Our Little Adventure: A fun, original fantasy romp

[Great Dane]

http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/first.html
^Start here for Episode One!
http://topwebcomics.com/vote/12579/default.aspx
^Click here to vote for Our Little Adventure at Top Web Comics!

Our Little Adventure is a fantasy RPG webcomic created by Daniel Landolt that uses 3.5 rules as well as some homebrew (the author usually admits them as such on his forum). While it's admittedly inspired by Order of the Stick, as SO many other webcomics also claim, it has a distinct style, story, and flavor all its own. Its art drastically changes over the course of the comic as full arms, legs, and armor are drawn out in great detail. Backgrounds are beautifully detailed. It's got a wonderful art style.

The heroes are all of standard classes, though they throw in the fact that two are married, one is the little sister of the main protagonist, and things of that nature. Already three-hundred-plus strips into the archive, Daniel does a great job at keeping the reader on his/her heels. Social topics are breached and the author is not afraid to...how you say...sever emotional ties to characters.

But what about the story? Without revealing too much, the heroine, Julie, is seeking the pieces of the Magicant, a relic which combined grants the user unlimited wishes. You can imagine that the antagonists of the world (which, for now, include a married wizard and cleric) wouldn't mind having that little artifact in their treasure room!

At this point my own review from the OLA forums would be appropriate:

Spoiler

OLA is the best-looking webcomic I've ever seen (granted, I haven't seen many). It's crisp, clean, and the colors are vibrant. Normally after reading the comic text, I'll scan through each panel and look at the backgrounds because of how vivid they are. The quirky eyeball art adds charm and the unexpected anime nods are always a riot (see the "sweat drop" on Lenny while the tent is being assembled). I do agree the story does sometimes take a back seat to the action of the moment, but that could be a result of me flying through the archive in four days and simply not soaking everything up. Now that I know what's going on, perhaps a Round 2 Reading will demonstrate a smoother story flow throughout the entirety of the comic.

As far as the comparisons to OOTS, part of me wonders if Daniel has almost done himself a slight disservice by comparing his comic so quickly to the art style of Rich Burlew (comic #1). Now the comparison is in the forefront of each reader's mind as he/she progresses through the archive. Granted, this comparison may have happened organically anyway and you were just putting it out there like an honest person. But I can say with certainty that the OOTS comparisons are unwarranted because your 1)backgrounds are much more detailed 2) characters are much more detailed in both their bodies and clothing 3) combat effects such as spells, stabs, blood, etc are generally very nicely drawn.

If I had one complaint, it would be that 300+ episodes in we haven't seen any success as far as the Magicant pieces are concerned. After binge-reading this comic and waiting for regular updates, I forgot for a little while that Julie was out to find the pieces, though for the life of me, I cannot rememer how many there are, if it's been stated.

OOTS keeps me around for the wonderful story spanning 850 episodes. OLA keeps me around for something very promising being grown.

What should you expect from this comic? An author who is passionate about his homebrewed world and set of deities; a clever, witty sense of humor from the characters and parts of the world in general (see: sun and moon); brutal, engaging combat encounters that sometimes make you cringe with how real they seem (like, a dire boar getting literally stabbed in the face?) and so much more. Did I mention the author provides character sheets for most of the PCs and NPCs encountered throughout the duration of the story??

Really give this webcomic a shot and sign up on the forums. You'll thank me later

Feel free to use this thread for further commentary on new issues but I'd encourage you to sign up on the forum and join in there! More activity is always better :D

[Igneel]

Unlike OotS who are at least mid-level heroes, the hero group here starts off as 1st level adventurers so you get a better sense of drama as they have more chances of death as they try to level up. Meanwhile the villains can be thought of either as near or at Epic levels who have had the time to set up their own plans, many of which aren't as devious or obviously evil as you might think.

Throughout the comics there are several jokes that OotS never had to touch such as but not limited to; 'Why don't Phantom Steeds come with Fog Lights even at epic levels?', 'Who says Feather Fall doesn't make you fall like a feather waving side to side?', 'Bards sing to cast spells, so the Power of Friendship should heal all', and much more! Not to mention subtle references and guest appearances of video games (Final Fantasy victory music, or Mario question blocks anyone?), and internet memes (Pedo Bear oh my!).

There are differences between Daniel's world and the classic DnD world, as gnomes look very different with tails, Elves are more tied to nature, the few Outsiders we've seen thus far are slightly different then the overused Angel/Demon looks, along with a few others I can't think of off the top of my mind.

The backgrounds are always awesome to look at after reading through the comic, as sometimes there are bits of detail that you could miss. Not to mention really detailed. How many webcomics that use 'stick figures' do you know that go out of the way to detail piles of leaves, mossy rocks, sunset, etc?
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Sweet! New Thread Smell!

On to the subject of the newest comic!

As I've stated over at the OLA forums, I have strong suspicions that the party is going to be in for a really tough fight real soon.

Spoiler

I'm putting my money on the little one being an Imp and the female being a Erinyes, possibly making them both Devils or the Lawful Evil Outsiders.
Hmm... If I'm correct (which I am not going to assume) about them being Devils, that means Fire Immunity (Save the Imp, who has Resist 5) & Cold Resist 10. Both guessed monsters have Damage Reduction 5/Good (& Silver for the Imp), and some good Spell-like abilities.

If I had to guess, it could be a hard fight coming especially with the Erinyes having Charm Monster for the melee combatants along with Entangle for low Ref save people, and the Imp being able to shapeshift into things like a Boar to melee with the spellcasters. Personally, from the info the Imp gave her, Charm the fighter and/or rogue, and entangle the spellcasters.

And the loot to be had! Just think about what a typical Erinyes has loot wise according to the d20srd. At the very least they could be getting a sweet flaming bow. Perfect for our Fighter friend. ;D

[Chess435]

Also, OLA just broke the top 150 in the TWC ratings!

[Igneel]

Originally Posted by Chess435

Also, OLA just broke the top 150 in the TWC ratings!

Woot! I knew my 3-4 votes today would help! j/k

[Saph]

If this was a D&D game, I'd expect an Erinyes to have a good chance of beating the OLA party. She's immune to Angelika's fire spells, resistant to Emily's cold spells, can fly out of range of Lenny and Rocky while shooting them with flaming arrows, and has spell resistance just in case. The only thing they've got that can reach her is their own bows, and those are going to have trouble getting through the Erinyes' damage reduction.

They can barely touch her. Oh, and she can charm all the melee fighters too, just to make things harder.

[lord_khaine]

Yeah, Erinyes are just brutal, even a party of semi-optimised pc would have trouble with 1 at that level, forget about flaming arrows, that thing has Unholy blight at will

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by Saph

If this was a D&D game, I'd expect an Erinyes to have a good chance of beating the OLA party. She's immune to Angelika's fire spells, resistant to Emily's cold spells, can fly out of range of Lenny and Rocky while shooting them with flaming arrows, and has spell resistance just in case. The only thing they've got that can reach her is their own bows, and those are going to have trouble getting through the Erinyes' damage reduction.

They can barely touch her. Oh, and she can charm all the melee fighters too, just to make things harder.

They still have Magic Missiles, which should cut loose 3-4 of them a casting. Still have to deal with that SR and I'm doubtful of Angelika having Spell Penetration. Emily might, so she can deal with her somewhat. I do think a strategic retreat may be in the offering shortly, though.

I wouldn't totally discount Lenny, as he did take those Ranger levels for Archery, so he'll at least have Rapid Shot, though the lack of Bless Weapon or Align Weapon will be quite painful to deal with. Inspire Courage and the composite longbow I think he has may let him riddle her with arrows somewhat to be at least an annoyance.

Though, really, I'm grasping at straws with that Unholy Blight in the wings, though I suspect that won't be as big an issue for Rocky, Angelika or Emily as for Lenny and Julie, though I can't confirm alignments since they aren't listed on the character sheets. Rocky and Angelika are pretty CN and Emily I'd suspect of TN or LN.

[Saph]

Originally Posted by Cieyrin

They still have Magic Missiles, which should cut loose 3-4 of them a casting. Still have to deal with that SR and I'm doubtful of Angelika having Spell Penetration. Emily might, so she can deal with her somewhat. I do think a strategic retreat may be in the offering shortly, though.

That's the other thing about Erinyes - you can't even run away from them. With at-will flight and at-will greater teleport they're faster than you can ever be. And even if you somehow manage to get them down to low HP they can just teleport out and come back another time.

Honestly, the only way I can see the party beating her is if she chooses to stay at ground level and let herself get flanked by Rocky and Lenny. And even that probably wouldn't work as all she has to do is use charm monster and tell them to stop stabbing her (or just spam unholy blight centred on herself).

[Igneel]

New Comic is up!

Looks like the Imp is doing as ordered by watching the party to learn more about them as they get ready for the night/next day.

And proof that Julie didn't get anything from that last fight as I suspected since all that seemed to remain were several suits of armor and shields with a spear.

And the creepy clown tent is still creepy...

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by Igneel

And the creepy clown tent is still creepy...

Little did they know that the tent comes with a permanent Antipathy effect for anyone with a phobia of clowns.

[Great Dane]

Woof, this fight is going to be rough. The more I read about that monster type, the more worried I get.

However, if we are to assume the events in the Kingdom of Freedom transpire at the same time as the events on Manjulias..

Spoiler

Then perhaps we'll see the return of Pauline, if at all possible. Think Goku from DBZ with the halo around his head. Daniel's known to have thrown in a few house rules from time to time...

[Igneel]

Place your bets everyone! The battle is about to begin!

Uh, oh! Starting up in the air, with so far only Julia and Rocky with their bows out!

I feel strangely more creeped out with the Sun agreeing with me on the Clown Tent...

[lord_khaine]

Well, barring plot armor i would say that the party doesnt have any chance of winning at all, in a ranged fight they would be allmost unable to damage their opponent at all, so if they win it would have to come from either outside influence or stupidity on the hands of the Erynie.

[Elemental]

I have a subtle feeling they needn't worry about the tactical skill of their opponent.
After all... Who begins a battle by shouting; "It is time for us to battle"?

But, that's just my opinion.

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by Igneel

Uh, oh! Starting up in the air, with so far only Julia and Rocky with their bows out!

I wouldn't necessarily count Lenny out of the running, as ranged competence is why he went Ranger. Hope he makes it count/he had a magic bow/arrow in the wings...

[Igneel]

Originally Posted by Cieyrin

I wouldn't necessarily count Lenny out of the running, as ranged competence is why he went Ranger. Hope he makes it count/he had a magic bow/arrow in the wings...

Not counting him out, just kinda surprised that he didn't have his out like everyone else.

[lord_khaine]

Well, unfortunately the high Ac of the Erenye should make Lenny hit less that ½ the time, and the dr 5/good would mean that most arrows that hit would be ignored anyway.

And at the same time, its spell resistance of 20 means that spellcasters in the group without spell penetration only has a 35 % chance of affecting it, followed by a immunity to fire that makes it highly unlikely that anything Angelika does at all would work.

Emily might be able to get a lucky hit in with one of her ice spells, but its saves are really good, and it got 10 points of cold resistance.

Really, the only way i can see the Eriny lose is if she suddenly deside she want to fight them all in melee, then it will go from a impossible fight to merely a hard one.

[Great Dane]

We know one thing for sure -- that enchanted sword is going to come into play and probably turn the fight.

[lord_khaine]

No that cant make any meaningfull difference, its only been 1 night, its just a +1 rapier now, that still wont allow it to beat the Erinyes DR, and the +1 to hit and damage should not make that big of an impact on so weak a melee combatant as a normal bard.

[Igneel]

Normally, in a game of actual DnD, I would agree with you lord_khaine. But since both this and OotS are webcomics that often have turned certain encounters or events in favor of plot/story I'm kinda on the fence about this.

Couple of theories...

• Rapier or bow does play a part in the victory in some way, whether somehow it got/had a good enchantment through house rules or other mechanics.
• That spellbook Emily got from that fight has some useful spells that we obviously haven't seen yet.
• The enemy realizes that she has the wrong 'Female Bard'.
• Enemy gets a 'call' from the 'Boss' for something else.
• They get captured or incapacitated and we go on a 'detour' adventure.

[Saph]

Well, so far it's playing out pretty much as expected (Lenny's arrows can hurt the Erinyes, but the Erinyes' arrows can hurt Lenny much more).

Have to give the writer credit, this feels exactly like a D&D fight (combined with snarky comments from the blaster player about running into something she can't blow up )

[lord_khaine]

Normally, in a game of actual DnD, I would agree with you lord_khaine. But since both this and OotS are webcomics that often have turned certain encounters or events in favor of plot/story I'm kinda on the fence about this.

Couple of theories...

Well so far the battles have stayed mostly inside the system, and i belive todays comic is confirmation off my initial battle analysis, that said that the party would need to bring out some kind of wildcard to win this.

Well, so far it's playing out pretty much as expected (Lenny's arrows can hurt the Erinyes, but the Erinyes' arrows can hurt Lenny much more).

I would replace hurt with annoy , considering that Lenny is hitting for 1d8-2 versus the Erinyes 1d8+6+1d6...

Have to give the writer credit, this feels exactly like a D&D fight (combined with snarky comments from the blaster player about running into something she can't blow up )

And thats what you get for putting all your eggs in a singel basket, and then setting it on fire

[raphfrk]

Originally Posted by lord_khaine

And thats what you get for putting all your eggs in a singel basket, and then setting it on fire

It's cool that the spell put the trees on fire. Angelika is now only getting collateral damage. At least in the fight in the town, the spell damaged her target.

[scienceguy8]

Is that what I think it is? Is the writer really evoking that drawn out Skyrim trope? Note the location of Lenny's arrow.

[lord_khaine]

Is that what I think it is? Is the writer really evoking that drawn out Skyrim trope? Note the location of Lenny's arrow.

Slightly above the knee ?

[Great Dane]

Originally Posted by scienceguy8

Is that what I think it is? Is the writer really evoking that drawn out Skyrim trope? Note the location of Lenny's arrow.

He certainly is. He joked in his forums that it shouldn't be brought up (presumably anticipating the moans and groans of his fans ).

Speaking of, go sign up there all! Go vote daily for this bad boy!

[Squark]

I really can't tell what the imp's facial expression is supposed to be most of the time. It seems like he has a permanent grin plastered on his face, frankly.

[Saph]

Well, the Haste'll help. Can't see how the Fly will do much good, though - the only one who really needs to get into melee is Rocky, and without a flanker he can't Sneak Attack.

[Great Dane]

Originally Posted by Squark

I really can't tell what the imp's facial expression is supposed to be most of the time. It seems like he has a permanent grin plastered on his face, frankly.

I hear ya, I had to zoom in to see that he has two fangs, underbite-style, protrudng from the mouth-line. I've assumed he's been straight-faced except when he has the "Oh Gawd" eyes.

[Querzis]

Originally Posted by Saph

Well, the Haste'll help. Can't see how the Fly will do much good, though - the only one who really needs to get into melee is Rocky, and without a flanker he can't Sneak Attack.

Most rogues usually got a trick or two to get a few sneak attacks in without flanking. That being said, I'd rather have Emily and Angelika start spamming magic missiles instead of casting fly.

Also, I know I already said that in the Official forum but I'm I the only one really surprised about Lenny being neutral? I dont think anyone is surprised by Angelika and Rocky but I was sure Lenny was a good guy, what did he ever do that would make him neutral?