OotS #462

[Piratecat]

How... anti-climatic.

Heh. I'll disagree. The story just got a lot more complicated, and not how I expected. I absolutely loved this one.

Evil doesn't always triumph, and the good guys (Soon) had them beat. And the gate got destroyed anyways through the random vicissitudes of a deeply crazy NPC whose actions make perfect sense in context. This is rat bastardly DMing, and just made the story very interesting to me.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Miko destroying the gem: Expected.
OotS missing out on a dramatic confrontation with Xykon & Redcloak: Very much unexpected.

For me, the more unexpected (but still plausible) the better.

 

[Matchstick]

Miko has just passed into Scrappy Doo territory for me.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Puh-puh-puh-puhpuhpuh-Paladin Power!

*shudder*

And it's not the fact that she destroyed the gate that made her crazy; it's that she did it with such a crazy*** look on her face.

-TRRW

 

[Celebrim]

Heh. I'll disagree. The story just got a lot more complicated, and not how I expected. I absolutely loved this one.

Evil doesn't always triumph, and the good guys (Soon) had them beat. And the gate got destroyed anyways through the random vicissitudes of a deeply crazy NPC whose actions make perfect sense in context. This is rat bastardly DMing, and just made the story very interesting to me.

The events in this panel makes the entire story arc meaningless.

The heroes didn't resolve the action. That's a huge 'no no' in stories of any sort, whether literature or gaming. The PC's were made to stand by and watch the issue be resolved by NPCs. The PC's contribution has been negligible. Ultimately, the whole battle out there (that they lost) is meaningless, and was rendered even more meaningless.

This was not good DMing by any stretch. Most players I know would go into rebellion by this point because they got railroaded and they'd been gaming for a couple dozen sessions only have to have thier oppurtunity to be the hero snatched from them by my uber-NPCs (Soon, Miko, etc.). This wasn't even RBDMing. RBDMing would be Miko kills Soon, becomes an anti-paladin, Xykon gains direct control of the snarl via his rituals, allowing him to begin remaking the whole world in his Dark undead image, but now power mad goes to gain control of another (larger) gate in order to gain even more power leaving his new minion Miko in charge of protecting the sapphire (irony, no?), and the Order of the Stick is forced to fight thier way through Miko's undead forces in order to destroy the gem themselves, organize the citizens (many of whom are traitorously swearing loyalty to Miko) to kick the hobgoblins out of the city, and then after managing that go chasing Xykon (who already has a huge headstart) to the next gate before he can successfully gain over-God like powers.

The story did not get more complicated. The story was vastly simplified by this turn of events. Miko hit the reset button. Miko flipped the power switch. Back to page 1, with no character advancement on anyone's part (not even Miko's).

Compare this to the story arc when the last gate was destroyed. Still a draw, but its the PC's and not the NPC's who resolve the action. It's the PC's who shoulder the blame. Even, "Red fires true when the goat turns" showed alot more planning. It was a resolution. It was a climax. This isn't. This is a fizzle.

 

[Delta]

Again: Was the first paladin who was paralyzed while trying to smash it also a "F@*#ing psycho b!#*#"?

No. That was a guy.

 

[DreadArchon]

And it's not the fact that she destroyed the gate that made her crazy; it's that she did it with such a crazy*** look on her face.

-TRRW

I'd say it's the fact that the voices in her head speak only to her and are telling her to go on a killing spree that makes her crazy.

Especially since the voices actually exist, and they have been trying to stop her.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Again: Was the first paladin who was paralyzed while trying to smash it also a "F@*#ing psycho b!#*#"?

No, he was an example of bad writing. It is simply persposterous to think that no one before that very moment had considered whether the gate should be destroyed if its capture seemed imminent, even as a hypothetical for Hinjo to disuade them of. It's probably in the FAQ section of So You're a Saphire Guard?

Q. If our precense is unknown to most of Azure City, how do I redeem these Saphire Gaurd Gift Cards that Shojo keeps giving us?

A. We are currently working on a cover organization of an intercity Ice Hockey league, which we will establish the Saphire Guard as a member of. Hold the coupons till then and practice saying "I got this for a hat trick."


Q. If I am faced with a choice between allowing the gate to fall into the hands of evil and destoying it myself, which should I choose?

A. Your duty is to protect the gate, and destroying it is never part of your mission. If the situation seems hopeless, your duty is still to fight to the end, and trust in the twelve gods.


Q. What is a Hat Trick, or for that matter, Ice Hockey?

A. Google it yourself, ya wuss.

 

[Someone]

I'm wondering how did Miko learn about the importance of the throne's sapphire. The gods surely didn't tell her. When Hinjo or Shojo and Roy discussed it she wasn't present, or was unconscious. The Linear guild surely hasn't told her. Deducing it's important because of the paralized paladin's position is a bit of a stretch of the imagination: it's just a sapphire in sapphire land.

Perhaps it was the Snarl?

 

[kenobi65]

Again: Was the first paladin who was paralyzed while trying to smash it also a "F@*#ing psycho b!#*#"?

No, and here's why:

He went to destroy it when the Sapphire Guard was having its collective butt handed to it by a gleeful Xykon. At that moment, he perceived his choices to be: (a) destroy the gate, or (b) let Xykon take control of it.

Compare that to now. Soon has beaten Xykon and Redcloak, and they are no longer any threat to the gate. And, yet, Miko destroys it anyway.