OOTS #883 - The Discussion Thread

[Ezekiel]

Well....time for to screw up badly again (I hope).

[StreamOfTheSky]

Don't confuse trash-talk with documented fact.

If Haerta using the spell was known, it would have been a worthless insult due to being clearly and patently false. Especially to someone like V, who will contest the smallest minutiae.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Well....time for to screw up badly again (I hope).

That was my first thought.

"4 casters vs. 3 noncasters and 1 "caster" ...wonder how Nale's going to manage to *** this one up?"

But I'm hoping for a Malack (and thus also Durkon) defection.

[Heksefatter]

You know, my opinion of Malack went up again with this one - this 'tiresome struggle' does feel like it needs its 'overdue conclusion', at times.

As for Qarr...I dunno what he's got in mind this time. It seems pretty obvious to me that the reason he skipped out earlier was to tell the IFCC that V killed the Draketooths; that was the only new and urgent information available at the time. My guess right now is that the fiends are gonna offer V some means of keeping the Gate safe, since Girard's defenses seem like they're running out. Or maybe he's just there to tell the elf that they're calling in the soul debt, in order to keep Xykon from taking the Gate. Just my immediate thoughts.

This is scarily plausible. I love it.

[Lord Ensifer]

Interesting that the red magic glow corresponds with the green creature, and vice versa. Almost certainly not significant, but interesting nonetheless.

[Amphiox]

Regarding Durkula's spellcasting:

From what we know of the OotS verse's version of Thor, I'd say it is even money whether or not he has even noticed that Durkon's been turned yet.

[Amphiox]

V cast Familicide and so far no one knows.

The same could have happened if Huerta ever cast it.

On the other hand, if the spell penetrates only to one degree of direct relation, then V casting it on a long-lived Black Dragon could easily have a much higher fatality count that Huerta casting it if her target had been, say, a human.

(If the spell has no limitation on how many degrees of relationship it can penetrate, then a single casting on earth would kill every single living thing on the planet. On the OotS verse it would all depend on how many of each species the Gods made in the beginning)

[baerdith]

I thought it was a piscoloth:

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the one with the pincers.

EDIT:

Durkon's looks like a hamatala

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spiky grey-green one with tail, on far left.

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well, except for the extra arms...

[Quakes]

Always brightens my day when a new comic comes online, no matter if it's a little sad at the end.

Thanks, Giant!

[Stormlock]

Yeah, but the thing is, our most recent common ancestor is likely somewhere between 2000 and 4000 years old- for a population of billions covering the entire earth. A smaller population would have a more recent common ancestor. So we're not talking 'evolved from cells' here, we're talking 'plopped down with an entire civilization'. Which is possible (hell, maybe the gods made the world 200 years ago and everyone 'older' than that just has fake memories) but kinda weird, and even then, the chances you'd fry yourself with the spell if you cast it on anyone from the same continent are pretty frigging high.

I like to just chalk it up as 'the spell works in mysterious, convenient ways' and leave it at that. Though an arbitrary number of generations back as the limit would work too, nothing of the sort was ever mentioned. My interpretation of the spell when it was first cast had been that it stops at dead relatives (So if your parents are dead your cousins are unaffected, for example) but it was evidently much farther reaching than that.

[hamishspence]

well, except for the extra arms...

The Xill has no tail, and is different colour.

[Lord Ensifer]

As for speculation, I'd say it's in everyone's interest to get V back into the fray - V wants to help out the party, and Qarr wants the pointless chaos to continue. So Qarr will be just the thing to get V out of his mopey slump and into combat.

[baerdith]

Planar Ally works on creatures of up to 12 HD:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/planarAlly.htm

Barbed devils have 12 HD.

oops, I was going by Summon Monster......

[hamishspence]

I like to just chalk it up as 'the spell works in mysterious, convenient ways' and leave it at that. Though an arbitrary number of generations back as the limit would work too, nothing of the sort was ever mentioned. My interpretation of the spell when it was first cast had been that it stops at dead relatives (So if your parents are dead your cousins are unaffected, for example) but it was evidently much farther reaching than that.

There's a detailed explanation by The Giant of how it works, here:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1034

[Analytica]

As for Haerta casting Familicide...

... I got the impression all three soul splices were from other Prime Material Worlds anyway. I.e. Haerta may well have killed off her homeworld, and herself died in the process. She is then the worst mass-murderer in the history of that world, but not in the history of the OOtS homeworld.

[Amphiox]

Wild mass guess:

Quarr is going to tempt V with another round of soul-splicing, to get the power needed to save hir friends.

[Jiggs]

What I find interesting is that we (again) get to see Tarquins soft and therefore weak spot. He talks about "your bothers pawns" still picturing him to be the leader of the Order. Even there is a debatable power in Elan being a bard.
As a storyteller in this Comic which (also) obeys the laws of Comedy he therefore has a certain power to "shape things" he is not the genius tactical mind Tarquins believes he is.
Also the mentioning of the 'Father of the year'-award in the last strip strengthens my opinion that if anything, his downfall will come from such a "mistake" in judgement rather than from his opponents, the Order or Team Evil.

[Porthos]

For the people comparing Haerta and V's bodycount, where was it written that Haerta was from OotSWorld?

For all we know, and in fact I presume this is the case, Haerta was on another prime matierial plane doing all of her wickedness.

[Komatik]

Hey, I just realized - since Durkon can cast spells already, and obviously ones that a Lawful Good priest of Thor wouldn't be able to - we're not getting a scene where he chooses a new god to worship. Ergo, no first priest of Hel. Aww...

The simple explanation here is that he still has his spell slots filled - invested divine energy and all that jazz. Except he's now a bit, uh, volitionally challenged. I'd imagine he can't prepare any new spells unless Thor is fine with Durkon fawning over Malack, which seems like a dubious proposition at best.

[Siosilvar]

The only thing worse than the usual irrelevant rules pedantry is incorrect irrelevant rules pedantry.

The closest-to-relevant rules pedantry is probably "clerics need an hour to prepare spells" and Durkon had already expended most of his slots, but hey, artistic license. Who's to say a new vampire cleric doesn't come with full spell slots?

Well, you, of course.

[Zweisteine]

So does Nale have his sword or not?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Whistles innocently.]

I'm sure I'm not the first to predict this, but I'd bet Nale won't notice this until he tries to draw it...


And another thought: Would I be correct to assume one can not gain XP by using a soul splice's abilities? Otherwise, V should be epic by now, what with all those dragons s/he killed.

[Amphiox]

It is quite likely Haerta never cast the spell.

It makes for an excellent threat, but if actually employed every surviving powerful person in the universe will work overtime to snuff you. If I am, say, Tarquin running a perfectly respectable tyranny, the risk that I might be suddenly dead because of a distant relationship to someone on the other side of the globe is frightening. Yes, Tarquin would be happy to help a random Arch-Paladin hunt down Haerta -- he would have no other choice.

Even if you just threatened it, every powerful person in the universe who heard about it and believed it would work overtime to snuff you....

[StreamOfTheSky]

V cast Familicide and so far no one knows.

The same could have happened if Huerta ever cast it.

It's also only been a few weeks since V cast it. And the effects have been noticed, at least in the current area. They just haven't traced the source yet.

[Jiggs]

Wild mass guess:

Quarr is going to tempt V with another round of soul-splicing, to get the power needed to save hir friends.

Doubtful. V has painfully larned his/her lesson in the matter and The Fiends stated, that they have more than enough time for their purpose. Neither them, nor V would want another go.

[Shadowknight12]

The closest-to-relevant rules pedantry is probably "clerics need an hour to prepare spells" and Durkon had already expended most of his slots, but hey, artistic license. Who's to say a new vampire cleric doesn't come with full spell slots?

Well, you, of course.

Durkon specified that he still had Planar Ally prepared before he was vampirised.

[Seer_of_Heart]

V come back no :(

[Another_Poet]

There's a detailed explanation by The Giant of how it works, here:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1034

<reads>



Rich, that's.... Jeezus, man!

[luc258]

1.What are the fiends they summoned?

2. Who else hopes the showdown of this arc involves the IFCC?

[StreamOfTheSky]

The rules for vampire clerics don't say anything about them needing atonement etc. In fact, if they did "fall" and have to atone, they wouldn't get Rebuke Undead at all, they'd simply lose TU. So the Giant is correct by RAW.

Wouldn't he at least lose the spells Thor granted him and require new spell preparation to gain his spells again?

[VanaGalen]

I was going to suggest that he literally pulls a Reduce Person-ed Leeky (that would make him Tiny, after all) out from his sleeve...

...But I do believe he's going sleeveless in the desert heat. You can see his armpits!

Ahhh, my spot check sucks So no Leeky today...

Nale counting himself as caster certainly looks like his style, but for me in stupidity it's close to not being able to count properly. The only spells Nale ever cast as far as I remember was Expeditious Retreat and that Charm Person on Belkar.