Aha! I think I figured out Soon.

[erewhon]

Well, the last few comics have been....awesome. Really.

But one thing that bothered me a smidgeon was how powerful Soon was. I mean, he took out both Xykon and Redcloak, two SERIOUSLY tough guys.

Yes, both of them had been in previous fights, but Soon wasn't even INJURED as far as I could tell.

How did he get to be so mighty?

There are two clues.

First, in strip 459, you see Soon pausing and concentrating as Redcloak 'poofs' a bunch of the deathless paladins.

Second, in strip 464, Soon refers to himself in the plural.



My theory: Soon was subsuming the deathless paladins as they fell in the second battle. Every time Xykon and Redcloak poofed one, Soon was healed and gained more hit dice. His CR kept going up, and up, and up....

Wow.

THAT is a beatific defense right there. Soon did a very, very good job. I always felt the "paladins on guard" as a defense was rather lame, but this added twist, with Soon waiting in death to EAT every paladin who was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice....

THAT's good writing folks. :D Well done, Mr. Burlew! :D

[Yechezkiel]

Yes, both of them had been in previous fights, but Soon wasn't even INJURED as far as I could tell.

Why would a ghost look wounded?

[holywhippet]

Why would a ghost look wounded?

Well, surely they'd bleed ectoplasm as they took damage?:smallsmile:

[CardinalFang]

Why would a ghost look wounded?

They might start to look a little ragged or wispy as they have trouble manifesting. Or Rich might just draw them with injuries to make it clear that they're injured.

[DreadSpoon]

Why would a ghost look wounded?

Why wouldn't they look wounded? They clearly look like something. Complete with clothes, and even weapons which they must use in order to cause damage... plus they get to use class features. If they must appear to use a weapon to manifest damage, then surely they must appear harmed when their being is damaged.

In terms of rules, in the D&D cosmology, a ghost is merely an entity that is only partially on the material plane. When it gets hurt, it still gets hurt, and gets hurt just like creatures on the material plane.

[Lord Zentei]

So, Soon is a psychic vampire now? :smalleek:

Nah, he's just a ultra-high level paladin. Moreover, Xykon and Redcloak had to expend much of their power fighting the spirit-host. A high-level paladin plus a host of low to mid level paladins being equal to a pair of high level casters isn't implausible, IMHO.

[Sigbru]

You ppl think too much
Xykon only hit him with magic missile ¬¬ redcloak was busy with 20 other paladins, Soon highther level and whatever Rich wants to do with his comic he do

[ref]

Yechezkiel: You tied your message nicely with your sig :smallbiggrin:

[Demented]

Of course, you'll notice when Xykon is zapping the ghosts, that some of them wink out, even though they have no apparent physical injuries. So either Xykon's powerful enough to pop them in one hit, and it's the 50% miss chance that leaves them intact, or ghosts don't show damage.

[Elliot Kane]

Soon is an ex-adventurer who probably has levels at least equal to Xykon, with his ghost-powers whatever they are thrown in for good measure. I think that's all he would have needed, honestly.

[blennus]

Two words: Great Smiting (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#greatSmiting). :smallbiggrin:

[Snaaake]

Of course, you'll notice when Xykon is zapping the ghosts, that some of them wink out, even though they have no apparent physical injuries. So either Xykon's powerful enough to pop them in one hit, and it's the 50% miss chance that leaves them intact, or ghosts don't show damage.

To Remind you how turning/destroying undead works: you check for the highest level of undead you can turn (with the case of Redcloak vs. lowbie/mid-level paladins, not a problem), then you roll how many total hit dice you turn, and start counting the number of nasties you turn/rebuke.

*If your caster level is twice or more the targets hit dice, it is destroyed/commanded instead* (or with a greater turning use, anything turned/rebuked is directly destroyed/commanded). They don't actually ever take damage, nor does the amount of health they have left matter at all. It's just a *poof* or no *poof* thing.

[Cicobalico]

To Remind you how turning/destroying undead works: you check for the highest level of undead you can turn (with the case of Redcloak vs. lowbie/mid-level paladins, not a problem), then you roll how many total hit dice you turn, and start counting the number of nasties you turn/rebuke.

*If your caster level is twice or more the targets hit dice, it is destroyed/commanded instead* (or with a greater turning use, anything turned/rebuked is directly destroyed/commanded). They don't actually ever take damage, nor does the amount of health they have left matter at all. It's just a *poof* or no *poof* thing.

But Xykon wasn't Turning/destroying them, I actually think he was just making some good zapping work :smallsmile:

[erewhon]

Of course, you'll notice when Xykon is zapping the ghosts, that some of them wink out, even though they have no apparent physical injuries. So either Xykon's powerful enough to pop them in one hit, and it's the 50% miss chance that leaves them intact, or ghosts don't show damage.


Xykon was using lightning and fire. If he was Maximizing them all (very likely as he was almost out of high-end slots)then he was doing 60 points of damage with them.

Given that making a save against him is non-trivial at low levels (most of those paladins were likely in the 4 to 8 range) it's very likely he was just popping them with sheer brute force.

No damage to show, really. You're either fine, or dead. :(

But, if folks don't like this idea, how do you explain Soon's pause (with a glow) and then his reference to himself in plurals?

[Lord Zentei]

But, if folks don't like this idea, how do you explain Soon's pause (with a glow) and then his reference to himself in plurals?

What would the glow prove? He's a spirit.

And "we" could just refer to the other spooks. Just because they have been poofed does not neccesarily mean that the souls involved have been anihilated, never to reach the celestial realms.

[Abbott]

I like the theory and it makes sense. Considering Xykon defeated Dorukan, who must've been qually high in level to Soon, Soon must've had an ace up his sleave. Either that, or Xykon's spell selection focuses simply on 148 ways to hurt, maim and/or kill people which he a) expended and b) Soon simply reflexed or willed his way out of.

[pjackson]

Soon probably has a very high charisma since he was able to recruit the Sapphire Guard. Combined with his high levels of Paladin that gives him a lot of healing from Lay on Hands. He has his Paladin spells on top of that.
It is quite possible that Xykon did damage Soon whilst they were fighting off screen, but Soon just healed it.

[BisectedBrioche]

I like the theory and it makes sense. Considering Xykon defeated Dorukan, who must've been qually high in level to Soon, Soon must've had an ace up his sleave. Either that, or Xykon's spell selection focuses simply on 148 ways to hurt, maim and/or kill people which he a) expended and b) Soon simply reflexed or willed his way out of.

Didn't it say Dorukan became a hermit? So Soon might have leveled up a bit more while Dorukan just lounged around?

[Tola]

First, in strip 459, you see Soon pausing and concentrating as Redcloak 'poofs' a bunch of the deathless paladins.

Simpler explanation: The souls of the Paladins are connected to the world via the Gate. With the Gate active, they can't die-they just respawn later. Soon himelf can draw on the Gate to heal.

[TDG]

Second, in strip 464, Soon refers to himself in the plural.

"By destroying my gate..."
"I might have ended Xykon's..."
"Our oath to defend the gate was all that bound our souls to this world" <- Referring to all the Paladin ghosts in the room, not himself only

etc etc etc

Hate to crap all over your theory, but he refers to himself as a single entity. He refers to other paladins seperately - not as being part of him.

[BobTheDog]

On an (almost) unrelated subject:

Better Soon than never. :smalltongue:

[Borris]

I like the theory and it makes sense. Considering Xykon defeated Dorukan, who must've been qually high in level to Soon, Soon must've had an ace up his sleave. Either that, or Xykon's spell selection focuses simply on 148 ways to hurt, maim and/or kill people which he a) expended and b) Soon simply reflexed or willed his way out of.

Except that, as a human of venerable age (he certainly looked at least 70), Dorukan had taken a -6 penalty to all his physical ability scores. While a penalty to Strength doesn't matter much, the penalty to Reflex means a lower initiative and Armor Class, as well as a lower Reflex save (which most of Xykon's spells use). The penalty to Constitution means an equaly lower Fortitude save. It also affects Concentration checks. Worse still, assuming a 20th-level wizard, it means 60 hp less than then he'd have had as a young adult. Combined with a wizard's d4 hit dice, it makes for a really fragile character, especially since Dorukan didn't look really tough in his young age either. Assuming a base Constitution score of 14 (pretty good for a wizard), he'd now be at 8, with an average hp total of 31 at 20th level.

As for Soon, being a deathless means that he loses his Constitution modifier. While he loses whatever bonus to hit points he might have had from a positive modifier, his hit dice turn from d10 to d12, granting him the equivalent of a +1 modifier. At 20th level, he'd have an average of 135 hp.

[kirbsys]

On an (almost) unrelated subject:

Better Soon than never. :smalltongue:

Kill the pun. Quickly, before it spreads.

:Hazmat team appears: