The OotS thread

[Ford Prefect]

Roy is usually the most intelligent and level-headed of the main cast, roughly on par with Red Cloak, who also has enough academic knowledge in chemistry to at least count as having a university degree.

[SAMAS]

Read the most recent comic, then check out the cast page.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

I'm curious how they're going to do this comic in the books. Just bringing it in exactly doesn't seem right, especially since the first bonus material in the books is basically "Cast pages don't work in print. Here's a bit of actual comic that introduces the characters."

[avatarxprime]

I'm curious how they're going to do this comic in the books. Just bringing it in exactly doesn't seem right, especially since the first bonus material in the books is basically "Cast pages don't work in print. Here's a bit of actual comic that introduces the characters."

They could try a fold-out, or maybe a full appendix of bonus material that includes the cast page.

[Lord of the Abyss]

650 up !

Uh, oh. V's attitude is going to get him/her in deep trouble I suspect.

[Ford Prefect]

"I'm going to go kill Xykon. I will return shortly."

Haha, yeah, whatever dude.

[avatarxprime]

Finally! I've been waiting for this to happen for some time. Although we all know it can't end in V's favor, hopefully V manages to free O-Chul. Also, I wonder if Xykon has an Epic item that will seal the deal here. We know he's been crafting since they took over Azure City.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Am I crazy, or did Roy call Vaarsuvius 'he'?

[Lord Relvenous]

Am I crazy, or did Roy call Vaarsuvius 'he'?

Huh, so he did. Freudian slip on Rich's part, mayhaps? Or maybe Roy just picked a gender for ease. Are there earlier cases of Roy calling V "him"?

Last I heard though, Rich still hasn't really decided on a gender for V. I talked with Howard Taylor a little about a conversation he had with Rich Burlew one night, and that's what I remember him saying.

Edited for clarification.

[Lord Revan]

yes but then it doesn't have to mean V is male seeing as "he" seems to be default when talking about someone of unknown gender.

[Lord Relvenous]

Yeah, it's not damning but it is interesting.

[DarthShady]

This should be an interesting fight. Does V even have a chance?

[consequences]

The real question is if Xykon even has a chance. Realistically, he's unlikely to have gotten two additional feats, so he gets to pick between making one kind of epic item extraordinarily slowly, or non-epic items pretty quickly. V's got the spell slots by way of the sorceror bond to match Xykon's output, plus an additional Epic caster to provide depth to the spell list. Oh, and the Shapechange spell is still active, unless Xykon's burned another epic feat on more spells, he can't match the flexibility that provides without going epic, since we already know that his ninth level spells are Energy Drain(admittedly, this one is potentially a problem if V gets cocky), Soul Bind, and Meteor Swarm.

Also, what's the duration on the acid immunity, stoneskin, mind blank, bear's endurance, protection from spells, shield, and fire shield buffs he already put on himself while under the Time Stop? He's potentially entering this fight pre-buffed to an extent, if with some minor spell depletion(yes, three epics, a tenth, three ninth, and a pile of eight level spell slots is minor in this instance). Redcloak's a minor concern, but the field of minions really isn't, unless Xykon's been entirely focusing on making bad-ass greater undead, and even then, they're more of a nuisance than an actual threat.

[Lord of the Abyss]

The real question is if Xykon even has a chance.

Sure he does - considering his opponent is vulnerable to losing most of his/her power if sufficiently startled.

[consequences]

The real question is if Xykon even has a chance.

Sure he does - considering his opponent is vulnerable to losing most of his/her power if sufficiently startled.

Sufficiently startled by what exactly? He's been hit by a number of shocks since Necro-girl broke loose, and hasn't lost either of the other two, who also were unable to bust loose with the whole family rejection angle. What's Xykon got that's even going to matter?

Edit: Though there is the Monster in the Darkness to consider. It's easy to discount because it's usually so darned ineffectual, and it's attitude makes you think of it as a joke. I have to wonder what Rich is going to pull out of the Epic Level handbook, because there really aren't any normal monsters I know that can just stomp hard to cause an earthquake.

[Solauren]

I honestly think the monster in the darkness is a baby epic dragon of some kind.

Finally. Epic Level Mage Fight!

I have to wonder if maybe Xyklon has something up his sleeve that has the unintentional side-effect of taking over the Soul Splices?

Way to go V! You made the Epic level Lich even more Epic!

[consequences]

I don't know if a baby epic dragon would elicit the massively negative reactions to its appearance that have been a common factor(well to everyone except goblins whop thin k it looks awesome.

Or, despite people poo-pooing the idea of her being a threat earlier, Necromancer-girl made a beeline for Xykon, and bonded with either him or his pet necrophiliac Mystic Theurge.

[avatarxprime]

I suggested that Haera should run across Tsukiko earlier, but it's doubtful that Haera headed straight for any of Team Evil since she shouldn't know about them.

[Peptuck]

Am I crazy, or did Roy call Vaarsuvius 'he'?

Huh, so he did. Freudian slip on Rich's part, mayhaps? Or maybe Roy just picked a gender for ease. Are there earlier cases of Roy calling V "him"?

Last I heard though, Rich still hasn't really decided on a gender for V. I talked with Howard Taylor a little about a conversation he had with Rich Burlew one night, and that's what I remember him saying.

Edited for clarification.

Roy has called V by the name "V-Man" at the beginning of the comic.

Either way, it doesn't mean anything. According to the FAQ, characters refer to V by whatever gender they perceive him/her to be. That's why some characters call V "he," and others call V "she."

[consequences]

I suggested that Haera should run across Tsukiko earlier, but it's doubtful that Haera headed straight for any of Team Evil since she shouldn't know about them.

She was bonded with V, so she may have had access to his memories, or the Xykon situation may have crossed V's mind while she was still in residence. Or the Outsider that provided her might have briefed her in on the situation either for his own purposes, or with the support of the others.

[Ford Prefect]

I don't know much about Dungeons and Dragons, but I do know a bit about storytelling, and I can tell you that one way or the other, this is not going to end in V's favour. You'd have to be completely barmy to think that just because V now has x number of spell slots that he's actually capable of killing Xykon. It's not narratively feasible.

[Solauren]

Actually, ignoring narrative, there are a few other factors to consider

Xyklon has been preparing for an attack by powerful outside forces since Azure City fell. He's fully expecting the Order of the Stick to show back up, he's dealing with a rebellion (okay, Red Cloak is), and well, there is this whole 'massive gapping hole in reality' over the city.

Beyond the Sequeter spell (how however it's spelled, pun intended), we have no idea what he put up in Azure city as defenses from outside threats. We have no idea how many, and what kind, of undead are running around in the city either. We've seen Wights in the command of the Mystic Theurage. That's fine and dandy. However, Red Cloak has made Death Knights in the past. Imagine how many horrid undead monstrousities he could have made from the bodies of all those Paladin's in the throne room (there bodies had to have landed somewhere), and the other humans and goblinoids killed during the attack.

V could teleport into find a force of dozens of Death Knights, Warrior Skeletons, and possibly enslaved Liches, in addition to Xyklon, Red Cloak and Mystic theurage girl.

That's not considering possibly summoned and bound outsiders and elementals. Nothing says 'powerful lich' like a few bound Balor's and Pit Fiends.

We also have the fact that Roy can see the soul's (and splices) bound to V. Xyklon might be able to see them as well (he is technically dead, after all), and might be able to affect the splices, weakening V considerably. That's if he can't hijack the splices as I suggested earlier.

Finally, we have no idea just how powerful Xyklon is. We know he's beaten another epic level wizard before, which would reason he's more powerful then 21st level (not counting his template), but that's not much to qualify on.

Even if he was only 22nd level or so, we have no idea what kind of personal defenses he has on him. Roy 'beat' him before completely by fluke, and Xyklon wanting the Order to get near the Gate. For all we know, he has every spell you can make permanent on himself.

V is probably walking into a massive mage-hostile trap.

I can't wait to watch.

[Lusankya]

How much of a shock would actually taking damage cause for V? Say Xykon gets rid of half of V's hit points or something?

I can see V doing something really stupid if (when) the fight with Xykon goes pear shaped. Think about it - he's gained absolute power, but what good has it done him? Sure, he saved his family, but they think he's a creep now. And once he got back to the Order of the Stick, they've solved pretty much all their problems without him (except for squishing Roy, but the other guys could have solved that reasonably easily by themselves) and all he's turned into is a glorified teleporting plot device. Imagine how that would make you feel. If Xykon could make V feel useful in some way, V might feel tempted, as long as it didn't involve hurting Roy.

[Raesene]

651 is up !

[Starglider]

Hah, love the Go philosophy. I spent six months working on teaching AI to play Go a few years back, it's a very deep game, moreso than chess. Hope I can have another crack at that sometime.

Anyway, this fight should be good.