The Order of the Stick

Character level does make a difference, but class and stats make a bigger one. Even a first-level Cleric is likely to have a comparable or better Will save than Belkar.

The DC to resist Durkula's domination is probably in the neighbourhood of 17. Belkar, or a low-level cleric, probably have in the neighbourhood of a +4 bonus to will. So that's a ~35% chance of the victims resisting- That's a pretty good chance of the initial command going through, but the chances of that being sustained indefinitely are pretty slim.

Maybe Belkar's jump isn't self destructive - he's got to have a boatload of hit points himself.

I doubt it. I assume it's not self destructive because he was always commanded to leap off the ship at places where he wouldn't fall to the ground.

Perhaps his Ring of Jumping automatically protects against fall damage...even if the place he lands is substantially lower than the place he jumped from.

(Pretty sure that's not actually a rulebook property of the item, but it makes sense as a Required Secondary Power?)

It wouldn't help much.

edited 21st Nov '14 10:45:02 PM by Adannor

I don't know the rules on this, but my interpretation was that as powerful as Dominate is and despite Belkar being Weak-Willed, because Durkula didn't outright command Belkar to kill himself, then even a Dominated Belkar wasn't going to take that extra initiative to do so.

I'm slightly surprised there's actually a clause for that.

Within the context of having a deity like Banjo, having such a clause is not surprising at all.

D&D is bloated with rules about smallest titbits.

What bearing does a non-canon entity have on canon rules?

Apologies, I did not know that this (and most preceding it) is (are) not canon.

edited 23rd Nov '14 6:41:35 AM by entropy13

I think that Adannor is talking about D&D canon, not Order of the Stick canon; the latter presumably has little effect on the former, which is, I take it, where the rules regarding the ring come from.

Yes, I meant D&D canon rules, which I quoted. OOTS' canon is it's own thing and does not actually have rules. It only borrows them from D&D canon when it is convenient.

edited 23rd Nov '14 7:03:50 AM by Adannor

Yeah, like, OOTS vampirism is an Ass Pull.
Anyway, new strip. I don't get the punchline. Or the title.

edited 1st Dec '14 6:32:09 AM by ACW

Belkar seems to be developing a primitive conscience.

the punchline, such as it is, seems to be Belkar justifying his refusing her offer. He seems to actually feel a bit bad about effectively ripping her off for the ring.

I just wonder what he's planning on doing with it. Like, is Belkar planning to activate it around Durkula and weather its harmful effects just to shield him being charmed? He would have to be a stone-cold badass in order to pull that off.

By which I mean, of course he is.

edited 1st Dec '14 7:34:01 AM by TobiasDrake

Either that or plant it on other people who he reckons Durkula is about to charm.

You know, as unlikely as it might be, if Rich ever wanted a good way to show Belkar becoming a bit less evil (or show someone else becoming a bit more evil), this trinket would be a good way to illustrate it.

I very much doubt he'll ever get an actual alignment change, but I suppose a smidgen of a conscience is not mutually exclusive with an Evil alignment. Is it? I'm not well-versed in D&D mechanics.

At the very most, he might do a Heroic Sacrifice and turn neutral just before he dies.

edited 1st Dec '14 9:14:31 AM by Elfive

Well, this strip seals it. Gnome chicks are adorable. :T

Well, in the context of OOTS, it shouldn't be mutually exclusive. Evil has always been defined by actions in this series; knowing what you're doing is evil and not doing evil are entirely separate things.

Still, in Belkar's case, it's clear character development.

edited 1st Dec '14 9:43:03 AM by Renewal

Alignment is an effect, not a cause. Hitler didn't commit genocide because he's evil; he is evil because he committed genocide.

Player races have that flexibility of choice. Belkar is evil because of the actions he takes, the choices he makes, etc. The capacity for change exists in him as it does in anyone else, and in a hypothetical scenario where he does change, his alignment would shift to reflect that.

Unlike Durkula or Xykon, Belkar is not a physical manifestation of his alignment; he is not powered by Evil, he is not the incarnation of Evil, he is just a person whose actions and choices are identifiably Evil. Nothing about being Evil necessarily precludes him from growing as a person; being Belkar may, however.

edited 1st Dec '14 9:55:25 AM by TobiasDrake

Well that charms gonna be important. And yay for Blekar character development! I have to admit his growth has been what's fascinated me most in OOTS for a very long time.

Well that and Red Cloak's character arc. And the MITD. And Elan's increasingly complex understanding of the world. And V's fall and repentance.

This is a good webcomic. :)

edited 1st Dec '14 10:08:31 AM by odafangirl

My guess is that he's going to palm it off on Durkula. If it had that effect on a regular Halfling who just happens to be evil, what will it do to something that's inherently evil like a vampire? Or maybe he plans to then go to Roy saying "Ha! If he wasn't evil why did the magic, anti evil joy buzzer zap him?" Which Roy will of course find some way to dismiss.