Lazy dominated Elan doesn’t even make puns. Which means he was using his mediocre Strength stat for bonuses instead of his Charisma stat.
IIRC The sabre is a finesse weapon so he’ll be using Dex.
That’s only to hit, not to damage.
With a name like Chaos Sabre, you’d think it’d do extra damage to the Lawful. Even so, it doesn’t look like Roy’s taken anywhere near the punishment he took in the Thog fight, or the fight at the Godsmoot.
So, what’s in the back room of the temple?
I believe (from a casual reading) that in 3.5 you’d need the Weapon Finesse feat to use Dex with a light weapon. Which, if Elan had from the start, would have made Dashing Swordsman a lot less attractive since he probably has a respectable Dex score already.
When this whole arc began, like thirty or forty years ago, didn’t Durkon convince Greg to hole up in the temple? Or am I misremembering?
An extra 2d6 although Elan could have rolled low. And, as noted, he’s not fighting at his full potential since he’s not using his Dashing Swordsman abilities. Thog, on the other hand, was using the full measure of his impressive strength score when fighting Roy.
Of course, even at full potential, Elan isn’t as capable a damage dealer as Haley, Belkar or Roy.
Yes, I assumed he had it but I’ve just checked the Class & Level Geekery thread and Elan is not listed as having Weapon Finesse, so you may well be right. Of course, it not being listed just means that there’s no evidence for it, so he may well have it.
From the look of things, distraction.
this fight is more exciting than I expected.
As Miller points out, Weapon Finesse is only for attack rolls anyway. Dashing Swordsman allows you to use Charisma in lieu of Strength for damage. So even if Elan is using Finesse for the hits, he’s not doing as much damage as he would be.
So much for “at the speed of thought.”
I think we can assume that’s a flashback.
I think more likely that the “infinite speed of thought” thing only happens when convenient.
Speed of thought is suspiciously close to speed of plot.
Speed of thought means Durkon can’t overload Durkevil with pointless memories. I’m also guessing that fleshy memories (disgusting to the undead) can only be implemented for laughs. Relevant new information might conceivably slow Durkevil down, but I doubt whether Burlew will want to lean on that method. As for “It’s not over yet”, I interpret it as either some sort of literary technique involving parallels or I’m inclined to fanwank it away as coincidence.
I’m expecting much more from this new Durkon memory. Something that leaves Durkevil gobsmacked.
But, although Durkevil has manifested emotions, I’m expecting this to attack on the logical level, like a chess move. Maybe a paradox that throws Durkevil’s whole mission into question. I can’t imagine what that would be.
I admit I’m a bit confused, as timing seems to be an element here. It’s as if the reveal has to be so stunning, it gives Roy an opening that wouldn’t exist if Durkon had revealed this months ago. (“Durkevil, I am your father.”) But that brings us back to the emotional space. And yet there is so much riding on this (and Durkon did say it’s a doozy)- I can’t believe Durkon is depending on Durkevil’s emotional response. So, yes, I’m confused- looking forward to how this plays out.
Specifically, in the banqueting hall. Note that when challenged Durkon answers the second of Greg’s two questions.
I had a crazy though that Durkevil had said something like, “I swear to Hel, if you break our agreement and say anything after this memory is over, I’ll kill your son”, and thus would be forced by his oath to try and do so if Durkon did (which would at minimum break Hilgya out of the Domination, right?). But Durkevil said no such thing, and in any case, Durkon is probably too lawful to put his infant son at risk like that.
Thanks! So the memory is about the back room of the temple, but now they’re in the banquet hall?
Huh.