That’s an interesting question. How WOULD Tarquin stand up against an epic-level lich? He isn’t a small-timer if he can solo the OotS.
Nevermind, after looking at the spell description, apparently INT isn’t required, though I’m surprised a creature with 0 INT can still be dominated. It’s like giving commands to a tree.
Agreed. If you want to kill every mook in an area a quarter of a mile across, a Druid can do it with a single spell. Wizards can do more damage to individual targets, but unless you’re using the Locate City bomb their area of affect tends to be more limited.
A vampire’s gaze only works on creatures of the Humanoid type.
No, it’s like giving commands to a zombie. It is incapable of improvising, but as long as you do all the thinking, it will do as you command.
Except to Varsuvius, who is the only one necessary for that plan, whatever it may be.
Say what? Elan consulted with Durkon about his secret plan, not V.
Creatures with 0 Int are mindless, which among other things means they’re immune to anything with the [mind-affecting] tag (which includes all the variants of Dominate).
Haley and Elan are heading toward Roy and the gang, I still thing V will show up, reuniting the entire OotS. V will blast a hole in the hoard and everybody goes down the rabbit hole into the snarl.
Comic relief of a new pet Dinosaur Vamp would be a bonus. Handy transportation though, wouldn’t it be? --Just me being whimsical.
I do like what somebody else just said about Sabine showing up now (maybe with a blowtorch and pliars ready to go midevil on his ass) to confront Tarq Daddy. That could also be a diversion allowing the gang to go a-snarling.
As a side note I love all the arrows in Durkons head in panel 2. And Tarquins Zyklon-Xyklon mispronunication.
Sabine can’t possibly show up now. Banished for 24 hours, and it’s still the same day of the banishment. Hell, it hasn’t even been 20 minutes since the gate blew, or V would be back (though underground).
Correction: he can solo the OOTS without Vaarsuvius.
What’s 24 hours OotS time, 30 years our time ( or so it feels…) I’m so confused.
Let alone my plea of faster Burlow faster. I want more more more now. New strips every hour on the hour.
I suppose something could always come through the gate from the other side, but it’s too close to the end of the book to open up that can of worms. My money’s on the return of V and maybe a run for the rift.
Pretty crushed, I should imagine. Crushed as a dodo. Crushed as a doornail. Crushed as disco.
The ultimate way to defeat Tarquin is to rewrite his role in the story. A dying realisation that he will be remembered as just a pain in the arse hindrance between the heroes and the final confrontation will mean total defeat.
Crushed as an Implosion, even.
I doubt it would happen but I think the poetic way for Tarquin to go is killed off-panel. What greater indignity for a villain with dreams of arch-antagonism to be snuffed like some random mook?
As I much as I’ve enjoyed this character, I’ve really had quite enough of him. It’s time for him to go, which, as he himself set up, can only mean go away permanently.
ETA: For how long will his troops watch their fellow soldiers getting massacred in huge numbers before they quit? Not many soldiers will continuously throw themselves into a meat grinder (aka Roy) before thinking, “hmmm, maybe there’s a better way. Like running away.” These are clearly not elite troops, given how Roy is multi-cleaving them in one shot over and over.
The thing that would really hurt Tarquin the most?
If the Order of the Stick escapes and goes off to Kraagor’s Gate and then never bothers resolving Tarquin’s story. Just leave him as a character like Hilgya that disappears from the strip without being mentioned again.
Sorry, Tarquin, only important characters get closure.
Remember how Roy multi-cleaved all those 60HP mummies? They probably are elite troops. It’s just that Roy’s got a lot of levels on them.
And he does have great cleavage.
Remember what happened to the escaped slaves? I’d rather take my chances against Roy than find out what Tarquin does to deserters. At least with Roy, my death will be swift.
What’s probably worse on the morale than Roy is Durkon. He’s turning a new soldier practically every round (some of them are presumably making their saves), but he can’t keep up… because they’re getting slaughtered by their own fellow soldiers. That’s got to be rough.