OoTS 655

[Voadam]

So do you think he is using the Paizo critical deck, Torn Asunder, or house ruled in crit charts?

[Andor]

Originally Posted by Voadam

So do you think he is using the Paizo critical deck, Torn Asunder, or house ruled in crit charts?

Nah. NPC on NPC combat operates on DM fiat. It happened because it was cool.

[malraux]

Originally Posted by Andor

Nah. NPC on NPC combat operates on DM fiat. It happened because it was cool.

Grabbing a holy symbol isn't even a house rule. Its core. O'Chul had a +12 on his attack roll (+4 for two handed weapon, +4 for size category, +4 for the item being unsecured). Its an opposed attack roll, so even if RedCloak were a much higher level, he has a lower BAB and probably not as good a STR score. Honestly, disarming clerics via their holy symbol was a surprisingly easy mechanic to break in 3e.

edit: err +8 on the disarm, I forgot that improvised weapons give a -4 to attacks.

edit2: err, unless you mean the eyestab, in which case just append "I am a moron" to all my posts.

[Baron Opal]

I think V is going to forcibly join team evil and O-Chuul will make it out of the Cloister where he will meet up with the rest of the team. Xykon might feel O-Chuul bashing the phylactery and erase him right after it gets broken, however.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Originally Posted by wedgeski

A truly epic strip. After everything he's been through, O'Chul walks through a disintegrate....

Fighter/Paladins with extremely good Con tend to make fort saves. So basically, he didn't roll a 1. Poor choice of spell by Redcloak.

I hope he just smashs that phylactery the first panel next strip, in as anti-climactic a way as possible. If Xykon somehow not only ends up surviving this turn of events that really can only be described as catastrophic -- a lich LOSING his phylactery to the good guys? That's the stuff eternal nightmares are made out of! -- I call yet more proof that's he's a Mary Sue.

And it's not like O was getting a handy little plot waiver from the author to know to go for it, either. He was in the room when the deathless Paladin lord declared the holy symbol to be the phylactery. It's just yet another nice little touch that I hadn't even remembered or thought important till now.

[Baron Opal]

If it got broken would Xykon kill Redcloak as a penalty for his carelessness?

[Drowbane]

Vader would kill Red Cloak for even letting it be taken from him. Perhaps Xykon is more forgiving.

[Squizzle]

It'll be a crying shame when one of the soul splices takes over V and kills O-Chul right when he's about to take down Xykon.

[Rechan]

He may turn Redcloak into an undead, instead.

[Plane Sailing]

Originally Posted by StreamOfTheSky

Fighter/Paladins with extremely good Con tend to make fort saves. So basically, he didn't roll a 1. Poor choice of spell by Redcloak.

From 3.5 onwards it was a pretty poor choice of spell anyway. Even on a failed save it does (on average) 7 damage per level, which can't take out the average NPC fighter or paladin of equivalent level.

Gotta say, Harm would have been a much better spell for him to choose in every way there

[drothgery]

Originally Posted by Plane Sailing

From 3.5 onwards it was a pretty poor choice of spell anyway. Even on a failed save it does (on average) 7 damage per level, which can't take out the average NPC fighter or paladin of equivalent level.

Disintegrate isn't a spell for killing people. It's a spell for blowing holes in walls that has a side effect of being able to kill people who don't have good fort saves.

[C_M2008]

O-chul will die, the question is will he destroy the phylactery? save V? will his death help redeem the MiTD? Find out next time if it doesn't cut to the Roysurrection.

Now if Xylon didn't have plot armor then hey, it's up for grabs, but he does so no dice this time. It would be totally cool if he killed Xylon and Redcloak became the main villain though.

[jmucchiello]

O'Chul can't die. Anyone who can survive what he's survived can't be offed in any meaningful way. You're just supposed to keep him away from the main plotline at this point. Yet, he may attack Xykon. Xykon can't die at anyone's hand but Roy's (or Julia's perhaps but... nevermind). So what happens when two NPCs who can't die collide? A huge distraction must be coming. But what will it be? I'm baffled. All I can guess is something no one is expecting is about to happen.

[MarkB]

Originally Posted by Ginnel

Without a doubt hero stuff is saved for the main character O-Chul is going down, still not 100% sure if he is going to die or be maimed probably level drained into an undead.

Screw that. Let Vaarsuvius get maimed, level-drained, undeaded and finally possessed by fiends before Xykon gets tired and destroys the pompous git. Meanwhile, promote O-Chul to the front bench.

Heck, if I had the skills, I'd be tempted to hack the cast page myself.

[Urbannen]

Originally Posted by jmucchiello

O'Chul can't die. Anyone who can survive what he's survived can't be offed in any meaningful way. You're just supposed to keep him away from the main plotline at this point. Yet, he may attack Xykon. Xykon can't die at anyone's hand but Roy's (or Julia's perhaps but... nevermind). So what happens when two NPCs who can't die collide? A huge distraction must be coming. But what will it be? I'm baffled. All I can guess is something no one is expecting is about to happen.

To me the huge distraction is obvious: the Monster in the Dark.

BTW, I think it's cool how fluent Rich is in 3.5 game mechanics. I looked up Word of Recall, and it only has a V component, no DF needed.

Edit: additional thought: You know, we might actually be nearing the ending of the epic we know as the Order of the Stick. Roy will be raised shortly, the Order has a motivation to travel immediately to Xykon's castle (to assist V), and Xykon is in a somewhat vulnerable position: his arcane traps have been disabled, his high-level henchmen have left the vicinity, he has taken actual damage (from the Sunburst spell), he's used some of his highest level spell slots (including an epic spell), and his phylactery is in immediate danger.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Originally Posted by jmucchiello

O'Chul can't die. Anyone who can survive what he's survived can't be offed in any meaningful way. You're just supposed to keep him away from the main plotline at this point. Yet, he may attack Xykon. Xykon can't die at anyone's hand but Roy's (or Julia's perhaps but... nevermind). So what happens when two NPCs who can't die collide? A huge distraction must be coming. But what will it be? I'm baffled. All I can guess is something no one is expecting is about to happen.

Getting sick of these rules of plot. I'm sick of Xykon, let him die (for good). People keep saying no one else is built up enough as a major danger to be the "final boss" of the campaign. I think the Snarl would do just fine... After the soul-splice thing combined with Nale's team or someone else unlocks the remaining gates.

Originally Posted by Urbannen

BTW, I think it's cool how fluent Rich is in 3.5 game mechanics. I looked up Word of Recall, and it only has a V component, no DF needed.

Heh, I had to check, too. I had a feeling it was kosher, but couldn't help myself. I kind of wonder what location Redcloak chose. Nearby elsewhere in the tower/city, as a sort of high-priced DDoor? Or did he choose the location figuring that if he had to use WoC, things really went to crap, and it's somewhere WAAAY far away? If the latter, he may have just completely removed himself from the next several strips. Yummy.

[Dausuul]

Originally Posted by StreamOfTheSky

Fighter/Paladins with extremely good Con tend to make fort saves. So basically, he didn't roll a 1. Poor choice of spell by Redcloak.

I hope he just smashs that phylactery the first panel next strip, in as anti-climactic a way as possible. If Xykon somehow not only ends up surviving this turn of events that really can only be described as catastrophic -- a lich LOSING his phylactery to the good guys? That's the stuff eternal nightmares are made out of! -- I call yet more proof that's he's a Mary Sue.

It's already been established in the prequels that Xykon can survive the destruction of his phylactery, as long as he isn't in it at the time. This is also the generally accepted interpretation of the 3.5 lich rules. (Personally, I prefer to house-rule that destroying the phylactery kills the lich, but that's just me.)

Whether he can make a new one has not been established, although the usual ruling is that liches can make new phylacteries for the same price as the first (120K gold, 48K experience points, and 120 days of work).

[StreamOfTheSky]

I know per RAW it probably won't outright kill him (and we agree, I think it should right then and there....), but he's basically ripe for the pickings at that point. Even if he CAN make a new phylactery, he won't have enough time to before the oots comes back to get him. Maybe instead of saying kill Xykon or let him die, I should clarify "set him up like a domino in the breeze."

EDIT: I forget, are liches aware when their phylactery is destroyed? If not ,and O'Chul keeps it a secret, Xykon might actually die if OotS comes soon! Hmm...they've actually damaged me a lot, maybe I get out of here. ...Nah, I've got my phylactery, what's it matter?

[Deset Gled]

Originally Posted by Urbannen

Edit: additional thought: You know, we might actually be nearing the ending of the epic we know as the Order of the Stick. Roy will be raised shortly, the Order has a motivation to travel immediately to Xykon's castle ...

The terms "shortly" and "immediately" have a very different meaning in OoTS than they do elsewhere. "Nearing" the end still probably has another couple of years in it, unless Rich seriously steps up the pace.

[Mikaze]

I just hope this whole fracas doesn't wind up wandering over towards the Rift.