Typically, rangers are the best at tracking (though rogues can be pretty good at it, too, if they try), but not particularly good with traps.
Rogues are good at finding and disarming or circumventing traps that are already in place, but no class is particularly good at setting traps.
Not to mention the MitD, who could disarm traps just by setting them off and being tickled by them.
https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1217.html
That’s Durkon, always being considerate.
Neat. Didn’t see that twist ahead of time.
I guess we’re on the every-other-week plan now. Oh well.
I guess Durkon really didn’t have any other exfiltration plan besides running away. Just boggling. And his is the class with the high Wisdom, too… I doubt it would work, but did anyone else think when seeing the artwork of Greyview entering the dungeon, of closing the doors and holding them shut with something like a U-shaped bike lock?
Most important bit of info to come out of this comic:
The sound of someone emerging from a Meld into Stone spell is “Sklun”
Yeah, unless there’s a big reveal this whole escapade has been 1 grade-A idiotball idea. There is absolutely no reason why Durkon or Minrah should still be alive right now, and the fact they got lucky is not a good excuse.
Trying to negotiate with Redcloak with a solid extraction plan, (or at least a way to send OotS a final message) would have been a reasonable choice, even against Roy’s wishes.
No, but now that you mention it, a Hold Portal spell would do just as well. Unfortunately, that’s not a cleric spell.
I mean, I get why Durkon felt obligated to try to negotiate with RC. RC is essential to Thor’s idea to permanently handle the Snarl. (Aside, if the MITD really is a divine remnant from the Western(?) Pantheon, and if the “Escape” scene was accomplished through Wish, maybe the Dark One isn’t absolutely essential?)
I just don’t understand how, on the Gods’ Green Earth, Durkon thought he could simply run away from a Cleric as strong as RC, with an accomplice capable of Overland Flight and Teleport. That’s an Elan-level of stupidity.
EDIT: @dtilque , does it depend on how strong the doors and hinges are? Moreover, why do the monsters in Monster Hollow never try to leave it? Are they Geased not to? Is there a dimensional warp between the dungeon space and Stickworld, and the monsters have an implant or mark that prevents them from utilizing the warp?
I figure that Durkon’s lack of a great Plan B is reflective of how confident he was that Plan A was going to work and that Redcloak would be reasonable. Which, sure, we know that’s dumb but, if tasked by your deity in person to do a thing, maybe you’re a bit more confident that it’s going to be a success. More narrow-sighted than anything else. Plus Durkon realizes the stakes and thought that Redcloak would realize the stakes as well rather than going the “Well, even if the world is destroyed, it’ll probably work out” route.
I can see Plan A: talk to Redcloak, no plan B
Plan A: talk to redcloak, plan B: have Minrah hit Redcloak with a hammer then run away not so much.
d20SRD for Hold Portal says
So they’d have a bit of trouble trying to force it open. Of course, a Dispel Magic will cancel it out.
Given their resources - 2 clerics, one of them fairly low-level - what else could they have done? They had to speak with RC; it was literally a mission from god. That means that Plan A was non-negotiable, and Plan B was the best they could come up with. Especially seeing as while they may be wise, neither of them seem to be burdened with particularly high Intelligence scores.
Two factors about running away as an escape plan:
Durkon and Minrah knew they would be trying to flee from Redcloak and might be trying to flee Xykon; both of whom have spells that dispel magic. They may have decided ti would be a good idea to have a escape plan that didn’t involve the use of magic.
It’s working. Durkon and Minrah may have set up an escape plan that used magic. But if they can escape without using up any spells, they’re going to do it. They have no idea what spells they might desperately need later in this day so it’s best not to waste any.
Yeah, this was my take. Durkon absolutely had to have that conversation with Redcloak*.
Getting out alive, and bringing the info to Roy are both nice, but neither was necessary the way talking to Redcloak was. They made the best plan they could come up with, and hey, it looks like it might even work.
** which may not have been a failure, even if it wasn’t an immediate success. Redcloak may change his mind after considering the new information he received. He may try to talk to the Dark One in some way.
I’d forgotten all about Greyview. That almost went south in a hurry.
Yay for villains being too stupid not to sound the alarm first and monologue later.
I don’t think Grewview is stupid. He doesn’t care. He is just doing his job, so he will get treats. He actually DID care about his nose being confused, so that’s what he addressed first.
I was ‘hearing’ Greyview with the voice of Dug from Up only throatier.
OK, Roy realising he’s in a story and relying on Elan to tell him how the story is going to go is possibly the best example of character growth this comic has yet seen, and it’s seen a lot.