OOTS #1098 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Keltest]

I for one encourage more Blackwing punchlines. He is competing for being one of the funniest characters in the caste.

[hroþila]

Poor Belkar struggling to maintain his self-image.

[BroomGuys]

No, Giant, YOU'RE crying right now.

[Hackman]

Go Durkon! The only person capable of filling the Durkon-shaped hole in the OotS!

[factotum]

"He didn't blame me." Awww, I could almost like Belkar for that...almost.

[SavageWombat]

That's kind of sweet, actually. I wonder what Durkon would have to say if he heard that somehow?

[Arkku]

Aww, now I miss Durkon… (Although I still like the Durkula storyline.)

[Giggling Ghast]

Sad comic is sad.

"He didn't blame me." Is that in reference to something specific or ....?

[GudBelkarIsGud]

Oh, the feels...

Man alive, if Durkon gets resurrected, I hope that the rest of the team repeat everything they said (except maybe about the tree punchlines) to him. This was definitely one of the more touching moments in the 1000+ strip archive.

And what's this? Yet more signs of a conscience from Belkar? Sweet!

[drazen]

Also, Roy, Odin's priest said that Durkon would bring death and destruction FOR the dwarves, not TO the dwarves (I even double-checked this in my copy of OtOoPCs when Beerdude/Blackore told his story).

You can make spinach FOR your child, but he won't necessarily end up eating it ("to.")

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Slightly spoilerish from Good Omens, which also examined thoroughly the consequences behind the ability to accurately predict the future

Spoiler: Good Omens

Show

You start thinking: it can't be a great cosmic game of chess, it has to be just very complicated Solitaire.
― Terry Pratcheet & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

ETA:

Sad comic is sad.

"He didn't blame me." Is that in reference to something specific or ....?

Durkon didn't blame Belkar for Durkon's death (even though Belkar does feel responsible for it).

GW

[warmachine]

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

Xykon also handily beats those good adventurers. Odin may have had to arrange this just to put together a team that stands a chance at beating Xykon.

"That's the problem with ineffability: you can't second guess it"

GW

[Yxylu]

Sad comic is sad.

"He didn't blame me." Is that in reference to something specific or ....?

Panel 4

[Bluepaw]

"Not if what we needed... was Durkon" - got chills

"He didn't blame me" - got misty

The peanut gallery at the end - got a good giggle

Critical hit of a strip!

[b_jonas]

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

OotS drama also dictates that the family with the blood oath against Xykon has to be the one that goes against him.

[hroþila]

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

The metaphysics of the OotS revolve around drama, including the fact that there are protagonists (or PCs). If you remove the Order, you're removing the protagonists and everything breaks down. At most, you'd be looking at some backstory, and all bets are off when it comes to that.

As Grey Wolf said, Xykon utterly annihilates Good adventuring parties with some frequency. Off-panel.

[Zyzzyva]

Sad comic is sad.

"He didn't blame me." Is that in reference to something specific or ....?

Belkar "caused the death of" Durkon. Durkon, probably correctly, didn't blame him for that ("'Twere silly o' me ta be countin' on ye ta begin with"). This, probably more than even the actual "causing" his death, is giving Belkar some unaccustomed guilt.

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

But that's ridiculous. Because of the rules of drama and whatnot, a ragtag team of dysfunctional misfits thwarts Xykon at every turn... and this is them. To misquote Carol, you need a good faith effort at assembling a team to stop him.

Edit: beaten to the punch... like, four times.

[Miraqariftsky]

Was right out crying at this. Keep up the good work, sir Giant.

Panel 4

Aye, that. Exactly.

[DaOldeWolf]

The team needs Durkon back. Sometimes because of his talents as a cleric but more importantly for his talents as a person.

[aurilee]

Poor Belkar...maybe he and Durkon can grab a few drinks when this is all over.

Why must I read this comic at work? It's embarrassing to get all teary-eyed.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Durkon needs to hear this. Somehow. He's the heart of the team, and you can't function for long without that.

[PH7]

Loved the strip. A great argument for loving people not for what they are, but for who they are.

[Morquard]

I think they're starting to figure out why the prophecy happened.

Loved the punchline too :)

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Poor Belkar...maybe he and Durkon can grab a few drinks when this is all over.

That would probably require some kind of planar jump, unfortunately.

GW

[Unoriginal]

I think Roy is just making lame excuses. If Odin kept quiet about the prophecy and Durkon stayed home, a different adventuring party would have attacked Xykon. The metaphysics of the OotS has drama as more important than logic. If OotS didn't exist, the cosmos would conspire to create another good group to attack Xykon. Indeed, Xykon expects good aligned adventurers to attack him.

You're looking at this backward.

A different group could have formed to stop Xykon, but then Xykon would have probably fooled them into desactivating Dorukan's protections and got his bony hands on the Gate. Roy nearly did so, and it was only Haley who stopped him, and it was only Roy going berserk over his broken sword that prevented Xykon to just kill the group and then retry with the next good guys that'd have showed up.

Remember, the rules of drama might have done things this way for those circumstances, but change the circumstances and what is the appropriate drama changes as well.

Rules of Drama don't care if it's the "adventurers stop evil lich" story, the "lich kills adventurers and win" story, or the "lich kills adventurers, think he'll win, then get betrayed by their second in command" story.

[Doug Lampert]

But that's ridiculous. Because of the rules of drama and whatnot, a ragtag team of dysfunctional misfits thwarts Xykon at every turn... and this is them. To misquote Carol, you need a good faith effort at assembling a team to stop him.

Edit: beaten to the punch... like, four times.

Yep, the Mechane doesn't get there just in time if you just sit back and do nothing, confident that you'll get there in time. The rules of drama don't give you an effort free win.

Odin not sending Durkon because he figures Mirkon Lightninghammer will show up instead is what Tarquin would do, and he was dramatically wrong about almost everything about this story.

[Peelee]

This whole thing with gods and soothsaying is interesting, to say the least. Odin directly knew the future, and knew to send Durkon. Hel didn't know at all that Hermod would go back on her word. And Tiamat grants the Oracle the ability to see the future for certain questions, but was blindsided by Familicide.

I hope we get to find out how it all works.

[Deepbluediver]

That's it, Roy, put those not-terrible Wisdom and Charisma scores to work making a "boost morale" check.