OOTS #863 - The Discussion Thread

[EvilAvocado]

I need me some of that ointment for this flu...

*rereads comic*

*notices ingredients list*

*laughs maniacally*

*grabs a cleaver and runs out the door*

[Ron Miel]

He has to agree Roy is keeping his word by protecting Elan though I am wondering how long before Nale actually points out whose actually leading Elan's group of course there is an odd chance he doesn't know... nah!

Nale thinks Elan is the leader.
Panel 3

[Calimehter]

Dwarves swing for the kidneys. Halflings hit below the belt.

The most feared warrior is not a hulking brute with a greataxe, or a swift and deadly swordsman, but a halfling with a mancatcher.

Fixed that for you.

[sims796]

The funny thing is, Roy most likely isn't lying about his escape plan, given their track record of running away.

I especially appreciate the fact that Roy is oblivious to Tarquin's Ring of True Seeing. After all, how could he know that Tarquin possessed that item? A mark of a poor story teller is when the characters have knowledge that only the reader should possess.

[t209]

Tarquin forgot to rescue marlek and qarr. So will the prophecy of

Spoiler

Show

both durkon's death and bringing "death and destruction" (God of Marlek) to his home.

[dps]

The pterodon seems well trained. Is it possible that Tarquin has ranks in ranger, and it's his animal companion?

[Emperordaniel]

I'd never heard of Keoghtom's ointment before. There's no indication that it's an evil item requiring the heart of a virgin. I suppose that's humor, and perhaps an alternate recipe which Tarquin got from Evil Pharmacy, Inc.

As The Giant pointed out in the very first post, this is Keoghtom's Ointment: Extra Strength, which, unlike normal Keoghtom's Ointment, presumably requires such an ingredient.

Tarquin forgot to rescue marlek and qarr. So will the prophecy of

Spoiler

Show

both durkon's death and bringing "death and destruction" (God of Marlek) to his home.

Qarr teleported away, and Tarquin just said that they are going back now to get Malak.

[Joe the Rat]

The wedding-night-virgin-heart isn't an active ingredient though. It's effectively there for flavor. Or maybe it's like menthol. Eeeevil menthol.

Can I sig this? This is awesomesauce.

Go for it.

@Calimehter:

[McDouggal]

Go for it.

Thanks! 10charactersFTW!

[Chantelune]

There seems to be a typo in panel 9: ‘tissure paper’ for ‘tissue paper’.

I know ‘tissure’ is French for texture, but it doesn't seem right… unless the Giant was making a very indirect stab at the “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” stereotype.

Nope, french for texture is texture tissure is not a french word *is french* ^^

[Forikroder]

oh look who doesnt have a back up axe, looks like Tarquins offensive ability has been reduced quite a bit

[Chess Tyrant]

Thinking about it, the whip may actually be more useful. Tarquin hasn't been aiming for pure damage this whole time - he's been fighting defensively, and many of his attacks at the top of the pyramid were aimed at controlling his enemies, rather than wounding them. Even if it deals far less straight-up damage, the whip lets Tarquin make trip and disarm attacks more easily, which I fully expect to see exploited in an upcoming strip.

That said, I can't imagine it'll do him any favors when if/when he runs into Xykon.

[pendell]

I need me some of that ointment for this flu...

*rereads comic*

*notices ingredients list*

*laughs maniacally*

*grabs a cleaver and runs out the door*

I wish there was a "like" button on this board. EvilAvocado, you've made my day :).

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[rgrekejin]

Qarr teleported away, and Tarquin just said that they are going back now to get Malak.

True, but just because Tarquin said it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen. We know that Malack is actively looking for a path around the door, as he doesn't yet know that the rest of the Guild has retreated. Maybe Malack will find a way around the door, and meet up with the Order before Tarquin can catch back up with him. The rest of t209's point is... highly speculative, but maybe going back and getting Malack won't be as easy as Tarquin thinks it will be.

[Forikroder]

Thinking about it, the whip may actually be more useful. Tarquin hasn't been aiming for pure damage this whole time - he's been fighting defensively, and many of his attacks at the top of the pyramid were aimed at controlling his enemies, rather than wounding them. Even if it deals far less straight-up damage, the whip lets Tarquin make trip and disarm attacks more easily, which I fully expect to see exploited in an upcoming strip.

That said, I can't imagine it'll do him any favors when if/when he runs into Xykon.

Malack said that Tarquin was just messing with him so that probably wasnt his actual fighting style and was jsut being super defensive to see them fight

[Ron Miel]

Tarquin forgot to rescue marlek and qarr.

Nope, he trusted Malek to "head back to the room with the corpses."

[Ron Miel]

Tarquin forgot to rescue marlek and qarr.

Nope, he trusted Malek to "head back to the room with the corpses."

[Jay R]

So the argument over why Elan wasn't involved in the fight is not so much ended as transferred from the forum to the strip.

I'd never heard of Keoghtom's ointment before. There's no indication that it's an evil item requiring the heart of a virgin. I suppose that's humor, and perhaps an alternate recipe which Tarquin got from Evil Pharmacy, Inc.

There's sort of a theme going here. In Tarquin's view, you can't make Keoghtom's Ointment without the heart of a virgin collected on his/her wedding night, for the same reason that you can't make a Ring of Regeneration without torturing somebody to death to give it magic, and you can't make an omelette without ruthlessly crushing dozens of eggs beneath your steel boot and then publicly disemboweling the chickens that laid them as a warning to others.

[Emperordaniel]

oh look who doesnt have a back up axe, looks like Tarquins offensive ability has been reduced quite a bit

I don't think so. Unless Tarquin's from some obscure fighting class and not Fighter, he still has a BAB of at least +17, i.e. Not Very ReducedTM. Even if that axe was +5, losing it does not really affect how well he can go on the offensive. Granted, whips only deal nonlethal damage, but that works out for him alright anyways, since he had promised not to kill Durkon (and doesn't want to kill Elan either), and the weapon has a 15-foot range - three times as far as Roy, Durkon, Belkar, or Elan can reach. Plus, there's always the +2 bonus a whip grants to Disarming your opponent, which is pretty nifty.

[Forikroder]

I don't think so. Unless Tarquin's from some obscure fighting class and not Fighter, he still has a BAB of at least +17, i.e. Not Very ReducedTM. Even if that axe was +5, losing it does not really affect how well he can go on the offensive. Granted, whips only deal nonlethal damage, but that works out for him alright anyways, since he had promised not to kill Durkon (and doesn't want to kill Elan either), and the weapon has a 15-foot range - three times as far as Roy, Durkon, Belkar, or Elan can reach. Plus, there's always the +2 bonus a whip grants to Disarming your opponent, which is pretty nifty.

none of which has anything to do with Tarquins offensive ability

your also forgetting all the feats he has to increase his damage with a 2 handed axe that he almost certainly doesnt ahve with his whip

Tarquin essentially has no offensive ability now although his defensive ability has increased

[Zubzub]

I dislike the fact Tarquin has gotten to the point of getting involved in pointless monologues about his axe and drow sign language, just to make it clear things dont always go his way because a bunch of people are unable to accept he's just extra prepared. The spoiler in Giant's first comment is probably only there so people wont go "HURR THAT OINTMENT DOESNT DO THAT DEM RAWRRRR".

[Kalrany]

Hey, in the first panel you can see Girard's Pyramid in the background. Nice touch.

I am, and I've now got this image in my head of Tarquin swinging the whip around Indiana Jones-style...

It will hopefully keep people from arguing if they can get back quick enough to be in anyway effective.

Well, we have had Star Wars with this group -- Indiana Jones has at least continuity of a shared leading actor... Makes sense, though. They went from the Evil Empire to hunting for an artifact in the middle of a desert.

Nice strip. Happy drow is surpising and a bit creepy. So he can feel happyness, even in such a fleeting manner ?

And loved the "make it believable" line answering the "but then we won". Priceless. XD

Agree on the Drow. Weird boarding on creepy. It shows we have not seen him genuinely happy in all the strips he has been in so far. The strip was written such that the ointment was needed to get rid of deafness, but it is possible that the return was slow (less than total) or if there was some lingering impairment i.e. I know if I am exposed to silence for an extended period, I have to process what I hear over very loud tinnitus. Or it could be that he (Z) prefers good ol' dad (T) to his son (N) and just appreciated helps from some he (Z)... respects? We really don't know what Z thinks of T, though. Eh, I am not sure if the source of the smile matters (and it doesn't until it does... ).

Elan.... Poor E. It seems he has trouble believing that The Order is actually learning from their experiences... (Or he has been reading the Forums.) I really like that they are winning against a competent and cleaver opponent. It is setting up the idea that they are more than semi-competent and that a real win against Team Evil is possible. Victory over a competent Linear Guild has much more meaning then the typical LG.

...Ceiling Belkar...

Can't...stop...giggling... Wish I had Photoshop on this computer...

...Not just problematic, it's also not necessary. Virgin's heart is an inactive ingredient. It can be left out altogether.

The wedding-night-virgin-heart isn't an active ingredient though. It's effectively there for flavor. Or maybe it's like menthol. Eeeevil menthol....

Or it is a stabilizing component. Maybe it is only needed for the Extra Strength version. Something has to hold on to that 71% magic after all. Might be the usual stabilizer doesn't cut it.... Hey, you never know...

Ok, now they're literally dragging kilkil around behind them. I'm SURE he's destined for something. Mentioned it once, calling it now: Kilkil kills Belkar.

Ooooh, that would be hilarious! It's always the ones you least suspect (or a bunch of meddling kids...) so why not? A lucky shot might do it. We shall see...

I dislike the fact Tarquin has gotten to the point of getting involved in pointless monologues about his axe and drow sign language, just to make it clear things dont always go his way because a bunch of people are unable to accept he's just extra prepared. The spoiler in Giant's first comment is probably only there so people wont go "HURR THAT OINTMENT DOESNT DO THAT DEM RAWRRRR".

Eh, it is a personality type. He is very theatrical, we have seen it in everything from his preferred lighting system to his color coordinated cape. I find it amusing, but then I am good at tuning out people who like to expound ad nasum in real life anyway, and T seems like the type to hear himself talk. Yes, it does have the added benefit of informing the readers of info. And we know that the characters are aware that they are being watched by an audience as evidenced by breaking the 4th wall thought the strip. Maybe he is deliberately expounding to his reading audience. No matter the rational, I still don’t mind it.

I also am not sure I would agree with extra-prepared. Based on how my old DMs ran games, I would call him prepared enough. We tended to accumulate knowledge that translated into a number of precautionary details like T does... I look at it as just learning from prior experience. (Yikes, I hope this does not restart the arguments on T. Oh well. I am not a huge fan of evil dude, but I appreciate his precautions.)

[deimos3428]

Keoghtom's ointment has been around since 1E DMG (see pg. 149). This is probably why Tarquin knows of it; he's old. I believe Rich deliberately spelled it "Keoghtum" to make it sound more medicinal.

Keoghtom himself was a mage in the Greyhawk setting, originally played by Tom Keogh. I believe at one point he became a quasi-deity.

[EvilAvocado]

I wish there was a "like" button on this board. EvilAvocado, you've made my day :).

Respectfully,

Brian P.

My PLEASURE!

Soooo using this in my signature :P

Seriously though, where has my cleaver gone to...

[FAD!]

Best part: "Magic 71%"

The spoiler in Giant's first comment is probably only there so people wont go "HURR THAT OINTMENT DOESNT DO THAT DEM RAWRRRR".

The Giant said so.

[e1_conquistador]

"Dat axe...!"

I think it says a lot about what a loot whore I am that the only thing I could pay attention to in the whole strip was "Sweet, free high-powered axe!"

[Emperordaniel]

none of which has anything to do with Tarquins offensive ability

your also forgetting all the feats he has to increase his damage with a 2 handed axe that he almost certainly doesnt ahve with his whip

Tarquin essentially has no offensive ability now although his defensive ability has increased

And where, pray tell, is the proof that he has those "offensive" feats? As far as we know, Tarquin's entire build is centered around defensive combat - NOT offensive.

Just look at, say, every fight Tarquin has been shown participating in to see his defensive build in action.

[Crisis21]

The inactive ingredient list for Keoghtom's ointment EXTRA STRENGTH is probably the best argument in favor of pre-marital coitus in the D&D multiverse that I have ever seen.

[Forikroder]

And where, pray tell, is the proof that he has those "offensive" feats? As far as we know, Tarquin's entire build is centered around defensive combat - NOT offensive.

Just look at, say, every fight Tarquin has been shown participating in to see his defensive build in action.

just lookat, say, Malack telling Tarquin to stop messing around and fight seriously

besides even assuming that that is tarquins main fighting style it still doesnt change that without his axe hes completely reliant on the rest of his party to do the damage, with only a whip we wont take someone down in a million years

[Joe the Rat]

And where, pray tell, is the proof that he has those "offensive" feats? As far as we know, Tarquin's entire build is centered around defensive combat - NOT offensive.

Just look at, say, every fight Tarquin has been shown participating in to see his defensive build in action.

It wouldn't preclude him having some offensive feats folded in - he has been fighting defensively by choice (first encounter), or at a friend's request (vs. Durkon). That said, he does show strong defensive (and almost Monk-ish) abilities. Given his ridiculous preparedness, if he was heavily loaded on offensive axe-fighting, he'd probably have a magical way to retrieve his favorite axe, or an easily accessible backup, or an Amulet of Transmute Puppies and Kittens into Greataxes or something.

The whip thing does fit with the whole film allusion thing. Apparently, he thinks he's Harrison Ford. Which makes Nale (and possibly Elan) Shia Labeouf. Take that as you like.