OOTS #874 - The Discussion Thread

[Gazebo's Bane]

Belkar's stats as an improvised weapon are probably better than his daggers.

He probably weighs between 26 and 50lb so he'd do 2d6 as an improvised weapon. 3d6 if you consider him 'pointy'

[gorocz]

Now that's where the Level Adjustment pays up. 3 2nd level spell slots and 1 4th level spell slot wasted thanks to a class feature. Also, as someone has pointed before, if V turned up now, there could be a penalty on V's will check thanks to the emotional distress...

[EccentricFellow]

Another excellent development. I like the way this is playing out, battle and tactics and now a little dilemma for Durkon. The battle of Roy v Thog was a good one but this one is, I think, even better because it feels like there is more subtlely here. More nuance in every action/reaction.

Plus I am certain the Giant has something sneaky planned.

[Stormlock]

Yeah I'm enjoying this fight more than any since Darth V. Logic/tactics aside, the atmosphere and symbolism of everything has been fantastic.

[DaOldeWolf]

Actually, I was surprised the dwarf is female. I wonder why; I really shouldn't be.
That wouldn't have happened to Vaarsuvius.

It probably has to do with how uncommon it is to see a female dwarf or identify them.

[ReaderAt2046]

1. And the initiative swings back to Malack again! Very clever use of the Dominating Gaze attack, forcing Durkon to burn two Cure spells and two spells that could become Cure spells. I'm surprised Malack used Harm, though. His fast-healing could do most of his healing needs with even a few rounds to work with, so he could probably make do with IMW or even ILW. Then again, maybe he wanted to have a full hp load ASAP.

2. That last panel is so funny!

3. I also like Mr. Scruffy's expression in Panel 7 (funny) and the Gaseous Malack image (cool/creepy).

4. I think we're getting spoiled by getting a great comic every day.

[Kurald Galain]

Durkon is being stupid. Good comic, bad dwarf.

[AntiMatter101]

Aww, I was counting on belkar to do the last minute field goal again, but he's back under the paralysis...

Looks like that job now falls to V. Don't screw it up, V!

[Rakoa]

I'm predicting that this battle will progress eventually until Durkon and Malack are very near the outside of the dungeon, and Durkon will dispel Malack's sun protection and Spartan Kick him outside to his death.

I forgot to mention before posting this that I would be sad to see Malack go, but if it had to happen this is how I would want it.

[SteveDJ]

Durkon is being stupid. Good comic, bad dwarf.

Funny how some people were complaining that Malak was being stupid in the last strip... don't be too quick to judgement just yet...

[Burner28]

Awesome strip.

[Gorky]

I must say that this is completely awesome. I cannot believe how good the strip is now.

[Dr. Gamera]

How Durkon refers to the rest of the Order of the Stick in the penultimate panel is a deep expression of a side of his character that hasn't been emphasized for a while.


I cannae risk any o' em gettin' dominated or vamped... Thor, if 'n ye have any ideas on how ta beat this vampire by meself witout losin' any o' me friends, I'm listenin'.

[SavageWombat]

First one combatant is ahead, then the other - classic rule for drama.

So for the next strip - either Durkon takes the lead again, or something changes the battlefield completely.

I think it's time for the second option.

[Silakka]

Well, the rest of the party should be along any moment now. They know Durkon went to fetch Belkar but he's been gone for 6 or seven comics by now. Haley has had time to either disarm the door, or extricate herself from it. Roy is unlikely to simply wait for Durkon and Belkar to come back.

Tarquin and Nale will soon tire of waiting on Malack so they might be coming down too.

Well, we don't really know how much time has passed in those 6-7 comics. In terms of combat, it's been a bit over 10 turns of Belkar vs. Malack and Durkon vs. Malack & Belkar, so that's just over one minute. How long the Malack monologue and his discussions with Belkar and Durkon have taken, we have no idea, but all in all I think Durkon has been away for like a few minutes. It could still be a while before the rest of the group gets there.

Then again, they'll get there when it's appropriate for the story ;)

[Leewei]

How Durkon refers to the rest of the Order of the Stick in the penultimate panel is a deep expression of a side of his character that hasn't been emphasized for a while.


I cannae risk any o' em gettin' dominated or vamped... Thor, if 'n ye have any ideas on how ta beat this vampire by meself witout losin' any o' me friends, I'm listenin'.

Magic circle against evil, holy aura, or protection from evil.

Any of those will prevent ongoing control such as a vampire's domination attack.

[danielmayer]

Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah! Thor's back!!!!! I waited for him in many, many strips!
Finally some old-school comedy from/about Durkon :)
I'm so happy! Thanks Giant!
- still anxious about the outcome of the fight...

[SteveDJ]

How Durkon refers to the rest of the Order of the Stick in the penultimate panel is a deep expression of a side of his character that hasn't been emphasized for a while.


I cannae risk any o' em gettin' dominated or vamped... Thor, if 'n ye have any ideas on how ta beat this vampire by meself witout losin' any o' me friends, I'm listenin'.

Hmmm, could the answer be: "Sacrifice yourself?" Solves some prediction issues, at least.

Question for all you D&D gurus... previous threads discussed that when someone is converted to a Vampire, they are under the control of said Master until they are 'released'. My question is: Could such "release" be imposed before completing the conversion? That is, if Durkon did indeed sacrifice himself, could he make the condition that he has to be a free-willed vampire before allowing himself to be turned into one?

[Stormlock]

Magic circle against evil, holy aura, or protection from evil.

Any of those will prevent ongoing control such as a vampire's domination attack.

Can evil characters benefit from the effects of a protection from evil spell? Would seem odd for that to be the case.

[Mutant Sheep]

Gotta love Malack hanging side down. Vampire lizards play strange bats.

[Starbuck_II]

Can evil characters benefit from the effects of a protection from evil spell? Would seem odd for that to be the case.

Yep, they can. Evil fights evil just like good fight evil.
Protection from good, however, is usualy only used by evil.

[Shale]

It would have come in handy against Miko!

[TheYell]

Awesome fight!

Also very suprising that Durkon shut down Belkar so quickly. Maybe he thought that through a long time ago...

[Shale]

Now I'm wondering what Durkon prepared in his first-level spell slots that he doesn't seem to have a single shot of Protection From Evil (since he defaults to Hold Person on Belkar and doesn't consider it as an option to protect the party).

[Deuce]

What's the casting time on a "Raise Dead" and what effect would that have on a Vampire that hasn't been "re-killed"?

[Feddlefew]

Malack might have just changed plans from "Kill Durkon" to "Turn Durkon".

(Assuming that wasn't his original intention anyway.)

Malack apparently finds Durkon's offer to resurrect him just as abhorrent an idea as Durkon finds turning living beings into vampires. So Malack could be waiting until Durkon has burned through his spells before returning to biting range...

[Cyllan]

Hmm. I've been rooting for Malack in this fight, but I like Durkon and can respect his morals. But I really don't want Malack to end here. The Western Continent arc has been my favorite in the entire comic, and I want the events and characters (namely, Tarquin and Malack) introduced in it to play a big role in the grand scheme of the comic and be explored in more depth. And if either of them are going to die in the comic (which is likely, considering they're both villains), I hope they at least have dignified ends. (Not rofl stomped by Xykon as I've seen some people suggest in the past. Blech.)

Anyway, I'm getting off track. What I want to happen in this battle is either it ending in a draw (or at least with neither dying/being destroyed) and Malack leaving to rejoin Tarquin, or possibly with Durkon being turned into a vampire (that could take the story and Durkon's character to interesting places).

[Raineh Daze]

What's the casting time on a "Raise Dead" and what effect would that have on a Vampire that hasn't been "re-killed"?

Irrelevant; it wouldn't do anything. As Durkon was suggesting, Resurrection on a destroyed vampire is necessary.

[goodyarn]

Just wanna say thanks for all the new strips, Giant. It feels like Christmas.

[SteveDJ]

Also, I wrote a News post about my thumb's progress.

So, it is totally wrong of me to be hoping "...I hope he fails at 8... I hope he fails at 8..."