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2024-04-25, 10:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2010
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- France
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
I might be reading too much from the cat's full-fanged smile, but I can't shake off the feeling that Krosp is very much enjoying himself...
Spoiler
DM: At the end of the meal, the innkeeper is bringing you the cheese plate. Roll for initiative.
PC: Excuse me, what?
DM: I said, roll for initiative. They like their cheese really ripe in these parts. They have the ooze type.
"Excuse me, but... is it a GOOD or a BAD thing when the DM can't help bursting into laughter every time he hears the phrase 'level-appropriate encounter'? No, just curious..."
Extended signature
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2024-04-25, 12:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2013
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- Pacific NW
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
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2024-04-25, 01:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2012
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2024-04-25, 01:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
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- England. Ish.
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
The comic does actually go in to the "where does Agatha stand" question here and the following few pages.
Note that I don't think Violetta knew about Tarvek being the Storm King at the time, since the argument she applies for Gil as "new ruler of the Empire" equally applies to "Storm King".Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.
"The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud
"Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee
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2024-04-25, 03:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
I read that as Violetta's entire argument rests on disparity in power, not status. "With that much of a power imbalance, is he asking - or ordering?" "... you'll both be starting from scratch".
She refers to Tarvek as rebuilding the Storm King's Empire. She knows he has a claim. She's concerned about power, with Mechanicsburg as a "rogue state".
Now, fast forward to today. Agatha doesn't have a state, but she's presumably about to have it back again after the Dreen kill the Time Monster. And then she'll be the most powerful Spark besides Albia and Monahan, ruler of the unconquerable Mechanicsburg, while Gil's Empire has largely crumbled. At this point we're talking Agatha having the power balance on her side.
In fact, as The Heterodyne with the Empire in tatters and Martellus' claim disputed, she might be the most prestigious noble in Europa, with the Master of Paris being in the running.This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-04-25, 08:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
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- Watching the world go by
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
New thread title: Girl Genius XXXIII: Oooh, Tricky. She's an Autumn.
Let us just say that title-able quotes are fairly constantly produced by this comic.
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2024-04-26, 06:16 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- England. Ish.
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Even back then, "Storm King" would still have been on a par with Gil's position. But agreed, now it's a completely different ballpark, as you describe above.
I just wanted to point out that the positions had been considered in comic, and certianly at the time the Heterodyne would not have been considered an equal to either the Ruler of the Empire or the Storm King.
Interestingly, that same logic would put a wedge between Tweedle and Agatha, but I don't think Tweedle's up for that (Agatha, of course, isn't interested at all, naturally...)
Noted, and may I congratulate you on the oldest quote for thread title thus far.Last edited by Manga Shoggoth; 2024-04-26 at 06:20 AM.
Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.
"The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud
"Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee
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2024-04-26, 08:37 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Krosp raises an excellent point indeed - what will the mental state of the denizens of Mechanicsburg be when the time stop, stops?
Captain Vole was nuts, but that was likely a by-product of how he was extracted.
And we know the Castle has some ability to communicate even within the Time Stop, being a sort-of Queen in its own right. So it probably won't be nuts.
Still, giving the Castle tempting targets is not a good plan under any circumstances.This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-04-26, 12:17 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
What confuses me is the storm kings domain. Isnt that basically replacing the barons rule with the storm kings? Like, is it the same, is there significant overlap, is it random? Isnt martellus basically going "Ok gil, thanks for holding the fort. get lost, this is my kingdom now."?
"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."
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2024-04-26, 12:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2013
- Location
- Pacific NW
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
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2024-04-27, 02:37 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2009
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
EVERY dish includes fish heads?
Given Krosp is the host, I can't decide whether,
1. He is being generous. He likes fish heads, so who wouldn't?
2. He is being being diplomatic, reminding Martellus that Mechanicsburg's works by its own rules, because, who wouldn't?
3. He is being mean to Martellus, because, who wouldn't?
Or all of the above.
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2024-04-27, 05:05 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2020
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2024-04-27, 07:14 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2012
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Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Simplest assumption is that neither domain is contiguous, but both claim the same de jure lands. Or rather, the Storm King conspiracy wants to outright replace the Empire as it was under Klaus, but with a Storm King and all the aristocracy being in charge rather than a Baron running a pseudo meritocracy that the nobles percieve as tyranny.
The Empire covered most of Europa, with the only major free states we know of being England, Mechanicsburg and Paris, and was originally centered in Hungary IIRC, but moved the capital to Castle Wulfenbach, which was of course a dirigible. The old Storm King's lands probably covered a similar area, centered somewhere in France or Germany, and also excluded England, Mechanicsburg and Paris.
Martellus's kingdom presumably consists primarily of members of the fifty families who hadn't rejoined the Empire after it's collapse two years ago, and who support his claim to the Storm King title, as well as the lands held by churches whose Popes have sworn allegiance to him. How much land this actually is is never stated. Where his nominal capital is hasn't been stated.
Gil's Empire will consist of any lands that stayed loyal during the collapse after the battle of Mechanicsburg two years ago, and anyone that has been convinced to rejoin since then. Numbers are again never outright stated, but we also know from Seffie that some of the fifty families were moving to support Gil during the two year time skip.Sanity is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.
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2024-04-27, 03:51 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2004
- Location
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
All of the above, at the very least both 1 and 3 are a given.
The Storm King's name has been given as "Andronicus Valois", that makes him presumably part of this universe's House Valois, a branch of the Capetians. Now I'm going to assume that the GG House Valois, like the real House Valois, got its name from its lordship over the Valois county, and so if they can't have Paris as their capital because it's an independent city state, then presumably the capital would be Crépy-en-Valois, which in the real world is a small town not far from Paris.
Now of course it's also possible that in the GG universe, it's another area entirely. Valois basically just means "of the vale" and there are vales everywhere.Last edited by Gez; 2024-04-27 at 03:51 PM.
Hark! An avatar drawn by Kate Beaton!
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2024-04-29, 04:01 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Thread title: I did mention she still hates you, right?
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2024-04-29, 04:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
In a war it doesn't matter who's right, only who's left.
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2024-04-29, 05:59 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2013
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Krosp needs to go find a Spark, get them to make him a mic, then go back to Martellus and drop it. Fantastic speech that seems to have struck a chord with Martellus. His best redeeming feature has been how he cares for his men (like when he eulogizes his own zombified men even as he fights them).
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2024-04-29, 06:32 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Martellus, earlier, showed regret over the losses at the Western Gate - mere ground soldiers, but he cared a little.
We may be seeing an effort to take the edges off Martellus, from a scenery-chewing villain to someone that Agatha can work with.This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-04-29, 11:30 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Gil, Tarvek, Moloch, Othar, Von Pinn, the Jaegers, the Geisters, Seffie, Bang(!), Vole(!!!)?
I'm not sure this story can handle any more ruthlessly lethal adversaries converting into basically affable allies.
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2024-04-29, 12:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- On Paper
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Eh, at this point Martellus has been an ally more frequently than he's been an antagonist. He's ALREADY there. He's a huge jerkwad, but he, along with every other not-unreasonably-mad leader in Europa, is firmly on their side and opposed to The Other.
This might be a setup to him stepping down so the whole Storm King thing can be wrapped up without his death.
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2024-04-29, 12:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Alternatively, this could be a setup to Martellus' heroic death being something that hits the reader hard. Let's face it, dude is brave. He went toe-to-toe with his old Andronicus, who was a pretty scary undead monstrosity with high-end weapons. It's possible that Krosp's speech is setting him up to die saving the world, or Europa, or maybe just his Knights of the Hunt. Not a suicide mission (probably) but a "I will take this thing on because no one else can".
Also, we're getting a contrast between Martellus and Vapnoople, from the perspective of someone who knows them both. Krosp is saying "Wait, you're not like Dr. Dim!".This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-04-29, 01:54 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
What the folks above said, but also objectively evil and awful people becoming Agatha's oddly loveable allies has been a long standing feature of this comic. Whether due to common goals, or loyalty to the House of Heterodyne, or simply threatening them into submission.
I mean, the castle prisoners for example. Or, of course, the castle ITSELF.
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2024-04-29, 02:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2017
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2024-04-29, 02:56 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- England. Ish.
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.
"The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud
"Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee
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2024-04-29, 05:17 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
There was also his line to his uncle after he emerged from the Time Stop - "I can kill members of my family all day long and know I'm making the world a better place ...". He's ruthlessly ambitious and sociopathic, but not without some sense that the world matters outside of him. Sociopathy without narcissism can perhaps be managed.
This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-04-29, 05:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2015
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Or possibly channeled. Martellus seems to genuinely enjoy making big fuzzy monsters and going on big old-fashioned hunts with them. If he can just be convinced to give up ambitions of conquest he might have a grand old time as a 'Master of the Wyld Hunt' sort of figure smashing and blasting across Europa smiting and feasting, and it's not like Europa is liable to run out of 'things needing some well-justified smiting' anytime soon (and if it somehow did, Martellus could run off with the Dreen and hunt across the boundaries of time and space itself).
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2024-04-30, 12:04 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2022
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
I think turning evil people into allies is the theme of Agatha's character journey. Mechanicsburg is a city of monsters. Many of the people Agatha rules over, and has sworn to protect, are monsters. Converting both literally and metaphorical monsters into allies is part of the role of the Heterodyne.
Last edited by Devlerbat; 2024-04-30 at 12:05 PM.
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2024-04-30, 02:06 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- England. Ish.
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.
"The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud
"Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee
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2024-05-01, 06:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
Martellus' cat (I forget the name) is more feline than Krosp. Less human, perhaps just less practice, or more spoiled?
And once again, whose side is Seffie on? I assume her brother's, but maybe not always.This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2024-05-01, 06:21 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
- Location
- Tor zur Welt
- Gender
Re: Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!
* my emphasis
http://dmreference.com/SRD/
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/
Things that don't kill me make me strong
Things that do kill me leave me dead