Murphy's Law 6: Will we ever stop burning through threads so quickly?

[Shadowknight12]

Ooo khopesh! Excellent choice! Can't wait to see what's next.

[RdMarquis]

Nothing a few fireballs can't handle... :)

Or maybe something less violent. Like hold person or something? Also, whatever these guys have between them has me interested. Do they worship the same god/dess, then?

[Alagaesian]

I'm pretty sure they worship different gods entirely. Rockwell is the god of orcs, and Golek is the god of goblinoids. Despite a lot of people trying throw the Plaavans into a single box marked "Heretic Hellspawn", the Plaavan races are not all chummy brothers. They have different religions and traditions, and this can sometimes lead to conflicts between the different races. It reminds me of what happened to the Native Americans and other tribal civilizations when imperialism swept through.

Nice comic as always, Coffee.

[CoffeeIncluded]

I'm pretty sure they worship different gods entirely. Rockwell is the god of orcs, and Golek is the god of goblinoids. Despite a lot of people trying throw the Plaavans into a single box marked "Heretic Hellspawn", the Plaavan races are not all chummy brothers. They have different religions and traditions, and this can sometimes lead to conflicts between the different races. It reminds me of what happened to the Native Americans and other tribal civilizations when imperialism swept through.

Nice comic as always, Coffee.

A round of applause for Alagaesian, who got it!

[Asta Kask]

Or maybe something less violent. Like hold person or something?

"As the power of the explosions go to infinity, the number of social situations they can't solve go to zero."

[Marnath]

"....And that would be wrong."

[legomaster00156]

"As the power of the explosions go to infinity, the number of social situations they can't solve go to zero."

I don't think that getting something translated is one of the situations that an explosion can solve.

[HalfTangible]

I don't think that getting something translated is one of the situations that an explosion can solve.

No, but if you make the explosion large enough the need to translate will sooner or later be unneeded, either because the explosion caught the sheet or the explosion caught the problem.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Please remember that they are guests of the prince. It's not exactly the time to blow up his city.

Also, I'll just come out and say it: The Plavaan are extremely tribal. Why do you think they haven't united yet, even with all the, uh, "outside pressures"? Now they're being forced to unify, simply for survival, but...

I'd be able to describe this better if I were less tired.

[Asta Kask]

How'd the animal shelter thingy go?

[Alagaesian]

Yay, applause!

I always kind of figured that the Plaavans were organized into several small, farm-based towns trading with nearby towns for any vital resources. Towns of similar race are bound together by a shared religion and racism against other the other two races. However, since Astrid did not bless their land, their fields are not very fertile. They don't have the time or technology to focus on anything besides putting food on the table and protecting their fields from the other Plaavan races.

By my perception of things, the Plaavan towns had a technology level similar to the Dark Ages. When Kago marched in with its steel swords and armor, the Plaavans didn't stand a chance. They didn't have any sort of inter-town government, so there was no one out there to make a united Plaavan army. Plus, it's not like any Drow town is going to send soldiers to a neighboring Orc village when they've been having land disputes for centuries.

There are two things out there that could unite the Plaavan races. The first one is the integration of the Plaavans into a modern society where they will become equals to humans, elves, etc, and most importantly, each other. The second one is a super-charismatic leader going from town to town, city to city, urging all the Plaavan races to unite against the common foe of Kago so that they may avenge their loved ones with the blood of those savages.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Yay, applause!

I always kind of figured that the Plaavans were organized into several small, farm-based towns trading with nearby towns for any vital resources. Towns of similar race are bound together by a shared religion and racism against other the other two races. However, since Astrid did not bless their land, their fields are not very fertile. They don't have the time or technology to focus on anything besides putting food on the table and protecting their fields from the other Plaavan races.

By my perception of things, the Plaavan towns had a technology level similar to the Dark Ages. When Kago marched in with its steel swords and armor, the Plaavans didn't stand a chance. They didn't have any sort of inter-town government, so there was no one out there to make a united Plaavan army. Plus, it's not like any Drow town is going to send soldiers to a neighboring Orc village when they've been having land disputes for centuries.

There are two things out there that could unite the Plaavan races. The first one is the integration of the Plaavans into a modern society where they will become equals to humans, elves, etc, and most importantly, each other. The second one is a super-charismatic leader going from town to town, city to city, urging all the Plaavan races to unite against the common foe of Kago so that they may avenge their loved ones with the blood of those savages.

Actually, large swaths of the Alavaan plains are extremely fertile. But they're very nomadic, and tend to fight over the best spots. The rest is close though.

[Asta Kask]

Nomadic herders tend to be the best warriors available - plain nomads were the bane of civilization from the very beginning up until the 18th century.

Slash-and-burn agriculturalists, OTOH, would move every few years and do not tend to be great warriors (although there are exceptions - the Germanic tribes that threatened Rome and were stopped by Gaius Marius, for instance.)

[M@XWeru]

By my perception of things, the Plaavan towns had a technology level similar to the Dark Ages. When Kago marched in with its steel swords and armor, the Plaavans didn't stand a chance.

This would make sense, if it weren't for the fact that they're using DnD rules. They probably just didn't have as many wizards. :P

[Hawkfrost000]

Nomadic herders tend to be the best warriors available - plain nomads were the bane of civilization from the very beginning up until the 18th century.

This is true, I has been proven that nomadic herders/hunter gatherers were actually bigger, stronger and healthier than people in an agriculcheral economy.

The hunter gatherers of the ice age stood closer to 6 feet while the 9th to 14 th century farmers were much closer to five feet.

DM

[Alagaesian]

This would make sense, if it weren't for the fact that they're using DnD rules. They probably just didn't have as many wizards. :P

I'm not too familiar with DnD, but I'm pretty sure full steel armor adds more to your AC than leather. Also, a lower tech level in the Plaavan civilization means that it's harder for them to produce masterwork weapons. A group of 100 Kago soldiers with a masterwork weapon each is definitely stronger than a village of 100 Plaavans with maybe twenty assorted masterwork weapons, some kitchen knives and farm tools, and a ton of sharpened sticks they prepared at the last minute.

But, yeah, they probably don't have many wizards either. They ones they do have can't be too strong because their civilization couldn't have discovered the high-level spells yet.

[M@XWeru]

A group of 100 Kago soldiers with a masterwork weapon each is definitely stronger than a village of 100 Plaavans with maybe twenty assorted masterwork weapons, some kitchen knives and farm tools, and a ton of sharpened sticks they prepared at the last minute.

Not if the Plavaans were wizards.

[CoffeeIncluded]

No, very few Plavaan know magic. And if you don't know the proper training, you won't know much. Learning spells is like going to school in this world. A basic education will give you basic low-level spells. You need to go to labs or universities to learn more, and it's the labs and research universities that can develop the higher-leveled spells. You'll see what I'm talking about in a few comics.

Update tomorrow, guys!

[Asta Kask]

Could have a few sorcerers, though.

[HalfTangible]

Could have a few sorcerers, though.

Sorcery in most stories requires you have a lineage traceable to a highly magical creature. They're probably very rare, and even then it's possible Coffee decided to make hers different and need study.

[legomaster00156]

Could have a few sorcerers, though.

Their dependability depends on what spells they spontaneously learn.

[Hiro Protagonest]

A group of 100 Kago soldiers with a masterwork weapon each is definitely stronger than a village of 100 Plaavans with maybe twenty assorted masterwork weapons, some kitchen knives and farm tools, and a ton of sharpened sticks they prepared at the last minute.

Not according to D&D rules. Orcs get +4 strength, which means +2 to attack and damage, compared to a masterwork's +1 attack. Drow have some racial abilities. Goblins are going to outnumber humans.

Their dependability depends on what spells they spontaneously learn.

In D&D, you get to pick your sorcerer spells, so it works the same way in the Murphy's Law universe.

[HalfTangible]

Not according to D&D rules. Orcs get +4 strength, which means +2 to attack and damage, compared to a masterwork's +1 attack. Drow have some racial abilities. Goblins are going to outnumber humans.


In D&D, you get to pick your sorcerer spells, so it works the same way in the Murphy's Law universe.

You forgot their armor.

[Worlok]

You forgot their armor.

And their wizards. (Sorry! )

But come to think of it - Was the drow with the snake familiar that Lloyd and his unit... uhm... pacified way back then, perhaps a bigger deal in Plavaan lands than we know about? Where magic is rare, I'd figure someone with such abilities would come to hold some relevance, even beyond the limits of his own community - which I understand the guy led, anyhow? Did I miss the relevant information or will that encounter have some as-of-yet-unspecified repercussions further down the road? (or, well, both of the above?)

[Alagaesian]

No, very few Plavaan know magic. And if you don't know the proper training, you won't know much. Learning spells is like going to school in this world. A basic education will give you basic low-level spells. You need to go to labs or universities to learn more, and it's the labs and research universities that can develop the higher-leveled spells. You'll see what I'm talking about in a few comics.

Update tomorrow, guys!

Are you implying that college students are high-level wizards?

That would actually be pretty cool. People would be using Time Stop to finish their term papers on time.

Also, I always assumed that drow with a snake was a druid.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Are you implying that college students are high-level wizards?

That would actually be pretty cool. People would be using Time Stop to finish their term papers on time.

Time Stop only lasts about 18-24 seconds.

[Worlok]

Create infinite term paper completion loop.

Break reality.

Final destination!

That would actually be cool.

[HalfTangible]

Time Stop only lasts about 18-24 seconds.

He never said it would be a GOOD paper :P

[M@XWeru]

Time Stop only lasts about 18-24 seconds.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

[CoffeeIncluded]

*Whew* Finally, update time!

#143: Again, A Weekly Occurrence