OOTS #1175 - The Discussion Thread

[Doug Lampert]

You could have just said she's moved to the front of the line.

It is a frontarchy after all.

Or, maybe it means undead can’t run at all. Who knows?

The SRD, you can find out what a missing ability score does easily enough.

A creature with no Constitution has no body or no metabolism. It is immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless the effect works on objects or is harmless. The creature is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain, and automatically fails Constitution checks. A creature with no Constitution cannot tire and thus can run indefinitely without tiring (unless the creature’s description says it cannot run).

[Resileaf]

According to #1095, that door is closed at night, which I interpret to mean it’s probably open during the day.

However, that same comic also implies there are usually “senior clergy” on staff during the day.

I don’t think I have enough information to agree that Kudzu is entirely safe. Maybe Curly plans to scour the shire.

What that meant is that they usually close at night, when there are no more worshippers and they're closing shop, so to speak. It doesn't mean that the doors will automatically open during the day.

[Hekko]

Well, yes and no really. Is he not Thad? Since he's Durkon's non-blood related cousin Logann, the answer is yes! The captain is not Thad. Is cpt. Brightstone Not-Thad though? No, I definitely don't think he is Not-Thad.

Logann Not-Not-Thad Brighstone. It has a nice ring to it. :)

[Hekko]

What that meant is that they usually close at night, when there are no more worshippers and they're closing shop, so to speak. It doesn't mean that the doors will automatically open during the day.

Or that they don't have someone on the lookout to shut the door if a vampire shows up on a day they know a battle with vampires is scheduled.

[JumboWheat01]

Any fight you can walk away from definitely classifies as "good enough."

[b_jonas]

In order for Durkon to become unpetrified, do they have to reduce the number of councilors until they can practically resume the meeting and formally adjourn, or can Vaarsuvius walk in and cast the appropriate "undo" spell?

Vaarsuvius has to walk in and cast a Mass Reduce Person spell to make the clan leaders smaller and fit around the largest remaining part of the table.

[gatemansgc]

i just happened to check in after being lost for hours in baseball subreddits, and the main thing i have to say is:

RIP likable deathworm ):

also i wonder what will happen to curly? she sure likes running away!

[SlashDash]

Hence Loki's comment in the same panel. Hel is beaten, she must surely know it--even if Curly were to raise an army of lesser vampires they're not going to be able to use the Dominate trick on the council again, and the council is definitely not going to vote Hel's way even if they'd been inclined to do so before all this blew up, so this is pretty much checkmate as far as I can see.

But the fact that Loki says that pretty much tells us - from a story point of view - that it's clearly not over yet.

i got lucky and just checked in!

how is this going to all end in a very soonly arriving cliffhanger? i ask because it all sems to be wrapping up nicely for the team. waiting for the big proverbial shoe to drop any moment now.

The most obvious Cliffhanger would be showing us that Curly ends going north towards team evil.

Remember, the vote would say the gods don't destroy the world now. Loki said they can still do it later on, so making Xykon's threat bigger is in Hel's favor to let the other gods hurry up.

The other option is what? Curly going up and making more clerics so that Hel doesn't feel left out?
Doesn't seem all that interesting if it doesn't have to do with the main story.

P.S
I'm also guessing that based on the previous book ending that Tarquin should make his move at some point.

Or at least, give us an insight on what's going on in the desert.

[GregTD]

Yes it would because that would be disregarding the very rule that stops their ennemies from fireballing their asses right now. The rules that keep you alive are the ones you don’t try to work around if you are not a complete imbecile. Again, what purpose would that achieve that couldn’t be achieved by sending adventurers after her later?

Establishing that you can be willing to be "the help", because they don't let people murder you when you're "the help".

Thèse guys run organisations with agenda that are wholly incompatible on all sides of the alignment grid. If they would try to kill their counterparts as soon as the votes ended their would have never been a second Godsmoot. And like it or not, the Frontarchess is their counterpart now.

You allow anyone to kill the people putting on the Godsmoot, you're not going to have another one.

It was secret before the fact. There's no reason for it to be secret after the fact. And if you think the slaughter of the Order of the Creed is going to be kept secret after the fact, you live in a very interesting world.

"If you kill the hosts of the Godsmoot, everyone else attending will gang up and kill you afterwords" is the kind of rule you have when you want to have people willing to host Fenrir's draped priest.

Durkula didn't care about that, because there wasn't going to be anything after this Godsmoot.

[Schroeswald]

The most obvious Cliffhanger would be showing us that Curly ends going north towards team evil.

Remember, the vote would say the gods don't destroy the world now. Loki said they can still do it later on, so making Xykon's threat bigger is in Hel's favor to let the other gods hurry up.

The other option is what? Curly going up and making more clerics so that Hel doesn't feel left out?
Doesn't seem all that interesting if it doesn't have to do with the main story.

P.S
I'm also guessing that based on the previous book ending that Tarquin should make his move at some point.

Or at least, give us an insight on what's going on in the desert.

I would love it if we never see Tarquin again, Miron and Laurin will be making their move and being important, but he is unceremoniously killed off panel by Ian, Geoff, Amun-Zora, Enor and Gannji (maybe Sabine too), and we see all of them again, but Tarquin will not be seen once more.

[Tycho_Bloodbeard]

[QUOTE=Kantaki;24088438]You mean Sabine?
Cause I'm pretty sure she's all that's left.[/QUOTE

Not to derail this, but I'm waiting for the triumphant return of Thog!

[Schroeswald]

You mean Sabine?
Cause I'm pretty sure she's all that's left.

Not to derail this, but I'm waiting for the triumphant return of Thog!

I'm almost certain Thog is alive, I will be shocked if we don't see him running around by the end of book 7.

[St Fan]

I'm almost certain Thog is alive, I will be shocked if we don't see him running around by the end of book 7.

Sorry to disappoint, but Thog is dead.

I had already pointed this out in another discussion a while ago: the sole reason why the Giant left Thog's death in a state of flux was to avoid foreshadowing too early that the plot of the book was leading straight to the full demise of the Linear Guild.

As pointed out by Tarquin, Nale was cluttering the storyline, and now that he's fulfilled his role in the story, he was giving a pretty inescapable death. Same thing for Thog, we just didn't know it at the time the coliseum crumbled on him. He's finished, just like Nale.

[understatement]

So is the worm dead? (Doesn't matter, since it's out of the picture, but still).

Also, these new bout of facial expressions have been hilarious. Awesome strip!

[Schroeswald]

Sorry to disappoint, but Thog is dead.

I had already pointed this out in another discussion a while ago: the sole reason why the Giant left Thog's death in a state of flux was to avoid foreshadowing too early that the plot of the book was leading straight to the full demise of the Linear Guild.

As pointed out by Tarquin, Nale was cluttering the storyline, and now that he's fulfilled his role in the story, he was giving a pretty inescapable death. Same thing for Thog, we just didn't know it at the time the coliseum crumbled on him. He's finished, just like Nale.

Sabine is still around. She is tied to the plot, she's alive, connected to some major antagonists, she and Qarr will be back next book because they are major supporting players who have strong reasons to return. She is also pissed, super pissed, and she was intensely loyal to Nale, making it super easy and reasonable for her to bring back Thog.

Also, I would like to change what I said above, I would be surprised, not shocked, if Thog didn't return, its not something crazy to happen, I just don't see it as likely.
EDIT: I would however, be shocked if Sabine didn't return for all the reasons I mentioned above.

[Dion]

So is the worm dead?!

I think he was already dead to start with?

But yeah, I think he’s done.

[AchtungNight]

Even if Thog is dead in the comics, he will live forever in my heart!


I too loved the line "Adequacy Achieved!"

[Dion]

Even if Thog is dead in the comics, he will live forever in my heart!

I put a bowl of pistachio ice cream on the mantel for Thog every Christmas Eve.

And every Christmas morning it’s gone!

Thog lives!

(Or my cat eats it)

[Kareasint]

Any fight you can walk away from definitely classifies as "good enough."

I call it XP and hope for a "Ding!"

[Matt620]

Sorry, but I don't get it. What's the weird mist thing going to the vampire? I don't think vampires can possess someone or something

[The Pilgrim]

As an one-dimensional comic-relief character, Thog is simply not important enough to have his dead/alive status sorted out. His death is not necessary to resolve any plot point in the story, neither is demanded by the readers, unlike what tends to happen with evil murderous characters.

Keeping his status uncertain leaves him available for The Giant should he ever finds useful to use that character again at some point to crack one last laught.

[Dion]

Sorry, but I don't get it. What's the weird mist thing going to the vampire? I don't think vampires can possess someone or something

The mist *is* the vampire. Two strips ago, the final vampire (we call her Curly) turned to mist form and ran away. The final panel of this strip is where Curly turns back into corporeal form to... do... something...

[goodpeople25]

As pointed out by Tarquin

Well that's a great start to any point.

[Riftwolf]

The mist *is* the vampire. Two strips ago, the final vampire (we call her Curly) turned to mist form and ran away. The final panel of this strip is where Curly turns back into corporeal form to... do... something...

I think mist travel has a limited speed; running could be faster. Also from a visual perspective seeing who the mist is (as some missed the mist behind Gontor*s speech bubble) would stop speculation that it was Gontor*/Redcloaks Niece.

[Dion]

Also from a visual perspective seeing who the mist is (as some missed the mist behind Gontor*s speech bubble) would stop speculation that it was Gontor*/Redcloaks Niece.

Oh, thank your Mr. Doyle!

[Riftwolf]

Oh, thank your Mr. Doyle!

I have a Mr. Doyle?

[Schroeswald]

Well that's a great start to any point.

If we were to trust Tarquin that Nale and the Linear Guild were clutter, why did Rich let them escape during War and XPs? You don't let clutter escape from easy death so that you can write a whole book about slowly getting rid of them, Nale was killed not because he was cluttering the story, he (and only he) was killed to further Elan's character arc, Z returned and died because Nale needed a sorcerer, and then his role was over.

Also Dion had another response a bit ago, that was going to respond too and was a better jumping off point to what I said but I guess it was deleted so I respond to what they responded to.

[Ornithologist]

It'd be funny if the last panel of the last strip is Thog climbing out of the pile of rocks.

thog under rocks for two and half books. thog want fudge ripple.

[Schroeswald]

It'd be funny if the last panel of the last strip is Thog climbing out of the pile of rocks.

thog under rocks for two and half books. thog want fudge ripple.

I'm hoping the comic ends with a bunch of strips where we get to see like everyone's final fate (including some afterlife people, like Sabine finds Nale in the afterlife and they start running around it together).

[Squire Doodad]

I'm hoping the comic ends with a bunch of strips where we get to see like everyone's final fate (including some afterlife people, like Sabine finds Nale in the afterlife and they start running around it together).

The best part about dating a succubus is that if you get permanently taken out of the game, that just means you have to go to a different setting for your dates. You can just go grab a car and go sightseeing on the highway to hell