OOTS #1109 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Keltest]

Uh oh, Roy is thinking tactically again. Hopefully he got his head on a little straighter since that last ambush. That was embarrassing.

[Ted The Bug]

At least they know what to expect from their adversaries now.

[Curupira]

I for one approve the new genre-savvy Roy.

[Forikroder]

time to see how well durkula can count

[Slimmy]

Stop everything ! Durkon* is pulling a Nale !
Now let's hope it doesn't involve a family member this time.

[eilandesq]

This would be a nice time for V. to have Clairvoyance racked up, since the enemy is behind a closed door in a known location that is illuminated. It's not on either of V's prohibited lists, so it's just a matter of whether V. knows and has memorized it.

[SaintRidley]

time to see how well durkula can count

You can't see the target of your sending. He's not going to know Hilgya is there.

[Turin_19]

That last panel is great!!!

They know where they'll be, and that there'll be an ambush for them! And that they're focusing on Vaarsuvius!

[Great Dane]

Should the word be "hardiness"?

[Kish]

Should the word be "hardiness"?

If you were saying the sentence, sure, but since it's a perfectly valid sentence as-is there's no reason to change it.

[wingedcatgirl]

Well, I guess the last panel confirms that Greg doesn't know they've picked up a replacement divine spellcaster.

I mean, not sure why he would know that, but nonetheless it confirms that he doesn't.

[wumpus]

You can't see the target of your sending. He's not going to know Hilgya is there.

Is that why Hilgya never bothered with it? She wanted to see Durkon's reaction and "giving information to the enemy" without any return information would be a bad tactical move?

[Ornithologist]

The counting thing is about the 25 word limit on sending.

Also, I'm really worried that Roy and Elan are changing narrative places in the group.

Elan the straight man vs Roy up to his wacky Hi-jinks again!


... wow that was weird to write.

[Gift Jeraff]

25! 25 words! Ah ah ah ah ah ah!

[Hamste]

Learning things like that symbol of death is why I love divination.

[Mic_128]

I actually thought that was Eugine for a half-second there. It's been a while since he popped in.

[PH7]

So little Kudzu is seeing his father for the first time ever in panel 4, right?

[oonker]

It's a shame that Durkula just used 5000 diamond dust to ower up this symbol of death spell. Oh, well, it's not like they would need diamond to cast a ressurrection, after Durkula's body is destroyed.

[KorvinStarmast]

Thank you, Giant.

The back and forth between Blackwing and Belkar got a grin out of me. (Panel 10)

Belkar: Good, cause tracking is a lot harder without a trail of corpses.
Blackwing: Is that why you're always leaving one behind you?
Belkar: Sure

Prediction. Bloodfeast triggers the symbol, somehow. He's hearty and hardy, both.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Okay, how do you bypass a symbol of death?

[eilandesq]

Okay, how do you bypass a symbol of death?

Don't look at it (or do any of several other things that will probably involve more effort than looking at it), or stay more than 60 feet away from it (if possible):



http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/symbolOfDeath.htm

Also, V. would have a good chance of removing it harmlessly with a Greater Dispel Magic.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Don't look at it (or do any of several other things that will probably involve more effort than looking at it), or stay more than 60 feet away from it (if possible):



http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/symbolOfDeath.htm

Also, if I'm reading the link right, you could:

• Cover it.
• Send someone with more than 150 HP to activate it, then wait 10 minutes for the effect to end

But of the possible triggers, the only one that is likely to have been used is "looking at it", so avoiding doing that might be enough.

Triggers:
look at the rune
read the rune
touch the rune
pass over the rune
pass through a portal bearing the rune

The last two don't apply, and the other three can all be avoided by not looking at the rune.

So maybe don hats with large visors.

GW

[eilandesq]

Also, if I'm reading the link right, you could:

• Cover it.
• Send someone with more than 150 HP to activate it, then wait 10 minutes for the effect to end

GW

Not by default:

The symbol of death affects the closest creatures first, skipping creatures with too many hit points to affect.

[. . .]


As a default, a symbol of death is triggered whenever a creature does one or more of the following, as you select: looks at the rune; reads the rune; touches the rune; passes over the rune; or passes through a portal bearing the rune. Regardless of the trigger method or methods chosen, a creature more than 60 feet from a symbol of death can’t trigger it (even if it meets one or more of the triggering conditions, such as reading the rune). Once the spell is cast, a symbol of death’s triggering conditions cannot be changed.

[. . .]

Throwing a cover over a symbol of death to render it inoperative triggers it if the symbol reacts to touch.

All of Durkula's allies are immune to death magic (being vampires), so he would have no reason to remove any of the triggering conditions. The dialogue suggests that Roy has enough HP to be immune to the symbol, so he could theoretically cover it without triggering it, but if he was wounded below 150 HP he would run the risk of being vulnerable to it.

[Douglas]

Also, if I'm reading the link right, you could:

• Cover it.
• Send someone with more than 150 HP to activate it, then wait 10 minutes for the effect to end

But of the possible triggers, the only one that is likely to have been used is "looking at it", so avoiding doing that might be enough.

Triggers:
look at the rune
read the rune
touch the rune
pass over the rune
pass through a portal bearing the rune

The last two don't apply, and the other three can all be avoided by not looking at the rune.

So maybe don hats with large visors.

GW

None of that would prevent one of the vampires from triggering it intentionally.

[dmc91356]

Presumably, all the Hilgya alignment followers will pick up on the "Anarchic" water reference . . .

[Lord Torath]

This is where they have everyone hang back, and have Elan send an illusion of the party into the room while Hilgya readies Greater Dispel Magic and V readies Fireball to go off after Hilgya's Dispel...

Thanks, Giant!

[TerrickTerran]

Looks like Durkula is channeling his inner Xykon.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

None of that would prevent one of the vampires from triggering it intentionally.

Activating it with a >150 HP and waiting would work, wouldn't it? I mean, it'd be suicide in the current circumstances, but theoretically, it would, right?

GW

[2D8HP]

Something must be wrong with my genre savvy.

"Hello Roy" took me totally by surprise (I'd make a terrible Bard).