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in: Comics, Uses Raise Dead, Uses Empowered,
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Raising a Family

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Sigdi reveals what she did with her fortune. The Order of the Stick lies open to a TPK.

Cast[]

Transcript[]

Panel 1, Page 1

Roy struggles under his wounds while Elan and Haley press the attack.

Panel 2, Page 1

Roy erupts in green flames, knocking Haley off her feet with his sword, "WHAK!"
Roy: Stop it.

Panel 3, Page 1

Cut to Durkon's memory.
Sigdi: I weren't alone in tha temple ward much longer.
Sigdi: A few days later, thar were an accident.

Panel 4, Page 1

Sigdi and the High Priestess of Odin watch as a soldier carries a body into view.
Sigdi: Who're they?
Priestess of Thor: Miners. There was a leak of poisoned gas in one of the copper mines this morning.
Dwarf #1: It happened too fast for them to get out.
Dwarf #1: 37 dead.

Panel 5, Page 1

Five corpses are laid out on stretchers. From left to right: Shirra, Kandro, Thirden, Durkon's Aunt, and Hoskin.
Dwarf #1 (off-panel): These five are the ones with no living family to claim the bodies.

Panel 6, Page 1

Cut back to the fight.
Roy: I am going to do my best to pull my punches—
Roy slashes at Haley, but she dodges, rushes around and stabs him from behind.
Roy: Unnh!

Panel 7, Page 1

Cut to the memory.
Priestess of Thor: Such a shame. An accidental death likes this means they're probably all bound for Hel.
Dwarf #2: I'll start up the cremation furnace ma'am.
Sigdi: ...Wait.

Panel 8, Page 1

The fight. Roy attacks Haley and gets flanked by Elan.
Roy: —but we have a lot of healers if we can get through this.
Roy: And worst case scenario—

Panel 9, Page 1

Memory; Sigdi presents the chest of gold and jewels she had received from the aftermath of the cave-in.
Sigdi: Would these help?
Priestess of Thor: Uh, yes! Are those friends of yours, Sarge?

Panel 10, Page 1

Fight
Roy: —we can get enough diamonds to get you raised from the dead!

Panel 11, Page 1

Memory
Sigdi: Ne'er seen any o'em b'fore 'n me life.
Sigdi: Cast yer spells.

Panel 1, Page 2

Back at the fight, Roy attacks Elan, knocking him unconscious, "SLASH!"
Roy: So no more flanking.

Panel 2, Page 2

Roy attacks Haley, knocking her unconscious, "SLASH!"
Roy: and no more sneak attacks.

Panel 3, Page 2

Roy: Minrah, come on, let's go.
Minrah: Is everyone—
Roy: They'll be fine. We need to get V up, then dispel the domination effect on each of the three of—

Panel 4, Page 2

Hilgya: Empowered Flame Strike.

Panel 5, Page 2

Roy and Minrah are engulfed in a flame strike. Minrah is killed.

Panel 6, Page 2

Roy (weakly): Four...
Roy (weakly): The four of them...

Panel 6, Page 2

Cut to inside Durkon's head
Priestess of Thor: Raise Dead!
"Durkon": What? Why would she...? Why would anyone?
Durkon: ...

Panel 7, Page 2

Thirden: I can't believe it!

Panel 8, Page 2

Durkon: I cannae believe it.

Panel 9, Page 2

Cut to the banquet hall.
Vampire with Long Hair: I can't believe it!

Panel 10, Page 2

Aside from Mr Scruffy, the entire Order has been defeated.
Vampire with Long Hair: We WON!

D&D Context[]

  • The title is a pun on the 5th level cleric spell Raise Dead. The material cost for raise dead is a diamond worth 5,000 gp. Thus the total cost of raising all five of the miners who would become Sigdi's close friends was 25,000 gp, as she stated in the previous comic. The spell is cast by the cleric of Thor on page 2 panel 7, where you can see her holding the material component.
  • In the second panel, Roy uses one of the Legacy Powers of the Greenhilt Sword, a Weapon of Legacy. This power completely heals him as well as increasing the power of his strikes. Weapons of Legacy was a 2005 supplement for D&D 3.5. Since Roy is known to have over 150 hit points, and the maximum an empowered flame strike could do is 135 hp and accounting for the strikes from Haley and Elan after he was healed, it is possible that Roy has not been knocked unconscious (below 0 hp but above -10 hp) but is rather playing dead.
  • Roy continues to use nonlethal attacks with his sword on Haley and Elan until page 2, where he switches to lethal attacks, as evidenced by the change of sound effects from "whak" to "slash".
    • Since Roy seems to have dealt at least partially non-lethal damage to Belkar, Haley, and Elan, when their combined lethal and non-lethal damage surpassed their hit points, they fell unconscious, but do not require stabilization to survive. Roy, Vaarsuvius, and Blackwing, however have been dealt exclusively lethal damage and may continue to lose hit points and die if they are not given aid.
  • Flame Strike is a 5th level cleric spell which deals 1d6 damage per level. Hilgya has demonstrated that she is at least 13th level, but based on her status as the "evil opposite" of Durkon, she may have retained level parity with Durkon (like Crystal and Haley), which would put her at 15th level, reaching the maximum damage for the spell, 15d6.
    • Hilgya uses the Empower Spell feat when casting Flame Strike, using a 7th level spell slot, with the effect that the spell does 50% more damage.

Trivia[]

  • The Order has been completely defeated in combat twice before, once when facing Samantha, and again when facing Miko Miyazaki. Both times Durkon did not participate in the combat.
    • Scruffy is still conscious. Therefore the Order is technically not "completely" defeated.
  • This comic confirms and expands on Thirden's claim in #991, "A Sergeant and a Sapper", that he and his other mutual friends did not meet Durkon's father in life.
  • This is the first appearance of the Priestess of Thor who raised Sigdi's friends from the dead.
  • Her statement about the likely fate of the dead Dwarves being an eternity in Hel is in accordance with Durkon's explanation back in #737, "Comparative Mythology".
  • In the final panel, the bench extends beyond the border of the panel.

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