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Mystic Mongol posted:In 3e, the primary restriction is that the anti-magic cone affects the Beholder as well. Since nearly all of the beholder's attacks are magical in nature, unless it wants to gnaw you to death (+2 to hit, 2d4 damage, a beholder's bite attack is much less scary than a goblin with a spear) it's going to have to turn the magic back on during much of the fight. You're slightly mistaken. It can position itself such that some foes are in the cone and others are to the sides and can be shot with beams. The monster manual is written a little bit ambiguously, but that's pretty clearly what was meant. This is an obvious trade off for a creature built on a caster template, because leveraging it puts it dead in the middle of an enemy party. DMs have to choose between fast and devastating encounter where the party is sure to win quickly at great cost or a slow strategic battle at the beholder's range limit.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:22
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why don't Elan and Haley communicate telepathically the moment the Charm wears off, there's no line-of-sight needed as the raven bit demonstrated
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Jun 28, 2021 17:26
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nimby posted:Not knowing much about D&D besides what permeated through general nerd culture and this comic, how dangerous would this trap be to Xykon? Can a beholder shut down an epic lich? He'd lose all his spellcasting in front of the beholder. He's still a level 21+ adventurer with huge lich stat bonuses... push comes to shove, he could chuck rocks at the beholder until it died while Serini threw useless poison darts at him. Xykon would retain his resistances and immunities, dark vision, and touch attack in the cone. And if the cone goes away for a round, a single meteor swarm is going to end that beholder. Serini could have other tricks set up to handle a high level undead spellcaster. But Xykon has a crew of high level adventurers and backup plans of his own, sooooo.... ikanreed posted:You're slightly mistaken. Sure sure, it can play games with who is and isn't lit up with antimagic at any time. Mystic Mongol fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Jun 28, 2021 |
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Jun 28, 2021 17:30
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Mystic Mongol posted:In 3e, the primary restriction is that the anti-magic cone affects the Beholder as well. Since nearly all of the beholder's attacks are magical in nature, unless it wants to gnaw you to death (+2 to hit, 2d4 damage, a beholder's bite attack is much less scary than a goblin with a spear) it's going to have to turn the magic back on during much of the fight. Yeaaaaa!!!! That's what I remember now. Anyone in the cone couldn't be affected. For me I had a Iron Golem as a pet/companion who I really didn't want to permanently lose so I was busy trying to keep it safe so I wasn't very effective that combat. Zore posted:Epic magic can punch through an anti-magic field (as seen with V during the Soul-Splice arc) which is probably why Serini has been observing Team Evil instead of luring them in with a trap like she did with the Order. Dysjunction isn't epic, it's a 9th level spell; and was casted well outside the Anti-Magic Sphere.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:37
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Yeah besides Xykon having some power from his raw stats and lichness he also hangs around the probably-not-just-magic-powered MitD so the beholder can't solve Team Evil.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:40
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Raenir Salazar posted:Yeaaaaa!!!! That's what I remember now. Anyone in the cone couldn't be affected. Correct but Epic Magic can pretty trivially punch through an Anti-magic field, I just forgot V used Disjunction 3.5 SRD posted:Antimagic field does not automatically suppress epic spells as it does standard spells. Instead, each time an epic spell is subject to an antimagic field, make a dispel check as a 20th-level caster (1d20 + 20). The epic spell has a DC of 11 + the epic spell’s spellcaster level. If the suppression check is successful, the epic spell is suppressed like any other spell. If the dispel check is unsuccessful, the epic spell functions normally. Xykon's got a caster level that has to be pushing 30 between his level and magic items which means he almost always gets through with any Epic Spells he has.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:46
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This might be a bit of an OOTS forum post, but what's happening here mechanically? It looks like V got hit by one of the darts that took out the paladins which made them fail concentration on light/telepathy/fly, then Roy gets hit by one as well. But then V just stands back up while Roy looks completely out? Also it looks like the beholder was paralyzing Elan but then stopped doing that to project some beam of darkness, but why even bother with that if V's light was dispelled? Edit: Oh I think I get it, the beam is an anti-magic field and V just fell and bonked themselves. I was confused because it cut from a single dart to V falling while Roy took 2 darts. ClothHat fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Jun 28, 2021 |
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Jun 28, 2021 17:51
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ClothHat posted:This might be a bit of an OOTS forum post, but what's happening here mechanically? It looks like V got hit by one of the darts that took out the paladins which made them fail concentration on light/telepathy/fly, then Roy gets hit by one as well. But then V just stands back up while Roy looks completely out? Also it looks like the beholder was paralyzing Elan but then stopped doing that to project some beam of darkness, but why even bother with that if V's light was dispelled? The desaturation that the beholder is emitting is an anti-magic cone. It suppresses the Hold Person (and charm, if it was still running) effect on Elan, V's light and flight spell, and their telepathic communication spell. e: it's similar to the elder black dragon's antimagic sphere.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:54
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ClothHat posted:This might be a bit of an OOTS forum post, but what's happening here mechanically? It looks like V got hit by one of the darts that took out the paladins which made them fail concentration on light/telepathy/fly, then Roy gets hit by one as well. But then V just stands back up while Roy looks completely out? Also it looks like the beholder was paralyzing Elan but then stopped doing that to project some beam of darkness, but why even bother with that if V's light was dispelled? The dispel hits the Hold Person on Elan, V's Fly, Light and Telepathy (V falls to the ground because their Fly spell ends unexpectedly), and then Roy gets hit by a poison dart.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:55
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ClothHat posted:This might be a bit of an OOTS forum post, but what's happening here mechanically? It looks like V got hit by one of the darts that took out the paladins which made them fail concentration on light/telepathy/fly, then Roy gets hit by one as well. But then V just stands back up while Roy looks completely out? Also it looks like the beholder was paralyzing Elan but then stopped doing that to project some beam of darkness, but why even bother with that if V's light was dispelled? The Beholder turned on the Anti-Magic cone, which suppressed their buffs; so V's Fly and Telepathic Bond all got switched off. Also their magic lightsource; leaving only the Dwarves with eyesight on whats happening. Roy got hit by poison darts, presumably darts that damaged his constitution and with enough that once it hit 0 he collapsed. Or could just be sleep or paralysis, not sure.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:56
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ClothHat posted:
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Jun 28, 2021 18:01
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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Raenir Salazar posted:Roy got hit by poison darts, presumably darts that damaged his constitution and with enough that once it hit 0 he collapsed. Or could just be sleep or paralysis, not sure. Probably not constitution, as a 0 there means instant death and he doesn't have the X eyes. Could be Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage.
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Jun 28, 2021 18:04
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Mystic Mongol posted:Probably not constitution, as a 0 there means instant death and he doesn't have the X eyes. Could be Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage. It's probably just a drow poison whose DC is higher thanks to epic craft (alchemy), maybe with feats or something. Serini has a pretty clear M.O. of nonlethal takedowns, followed by administering amnesia potions or whatever. Makes sense; killing investigators would tip off their leaders as to something going wrong.
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Jun 28, 2021 18:13
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Kind of wish that Rich took the opportunity to do an IASIP-style title for this strip.
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Jun 28, 2021 18:20
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Durkon will try to talk -  but what still puzzles me is - for Serini's plan to work, she needs to send Xykon to the right dungeon right now whilst she delays the Order. Anything else introduces more risk on the same argument  so... a tête-à-tête with the last surviving member of the Order of the Scribble before she lets slip that, eh, I did it thirty-five minutes ago? that would also give Redcloak and Xykon alike an opportunity to introduce whatever backup backstab plan they have for each other
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Jun 28, 2021 18:55
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If she removes the Order of the Stick from the equation, then Team Evil could still be indefinitely stalled unable to find the gate and no need for any heroes to try destroying the gate to prevent them from getting to it. She doesn't want Team Evil to win, she just doesn't want the heroes to do what they did with the last three gates.
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Jun 28, 2021 19:09
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too many parties know about some quest about the gates now though - Evil kingdoms seeking desalination options, Good kingdoms whose agents keep in regular magical contact, dwarven councils of mixed allegiance, whatever - is her plan to hope nobody sends a force too large for a single rogue to take down, no matter how well-prepared? Certainly she seems to have been paying attention to events or is having high PC levels so numerically rare that Serini has a reasonable expectation of having the world's leading adventurers all in her killbox right now?
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Jun 28, 2021 19:22
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Well, the imp made a comment to V, back on the island, to the effect of " Do you know how few casters make it past the 10th level?"
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Jun 28, 2021 19:54
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Raenir Salazar posted:The Beholder turned on the Anti-Magic cone, which suppressed their buffs; so V's Fly and Telepathic Bond all got switched off. Also their magic lightsource; leaving only the Dwarves with eyesight on whats happening. Ohhhh, so that's why everybody uses torches. Kinda lowkey bugged me for years that adventurers in official D&D art usually use torches, when in most editions magical light and even permanent magical light should be abundant and inexpensive. Yeah a torch is cheaper still, but using a torch, oil lantern or candle means you are constantly burning fuel and are vulnerable to water and wind. But then one anti-magic thing and you're all stumbling around in the dark. Bet you wish you had a lantern now.
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Jun 28, 2021 20:03
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No your instinct to be bugged was correct. You're a lot more likely to contend with high winds and wet environments than anti magic fields so light cantrips beat torches hands down.
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Jun 28, 2021 20:07
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SuperKlaus posted:No your instinct to be bugged was correct. You're a lot more likely to contend with high winds and wet environments than anti magic fields so light cantrips beat torches hands down. Yeah, but most DMs aren't gonna go so granular as to be like "the wind is high, all your torches are unusable in this cavern" unless you're playing a very particular type of game.
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Jun 28, 2021 20:10
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Gwyneth Palpate posted:Hey, I remember Sunny. Ha! That's amazing.
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Jun 28, 2021 20:16
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ikanreed posted:I know, just what the beholder's effect is gonna be, since it brings so many different effects to bear. Lutey the dancing lute
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Jun 28, 2021 20:22
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ZearothK posted:That's a good catch, might be! "Parody is protected speech." https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0789.html
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Jun 28, 2021 21:10
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Android Blues posted:Yeah, but most DMs aren't gonna go so granular as to be like "the wind is high, all your torches are unusable in this cavern" unless you're playing a very particular type of game. You can always have some torches just in case, and use whichever works best in the moment. Having an emergency torch or two just in case seems like a smart thing to do for most adventurers.
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Jun 28, 2021 21:15
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ronya posted:too many parties know about some quest about the gates now though - Evil kingdoms seeking desalination options, Good kingdoms whose agents keep in regular magical contact, dwarven councils of mixed allegiance, whatever - is her plan to hope nobody sends a force too large for a single rogue to take down, no matter how well-prepared? Certainly she seems to have been paying attention to events She only has to attack the people who figure out the trick to the labyrinth. Which, apparently, seems to only be possible for high-level rogues and no one else. And she's not killing them - she's gonna rewrite their short-term memories, so they think that they found no sign of the gate there and it must be somewhere else. It's a misdirection similar to what Girard tried, but a lot more effective because there's a living defender there to fine-tune the deception and make drat sure it sticks.
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Jun 28, 2021 21:28
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Vizuyos posted:She only has to attack the people who figure out the trick to the labyrinth. Which, apparently, seems to only be possible for high-level rogues and no one else. And she's not killing them - she's gonna rewrite their short-term memories, so they think that they found no sign of the gate there and it must be somewhere else. It's a misdirection similar to what Girard tried, but a lot more effective because there's a living defender there to fine-tune the deception and make drat sure it sticks. To be fair, Girard's plan would have worked really well if he hadn't failed to account for the possibility of an elf wizard he'd never met being a complete monster and wiping out his entire bloodline, with a single spell, by accident.
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Jun 28, 2021 21:32
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Android Blues posted:To be fair, Girard's plan would have worked really well if he hadn't failed to account for the possibility of an elf wizard he'd never met being a complete monster and wiping out his entire bloodline, with a single spell, by accident. Speaking of which, both Girard and Soon had set up organizations that could continue the work of protecting the Gate after they died, but does Serini have anything like or is she just planning to live forever?
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Jun 28, 2021 21:37
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Clarste posted:Speaking of which, both Girard and Soon had set up organizations that could continue the work of protecting the Gate after they died, but does Serini have anything like or is she just planning to live forever? Well she seems to have adopted a Beholder who calls her Mom and is intimately involved in her plans and has an extended network of allied monsters discreetly providing her with support and aid. Really the only Scribbler who really seemed to be doing it on their own was Dorukan who didn't have anyone who could even theoretically step in for him. Even Lirian had the trees and animals helping her out and a much longer lifespan than the others. The closest Dorukan had was... Celia and the other interns?
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Jun 28, 2021 21:43
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Sorry if it was covered in this arc already, but what's stopping xykon and co from just blowing up the whole cliffside?
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Jun 28, 2021 21:44
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Brainamp posted:Sorry if it was covered in this arc already, but what's stopping xykon and co from just blowing up the whole cliffside? Because if they blast too deep and blow up the Gate, that's game over. This is the last surviving Gate and they need it intact to do The Plan.
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Jun 28, 2021 21:46
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Bobulus posted:Lol, Mimi the mimic and a yellowy sphere monster (with beams) called Sunny. Sunny, who calls another character Mom.
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Jun 28, 2021 22:02
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Zore posted:Well she seems to have adopted a Beholder who calls her Mom and is intimately involved in her plans and has an extended network of allied monsters discreetly providing her with support and aid. It's 100% headcanon but it would make sense for Dorukan to have been actively researching life extension / youth serum at the time of his death. Particularly considering he had a long-lived girlfriend to stick around for.
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Jun 28, 2021 22:12
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There were living defenders at Girard's Gate until V happened.
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Jun 28, 2021 22:26
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The Order's spells are suppressed but not dispelled, right? The telepathy and V's flight comes back online if the Beholder looks away?ronya posted:Durkon will try to talk - Also Durkon/the Order possesses the fairly vital piece of intel that the gods know what Team Evil is scheming and are willing and able to destroy the world if need be. Of course the gods haven't explicitly agreed to destroy the world if the ritual succeeds, and that still requires Team Evil to find the Gate, but if they get the chance to actually talk there's decent odds Serini's going to need to reevaluate. NihilCredo posted:It's 100% headcanon but it would make sense for Dorukan to have been actively researching life extension / youth serum at the time of his death. Particularly considering he had a long-lived girlfriend to stick around for. Also he was still alive until Xykon killed him, while both Girard and Soon had died of old age some time ago.
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Jun 28, 2021 22:39
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Zore posted:Well she seems to have adopted a Beholder who calls her Mom and is intimately involved in her plans and has an extended network of allied monsters discreetly providing her with support and aid. Weren’t the non-goblin monsters in the deepest levels of the very first dungeon also aligned with him?
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Jun 28, 2021 23:39
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I had a thought but doesn't Roy have a potential work around for the memory wipe? His ghost dad who I assume it watching things, can fill him in that he got memory wiped, his team will believe him and they just go back but now on their guard. So in a way Serini's plan is doomed.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:42
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Also Julia and everyone they've been Sending with, which is at least Hinjo and Sigdi.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:53
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Dorukon had some elementals as employees, but they didn't notice when he died and Xykon took the dungeon, so they weren't really in the loop. Maybe he had more employees that Xykon killed in the process. I guess it's a bit of a different prospect for a wizard recluse to just assume he's gonna live forever instead of a paladin or an illusionist.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:53
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Raenir Salazar posted:I had a thought but doesn't Roy have a potential work around for the memory wipe? His ghost dad who I assume it watching things, can fill him in that he got memory wiped, his team will believe him and they just go back but now on their guard. Not to mention, y'know, actual gods. Thor would probably contact Durkon if he got high (on unspecified amnesia potions) and wandered off.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:54
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