OOTS #1178 - The Discussion Thread

[Rogar Demonblud]

We probably still have twenty-ish strips of concluding all the current plot, setting up the situation for the next book, and giving us an end-of-book twist.

We have eight or nine pages left, given the numbers Rich gave us.

I doubt it. Presumably they moved back to the temple to make the next couple of winding-down strips work better, this strip doesn't feel like a good "end of book" strip to me.

It's not the end of the book, it's the end of this Round (i.e., chapter).

Elan and "genius" are two words I never expected to see juxtaposed in this comic.

Ever Google "Jar Jar, you're a genius!"? Context changes many things.

[Ruck]

Yeah I know that.



Sounds plausible but we don't know for certain as far as I can see.

No, we don't know for certain, but why on Earth would they leave it behind? We don't see every little thing the characters do, and it makes a lot more sense to assume they will not do things like "leave valuable equipment behind for no reason."

[KorvinStarmast]

Reasons to love this strip:

1. Jenna in the spotlight. Nice.
2. The last panel. That got a big old grin out of me.

Thanks, Giant!

[Aidan]

Great comic
To quote an episode of Doctor Who, "Dear God there's three of them, all my worst nightmares at once"

Looking forward to seeing this arc wrap up.

[gatemansgc]

i like how the dwarf bards have a different style of bardic song of freedom than elan does.

[Crœsos]

"Certified bardic genius"

What I want to know is who is issuing those certificates? A Certificate of Bardic Genius seems too advanced to have picked up at Bard Camp.

[gatemansgc]

wait, did the bards leave the hammer of thunderbolts at the council when they brought durkon back to the temple?

[Hekko]

Yeah I know that.



Sounds plausible but we don't know for certain as far as I can see.

If the hammer got forgotten, Durkon can just swing by to pick it up or ask someone to fetch it. It's within the city limits, not on the bottom of some uncharted mountain valley.

[Mad Humanist]

... it makes a lot more sense to assume they will not do things like "leave valuable equipment behind for no reason."

How long have you been reading the comic?

[Peelee]

wait, did the bards leave the hammer of thunderbolts at the council when they brought durkon back to the temple?

Highly unlikely, I think it's just out of frame because there's no need to show it.

[Crœsos]

... it makes a lot more sense to assume they will not do things like "leave valuable equipment behind for no reason."

How long have you been reading the comic?

A Durkon-related case in point from fifteen(!) years ago.

[Angband]

Highly unlikely, I think it's just out of frame because there's no need to show it.

I think they must have left the hammer lying in the council room, because you need special gloves to be able to safely hold it, and they couldn't get the gloves off of Durkon's petrified form.

[Peelee]

A Durkon-related case in point from fifteen(!) years ago.

An excellent point; I doubt this would be re-hashed, since we've already seen it before.

I think they must have left the hammer lying in the council room, because you need special gloves to be able to safely hold it

Source?

[Crœsos]

A Durkon-related case in point from fifteen(!) years ago.

An excellent point; I doubt this would be re-hashed, since we've already seen it before.

Plus we've had the "party's much stronger/more competent now than when we started out" declaration recently.

[Fyraltari]

It's his most famous one, but I'm a sucker for anything by Christopher Guest.

See now, that sounds like it was meant to clear the confusion but it did not.

While I don’t think it beats <a href=http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0890.html> Elan’s country music Song of Freedom </a> (which, in my opinion, is a serious contender for the funniest single panel in the entire strip), that hippie song of freedom panel was pretty sweet. I like how Rich is giving us some genre clues for how these songs actually sound.

Edit: Forgive my ignorance, but how do I link comics? The forum rules don’t say how. I’m on mobile right now, if that matters.

On computer you can click on the link button just under the text color one and past the url there. On moblile, you have to type [url="url here"]"text here"[/url] yourself.

Source?

There were gloves inside the case with the hammer and it is constantly cracking with elictricity.
But then again maybe V prepared Bugsby's Artifact-Retrieving Hand this morning.

[warmachine]

The dwarven bards must have used Song of Freedom, making them at least 12th level. That level is supposed to be rare. Sidgi must have called in a lot of favours to get those kind of reinforcements.

[HandofShadows]

Elan being called a genius......

[Resileaf]

The dwarven bards must have used Song of Freedom, making them at least 12th level. That level is supposed to be rare. Sidgi must have called in a lot of favours to get those kind of reinforcements.

It's not a favour if it's her family.

[NobleCuriosity]

On computer you can click on the link button just under the text color one and past the url there. On moblile, you have to type [url="url here"]"text here"[/url] yourself

Thanks, Fyraltari! But it still doesn’t seem to work. It displays link-text formatting, but it links to a “server not available page” regardless of whether I include the http:// or not. Do you know what’s up with that?

[Rezby]

Durkon can just call the hammer to himself. Recall the fight with the worm?

Also it could double as a nod to a few cinematic movies where a titular character’s hammer flies to him from a long distance (sometimes with a punchline involved)

[facw]

We probably still have twenty-ish strips of concluding all the current plot, setting up the situation for the next book, and giving us an end-of-book twist.

Put me down a half-dozen or fewer strips left. The book is supposed to arrive at Ookoodook 12/2, and printing is not a terribly quick process, so I'd imagine it needs to be completely by some point next month (and probably not the end) at the latest. If we end up with one strip a week, that really doesn't allow many more strips before the book needs to be done. Of course Rich could pile up a cache of strips, but even in that case he presumably wants to finish online before the book is released. 20 strips would take us into next year, unless the posting pace is much higher than we're used to (I wouldn't complain, but that seems like an unfair expectation.

[tyckspoon]

There were gloves inside the case with the hammer and it is constantly cracking with elictricity.
But then again maybe V prepared Bugsby's Artifact-Retrieving Hand this morning.

In most respects it appears to function like the Hammer of Thunderbolts minor artifact, which doesn't require any special handling. The gloves (Gauntlets of Ogre Power) and belt (Belt of Giant Strength) are needed to use all of its powers, but there isn't anything to suggest they're required just to move it around.

[D.One]

Thanks, Fyraltari! But it still doesn’t seem to work. It displays link-text formatting, but it links to a “server not available page” regardless of whether I include the http:// or not. Do you know what’s up with that?

I know there's a pre-requisite, not sure if a certain forum-member time or a certain number of publications, for linking. At least, I remember there was something along those lines some time ago.

[Peelee]

Edit: Forgive my ignorance, but how do I link comics? The forum rules don’t say how. I’m on mobile right now, if that matters.
Edit 2: Thanks, Fyraltari. But it still doesn’t seem to work. It displays link-text formatting, but it links to a “server not available page” regardless of whether I include the http:// or not. Do you know what’s up with that?

An easier way may be to use the buttons in the toolbars above the text box. The globe with the lemniscate is the hyperlink button, so you can highlight text, hit the button, paste the link, and it'll do it for you.

Also, keep in mind if you do it manually, the quotation marks are important in the URL field but not in the text field. Like this:

[URL="testurl"]test text[/URL]

See now, that sounds like it was meant to clear the confusion but it did not.

*sigh*
Christopher Guest is a filmmaker and actor (and an absolutely genius one, IMO). He specializes in mockumentaries, and This is Spinal Tap is one of his most famous movies; it is about the US tour of a fictional heavy metal band in the '80s, at the height of popularity of the genre. It is especially notable for numerous professional musicians commenting on how accurate certain parts were, despite being played facetiously, as well as several catastrophes happening during the concerts on film actually happening to real life bands (such as U2 and Ozzy Osbourne) later on.

ETA: Oh, also for the three main band members actually writing the songs and playing the instruments to all the band's songs in the movie. Really talented guys.

It's exceptionally good, I highly recommend it. Doubly so if you can manage to get the DVD, as the main castmembers do the audio commentary in character, so it's effectively like having a whole second movie.

There were gloves inside the case with the hammer and it is constantly cracking with elictricity.
But then again maybe V prepared Bugsby's Artifact-Retrieving Hand this morning.

That doesn't mean it needs the gloves to be held, though. In fact, since it seems to be largely based on the Hammer of Thunderbolts, it very likely does not need the gloves, the gloves merely (well, "merely") provide other benefits.

[brian 333]

Elan's humility is refreshing.

With every new page I am torn between my love of the dwarves and my anxiety to see the rest of the story. I could spend another rl year or two in Firmament and be content, but I am dying to see what comes next.

Which Marvel Universe has two more years of Durkon's family? I want to go there!

[Fyraltari]

Thanks, Fyraltari! But it still doesn’t seem to work. It displays link-text formatting, but it links to a “server not available page” regardless of whether I include the http:// or not. Do you know what’s up with that?

Nope. I never had a problem with it. I recommend asking in the "Board/Site Issue" subforum.

*sigh*
Christopher Guest is a filmmaker and actor (and an absolutely genius one, IMO). He specializes in mockumentaries, and This is Spinal Tap is one of his most famous movies; it is about the US tour of a fictional heavy metal band in the '80s, at the height of popularity of the genre. It is especially notable for numerous professional musicians commenting on how accurate certain parts were, despite being played facetiously, as well as several catastrophes happening during the concerts on film actually happening to real life bands (such as U2 and Ozzy Osbourne) later on.

ETA: Oh, also for the three main band members actually writing the songs and playing the instruments to all the band's songs in the movie. Really talented guys.

It's exceptionally good, I highly recommend it. Doubly so if you can manage to get the DVD, as the main castmembers do the audio commentary in character, so it's effectively like having a whole second movie.

Ah yes, that explains why I've never heard of him.

That doesn't mean it needs the gloves to be held, though. In fact, since it seems to be largely based on the Hammer of Thunderbolts, it very likely does not need the gloves, the gloves merely (well, "merely") provide other benefits.

Look, if you want to handle electrical stuff without protective gear, I'll be ready to call the fire department but I won't help you. Nobody there would know for sure it's safe to touch is what I'm saying.

[Peelee]

Ah yes, that explains why I've never heard of him.

Imean, to be fair, a huge number of Americans haven't heard of him (at least outside of Spinal Tap, and for a lot of people even then). I think he's kind of similar to Albert Brooks; absolute comedic geniuses who have made several brilliant, hilarious movies, but are still criminally underrated and the movies never gained as much popularity as I think they should have.

Look if you want to handle elecrtical stuff without protective gear, I'll be ready to call the fire department but I won't help you. Nobody there would know for sure it's safe to touch is what I'm saying.

Holding an item that can deliver an effect to others hit with it aren't necessarily affected by that effect themselves. In fact, that's almost antithetical to most magic items; if Elan had grabbed the Rod of Enervation from Nale, I doubt he'd be level drained from just holding it, Haley doesn't fly or constantly heal from holding her wands, Lawful Roy would likely suffer no ill effects if he grabbed Elan's Chaos Saber, etc. etc.

[happycrow]

That was adorable, Giant.

[littlebum2002]

So...I'm guessing this is the end of the round? Quick! To the OotS by Page count thread!

Love the bards' admiration of Elan!

Thanks, Rich!

Good to see Elan being appreciated.

Elan gets some respect, maybe he and Haley will retire to the dwarven lands to be with those who respect him (and she who Haley respects).

Elan and "genius" are two words I never expected to see juxtaposed in this comic.

I mean we usually see Elan through the lens of the rest of the Order who, apart from Haley, don't really respect his talent. But remember, Elan is at least level 15, and he may even be 16 since other members of the Order are. That's REALLY high level. In DStP, they spent months looking for a level 13 cleric who could cast Resurrection to no avail.

There is a very good possibility that Elan is the highest level cleric bard in the world. Even if he isn't, he is definitely in the running. It is no surprise that he is considered a genius in his craft.

On computer you can click on the link button just under the text color one and past the url there. On moblile, you have to type [url="url here"]"text here"[/url] yourself.

I think there is also a way to specifically link to strips of the comic, but I don't know what it is

[ti'esar]

Elan getting to interact with fellow bards is definitely one of those things I never knew I needed until I actually saw it.