Oots #463

[Rystil Arden]

Is there a Far Realm version of the Blackguard?

That was my thought as well--Far Realm Miko...it would be pretty cool!

 

[blargney the second]

Is there a Far Realm version of the Blackguard?

There bloody ought to be!

 

[delericho]

Now I'm unsure if Miko has done good or not-good.

That, actually, was Good. She sacrificed her life (assuming she's dead, which is likely as deliberately setting off an explosion like that would probably negate the possibility of a saving throw) in prder to prevent Zykon getting access to the Gate. Furthermore, the only people to be harmed by this were herself, O-Chul (who was obviously willing), and the already dead paladins.

Furthermore, she almost certainly just ended the seige of Azure City, as Zykon now has no reason to be there, thus saving many many lives.

Her big mistake was in not paying attention - Soon was about to dispatch Zykon and achieve much the same. That said, it's likely that destroying Zykon and Redcloak would not have ended the invasion, which I expect Miko has done (since Z&R are likely to leave immediately and go after the other gates).

Crazy she may be, but I would argue it's possible that Miko has just redeemed herself. We'll know when (if) they find her corpse.

 

[Quartz]

Is Tsukiko in the big picture? I haven't spotted her. I'm glad Belkar's still got the head.

 

[Piratecat]

The laws of narrative necessity -- and an uninjured high lvl NPC with high saving throws and evasion -- dictate that we'll see Miko again. Might not be for a while, though.

 

[LoneWolf23]

You know what I find funny? Miko's the one who blew up the portal, but O-Chul will be the one getting all the heroic credit for it.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Umm... oopsie

I don't think this is going to qualify as Miko's "redemption." After all, if she wasn't so pig-headed about her being "special" and "having a destiny," she might have listened to Soon, who had the situation pretty well in hand (having just trounced both Xykon and Redcloak), and ended Xykon's threat without laying waste to Azure City.

I don't know about some people, but I don't call turning a city into a wasteland exactly "saving it."

Much as I loathe the Miko character, she does serve a purpose in advancing the story. And I agree that she'll most likely survive somehow. After all, in RAW there's nothing saying you don't get a saving throw vs. an explosion if you're at ground zero, and she's got Evasion which means even if she blows her Reflex save she's only taking half damage. She might not be hale and hearty afterwards (probably had full or close to full hit points when the gate exploded), but it could be possible for her to survive (not bloody likely under RAW, but possible). I'm figuring she's about 15th level altogether, with a lot of those levels as (ex-)Paladin and with d10 hit dice. High-level fighters jumping off mountains because it's faster and they can survive the falling damage anyone?

Not going to speculate on what will become of her down the road.

Also, now that the gate has gone ka-boom, how about we see what Roy is doing in the afterlife?

 

[Quartz]

Miko's a Monk/Paladin, right? Possibly with a level or two of fighter thrown in. I wonder if the majority of her levels are in Monk, not Paladin? If she were Mk 9 / Pal 5, she'd have Improved Evasion.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

That, actually, was Good. She sacrificed her life (assuming she's dead, which is likely as deliberately setting off an explosion like that would probably negate the possibility of a saving throw) in prder to prevent Zykon getting access to the Gate. Furthermore, the only people to be harmed by this were herself, O-Chul (who was obviously willing), and the already dead paladins.

And anyone within a mile of the Gate when it blew up. I'm guessing the Body Count is quite a bit higher than that.

Furthermore, she almost certainly just ended the seige of Azure City, as Zykon now has no reason to be there, thus saving many many lives.

Nope. Most of the citizens were on boats. If the Explosion causes any sort of Wave, it could sink them. Plus, most of the citizens just saw their homes blown up (The fires will take care of anything the force of the explosion missed). Well, the siege is over. By & large blowing up your main fortification, along with the best of your guards will do that. If Redcloak really wanted to, he could push the attack & walk in rather unopposed (I'm guessing since the primary goal was the Gate, he'll run away to regroup, but if he continues with the Hobgoblin Leadership he's begun, the could rename Azure City Redcloak City when it get rebuilt.

Her big mistake was in not paying attention - Soon was about to dispatch Zykon and achieve much the same. That said, it's likely that destroying Zykon and Redcloak would not have ended the invasion, which I expect Miko has done (since Z&R are likely to leave immediately and go after the other gates).

Unless, Lich Boy & the Gobbo, just fly off to the next gate & don't tell the Hobgoblins. The Hobgoblins will continue their assault with higher morale as their Glorious Leader (TM) just sacrificed himself to blow up the enemy's main fortification, leading to their Ultimate Victory.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised is the Shamans started wearing Red Cloaks in honor of him; a lil Cult of Redcloak.


Miko is there as the Classic Lawful Stupid Paladin. I've gamed with many a Miko in my day. Many, many characters have embraced the Dark Side in response.

1. Not quite

 

[delericho]

And anyone within a mile of the Gate when it blew up. I'm guessing the Body Count is quite a bit higher than that.

Good point. Judging from panel 1, a huge number of the invading hobgoblins lost their lives.

Nope. Most of the citizens were on boats... Plus, most of the citizens just saw their homes blown up

Unless Azure City had a truly prodigious fleet, it's highly unlikely that more than a small percentage of the citizens were able to escape by boat. Certainly, in comic #418 one of the guards commented that they wouldn't have any difficulty finding people willing to board Hinjo's junk.

As for the homes being blown up... that's better than dead by a long shot.

Miko is there as the Classic Lawful Stupid Paladin. I've gamed with many a Miko in my day. Many, many characters have embraced the Dark Side in response.

Quite, but even the Lawful Stupid Paladin gets things right occasionally, or else she's totally worthless and uninteresting.

My feeling is there are two directions Miko's story can go now: either she's dead, or she's going to turn Evil at some point. Given the events in comic #419, the latter strikes me as unlikely. Therefore, my suspicion is that at some point they'll find her body, probably in a blue cloak, realise that she's the one who blew the Gate, and not know quite how to react. Certainly, that's what I'd do at this point, especially given how disliked the character is.

However, I'm prepared to be proven wrong. And I'm not really in a mood to get into a Paladin thread at this point (especially since I'm not certain of my interpretation), so I'll leave it at that. YMMV, of course.