THE OotS Thread, Part IV.

[Kuja]

Kuja? Where did that clip come from?

As for Tarquin's questions about "Where is the Growth?" I think we saw plenty of growth for Elan.

It's from a trippy Pearl Jam music video.

However if he continues to follow the course he is on Tarquin is going to end up not being defeated by his son like he wants to happen but to have the real villian just kill him for just the fun of it.

I'd love for Tarquin to show up in the last arc, alone because he's called in all his favors from his buddies by now, only to get iced by Xykon after a page.

[Lord of the Abyss]

However if he continues to follow the course he is on Tarquin is going to end up not being defeated by his son like he wants to happen but to have the real villian just kill him for just the fun of it.

I'd love for Tarquin to show up in the last arc, alone because he's called in all his favors from his buddies by now, only to get iced by Xykon after a page.

Or by Redcloak; he never even gets to Xykon, he gets offhandedly killed by a clearly preoccupied Redcloak and casually tossed in a ditch.


Xykon: "Who was that?"

Redcloak: "Don't know; just some random encounter."

[Alphawolf55]

Well there's also the fact that Namor just isn't that likable.

[Alkaloid]

I doubt we'll see Tarquin again. At the moment he's a man who let his ego blow the only chance he really had to be involved.

He could have been the powerful villain who aids the heroes because they are saving the world and he owns a considerable chunk of it, but who the have to account for because they rightly suspect he's going to screw them once they defeat Xykon. Instead, he's a bit part character who served as a device to allow some character development for one character and then was abandoned once the story was done with him.

He can't really be any more thoroughly defeated.

[Sharp-kun]

While we may not see any more of him in the comic itself (I think we will though), I would be surprised if Elan/The Order doesn't deal with him as part of the epilogue or we find out something else happened to him.

Unless Elan feels that leaving the Western Continent in the state its in is worth one-upping his dad, which I doubt.

[Spekio]

Well, It seems I am late to the party. Satisfying ending, and, re-reading the strip with the arc completed, it does not seem to drag so much.

Perhaps I should wait two more years to read the next arc in full?

[Isolder74]

While we may not see any more of him in the comic itself (I think we will though), I would be surprised if Elan/The Order doesn't deal with him as part of the epilogue or we find out something else happened to him.

Unless Elan feels that leaving the Western Continent in the state its in is worth one-upping his dad, which I doubt.

Considering how he's been acting Tarquin might be pridefull enough to try getting rid of Xykon and Redcloak in order to make himself be the villain because he thinks he's suppose to be the center of the universe.


That will not end well.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Xykon could likely take out Tarquin without even trying. Redcloak might have to exert effort, but since he's an evil Cleric surrounded by undead...

[Irbis]

Xykon could likely take out Tarquin without even trying. Redcloak might have to exert effort, but since he's an evil Cleric surrounded by undead...

Effort?

Last time we saw Redcloak he was 17th level, while Tarquin's party was almost universally pegged to be higher than that. I don't see Redcloak winning that fight at all unless he somehow manages to dump all of his 9th level spells on Tarquin without being cut to ribbons by attacks of opportunity. Redcloak lost to Miko, which was considerably weaker than T., his anti-melee tactics sucked so far.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Cleric vs Fighter favors the Cleric, even when the Fighter is higher level. Being able to kill someone with a few words and gestures is really quite nice. And again, he's surrounded by undead that he can send in to keep Tarquin from doing much of anything. Sure, if Tarquin gets in melee range Redcloak would have to flee. But it would take a lot to get that close when Redcloak has an army around him.

[Irbis]

Is he surrounded? That was more of a Tsukiko shtick, Redcloak stated he despises them. Sure, he used them when necessary, but last time we saw him, he was completely alone and had to use summoned creature to do anything. Killing with a word is nice and all, but a simple protection from death effects and negative energy shuts down 3/4 of best cleric spells and you can bet T. thought of that.

[Crazedwraith]

937 is up

Wait, Belkar still isn't getting healed? This doesn't bode well.

[Rogue 9]

Cure potions won't fix ability damage.

[Raesene]

hmmm..

past dwarven lands ? someone is definitely returing posthumously, but maybe not causing the havoc I expected him to (yet, anyway).

[Kuja]

That last panel is hysterical.

[Lord of the Abyss]

938 up!
Spoiler

Not much happening, but I like the information that Julio did recognize Elan's resemblance to Tarquin right off, way back when.

[Ahriman238]

It made for a better story.

Heredity is a cruel mistress, and seems to extend somehow to adoptive father-figures.

[Ralin]

"one of my B-list villains"



I like the idea of what Burlew was trying to do with Tarquin being a delusional control freak at heart, but I'm still not sure how well he pulled it off. There are things that support it, but Tarquin did seem pretty damned competent earlier in the arc.

[Crazedwraith]

'This is not a thing that's going to happen'

man, Burlew, why you got to kill the awesome of Order Stickier?

[Lord of the Abyss]

"one of my B-list villains"



I like the idea of what Burlew was trying to do with Tarquin being a delusional control freak at heart, but I'm still not sure how well he pulled it off. There are things that support it, but Tarquin did seem pretty damned competent earlier in the arc.

Think about it. As Julio said, Tarquin's most glaring flaw is that everything has to be about him; and of course there's his insistence that everything follows his view of what the story is supposed to be like. Well, when he was acting in his capacity as the secret ruler of the Empire of Blood, pretty much everything was centered around him and everything followed "the Story" because he had the power to make it so. It's when he started dealing with matters that weren't all about him and was no longer able to force everyone to follow "the Story" that he started to go off the rails, largely because he kept acting as if he was still the focal point of the story he thought he was in.

It's sort of like story with a paranoid who looks really competent because he's in a situation where everyone really is plotting against him...but if he's put in a less hostile environment sudden it becomes clear that he wasn't being alert, he was being pathological.

[Kuja]

"one of my B-list villains"

Such a great line.

[Irbis]

New OotS up.
Spoiler

Um... Yes, I get how he is useful, but Roy seems to take is much too quickly and easily. Ok, he at least has excuse of being Durkon's friend with similar alignment for longer that OotS exist, but the other two don't. No one shows any hesitation for a cheap gag?

[Ahriman238]

Linky to 939.
Spoiler

They intend to resurrect him, in the meantime he's useful as opposed to dead weight. Roy is still willing to trust him, which probably does a lot to convince Elan and Haley, he's known Durkon the longest.

[Simon_Jester]

Roy's always been decisive, and good at taking an unexpected situation and coming up with a decent plan for dealing with it. On the other hand, he's always assumed his friends were essentially loyal to him, with the exception of Belkar who he knew was an unstable psychopath ever since they first met.

It's basically why he's in charge as far as I can tell. So when Durkon got vampirized, Roy started thinking and planning quickly. He may be trusting Durkon too far, this may be a mistake, but it's something that flows out of his character in a very natural way.

[I don't see this as a spoiler because all of it applies equally well to all the conversations Roy's had about Durkula in previous strips]

[Irbis]

Spoiler

I meant, eh, magic restoration or not, that was awfully fast to just agree "sure, this undead, negative energy filled monstrosity can drink my blood". Yes, they have all bad options, but not even a little hesitation?