When/how/why did the MitD suddenly become so smart/observant?

[Martok]

Not that I'm complaining -- really, it's nice to see the MitD display a level of awareness he's not really shown before -- but it is puzzling to see it suddenly coming seemingly out of nowhere.

The only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense is that his new-found (or at least openly displayed for the first time) insight is largely the result of the time he spent with O'Chul. Perhaps the paladin's words affected the MitD more than we'd realized, and so he's really learning to open up his eyes for the first time?

[Conuly]

Well, he was bright enough to learn how to play Go and know when he was being cheated in it.

I figure he learned to be clever around the same time Elan learned to take healing spells.

[Querzis]

I never saw the MiTD as being dumb. I always saw him as being a very young child (at least for his species). Hes just growing up now that he finally found a parental figure (O-chul).

[Katana_Geldar]

I think it's an effect of O-Chul's friendship, the MitD has for so long been told what an idiot he is and been treated as if he doesn't count and then O-Chul says that not only that the MitD has a good heart, but can do things.

[B. Dandelion]

I would really have to disagree with the "out of nowhere" sentiment. In 550 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0550.html) O-Chul stated that he was learning the game "very quickly", and his improvement could be tracked later on. He also hasn't turned into a genius overnight, he doesn't even seem aware of the progress he's made.

[Beorn080]

I think, in game terms, MitD has a high, like 18+, intelligence, while possessing less wisdom then Belkar. Actually, its probably even more then 18, since it looks like he just made an untrained spellcraft check, while his wisdom is incredibly low, given that he can't spot the massive gate taking up one wall.

So, yeah, MitD was never stupid, just utterly oblivious.

[Shpadoinkle]

Not that I'm complaining -- really, it's nice to see the MitD display a level of awareness he's not really shown before -- but it is puzzling to see it suddenly coming seemingly out of nowhere.

The only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense is that his new-found (or at least openly displayed for the first time) insight is largely the result of the time he spent with O'Chul. Perhaps the paladin's words affected the MitD more than we'd realized, and so he's really learning to open up his eyes for the first time?

I'm pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere that the MitD is just a baby, for his species (sorry, but I have no idea where and I'm not looking through 700 comics to find a single line). He's inexperienced, not stupid. I know these both often lead to people acting in similar ways, but there is a difference.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I would also like to point out that up until now there's been no need for her to pay attention. Her life has consisted of people asking her to stand somewhere and then feeding her. O'Chul not only taught her, but formed a friendship with her, giving her a reason to pay attention to what happened to him.

[Vemynal]

I can empathize with Mitd >.>

1) Shiny things are awesome

2) Stew is awesome

3) paying attention is hard

my friends hate that i get A's without trying but once had difficulty opening a door XD

[Roderick_BR]

I can empathize with Mitd >.>

1) Shiny things are awesome

2) Stew is awesome

3) paying attention is hard

my friends hate that i get A's without trying but once had difficulty opening a door XD
Doors are evil. I actually wrote "push" on a tag and glued it to a door here at work, cause I never remember in which direction it opens.

[Dr.Epic]

Not that I'm complaining -- really, it's nice to see the MitD display a level of awareness he's not really shown before -- but it is puzzling to see it suddenly coming seemingly out of nowhere.

Did you not notice how the MitD didn't see the one wright eating a human head? I'm pretty sure he's still the same MitD.

[Morquard]

Its even more evil if you write "Push" on a door that needs to be pulled!

[Fitzclowningham]

Interesting theory. Following this train of thought, "Gate? What gate?" really means, "All I see is a fragile buttress preventing the expansion of the Rift to the demiplane of the Snarl. No 'gates' in sight."

I like this theory - MitD has an innate awareness of magic and the planes, maybe because his species routinely travels between them. If he's from somewhere besides the Prime Material, it would explain why he doesn't know anything about it.

and


Did you not notice how the MitD didn't see the one wright eating a human head? I'm pretty sure he's still the same MitD.

His shtick has always been devouring people, so I don't think he'd necessarily see anything terribly wrong with it. He only objected to eating babies.

[Darakonis]

Crackpot theory: the MitD has been sandbagging everyone all along.

Definitely won't happen, and there's evidence against it, but would be quite a twist.

[Ancalagon]

The MitD might just start to start thinking. As O'Chul suggested.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

my friends hate that i get A's without trying but once had difficulty opening a door XD
Same here... except I still walk into glass doors.

[Closak]

Doors are evil. I actually wrote "push" on a tag and glued it to a door here at work, cause I never remember in which direction it opens.

I feel your pain man.

Same thing happens to me all the time.
It drives me crazy :smallannoyed:

[Fragenstein]

Has anyone else noticed the Monster's eyes in the second-to-last panel? From the position of the umbrella, and the OotS style forced-perspective of eyes, it looks like he's turned his head to reply to Tsukiko. Given that nothing of his head can be seen outside of the darkness, that seems to imply he has a skull that's about the same size as everyone else.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Has anyone else noticed the Monster's eyes in the second-to-last panel? From the position of the umbrella, and the OotS style forced-perspective of eyes, it looks like he's turned his head to reply to Tsukiko. Given that nothing of his head can be seen outside of the darkness, that seems to imply he has a skull that's about the same size as everyone else.Could also be she stopped and pivoted her body a bit. Or just that her eyes, as the only feature she has, are hard to draw without implying something.

[Omergideon]

I would also like to point out that up until now there's been no need for her to pay attention. Her life has consisted of people asking her to stand somewhere and then feeding her. O'Chul not only taught her, but formed a friendship with her, giving her a reason to pay attention to what happened to him.

I think as well we have never before seen the MitD with any real goals. Seriously he has never bfore to me tried to do something serious because he wanted to. He has played games and the like but never a serious task. It seems that with motivation the MitD can be somewhat intelligent. Plus it does not come out of nowhere and the MitD's character is pretty consistent so....yeah.

[olthar]

MitD is young that's all 82 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0082.html).

[multilis]

MiTD is Snarl's son, though as half human not as powerful as Snarl, and yes is young boy. (Snarl ages slowly)

X is secretly working on a complex divine/arcane love spell for making babies with Snarl (conquer the world with army of MiTD kids), T of course will mistake it as a love spell to make babies with her, and Redcloak is clueless as to X's real plan.

[rokar4life]

Is it possible that he just knows the spell/ritual in question? I'm not saying he isn't smart and I agree with the high Int low Wis theory, but I don't think that he could have known that that's half of a ritual without a fair amount of dice luck.


@Multilis: Realize that you Snarl jr. people are like the people who think that 9/11 was a government conspiracy and that even if you do belive that please say that you THINK it is a little Snarl because no one knows what it actually is and you are being annoying.

[Kish]

I'm pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere that the MitD is just a baby, for his species

It wasn't.

[goodyarn]

What I wonder is, when did MITD learn how to *read magic*?

I mean, you'd have to be able to read magic in order to know Tsukiko is working with half a spell...right?

[rewinn]

What I wonder is, when did MITD learn how to *read magic*?

I mean, you'd have to be able to read magic in order to know Tsukiko is working with half a spell...right?
:elan: DUN-DUN-DUUUUNNNN!!!

[Skorj]

What I wonder is, when did MITD learn how to *read magic*?

I mean, you'd have to be able to read magic in order to know Tsukiko is working with half a spell...right?

At a Spellcraft DC 20 + spell level, you can "Decipher a written spell (such as a scroll) without using read magic", which I would say is the roll that Tsukiko failed but the MitD made. Assuming the MitD has no ranks in spellcraft, this implies he's pretty smart, but then it's been pointed out above that WIS seems to be his dump stat, and his INT seems to be above average at a minimum.

[Lamech]

First off, I think that the MitD's apparent stuipidty is a combination of a few things. First as seen in this scene (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0431.html) the MitD is asking questions that make it seem like he knows that those skeletons are not Xykon, even wondering how he got them to look alike, yet after he is done with the questions he starts with the innanity again. So I think at least some of it is a trick. We also see in 700 that the MitD can easily understand arcane and divine magic, and he seems not all that dumb, (but still childish and somewhat niave.)

I also think that when he was asking "what gate" it was because he knew it wasn't a gate so he was confused, of course, this also implies that he didn't get that sometimes people don't call things by its "right" name. With the ritual we again see that he knows exactly what it is, yet he doesn't seem to understand that Tsukiko thought it was a whole ritual.

So I think that the MitD is a combination of naiveness, childness, obliviousness, somehow knowing a good deal about some stuff, (magical stuff both times), and tricking other people.

Edit: Read magic was probably the first thing Tsukiko threw at the ritual.

[FafnerMorell]

It's possible MItD knows that it's only half the ritual because he overheard Xykon say that he was only giving Tsukiko half of it (presumably as a precaution against betrayal).

[Aaron]

Like others have said here, it's probably because of O-Chul. The Mitd has learned alot from O-Chul. That can mean he got a INT and/or WIS bounus, sort of like school.

[Ancalagon]

It's possible MItD knows that it's only half the ritual because he overheard Xykon say that he was only giving Tsukiko half of it (presumably as a precaution against betrayal).

Also, MitD was around basically from the beginning and also quite close to both Redcloak and Xykon for a long time... it might know quite a lot of things.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Assuming the MitD has no ranks in spellcraft…
Spellcraft (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/skillsAll.html#spellcraft) is a trained-only skill. You aren’t even allowed to roll without at least one rank.


Also, MitD was around basically from the beginning…
Start of Darkness
If you count “Almost thirty years after Redcloak and Xykon destroyed Lirian’s gate” as “the beginning,” sure.


quite close to both Redcloak and Xykon for a long time...
Close in proximity, yeah. But certainly not close in any other fashion.

There’s no reason Xykon would tell the MitD he gave Tsukiko half a ritual. So that leaves us with the MitD overhearing him tell someone else.

[Fish]

Unless he has ranks in Spellcraft because of his creature type.

[feltex]

I would also like to point out that up until now there's been no need for her to pay attention. Her life has consisted of people asking her to stand somewhere and then feeding her. O'Chul not only taught her, but formed a friendship with her, giving her a reason to pay attention to what happened to him.

Is there evidence MITD could be a "she" other than a penchant for playing tea party?


Ochul's "your a good man" comment argues strongly against. (Also, unless he was speaking with great idiom, it favors MITD being less beastly and more approaching humanoidish)

[Conuly]

(Also, unless he was speaking with great idiom, it favors MITD being less beastly and more approaching humanoidish)

Wait - has O-Chul seen the MitD out in, like, the light? I'm guessing "no" - and if he hasn't (as I suspect), the MitD could still look like anything and be any old gender (although, unlike V, I don't think anybody in-comic uses female pronouns to refer to the Monster) and what O-Chul says doesn't indicate, well, anything.

Edit: Although I just remembered that MitD's secret club doesn't allow girls, so it's reasonable to assume that MitD is not a girl.

[HidingintheShad]

I just think Nobody Asked him before?
But dahm he is so cute! I meen "Grr im all funny and Childish and Wuvable".

[warrl]

I have two possible, non-conflicting explanations for MitD becoming more observant:

(1) We've only seen him being really observant regarding magic. We haven't previously seen him in a scene where magic-only observation skills would be really obvious. He's been more observant than we thought all along - but only in the narrow scope of magic, where he has some racial abilities.

(2) He just passed an age marker, so a number of stats including Wis went up.