Level 9: #16
Chapter: Comic, Level 9 — Hotel Califormian
Rusty & Co.
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You’d think she’d have that one on speed-dial.
What, is it a magic Speak-n-Spell? (Heh, spell.)
LOL
I think that is exactly what it is.
Oh, it’s Knightmare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsA6Fhj0NxI
I would have gone with a magic Spell & Spell, but that’s because having a redundant name spoofing on an actual children’s toy makes me smile.
I think it’s a spell-n-spell
Aren’t paladins usually pretty dang good at saving throws?
Maddie survived swimming through lava, I think her fortitude saves are impressive enough to fight even artifact magic.
If she were facing a will save though…
In both PF and 5E Paladins have a good will/wisdom save, and get a further bonus on saves equal to their charisma. Maddie might have dumped intelligence, but she’s too adoreable not to have sky-high charisma, and she likely has a decent wisdom too, so her will saves should be very good (though admittedly, she *was* dominated by a vampire back in 6-43…)
The bigger question is whether the artifact allows saving throws, or if it’s a “no save, just lose” deal.
Eh, it’s pointless to speculate about saving throws. Everyone rolls a natural 1 or natural 20 occasionally, so in a comic rather than a real game, the outcome can be whatever the plot calls for.
Though it should be noted that (A) canonical Flesh to Stone requires a Fortitude save, and (B) an artifact‘s save DCs are probably pretty high. Assuming that this is the actual artifact we’re looking for (Flesh to Stone is also a transmutation spell, not necromancy), and not some lesser magic item.
The comic does appear to run mostly on 3.5e rules (with some houserules), not Pathfinder or 5e.
Plotwise, while it’s nice to see Madeline being awesome, it’s also clear that she’s not supposed to resolve the entire plot on her own. At some point, she’s going to need Rusty and Yuan-Tiffany to get going and help out.
I notice the actual effect is held off until next week. . . then, it may just be for increasing the drama.
> At some point, she’s going to need Rusty and Yuan-Tiffany to get going and help out.
“I told you; I’m SSSSHEDDING! I sssswear, if thossse varmints wake me up in the middle of the night one more time…”
In TSR D&D, Fighters had the best saving throw progression, and Paladins had Fighter saving throws with a +2 bonus.
Hasbro decided that was overpowered, nerfed their saving throws into oblivion with 3.x alongside removing their niche as dangerous opponents and their niche as future kings, and neither Fighter nor Paladin has ever really recovered.
Dunno what version this comic looks to for how things are done, but I’m pretty sure it’s one of the Hasbro ones, so Maddie’s chances may not be very good.
Ah, but with the house rules of Rule of Funny AND Rule of Drama!
… I thought it was spelling out “Flesh Tostones” and was very confused
Of course! The artifact is summoning Flesh 2 Stones, the all golem based rock band. Just the music needed to soothe the savage Maddie.
You win the comments this week, I think! ????
Or the Mighty, Mighty Fleshtones.
Fleshtosterone!
Hey, maybe turning somebody to stone when they’re accelerating towards you at Mach Boot-to-the-Head isn’t the most tactically sound idea, lady.
I was thinking the same thing. On the other hand, Statue Maddie will hit you once, while Standard Maddie will keep on hitting you until you quit…
If Statue Maddie pins you you ain’t getting up
Well, since the most obvious comment I wanted to make has already been made, I’m just going to point out: If you’re thinking “This job would be great, if it weren’t for the guests.”, you probably shouldn’t be in the hotel business.
That’s probably a downside of being Lawful Neutral, though. Just because the queen wants to run a hotel, doesn’t mean all the myrmarchs are happy with it, but they’re far too committed to the hive to be able to just leave.
It’s the same problem as having critical hits and failures: The PCs will be on the receiving end of a lot of them, just as management has to spend more time on problem customers and ‘customers*’ than the majority who are tolerable and the minority who are wonderful.
*thieves, grifters, etc.
-Albert
Eh, many jobs are like that… if I could figure out how to get paid without needing to have customers, I’d be a happy man.
Gotta confess, I like the earlier version of Maddie better than the current one:
http://rustyandco.com/comic/level2/level-2-2/
http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-5/
http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-47/
And then suddenly she looks like this:
http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-40/
Isn’t the frazzled hair supposed to be a sign of the stress she’s been under since the rez?
-Albert
Getting killed messed her up. I think it’s an in-character change.
Well Maddie, this is why you shouldn’t go off on your own for these investigations.
But I would not feel so all alone. Remember, everybody must get stoned.
So how does it feel? To be on your own? With no direction home? A complete unknown?
Like a rolling stone?
“And she stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And she stoned me.”
poor guards. They haven’t had faced that kind of spirit here, since 1969
Bravo!
Notice the visual on that zap are the same sparkle-dots that was on the food, the dancers, and the temptations from their hotel room.
I love the way the lettering style follows the “80’s calculator” motif of FL ESH TO STONE. And spreading out the ‘display’ echoed input speed, AND misdirected the (so far) non-gamers (like me).
Looks the hotel management is about to take their paladin guest for granite!
You know, all of you are thinking that she used it on Madeline, but… you know, using it on Madeline, who just lunged at her with blinding speed, might be stupid, turning Madeline into a stone missile, but Madeline is ULTRA GOOD, and would not attack a statue, so she might be using it on her self knowing that if she is a statue, madeline won’t attack her, and that is the only way she comes out of this on top
Heh. Self-petrification to avoid a paladin’s wrath… that’s an interesting theory, and I think it would work, but then just surrendering would be an easier way to achieve the same goal.
Madeline wouldn’t have any reason to attack her if she defeats herself.
I mean Madeline attacking a statue would be killing a defenseless opponent, and these are 3.5 rules, Madeline may even be an “Exalted” from the 3.5 prestige classes now, which could grant her outright immunity to petrification
Just binged the whole comic after hopping over from THBoH.
I wonder how many enemies would surrender if Madeleine and the Princess teamed up? I mean, that’s a Pain Train that was never designed with breaks in mind. Would also be fun to see those two fight each other…