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| O-Chul | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Hometown | |
| First Comic | |
| Last Comic | |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Human |
| Gender |
Male |
| Hair color |
Blue (Beard) |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Affiliation |
Azure City Refugees |
| Class |
Fighter/Paladin |
| Alignment |
Lawful Good |
| Known masters | |
| D&D Stats | |
O-Chul is a Paladin who is a high-ranking member of the Sapphire Guard. Prior to becoming a Paladin, O-Chul was a fighter for twelve years. He is first seen when he is guarding the throne room just before the Order of the Stick visit Lord Shojo while the latter was feeding Mr. Scruffy. He then was sent to transport the Linear Guild arrestees in prison.
Along with Lien, he was charged with the duty of transporting Miko to her prison cell. During the planning for the defense of Azure City, he agreed to guard Soon's Gate with his life, stating that he and his paladins "will gladly lay down [their] lives in the defense of the tower." On the night before the battle, he reprimanded Haley for treating the oncoming assault flippantly, prompting her to spend the time she had left before the battle with Elan.
Biography
Battle of Azure City
O-Chul was first seen guarding the throne room while Lord Shojo was was feeding Mr. Scruffy, after which he was tasked with transporting the arrested members of the Linear Guild to the anti-magic cells, without writing down their names in the prison records. He later transported the fallen Paladin Miko Miyazaki to prison after she was knocked out by Roy Greenhilt. He was one of those present at the War Council.
During the battle, when Xykon entered the throne room he was immediately met by and set upon by nearly the entire Sapphire Guard, led by O-Chul. However, Xykon had inscribed a symbol of insanity on a bouncy ball and thrown it around the room, which drove nearly the entire Sapphire Guard to set upon each other. O-Chul then realized that to prevent Xykon from taking control of Soon's gate, he would have to destroy it. However, just as he raised his blade to strike, Xykon paralyzed him, just as the last of the Guard regained her sanity and committed suicide (possibly seppuku) out of grief and shame over what she had done while under the influence of the Symbol. Miko commandeered his blade and used it to shatter the sapphire holding the Gate closed. Hinjo believed it was O-Chul who shattered the sapphire and mourned his death, though it was later revealed O-Chul's (still) paralyzed form was thrown clear of the blast and landed in the middle of a tea party held by the Monster In The Darkness, along with the body of Roy.
O-Chul's paralyzed stance
When Haley and Belkar went to collect dead Roy's body, they found the Monster and decided to rescue O-Chul as well. When he complained about his loneliness, a Demon Roach told him to stomp his feet, that created a series of huge fissures in the ground which Roy falls into. Belkar then threw O-Chul in order to help Haley pull Roy back. O-Chul was then recollected by the Monster, but not before "playing" Monopoly with it as the Banker.
Captive
During the three months of Team Evil's occupation of Azure City, O-Chul had been actively tortured by Redcloak for information about Girard's Gate while often being put to life-threatening situations for Xykon's amusement. Redcloak's latest interrogation attempt had him threatening O-Chul to throw groups of prisoners either into the rift or off the tower. However O-Chul has stated that he himself lacks any knowledge whatsoever of the other Gates, which seemed to have been proven true through multiple sources, including Psionic and Magical. O-Chul ultimately accepted that the prisoners will die, seeing that there was nothing he could do and seeing that the Twelve Gods tasked him with enduring. Redcloak, now certain that O-Chul knew nothing, commanded his hobgoblins to release the prisoners back to their cells, where they told stories of his heroic stubbornness and will, this despite Redcloak's attempt to spin the situation as O-Chul uncaringly allowing their deaths, while Redcloak spared them.
Escape
O-Chul was returned to his own cage, next to the box of the very Monster in the Darkness. It was there revealed that the two have been regarding each other on a friendly level, and have been sharing their daily food with each other as well as playing games with each other (O-Chul has mentioned teaching the Monster how to play Go). The Monster still referred to O-Chul as "Mr. Stiffly" despite O-Chul's constant attempts to correct the Monster; O-Chul refers to him as "Monster-san."
Suddenly, Vaarsuvius teleported into the City to kill Xykon. Taking advantage of the surprise, he broke a bar from his cage and stabbed a Cockroach with it. He bid the Monster farewell, and only then did it call O-Chul by his name correctly. O-Chul charged against Redcloak, survived Disintegrate, stabbed his right eye and removed his phylactery, but the Goblin was able to cast Word of Recall before being killed. O-Chul killed Jirix with the bar and in vain tried to destroy the phylactery that would kill Xykon; he withstood his Meteor Swarm but not the Maximized Lighting Bolt.
Meanwhile Xykon withdrew his attention from V who now became invisible. V tried to escape but changed the mind, found healing potions from Jirix' body and helped O-Chul to regain his health and once more grasped Xykon's phylactery while trying to strangle V. The two started to run away from the lich and V sent Blackwing to throw the phylactery in the rift.
Having no hope of escape, O-Chul charged against Xykon, who responded with a Mass Hold Person. But before dealing with them, he flew behind Blackwing to retrieve the amulet. O-Chul managed to break free from the spell, but Xykon appeared once more, angry for losing the amulet. Preparing to cast Meteor Swarm inside V's and O-Chul's mouths, the Monster begged them to "escape", teleporting both V and O-Chul above Lien and Hinjo.
Upon his return, O-Chul debriefed Hinjo with the intelligence he collected while captive, including a near complete list of Xykon's spells, which he gave to Roy. He also thanked Belkar for abandoning him, due to the advantages the group gained from this act. However, O-Chul also threatened to kill Belkar if he ever treated anyone else in this manner. He then departed with Lien to check in on Kraagor's Gate, as with the destruction of Soon's Gate, the Sapphire Guard was free of their oath not to look in on the other Gates. Since then, O-Chul has been seen briefly on an small island during a period of rain, which helps O-Chul sleep.
Since he has departed Azure City, O-Chul's efforts to encourage the Monster to think for itself are beginning to show themselves; as the monster is seen endeavoring to discover what became of O-Chul and hoping for his safety.
Powers and Abilities
- Fighter Training: Before being recruited as a Paladin, O-Chul had been a Fighter for twelve years. Though this is evident through his extreme durability and fighting skills, it has come back to bite him when he took levels in Paladin, as he had made Charisma his dump stat.
- Paladin Training: After twelve years of being a Fighter, O-Chul was recruited as a Paladin, and was described as the toughest member of the Sapphire Guard.
- Smite Evil: As a Paladin, O-Chul is entitled to usage of the Smite Evil power, which he notably paired with a broken cage bar to take out Redcloak's right eye.
- Aura of Courage: As a Paladin, O-Chul is immune to fear.
- Extreme Durability: Possibly his greatest strength, O-Chul has been rightfully described as "the toughest Sapphire guardsman" by Hinjo, and has survived events that would have killed a normal human. He survived the explosion of Soon's Gate at point blank range, the same explosion that blasted the nearby Miko Miyazaki with enough force to fatally bisect her, and survived the fall after being blown clear of the castle, which was several miles out of Azure City. He survived being Xykon's "entertainment" for several months, facing several deadly challenges including an acid-breathing shark, two dozen dire wallabies and a staring contest with a basilisk as well as going through regular torture sessions with Redcloak. He was described by Xykon as being "like the Energizer bunny, a Rolex watch and Jackie Chan mixed together", and his Constitution was stated to be in the mid-twenties. Furthermore, he managed to get a list of most of Xykon's spells and magical items, in his own words, "One saving throw at a time".
- Strategic Mind: During the preparations for the Battle of Azure City, he was amongst the strategists present at the War Council. In addition, he managed to teach Go to the Monster in the Darkness, as well as giving it a philosophical meaning. Furthermore, he is extremely adaptable. While in captivity, he managed to take advantage of the situation to get Xykon's spell list, developed a friendship with the Monster in the Darkness and nudged him away from evil a bit, and when he escaped was in position to destroy his phylactery.