OOTS #863 - The Discussion Thread

[Kish]

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.

There is no indication at all that Tarquin is particularly dependent on the weapon he pulled out of storage. Forikroder is just insisting on it for some reason.

[WindStruck]

Nice strip! It's too bad there aren't any natives or some other type of mook guards running around the temple. Cause it would be really funny to see:

Guards angrily charging at Tarquin and company.

Tarquin smirks and casually reaches for his magical doodad of annihilation.

Utter shock washes over Tarquin's face as he realizes he's lost it, then turns tail and runs!

[Sweet_Goddess]

Looking for (re)group ? But where's Richard ?

Riding his dragon, with a panther co-pilot, off over a the woods, with a half-troll female and an elven male... Sheesh, everyone should know that.

Though that brings up some interesting bits of ideas...

Richard vs Xykon?

Elan vs Cale? (Nale vs Cale would be more poetic, but paragons of innocent goodness goes to Elan and Cale)

Sooba vs Mr. Scruffy?

Lord Hctib Elttil vs Qarr?

Tim vs Thog?

Bunny vs Banjo?

Pella vs Durkon?

Krunch vs Roy?

Captain Tah'vraay vs Julio Scoundrél?

Ray'd vs O-Chul?

Maikos and the Villagers vs the Wights, Zombies, and Mummies?

Chief Engineer Toyk vs Lord Shojo?

Dnah vs... okay, I can't think of anyone in OotS for a giant walking hand to fight

Opinions? other match ups?

[Nightpenguin]

Dnah vs... okay, I can't think of anyone in OotS for a giant walking hand to fight

Bigby's Cat-retrieving (or other) Hand?

[Emperordaniel]

Except that the Star Wars references were pretty explicit - an evil masked warlord serving an emperor/empress, having fathered twin children separated at birth, leading to the great reveal, "I am your father, Elan."

That ain't Han.

The last obvious Star Wars references ended quite a while ago, so it isn't implausible for there to be an upcoming Indiana Jones reference. Add in the factor that this temple may still be heavily trapped in areas, and we could have a giant rolling boulder of doom coming our way soon.

[FujinAkari]

There is no indication at all that Tarquin is particularly dependent on the weapon he pulled out of storage. Forikroder is just insisting on it for some reason.

Ironically, the only evidence we have to go on is that Tarquin's backup weapon ISN'T an axe, which argues directly against Fonkroder's claim that Tarquin's feat tree centers around his axe.

While, sure, Tarquin may prefer axes, the fact that he carries other weapons rather than dozens of spare axes indicates that his build ISN'T axe dependant.

[Mutant Sheep]

Riding his dragon, with a panther co-pilot, off over a the woods, with a half-troll female and an elven male... Sheesh, everyone should know that.

Though that brings up some interesting bits of ideas...

Richard vs Xykon?

Bunny vs Banjo?

Maikos and the Villagers vs the Wights, Zombies, and Mummies?

Chief Engineer Toyk vs Lord Shojo?

Dnah vs... okay, I can't think of anyone in OotS for a giant walking hand to fight

Opinions? other match ups?

Bigby's Cat-retrieving (or other) Hand?

Richard would win by sake of him being able to sing.

Banjo can smite. Bunny just has blue cult people. Shojo has acid trips, and whathis-name general-son-badass guy (I haven't read LFG in a while, all right? ) or his dad vs. Tarquin would be fun though. Maybe.

[runeghost]

I have to admit, i don't get the joke in the title. Obviously, everyone is looking to regroup - but what's the joke?

Looking For Group is the phrase used in World of Warcraft (and probably other MMOs) by someone searching for a group of players to do a dungeon run. It's also the name of an in-game chat channel used for the same purpose. And, as others have pointed out, it also served as inspiration for the title of the webcomic of the same name.

[Smolder]

Richard vs Xykon?

Richard and Xykon have very similar personalities. Until recently, they were basically the same person, but Richard has been going soft lately, only sadistically murdering cute baby animals for the greater good and not solely entertainment.

[rewinn]

I might agree with Tarquin in questioning Roy's decision to hold Elan out of the conflict. IIRC Elan's more lightly armored than Roy and therefore can move faster. In general, this would've been helpful in rushing help to Durkon in the middle of the enemy party, and as things worked out, Elan may well have been able to poke at Z and disrupt the teleport.

[Smolder]

D&D Question: Does Elan get XP for that battle? Is he mad because he didn't participate enough to get XP? I'd be mad too if that was the rule. He could have at least strummed his lute a couple times to buff Haley's archery a bit.

[zimmerwald1915]

D&D Question: Does Elan get XP for that battle?

Yes, he does.

[Smolder]

Yes, he does.

Great. Thanks!

[KillingAScarab]

Is anyone else excited by the idea of Tarquin with a whip? Referring to his combat abilities of course, not any disturbing long-term daddy issues.

I am, definitely. I hear they are quite often used when a problem comes along. :)

More seriously, I am already aware of a few of the tricks which can be pulled off with a whip, but at least one of them tends to require spellcasting. I would love to see what Tarquin can do without any (known) spellcasting ability.

[lio45]

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

Yep, I don't know where he learned his French but I'd be asking for a refund.

What's ironic here is that the English word texture is one of these words that have been directly cribbed from French after the 1066 conquest. Texture in English is texture because, and only because, texture in French is texture.

[/off-topic]

That ointment label was pure gold. Nice work!!! :)

[Kish]

Ironically, the only evidence we have to go on is that Tarquin's backup weapon ISN'T an axe, which argues directly against Fonkroder's claim that Tarquin's feat tree centers around his axe.

While, sure, Tarquin may prefer axes, the fact that he carries other weapons rather than dozens of spare axes indicates that his build ISN'T axe dependant.

Indeed, he has an obvious reason to be using a greataxe that has nothing to do with him ever having taken a weapon-specific feat in his life: It's Thog's favored weapon, and he's posing as Thog.

Roy has a ton of feats devoted to a single weapon and he spent a period of the story completely weaponless because that weapon got broken. Tarquin has many backup weapons of different types, which suggests that he doesn't favor any particular weapon type, much less a single weapon.

[jere7my]

Oh look, Tarquin having just the right tools to solve everything. Yawn.

Except for the things he points out in this strip: he didn't pack a backup axe, Zz'd'tri's deafness prevented him from teleporting to his chambers instead of the middle of the desert, and he can't heal Kilkil with what he brought. That's not really "just the right tools to solve everything," is it? What he had was a healing item and a lesser backup weapon, which seems like pretty standard kit.

Moreover, he's expecting Malack to head back to the "room with the corpses", which Malack didn't show any sign of doing, last time we saw him. He was trying to find a way around the steel door, which makes it likely that he's going to have to wander deeper into the pyramid before he learns that the rest of his team has fled (if he ever does). It's possible that Tarquin will find Malack waiting for him by the entrance, but that's not what Malack said he was going to do.

Storywise, I predict that Tarquin's small errors will have major repercussions. But we'll have to wait and see.

[Emperordaniel]

Indeed, he has an obvious reason to be using a greataxe that has nothing to do with him ever having taken a weapon-specific feat in his life: It's Thog's favored weapon, and he's posing as Thog.

Roy has a ton of feats devoted to a single weapon and he spent a period of the story completely weaponless because that weapon got broken. Tarquin has many backup weapons of different types, which suggests that he doesn't favor any particular weapon type, much less a single weapon.

Pretty much this; now that we've seen the whip, that's what, like, four different weapons he's used in combat on-screen?

1: Sword and shield, when fighting Nale for the throne of the Empire of Blood
2: Dagger, when fighting Elan during the parade (and later wielding it against Nale briefly)
3: Greataxe, while posing as Thog during the battle in the pyramid
4: Whip, backup weapon for the greataxe

Who knows how many other weapons he's used over the years.

[Psyren]

There's one major flaw with Roy's plan, which was Durkon was surrounded by the enemy, included a really good fighter. How would Durkon escape?

Lots of smoke, they'd all be discombobulated by HW, and Durkon's a cleric (they're pretty tough, you know.) A few rounds of total defense would be all he needed for Roy and Belkar to close the gap.

[Glory of Arioch]

Tarquin's build, if it's optimized for any weapon, is probably for axes. He mentioned in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0822.html that he was going to get his axe out of storage in panel 5. I do like the defensive combat thing, though -- it seems like he is very good at not taking damage. You can tell best in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0851.html -- he seems to be focusing on disarming and haranguing his opponents rather than doing them any actual harm. This, however, could just be him holding back. It'll be harder to see until he's put into a situation that is actually dangerous to him.

Regarding the Zz'dtri smiling, it seems perfectly plausible to me. Imagine you're an outcast, living in a society that instinctively fears you and your kind. All of a sudden, you meet a person who not only knows your customs, and your sign language (is this even a thing it seems awfully goofy but w/e), but elects to triage you first instead of his own flesh and blood? That seems like it oughta endear him to the person in question awfully quick, no matter what Tarquin's actual intentions are.

[LadyEowyn]

I don't see any particular evidence that Tarquin's reliant on one specific weapon, but logic suggests that he is weakened by losing his axe, simply because a whip is less capable of doing serious damage than an axe, and an axe can be used to block other people's weapons while a whip cannot.

It's not a disaster for him, but it's a detriment.

[Jay R]

The last obvious Star Wars references ended quite a while ago, so it isn't implausible for there to be an upcoming Indiana Jones reference. Add in the factor that this temple may still be heavily trapped in areas, and we could have a giant rolling boulder of doom coming our way soon.

Of course that could happen. I was responding to somebody saying that the whip plus the Star Wars references indicate that Tarquin thinks he's Harrison Ford. I was just showing that the Star Wars references do not support that notion.

[Incom]

Well, in any case, would it be fair to call Elan John Williams?

[OoTLink]

Oh, and btw... Tarquin has started giving orders to his "idiot son".
And Nale is too shaken (and alone) to protest (for now).

hahaha good point. Somehow I'd still prefer Nale being the bad guy to Tarquin, because Tarquin seems to always have backups prepared and never misses a beat. Then again, what can you expect from a guy that runs an empire? XD

[Smolder]

Pretty much this; now that we've seen the whip, that's what, like, four different weapons he's used in combat on-screen?

1: Sword and shield, when fighting Nale for the throne of the Empire of Blood
2: Dagger, when fighting Elan during the parade (and later wielding it against Nale briefly)
3: Greataxe, while posing as Thog during the battle in the pyramid
4: Whip, backup weapon for the greataxe

Who knows how many other weapons he's used over the years.

It make senses that a person who has studied "how to defend against many obscure combat techniques" would also be somewhat proficient with a wide range of weapons. Spending a lot of time specializing in any one thing would seem to work against his desired versatility.

[dtilque]

More seriously, I am already aware of a few of the tricks which can be pulled off with a whip, but at least one of them tends to require spellcasting.

Guess who happens to have that very spell..... Could make for an interesting encounter, if they happen to meet again.

[Sweet_Goddess]

Pretty much this; now that we've seen the whip, that's what, like, four different weapons he's used in combat on-screen?

1: Sword and shield, when fighting Nale for the throne of the Empire of Blood
2: Dagger, when fighting Elan during the parade (and later wielding it against Nale briefly)
3: Greataxe, while posing as Thog during the battle in the pyramid
4: Whip, backup weapon for the greataxe

Who knows how many other weapons he's used over the years.

Tarquin with Waraxe (First Appearance of Tarquin albeit unnamed and helmeted, but still identified as their father)
Tarquin fights unarmed (2nd Appearance of Tarquin, still unnamed, but identified by rank)
Tarquin later in strips continued from 2nd Appearance, including both usage of the Wareaxe and the Sword and Shield combination
Tarquin many appearances later armed with stiletto/dagger and sharp wit
Tarquin with Throwing Dagger vs Nale
Tarquin with an Axe to grind with Roy
Tarquin deciding that when a problem comes along that you must whip it

[Knaight]

There is no indication at all that Tarquin is particularly dependent on the weapon he pulled out of storage. Forikroder is just insisting on it for some reason.

There's evidence to the contrary - Tarquin has been portrayed with a sword and shield before, he fought Elan off with a dagger, it's implying that he can use a whip now, etc. That said, the whip is very different from the rest of these, and may well be a tool more than a real weapon.

[GSFB]

If Tarquin's PRIMARY weapon build was the axe, why would it be IN STORAGE? This, to me, indicates he rarely uses the axe - but in formulating a plan to impersonate Thog and possibly take on Roy, he knew he would need to go into storage for the "really good" axe has been hanging on to.

My speculation is that Tarquin really is built for defensive fighting - it's how he's stayed alive all this time. The whip is a good defensive weapon - and that is why he has the whip with him - it is what he KNOWS he can use, if he has to, should he not be able to use the axe.

[WindStruck]

If Tarquin's PRIMARY weapon build was the axe, why would it be IN STORAGE? This, to me, indicates he rarely uses the axe - but in formulating a plan to impersonate Thog and possibly take on Roy, he knew he would need to go into storage for the "really good" axe has been hanging on to.

My speculation is that Tarquin really is built for defensive fighting - it's how he's stayed alive all this time. The whip is a good defensive weapon - and that is why he has the whip with him - it is what he KNOWS he can use, if he has to, should he not be able to use the axe.

I think there is some misunderstanding. His axe wasn't in storage; he was using it. If he had other axes in storage, it would be because he most likely doesn't need more than one at a time!

I'm really lost at where you are coming from...