THE OotS Thread, Part IV.

[Bedlam]

I think Durkula will probably be rubbing out any Thor clerics he can find, if the thunderstorm was a message from Thor then he could also be sending messages to his clergy to warn the rest of the party about Durkula so it would make sense for him to get rid of any clerics he can find as soon as possible.

[Rogue 9]

Yeah, but openly walking into a temple of Thor is nigh-suicidal. Unless where he's going is tended by acolytes who wouldn't be useful for raising him in the first place, it's likely to be both hallowed and consecrated from the get-go and be staffed by at least one cleric fully prepared to take advantage of that fact. I mean, he obviously has a plan, but if it actually involves just waltzing in the front door and getting blasted by concentrated positive energy, I'll be surprised.

[Crazedwraith]

967 is up

Looks like that more frequent updating was a false alarm huh?

Anyway, not a bad strip. Blackwing continues to mildly amuse me.

[Simon_Jester]

Yes. While this didn't advance the plot either, at least it was funny.

[LadyTevar]

There are things in the past like this that we thought wouldn't advance the plot, and then did. Who knows.

[Gaidin]

There are things in the past like this that we thought wouldn't advance the plot, and then did. Who knows.

They didn't advance the plot then either. They just put Chekhov's gun on the wall. All things being equal, dangling the foreshadowing carrot in front of the plot donkey isn't advancing the plot until the plot donkey starts walking. But that's not to say I'm not willing to wait. I'm reading the comics because they're still amusing. But I calls it as I sees it when the plot donkey isn't walking.

[Simon_Jester]

It honestly doesn't bother me if the plot doesn't advance. I don't mind if Rich is still doing the strip in 2030, although it'd be kind of lame if they still haven't beaten Xykon in... one strip every two weeks is 25 a year, roughly, times 15 years is actually 'only' 375 more strips.

...Wow. You know, that's horribly plausible at this rate.

Even so, I won't actually mind, as long as the individual strips continue to contain the humor and good times that I first started reading them for. This had some good Dungeon Crawling Fools entertainment in there, so I'm a happy man.

What I do not want to see is endless depressing introspection. Or big pretty filler pages in which essentially nothing happens. I would read different comics for that.

[Irbis]

Looks like that more frequent updating was a false alarm huh?

Hmm, yeah.

Wait, did the artificer improve the item for free? And can you even use familiars for item holding?

Also, I wonder if 'Hats' in first panel were dig at TF2 or some obscure D&D joke.

...Wow. You know, that's horribly plausible at this rate.

What's worse, at current bloated book sizes we can still be in current book...

[Ahriman238]

I seem to recall there's a mechanism for sharing spell-slots with your familiar. A feat, perhaps?

[Ralin]

I seem to recall there's a mechanism for sharing spell-slots with your familiar. A feat, perhaps?

Are you thinking of the way a 'personal' range spell can be cast on one's familiar or animal companion?

Really it makes much more sense to give the familiar some sort of wand to activate.

[Grumman]

Wait, did the artificer improve the item for free? And can you even use familiars for item holding? :

This is purely an aesthetic change. Ioun stones don't take up any of the usual slots, so having it strapped to your familiar's leg is functionally identical to having it circling around your head.

[Irbis]

So, remember how some overly optimistic people thought these 2 strips coming out back to back were a trend, not just cheap gag (plus ad for new book) showing yet another finger to critics? Goood times.

Seriously, it was month ago, and in that time a single strip come out. In a month. Filler one, to boot...

[Lord of the Abyss]

968 up!
Spoiler

So, the real Durkon not being in charge is in fact how vampirism normally works. I was wondering if he was a special case or not. And at least a few mortals know this, so the party might discover it at some point.

And we have a hint why Vamp!Durkon wanted to check out the temples in town.

[Irbis]

I need to complain more. Every time I do, something opposite usually happens, so I am just doing universe a favour

Oh, look, and it's something that maybe is somewhat plot related

[Ahriman238]

That was an incredibly smooth domination, by the way.

[Simon_Jester]

Aaaand #969 is up.

This looks like filler but may well be plot advancing. Belkar wants protection from charms because he keeps getting effortlessly dominated by Durkon; now he has it. Sort of.

[FaxModem1]

Well, if nothing else, it's confirmation that Belkar is still firmly in the evil category.

[Crazedwraith]

Well OotS seems a bit strange in regard to alignment. I mean looking at Roy's entrance to heaven. It seems possible to be an alignment on paper but actually something else in practise. Like Roy identifies as Lawful Good but the lady identified him from his actions as being more neutral. (using chaotic means to honor lawful requirements iirc).

So how and when does your 'alignment' change. I mean is it possible for Belkar to be 'evil' on paper while not being so in reality. What do detect evil spells and this ring actually detect, you know?

Or as you say, he's just less evil now not completely reformed.


eta: Anyway, I actually liked the strip. No jabs at the fans or anything. Just a good belkar scene. I'm actually starting to like him more and more. Which is presumably the idea if he's in for the chop.

[Simon_Jester]

Well OotS seems a bit strange in regard to alignment. I mean looking at Roy's entrance to heaven. It seems possible to be an alignment on paper but actually something else in practise. Like Roy identifies as Lawful Good but the lady identified him from his actions as being more neutral. (using chaotic means to honor lawful requirements iirc).

This is true. On the other hand, especially in a Lawful afterlife, it makes sense that the servants of that plane would weigh and judge you to see if you belong there. And, even if you do belong there, there's the question of how you should be treated. Do you need a probationary period? Are you an enlightened sage who can go directly to a higher level of spiritual being than most people can attain? Who knows?

[Grumman]

So how and when does your 'alignment' change. I mean is it possible for Belkar to be 'evil' on paper while not being so in reality. What do detect evil spells and this ring actually detect, you know?

An evil individual is defined by what they do at their worst. If you'll lay down your life to protect people in your clique but are happy to fuck over anyone outside of it, you're evil. Belkar's certainly a more nuanced type of evil, but he's still a jerk who will rip a woman off rather than admit he is what he is.

[LadyTevar]

An evil individual is defined by what they do at their worst. If you'll lay down your life to protect people in your clique but are happy to fuck over anyone outside of it, you're evil. Belkar's certainly a more nuanced type of evil, but he's still a jerk who will rip a woman off rather than admit he is what he is.

Oddly, he seems to feel bad enough about it he didn't go out to dinner with her. Even the cat noticed.

[Bedlam]

An evil individual is defined by what they do at their worst. If you'll lay down your life to protect people in your clique but are happy to fuck over anyone outside of it, you're evil. Belkar's certainly a more nuanced type of evil, but he's still a jerk who will rip a woman off rather than admit he is what he is.

Oddly, he seems to feel bad enough about it he didn't go out to dinner with her. Even the cat noticed.

It's easy to screw over someone you just met in a shop, its a bit harder if you're sitting opposite them in a restaurant chatting for a few hours. They're more real to you then.

[Simon_Jester]

#970 is up.

Hm. I feel like this is foreshadowing a moment at which Durkula turns on the party. Also an amusing blink-and-you'll-miss-it wand joke from, uh... B. The woman from the airship.

[Grumman]

Also an amusing blink-and-you'll-miss-it wand joke from, uh... B. The woman from the airship.

I had to read it a few times before I saw it. The glacial pacing hurt here - the setup was back in July.

[Rogue 9]

More importantly, is that Thog?