Things You Never Noticed V: Your Familiar

[Darth Paul]

Funny you should mention colors, just when I was realizing that members of the Sapphire Guard get a sapphire Archon to guide them in the afterlife. (Note the bottom of the last panel in the strip...)

[D.One]

With Greek, you have no choice but to learn colours, but that's because they used a different chromatic scale. Plus, they put colours everywhere in their poetry, especially Sappho.

OK, now you've got me curious. A different chromatic scale?

[Peelee]

OK, now you've got me curious. A different chromatic scale?

I remember something about ancient Greeks not seeing blue. I'm putting it very poorly, but I suspect someone what will elaborate. In any event, it's enough to go on with Google if you're interested in doing the legwork.

[Fyraltari]

I'm not sure but I remember being told that some tongues (like japanese) don't differentiate between blue and green and that orange is a (relatively) modern invention.

[Vinyadan]

OK, now you've got me curious. A different chromatic scale?

It's not that they didn't see blue: they used it for statues and paintings, plus they had the sky and the sea all around them. However, since Greek painting is mostly lost, and statue colours have been mostly washed away by time, it's unusual to see blue on ancient Greek art.

Spoiler

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Greek painting on wood found in Pitsa, end of VI century BC

The thing is, they used a single word to put together different colour shades than we would. So they used only one word for both black and blue (kyanos), they described the sea as wine-coloured, they said that sheep was erythros, the same word they used for things we describe as red, and they used the word that we translate as "green" (chlorós) to actually mean a colour ranging between green and yellow.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I'm not sure but I remember being told that some tongues (like japanese) don't differentiate between blue and green and that orange is a (relatively) modern invention.

Not sure about orange, but pink is definitely a modern invention, having been "pale red" before. It's association to girls is also very modern: before the 1920s, in western countries, blue was for girls (since it is a colour associated to Mary mother of Jesus) while red, including pale red, being the colour of blood, was for boys.

The mix of green and blue is called (by people that study such things) "grue", and it is quite common. But it also happens the other way round: Russian has two words for pale bleu versus dark blue:


Grey Wolf

[Rogar Demonblud]

I'm not sure but I remember being told that some tongues (like Japanese) don't differentiate between blue and green and that orange is a (relatively) modern invention.

In armorial bearings, there was a light brown called 'tenny'* that was generally applied as a distinction of the negative kind. From this we got both 'tawny' for the original color and the color eventually morphing into shades of orange (it was made with grated up oranges, apparently, which is why we call it 'orange').

*hence also Tenny-son as the surname of a poet you might have heard of.

[D.One]

Wow, thanks. I've googled it and found some things about the grue thing, quite in line with what was told here.

[Kaytara]

Was rereading some stuff and boy. Love the little details.

Page 514:


Also from 516/517, something I HAVE noticed before but never got to share:



Aw. He got his shoes.

[Lord Torath]

Was rereading some stuff and boy. Love the little details.

Page 514:

Wow. How did I miss that? I always focused on the Gooda from Cliffport. Completely ignored who was "Imported from Greysky City".

[nabcif]

Something I noticed while reading the geekery thread:

Another question - was it ever established that Eugene's Blood Oath had any mechanical benefits? Or was it really basically just a self-inflicted curse, with no upside?

Presuming it's correct that there wasn't any mechanical advantage, it's thematically appropriate that Eugene only swore the oath to look good. That's why Xykon stole the crown to begin with, according to the bottom two rows of 434.

[Majiy]

I strip 467, Haley quotes her daddy, who "taught her the words of a very wise man":

You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away, know when to run.

To wich Belkar replies "The man makes some fine roast chiicken."

At the time I first read it, I thaught he was referring to Haley's father. Never having read "On the Origin of the PCs", I assumed they knew each other. But it later turns out, they never met until much later.

I just googled the text, and it is obviously from a song named The Gambler.

But I am still clueless how it is connected to roast chicken. What am I missing?

[Jasdoif]

I just googled the text, and it is obviously from a song named The Gambler.

But I am still clueless how it is connected to roast chicken. What am I missing?

Kenny Rogers is one of best known performers of The Gambler. He also founded a chain of chicken-based restaurants called Kenny Rogers Roasters.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I strip 467, Haley quotes her daddy, who "taught her the words of a very wise man":

You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away, know when to run.

To wich Belkar replies "The man makes some fine roast chiicken."

At the time I first read it, I thaught he was referring to Haley's father. Never having read "On the Origin of the PCs", I assumed they knew each other. But it later turns out, they never met until much later.

I just googled the text, and it is obviously from a song named The Gambler.

But I am still clueless how it is connected to roast chicken. What am I missing?

The song is sung by Kenny Rogers, who created the Kenny Rogers Roasters.

GW

[Majiy]

An age-old mystery, revealed at last.

Thanks :)

[TheWombatOfDoom]

An age-old mystery, revealed at last.

Thanks :)

This fact and more can be found in The Annotated Order of the Stick!

[D.One]

Beeen doing some re-reads, and saw this again. I really love the way V's completely theoretical and technical explanation is summed up by Haley's two words and the way V aknowledges this...

[MoleMage]

I never noticed that in 1105 Hilgya uses Turn Undead, not Rebuke Undead. Or rather, it didn't click with me what that meant vis a vis her alignment. Guess she's not truly an evil opposite so much as a Chaotic Neutral opposite.

Also, unless OotS rules are different from standard DnD (or Rich decided that it was better for her to have Turn Undead than Rebuke Undead), Loki can't be Evil.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I never noticed that in 1105 Hilgya uses Turn Undead, not Rebuke Undead. Or rather, it didn't click with me what that meant vis a vis her alignment. Guess she's not truly an evil opposite so much as a Chaotic Neutral opposite.

Also, unless OotS rules are different from standard DnD (or Rich decided that it was better for her to have Turn Undead than Rebuke Undead), Loki can't be Evil.

Or that, as suggested in 1107 that, despite being Evil, Loki's dislike of undead is so great he only grants his followers turning, a la Kelenvor.

GW

[rooster707]

I never noticed that in 1105 Hilgya uses Turn Undead, not Rebuke Undead. Or rather, it didn't click with me what that meant vis a vis her alignment. Guess she's not truly an evil opposite so much as a Chaotic Neutral opposite.

Also, unless OotS rules are different from standard DnD (or Rich decided that it was better for her to have Turn Undead than Rebuke Undead), Loki can't be Evil.

Oh gods, not this again...

[MoleMage]

Oh gods, not this again...

I don't read the discussion forums a lot (just homebrew mostly). I didn't notice until after my post that this had been hashed out already.

Also, I acknowledge that Rich does what is right for the plot more than what is right for the mechanics. They needed a party member who was good at fighting undead; turn made more sense than rebuke/bolster for that plot purpose, ergo Hilgya uses turn undead.

[Darth Paul]

I hadn't realized that after fighting the cactus to get Haley the flower on top, Elan still has some needles stuck in him. And of course Haley has the flower.

[Riftwolf]

In #1021, all the animal friends were injured by the UMD explosion... Except Bloodfeast. Just as a reminder he still has his pre-polymorph stats still.

[godsflunky]

I think Bloodfeast is a little scratched up if you look closely: there's a red line just behind the first dark stripe on his neck, and another one where his tail begins. The red blends in really well on his skin. But he may well not be as scratched up as a lizard his size ordinarily would be.

I was about to express some astonishment that Mr. Scruffy survived -- house cats are surprisingly durable, but not necessarily explosion-proof -- but then I remembered that all four of the companion animals present have names, and that presumably gave them a hit-point boost.

[ti'esar]

Don't remember for sure, but as a ranger's animal companion, I think Mr Scruffy is about as hard to kill as Belkar while the latter is alive.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Nowhere near that tough (being equivalent to the animal companion of a druid of one-half BB's ranger levels), but yes.

[Riftwolf]

In the current comic, Durkons soul has gold boot buckles. I don't remember him having those before.

[Ruck]

In the current comic, Durkons soul has gold boot buckles. I don't remember him having those before.

Nice catch. Seems to be an art upgrade with this book as opposed to a condition of being a soul, as Durkon had stick feet previously (and seems to in #946 though we can barely see his feet), and Durkula also has boot buckles in earlier comics this book.

[Vinyadan]

There is a Duckman episode with the ghost of an older relative saying, "What were you expecting, Patrick Swayze?" https://youtu.be/gWqI4Zeegag?t=1m33s

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0290.html

[ti'esar]

There is a Duckman episode with the ghost of an older relative saying, "What were you expecting, Patrick Swayze?" https://youtu.be/gWqI4Zeegag?t=1m33s

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0290.html

That's, uh, not a coincidence.