THE OotS Thread, Part IV.

[Murazor]

No, he used forceful hand, a 6th level spell. I mean, it might have been clenched fist, but if so he was deliberately using it for a purpose the lower-level spell could accomplish.

No, the hand he used to try to push Tarquin outside of the ship was Forceful Hand.

The fist he used to knock on the wall, when the order was contemplating the destruction of the gate, was the use of Clenched Fist.

Amazingly poor use of such a high level spell, but V was desperate at that point, and it cannot be one of the other hand spells, because those cannot punch.

[Vendetta]

People discussing which caster has more go juice should check back to Xykon's discussion on the nature of power when V challenged him.

It's not necessarily about having "the most tricks", it's about knowing which of the tricks you have is the right one right now.

[Simon_Jester]

True, but raw power counts too. There's no evidence that V has much of an edge over Laurin in subtlety, so if they're both at the same relative level of exhaustion my money's on Laurin. V's best hope is to keep up a good fight long enough for someone else to step in.

Or V might have a spell that impacts her combat effectiveness.

[Grumman]

True, but raw power counts too. There's no evidence that V has much of an edge over Laurin in subtlety, so if they're both at the same relative level of exhaustion my money's on Laurin. V's best hope is to keep up a good fight long enough for someone else to step in.

Or V might have a spell that impacts her combat effectiveness.

V prepared spells this morning knowing that they'd be dealing with the Draketooths, experts in mind magic. Any spell good against an illusionist should also be good against a telepath.

[Simon_Jester]

Why so?

[Napoleon the Clown]

Minor update, the Giant's computer died while he was 80% of the way through the comic. It was supposed to be out today but that's not gonna happen now. He says he's going to try and recover the files off the HDD instead of remaking it entirely. He doesn't know when he can get the comic up, as it depends on if anything can be recovered. Expect a 2-pager. First tweet about it and second tweet about it. No idea if he has said anything on the forums, I don't pay them any mind.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Further update: He's gotta redo the entire update, the latest back-up he has that isn't bricked doesn't have any of the comic he was working on or several of the high-res version of the past few comics before that. Twitter gave the details.

[Simon_Jester]

Does he draw the comics on paper, or does he use software?

[Irbis]

Every single comic (with maybe the exception of the crayon ones) was made on computer. That is, like, top of the FAQ.

Speaking of which, I like how antiquated it is and how no one bothered to touch it in years. Years when we had regular updates instead of 90% of the time being taken by making of pay-only material in background (though some of these are good, most people would probably prefer them to be made in breaks like they used to be, to make scenes like Tarquin fight flow smoother instead of dragging on for years of real life).

[Simon_Jester]

I suspect that most people would still ask the frequently asked questions (which I haven't read in years, hence my asking; I'd forgotten). The main thing that's changed is that the update frequency has dropped off very very sharply- it's been almost two weeks since the last strip. Aside from that most of those questions are still at least semi-current.

He's had multiple bouts of crappy health, that directly impact his ability to work. His plotline is approaching the climax. I'm sure he's got other plans for what to do when Order of the Stick is finished, but
I can't really blame Burlew for wanting to capitalize on the strip while he still can, either. He's trying to make a living with his art, and it's entirely possible that he won't be able to do that indefinitely, so being in it partly for the money nowadays is understandable.

[Napoleon the Clown]

This one being behind is because of computer death, otherwise it would have been out a few days ago.

[Simon_Jester]

True, but in that case it would still have been the first comic in, oh, a week or so. It's undeniable that his update frequency has dropped off overall from the routine 3/week rate he kept up for several years.

[Irbis]

He's had multiple bouts of crappy health, that directly impact his ability to work. His plotline is approaching the climax. I'm sure he's got other plans for what to do when Order of the Stick is finished, but I can't really blame Burlew for wanting to capitalize on the strip while he still can, either. He's trying to make a living with his art, and it's entirely possible that he won't be able to do that indefinitely, so being in it partly for the money nowadays is understandable.

I don't blame him for capitalizing, but... I feel he is going at it in entirely wrong way. Making side comics in breaks worked better, IMHO, nowadays all you hear is complains about Tarquin taking too long due to update schedule and unpredictability/slowness leading to waning interest. Add to it official forum with several rude, arbitrary mods frequently breaking their own rules and incompetent admin (who turned off search function as it was easier than properly fixing the board...) leading to making using something that was fun idea exchange place a chore.

As for health, I get it, and I support privacy, but then we got 10 straight updates once per day early this year (kickstarter reward), with claims they are freshly drawn, and were absolutely not drawn during the even quieter period before, sending sort of mixed signal.

I used to visit the forums several times daily, got Start of Darkness and Origin of the PCs despite ludicrous international postage prices (that could have been fixed, OotS team just didn't cared to), these days I feel quality of it all dropped sharply despite art and writing maturing. The kickstarter was probably last thing I get, and that was for the Belkar comic alone (which kind of felt drawn out in places despite short format).

[Crazedwraith]

I feel with you about international shipping, I was looking to get the latest book and the calender recently but with shipping the whole thing approached £60 which was enough to put me and my lack of income off.

But the calender and the usual holiday ornaments are the only real 'pay only' stuff he's done recently. Unless you count the kickerstarter stuff that is still ongoing but that's stuff that's already paid for he can't reasonably be expected not to do that asap.

[Serafina]

New Comic
Caster Fight And Blackwing mixing it up, very nice

Oh, and for those who missed it - apparently, Blackwing grabbed a Shiny Bauble (Ioun Stone, Laurin only has two after Blackwings attack instead of three as before).

[Crazedwraith]

Spoiler

Excellent. Best strip for a while. And nice to see Sabine having an impact.
Guess V isn't as low on spells as people thought? Or was bluffing.

[Murazor]

Let's see...

Cone of Cold (level 5), Forcecage (level 7), Dimensional Anchor (level 4) and Resilient Sphere (level 4).

If V really has twenty five non-cantrip spells level at this point, he is way smarter or way higher level than previously assumed.

I'm calling it a bluff unless proven otherwise. What he uses here is well within the limits of what he can be assumed to have left with previous assumptions.

[Gaidin]

Will bet 2.6 is Laurin mindreading V, 2.7 is absorbing that yea, she's gotta deal with that. 2.8, she's gone.

[Murazor]

Will bet 2.6 is Laurin mindreading V, 2.7 is absorbing that yea, she's gotta deal with that. 2.8, she's gone.

Unless Burlew forgot to add the glow, nope.

[Civil War Man]

Spoiler

Excellent. Best strip for a while. And nice to see Sabine having an impact.
Guess V isn't as low on spells as people thought? Or was bluffing.

Spoiler

Makes sense for Laurin to run either way.
Bluff and Sense Motive are cross-class for both Psion and Wizard, so she wouldn't be able to automatically figure out if V was lying.
If V is lying, Laurin has no way of determining the extent of the lie, whether it is a blatant falsehood or a mere exaggeration. If V's almost spent, a prolonged caster fight would still leave Laurin without enough power points to fight off the rest of the crew even if she wins. Crew's not allowed to interfere in third act duels, but probably no orders against dog-piling the winner if the antagonist comes out on top.
If V's telling the truth about the number of spells, Laurin has no way of knowing what those spells are. And, after she's spent so many power points, she can't afford to assume V only has a couple dozen castings of Feather Fall and See Invisibility if there's a chance of running into a wall of Magic Missiles and Lightning Bolts.

[Irbis]

Spoiler

Eh, one thing that bugs me - did she just ran off while leaving T. in place? Do we get sudden end of that plotline, as sudden as earlier battle dragged on? Then why don't make Laurin run earlier, say in desert fight, and already be past Tarquin part?

Also, I love how we didn't even saw hint (like Sabine saying 'mumble mumble') in past strip V got intelligence, that decades old info Sabine had was accurate, or that V correctly calculated power points despite knowing little about psionics and missing part of the spells Laurin cast.

But we get one panel flashback, so it's totally not retcon/asspull!

[Simon_Jester]

Previously, Laurin was never really directly threatened, except for that one time in #928 where she pretty easily countered the Order's attack with some kind of omnidirectional psychic blast. Now she's in more personal danger, has lost a valuable magic item and might well lose another, and is effectively alone aboard the airship with no other meaningful allies, and she's used up even more of her mental reserves.
Spoiler

As to the information from Sabine, we have no reason to assume it is decades old. Nale's falling-out with Tarquin and his party was... I don't remember exactly, I seem to recall the phrase 'nine years' or some lesser number. Plus, Nale may well have deliberately kept tabs on his father's adventuring companions to some extent (Sabine being almost ideal for this), and Laurin's been living a lifestyle that doesn't exactly result in rapid XP gain.

So Laurin may have a few extra tricks or powers she didn't have the last time Sabine encountered her, but I doubt this will invalidate basic claims about her probable estimated level and her tactical habits.

Spoiler

Hm. If we go by the official rules about what different colors of Ioun stones do, then Blackwing just seized a stone of +1 caster level, while Laurin is left with... I'm guessing +1 to attacks, saves, and skill checks, and one that confers a dexterity bonus.

In which case yeah, that's actually a small but noticeable setback for her, a semi-permanent one even, and one that she'll be pissed off at Tarquin over.

[Kuja]

She may have also lost a level when Durkon grabbed her.

Between that, the loss of her Ioun stone and V's sudden revelaiton, not a good position for her to be in.

[LadyTevar]

Greater Intel always wins the battle, I've found

[Highlord Laan]

Greater Intel always wins the battle, I've found

I've often said it's the deadliest stat on the sheet. Even the fighters I play are high INT.