Order of the Stick #796: Smash

[blargney the second]

Yeah, 'cause nobody ever rolls a one.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

V once said that Thog had a poor Will save, and he failed a save vs a spell Elan cast, but maybe he rolled a "one" there.

I don't think he stunned Roy though. I think Roy was staggered before that big rock dropped on his head.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

V once said that Thog had a poor Will save, and he failed a save vs a spell Elan cast, but maybe he rolled a "one" there.

I don't think he stunned Roy though. I think Roy was staggered before that big rock dropped on his head.

Not talking about that. I'm talking about the end of the previous strip, where Thog shouted so loud Roy fell down and dropped his sword. Which turned out to be an actual mechanical effect, rather than just a visual to exxagerate the roar. I still think Roy would've lost...because I think Thog's a Frenzied Berserker. It just would been more like Roy slashes Thog to ribbons as Thog punches and throws him around, until Roy's hurt badly and Thog's somehow doing just fine.

 

[wedgeski]

Why is anyone assuming that the strip is bound by game mechanics?

Giant In the Playground Games FAQ

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

It's easier to analyze what is happening if we stick to known rules. We know the author doesn't follow them at all strictly.

 

[wingsandsword]

It's easier to analyze what is happening if we stick to known rules. We know the author doesn't follow them at all strictly.

That and he usually does stick pretty close to the rules, and if he grossly violates them or does something seemingly impossible he acknowledges it. He'll break the rules for plot or funny, but tends to at least acknowledge that it was bending the rules to do so.

Durkon uses Weather Control to devastate the Treants. . .which is explained as Thor bending rules about magic (and later shown as getting the Southern Gods angry at him in the process).

Miko overpowers the entire OotS and captures them. . .which is explained as "railroad plot" (which is later shown to be the railroad to get the OotS on the plot hook for the main focus of the campaign, i.e. the 5 Gates of the Snarl).

Unlike most fantasy fiction (including D&D fiction), OotS fairly closely follows a known and codified rule set on what the characters can do, exactly how powerful they are ect. so it fuels the fandom that we can actually make educated guesses of what will happen next based on knowing these things.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Miko overpowers the entire OotS and captures them. . .which is explained as "railroad plot" (which is later shown to be the railroad to get the OotS on the plot hook for the main focus of the campaign, i.e. the 5 Gates of the Snarl).

That particular one was explained as a railroad plot in the comic itself, but wasn't exactly a break in game mechanics. Rich actually has a round-by-round account of the unseen battle that explains how Miko and Windstriker were able to beat the order within the confines of the rules. Calling it a railroad plot was just Roy whining, not an admission that rules had been broken. The other examples you gave however, I agree with.

Here's that account of the battle anyways:

Order of the Stick: November II - Page 17 - Giant in the Playground Forums

 

[wingsandsword]

That particular one was explained as a railroad plot in the comic itself, but wasn't exactly a break in game mechanics. Rich actually has a round-by-round account of the unseen battle that explains how Miko and Windstriker were able to beat the order within the confines of the rules. Calling it a railroad plot was just Roy whining, not an admission that rules had been broken. The other examples you gave however, I agree with.

Here's that account of the battle anyways:

Order of the Stick: November II - Page 17 - Giant in the Playground Forums

I know that excuse of an explanation, and that is what it was: an excuse, and not a particularly good one.

That explanation required the OotS to use the worst possible tactics every round while consistently rolling poorly, while Miko plays letter-perfect tactics and never has a bad roll.

Seriously, a single Human Monk/Paladin of roughly equivalent level to the OotS overpowering the entire order without heavy hand of plot? Yeah, it was a railroad and I'm calling it like I see it.

It's just like Thog managing to completely pummel Roy in these comics to the point of throwing him around like a rag doll. You can come up with a justification in the rules which involves highly unlikely dice rolls, min-maxing and creative interpretation of the rules, but it's an ex-post-facto justification of plot, not game rules driving the plot.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

It doesn't help that OotS (and often the bad guys) use "rule of cool" rather than "rule of smart" when it comes to kicking butt; no surprise, it's a story, not an actual game.

Such as how Roy got killed by Xykon. He was using really dumb tactics (for a high-Int fighter).

Varsuuvius actually has a poor build. Like any specialized wizard, s/he often misses out on having good spells when s/he needs them. But I would criticize his/her Concentration score. A wizard high-enough level to cast Disintegrate shouldn't have too much trouble casting on the defensive. (According to my calculations, if V has a Con of 8 but max ranks and no skill-boosting feats, s/he could cast Disintegrate on the defensive 60% of the time. V even fails to cast due to bad weather, which shouldn't challenge a character of ~11th to 13th level. I think I've only seen V successfully make a single Concentration check in 700+ strips.)

Haley seems to have a weak build too. Archer rogues are lucky to get off more than two sneak attacks per combat unless they switch to melee or are helped by magic. (How often does Haley hide under Greater Invisibility? I think I saw that once. Maybe.)

In stark contrast is Belkar. His build seems poor, but he kicks a lot of butt.

I think the author tends to follow the rules, but doesn't use hard numbers, and would rather ditch rules than ditch story or coolness.

 

[Kannon]

I know that excuse of an explanation, and that is what it was: an excuse, and not a particularly good one.

That explanation required the OotS to use the worst possible tactics every round while consistently rolling poorly, while Miko plays letter-perfect tactics and never has a bad roll.

Seriously, a single Human Monk/Paladin of roughly equivalent level to the OotS overpowering the entire order without heavy hand of plot? Yeah, it was a railroad and I'm calling it like I see it.

It's just like Thog managing to completely pummel Roy in these comics to the point of throwing him around like a rag doll. You can come up with a justification in the rules which involves highly unlikely dice rolls, min-maxing and creative interpretation of the rules, but it's an ex-post-facto justification of plot, not game rules driving the plot.

Clearly, you've never had a good run and bad players as a DM
Really though, I TPKed a group once with a Dire Boar. That they should have been able to stick like a, well, pig.