OOTS #1219 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[RMS Oceanic]

Been a while since we've seen so many skill checks.

[Peelee]

I'm really wondering how long has that joke been planned for?

[137beth]

Good, use everyone's skills together.

'Course, it's possible Team Evil DIDN'T deal with this trap, given that they might not have come through this door at all.

[Peelee]

Good, use everyone's skills together.

'Course, it's possible Team Evil DIDN'T deal with this trap, given that they might not have come through this door at all.

They've got the snow pushed aside, so I think it's meant to imply that they totally did.

[RMS Oceanic]

They've got the snow pushed aside, so I think it's meant to imply that they totally did.

I like that it's this that Roy (and probably Haley) picked up on rather than the X's.

[Pampukin]

Ohh maybe the trap ensues that the person coming through never reaches the gate? Like maybe it rearranges the tomb! Or it teleports the person moving to a dead end! Maybe even summons the guardian monsters.
I like the implication that the tomb isnt as simple as a game of chance.

[Peelee]

I like that it's this that Roy (and probably Haley) picked up on rather than the X's.

That actually made me go back and notice, they don't say "you can tell this one's been opened", but rather, "you can tell this one's been opened recently".

[understatement]

There's no way this is the Order. They're actually working so smoothly together!

...so does this mean Team Evil already did the door they "went" through, or not?

[TheJayPhoenix]

Is it just me or is it a little disturbing to see all of them actually using their skills properly? :)

[Rinazina]

snow aside = better indicator than the red X (also because OOTS shouldn't know what does it mean?)

line of magical runes = something that perhaps team evil always miss, and key feature to find the gate? how likely is this?

is it perhaps the trigger for "dangeon remix & repopulate" ?

[Pampukin]

snow aside = better indicator than the red X (also because OOTS shouldn't know what does it mean?)

line of magical runes = something that perhaps team evil always miss, and key feature to find the gate? how likely is this?

is it perhaps the trigger for "dangeon remix & repopulate" ?

My bet is either that or it alerts the faction guarding the gate to do so.

[locksmith of lo]

oh yes, i love looking at another thread and then seeing new comic pop up!

now, why didn't anyone else think of that? that the tracker could hide the tracks from another tracker?

[Quebbster]

I wonder if the runes is the explanation for how there can be so many doors. Perhaps passing the runes makes the rest of the dungeon appear somehow?

[Linneris]

is it perhaps the trigger for "dangeon remix & repopulate" ?

Well, if it is, I feel like it will make the Chekhov's Gun of MitD marking extra doors pointless, unless the Gate is behind one of the extra doors MitD marked, and this turns out to matter.

[Lord Torath]

There's no way this is the Order. They're actually working so smoothly together!

Well, they have grown some.

Thanks, Rich!

[Kaed]

Is it just me or is it a little disturbing to see all of them actually using their skills properly? :)

Their comical incompetence had to eventually give way to competence flavored with comical inter-party dynamics when the story got more serious and is starting to wrap up. Everyone's had their mountains of character development, a dozen or so levels since the story began in the Redmountains castle, and an understanding that the world is about to end if they screw up.

Narratively speaking, constant schadenfreude and one dimensional character humor (belkar is evil!, haley is greedy!, elan is stupid!, etc) isn't really appropriate at this stage of the plot, except in very small doses. They can't keep tripping over their own character flaws forever.

[Crusher]

Competence growing by leaps and bounds! If I didn’t know better I’d say they were an actual high level party!

[Resileaf]

Sheesh Belkar, don't pat yourself on the back too hard, you've been absolutely terrible at tracking for a long time.

And hey, look at that. Every door that Durkon and Minrah open during https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1216.html have little lines on them. And yet Team Evil did not visibly trigger anything upon entering. Most curious.

[Doug Lampert]

I'm really wondering how long has that joke been planned for?

AFAICT the SRD at least doesn't give any advantage to hiding tracks for having survival or the track feat, it's just a flat +5 to the track DC at the cost of moving half speed.

So it's really not a rules joke and isn't a major plot element, it's just an explanation of why this has any chance of working with a final panel joke thrown in.

As a GM, I'd probably allow a larger increase to the DC for use of the survival skill and track feat to help hide tracks, it makes sense, but AFAICT it's not a rule.

[Darth Paul]

Sheesh Belkar, don't pat yourself on the back too hard, you've been absolutely terrible at tracking for a long time.

Well, this is the only Ranger skill he had a reason to learn, by his logic.

I mean, he wasn't going to be tracking down any bloodhounds, but they might be tracking him down pretty darn hard!

[SlashDash]

Man, it's amazing how well the team work developed by these guys - and how huge of a contrast it is for Durkon going against that by going solo.

[HalfTangible]

Belkar, you didn't have any ranks in survival when this quest started and an ability score penalty. We learned the former shortly before you were captured by a paladin, dragged off to Azure City, and hit with a magic rune that makes it impossible to kill in a city. After that point you were "faking" character growth right up until you actually grew as a character. You only knew how to track at the start because it was part of the Ranger package.

Meaning if you learned to track at all you did it long after you joined the Order and law enforcement agencies stopped being your primary concern

[Jannoire]

Okay, my money is on the trap stops you from reaching the gate if you trigger it...

And Mitd marking wrong doors might not impact the search for the gate, but it's good foreshadowing for an upcoming betrayal....

[Peelee]

AFAICT the SRD at least doesn't give any advantage to hiding tracks for having survival or the track feat, it's just a flat +5 to the track DC at the cost of moving half speed.

So it's really not a rules joke and isn't a major plot element, it's just an explanation of why this has any chance of working with a final panel joke thrown in.

As a GM, I'd probably allow a larger increase to the DC for use of the survival skill and track feat to help hide tracks, it makes sense, but AFAICT it's not a rule.

I meant as a character joke, not a rules joke.

[Ghosty]

Who on Team Evil can detect traps? RC can run Find Traps, but that's only 1 min/level. Do we think he has a slew of them, or their Extended versions? Can Oona Find Traps or otherwise detect them?

The whole point of this is, are we sure that TE even knew that this tripwire was even there? If they didn't, and kept hitting it in every door they've gone through, might the tripwire send TE to a different dungeon (without an Epic Sorcerer or near-Epic, very clever Cleric realizing they'd been teleported elsewhere) than the one the Order is about to enter?

EDIT: OTOH, Haley hasn't been keeping her Search maxed, per that scene at the entrance to Girard's Pyramid, so maybe it doesn't take a huge Search skill to detect this particular tripwire?

[RMS Oceanic]

Who on Team Evil can detect traps? RC can run Find Traps, but that's only 1 min/level. Do we think he has a slew of them, or their Extended versions? Can Oona Find Traps or otherwise detect them?

The whole point of this is, are we sure that TE even knew that this tripwire was even there? If they didn't, and kept hitting it in every door they've gone through, might the tripwire send TE to a different dungeon (without an Epic Sorcerer or near-Epic, very clever Cleric realizing they'd been teleported elsewhere) than the one the Order is about to enter?

That sounds like something Girard or Dorukan would do. I'm not sure if Serini would have had access to that much high level magic. Paying for magic can get screwy.

[Thales]

Last comic ended on a half page, but this comic is a full page. Will the missing half-page be in the book?

[Peelee]

Belkar, you didn't have any ranks in survival when this quest started and an ability score penalty. We learned the former shortly before you were captured by a paladin, dragged off to Azure City, and hit with a magic rune that makes it impossible to kill in a city. After that point you were "faking" character growth right up until you actually grew as a character. You only knew how to track at the start because it was part of the Ranger package.

Meaning if you learned to track at all you did it long after you joined the Order and law enforcement agencies stopped being your primary concern

Spoiler: On the Origin of PCs

Show

Imean, he was in jail. Desire to not be tracked by the law does not equate to skill at not being tracked by the law.

Last comic ended on a half page, but this comic is a full page. Will the missing half-page be in the book?

It'll probably be bonus content of some form. Probably. Not the author. Regardless, though, there's no "missing" half-page.

[Reboot]

That sounds like something Girard or Dorukan would do. I'm not sure if Serini would have had access to that much high level magic. Paying for magic can get screwy.

Yeah, the builders have to cut enough corners to pay for their pool room, after all.