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New strip is up !!!
Collision Testing
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It's fine, thanks!
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Out of curiosity, I went back and found where Tarquin lost his dagger.
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I initially interpreted it to mean he went and stabbed Durkon, got dominated overboard and hauled up again, and took that as a successful test of the dagger.
Now that you've pointed that out, I think you're right: the dagger was showing him the future (it is psychic, and Rich made the point of telling us that instead of just treating it as magic.)
Raises the question of why Tarquin didn't see the outcome of using it before, though.
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It didn't "do" anything except get stabbed into Durkula.
It's a gag: he's not sure about it ("it'll take some getting used to"), then tests it on Durkula, succeeds in stabbing him, gets mind-controlled off the side, annoys Roy, and returns (notice his walking feet in the last panel) with "It's fine, thanks." indicating he's satisfied with it.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Ross, but since I came to a different conclusion, I'm leaving mine up. :)
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Raises the question of why Tarquin didn't see the outcome of using it before, though.
Cause the dagger didn't like him. Everyone (including psychic daggers) like the cute halflings.
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Also:
Now that you've pointed that out, I think you're right: the dagger was showing him the future (it is psychic, and Rich made the point of telling us that instead of just treating it as magic.)
... he actually only notes that it's psionic (which is what Laurin is), and thus explained its origins. Probably notes a psionic enhancement instead of a magical one.
Tarquin had money and other spellcasting allies. It could easily have been a magic weapon. You're right that it could just be a continuity nod, but I'm having a hard time not seeing it as some kind of Chekov's Gun.
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I think it's very specifically a collision weapon.
EDIT: To be clear, the title is "collision testing" and there is an enhancement called "collision" on psionic weapons that functions more or less exactly like V is describing; and the title is (again) "collision testing", which seems like it's exactly what Belkar was doing in the last three panels.
Hence, to me, it just seems to be a combination mechanic descriptor in-character, a way to set up V's non-whole-hearted embrace of Durkula, and a double-callback-cum-joke. (Call back to Laurin's psionic elements, and Belkar's recent drop off, part two.)
It probably is a set-up for something, after all, you may recall that Elan received a magical sword (I think it was magic) much earlier on... and it broke, quickly, as it was set-up to do (by Belkar "swearing hard enough").
Hence I've no question that there's something there, but I don't know what. And it's not called out as being something with the gift of foresight. At least not yet. (Not entirely sure there's a psionic item like that, anyway.)
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It didn't "do" anything except get stabbed into Durkula.
It's a gag: he's not sure about it ("it'll take some getting used to"), then tests it on Durkula, succeeds in stabbing him, gets mind-controlled off the side, annoys Roy, and returns (notice his walking feet in the last panel) with "It's fine, thanks." indicating he's satisfied with it.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Ross, but since I came to a different conclusion, I'm leaving mine up. :)
Ok, I think you're right. The dagger didn't do anything. I think Belkar did actually stab Durkon, go overboard, and get hauled back in by Roy. The suddenness of it just seemed like a pyschic flash or something, but looking at the last panel, he's walking back in on V, who is sitting in a different position than when s/he gave B the knife (and the cat is done eating).
Ah! I was unaware of the collision property. That does make it make more sense.
I don't recall Belkar breaking a sword by swearing at it, but I'm sure I can find it.
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Here ya go
I don't think that one was magical, though. It was just his starting rapier that he never really got a chance to use.
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Not that I ever liked the weapon property to begin with, but why make it a Collision weapon and not a Mercurial one? One's an enchantment, the other is a property of the weapon itself. The former could technically be negated (at least temporarily), while the latter could not.
Unless there's a glaring reason I'm missing?
-edit-
Never mind. One does more damage, the other has a higher crit multiplier.
I are smrat.
-edit edit-
I am also Groot.
Here ya goI don't think that one was magical, though. It was just his starting rapier that he never really got a chance to use.
You're right, it may not have been magical. I was blending it with this comic in my head (which comes afterwards)
My point, however, was merely twofold.
One: I don't think we've had a weapon introduced specifically that hasn't had some sort of callback or significance later, but there are a few that either haven't stuck around, or their significance is past.
Two: Uh... I had another one. Then a toddler of mine started playing Nyan Cat on Talking Tom. I'm... I've no idea what I was going to say.
EDIT: I am Groot.
Can you make mercurial daggers? I know there's mercurial longswords and greatswords (thanks NWN!) but I'm not familiar with that particular trait being applied to other weapons.
Can you make mercurial daggers? I know there's mercurial longswords and greatswords (thanks NWN!) but I'm not familiar with that particular trait being applied to other weapons.
The D&D Wiki only has stats for medium sized weapons, but it doesn't say that you can't - only that they're tougher to create, apply high non-proficiency penalties, and cost more.
Honestly, considering that a mercurial weapon has an inner compartment partly filled with mercury that shifts the weapon's center of weight when swung, making a mercurial dagger would be completely useless. A dagger is a thrusting weapon that doesn't get much of its damage that way. That, and the possible shift of weight would be quite small.
If you're discussing reality, of course.
Honestly, considering that a mercurial weapon has an inner compartment partly filled with mercury that shifts the weapon's center of weight when swung, making a mercurial dagger would be completely useless. A dagger is a thrusting weapon that doesn't get much of its damage that way. That, and the possible shift of weight would be quite small.
If you're discussing reality, of course.
A dagger is a thrusting weapon in terms of game mechanics.
However, I can assure you that my knife fighting and swordsmanship classes all classify a dagger as a "use it however you want to use it" weapon, and teach the use of the implement as thrusting, slicing, and blocking.
So, "game reality," sure, it's classified as a Type P For Piercing weapon. Since weapon types are very useful for game mechanics, this is fine.
"Real World Combat" reality, which is not at all the same thing I grant you, says that there's no reason a dagger shouldn't be a P/S weapon and sometimes even a B. ;)
Dude, daggers are P or S.
I knew that, I swear I did, so why the heck did I write what I wrote the way I wrote it?
I blame Evil Gnomes (not to be confused with Good or Neutral Gnomes), and the fact that I was holding three conversations at once.
But as a P/S weapon, there's no reason not to stick some mercury in there and go to town with the Crit Feats, yeah?
It possesses maximal efficiency enhancements in addition to psionically shifting its mass as you strike to increase force.
Some of you are overthinking this, and misreading. There's no mercury. It's "psionically shifting."
The TL;DR version of V's explanation is simply: It's a psionically crafted +5 dagger.
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It's a +5 collision dagger, as the title and description of that item property would indicate.
No one thinks it has mercury - They are comparing the collision property with the idea of having a mercurial dagger.
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Gnomes are always Evil.
It's a nice thread you've got here.
Would be a pity if something happened to it...
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Gnomes are always Evil.It's a nice thread you've got here.
Would be a pity if something happened to it...
He's right. You can't claim they are actually evil, until you can manage to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Good luck with that one.
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He's right. You can't claim they are actually evil, until you can manage to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Good luck with that one.We've seen exactly one gnome in the comic so far as I recall. Thus, Always Evil.
2 actually. So, mostly evil since we don't know that other one wasn't evil?
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That's kind of clever.
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How about that, Roy passed a Listen check. Sense Motive is another story.
I think it's interesting how Roy and company have now reached the point where NPC's are considering them to be the big "hero" types.
I know it's been a long run to get there, but having spent so much time having the OOTS get kicked around/ordered around/outgunned it seems curious to see them be looked at in such a way.
To me, the whole airship sequence has become a character building and storyline reset. Not complaining, after the extended Tarquin sequence, I can see it being helpful in setting the next leg of the story. I could see getting an Elan/Haley or Varsuvius vignette before this is done as well.
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I think it's interesting how Roy and company have now reached the point where NPC's are considering them to be the big "hero" types.
I know it's been a long run to get there, but having spent so much time having the OOTS get kicked around/ordered around/outgunned it seems curious to see them be looked at in such a way.
To me, the whole airship sequence has become a character building and storyline reset. Not complaining, after the extended Tarquin sequence, I can see it being helpful in setting the next leg of the story. I could see getting an Elan/Haley or Varsuvius vignette before this is done as well.
Well, it is the start of a new book.
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I think it's interesting how Roy and company have now reached the point where NPC's are considering them to be the big "hero" types.
I know it's been a long run to get there, but having spent so much time having the OOTS get kicked around/ordered around/outgunned it seems curious to see them be looked at in such a way.
This is exactly how my PC felt in RotRL, going from lousy no-good backwater punk to noble savior and hero within just a few in-game months.
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New strip up: Just Think How Many Times He's Seen Himself Naked
I think it is pretty clear where Rich stands on the iCloud security breach a week or two ago... :)
I'm thinking that when we arrive at the Dwarven Lands, we are going to meet Durkon's Chaotic cousin.
I'll be interested to see in what capacity.
I'm thinking that when we arrive at the Dwarven Lands, we are going to meet Durkon's Chaotic cousin.
I hope they get somewhere soon. I'm ready for things to happen in the comic, not just character moments and plot set-up. Especially with the slow update schedule.
Gripe whine complain. Entitlement. Bellyachin'.