Goblins

[Killer Angel]

However, GS's buddy was threatening to release a high level demon in the world, and that's definetely evil.

If anything, I believe that Cain will finally feel doubt when he's faced with a goblin paladin.

Supposing that you are talkin bout Kore, i think that he will have no doubt at all: even if he had reasons to suppose Big Ears is a paladin, he would consider him a sort of evil abomination.

[Kalbron]

And then refer to Kore's (likely) Rule One of Paladins: if a Paladin is dead, they were a failure at any rate and unworthy of sympathy.

[Selene]

Supposing that you are talkin bout Kore

Ah! Thank you for clearing that up.

i think that he will have no doubt at all: even if he had reasons to suppose Big Ears is a paladin, he would consider him a sort of evil abomination.

And I agree with you. To Kore, BE is a "monster" in a party of "monsters," one of which is labeled for your convenience.

[Cracklord]

I don't think Kore only kills monsters. I think he kills anything that he see's as evil. If Goblinslayer tortures Goblins, he has sunk to their level and is reducing the purity of the good races.

"You see, evil is like a disease, and those who are subjected to close contact with it begin to be corrupted. Despite your good intentions and the neccesity of your work, you have strayed from the path of righteousness, and now simply worship your own ego. You are no better then the monsters you tortured, worse, for you had the potential to be more. I take no pleasure in my duty."
Then Goblinslayer gets curbstomped.

[Tempest Fennac]

It would be great if Kore did that to GS. Sadly, I can't see him venturing into the sewers before GS can either escape or die. It would be interesting to see a fight between them (I think Kore would easily win due to his better ranged attacks and higher AC).

[Kyouhen]

It would be great if Kore did that to GS. Sadly, I can't see him venturing into the sewers before GS can either escape or die. It would be interesting to see a fight between them (I think Kore would easily win due to his better ranged attacks and higher AC).

'Higher' AC? Correct me if I'm wrong but the guy was dual-wielding tower shields. 'Higher' doesn't cover what he's got.

[petersohn]

'Higher' AC? Correct me if I'm wrong but the guy was dual-wielding tower shields. 'Higher' doesn't cover what he's got.

Does "In tha stratosphere" sound better?

Anyway, I think he not only has better weapons and armour that GS, but he is also higher level.

[Tempest Fennac]

Does anyone have any ideas on Kore's level? I agree that he's higher but guessing at what his level is is hard (we know he has 2 weapon fighting, tower shield proficiency, possibly Ambidexterity if this is 3.0, and his crossbows probably cost a ton, but they would be largely responsible for his effectiveness).

[petersohn]

I guess GS about level 5-7 and Kore about 10. But I have no real evidence to the latter.

[Gez]

Being able to move at all, and see anything, under that armor requires epic levels IMO.

[FeAnPi]

I think his level is not so high: if I remember correctly, he was shown walking, thus he has not mount yet.
As I see it, he could be a fighter/paladin. He has show to have 3 feats so far (the crossbows are repetition ones, right?), and he is so powerful thanks to the enemies he fought (enemies against whom dwarfs gain a lot of bonuses) and his equipment (+12 to armor class).

As the Goblin Slayers is reputed a strong adventurer, and as Tacho was able to defeat him with a few hits, Kore could even be a 5th level character.

But, untill we see more, we cannot know anything for shure.

[Yuki Akuma]

Being able to move at all, and see anything, under that armor requires epic levels IMO.

He's a dwarf. Dwarves aren't slowed down by armour.

[Tempest Fennac]

With Thaco, there was a certain element of luck due to the environment where he fought GS (without the pipe, GS would have been able to continue fighting as normal, which would have caused problems for Thaco if GS went back to using melee weapons rather then his bow). Based on how Kore's not used a single Paladin class ability, combined with Young And Beutiful refering to him as being cursed, I'd say he's either possessed by something or he fell due to his delusions about the best way to fight evil.

[Frogwarrior]

He has show to have 3 feats so far (the crossbows are repetition ones, right?)

... I don't think those crossbows are repetition ones, especially if the author is following the rules (you need a free hand to pull the lever). No, take a look here. Those crossbows are clearly eight crossbows stuck together. In each hand.

[FeAnPi]

... I don't think those crossbows are repetition ones, especially if the author is following the rules (you need a free hand to pull the lever). No, take a look here. Those crossbows are clearly eight crossbows stuck together. In each hand.

Oh my, I did not realize that the first time i saw the crossbows.

Well, anyway they count as exotic weapons, I suppose.

[Tempest Fennac]

I never noticed that either (Thanks for pointing it out, Frogwarrior). I'd probably class it as an Exotic weapon as well to be honest. I wonder how he reloads it in combat?

[Kyouhen]

Whoops, ok so he isn't dual-wielding tower shields. For some strange reason I remembered the wheels and thought he had two he brought around from the sides instead of the one from above. Either way looking at all the custom gear again I have to wonder how much he spent on it. And as for mobility issues, what if all that armour's mithral?

As for how he reloads, anyone else think those two bolt cases look a little odd? Maybe his crossbows are a mutant of the repeater and he just has to pop one of those cases on it to reload all of it.

[FeAnPi]

Wait, now that I think about it, if the crossbows are repetition ones the combination of rapid shot and manyshot could explain, with a bit of HR (that we already saw in the comic), Kore's rate of fire.

[Tempest Fennac]

I never noticed that he reloaded them like that (it reminds me of some of the reload animations from a game called killer7 in the sense that it doesn't look very plausible). I never really thought about what his metal is made from; I always just assumed it was steel due to its shinyness. Having a high Str stat would allow him to carry all his stuff without any penalties without it being mithril.

[petersohn]

If you look at the image of the repeating crossbow in the PHB, it works like a pistol: there is a clip and a reloading mechanism. But it's not semi-automatic. The standard rules say that pulling the reloading lever needs both hands and is a free action.

However, Kore's crossbows look totally different. It has 8 strings, so he doesn't need to pull a lever between each shot. They are either activated with a different trigger each, or there is a spring mechanism so he fires it with one trigger in an automatic or semi-automatic way. As for his reloading, he has a special quiver with a special reloading mechanism. Plus, he probably has Rapid Reload.

[FeAnPi]

As it seems so far, thus, Kore is strong not thanks to his level and/or paladin might (he defeated only "low level" monsters), but thanks to his uberpowered equipment...

[John Campbell]

Kore's "uberpowered" equipment just makes me snicker. It's kewl-looking, but is all utterly impractical, and it's totally implausible that it would be as effective as Thunt illustrates it being.

Consider: With that helmet on, Kore's field of vision is limited to - to be generous - maybe a 60° wedge to his front left. He's going to be completely blind in the other 300° of the circle. The helm will interfere with his other senses similarly. The shield just makes matters vastly worse. If he turns his head, he can look past it to one side or the other, but is now almost totally blind to the front - his forward arc of vision has been narrowed to the tiny amount he can see through the hole in the shield, and that only if it's aligned with the slightly less tiny amount he can see through the hole in his helm.

And the shield is static - he can't effectively move it to block blows. Anyone even halfway competent with a weapon isn't going to be hampered much by attacking him around a static shield. It interferes more with his own attacks than it would with an attacker's - he can't bring his arms across in front of his body, which cuts off a tremendous number of combat options. It destroys his mobility, too... the little wheels appear to be set up to only allow stationary pivoting, and even that's only going to work on a smooth floor.

I'm not even going to touch the technical issues involved in making the stuff - the shield-harness and the crossbows in particular - work at all.

[petersohn]

You know, it's... Thunt. And a wizard did it, of course.

[Tempest Fennac]

There is a possibility that he has Blindsight somehow (that would at least stop his helmet from hindering him as much).

[FeAnPi]

Of course, in real life equipment of that kind should be nearly useless.

When i play LARP, I use a corinthian helmet and it really limits my vision. Imagine a Kore-like helmet.

I use a tower shield, too, and with it it is very hard to move properly: actually, in meele fightings I have to use the shield not just to defend myself behind it, but also to push the enemy. And the shield has to be moved in order to defend me, I cannot just stay behind it unless I am defending against ranged attacks.

But Goblins is based on D&D... and D&D is D&D, after all.

[Cracklord]

Or it's all magic, and he can see through the materials that make his helmet and shield (Think glass tinting).
Thaco says Kore has defeated entire armies by himself. He has to be at least tenth, buth I think he should be sixteen plus.

[Zanaril]

Or it's all magic, and he can see through the materials that make his helmet and shield (Think glass tinting).

Then why have a gap for his eye?

[Cracklord]

Then why have a gap for his eye?

Because it looks awesome?
What I want to know is why there are so many magic items in the world but so few high level guys. It's not natural.

And why is Kore using regular gear? I mean, the goblins at level three have four, and one was an artifact.

[Drakyn]

Because otherwise they would all be dead.
Also, I think theorizing magically transparent armour is a bit of a stretch. More likely it's just a whacky setup that's meant to provide explanation for why one crazy schmoe is such a big threat. I'm not sure I've ever quite bought this.

[Cracklord]

In the land where housecats kill regular people 4/5 times, the crazy who can duelweild his duelwielding duelwield is king.