH!!! Didn't you hear all of us telling you not to stop but to finish Durkula off? Last strip had dozens of us telling you that but you were too busy yakking away to save the world.

"That's wierd." Nice exposition Roy. You just doomed the world to make it clear to us that you found the Hulk stuff strange, too.

Talky Man talk waaaaayyyyy too much. :smallmad:

[Vinyadan]

You know what isn't alive? Flying ships.

[Xiander]

You know what isn't alive? Flying ships.

You. I like you. :smallbiggrin:

[brian 333]

I swear! When will Roy ever learn the benefits of using the rules for weapons with a 15' reach (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0216.html)?

[Lord Cuvis]

That is actually a very clever, non-ass-pulled solution to the problem. It's basicly like checkmate in chess.

Kudos to you, sir!



Belkar turning into a vampire is out of the question. This would be horrible, horrible writing, having two PCs get vampirized. Besides, it would break all the rules about vampires the Giant has established:
1) it takes several days for a vampirized to turn, unless quickened by the vampire himself, which is clearly not the case here
2) the vampire will lose and lock his personality... so Belkar would not be Belkar after turning, but just another Soul selected by Hel.

If we follow the "undead belkar" theory, it must be a non-vampire undead.
I don't think it'd be Hel's soul in a vampire Belkar. Hel is the dwarves' god of death, but not necessarily the halflings'. Actually, we haven't seen much about halfling religion in this strip, have we?

It's all kind of moot, though, since he would be Durkula's thrall anyway.

[chrestomancy]

Wait a minute, wasn't the aura of Belkar's shiny new No-Domination-For-You-Corpsewhiskers bauble yellow?

Good spot! I completely agree with your analysis, Grey Watcher. Since the start of the Corpsewhiskers sideplot, it's been a 3 person thread. Durkon/Durkula, Roy and Belkar. Maybe that's more a 3.5 person thread? :smallsmile: It cannot finish without Belkar involved. He's only alive because Durkon made it his last request, which provides some additional irony.

How will he intervene? I have no clue. I don't think "Undead Belkar" is likely, it would have to be handled incredibly well for it not to appear clumsy and nothing OOTS-plot wise has ever appeared clumsy. I don't think anybody other than the three of them will be involved either.

[LotusWyvern]

Maybe, having been quoted, a raging zombie Thog will fall and crush Durkula from above.

[grandpheonix]

Giant, that was amazing!

Second. So belkar can throw daggers really well. Weve seen this done a few times. V gave Belkar a new dagger that basically beats DR. Halflings get a +1 to throwing weapons. How about we get Belkar in the next frame throwing a dagger at Durkula and then Boom, DONE! (He's been hurt pretty bad. Im sure a dagger of +3 to 5 could finish this right now.)

Third. Durkon, once rezzed goes all "Im sorry lad, I gave up, when I should have been fighting. Ye did the right thing."

Also V can cast Disintegrate. Thats got a pretty long distance. Maybe someone would offer to True Ressurection Durkon?

lastly, no. Xykon wont be here. Reddy wont be here. Celia wont be here. Who is allowed in are the ones that are here.

Actually, doesnt anyone remember the golems the Earth Clerics have? They count, right?

[Jay R]

A smart fighter always has a throwing knife in his boot.

I hate to break it to you, but the Order of the Stick are not always perfectly optimized.


Here is the list of things that can happen.
Roy thinks fast and throws his sword; he's shown surprising skill at it before (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0164.html).
Roy takes out a ranged weapon he purchased for just such an occasion.
Roy holds his Bag of Tricks by the bottom, puts the opening of the bag on the other side, and dumps out the animal; BS happens with the combo of AoEs and extra-dimensional areas, and the spell drops because you can't force living creatures out of the area by casting the spell, and the spell drops.


While casting about for something for Roy to throw, did you even consider the spear that he's already thrown once, and that is, in essence, a giant wooden stake?


Here's a list of things that can't happen:
A scene that's only a couple steps removed from a mustache-twirling villain monologuing to a helpless hero includes a line that's basically "nothing can stop my evil plans now" being spoken in the most condescending tone and under the most condescending circumstances, and the villain turns out to succeed.

Well of course not. That would be ridiculous. As I wrote some times ago, "When I am an evil overlord, I will always show a proper appreciation for the literary requirements. When the hero is captured and about to die, I will not make a speech about my triumph. That just marks the climax of an adventure story, when the hero is about to win. I will let him make a speech, as required by the poetic structure of a tragedy, in which the hero dies a noble death."

[Rift_Wolf]

I kinda saw the fight breaking up somehow; the vamps death here would've been a bit premature. I was expecting the Demigod priests to turn up, then Hp of Odin to go 'okay, enough of this *wall of stone*'. On the plus side, we get to see the Demigod priests, meaning more sweet sweet character design. Downside, if Hel's rigging the vote, this can only go badly.

[pendell]

New comic is up.

Excellent. As usual, the artwork is marvellous.

This is an interesting tactical situation and I continue to learn more about 3.5 daily. Anti-life shell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antilifeShell.htm)

Okay, Roy can't close to melee. Can he throw his sword? Would that do enough damage to take Durkula out?

Beyond that, this fight is not solvable by Roy alone. I'm going to assume the Giant isn't simply going to pull a random solution out of nowhere; it will be a character previously established in-comic.

Options:

*Wracks his brain* . Our choices for penetrating an antilife shell are: Dispel magic , missile weapons, or undead allies.

Any of the high priests could dispel the shell, but this would mean sacrificing their own lives under the terms of the moot and might also result in heavy buffing of the vampire from the other priests.

Missile weapons; Roy has no proficiency and I don't know of any weapons available that would overcome the vampire's DR. He could throw his sword as an improvised range weapon, but he only gets one use of it. As a magic weapon it would bypass DR, and it would hit with a minimum damage of 5 since it is a +5 weapon. But it would hit , I think, without his strength or other bonuses and so would be a relatively weak hit. Might be enough, might not. What else might Roy try?

Allies:
1) Belkar. But he's still alive and there is no quick way to make him undead that I'm aware of.

2) The stone brotherhood. But even though as vampires they can pass the shell, they are presumably also inhabited by Hel's minions and will not act against the High Priest of Hel.

3) Fenrir's high priest. He looks suspiciously like an undead to me, with the fangs and the red eyes. But this would mean breaking the terms of the moot, and anyway Fenrir voted with Hel to end the world.

4) Xykon. Of course he's undead and can easily blow Durkula away. But how would he know the Godsmoot was happening? Certainly he would intervene if he knew the fate of the world was at stake, and he has the teleportation capability to arrive quickly. But I don't think he can pass the divine barrier locking them in. It would take some time to teleport nearby and hustle into the chamber -- time they may not have.

Not to mention, it would be a cheap out. Having a person we haven't seen in many, many strips just teleport in and solve the problem without any foreshadowing or buildup takes away all the meaning from Roy's actions thus far. It would mean that Roy could have just stayed up on the balcony with Wrecan and played cards.

No, I think this problem has to be solved by Roy and the people already established to be at the Godsmoot.


So that's the situation as I see it. Whoever can correctly guess the giant's solution wins one internet :smallamused:.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[davidbofinger]

A hemispherical shell? So what if someone comes at him from beneath the floor?

Or what if someone uses Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering to collapse the floor, then chase Durkula down to the next level?

Casting antilife shield implies Durkula is still Level 11+ so I guess he hasn't been taking many, if any, negative levels from the Greenhilt Starblade. On the other hand he isn't casting against Roy so maybe he's a bit short on spells?

The moral of this scene is that if you're a melee specialist winning a fight against a caster, stay in their face. Don't knock them away where they can cast a spell.

[Sky_Schemer]

V. could solve this problem with a Dispel Magic. Or Disintegrate. Or one of any number of offensive spells s/he normally carries.

[Sky_Schemer]

A hemispherical shell? So what if someone comes at him from beneath the floor?

Or what if someone uses Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering to collapse the floor, then chase Durkula down to the next level?

A mobile, hemispherical energy field.

[pendell]

Option 4: Outsider allies. Is Planar Ally castable from a scroll, and does Roy have ranks in Use Magic Device?

Buying or borrowing a scroll from a priest might not break the rules of the godsmoot, especially if our favored soul "accidentally drops it". Use it to call planar ally, send the outsider in.

Option 5 : Scrolls/wands -- what about a scroll of dispel magic? If it can beat Durkula's caster level, that'll take care of the shell in short order.

Option 6: Is it possible for Belkar to start an avalanche or something? Several thousand tons of rock is not "alive". I don't see any easy way for Roy to destroy the building roof, but maybe they could use the Mechane or a Vaarsuvius spell to trigger an earthquake or similar.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Samalpetey]

The airship saved Belkar, Belkar warns Haley/V, boom

[Tvtyrant]

Calling it now! Roy ties his sword to a pole to make an improvised reach weapon which bypasses DR, then smacks Durkula silly.

[Stabbey]

Question: Even if Belkar was somehow retrieved, brought back to the chamber, and turned into an undead... somehow (I think the clerics aren't allowed to interfere like that), doesn't HPoHel have some kind of Rebuke Undead thing that would let him control Belkar anyway?

[littlebum2002]

So what "construct, elemental, outsider or undead" is coming to the rescue?

[Shining Wrath]

I take it back; there will not be an undead Belkar. Too many steps required.

There's 3 people involved in this battle, and one of them has surrendered - or so it seems. I do not believe Durkon gives up for ever; it is not his nature. Now that Roy knows that Durkon is not in control will he take a chance that he's still in there, somewhere?

So, two possibilities:
1) Thrown / falling weapons.
2) Talky man starts talking, and Durkon returns to the fray and for the first time in history a victim casts out the possessing vampire spirit. It is, after all, Durkon's character growth arc, and Durkon becoming a confident badass would qualify as growth.

[AvatarVecna]

While casting about for something for Roy to throw, did you even consider the spear that he's already thrown once, and that is, in essence, a giant wooden stake?

In my defense, my list was not meant in any way to be an exhaustive list containing every single possible way the comic could continue. Also, I made it about 4am local time.

The point of the list was to act as a sort-of antithesis to Occam's Razor in regards to this particular series of events: the simplest most logical way for this fight to continue is "Durkon then turns to mist inside his antilife shell and Roy doesn't have ranged weapons good enough to hurt him fast enough". But the idea of a villain getting away with a cheap move like this (which they arrogantly gloated about immediately) is, despite the fairly logical choice from the mechanical perspective, is a far less likely result than Miko Miyazaki the LG Death Knight riding in on Redcloak's Half-Orc Niece, Tarquin suddenly appears in the room with his friends and wasting Durkula, or Celia finding a loophole in a contract Hel has likely been pouring over the fine print of since she realized how screwed she was. It doesn't matter how ridiculously implausible or Goldberg-esque the plot becomes, as long as Durkula gets the comeuppance he's due for flipping Fate and Murphy double birds.

[Moyza]

Aha I knew you'd get your comic in sneakily in the late of night! Not this time, Giant!

Aside from my joy, it seems Durkula is bent on stalling this as long as he can. C'mon Demigods, your votes are key! Perhaps the Order will enter from the Airship? I don't know how well the defenses of the moot are but I also don't think they really have any reason to suspect anything is wrong.

Damn it, I'm stumped.

Elan will have an bardic insight and take his own god out of the Mechane, enter the godsmoot as High Priest of Banjo and vote "No".

[Samalpetey]

So what "construct, elemental, outsider or undead" is coming to the rescue?

Ranged attacks/spells also work, hence why I'm voting either Belkar (unlikely, daggers don't return or bypass Durkula's DR), or more likely he warned Haley and/or V, both of whom are almost completely unimpeded by the Shell

[LordRahl6]

Do love the double meanings in the title again.:smallamused: Alas, its becoming clear that the next stage in the HPOH plans involves his Goddess claiming a greater position of prominence and activity in the World if not all the Dwarven souls in the afterlife.:smallfrown: Also Durkon looks pretty downtrodden in the inside Durkon/HPOH's head scene.:smallsigh:

[8BitNinja]

This is a song for the people of godsmoot

But there's no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying until you run out of cake
But when the science gets done
then we make a neat gun
for the people who are
STILL ALIVE
:smallsmile:

[davidbofinger]

Xykon [...] But how would he know the Godsmoot was happening?


Teevo! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0415.html) Is there anything it can't do?


Certainly he would intervene if he knew the fate of the world was at stake

He might, or he might grab for the prize while he had the chance.

Actually, I'd like to see one comic where Xykon and Redcloak are going for the next gate, Xykon sees the Greenhilt-Durkula fight on Teevo, says, "Hey, it's whatshisname, Brownhaft. He's trying to save the world. Maybe we should help him." And Redcloak talks him out of it.

I suspect it would kind of suck if Xykon actually saved the day with no warning, though having him walk in on the last panel (as is his wont), saying "Did someone say cake?" would be a fun gag. And who knows maybe Rich has some really clever way of doing it that wouldn't suck.


he has the teleportation capability to arrive quickly. But I don't think he can pass the divine barrier locking them in. It would take some time to teleport nearby and hustle into the chamber -- time they may not have.

Not really a problem: he could have arrived ten strips ago, and been approaching since.

[wesleytj]

Not many others seem to be saying it, so I will.

My first thought when the anti-magic shell came up was that this was Durkon's chance to make a breakthrough. He is going to be the difference maker here, using some insight on the HPoH that I haven't figured out yet.

That's my theory.

[Quibblicious]

Whelp...

nothing ALIVE.

XYKON! YOUR CUE TO UNEXPECTEDLY SAVE THE DAY!

....please? :smalleek:

Not necessary.

Grandpa will "rescue" Roy. Not directly, but let's just say that Roy's primary weapon is not a living object.

:smallbiggrin:

[wolfdreams01]

One thing I love about OOTS is that the bad guys never pull their punches - they use their abilities very intelligently to win. I'll almost never find myself frustrated saying "Well, the bad guys could have won if they had only done X; this plot was bull****!" as I have with so many other stories. Rich makes bad guys who take it to the next level, and as a consequence, it feels like the good guys are forced to really earn their victory. This fight is a perfect example.

[Quibblicious]

Nothing alive can pass through it, no exeptions, no save,only spell resistance can bypass, defensive only (you cannot crush living beings between it and a wall).

EDIT: You can throw anything except living bullets in the barrier so not a problem for ranged type (Roy, get a bow already :P)

Time for vengeful ghost Belkar?

Anyway, thanks Giant! Hell of a start of a work day here (it's 9 am for me) and a new comic has just made my day better^^

I think I know what'll happen... and it's good.

Go back and take a read through Roy's time in the afterlife...

Nice foreshadowing and set up, Giant, assuming I'm right....

[Havelocke]

Roy's lantern Archon *nod* there is a friendly outsider that may potentially already be there! I am not convinced that Sabine or Celia will be an option. No ranged weapons to speak of. I don't see Roy throwing his sword, too cliche. Durkon's internal struggle could be a continuing thing here. I do feel this is more of Durkon's development story and not Roy's. I would like to see Belkar make a return, heroically or otherwise. Perhaps Durkula kills him upon Belkar's return and that is the end of all that speculation.

[8BitNinja]

Whelp...

nothing ALIVE.

XYKON! YOUR CUE TO UNEXPECTEDLY SAVE THE DAY!

....please? :smalleek:

Why would Xykon step in?

He is the ANTAGONIST

Actually, no, he is an evil being controlled by the antagonist

[xroads]

Great story arc so far. The best thing about this encounter is that the hero doesn’t have to win this time. It’s completely up in the air still.

[Basement Cat]

I wonder if the title "Red Means Stop" is a deliberate shift (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0386.html) towards a pause in this part of the story which will result in a familiar step backwards (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html) explaining how Belkar returns.

Given that we saw Belkar buying defensive items for use against Durkula/Xykon combined with Durkula repeatedly Dominating him to throw himself off of the Mechane and the fact that on the very last panel we saw him in as he fell he just looked angry rather than frightened it wouldn't really be a Deux ex Machina for him to have bought some kind of flying spell/item or Feather Fall ring or something to save his life.

Then...

I got nothin'. :smallfrown:

I don't see Roy throwing his sword, though. Think about it: It wouldn't kill Durkula--they've both taken way too much damage for a thrown sword to end the HPoH. If Roy throws his sword Durkula will say "Ow!" and Roy will just stand there being impotent.

Maybe Roy's reminder to Roy's Archon just before he was Resurrected had something to do with his Grandfather? The old man is dead and....

Nah, that would really be Deux ex Machina. :smalltongue:

EDIT: Geez, just as I come up with an idea I get ninja'd by three or four people right before me. Are we some kind of Collective? SPOOOOKYYYY!!!

[davidbofinger]

There's a Fredric Brown short story Arena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_%28short_story%29):


A barrier appears to block living things but actually only blocks conscious ones.

Is there anything in 3.5e that makes someone briefly not alive? Other than death and resurrection, of course, which isn't practical.

[LordRahl6]

The pace and direction that the story is going we really do need a deus ex machina pretty soon either to break through the battle or end the tie of the Godsmoot.:smallwink:

[Quibblicious]

Man, I knew Roy needed to keep his attack going!

Now let's see the options. Undead Belkar coming to save the day is just ludicrous. As is Celia, since anything Durkula throws at her means she's toast. Xykon and company popping in also makes no sense. They're off after Kragor's gate.

So the way I see this going, Roy probably will and up throwing his sword through the barrier in spectacular green glowiness. Or perhaps he'll think of some other improvised way to do it like hurling a boulder which pushes Durkula out.

Or maybe something flashy? I'd love if the Mechane could somehow crash through the ceiling. Noticing how Hel's Might was dismissed right after Durkula got hit, it makes me wonder if it also dispelled Durkula's other buffs... such as protection from sunlight.

Good point about the protection from sunlight.

If you recall, Roy's grandfather taught him a thrown sword maneuver when Roy was dead. It's the same one Roy's grandpa used to kill the evil cleric when the raiding party attacked the LG afterlife. I'm thinking it may be a combination of those elements.

[xroads]

What about the high priest of Thor, when will he intervine? He recognized Durkons name earlier, as he pardoned him some 600 strips ago (but the messenger was killed on the way)

Does anyone remember which strip this was? I don't remember this.

[8BitNinja]

What we need right now is a good old fashioned fireball

We need a Vaarsuvius Ex Machina

[Spoomeister]

Ugh. This is really starting to drag out.

...as is usual for when I feel like this, I do recognize there's a fair bit of that which is just an effect of waiting for the latest strip online. To really give this part of the story a chance I should wait until a few strips later, or a compliation book, to really see this sequence altogether.

But while I'm glad others are enjoying this, I'm starting to find it tedious. Here's hoping something comes in to finish off Durkula within the next strip or two, or that the demigod vote comes in and that part gets resolved and advances a bit.

(With my luck, and as karma for mildly complaining, the next few strips will be a cutaway to whatever everyone else has been doing on the Mechane all this time, or Belkar surviving a fatal fall as only a mid-level character in a game system with max falling damage can do.)

[Basement Cat]

True; plus, as I noted:

1. Belkar limps in.

2. Roy explains the situation, they confer briefly.

3. Roy kills Belkar.

4. A priest raises Belkar as a free-willed undead.

5. Belkar attacks.

I doubt it will happen, but it is a way Undead Belkar could make an appearance.

Also, wouldn't a HP raising Belkar specifically for the purpose of attacking the HPoH likely be interpreted by the other HP's as an indirect but deliberate attack on the HPoH an thus result in all of the HP's of the gods who voted "Yes" to the world's end unloading "every buff they have on the vampire"?

[joosy]

I believe the GodSmoot barrier will prevent anyone from entering or leaving the area so, barring any sneaky tricks, we can rule out anyone currently on the outside of the barrier.

Perhaps the barrier will allow inanimate objects to pass through and a weapon (or an amulet of protection from evil!) can be passed through to Roy?

If the barrier does not prevent summoning or teleportation (it would be odd if it didn't) then V may have to use the orb prematurely and/or Celia may come into play. However, any one else coming in would probably be attacked by the other representatives as they are not protected by the rules of the Godsmoot like Roy and HPoH are.

Otherwise, Roy has to work with what he's got. Perhaps this is a good time to put his knowledge of architecture to work again and bring down the structure. This may cause some collateral deaths thus angering some of the gods.

OR.... Xykon and wrong-eye succeed and the day is saved by the Purple Goblin god as he ports the snarl into the proceedings. I consider this unlikely as the Purple Goblin god would rather be part of rebuilding a new world where he can give Goblins a fairer stake.

[8BitNinja]

Ugh. This is really starting to drag out.

...as is usual for when I feel like this, I do recognize there's a fair bit of that which is just an effect of waiting for the latest strip online. To really give this part of the story a chance I should wait until a few strips later, or a compliation book, to really see this sequence altogether.

But while I'm glad others are enjoying this, I'm starting to find it tedious. Here's hoping something comes in to finish off Durkula within the next strip or two, or that the demigod vote comes in and that part gets resolved and advances a bit.

(With my luck, and as karma for mildly complaining, the next few strips will be a cutaway to whatever everyone else has been doing on the Mechane all this time, or Belkar surviving a fatal fall as only a mid-level character in a game system with max falling damage can do.)

I agree, it's like the whole azure city court all over again

[LordRahl6]

Let's see how we'd go about that 8BitNinja.

A. Vaarsuvius needs to enter the temple, and to that...
B. V needs to be someone's bodyguard. Thus...
C. Elan needs to enter as Banjo's priest...
D. And Vote against ending the World.

That sum it up?:smallbiggrin:

[8BitNinja]

Let's see how we'd go about that 8BitNinja.

A. Vaarsuvius needs to enter the temple, and to that...
B. V needs to be someone's bodyguard. Thus...
C. Elan needs to enter as Banjo's priest...
D. And Vote against ending the World.

That sum it up?:smallbiggrin:

Elan could use bardic insight, see what's going on, and then get V to be his bodygaurd
since he is the high priest of banjo, he can get in that way

[Basement Cat]

Ugh. This is really starting to drag out.


The Giant spoiled us early on in the fight by releasing strips every five or six days. This one came a week and a half after the last one.

It's not the drag---it's the anticipation!!! :smallbiggrin:


EDIT: Hey, I just leveled up from Pixie to Halfling!!!

Woo-hoo!!! I love leveling up!!!

[schmunzel]

Hey, I know two characters who may eagerly go after the cake:

the High Priest of Banjo,
the Sexy Shoeless God of War.


so Elan will be coming to vote as HPoB!!!
no wonder the promise of cake did the job!

I wonder how Banjo will cast his vote when confronted with possible annihilation!

sch

[Forlorn]

My vote goes to Roy applying his 'knowledge (architecture)'. Especially with the possibility of Durkula's protection from sunlight being dispelled, that is an interesting option.

And I notice Durkula didn't bring his staff with him...


...Considering Belkar's hatred for the undead, I think it is not possible he comes as undead...

The only one I know who hates the undead is Durkon, but that didn't prevent his fate. Belkar, however, doesn't really hate the undead... instead, he simply enjoys "killing" them.

[8BitNinja]

Hey, I know two characters who may eagerly go after the cake:

the High Priest of Banjo,
the Sexy Shoeless God of War.


The cake is a lie

[VanCucci]

I propose the most boring, yet possible, outcome: Roy keeps talking with Durkon,with no success, the demigod's priests arrive and they majority votes NO...

Still i would prefer a scenic entrance by Belkar, showing his dagger-throwing skills!

[Basement Cat]

The cake is a lie

I suspected that it was just a matter of time before someone trotted this one out.

[DavidBV]

You know what isn't alive? Flying ships.

Or gigantic bolts aimed from them.

But I think Rich has gone to great lenghts to set a scene in which no one can interfere, and the conflict has become very personal between Roy and HpoH. The only one that could narratively fit into the scene is Belkar, because he entered the Godsmoot accompaining HPoH too so he could be considered a bodyguard too. And I doubt he'd have the time to climb back up the mountain again.

[Quartz]

Belkar coming back as undead requires no outside help: he could come back as a Revenant. Funnier, though, would be if he were to come back as a Risen Martyr (Book of Exalted Deeds p68).

[FolcoTook]

And yet... talky man still talked too much.

[Quibblicious]

Dang, it just occurred to me that Elan could show up as a hemi-demi-semi-god high priest of Banjo.

That would be weird, but at least hemi-demi-semi-plausible.

[Zulwarn]

Kinda get the feeling Revenant Belkar will show up to save the day.

[Calemyr]

Roy is not daunted by this turn of events. He pulls off a number of inventive solutions that fail for various reasons. Lurky just grins and taunts him as he runs out the clock. Time's up, in come the priests of the small gods and at their front is Elan.

:elan: Hey, Roy! My bard senses were telling me I should be here! And look! Banjo's made a lot of friends!
:durkon: If you think I'm going to let you--
:roy: Yes. Please leave that shell. It would make my day.
:durkon: Ah.
:elan: Oh, and I don't know if we were supposed to be bring bodyguards of our own, so I brought my girlfriend.
:haley: Roy?
:roy: Elan? Thanks. Haley? Shoot him. A lot.

Lurky is filled with enough arrows to be confused with a turkey, but even that's not quite enough. Enraged, he makes a bid to kill Elan and Roy takes the attack of opportunity to kill him.

:roy: Elan saves the day. Yeah, the end times are here...

[JFoodgeek]

There is a perfected good enchanted spear hanging out of a wall. It's owner didn't pick it back up. A non-enchanted weapon wouldn't help him. His elemental GF could help. You sure Belkar is actually dead? If not...someone would have to raise him and send him against Durkon. Or Durkon could be stupid and try and move the barrier past Roy or any other living matter, which would collapse it.




So, this is the part where a dead Belkar comes crashing through the ceiling, knocking into Durkon and killing him with blunt force trauma.
...right?

Or, Roy could... throw his sword through the barrier? Or a rock? How is this an obstacle again?

[JT]

Yellow means..... put the pedal in the metal?



Starman: "I watched you very carefully. Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast."

[Panzer]

My bet is on Belkar somehow getting back (as it has been suggested, V or someone else saving him from the fall), but not as an undead, and I doubt he'll be undeadified either.

I think his Protection-from-evil bauble will play another part before going down for good (heh) - he could throw it into his Shell, maybe its effect is enough to dispell it if it triggers and makes contact with Durkula... It's negative energy, right? Not sure if it works like that.

Or have Belkar trigger it and kill himself with it (does it cause damage, or only pain?), and have his corpse (and dagger?) drop onto Durkula and kill him/dispell the Shell for Roy to step in for the kill.

At any rate, we haven't seen him with X-eyes, so I think next time he shows up he'll be pretty much alive. If he does come back for this fight, I think chances are very high he dies in it, too.

EDIT: I went back to check on a couple of things:
1) I'm not sure what the protection-from-evil thingy does exactly. Belkar doesn't get any damage marks from being affected by it, though he is in visible pain and trailing smoke. It's hard to gauge exactly how much damage to his hit points he takes from that, and so, how useful it will be against Durkula. Probably that will be more evident for those who are more acquainted with DND rules.
2) Belkar lost his daggers in his last fight with Wolf-Durkula. Oops? Unless he has a backup he's currently disarmed. I'm assuming those, or at least one of them, were the psion-weapon V identified for him.

[Quebbster]

I believe the GodSmoot barrier will prevent anyone from entering or leaving the area so, barring any sneaky tricks, we can rule out anyone currently on the outside of the barrier.

Perhaps the barrier will allow inanimate objects to pass through and a weapon (or an amulet of protection from evil!) can be passed through to Roy?

If the barrier does not prevent summoning or teleportation (it would be odd if it didn't) then V may have to use the orb prematurely and/or Celia may come into play. However, any one else coming in would probably be attacked by the other representatives as they are not protected by the rules of the Godsmoot like Roy and HPoH are.

Otherwise, Roy has to work with what he's got. Perhaps this is a good time to put his knowledge of architecture to work again and bring down the structure. This may cause some collateral deaths thus angering some of the gods.

OR.... Xykon and wrong-eye succeed and the day is saved by the Purple Goblin god as he ports the snarl into the proceedings. I consider this unlikely as the Purple Goblin god would rather be part of rebuilding a new world where he can give Goblins a fairer stake.
If it was impossible to enter the chamber, the demigod priests wouldn't be able to split the tie. I think the barrier prevents anyone from leaving, but not entering.


Roy is not daunted by this turn of events. He pulls off a number of inventive solutions that fail for various reasons. Lurky just grins and taunts him as he runs out the clock. Time's up, in come the priests of the small gods and at their front is Elan.

:elan: Hey, Roy! My bard senses were telling me I should be here! And look! Banjo's made a lot of friends!
:durkon: If you think I'm going to let you--
:roy: Yes. Please leave that shell. It would make my day.
:durkon: Ah.
:elan: Oh, and I don't know if we were supposed to be bring bodyguards of our own, so I brought my girlfriend.
:haley: Roy?
:roy: Elan? Thanks. Haley? Shoot him. A lot.

Lurky is filled with enough arrows to be confused with a turkey, but even that's not quite enough. Enraged, he makes a bid to kill Elan and Roy takes the attack of opportunity to kill him.

:roy: Elan saves the day. Yeah, the end times are here...

This would kill Haley as she is not part of Hel's delegation and thus violates the rules of the moot.

[Molan]

So, we all saw this coming.

Question is, is this when Belkar comes back as ZOMBIE BELKAR and stabs durkula back to Hell?

[Gamgee]

Anyone want to bet that belkar died, has been turned into some kind of undead (......somehow) and can therefore save the day like a lot of people believe?
......,.just me then
Exactly what I thought. :) :belkar:

[ChillerInstinct]

Is it odd that the first thing that came to mind was Roy coming up with some improvised crossbow and shooting his sword into Lurky's chest like a bolt?

This is a setback, but not a fail. Roy, it's time to bring out those Engineering skills and drop the roof on him.

[schmunzel]

Good spot! I completely agree with your analysis, Grey Watcher. Since the start of the Corpsewhiskers sideplot, it's been a 3 person thread. Durkon/Durkula, Roy and Belkar. Maybe that's more a 3.5 person thread? :smallsmile: It cannot finish without Belkar involved. He's only alive because Durkon made it his last request, which provides some additional irony.

How will he intervene? I have no clue. I don't think "Undead Belkar" is likely, it would have to be handled incredibly well for it not to appear clumsy and nothing OOTS-plot wise has ever appeared clumsy. I don't think anybody other than the three of them will be involved either.

so I think Grey Watcher andand chrestomancy have apoint here.

The more I read the comments in this thread the more I believe that the next strip will
a) have its name begin with "yellow" and
b) will sport Belkar throwing his Protection from evil charm at HPoH

HPoH will return to dwarven lands (maybe theres a coffin there?) and bring death and destruction, while Durkon will have returned home Posthumously.

I agree that from a story perspective the solution will have to be brought by Belkar. Maybe its how he will redeem himself and then will die at HPoH's Hands / Spells?

But how will he get there ? I dont think the fall will kill him - but getting back on the mountain will mean he either needs an eagle or the Mechane.
The latter would prevent him from having solved it by himself and will count as DeM so the eagle it will be. I do not think it will be possible to jump up the mountain using the ring - but he might be able to jump inside the cathedral with it.

... so "yellow's the charm" ???

sch

[Calemyr]

The problem with our cameo gamechangers like Belkar is that this is a sealed room. A divinely sealed room. The only people that can get through are the demigod priests, via prior arrangement. Belkar could (with serious shenanigans) claim to be the priest of the Sexy Shoeless God of War, but I don't think it would fly. Elan has a better chance, since Banjo actually had support from Odin himself to get invited to the Northern Pantheon.

So I wouldn't expect any Big Darn Heroes moments from anyone except maybe Elan, who has a legitimate way in. Every other path would require ignoring one part of the scene's setup or another. Frankly, I'd rather there weren't any BDH moments here. This is a three way battle between Roy, Lurky, and Durkon. Any resolution should come from them.


This would kill Haley as she is not part of Hel's delegation and thus violates the rules of the moot.

Fair point. Her participation in events is irrelevant, anyway. Elan alone would be enough to force Lurky out of his shell, should he be in a position to sway the demigods. I just wanted Roy to get the chance to say "Shoot him. A lot."

[Dire Llama]

Like everyone else I'm going to shout "Throw the sword".

But I'm sure Giant has something cleverer up his sleeve.

[Sky_Schemer]

Ugh. This is really starting to drag out.

...as is usual for when I feel like this, I do recognize there's a fair bit of that which is just an effect of waiting for the latest strip online. To really give this part of the story a chance I should wait until a few strips later, or a compliation book, to really see this sequence altogether.

The pace at which strips are released is a huge factor, and would still be a factor even if we were on the old update schedule of two or three per week.

If you go back and reread to this point from when it started, you might feel differently. This confrontation is pretty significant, and fewer strips would make it feel rushed when read through in one sitting. Rich has to think of the compilation, too, not just the strip-at-a-time view.

[Bongos]

Why do I suspect Durkulua gave us a clue?

"Nothing living"

but something dead or undead can...

[ooOoo]

Red means stop, and I guess stop means the battle.
So the fight's probably over, and the rest will be resolved by talking and/or voting.

[Seward]

If it was any fighter I every played, Roy would pull out the potion of enlarge person he bought from the gnomes. But he wasted an action swinging his sword at the barrier, so that probably isn't going to be it.

[ChillerInstinct]

I really don't see Undead Belkar being an option here. That would pretty much dictate that a) he's dead, Jim, b) somebody saw him fall and failed to help him in time, c) that someone had a way of transforming him, or d) they were able to do that in the time that's passed between Belkar's fall and now. Not to mention there would be virtually no foreshadowing to that effect, which would seem a little cheap.

If Belkar comes back now, he'll probably be very much alive. Of course, Belkar might be terrifying with, say, the pieces of rubble from the fight thus far... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0745.html)

[Seward]

So what "construct, elemental, outsider or undead" is coming to the rescue?

Celia? But I don't think she gave Roy a "booty call" item this time around.

[ChillerInstinct]

Celia? But I don't think she gave Roy a "booty call" item this time around.

Not to mention, I doubt her stance on killing has softened any in the past few weeks...

[subanark]

I think it is pretty clear that the demigod vote isn't as clear cut as Loki thought it would be. Somehow, Roy being alive will complicate Hel's plan to secure the decision to destroy the world.

So, my guess is:
Roy will be unable to do any physical actions. Instead he will be able to sway the vote of one of the demigods who is willing to listen to mortals (maybe some kind of dragon god who exists on the material plane).

If not that, then Roy's skill in architecture may come in handy to disrupt the barrier.

[Panzer]

The problem with our cameo gamechangers like Belkar is that this is a sealed room. A divinely sealed room. The only people that can get through are the demigod priests, via prior arrangement. Belkar could (with serious shenanigans) claim to be the priest of the Sexy Shoeless God of War, but I don't think it would fly. Elan has a better chance, since Banjo actually had support from Odin himself to get invited to the Northern Pantheon.
Isn't Belkar allowed into the Godsmoot by virtue of being Durkula's bodyguard in the same way Roy is? If he hadn't sneaked away, he would've actually been together with Roy when the combat began.

edit with more random thinking:
I also doubt Durkon is going to make a major breakthrough or affect directly what's going on outside his head or suddenly "breaking free". Durkula has shown that he is prone to making silly mistakes, so Durkon can only hope for the best, but managing to actually perform any tricks on him I think has been rather ruled out. The only support I see to this theory would be evidence of vampires in DND ever being overpowered by their corpses' rightful owners sometime in the past. I don't know much about that, so someone else would have to provide.

Yeah, that kind of means that Durkon is essentially "useless" in the current scene, but that doesn't mean he is useless for the whole narrative's sake - while he's not really *doing* anything nor accomplishing much, through his POV we get to see both more character depth for him, and a different angle to Durkula's schemes.

[Seward]

Not to mention, I doubt her stance on killing has softened any in the past few weeks...

Well, D is already dead, also, you know, end of the world and all. But yeah. Don't see how she gets here.

Sabine maybe, she's pretty mobile, but even if she was willing to enter a Godsmoot, I don't know what she could do to Durkon. Her go-to stuff is level drain and rogue-type abilities which are pretty ineffective on a vampire.

[Gift Jeraff]

Eugene, Celia, Roy's Archon, Sabine, Qarr, Crystal Terminator, Belkar as a vengeful undead, Zz'dtri as a vengeful undead, one of Durkulon's spawns gone rogue, a demigod priest that isn't alive, or Roy's sword will turn out to be an intelligent creature

[dmaxno]

Actually, a reach weapon would not be enough. A 10 ft. emanation extends 10 ft. in all directions from your square. That means the sphere has a radius more close to 12,5 ft. and for all intents and purposes Durkon is 15 ft. away form Roy.

Aw, man... Jimmy may be disappointed.

[Druzhina]

Panel one on the far right and on the balcony above. Is that someone casting a spell or someone/thing gating in?

[The gF]

No one other than Roy or Belkar can attack Durkon without being killed by the other priests present. We need Belkar throwing daggers.

Or I guess Roy could just throw his sword and bisect him.

[alexandre]

throw belkar's corpse it's their only chance

[Psyren]

Not to mention, I doubt her stance on killing has softened any in the past few weeks...

She's fine destroying non-living creatures. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0578.html)

[ChillerInstinct]

No one other than Roy or Belkar can attack Durkon without being killed by the other priests present. We need Belkar throwing daggers.

Or I guess Roy could just throw his sword and bisect him.

It's a shame Belkar dropped his daggers before being thrown from the window, because it would have been the skillshot of the decade if he had thrown his Psionic dagger as he was falling in a last ditch attempt to take the HPoH with him, which then completely accidentally went through a skylight and hit the HPoH in the back, piercing all the way to the heart.

I don't think Sabine would be able to do much either if she were here, simply because she would have had to disguise as either a bodyguard or a priest to get in, and the second she tried to intervene she'd get vapourized by everyone else in the room.

Belkar's pretty much the only one who can intervene now, assuming Roy doesn't win this on his own. And even then, since Belkar will almost certainly be alive, the best he'll be able to do is throw things at him. Should be effective of course, but...

[Gift Jeraff]

Panel one on the far right and on the balcony above. Is that someone casting a spell or someone/thing gating in?

That's Hel's proxy.

[Shining Wrath]

EDIT: Hey, I just leveled up from Pixie to Halfling!!!

Woo-hoo!!! I love leveling up!!!

Good work, kid! Growls Don't get cocky!


The problem with our cameo gamechangers like Belkar is that this is a sealed room. A divinely sealed room. The only people that can get through are the demigod priests, via prior arrangement. Belkar could (with serious shenanigans) claim to be the priest of the Sexy Shoeless God of War, but I don't think it would fly. Elan has a better chance, since Banjo actually had support from Odin himself to get invited to the Northern Pantheon.

So I wouldn't expect any Big Darn Heroes moments from anyone except maybe Elan, who has a legitimate way in. Every other path would require ignoring one part of the scene's setup or another. Frankly, I'd rather there weren't any BDH moments here. This is a three way battle between Roy, Lurky, and Durkon. Any resolution should come from them.



Fair point. Her participation in events is irrelevant, anyway. Elan alone would be enough to force Lurky out of his shell, should he be in a position to sway the demigods. I just wanted Roy to get the chance to say "Shoot him. A lot."

The barrier is semipermeable; we've already established the demigod priests will be able to enter and vote.


Panel one on the far right and on the balcony above. Is that someone casting a spell or someone/thing gating in?

That is the left half of the torso of the proxy of Hel as summoned by the High Priest.

[ChillerInstinct]

She's fine destroying non-living creatures. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0578.html)

Ooh, right, I forgot about that. Scratch that, then.

[The gF]

Panel one on the far right and on the balcony above. Is that someone casting a spell or someone/thing gating in?

That's Hel's projection.

Also remember, the gods cannot see or hear Roy and Durkon fighting. Hel is probably aware of it, but I would rule out any divine assistance for Roy, both because they can't see or hear him and because they would totally get caught helping, and suddenly it'd be a divine fight to bolster the appropriate champion.

[dmaxno]

Calling it now! Roy ties his sword to a pole to make an improvised reach weapon which bypasses DR, then smacks Durkula silly.
I sure hope so! It is a -4 to hit, but could work.
I wonder if it would be easy to sunder, though, as the rope would not be that strong (compared to a normal weapon)

[Psyren]

I sure hope so! It is a -4 to hit, but could work.

More than that actually. Since it's improvised, his feats won't work with it, and he has to have at least Weapon Focus since we know he has Weapon Specialization. The enhancement on it won't work either when wielded that way. So we're looking at a minimum of -10 to hit; not good odds for Roy.

[Sky_Schemer]

I think it is pretty clear that the demigod vote isn't as clear cut as Loki thought it would be. Somehow, Roy being alive will complicate Hel's plan to secure the decision to destroy the world.

This. And while Hel is confident about the demigod vote, she's also not absolutely sure it will go her way.

And this does, btw, also definiteively answer the question of "why not just go gaseous and hang out on the ceiling until the vote is over" question.

[Moonshade]

So... Nothing living can enter that antilife shell. Does it support weight? Can Roy climb or jump atop it?

How much does fifteen thousand pieces of jelly-covered gold weigh? One would think they should at least put a crimp in HPoH's style, eh? :smallwink:

Just wondering...

[sumneros]

Didn't see that coming. Now what? Can they penetrate the barrier with a thrown stake? I doubt it. As usual and even moreso, really looking forward to the next one.

I guess Durkon might be able to do something, if he gets out of his depressive stupor.

i think they might be able to penatrate it becasue roys sword it going inside the shell

[The gF]

So... Nothing living can enter that antilife shell. Does it support weight? Can Roy climb or jump atop it?

How much does fifteen thousand pieces of jelly-covered gold weigh? One would think they should at least put a crimp in HPoH's style, eh? :smallwink:

Just wondering...

Well, if he pours it out... by DnD rules, it's unlikely to kill him, since 50 gold = 1 pound and a shower of them wouldn't do a ton of damage. He doesn't need to breathe, so being buried in 300 pounds of gold wouldn't really be a problem for him. And if he just drops the bag...

Well, it's a Bag of Holding. It only weighs 25 pounds, probably. I suppose if it's a Type IV and weighs 60 pounds, it could hurt, but vampires aren't very susceptible to bashing damage. It wouldn't overcome his DR, either.

[sumneros]

what is durkula saying when he says "the next phase"

[Kopmon]

Durkon's saddened expression hits me harder than it should. Hand in there, friend. Hopefully we'll free you soon. :smallfrown:

[Shining Wrath]

So... Nothing living can enter that antilife shell. Does it support weight? Can Roy climb or jump atop it?

How much does fifteen thousand pieces of jelly-covered gold weigh? One would think they should at least put a crimp in HPoH's style, eh? :smallwink:

Just wondering...

About 300 pounds - less than Roy in full armor, I'd warrant.


what is durkula saying when he says "the next phase"

That is a literary technique called "Have a character say something that makes the audience wonder what he means".

[Moonshade]

//snip// 50 gold = 1 pound and a shower of them wouldn't do a ton of damage. He doesn't need to breathe, so being buried in 300 pounds of gold wouldn't really be a problem for him. And if he just drops the bag... //snip//

Did envision him dumping them from the bag though.

But I suppose you are right, no self-respecting vampire would be caught dead wearing 300 pounds of gold.

[Moonshade]

...see what I did there? :smalltongue:

Still toying with the idea of Roy standing atop the shell.

[Quartz]

I wonder if Roy has any Holy Water to throw at Durkula?

[Calemyr]

The barrier is semipermeable; we've already established the demigod priests will be able to enter and vote.

By prior arrangement. The demigods are already worked in as part of a system designed so that even the gods couldn't get around it. That's the whole point of this thing. The gods are trapped by the very rules they set up to avoid shenanigans (i.e. Loki). The demigod priests can come in, in the case of a stalemate, but that's all.

[Angband]

So I think what will happen is...

Notice that Durkula is at the base of one of those flat-fronted pillars.

One of the pillars that Roy embedded the wooden spear of the High Priest of Odin in (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1004.html).

So my guess Roy will do something (kick the pillar? throw his sword?) that causes the spear to fall out of the wall, and the non-living spear will fall down, pass through the anti-life sphere, and we wind up with a Dur-kebab.

[137beth]

Huh...
Now it looks like it is time for Belkar to do something to save the day. Possibly he will help stall them.

[Khallazar]

I see this fight as character growth for Roy, so I would prefer he finish this himself.

I agree completely.

The last strip was about dismissing the possibility of Durkon showing up as core piece in this fight.
It's time for Roy to deal, alone, with the consequences of what he did as a leader: used Durkula as a tool and shoved it on the party's arse regardless of the dangers involved. He took his loyalty for granted in accountance of his pragmatism and put the world in danger because of that.

It's his job and nobody else's.

The irony is that despite Belkar's lame Wisdom score he, indeed, was de wisest concerning ths particular matter. :belkar: > :roy:

Someone deserves an apology.

[Malfarian]

Huh...
Now it looks like it is time for Belkar to do something to save the day. Possibly he will help stall them.

Exactly this is where Belkar drops in to no longer be alive and save the world! Godspeed Belky! Godspeed!

[EmperorSarda]

Roy should know better to not give a caster more breathing room. Roy threw the HPoH off him and got hit with a Flamestrike earlier.

It's an idiotic move to hit Durkon away. He should have kept pounding away at the HPoH.

[Shining Wrath]

By prior arrangement. The demigods are already worked in as part of a system designed so that even the gods couldn't get around it. That's the whole point of this thing. The gods are trapped by the very rules they set up to avoid shenanigans (i.e. Loki). The demigod priests can come in, in the case of a stalemate, but that's all.

We have exactly zero evidence that only the high priests of the demigods can enter.

For example, they may have bodyguards, and the other bodyguards are here.

But for all we know a pizza delivery boy could come in - and then not be allowed to exit.

For that matter, since the point of the barrier is "no backsies", it may even be possible for Roy, Wrecan, et cetera, to leave.

[Berserk Knight]

Belkar (somehow) makes it back in there.

Belkar jumps at the HPoH from the opposite side of where Roy is, then dies (possibly suicide) mid-air, before hitting the shell.

His (now dead) body passes through freely. It rams the HPoH and pushes him towards Roy.

The shell also moves towards Roy. It becomes "forced upon" a living being and collapses, allowing Roy to take out HPoH.


The "sacrificing himself to nullify the enemy's invulnerability" option.

...Not that I really expect Belkar to actually choose that one.

[Vendanna]

Now I'm eager to see if the Pun on the next strip will be "Ghost in the Shell" :D

Greatly enjoying the battle between not-durkon and Roy. And still waiting to see how the Giant surprises me.

- Durkula still need to fail in there (but not die in the process I guess, its too early to recover Durkon's Body)

- Roy cannot go to the last gate with an entire army of Clerics, so something must happen in there that stops the clerics to help him.

- Varsuvius has a Teleport orb (too bad isn't a cheaper teleporking orb) which stills needs to be used. (probably reason why the clerics won't be of much help to roy)

- and Whonder if Roy's father will show again at a later date (bonus points if the reason Roy's little brother died was because Eugene was tampering with the ancestral sword in order to make it useful and something went wrong)

:smallsmile:

[Metahuman1]

Hey, Roy? This is why you take levels in Warblade! Iron Heart Surge baby! If you'd done that this would be over and I wouldn't still be having to read about the irksome vampire I don't like!

[Ridureyu]

Calling it now: Belkar ghost saves the day.

[8BitNinja]

Throughout this whole fight in the godsmoot, did anyone have a song from Castlevania playing in their head

I did

[DeadMG]

Perhaps this has already been mentioned, but I actually considered that Eugene might show up. We haven't seen him in a while.

[8BitNinja]

Perhaps this has already been mentioned, but I actually considered that Eugene might show up. We haven't seen him in a while.

In the afterlife, you stay in your idea form (or at least in Lawful Good afterlife) That's why Roy's mom was 19 while his dad was still older than Yoda

Maybe it doesn't apply to non-good afterlives

I'll never know, I'm a paladin, I'm going to mount celestial

Any of you non-good types know what happen to you when you die

Necromancers, what happens to you, you can't reanimate yourself

[Demolator]

It may just be the waiting, but it feels like this fight is dragging on a bit. Stalling for an undead Belkar or Xykon or something?

[DaggerPen]

Oh this is baaaad. I'm on the edge of my seat here - thanks, Giant!

[Mousedigits]

This has probably already been suggested, but what if Belkar comes back as a Revenant, come back to kill Durkula?

[EccentricFellow]

Everyone is focused on killing Durkula, but there may be some other way out of this dilemma. Fortunately the cat is out of the bag now so there is no longer any hesitation that it is not Durkon. Our options for the execution are then:
- Xykon
- Undead Belkar
- Undead someone else
- Lots of ranged or magic damage through the shell
- Bypassing the shell in some other ingenious way
- Solving the issue without killing Durkula. (*Note: That would lead to a most interesting finale since Durkula clearly is going to have to die at some point)

My suspicion is that, as thorough as I believe this list to be, that somehow it will not be any of those things. I am sure that whatever happens next I will laugh, I will cry, and it will make perfect sense in retrospect. I, for one, cannot wait. :)

[8BitNinja]

Everyone is focused on killing Durkula, but there may be some other way out of this dilemma. Fortunately the cat is out of the bag now so there is no longer any hesitation that it is not Durkon. Our options for the execution are then:
- Xykon
- Undead Belkar
- Undead someone else
- Lots of ranged or magic damage through the shell
- Bypassing the shell in some other ingenious way
- Solving the issue without killing Durkula. (*Note: That would lead to a most interesting finale since Durkula clearly is going to have to die at some point)

My suspicion is that, as thorough as I believe this list to be, that somehow it will not be any of those things. I am sure that whatever happens next I will laugh, I will cry, and it will make perfect sense in retrospect. I, for one, cannot wait. :)

New theory: Roy throws the cake, and the demigods chase after it and Durkula puts down his barrier for a moment to get some cake, but just when he leans over, a bunch of demigods and Roy bull rush him

[Crusher]

what is durkula saying when he says "the next phase"

I'm assuming the demi-god vote, but we'll see.

[One Skunk Todd]

Whaaaaatttt dooooooesss a yeeellllloooowww liiiiggghhhtttt meeeeaannnn? :)

[Bulldog Psion]

It may just be the waiting, but it feels like this fight is dragging on a bit. Stalling for an undead Belkar or Xykon or something?

I agree that the suspense is draining away rapidly. Last comic was kind of the crescendo; now that it's still going on, it's starting to get a "neverending flailing of two big rubbery monsters at each other" feel, like a cheap Japanese monster movie.

On the other hand, I'm still interested to see where it's going. Even though the tension is almost gone, it's still a case of "gosh, I wonder what the next move will be."

[Dr.Zero]

According to rules of Godsmoot no one but Belkar -and maybe his animal companions, but not sure about it- can attack Durkula without being smoked on the spot.

No V, no Haley, no one.

So it is either Roy or Belkar, if Durkula has to die. Well, die a little more.

The other options are someone who switches votes in a manner not planned by Hel .

Redcloack showing to vote for the Dark-One (not sure to which pantheon he belongs). But at the moment he should be with Xykong seizing the last gate.

Xykon, , warned by Redcloack, Reddie and the MitD showing to save the world and conquer it... killing everyone here. Not sure if Xykon's awesome 26+ epicness is anyway enough against a room full of high priests. It could work, but, again, Xykon at the moment should be already seizing the last gate.

Technically the ushers killed by Durkula could play a role, but I really hope not as corpses thrown inside the shell. That would be lame.

That's it.

So IMO the most likely options (in order) are: Roy throwing something inside, Roy hitting some pillars so that it can collapse on Durkula, Belkar throwing something against Durkula or an undead Belkar created I don't know when.

[ohsynap]

It feels like the thrust of hypotheses is around how to get around the spell directly, but I think we have a few hints that we are in for more of a narrative surprise than a combat surprise. I completely agree with folks suggesting an outside character, most likely Belkar, getting involved, but I don't expect something completely random and difficult to explain like Xykon or a newly non-living entity showing up out of the blue. Also seems very contrived for Roy to produce a physical solution to Durkula's trump spell, or to use the same Architecture solution from Roy's last big solo fight.

The biggest clue for me is the sudden news about the demi-god priests appearing with the seemingly throwaway joke about the cake. It just strikes me as too random for the timing to work out like this without any further intervention, and it also seems suspicious that we didn't see any of what happened on the steps.

Further, it seems like SOMETHING must have happened with Belkar and/or the Mechane in the last few minutes off-panel, and with the pace of the immediate battle slowing down for the first time in a number of strips, it seems a good opportunity for a cut-away or to at least see the impact of whatever that was.

So, my hypothesis -
Something unexpected did happen with the demi-god priests that caused them to show up, beyond cake - and that unexpected thing will be disruptive to Hel's immediately presented plan of winning the vote. Belkar killing or disabling one somehow, Belkar or Elan becoming a demi-god priest, or similar. Either way, we will see good characters we recognize showing up as some or all of the "demi god priests."

[Kalirren]

Enter Banjo and Giggles for the demigod vote? "Free Cake" sounds pretty attractive to religious figures that settled a theological dispute with a pie-eating contest.

[8BitNinja]

I miss the comic Order of the Stick, it was replaced by this new one "Fighter vs a Vampire" or my name for it "Godsmootvania"

[Bulldog Psion]

I miss the comic Order of the Stick, it was replaced by this new one "Fighter vs a Vampire" or my name for it "Godsmootvania"

While I don't entirely agree with the overall argument, I have to admit "Godsmootvania" is pretty funny. :smallbiggrin:

[8BitNinja]

While I don't entirely agree with the overall argument, I have to admit "Godsmootvania" is pretty funny. :smallbiggrin:

Mr. Burlew, please let me design a T-Shirt for you that says "Godsmootvania" on it

[ClaimingLight]

You know, there is another possibility.

Maybe the world actually does end.

It'd be very interesting to see what came next. I admit I'd be a little worried about what that would do to the legitimacy of the last 1k strips... but in the D&D world, the material plane is hardly the end.

FTR though, I still doubt this will happen.

[8BitNinja]

You know, there is another possibility.

Maybe the world actually does end.

It'd be very interesting to see what came next. I admit I'd be a little worried about what that would do to the legitimacy of the last 1k strips... but in the D&D world, the material plane is hardly the end.

FTR though, I still doubt this will happen.

Mr. Burlew said that it would continue for 5 years at least, I doubt that would happen

What would be next, the adventure in planescape

Order of the Stick: Sigil Edition