MitD X: If I told you, you wouldn't believe me

[Insane Jeenyus]

Congratulations. (Not on being tired... on the... you know, employment.)

Ah, thankyou for clearing that up (roflmao) And thank you very much for the congrats!

[unbeliever536]

Is it possible that MitD was plane shifted from the astral plane? He talks about possibly rembering something in strip #833 http://http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0833.html

It's possible, or it could be a lampshade on or hint towards whatever he is typically being extraplanar. Similarly Oona's comment about his size could indicate that he is young or otherwise smaller than normal for a reason, or just be a lampshade.

[Hardcore]

I have this idea that the astral plane
Is an ockhams razor, cutting away outsider entries. IOW if that plane doesn't exist in such universe, say pokemon, then it would take complex backstory to explain how MitD have familiarity with it. Otoh, explanations that are based on MitD being a dnd creature would be simpler.

[Dracoqwerty]

If this has been brought up before, my apologies, but, on re-reading "No Cure for the Paladin Blues," I noticed that the MitD says, after Redcloak corrects him on hoard vs horde, that "Technically I said that out loud," Could this be a clue to that the MitD has telepathy, or am I just reading this wrong.

Dracoqwerty

[Keltest]

If this has been brought up before, my apologies, but, on re-reading "No Cure for the Paladin Blues," I noticed that the MitD says, after Redcloak corrects him on hoard vs horde, that "Technically I said that out loud," Could this be a clue to that the MitD has telepathy, or am I just reading this wrong.

Dracoqwerty

Its making fun of the medium awareness that the characters possess, and how Redcloak should have not been able to distinguish between horde and hoard in speech.

[ti'esar]

That's a joke lampshading the fact that horde and hoard are homophones (spelled differently, sound identical), so Redcloak shouldn't have been able to know he was using the wrong one.

Edit:

[Throknor]

If this has been brought up before, my apologies, but, on re-reading "No Cure for the Paladin Blues," I noticed that the MitD says, after Redcloak corrects him on hoard vs horde, that "Technically I said that out loud," Could this be a clue to that the MitD has telepathy, or am I just reading this wrong.

Dracoqwerty

See also The Windy Windy Canyon.

[MrHatAndCloak]

Has anyone ever considered that in strip #259 (I would link it but I've only made 4 posts) MitD is easily identified by a random hobgoblin? It might just be a joke, but I think it's interesting. Maybe it's weak evidence that MitD is something an evil race like a hobgoblin would have an easier time identifying? Since O-Chul needed to consult scholars and even then wasn't sure.

[Emanick]

Has anyone ever considered that in strip #259 (I would link it but I've only made 4 posts) MitD is easily identified by a random hobgoblin? It might just be a joke, but I think it's interesting. Maybe it's weak evidence that MitD is something an evil race like a hobgoblin would have an easier time identifying? Since O-Chul needed to consult scholars and even then wasn't sure.

I was thinking about this just a day or two ago. I think it's probably just a joke, since in Start of Darkness

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a wizard says he's "never seen anything like [the MitD] before"

and, as you say, O-Chul had to consult a learned scholar in order to figure out what his friend was.

The possibility has been raised before that goblinoids might be particularly adept in identifying the MitD, for whatever reason, and I would consider being somehow connected to goblinoids a modest plus for any prospective MitD candidate. However, no decent candidate that I'm aware of has ever had that sort of connection, so I remain skeptical that this will be the avenue that leads us to triumph.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

It's also possible that Kodrog thought he knew what the MitD was, but was actually wrong.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

It's also possible that Kodrog thought he knew what the MitD was, but was actually wrong.

Or that he was going to describe it, rather than give it a name: it's a purplish green exoskeleton with meter-long feelers and squid eyes".

GW

[halfeye]

Or that he was going to describe it, rather than give it a name: it's a purplish green exoskeleton with meter-long feelers and squid eyes".

GW

Or:

http://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/...range-to-me-2/

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Purple_People_Eater

[Hardcore]

The more I read about the typical fluff for Proteans and Protean variants, the more I become quite convinced of Protean as the one. There's a lot of fluff about Proteans as related to the primordial chaos before the gods shaped the world, etc., which means the MitD could absolutely be tied into the main plot in a fashion both he and Lien would find unbelievable without ruining the guessability.

This is actually an interesting point. It is quite likely the author was inspired by his main plot idea when creating MitD.

[SavageWombat]

It bothers me that this thread fell off the main page.

Possible discussion question: What new information could Rich provide that would prove that the MitD isn't a Protean? I'm not sure there is an easy counterargument, with the Protean's definition being what it is.

[Qwertystop]

It bothers me that this thread fell off the main page.

Possible discussion question: What new information could Rich provide that would prove that the MitD isn't a Protean? I'm not sure there is an easy counterargument, with the Protean's definition being what it is.

Proteans have an add-on effect if they hit something twice in one round. Extra damage plus Con drain, no save, with a description that makes it seem highly visible. If MitD hits one target repeatedly and doesn't trigger that, that's evidence against.

Also, it only gets Extraordinary abilities from shapeshifting, not Supernatural or Spell-Like. If MitD does something that we can't find as an Ex ability, that's evidence against.

[Darth Paul]

It bothers me that this thread fell off the main page.

Well, we haven't had any new scenes of the MitD for a while now. There's only so many times one can go over the same information.

Occasionally new eyes see things from a different angle, but it also must be said that not everyone is devoted to solving the mystery. I stayed out for a long time, being content to wait for the reveal, before I got into the analysis game myself.

[Crusher]

It bothers me that this thread fell off the main page.

Possible discussion question: What new information could Rich provide that would prove that the MitD isn't a Protean? I'm not sure there is an easy counterargument, with the Protean's definition being what it is.

I'm a bit biased as I already don't think its a Protean, but in the interests of furthering your worthy goal, I'll contribute:

- MitD is not a Protean if the MitD is wounded by a "normal" attack (not fire or acid), and a short time later it is still wounded. Proteans have Regeneration 50 and it should be able to recover from a tremendous amount of damage in a very short amount of time.

[Insane Jeenyus]

I know what it is, i is Xykon from the future!

[unbeliever536]

I know what it is, i is Xykon from the future!

Did you mean: Xykon's alternate timeline son by Tsukiko?

[ti'esar]

Hey, now, let's leave the biophiliac shipping to the fanfiction sites.

[zimmerwald1915]

I know what it is, i is Xykon from the future!

Xykon's not from the future. He's from modern Earth.

Mr. Burlew said so.

[Crusher]

Xykon's not from the future. He's from modern Earth.

Mr. Burlew said so.

So... he's from the past?

[Quartz]

Do I remember correctly that the Monster got a paper cut? If so, was it from an ordinary bit of paper or a magic scroll or what?

[Darth Paul]

Do I remember correctly that the Monster got a paper cut? If so, was it from an ordinary bit of paper or a magic scroll or what?

From the letter written to Durkon by the High Priest in strip 375. Since it was on his tongue, that might be considered to ignore damage reduction (as he was eating, it wasn't an attack per se)- or else it goes by Rule of Funny. Or it was just, y'know, a paper cut.

[Kish]

Or what.

It could indicate a weakness to paper somehow. It could not apply because the creature in the darkness is, as all D&D monsters with DR are, able to ignore damage reduction of the type(s) he has and when he stuffs the letter in his mouth, if it's treated as an attack, he's defined as the attacker. It could just be a meaningless joke.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Do I remember correctly that the Monster got a paper cut? If so, was it from an ordinary bit of paper or a magic scroll or what?

See Section 2b: Abilities - Defences

GW

[Crusher]

Or what.

It could indicate a weakness to paper somehow. It could not apply because the creature in the darkness is, as all D&D monsters with DR are, able to ignore damage reduction of the type(s) he has and when he stuffs the letter in his mouth, if it's treated as an attack, he's defined as the attacker. It could just be a meaningless joke.

It suddenly occurs to me that there's another, albeit unlikely, explanation for this. On the one hand, its just a letter that gives MitD a paper-cut. On the other hand, its a very serious letter from the high priest of Thor to Durkon, a very devout and powerful priest of Thor, regarding official church business, being transported by a fairly high level Paladin.

Is there any way this letter could have picked up Holy, Lawful, or Good properties somehow? Some kind of inherent blessing or maybe there was a holy seal affixed to the bottom of the letter to convey its seriousness and authenticity?

Also, I'm reminded of the movie Dogma, in which a golf club proves capable of slaying a demon because it was stolen from a cardinal who blessed it in hopes of improving his golf game. Maybe the High Priest of Thor blesses everything around him: his office supplies, slippers, doorknobs, bed, etc, just in case. Its not like he's short of spell slots.

[b_jonas]

Is there any way this letter could have picked up Holy, Lawful, or Good properties somehow?

That makes sense, but if that could overcome the MitD's DR, then how come Miko's sword couldn't? Wouldn't Miko also use a Holy katana? She also has a spell to at least temporarily turn her sword into one.

[unbeliever536]

That makes sense, but if that could overcome the MitD's DR, then how come Miko's sword couldn't? Wouldn't Miko also use a Holy katana? She also has a spell to at least temporarily turn her sword into one.

We've got no particular reason to believe her katana is Holy, other than the fact that it's a property she might choose to get for her sword. We certainly don't see her cast the spell or attempt a smite in the relevant scene.

[Kish]

She would need to be a minimum paladin level of 14 to cast Holy Sword--and that's if she has a Wisdom of 18+. If her Wisdom is 14-17 she'd need to be paladin level 15 to cast it, which would mean that, to also have Evasion as a monk, she'd need to be character level 17+. If her Wisdom is less than 14 she could never cast Holy Sword.