OOTS #1224 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Goblin_Priest]

Wow! I wasn't expecting another so quickly! Amazing!

[Keltest]

Odd. When i actually view the comic, it shows it as the latest one on the feed to the left. From the forums, it still shows 1223 as the lastest.

Edit: Nevermind, it seems corrected now.

[Ferrick]

Poor Paladins. Luckily for them, i'm sure they'll be released and let into the fight as soon as they're required by the plot.

Also wow, i've never been this early before

[Peelee]

Are those fumes from acid? Is it acid? I'm guessing acid. Get a nice Indiana Jones "acid, why did it have to be acid" moment from O-Chul and all.

[Metastachydium]

Cool one. I strongly hope panel no. 4 will silence the „you have a rogue, you have the Gate” crew at long last.
Also, I see reason to suspect the next one will be an all-paladin strip, maybe with Green and Orange.

[link3710]

So usually I'd say there's no chance of this ambush plan working... But I'm thinking it will. Xykon's Phylactery is still unaccounted for, and it doesn't exactly take him long to recover from 'death'. Redcloak will obviously survive as well. Mostly, I'm curious to see how the MitD acts during the fight, that's where the true dramatic potential is.

[Schroeswald]

I hope this is a transition to Lien and O-Chul doing stuff, I miss those crazy kids

[Peelee]

So usually I'd say there's no chance of this ambush plan working... But I'm thinking it will. Xykon's Phylactery is still unaccounted for

Redcloak has it.

Does that make me an accountant?

[RedScholarGypsy]

Learning for past mistakes? We really have entered the endgame. Love the dialog bouncing from different perspectives. And "Yeah paladins!" is a phrase I never thought I'd say...

Also, remember the trap is disabled for about twenty seconds, or three rounds I'd guess. With a surprise round, it should be doable to disable the trap, divide team evil onto two different sides of the line, then let it reactivate and finish off whomever you got. Separate RC from X, and you have a very winnable fight.

[Xihirli]

That’s what I’m most excited about. What will Redcloak do with Xykon’s phylactery once Xykon is destroyed and, more to the point, knows Redcloak kept it?
He has a very tiny window with which to destroy it and might not be able to.

Though he must have had SOMETHING in mind when he had the fake made aside from “and when Xykon regenerates, I die.”

[KorvinStarmast]

Thank you Giant, I've been hoping to see Lien and O-Chul again.

Mostly, I'm curious to see how the MitD acts during the fight, that's where the true dramatic potential is.

During an ambush, MiTD reacts by ... yeah, that's quite the unknown.

But my favorite bit from this strip is:

I love it when you talk fighting dirty to me.

Belkar gets so many good lines ...

Other nice notes:
Panel 2. Yes; stop Xykon is the mission.
Panel 5: doing double duty, keeping something from escaping.
Panel 8: we don't know where Lien and O-Chul are plus Durkon's point on "Redcloak hasn't got them captive"

Xykon was about to kill V and O-Chul before the MiTD teleportish thing. Redcloak, as noted in strip, has no love for Azurites and has a particular dislike for Paladins.

Poor O-Chul: stuck in the prisoner role again. This has got to be getting old for him.

[Coyote0715]

Was it determined how they get back out? If they walk through the trap now (without disabling), they wind up at the dead end? And if they then walk through the trap again from the dead end, where to they wind up? Back where they are now? So, we (and they) are thinking the only way back out is to temporarily disable the trap again?

[Shining Wrath]

O'Chul and Lien are not only alive, they're relative healthy and not being actively tortured! Good to see!

And yes, ambushing Xykon from behind as he exits the dungeon is a winning move - just so long as whatever is being kept inside by the teleport trap doesn't show up first. Or during.

Why has it not occurred to Redcloak or Oona that those wooden doors wouldn't stop the monsters they are fighting in the dungeons? What keeps the monsters from coming out?

[Metastachydium]

Just realized how bad the Order's current plan could turn out. If Haley actually kills the trap, they will have to absolutely steamroll Team Evil, lest they find the real corridor. (Of course, if she only bypasses it again, half the problem is solved, but the issue that they may alert Team Evil that they've been missing something in the dungeons if they are spotted emerging from the door would still be there.)

Mostly, I'm curious to see how the MitD acts during the fight, that's where the true dramatic potential is.

He's, kind of, not there?

Does that make me an accountant?

Yes.

[hroþila]

Cut to Lien and O-Chul after discussing the Gate's defenses at some length. This will irrationally reinforce my belief that Lien and O-Chul have been captured by Serini's associates.

[Shining Wrath]

So usually I'd say there's no chance of this ambush plan working... But I'm thinking it will. Xykon's Phylactery is still unaccounted for, and it doesn't exactly take him long to recover from 'death'. Redcloak will obviously survive as well. Mostly, I'm curious to see how the MitD acts during the fight, that's where the true dramatic potential is.

The MitD is not with Team Evil. He didn't participate in the fight with Durkon and Minrah (if he had, it probably would have ended quickly and messily), and we haven't seen him during the chase. Which is another reason to take Xykon down now - he's short a powerful ally.

Redcloak has it.

Does that make me an accountant?

If Xykon reforms and finds himself 6' from Redcloak, not in his impenetrable astral plane fortress, Xykon will rightly conclude he has been betrayed by Redcloak, and hijinks will ensue. Including the triggering of the order by Xykon to the MitD to devour Redcloak.

We may be getting close to The Big Reveal.

[ReaderAt2046]

Nice, new strip!

Good to see Roy using those Int and Wis scores.

Also, good to see our paladin friends again. Hopefully we'll get to find out what the Voices are up to, (and what they actually are) soon!

[Mephit]

Was it determined how they get back out? If they walk through the trap now (without disabling), they wind up at the dead end? And if they then walk through the trap again from the dead end, where to they wind up? Back where they are now? So, we (and they) are thinking the only way back out is to temporarily disable the trap again?

Yes to all those questions. The OoTS is in the real tunnel that leads from the door, the trap is just a portal that transports you somewhere else. If you want to get to the other side of the trap, you *have* to disable it. (or tunnel around?)

I have no empathy with paladins, they know what they signed up for.

[maxon]

Always great when The Giant gets into a posting streak. That was great.

[Sesharan]

I'm trying to imagine how this could go wrong, and honestly I'm coming up pretty much blank? I guess Team Evil could notice the scorch mark on the way out or escape the ambush or something, but this seems like a pretty perfect opportunity for the Order— plenty of time to buff, weakened enemies, basically no chance of detection. If they can't beat Team Evil here, they're gonna need a heck of a training montage before they try again.

[Metastachydium]

If Xykon reforms and finds himself 6' from Redcloak, not in his impenetrable astral plane fortress, Xykon will rightly conclude he has been betrayed by Redcloak, and hijinks will ensue.

1. Xykon cannot just reform immediately once his body gets destroyed, the process takes some time, so Redcloak will have time to take measures were that to happen.
2. I don't know where the phylactery is, but it's definitely not 6' away from Redcloak. I'd guess it's either on him or in the village.

Including the triggering of the order by Xykon to the MitD to devour Redcloak.

There's the issue that he still isn't around to do so. Also, he may not be smart enough to realize when exactly Redcloak betrays Xykon and we know the spell doesn't trigger if he doesn't know what's going on. Otherwise he would have attacked Redcloak already.
Now, what I'd find nice would be Xykon turning on Redcloak and the Order saving him from the Bony Bastard, which could serve as a good starting point for renewed discussions.

[Lord Torath]

I hope this is a transition to Lien and O-Chul doing stuff, I miss those crazy kids

Me too. I wonder if the paladins were nabbed because Serini also didn't like Soon much. She didn't try to kill them like Girard did, but maybe she didn't want any interference.

Also, I wonder about the instructions left to the voices. Do they know that once the paladins show up, their days are numbered? Do they know the other gates have been destroyed?

Edit: Thanks, Rich!

[Crusher]

Ha!

Well, Lien isn't wrong. I mean, sure, help isn't *specifically* on the way to save them. But help isn't *not* on the way to save them either.

[Metastachydium]

I'm trying to imagine how this could go wrong, and honestly I'm coming up pretty much blank?

„Just realized how bad the Order's current plan could turn out. If Haley actually kills the trap, they will have to absolutely steamroll Team Evil, lest they find the real corridor. (Of course, if she only bypasses it again, half the problem is solved, but the issue that they may alert Team Evil that they've been missing something in the dungeons if they are spotted emerging from the door would still be there.)”

[Sesharan]

Actually, it does occur to me to wonder: Are there any of the voices who captured O-Chul and Lien in the canyon/tunnels right now? Because that is definitely something that could go wrong. Especially if they know about the trap and can bypass it to get to the Order.

[GooeyChewie]

Yay, new comic for my birthday! I hope the paladins get help soon!

[Peelee]

Me too. I wonder if the paladins were nabbed because Serini also didn't like Soon much.

Doubtful. They're intruders. Doesn't matter how Serini felt about Soon, there should not be intruders.

Yay, new comic for my birthday! I hope the paladins get help soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[SlashDash]

Am I the only one who is disappointed that when Hailey said she wasn't "one of a kind", Elan should have jumped and said "Yes you are"?

[Sesharan]

„Just realized how bad the Order's current plan could turn out. If Haley actually kills the trap, they will have to absolutely steamroll Team Evil, lest they find the real corridor. (Of course, if she only bypasses it again, half the problem is solved, but the issue that they may alert Team Evil that they've been missing something in the dungeons if they are spotted emerging from the door would still be there.)”

Yeah, I get that. I just filed it more under "consequences of the plan" than under "ways the plan itself could go wrong".