Yeah, I’m pretty much about to go look for a D&D prestige class that would allow my cleric archer to do shit like this, just because it’s that damned awesome…
There is a feat in 3.5, that slips my mind at the moment, which lets one add WIS bonus to ranged attack rolls. I played with someone who built a cleric as such a couple years ago.
more epic would have been a single arrow that whipped through the attacking force, disabling the named characters and outright slaughtering the nameless.
On another subject, it’s strange the dead Elven guards aren’t even armed. It’s not like the gnoll luchador took it all. So what ? Were they even armed, in the first place ?
Dusty gets up top, kicks ass, takes names, and still has enough souls left over to hand out Philosopher’s Stone(tm) Rock Candy to his teammates on the way home.
“Shit, you mean like throwing the corpses to spread disease?”
“No! As in absorbing the restless spirits of the dead into his arrows, and firing said arrows so that they detonate into a explosion of equal parts ectoplasm and pure hatred!”
“Greetings. My name is Gravedust. I see that in your party the position of… “Bad Ass”–seriously? are these the naming conventions we’ve come to? disgraceful–has been woefully unfulfilled for some time now. I would like to correct that oversight before further tragedy can occur.”
Gravedust presents himself as a mystic. That’s what he calls himself, and others who prefer to be his friend instead of his enemy also use this term. He also dresses the part, clothing coloured with neutral earth tones appropriate for one that habitually engages in meditation which coincidentally camouflages well with desert sands and dry vegetation. But it’s all devotional, and this is a plausible story on its surface.
His actions call him a necromancer, and this is a lot more scary.
if he were a true necromancer, then his horde of skeletons would be lagging out the game and the barbarian would be blaming him every time he got killed
epic was taking part in a 40-DK raid on Orgrimmar in WoW. with all 40 armies popped, framerates were a bit chunky at times but we rolled into town like a hot wind. the equivalent of a batallion of ghouls and their controllers was devastating. very few people could even recognize what was happening, the rest had their frame-rates drop to at best 1fps.
Meh, it’s just a question of symantics. To me, the thing that really sets him apart from necromancers is his character, intentions and other actions. He’s not a power-hungry madman out to inflict suffering and have enslaved souls do his bidding, but much out to inflict some ass kicking in the name of justice (or some such).
Unfortunately for me as soon as I read your post I got the image of Ursula Sea Witch from Disney’s version of Little Mermaid. Oh you poor unfortunate soulssssss…….
“Necromancer” is traditionally thought of as evil, but that’s not necessarily true.
In the Guild Wars universe, necros are devotees of the god Grenth – a just and kind, if a bit dour, god of death who allows resurrection and whatnot. Grenth came into his position by deposing a previous god who was not so understanding of the mortal desire to live. Neither Grenth nor necromancers are evil in and of themselves, although they do sometimes creep other people out a bit because, you know, death and shambling minions and all that.
Actually, if you look at the origin of the term Necromancy, it derives from Ancient Greece’s, honestly stunning, variety of forms of divinational magics. Necro- (or nekro-), of course means “death,” but “-mance” basically referred to divination. Necromancy in the traditional sense was talking to the souls of the dead, and has become pretty bad ass as pop culture got a hold of the term and added stuff. Given that Gravedust’s abilities function by literally calling to the souls of the dead, he actually quite literally *is* a necromancer in pretty much the truest and most awesome sense of the word.
“I’m here to unleash the souls of those wrongfully slain upon our enemies in a storm of mystic, eldritch force, and chew gum. And this world doesn’t even have gum.”
Precisely. That sort of verse (?) is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from someone of Gravedust’s profession. He’s normally silent or has little to say, but when he’s provoked, his incantations (?) are proof positive that he means business.
Moments like these ring out forever in your memory, just like King Theoden’s rallying speech before the charge of the Rohirrim at the Pelenor Fields.
Thanks, Thraceius. Diversity of style in magick users is a major point of focus for GA creatively. Divine magick of any kind, which is to say power bestowed upon you or channeled through you by a higher power, is all based on how it feels when you’re doing it. It doesn’t really matter what you say as long as you’re saying it with the right feeling.
Dusty’s something of a scribe, so his incantations can get pretty lengthy and verbose. So his style matches that, while someone like Rachel needs only a quick blessing or two.
E-Merl’s magick items are arcane-based, which mens they’re magick derived from formula rather than faith, and as such require trigger actions or words.
Thracecius and Phil: both your comments made me really happy. I play a witch in my current paragon-level D&D game and I made up all these little rhyming incantations for my spells. I was pretty proud of them (initially) but after a while I started feeling like a “real” hero wouldn’t use “poetry”. So I quit. Maybe I was wrong!!!! <3
Whenever a fantasy story presents a sylvan glen it always gets burned/destroyed/corrupted. As soon as the elven kingdom showed I was just waiting for it to get destroyed. Three pages was all it took.
On a related note: Reminds me of the nice old-fashioned epic incantations of stuff like in Slayers. Although I like the more personal nature of Gravedust’s incantation.
I don’t think I remark enough on how unique Gravedust’s whole deal is as a playstyle. We’re all used to clerics with maces or staves and fancy robes… I’d never even considered the notion of a divine caster with a bow before this guy. Definitely the product of some mad creativity. =3
Excuse me, waiter?
My Gravy is running.
Gravedust has definitely crossed the line into “bad-ass”.
ABSOLUTELY! And I love it!
Also, Super Ghost Arrow >> Ghost Rider’s Flaming Chain.
Yeah, I’m pretty much about to go look for a D&D prestige class that would allow my cleric archer to do shit like this, just because it’s that damned awesome…
There is a feat in 3.5, that slips my mind at the moment, which lets one add WIS bonus to ranged attack rolls. I played with someone who built a cleric as such a couple years ago.
Zen Archery.
There needs to be a divine version of the arcane archer.
Liberace the Archer. Simply divine.
Looks like Bandit gets to ride the Gravy Train.
you….
you……..
you BEAUTIFUL bastard. +1 and you owe me a replacement lager for the one that i snorted into my sinus…
Is this confirmation that coldelectrons is Best’s alt?
All Hail the Gravy Train!
(starts playing Pink Floyd’s “ride the gravy train”)
“I’m goin’ off the rails on a Gravy train!”
Man, my dog (RIP) used to love Gravy Train dog food. That and Gaines Burgers.
Yes, yes he is…
Also, seconding jiynx’s “beautiful bastard” <3
The Gravy train’s capable of ressurecting himself and his teammates. Are we surprised that he also has a soul nuke?
That blast is hardly ‘nuke’ level. One soul == 1 pound C4?
21 grams of high-yield shaped charge.
This dwarf is brandishing HEAT arrows.
spirit bomb?
Do you smell deer?
more epic would have been a single arrow that whipped through the attacking force, disabling the named characters and outright slaughtering the nameless.
or an atomic arrow.
He hasn’t reached the enemy forces yet, that was just a vine-wall.
Now it is de-vine…
You’re brambling incoherently…
Indeed, your speech is in tangles.
Seems like a knotty problem.
You’ve got to admire his spirits :)
…Okay, wow. How did NOBODY remark on the irony that back when he got killed, Gravedust was done in by spirits?
Bring out your dead and pass the ammo
I demand that he says this when he gets to the Circle of Elders.
And Naror’nj leads the charge.
Pretty much sounds like “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition” …
Hmm … one should make a guilded Age/Gravedust-themed version of this song. :-)
How about (adapted from chap 13, pg 15):
“Finger lickin’ good, ya tardfuck!…..Amen.”
Groooan. Posted too hastily – I gave you neither a song lyric nor a gravedust themed statement. Sorry.
No biggie, man. ;-) It’s alright.
On another subject, it’s strange the dead Elven guards aren’t even armed. It’s not like the gnoll luchador took it all. So what ? Were they even armed, in the first place ?
“Keep killing my allies, I’m reloading.”
This!
Dusty gets up top, kicks ass, takes names, and still has enough souls left over to hand out Philosopher’s Stone(tm) Rock Candy to his teammates on the way home.
FINALLY, elven guards prove useful for SOMETHING.
Soul-powered weaponry and…(deep breath) mulch, speed bumps, door stops, boat anchors, (pun not intended) body pillows, planking world record, sandwitch meat, piñatas, saw horses, archery practice, minefield sweeping, filling potholes, (ahem) real doll, scarecrows, bear bait, unwelcome solicitor repellent, pike decorations, mannequinns for fall fashions, soup bones, practice partner for stabscotch…
…and if suitably rendered, SOAP.
I’ve heard of sandwitches. Don’t they hang out at beaches and enthrall radical surfer dudes?
elf, ham, eggs and elf… elf spam ham eggs bacon and elf… elf elf ham eggs and elf…
/elf elf elf elf…
Funk Soul Brothers
Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-rapidshots.
Someone finally uses Ghost Shouting.
Wow, event-driven, unique classes are so OP.
Want.
Awww, how sweet – Bandit’s noble, brave stand finally completely won over Dusty – he called her “friend” for the first time.
If Gravy’s like me, he found he had underestimated her, and responded by boosting her classification one full level.
“He’s using our dead foes against us!”
“What, you mean like zombies?”
“No–as ammunition!”
“Shit, you mean like throwing the corpses to spread disease?”
“No! As in absorbing the restless spirits of the dead into his arrows, and firing said arrows so that they detonate into a explosion of equal parts ectoplasm and pure hatred!”
“Shit.“
Explanation accepted, the only possible response is “RUN”
Beautiful…just beautiful
Looks like gravedust is about to channel his inner ghost rider…
“Greetings. My name is Gravedust. I see that in your party the position of… “Bad Ass”–seriously? are these the naming conventions we’ve come to? disgraceful–has been woefully unfulfilled for some time now. I would like to correct that oversight before further tragedy can occur.”
do not mess with the mystic
Gravedust presents himself as a mystic. That’s what he calls himself, and others who prefer to be his friend instead of his enemy also use this term. He also dresses the part, clothing coloured with neutral earth tones appropriate for one that habitually engages in meditation which coincidentally camouflages well with desert sands and dry vegetation. But it’s all devotional, and this is a plausible story on its surface.
His actions call him a necromancer, and this is a lot more scary.
if he were a true necromancer, then his horde of skeletons would be lagging out the game and the barbarian would be blaming him every time he got killed
epic was taking part in a 40-DK raid on Orgrimmar in WoW. with all 40 armies popped, framerates were a bit chunky at times but we rolled into town like a hot wind. the equivalent of a batallion of ghouls and their controllers was devastating. very few people could even recognize what was happening, the rest had their frame-rates drop to at best 1fps.
we also had a fun time lag-bombing stormwind…
A necromancer isn’t necessarily evil though.
Meh, it’s just a question of symantics. To me, the thing that really sets him apart from necromancers is his character, intentions and other actions. He’s not a power-hungry madman out to inflict suffering and have enslaved souls do his bidding, but much out to inflict some ass kicking in the name of justice (or some such).
“Come unfortunate souls, and be united for our common purpose”
Not a necromancer, QED.
Unfortunately for me as soon as I read your post I got the image of Ursula Sea Witch from Disney’s version of Little Mermaid. Oh you poor unfortunate soulssssss…….
is a symantic a specialist in semantics who works at Symantec?
“Necromancer” is traditionally thought of as evil, but that’s not necessarily true.
In the Guild Wars universe, necros are devotees of the god Grenth – a just and kind, if a bit dour, god of death who allows resurrection and whatnot. Grenth came into his position by deposing a previous god who was not so understanding of the mortal desire to live. Neither Grenth nor necromancers are evil in and of themselves, although they do sometimes creep other people out a bit because, you know, death and shambling minions and all that.
Actually, if you look at the origin of the term Necromancy, it derives from Ancient Greece’s, honestly stunning, variety of forms of divinational magics. Necro- (or nekro-), of course means “death,” but “-mance” basically referred to divination. Necromancy in the traditional sense was talking to the souls of the dead, and has become pretty bad ass as pop culture got a hold of the term and added stuff. Given that Gravedust’s abilities function by literally calling to the souls of the dead, he actually quite literally *is* a necromancer in pretty much the truest and most awesome sense of the word.
Puella Magi Gravedust Magika!
someone is about not to like that he’s angry
Nerf Gravy
YOU WOULD NOT LIKE ME WHEN I AM ANGRY.
Gah, beaten by 30 minutes.
I squee-ed.
“I’m here to unleash the souls of those wrongfully slain upon our enemies in a storm of mystic, eldritch force, and chew gum. And this world doesn’t even have gum.”
Hello. My name is Gravedust. You killed these elves. Prepare to die.
How many fingers does Harky have again?
Eight, I think Byron severed two of them.
“What elves?”
@Darchias: Win.
Was just firing up some metal when I decided to check GA. Only reaction: Holeh shit O_O
Also: incredibly cool alt text.
And: like Gravy’s little incantation there; it’s quite complementing of his character and philosophy.
Precisely. That sort of verse (?) is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from someone of Gravedust’s profession. He’s normally silent or has little to say, but when he’s provoked, his incantations (?) are proof positive that he means business.
Moments like these ring out forever in your memory, just like King Theoden’s rallying speech before the charge of the Rohirrim at the Pelenor Fields.
I always have loved that kind of hero.
Thanks, Thraceius. Diversity of style in magick users is a major point of focus for GA creatively. Divine magick of any kind, which is to say power bestowed upon you or channeled through you by a higher power, is all based on how it feels when you’re doing it. It doesn’t really matter what you say as long as you’re saying it with the right feeling.
Dusty’s something of a scribe, so his incantations can get pretty lengthy and verbose. So his style matches that, while someone like Rachel needs only a quick blessing or two.
E-Merl’s magick items are arcane-based, which mens they’re magick derived from formula rather than faith, and as such require trigger actions or words.
And so on.
Is this why Frigg’s incantations are basically just expletives?
Pretty much.
What quicker way to get your higher power’s attention than blaspheme?
isnt frigg now her own higher power?
So you’re telling me he could have just said “Thundersouls, ho,” “Transcend and roll out,” “Husks smash,” or “C-c-combined gatebreaker?”
Maybe not for Dusty specifically, but you’ve got the right idea.
Thracecius and Phil: both your comments made me really happy. I play a witch in my current paragon-level D&D game and I made up all these little rhyming incantations for my spells. I was pretty proud of them (initially) but after a while I started feeling like a “real” hero wouldn’t use “poetry”. So I quit. Maybe I was wrong!!!! <3
Roleplay material: crisis of faith (in poetry).
Whenever a fantasy story presents a sylvan glen it always gets burned/destroyed/corrupted. As soon as the elven kingdom showed I was just waiting for it to get destroyed. Three pages was all it took.
Not soon enough if you ask me!
You play Horde, right?
Being the terrible person that I am, I don’t mind at all.
Wow. I feel like someone just woke Gravedust just woke up from a 17.5 chapter nap. And found some kids on his lawn.
I’m going to start doing the same thing whenever I find an unconscious person.
“COME, MY FRIEND, MORE LIVES ARE BEING TAKEN IN THE CIRCLE OF ELDERS, WE MUST NOT DELAY!”
“Wait, where are you going with my Grandpa?!”
“WE MUST NOT DELAY!”
:D
I lol’d.
win.
Ah, a good old fashioned incantation. Awesome.
On a related note: Reminds me of the nice old-fashioned epic incantations of stuff like in Slayers. Although I like the more personal nature of Gravedust’s incantation.
A dwarf, chilling with elf ghosts, carrying a gnome on his back.
Meanwhile, in Gastonia…
So… All those Elf guards failed in their duty.
Now they’re gonna get fired…
Seems fair. *flees*
Their careers are shot, but they’ll still aim high. There may be a drawback, though.
Bwahahaha! You two are a riot! (alurker & coldelectrons in this case, not Waldorf & Stadtler)
Heeheehahaha!!
Love your comic!
Gravedust’s speech I personally feel ranks right next to Shakespeare’s “St. Crispin’s Day” speech in strength, power and passion.
Well done to you all!
You will not abandon me!!!
I don’t think I remark enough on how unique Gravedust’s whole deal is as a playstyle. We’re all used to clerics with maces or staves and fancy robes… I’d never even considered the notion of a divine caster with a bow before this guy. Definitely the product of some mad creativity. =3