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sebmojo
Oct 23, 2010


Legit Cyberpunk









Dolash posted:

My money's on Nale dying, since 'family business', and Tarquin makes a better final antagonist for Elan's plot arc without losing anything Nale imparted to it - he's really just a better continuation. If the Order gets the "murdered in a pit" treatment (which they might, since Tarquin specifically asked Haley to get out of the pit too), V will reappear just in time to save them.

I know Tarquin's an evil psychotic who's mostly in for his legacy and a life of power and success, but I wonder what he really wants from Elan besides perhaps overthrowing him one day to make a great story. Does he want Elan to be a hero (thus enhancing his fame in the process)? Does he want him to come over to his way of thinking and become an evil overlord too? Elan and his family seem to have issues with getting validation from others that might be at work there.

This is also where I'd put my money.

Tarquin's a sociopath, not a psychotic though. :pseudo:

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Brannock
Feb 9, 2006

by exmarx
Fallen Rib
I'm thinking duel between Nale and Elan.

Tarquin has been wanting to see just what Elan is capable of, after all.

TunaSpleen
Jan 27, 2007

How do I say, "You're the grossest thing ever" without offending you?
Grimey Drawer
Even if Nale did try to lie about what happened to Malack during his brief walk alongside the army, Durkon's right there within earshot to say something if it comes up. He's already proven he remembers what he saw while enthralled.

Shugojin
Sep 6, 2007

THE TAIL THAT BURNS TWICE AS BRIGHT...


Well, if we know anything about Tarquin, it's that he can put two and two together to figure out what Nale did. He doesn't even need to ask unless he thinks it's appropriate for the scene.

Eifert Posting
Apr 1, 2007

Most of the time he catches it every time.
Grimey Drawer
I think it's telling that Nale hasn't been healed.

MikeJF
Dec 20, 2003




My big question about Nale dying is this: what would Sabine do? She's moderately powerful, has access to a variety of resources, and seems to genuinely love him.

Pope Guilty
Nov 6, 2006

The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

MikeJF posted:

My big question about Nale dying is this: what would Sabine do? She's moderately powerful, has access to a variety of resources, and seems to genuinely love him.

Yeah, but that love is maintained at least in part by sacrifices, so once the latest sacrifice wears off, she may change her mind.

Also, do we know what happens to dead evil people in OOTS? Nale might become one of those demon soul blob things with good prospects for advancement due to having somebody with some rank who likes him.

Regalingualius
Jan 7, 2012

We gazed into the eyes of madness... And all we found was horny.




I'd think pop in long enough to get Nale's body (assuming there's anything left of him to recover, so he's boned if Tarquin's friend can use a Disintegrate-like effect), then get out and try to find him an Evil Cleric that can resurrect him.

That actually reminds me: I swear I remember reading about a less powerful resurrection spell that transforms the target into a random race as a possible side effect. Am I imagining things?

Pope Guilty
Nov 6, 2006

The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

Regalingualius posted:

I'd think pop in long enough to get Nale's body (assuming there's anything left of him to recover, so he's boned if Tarquin's friend can use a Disintegrate-like effect), then get out and try to find him an Evil Cleric that can resurrect him.

That actually reminds me: I swear I remember reading about a less powerful resurrection spell that transforms the target into a random race as a possible side effect. Am I imagining things?

It's called Reincarnate.

Brannock
Feb 9, 2006

by exmarx
Fallen Rib

Pope Guilty posted:

Yeah, but that love is maintained at least in part by sacrifices, so once the latest sacrifice wears off, she may change her mind.

Wait - Nale is binding Sabine to him through sacrifices? I figured the sacrifices were just something they did together for pleasure, not a method for Nale to actually keep Sabine loyal to him.

greatn
Nov 15, 2006

by Lowtax
Hey guys. Nale isn't going to die.

Johnny Aztec
Jan 30, 2005

by Hand Knit

Brannock posted:

Wait - Nale is binding Sabine to him through sacrifices? I figured the sacrifices were just something they did together for pleasure, not a method for Nale to actually keep Sabine loyal to him.

I think that whole bit was rather a joke, and you shouldn't try and rules-lawyer it.

Brannock
Feb 9, 2006

by exmarx
Fallen Rib

Johnny Aztec posted:

I think that whole bit was rather a joke, and you shouldn't try and rules-lawyer it.

I haven't played D&D in years and I'm one of the last people who would try to rules-lawyer something. I didn't know if this was a tidbit mentioned in one of the extra books or not. Sorry :shobon:

Spiderdrake
May 12, 2001



greatn posted:

Hey guys. Nale isn't going to die.
This is my wager as well, though I'm not going to call it a a solid bet.

Alliterate Addict
Jul 10, 2012

dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes

greatn posted:

Hey guys. Nale isn't going to die.

I think it depends on whether or not Tarquin's going to take Nale's place as a more-competent third-party foil. Nale's been kind of a jokey threat from the get-go, with occasional successes punctuating almost constant overall failure. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fragged from both the "no longer really plot relevant" standpoint, as well as a "show that Tarquin cares more about winning than family" kind of thing.

But, as usual, conjecture is usually pointless with this comic because Rich doesn't usually show important non-OOTS character motivations until they're acted upon.

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



Eifert Posting posted:

I think it's telling that Nale hasn't been healed.
He also asked Nale to walk with him.

You know, while Tarquin was riding his sweet rear end dinosaur.

Regalingualius
Jan 7, 2012

We gazed into the eyes of madness... And all we found was horny.




Eifert Posting posted:

I think it's telling that Nale hasn't been healed.

Tarquin was sadistic enough to burn alive a ton of recaptured slaves to make a welcome message to Elan. I really would not put it past him to get Nale lulled into just enough of a false sense of security to not think of the underlying implications of why he hasn't been healed yet (assuming Psions even can heal, that is).

Pope Guilty
Nov 6, 2006

The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

Brannock posted:

Wait - Nale is binding Sabine to him through sacrifices? I figured the sacrifices were just something they did together for pleasure, not a method for Nale to actually keep Sabine loyal to him.

This strip suggests that it's a supernatural effect.

Ferrosol
Nov 8, 2010

Notorious J.A.M

:siren:New Strip:siren:


Well that was unexpected...

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous

Ferrosol posted:

:siren:New Strip:siren:


Well that was unexpected...

It's so perfect, I think I'll start implying it was what I expected to happen all along.

edit: Why is Tarquin turning his back on an angry Nale? That never ends well.

my dad fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Aug 19, 2013

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

Ferrosol posted:

Well that was unexpected...
In retrospect, it makes perfect sense for his character. Though we still have a certain vampire 'lizardfolk' loose end.

DivineCoffeeBinge
Mar 3, 2011

Spider-Man's Amazing Construction Company
The OotS leaves, Tarquin turns to Nale, and says "Now let's talk about my vampire buddy who I can't help but notice isn't here, and also you have some ash on your cheek, there."

Nale is never seen again.

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





Well gently caress, I didn't see that one coming either.

Tarquin's too tough for even a rage fueled Nale backstab to kill, though. And he sure as poo poo doesn't have a glaring weakness for Nale to exploit like Malack did.

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Tarquin is entirely too in love with himself. Dude is going to have one hell of a fall.

mmkay
Oct 21, 2010

Tarquin is too awesome.

sebmojo
Oct 23, 2010


Legit Cyberpunk









mmkay posted:

Tarquin is too awesome.

Yes, that is his only flaw.

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





On a positive note, they may be able to sell this result as inevitable to V to assuage her guilt about letting the Gate get blown. After all, there was no realistic chance the Order could have held off Tarquin's whole army, especially when backed up with his Psion. And Tarquin was going to destroy the Gate anyhow, so the fate of the Gate was pretty much sealed.

Granted, if she hadn't wiped out the Draketooths the Gate may never have fallen in the first place, but at least there wasn't anything she could have done to save the Gate, with or without the Fiends repossessing her soul.

TunaSpleen
Jan 27, 2007

How do I say, "You're the grossest thing ever" without offending you?
Grimey Drawer
Speaking of which, the IFCC's really taking their good sweet time holding onto V right now, aren't they? Even though the one who owned Haera's soul got the least amount of time out of the deal, the other two each got... 20 something minutes apiece? I can't find the source. It has to have been a decent amount of time for Roy to smash the gate, the pyramid to crumble while they race to safety, the explosion, Redcloak showing up and summoning the elemental, fighting it, getting Durkon back, and now speaking with Tarquin.

Alliterate Addict
Jul 10, 2012

dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes

ImpAtom posted:

Tarquin is entirely too in love with himself. Dude is going to have one hell of a fall.

I'm really hoping that he keeps flaunting conventions by suddenly stepping down at the climax of his battle with Elan, like what the noble during the boat arc tried to do. Except Tarquin shows how to do it properly and not get disintegrated.

TunaSpleen posted:

Speaking of which, the IFCC's really taking their good sweet time holding onto V right now, aren't they? Even though the one who owned Haera's soul got the least amount of time out of the deal, the other two each got... 20 something minutes apiece? I can't find the source. It has to have been a decent amount of time for Roy to smash the gate, the pyramid to crumble while they race to safety, the explosion, Redcloak showing up and summoning the elemental, fighting it, getting Durkon back, and now speaking with Tarquin.

I don't know, though. Duration of Summon Monster is 1 round per level, which means a max at level 20 of 2 minutes. Even if you assume Redcloak is 20 (he's not), and if you assume that the spell ran out instead of them managing to deal enough damage to kill it, you've still got 18 minutes to kill in "temple blowing up" and "army walking through a portal".

I think Tarquin'll have enough time to finish his dialog tree and leave before V pops out.

Alliterate Addict fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Aug 19, 2013

SirDan3k
Jan 6, 2001

Trust me, you are taking this a lot more seriously then I am.

DivineCoffeeBinge posted:

The OotS leaves, Tarquin turns to Nale, and says "Now let's talk about my vampire buddy who I can't help but notice isn't here, and also you have some ash on your cheek, there."

Nale is never seen again.

Nope. This was basically the only real chance Tarquin had to off Nale and take his place as eventual big bad of Elan's story. Nale is going to kill Tarquin, probably try to run the Blank Empire scam, fail, then go after the Oots again and maybe kill Belkar, then fail some more.

Alliterate Addict
Jul 10, 2012

dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes

SirDan3k posted:

Nope. This was basically the only real chance Tarquin had to off Nale and take his place as eventual big bad of Elan's story. Nale is going to kill Tarquin, probably try to run the Blank Empire scam, fail, then go after the Oots again and maybe kill Belkar, then fail some more.

I really hope he doesn't from a storytelling standpoint, just because Nale really doesn't feel threatening and even killing Tarquin won't help that (much).

SirDan3k
Jan 6, 2001

Trust me, you are taking this a lot more seriously then I am.

Ursine Asylum posted:

I really hope he doesn't from a storytelling standpoint, just because Nale really doesn't feel threatening and even killing Tarquin won't help that (much).

At this point I'm pretty sure Nale is meta commentary on DM's that can't let that one character they'd plotted out to be the nemesis go even after the party has gone off in a completely different direction and moved into another weight class.

:reject:"You enter the room to find your arch-nemisis Nale waiting for you!"
:confused: "Who?"
:reject: "Nale! he's your bard's evil twin, he's plauged you throughout you adventures!"
:confused: "Thay guy we beat like at the start of the campain?"
:reject: "You didn't beat him! He let you win it was part of his plan!"

SirDan3k fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Aug 19, 2013

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Ursine Asylum posted:

I'm really hoping that he keeps flaunting conventions by suddenly stepping down at the climax of his battle with Elan, like what the noble during the boat arc tried to do. Except Tarquin shows how to do it properly and not get disintegrated.

I really doubt that is going to happen. Tarquin is a fairly horrible monster who is completely enamored with his own cleverness and utterly convinced he is in complete control, and the same drama rules he loves to live by basically mean there is no way he's not going to run face-first into a whole lot of hubris.

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous

Ursine Asylum posted:

I'm really hoping that he keeps flaunting conventions by suddenly stepping down at the climax of his battle with Elan, like what the noble during the boat arc tried to do. Except Tarquin shows how to do it properly and not get disintegrated.

...

I think Tarquin'll have enough time to finish his dialog tree and leave before V pops out.

I'm starting to get the idea of just what might happen soon, and if it really happens, it will be glorious.

Slashrat
Jun 6, 2011

YOSPOS

jng2058 posted:

On a positive note, they may be able to sell this result as inevitable to V to assuage her guilt about letting the Gate get blown. After all, there was no realistic chance the Order could have held off Tarquin's whole army, especially when backed up with his Psion. And Tarquin was going to destroy the Gate anyhow, so the fate of the Gate was pretty much sealed.

Granted, if she hadn't wiped out the Draketooths the Gate may never have fallen in the first place, but at least there wasn't anything she could have done to save the Gate, with or without the Fiends repossessing her soul.

I don't think it is a certainty that the gate would have been destroyed by Tarquin. He mentions wanting to study the gate, so it is perfectly reasonable that while doing so he'd come to the same realization as V (either by V passing on what s/he knows or from his own investigation of it).

VanSandman
Feb 16, 2011
SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER
You know, I'd be honestly surprised if Tarquin gave more of a poo poo about his dusted vampire partner than he did about his many, many wives.

Alliterate Addict
Jul 10, 2012

dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes
Random note: I'm not sure if I missed part of the discussion in all the psion :words:, and the iPad app doesn't have search-in-thread, but has no one noted that Belkar referred to V as "she" last comic?

Not sure if mistake, or callback to "the event".

Colonel Cool
Dec 24, 2006

I have my fingers crossed on Tarquin and Malack actually being BFFs. I wouldn't bet on it though.

Cat Mattress
Jul 14, 2012

by Cyrano4747

SirDan3k posted:

At this point I'm pretty sure Nale is meta commentary on DM's that can't let that one character they'd plotted out to be the nemesis go even after the party has gone off in a completely different direction and moved into another weight class.

I've never seen that happen in a game. Mostly because all players I know hate nemeses and make everything they can to be sure any fight with a villain results in that villain's death. The villain is captured? Strict "no prisoners" policy; summary execution time! The villains flee? They chase. The villain falls over a cliff? They rappel/levitate down and search for him. The villain teleport? They go prepare/buy scrolls of scry, teleport, and dimensional anchor to hunt him down. The villain looks dead? They cut the corpse in pieces just to be sure. The DM manages to have the villain escape and elude the party's search efforts? They complain endlessly about railroading.

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Slashrat
Jun 6, 2011

YOSPOS

Ursine Asylum posted:

Random note: I'm not sure if I missed part of the discussion in all the psion :words:, and the iPad app doesn't have search-in-thread, but has no one noted that Belkar referred to V as "she" last comic?

Not sure if mistake, or callback to "the event".

The characters in the comic all have their own ideas on V's gender. Rich is on the record somewhere of saying that V's actual sex is still 100% ambiguous despite them.

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