I don't get it...

[martianmister]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0678.html

Really, what the heck is happened in there? :smallconfused:

It's not in the FAQ neither... :smalltongue:

[Swordpriest]

V got divorced. Is it really that hard to figure out? :smallconfused:

[TimelordSimone]

"My mate is suing me for divorce."
Mystery: solved.

[Cizak]

V's mate sued V for divorce, that is V's mate said "I don't wanna be married to V anymore" so she/he broke the marriage.

[blazingshadow]

the wizard wanted to make sure v was who he was so he could deliver the divorce papers without delay

[Kish]

I observe a trend and wonder if someone is going to explain the concept of a "mate" next.

I would guess the completely unclear intention of the thread-starting post is to ask...something about Drawmij's Instant Summons? Maybe?

[Porthos]

It's also a play on words for Legal Summoning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summons) (as opposed to DnD Summoning (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/summonmonsteri.htm)), as well as the concept of being Served with Legal Documents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_of_process).

[slayerx]

V got divorced. Is it really that hard to figure out? :smallconfused:


"My mate is suing me for divorce."
Mystery: solved.


V's mate sued V for divorce, that is V's mate said "I don't wanna be married to V anymore" so she/he broke the marriage.

y'know guys, martianmister could be referring to that whole "FIGHT" thing that happened before V unraveled the scroll. As in why did the wizard go through the trouble of picking a fight with V to deliver the message which is much less clear...

frankly i think either he thought V might try to lie about who he was and thus he would be unable to confirm if the real V got the message; so he set it up an elaborate ploy to put V in a position where he would give his name freely... or maybe it was some kind of legal strategy set up by a lawyer to get V to incriminate himself and add more grounds for support of his mate gaining full custody of the kids

Other option would be questioning the joke behind the last panel, which some might not get... but if that's the case, I'd mention that i do think we have a thread all about jokes you did not get

[NerfTW]

Divorce papers have to be served to the person in question. In the real world, people will often go to great lengths to avoid being served papers. This being a fantasy world with magic where fights are perfectly normal, he felt the best way to get V to

A) Take the scroll
B) Verify his/her identity

would be to pick a fight, offer the scroll as a peace offering and play on his ego, therefore tricking V into both accepting the scroll and confirming his identity.

[SnowballMan]

It's also a play on words for Legal Summoning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summons) (as opposed to DnD Summoning (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/summonmonsteri.htm)), as well as the concept of being Served with Legal Documents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_of_process).
More to the point it's a play on the words to a specific spell, namely Drawmij Instant Summons (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Drawmij%27s_Instant_Summons). In other words, the reason the divorce papers were filed so quickly was the use of the spell using the legal definition of summons rather then the original spell intent.

[the_tick_rules]

Oots does still make jokes from time to time :smallbiggrin:

[Cizak]

Oots does still make jokes from time to time :smallbiggrin:

"From time to time"? :smallconfused: I'm pretty sure at least 90% of the new comics still have jokes.

[Kurald Galain]

I observe a trend and wonder if someone is going to explain the concept of a "mate" next.

Well, that's what happens if your king is threatened and you can't counter the threat in one turn.

[MoonCat]

Nuh-uh! That's check! And I think the question was totally valid, I didn't get what Drawminj's Summons were when the strip came out.

[Darth Hunterix]

I observe a trend and wonder if someone is going to explain the concept of a "mate" next.

"Mate" is a kind of a drink, popular in South America (also in Syria and Lebanon, which are located in the Middle East). You can learn more about it from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)).

[martianmister]

Wait...Whole diamond dust and fight thing was a plot of white-clothed wizard? :smallconfused:

[Innis Cabal]

Nope, Rich lied about all of it.

[NENAD]

Yeah, to be perfectly honest, my first reaction to that sequence was "Wait...Why on Earth did he pick a fight with V if all he needed to do was deliver a legal summons? Couldn't he just have said it was an important message from one of V's known associates?"

It was a good gag, though.

[NerfTW]

Wait...Whole diamond dust and fight thing was a plot of white-clothed wizard? :smallconfused:

Yes. Because if he simply went to hand the scroll to V, and told him who he was, there was a good chance V would have run away or otherwise avoided him. Obviously, we know in hindsight that V would have accepted the summons, but it's playing on the real world issue that serving legal papers very often requires a bit of subterfuge on the part of the server.
Especially divorce papers, where the person doesn't want to risk losing things in the divorce. In this case, being a fantasy realm with wizards, he played on V's ego and started a wizard fight.


Admittedly, if one isn't familiar with the process, the logic behind the fight would be lost.


Nuh-uh! That's check! And I think the question was totally valid, I didn't get what Drawminj's Summons were when the strip came out.

It is a valid question, but the OP was being extremely vague, as there are multiple parts to the joke that one might have been confused by.

[Katana_Geldar]

I observe a trend and wonder if someone is going to explain the concept of a "mate" next.


Mate is Australian for "friend".

[TimelordSimone]

Mate is Australian for "friend".

That's not specific to Australia.

[Shoelessgdowar]

That's not specific to Australia.

Wait... who is V's Mate's Attorney? There are only 2 Attorneys and one Paraelemental?

[John Cribati]

Nuh-uh! That's check!

Yes and no. Check is when your king is in danger of being captured. Checkmate is when your king is in Check, and there's no way to get him out of check.

[MoonCat]

Yes and no. Check is when your king is in danger of being captured. Checkmate is when your king is in Check, and there's no way to get him out of check.

Yes, but you never say just 'mate', all on its own

[KillianHawkeye]

Yes, but you never say just 'mate', all on its own

Sure you do. "That's check and mate."

[zimmerwald1915]

Yes, but you never say just 'mate', all on its own
Sometimes you do. Its never used in chess books (the algebraic notation for checkmate is ++; you now have your completely useless fact for the day), but in ordinary conversation "mate" is used quite often as shorthand for checkmate.

[MoonCat]

Hmmm. I should start playing with other people then. We appear to be too formal, and use 'check' or 'checkmate' every time.

[Stegyre]

Hmmm. I should start playing with other people then. We appear to be too formal, and use 'check' or 'checkmate' every time.
This thread leads to the quote, "That's 'mate, mate, so you buy the mate."

[bobothegoat]

I rarely use the word "mate" when someone is checkmated, but I do use it when there is imminent checkmate coming. As in, "Mate in 3 moves."

[Gandariel]

....
so V got married by playing chess?

[MoonCat]

I rarely use the word "mate" when someone is checkmated, but I do use it when there is imminent checkmate coming. As in, "Mate in 3 moves."

You tell people? You're too nice. Unless there's no way out at that point, which awesome gloating. But it's still not a good idea to tempt the Lady like that.

[Kurald Galain]

You tell people? You're too nice. Unless there's no way out at that point, which awesome gloating. But it's still not a good idea to tempt the Lady like that.

I'm pretty sure the Lady doesn't play chess.

And neither does Death - he can never remember which way the horsey thingies move :smalltongue:

[MoonCat]

I'm pretty sure the Lady doesn't play chess.

And neither does Death - he can never remember which way the horsey thingies move :smalltongue:

Well her sister loves to take down gloaters who say they've won before they say 'checkmate'. And Death appears to have an affinity for Aquaduct. He doesn't like D&D though. (http://xkcd.com/393/) :smallwink:

[zimmerwald1915]

Hmmm. I should start playing with other people then. We appear to be too formal, and use 'check' or 'checkmate' every time.
Another interesting fact is that it's considered rude among very strong players and in tournament settings to point out your check. It is assumed that the very strong player knows he's been checked, while in tournaments speech of any sort is frowned upon so that players at other boards aren't distracted.