I miss Durkon

[bengator]

I'm ready for some more Durkon stories and dwarven beer drinking and general dwarven tomfoolery. He hasn't had any backstory or side quests in a long time.

[mucat]

(Tries to count the strips since Durkon last took center stage)
(Follows Dwarven tradition (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0316.html))
(Passes out, while his liver files separation paperwork)

[Darakonis]

He hasn't had any backstory (...) in a long time.

Fixed that for you.

But seriously; I thought the whole deal with Durkon was that he's wallpaper. He's just there, in the background.

Peace,
-Darakonis

[averagejoe]

Fixed that for you.

But seriously; I thought the whole deal with Durkon was that he's wallpaper. He's just there, in the background.

Peace,
-Darakonis

There's tons there, you just have to look a bit closer at him than at most characters to see it.

[NerfTW]

I think much like how V took until the last arc to really start building a character, Durkon's major story points are going to be in the last arc with Kraagor's gate, which is in his homelands.

[dehro]

I think much like how V took until the last arc to really start building a character, Durkon's major story points are going to be in the last arc with Kraagor's gate, which is in his homelands.

yeah..about that...the oracle told durkon he'd be going home posthumously...

[Shhalahr Windrider]

yeah..about that...the oracle told durkon he'd be going home posthumously...
The arc doesn’t have to take place entirely in dwarven lands.

Furthermore, many stories feature characters that don’t really get fleshed out until after death.

[NerfTW]

yeah..about that...the oracle told durkon he'd be going home posthumously...

And that does not stop him from being raised.

I don't want to derail this into another Durkon prophecy thread, but there's a few ways the two prophecies can work and still have Durkon be alive for the final battle. Mostly boiling down to either he stays home to rebuild after the battle, "home" is so utterly destroyed that the dwarves leave and never return, or along the same lines, Durkon leaves and never returns. ("finally returning" doesn't rule out leaving and never coming back)

And then there's the possibility that he returns, brings destruction, leaves, and THEN dies and comes back home posthumously.

My money is on Durkon dying in the battle for Girard's gate, and being brought to Dwarven lands for raising, only to have Xykon right on their tails.

[Roy III]

Durkon's bit with Hilgya was one of my favorite bits of character-building in the comic, and came very close to being a tear-jerker.

Now, that's not to say he doesn't have much less development than the others. But you can't say he's had none.

[Orzel]

How can you miss him?
I bet you if I ninja substituted him for another good male dwarf,you couldn't tell the difference.
I don't even think that Durkon is the real one.
The real one is probably passed out in a ditch hungover and paid a passing dwarf to to cover for him for a month.

[Draconi Redfir]

perhaps he allready ent throuh a ton of charicter development, and returning to the dwarven lands after he is dead will allow for some flashbacks depicting it.

[derfenrirwolv]

Yes, perhaps during his youth as an acolyte he was some sort of alchoholic....

oh.. wait.. he's a dwarf. That's not alcoholism that's training.

[doodthedud]

How can you miss him?
I bet you if I ninja substituted him for another good male dwarf,you couldn't tell the difference.
I don't even think that Durkon is the real one.
The real one is probably passed out in a ditch hungover and paid a passing dwarf to to cover for him for a month.

I know enough about Durkon to know he wouldn't abandon his party and find someone to fill in :D

[Dr.Epic]

I'm ready for some more Durkon stories and dwarven beer drinking and general dwarven tomfoolery. He hasn't had any backstory or side quests in a long time.

Has Durkon ever done anything close to tomfoolery? Out of all the Order, he's the closest figure to a mom (minus the beard).

[Agi Hammerthief]

Yes, perhaps during his youth as an acolyte he was some sort of alchoholic....

oh.. wait.. he's a dwarf. That's not alcoholism that's training.

see the letter letter Miko had: "... both of his livers ..."

[dehro]

The arc doesn’t have to take place entirely in dwarven lands.

Furthermore, many stories feature characters that don’t really get fleshed out until after death.

another bone golem?:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:


(yes, I had considered the raising option as well...I was just throwing it in there as an argument of debate, not as an objection)

[Darcy]

Durkon is possibly my favourite member of the party, I miss him too. He's the handy cleric who stays out of the way unless someone needs healing or one of his utility spells. Give him some love!

[Murdim]

Durkon's awesomeness is channelled by the presence of trees and/or other dwarves. We're in a desert inhabited by humans and lizardmen. Too sad. :smallfrown:

[Darcy]

His shining moment IMHO was when he made that huge sonic boom destroy all the trees in Cliffport. That was so wicked.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

How can you miss him?
I bet you if I ninja substituted him for another good male dwarf,you couldn't tell the difference.
I recommend starting the game with this one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0239.html).

[Menas]

yeah..about that...the oracle told durkon he'd be going home posthumously...

True!

However, Roy returned to fight Xykon again posthumously, so I don't see any reason why Durkon couldn't return to go home in the same manner (in-line with the comments that have already been made about the possibility of Durkon being raised).

Roy had a pretty good amount of character growth in his pre-Raised 'posthumous' stage, truth be told =).

[Nimrod's Son]

I recommend starting the game with this one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0239.html).
I will see your dwarf and raise you this one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0150.html).

[Cealocanth]

Durkon will return, I'd bet good money on it. He'll have a real arc all his own that details his backstory and puts him in conflict with the world without the party to hide behind.

Roy had several.
Haley had two.
Elan had one.
V had one.
Balkar needs to have one... had one but he was asleep for it.
Miko had one.
Banjo had one enough for a puppet.
Hinjo had one.
Redcloak had one, more or less.
The MitD had a little one.
Durkon's time will come.

[Nimrod's Son]

Redcloak had one, more or less.
Redcloak had an entire book. After Roy, he's probably the most-explored character in the strip.

[megabyter5]

Obvious loopholes in Durkon's prophecy:

1: Returning to Dwarven lands, leaving, dying, then "finally" returning.

2: Dying, going home, being raised, not leaving.

3: Dying, going home, being raised, leaving, dying, going home.

4+: As three, but continuing the progression like Leeron the Unlucky.

[suszterpatt]

Obvious loopholes in Durkon's prophecy:

1: Returning to Dwarven lands, leaving, dying, then "finally" returning.

2: Dying, going home, being raised, not leaving.

3: Dying, going home, being raised, leaving, dying, going home.

4+: As three, but continuing the progression like Leeron the Unlucky.And variations where "being raised" is replaced with "undead created from his body".

I'm fairly sure that a zombie Durkon marching into dwarven homelands would still qualify as him returning posthumously.

[RMcMurtry]

Durkon got the first love story. I'm still waiting for Hilgya to show back up with his heir.

[Bongos]

Yeah, I'm hoping he gets more back story. Isn't there another gate up north somewhere, maybe near the dwarven lands. He's only had the one scene where he's getting thrown out and then that letter that Miko brought back for him eaten by the MitD.

As for his time with Hilgya, so long ago, and Roy and the Sylph got much more time. Heck even Belkar and the rogue girl got almost as many panels.

[NerfTW]

And variations where "being raised" is replaced with "undead created from his body".

I'm fairly sure that a zombie Durkon marching into dwarven homelands would still qualify as him returning posthumously.

Yup. "posthumously" means "after death", so as long as he dies at some point, the prediction is still true. Of course, being the group's cleric, odds are if he dies and isn't raised as a zombie/golem/whatnot, he's not being raised until they get to the next gate in the Dwarven lands.

Everything is set up for Durkon to have major character development. Just look at V, who was pretty much the same as Durkon up until the battle,where he/she first had to face being responsible for the deaths of others.

Given Durkon's apology to V, I take that as a sign that he too is going to start taking a more active role in things, since it was his inaction that prolonged Roy's resurrection. We just need to wait for the camera to switch back to the other half of the team.

In fact, after reading the strip where he apologizes, go back and look at Origin. It casts his actions in a totally different light. His refusal to stick up for himself. His accepting that all humans hate him. His rejecting Hilgya because of her past. His refusing to fight against Miko. His tendency to sit out major battles.

Durkon is the wallflower of the team, and he's clearly heading for a major change.

[Luzahn]

If only every comic could feature a dwarf...:durkon:

[zql]

Yup. "posthumously" means "after death", so as long as he dies at some point, the prediction is still true. Of course, being the group's cleric, odds are if he dies and isn't raised as a zombie/golem/whatnot, he's not being raised until they get to the next gate in the Dwarven lands.

Everything is set up for Durkon to have major character development. Just look at V, who was pretty much the same as Durkon up until the battle,where he/she first had to face being responsible for the deaths of others.

Given Durkon's apology to V, I take that as a sign that he too is going to start taking a more active role in things, since it was his inaction that prolonged Roy's resurrection. We just need to wait for the camera to switch back to the other half of the team.

In fact, after reading the strip where he apologizes, go back and look at Origin. It casts his actions in a totally different light. His refusal to stick up for himself. His accepting that all humans hate him. His rejecting Hilgya because of her past. His refusing to fight against Miko. His tendency to sit out major battles.

Durkon is the wallflower of the team, and he's clearly heading for a major change.

I am all thrilled after reading your post. Now I expect Durkon's death to be some really cool scene.

[Cealocanth]

Redcloak had an entire book. After Roy, he's probably the most-explored character in the strip.

Redcloak had SoD. I was reffering to in-comic storylines, not bonus material. There are many people who haven't read it. That's kind of why i put "more or less." because, does the bonus really count?

[Snake-Aes]

Redcloak had SoD. I was reffering to in-comic storylines, not bonus material. There are many people who haven't read it. That's kind of why i put "more or less." because, does the bonus really count?

yes, they do. The depth added to the villains by SoD is huge. It's akin to End of Evangelion and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[Nimrod's Son]

Redcloak had SoD. I was reffering to in-comic storylines, not bonus material. There are many people who haven't read it. That's kind of why i put "more or less." because, does the bonus really count?
Of course it does. It's part of the story. That doesn't change depending on how many people have read it.

If you've read the whole story, Redcloak is one of the most-explored characters. If you haven't read the whole story, you can't just discount the bits you've missed.

[Darcy]

SoD is a prequel though, and not available to be read online. It doesn't "not count" but for the majority of readers it's peripheral. Though it's becoming more and more necessary as time goes on... ugh, I have to buy that thing soon.


PS. I still miss the hell out of Durkon. And Roy, for that matter, but mostly Durkon, because he gets so little attention as it is.

[TreesOfDeath]

You should be SOD now because

1) It will be nearly essintial(theirs a pretty key Chekov's gun in there.....).

2) Its adds SO MUCH to Redcloak

3) Its pretty much Rich at his very best. 2nd best (Watchmen ftw) comic I have ever read. Dark, tragic, deep and still very funny. I normally find comics bad value, but i read this over and over again.

Back on topic:
Well... lets be honest, Durkon isn't that deep or intresting. He doesn't have any goofy quirks or perosnality flaws to build an arc around. If you want more Durkon you should try reading Origin Of the Pcs, though I don't consider that an essintial, or on par with SOD. But its not bad, and does add something to Durkon, even if its more Roy's book.

[KoboldRevenge]

me too:smallfrown:

[Darcy]

You should be SOD now because

1) It will be nearly essintial(theirs a pretty key Chekov's gun in there.....).

2) Its adds SO MUCH to Redcloak

3) Its pretty much Rich at his very best. 2nd best (Watchmen ftw) comic I have ever read. Dark, tragic, deep and still very funny. I normally find comics bad value, but i read this over and over again.

Back on topic:
Well... lets be honest, Durkon isn't that deep or intresting. He doesn't have any goofy quirks or perosnality flaws to build an arc around. If you want more Durkon you should try reading Origin Of the Pcs, though I don't consider that an essintial, or on par with SOD. But its not bad, and does add something to Durkon, even if its more Roy's book.

I've got a vague idea of what happens in it thanks to allusions made on this board, I'm going to pick it up... soon... ish.

I just feel like because Durkon is a perhaps the most well-adjusted member of the party he doesn't get enough exposure or exploration. Even in today's comic, we've reconnected with the rest of the team, except Durkon of course who is probably off taking a leak or something. I guess they'll call on him whenever they need one of his incredibly helpful Cleric spells again. He's saved the day how many times now? There was his AWESOME defeat of Leeky Windstaff, every time he used Thor's Might, the air walk spell, not to mention the constant healing... give the guy some love!

I guess because he's sane, good-natured and doesn't get everyone into trouble it makes him less interesting or relevant to the narrative, but goddamnit that's not fair!*



*this sentence to be read as lighthearted exaggeration, not genuine rage