Murphy's Law 7: ...Maybe?

[Alagaesian]

The odd part is that a hard drive doesn't necessarily have to be broken/damaged/corrupted to be bad news. My computer, at times, loses connection to the hard drive if I jostle it too much. The bad news? My computer is a laptop that I drag everywhere with me to take notes for classes. It gets jostled on a regular basis. So, preparing for the worst-case scenario of it becoming permanently disconnected, I have my hard drive backed up regularly.

The problem with this particular hard drive ailment is what happens whenever I take it in to get it fixed:

Me: My computer won't start up properly.
*boots up computer*
Me: Huh. It starts up now.
Techie: What was wrong with it again?
Me: Whenever I tried to start it up, it would say "boot disk error" or "disk read error" and basically tell me my hard drive didn't exist.
Techie: Well, let me check the hard drive to make sure it's healthy.
*checks hard drive*
Techie: It's healthy. Maybe it's the OS.
*checks OS*
Techie: That's healthy too. Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. Have a nice day - come back if it happens again.

[SamBurke]

Page 49. WOot.

[t209]

The odd part is that a hard drive doesn't necessarily have to be broken/damaged/corrupted to be bad news. My computer, at times, loses connection to the hard drive if I jostle it too much. The bad news? My computer is a laptop that I drag everywhere with me to take notes for classes. It gets jostled on a regular basis. So, preparing for the worst-case scenario of it becoming permanently disconnected, I have my hard drive backed up regularly.

The problem with this particular hard drive ailment is what happens whenever I take it in to get it fixed:

Me: My computer won't start up properly.
*boots up computer*
Me: Huh. It starts up now.
Techie: What was wrong with it again?
Me: Whenever I tried to start it up, it would say "boot disk error" or "disk read error" and basically tell me my hard drive didn't exist.
Techie: Well, let me check the hard drive to make sure it's healthy.
*checks hard drive*
Techie: It's healthy. Maybe it's the OS.
*checks OS*
Techie: That's healthy too. Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. Have a nice day - come back if it happens again.

Screw the laptop. Try Pen and paper
P.S- I read D&D Player handbook at Half Price Books. I kinda like Half Elf now (It's like Human with sleep proof and low light vision, a good all around PC race).
No wonder serini didn't become like this half elf.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Screw the laptop. Try Pen and paper
P.S- I read D&D Player handbook at Half Price Books. I kinda like Half Elf now (It's like Human with sleep proof and low light vision, a good all around PC race).
No wonder serini didn't become like this half elf.

Half-elves are terrible. They get low-light vision (like you don't carry a torch around, at least until you gain some form of blindsense/blindsight/magical sight), immunity to two spells that take a full-round action and become obsolete by high levels (and it's canon that Radic's at least level 9 and Serrin was mid-levels when she joined), and +1 to a couple skills and +2 to two more, which, as skill bonuses, are hardly worth anything (people don't exactly consider dwarves a good race for the small bonus on masonry and metallurgy).

[t209]

Half-elves are terrible. They get low-light vision (like you don't carry a torch around, at least until you gain some form of blindsense/blindsight/magical sight), immunity to two spells that take a full-round action and become obsolete by high levels (and it's canon that Radic's at least level 9 and Serrin was mid-levels when she joined), and +1 to a couple skills and +2 to two more, which, as skill bonuses, are hardly worth anything (people don't exactly consider dwarves a good race for the small bonus on masonry and metallurgy).

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1364
Silver Raptor object to this. I am still thinking why didn't Serini didn't complain about her own race like Pompey since Half Elf are terrible.

[Qwertystop]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1364
Silver Raptor object to this. I am still thinking why didn't Serini didn't complain about her own race like Pompey since Half Elf are terrible.

She didn't get the choice, and being the child of two epic-level spellcasters in a family that is one of the top families for Arcane magic is probably worth a bad race.

[Hiro Protagonest]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1364
Silver Raptor object to this. I am still thinking why didn't Serini didn't complain about her own race like Pompey since Half Elf are terrible.

Race isn't exactly as defining as class, a bad choice isn't the end of the world. But I knew half-orc was terrible a couple sessions into my first D&D game, and they get darkvision and a strength bonus, which were shiny things that I thought would be great on a fighter. It's the deceptively good things that make a race good. Humans get a bonus feat, which may not seem like much, but it can net you things like Improved Trip on a non-fighter at 1st level, Cleave at the level it matters the most, a spellcaster reserve feat at the level where you run out of spells quickly, and other such good stuff.

As for "not complaining" Serrini's she's optimistic.

[Alagaesian]

In my opinion, half-elves are very useful in certain situations, particularly at low levels, even if they don't have that extra feat. A half-elf Rogue can go straight into skill-monkey status from the get-go with those extra bonuses. I think a lot of people underestimate skill-monkeys, especially since most of their power manifests outside of the actual encounters.

Granted, since the half-elf's bonuses don't scale with level, they become less and less useful as time goes on. At higher levels, they become as useless as everyone complains they are.

[t209]

In my opinion, half-elves are very useful in certain situations, particularly at low levels, even if they don't have that extra feat. A half-elf Rogue can go straight into skill-monkey status from the get-go with those extra bonuses. I think a lot of people underestimate skill-monkeys, especially since most of their power manifests outside of the actual encounters.

Granted, since the half-elf's bonuses don't scale with level, they become less and less useful as time goes on. At higher levels, they become as useless as everyone complains they are.

I think I rather prefer Half Elf from Skyrim than D&D now after you mention about it.

[Silverraptor]

I think I rather prefer Half Elf from Skyrim than D&D now after you mention about it.

There aren't any half-elves from skyrim.

[t209]

There aren't any half-elves from skyrim.

Yes there are! Bretons are half elves of Elderscrolls verse (Except their human parents have ugly backstory as pleasure slaves and concubines for the elves).
Or You're implying that Bretons are human with Elven Ancestary

Spoiler

Show

Like Aragorn from LOTR.

[super dark33]

I didnt come here for some time!

i wonder who the assailant is....


Children: Getting Grandmaster parents killed since early days of stories.

[CoffeeIncluded]

This took a lot longer than I expected; especially the second-to-last panel.

#179: It's All About Timing

[t209]

Either the Assasin was Rebel, a hitman hired by Rust (try to gain something for Rust) or just Hitman.
Wow, Murphy can take a beating.

[CWater]

Well, well, what a convenient timing

[Dusk Eclipse]

Either the Assasin was Rebel, a hitman hired by Rust (try to gain something for Rust) or just Hitman.
Wow, Murphy can take a beating.

It is possible that Rust got the assassin so he could swoop in and save the day, getting a better stand with Murphy, certainly fits with the scheming nature of Devils, and the fact that Murphy was worried with his kid's safety makes him less likely to think things clearly (like how convenient that Rusts was conveniently close enough to hear the conmotion and finish of the assassin when apparently the guards didn't).

And Murphy being able to take a beating is because he is a high level paladin and I guess with good stats (at least good charisma is he is so certain of making the saves against poison).

[Draconi Redfir]

Yeeesh i can see why the seccond-last pannel took so long, really went all out there!

[Asta Kask]

If this plot thickens any more you'll be able to float rocks on it.

[Elemental]

I thought we were already at that stage?

[Alagaesian]

Yes, I can see why the penultimate panel took so long, but Coffee of all people would be the one to take the time to draw it anatomically correct.

By the way, this is one of the better fight scenes I've seen in this comic. Each panel is very clean and clear in what each character is doing, and you've really done a good job drawing the characters' postures and using them to show what's going on in between the panels.

In real life, that assassin probably would have bled to death trying to leave the room. But, since this is DnD and you can't bleed to death while you're conscious, he would've probably died next round when Murphy attacked, or in the case of surviving that, when he ran himself into some guards trying to escape. Rust's Disintegrate didn't do anything that wasn't going to happen anyways, and it's not like it would have saved Murphy's life in any way since the assassin was already about to bolt.

[Elemental]

It was done because it was dramatic, and now the assassin can no longer answer questions.
A standard tactic for a fake assassination.
Unless the poison Lord Murphy's been infected with is beyond the abilities of anyone present to counteract, at which point, I see Rust assuming command of Kago. A grim day for the entire world, if I do say so myself.

[CoffeeIncluded]

And Murphy being able to take a beating is because he is a high level paladin and I guess with good stats (at least good charisma is he is so certain of making the saves against poison).

Aren't saving throws against poison fort-based?

Yes, I can see why the penultimate panel took so long, but Coffee of all people would be the one to take the time to draw it anatomically correct.

By the way, this is one of the better fight scenes I've seen in this comic. Each panel is very clean and clear in what each character is doing, and you've really done a good job drawing the characters' postures and using them to show what's going on in between the panels.

It's not quite anatomically correct, but yes I spent practically an hour looking at the skeleton in my physiology textbook making sure I wouldn't botch it too badly. And thank you! I'm particularly proud of this fight scene too.

[Elemental]

Aren't saving throws against poison fort-based?

Paladins get Divine Grace. If I remember correctly, a bonus to all saves equal to their charisma modifier. Or something like that.

It's not quite anatomically correct, but yes I spent practically an hour looking at the skeleton in my physiology textbook making sure I wouldn't botch it too badly. And thank you! I'm particularly proud of this fight scene too.

Admittedly, I did notice some slight anatomical errors.
But this is a world where each hand only has three digits, so I wasn't complaining.

[Asta Kask]

Paladins get Divine Grace. If I remember correctly, a bonus to all saves equal to their charisma modifier. Or something like that.

Yep. At 2nd or 3rd level, IIRC. Paladins can have obscene saves.

[Alagaesian]

It was done because it was dramatic, and now the assassin can no longer answer questions.
A standard tactic for a fake assassination.
Unless the poison Lord Murphy's been infected with is beyond the abilities of anyone present to counteract, at which point, I see Rust assuming command of Kago. A grim day for the entire world, if I do say so myself.

What I was trying to imply was that Rust acted like he was doing something helpful, but this wasn't precisely true. Murphy's mental state right now might be somewhere along the lines of, "Great Astrid, I'm so glad Rust arrived just in time to kill the assassin before he could escape/finish the job!" instead of "Huh, drat. Now we won't be able to question that assassin and find out who sent him to kill me."

Also, if Murphy died right now, Rust probably wouldn't be able to take the throne right away. Murphy has an heir, even though he is probably too young to be a good lord. Rust might be able to loophole his way into assuming the throne for a few years to give Murphy's son the chance to grow up a little, or the son might die in the near future due to an "accident". Either way, if Rust is planning on finalizing a takeover right now, he still has some work to do.

[t209]

Coffee? Do you play Morrowind? Because the drows in your comic is different from D&D.
1. They live in swamp (like Dark Elf in Morrowind)
2. No problems ins sunlight. (Broad Daylight)
Here's the scene.

[CoffeeIncluded]

t209, not everything is a reverence to everything else. Perhaps we came up with our ideas independently? Nearly every single one of your posts on the forum is something like, "Did you base X off of Y because of some tiny obscure often extremely broad/general/vague similarity?" and it's honestly starting to get annoying.

[t209]

t209, not everything is a reverence to everything else. Perhaps we came up with our ideas independently? Nearly every single one of your posts on the forum is something like, "Did you base X off of Y because of some tiny obscure often extremely broad/general/vague similarity?" and it's honestly starting to get annoying.

I was just curious for "Not-using-the-typical-drow-homeland-i.e-undergroundcities". Or they may be settlers living in Swamps.

[Marnath]

t209, not everything is a reverence to everything else. Perhaps we came up with our ideas independently? Nearly every single one of your posts on the forum is something like, "Did you base X off of Y because of some tiny obscure often extremely broad/general/vague similarity?" and it's honestly starting to get annoying.

I was just thinking that myself. Good thing there's an easy solution.

As always, good comic. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Draconi Redfir]

yeahh the elder scrolls obsession is kinda getting old real fast, just saying >_>


Back to the story though, anyone wanna bet Rust will take on an evil-adviser role for Murphy's son to help him inherit the throne? kind of like what tarquin did with the empress of blood, making her a puppet leader and all that.