OotS #653

[ProfessorCirno]

I think this best shows not that Xykon is super powerful and unbeatable, or that the author has an <obvious joke> for him, but instead what happens when a player hears that wizards are uber and tries to play as one without reading through the actual spells.

 

[Dausuul]

Apparently the clauses in the fiends' description of the Soul Splice should have included, "Also, when the Splice ends, you lose any Evil Makeover you may have gained as a result of the Splicing."

Honestly the multiple splices acting as a showcase seems secondary. The fiends would want V to live because they are the one person they can dependably place near an active gate.

Note V currently is near an active gate. That lends a lot of credence to the possibility of the fiends taking over right now... at least, assuming their HDTV is as good as the celestial scrying cloud at punching through the cloister effect.

And damn, Xykon can cast superb dispelling? The Spellcraft DC on that sucker is 59! He must have loaded up on +Int and +Spellcraft items... or else he's a lot higher level than I imagined.

 

[Derren]

I think this best shows not that Xykon is super powerful and unbeatable, or that the author has an <obvious joke> for him, but instead what happens when a player hears that wizards are uber and tries to play as one without reading through the actual spells.

That he used Chain Lightning against Xykon should be evidence enough that he has no idea what he is doing.

 

[jmucchiello]

Standard: Dispell

Removes fly spell. V falls more than 5 feet away. This affect is resolved as part of the standard action.

Move: Pick up Rock
Attack of Opportunity.

Not in range. Even the artwork shows Xykon flying into V to hit V with the rock.

Hm, maybe. Wouldn't be good for a showcase when V died even though he was triple spliced. Vs performance is already rather bad considering his power. Not really that usable for marketing.

V lost the most powerful splice before taking on Xykon. That splice was a necromancer who would likely have had a Quickened Death Ward lying around to prevent the whole energy drain problem. Besides, they'd use the black dragon fight for marketting. Heck, that familicide is pure evil.

Maybe V had to do Willsaves to not let the splices escape.

Except the splices are encouraging V and saying they'll stick around until the big rock comes out of nowhere. Taking damage affect concentration checks, not will saves.

 

[SPoD]

I thought the mind fog failed due to the mind blank. Also, mind fog doesn't affect concentration checks which is what V needed to hold the splices.

Look at the second-to-last panel: V is being affected by the Mind Fog after the Mind Blank is dispelled. Note the statement that he feels woozy, and the telltale little orange bubbles similar to those drawn when someone is poisoned. That's because Mind Fog sticks around for a while, and V technically didn't succeed at his save the first time because he didn't need to make a save.

Taking damage affect concentration checks, not will saves.

The soul splice obviously has a specific mechanic requiring Will saves when the user takes damage (or a psychological shock). Note that Redcloak, who seems to know the rules for it, asks for a spell that lowers willpower, not one that breaks concentration.

 

[SPoD]

That he used Chain Lightning against Xykon should be evidence enough that he has no idea what he is doing.

Everyone says stuff like this, but remember it's been established that no one in the Order of the Stick knows anything about liches! Several times. And since liches are undead, they require a Knowledge (Religion) check to identify any of their immunities. Vaarsuvius almost certainly does not have any ranks in Knowledge (Religion), so it's not really that surprising that he didn't know this. It is certainly NOT a sign that he is completely incompetent.

Besides, the Chain Lightning was mainly to take out the traps. If it had happened to zap Xykon a little, then bonus.

 

[Derren]

Everyone says stuff like this, but remember it's been established that no one in the Order of the Stick knows anything about liches! Several times. And since liches are undead, they require a Knowledge (Religion) check to identify any of their immunities. Vaarsuvius almost certainly does not have any ranks in Knowledge (Religion), so it's not really that surprising that he didn't know this. It is certainly NOT a sign that he is completely incompetent.

Besides, the Chain Lightning was mainly to take out the traps. If it had happened to zap Xykon a little, then bonus.

His splices seemed to know rather well that lightning doesn't work on liches, even without the necromancer.

 

[I'm A Banana]

This time, V got shafted by story. Xykon cast a standard action spell (superb dispelling), picked up a rock and used the rock in a readied action before V could cast greater teleport. Unless Xykon is in the habit of keeping a big chunk of rock in a glove of storing and he's currently affected by a 3.0 haste, that was the DM being unfair.

Epic-level liches should always have Haste in effect. There's enough magic items and spell effects in the game to get this done somehow. Also: Maybe there was a round of combat not shown while V did something pointless, or perhaps there was a "missing scene" there. And even if none of that works, I would say the MST3K mantra clearly applies (especially given Rich's advance warning that the rules don't dictate what happens in this narrative).

 

[jmucchiello]

Epic-level liches should always have Haste in effect. There's enough magic items and spell effects in the game to get this done somehow. Also: Maybe there was a round of combat not shown while V did something pointless. And even if none of that works, I would say the MST3K mantra clearly applies (especially given Rich's advance warning that the rules don't dictate what happens in this narrative).

I said that in my initial post. V lost due to story was my first conclusion. Worse, V was hit with a rock. From a lich. You know, the typical rock throwing lich. That in itself is so un-D&D I don't know what to think about it. I would have far preferred V be touched by Xykon for paralysis than a stupid rock throwing lich. If it never becomes important later to know Xykon wears some 1e/2e girdle of giant strength (that allows rock throwing), the rock was a complete WTF.

 

[Roman]

I would like to see V join team evil. Then maybe the monster in the dark can switch to team good to compensate, or one of the many other good characters may join the order.