Tarquin
Double Snatch
In Strip 936, Haley uses Manyshot to fire two arrows at Tarquin, who snatches both of them out of the air. This forces him to let go of the ship railing he is hanging from, after which he drops the arrows and catches himself with one hand.
The Basics
Deflect Arrows is a feat that lets you deflect one ranged weapon per round, so that you take no damage from it.
Snatch Arrows is a feat that you can trigger when you deflect a ranged weapon with Deflect Arrows, which lets you snatch the ranged weapon out of the air. You may keep the ranged weapon in your hand, or, if it is a thrown weapon, you can throw it back at the original attacker. This happens instantly and does not appear to be its own action.
Each time Tarquin snatches an arrow, it is accompanied by a “snatch” sound effect. This directly matches Snatch Arrows. However, Snatch Arrows is limited by Deflect Arrows to once per round, which is difficult to reconcile with the scene.
Infinite Deflection
This is an Epic feat that allows an unlimited number of ranged weapon deflections, provided its requirements are met.
If it is read as modifying how Deflect Arrows works, then since Snatch Arrows can be triggered on a successful deflection, this would also allow multiple snatches in the same round.
A different reading suggests that the player chooses to deflect an arrow with either the Deflect Arrows feat or the Infinite Deflection feat, and only the first, still limited to once per round, can be used to snatch arrows. In this case Infinite Deflection cannot be used to explain the scene.
To obtain this feat, Tarquin must be at least level 21 and have 25 Dexterity. These are significant requirements.
The story does not prevent Tarquin from being Epic. At the same time, neither Tarquin nor his allies are shown using abilities that require Epic levels. As a result, Epic remains a viable interpretation, but not one that is singled out by the material.
A Dexterity-focused character can easily reach 25 Dexterity by level 21. However, Tarquin has already demonstrated relatively high stats in other areas, which makes a strongly Dexterity-focused build less likely. In addition, aging penalties reduce Dexterity, making this threshold harder to maintain for an older character.
Stacked Snatch
Snatch Arrows is written to trigger on a successful deflection, but several sources grant Snatch Arrows without requiring Deflect Arrows. The rules do not explain how these versions are intended to function.
A common interpretation from the broader D&D community is that these alternative sources function independently, each allowing one use per round even without Deflect Arrows.
Under this interpretation, multiple sources can be used together. Each source carries its own limit, allowing multiple snatches in a single round.
Having the feats themselves is an independent source in this interpretation.
Gloves of Arrow Snaring are an independent source, but are additionally limited to two uses per day. However, Tarquin snatches two arrows in the same round exactly twice: Strip 936, the one under review, and Strip 925, which is when Haley could have plausibly learned that Tarquin can snatch two arrows in the same round.
The Master Thrower Prestige Class grants “the benefit of” Snatch Arrows. This “benefit of” language creates different interpretations in the broader D&D community, but one interpretation is that this is not the same as having the feat, and hence might be an independent source.
Older Model
Because Tarquin is older, there is also an argument that earlier-edition versions of these abilities may be in use, as there are several jokes involving changes in editions in the comic.
Earlier versions of Gloves of Arrow Snaring are more permissive and do not require stacking to explain Tarquin’s arrow snatching.
Return Shot is a psionic feat that functions similarly to Snatch Arrows. The 3.5 version automatically returns the deflected weapon to the attacker, while the 3.0 version only returns arrows if you have a bow available, otherwise requiring you to hold them. For this scene, the 3.0 version is a closer match, since it allows Tarquin to hold an arrow rather than immediately returning it. It works once per round and requires stacking with Snatch Arrows, but the description mentions added benefits when you have Deflect Arrows, which means the authors knew about that possibility as they were writing it.
Adjudication
The rules are intricate enough that it seems it might be possible to use Manyshot’s wording in order to create an interpretation where Tarquin is allowed to catch both arrows with just the Snatch Arrows feat. However, in the Strip 925 example, Haley uses Rapid Shot instead of Manyshot, so the same explanation would not apply.
Hulking Hurler
Hulking Hurler does not work here, because it requires the user to be Large and Tarquin is not. However, its Catch Weapon feature could otherwise account for the entire scene.
Swordsage Tarquin
Maneuvers
Ballista Throw
This is the best evidence that Tarquin is a Swordsage.
Ballista Throw is described like this:
You grab your opponent and spin like a top, swinging him around before throwing him at your opponents like a bolt from a ballista.
The scene looks like this: https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0851.html
Notably, the maneuver doesn’t require the thrown victim to be aimed at a target.
Short of labeling it outright, it’s hard to imagine what a clearer depiction of Ballista Throw would look like. And labeling it outright isn’t something Rich can do in this format without implying it’s going to be a plot point.
Because of the way classes work in D&D, seeing Tarquin use one Maneuver makes me want to look at whether any of his other actions might be as well.
Counter Charge
With a quick sidestep, you send a charging opponent sprawling.
Panels 1 through 3 of the same strip follow this sequence closely. In Panel 1, Roy charges with clear motion lines behind him. He attacks and Tarquin sidesteps the attack. In Panel 2, Tarquin hooks Roy’s leg with his foot, consistent with using leverage and misdirection, which is referenced in the description for Counter Charge. In Panel 3, Roy is redirected and lands sprawling a moderate distance away. The visual match aligns well with how Counter Charge functions, both thematically and mechanically.
Disrupting Blow
With a combination of brute force, keen timing, and exacting aim, you force your opponent into an awkward position that ruins his next action.
Disrupting Blow is the same effect as Stunning Fist, but it works with any melee weapon. This matters because the previous explanation for this scene relied on Stunning Fist combined with a ki strike weapon that could deliver it. That workaround isn’t needed here.
Objection
Some readers point to this post as contradicting Tarquin being a Swordsage:
Tubercular Ox: So, does this nix “Tarquin is a Swordsage”? Cuz that Ballista Throw and the constricting stance were nova hot.
OMG, it nixes the Blue Carbuncle, too. Unless that’s an ordinary Carbuncle.
Rich: I honestly enjoy having had no awareness of either of these two theories.
EDIT: Wrecan is technically a Crusader so there’s still some flexibility in each category anyway.
This response has sometimes been read as a rejection, but Rich’s comment doesn’t actually disqualify the Swordsage theory, it simply states he wasn’t aware of it.
His edit appears to respond directly to the question, “Does this nix ‘Tarquin is a Swordsage’?”
The answer it gives is, essentially, “No.”
This is enough for the Geekery thread, for which the premise is that Rich is following the rules as much as possible, even if that wasn’t his original goal as a storyteller.
While the thread should be guided by the premise, the following supporting material may still be worth presenting.
The Blue Carbuncle Parallel
Rich also said he wasn’t aware of the “Blue Carbuncle” theory, yet his Class Monster design includes a blue carbuncle on it:
(Out of respect for forum rules regarding the linking of art from Rich, I ask you to click on the original post, go to the Monster Class image, then right click > Open image in new tab)
The same creature appears as a “Carbunkle” in A Monster for Every Season, Spring 2, with the gem correctly colored red, suggesting that the blue gem in the Monster Class design was an intentional choice.
If Rich can draw a blue carbuncle and still not think of it as validating a “Blue Carbuncle” theory, then he can draw a swordsage and still not think of it as validating a Swordsage theory.
There are several reasons Rich might have held back. It could be that Tarquin being a Swordsage is a future reveal. Or that Tarquin is multiclass, like the son he raised, and Rich didn’t want to endorse a purely Swordsage interpretation or explicitly support a multiclass one.
This follows naturally from a broader pattern of avoidance:
Author Commentary
Rich has explained before that he avoids commenting on reader speculation out of concern for spoiling the story, whether by confirming or denying details:
Fernando: Has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right?
Rich: Obviously I cannot answer the first question. If I say yes, then everyone will go scouring through the internet to get a fixed list of what he could or could not be, and if I say no, then they will throw out all the existing guesswork and start over. Either way, I’ll be spoiling something. And besides which, I don’t really read what people are speculating in the first place and I’m not about to start, so I have no actual way of knowing.
He’s also shared that being quoted out of context has caused him distress in the past, making him reluctant to engage at all:
I don’t read the GITP forums at all anymore, either in or out of the OOTS context. I’m happy to provide a place for people to have discussions with each other but it is not helpful for me or my goals (or my mental health) to read any of what’s written there. There was a time when I involved myself more in conversations, OOTS-based and otherwise, but that would inevitably lead to me saying something that I didn’t really think through entirely, which would then be plucked out of context and preserved forever as the Word of the Author. After years and years of doing this, I finally learned the lesson that maybe I should just give the whole thing a pass.
In light of that, it’s likely Rich didn’t intend to contradict the Swordsage theory at all. He may have been unsure how to respond given that I claimed the Blue Carbuncle idea was nixed even though he just revealed a Blue Carbuncle, or perhaps the constricting stance idea I suggested was wrong and that’s what made him hesitate. The constricting stance idea I mention in that post has proven so unpopular that I’ve removed it from my website until I can figure out how to improve it.