MitD VIII: Everything we know about MITD (but were afraid Tarrasque)

[Theory]

Awaken is a rather poor choice, it can explain talking and strength, possibly odor, though it can't explain the Escape, or not being hurt by Milko's weapons. In addition, a talking animal, while reasonable to appear in a circus, wouldn't exactly evoke the reaction. An Awakened animal/plant, I could buy as the MitD, but further things to explain the other scenes doesn't seem all that guessable.

At this point, I'd have to agree.

Still, I wonder if Serini Toormuck's monster search for "the strongest" monsters might still be related. It seems like the OotScribble have had a hand in most large plot elements, and it would and a nice bit of "full circle" to the reveal. In that spirit, it may be worthwhile to see if there are possible clues that are not obviously related to the MitD, but possibly to time frame of his origins.

Shot it the dark, to be sure, but it seems like we really need more information. Granted, that information may or may not exist in print at the present.

[DaggerPen]

I've seen theories that another of the MitD species will turn up at Kraagor's Gate, with the two prevailing variations being that it'll be MitD's father and that it'll be a girl member of said species.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I've seen theories that another of the MitD species will turn up at Kraagor's Gate, with the two prevailing variations being that it'll be MitD's father and that it'll be a girl member of said species.

That's an interesting theory. I think that it could be pretty likely too. After all, if you go through the trouble of defending your gate with the strongest creatures, then you should probably include whatever the MitD is. The part about it being his father strikes me as less likely, but a girl might appear.

[Throknor]

That's an interesting theory. I think that it could be pretty likely too. After all, if you go through the trouble of defending your gate with the strongest creatures, then you should probably include whatever the MitD is. The part about it being his father strikes me as less likely, but a girl might appear.

Simply having another of the same species would be enough to start an identity crisis with the MITD without needing to throw in a family or potential attraction. But how sentient would Sirini use? I read it as she would use more traditionally 'dumb' creatures that would be content to just sit around and attack anyone that invaded their lairs. So, for example, a dragon would be out - an evil one might use the gate, and a good one probably couldn't be talked into mere guard duty. While he did knock her about the first thing MITD did was just talked to Miko. If she'd countered his 'hit softest' suggestion with Monopoly he probably would have happily started playing.

Not sure that's coming through, but what I'm trying to say is if his intelligence and enjoyment of sunlight is natural and not a template then I couldn't see any of his species hanging in a dungeon for decades on the off chance someone might wander in. Unless he also normally sleeps for decades at a time and wouldn't get bored.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Simply having another of the same species would be enough to start an identity crisis with the MITD without needing to throw in a family or potential attraction. But how sentient would Sirini use? I read it as she would use more traditionally 'dumb' creatures that would be content to just sit around and attack anyone that invaded their lairs. So, for example, a dragon would be out - an evil one might use the gate, and a good one probably couldn't be talked into mere guard duty. While he did knock her about the first thing MITD did was just talked to Miko. If she'd countered his 'hit softest' suggestion with Monopoly he probably would have happily started playing.

Not sure that's coming through, but what I'm trying to say is if his intelligence and enjoyment of sunlight is natural and not a template then I couldn't see any of his species hanging in a dungeon for decades on the off chance someone might wander in. Unless he also normally sleeps for decades at a time and wouldn't get bored.

I think that some of that characteristics that the MitD has are not what other members of his species would. It may also be possible that Serini has set up a habitat that a creature like the MitD would be happy to exits in, whatever his natural habitat is.

[Emanick]

But how sentient would Sirini use? I read it as she would use more traditionally 'dumb' creatures that would be content to just sit around and attack anyone that invaded their lairs. So, for example, a dragon would be out - an evil one might use the gate, and a good one probably couldn't be talked into mere guard duty.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out dragons. I can see Serini, say, putting in traps that would Call a dragon in to fight any intruders. I could see plenty of Good dragons agreeing to that kind of a setup, and maybe some Evil ones as well (for the right price).

[lothos]

I've seen theories that another of the MitD species will turn up at Kraagor's Gate, with the two prevailing variations being that it'll be MitD's father and that it'll be a girl member of said species.

I'm not certain if I was the first to propose it, but I've held that theory since February 2009. I don't know how to link to my specific post, but it's on this page, about 2/3 the way down. I used to be able to do it before the forum search was removed, but I managed to find the page at least through google.

By the way - love the new thread name. I haven't posted to these threads for a while as I've really not got much of value to contribute, but I do read through the new ideas every so often.

[ChristianSt]

I'm not certain if I was the first to propose it, but I've held that theory since February 2009. I don't know how to link to my specific post, but it's on this page, about 2/3 the way down. I used to be able to do it before the forum search was removed, but I managed to find the page at least through google.

By the way - love the new thread name. I haven't posted to these threads for a while as I've really not got much of value to contribute, but I do read through the new ideas every so often.

It is certainly possible - though I don't see how this (speculative) information adds any insight to the question "what is the MITD"?


[Off topic] There are several ways to link to your post: you can click on the #XY in the right corner of a post to get this link or click again on the thread title on that page to get to the post in context or you can use the post tag to get this link (doesn't open in a new window) - or if you want, you can just quote the post.

[Ron Miel]

I don't know how to link to my specific post, but it's on this page, about 2/3 the way down.

Easy.

1) move your mouse pointer to the post number in the brown bar. Your post looks like :
Spoilers - Top - End - #37

so you would hover over the #37.

2) right-click and select 'open in new tab'

That will open a link to a single post

3) At the very top of the page you will see View Single Post ...... Thread: [thread name]

4) just click on the thread name,and it will open up the thread, opened to the specific post.

I used to be able to do it before the forum search was removed, but I managed to find the page at least through google.

The search function has been reinstated.

By the way - love the new thread name.

Thanks, it was mine.

[lothos]

It is certainly possible - though I don't see how this (speculative) information adds any insight to the question "what is the MitD"?

Agreed. I just wanted to try and claim some kudos (if there is any to be had) in case this theory does turn out to be true. The only way this would help to determine what MitD is would be if Rich explicitly stated "Hey, MitD Will be revealed at Kraagor's Gate and there will be another member of his species at the gate, oh, and that other member of the species won't be a sibling". In that (extremely unlikely) circumstance, we could probably all but rule out template stacking, as we could conclude he was a member of a true-breeding species.

[Off topic] There are several ways to link to your post: you can click on the #XY in the right corner of a post to get this link or click again on the thread title on that page to get to the post in context or you can use the post tag to get this link (doesn't open in a new window) - or if you want, you can just quote the post.

Thanks to both of you who replied on how to do that. I don't post often these days. I have a 10 month old son who occupies a lot of my time :-)

[Reddish Mage]

I tend to think that revealing a member of the MitD's species before the MitD uncloaks to be a sort of ultimate show-stealer. Unless say the beast is so strong it threatens TPK and the MitD reveals itself just in time to save "Flopsy."

[LadyEowyn]

lothos - Just commenting to say I'm a fan of your Vorlon avatar.

[lolthfollower]

Ssuming it's from the 3.5 monster manual, there isnt any possible monster. What medium or smaller creature with DR, some form of telekinesis or grasping imbs and is capable of creating an earthquake is there? My most wild, unlikely theory ever: It is a piece of the Snarl.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Ssuming it's from the 3.5 monster manual, there isnt any possible monster.

Luckily, we are not just limited to that one book.

What medium or smaller creature with DR, some form of telekinesis or grasping imbs and is capable of creating an earthquake is there?

You are making a lot of assumptions about the abilities of the MitD.

My most wild, unlikely theory ever: It is a piece of the Snarl.

Impossible, as that is something the Giant has invented. That is also among the most frequent (and annoying) guesses out there.

Before posting in here, I would read the first post, as it invalidates most of your statements.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I think a key question is: "what would The Giant think of, knowing what we do about him? What would he find interesting/funny/exciting?"

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I think a key question is: "what would The Giant think of, knowing what we do about him? What would he find interesting/funny/exciting?"

I disagree. That question can only be answered by one individual, and he is not participating in this thread (except insofar as he provides the clues). What you, me and every other random person thinks the Giant would answer that question is completely subjective and not at all valuable to the thread. On the other hand, that question is probably an important one when it comes to selecting your personal pick for MitD, in which case go for it, but this thread is not concerned about that.

Grey Wolf

[Ghost Nappa]

I think a key question is: "what would The Giant think of, knowing what we do about him? What would he find interesting/funny/exciting?"

I disagree. That question can only be answered by one individual, and he is not participating in this thread (except insofar as he provides the clues). What you, me and every other random person thinks the Giant would answer that question is completely subjective and not at all valuable to the thread. On the other hand, that question is probably an important one when it comes to selecting your personal pick for MitD, in which case go for it, but this thread is not concerned about that.

Grey Wolf

Not to mention you're relying on an unspecific inquiry on information that's at least 10 years old.

The question you want us to ask is "What books were the Giant reading in 2004 that he thought were funny?" Reapply to every medium of entertainment across all possible authors. so long as they were published before MitD's first appearance.

We know for a fact (read: or rather it has been said) that his consumption has changed as he no longer games as much as he used to (Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tails) after switching to publishing OotS full-time in I want to say '07 or '08.

tl;dr: If you want to speculate, narrow the search field a bit lot.

[Socksy]

AUUGGHHHHHHHHH. I actually groaned. That is the most terrible pun I've seen in weeks. Which by the laws of puns, also makes it one of the best, but still. Oww!

[...]

If we haven't covered this already, SSDT proves, via the "Have I been updated?" line, that the MITD was a D&D monster in one of the editions.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

If we haven't covered this already, SSDT proves, via the "Have I been updated?" line, that the MITD was a D&D monster in one of the editions.

I disagree. Without an answer, the question doesn't tell us anything solid. For example, all these could fit the question:
1) No, you were never stat'ed in the first place
2) Sure, from 2nd to 3rd
3) No, you are still first ed.

etc.

Grey Wolf

[...]

I disagree. Without an answer, the question doesn't tell us anything solid. For example, all these could fit the question:
1) No, you were never stat'ed in the first place
2) Sure, from 2nd to 3rd
3) No, you are still first ed.

etc.

Grey Wolf

True for the first one, but I did point out that he could be in any edition so 2 and 3 I already covered.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

If we haven't covered this already, SSDT proves, via the "Have I been updated?" line, that the MITD was a D&D monster in one of the editions.

Not necessarily. For example, he may think he was in a previous edition, but in fact wasn't. Or he may be unaware of whether or not he was even in a previous edition.

[Shale]

Plus he has D&D stats now, by virtue of existing in a D&D universe, even if he was homebrewed into it.

[SavageWombat]

Plus he has D&D stats now, by virtue of existing in a D&D universe, even if he was homebrewed into it.

Not if he's The Lady of Pain.

[Throknor]

If anything it illustrates that he still doesn't know what he can or can't do. If he knew what he was he'd know if he'd been upgraded. The Order recognized immediately that they'd been upgraded when their abilities changed at the start of the online comics. While he may not have gone through an Update, it is also plausible he didn't notice (as he wasn't trying to use abilities before or after) or simply doesn't remember as part of his overall ignorance of his past.

(Though I'd taken it as a joke about being near Xykon getting 4th edition abilities and simply wondering if he did in the book as well. Since that clearly hasn't happened in the ongoing story, I think all of their comments are throwaways. [Note: my book is packed away; I'm going off of memory.])

[b_jonas]

I was trying to see if there were any Magic: the Gathering cards that could represent the MitD. I haven't found anything convincing, but I'll share what I've found so far just in case anyone wants to follow through. Even without searching, I don't think it likely that the MitD could be based directly on a Magic: the Gathering card, because of copyright problems.

The most interesting card is Nightscape Battlemage. (This card is first released in 2001, so it's old enough.)

The second ability of this creature lets you return up to two creatures from the battlefield to their owner's hands. If the MitD is a Nightscape Battlemage, then we've seen him use this ability at least twice, possibly more times, once each time he appears in the story. The MitD has sent two creatures, O-Chul and Vaarsuvius, away, though Nightscape Battlemage would need some outside help to do this during a battle with Xykon. He has sent Miko and his horse Windstriker away from the tower (this probably counts as just one creature). He has made Xykon and Redcloak away from Windy Canyon, though Xykon could cast a dangerous spell while the MitD's ability was on the stack. He may have helped Xykon and Redcloak escape from Dorukan's dungeon. (These last two aren't good fits, because the MitD went with them too, so it would be returning three creatures.)

The third ability of the Battlemage is a land destruction ability. We may have seen the MitD use this when he made huge cracks in the earth with his stomp, and when he punched Miko and Windstriker so hard they made a hole in the tower. The MitD knows he has this ability, if the kicker cost (baked beans) is payed.

One point against Nightscape Battlemage is that it is a black creature, which doesn't match the MitD's personality: the MitD actively cares about his friends and tries to help them. You could say though that Nightscape Battlemage is the MitD's species, but this individual MitD is somehow of a different color.

There are lots of cards and I haven't searched everything possible, so there are likely cards that fit better. You can help, or I might try to search more later.

[Shale]

Not if he's The Lady of Pain.

He leaves a trail Belkar can track, so he's not wearing a Ring of Levitation, and his demonstrated stats and abilities are way out of line with what you'd expect from four giant squirrels. I'm not seeing it.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

He leaves a trail Belkar can track, so he's not wearing a Ring of Levitation

This does not follow. MitD was at least carrying Roy's body, and possibly a table, chairs, plush dolls, etc. Even if MitD himself was not touching the ground, he would still be leaving a track.

GW

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I'm really hoping we swing around to Team Evil soon so we can see more of the MitD and possibly get some more hints. I feel like we haven't really been improving that much.

[b_jonas]

I'm really hoping we swing around to Team Evil soon so we can see more of the MitD and possibly get some more hints. I feel like we haven't really been improving that much.

I hope no. The MitD is a super-weapon, he should be used in the most important fights, not overexposed.