Resurrection Scroll [Spoiler]

[MirEgal]

I hope this hasn't been said already. If this belongs to another thead, please append it there.

Anyway, I just read through the archive and stumbled upon 602 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0602.html), where the cleric says that he has a resurrection scroll with him.

I don't know the rules for resurrection scrolls, but is it possible that Belkar may die and the cleric resurrects him? This would fulfill the Oracles prophecy and remove the resurrection scroll, so Durkon can save the day.

Edit: on a second note - he could also use it to resurrect Haley

[Fitzclowningham]

It's possible, but it would only mean Belkar would die again before the end of the in-comic year.

[Ceaon]

Belkar will draw his last breath - ever (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0572.html) - before the end of the year. That was what the Oracle said. Resurrecting Belkar means the prophecy is not yet fulfilled.

The resurrection scroll may come into play again, though, possibly to revive Roy.

[Raging Gene Ray]

He brought that scroll for Roy...if he uses it on Belkar, Haley might not pay him for it.

And the Oracle said Belkar will "draw his last breath ever," that leaves no room for "stop breathing and then start again a few minutes later."

Ninja'd. How embarrassing.

[MirEgal]

Wow, the answers are fast. Anyway, you are right, Belkar will die.

As for the resurrection scroll... I won't wonder if Belkar won't arrive in time to save Haley. Maybe he uses it to resurrect Haley, and Celia pays him.

There were a lot of anti-climaxes within the last 100 to 150 strips, I hope that the giant will use the calling of Durkon, so he can just arrive at the right time... having Durkon arriving to say "Oh, I am late" is boring. It is more realistic, yes, but also more boring.

[Hydro Globus]

It's possible, but it would only mean Belkar would die again before the end of the in-comic year.

But that would introduce us to a whole new dimension of pointless new threads...

[Reaver225]

So... vampires don't breath, right? What other templates mean you don't have to breathe and can be applied to sociopaths?

[headhoncho]

I still think Belkar will take up sketching and "draw" his last breath ever some time soon. :smallwink:

[David Argall]

Anyway, I just read through the archive and stumbled upon 602 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0602.html), where the cleric says that he has a resurrection scroll with him.

This is there for Roy, and is unlikely to be used for anyone else.

[Kish]

So... vampires don't breath, right? What other templates mean you don't have to breathe and can be applied to sociopaths?
Very few which mean you aren't in the world anymore.

[Lord Zentei]

There is also the distinct possibility that
they will be needing the scroll for Haley. After all, Bozzok and Crystal have had ample time to slit her throat while he was killing off the mooks.

EDIT: On second thought... the cleric may well have Raise Dead, but that spell requires a complete corpse and we don't know how enthusiastic Crystal is.

[Hydro Globus]

AFAIK the corpse is "complete" as long as you can put it together.

[Lord Zentei]

AFAIK the corpse is "complete" as long as you can put it together.

Tsukiko gave up on creating a Death Knight out of Miko's corpse because it was torn in half.

But I guess we'll see whether this is even relevant in the next couple of installments.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Tsukiko gave up on creating a Death Knight out of Miko's corpse because it was torn in half.

Making undead is very different from returning people to life.

[Lord Zentei]

Making undead is very different from returning people to life.

Correct, but they have the same requirement, namely the phrase "complete corpse".

[Evil DM Mark3]

Hang on, this is resurrection, not raise dead! They only need a bit of the body!

Also Raise Dead specifically states that it closes mortal wounds. Being bisected probably counts.

[Lord Zentei]

Hang on, this is resurrection, not raise dead! They only need a bit of the body!

I know. That's why I said they might be using the scroll. The Whole Body requirement is for Raise Dead which the unnamed Cleric of Loki probably has.


Also Raise Dead specifically states that it closes mortal wounds. Being bisected probably counts.

Mortal wounds in general, sure, but not wounds that make the corpse non-complete. Otherwise, the requirement would be redundant. :smallconfused:

[Evil DM Mark3]

Pretty weird cleric who prepares raise dead.
Mortal wounds in general, sure, but not wounds that make the corpse non-complete. Otherwise, the requirement would be redundant. :smallconfused:this is how I see it:

Lacks a hand = incomplete (note you can raise them in this state, they simply lack a hand).
Missing head = incomplete (and not even close to raiseable)
Severed head touching stump = Complete (and will be healed)

[Lord Zentei]

Pretty weird cleric who prepares raise dead.

I never said he had it prepared. I said that he had it. As in, he probably can cast it.


this is how I see it:

Lacks a hand = incomplete (note you can raise them in this state, they simply lack a hand).
Missing head = incomplete (and not even close to raiseable)
Severed head touching stump = Complete (and will be healed)

And even assuming you are right, it is not a given a complete corpse will remain. Killing a high level PC is not enough if s/he has known allies, and Bozzok is not a fool.

[Aergoth]

Ehem; Rule number one of murdering things: Kill it with FIRE!
Rule number two of murdering things: nuke it from orbit. Given that A) Bozok is not an idiot and B) Crystal is very enthusiastic, it is quite possible that there won't even BE a body. Those of you wondering how to kill it with fire without magic need only look at the rules for oil flasks (Icewind dale taught me so many applications for the humble oil flask; namely, kill it with fire, BUT MORE!) and alchemist's fire. Hell, Bozok is a rogue, UMD would give him a wand of fireballs.

[Hydro Globus]

You forgot rule number three: If it is a troll, nuke it from orbit, THEN destroy any remains with fire! :)

Also, if the ash remaining after a desintegration is viable (streched pun semi-intended), then the ash after burning a body also is. Furthermore, Bozzok and Crystal probably won't have enough time.

[Alysar]

I don't think making Belkar an intelligent undead is an option either. The Oracle also said that Belkar wasn't long for this world, implying he won't be existing at all in the mortal realms.

[Batmankoff]

and if he comas backs as a solar manifesting himself form the chaotic evil heaven?

[Zeful]

and if he comas backs as a solar manifesting himself form the chaotic evil heaven?

With the varying prophies that point to Belkar's Death. Won't needs to fund his IRA, Should savour his next birthday cake, Will draw his last breath ever before the end of the year, isn't long for this world. You'd expect that he simply dies and stays dead.

If it was just one it would be an interesting inconvenience or plot point.
Won't need to fund his IRA (if you don't know what an IRA is, I think it's a retirement fund). It becomes a running game to Belkar's lack of optimization that he dies and needs to be rezzed every week. IRA's in the world constantly use status spells and terminate the fund as soon as the blip vanishes.
Should savor his next birthday cake. Belkar loses the ability to taste.
Will draw his last breath ever. Dies and gets reincarnated as a creature with telepathy and loses the need to breate.
Isn't long for this world. Moves to a different plane.

When you put them all together, however you come up with an increasingly complex scenario. On one hand. Belkar dies and is removed from the comic in total. On the other, Belkar dies, gets raised as an intelligent undead, stays an intelligent undead, and moves to a different plane.

Which is more likely?

[Sethek]

You are aware that all of you who take Belkar's death sentence for granted take the Oracle's words at face value.

However, he was just rambling when he talked about Belkar's impending death.
There is a money back guarantee for the prophecies he does for payment, so these should be rather accurate.
However, he is also a really mean jerk, as are most kobolds, I daresay. He might as well have been lying for whatever reasons. Plus, he might have been wrong, too. The oracle is, by no means, infallible, proven in the comic (interrupted during taking a bath).

Btw: Solars from chaotic planes would be odd. Try Slaadi Lords (There even lurks one in Belkar's subconscious, together with the two devils) or Tanari. :)

Oh, and for beings that don't breathe, are dead and not of this world? Vampires don't qualify, ghosts do. Roaming on the Ethereal Plane which overlaps the Material Plane but isn't the same. Not Breathing. Dead. Voila :)

[Zeful]

You are aware that all of you who take Belkar's death sentence for granted take the Oracle's words at face value.

However, he was just rambling when he talked about Belkar's impending death.
There is a money back guarantee for the prophecies he does for payment, so these should be rather accurate.
However, he is also a really mean jerk, as are most kobolds, I daresay. He might as well have been lying for whatever reasons. Plus, he might have been wrong, too. The oracle is, by no means, infallible, proven in the comic (interrupted during taking a bath).

Btw: Solars from chaotic planes would be odd. Try Slaadi Lords (There even lurks one in Belkar's subconscious, together with the two devils) or Tanari. :)

Oh, and for beings that don't breathe, are dead and not of this world? Vampires don't qualify, ghosts do. Roaming on the Ethereal Plane which overlaps the Material Plane but isn't the same. Not Breathing. Dead. Voila :)

As others have said before me, if the oracle was lying, why would he have gone to such lengths to insure Roy's memory of it? If he was lying wouldn't it be easier to send his customers off to their deaths rather than have a money-back guarantee? Why are you assuming the Oracle has any reason to lie?

As for getting interrupted before taking a bath? He could have been talking about a vision he received when he first received the power to see the future. Or he could simply be arrogant enough to believe that because he's a divine oracle, people will wait for him to be done with his bath before bother him with their problems. Just like he was arrogant enough to assume that the memory charm would work on banished beings.

Compared to simply "dead at the end of the comic". Being some form of unbreathing undead on another plane seems pretty ridiculous.

[David Argall]

You are aware that all of you who take Belkar's death sentence for granted take the Oracle's words at face value.

However, he was just rambling when he talked about Belkar's impending death.
There is a money back guarantee for the prophecies he does for payment, so these should be rather accurate.
However, he is also a really mean jerk, as are most kobolds, I daresay. He might as well have been lying for whatever reasons. Plus, he might have been wrong, too. The oracle is, by no means, infallible, proven in the comic (interrupted during taking a bath).

Oracle predictions, on or off the record, have so far proved entirely correct. They have routinely proved to be inadequate information, but the information provided has been correct and not tricky. We have no reason to think the information is wrong.
WXP Our writer discusses the Oracle's purpose in the story, which includes assuring the reader the good guys [or most of them anyway] will win. But this assurance depends on the Oracle being a reliable prophet. So if Belkar escapes what has been predicted so often, he challenges the very purpose of the Oracle in the story. So we have to assume the Oracle is telling the truth.

[Flame of Anor]

Note that the cleric says he has "a scroll with it" not "a scroll with me", indicating that the scroll is a Resurrection scroll, not that he has it along. Not that he couldn't have it along.

[factotum]

Pretty weird cleric who prepares raise dead.


He's been told to come prepared to raise someone from the dead. To be honest, I'd be surprised if he DIDN'T have Raise Dead prepared.

[Underground]

So... vampires don't breath, right? What other templates mean you don't have to breathe and can be applied to sociopaths?

Oh ... my ... god ... you did NOT just post that !

And I'm pretty sure vampires DO breathe when they want to talk.

[Reaver225]

Oh ... my ... god ... you did NOT just post that !

And I'm pretty sure vampires DO breathe when they want to talk.

What? What'd I say?

[raphfrk]

but that spell requires a complete corpse and we don't know how enthusiastic Crystal is

How complete does a complete corpse have to be? Would removal of hair be sufficient?

[Hydro Globus]

Short (five words) answer: No.