OOTS #1035 - The Discussion Thread

[KorvinStarmast]

Ring trade-off game breaker much?

No, not game breaking. Not even close.

[BriarHobbit]

Team work. Team work. That's what counts.

[Themrys]

You're right, people do nice things for others, even when the know (or think) that they won't get anything in return, and don't expect it.

And for paladins, that's the job definition. Of course, O-Chul gets something out of trusting Lien. Namely, perfect teamwork and a problem solved. To only trust her because he wants something from her would a) be selfish and b) be incredibly stupid in this situation. O-Chul is lawful good, not lawful stupid.

He trusts her because he knows she's trustworthy.

Oh yeah, forgot about that

and there are no paladin spells that generate heat either

You forget the gentle warmth of good deeds done! Since O-Chul told Lien about that, I am sure she can use that for herself. Plus, she's used to the cold.

No, seriously, the things they mentioned in their paladin-off might not be the true reasons why they can cope with the cold, but might help to boost their willpower. Besides, O-Chul has been through worse. Shark tank. For Lien, we don't know that, but she might have been, too.

[Lombard]

Those slumped shoulders. Awww... saddie baddie.

Also, the action movie version of this strip totally has them popping out of the water and dragging Antlers in by the ankles.

[DavidBV]

Interesting little arc in the last strips.

It's good to see the Lawful Good aligned paladins still dealing with situations as normal human beings, abiding to their code and alignment yet not feeling forced into it, just feels like part of their nature. And still, having clearly different personalities and views. Not easy to write. Good job as always.

[Grey Watcher]

Those slumped shoulders. Awww... saddie baddie.

Also, the action movie version of this strip totally has them popping out of the water and dragging Antlers in by the ankles.

That'd be sort of an inverse horror movie.

[thorr-kan]

Spoiler: I wonder why.

Show

Totally stealing this for the D&D Demotivators X: X Never marks the spot thread:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...the-spot/page3

[Quibblicious]

Hey! When a paladin lays bands, it is for healing purposes only!

Then why did you keep asking me to play a romantic tune?

And here I thought we were a punk band, not a boy band...

Q

[8BitNinja]

Then why did you keep asking me to play a romantic tune?

And here I thought we were a punk band, not a boy band...

Q

How are we a boy band? Our synth player is a toaster.

I never asked you to play a romantic tune, wait a minute

There is an impostor on the lose!

Anyway, lay on hands gets a bonus from the charisma modifier for a reason

[Seward]

Divers need buoyancy. Without it, they would sink straight to the bottom. They wouldn't be able to swim above the sea bed, they'd have to crawl along the bottom. And getting back to the surface would be impossible.

D&D swimmers do not.

If you are strong you can be wearing 200lb of steel, waterlogged backpack, weapons, etc etc and you swim just as well as a naked dude who's weak.

There is no calculation for "would you float". The mechanics for "do you float" are "can you reliably make a DC5 swim check". Armor and encumbrance lower your swim check, but that's what strength and skill ranks are for.

Also out of combat, the question is "is your skill check before rolling the dice -5 or higher" since you can take 10.

[Seward]

On the other hand, Water Breathing and Endure Elements are 3rd and 1st level Druid spells regardless, the latter of which has got to be pretty much mandatory for living out there if you can prepare it... if the rider IS a druid, they would have had to not have Water Breathing prepared and decided it wasn't worth resting there for the required amount of time to finish the job, or was REALLY low-leveled and somehow scored a mount.

It doesn't RULE OUT Druid, but it definitely makes it a whole lot less likely.

Or the druid thought "Gee it would be dumb to fight two heavily armed and armored people in close quarters underwater without my mount, when I'm armed with a blunt weapon that will do half damage if I swing it underwater, unless I also prepared freedom of movement today".

[Quibblicious]

How are we a boy band? Our synth player is a toaster.

I never asked you to play a romantic tune, wait a minute

There is an impostor on the lose!

Anyway, lay on hands gets a bonus from the charisma modifier for a reason

I forgot our keyboardist was inanimate. He (she?) is such a good conversationalist.

And if it wasn't you, then who was laying hands on me? I need an adult!

I get that charisma bonus, too, y'know

Q

[8BitNinja]

I forgot our keyboardist was inanimate. He (she?) is such a good conversationalist.

And if it wasn't you, then who was laying hands on me? I need an adult!

I get that charisma bonus, too, y'know

Q

Who is casting Project Image?

[Doctor Awkward]

Might have been a matter of "hmm, how much longer are they going to be down there? Ah, forget it, the XP for flat out killing them isn't worth missing dinner and having another fight with the spouse", or something like that.

On the other hand, Water Breathing and Endure Elements are 3rd and 1st level Druid spells regardless, the latter of which has got to be pretty much mandatory for living out there if you can prepare it... if the rider IS a druid, they would have had to not have Water Breathing prepared and decided it wasn't worth resting there for the required amount of time to finish the job, or was REALLY low-leveled and somehow scored a mount.

It doesn't RULE OUT Druid, but it definitely makes it a whole lot less likely.

The fact that it is wielding a morning star and a curvy ceremonial dagger as weapons, both of which are metal, rules out the rider being a druid.


I actually came here to grumble about both Lien and O'chul now promptly dying of hypothermia, and then I double-checked to see that Endure Elements is, in fact, a Paladin spell.

Then I went and checked recorded water temperatures around the North Pole and was surprised to see it averages about -40 in the winter, and quite rarely dips below -50 F.

Thank you, Giant, for making me learn new stuff.

[Keltest]

The fact that it is wielding a morning star and a curvy ceremonial dagger as weapons, both of which are metal, rules out the rider being a druid.


I actually came here to grumble about both Lien and O'chul now promptly dying of hypothermia, and then I double-checked to see that Endure Elements is, in fact, a Paladin spell.

Then I went and checked recorded water temperatures around the North Pole and was surprised to see it averages about -40 in the winter, and quite rarely dips below -50 F.

Thank you, Giant, for making me learn new stuff.

The D20srd only says druids cannot wear metal armor, and even then they aren't actually physically unable to, they just lose a bunch of class features while doing so.

[Peelee]

The D20srd only says druids cannot wear metal armor, and even then they aren't actually physically unable to, they just lose a bunch of class features while doing so.

Hell, the art for the druid in the PHB shows her with a metal sword. Pretty sure that wouldn't knock out their abilities.

[Keltest]

Hell, the art for the druid in the PHB shows her with a metal sword. Pretty sure that wouldn't knock out their abilities.

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

[ClaimingLight]

This was great!

Sonic through the ice sheet is the kind of thing I absolutely love to see in a game. But it's so rare to find the players that think outside the box and DMs that allow them to do so.

[Peelee]

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

That's....odd, to say the least. I assume you're referring to 1st ed or AD&D? I'm not familiar with anything preceding 3.5

[Grey Watcher]

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

I think it has something to do with druidic traditions being associated with the moon and the scimitar being crescent-shaped.

Really, if you're going to break the no-metal rule, a sickle or a scythe would be more appropriate, what with harvest themes.

[8BitNinja]

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

Scimitars are still made of steel

[Keltest]

Scimitars are still made of steel

Yes, which is why I called it an exception, instead of just saying it doesn't violate the rule.

[Centaur]

The fact that it is wielding a morning star and a curvy ceremonial dagger as weapons, both of which are metal, rules out the rider being a druid.

If you look at that curvy dagger funny enough, you can say it’s a sickle, and those are kosher. (Scimitars are allowed because they are like big sickles.)

Morningstar, well, duh.

[davidbofinger]

It's far from clear getting underwater made them safe. A sonic attack underwater might be much more effective than one in air, depending on how the yrthak's projector works, and assuming most of a sonic attack normally bounces off the skin where the speed of sound changes. If the yrthak stuck its head in, saw a pair of paladins and hosed them down, it might do a lot of damage. At least until Razor bit its head off.

[Kish]

Druids aren't prohibited from using metal weapons, only from wearing metal armor or using a metal shield.

[KorvinStarmast]

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

The reason has been explained by E.G.G. It's a game thing that relates to Pliny having described druids as using sickles to harvest mistletoe.

Druids aren't prohibited from using metal weapons, only from wearing metal armor or using a metal shield.

That too.

[littlebum2002]

The D20srd only says druids cannot wear metal armor, and even then they aren't actually physically unable to, they just lose a bunch of class features while doing so.

To be fair, that's a scimitar, which has historically been an exception for some reason.

I'm very confused....if druids are allowed to use metal weapons, and scimitars are an exception, wouldn't that mean they aren't allowed to use scimitars?

[dmc91356]

My D&D-fu ends with AD&D, but, in that edition, a druid's weapons were a mishmash of things that never entirely made much sense. There was a staff, a scimitar, a hammer, darts, a club, sling, spear, and some other less well known things.

From my playing days, we surmised that the idea was that someone had read a bunch of fantasy and plucked some weapons out of those books, as there really wasn't a great deal of consistency.

[Peelee]

I'm very confused....if druids are allowed to use metal weapons, and scimitars are an exception, wouldn't that mean they aren't allowed to use scimitars?

I assume from the context that druids were not allowed to use metal at all in previous editions, but scimitars were an exception to this. Since in the 3.5 rules, it is not explicitly stated that druids cannot use metal weapons, the default assumption is that they can; so my best guess is that when they drew the druid, they used a scimitar because the artist was familiar with older editions and was accustomed to druids and scimitars.

I dunno, though.

[nyjastul69]

These are a 3.5 Druids proficiencies.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Druids are proficient with the following weapons: club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, scimitar, sickle, shortspear, sling, and spear. They are also proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form they assume with wild shape.

Druids are proficient with light and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor; thus, they may wear only padded, leather, or hide armor. (A druid may also wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as though it were steel. See the ironwood spell description) Druids are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones.

A druid who wears prohibited armor or carries a prohibited shield is unable to cast druid spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.