OOTS #896 - The Discussion Thread

[Burner28]

If, while V's soul is absent, they get control of V's body, as a puppet, so to speak, I'm wondering what they'll do with it.

Don't know, but I'm sure somehow it will involve something about their ultimate plan of causing constant destructive conflict.

Oh and the next comic strip is going to be really interesting!

[Tock Zipporah]

It strikes me as unlikely that the fiends can pour massive power into Vaarsuvius' body when they control it, or they'd have no need to make a deal with Vaarsuvius, since whoever they made a deal with would become ridiculously powerful when they chose. A random first-level commoner would do, or someone like Kubota. They could make the deal whenever they chose and have whoever they'd chosen Epic Teleport to the Gate right now.

: What? The snail from that generic dungeon? Here?
:heavily templated snail:: OBLITERATION.

Why possess an evil person who is already on your side when you can possess a good guy, get a surprise attack since his allies don't know what's happening, and this way you are eliminating a good guy in the same move? Turning a hero against his friends has a LOT more benefits than possessing someone who is already evil.

[JackRackham]

Oooh... fudge.

That's what I said, word for word (well, one word changed for the kiddies).

[MaximKat]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on Qarr's eyes in Panel's 1 and 3 so far. I thought that was a cool "psst, audience, check this out".

That's not Qarr's eyes, that's the peephole.

Haha, I ninja'd 4 people at once!

[luc258]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on Qarr's eyes in Panel's 1 and 3 so far. I thought that was a cool "psst, audience, check this out".

Those are not Qarr's eyes. Those are holes in the wall.

[Porthos]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on Qarr's eyes in Panel's 1 and 3 so far. I thought that was a cool "psst, audience, check this out".

Those aren't Qaar's eyes. They're peepholes.

[ooOoo]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on Qarr's eyes in Panel's 1 and 3 so far. I thought that was a cool "psst, audience, check this out".

Not eyes, pinholes, see panel 2.

[Hajutze]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on Qarr's eyes in Panel's 1 and 3 so far. I thought that was a cool "psst, audience, check this out".

eyes ? Those are "periodic pinholes".

[Smolder]

Yeah, I've got a related question. How obvious will this be to Blackwing? Just what is going to happen to him, anyway. Will V try to 'forget' his existence. Will Blackwing go 'poof' in an attempt to get away, if he figures out what is up? Or will Blackwing just hightail it out of there in an attempt to warn the order that the excrement has just hit the fan?

Lots of different directions this could go in.

I got the impression that the reason Qarr doesn't want Blackwing along is that he could potentially talk Darth V down if it was necessary...

[Nymrod]

So many ninjas at once! Quick, fireball them, they can't evade when they are so many!

[ooOoo]

Too bad Porthos didn't register 2009, 'cause then it would have been a straight flush ninja

[Math_Mage]

It strikes me as unlikely that the fiends can pour massive power into Vaarsuvius' body when they control it, or they'd have no need to make a deal with Vaarsuvius, since whoever they made a deal with would become ridiculously powerful when they chose. A random first-level commoner would do, or someone like Kubota. They could make the deal whenever they chose and have whoever they'd chosen Epic Teleport to the Gate right now.

: What? The snail from that generic dungeon? Here?
:heavily templated snail:: OBLITERATION.

At a guess, they're not allowed to possess without making a contract, and/or the power of the vessel influences the degree of power they can bestow during the possession.

[rman]

First Up: Orange eyes.
20 minutes 35 seconds
Gononron Terror of a Thousand Planes Conjuror, just the guy you need to deal with a dimensional tear.

Who is Who:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0633.html

Soul Time:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0667.html
Total Time is 20:35 + 20:35 + 3:06

[titan_monarch]

Wow, never seen a five-times-over swordsaging before (re eyes/pinholes)!

What an epic cliffhanger. My bet is, the IFCC's possession of V will result in Darth V mk. 2, who will probably blast up through the floor somehow, destroying the gate in the process, and then... do something else nefarious which I eagerly await. :D One thing I love about OotS is I often can't quite predict the plot no matter how much forum theorising goes on. I certainly never saw V getting possessed here coming. And what a brilliant delivery. :D

[zilonox]

Oh, that's just mean!
(Referring to the storyline, not anyone's post.)

[dric_dolphin]

I'm pretty sure that V's soul won't be borrowed right now. I mean... in theory, V should be DEAD for his soul to be available for use. I think the evil guys have another thing in their minds when they said "NOW".

[hamishspence]

First Up: Orange eyes.

For those that are interested, Orange Eyes is called Cedrik, and he is a Demon. Yellow Eyes is called Lee and he is a Devil, and Purple Eyes is called Nero and he is a Daemon.

It's interesting that the soul from the demon's plane, is the one that was a world conqueror.

[Finn Solomon]

The Giant just dropped the mic and left the stage. Our jaws will remain on the floor until he comes back.

[Porthos]

I'm pretty sure that V's soul won't be borrowed right now. I mean... in theory, V should be DEAD for his soul to be available for use.

Why, exactly?

[jmucchiello]

So which fiend said now? Is this the short possession, the long one or the middle one? This is only the first of three "repossessions" V gets hit with and knowing which fiend is taking over describes how long it lasts.

[hamishspence]

Nero (the purple fiend) gets the shortest (3 min 6 seconds)- the other two get ones of equal length (20 min 35 seconds each).

Currently, it's Cedrik's go.

[dric_dolphin]

Why, exactly?

Well... I'm assuming that a person's soul is bound to his/her body until that person is dead. Otherwise, the evil guys could just take your soul whenever they wanted. I'm not saying that V can't be POSESSED, but using V's soul in another fashion, IMO, would not be feasible. But that's my opinion... perhaps the soul could be ripped from the body without the person dying... what's your opinion on the subject?

[hamishspence]

Magic Jar:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicJar.htm

is an example of a spell that allows you to force a person's soul from their living body.

[Porthos]

Well... I'm assuming that a person's soul is bound to his/her body until that person is dead. Otherwise, the evil guys could just take your soul whenever they wanted. I'm not saying that V can't be POSESSED, but using V's soul in another fashion, IMO, would not be feasible. But that's my opinion... perhaps the soul could be ripped from the body without the person dying... what's your opinion on the subject?

My opinion on the subject is that one shouldn't assume things when making a literal deal with the devil.

I will point out that every time V said something to the affect of "My soul won't be harmed till I die", the IFCC quickly changed the subject.

After all, getting V's soul for a little less than an hour when he dies is, quite frankly, nothing. If a fiend really thought that was the pinnacle of acheivement that was worth a timeshare some of the most powerful souls ever to exist, then, quite frankly, they need to raise their standards a bit.

No, the rationale the IFCC gave was caca. The only way the deal makes any sort of sense for them is if they can somehow control V's actions for the time alloted. And if it is possession of V's soul while it is still in his body, well, except from the most techincal of aspects, does it really matter?

[Tock Zipporah]

Well... I'm assuming that a person's soul is bound to his/her body until that person is dead. Otherwise, the evil guys could just take your soul whenever they wanted. I'm not saying that V can't be POSESSED, but using V's soul in another fashion, IMO, would not be feasible. But that's my opinion... perhaps the soul could be ripped from the body without the person dying... what's your opinion on the subject?

V becomes "soulless." We've seen throughout this book that V is likely to use explosions to solve all of his problems. He needs Blackwing to remind him of the moral reasons not to do so, like Jiminy Cricket playing the role of his "conscience." Without a soul, V might not care anymore, then she could act free of guilt or morals. Which would be bad.

[dric_dolphin]

Magic Jar:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicJar.htm

is an example of a spell that allows you to force a person's soul from their living body.

But what about the "leaving your body lifeless" part? "Lifeless", IMO, equals to "dead". Can you return the soul to the body afterward?

[Kish]

I'm pretty sure that V's soul won't be borrowed right now. I mean... in theory, V should be DEAD for his soul to be available for use. I think the evil guys have another thing in their minds when they said "NOW".

Imminently, the debates over whether the contract permits the fiends to possess Vaarsuvius whenever they choose will be replaced with debates over how the fiends possessed Vaarsuvius without Vaarsuvius being dead and why we should all be concerned that the fiends will possess Roy next.

It will join, "When do we find out what Vaarsuvius' real four words are?" "What did the goblins in Start of Darkness do to make their execution just and necessary, especially the children?" and, "In light of his clear lack of evil behavior recently, what alignment is Belkar now, do you think he's only Chaotic Neutral or did he change all the way to Good?*"

*Fairness requires me to admit that half of the third one is hyperbole. No one, to my knowledge, has ever non-jokingly suggested Belkar is Good. Correspondingly, the people who assert Belkar has changed alignment reliably champion Chaotic Neutral and rarely act as though there was any ambiguity in the matter.

^Check the duration on the Magic Jar link.

[Finwe]

It wasn't for all the wrong reasons though. We've already been over that prophecy anyway. Unless Rich lied in the book.

The prophecy has been fulfilled. However, there's no reason why the second appearance of Darth V could not allude to the first by happening under similar circumstances.

[hamishspence]

From the Magic Jar spell description:

If the spell ends while you are in a host, you return to your body (or die, if it is out of range of your current position), and the soul in the magic jar returns to its body (or dies if it is out of range).

There's also a spell in Heroes of Horror (Imprison Soul) that removes a soul from a body, without transferring yours into it.

In this case, the body lives, but takes 1d4 CON damage every day until dead.

[dric_dolphin]

I will point out that every time V said something to the affect of "My soul won't be harmed till I die", the IFCC quickly changed the subject.

After all, getting V's soul for a little less than an hour when he dies is, quite frankly, nothing. If a fiend really thought that was the pinnacle of acheivement that was worth a timeshare some of the most powerful souls ever to exist, then, quite frankly, they need to raise their standards a bit.

No, the rationale the IFCC gave was caca. The only way the deal makes any sort of sense for them is if they can somehow control V's actions for the time alloted. And if it is possession of V's soul while it is still in his body, well, except from the most techincal of aspects, does it really matter?

I see your point now... it's just that I was thinking of "extracting" V's soul and using it in a Splice. But your argument makes way more sense than mine! :) They would use V's soul WHILE it's in his body, by possessing him.