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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aquillion
Remember, Z's build was optimized for beating V. Granted he can change his spell selection, so that's not a huge advantage, but Z also didn't know that V would be out of commission today, so it'd make logical sense of his spell selection today was focused on an anti-V strategy anyway.
I would think though that based on how the last fight played out Z would now realize that prepping all his spells just for dealing with V is a losing strategy. Wizard with genius level intellect and all that. And even if Z is still completely focused on fighting V, dominating one of V's allies is a perfectly valid anti-V strategy (and nicely pays V back for doing the same to him in their last fight.) And if nothing else prepping that spell leaves Z with a ready counter-spell option in case V tries to Dominate one of Z's allies again.
I don't recall what Z's banned schools are, but if he does have access to Enchantment I would be shocked if he hasn't prepped Dominate Person for this fight. And given Belkar's low will save, and the fact that the spell works through a telepathic link and thus will still work despite Belkar being deafened, there's a good chance Belkar is about to switch sides. And with V MIA and Durkon in melee with a powerful opponent, the Order won't have any immediate way to switch him back.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
I love both this and the previous strip!
However the battle ultimately ends up, Roy's initial ambush is nothing short of brilliant: In a matter of moments, he has leveled the playing field -- and more -- to balance out V's absence. And placing Belkar within range of Durkon's Holy Word (and thus giving him resistance/immunity to certain spells) was a masterstroke!
EDIT: Oh yeah. I absolutely loved Roy's comment at the end. That was a laugh-out-loud moment. :smallamused:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Whiffet
I love how Belkar was put in range on purpose. :smallbiggrin: When I saw the name of the comic, at first I thought it was referring to someone in the LG. The real meaning is better.
Ditto! It took me a moment to figure out why Belkar couldn't hear Nale, but when I did, I couldn't help but laugh out loud (again). :smalltongue:
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
M.A.D
What's the range for Haley's arrows, then?
Longbows have a range of 100 feet.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DougTheHead
Her face shone with a life and power that he had seen only a few times on the surface, when she was draining the most powerful or most innocent of her victims. She seemed at ease here in a way she never had on his home plane. Plus, with all the heat, she was wearing very skimpy clothing.
"Sabine."
"Welcome home, honey."....
^ That was hot. but I have a thing for torture so I can't say much.
--
Also, great strip. Wonder where Kilkil's gone.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
SpacemanSpif
Nale is level 16, he has at least 8 levels in Sorcerer (casts Dimension Door) and at least 2 levels in Rogue (has Evasion). At most, he has 6 levels in Fighter.
What would inline mean: He shouldn't be lvl 16, because of 10% XP malus due to violation of multiclassing rules.
Human = highest class does not count; all other classes shouldn't be more than one level apart.
With your combo he'd have the 10%malus for at least three level ups, which IMHO forbids a total of 16 levels.
I think more of 8/4/4 or 8/4/3.
You know, Nale's "optimized" :D
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
danielmayer
What would inline mean: He shouldn't be lvl 16, because of 10% XP malus due to violation of multiclassing rules.
Human = highest class does not count; all other classes shouldn't be more than one level apart.
With your combo he'd have the 10%malus for at least three level ups, which IMHO forbids a total of 16 levels.
What does your humble opinion say about Belkar being level 16?
(Twelfth level was a barbarian level; Belkar has had the experience point penalty--which is 20%, not 10%--ever since then.)
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
such an awesome strip. really one of the better ones
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gift Jeraff
Anyone else find Sabine's "forever" remark kinda creepy?
I don't know if anybody else in this thread mentioned it, but her 'forever' made me think she was worried about not coming back. Does the IFC know she was/is more loyal to Nale than to them? Is he worried about being punished?
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Not sure I agree with everyone who thinks Durkon is in a bad spot. He's got smoke for cover, an astronomical armor class and, no doubt, plenty of healing left. Not to mention plot armor against Tarquin specifically (as mentioned earlier in the thread). Even without the plot armor, I'd be surprised if Durkon couldn't go at least a few rounds with Tarquin before being beaten down -- plenty of time for the Roy to drop the next shoe. And Roy's shoes appear to be iron combat boots just now.
Let's see, if I were Roy, what would I pull out next? Time for the bag of tricks? :smallwink:
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
EmperorSarda
Longbows have a range of 100 feet.
But that's only the first "range increment." An archer can add addiional range increments, up to 10, with a cumulative -2 penalty to attack. So, for example, between 101 and 200 feet, -2; between 201 and 300, -4; etc.
The Far Shot feat increases the range, as does the distance special property for bows.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
NOW THAT is how you use friendly fire to your own advantage
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
I'm surprised Rich didn't go with Gustav Wind. Ah, well.
I wonder how many programmers are going to bookmark this strip.
Also, as ever, any time Belkar is genuinely smiling, you know some bastardry is going to go down.
Oh, and "everyone not on the side of the angels" - that's another neat way to allude to alignment ICly.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
Grey_Wolf_c
It has long been a joke that every bug in Microsoft products was defended by the PR in Microsoft as "it's not a bug, it's a feature" no matter how annoying/dangerous the bug was ("my files disappeared" "It's not a bug, it's a feature: self-cleaning OS!")....
Indeed.
When I worked for Coleco, I noticed that ColecoVision game instruction booklets usually ended with something like:
"The Thrill Of Discovery
This game has other features and opportunities than those explained in this booklet. Enjoy the thrill of discovery!"
I don't recall the exact words but it sure was a handy way to explain bugs!
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Xel
Let's see, if I were Roy, what would I pull out next? Time for the bag of tricks? :smallwink:
Thumbs up to you, good sir. Bag of tricks, ahoy!
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Here is something kind of odd with tarquin...
Elan wouldnt accept the ring of regeneration because he was really worried about where it came from.... BUT
If circumstances had instead come down to defeating Tarquin and looting his stuff, the OOTS would have no compunctions about using items based on where they came from.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
The best thing to do at this point is isolate Tarquain somehow and take out Z. At the moment Tarquain is the priority threat, but Z still has some chance, however slim, to pull off a successful spell. And I'm willing to bet he has at least one Flesh to Stone on standby, and an anti arrow spell. So at least isolate and/or distract Tarquain, and get rid of the drow.
This of course does not take Malack or Quarr into account because of of them being behind a solid metal wall, and there's a chance Quarr got banished too. Malack may also have been affected by the Holy Word, but that remains to be seen since the Giant seems to want us to keep guessing at his alignment. When the reveal finally comes, its going to be amazing.
Oh yes, and this also doesn't take Team Evil into account, because I'm of the opinion that they're already at the Desert Gate. Otherwise we'd already have seen or heard them. Xykon isn't exactly quite when it comes to his spell choices.
And that's my two cents and such on this. Here's to no wars being born of my post like last time.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
once the fog lifts completely if haley peppers Z with arrows, between that and the 20% spell failure its questionable whether or not Z will even be able to cast at all. and that ignores the possibility of Belkar finishing off nale in the next round and indulging himself in a little wizard killing.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
dtilque
1 I do wonder about the last entry in the list of Holy Word effects. Anyone more than 9 levels below the caster's level are "Killed, paralyzed, blinded, deafened". Aren't the last three kind of superfluous? Or do they apply to the spirit of the character in the afterlife?
It's possible to be immune to death effects, in which case you'd still be paralyzed, blinded, and deafened.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
Kish
He didn't? Remember, he thought he'd sent Vaarsuvius to the Demiplane of Extremely Painful Torture.
And this is why Qarr has probably been spared by the spell. Zz'dtri will be upset to notice V running around, and realize his familiar has betrayed him.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
I'm pretty sure Roy already knows it's Tarquin, or at least suspects it. He knows that not-thog is:
1. A human male
2. Meele focused
3. High enough level to fight off the entire order
If he didn't know before, he'll know it now.
And as for Nale, I predict that he'll be in a bodybag before this arc is done. There's one gate left, and the side-villains are going to be dying like flies to make way for the final battle.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
They're finally learning how to use Belkar :smallbiggrin:
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EmperorSarda
Longbows have a range of 100 feet.
That's 1000 feet, you can fire up to 10 increments. And it's 1100 feet for a composite longbow. And it's 1650 feet if you have a feat. And there are magic items that can increase this further.
3.x ranges were written by someone with no concept of the idea of "flight time". An arrow going a third of a mile would arive several rounds after it was shot, with little or no force behind it, and coming slowly enough that you could see it coming and dodge (assuming that you hadn't just randomly moved out of the way). The maximum effective range against non-massed targets SHOULD be a couple hundred feet at most with maybe another few hundred feet against massed targets, but in D&D land sensible armies should open up at the maximum range they can get line of sight at and count on the odd 20 to actually hit.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
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Originally Posted by
Fish
My favored turn of events:
Spoiler
Show
:nale: Dimension Door! ... Ha ha, I escape the...
:vaarsuvius: Disintegrate!
:nale: Ahhh! Dimension Door!
(He flees.)
:nale: Ha ha, I escape again from the...
:malack: Harm!
:nale: AAAAHHH! Dimension Door!
(He flees again.)
:nale: ...Ha ha, I finally escape again from the...
:xykon: Hey, look, it's ... it's ... Blond Guy!
:nale: AAAAIAIAIEIEEE!!
Unlikely. He has nowhere near enough hp to survive the half damage from both V's and M's spells you suggest (assuming he saves against both)
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Roy may not know it's Tarquin, but he has good reason to suspect it is: the unknown fighter is much, much more powerful than the "leader" Nale, yet does not wish his identity known. That's Tarquin's standard shtick, the power behind the throne.
As for thinning the herd, I predict a whole unveiling of betrayals on the side of Team Evil.
Spoiler
Show
Tarquin probably won't last past the end of this Gate. If the Star Wars metaphor holds true, he'll save Elan by throwing somebody (probably Xykon) into a shaft, a la Vader and the Emperor.
Zz'drti will realize Qarr fed him bad coordinates for the Plane of Ranch Dressing.
Malack may take the opportunity to attack Nale.
Nale may wonder if Sabine abandoned him; he didn't hear her say "I love you ... forever" nor his father's explanation of her banishment.
If Xykon dies (as above) and must regenerate again, he'll discover that Redcloak switched the phylactery.
There are, in short, a great many betrayals on the boil.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SoC175
Unlikely. He has nowhere near enough hp to survive the half damage from both V's and M's spells you suggest (assuming he saves against both)
Harm doesn't kill.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Did the Holy Word destroy the mummies we saw in 858? They don't appear to be a factor in 860.
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Doug Lampert
That's 1000 feet, you can fire up to 10 increments. And it's 1100 feet for a composite longbow. And it's 1650 feet if you have a feat. And there are magic items that can increase this further.
3.x ranges were written by someone with no concept of the idea of "flight time". An arrow going a third of a mile would arive several rounds after it was shot, with little or no force behind it, and coming slowly enough that you could see it coming and dodge (assuming that you hadn't just randomly moved out of the way). The maximum effective range against non-massed targets SHOULD be a couple hundred feet at most with maybe another few hundred feet against massed targets, but in D&D land sensible armies should open up at the maximum range they can get line of sight at and count on the odd 20 to actually hit.
D&D is a sword and sorcery game, it has, and will, never bother with the flight time of arrows, or of coconut laden african swallows.
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread
What about sorcerous arrows?
How about sorcerous sword-wielding arrows?
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Re: OOTS #860 - The Discussion Thread