Level 12: #32
Chapter: Level 12 — Post-Mortem
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Another mailbag week is coming up soon! Got questions? Send them to mike AT rustyandco.com !
Princess takes no BS.
Wonder if Zar forget her prestige class? Dungeonmaster’s girlfriend, wasn’t it from her first appearance?
Man, that is proper deplomacy.
Forget the “Dungeonmaster’s gilfriend” prestige class, never mess with a high level Noble.
Stabs approves. (Mimic’s a bit nervous.)
Stabitha just appreciates someone who isn’t afraid to take a stab at the problem, is on point, and cuts straight to the heart of the matter.
Excellent reasoning, Princess
Panel three is where Zar lost the argument. There’s already two examples in this arc where things have gone differently than he remembers. It’ll happen more and more if he sticks to the same strategy.
It’s so much better than that. The first panel, she provokes him by comparing him to the weasely, self-serving nobles. He gets pissed enough to admit he’s doing something, and she outlines his methods and reasons for doing so. Then she gives the reasons why he can’t continue using that strategy in the third panel.
When we finally get to the fourth panel where she lays out her ultimatum, he no longer has any choice but to obey. The Princess has fully outmaneuvered him. He can’t pretend that he’s not manipulating them. He can’t pretend that the manipulation is necessary to succeed since it ISN’T succeeding. He can’t even call her bluff, since history has shown that the Princess doesn’t bluff.
The Princess seems to approach politics the same way she approaches combat: by overwhelming her opponents and crushing their ability to resist.
More and more in ANY event.
If a dude who knows the future keep saying ‘This is not how it happened’, then it’s clear there’s a spanner in the works.
Sending in your mechanics (The party) without clear instructions on how to fix it ain’t going to get it fixed, Zar.
If it’s already changing due to outside influences; Keeping your fixers ignorant to prevent changes is…stupid in the extreme. It’s already changed. Give up and be helpful. 😛
I see she’s holding a lighter, but I’m imagining she lit that cigarette on Zar’s head.
A certified “I hate what you’re saying, but you’re right” moment
Absolutely, especially between two people who don’t like being told what to do! (at least that’s how I interpret Zar getting so angry that his eyes turn completely red. The last time I recall him getting that angry was on the trip to the circus, when he glared at MADDIE when she insisted on getting a little extra help)
Of all the fights Princess imagined getting into today, I don’t know if she expected fighting for command — but she did it!
I don’t think the red glow is from anger, I interpreted it as Zar using whatever his oracular divination powers are to check Princess’s arguments and basically only finding confirmation that she’s right so he yields.
Could be both. He’s using his powers in a fit of anger. Perhaps Derek’s technique was picked up from that. (The one where he can show Stabs how a fight with the Princess would go.)
There was a time she’d just be telling Zar to explain what they need to do already because she was getting impatient and wanted to get back to smoking and/or drinking in peace and quiet. But now, she’s got a greater purpose behind her actions, and instead of dismissing Zar’s reasoning, she sympathizes with it before pointing out why it’s not working, and why he needs to change tactics. Thus, instead of coming off as an impetulant womanchild, Princess is sounding like the mature, reasonable leader her kingdom needs her to be, all without sacrificing her feisty temperament and direct language that have come to define her. A pretty impressive example of character development.
Zar’s insistence that he’s not engaged in politics just means he’s bad at politics.
He’s not upset that she’s accusing him of being manipulative, he’s upset she’s comparing him to “court politicians” or as we’d call them today “special interest groups”.
Which, I mean yeah. He’s all about saving reality, not making everything worse for everyone except the mega-corps and the super wealthy.
Politics is the natural process of human relations. Anything that involves 5 or more dollars or people is politics. Any randomly selected group of 5 people contains at least 2 political parties, 3 interest groups, and 5 opinions. Politics is how people work out those differences.
Politics is how one person in the party makes a lot of money at the expense of the others.
Page 777 and Dorilys isn’t even onscreen!
At least Cube is though. Same color, so it kinda counts, right?
Of note is Stabitha’s smug smirk, in contrast with Madeline’s worry. She sees what the Princess is doing, and is clearly approving. Maybe even a little impressed.
Mimic, OTOH, is first anxious and then delighted
Very nice to see Princess tear someone apart verbally instead of with her fists. How high is her Charisma score to make him go from angry to agreeing wit her???
Charisma’s got nothing to do with it. Princess is using cold, hard logic. If anything, that’s Intellect mixed with Wisdom.
Nevermind charisma, her wisdom is how she read him like a book and got him dead to rights.
Though she can’t be bad with Cha either considering the concert is still fondly remembered despite making mosh pits look positively comfy.
Monks do get diplomacy as a class skill. Even with a charisma penalty, a monk who invests ranks into it can get it pretty high.
‘Nuff said.
Another mailbag week? Hmm. . . this will be a short level, possibly ending on a cliff-hanger.
Or another mid-level mailbag. Did Anti-M appreciate the last one?
DM: “Ok, Babe…the guys really do want you in the game. I mean, Mimic hunted the whole underworld for you. But they also want to feel like I’m not playing favorites. So if you’re going to convince this guy, you need to give me a good pitch *and* make a good roll.”
Girlfriend: “All right, I say…” {rolls poorly}
DM: “Zar starts glowing red. It looks like he’s going to explode.
Mimic: “C’mon man, forget the dice. That wasn’t a good pitch, that was an awesome pitch!”
DM: “You guys are on board with this? Cause I know we’ve had issues before…
Rusty: “Eat dice!”
Cube: {thumbs up}
If cube grows a thumb I’m going to start having flashbacks to Mimic’s eye….