OOTS #1116 - The Discussion Thread

[theNater]

My reaction to the last panel was:

See Spots.
See Spots run.
Run, Spots, run.

I think, in this situation, some different punctuation might be applicable.

See Spots?
See Spots! Run!
Run! Spots! Run!!!

[courtjester]

Those last three panels is how I envision Rich thinking of this comic. I like the idea that Rich was thinking "how can I really start this thing off the rails...," enter thought of multicolored giraffe attack, Rich's expression as Greg's, and then the though "What? They're cheap to summon and have a ton of hit points." So why not? Who here needs a shirt and/or coffee mug with the giraffe attack? I know I do.

Rich, please make it happen!

[2D8HP]

I just hope Ponchola/Ponchula gets out of this okay, I'vs grown fond

(I almost posted "out of this alive", but that's not right).

[Jannoire]

There are so many things I love about this strip.
Belkar's buffing, Haley knowing exactly what Elan's going to ask, the look on Greg's face...

I'm seriously thinking about having the last one as my phone wallpaper. But the journey wallpaper is just too beautiful to get replaced

Love it!

[Manty5]

Well, Haley's just jealous that Elan doesn't need a magic wand to become invisible.

Oh wait, I think I phrased that very, very badly...

[Finback]

More random than anarchic onagers? Anarchic oryxes?

Yeah, probably.

Iunno, if I was going to go for a really anarchic artiodactyl, I'd put in for the serow, saiga, or the world's smallest antelope. Imagine a chaotic antelope, charging into battle, going straight for the unsuspecting's knees.
It'd be a real dik-dik move.



(alternately, WHALE. 'cause they are the best "hoofed animals" to drop onto the battlefield. From a decent height, at least.)

[The_Weirdo]

I just hope Ponchola/Ponchula gets out of this okay, I'vs grown fond

(I almost posted "out of this alive", but that's not right).

So do I, but hands off of her, I saw her first!

[glissle]

Ordinary giraffes can't, but the Anarchic template bumps a creature's intelligence score up to 3 if it's not at least 3 already. A giraffe - or any other creature for that matter - with 3 intelligence should be able to read, write and speak. (Unless it's a barbarian, in which case it just speaks. Creatures with intelligence at least 3 can have class levels...)

Also, “reading” the rune means any attempt to study it, identify it, or fathom its meaning.

[Emanick]

Spoiler: My reaction, to music

Show

WHEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
A cry for help in time of need
Await relief from holy moot
12 hours of siege, outnumbered and weak
Sent a message to the skies
Wounded Clerics left to rise
Will they hold the door or will the temple fall
Dedication, dedication
They're outnumbered eleven to six
And the battle's begun
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Coming in the montain's inside
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Coming in they turned the tied.
As the morn is passing by
And the dead are climbing high
No escape no salvation
Traps in explosive hall
Are carved deep inside the walls
Plant the spells there andwatch the Order fear
Desperation - desperation it's a desperate race against the dwarves
And a race against time
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Coming in the montain's inside
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Coming in they turned the tied.
Fireballs are coming down from the foof
Vampires are you ready to die
We will seek our veangeance eye for an eye
You will be smoked upon the steps of that chair
On this field you're only facing our hate
But back home the goddess' sealing your fate
We remember
In september
That's the night Firmament was freed
We made the ennemy bleed
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Storm clouds, fire and steel
Death from above made the ennemy kneel
Coming in the montain's inside
Fighting, power and grace
Death from above it's an army of hooves
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Storm clouds, fire and steel
Death from above made the ennemy kneel
Coming in the montain's inside
Fighting, power and grace
Death from above it's an army of hooves
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Storm clouds, fire and steel
Death from above made the ennemy kneel
Coming in the montain's inside
Fighting, power and grace
Death from above it's an army of hooves
THEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED!
Storm clouds, fire and steel
Death from above made the ennemy kneel
Coming in the montain's inside
Fighting, power and grace
Death from above it's an army of hooves
WE REMEMBER
IN SEPTEMBER
WHEN THE CHAOS GIRAFFES ARRIVED

Has anyone complimented this yet? It is magnificent.

[Baron Pineapple]

It took me a minute of jaw-dropped blinking before I realized the riders were from Roy's bag of Tricks.

I also just realized Hilgya's choice is in fact not bad at all given the fact that each of those anarchic giraffes gets a Smite Law attack. :-)

[glowface]

Fiendish giraffes. Bold move, Hilgya.

Looks more anarchic giraffes? Does not have horns or bat wings.

[nachtkriecher]

Check my logic guys - is it possible those small rodents are not actually from Roy's Bag of Tricks at all?

When I noticed that rat saying "wooooo" my first thought is that it's obviously Elan in disguise. He has the Ride skill, he loves animal rides, he would think this is the best thing ever, he has Disguise Self... Of course you can't use Disguise Self to look like something as small as a rat.

Then I thought that the other two could be Haley (sitting close to Elan), and Belkar, the other character that we've shown has the Ride skill and is good with animals.

Roy could have his bag out to clue in Durkula to think that's where they came from so as not to notice them. Can small rodents even ride other animals anyway? Surely normally they would just be charging on the ground, the fact that they're riding seems like more of a PC thing than a small animal thing.

It's definitely a stretch but there's just a number of things that seem off. Especially the rat screaming out "woooooo", I think at the very least that one is Elan. I don't know my 3.5e spells well enough to know what spells could be responsible for this though.

[JohanOfKitten]

Check my logic guys - is it possible those small rodents are not actually from Roy's Bag of Tricks at all?

When I noticed that rat saying "wooooo" my first thought is that it's obviously Elan in disguise. He has the Ride skill, he loves animal rides, he would think this is the best thing ever, he has Disguise Self... Of course you can't use Disguise Self to look like something as small as a rat.

Then I thought that the other two could be Haley (sitting close to Elan), and Belkar, the other character that we've shown has the Ride skill and is good with animals.

Roy could have his bag out to clue in Durkula to think that's where they came from so as not to notice them. Can small rodents even ride other animals anyway? Surely normally they would just be charging on the ground, the fact that they're riding seems like more of a PC thing than a small animal thing.

It's definitely a stretch but there's just a number of things that seem off. Especially the rat screaming out "woooooo", I think at the very least that one is Elan. I don't know my 3.5e spells well enough to know what spells could be responsible for this though.

I was having exactly the same thought.

The woooing rodent is a weird thing for a bunch of conjurations. I don't if their illusions at stakes or if some things more powerful are here (like Polymorphy), but that would be a good way to disturb Greg's plan.

The OotS know the vampires are after V. Hiding him in a swarm of invoked critters will destabilize the vampires' strategy. If giraffes can pump the death symbols and allow then the wizard to pass through, get a safe place and start spamming spells out of range of harm, it can bring the battle in a really good position for the good guys.

I don't know if that's possible or a viable strategy, but it would be a good way to surprise Greg once more.
If that's true, then I would say that the rodent is probably Elan and the badger is V. The beaver is a real animal from the bag of tricks, here to confused the ennemies.

Does the protection from Law might allow Elan to pass the death symbols without harm?


And to add more to it: At the last panel, we see Roy with the two clerics, at the left side of the door. No sign of Elan or Haley, so that means they move to the right side of the door. Minra moved to the left side, after casting. It may be nothing, but that may be as well a way to hide the "missing characters", transformed/disguised into animals.

[hamishspence]

I was having exactly the same thought.

The woooing rodent is a weird thing for a bunch of conjurations. I don't if their illusions at stakes or if some things more powerful are here (like Polymorphy), but that would be a good way to disturb Greg's plan.

The OotS know the vampires are after V. Hiding him in a swarm of invoked critters will destabilize the vampires' strategy. If giraffes can pump the death symbols and allow then the wizard to pass through, get a safe place and start spamming spells out of range of harm, it can bring the battle in a really good position for the good guys.

I don't know if that's possible or a viable strategy, but it would be a good way to surprise Greg once more.
If that's true, then I would say that the rodent is probably Elan and the badger is V. The beaver is a real animal from the bag of tricks, here to confused the ennemies.

The animals from the bag of tricks do talk. Miko had a conversation with the weasel, before meeting The Order.

Looks more anarchic giraffes? Does not have horns or bat wings.

It's half-fiends, not Creatures With The Fiendish Template, that gain bat wings. That said, horns, red colour, yellow eyes, do seem to be the standard, going by the Battle of Azure City arc.

[CawCawMarmalade]

Explosive Runes can go home, Anarchic Giraffes is the new best spell.

Oh, and looks like Roy for once got lucky with his bag of tricks! Badgers are terrifying in a fight.

[Finback]

The OotS know the vampires are after V. Hiding him in a swarm of invoked critters will destabilize the vampires' strategy. If giraffes can pump the death symbols and allow then the wizard to pass through, get a safe place and start spamming spells out of range of harm, it can bring the battle in a really good position for the good guys.

Below, someone has noted that the conjured animals *have* spoken before, but that could be more for Comedic Effect.

What just occurred to me was, what happens if the vamps catch on, and cast something like Dispel Magic, to reveal V?

And what happens if one of the "animals" there is BLOODFEAST?

Yyyyeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :D

[SlyJohnny]

The closer they get to winning this fight, the more worried I become about that inevitable fight with Hilgya when she announces that she's obviously not down with the "resurrect Durkon" plan, and pulls out a shroud of disintegration.

[Kareasint]

That is a tactic that I did not expect: Using summoned creatures to discharge the Symbol.

That created a lot of chaos also which just threw the vampire's plan completely off.

Outstanding move.

[DaggerPen]

Could you explain it to me? I feel like I’m missing the reference.

Dead giraffes make her sad. Hence the sadface.

Toys'R'Us, a popular chain of toy stores, has recently gone into liquidation, and will soon disappear from the face of the Earth. Its mascot was a giraffe named Geoffrey.

That's the one, yup.

[Shale]

It's like the old saying goes -- no plan survives first contact with the enemy's rampaging herd of anarchic giraffes.

[jay103]

They are splitting up. Whichever Symbol is closest to that giraffe will fire (or when they touch one). When it triggers, it hits everything, closest to farthest. Using a bunch of it's total hitpoints of allotted effect.

I assume that means it would also hit, for example, that vampire that's being trampled?

[davidbofinger]

WHALE. 'cause they are the best "hoofed animals" to drop onto the battlefield. From a decent height, at least.

As usual, Doraleous and Associates have a good handling of this.

[jay103]

It's like the old saying goes -- no plan survives first contact with the enemy's rampaging herd of anarchic giraffes.

I don't see a "like" button, so I'll just laugh out loud at this..

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I assume that means it would also hit, for example, that vampire that's being trampled?

It would, but I believe that the symbol of Death, being of the Death subtype, doesn't affects the undead. Vampires are likewise immune to mind-affecting effects, so any Symbols of Insanity they might have inscribed will also only target Roy's side.

Grey Wolf

[Coolio Wolfus]

"Nice try, but vampires are immune to sleep and confusion effects."

Care to retract that assertion, Greg?

Immune to those effects, but it appears not to confusion EVENTS...
It may not be a high stun confusion, that BSOD confusion look will at least stall him.

[Sienar]

Toys'R'Us, a popular chain of toy stores, has recently gone into liquidation, and will soon disappear from the face of the Earth. Its mascot was a giraffe named Geoffrey.

Thank you.

I completely forgot about that mascot. Considering how much time I spent poring over their catalog before every Christmas, I'm embarrassed by that lapse. Or maybe my brain is just protecting me from the sadness.

Now I'll have to go back and read the entire OOTS archive again to find some joy.

[Snails]

Iunno, if I was going to go for a really anarchic artiodactyl, I'd put in for the serow, saiga, or the world's smallest antelope. Imagine a chaotic antelope, charging into battle, going straight for the unsuspecting's knees.
It'd be a real dik-dik move.

Kudus to you!

[davidbofinger]

I choose to believe you speak from experience, and have fought at least one giraffe.

You can't assume he's fought a giraffe. In principle it's just as likely he is a giraffe.

[The MunchKING]

You can't assume he's fought a giraffe. In principle it's just as likely he is a giraffe.

Awaken is pretty high level isn't it? And being able to type on the Internet is tricky for a giraffe.

But even if he was, IIRC giraffes fight other giraffes all the time. roughhousing as kids, dominance displays as adults, all that other fun stuff.

[Sienar]

Kudus to you!

I gnu someone was going to say that!