OOTS #801 - The Discussion Thread

[Icedaemon]

You don't "lose" levels. Negative levels means an array of penalties, and losing spell levels.

Didn't it work like normal level-loss in 3.0? OoTS is mostly 3.5, but some people have spells or abilities from previous editions.

She saw he didn't have a goatee when he was standing between her and Tarquin, but she's probably too enraged to notice.

Last time she saw him was over a day ago. Maybe she assumed he has fast hair growth. One has to have that to grow a goatee or any halfway-decent facial hair when one is naturally blonde.

[Dancing_Fox]

I recommend reading the comic title _after_ you've read the comic. That's what I do, and I often get an additional chuckle from the caption. It doesn't work the other way, then it's just a spoiler.

Silly question time. How do you get to the latest comic?

I'm at work and want something to distract me on a regular basis, so OOTS is open - usually at the Forum page or I'm following one of the game threads (Props to TheOasysMaster for running a good Tomb of Horrors campaign).

So the most obvious place to see if there is a "new" comic - which only happens infrequently compared to my 40 hour work week - is to look at the left hand banner under "Comics", "Order of the Stick" and see if the count number is updated. But the title is right next to it - so it is kind of hard to avoid.

Is there a better way to check for the comics? I don't really want to go to the Comics and >> click to the latest comic - if the comic hasn't updated I have wasted my time (Although had a bit of anticipation wondering if somethign new is up). Besides, I'm at work, so I only want to be popping up a brightly coloured screen in a quiet period. But the rest of the OOTS is neutral enough that I can monitor for the comic number to update on the left hand pane.

My personal preference would be for the comic title at the bottom of the comic itself.

But yeah . . . how do you see that there is a new comic there without seeing the title first?
(Although I suspect I may like reading the title first, to be honest . . . guilty pleasure.)

[Adeptus]

Silly question time. How do you get to the latest comic?

Use this link: http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript

[Lord Vukodlak]

What Elan did here was

[deuxhero]

No it can't. The only thing that can do anything a writer wants in a comic is radiation that that only applies during the Golden and Silver Age of Comics. Learn your comic history people!

Nanomachines?

[fractal]

New OotS strategy - get someone not even in the party to fight your evil opposite for you!

[Red XIV]

May I sig this?

Go for it.

[Icedaemon]

So.... if it was Nale / Sabine / Z / someone else in the Linear guild doing the scrying in strip 698, presumably they know where Girard falsely said the gate was to Soon. Presumably "Elan" heard it from Shojo in strips 378 and 798.

Given Z's obsession with the other elf, that might have been a 'scry where nemesis just was periodically', rather than 'scry on location'.

Which is weird, because a Bard's class abilities are mainly buffing and some healing.

...Which Elan is so incompetent at that it sort of loops around and makes him more competent than the average bard when alone.

[Archwizard]

Given Z's obsession with the other elf, that might have been a 'scry where nemesis just was periodically', rather than 'scry on location'.

Except that the eye appeared away from the party while they were walking away. If Z was scrying on V, wouldn't the sensor appear right next to V?

[Icedaemon]

That was why I stated 'where nemesis was', not 'is'. Perhaps Z does not want to risk his scrying being detected and tries to piece together the order's plans and movements by scrying the locations they have visited recently.

Especially Nale.

I am just quoting this to heartily agree.

[dtilque]

-Amun-Zora has been tortured by days and his rational mind is too overtaken by rage to notice the goatee or the clothes change. Besides, the twin thing is even more unbelievable.

"His"?

Anyway, she's only been in the cell for a day, I think, maybe two. Unlikely to have been physically tortured at all. Mental torture is a different thing and she's definitely been suffering that, what with her husband newly dead and all.

[Kareasint]

Well, I don't know about current (4.0) rules, but because OotS mostly follows 3.5 rules, you can read the 3.5 version on the SRD:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbi...NegativeLevels

Basically, you get hit by a bunch of penalties that simulate losing a level. After 24 hours, you make a fortitude save against each negative level (DC depends on how the negative level got applied). For each save you fail, you lose an actual level.

The good news for Elan is that the saving throw is CHA based. He gets to use his CHA modifier for the save (DC 21 for Succubus). Most of his bad rolls tend to be when he is trying to move silently also.

[Aricandor]

"... + draining creature’s Cha modifier"

Elan's Cha doesn't factor into saving.

[Archwizard]

"... + draining creature’s Cha modifier"

Elan's Cha doesn't factor into saving.

Indeed, something being stat-based just means that's how the DC was set, so if you muck with the creature's stats you know how to adjust the DCs of its abilities.

[Niknokitueu]

Heh. Elan using the identical twin situation to his advantage for once. Gotta say, Rich, you are Made of Win.

Have Fun!
Niknokitueu

[CloakedDancer]

"His"?

Anyway, she's only been in the cell for a day, I think, maybe two. Unlikely to have been physically tortured at all. Mental torture is a different thing and she's definitely been suffering that, what with her husband newly dead and all.

Definitely going to agree with the whole "mental torture" thing. Tarquin seems to be quite good at causing emotional distress in those he would like to consider family.

[The_Weirdo]

You know, Giant, I was really needing a chuckle after my PC broke down the day before yesterday. That hit the spot.

[Vemynal]

point of interest: he "spot" where the party had gather for that comic page was also the site of a rather enormously large explosion earlier that day. Maybe Z was close enough to the area to hear about or see the explosion?

[OracleofWuffing]

I don't think growing a goatee overnight is too outrageous compared to the amount of hair grown by another major character not too long ago.

That said, part of me feels that Elan was trying too pun his way through things, just that he kept missing really, really badly that we don't even notice.

[jazylh]

Gotta admit I've been away from this comic for a very long time & it almost seems impossible to catch up, but this new page was totally funny. Especially when the evil twin unlocks the prisoner by mistake. :D

[aart lover]

cool story bro

[The Pink Ninja]

Curiousity:

If that woman dies fighting Nale, would it be an evil act on the part of Elan since he set her up for a fight she'd probably lose?

[ThePhantasm]

Curiousity:

If that woman dies fighting Nale, would it be an evil act on the part of Elan since he set her up for a fight she'd probably lose?

I doubt she'll die fighting Nale. Also, why do you think she'd probably lose? Do we have proof that she is low-level? (Also - was she ever given a name? Does anyone know?)

[Boogastreehouse]

Curiousity:

If that woman dies fighting Nale, would it be an evil act on the part of Elan since he set her up for a fight she'd probably lose?

No. He didn't force her to attack Nale. She did it because she wanted to seek revenge. Elan can't control her actions short of leaving her imprisoned in a cell, so he freed her and left her to make her own decision.

If she dies, it's because of her own choices. Elan simply gave her the power to make whatever choice she wanted.

I doubt Nale will want to take the time to kill her, though; Elan is still getting away.

[zimmerwald1915]

I doubt she'll die fighting Nale. Also, why do you think she'd probably lose? Do we have proof that she is low-level? (Also - was she ever given a name? Does anyone know?)

Her name is Captain Amun-Zora of the former Free City of Doom, currently Tarquin's prisoner and tenth fiancee.

[Ekul]

If she dies fighting Nale, she will have died trying to kill Elan for a poor reason. Thus, 'self defense'. Elan isn't trying to kill her, but if she gets herself killed as a result of his actions, it will be because of her own doing.

She's responsible for her own actions, just like everybody else.

After all, was Roy or any of the party at fault for getting the Teleport Wizard killed? Nobody caught flack for that. They accidentally demoralized him into getting himself killed. Granted, they had no way of knowing it would lead to his death, but still. He's the one who decided to get drunk and then get eaten. (no pun intended.)

[Ulysses WkAmil]

She would probably be Nale's level or higher, mainly because shes a captain of a city. Captains/people in charge are usually the level of the characters, due to roleplaying purposes, and Nale is the level of Elan. And since Nale's build is so complicted, she would probably be able to escape or even make him retreat (though unlikely).

[Snails]

Except that the eye appeared away from the party while they were walking away. If Z was scrying on V, wouldn't the sensor appear right next to V?

Savvy scrying spellcasters avoid going for a high Will target directly. Pick someone who is likely to linger near the target. A fellow party member's animal companion is approximately ideal.

[Gift Jeraff]

She would probably be Nale's level or higher, mainly because shes a captain of a city. Captains/people in charge are usually the level of the characters, due to roleplaying purposes, and Nale is the level of Elan. And since Nale's build is so complicted, she would probably be able to escape or even make him retreat (though unlikely).

She's a captain from the Free City of Doom. Plus she was taken by a couple of nobodies. While Nale's build helps even the score, he also focuses in enchantment, which is good when convincing someone you're the wrong target.

[Ranzear]

I first read the title as 'Round to Harpoon'.

It made no sense at all, naturally.