OOTS #584 - The Discussion Thread

[dogmac]

Yeah, Lien, you might need all twelve gods to deal with that one.

Therkla just gets cooler, in my opinion. I approve of that kind of loyalty.

And yes, "Good, not dumb". Think I might make that my subheading on various things for the day

[Spiryt]

Hmm, and how are they going to kill a balor? I predict a lot of running and possably a "you shall not pass" line from V.

If standard Blood War mythology has something to say here, it can't be a Balor. And since there are phrases like "another devil" it seems that indeed there is a difference.

I smell Pratchett, anyway!

[Vargtass]

Hmm, and how are they going to kill a balor? I predict a lot of running and possably a "you shall not pass" line from V.

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Would that qualify as the right four words?

[chiasaur11]

I suspect someone introduced the Giant to TvTropes.

You didn't guess it back at the lampshade?

[teratorn]

Hmm, and how are they going to kill a balor? I predict a lot of running and possably a "you shall not pass" line from V.

Isn't that guy a bit too big for a balor? Balors are 3,5 meter tall and about 2 tons in weight. This guys is what, 35 meters tall?

[Aerysil]

No fair. I don't have a mini that big.

* Searches through his GI Joe collection *

By the way, people, it would be a Pit Fiend, not a Balor! * shakes fist *

[Jeivar]

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Would that qualify as the right four words?

Vargtass . . . you just might be onto something there.

Anyway, with something like this on their hands, I'm pretty sure this will mark the end of the fleet arc. The gang now has a terrifying enemy to deal with, and might actually put an end to Kubota right after escaping the island, both of which make for a fine way to move onto the next part of the story. Especially since Haley and Celia might actually make some progress with Roy's corpse soon.

[Shadowcaller]

Well my guess is that its a Pit Fiend (another type of devil) but it appears much larger then I thought they were.

[hamishspence]

D&D monsters can be advanced. Or it could be a Demon Lord. Imps in early D&D could be Chaotic as well as Lawful (R A Salvatore's Druzil was an imp from the Abyss)

If we go with Qaar being Lawful, not Chaotic, it could be a pit fiend. epic handbook also has infernals, but they aren't exactly fair at this level (but who said life was fair)

Whatever it was, Qaar might be more than he seems if he can summon it.

[Spiryt]

Isn't that guy a bit too big for a balor? Balors are 3,5 meter tall and about 2 tons in weight. This guys is what, 35 meters tall?

More like 50 Even in OotS very simple perspective he's way taller than trees.

Besides, devil.

I guess it's just some random "super scary" devil. OotS don't have to follow Planescape rules after all.

[FoE]

V looks like a zombie and they have a huge demon on their hands. Things are not looking good.

Huge DEVIL. Huge DEVIL. Don't associate us with that loser Qar.

"Once again, Probability proves itself willing to sneak into a back alley and service Drama as would a copper-piece harlot."

Nice imagery there, Rich.

[Muz]

Here's hoping someone's got a

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scroll of Banishment!

Did that even exist in 3rd edition? I'm still living back here in 2nd.

[teratorn]

Well my guess is that its a Pit Fiend (another type of devil) but it appears much larger then I thought they were.

Yep, too big, a pit fiend is also about 3.5 meters tall and has big wings (they wrap them around their bodies).

So, short wings and much bigger...

[ShiningEntity]

V hasn't slept in ages and is facing a huge demon.

At least the odds aren't totally against the demon

[silvadel]

Qaar will owe a lot to the Devil Lord. Might be like out of the frying pan and into the fire when he takes him for a slave for the next few milleneum for his help.

As for "Good not Dumb" I don't buy it in this case -- being that heavy handed with Therkla is Dumb.

[baerdith]

So, what's up with V's wrinkles and whatever thse lines are?? I would have figured her/his stress would have dropped after a bit of rest??

[dragongirl13]

And once again, a brilliant comic. I love the thing about one-in-a-million chances... that really does seem to happen a lot in stories. Drama does seem to supersede probability in such occasions...

And V's comments? Absolutely hilarious.

[hamishspence]

4th ed orcus is Gargantuan, but apart from that Big size and demons/devils generally do not go together. the biggest demons (ghour, goristro) when upgrade reach colossal (one goristro in FC1 is reputed to be 200 ft tall) but do not have wings. Devils don't come in that size, usually, either. Homebrew fiend?

[ref]

OK, They're in trouble. Elan may be generally ignorant, but when it comes to genre conventions, he's THE Authority. When will they learn?

And Vaarsuvius, please, take a trance. You need it, badly.

Lien is cool. And Therkla is loyal, you can't deny that.

[hamishspence]

I wonder If lien will be a rival of O-Chuls for Really Cool Paladin slot. I remember a worrying number of O-chul threads, Lien threads might be fun for a while but not if they reach O-chul levels.

[dish]

I suspect someone introduced the Giant to TvTropes.

Surely the Giant demonstrated his mastery of plot conventions long before the wiki was even dreamt of?

[wodan46]

That thing has got to be WAY above what the characters are capable of dealing with. It could probably give Xykon or even MiTd a run for its money.

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Who wants to bet that Therkla will be willing to help them win in return for freedom? Or that Elan will simply release Therkla to do the same

[WarriorTribble]

Most hilarious. Pretty good chance that V is wrong imo. Personally, I'd say the demonic overlords allowed a hugass monster to be summoned to remove the mortals attempting to push their agenda on the Snarl.

I think I'll like Therkla alot more, if it didn't feel like she's a reject character from Naruto.

EDIT: Do the OotS even have a vague chance of running away from that thing, let alone beating it?

[Ruduen]

Yeah, we have absolutely no idea what that summon's supposed to be, since the largest devil, the pit fiend, is only 12 feet tall, and demons and devils aren't to be mixed up. Even a balor's about that height, though it weighs a lot more for some unknown reason. So, it's fair to say that it's homebrew. The rule for summoning's probably homebrew as well. It's obviously safe to say that Qarr is a devil by now, but he's not really following any of the known devils that exist, so we'll be dealing with something else original here as well, as far as I can tell.

And probability likes to do that. If you thought 1/20 was unlikely...

[Austran]

Soooo.... a Pit Fiend I take it?

[hamishspence]

Infernal can be both CE or LE outsider, but even that, powerful as it is, is Large, not Huge or larger, without advancement. So the big Whatzit is either an advanced fiend, an archfiend (Souped up Duke of Hell?), or a completely new fiend.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I realise there are bigger issues right now but V really needs to get some sleep, s/he's not looking good at all right now. At this right I wouldn't be entirely suprised if s/he ends up Undead before the trip is over.

[Mazar]

All they have to do is come up with a plan that has a one-in-a-million chance of success. Genre conventions cut both ways.

[Ceric]

Terry pratchett's law of probability at workt here :)

Wait, V said it wasn't precisely a one-in-a-million chance. So it shouldn't have worked, then? Like in

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Guards! Guards!

And Vaarsuvius looks awful now. That's not just lack of trance, that's lack of basic hygiene.

[SoC175]

If standard Blood War mythology has something to say here, it can't be a Balor. And since there are phrases like "another devil" it seems that indeed there is a difference.

I smell Pratchett, anyway!

It's a pit fiend, they and balors look very similar