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Vaarsuvius arrives to survey the wreckage of their cabin.

Cast[]

Transcript[]

Panel 1

Felix and Kwesi enter the room, looking with shock at the results of the explosion: all the rats are dead, and Blackwing and Mr. Scruffy are lying on the ground dazed.
Blackwing: I'm a wizard, Harry!
Vaarsuvius (off-panel): Stand aside!

Panel 2

Blackwing: Oh, cool, you're here. I'm OK.
Vaarsuvius: I became suspicious when your emotions transitioned to resigned acceptance and wistful regret.
Felix: Where did all these rats come from?

Panel 3

Blackwing: The vampire summoned them, right before he stole our giant swirly-thing and left.
Vaarsuvius: Master Thundershield did this?
Blackwing: No, some off-brand version.

Panel 4

Mr. Scruffy is checking on Bloodfeast.
Vaarsuvius (off-panel): I apologize for not coming immediately upon the first sign of distress.
Mr. Scruffy: Meoww?
Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator: Hurrrrr.

Panel 5

Blackwing: Nah, it's my fault for crying wolf so often. I'm very bauble-insecure.
Vaarsuvius: I will accept, in compromise, that we both have flaws upon which we are must[sic] continue to improve.
Blackwing: Deal.

Panel 6

Blackwing: Oh! But you have to help Little Whiskers!
Vaarsuvius: Who?
Blackwing: The tiger! The vampire drained a lot of his blood before the big boom!

Panel 7

Vaarsuvius: I have no means to aid this beast, but I can bring him to his mistress.
Blackwing: OK, yes! Let's do that.

Panel 8

Vaarsuvius: Bugsby's Cat-Retrieving Hand!
Blackwing: I don't know what's weirder—that you keep preparing that spell, or that you keep needing it.

Panel 9

Vaarsuvius: I must applaud your creativity, using my scroll offensively in such an unorthodox manner.
Blackwing: And see, a few years ago you probably would've been mad that I wasted it.
Vaarsuvius: I fear you are correct, though such a reaction would have been deplorable on my part.

Panel 10

Vaarsuvius: You safety and well-being are of far greater concern than the preservation of a mere magic item.
Blackwing: Thanks, V. I really appreciate that.

Panel 11

Vaarsuvius: And even putting aside the emotional or moral impact, a strict numerical analysis would show that I would lose many more experience points from a familiar dying than I would by scribing a replacement scroll.
Blackwing: Let's just put, "Not quitting while you're ahead," on that list of flaws for you to work on.

D&D Context[]

  • Bugsby's Cat-Retrieving Hand is, of course, not a canonical D&D spell. However it plays on the several "hand" spells named for the Archmage Bigby. Bigby was a character played by D&D creator Gary Gygax. Originally created by Bob Kuntz as an NPC henchmen for Gygax's Mordenkainen, Bigby became a PC in his own right and a member of Gygax's Circle of Eight. Due to copyright constraints, the name cannot be used in the SRD and in this comic it is parodied variously as "Bugsby" or "Bixby".
  • Bloodfeast the Extreme-Inator is shown to be barely harmed by the rat swarm. This is due to him having formerly been an Allosaurus, and therefore, by the rules of Baleful Polymorph, maintaining several aspects of his original form, including his hit point total.
  • Scribing a scroll of Locate Creature costs 28XP (base cost / 25). Replacing a familiar costs the wizard 200 XP/level. In Vaarsuvius' case this would be 3,200 XP, considerably more than the scroll cost.

Trivia[]

  • Blackwing saying "I'm a wizard, Harry!" is a reference to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, where Hagrid first revealed to Harry that he was a wizard by telling him "Yer a wizard, Harry!"
  • Bugsby's Cat-Retrieving Hand was last seen in use in comic #781, "Companions".
  • This is the last appearance of the rats, the Mischief of Hel. A Mischief is the collective noun for a group of rats. They first appeared in #1014, "Aw, Rats!"

External Links[]

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