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in: Comics, Uses Protection From Law, Uses Bear's Endurance,
and 6 more

Neck and Neck

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The group prepares for, and then begins, their attack on the Vampires. The vampires likewise are preparing for the battle. It begins with the Order sending in a group of giraffes to trigger any traps.

Cast[]

Transcript[]

Panel 1, Page 1

Outside the Banquet Hall entrance; Hilgya is casting Protection from Law on Elan and Haley. Vaarsuvius and Minrah casting buffs on themselves.
Hilgya: There you go.
Elan: Ooooo, tingly! Hey, if I'm Protected from Law now, does that mean—
Haley: You still need to wear pants in public, babe.
Elan: Aww, magic never does anything the fun way.
Roy: So we're all clear on the plan, then? As soon as everyone's done casting, we move.
Vaarsuvius: Bear's Endurance!
Minrah: Bull's Strength!
Belkar: Cat's Disgrace!
Belkar: As in, you better poop before the battle starts, Mr. Scruffy.
Mr Scruffy: Mrow.

Panel 2, Page 1

Vampire Dwarf with Green Messy Hair: Master, I think I hear them!
"Durkon": Good, good.

Panel 3, Page 1

"Durkon": Everyone take your places and do any last-minute buffs.
"Durkon": Remember: the elf first, then the cleric of Thor.
"Durkon": Unless they're taken out by the spell-traps. Then, I don't know, kill the bard, I guess?
Vampire Dwarf with Red Ponytail: Shield of Faith!
CotS Vampire with Long Hair: Recitation!

Panel 4, Page 1

"Durkon": Not exactly a cool evil throne befitting someone of my power, but Xykon had one of those and how far did it get him?
CotS Vampire with Long Hair: I don't know who that is.
"Durkon": Doesn't matter, he'll be dead tomorrow.

Panel 5, Page 1

Cut to inside Durkon's head.
"Durkon": Well, Durkon, this is it. Time for me to kill all your friends.
Durkon: Och, then get on wit it already.

Panel 6, Page 1

Durkon: It's def'nitely time for tha big fight scene.

Panel 7, Page 1

Cut back to outside the banquet hall. Roy throws something down the passage.
Roy: Alright, go! Go, go, go!!

Panel 8, Page 1

Vampire Dwarf with Green Messy Hair: They're coming!
Vampire Dwarf with Green Messy Hair: They're coming!

Panel 9, Page 1

"Durkon": Welcome to Round Two, Roy.
"Durkon": I think you'll find that this time, you won't be saved by some surprise magic trick you pull from your—

Panel 1, Page 2

Four chaos giraffes charge in, mounted by a beaver, a rat and a badger.
Bag of Tricks Rat: Woooooo!

Panel 2, Page 2

"Durkon" watches in confused surprise.

Panel 3, Page 2

Hilgya: What? They're cheap to summon and have a ton of hit points.

D&D Context[]

  • "Buffs" is a term borrowed from video gaming which refers to spells which enhance a character's combat statistics for the period of their duration. Some may not last long so they are cast just before combat starts to have maximum effect. All the spells cast in this strip except for the monster summoning would be considered buffs.
  • Protection from Law is a first level cleric spell which gives bonuses to armor class and saving throws against lawful creatures. As Haley points out to Elan, however, it doesn't protect one from being arrested.
  • Bear's Endurance is a 2nd level spell which gives +4 to constitution.
  • Bull's Strength is a 2nd level spell which gives +4 to strength.
  • "Cat's Disgrace" is a parody of Cat's Grace, a 2nd level spell which gives +4 to dexterity.
  • Shield of Faith is a 1st level cleric spell which gives +2 to armor class, and an additional +1 for every six levels of the caster. The vampire dwarf with red ponytail is of unknown level.
  • Recitation is a 4th level cleric spell which gives +2 to saving throws for all allies nearby. It would additionally incur penalties on the caster's enemies had they been within range of the spell, which they likely are not. The spell is not in the SRD. It was first published in the 2004 Complete Divine for D&D 3.5 edition.
  • Hilgya summoned the giraffes off-panel, so it's not clear which spell she used to summon them, but it likely would be Summon Monster III or IV.
  • Roy summoned the small animals riding the giraffes with his Bag of Tricks, which he is holding in the final panel.
  • The creatures were sent in not just as a diversion, but to trigger the Symbol of Death that "Durkon" cast on the ceiling of the hall (See #1109). The spell only affects a maximum of 150 hit points. The combined seven animals ought to be pretty close to that total if not exceeding it, so it would be used up before the PCs begin combat.

Trivia[]

  • Roy last used his bag of tricks to summon the a dog and a rat to help search the desert for Girard's Gate in #692.
  • "Xykon had one of those" is a reference to similair dais that Xykon had in the Dungeon of Dorukan as seen in #105.
  • This is the first appearance of the Chaos Giraffes, the Vampire Dwarf with Blue Cap and the Vampire Dwarf with Purple Boots.
  • The Vampire Dwarf with Blue Curly Hair appears here having apparently escaped the Order off-panel in #1105. She was previously depicted outside the forcecage in #1104.
  • In Panel 1, Elan references the edict that Therkla (Disguised as Banjo) gave him that "pants should always be forsaken whenever possible" in #559.

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