Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire

[Oracle_Hunter]

Don't mind me. What's this about an alternate history DDverse PbP?

Well... I haven't ever run a PbP before, but let's try to make one nice post here to lay it all out. So far, I think you make the third interested player, which is enough to get this thing started, in my book.

For courtesy's sake, details in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

Setting: DD Altverse in which Celesto won in the Storm of Souls duel. The world has been scourged by its terrible power, and Celesto is in the process of remaking it in his own image. The role of the Chosen is currently opaque, but is likely to be developed.

The Characters: Any DD character of Tier III or above. Players will have to answer (1) how did they survive the Storm of Souls (2) why are they fighting against Celesto and (3) List three changes that living in the aftermath brought to them. All PCs will start off together with the ostensible purpose of taking down Celesto and destroying the Storm of Souls.

The System: Storyteller system, perhaps with a simple dice-off system for conflicts... probably cribbed from "The Mountain Witch" RPG. Definitely biggest work in progress.

The Purpose: To have fun narrating about an Alternative Continuity, parodying "dark and angsty" versions of Mookie's Woobie characters, and general What If? hilarity.

The Timing: Very casual, probably a shared narration system where an uninvolved PC can voice an NPC for some interactions. Also to be decided.

I guess at this point PM me with your character choice if you're interested - plus any suggestions.

[Green Bean]

What would be funny though is if just some random people walk past and see a Spellwolf and a one legged dude with their eyes closed slowly being beaten by nobody in sight. Most people would probably just move on and think they were Drunk/drugged up/Crazy/all of the above

If that happened, I would actually gain a little respect for Mookie. Of course, I'm sure if it did happen, he'd make another strip that lost it.

[Tekraen]

Well... I haven't ever run a PbP before, but let's try to make one nice post here to lay it all out. So far, I think you make the third interested player, which is enough to get this thing started, in my book.

For courtesy's sake, details in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

Setting: DD Altverse in which Celesto won in the Storm of Souls duel. The world has been scourged by its terrible power, and Celesto is in the process of remaking it in his own image. The role of the Chosen is currently opaque, but is likely to be developed.

The Characters: Any DD character of Tier III or above. Players will have to answer (1) how did they survive the Storm of Souls (2) why are they fighting against Celesto and (3) List three changes that living in the aftermath brought to them. All PCs will start off together with the ostensible purpose of taking down Celesto and destroying the Storm of Souls.

The System: Storyteller system, perhaps with a simple dice-off system for conflicts... probably cribbed from "The Mountain Witch" RPG. Definitely biggest work in progress.

The Purpose: To have fun narrating about an Alternative Continuity, parodying "dark and angsty" versions of Mookie's Woobie characters, and general What If? hilarity.

The Timing: Very casual, probably a shared narration system where an uninvolved PC can voice an NPC for some interactions. Also to be decided.

I guess at this point PM me with your character choice if you're interested - plus any suggestions.

I am intruiged and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

On an interesting note, the town sheriff is ripped near exactly from a character I used to play on a forum-based RP, down to the magic resistance.

[Morty]

Well... I haven't ever run a PbP before, but let's try to make one nice post here to lay it all out. So far, I think you make the third interested player, which is enough to get this thing started, in my book.

For courtesy's sake, details in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

Setting: DD Altverse in which Celesto won in the Storm of Souls duel. The world has been scourged by its terrible power, and Celesto is in the process of remaking it in his own image. The role of the Chosen is currently opaque, but is likely to be developed.

The Characters: Any DD character of Tier III or above. Players will have to answer (1) how did they survive the Storm of Souls (2) why are they fighting against Celesto and (3) List three changes that living in the aftermath brought to them. All PCs will start off together with the ostensible purpose of taking down Celesto and destroying the Storm of Souls.

The System: Storyteller system, perhaps with a simple dice-off system for conflicts... probably cribbed from "The Mountain Witch" RPG. Definitely biggest work in progress.

The Purpose: To have fun narrating about an Alternative Continuity, parodying "dark and angsty" versions of Mookie's Woobie characters, and general What If? hilarity.

The Timing: Very casual, probably a shared narration system where an uninvolved PC can voice an NPC for some interactions. Also to be decided.

I guess at this point PM me with your character choice if you're interested - plus any suggestions.

Interesting... of course, playing anone with magical ability may be a little troublesome, as magic in Deeganverse is just Applied Phlebotinum(sp?). But I may give it a try.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Interesting... of course, playing anone with magical ability may be a little troublesome, as magic in Deeganverse is just Applied Phlebotinum(sp?). But I may give it a try.

Well, since we're using a narrative system it shouldn't be too bad. Clearly any magic duels will be resolved with the die system - if I can get it to work. Otherwise, standard narrative rules with victory to the most amusingly appropriate!

Also: Applied Phlebotinum

[Mewtarthio]

Interesting... of course, playing anone with magical ability may be a little troublesome, as magic in Deeganverse is just Applied Phlebotinum(sp?). But I may give it a try.

No, Applied Phlebotinum generally falls under "Magic A is Magic A." Mookiverse Magic is just Green Rocks.

[Morty]

No, Applied Phlebotinum generally falls under "Magic A is Magic A." Mookiverse Magic is just Green Rocks.

Good point. Magic in DD is preety good example of Green Rock. Whatever you want to explain that doesn't make much sense by itself, magic can solve it.

[Mewtarthio]

As a side note, anyone care to explain how a sociopathic Knight Templar who has never shown sign of a particularly strong mind (just the opposite, given his frequent rages) can join forces with a guy Dominic's soundly trounced before (back when he was just a random seer, rather than an Oracle and Champion of Balance) and be able to fight off Dominic and Milov simultaneously?

[Manticorkscrew]

Because Evil is Cool? Because Evil gives you a power-up?

[Turcano]

It's their Supar Plot Powarz. Seriously, you're harboring unrealistic expectations from Mookie, particularly in the areas of continuity and character assessment.

[Green Bean]

As a side note, anyone care to explain how a sociopathic Knight Templar who has never shown sign of a particularly strong mind (just the opposite, given his frequent rages) can join forces with a guy Dominic's soundly trounced before (back when he was just a random seer, rather than an Oracle and Champion of Balance) and be able to fight off Dominic and Milov simultaneously?

Well, he's the King of Hell's chief enforcer, and it would make very little sense for Karnak not to give him at least a little power-up. If anything, it should be the other way; how on earth does a seer and a random spellwolf stand against the second most powerful demon in hell?

[Mewtarthio]

I suppose I should be grateful. Karnak will (hopefully) be a credible threat now, meaning that we've now got two antagonists that could potentially make Dominic fall and redeem the strip. With any luck, the explanation for Siggy's newfound powers will make some sense.

[Humbug]

Dominic? Fall? Hah! No way Mookie would ever would ever let his darling self insert lose. Even if Dommie gets his ass whooped here, he'll come on top eventually, as arrogant and proud as ever.

[Duke Malagigi]

Would anyone like it if I posted my own D&D stats for Dominic Deegan? I'll use the Infernal prestige classes from Dicefreaks The Gates of Hell. I may even give him Evil Brand as feat. If I have to, I'll post this in a different thread.

[Khosan]

I like where this is going.

No, I'm not speaking about the content, but about the layout. Yesterday he broke with the 8 panel style, and today is positively creative. It's time to give praise where praise is due - Mookie seems to finally realise the importance of dynamic layout. A major improvement, methinks.

The faces Milov and Dominic make in the last two panels though are really funny. I'm eager to see what the strip slays will turn them into.

See, I've gotta disagree with you now.

I'm under the impression that whenever Mookie starts doing things like this, it's now going to end up being the same damn thing for the next couple of days; ultimately accomplishing nothing that couldn't have been done in some quicker way.

So he's not really getting what a dynamic layout is about. He's just using them because people responded to them well last time, effectively making it the equivalent of Splash Page Sunday. Whenever you see one, you know the Plot's being put on hold.

[Humbug]

And isn't todays page just like yesterdays? They're still dishing it out, Dominic and Milov are still getting nosebleeds, come on Mookie, just get on with it. Must you drag every single scene? Sheesh.

[Winterwind]

See, I've gotta disagree with you now.

I'm under the impression that whenever Mookie starts doing things like this, it's now going to end up being the same damn thing for the next couple of days; ultimately accomplishing nothing that couldn't have been done in some quicker way.

So he's not really getting what a dynamic layout is about. He's just using them because people responded to them well last time, effectively making it the equivalent of Splash Page Sunday. Whenever you see one, you know the Plot's being put on hold.

Just as you wrote this I was about to say that I want to take back what I wrote in that post, for this very reason.

Yesterday, I thought he finally began to loosen up the layout and put more creativity into it.
That today is just the very same thing once again proves how very wrong I was.

You know, apparently I'm some kind of idiot. How many times have I expressed hope for DD to finally improve, and how many times has Mookie responded by making matters even worse by now?
...Maybe I should start making pessimistic predictions, then it might improve.
Or it would get worse at even a higher rate.

Yes, you're absolutely right - Mookie has no idea what he's doing here, he is not being genuinely creative, he makes one and the same thing over and over again for the sake of appearing creative. Bleh.


This said, I think the "good" guys are starting to win - look, these black thorny tentacle things are beginning to crumble.

[Monnock]

Well, he's the King of Hell's chief enforcer, and it would make very little sense for Karnak not to give him at least a little power-up. If anything, it should be the other way; how on earth does a seer and a random spellwolf stand against the second most powerful demon in hell?

Well, considering how Dominic whooped Karnak pretty soundly once before you would think that anything that Karnak could do to help fortify his minions would be a lesser version of what he himself could do, it doesn't make much sense. Logically Dominic could have never beaten a Lord of Hell in a 'mind duel' to begin with, considering how the Lord of Hell not only had more experience even before he became the way he was, but would have gained even more power once he became a Lord of Hell. Also, because Mind Duels don't seem to have anything at all to do with actual power but more to do with 'intellect,' it doesn't make much sense that somehow Karnak became 'more smarter' after becoming the King of Hell.

I mean, how is intelligence defined in these mind duels anyways? Does learning how to play chess equate to being able to blow people up better? Is there a correlation between knowing the complete history of everything (unabridged) and having greater power? If it is purely intelligence based, how does one increase another person's power in the mind-scape without increasing their actual intellect? If it is based off of something more than intellect, which it should, then why did Karnak lose? I mean, I think that is all that Dominic is supposed to have, while Karnak has intellect and evil demonic powers well beyond Dominic's abilities, yet he still lost to him.

Anyways, I'm confused. Of course, both of them happen to be weakened. Because Milov is an idiot and figures that its a good idea to face an enemy that already beat him while he is weakened (reminds me of Siegfried asking Dominic if he would be able to beat that other guy at the start of the comic).

The fact that they are getting their mind-butts kicked isn't so much dramatic or scary as it is idiotic that they are even fighting him at all at the moment. They should be using the fact that Siegfried keeps coming to them by setting some sort of trap, or are the good guys too honorable for such a tactic?

Of course, they will win because they always do. After all, charging an enemy, no matter how stupid it is, usually comes out as heroic in comics as opposed to suicidal like it really should be.

Also, it looks like Milov has gained tentacle powers too.

Their Mind Swords reminds me of Bleach, "Look at the size of that zanpakutō!" They must not be 'captain class' mind duelers since they don't know how to control the size of their swords.

[kukn]

I'd say that in today's strip Dominic is pretty much failing at doing anything except getting caught up by black tentacles and having a nose-bleed. Milov on the other hand is matching up to Siggy. I find that at least slightly positive.

There's still the minute chance that Milov gets suddenly and unexpectedly killed in this fight. Always have a glitter of hope :) (although if Milov died and Dominic didn't it would actually be kind of dumb considering Lord Dom the Puppet Master is barely succeeding in stopping the attacks on him...)

Taking bets/ guesses on how the fight ends:
A) Dominic suddenly does something "awesome" and beats Siggy off.
B) Milov manages to beat Siggy off.
C) Siggy says something "cool and deadly" and disappears, having beaten up both Dom and Milov considerably.
D) Siggy kills Milov, Dominic runs off.
E) Siggy kills Milov, Dominic beats the hell out of him in "righteous fury".
F) Luna comes to save the day.
G) Jayden comes to save the day.
H) Nimmel comes to save the day.
I) Something totally different and weird happens and both sides withdraw.
(Note that Siggy killing Dom is not a possibility. Dom is immortal.)

I'm putting my money on A, with a side deposit on C.

[Khosan]

B) Milov manages to beat Siggy off.

[Tekraen]

"Sigfried has returned as the Lieutenant of Hell, and it seems our heroes can't stand up to his power increase. Can Dominic and Milov save the day? Find out, on the next episode of Dragonball Z Dominic Deegan!"

[Gez]

He's from the Czech Republic, he's not necessarily familiar with all the dirty innuendo that is to be found in English. After all, and I quote: "English is a nasty, dangerous language, filled with lots of filthy minded little traps for non-native speakers. At this point fully three quarters of the words in our language are synonyms for naughty bits, bodily functions, and sex acts."

It's true that I don't dare use the verbs "to come" or "to go" (especially with "down") anymore.

[Tekraen]

Or maybe he is, and it's the sort of joke that makes lampooning the strip all the more worthwhile. Certainly better than the 'dom and sub' joke.

[Khosan]

He's from the Czech Republic, he's not necessarily familiar with all the dirty innuendo that is to be found in English. After all, and I quote: "English is a nasty, dangerous language, filled with lots of filthy minded little traps for non-native speakers. At this point fully three quarters of the words in our language are synonyms for naughty bits, bodily functions, and sex acts."

It's true that I don't dare use the verbs "to come" or "to go" (especially with "down") anymore.

I actually didn't think of it that way at first. I thought of it the way he intended it.

Then I said to myself, "Heeey..."

[Manticorkscrew]

I'd say that in today's strip Dominic is pretty much failing at doing anything except getting caught up by black tentacles and having a nose-bleed. Milov on the other hand is matching up to Siggy. I find that at least slightly positive.

There's still the minute chance that Milov gets suddenly and unexpectedly killed in this fight. Always have a glitter of hope :) (although if Milov died and Dominic didn't it would actually be kind of dumb considering Lord Dom the Puppet Master is barely succeeding in stopping the attacks on him...)

Taking bets/ guesses on how the fight ends:
A) Dominic suddenly does something "awesome" and beats Siggy off.
B) Milov manages to beat Siggy off.
C) Siggy says something "cool and deadly" and disappears, having beaten up both Dom and Milov considerably.
D) Siggy kills Milov, Dominic runs off.
E) Siggy kills Milov, Dominic beats the hell out of him in "righteous fury".
F) Luna comes to save the day.
G) Jayden comes to save the day.
H) Nimmel comes to save the day.
I) Something totally different and weird happens and both sides withdraw.
(Note that Siggy killing Dom is not a possibility. Dom is immortal.)

I'm putting my money on A, with a side deposit on C.

I think you've covered almost every possibility that could resolve any fight in any webcomic. Just because it's been done before doesn't mean it's bad. The fact that Mookie is going to do it really badly makes it bad.*

*OK, if Mookie does manage to pull off something brilliant, then I will eat my words. Without sauce. But how likely is that?

[averagejoe]

He's from the Czech Republic, he's not necessarily familiar with all the dirty innuendo that is to be found in English. After all, and I quote: "English is a nasty, dangerous language, filled with lots of filthy minded little traps for non-native speakers. At this point fully three quarters of the words in our language are synonyms for naughty bits, bodily functions, and sex acts."

It's true that I don't dare use the verbs "to come" or "to go" (especially with "down") anymore.

Sex: the subject that's mentioned least, but talked about most. We have t invent all these little traps, because otherwise we might have to talk about sex directly. That would be just terrible!

[colonelslime]

I think you've covered almost every possibility that could resolve any fight in any webcomic. Just because it's been done before doesn't mean it's bad. The fact that Mookie is going to do it really badly makes it bad.*

*OK, if Mookie does manage to pull off something brilliant, then I will eat my words. Without sauce. But how likely is that?

To be fair, I think that was his point, seeing as how of all the possibilities there, Mookie would obviously chose the stupidest and/or most cliche/Marty-Stu-ish.

[colonelslime]

Sex: the subject that's mentioned least, but talked about most. We have t invent all these little traps, because otherwise we might have to talk about sex directly. That would be just terrible!

Thank you puritan roots!!!
Just looking at TV, you're far more likely to see a graphic violent dismemberment than implied sex anywhere.

[Manticorkscrew]

Yeah OK. My last post is pretty much redundant. And so is this one.

[Mewtarthio]

Thank you puritan roots!!!
Just looking at TV, you're far more likely to see a graphic violent dismemberment than implied sex anywhere.

I'm convinced that the Puritans just wanted an excuse to make everything a filthy innuendo.