The OotS thread

[Majin Gojira]

The new one's up.
Spoiler

Well, whatever the monster in the darkness is, it may have caster levels of some sort.

[Crazedwraith]

You're about a page and a half behind the times. We're already talking about 661.

Anyone got any ideas were the MitD will have sent V And O-Chul?

[Majin Gojira]

...

D'oh!

Well, on that note, I guess that anyplace he does teleport them, it is someplace he feels is safe (if he did teleport them--third party intervention is possible).

What feels safe for the Thing in the Darkness and what's safe for humans might vary considerably.

[Crazedwraith]

The ironic thing is that the MitD finally Hoped Hard Enough

[avatarxprime]

Oh, I hope it's the Tarasque. That'd be fun .

Personally, my money is on the MitD being an Abomination. It is pretty much by definition ugly and powerful, and can be as no limits as the writers want.

I'm afraid you're both wrong, at least most likely wrong if Rich is following the descriptions for both monsters given information from Start of Darkness. I'm putting the relevant info in spoiler tags just to be on the safe side.
Spoiler

MitD is not unique based on commentary by hunters who first find it so Tarrasque is out since there is only supposed to be one. MitD has also been affected by a mind effecting spell (Xykon made it so MitD will eat Redcloak if he betrays him) so it can't be an Abomination.

[Terralthra]

I'm afraid you're both wrong, at least most likely wrong if Rich is following the descriptions for both monsters given information from Start of Darkness. I'm putting the relevant info in spoiler tags just to be on the safe side.
Spoiler

MitD is not unique based on commentary by hunters who first find it so Tarrasque is out since there is only supposed to be one. MitD has also been affected by a mind effecting spell (Xykon made it so MitD will eat Redcloak if he betrays him) so it can't be an Abomination.

Assuming Xykon didn't just lie about that.

[Lord of the Abyss]

662 up !


Ooo, old Xykon's feeling grumpy.

[Starglider]

662 up !

Hah, I was right about the sea monster issue. Although if that has happened, I can't see how they're going to find it. Since we know they're leaving for the next gate fairly soon (from the Oracle), I imagine the minion horde will find it fairly quickly, though it's possible that circumstances will force Xykon to abandon the search temporarily.

Ooo, old Xykon's feeling grumpy.

Redcloak not getting to regenerate his eye was pretty harsh.

[Crazedwraith]

Heh. I think even Redcloak's been under estimating Xykon now, what with the whole 'lets string the lich along until the hobgoblin nation is OK'

[CaptainChewbacca]

Holy balls! "If I ever see you with more eyes than assholes, I'm going to shove one up the other and give your cloak to that hobgoblin!"



That's a whole new level of rage we havn't seen, and I'm pretty sure it's also the first swear-word in OOTS.

[Lord Relvenous]

Ho, boy, Xykon is pissed. Wow, we've seen lots of different sides of Xykon is the past few strips. Burlew's really fleshing out the character.

[Lonestar]

Yeah, we've grown accustomed to thinking that Xykon was a quasi-lovable curmudgeon, and we need stuff like this to occasionally remind us he is super evil.

[LadyTevar]

I was seeing Xykon more as an easily amused idiot, with Redcloak the brains of the outfit.

I should have known better.

[Vehrec]

Xykon really is evil, although he doesn't show it very well a lot of the time. Mostly, he comes off as petty, stupid, and cruel which are things that aren't enough to make you actively evil, and one of which is detrimental to a litch. But he's also a Sorcerer, so he's got a high Charisma and without even meaning to do so, he makes himself more likable and dismissable. "Oh he's not really a threat, he's just one of the guys." It's a trick, even if it's not a calculated one. When the chips are down? Xykon is a nasty, motivated and ACTIVE litch. Thats a type of undead that can end up running an entire prime if left unchecked.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Holy balls! "If I ever see you with more eyes than assholes, I'm going to shove one up the other and give your cloak to that hobgoblin!"



That's a whole new level of rage we havn't seen, and I'm pretty sure it's also the first swear-word in OOTS.

No, Xykon calls V a dumbass, and we've seen multiple characters use "ass". Roy calls Miko a self-righteous bitch. Though it is the harshest obscenity we've seen so far. Well, harshest that was completed. The Kobold that swore vengeance on Belkar said "OH SHI-" and then got swarmed.


The thing you've gotta remember about Xykon is that, much of the time, he's doing stuff for his own amusement. He's an asshole. But he's also very much Chaotic Evil, and when he sees a point in getting off his ass and doing something, he's damned competent and damned dangerous. His little monologue about power shows that he's got a reasonable intelligence and wisdom score. That he even made Epic level shows that he's quite capable. Think of him as being like a dragon. Most of the time, they're happy to do their own thing. But that doesn't mean that a pissed off dragon doesn't equate to you being fucked. It just means you sure as fuck better keep the dragon occupied with stuff it finds more entertaining than eating you.

[Straha]

I was seeing Xykon more as an easily amused idiot, with Redcloak the brains of the outfit.

Xykon defaults to being constantly bored and seeking amusement, but underneath he's pure evil seeking to conquer the world (to satiate his boredom) and three or four steps ahead of everyone around him.

He does need Redcloak, though. The plan to take control of the gate only works because of Redcloak because he's the only with the proper knowledge of the Plan. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if Xykon has figured out the Plan and has come up with an alternative that suits his needs much more than it suits goblinkind.

[Starglider]

663 up Nothing terribly exciting in this one, but it's good to know that the party is back together and the story can move right along.

[Crazedwraith]

Hmm. It seems the MitD send O-Chul to his remaining paladin comrades, which I presume O-Chul could have talked about with him or something. It still seems a little convenient getting him and V straight back to the order.

Oh and did O-Chul just blatantly lie in his liege lords face? That's not very paladin-y at all...

[Napoleon the Clown]

His motives for lying weren't to gain benefit or anything, though. Especially considering his comments after lying to Hinjo. I've never seen any indication Paladin's aren't allowed to lie. And, considering his motives for lying, it wouldn't ping him alignment-wise in any event.


If MitD does indeed have Wish as a spell-like or supernatural ability, teleporting the two back to the fleet isn't too far-fetched. The wording of the spell doesn't state one way or the other about needing to know where you're sending something.

From the SRD: Transport travelers. A wish can lift one creature per caster level from anywhere on any plane and place those creatures anywhere else on any plane regardless of local conditions. An unwilling target gets a Will save to negate the effect, and spell resistance (if any) applies.


Considering the number of hit dice the MitD must have, the effective caster level is going to be in the Epic range, most likely. Even if it's only in the high end, MitD would be able to have the spell end up saying "Okay, the target of the Wish wanted to go to the Fleet. V knows where that is, so *pop*" We're talking about a spell that's bordering on Epic-level magic, here. Consider the nature of the spell when you try and take it beyond its normal limits, it would make sense that there's some manner of intelligence to the spell itself, even if it is very unimaginative and literalistic in nature.

[consequences]

He didn't even lie. Miko took his sword to destroy the gate. I think I have a man-crush on him now.

[Crossroads Inc.]

663 up Nothing terribly exciting in this one, but it's good to know that the party is back together and the story can move right along.

I have to say I love the ending bit "Don't announce you are retiring tomorrow!" is SO true! its right up there with saying "What could possibly go wrong?"

[Lord of the Abyss]

663 up Nothing terribly exciting in this one, but it's good to know that the party is back together and the story can move right along.

I have to say I love the ending bit "Don't announce you are retiring tomorrow!" is SO true! its right up there with saying "What could possibly go wrong?"

Did you notice the title of the strip ?

Or Mention That He's Getting Too Old for This

[SAMAS]

663 up Nothing terribly exciting in this one, but it's good to know that the party is back together and the story can move right along.

I have to say I love the ending bit "Don't announce you are retiring tomorrow!" is SO true! its right up there with saying "What could possibly go wrong?"

Did you notice the title of the strip ?

Or Mention That He's Getting Too Old for This

Ever notice that every time Elan tries to warn somebody about Tempting Fate, it doesn't come to pass?

[Vehrec]

I have to say I love the ending bit "Don't announce you are retiring tomorrow!" is SO true! its right up there with saying "What could possibly go wrong?"

Did you notice the title of the strip ?

Or Mention That He's Getting Too Old for This

Ever notice that every time Elan tries to warn somebody about Tempting Fate, it doesn't come to pass?

[/quote][/quote]
Nothing has the power to make a DM abort their plans or curb their enthusiasm like a player suddenly blurting out what they were planning/thinking.

[Venator]

Ever notice that every time Elan tries to warn somebody about Tempting Fate, it doesn't come to pass?

Although that one guy did get stabbed, he just had a name to fall back on (which, ironically, I have forgotten).