OotS #653

[Nymrohd]

Honestly I don't know whether I will miss V so much. Unless she can get back to her old self.

Get us to Roy

 

[Derren]

Well V owes about 20 minutes each to Lee and Cedric and less than 5 to Nero. Still a lot of time. Can they claim it in multiple intervals btw?

Nothing in that contract says that the time is calculated for each splice. So one could argue that as long as V had at least 1 splice he owes time to all three devils.

I think this comic actually answers that: They need to get Redcloak and Tsukiko to turn on Xykon, thus denying him their respective tactical advantages, while taking advantage of their own teamwork. Without Tsukiko's Mind Fog and Redcloak's advice, V's soul splices last long enough for him/her to teleport away.

Xykon would still have won though. Turning on him is a rather bad idea.

Hmm, the bad guys utilize better teamplay than the good ones. You don't see that often.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Getting philosophical - is it the characters bringing it on themselves or the author bringing it on the characters?

Depends how it's being written.

If there's a plot set in stone in advance, the author brought it.

If the author is making it up as he goes along, and the characters occasionally do something he doesn't expect, which in turn forces him to respond to them appropriately..... then it gets really fuzzy, wot? I've had characters run away from me. The effect on plot is frequently unexpected.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Xycon gives new meaning to the verb "boned".

 

[Dark Dragon]

...or "stoned". Reminds me of Life of Brian, somehow.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Ok, now I finally feel sorry for V. And I also have to wonder how on earth are Roy and crew going to ever defeat Xykon now? He is way out of their league.

They've already beaten him once. Don't forget that the last time Xykon and Redcloak faced off against a united Order of the Stick, Xykon got sent to chill in his phylactery and Redcloak ran away. True it was due to taking advantage of a battlefield hazard (the Gate) plus Roy's quick thinking, but they still won. I expect they'll find a way to win again.

Arguably all this build-up and repeated demonstrations of power by Xykon have been necessary to make us readers forget about that defeat and make sure that Xykon still seems like a threat.

 

[jmucchiello]

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.

Oh, yeah, I bet the demons take over V right now, thus saving V from Xykon's wrath. It would be an amusing twist.

I think this comic actually answers that: They need to get Redcloak and Tsukiko to turn on Xykon, thus denying him their respective tactical advantages, while taking advantage of their own teamwork. Without Tsukiko's Mind Fog and Redcloak's advice, V's soul splices last long enough for him/her to teleport away.

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.

 

[Derren]

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.

Standard: Dispell
Move: Pick up Rock
Attack of Opportunity. Slam

Oh, yeah, I bet the demons take over V right now, thus saving V from Xykon's wrath. It would be an amusing twist.

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.

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.

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

 

[Nymrohd]

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.

 

[B9anders]

Xykon is an epic-level lich optimized for combatting wizards, in his lair with help from high level minions.

V might have had raw ultimate power in sheer spell slots and caster level, but neither the experience nor the saving throws, magic items etc. you'd expect from an epic caster. And had already lost the most powerful third of said raw power as well has having used quite a few high level spells already. Teleporting in blindly (which tbf, is a tremendous tactical advantage of the spell Xykon has cast on the city) without preparation, backup and experience, V was always going to lose that battle.

That said, I still think the order of the stick can beat him down the line. If they can choose the time and place of battle to isolate him from his minions, enter battle buffed and planned and acquire some sort of spell or magic item that will disadvantage him somehow, they should be able to defeat him. He can't mass energy drain the party after all.