Do they need Celia?

[d'Bwobsling]

She may be more powerful than either Haley or Belkar, but she won't use any of her offensive magic, and she cares too much about the nameless extras.

[Shalewind]

Oh, she’ll use her spells once her life in endangered. I’ve no doubt she’ll cast in self defense. Then it’s just a question of what can she cast? Also, non-violent utility spells certainly have their place. It might help the OOTS out to charm their way past a defense or two rather than doing it the loud way.

As for her care of “nameless extras”… She’ll learn in time what sacrifices might need to be made.

[ShellBullet]

She can also fly, which is pretty nice ability in most situations

[Quorothorn]

She may be more powerful than either Haley or Belkar, but she won't use any of her offensive magic, and she cares too much about the nameless extras.

I seriously doubt she's more powerful than any of the Order members, to be honest. But she's still a useful addition, if the combined force of herself and Belkar doesn't drive poor Haley insane.

[Craig1f]

She is far less powerful than Haley or Belkar. She's probably like CR5.

On the other hand, although she's less powerful, she's powerful in ways that they aren't powerful. She has detect magic at will, spell-like abilities, sorceress spells, and can fly.

In an encounter, she'll be nearly useless as she's a pacifist, not battle-hardened, and probably has 5d8+5 hitpoints. Haley could probably take her out with one sneak attack. Belkar would have no trouble either.

But out of combat, she provides a completely non-overlapping skill set that they desperately need.

[lord_khaine]

i belive the generel idea is that she is minimum level 6, since she have been seen casting lightning bolt.

[Yoritomo Himeko]

What exactly do they need her for, anyway? They might need her help in getting to Cliffport, but I can't see her being of much use after that.

She's a pacifist, so she won't be of much help in battle. She doesn't get along with Belkar. I don't think she likes Haley very much either. And don't forget, once she reunites with Elan, Durkon, and V, they won't need her magic skills.

I think these strips are the Giant's way of saying that no one else is going to join the Order.

[Mr._Michael]

No, they need her as a restraining influence. It's fine to go all bad-ass against an opponent when you have a MeatShield and some casters nearby... and Haley 'n Belkar's basic drive is to dive right into a fight. However, without the rest of the team, that would be suicide... so Celia will hold them back long enough to survive a first encounter. Also, her OWN magical abilities may come in handy pulling their fat out of the fire if something goes really wrong.

Who knows... maybe a few days on the trail will enlighten her as to why killing bad guys is a good idea... and help her identify who the bad guys really are. The story is back to Team Evil for now though, so I don't expect to hear from this part of the team for a while.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I'm wondering how much college has changed Celia... Back in the day, she zapped the heck out of Nale and Thog (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0070.html), and didn't give it a second thought. Later on, she agressively defended the Order in Shojo's court, and dated Roy, a known fighter.

Now she's all worried about fuzzy little critters getting sick from a chocolate bar...

Celia could become an effective adventurer, but she needs to shake off her currently pacifistic tendencies. :smallsigh: