Why did Greg kill Zz'dtri rather than turning him into a vampire?

[Aquillion]

A vamped Zz'dtri would have been enslaved to Greg until / unless Greg decided to release him. This much everyone seems to know, so he wouldn't have to kill Zz'dtri to hide how vampirism actually works or anything.

Greg probably couldn't safely release him, both to keep hiding how vampirism works and because, if I understand how it works right, unlike the dwarven vampires, Z's spirit wouldn't be provided by Hel and wouldn't necessarily be loyal, but... he doesn't have to release him. And more importantly, Z is a high-level wizard who can cast Teleport.

Using this, Greg can go straight to the Godsmoot, completely ignoring any interactions with the Order and avoiding them ever learning about his plan. And if / when things do go down, Greg will have a high-level wizard capable of casting Teleport on his side.

Alternatively, he could bring the enslaved Vampire Zz'dtri with him. The order might not be 100% happy about it, but they mind-controlled members of the Linear Guild before, and the benefits of having another wizard are obvious, so it wouldn't be hard for Greg to convince them.

[Morty]

For one thing, it would make his "I'm just the same old Durkon who doesn't want to be a vampire" act harder. Sure, he might have been able to sell it, but he seems to have decided not to take the risk.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

For one thing, it would make his "I'm just the same old Durkon who doesn't want to be a vampire" act harder. Sure, he might have been able to sell it, but he seems to have decided not to take the risk.

Aquillion's point is that, with access to teleport, Greg wouldn't have needed to interact with the order at all.

So, headcanon: the moot was protected with anti-teleport defences, and you had to make your way there via more conventional methods (leaving via teleport was fine). For that, he needed non-vampire companions. Which then explains why having a minion wasn't going to work, since Durkon wouldn't have.

Grey Wolf

[Kish]

Greg had only a few seconds to decide what to do; he opted to go with the plan "convince the Order I'm Durkon and manipulate them into getting me to the Godsmoot," not the plan "reveal immediately that I'm not Durkon* and count on Zz'dtri's magic to get me to the Godsmoot." And frankly, it's far from clear that he was wrong to do so; if anyone--Nale, the Vector Legion, the Order--had destroyed Zz'dtri between Greg draining Zz'dtri's blood and Vampire Zz'dtri casting a spell he might well have not had any more of prepared that day, Greg's entire scheme would have died with Zz'dtri's destruction.

*Note that I find the assertion that Greg could have come back to the Order and said, "I'm Durkon and this is my undead slave, Zz'dtri" and had anyone at all believe that he was Durkon for one second downright preposterous. Roy's excessive tolerance for Belkar and Vaarsuvius' evil aside, he's not stupid enough to think Durkon's moral sense is anything like theirs.

[Aquillion]

He could also have sent Zz'dtri elsewhere and kept him in reserve without revealing him to the order. There's just not much disadvantage to having a vampire cleric.

(Perhaps he was afraid that Nale would escape and let the order know he vamped Z, though? Hence why he bothered to stay in character in that scene at all.)

[Grey_Wolf_c]

He could also have sent Zz'dtri elsewhere and kept him in reserve without revealing him to the order. There's just not much disadvantage to having a vampire cleric.

(Perhaps he was afraid that Nale would escape and let the order know he vamped Z, though? Hence why he bothered to stay in character in that scene at all.)

Actually, another reason: you can't easily keep a vampire unalive in the middle of a desert, and Greg's only means of achieving it, the staff, might have had limited charges he needed to be very careful about. He couldn't just use them and risk running out when he might need them.

Grey Wolf

[Fyraltari]

How fast could Durkon* cast Protection from the Sun after casting Vampire acceleration vs how fast does it take for a vampire of Z's level to burn in the sun? And can Protection from the Sun be cast on a corpse/not yet risen vampire?

[Morty]

To add on what Kish said, Z had already cast Teleport that day. He could be reasonably expected to prepare it once, but twice is a riskier bet. Also, the vampire spirit inhabiting Zz'dtri's body would never have been to the Godsmoot's location... but then, the comic doesn't really concern itself much with the mishap chance when teleporting into an unfamiliar location.

[Goblin_Priest]

Actually, another reason: you can't easily keep a vampire unalive in the middle of a desert, and Greg's only means of achieving it, the staff, might have had limited charges he needed to be very careful about. He couldn't just use them and risk running out when he might need them.

Grey Wolf

Yea, vamping him involves killing him a specific (slow and inconvenient) way, then using the staff to vamp him quicker, then using the staff to shield him before the sun scorches him.

Might just not have been feasible at that time.

[Peelee]

Aquillion's point is that, with access to teleport, Greg wouldn't have needed to interact with the order at all.

So, headcanon: the moot was protected with anti-teleport defences, and you had to make your way there via more conventional methods (leaving via teleport was fine). For that, he needed non-vampire companions. Which then explains why having a minion wasn't going to work, since Durkon wouldn't have.

Grey Wolf

I'd advise a different headcanon, but you, Aquillion, and Kish have all offered other viable reasons already anyway.

[Lacuna Caster]

Using this, Greg can go straight to the Godsmoot, completely ignoring any interactions with the Order and avoiding them ever learning about his plan. And if / when things do go down, Greg will have a high-level wizard capable of casting Teleport on his side.

I'd advise a different headcanon, but you, Aquillion, and Kish have all offered other viable reasons already anyway.

Oh, hey another strip referencing Wind Walk. Neat.

Regardless of the pros and cons to enslaving Zz'dtri, Greg can cast Wind Walk himself from the standard cleric spell list, so he doesn't really need Teleport anyway. The mechane would have be a great deal faster than 60 mph to be worth the bother of commandeering.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Oh, hey another strip referencing Wind Walk. Neat.

Regardless of the pros and cons to enslaving Zz'dtri, Greg can cast Wind Walk himself from the standard cleric spell list, so he doesn't really need Teleport anyway. The mechane would have be a great deal faster than 60 mph to be worth the bother of commandeering.

Given that wind walk would not be fast enough to get to the godsmoot in time as per this strip, and the Mechane turned out to have been, the only conclusion is that yes, the Mechane is significantly faster than 60 mph.

Grey Wolf

[woweedd]

Oh, hey another strip referencing Wind Walk. Neat.

Regardless of the pros and cons to enslaving Zz'dtri, Greg can cast Wind Walk himself from the standard cleric spell list, so he doesn't really need Teleport anyway. The mechane would have be a great deal faster than 60 mph to be worth the bother of commandeering.

A. Wind Walk isn't that fast. They note that, moving from Tinkertown, it's not fast enough to get them there before The Moot starts.
B. In the words of one of Rich's bigger creative influences, JMS, when asked about the exact speed of a ship in his show Babylon 5, "It moves at the speed of plot".Most ships in fiction do,really. The Mechance, however, does so quite literally. It is exactly as fast as it needs to be for the plot to proceed, and, thus, most likely, JUST fast enough to get Durkon* to The Godsmoot RIGHT as the voting is about to start, as it indeed did.

Given that wind walk would not be fast enough to get to the godsmoot in time as per this strip, and the Mechane turned out to have been, the only conclusion is that yes, the Mechane is significantly faster than 60 mph.

Grey Wolf

Specifically, it moves at the exact speed needed to get to the destination of plot advancement right before the interesting part goes down.

[Jasdoif]

Given that wind walk would not be fast enough to get to the godsmoot in time as per this strip, and the Mechane turned out to have been, the only conclusion is that yes, the Mechane is significantly faster than 60 mph.

For the record: A standard scroll of wind walk would have the minimum caster level for casting it from the cleric list, which is caster level 11; so it'd last 11 hours...so with HPoH's estimate of 830 miles, that'd leave 170 miles to cover after it expired.

So it's unclear whether it's the speed and/or the duration that's the limiting factor for the scroll...although neither of those appear to limit the Mechane in the traditional sense.

[Fyraltari]

For the record: A standard scroll of wind walk would have the minimum caster level for casting it from the cleric list, which is caster level 11; so it'd last 11 hours...so with HPoH's estimate of 830 miles, that'd leave 170 miles to cover after it expired.

So it's unclear whether it's the speed and/or the duration that's the limiting factor for the scroll...although neither of those appear to limit the Mechane in the traditional sense.

Elan and Durkon crossed the Ocean with Wind Walk to reached Greysky City, so I don't think distance is a factor.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Elan and Durkon crossed the Ocean with Wind Walk to reached Greysky City, so I don't think distance is a factor.

Alternatively, the continents are not that far apart. It could be like Europe-Africa far, rather than Asia-America far.

Grey Wolf

[Jasdoif]

Elan and Durkon crossed the Ocean with Wind Walk to reached Greysky City, so I don't think distance is a factor.

Durkon can cast the spell himself...including casting it again before it expires. A scroll is single-use.

[Lacuna Caster]

Elan and Durkon crossed the Ocean with Wind Walk to reached Greysky City, so I don't think distance is a factor.

Yeah, a high-level cleric can have multiple castings ready per day, and Durkula doesn't need to sleep, so in theory he can travel about 1400 miles per day under his own power.

[Fyraltari]

Alternatively, the continents are not that far apart. It could be like Europe-Africa far, rather than Asia-America far.

Grey Wolf

These distances vary considerably depending on where you are on the continents. The Strait of Bering is 83km wide and the strait of Gibraltar is 14 km wide but that doesn't help some going from Greece to Egypt or from Peru to Vietnam.

They look pretty far apart relative to continent size, though.

[facw]

Alternatively, the continents are not that far apart. It could be like Europe-Africa far, rather than Asia-America far.

Furthermore, were they even crossing between continents? They had been searching around the southern continent for allies, but were we ever told where they were looking for possible new homes? V teleported the fleet to the island off the Western Continent, but that happened after Elan and Durkon had left. It's entirely possible they were not far from the coast to begin with (unless I am forgetting something, which is certainly possible).

[Fyraltari]

Furthermore, were they even crossing between continents? They had been searching around the southern continent for allies, but were we ever told where they were looking for possible new homes? V teleported the fleet to the island off the Western Continent, but that happened after Elan and Durkon had left. It's entirely possible they were not far from the coast to begin with (unless I am forgetting something, which is certainly possible).

Oh right, I got the order of things backward. Yeah, the fleet was probably still near the Southern Continent.

[martianmister]

HPoH is still lawful like Durkon, he could see it as avenging the murderers of his "master."

[Aveline]

HPoH is still lawful like Durkon, he could see it as avenging the murderers of his "master."

Or as potential nuisances to his mistress's plan.

[KorvinStarmast]

Or as potential nuisances to his mistress's plan.

Another possibility is that Durkula grabbed at a Durkon-memory of Z and Nale, and arrived at:
But tha two o' ye're still tha same old *****.
With the accent noted, at this point there is likely a lot of Durkon to draw from as Durkula settles into he new host.

With Malack fresh dead, the Occam's Razor approach argues that Greg harnessed his inner Durkon for that moment since they were both rivals, and had just offed his master.

[ijuinkun]

Given that wind walk would not be fast enough to get to the godsmoot in time as per 0987, and the Mechane turned out to have been, the only conclusion is that yes, the Mechane is significantly faster than 60 mph.

Grey Wolf

Real life airships top out at between 120 and 150 miles per hour, the main limiting factor being air resistance--when you get much above that, it becomes more energy efficient per unit cargo to use an airplane instead.

[woweedd]

Real life airships top out at between 120 and 150 miles per hour, the main limiting factor being air resistance--when you get much above that, it becomes more energy efficient per unit cargo to use an airplane instead.

But, again, The Mechane’s speed is just “plot”, so...

[paladinofshojo]

This also brings up another good point, why didn’t Greg just join the Linear guild instead of throwing his lot with the Order of the Stick who were in a pit and surrounded by soldiers?

[Caerulea]

This also brings up another good point, why didn’t Greg just join the Linear guild instead of throwing his lot with the Order of the Stick who were in a pit and surrounded by soldiers?

Nale is less likely to want to go to the godsmoot, I suspect. (Also dead, but he wouldn't know about that). He would also have some overly complex plan that would be foiled at the last minute by the Order anyway, so not much there.

—Caerulea

[Rrmcklin]

This also brings up another good point, why didn’t Greg just join the Linear guild instead of throwing his lot with the Order of the Stick who were in a pit and surrounded by soldiers?

They weren't surrounded by soldiers until after he killed Zz'dtri, and it's not like the Linear Guild were in the best of shape either.

[Lacuna Caster]

Real life airships top out at between 120 and 150 miles per hour, the main limiting factor being air resistance--when you get much above that, it becomes more energy efficient per unit cargo to use an airplane instead.

Woah. Where are these numbers coming from?