OOTS #936 - The Discussion Thread

[Ramien]

And Tarquin is wrong, as usual... He doesn't understand Elan, he doesn't understand the story, and he doesn't understand what makes for a truly satisfying ending.

Great job, Giant!

[IamL]

Wonder if Tarquin would have been better off just trying to catch one arrow, take the damage off the second and regenerate it, or does he have to try and catch both of them?


The fight with the Allosaurus took them at most a mile from the gate, where Tarquin left his army, and his portion of the Mechane's flight is probably about five miles (considering the maneuvering they did to stop him getting back on board during the Caster fight.

If he can't walk that far to get home, something's wrong. And even then, chances are, someone like Kilkil will have a sending cast to contact him, and he'll tell them where he is to get a search party out to find him.

Short of Belkar still having a little of the spice around, "accidentally" tipping it over Tarquin and a purple worm disposing of him as already mentioned (my apologies, I can't remember who said it), he'll likely turn up at Kraagor's gate.

"The Battle of Four Armies."
(OotS, Tarquin, Kraagor's monsters, and Xykon/Redcloak)

[DaggerPen]

Am I the only one who's thinking a better title for this comic would have been "Just Deserts"?

I'll take my coat...

... actually, that actually would have been better. Ah well.

[SowZ]

... actually, that actually would have been better. Ah well.

Until I read your quote of this post, I did not get the pun and wondered what was so great about it.

[Dr Mushroom]

That trick with the arrows was beautiful.

[Great Teacher]

You are all now aware that Spiky is still down in the desert, has not been confirmed dismissed in any panel, and is contracted to follow Durkon's orders until midnight (like kill all enemies, for instance). Debatably, that might be just enough time to close the distance between Spiky and Tarquin.

[andiemus]

Gotta love that Elan saw through what his father was missing in his whole opinion on their roles in the story. Elan doesn't have to be a hero because what Tarquin can't understand because of his massive ego is that he's not the villain.

[Morgan Wick]

I hate to say this, but damn I hope the rendering of the text eventually goes back to normal...

[Socratov]

I can't help but think that Elan has actually given Tarquin the thing he desires most. Since Tarquin is still alive he can come back, while the OotS deal swith Xykon and Redcloak. So when Xykon and Redcloak are finished Tarquin can swoop in and be the final boss he so dreams about.

[shadowpriest]

Absolutely gorgeous. My respect, Giant.

[Ridureyu]

I don't think that Tarquin really had a choice except to catch those arrows. Haley clearly rolled really high on a called shot aimed at his eyes.

[Nightcanon]

I don't think that Tarquin really had a choice except to catch those arrows. Haley clearly rolled really high on a called shot aimed at his eyes.

Presumably, hanging onto the side of an airship with both hands counts as being denied Dex bonus to AC, so one of those arrows is carrying sneak attack damage, too..

[afarrell]

I am amused that even after such a great end which clearly delineates Giant's views on it, there are still people whose first instinct is to look it up in TV Tropes:)

[RMS Oceanic]

Also a nice touch. I like when Tarquin is first pleading to Elan to pull him up, he doesn't have the face. I think he was so confident that this was just another trope he could work with he didn't feel in danger of falling.

[Rhyvurg]

The look of confusion and panic on Tarquin's face is perfect as his narrative-controlled world comes crashing down.

[SowZ]

Presumably, hanging onto the side of an airship with both hands counts as being denied Dex bonus to AC, so one of those arrows is carrying sneak attack damage, too..

Why just one? You aren't limited to one Sneak Attack per round in 3.5.

[Irenaeus]

That was very good.

[Dekinjein]

That was awesome. I'm speechless. and laughing at Tarquin.

[Mono Vertigo]

And how come Elan isn't a twin anymore?
Yessss, that's right. Because of that thing, funny how you could have avoided that.
I don't know what Tarquin's talking about, it's such a great ending on so many levels.

[Doxkid]

I believe the correct term for this is "Rekt". The Councilmen of First-Person-Scrub-Shooters will convene later to determine the severity of this condition.

Expect wild hooting and people repetitively dancing in place.

[Cerlis]

Why just one? You aren't limited to one Sneak Attack per round in 3.5.

not on a many shot, which is what she did.

But either way the act of shooting him in the eye would have done critical dmg.

not that rules dictate anything here, but if they did these ones would apply.

but basically treat it as a two pronged arrow for the sake of dmg.

[Sylthia]

Nice to wake up to. Thanks for preemptively answering our question.

[Planeswalker817]

Why just one? You aren't limited to one Sneak Attack per round in 3.5.

Aye, with a Manyshot attack, you are limited to precision-type damage (such as Sneak Attacks) on only one of the arrows.

[SowZ]

not on a many shot, which is what she did.

But either way the act of shooting him in the eye would have done critical dmg.

not that rules dictate anything here, but if they did these ones would apply.

but basically treat it as a two pronged arrow for the sake of dmg.

Oh, I assumed it was rapid shot. More optimal. The art is Manyshot, though. I assume she had to use a move action to get the bow in position, or else she is too sluggish at reloading to get iterative attacks with a broken arm. Otherwise, rapid shot with iterative attacks would be far better.

[ThirdEmperor]

My favorite part of all of that was the phrasing "I don't know what happens next." It's not a huge thing, but it makes Tarquin sound scared instead of just angry.

[The Giant]

I hate to say this, but damn I hope the rendering of the text eventually goes back to normal...

It actually can't go back, ever. Adobe Illustrator changed the way it renders type at some point between the old version I was using on my old computer and the new version I'm using on my laptop. Because of that change—and how much I didn't like it—I've been clinging to a woefully outdated version of Illustrator for 8 years or so. But my old computer died about two weeks ago, and no new computer will run the old version anymore. As a result, the font looks awful. It's going to be a nightmare when it's time to print it, since the balloons are sized to the old rendering.

I plan on completely changing the font when we switch over to the new book, because at least that way it won't look like this.

[Nightcanon]

Why just one? You aren't limited to one Sneak Attack per round in 3.5.

I'm assuming that Haley is pulling a Manyshot (two arrows on the string in panel 6) which iirc only applies precision damage once? Happy to be wrong, especially since two lots of (d8+8d6+minty-fresh burst) makes risking 20d6 falling damage a more attractive proposition.

Edit: Ninja'd in my own discussion! The shame!

[Heksefatter]

Tarquin: "Look, Elan, I think that I'm being very generous admitting that maybe I've partly contributed to the current climate of-"

Man, Tarkie is an ass. Of the highest caliber.

[alparon]

Well that was a very dissapointing end for my favorite character.

I would have expected so much more from Tarquin's story--Belkar's or Haley's death or at least Julio's, Elan losing a hand, team Tarquin defeating Team Evil that kind of stuff-- I mean he started out great but ended up as a petty villain... However, I think he was a much better villain than Xykon.

Maybe that's because I like genre savvy tyrants more than I like low intelligence high level undead sorcerers.

[Ridureyu]

So I guess you are upset because... where's the growth? Elan didn't lose anything. Nothing has changed?