Changes: Mr(s). Wizard Explains It All

Revision as of 15:22, 10 July 2017

Vaarsuvius ends the fight and explains some role-playing physics.

Cast

Elan ◀ ▶
Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶
Vaarsuvius' Horse ◀ ▶
The Weasel-Eating Ogres ◀
G.I. Joe

Transcript

Panel 1

Vaarsuvius: The time has come to end this battle.

Panel 2

Vaarsuvius kills the ogres with a volley of spells.
Vaarsuvius: Lightning Bolt! Magic Missile! Fireball! Another Fireball!

Panel 3

Elan: Wow! Great job, Vaarsuvius. But aren't you worried about using up all your spells for the day in one encounter?
Vaarsuvius: Nonsense. There shall be no additional encounters before we rest.

Panel 4

Elan: Really? How do you know, V?
Vaarsuvius: Simple, the laws of encounter probability tell me so.

Panel 5

Vaarsuvius: Here, step over to the chalkboard and let me show you a simple problem.
Vaarsuvius and Elan approach a chalkboard which is inexplicably placed nearby.

Panel 6

The chalkboark reads:

“

Adventuring Party A leaves Blue Castle on Day 1 and travels overland on foot to the Dungeon of Horrors, 17 days away. Adventuring Party B leaves Green Castle on Day 7 and travels to the same dungeon and arrives 6 days later. Given that the lands between the castles and the dungeon are nondescript and no plot-related villains are involved, which party has more random encounters?

”

Panel 7

Vaarsuvius: Do you know the answer?
Elan: Ummm... Party A?
Vaarsuvius: Let's find out. Vaarsuvius begins to erase the chalkboard.

Panel 8

The chalkboard now reads:

“

ANSWER: Neither! Both adventuring parties have exactly one random encounter, no matter how far they travel.

”

Panel 9

Elan: I don't get it.
Vaarsuvius: Each party has one (and only one) encounter because random encounters are tedious, and a waste of everyone's valuable time.

Panel 10

Vaarsuvius: So no matter how long the journey, you only have one random encounter before everyone gets bored and moves on to the main plot.

Panel 11

Elan: Ohhhh. Thanks, Vaarsuvius. Now I know.
Vaarsuvius: And knowing is half the battle.
G.I. Joe: G.I. Joe!

D&D Context

All of the spells Vaarsuvius cast were basic damage-dealing spells. They include the 1st-level spell Magic Missile, the 3rd-level spell Fireball and the 3rd-level spell Lightning Bolt. They could not all be cast in the same round.

Trivia

The title is a reference to TV's Mr. Wizard, and possibly the 1991 Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All. The (s) part continues the running gag of Vaarsuvius' ambiguous gender.
The G.I. is a reference to the public service announcement segments catchphase, "and knowing is half the battle", from the 1985-1987 TV cartoon, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
This is the only cameo appearance of G.I. Joe.

@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 == Trivia ==
-* The title is a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Wizard Mr. Wizard]. The (s) part continues the [[List of Running Gags|running gag]] of Vaarsuvius' ambiguous gender.
+* The title is a reference to TV's [[wikipedia:Mr. Wizard|''Mr. Wizard'']], and possibly the 1991 Nickelodeon series ''[[wikipedia:Clarissa Explains It All|Clarissa Explains It All]]''. The (s) part continues the [[List of Running Gags|running gag]] of Vaarsuvius' ambiguous gender.
-* The G.I. is a reference to the public service announcement segments catchphase, "and knowing is half the battle", from the 1985-1987 TV cartoon, [[wikipedia:G.I._Joe:_A_Real_American_Hero_(1985_TV_series)#Production|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]].
+* The G.I. is a reference to the public service announcement segments catchphase, "and knowing is half the battle", from the 1985-1987 TV cartoon, [[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985 TV series)#Production|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]].
 * This is the only cameo appearance of G.I. Joe.