OOTS #874 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

Also, I wrote a News post about my thumb's progress.

[Peelee]

The background info given on Malack is awesome. Also, I very nearly laughed out loud when I saw him hanging upside down in panel 6. Awesome.

[Doxkid]

Oh god, they're getting even faster.

[Xiander]

I cannot see the comic

[Raineh Daze]

Now this is more like it. Excellent.

I cannot see the comic

S.O.P. for me is 'refresh page', 'try another browser', 'clear cache', if I run across anything like that.

[ThePhantasm]

I always love a Thor appearance! Good strip. Malack hanging upside down is creepy. Durkon isn't out of this yet.

[TRH]

Hell yeah, now that's the kind of strategy I was expecting from Malack! Can't wait to see what his next trick's gonna be. Durkon probably is running low on spells at this point...He may have no choice but to use that Planar Ally spell soon.

[XanKrieger]

That was amazing, I love the effect of Gas Malack and the tiny tidbit about his time as being truly alive. 200 Years, guy really needs to get out more.

[Gift Jeraff]

Hmm. So I take it OOTS vampires don't retain the souls of their living selves?

[Raineh Daze]

Well, Durkon's now truly in a predicament, unless V has somehow managed to get into the area. Malack's fully healed, he's slowly running out of spells, and he can't get backup because of shoddy will saves.

Hmm. So I take it OOTS vampires don't retain the souls of their living selves?

Where are you getting that from?

[Giggling Ghast]

I was wondering, is Malack a stealth reference to the old D&D module Tomb of the Lizard King?

[Caivs]

Nothing beats the excitement of seeing a new comic appear as one wanders on the forum, thank you Giant!

Seems like Tarquin's allies are also skilled in different manners of fighting...Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Also, good to see Thor hasn't changed

EDIT: Congratulations for your thumb too :)

[Quild]

Quite drunk from a professional party, checking in subway and... 10 wins in a row! I get a win each time I see an update before a friend xD

[Alex Star]

V could change the tide of this entire thing. But malaks story about being the last of his tribe might be a troublesome point if it comes out.

[Ron Miel]

Was the Cure Critical Wounds spell cast on himself or Belkar

[mawexzon]

Cool.

[stsasser]

Oh god, they're getting even faster.

It's the Mayans...a couple of months late!

[WalkingTarget]

Was the Cure Critical Wounds spell cast on himself or Belkar

Himself - the two big vertical stab wounds that Belkar inflicted on him are gone in the next panel that you see him in.

[Sir_Leorik]

Amazing strip! Malack runs off to both heal and to engage Durkon in a war of attrition, while Hel berates Thor for engaging in the running gag about trees!

It seems Malack is not rusty at all, he merely wanted to confront Durkon openly as a token to their crumbling friendship. But now he's decided to stick to the sort of plan Tarquin would recommend, a plan that maximizes his Vampiric gifts, while diminishing Durkon's remaining spells.

And given how low Elan, Belkar and Haley's Will saves are, Durkon can't risk their being dominated by Malack. He has to confront the Vampire himself.

Giant I am eagerly awaiting the next step in the cat-and-mouse game between Durkon and Malack.

[mattie_p]

Was the Cure Critical Wounds spell cast on himself or Belkar

I suspect himself.

[Dr. Gamera]

... who needs an enemy?

[Raineh Daze]

Hmm, so this raises a few questions about Malack's fighting ability in the previous strip, to me: was it just a lapse in judgement, or a calculated risk to get Durkon to spend spells? In the end, Malack's right about the attrition thing: if it comes to just waiting things out, Fast Healing, Gaseous Form and Damage Reduction give him a lot more survivability in the long run, since he's not completely crippled by running out of spell slots.

[Mike Havran]

Okay, I admit it now. Malack is totally Evil. And he is also totally awesome.

Edit: On the second thought, let's wait some more

[TRH]

V could change the tide of this entire thing. But malaks story about being the last of his tribe might be a troublesome point if it comes out.

This has been coming up again and again since 869 came out, and I can't suppress my curiosity any longer. Why does everyone seem to think that Varsuuvius is going to pop up out of nowhere? I thought it was pretty obvious at the end of 866 that she was in the middle of a serious BSOD and will take a while to get back on his feet. Granted, he'll have to get over it sometime, but until the story cuts back to her (using inconsistent gender pronouns seems appropriate for V) I don't see any reason to assume hir appearance anytime soon.

[PrinceOfMadness]

Hey, first page!

I'm really liking all the demonstrations of Malack's creepy vampire abilities, and it looks like he's back up to full now - and well prepared for round two. He's now aware of Durkon's Mass Death Ward and racial resistance to poison. He's also got more options than Durkon, particularly when spell slots run dry. And now Durkon's reluctant to raise the rest of the OOTS.

[Ellye]

V could change the tide of this entire thing.

I'm afraid V might have a situational penalty for her Will checks right now. Not someone you'd want battling a Vampire Cleric, if that's the case.

Gaseous Form Malack is fearsome! Those evil eyes! He sounded so very evil.

[Sir_Leorik]

I was wondering, is Malack a stealth reference to the old D&D module Tomb of the Lizard King?

Spoiler

Show

Malack could be a homage to the villain in that module, who was a Lizard King Vampire Spellcaster (I can't remember if he was a wizard or cleric).

[Kaulguard]

Well played, Malack. Went about the way the last thread thought.

[mawexzon]

Awesome Malack is Awesome .

[Rui]

NOW Durkon is lost. Malack played smart, If I were Durkon I would have ran for my life to the party. Low on spells and low on hp against a vampire? NO SIR.