OOTS #599 - The Discussion Thread

[Massy]

And Elan should have gone with sharks from the get-go. They've been known to devour bodies whole.

I was thinking ill-tempered mutated seabass.

[Laurentio II]

I was thinking ill-tempered mutated seabass.

He could have told that the sea turned acid for some moment. More believable, you agree?

EDIT: ops! I turned Orc!

[Mauve Shirt]

Oh no.
I'm even more convinced the next strip will be Vaarsuvius getting ultimate power.

[Lord_Drayakir]

Woo! Go V! I actually do agree with the fact that the other OotS members that were with him on the ship weren't exactly helping to find Haley. Elan became Hinjo's bodyguard, while Durkon was basically the only cleric aboard the fleet.

I've always thought of V as the guy who has to make tough decisions, but unlike sappy BAD fantasy novels, he doesn't whine and get all angsty about it. Instead, like a real person in a position of power, he actually makes these decisions.

And that's why the Giant is an awesome storyteller.

As for Qarr... I think it's going to be that he tries to subvert V, but will fail miserably. V is still Neutral, and he still cares about Haley and Roy, and he'll know that working with an imp is never a good thing for mortal spellcasters.

[FMArthur]

This is gonna be hilarious. Lien will find Kubota's armor on the seafloor, and report that he got away again.

[neoseph7]

Red wizard needs sleep badly.

I sense an attempt at on the devil's part to charm V which will work because:

A) V is too tired to mentally fight back
+
B) Plot device Mr. Frodo. Plot device.

The real question is why Qarr wants to get on the ship. Does he not know Kubota is dead? While I do enjoy this story arc, I hope it doesn't spend much time on Qarr finding out.

[Kato]

Ooooooh, foreshadowing for 600 anyone? ^^' I'm sure the 'V's four words' thread will grow to 20 sites within the next days ^^'

Anyway, great comic again. But why didn't Elan say... er... Kubota got eaten by a giant shark. Or kraken. (Yay, movie references) Anyway, who needs a traitorous bastardy body anyway? It's not like he deserves a funeral or so.

[Raz_Fox]

Oh dear. Horrors...

I have a feeling that this is NOT going to end well for anyone involved. V is especially in danger - in V's weakened state V won't be able to really concentrate and realize that the little red devil isn't the best advisor in the world.

Now I can't wait for 600. Can't wait, can't wait, can't...

[factotum]

Oh no.
I'm even more convinced the next strip will be Vaarsuvius getting ultimate power.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating: there's no way V can obtain ultimate power anytime much before the end of the strip, because ultimate power implies he could defeat anyone--Xykon, Hinjo, Qaar, the entire rest of the OotS working together--without much effort. Unless, of course, he somehow gains ultimate arcane power and then loses it again almost instantly, and again, I can't see that happening right here and now...

[sarge081089]

What if v finds haley and tells her elan was cheating and didnt try to go find her? that would be sad and so would i.

[Holammer]

Dun DUN DUUUUHN!
Best strip for ages and I'm not saying the others been bad!
Who would expect Qarr to be such a good sport even apologizing to his old poker buddy?

[SPoD]

It's been said before, but it bears repeating: there's no way V can obtain ultimate power anytime much before the end of the strip, because ultimate power implies he could defeat anyone--Xykon, Hinjo, Qaar, the entire rest of the OotS working together--without much effort.

This is assuming that V remains a protagonist. If V becomes an antagonist, the sky is the limit.

[brilliantlight]

V will find a secluded lair in which to finish the ritual of Lichdom.

Then, once transformed as an undead abomination, it will be able to work ceaselessly on achieving real ultimate power!


Or maybe not. But he looks about as alive as Michael Jackson.

Why would V become a lich? It would slow down her quest for ultimate arcane power.

[SoC175]

So, if the cloister wears off and V find Haley & Co. this will prove to her that her theory about Elan and Durkon being the factors interfering with her earlier attempts is correct and thus give her no reason to ever return to the group

[Daibhid C]

This is assuming that V remains a protagonist. If V becomes an antagonist, the sky is the limit.

Again, someone with "ultimate arcane power" can beat anyone. If V's still a good guy, Team Evil get turned into small lizards of some description, and it's all over. OotS won, yay!

If V becomes a bad guy with ultimate arcane power, it's the Order who may be facing lizarddom. Again it's all over, but a lot more tragically.

What may happen is that V gets ultimate arcane power and realises that (s)he doesn't actually know how (s)he wants to use it. Then it's up to the Order (probably Haley) to talk him/her down.

[Lydronk]

Wow, "dire half-dragon bone-eating saltwater werepiranhas"? That's a natural 20 on Craft(Improvised Quick Monster Generation)! :D

Yet another good comic, with a good ending!

[Laurentio II]

So, if the cloister wears off and V find Haley & Co. this will prove to her that her theory about Elan and Durkon being the factors interfering with her earlier attempts is correct and thus give her no reason to ever return to the group

Gosh! This will be a major plot element, for the fifty seconds it takes to Haley to dismiss the imbroglio! Or you base your prevision on a complete lack of communication?

No, wait, I support this theory. But just because I want Vaarsuvius go hyper, to see if he use the "Whooo! Who is the man baby? Who is the man?" line. This would close a very long issue!

[Daibhid C]

So, if the cloister wears off and V find Haley & Co. this will prove to her that her theory about Elan and Durkon being the factors interfering with her earlier attempts is correct and thus give her no reason to ever return to the group

Well, I suspect that Haley may want to rejoin Elan, which would leave V to choose between following, or going to all that effort to find Haley, and then just leave her.

(Even if V tells Haley about Therkla, I doubt she's going to take the word of an elf who looks like five miles of difficult terrain.)

[Starbuck_II]

As for Qarr... I think it's going to be that he tries to subvert V, but will fail miserably. V is still Neutral, and he still cares about Haley and Roy, and he'll know that working with an imp is never a good thing for mortal spellcasters.

Actually, even if V was evil she would still care about Haley: Evil does/can care about friends.

Maybe V will become a Fiend Binder from ToM.

[Dr. Cthulwho]

Oooooo.... the plot thickens (or continues to thicken).

I wonder if Elan's (apparently unconvincing) lie will come back to bite him? And what nefarious plans does Qaar have for our poor addled elf?

I liked Elan kind of going full circle with his "It's probably for the best" line as well. Kind of similar to what he said when Kubota shuffled off the mortal coil. All in all another top notch strip.

This is gonna be hilarious. Lien will find Kubota's armor on the seafloor, and report that he got away again.

That would be a bit of a funny play on the old cliche - the one where a body isn't found so presumably they could still be alive (like Murdoc, from Macguyver). Of course we know he's dead, so does Elan and V, but everyone else could think he's out there, just waiting to return .

[Maxdibe]

I have to quote the "Dun DUN DUUUUHN!"

First impression: "Damn, V is going to be beaten up or maybe (s)he will become an anatagonist"
Second thought: "(S)he has a profecy, (s)he has to gain ultimate power, (s)he cannot die"
Third thought: "...when will be online the magnificient-20 panels long-full of explaining-plotness-incredible act by V-600th strip?"

[LuisDantas]

I probably shouldn't be surprised, but I still am a bit disappointed that Elan tried to cover up for V.

V, however, nearly made sense. He actually redeemed himself a bit in my eyes, which shows how disappointed in he I am.

I fear for the Order now. And for Hinjo.

[Lissou]

I really hope people aren't still thinking it's going to slow. Stuff is definitely happenning here (and not only Lien proving that V's still not Evil).

Go V! I can't say it's a bad decision, although I'm worried about the imp. Also, worried that Haley and Roy will find V, but not the other two or something. We'll have to see.

[Starknight]

I have said it before, someone needs to rock V to sleep/trance. Step one, Find a big rock.... Step 2, Hit V with big rock. Step 3, Run for the hills.

First rule of GM'ing: If the party splits up, giggle insanely.

Starknight

[Lira]

I've been wondering for some time if V would leave them and go off alone... but I still didn't expect it to happen.
600 should be good, this certainly has been building up for awhile.

EDIT: Awww, I just noticed the sad look on Durkon's face after V flies away.

[pendell]

Hmm ... possibilities here. I can't say I'm thrilled with the fact that the party has split even further, but it's true to the characters and a plausible development.

I suspect there will be a satisfying payoff in the near- to mid-term future.


Y'know, for a bard, Elan's a terrible liar, isn't he? I mean, he was doing okay up to the point of the piranhas, but now he's just fabricating to such an extent no one of even moderate intelligence could possibly believe him.

Better answer:
Hinjo: "We'll go find the body".
Elan: "You do that."

And SHUT UP.

Come to think of it ... going back to the 'inspiring the troops' sequence of Azure City -- Elan doesn't actually seem to be very effective as a bard.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Saint Nil]

Well, we know how strip 600 will be important now.

[Laurentio II]

First rule of GM'ing: If the party splits up, giggle insanely.

Nice one, but not the first. The first RPG rule is "The GM is always right".
The first GM rule is "Players are always wrong"!

[The Tygre]

Fifty points for everybody who theorized a Vaarsuvius/Qarr tag-team! Have yourselves a cookie!

[Coldwind]

Aw man....we further breaking up the group?

it is hard to disagree.

roy is dead for over 150 strips, oots spliting up more, and with lesser funny and more aggresive dialogues in every strip. it seems it's now ex-oots, since all members are seperated, which is not fun in my point of view. and payoff wont come for the next 100 strips or so it seems..

it changed a lot from the strip #1, hope some nice differences will come with #600, like the old days of oots.