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Vaarsuvius explains the magnitude of the vengeance which has been wreaked upon the Ancient Black Dragon.

Cast[]

Transcript[]

Panel 1

Black Dragon: No...No!
Spliced souls: Yes. Yes. Yes.
Vaarsuvius: Yes.

Panel 2

Vaarsuvius: Every living creature that directly shares your bloodline is dead.
Vaarsuvius: Every living creature that is directly related to any of those creatures is also dead.
Vaarsuvius: Anyone who could possibly make a claim to be part of your family is gone now.

Panel 3

Vaarsuvius: Given you kind's low rate of reproduction, I estimate that I have eliminated approximately one-quarter of the black dragons on the planet.
Spliced soul: A lot of unguarded treasure...
Spliced soul: They should melt it down and make a statue of you!
Spliced soul: Out of gratitude! And fear!

Panel 4

Undead black dragon: You...you MONSTER!
Vaarsuvius: We are all in the Monster Manual somewhere, are we not? My entry lies between Elemental and Ethereal Filcher.

Panel 5

Vaarsuvius: Now no one will come to avenge your defeat. No one will lament your passing.
Vaarsuvius: Think about the fate you have brought upon your family as you suffer in the afterlife.
Spliced soul: You started it anyway.
Spliced soul: Well, sort of.
Spliced soul: You started this part of it, at least.

Panel 6

Vaarsuvius: This—and no less—is the price of threatening my family.
Vaarsuvius: Disintegrate.
The Black Dragon's head is destroyed.

Panel 7

Cut to the Nine Hells where the IFCC watches surprised and silent.

Panel 8

Qarr: Wow...you guys weren't kidding when you said the elf's alignment might be affected.
Lee: Actually...
Cedrik: ...we were

Panel 9

Lee: The truth is, those three souls have absolutely no power to alter the elf's alignment or actions at all.
Cedrik: They have about as much effect on what the elf does as a cheerleader has on the final score of a game.

Panel 10

Nero: A good way to get a decent person to do something horrible is to convince them that they're not responsible for their actions.
Cedrik: It's like if you were at a party where someone has been drinking beer that they didn't know was non-alcoholic. They might seem drunk anyway, simply because they were expecting it.

Panel 11

Nero: Geez, can you come up with one similie[sic] that isn't a thinly-disguised reference to your university days?
Cedrik: Sorry...
Cedrik: I just always have my old college buddies on my mind at this time of year for some reason.

Panel 12

A snapshot of Cedrik with the Duke Blue Devils mascot and the Arizona State Sun Devils mascot.

D&D Context[]

  • Vaarsuvius' quip in panel 4 refers to the entry for "Elf" in the D&D Monster Manual.
  • Disintegrate is a 6th-level spell for sorcerers and wizards, which causes up to 40d6 damage (as V would while Soul Spliced). It is worth noting that this is also the spell which V used to kill the dragon's child.

Trivia[]

  • The last two panels and the title draw the reader's attention to the fact that at the date of this strip's publication, the annual NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament (a.k.a "March Madness") was underway and had progressed to the regional round ("sweet sixteen").
  • The two college mascots in the final panel both represent colleges which have historically had strong basketball programs. They are:

External Links[]

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