Peregrine Team and their backers: one of the sides we didn't know about!

[Flame of Anor]

Remember in that one strip when someone, I think the roaches, was talking about the number of factions, and said "Ssh! They don't know about some of those yet!" Well, I think we've just met one of them!

[badam104172]

possibly... but that was probably just a joke. nevertheless, team peregrine will doubtless be aquiring a fanclub and smileys soon.

[Ulrichomega]

I find it somewhat hard to believe that there are, what was said, 9 sides.

I can't think of more than 6, but I guess Rich could drop some more on us any time.

[NerfTW]

Well, the point was that just because two people were working towards the same goal doesn't mean they were on the same "side". Redcloak and Xykon, for instance, are very clearly not on the same side of the conflict. They both have different goals for the gate.

[Draz74]

Yeah, technically you could argue for almost any character to constitute a "side" of their own. Not going quite that far, but still fragmenting quite a few groups, I can come up with:

Xykon
Redcloak & the goblins
the Order of the Stick
Azure City and the Sapphire Guard
the IFCC
the Linear Guild
Kubota and henchies (back when the reference happened)
the elves
the dwarves (High Priest of Odin & co.)
Ancient Mommy Black Dragon (back then)
Warlord Imprisoning Haley's Dad
the Thieves' Guild
Serini Toormuck (it's been hinted she's still alive)
a character from Start of Darkness
Leeky Windstaff and Pompey
Eugene (& Julia) Greenhilt
the Holey Brotherhood :smallwink:

So, depending which of these are considered to be independent "sides," and which will actually turn out to be important to the plot, that list could easily boil down to 9 or so. There could also still be more that we haven't been introduced to at all (minor ones).

[sam79]

The reference to nine sides (in Strip 548) is in "this conflict", i.e. the struggle for Azure City and (probably, as it is Redcloak speaking) the Gates. This strip in itself makes the point that the goblins and Xykon should be considered as separate sides, and the Order of the Stick of course form another. From Draz's comprehensive list, we can probably exclude quite a few who aren't really a side in that particular conflict, and be left with:

Team Peregrine and the Elves
Hinjo and the Sapphire Guard/Azurites
The Azure City Resistance (which overlaps a lot with the forst two)
The IFCC and their pawns, the Linear Guild
Kubota et al (possibly, though would Redcloak and/or the roaches know enough about Azurite politics to concieve of them as a side in this conflict?)

That gives around eight fairly distinct sides.

If we are talking gates in general, and not just Soon's Gate/Azure City, we can add Girard (assuming he is alive? I can't recall if we have any info on his fate? If he is still in the game, he is presumably guarding his Gate and not unaware that there are only two left now), and Serini Toormuck.

[David Argall]

I find it somewhat hard to believe that there are, what was said, 9 sides.

I can't think of more than 6, but I guess Rich could drop some more on us any time.

The original statement was "at least nine sides"...some of which we did not know of.
That makes the statement just about meaningless. We had over 9 characters, and some of them since then, so the conditions of the statement are fulfilled no matter what happens in the future.

[Morgan Wick]

I find it somewhat hard to believe that there are, what was said, 9 sides.

I can't think of more than 6, but I guess Rich could drop some more on us any time.

"Ssh! They don't know about some of those yet!"

David Argall seems to think we could know of more OR less.

But that line tells me we aren't supposed to know about more than seven (at least, as of that strip) - otherwise there would have been no reason for the roach to say it. Sure enough, seeing the Peregrine Team really came from out of nowhere.

Four are obvious: Xykon, Redcloak, OOTS, and Linear Guild. It's yet to be seen if the LG are really separate from the IFCC but knowing Nale they probably are, that's five. The Azurites have had enough conflict with the OOTS they're probably separate, while the resistance MIGHT not entirely be kosher with the Azurites (remember, it's two-thirds anti-Hinjo) and now the elves might side with either or neither.

[Altaria87]

The reference to nine sides (in Strip 548) is in "this conflict", i.e. the struggle for Azure City and (probably, as it is Redcloak speaking) the Gates. This strip in itself makes the point that the goblins and Xykon should be considered as separate sides, and the Order of the Stick of course form another. From Draz's comprehensive list, we can probably exclude quite a few who aren't really a side in that particular conflict, and be left with:

Team Peregrine and the Elves
Hinjo and the Sapphire Guard/Azurites
The Azure City Resistance (which overlaps a lot with the forst two)
The IFCC and their pawns, the Linear Guild
Kubota et al (possibly, though would Redcloak and/or the roaches know enough about Azurite politics to concieve of them as a side in this conflict?)

That gives around eight fairly distinct sides.

If we are talking gates in general, and not just Soon's Gate/Azure City, we can add Girard (assuming he is alive? I can't recall if we have any info on his fate? If he is still in the game, he is presumably guarding his Gate and not unaware that there are only two left now), and Serini Toormuck.
I think Girard would know, since IIRC they have a spell which tells them when the other Gates are destroyed.