OOTS #1105 - The Discussion Thread

[Keltest]

Except it could be used for later narrative plotpoints, for example:

Roy: So is the kid Durkon's?
Helga:: Hell no, we slept together, like, once. I went home, got my life together, and then found out my ex-boyfriend is now a murderous vampire, so I get to get back at that ******* AND save the world. Unfortunately, the dwarven kingdom is a little short on babysitters right now.

Given Rich's stated aversion to inflicting harm on children, I rather doubt that Rich would include a random baby in the story unless there was a specific goal he was trying to achieve with its presence.

[Vendanna]

True. Mid-level then ?

Yeah, she is probably mid level, since dwarves are a tad lower than humans but not as low as halflings :v

I expect her to have the same level as the "Banana left in charge." erm, bandana. aka enough to do support role, but not high enough to overshadow any of the cast.

also abouto what the other user said about regeneration, even if hylga COULD cast it, which is iffy. The one that HAS to cast it is Durkon for the biggest payoff, is what he wanted to do back then, it would be unfair for him to be upstaged.

And momma durkon doesn't need to have two arms to hold the baby, since she would only need to wear what Hylga is wearing to hold him in place.

and now I whonder... did the affair on Azure city between Roy and Celia also got offspring? I don't know how much it would take for a medium size silph, but maybe next time she appears she also has a surprise for Roy!

[johnbragg]

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Vendanna]

I think the important question here is:

Does this give hope to forumites who are convinced that Trigak makes his triumphant return?

Everyone knows that Trigak will return as

Spoiler

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MitD parent

.

[Dacia Brabant]

Well, it isn't quite to the same extent as the Four White Mages, but still, that is one heck of a callback. Kudos, Giant.

[colanderman]

Up until Turn Undead, I was very seriously expecting the Flumphs…

After all, they were traveling through Dwarven lands recently.

[Occasional Sage]

Heh, even with so many years of predictions thus entrance still pulls itself off.

(cue obvious joke about the mechanics of conception and colloquial expressions)

[Giggling Ghast]

I immediately thought of this strip.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0501.html

Luckily, Thor understands these things ...

Lucky indeed.

[lleffe]

oh my God...
this is really tense!

[Crusher]

Magnificent!

Yeah, baby!

(newly appropriate exclamation!)

[Ruck]

Except it could be used for later narrative plotpoints, for example:

Roy: So is the kid Durkon's?
Helga:: Hell no, we slept together, like, once. I went home, got my life together, and then found out my ex-boyfriend is now a murderous vampire, so I get to get back at that ******* AND save the world. Unfortunately, the dwarven kingdom is a little short on babysitters right now.

Yeah, I don't think that makes any sense.

[a1chemi]

"Hilgya was a one-off, one-dimensional character from the D&D-joke-a-comic era. There's no way she's coming back. Let it go already."

"Trigak was a monster, from the D&D-joke-a-comic era, whose entire point was to set up a joke about Elan. He's obviously not coming back. Let it go already."

Yea. But Trigak died. And then the dungeon exploded. Subtle difference.

[Gorm_the_DBA]

Whoo Callback for the folks from WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back....

like me :)

[Fyraltari]

Hel/Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Hel is a woman scorned.

Given Rich's stated aversion to inflicting harm on children, I rather doubt that Rich would include a random baby in the story unless there was a specific goal he was trying to achieve with its presence.

Panels 19 and 23.

Down-rightcorner of panel 10.

By opposition I don't find any children in panels 13-21.

[Ranadin]

Or is it Chekhov's shotgun?

I'd say Checkov's Sniper Rifle.

[Porthos]

"Hilgya was a one-off, one-dimensional character from the D&D-joke-a-comic era. There's no way she's coming back. Let it go already."

"Trigak was a monster, from the D&D-joke-a-comic era, whose entire point was to set up a joke about Elan. He's obviously not coming back. Let it go already."

You know it's not impossible that a relative/friend of Trigak could be hunting down the Order for revenge.

(No, still not buying it)

====

More seriously, this leaves one un-fired Major Chekhov Gun, no? That is

Spoiler: Start of Darkness spoilers

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Redcloak's niece who was sent away to far away lands for safety

Sure, there might be a lot of small unfired guns. And there are plenty of major guns to go off that haven't, but we know they will be (I consider those more akin to ticking time bombs).

But Hilgya's return was one of the last true uncertain plot points when it came to big forum debates. You Know Who is the one other one on that league, I think.

Am I missing any that are truly in that league? Things like Belkar's death, the existence of the Snarl, and the MitD's idenity are all in the ticking time bomb catagory.

*thinks*

I guess the only other Gun in this league is the status of Serini Toormuck.

So, yeah. That leaves two narrative guns that are still in Schrodinger's Gun territory. Serini and SPOILER CHARACTER DELETED.

[Windscion]

Yea. But Trigak died. And then the dungeon exploded. Subtle difference.

You don't need subtle differences. The sequence with Hilgya was the first to explore Durkon's motivation and backstory. Trigak was a three-headed monster whose heads all went 'gak' when he died. Not the same class of device at all.

[Porthos]

Yea. But Trigak died. And then the dungeon exploded. Subtle difference.

DETAILS!!!

Could have been raised before the dungeon exploded and escaped off panel.

(And that still doesn't stop a revenge plot from happening)
((No, STILL STILL not buying it))

[Shining Wrath]

Durkula: Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "deadbeat dad"

He's a dead dad who needs a beat-down.

That's odd. I would have thought clerics would surely use protection.

I always assumed there were spells for that - but maybe neither saw the need to prepare "protection from pregnancy".

Two things I love about this update:

1. "Screw you! And you! And especially you!"
2. Baby dwarf already has facial hair

Probably born bearded.

Hilgya turns at least 16 HD of vampire spawn. When successfully turning, a cleric turns

2d6 + your cleric level + your Charisma modifier

so if her charisma is 16 or more, Hilgya only needs to be level 1 to manage this. And with a 20 on the "can you turn" roll, even a first level cleric can turn a vampire spawn.

If we assume more normal numbers, e.g., rolled 7 on the 2d6, has low charisma since dwarf, she's probably at least level 7, maybe 9+. The ability to turn the spawn with "normal" D20 rolls only requires her to be level 4 or so.

However, there's this:

Destroying Undead
If you have twice as many levels (or more) as the undead have Hit Dice, you destroy any that you would normally turn.

If she's level 8 or more, she could have destroyed them. So ...

1) She's level 4-7 and turning them was the best she could do
2) She's level 8+ and chose to turn them, not destroy them, because she's EVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL L.
3) Rich is ignoring precise 3.5 rules for the sake of the story.

My money's on #3, but if you make me guess what level Hilgya is based on currently observed actions, I have to say 6 or 7.

[Vendanna]

((No, STILL STILL not buying it))

Ofc not, you need rich to release the book first before we can buy it! :3

[zzyss]

Sorry if I've missed the memo, but has it been confirmed somewhere already that Belkar is evil? If not how to explain his reaction to the protection from evil spell?

[Quantum Glass]

Why is it Copyright 2016, though?

[Lorkas]

Killed one of his own minions through Resist Fire, which in fairness only affects half of Flame Strike's damage (the other half is divine and can't be defended against).

That Mass Resist Fire kindled a lot of dispute about Brother Fangstone's level, but even the bare minimum level 9 that a Flame Strike solidifies means Roy did almost 60 damage in one shot, if you take the average of hit dice 12 over 9 levels.

Look again, closely--Roy is cleaving greatly through them all. The one inside the flame strike is already cut in half.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Sorry if I've missed the memo, but has it been confirmed somewhere already that Belkar is evil?

You mean, other than the overwhelming evidence in the comic, e.g. most of Belkar's actions or during Roy's life review at the gates of heaven?

GW

[Porthos]

*thinks*

I guess the only other Gun in this league is the status of Serini Toormuck.

So, yeah. That leaves two narrative guns that are still in Schrodinger's Gun territory. Serini and SPOILER CHARACTER DELETED.

Thinking a bit more, I guess Thog's status and whether or not we'll ever see Sabine again count.

Still. Dunno. Thog counts, I guess. But it doesn't feel like it's quite in the same league as the other two I mentioned. Mostly because of the true uncertainty that enveloped the two characters I mentioned in the last post. Sabine has a VERY good reason to be brought back into the story (V's deal with the IFCC).

Thog? Yeah. I suppose. But doesn't quite feel the same weight to me.

[Yendor]

Well, I for one am disappointed Rich went for the "Hilgya got knocked up" plot. But here's a thought: how did she get here? Did Sabine bring her? Is this how the IFCC are influencing events in this book? She is one of their pawns, after all.

[Porthos]

Sorry if I've missed the memo, but has it been confirmed somewhere already that Belkar is evil? If not how to explain his reaction to the protection from evil spell?

Yes.
(char limit dance)

[Shining Wrath]

I would like to point out (in part to spare Grey_Wolf_C's typing fingers) that there's an entire thread series dedicated to the question of what, exactly, the MitD is. I think that big reveal will matter as much as what Sabrine does, and I personally care not if Thog reenters the strip.

[Jasdoif]

You mean, other than the overwhelming evidence in the comic, e.g. most of Belkar's actions or during Roy's life review at the gates of heaven?

The memo was printed onto a series of billboards, rather than traditional paper.

[Peelee]

Clevinger's record had already been broken by Girl Genius. Dr. Dim's bears were set up on December 12 2003, and paid off on February 20 2015, over 11 years later. Even if we take the bears' first appearance on July 21 2014, it still beats 8-Bit Theater's setup (3/20/2001 - 2/20/2010) by a comfortable margin.

...but it's still less time than this payoff took. Hats off to the Giant.

It seems an unpopular opinion, but I count by number of strips, not real-world time. If someone started a webcomic tomorrow with daily updates and had a setup that paid off in five years, I'd give the record to them.

You mean, other than the overwhelming evidence in the comic, e.g. most of Belkar's actions or during Roy's life review at the gates of heaven?

GW

Not to mention still being hurt by the Protection from Evil clasp in the current comic, so we know the alignment is up to date?