OOTS #718 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Logalmier]

very funny, this is a good one! It seems we've found Xykons only weakness...

[Maximum Zersk]

Wet T-Shirt contest! Whoo!!! :smallbiggrin:

[GenPol]

Huh, "The Empress" lends to the theory that Hilgya is currently in power. Should be interesting regardless!

[FoE]

The wet T-shirt line was too funny. :smallbiggrin:

[DrakeRaids]

Wet t-shirt context xD, priceless.

[sysice]

The LIZGREAPER!

Genius :smallbiggrin:

[Draconi Redfir]

"you are however, still an imbicile" is my new favorite V quote :smallbiggrin:

and the wet t-shirt contest thing is total win. now i wish i was a girl so i could do the same and gain immortality :P

[jmucchiello]

Wet T-Shirt contest! Whoo!!! :smallbiggrin:

She better hope water is in the hose. She won't win a wet t-shirt contest if the t-shirt is drenched in acid. Nothing says Death has to play fair....

[Private-Prinny]

That fan theory of "Empress of Blood = Elan's Mom" seems a lot more credible now.

[Mando Knight]

Huh. You'd think the Reaper would be smarter than to let a high-Cha lass get her pick of game.

[Kish]

Huh, "The Empress" lends to the theory that Hilgya is currently in power.
We already knew they were being taken to the Empress of Blood. As soon as we saw the Wanted poster.
Still not gonna be Hilgya.

[Jokasti]

That's hilarious. Awesome comic.

[Lord of Syntax]

SCHWEET, NEW COMIC w00t! *ahem* I mean, great comic giant, you old tally-ho!

[Dust]

Two thumbs up. Poor Mr. Death.

[Assassin89]

Apparently Nale had some incident with the albino lizardfolk.
Also DEATH is a pretty decent fellow who loves cats more than wet t-shirt contests.

[AlterForm]

...Haley would totally win. :smallbiggrin:

[icastflare!]

okay this might just be my favorite strip. nice one giant

[Shale]

I'm just impressed that Death has a hose.

[ShinyDelusion]

Great comic! The last panel made me laugh out loud. This one made me glad I didn't wait until tomorrow to check for updates again.

So this bounty was "one of the older ones" which could mean that they're being brought in for something Nale and Co. did before the comic even started. I was already looking forward to seeing whether or not the Empress of Blood is a familiar face and I'll be quite pleased if this leads to some (plot-relevant or otherwise, though I'm sure it'd be plot-relevant) backstory for the Linear Guild.

Can't wait to see how this will ultimately bring them to Girard's Gate (as I'm nearly certain it will).

[Acero]

okay script, great punch line. I'm okay with it

[ref]

Well, they're too harsh with Elan, it was a reasonable guess. He tends to stop listening to his friends, too. It's weird, this Empire of Blood All Over Our Carpets.

[Rin_Hunter]

Very nice.

I have to say, I'm enjoying this arc so far.

[ThatRandomBard]

Heh. Empire of blood, not empire of blood all over the carpets.
And I think Elan made an (Incorrectly placed) Bardic Knowledge check there. Way to go Elan!

[Mastikator]

I wonder how long until they find out it's not Nale. I mean you only have to spend 5 minutes with each to tell them apart.

[RdMarquis]

That punchline almost made me choke on my lunch. :smallbiggrin: It could only be funnier if Death won the contest.

[Aurorax]

Lizgreaper....knew a girl once that could fit that description.

[WildPyre]

Awesome strip, I'm enjoying the current plot and the little gag at the end was priceless! :smallbiggrin:

[Dusk Eclipse]

....... AWESOME, Lizgreaper... simply awesome... also a first time that the comic is updated while I am online!

[deuxhero]

Hmm, so is everyone in charge here a reptile?

[derfenrirwolv]

Huh. You'd think the Reaper would be smarter than to let a high-Cha lass get her pick of game.

Who says death didn't plan that all along? Its really a win win situation for him.

[John Cribati]

*passes out laughing*

[babson99]

Sure beats Max von Sydow playing chess.

[Deme]

You know, you think the Minister would be better at identifying the differences between the brothers: he's an albino, so his eyesight must be pretty bad to begin with, and reptiles as a whole are pretty smell-focused, and the twins do have different smells... You think he'd pick up on that.

...Then again, I'm sure no one cares but me. I suspect someone will have to figure this out, sooner or later -- I wonder if they'll manage to get them all the way up to the Empress before this is sorted out... Hopefully after some dramatic reveals and exposition: then Elan won't be able to say it was a wasted trip.

[Katana_Geldar]

I think the Empress of Blodd would be one of Nale's Exes. It makes sense.

[Sengoku]

Lol...wet t-shirt contest...brilliant:smallbiggrin:

[DBear]

LOL Elan--wrong genre savvy again

[CoffeeIncluded]

*Snicker*
*Snort*
That is hilarious.

[derfenrirwolv]

I wonder if the statue behind them is the empress and emperor in some sort of state religion. Its a human and some sort of humanoid/fiend or humanoid dragon hybrid.

[Twitchel]

Now everyone seems to think that this comic serves as proof that the Empress is so-and-so or such-and-such; however, I see no evidence at all.


Huh, "The Empress" lends to the theory that Hilgya is currently in power. Should be interesting regardless!

How? How do we know that it is not just another female character about to be introduced? How could a dwarf cleric have gained that sort of power in such a short time over lizard folk and humans?


That fan theory of "Empress of Blood = Elan's Mom" seems a lot more credible now.

How so? What possible connection could Minister Malack have Elan's mom or anyone else that we have seen so far?


Malack: ...Do you not recognize me?

The only thing that we can glean from this quote is that Nale and Malack have met before.

Despite all the nay-saying that I have poured out, I love the comic. The best humor is the kind that happens off-stage.

[Szilard]

Who says death didn't plan that all along? Its really a win win situation for him.

... That makes a lot of sense.

[Kumo]

You know, you think the Minister would be better at identifying the differences between the brothers: he's an albino, so his eyesight must be pretty bad to begin with, and reptiles as a whole are pretty smell-focused, and the twins do have different smells... You think he'd pick up on that.

...Then again, I'm sure no one cares but me. I suspect someone will have to figure this out, sooner or later -- I wonder if they'll manage to get them all the way up to the Empress before this is sorted out... Hopefully after some dramatic reveals and exposition: then Elan won't be able to say it was a wasted trip.

Probably the smell of the burnt offering or something.

Or he could have Anosmia.

[Querzis]

You know, you think the Minister would be better at identifying the differences between the brothers: he's an albino, so his eyesight must be pretty bad to begin with.

...what does his eyesight have to do with anything? They are twins, the only difference between them is the goatee and I really woudnt put it past Nale to act like an idiot to try to get out of a situation like this, as the minister said, Nale is all about mindgames like this.


and reptiles as a whole are pretty smell-focused, and the twins do have different smells...

Yeah they do in the comic but they really shoudnt. The strip where Belkar was able to realize it was Nale thanks to his sense of smell was pretty much the most disapointing strip I read in this webcomic. Identical twins do smell the same, of course they can wear different perfume or stuff like that but their natural smell is exactly the same smell.

Anyway great one, I really laughed at the wet T-shirt contest and I cant wait to see the empress.

[Maximum Zersk]

Apparently Nale had some incident with the albino lizardfolk.
Also DEATH is a pretty decent fellow who loves cats more than wet t-shirt contests.

Ah, but the Giant said that he didn't read any Discworld books, on the count of he doesn't want to accidently rip anything off of it, or something.

But yeah, HE'S MORE LIKE A GRANDFATHER.

[keldorn]

I wonder how long until they find out it's not Nale. I mean you only have to spend 5 minutes with each to tell them apart.

Took the party much longer than five minutes back when Nale disguised himself as Elan.

[Kumo]

Took the party much longer than five minutes back when Nale disguised himself as Elan.

Elan wasn't with them and Nale was doing a semi-reasonable impression of him. Elan could not do the second properly if his life depended on it.

[Orzel]

Wet T-shirt contest. Genius.

WARNING- Don't try that against a devil.

[MonkeyBusiness]

Wet t-shirt contest! I'll have to remember that one for when I shuffle off this mortal coil. I love the expression on Death's Face. I laughed out loud.

MBiz

[ThePhantasm]

Pardon my ignorance, but...

what's a wet T-shirt contest?

[Sijo]

Nice to see that the updates are still coming out relatively fast now. :)

What kind of monster was the little winged lizard supposed to be? A really short dragonfolk?

I don't see how Elan could confuse a very-much-still-fleshy lizardman with the Grim Reaper. You'd think he would've mistook Xykon for it first.

The only problem with the final joke was that Death (in most legends) doesn't let his victims choose what the challenge will be, HE does (otherwise this kind of thing would happen more frequently). Still, funny. :smallsmile:

[Maximum Zersk]

Pardon my ignorance, but...

what's a wet T-shirt contest?

Uhh, well, you see, it's when you get everyone to wear thin, wet t-shirts, and then you see who's, uhh, most mature, if you catch my drift.

[shannoby]

i don't think i would have thought of challenging death to a wet t shirt contest just brilliant, i don't think death saw that coming, lol, or just didn't care and just wanted to enjoy the show.

[SPoD]

What kind of monster was the little winged lizard supposed to be? A really short dragonfolk?

Half-red-dragon kobold, probably. He looks almost exactly the same as a kobold except for wings and redder scales.

[Herald Alberich]

Uhh, well, you see, it's when you get everyone to wear thin, wet t-shirts, and then you see who's, uhh, most mature, if you catch my drift.

Pretty much. "Who looks sexiest in a wet t-shirt?"

Unless you're Tsukiko, the well-endowed fighter chick wins handily against the skeleton.

[Hann]

Pardon my ignorance, but...

what's a wet T-shirt contest?

Youtube search Spring Break and you'll probably find out. It is however mildly NSFW.

Great strip as always, Rich!

[Herald Alberich]

Half-red-dragon kobold, probably. He looks almost exactly the same as a kobold except for wings and redder scales.

Half-dragons don't get wings if they're smaller than Large, though, but I can easily see that rule being ignored.

[Bale Fire]

I'm liking the look of Minister Malack (spelling?) He looks to be an interesting character. And some nice comedy too.

[Iago]

Pardon my ignorance, but...

what's a wet T-shirt contest?

Oh, you poor deprived child.

Because the internet's sarcasm detector is limited at best, I assume you are sincere... bottom line is this. If you spray water on a white cotton shirt, it becomes semi-translucent.

Therefore, spraying water on a white cotton shirt being worn by a reasonably attractive young woman is therefore rewarding to heterosexual male onlookers, who are, as an aside, often uncouth in nature.

Spraying water on a number of such women allows such onlookers to engage in comparison, thus judging the contestants. Hence, wet t-shirt contest.

[chiasaur11]

Well, we now know the reason DnD has so many resurrections.

Local Reaper isn't up to Discworld standards when it comes to gaming.

[pinwiz]

Oh, you poor deprived child.

Because the internet's sarcasm detector is limited at best, I assume you are sincere... bottom line is this. If you spray water on a white cotton shirt, it becomes semi-translucent.

Therefore, spraying water on a white cotton shirt being worn by a reasonably attractive young woman is therefore rewarding to heterosexual male onlookers, who are, as an aside, often uncouth in nature.

Spraying water on a number of such women allows such onlookers to engage in comparison, thus judging the contestants. Hence, wet t-shirt contest.

I'm still not getting this. Maybe we can have an in comic demonstration? It would be awfully helpful to get that joke. :smallcool:

[Herald Alberich]

The only problem with the final joke was that Death (in most legends) doesn't let his victims choose what the challenge will be, HE does (otherwise this kind of thing would happen more frequently). Still, funny. :smallsmile:

Really? When it's not chess (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChessWithDeath), it appears to be victim's choice quite often. On the other hand, most of the examples are parodies of the usual concept, so nevermind.

And, y'know, it could be worse (http://xkcd.com/393/).

[MonkeyBusiness]

Sure beats Max von Sydow playing chess.

:biggrin: Ha! That made me laugh almost as hard as I did for the comic! Yes, although I am a fan of old movies, I'd say almost anything is better than Max von Sydow playing chess.

MBiz

[Kumo]

Really? When it's not chess (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChessWithDeath), it appears to be victim's choice quite often. On the other hand, most of the examples are parodies of the usual concept, so nevermind.

And, y'know, it could be worse (http://xkcd.com/393/).

Grim Reaper: "Welcome to Limbo, where we'll be playing MY favorite game..."

Grim Reaper: "LIMBO =D"

(EDIT: Granted, it was for a pet's soul in that case but... meh. Death still got to pick)

[Gift Jeraff]

Any idea if the two figures could be recognizable Mesopotamian gods? Also, the continuing lizardfolk presence strengthens the idea that the Empress is some kind of reptilian or draconic person. It's also making me stick to my idea that the Empress is the boss of the two lizardfolk who raised the Oracle and is the new side foreshadowed by Rich in DStP.

Half-dragons don't get wings if they're smaller than Large, though, but I can easily see that rule being ignored.
Also, as we saw with Enor, half-dragons still have special speech balloons.
EDIT: He could be a dragon disciple, I suppose.

[TerrickTerran]

All right for the first time in a while, I really laughed. Very fun comic.:smallbiggrin:

[OneMadOgre]

Did you seriously just reference a morality play? Because if that was deliberate, that was fantastic. I had to register just to post that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal

That one. Had to find it on Wikipedia. I know I watched it in ancient times in an English class.

[chionophile]

Yeah they do in the comic but they really shoudnt. The strip where Belkar was able to realize it was Nale thanks to his sense of smell was pretty much the most disapointing strip I read in this webcomic. Identical twins do smell the same, of course they can wear different perfume or stuff like that but their natural smell is exactly the same smell.

[Citation Needed]

[Felecies]

why would Haley be beat up? When you go for a bounty, healthy people are usualy worth more. I mean they already have her captive why beat her up?


That's Slaves. :smallwink:

Bountys tend to only care about "dead or Alive". Or possibly "Well enough to answer questions". :smalltongue:

HA! I was right! The Empress did want them healthy!:smallbiggrin:

[silvadel]

The girl brass figure looks quite a bit like haley to me.

[Outworlder]

I'm still not getting this. Maybe we can have an in comic demonstration? It would be awfully helpful to get that joke. :smallcool:

Hi.

Are you V?

[Sablewinged]

I am sure that Minister Malack will be able to figure out that he has the wrong guy. Priesty types are supposed to have high wisdom, correct?

Lizgreaper. Awesome.

[Baidas Kebante]

I think the Empress of Blodd would be one of Nale's Exes. It makes sense.

If that's true, then perhaps the only way for Elan to escape is to become invisible. :smallwink:

[Doug Lampert]

Elan wasn't with them and Nale was doing a semi-reasonable impression of him. Elan could not do the second properly if his life depended on it.

Which means that if you THINK you have Elan, and he acts like Nale, then you know you've got the wrong twin.

But that's not the situation at all.

They THINK they have Nale, you know, the one who CAN pretend to be someone else.

So Elan acting like Elan doesn't really help.

[The_Weirdo]

Won't a Zone of Truth or some other such spell solve it? Along with Elan's inability to grow a goatee?

[Bucky]

Uhh, well, you see, it's when you get everyone to wear thin, wet t-shirts, and then you see who's, uhh, most mature, if you catch my drift.

But nobody in a wet t-shirt contest is acting mature.

[Teleporker]

I think the golden statue in the altar room is more likely to be a representation of their gods than a statue of the empress and her hubbie.

It does however bring something interesting up. Notice the place seems to have (so far) a healthy dose of human and demi-human creatures lingering around town, and this statue has a humanoid and a non-humanoid holding hands, likely married.

For what seems like a lawful evil empire (or bureaucratic evil if you ask me), it would be quite a twist if they happen to worship deities that also promote good relations between species.

[The Pilgrim]

Death can still win that one

If only the right Jury is chosen

Tsukiko

Edit: Ninja'd!!!

[Kumo]

Death can still win that one

If only the right Jury is chosen

Tsukiko

Guys can't win wet t-shirt contests and Tsukiko knows it =P

[ScottishDragon]

Heh,great comic!Lovin this update schedule!

[Kumo]

Heh,great comic!Lovin this update schedule!

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

He's made an update schedule? :smallconfused::smalleek: i thought they were just coming out faster than usual

[AxeD]

Huh, I just realised. This is how Elan could prove his identity:
Couldn't Elan just sing a bard song or cast a bard-specific spell to show that he's not Nale? I mean, he has 13 levels in Bard. It's not like Nale could possibly sing a mid-level bard song or cast mass CLW.

Wait, I forget, can you use bard song while tied up? If they can, I guess Elan could sing a bard song to inspire greatness or something. It'd be highly unlikely that Nale would spend 9 levels on the Bard class considering his views on the class being useless.

[olthar]

literal laugh out loud ending.

[Beelzebub1111]

Death should be speaking in ALLCAPS.

[Kumo]

Huh, I just realised. This is how Elan could prove his identity:
Couldn't Elan just sing a bard song or cast a bard-specific spell to show that he's not Nale? I mean, he has 13 levels in Bard. It's not like Nale could possibly sing a mid-level bard song or cast mass CLW.

Wait, I forget, can you use bard song while tied up? If they can, I guess Elan could sing a bard song to inspire greatness or something. It'd be highly unlikely that Nale would spend 9 levels on the Bard class considering his views on the class being useless.

do they KNOW he's not a bard, though? Nale's multiclassing basically makes him a bard, so Elan's actual skills aren't going to affect the identity thing at all unless they know beforehand that Nale picked the most complicated possible manner to get bard powers that doesn't make you 100% useless.

[One Skunk Todd]

I think the golden statue in the altar room is more likely to be a representation of their gods than a statue of the empress and her hubbie.

I wonder if it could be Girard's parents. Haven't people been speculating he's half-dragon? Maybe the Empress of Blood is his daughter or granddaughter.

[Aerysil]

Yay, it made me laugh!

[Kish]

Huh, I just realised. This is how Elan could prove his identity:
[spoiler]Couldn't Elan just sing a bard song or cast a bard-specific spell to show that he's not Nale? I mean, he has 13 levels in Bard. It's not like Nale could possibly sing a mid-level bard song or cast mass CLW.
That depends entirely on how much these people know about Nale.

Whether they even know Nale is a fighter/rogue/sorcerer/faux bard thing rather than a true evil bard is currently up for grabs.

[Dvandemon]

Yay new strip, and a character explosion lately

[Richard J.]

Yah for the albino lizardfolk! I don't know why but I already like Minister Malack a lot.

Elan yet again wins the prize for best joke. Lizgreaper. :smallbiggrin:

I wonder how long before Elan's given a chance to actually prove he's not Nale. Will there be a trial? We all know V's not a big fan of those. . . .

[Hobs]

Half-dragons don't get wings if they're smaller than Large, though, but I can easily see that rule being ignored.

Dragonwrought Kobold. They can get wings.

Kinda cool to see these fan-favorite non-core PC races getting used, being used in the comic. (I used to play a Kobold, not dragonwrought, but later became dragon disciple which is another way to get wings)

Also, that punchline was the best one I've seen in a long time.

[Blanth]

rather than a true evil bard is...

I think I might like this as a character...

:elan: "...I'll start singing Lengthy Song That Never Ends!"
:roy: "Noooooooooooo!"
:elan: "Then hand over those lamb chops!"

[dps]

I wonder if the statue behind them is the empress and emperor in some sort of state religion. Its a human and some sort of humanoid/fiend or humanoid dragon hybrid.

If so, the Empress certainly isn't Hilgya.

[Memplejemple]

Elan's stupidity is only somewhat amusing. But I like how the punchline brought me all the way back to the Seventh Seal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal), rather than relying simply on Elan's disoriented state of mind and its feeble tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions.

Otherwise, the punchline has a kind of Family Guy feel to it. Just looking at the two alone, you don't really understand how the first panel could possibly relate to the last at all.

[Blaznak]

Shake that Chainmail, baby!

[Lord Raziere]

I know of one other game death can't win at.

the game......of Life. :smallbiggrin:

[the_tick_rules]

One wonder what effect water would have on incorporeal beings, but it is OOTS.

[Querzis]

[Citation Needed]

Sure if you want, its not like its hard to find.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/08/07-03.html
http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/8/651

Of course as one of the researcher point out in the first article: "For me, that's not very surprising," Natsch says. "Twins look the same, they smell the same." Most researchers kinda assumed thats a given, I really dont see why you would assume they would NOT smell the same.

[Shale]

Their fingerprints are different; other fine details might be, too.

[Hobs]

Sure if you want, its not like its hard to find.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/08/07-03.html
http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/8/651

Of course as one of the researcher point out in the first article: "For me, that's not very surprising," Natsch says. "Twins look the same, they smell the same." Most researchers kinda assumed thats a given, I really dont see why you would assume they would NOT smell the same.

well what you smell like depends on what you eat. eating bananas apparently makes you smell good to bees. (or so they say)

[Juhn]

Having had a look at that last panel... is that an elf with an obvious gender? That doesn't happen often.

[Herald Alberich]

Having had a look at that last panel... is that an elf with an obvious gender? That doesn't happen often.

I think that's just the way her hair falls; there aren't actually ears there.

[Querzis]

Their fingerprints are different; other fine details might be, too.

Yeah but fingerprints are not really physical features. Fingerprints are determined by random stresses while you're in the womb. You should consider them more scars then physicals features (though even then it still doesnt really works. Fingerprints are pretty weirds really, we still dont know everything about them). And yes, I do have citations for that:

http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/do-identical-twins-have-identical-fingerprints-0399/


well what you smell like depends on what you eat. eating bananas apparently makes you smell good to bees. (or so they say)

We're talking about natural smell here, eating banana or wearing perfume wont throw a dog off your trails, your natural smell is unique, except of course, for twins. Its not because we humans with our really crappy sense of smell cant do the difference between the smell of different people that it change anything unless you wanna argue with the researchers and the dogs? Cause you can argue with the researchers but not with the dogs, those guys know a lot more about smell then any humans.

[JonestheSpy]

well what you smell like depends on what you eat. eating bananas apparently makes you smell good to bees. (or so they say)

Yep. And that Evil Food Diet's got to smell pretty distinctive to a sensitive nose.

[otakuryoga]

Sure if you want, its not like its hard to find.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/08/07-03.html
http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/8/651

Of course as one of the researcher point out in the first article: "For me, that's not very surprising," Natsch says. "Twins look the same, they smell the same." Most researchers kinda assumed thats a given, I really dont see why you would assume they would NOT smell the same.

emphasis added by me
we KNOW they dont smell the same http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0383.html

and LOVE the last panel...gotta play a female character soon just to try that out :smallcool:

[Querzis]

emphasis added by me
we KNOW they dont smell the same http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0383.html

and LOVE the last panel...gotta play a female character soon just to try that out :smallcool:

...are you guys doing this on purpose? Cant you even read all the post of an argument instead of just reading the last one, taking it out of context and adding something completely meaningless? Yes I know they do in the comic but they really shoudnt, thats the whole point! Look, go read my first post or something, I dont care anymore.

[snikrept]

Thoughts:

* Dark-robed spellcaster chancellor-type is always a traitor to the kingdom :smallbiggrin: Hopefully Malack turns this on its head.

* Those golden gods look interesting. Must be representatives of the gods of the West. According to Shojo these gods include Tiamat... if this is truly an evil society ruled by lizardfolk you'd expect Tiamat to be on the altar someplace... hm

* EDIT: also, Gannji says "I got this guy.." not "we got this guy..." maybe he and Enor are not as close a team as we think.

[KeiranHalcyon]

I miss the multi-quote feature.


Youtube search Spring Break and you'll probably find out. It is however mildly NSFW.

Mildly?

...

Are there any openings at your place of business?


Oh, you poor deprived child.

Because the internet's sarcasm detector is limited at best, I assume you are sincere... bottom line is this. If you spray water on a white cotton shirt, it becomes semi-translucent.

Therefore, spraying water on a white cotton shirt being worn by a reasonably attractive young woman is therefore rewarding to heterosexual male onlookers, who are, as an aside, often uncouth in nature.

Spraying water on a number of such women allows such onlookers to engage in comparison, thus judging the contestants. Hence, wet t-shirt contest.

You left out the possibility, however slight, of homosexual female onlookers. That, and the usual alcohol consumption (see "uncouth"), and the association with spring break. Hence, the title of the strip (hehe, "strip").


I'm still not getting this. Maybe we can have an in comic demonstration? It would be awfully helpful to get that joke. :smallcool:

Quick, to the crack pairings thread! Haley vs. Tsukiko vs. Miko vs. Roy's Mom!


Dragonwrought Kobold. They can get wings.

Kinda cool to see these fan-favorite non-core PC races getting used, being used in the comic. (I used to play a Kobold, not dragonwrought, but later became dragon disciple which is another way to get wings)

I'm going with Mephit, of the fire or possibly magma variety.

[PhantomFox]

I'm liking that albino for some reason...

[Katana_Geldar]

I think I might like this as a character...

:elan: "...I'll start singing Lengthy Song That Never Ends!"
:roy: "Noooooooooooo!"
:elan: "Then hand over those lamb chops!"

That's called the Bard's Dread Curse: The Ear worm!

[Charmy]

I don't know why, but I found Elan's profound stupidity particularly grating in this strip.

I suppose its not out of character for him... but man.. he truly is a complete space-case. Its a miracle he can even learn to do something as complex as play a musical instrument and come up with reasonably clever puns :smallconfused:

Perhaps he's some kind of idiot savant?

Meh.. here's hoping at level 16 he decides to put a point into Intelligence, but I doubt it =/

[krossbow]

Obviously Elan needs to use His 18 charisma to Move the trial to the empresses bedroom. Failing that, their's always Haley's latent bisexuality to fall back on.

[DSCrankshaw]

Obviously Elan needs to use His 18 charisma to Move the trial to the empresses bedroom. Failing that, their's always Haley's latent bisexuality to fall back on.

I somewhat doubt Elan would do that... unless Haley's for it, which I don't see.

[Tira-chan]

...are you guys doing this on purpose? Cant you even read all the post of an argument instead of just reading the last one, taking it out of context and adding something completely meaningless? Yes I know they do in the comic but they really shoudnt, thats the whole point! Look, go read my first post or something, I dont care anymore.

As we all know thanks to the Tough Guide to Fantasyland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tough_Guide_To_Fantasyland), evil does have a smell, the REEK OF WRONGNESS. So that is probably what Belkar, certainly a connoisseur of this smell, detected. :smallwink:


I miss the multi-quote feature.

Quick, to the crack pairings thread! Haley vs. Tsukiko vs. Miko vs. Roy's Mom!


I do agree with you on the quote feature, but man. Too soon, dude, too soon.

[Shale]

We're talking about natural smell here, eating banana or wearing perfume wont throw a dog off your trails, your natural smell is unique, except of course, for twins.

Didn't think of this until now, but does that go the other way - would twins who eat substantially differently, live on different continents with different climates and associate with different people still have scents so identical that they couldn't be told apart by someone looking for the difference, instead of looking for similar smells?

[RMS Oceanic]

Isn't the main counter argument to the whole "twins smell the same" thing the fact that Belkar identified Nale by his scent (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0383.html)?

It may not be that way in real life, but it is in OOTS.

[Shale]

Yeah, the entire discussion is about how unrealistic that scene is (or isn't).

[Herald Alberich]

Yeah, the entire discussion is about how unrealistic that scene is (or isn't).

I think now's the point where someone's supposed to make some over-utilized sarcastic comment about this being a fantasy story in which dragons can produce viable offspring with anyone, yet we're worrying about whether twins smell the same. :smallamused:

[mucat]

Someone just did.

[ss49]

I'm just happy that a nice rack can be appreciated even by the Grim Reaper.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Yeah but fingerprints are not really physical features. Fingerprints are determined by random stresses while you're in the womb.
some identical twins have mirrored fingerprints

[DoctorJest]

Half-red-dragon kobold, probably. He looks almost exactly the same as a kobold except for wings and redder scales.

Much more likely to be a Kobold Dragon Disciple.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061201a

[DoctorJest]

Yeah they do in the comic but they really shoudnt. The strip where Belkar was able to realize it was Nale thanks to his sense of smell was pretty much the most disapointing strip I read in this webcomic. Identical twins do smell the same, of course they can wear different perfume or stuff like that but their natural smell is exactly the same smell.


Maybe they have very different diets.

[Querzis]

Didn't think of this until now, but does that go the other way - would twins who eat substantially differently, live on different continents with different climates and associate with different people still have scents so identical that they couldn't be told apart by someone looking for the difference, instead of looking for similar smells?

The problem with that is that absolutely all of these 'differents' smells can be rid of just by washing yourself, changing your clothes and eating something. Beside, go read the comic where Belkar smell Nale, he did it just after Nale washed and changed his clothes and they did say something about his natural smell.


some identical twins have mirrored fingerprints

Well this is really off-topic and I'm not sure I see your point but hey whatever, I'm learning new stuff as well with that discussion. What you are talking about is mirror twins and no, their fingerprints are not mirror copy of each other, the only thing is that the swirls of their fingerprints will run in opposite directions from their twins fingerprints but their fingerprints are still not mirror copy of each other.


Maybe they have very different diets.

Nale had been Elan for days at that point. I dont think he had the chance to go and eat a virgin hearth while pretending to be Elan. Beside, even if he did, all that would means for Belkar is that Elan ate something he never ate before...and its Elan so its really nothing surprising.

As far as I'm concerned, the most annoying thing is how it could have been made much more logical simply with Belkar saying : «I smelled Sabine on you». Thats it, that make sense especially since, even if they were only together for a short time, its Sabine. They probably did it like 5 times even if she had errands to run.

[hamishspence]

Much more likely to be a Kobold Dragon Disciple.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061201a

Could be a half-fiend- but I'd expect one of those to have little horns.

[Herald Alberich]

Much more likely to be a Kobold Dragon Disciple.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061201a

I doubt an NPC functionary like Chancellor Kilkil here would have 9 levels in a fairly combat-oriented prestige class.

[Shadowcaller]

Guys can't win wet t-shirt contests and Tsukiko knows it =P

Who says the grim reaper is a guy? I always imagined death as non-gendered and others seem to have a different view entirely (http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID19312/images/Death_of_the_Endless(1).jpg)...

[Thrawn4]

Wet T-Shirt contest was a win, to be sure ^^

*looks around*
*whistles*
So.... what is the lizgreaper thing about? I got the reaper reference, and the first three letters are from lizard, but...

[Agi Hammerthief]

... I'm not sure I see your point <snip> their fingerprints are not mirror copy of each other, ...
point: distribution of information :smallsmile:
I've seen "alleged" twins mirored fingeprints in a TV dokumentation.

as for off topishness: I hope 1 or 2 posts can be forgiven as long as we don't derail the whole thread and/or go into a flame war over it.

the possible ways of twin distinction IS on topic, it just looks very off topic with this limit on one level of quotations.

since I've exhausted my knowledge (and attention span) on this topic there is no point is me further discussing it

[Tundar]

Hillarious!

Empire of blood, not empire of blood all over the carpets.

Elan is a never ending source of fun. And an embicile :smallbiggrin:

[martinkou]

Hillarious!


Elan is a never ending source of fun. And an embicile :smallbiggrin:

Yes, he's surely an extrovert variant of an imbecile. :smallbiggrin:

[Athaniar]

Hilarious as usual. I especially like V's comment.


Wet T-Shirt contest was a win, to be sure ^^

*looks around*
*whistles*
So.... what is the lizgreaper thing about? I got the reaper reference, and the first three letters are from lizard, but...

Lizard Grim Reaper.

[Pronounceable]

I'm pretty sure Death can win.
http://azurezuda.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/death_endless.jpg
Just look at that rack. /whistle

[amuletts]

Oh Elan is just priceless. But I actually think that's how I'd react. "Well at least you took the bad guys down with you." lol. Every cloud has a silver lining.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I suppose it says something for my state of mind at the moment (serious database problems this week...), but when Death refers to the hose does he mean:

1. The water-carrying tube (wet t-shirt competition)
2. The nylon article of female clothing
3. The medieval item of clothing (since D&D is a pseudo-medieval setting)

Yes, I know. I need more sleep.

[Woodsman]

Great comic as usual.

[CWater]

Awesome comic! A couple of new characters with names, which is nice.:smallsmile:

And,
:elan::Haley!! And V?? They killed you too?
:haley::Baby, you aren't dead.
:vaarsuvius::You are, however, still an imbecile.

LOL:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

I didn't get the last panel joke though, we not have that "game" in Finland, but after reading through some of the comments, I got the idea. Even before the explanation.:smallwink:

Quick re-read.
...Yes, it is funny.:smallamused:

[CoffeeIncluded]

A little error I noticed here: On the last panel, the dead girl's torso is the same color as her armor.

[Dr. Simon]

Best skewering of the wet t-shirt contest, for my money, is by Frank Zappa on the Joe's Garage album:

BUDDY JONES [compere]:... That's right,you heard right... our big prize tonite is fifty American Dollars to the girl with the most exciting mammalian protruberances...

MARY: Here I am!

BUDDY JONES: ...as viewed through a thoroughly soaked, stupid-looking, white, sort of male person's conservative kind of middle-of-the-road COTTON UNDER-GARMENT! Whoopee! And here comes THE WATER!

MARY: EEEK!

etc. Song's called "Fembot in a wet-t-shirt" and is most definitely NSFW (as are most of the works of Zappa :))

Edit: And I think I knew a Liz Greaper once. :smalltongue:

[warmachine]

A curious city, the lizard folk, who are notoriously evil and resentful to mammals, seem to dominate it yet have no problem with human guards. This makes them enlightened and diverse by medieval standards. It has slaves and is an empire but it's still better than Gobbotopia. Redcloak could learn a lot from this place.

[Moonshadow]

Huh, I guess Death's game vs Gary Gygax must have got...

:smallcool:

dead tiring.

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Optimystik]

I suppose it says something for my state of mind at the moment (serious database problems this week...), but when Death refers to the hose does he mean:

1. The water-carrying tube (wet t-shirt competition)
2. The nylon article of female clothing
3. The medieval item of clothing (since D&D is a pseudo-medieval setting)

Yes, I know. I need more sleep.

1) is the most likely.

Also... just how many people has Nale pissed off in this town?

[RickDaily12]

You -really- have to feel bad for Elan now.:smallfrown: These 10 strips have been only nightmarish for him.

Great comic, Giant. Last panel was priceless.:smallbiggrin:

[Wizzardman]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Now... who won the contest?

[Me!]

great comic! and just one question: is enor a lizardfolk? cuz he don't look like one. :smallconfused:

[Arrowstorm122]

hehe, nice one :smallbiggrin: . however, im still on the fan theory Nales and Elans Daddy thing. but the mystery is slowely going to be answeared :smalltongue:

[Me!]

can't we get some strips with roy, durkon and belkar? cuz last time we saw them was like 19 strips ago. :roy::durkon: :belkar:

[Herald Alberich]

great comic! and just one question: is enor a lizardfolk? cuz he don't look like one. :smallconfused:

The current leading theory (as far as I'm aware) is that he's a Large half-blue dragon. The other half is unknown; some Large relative of lizardfolk is possible, I suppose.


can't we get some strips with roy, durkon and belkar? cuz last time we saw them was like 19 strips ago. :roy::durkon: :belkar:

My guess there is that we won't see them until they come bursting in (either heroically or hilariously) attempting to rescue the three we're focusing on now.

[Werbaer]

Now... who won the contest?

See the title of the comic:
"Spring Break Never Dies"

[Kish]

can't we get some strips with roy, durkon and belkar? cuz last time we saw them was like 19 strips ago. :roy::durkon: :belkar:
We'll get strips with Roy, Durkon, and Belkar again when we get strips with Roy, Durkon, and Belkar again.

Whoever Rich focuses on, someone always complains ("Where's Team Evil? Where's the Linear Guild? Where's the Order of the Stick? Where's the rest of the Order of the Stick?"). I doubt very much it makes him switch focus any faster.

[Scarlet Knight]

I'm just happy that a nice rack can be appreciated even by the Grim Reaper.

Hmmm, I should have used that in the 717 pun list....:smallwink:

[DoctorIllithid]

I can't wait to see what it is Nale did to piss off an entire Empire...

[SmaugTheYounger]

This smell controversy is somewhat overblown. The difference in smell was only noted by Belkar, it was sufficently small. Hilarity ensued, fine with me. After all, we are talking stick figures here, not CSI. And the major plot line was relsoved elswhere.

To the current strip: Ah, so much exposition.
What we have learned so far:

EOB seems to be one of the more stable countries on the western continent.
The history of Nale here must date back at least one year, probably a lot more, but the chancellor knows none of it. But the minister does, and so does obviously the empress. The palace is in the final construction phase, suggesting a new power, though. I guess whoever really runs the EOB must have been around for at least 5 to 10 years.

Chancellor Kikil looks just like a minor figure, but might be up for a few tricks. He's a money handler, after all.

Minister Malack is a major power behind the throne. Either closely associated with the empress or in some kind of deal with her, perhaps even with her predecessors.

Thoughts:

* Dark-robed spellcaster chancellor-type is always a traitor to the kingdom :smallbiggrin: Hopefully Malack turns this on its head.
Someone of these EOB guys is up for no good. Probably all of them. :smalltongue:

* Those golden gods look interesting. Must be representatives of the gods of the West. According to Shojo these gods include Tiamat... if this is truly an evil society ruled by lizardfolk you'd expect Tiamat to be on the altar someplace... hm

* EDIT: also, Gannji says "I got this guy.." not "we got this guy..." maybe he and Enor are not as close a team as we think.
He definitly did'nt glue his lips to his ass... Looks like a Master Blaster thing.

So who's the empress?

- Not Hilgya. This is wrong on so many levels - by plot and character. And a cleric of Loki has no place here.

- Not Elans Mom. She had her chance with his dad and blew it. Also way out of character.

- Elans Stepmom. Farfetched, but at least possible.

At this point I am to totally confident to predict that the empress is a woman.

[Teddy]

A curious city, the lizard folk, who are notoriously evil and resentful to mammals, seem to dominate it yet have no problem with human guards. This makes them enlightened and diverse by medieval standards. It has slaves and is an empire but it's still better than Gobbotopia. Redcloak could learn a lot from this place.

Lizardfolk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lizardfolk.htm) are "usually neutral", not "notoriously evil". They are usually rather primitive because of their lower intelligence, though, so they tend to be formed into smaller tribes rather than multi-cultural empires.

[JoseB]

The problem with that is that absolutely all of these 'differents' smells can be rid of just by washing yourself, changing your clothes and eating something. Beside, go read the comic where Belkar smell Nale, he did it just after Nale washed and changed his clothes and they did say something about his natural smell.

<...>

As far as I'm concerned, the most annoying thing is how it could have been made much more logical simply with Belkar saying : «I smelled Sabine on you». Thats it, that make sense especially since, even if they were only together for a short time, its Sabine. They probably did it like 5 times even if she had errands to run.

Just a comment... In strip #383, Belkar just says, in panel 9, "You smell different". No more, no less. Just a different smell from that which is usual in Elan (and it might be a side-effect, for instance, of intense congress with Sabine).

It is actually Nale who, in the same panel, says something about his "natural smell asserting itself", and in my opinion he is just guessing and, metaphorically, speaking out of his posterior orifice. Nale thinks he is awfully clever, but I would say that he is much less clever and cultured than he thinks he is.

[HealthKit]

I'm still wondering who the figures are in the 4th panel.
I'm assuming they're gods, but which ones?

[Just Joseph]

Wet T-Shirt contest was a win, to be sure ^^

*looks around*
*whistles*
So.... what is the lizgreaper thing about? I got the reaper reference, and the first three letters are from lizard, but...

LIZard GRim rEAPER

[One Skunk Todd]

So who's the empress?

- Not Hilgya. This is wrong on so many levels - by plot and character. And a cleric of Loki has no place here.

- Not Elans Mom. She had her chance with his dad and blew it. Also way out of character.

- Elans Stepmom. Farfetched, but at least possible.

At this point I am to totally confident to predict that the empress is a woman.

Maybe it's Miko resurrected No that's not right, EOB's been around longer than Miko's been dead. Maybe somebody related to Miko. Bat-stuff crazy but a stickler for the rules.

[Dr. Simon]

I'm still wondering who the figures are in the 4th panel.
I'm assuming they're gods, but which ones?

The Gods of the West are based on Mesopotamian myth, as I recall from the Crayons of Time, although I don't know if Rich has based it on any particular time or nation.

After some hunting, the lion-headed guy holding a flame is most likely Nergal (later Aplu, sometimes combined with Ninurta), who represents the destructive power of the high sun, of war and pestilence, often depicted as a lion. Which would make the woman his consort Laz* (who doesn't seem to have much a role herself).

Interestingly, Nergal is depicted in later Christian mythology as the head of the Hell's secret police, which points to a possibly hint as to Minister Malack's role.

*She could be anyone, really. They are holding hands which suggests a relationship, but otherwise has no distinguishing features that I can discern. Most likely female deity would be Ishtar (and various version thereof), but I can't see her having much presence in the Empire of Blood. She could be Tiamat in a human aspect, but then why would a lizardman have a human-shaped effigy of a dragon goddess?

[binyamin20]

What is A wet T-shirt contest?

[DoctorJest]

I doubt an NPC functionary like Chancellor Kilkil here would have 9 levels in a fairly combat-oriented prestige class.

Who says he was always a functionary. Maybe he's just retired.
His name is "Kill-Kill" after all.

[One Skunk Todd]

What is A wet T-shirt contest?

It is an activity, usually at a bar or party, where college-aged women dressed wearing bikini bottoms and tight white t-shirts present themselves on a stage. They are sprayed with water which renders the t-shirts transparent or semi-transparent. The women are cheered on by an audience of college-aged men who are usually in various states of drunkenness. The woman who recieves the most/loudest aplause is (I think) usually awarded a modest prize of some sort.

[Conuly]

Obviously Nale and Elan's natural smell (whatever that is) is overridden by the soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent they use. When Nale took a shower he used his own brands of soap and shampoo, and maybe took the time to do some laundry as well. And the different fragrances is what makes them smell different to Belkar.

[DabblerWizard]

I laughed when I saw the accounts payable sign. Accounting terminology jokes for the win.

I also enjoyed the bloodied new carpets joke.

Though I must say that I find it slightly implausible that the head evil cleric dude didn't realize that Elan isn't Nale. He seems to know Nale (by his statement: don't you recognize me), and yet he prefers believing that Elan is simply playing silly mind games. My point is that this identity mix up has so far required a bit of lax cognizance, and if it continues for too much longer, it will become absurd and unrealistic.

Edit: Let's not forget V's zinger of an insult suggesting Elan is an imbecile (even if his insights given his conclusions are actually fairly logical). :smallbiggrin:

[hihidude]

Why is there a flying kobold? I don't understand that...

[mucat]

Let's not forget V's zinger of an insult suggesting Elan is an imbecile

Not the most subtle of suggestions: "You are an imbecile."

[random11]

Ok, this is getting complicated.

Of course they CAN use spells to confirm he isn't Nale, but since he looks exactly like him and they seem to know him personally, I doubt they will have the motivation to try.
Seriously, would a bounty hunter spend spells every time he hears the "I have a twin brother" excuse?
And this doesn't exactly look like a kingdom that cares for truth and justice as much as for the punishment at the end...

I guess it's Roy to the rescue?

[Bongos]

Yes what is that kobold-like creature with wings ? A homunculous?

[Shale]

Weeeeeeeeelllll....


Half-red-dragon kobold, probably. He looks almost exactly the same as a kobold except for wings and redder scales.


Much more likely to be a Kobold Dragon Disciple.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061201a

[Gift Jeraff]

I doubt an NPC functionary like Chancellor Kilkil here would have 9 levels in a fairly combat-oriented prestige class.
In a land where your leader is practically guaranteed to be killed within a year, I think you'd need quite the levels to become something like a Chancellor. (And he may have helped in usurping the previous nation anyway.)

[Shale]

Also, if you've got a name like Kilkil and can more than likely breathe fire on demand, you'd better be able to kill things.

[pendell]

Gonna go against the flow here.

I think the joke at the end is funny, but I'm not exceptionally pleased
by the direction this story is taking. An obvious mistaken-identity which could be resolved by one divination spell. I wonder by what ridiculous contrivance the author will prevent such an easy resolution this time? Will it be an epic spell that blocks such magic? Or will it be because the city authorities have taken an oath not to use divination spells? Or will it be becuase the city authorities have such a respect for law that divination spells can't be used in their legal proceedings. Again.

I've enjoyed OOTS so far but , TBH, the continued contrivances are starting to get annoying and drag out the strip.

Nor is it like there's any real tension. Elan's plot-armor (because he's an idiot) is even more obvious than Roy's. Roy, after all , is a dramatic hero. But nothing bad can ever possibly happen to Elan, despite his complete cluelessness. He's even been promised a happy ending. So we're going to dance around for ten or 12 strips -- maybe even cut away to the rest of the party -- before it all becomes hah-hah! A laughable misunderstanding!

Elan's not a Mary Sue, because he's not an author insert or all-powerful. But he's almost like a Roadrunner -- a clueless ditz who always wins in the end not because he's smarter or better or in any way deserving of victory, but simply because the fates conspire to thwart Wile E. Coyote. Forces beyond anyone's control ensure the outcome, to the disgust of those who have had to work for their happy endings.

Elan's starting to get on my nerves, just a little bit.

Still, I have faith that this'll turn out well, from a storytelling point of view. The Giant saved Don't Split the Party, and I was bored to tears for the first twenty strips or so. The Vaarsuvius arc saved the strip. I'm confident it will happen again.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[WreckedElf]

I'm predicting that the mistaken identity thing will actually be resolved quickly and without too much further fuss. (Perhaps just because it would seem redundant to do this all over again just like last time.) My guess is that either the Empress of Blood or Malack or someone else that knows Nale will figure out its not a ruse before too long. There a chance that someone here already knows that Nale has a twin. (Weren't they both born on this continent? Someone else has to know)


As an alternative theory:

The Order discovers something that actually works to their advantage for Elan to be mistaken as Nale, so they intentionally thwart attempt to discover the truth through magic. What or why that would be? I don't know, but it would be an interesting twist.

[Scarlet Knight]

I can't wait to see what it is Nale did to piss off an entire Empire...

Hmmm. Wet T-shirt contest. Nale is the judge. He doesn't pick the Empress to win... :smallredface:

[Gift Jeraff]

(Weren't they both born on this continent? Someone else has to know)
They are both referred to as "Northerners" and Nale's father says he left his wife in some village (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html), not the other way around.

[Agi Hammerthief]

We'll get strips with Roy, Durkon, and Belkar again when we get strips with Roy, Durkon, and Belkar again.

Whoever Rich focuses on, someone always complains ("Where's Team Evil? Where's the Linear Guild? Where's the Order of the Stick? Where's the rest of the Order of the Stick?"). I doubt very much it makes him switch focus any faster.
are we there yet? :smallbiggrin:

seriously, I think eventually they will be all in one comic and then there will be complains that it's The End

[fruityjanitor]

Death's face in the last panel was priceless.

[The Pilgrim]

I think the joke at the end is funny, but I'm not exceptionally pleased by the direction this story is taking. An obvious mistaken-identity which could be resolved by one divination spell. I wonder by what ridiculous contrivance the author will prevent such an easy resolution this time?

Maybe because one of the local Gods isn't particulary pleased with a certain member of the OOTS, and thus may be interested in screwing whatever divination is attemped to certify Elan's identity.

[Shale]

Or everybody involved knows Nale personally, and "knows" that he never had any identical twin brother. Which is pretty reasonable, really.

[Kish]

An obvious mistaken-identity which could be resolved by one divination spell.[...]
Nor is it like there's any real tension.[...]So we're going to dance around for ten or 12 strips -- maybe even cut away to the rest of the party -- before it all becomes hah-hah! A laughable misunderstanding!
I think there's something important you're not taking into account here. Specifically, the Empire of Blood is being shown as quite thoroughly evil. I will be very surprised if the conclusion we get here is "a laughable misunderstanding, you can go now." The Empress may say, "There's a 99% chance you're not Nale and a 1% chance you are. I am therefore going to have you tortured to death anyway." She may say, "I realize you're not Nale, so I'm just going to have the executioner practice what he's going to do when I do have Nale, so he can be sure not to make any mistakes then." She may say, "You're not Nale? Well, crap, you're useless to me then. I guess I'll find out if my pet crocodiles are hungry." Or she may say, "I suppose I have no interest in you then, you can go," and Elan will protest that he has to rescue the slaves first. But the two Chaotic Good adventurers are not going to become BFFs with the rulers of the Empire of Blood just because Elan isn't Nale--in fact, Nale might well have a better chance at talking himself out of this situation than Elan does.

[The MunchKING]

Really? When it's not chess (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChessWithDeath), it appears to be victim's choice quite often. On the other hand, most of the examples are parodies of the usual concept, so nevermind.

And, y'know, it could be worse (http://xkcd.com/393/).

I always heard it was dier's choice, because well you can't beat death. (Unless he throws the game, or it's a silly parody.)


HA! I was right! The Empress did want them healthy!:smallbiggrin:

Did she? So far we don't know that, we just know her minions THINK that. :smalltongue:

(But yeah , probably...)


Guys can't win wet t-shirt contests and Tsukiko knows it =P

Why not? It depends on the jury.

I'd suppose women would like to see beefcake and rock hard abs, or something.

[The MunchKING]

I think there's something important you're not taking into account here. Specifically, the Empire of Blood is being shown as quite thoroughly evil. I will be very surprised if the conclusion we get here is "a laughable misunderstanding, you can go now." The Empress may say, "There's a 99% chance you're not Nale and a 1% chance you are. I am therefore going to have you tortured to death anyway."

Well they appear to be EXTREMELY Lawful in the Lawful evil side. So I doubt unless she can pin something else on them, "Kill you on the off chance everything that we use to determine ID is wrong" is probably not the way it's going down.

[Anterean]

Uhh, well, you see, it's when you get everyone to wear thin, wet t-shirts, and then you see who's, uhh, most mature, if you catch my drift.
But nobody in a wet t-shirt contest is acting mature.

I think he meant mature as in say a fully grown fruit ripe for the picking, than a mature behaviour

[jzimbert]

What was the song Elan heard about challenging Death to a game? Or is he confusing Death with the Devil?

[Kumo]

What was the song Elan heard about challenging Death to a game? Or is he confusing Death with the Devil?

It was a movie reference, actually.

But i think i know what song you're thinking of. :smalltongue:

[Gift Jeraff]

But i think i know what song you're thinking of. :smalltongue:
Wouldn't a solid gold lute weigh hundreds of pounds and sound crummy?

:smallbiggrin:

[Mr. Scaly]

Hehe. Lizgreaper. Elan, you never fail to lighten a grim situation. If only you could lose the dead weight, you could go on the road with your own stand up act.

[Morgan Wick]

So this bounty was "one of the older ones" which could mean that they're being brought in for something Nale and Co. did before the comic even started.

We already knew that since it was an old lineup.

I have a sinking feeling we may have a contrivance to prevent the truth from being known for as long as possible.


Elan wasn't with them and Nale was doing a semi-reasonable impression of him. Elan could not do the second properly if his life depended on it.

If by "semi-reasonable" you mean saying "I'm Elan!" every five seconds and insulting "himself".


The only problem with the final joke was that Death (in most legends) doesn't let his victims choose what the challenge will be, HE does (otherwise this kind of thing would happen more frequently).

Except in webcomics. (http://irregularwebcomic.net/201.html)

[Herald Alberich]

In a land where your leader is practically guaranteed to be killed within a year, I think you'd need quite the levels to become something like a Chancellor. (And he may have helped in usurping the previous nation anyway.)

Hmm, you're probably right. He just doesn't look that dangerous. Maybe it's the glasses. But of course, looks can be deceiving. That's it! Kilkil is Girard!

Edit: Oh, the other thing is that he reacts in fear and nervousness upon spotting the high priest of the palace, rather than how someone with ~14 PC levels would act.

[Kumo]

If by "semi-reasonable" you mean saying "I'm Elan!" every five seconds and insulting "himself".

It's idiotic, like Elan.

Also: 'semi' does not mean 'perfectly'

[slayerx]

In a land where your leader is practically guaranteed to be killed within a year, I think you'd need quite the levels to become something like a Chancellor. (And he may have helped in usurping the previous nation anyway.)

Actually, the empire of blood seems like it may have been the exception to the general rule for nations on the western continent. From what we can tell the empire has been around for a number of years and we also have enough to surmise that kilkil may not have been chancellor for too long (nale seems like he left quite the impression)... not to mention a palace is something that might take a few years to build

If i had to guess, based on how large they are, the empires of blood, sweat and tears, have probably been around for a relatively long time and thus are secure enough that they are not overthrown easily like every other nation

[Hobs]

Half-red-dragon kobold, probably. He looks almost exactly the same as a kobold except for wings and redder scales.



Much more likely to be a Kobold Dragon Disciple.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061201a


Weeeeeeeeelllll....

I still say Dragonwrought Kobold.

I used to play a Kobold Dragon Disciple, but they can't get Wings until level 14.
Dragonwrought Kobold can get it at level 3 with the right feats.

[jzimbert]

It was a movie reference, actually.

But i think i know what song you're thinking of. :smalltongue:

Yeah, I've seen Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. But Elan specifically said he heard it in a song.

[AratanAenor]

Won't a Zone of Truth or some other such spell solve it? Along with Elan's inability to grow a goatee?

Anyone who has seen Nale, and has an Int score higher than 8, should realize Elan is not Nale by 5 O'Clock. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0388.html)

[Querzis]

Anyone who has seen Nale, and has an Int score higher than 8, should realize Elan is not Nale by 5 O'Clock. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0388.html)

Why? The inability to grow a beard doesnt mean anything, they havent seen Nale for a long time whats surprising about the fact that he would shave? Look I really dont think there is any way for them to realize its not Nale except if they use a spell like zone of truth, acting like an idiot to avoid execution does sound like something Nale could do if hes desperate. Now if the empress know Zz'dtri and Sabine then she can easely realize its not him but really there is nothing Elan can do that Nale woudnt do...except maybe being humble.

[jere7my]

Yeah, I've seen Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. But Elan specifically said he heard it in a song.

He couldn't very well say he saw it in a movie, could he?

[Kish]

He couldn't very well say he saw it in a movie, could he?
Why not? If you're thinking there's a fourth wall between Elan and the concept of a movie, think again (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0119.html).

[Wolfbite]

This comic was hilarious.


...what does his eyesight have to do with anything? They are twins, the only difference between them is the goatee and I really woudnt put it past Nale to act like an idiot to try to get out of a situation like this, as the minister said, Nale is all about mindgames like this.



Yeah they do in the comic but they really shoudnt. The strip where Belkar was able to realize it was Nale thanks to his sense of smell was pretty much the most disapointing strip I read in this webcomic. Identical twins do smell the same, of course they can wear different perfume or stuff like that but their natural smell is exactly the same smell.

Anyway great one, I really laughed at the wet T-shirt contest and I cant wait to see the empress.

Evil, in almost any fantasy setting, almost always has a distinct smell or taint.
And as you said, they could wear different scents to mask natural body odour.

Also, the unknown amount of time from which the Minister last encountered Nale could have been so great that "smell recognition" might not have been the obvious mode of identification...
Regardless of lizardfolk sight, Elan appears to be brought a few feet in front of the Minister right away, and as someone else said, it is easy to believe the burnt offering is masking all smells in the immediate vicinity.

In any event it is a simple case of mistaken identity. It is a plot device, and pointless to pick apart. In the end, it doesn't matter.
Enjoyment (or not) of the ride will be the ultimate result for all spectators involved.

[Kumo]

Yeah, I've seen Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. But Elan specifically said he heard it in a song.

This is Elan we're talking about. The guy who thinks Vaarsuvius is half-camel - something you'd THINK would be hard to misunderstand.

[Arzoo]

It's always possible that it's just a half-dragon kobold, and that the Giant just decided all half-dragons should get wings rather than impose a size req. (which never made sense to me anyway).

[derfenrirwolv]

It's always possible that it's just a half-dragon kobold, and that the Giant just decided all half-dragons should get wings rather than impose a size req. (which never made sense to me anyway).

The point was to keep flight out of the hands of PCs

[derfenrirwolv]

re smell:

nale has spent an entire lifetime living on a different continent than elan. Different environments can produce different heights, weights, temperments, and IQs... i don't know why they couldn't produce different smells that are supposed to just dissapear after a few days of trail food.

[Defiant]

Oh my God... the lizard's name is Malack, and he said the line "...do you not recognize me?"

:o

[Jagos]

re smell:

nale has spent an entire lifetime living on a different continent than elan. Different environments can produce different heights, weights, temperments, and IQs... i don't know why they couldn't produce different smells that are supposed to just dissapear after a few days of trail food.

They do. Remember that Belkar did figure out Nale from just the smell. I just don't think the lizard smells the same as a halfling.

[Ricardo]

I wonder by what ridiculous contrivance the author will prevent such an easy resolution this time? Will it be an epic spell that blocks such magic? Or will it be because the city authorities have taken an oath not to use divination spells? Or will it be becuase the city authorities have such a respect for law that divination spells can't be used in their legal proceedings. Again.What indication do we have other than the Lizgreaper(tm) asking Elan if he recognizes him that the party is even aware of a mistaken identity? There has been no reason someone would need to divine such a thing... yet.


I've enjoyed OOTS so far but , TBH, the continued contrivances are starting to get annoying and drag out the strip.The contrivance you expect to happen has yet to happen. ;)


So we're going to dance around for ten or 12 stripsYou are suggesting the Giant cut to the chase and end all the non-essential-to-the-main-arc arc? /boggle Well, sure... but what then? What if this side adventure actually is part of the main-arc? You're once again assuming something to be true when it has yet to be revealed. /shrug


Elan's not a Mary Sue, because he's not an author insert or all-powerful. But he's almost like a Roadrunner -- a clueless ditz who always wins in the end not because he's smarter or better or in any way deserving of victory, but simply because the fates conspire to thwart Wile E. Coyote. Forces beyond anyone's control ensure the outcome, to the disgust of those who have had to work for their happy endings.It worked for Warner Bros. :smallcool:


Elan's starting to get on my nerves, just a little bit.I think he is supposed to. :smallwink:

Disclaimer:
Don't think I am attacking your point of view or minimizing your feelings. I just thought you would appreciate another perspective as well. Who knows? This side adventure (if it is such) could end next strip. :smalltongue:

[Scarlet Knight]

Mildly?

...

Are there any openings at your place of business?


He works for the Florida Dept of Tourism, perhaps?

{Scrubbed}

[Shale]

What indication do we have other than the Lizgreaper(tm) asking Elan if he recognizes him that the party is even aware of a mistaken identity? There has been no reason someone would need to divine such a thing... yet.

First, Vaarsuvius saw the wanted poster.

Second: "Besides, like I told you on the hike up here, you have the wrong guy. That's Elan, not Nale." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0717.html)

Edit: Also, everybody is calling Elan "Nale". Seriously, it's not rocket science to figure out that it's mistaken identity just from that. Hell, it's not even two plus two. Do people even read the comic?

[binyamin20]

It is an activity, usually at a bar or party, where college-aged women dressed wearing bikini bottoms and tight white t-shirts present themselves on a stage. They are sprayed with water which renders the t-shirts transparent or semi-transparent. The women are cheered on by an audience of college-aged men who are usually in various states of drunkenness. The woman who recieves the most/loudest aplause is (I think) usually awarded a modest prize of some sort.

Thanks.:smallsmile:

[Herald Alberich]

First, Vaarsuvius saw the wanted poster.

Second: "Besides, like I told you on the hike up here, you have the wrong guy. That's Elan, not Nale." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0717.html)

Edit: Also, everybody is calling Elan "Nale". Seriously, it's not rocket science to figure out that it's mistaken identity just from that. Hell, it's not even two plus two. Do people even read the comic?

Pretty sure Ricardo meant the Empire of Blood is unaware of the possibility of mistaken identity here. "Party" was probably a bad choice of words. If the bounty hunters and the officials of the EoB discount anything the Order says as lies and "mindgames", there's no reason for them to even bring divination magic into it.

[Hobs]

Thanks.:smallsmile:

I'm amused at all of these clinical descriptions of Wet-T-shirt Contest.

[Kerrah]

I think the joke at the end is funny, but I'm not exceptionally pleased by the direction this story is taking. An obvious mistaken-identity which could be resolved by one divination spell. I wonder by what ridiculous contrivance the author will prevent such an easy resolution this time? Will it be an epic spell that blocks such magic? Or will it be because the city authorities have taken an oath not to use divination spells? Or will it be becuase the city authorities have such a respect for law that divination spells can't be used in their legal proceedings. Again.

The only time that's happened thus far was when Nale specifically chose to enact his plan in a city following those rules. It was not a coincidence.

[Ricardo]

First, Vaarsuvius saw the wanted poster.

Second: "Besides, like I told you on the hike up here, you have the wrong guy. That's Elan, not Nale." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0717.html)

Edit: Also, everybody is calling Elan "Nale". Seriously, it's not rocket science to figure out that it's mistaken identity just from that. Hell, it's not even two plus two. Do people even read the comic?Yep, got me there about Haley.

[derfenrirwolv]

Oh my God... the lizard's name is Malack, and he said the line "...do you not recognize me?"


ok, my google fu is failing me... what?

[NerfTW]

Jean Valjean in Les Miserables utters that line while under the identity of Father Madeleine, when another man is accused of being him.

But that's the closest I can figure Defiant is referring to.

[Giggling Ghast]

I believe he's referring to Darth Malak from Knights of the Old Republic.

[kusje]

Isn't anyone else wondering why a Chancellor would be stuck doing such a menial task? He shouldn't be stuck doing clerical work(the other kind) with his position.

Are there other meanings of chancellor that I'm missing?

[snikrept]

Presumably he's the high priest. Not sure the offering was a menial task so much as one of his daily rituals to maintain favor with his gods or something.

Unless you mean escort duty for the prisoner - I think he's doing that out of glee that this Nale guy he has a grudge against has finally got his comeuppance.


EDIT come to think of it, he's got this whole evil badguy shtick about him with the pale skin and the spooky voice bubble and the black cloak... but the first thing we see him do is offer to help a random kobold who is far beneath his station. He might not actually be evil :)

[dsavereide]

What if the Empress does recognize "not nale" but ...

... decides to use him to trap the real Nale thinking he would attempt a rescue. Which he just might do, because if Elan is killed by someone else it spoils all his evil plans.

[dsavereide]

EDIT come to think of it, he's got this whole evil badguy shtick about him with the pale skin and the spooky voice bubble and the black cloak... but the first thing we see him do is offer to help a random kobold who is far beneath his station. He might not actually be evil :)

The Chancellor is the flying kobold. The guy in the robe is Minister Malack.

[Secris]

Are there other meanings of chancellor that I'm missing?

Yep, and I was missing it too. According to the wikipedia page, a chancellor can refer to:

* the head of the government
* a person in charge of foreign affairs
* a person with duties related to justice.

Clearly the third option is what this particular chancellor is. However, I would wager that it's still a fairly high-ranking position if he can bring his... clients, for lack of a better word, straight to the Empress. I'm sure she is a very busy woman.

[kusje]

Presumably he's the high priest. Not sure the offering was a menial task so much as one of his daily rituals to maintain favor with his gods or something.

Unless you mean escort duty for the prisoner - I think he's doing that out of glee that this Nale guy he has a grudge against has finally got his comeuppance.


EDIT come to think of it, he's got this whole evil badguy shtick about him with the pale skin and the spooky voice bubble and the black cloak... but the first thing we see him do is offer to help a random kobold who is far beneath his station. He might not actually be evil :)

Um, the "random kobold who is far beneath his station" is the Chancellor... That's why I felt it was weird. Incidentally, about him being non-evil, his magic aura is black (when he casted heal) and we all know what that means!

[kusje]

Yep, and I was missing it too. According to the wikipedia page, a chancellor can refer to:

* the head of the government
* a person in charge of foreign affairs
* a person with duties related to justice.

Clearly the third option is what this particular chancellor is. However, I would wager that it's still a fairly high-ranking position if he can bring his... clients, for lack of a better word, straight to the Empress. I'm sure she is a very busy woman.

That would make sense except that the examples for "duties related to justice" under that very same wiki page lists fairly high ranking officials and not an accounts payable clerk.

[Shale]

Rank inflation?
"For your assistance in my bloody overthrow of the previous regime, I will make you a chancellor in the new empire!"

"A chancellor? Fantastic!"

*Later*

"So I'll be one of your advisors?"

"Well..........."

[Garwain]

Death comes in all sizes and shapes, eh? If so, death can mimic a really hot chick right?

I propose that Rich shows us what death came up with, and we'll be the judges. Only fair game isn't it?

[martospy]

LOL I loved this update! Reminded me of Bill and Ted's, although the wet T-Shirt contest is awesome :smallbiggrin:

[Athen20]

I think the chancellor might be something like a dragonwrought kobold, which is a kobold with more direct lineage to dragons and usually has wings. They usually become leaders in kobold society so it would make sense.

[Trisk]

I would find it a little ridiculous if this went on without some kind of identity spell cast. It seems like a pretty well to do keep in a world full of magic, any of which could be used to send an illusion to death, or frame someone.

[sihnfahl]

However, I would wager that it's still a fairly high-ranking position if he can bring his... clients, for lack of a better word, straight to the Empress. I'm sure she is a very busy woman.
Or Nale is so hated by the Empress that she has a 'bring this man before me the SECOND you catch him, no matter what I'm doing' order in place.

[Me!]

The current leading theory (as far as I'm aware) is that he's a Large half-blue dragon. The other half is unknown; some Large relative of lizardfolk is possible, I suppose.



My guess there is that we won't see them until they come bursting in (either heroically or hilariously) attempting to rescue the three we're focusing on now.

do you think hes a dragon born?
:smallconfused:

[brionl]

What was the song Elan heard about challenging Death to a game? Or is he confusing Death with the Devil?

Probably this song (http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684637831520886). And if he can confuse a pale lizardfolk with the Lizard Grim Reaper, I don't think mixing up Death and old Scratch is a big leap either.

[NerfTW]

The idea of playing a game with death to save your life is pretty well established. It's not from Bill and Ted, for starters, they just repeated the concept. 1957's Seventh Seal also has a knight play a game of chess for his life.

Not sure about the song, but I'm sure there's one about it specifically.

[hamishspence]

I recall a similar game (with a more unpleasant Death) in the book Erik the Viking.

Prior to The Seventh Seal, were there any fables involving contests of this kind with Death, or some similar entity (maybe a Deity of the Underworld)?

[Almaseti]

I know it was a trope in some old Greek plays (Hercules fought death for someone else's sake in one) but I can't recall which.

[Lerky]

anyone else think the name "Malack" is a refrence to Mal'akh, or am I just too excited that I finished the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown? :smalltongue:

[Alaska Fan]

The idea of playing a game with death to save your life is pretty well established. It's not from Bill and Ted, for starters, they just repeated the concept. 1957's Seventh Seal also has a knight play a game of chess for his life.

Not sure about the song, but I'm sure there's one about it specifically.

The idea of delaying death by challenging him to a game has medieval roots. Bergman, the director of The Seventh Seal (an amazing movie, by the way), reportedly said he got the idea from a 15th century painting in a church in Sweden:

"Bergman has stated that the image of a man playing chess with a skeletal Death was inspired by a medieval church painting from the 1480s in Täby kyrka, Täby, north of Stockholm, painted by Albertus Pictor."

[Zemyla]

Death comes in all sizes and shapes, eh? If so, death can mimic a really hot chick right?

You mean like Komachi (http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Komachi) Onozuka (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/659484/) from Touhou? I think she would win the contest. :J

[factotum]

Death comes in all sizes and shapes, eh? If so, death can mimic a really hot chick right?


In Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics, Death already *is* a really hot chick. :smallsmile:

[Shale]

With a sweet hat.

[pendell]

Disclaimer:
Don't think I am attacking your point of view or minimizing your feelings. I just thought you would appreciate another perspective as well. Who knows? This side adventure (if it is such) could end next strip. :smalltongue:[/QUOTE]

Goodness, no problem. What's the point of a discussion group, if not to hear different views? Rest assured, I'm not offended by people disagreeing with me -- provided they do so in a courteous fashion as you have now.

I guess I have to give the Giant a little credit -- I suspect a problem he's running into is that he has to make Roy and the OOTS powerful enough to be a credible challenge to an epic-level lich. The problem with doing that is that it spoils the dramatic tension with anyone else in the story. A party that can defeat Xykon isn't going to normally be troubled by a pair of mid-level bounty hunters. They can gain information by scrying, and if they can't teleport themselves they have a number of other solutions (such as wind walk) which may work as well.

Thus, in order to make the order powerful enough for the final confrontation but still preserve dramatic tension with B-list villains and side quests, the Giant must resort to ever-more ridiculous contrivances to 'gimp' the order, preventing them from using their full powers.

I guess I'll give him a chance. I'll wager this little quest will somehow advance the plot .. but I have no idea how yet.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Lateral]

Hey, what is the flying kobold guy anyway? He's almost definitely a kobold, cuz he's the same size and shape as Yikyik. He's darker colored, but that's probably just tan from living in the desert or something. (Can kobolds tan?) Or maybe a desert kobold, does OOTS have Unearthed Arcana variant rules?
Anyway, he's flying. With tiny wings. Are there any templates that provide wings? I only know half-dragon (he's not large), or half-celestial/fiend (looks like a normal kobold [e.g. no horns, wings are lizardy not feathery, etc.]). So...whart?

Edit: Yeah, but he's a public official. I don't think he'd be taking a spellcaster prestige class or getting to high levels in favored soul. Plus, they're neither bat wings nor feathered wings- they're kobold wings. There's a template called "winged creature"?
Huh.
Although like I said, does OOTS use noncore books? Which ones? They use psionics definitely, and incarnum also, but what else?

[hamishspence]

Dragon Disciple grants wings- and doesn't actually change the appearence of the creature (the sample Dragon Disciple in DMG looks normal except for the wings).

There's templates as well (Winged Creature, from Savage Species is, I think, suggested as the normal way to represent the Faerun-only kobold subrace called urds, in Serpent Kingdoms)

And, in Races of the Dragon, there are Dragonwrought Kobolds.

And the class Favoured Soul (in Miniatures Handbook & Complete Divine) grants bat wings to evil creatures, feathered wings to good ones, at high level.

So there are many ways.

[Herald Alberich]

Although like I said, does OOTS use noncore books? Which ones? They use psionics definitely, and incarnum also, but what else?

Whatever the Giant feels like throwing in. There's no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to non-core stuff, other than that it doesn't show up very often.

[derfenrirwolv]

Dragon Disciple grants wings- and doesn't actually change the appearence of the creature


Srd under dragon disciple

Natural Armor Increase (Ex)

At 1st, 4th, and 7th level, a dragon disciple gains an increase to the character’s existing natural armor (if any), as indicated on Table: The Dragon Disciple (the numbers represent the total increase gained to that point). As his skin thickens, a dragon disciple takes on more and more of his progenitor’s physical aspect.

[Kish]

Also, a tenth level Dragon Disciple becomes a half-dragon, which looks quite different from the base creature.

[hamishspence]

Whatever the Giant feels like throwing in. There's no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to non-core stuff, other than that it doesn't show up very often.

Might be interesting to list them.

Orb spells of Tsusiko (Tome & Blood?)
Animated Ancient Silver Dragon (Draconomicon?)
Acidborn shark (Dungeonscape)
Ghost-martyrs (BoED? Eberron?)
Eye of Fear & Flame (BoVD)
Huecuva (Fiend Folio)
Death Knight (MM2)
Half-Ogre (Savage Species? Races of Destiny?)

These are just a few I can think of. Psionics is in the SRD though.



At 1st, 4th, and 7th level, a dragon disciple gains an increase to the character’s existing natural armor (if any), as indicated on Table: The Dragon Disciple (the numbers represent the total increase gained to that point). As his skin thickens, a dragon disciple takes on more and more of his progenitor’s physical aspect.

I was thinking of the sample dragon disciple in DMG- which has wings (and claws instead of nails) but still has a very normal appearance. If it does have scales, they are at the "almost invisible" stage. Suggesting it isn't higher than 9th level.

It may have natural armour- but that natural armour is almost invisible.

Though this may be more the artist deciding what they wanted it to look like, rather than what it should look like.

[Kish]

Might be interesting to list them.

Orb spells of Tsusiko (Tomb & Blood?)
Tome and Blood. :smalltongue: Tome for wizard, Blood for sorcerer.

[hamishspence]

Edited.

There are other sources for Orb spells (hence the question mark), but it seems the most likely source. Especially given the phrasing (Electric Orb, not Orb of Electricity) and the fact that she calls them "evocations"

[Lateral]

Might be interesting to list them.

Orb spells of Tsusiko (Tome & Blood?)
Animated Ancient Silver Dragon (Draconomicon?)
Acidborn shark (Dungeonscape)
Ghost-martyrs (BoED? Eberron?)
Eye of Fear & Flame (BoVD)
Huecuva (Fiend Folio)
Death Knight (MM2)
Half-Ogre (Savage Species? Races of Destiny?)

These are just a few I can think of. Psionics is in the SRD though.

SRD, yes, but not core, so we can add the sourcebooks for both psionics and Incarnum (mentioned in that comic with the blue goblin) to the list.
Actually, what are the books for incarnum and psionics? I don't have any books (no, not even core), and all my stuff comes from the SRD.

[plasma ball]

Why is the albino lizard's voice different? The comic makes me think it's gravily. is it the smoak? his albinoeness?

Great comic anyway. loved the last panal.

[Doug Lampert]

I know it was a trope in some old Greek plays (Hercules fought death for someone else's sake in one) but I can't recall which.

King Admetus was fated to die, but due to a boon from Apollo someone else could die in his place. His wife Alcestis, was the only one willing to do so.

Heracles was guesting with Admetus on the night his wife died. When Heracles realized that he'd been enjoying a feast while his host was morning his wife he went out and wrestled death until death gave up Alcestis and let her live.

[hamishspence]

SRD, yes, but not core, so we can add the sourcebooks for both psionics and Incarnum (mentioned in that comic with the blue goblin) to the list.
Actually, what are the books for incarnum and psionics? I don't have any books (no, not even core), and all my stuff comes from the SRD.

Some people define the SRD as core for rules purposes- hence I wasn't sure about including the Blue, since they are in the SRD.

Magic of Incarnum is the Incarnum book. Expanded Psionics Handbook is the Psionics book.