Examples of blatant foreshadowing.

[Alias]

Rich is pretty good at this sort of thing - foreshadowing that isn't obvious to the new reader but when you go back it's pretty blatant.

Like the first panel here then 120 strips later this.

Note the echo in the word choice. Brilliant.

Any other examples?

[Fyraltari]

Say Geoff, why would Bozzok send anyone to you?
Oh. That's why.

[understatement]

In hindsight, Malack's special diet.

[Ruck]

"It's not like they're gonna get invaded before they can repair it, you know."

I don't know how much this one counts since we already knew Xykon and Redcloak were on the march with an army, but it's still pretty ominous.

[Wizard_Lizard]

anything MitD says
"wow redcloak! It's so nice of you to risk yiour life instead of sacrifising those hobgoblins that you hate..." or something along those lines

[Aveline]

This is about as blatant as it gets.

"It's not like they're gonna get invaded before they can repair it, you know."

I don't know how much this one counts since we already knew Xykon and Redcloak were on the march with an army, but it's still pretty ominous.

Of the examples given, I think this is the closest to actual foreshadowing, though I think it would be more accurate to call it dramatic irony. Next stop: Azure City, now I would call that foreshadowing. And Thor whispering in Durkon's ear.

Rich is pretty good at this sort of thing - foreshadowing that isn't obvious to the new reader but when you go back it's pretty blatant.

Like the first panel here then 120 strips later this.

Note the echo in the word choice. Brilliant.

Any other examples?

I wouldn't call this foreshadowing - if it's unnoticeable the first time I don't think it really counts - but whatever it's called, Tarquin said something to Elan about replacing Durkon Thunderdshield with some Murkon Lightninghammer. (I don't remember the exact context he said it in.) And then...

[Wizard_Lizard]

the orcles entire purpose is foreshadowing

[Lacuna Caster]

This is about as blatant as it gets.

Of the examples given, I think this is the closest to actual foreshadowing, though I think it would be more accurate to call it dramatic irony. Next stop: Azure City, now I would call that foreshadowing. And Thor whispering in Durkon's ear.

Both those examples point to the same strip.

Also, strip #15: wow, 40,000 GP on college tuition a year?

[Peelee]

I was gonna make a joke about Durkon really being into turning undead, but then I realized there's actually some interesting foreshadowing just barely afterwards: Belkar knows Durkon saved the party by keeping the vampire from dominating them into killing each other.

[Fyraltari]

Both those examples point to the same strip.

Also, strip #15: wow, 40,000 GP on college tuition a year?

America, **** yeah?

[Lacuna Caster]

America, **** yeah?

It's more that typical earnings in a D&D universe are supposed to be around 1 silver piece per day. That's... about a thousand years' worth of commoner wages.

[Fyraltari]

It's more that typical earnings in a D&D universe are supposed to be around 1 silver piece per day. That's... about a thousand years' worth of commoner wages.

America, **** yeah?

[Peelee]

wow, 40,000 GP on college tuition a year?

America, **** yeah?

Not gonna lie, I laughed.

It's more that typical earnings in a D&D universe are supposed to be around 1 silver piece per day. That's... about a thousand years' worth of commoner wages.

America, **** yeah?

And again!

[Fyraltari]

Not gonna lie, I laughed.

Hooray!

And again!

Hooray!

[Lacuna Caster]

America, **** yeah?

I don't mean to be painfully literal, but that's off by about 3 orders of magnitude.

[Fyraltari]

I don't mean to be painfully literal, but that's off by about 3 orders of magnitude.

I believe that is called comedic hyperbole. Or "nobody took care to see if the DnD prices actually match up to a real economy". Take your pick.

[Fyraltari]

No, wait I can do better: the absurdly high prices of institutions like Fighter College, Ninja School, Wizard Academy, Xavion's School for Gifted Youngsters, Psionic Pschool, the various Theological Seminaries, Paladin United University, Barbaric Pit, Assassin Disunited Disuniverity and Rogue Squadron are deliberately in place to make sure only the children of the high-level (and thus ultra-rich) adventurers have a realistic chance to access the lucrative PC-classes. Thus they are perpetuating a system that reproduces a class of elites who get to lord their superiority over the dirt farmers, Warriors and assorted Commoners. What's more this unjust system is based on the sytemic opression, murder and stealing of welath of the disinfrenchised and marginalised "monster" section of the population.

These are well documented facts.

[Lacuna Caster]

No, wait I can do better: the absurdly high prices of institutions like Fighter College, Ninja School, Wizard Academy, Xavion's School for Gifted Youngsters, Psionic Pschool, the various Theological Seminaries, Paladin United University, Barbaric Pit, Assassin Disunited Disuniverity and Rogue Squadron are deliberately in place to make sure only the children of the high-level (and thus ultra-rich) adventurers have a realistic chance to access the lucrative PC-classes. Thus they are perpetuating a system that reproduces a class of elites who get to lord their superiority over the dirt farmers, Warriors and assorted Commoners. What's more this unjust system is based on the systemic oppression, murder and stealing of wealth of the disenfranchised and marginalised "monster" section of the population.

This is actually all pretty plausible, though it lends fresh irony to Roy's comment that "I'm not a part of your little feudal deal".

[Aveline]

Both those examples point to the same strip.

Oops. Fixed. Thor whispers in Durkon's ear.

[Lacuna Caster]

This is actually all pretty plausible, though it lends fresh irony to Roy's comment that "I'm not a part of your little feudal deal".

To be fair, Durkon was able to join the clergy despite Sigdi explicitly not being very wealthy, and unless Elan's Mom was really efficient at waiting tables or got a huge divorce settlement it's unlikely she'd be rich either. Not so clear in the other cases.

[The Pilgrim]

I believe that is called comedic hyperbole. Or "nobody took care to see if the DnD prices actually match up to a real economy". Take your pick.

You are all assuming that everyone is charged the same. Which, for a fantasy medieval setting, isn't entirely an accurate assumption.

In a feudal system, a noble would usually pay a lot more than a commoner for the same item, just to show that he was a Noble and, as such, did not have to care about money. Liberal professionals, like doctors or private tutors, would charge their clients according to the client's wealth level.

So a medieval fantasy setting should work all the same, with Adventurers being charged several order of magnitude more than commoners. And this strip gives proof that this is, in fact, how it works in the OOTS world. The same single apple is sold for 1 copper for common townsfolk, and for 1 platinum to adventurers. Three orders of magnitude more.

[Wizard_Lizard]

To be fair, Durkon was able to join the clergy despite Sigdi explicitly not being very wealthy, and unless Elan's Mom was really efficient at waiting tables or got a huge divorce settlement it's unlikely she'd be rich either. Not so clear in the other cases.

Maybe three weeksat bard campare cheaper than the other schools.

[Fyraltari]

I was making a joke... Elan, Haley and Durkon are clearly poor.

Also this is the first time I hear about people charging nobles more. This sounds like something that would get one hanged. Rich people show their wealth by buying stuff that is uselessly fancy, with gold trimming and stuff, not by paying more for the same thing as poor people. I mean you'd only impress the people who were there when you bought it.

[Lacuna Caster]

I was making a joke... Elan, Haley and Durkon are clearly poor.

I'd argue it's not 100% clear in Haley's case- her dad was a high-level rogue with guild connections, so even after reasonable deductions for charity he probably had respectable wealth-by-level until he got shipped off to the western continent.

Eugene was definitely pretty rich, though- he was able to afford multiple resurrections for himself and several attempts for Eric, which is what you'd expect from a past adventurer in their mid-to-upper teens, so I'd expect Roy had a fairly comfortable upbringing, at least materially.

Also this is the first time I hear about people charging nobles more. This sounds like something that would get one hanged. Rich people show their wealth by buying stuff that is uselessly fancy, with gold trimming and stuff, not by paying more for the same thing as poor people. I mean you'd only impress the people who were there when you bought it.

True.

[Kish]

I thought the implication was that Roy and Vaarsuvius had spent a fortune/subjected themselves to grueling school/apprenticeship programs almost entirely because they thought that was what they were supposed to do, while actually the universe they were in would have accepted nearly any excuse for "how I got my first level in X class" and given them the same number of spells, feats, and skill points, myself. If we must treat Fyraltari's joke this seriously.

[Peelee]

I was making a joke... Elan, Haley and Durkon are clearly poor.

Were clearly poor.

[understatement]

That reminds me; did Haley ever pay off all of the requested cut for the Guild?

[The Pilgrim]

Also this is the first time I hear about people charging nobles more. This sounds like something that would get one hanged.

The only person with autorithy to hang you in a feudal society is your Liege. And you don't charge your Liege more, because you don't charge your Liege at all. He is your Liege, he owns you.

Rich people show their wealth by buying stuff that is uselessly fancy, with gold trimming and stuff, not by paying more for the same thing as poor people. I mean you'd only impress the people who were there when you bought it.

If you payed like 100 times more than the item's value, be assured that the people who were there when you bought it would tell legends about you and your richies to everyone in the region. Going around "showing your generousity" was standard procedure for the aristocracy. Posturing predates Instagram by several centuries.

And, by the way, haggling was the usual procedure to discuss the price of an item back in those days. And of course, a noble would never lower himself to discuss prices or anything with a commoner. He would just pay your first asking, because he could.

[Fyraltari]

The only person with autorithy to hang you in a feudal society is your Liege. And you don't charge your Liege more, because you don't charge your Liege at all. He is your Liege, he owns you.

The first part is higly dependent on the period and place, as there were magistrates during many feudal societies.
The scond is just plain wrong. The only people who were owned in feudal societies were serfs who were not a majority, most peasants and bourgeois were free men. Also most people didn't have lliege lords, as that is a lord one has swore fealty to as a knight.

If you payed like 100 times more than the item's value, be assured that the people who were there when you bought it would tell legends about you and your richies to everyone in the region. Going around "showing your generousity" was standard procedure for the aristocracy. Posturing predates Instagram by several centuries.

Yeah, mostly by wearing mutli-colored clothes, building churches, having gold plating an your stuff buying food for the poor and throwing coins around at parties. Just requesting that you pay more is kind of weird, and while I can see it happening as a way to impress someone in particular I don't think it would be a regular thing, as opposed to just buying more expensive stuff (who may not be actually superior to the regular stuff, predating Apple Products by several centuries). also the really rich rarely do their shopping themselves.

And, by the way, haggling was the usual procedure to discuss the price of an item back in those days. And of course, a noble would never lower himself to discuss prices or anything with a commoner. He would just pay your first asking, because he could.

Yeah, but he won't ask for ten times your starting offer. Nobody does that.

Also most nobles weren't rich to the point they could just throw money around willy-nilly. The majority were baronets and assorted under-vassals who had to send their second sons to monasteries because they can't afford two.

[Wizard_Lizard]

Well in dnd you choose your class, and then make an origin for how you got that class.
i.e
fighter 1 spent three years studying in fighter school, training daily, and eating nothing but greul.

fighter 2 spent a several months as an apprentice to a legendary fighter of old, and upon his mentor's death, they began adventuring.

fighter 3 picked up his sword to save his village in its time of need, recieving no training whatsoever.

Assuming they all begun adventuring at the same time, are the same level with the same stats.
Who is the better fighter?