Oots 633

[Vorput]

 

[joethelawyer]

Nothing like opening up a webcomic and seeing a massive wall of multi-colored text.

Big yawn. Let's keep things rolling.

at least you could open it. there are apparently so many people trying to view it that i keep timing out.

 

[robertliguori]

Ok, I think I get what alignment each of the fiends is now. orange= LE; purple = NE; and yellow = CE. don't you think? look at the souls they each tout, and the second-to-last panel.

Still not sure how this splicing is supposed to work. One specializes in a barred school, another does arcane casting. Necro might be the other banned school, I forget. Just remember conjuration and thinking, "wow, V's a moron!" I guess with this splice, V can use te barred school(s), cast epic, AND spontaneously access every single spell known between the four of them? Man, that sounds awesome.

It made more sense in 3.0.

Also, it seems to me that it's essentially four casters in one body; every round, one of the four can cast from their own list. The Necromancer can throw out a Greater Spell Focus'd Heightened Finger of Death, the sorceror can cast sorcerously, and so forth.

 

[Cor Azer]

Hmm... a thought just occured to me...

What if V's prophecy is fulfilled by saying these right four words - "I reject your offer" It's the right words, to the right figure, but possibly for the wrong reason - for example, he says no because he doesn't want to risk losing control of himself to these other spirits, although the "right" reason would have been because it prevents Lower Planes Ltd from accomplishing their assault on the heavens.

I don't really know how this could lead to ultimate arcane power... maybe some sort of angelic being rewards his actions? I haven't thought that part out yet.

 

[Rechan]

There's also the possible wrinkle that the time each fiend gets V is lengthened because Time lasts longer in Plane X.

 

[Nymrohd]

Nah I am pretty sure the fiends are betting on his greed for power to make him try to hold on to the splice for as long as he can.

 

[joethelawyer]

Nah I am pretty sure the fiends are betting on his greed for power to make him try to hold on to the splice for as long as he can.

while he's at it he can use a few wish spells to resurrect everyone and bring them all back together.

 

[Merkuri]

Nah I am pretty sure the fiends are betting on his greed for power to make him try to hold on to the splice for as long as he can.

Bingo. The temptation for V to hold onto these powers will likely be so great that he won't want to let go, especially since he knows he'll never have the chance again. Perhaps the fiends were lying (or exaggerating) about how hard it would be to hold on. V might be able to go months, if not years with ultimate arcane power. The longer he holds onto the powers the further he puts off his end of the bargain, but the more he'll have to pay, threefold.

And I doubt the fiends will wait until V is dead to take control of his soul. Also, although they said, "...your soul spends one hour with me, then one hour each with my two associates," it's entirely possible that the fiends will choose to spend this time in V's body. Imagine knowing that at any moment a fiend can take control of your body and all your spellcasting power, that this will happen three times, and if V held onto his powers for a long time then the fiends could hold onto him for that long each.

Even as worded here, assuming they are not hiding a thing, this is a very bad deal for V. It's all front-loaded. He gets all of the gain up front and the very bad consequences come later. Classic Faustian deal. I like.

 

[Celebrim]

There are obviously several wrinkles V is not getting. It's quite possible there are several I'm not getting, but...

Essentially, in exchange for getting access to ultimate arcane power for as long as he can hold it, V is promising to allow himself to be dominated by an evil power for an equal length of time three times. V is interpreting this as 'after I die', but nothing in the bargain makes that explicit.

Or in other words, V may be turning every critical decision in the rest of his life over to arch-fiends of the lower planes. Their interest in V is clear. At some point in his life (or in the lives of his associates), he's going to have in his power the destiny of the entire world. They are getting to choose what he does at that critical moment. They get free reign to use V to further whatever nefarious end they desire, and V's bargain now makes him fully consensual in those future decisions even if he doesn't know now exactly what they are.

Even worse, as I interpret the bargain, nothing that they've said requires the period of time to be consecutive. They can choose to borrow 10 minutes here, and another 10 minutes there as needed.

There is one other nasty problem V hasn't considered. Even if he accepts the bargain, he may be too late to save anyone. He may simply arrive in time to wreck vengeance, but his family may already be dead. V has not asked.

Personally, I think 'for as long as you can hold it' is a very ambigious answer. They seem to suggest without actually saying so, that the splice is hard to hold on to. But its equally possible that its hard to get rid of, V may find that it is the temptation to retain the power that is one of the hard parts of the bargain. After all, it isn't just a dragon whose made an enemy of V. There is a certain arcane spellcaster out there who is the cause of V's current demented and desparate state. Could empowered V think himself the equal of Xykon and Recloak? And the longer V goes, the less of his future life (or afterlife, in the event he's awaiting a raise dead spell at some point in the near future) he will actually be in control of. Personally, I suspect that controlling the soul splice will be alot like controlling an intelligent sword - its really easy as long as you are doing things that the will of the three approve of.

 

[freyar]

...

What you said.

Don't do it, V!