Foreshadowing?

[Maxios]

I've noticed Nale's line in OOTS #61: Because no one denies me Elan. Not father, not you, no one.
This foreshadows the current events in OOTs. When Elan's and Nale's father states he fought Nale when Nale wanted to be crowned the ruler of the Empire of Blood, and his father refused to crown him resulting in a battle.
In #62, Sabine says the arch fiends sent her to work as Nale's adviser. This also foreshadows the IFCC sending her.

[Mastikator]

If it is, then that's some epic planning.

[Nave Senrag]

First of all congratulations connecting the dots. Do you want a cookie? Second, that is not foreshadowing, that is a reference to something that happened in the past, and a subsequent filling in of the details. Nale, when fighting Elan, spoke about a possible falling out with his father. Now that has been confirmed. Sabine said that she was sent by the arch fiends, we didn't know that they were the IFCC at the time but now we do.

edit: to make it more clear, It would have been foreshadowing, (and the ability to see into the future on Mr. Burlew's part) if perhaps, Sabine had told V that he would be meeting the fiends soon, or if she had told him that the fiends had offered him great magical power.

[Procyonpi]

It's possible, but I recall seeing somewhere that Rich didn't have an overarching plot for the comic until around strip #100.

[hamishspence]

from Dungeon Crawling Fools:

You can tell I became committed to the idea of a grand storyline pretty soon after the strip premieres, though. Strip #13 shows us Xykon, drops the name Dorukan (and as of this writing, fans still don't know what his deal is), and retroactively places the team in a specific place, rather than a generic "everydungeon".

[RndmNumGen]

If it is, then that's some epic planning.

I wouldn't say it as such, but given that Rich writes the comic on a strip-by-strip basis, he might have decided exactly what Tarquin denied Nale only recently.

[Leecros]

It's possible, but I recall seeing somewhere that Rich didn't have an overarching plot for the comic until around strip #100.

That doesn't mean that he can't connect details from earlier comics though nor should the info in them be ignored.

[Luzahn]

That statement from Nale seemed intended more to build a psychopathic character than link to anything. The business with the Empire of Blood only reinforces this megalomanic personalty.

[hamishspence]

Probably the best source for a strip 100 date for the "overall story" being developed, is War & XPs, when speaking of the MiTD:

Once I started developing the real story that I was telling, around strip #100, I figured out what the monster really was and have been dropping hints ever since.

[factotum]

I wouldn't say it as such, but given that Rich writes the comic on a strip-by-strip basis, he might have decided exactly what Tarquin denied Nale only recently.

That's quite true, but it's also possible Rich has had this idea in the back of his mind ever since Nale came out with the original line. The only person who knows is the answer is one R. "The Giant" Burlew... :smallsmile:

[Ancalagon]

I wouldn't say it as such, but given that Rich writes the comic on a strip-by-strip basis, he might have decided exactly what Tarquin denied Nale only recently.

I find that highly unlikely. Sure, the specific details were probably not thought out "back then", but they must be older than "recently". I assume all details were known before the current arc was started (so thinking them out was not "recently").

About "back then":
Elan and Nale were known, the parents had shown up, their alignments, Nale said the "deny" thing... I find it hard to believe the exact reason (Nale and Father were conquering, Nale wanted a big share, the father said "no") was the only thing that was missing. It's such a small piece that it probably was already there - at least in the backstory of Nale and Elan.

[SPoD]

Another possibility is that Rich developed the current information about the falling out between Tarquin and Nale because of that line, rather than the other way around.

In other words, he sat down at the beginning of this story arc and looked over what information he had already dispensed about Elan and Nale's father, saw that line, and thought, "Now how exactly would Dad have denied Nale?" And then he came up with this.

[Lecan]

Foreshadowing is not the same as specifically referencing events that have already happened off-camera but are later revealed to the audience. Foreshadowing is an innocuous event or line that indicates a future event.

[Leecros]

Foreshadowing is not the same as specifically referencing events that have already happened off-camera but are later revealed to the audience.

Preshadowing? :smallbiggrin: