Dungeon Run: A Link in Your Chain
Chapter: Comics, Season Five
It looks like Dallas is fighting fire with more terrifying fire.
I’m going to put a link here to a thing that is relevant to what is coming but could be spoilery for the folks who do not know about it. Â So click at your discretion.
Commenters: Fire at will though. Feel free to discuss what the chains mean, etc.
HOVER-TEXT: Dove is crapping a chain chain chainnnnnnnnn… chain of stooooools
That’s given me a disturbing mental image.
I…I get that reference. I feel old now…
Must…fight…the urge…to roll for a bard named Aretha.
That’d be so awesome!
Nope, not speculating, this is like christmas and I don’t want to spoil anything for myself!
Dammit Brian, don’t you dare leave on a cliffhanger like this!
It’s just like 48 hours. That’s hardly a cliffhanger, now if it were an entire weekend, 72 hours. That’d be a horrible awful cliffhanger.
Hah, Dove focused on going op with the rules, Dallas is gonna lay the smack down with the lore. Perfect way to teach him a lesson.
Ahhh, the looooooooooooore. I love me a good backstory.
Love. Love. LOVE.
Love love LOVE that look of terror on Dove’s face when he doesn’t know what’s going on! If it is the Chain Lord… who is he here for? Tyraxion maybe? (Thus nullifying the deal possibly and taking Dove down in the process, as well…maybe?)
Either way, can’t wait for the next update!
Well, there are three souls, at least, sitting inside Tyraxion’s heart that should be on their way to Valkyre’s domain right now.
I suppose it’s probably just the way of speaking, but it seems extremely foreboding for Dove that Sam is saying “You” hear chains.
And I just thought of something… in the Legacy portion of the Chain Lord, it says that they do have descendants….
What if…. Dallas’s character was made as part of that Legacy? OOO! I can’t wait for Friday to see what happens next!
Quite possibly, which means this could all be one massive gambit by Dallas to free the souls of the Pillars. I think I could honestly see that… interesting.
Giggity.
“I know him; Marley’s Ghost!!”
Awww yeah Gabriel my thoughts exactly! Jacob Marley smack down comin right up!
Glad I’m not the only one. 🙂
Point of order, NO Dove you are NOT allowed to see the note!
Damn right he’s not allowed to see that note! Players are allowed to pass notes to the GM at any time, and NO OTHER PLAYER is allowed to see them except under extraordinary circumstances, like their character being able to read minds or some such. Dove is going to go from sh*tting chains to bricks very, very quickly, and it’s going to be GLORIOUS. >:D
What I’d like to know is why he even thought he was allowed to read the note. Too many push-over GMs? (Now that is a scary thought).
“Point of order! I should be allowed to see that note”
“Counter-point! No.”
As a DM, my answer to Dove would have a resounding “nope”.
Ask him why he thinks he should be allowed to see it. I don’t think even he could come up with a B.S. justification for that.
If Dallas’s Ranger worships a god and is praying for aid there is a chance that god will answer her or help her….. A slim to none chance but still a chance…..
With the way this game’s gone, slim chances are far more than slim.
It does seem that everybody brought their best rolling dice to this event. Dove seems to have been rolling 18-20s all game, that we’ve seen.
Everybody but Dustin. Poor Dustin.
Fuck. Yeah.
Wait, she worships Valkyre? Aren’t Rangers a rogue variant?
In games I’ve played, worship isn’t limited to clerics. Yes they get more obvious rewards for devotion but there are cases where divine intervention happens regardless of class.
Not what I meant. If she’s a rogue variant, she’d worship whassisface, the god of rogues. The one who killed Valkyre’s lover. It’d be kind of unusual for her to pray to the Mother if her patron is the murderer of Valkyre’s lover, wouldn’t it?
Don’t worry, I’ll explain what’s up with that.
Why would she worship Felicos the king of rogues, when her enemy is the patriarchy?
More importantly, why are people taking what was obviously a throw-away line like she seriously has “Patriarchy” as a favoured enemy? Last I checked, that wasn’t one of the monster types available.
Because Rangers are a Rogue subtype and Felicos is the patron god of Rogues. The fact that he’s male (assuming that gods of Karthun aren’t gender fluid) means zippo. Dallas’ character is anti-patriarchy; maybe Felicos is too.
If Felicos is anti-patriarchy then he would be trying to remove himself as the king of rogues, based on the simple fact that a patriarchy is, “a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line.”
I mean yeah all rogues probably pay homage to Felicos but just because he is the patron god of rogues don’t mean jack, heck a rogue could worship Deknar, the smith simply because worshiping him could help get a better understanding of locks.
In a polytheistic society (polytheism being the belief in or worship of more than one god) everyone worships which god they want to worship and are not restricted by class or race.
Your reasoning is non sequitur. He is the King of Rogues, how does removing himself end patriarchy? His power is not passed down through his male descendents, it is his. He (i assume) does not use his status as a male to look down upon and degrade women. As the King of Rogues, and a god at that, he likely grants favor based upon merit, not gender.
“If Felicos is anti-patriarchy then he would be trying to remove himself as the king of rogues”
I find this statement disturbing. It says to me “Unless there are no males in power anywhere, the system is a patriarchy”. If there are no males in power anywhere, then you have women in power everywhere. That is not a non-patriarchy, that is a matriarchy, and just as evil, simply in the other direction.
Dangerous assumption to make, that because they’re a rogue they must worship the god of rogues. I’ve had tons of elves, and not a one of em worshipped Corellon Larethian.
Hands up, who has pulled a ballsy move like this before?
….Wellllll……. I played a Goliath who worshiped Kord, and when I was faced with a fight against the Tarrasque I basically screamed as loud as I could “YO, KORD, DUDE DO YOU SEE THIS FUCKING LIZARD?! THIS FUCKING LIZARD IS BUFF AS FUCK!!! YOU SHOULD CHALLENGE HIS SCALY ASS TO A FUCKING WRESTLING MATCH BRO!!! THAT SHIT WOULD BE SOOOO HYPE!”
So, the DM rolls a virtual D-1000 saying if I get a 975+ roll Kord will come down and aid me in battle himself. I got a perfect 1000. My DM ruled that not only did Kord come, but he brought Phaulkon with him to peg arrows into the fucker if it tried to run. XD I sat back and watched gods beat the shit out of the Tarrasque because I told them it’d be hype.
My DM personally ruled that instead of it just burrowing away whenever defeated or such, you actually kill the Tarrasque, but deep below the earth, a new Tarrsque will hatch and begin growing into a force to be feared at a later date. So with the dead body of the Tarrasque there, I decided to be ballsy, and asked my teammate, a Dwarven Cleric of Moradin, to pray for Moradin to make me a badass set of armor out of the Tarrasque. The D-1000 came out again, and he rolled a 982. I walked away clad in Tarrasque bone/hide armor.
Giggity!
Alt-text made me laugh louder than I’ve laughed in quite a while. Thanks.
Sent by the mother, to bring back another…
Ohboyohboyohboy!!!
I waited all day for this and then “Cliffhanger.” got to love it. Brian you’re my hero
PS Sam look on the last panel is priceless can this be a print or a shirt.
I didn’t get the chains, then I clicked the link… Now? I’m super excited for friday! Dove’s about to /get/ IT!
Looks like Dove’s not the only one who read through the primer with an eye for detail.
So basically it is going to be Tyraxion vs. the chains for the captured souls, and Dove vs. Dallas for the win.
“The souls you have captured belong to the Mother, and she is sending her champion to get them back.”
The voices echoed in unison through the maze, almost drowned out by the sound of the chains rattling through the maze. “Sent by the mother to bring back another…” Even the Lord of Dragons cannot escape the mother’s grasp… the mother does not like those that keep the souls of the dead from her.
Beware, beware, the Chain Lord. He who hears his rattling chains, he who hears his call… you are already gone.
In the coming battle between spirit-dragon and divine Juggernaut, Sam will have to be careful not to overshadow his players. It’s a temptation to which all of us GMs must forever guard agai-
You know what? Forget it. Let’s do this thing!
Frankly, the two players have brought themselves into the shadows of giants. A good ST is going to need to be able to balance the two, but this fight *should* be pretty metal.
Too bad the bard got blasted.
Spoilers much people? Brian put the info behind a link for a reason, and several people go blabbing it in the comments.
In other news, I like the “Oh sugar!” look on Sam’s face when he read Dallas’s note.
“Commenters: Fire at will though. Feel free to discuss what the chains mean, etc.”
Yes, spoilers for something that was posted months before this comic. That makes perfect sense.
I’ve been playing DnD, been wanting to start my own and what not, so I question… what’s the stats on this creature along with weapon? He’d be a very good boss battle that I’d like to use with different lore, naturally… I’m not trying to spoil anything (even though it has) just would love to use it
That kind of epic-level monster is usually adjusted according to the adventuring party and the needs of the story. Not to mention the system.
Not D&D stats, but the page inspired me to throw together a Dungeon World stat block for the monster (with flavor text from the page):
The Chain Lord — Solitary, Huge, Construct
Iron Cage (d10+7 damage, ignores armor) 24 HP 3 Armor
Close, Reach, Forceful
Special Qualities:
– Can be rebuilt (with time) from destruction by the Mother
– Does not feel pain
The sounds of heavy chains and lumbering steps always precedes the arrival of the hulking monstrosity. The Chain Lord is the crudely cobbled remains of three tortured souls, wrapped in soiled rags and rusting chains. He wears a pair of heavy manacles, an iron belt carrying dozens of keys, carries an iron cade on a chain in hand and wears a second iron maiden style cage on his back. When he speaks, all three of his mouths speak in unison with hollow voices. “Sent by the Mother to bring back another… sent by the Mother to bring back another…”
Instinct: To retrieve souls for the Mother
Moves:
– Relentlessly pursue souls ignoring any obstacle
– Swing iron cage as a weapon
Built using the following options monster options:
Solitary, Larger than a cart, Thick hide, Unrelenting Strength, Skill in defense, Uncanny endurance, Favor of the gods, armor doesn’t help
Oh, this is such a priceless moment. If this was in reality, I’d take a picture of this and then would have it as my desktop or would just put it on my wall, an each time I’d look at it, I’d smile.
Oh dear Dove, are you carrying a small waste treatment plant in your trousers or do I detect that you are a tad nervous?
That remineds my of the 4th Bleach film. When the bad guy though he had gotten rid of all the chains binding him to hell. Until…
“… and lovers now twisted into twisted abominations…”
Totally twisted yo.
Wow. If the rest of Karthun is going to be as tasty as the back story behind that link, sign me up for the Kickstarter NOW!
Hmmm . . . I wonder to what degree Dove has managed to link his character to Tyraxion?
How will the Happy Fun Stuff react to him?
Ah, the face of an “Elite Gamer” who–in that moment–has absolutely no idea what’s coming or how to prepare for it. Captured it perfectly.
Ooooooh…looking forward to the chain reaction that Dallas has brought forth.
Ba dum BUM!
“Hush Dove.” Zing!
So they’ve BOTH invoked legendary NPCs to trounce their opponent.
Thinking about this a bit more, it seems to me that Dove has essentially brought this situation upon himself, for two reasons.
First, by seriously underestimating Dallas’ gaming instincts. She’s a best-selling designer. But Dove dismissed her as an “overly emotional teenage girl”.
Second, by undertaking the gambit of appealing to the powerful NPC in order to win the tournament, thus opening the field for a reciprocal counter. (I say this because had Dove agreed to cooperate to destroy Tyraxion, or even just attacked Dallas outright, I doubt she would have resorted to this gambit as well).
I can already taste the sweet flavour of well deserved comeuppance. I cannot wait to see how dove reacts to getting his posterior handed to him.
also, I have played with people like Dove, one of whom caused us to resort to the horrible tactic of slitting his characters throat in the night and escorting him out of the residence of our host, by force. People like him make me incredibly angry.
I cast summon bigger fish!
Qui-Gon, this isn’t Naboo.
(Though I would LOVE for that to be what kills Dove.)
LOLOL, Regretfully, Qui-Gon Jinn is dead and the “spell” is likely lost to the Cheddar Monks.
…couldn’t happen to a more deserving asshole. Although I suspect that the price of this summoning will be high…
I am curious as to how Dallas’ gambit will play out now. And if she is… oh boy, that’ll be cool.
Define interesting
” oh god, oh god, we’re all gonna die”
So, I’ve been on a binge, and I read it all…and I CATCH UP TO IT LIKE THIS?!?!
Anyway, I LOVE this comic! It also helps scratch the itch I’ve been having for tabletop RPGs…no groups around us, and playing online doesn’t seem the same.
Thank you so much for the story and the comic! Loving it hard.
That panel four face…
As a DM, I know that face and love it… As a player, I guess it depends on who’s on the gettin’ end, as it were.
Holy shit.
I did not see what the big deal was until I read the spoilery thing, read the comments, went back and read last few comics of this arc and the realized that the key to all this was: souls.
SOULLLLLLSSSSSSSSSS
Thematically, this is a great idea.
Functionally, it’s not.
If it is indeed the thing in question, it’s like a flesh golem with some extra resistances. Meanwhile we’ve just seen an unaugmented Dove Wizard fire directly through what may have been a mage partially made of stone.
So we’re going to send the walking conglomeration of corpses after the thing that has clearly demonstrated an ability to fire lava at ridiculous velocities and pressures, BEFORE it got boosted by whatever effects the undead horror dragon has to offer?
It’s like pounding nails with a screwdriver. Technically possible, but man, this looks like the wrong tool for the job. What’s that sound? Oh, yeah, it’s a train whistle, because Dove’s about to get railroaded.
Indestructible, regenerating juggernaut of pure vengeance, animated by the goddess of death, shrugs off anything that doesn’t involve serious backstory, Does. Not. Stop. and is designed to capture the souls that keep its antagonist alive…versus a dracolich.
If you say so.
Not indestructible. A Chain Lord CAN be killed, and is subsequently rebuilt by the Mother of the Dead later. You don’t think that “copious amounts of high-velocity molten rock” would kind of do that to a thing made of dead people?
Actually do not think it will do hardly any damage, assuming the Goddess designed her servants well. Without more spoilers the is a rebuild of 3 very high level characters to hunt down entities which have escaped the land of the dead. It likely has very high (90%+) resistances to magic and most other forms of damage (as tracking down people who arise from the dead usually means you are going after some very “hard” entities)
Remember that the only direction Dove could *potentially* attack and get a sneak attack with on this thing is if he was directly behind it. Even then, the creature probably has an insanely high Notice/Perception/Spot (depending on what system you are using), so it is probably *quite* hard to sneak attack this thing (due to the extra ears and eyes of the other two Templars sewn into it)
And how do we know how much resistances this thing has? I would imagine quite a bit, due to it being empowered by a Goddess. I highly doubt she would want that thing to be so easily destroyed, especially if it ended up facing a descendant of one of the Pillars.
If I had to make a being that would track down anything I hold dear or knew was mine and make sure that it was brought back to me? I would want assurance that it would be hard as HECK to kill.
What sneak attack? The Chain Lord is undead.
1. “The” Chain Lord, not “A” Chain Lord. There’s only the one.
2. One mage punching a hole in another mage can’t be that difficult–if Amy had been paying attention, I’m quite sure she could have killed Dove with, for the sake of argument, a rockslide. They were of equal level, and the whole point of the Dungeon Run is to kill everyone else. Bottom line: Dove may indeed bring the thump, but everyone else has (had) roughly equivalent thump potential. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair.
2. The Chain Lord is…Epic level? Legend level? I don’t know the semantics, but it’s a one of a kind monster that can only be killed by a select few. While it can be temporarily destroyed, who says how long “temporary” lasts? It’s supposed to be the Jason Voorhees of monsters, and you can run that fucker over with a combine harvester and he’ll STILL be waiting in the back seat of your car when you get back to the parking lot.
3. Flesh golems can be killed. The Chain Lord (effectively) can’t. It isn’t a conglomeration of corpses, it’s three of the highest level warriors Karthun has ever seen, warped into the personal hell-hound of one of the five most powerful beings in existence. It’s a question of scale.
4. Tyraxion’s heart (and the focus of his power) is a gem full of souls. The Chain Lord is purpose-built to capture souls and take them to hell. Doesn’t that seem like a major liability on the part of the dragon?
Not to be Picky but personal agents of Death Gods are a little bit more than “a flesh golem with some extra resistances”. Sort of like saying Chaos God Arioch, Lord of the Seven Darks’ agent, Elric of Melnibone is just a wizard with a sharp black sword. Bit of understatement
1. Good point.
2. That really doesn’t mean much now in the face of this battle, which is fundamentally different. It’s not equal level mages, it’s a mage and an undead horror dragon against what amounts to the avatar of the goddess of death, which might be also considered an equal match.
other 2. Also true. Wonder why I heard the train whistle? The GM determines how long “temporary” is, and in this case, I figure “temporary” is defined as “until Dove stops rolling twenties.” Woo-wooo, Phillie boy, you’re about to get RAILROADED. No one there wants you to win. Including the GM.
3. And the composition of these warriors is not metal. It’s not rock. It’s FLESH. Divinely enhanced flesh, yes, but flesh nonetheless.
4. Also a good point, except consider: This isn’t Tyraxion vs. the Chain Lord. This is Tyraxion AND his new avatar vs. the Chain Lord. You think Tyraxion’s going to go down without a fight? The mythos already makes it clear that becoming undead requires one of three things: A. Incredible power. B. Incredible brilliance C. Both. Being undead requires you to somehow defy the Mother of the Dead, as I figure it, and she doesn’t like that sort of thing, working actively to defy it. For Tyraxion to be back at ALL requires him to have somehow beaten the Mother of the Dead once. You think he can’t do it again, this time with her minion, AND with help?
What I don’t understand (in light of later pages) is why the note was passed secretly and why the rolls were made secretly? What could have Dove done if he knew? Nothing, it wasn’t his turn. And it didn’t matter much if the saw the rolls? It either fails and then nothing happens or it succeeds and then you get to see what happens anyway.
But I’m not a practising tabletop gamer so…
From the link:
“…now twisted into twisted abominations…”
I think someone needs a thesaurus.
…..I reeeeaaalllyy wanna use this character now
Oh man. If there’s one thing you don’t want the GM to say, it’s something nondescript that could refer to any number of things.
THE KARMA TRAIN IS A-COMING BABY