This is it, for Belkar

[Souhiro]

When in a movie, a character, perhaps besides the main character, does something very kickass-ly, an then it shows that can be adorable, that character is signing his own death penalty, he is diggin his own grave, he puts the bucket in the path of his own kick, and baking the bread of his last meal.

Sorry, Belkar. We will miss you a lot. The OotS won't be the same :sigh:

[Bloogle]

I dread to think how Elan would have reacted if he had heard the conversation Belkar and Mr Scruffy were having.

[Ron Miel]

I don't think so.

There's are two Checkov's Guns for Belkar that have yet to be followed up.

Firstly, according to prophecy, he will save Hinjo's life twice. He's only done it once, so far.

Secondly Hinjo has said that he must return to serve his year in prison.

I'm certain that these will both be important plot points in the future.



Box has spoiler for bonus strips.

[Thanatosia]

He was given only 1 year to live, so serving a year in prison is clearly not going to be possible.

As for the other thing, some people think he already has, although I am unconvinced. The First (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0435.html) Lifesave is pretty much undisputed, however, some claim that this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0455.html) qualified for the 2nd, but I don't really buy that one.... not many hobos were really killed by his fireball, and the vast majority of archers opened fire anyways with no harm done. now maybe several of the few hobo's belkar scorched there would have otherwise rolled a natural 20 and then rolled maximum damage and manged to kill him while every other hobo that fired failed to hit, but it seems a bit of a stretch to me.

[factotum]

I think that easily counts as the second saving of Hinjo's life--the strip you linked clearly shows that the hobgoblins were put off their stride for a good couple of rounds by the fireball, thus giving an opportunity for Hinjo and the others to escape into the tower.

[Ron Miel]

He was given only 1 year to live, so serving a year in prison is clearly not going to be possible.

I didn't say he WOULD serve a year in prison. What I predict is that at some time in the future, Hinjo will try to make him serve the time, and this will be significant to the overall plot. Maybe he'll be killed resisting, or something.


I think that easily counts as the second saving of Hinjo's life

I don't.

[Alex Warlorn]

Hitler liked dogs and loathed cruelty to animals, Belkar likes cats, both are murderers.

And I really think the Giant is pretty much making us think Belkar is near immortal and isn't going to die until after the story's epilogue so when it DOES happen, we're caught off guard.

[EmperorSarda]

And I really think the Giant is pretty much making us think Belkar is near immortal and isn't going to die until after the story's epilogue so when it DOES happen, we're caught off guard.

Near immortal? Considering Belkar was about to fight a level 1 commoner, there was no danger of him dying. It just isn't Belkar's time yet.

[Leecros]

I didn't say he WOULD serve a year in prison. What I predict is that at some time in the future, Hinjo will try to make him serve the time, and this will be significant to the overall plot. Maybe he'll be killed resisting, or something.


You can't serve time if you're dead. If Belkar died, as a paladin, Hinjo would feel that Belkar would get his just due in the afterlife.

whether that's what would happen or not is disputable...

[PsychedelicBard]

I think that easily counts as the second saving of Hinjo's life--the strip you linked clearly shows that the hobgoblins were put off their stride for a good couple of rounds by the fireball, thus giving an opportunity for Hinjo and the others to escape into the tower.

Hinjo and the others escaped into the tower while under attack. I don't think it really counts.

[Dr.Epic]

When in a movie, a character, perhaps besides the main character, does something very kickass-ly, an then it shows that can be adorable, that character is signing his own death penalty, he is diggin his own grave, he puts the bucket in the path of his own kick, and baking the bread of his last meal.

Sorry, Belkar. We will miss you a lot. The OotS won't be the same :sigh:

What about the title character in Kick-Ass? The whole film he does stuff very kickass-ly because that's his name.

[ThePhantasm]

I am going to miss Belkar. I know he is going to die, and I'm ready for it as a necessary plot point, but I've never understood the hate some people have for his character. Its gonna be a slightly less sassy, slightly less kick-ass Order of the Stick without him.

[Calmness]

I am going to miss Belkar. I know he is going to die, and I'm ready for it as a necessary plot point, but I've never understood the hate some people have for his character. Its gonna be a slightly less sassy, slightly less kick-ass Order of the Stick without him.
It would also be a nice change of pace for the Order. Who knows, maybe the team dynamics will be interesting without our favorite halfling.

[Vinsfeld]

Belkar can't die. He's the best OOTS character.

[Thanatosia]

the strip you linked clearly shows that the hobgoblins were put off their stride for a good couple of rounds by the fireball, thus giving an opportunity for Hinjo and the others to escape into the tower.
The problem is they use those couple of rounds to stand around and exchange banter, not flee to the tower. They don't "Escape into the tower" until well after then hobgoblins have 'regained their stride' and have unleashed massive volleys of arrows - all of which miss. Again, I guess you could hypothesize that the few hobgoblins out of the massive archer force that Belkar fireballed could have been the ones to roll natural 20s and crit the mid level paladin multiple times to do lethal damage in the round they use to actually escape into the tower, but given that every other arrow fired missed, and there's clearly a LOT of them, that seems astronomically unlikely and impossible to prove either way.

[Thanatosia]

I count 13 hobgoblins dead in by fireball in panel 2 - 12 archers and a commander. In panel 6 we see 6 arrows - 1 of which scores a hit on Haley, the other 5 miss. In panel 7 I count 3 more arrows all of which miss. In panel 8 I count 24 arrows, all of which miss. In panel 8 I count 13 more arrows, all of which miss. in Panel 9 I count 31 arrows, all of which miss. In panel 10 I count 13 arrows, all of which miss. So of the arrows we see the hobos fire, we see 90 arrows fired... with 1 hit on halley and 89 misses. So assuming Belkar didn't happen to hit significantly better archers then the ones that did live to shot, 1/90 accuracy to hit an unarmored rogue who was hit while standing flat footed, the odds of the 12 he killed just hitting, let alone killing an armored mid-level paladin, seems astronomically unlikely.

[Lord Bingo]

I don't think the arena fights are significant enough as a plot point to have Belkar die over it, though I must admit that all that sudden display of tenderness on the halflings part does make me little nervous.
I love that little murdering lunatic and I think that the comic would be much less fun if he was written out of it at this point. Now that he genuinely cares about something/someone there is a whole new side of him that I don't think we are done exploring which could lead to a whole new Belkar. I want to see this!

[JonestheSpy]

I think people are getting wayyyyy to meta about this.

The entire OotSverse does not run by cliche - not even most of the time. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0663.html)

[Draconi Redfir]

The problem is they use those couple of rounds to stand around and exchange banter, not flee to the tower.

Talking is a free action.

[Thanatosia]

Talking is a free action.
It may be a free action in that you CAN do it while doing other things - Xykon delivers entire badass speaches while casting spells in combat - but if you just stand around talking time does pass. The point is they do not actually begin to move towards tower until after the Goblins have recovered from the shock of the fireblast and resumed fire.

[Almaseti]

Wait, when was Belkar prophesied to save Hinjo's life twice? I don't remember that.

[Porthos]

Talking is a free action.

Not always. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0186.html)
/Is surprised this link has to be dragged out all of the time


Wait, when was Belkar prophesied to save Hinjo's life twice? I don't remember that.


Firstly, according to prophecy, he will save Hinjo's life twice. He's only done it once, so far.

Box has spoiler for bonus strips.

There you go. :smallsmile:

[faustin]

I have posted this question before but, if Belkar gets killed, the Order would need a new recruit to furfill his role (both party´s and comic´s role). And there isn´t any worthy candidate wandering around.

[PirateMonk]

I've never understood the hate some people have for his character.

Many people find him annoyingly repetitive. He does only have about three jokes, although they are pretty good ones.

[Ron Miel]

Wait, when was Belkar prophesied to save Hinjo's life twice? I don't remember that.

In a bonus strip in one of the collected editions. I've not read it either, as it happens, but other people have mentioned it.

[PirateMonk]

:belkar: I'm an ******* (the world's biggest *******!)

This one seems kind of broad. It could be said to encompass almost everything, but it doesn't really suffice for things like, "Funny, I always figured I'd be killed by a paladin. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0409.html)" Maybe Belkar has closer to five or ten jokes.

[Leecros]

I don't really mind belkar too much, what bothers me are the ideas that Belkar Hyper-Fans come up with for him to escape his prophecy that are quite silly...

[druid91]

It would also be a nice change of pace for the Order. Who knows, maybe the team dynamics will be interesting without our favorite halfling.

They are interesting now. I just don't get it, belkar is one of the main humor points for the order. If anything it's seriousness he lacks not humor.

Though this may be one reason why he is going to die the Comic is moving towards more story with humor.

[Nimrod's Son]

In a bonus strip in one of the collected editions. I've not read it either, as it happens, but other people have mentioned it.
It's really not presented in a way that suggests it'll be important later on, for what it's worth. It's a last-panel throwaway in a strip a very large percentage of the readership will never even see, and the minute I read it I assumed Sangwaan was talking about the two events during the battle that have already been mentioned. I certainly didn't think, "Hmm, it'll be interesting to see what happens there."

[ThePhantasm]

Many people find him annoyingly repetitive. He does only have about three jokes, although they are pretty good ones.

Eh, he has far more than that. Take the semi-colon pun. His jokes may be all variations on three themes, perhaps. But not a redundant set of jokes.

In fact, you could say the same of any OOTS member, really.

But enough of that. . . :smalltongue:

[TheProfessor]

They are interesting now. I just don't get it, belkar is one of the main humor points for the order. If anything it's seriousness he lacks not humor.

Though this may be one reason why he is going to die the Comic is moving towards more story with humor.

Cerebus Syndrom strikes again...

[Asta Kask]

I don't think this is it. Wouldn't they just raise him? He is a team member, after all... he'd have to die in a way that precludes resurrection. That suggests "eaten by the Snarl" to me.

[Azuyomi244]

I don't think this is it. Wouldn't they just raise him? He is a team member, after all... he'd have to die in a way that precludes resurrection. That suggests "eaten by the Snarl" to me.

Not necessarily. Remember "And then decide what to do about Belkar" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0740.html)? If Belkar dies doing something stupid/evil like trying to fight someone he shouldn't, I don't know if they will.

[ThePhantasm]

Not necessarily. Remember "And then decide what to do about Belkar" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0740.html)? If Belkar dies doing something stupid/evil like trying to fight someone he shouldn't, I don't know if they will.

That's what I'm thinking. For Roy, this might be an opportunity to get rid of Belkar, who he is seeing as becoming more of a problem. The question is - will Roy regret it later?

[Thanatosia]

Belkar has been playing as a sort of team player lately since his little delustion-chat with shojo.... so I doubt Roy would just take any random excuse to get rid of him while the world is still at stake. However, he's still in an arena pit with Halley's Dad, and I could easily see that going in directions that could result in Belkar dying while the Order refuses to resurect him.

[Onyavar]

I don't think so.

There's are two Checkov's Guns for Belkar that have yet to be followed up.

Firstly, according to prophecy, he will save Hinjo's life twice. He's only done it once, so far.

Secondly Hinjo has said that he must return to serve his year in prison.

I'm certain that these will both be important plot points in the future.



Box has spoiler for bonus strips.

Aside from bonus strips, there are other chekov guns for him to shoot:

- O'Chul lampshades about killing him in 666, so he WILL do that.
- Belkar still needs to get a birthday cake to savor (this assumption is rather ridiculous, but since we're collecting...)

[willdelve4beer]

heck, if it comes to Belkar vs Poppy Haley, I could see our beloved rogue shooting our mini-massacre-machine from the stands.

That would be an interesting turn of events - both for how Haley is viewed, and for what, if anything, they do about BB.

(I do suspect the above poster is correct, BB isn't going anywhere until he takes one for Hinjo - which might be how he gets killed)

[Herald Alberich]

I don't think this is it. Wouldn't they just raise him? He is a team member, after all... he'd have to die in a way that precludes resurrection. That suggests "eaten by the Snarl" to me.

Besides what other people have said, Roy already knows Belkar will die, and not be raised (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0572.html). This prophecy could turn out to be self-fulfilling, in that Roy could have Durkon raise Belkar, but won't, simply because he's expecting the death to be permanent.

[Ron Miel]

Or they may be willing to raise him, but not have the 5000 GP in diamonds (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0286.html).

[Timberboar]

- O'Chul lampshades about killing him in 666, so he WILL do that.

I think the word you're looking for is foreshadows.

Even so, not every threat counts as foreshadowing.

[Ender Wigin]

Heres a possible theroy of why he won't be able to come back from this one:

His ashes or whatever's left of him when he dies will either be hidden from the oots gang or be completely destroyed, so he can only be raised from the dead by a millionth level cleric with a heap load of diamonds or however many levels and diamonds it takes.

[ThePhantasm]

Aside from bonus strips, there are other chekov guns for him to shoot:

- O'Chul lampshades about killing him in 666, so he WILL do that.
- Belkar still needs to get a birthday cake to savor (this assumption is rather ridiculous, but since we're collecting...)

O'Chul is far far away. I don't think they'll be seeing O'Chul again in the limited time Belkar has left.

The birthday cake thing is a metaphor; I doubt Belkar is really the birthday party type.

[factotum]

I have a different theory why they won't be able to raise Belkar:


We know Durkon returns to his homeland posthumously. If he dies before Belkar, or at the same time, then they can't raise Belkar without first raising Durkon--and that's likely to take a while if they get all the way to his homeland first!

[ThePhantasm]

I have a different theory why they won't be able to raise Belkar:


We know Durkon returns to his homeland posthumously. If he dies before Belkar, or at the same time, then they can't raise Belkar without first raising Durkon--and that's likely to take a while if they get all the way to his homeland first!


Yeesh. . . nice theory, and it actually might happen since Kraagor's Gate is surely next after this one. I'd hate to see both Durkon AND Belkar go at once though - what a double whammy.

[veti]

As long as we're into groundless speculation:

Theory: Tarquin must have realised by now that Belkar is a member of Elan's party.

When Roy and Ian escape, Tarquin is annoyed - not so much by the loss of gladiators, as by his son keeping their existence/relationship secret. To demonstrate his annoyance, he kills Belkar and won't permit his resurrection. It's his way of showing Elan who's the boss, at least at this point, while also motivating him to come back and fulfil his heroic destiny by defeating him (Tarquin) at some unspecified, hopefully distant, future date.

So for added irony value, Mr Scruffy will have been the indirect cause of Belkar's death.

Optional further speculation: Ian replaces Belkar in the Order, to keep an eye on Elan and Haley. The tension provided by Belkar's acknowledged evil alignment is replaced by tension arising from Ian's also-acknowledged hatred of Elan (and general mistrust of everyone).

[Capt Spanner]

When in a movie, a character, perhaps besides the main character, does something very kickass-ly, an then it shows that can be adorable, that character is signing his own death penalty, he is diggin his own grave, he puts the bucket in the path of his own kick, and baking the bread of his last meal.

Sorry, Belkar. We will miss you a lot. The OotS won't be the same :sigh:
(Emphasis mine).

Firstly, Belkar is a main character.

Secondly, what was kickass-ly about watching your cat disembowel someone, then violently killing someone off panel? Belkar has done nothing kickass onscreen yet this arc. Certainly nothing that compares to this. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html)

[Yendor]

Belkar has done nothing kickass onscreen yet this arc. Certainly nothing that compares to this. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html)

Nothing that compares to killing a bunch of enemies so weak he doesn't even gain XP for them? I agree.

[Capt Spanner]

Nothing that compares to killing a bunch of enemies so weak he doesn't even gain XP for them? I agree.

Fine. If it makes you happy, he also did this. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0611.html) :smalltongue:

[M.A.D]

Let me guess:

:belkar: I'm violent!
:belkar: I'm an ******* (the world's biggest *******!)
:belkar: I loves me muh kitteh! Yesh, I loves me muh kitteh!

I love kittehses too :smallbiggrin:.



His jokes may be all variations on three themes, perhaps. But not a redundant set of jokes.

In fact, you could say the same of any OOTS member, really.

But enough of that. . . :smalltongue:

Four themes, really. In addition to Gene's list, I'd add a range of jokes. (geddit? range.. ranger.. heh..)


Aside from bonus strips, there are other chekov guns for him to shoot:

- O'Chul lampshades about killing him in 666, so he WILL do that.
- Belkar still needs to get a birthday cake to savor (this assumption is rather ridiculous, but since we're collecting...)

*sniffs*
Finally~ Someone agrees with meh~~~
*Blows nose loudly*

[Ted The Bug]

Personal thoughts on why Belkar won't be raised?
Roy will just say he was too much trouble, like he did in 666 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0666.html). I doubt ability will be the issue as much as Roy's being done with him.

[Forum Explorer]

I think Mr. Scruffy will die first and Belkar won't want to come back to a world without Mr. Scruffy

[rekuu]

When? Who knows. For what its worth, dead is not the same thing as written out of the story. There are many possible ways in the DnD universe for a dead character to remain central to the story. (Notably one about to end up in the IFCC's backyard!)

[H Birchgrove]

Nothing that compares to killing a bunch of enemies so weak he doesn't even gain XP for them? I agree.

I thought it had to do with the Mark of Justice. :smallconfused:

[Kish]

I thought it had to do with the Mark of Justice. :smallconfused:
It? It is a Stephen King novel. Or possibly the villain in A Wrinkle In Time.

I'm guessing by "it" you mean "Belkar not getting XP." No, the description of exactly what the Mark of Justice does is in multiple places in the comic, and it doesn't say anything about XP. He didn't get experience because he killed a lot of enemies too weak to give a character of his level any experience.

[Dalek-K]

Well well well...

About Belkar being raised or not... I'm pretty sure Roy WILL want to raise him for one simple fact...

Roy would want to not only piss off the Oracle but also prove that he can be wrong... It isn't like he even likes the oracle :smallbiggrin:

But I'm pretty sure if Belkar dies now then Elan will say something like

:elan: "Ok ok dad I'll come back after saving the world to defeat you if you raise my friend"

Tarquin will make him make a promise/bond...not realizing that Elan is Chaotic and able to ignore it... Haha

[Kish]

Well well well...

About Belkar being raised or not... I'm pretty sure Roy WILL want to raise him for one simple fact...

Roy would want to not only piss off the Oracle but also prove that he can be wrong... It isn't like he even likes the oracle :smallbiggrin:
Does the fact that Roy explicitly spelled out that he's glad Belkar will be dead soon make any difference to this conviction of yours?

[Dalek-K]

As stated before Belkar has been playing nice lately since the Shojo incident I'm sure that will cause Roy to think differently.

Sure in the prison he is being a jerk but really he is right about the system... The fear of going to jail is what keeps people from doing things (or getting so good they won't get caught).

[factotum]

Not to mention that Roy has never expressed any desire to try and prove the Oracle's prophecies wrong--they're pretty much relying on the Oracle's accuracy in looking for Girard's Gate in the first place!

[EDIT] See you posted as I posted this. Your comment about Belkar acting nice doesn't wash--Haley knows Belkar's playacting at being good, and she said as much to Roy in strip #666.

[Kish]

As stated before Belkar has been playing nice lately since the Shojo incident
As stated before, he's not fooling anyone. You appear to be reading a different comic from me.

[Dalek-K]

Wither he is acting or not... The point is that he IS playing nicer.

As long as he is doing that then there is no reason to get rid of him.

[Thanatosia]

As stated before, he's not fooling anyone. You appear to be reading a different comic from me.
You know, this has made me think more on the issue, and now I'm pretty sure Belkar will not be dying in the immediate upcoming strips.

The Philosophy of Chaos Strip was kind of a big deal, and if he dies without 'fooling anyone' that he's actually changed, then it was all kind of a big waste of time.... and that strikes me as 'naratively wasteful'. I don't think the Giant would throw in that vision-chat with Shojo prompting a major change is Belkar's Behavior if it ultimately ended up having zero impact on the story - and if Belkar dies without anyone feeling any different about him because of his changed behavior, that's what will happen.

I think if he does die in the next few strips in the arena, it will be a red-herring fulfillment of the prophecy and he will be rezed - perhaps with the the party openly commenting on his changed behavior being the reason they rez him, thus 'firing the chekovs gun' of his Delusion/Epiphany - with the real 'perm' death to happen later.

IMO - until he fulfill's Shojos warning that players will tolerate him as long as he's seen 'playing the game' of civilization, Belkar has plot armor. He's got to either be rezed or have his life saved by someone thinking he's changed to be a team player before he can die for real. The only other way I can see him dying from a narative perspective is he could discard his plot armor by not following shojo's advice in moment of temptation.

[factotum]

The Philosophy of Chaos Strip was kind of a big deal, and if he dies without 'fooling anyone' that he's actually changed, then it was all kind of a big waste of time.... and that strikes me as 'naratively wasteful'.

I disagree. Belkar's fake change of heart has had major consequences already--the old Belkar would have killed Crystal in a heartbeat, no matter whose enemy she was, and he probably would have killed Bozzok as well when the opportunity arose. For that matter, he might well have chosen to leave Pete's house with the cleric of Loki rather than stay with the Order and their restrictions. There is no need for anyone to be fooled into thinking he really HAS changed to fulfil the narrative requirement of that scene.

[Ancalagon]

It also fullfilled the role it made Belkar more interesting to a reader. I know a lot of people take him as comedy gold as he was... but I found he got a bit boring after all these years.

The "fake character development" might have no narrative role... but it already prevented the char from becoming utterly boring for at least one reader (me).

[Kish]

The Philosophy of Chaos Strip was kind of a big deal, and if he dies without 'fooling anyone' that he's actually changed, then it was all kind of a big waste of time....
That's one very specific--not to say unlikely--interpretation of how it could have meaning. It ignores, say, the fact that it's already explained Roy's willingness to tolerate him for the short time left until he dies.

Belkar is unlikely to ever fool anyone who knows him, because he's still thoroughly evil and not nearly as good an actor as he thinks he is. If you're right that he won't die until he does, then he's pretty close to immortal.

[faustin]

I disagree. Belkar's fake change of heart has had major consequences already--the old Belkar would have killed Crystal in a heartbeat, no matter whose enemy she was, and he probably would have killed Bozzok as well when the opportunity arose. For that matter, he might well have chosen to leave Pete's house with the cleric of Loki rather than stay with the Order and their restrictions. There is no need for anyone to be fooled into thinking he really HAS changed to fulfil the narrative requirement of that scene.

The strip is called The Philosophy of Chaos, not the Philosophy of Good. I think the whole Shojo´s dream teaching was about giving Belkar extra insight and Wisdom about is path, not to make him less amoral or psychopath. Before, it was all about mindless killing, now he has learned things as "choose the right moment or cause" or "care about plot-consecuences" (at least most of the time).

[H Birchgrove]

It? It is a Stephen King novel. Or possibly the villain in A Wrinkle In Time.

Oh, SNAP! :smallamused:


I'm guessing by "it" you mean "Belkar not getting XP." No, the description of exactly what the Mark of Justice does is in multiple places in the comic, and it doesn't say anything about XP. He didn't get experience because he killed a lot of enemies too weak to give a character of his level any experience.

Thanks; I didn't know that you didn't get XP when fighting other characters with lower level than yourself/your PC.

[Boogastreehouse]

Hitler liked dogs and loathed cruelty to animals, Belkar likes cats, both are murderers.

I'm sure there have been faster instances around here, but this is a record to me. Godwin's Law comes to fruition by comment #7 of a GitP thread. Astounding.

[Cracklord]

When in a movie, a character, perhaps besides the main character, does something very kickass-ly, an then it shows that can be adorable, that character is signing his own death penalty, he is diggin his own grave, he puts the bucket in the path of his own kick, and baking the bread of his last meal.

Sorry, Belkar. We will miss you a lot. The OotS won't be the same :sigh:

Look, nobody is looking forward to him slipping under the curtain to join the choir invisible more then me, but you seem to have almost no evidence, or even supporting story structure to back this assertion. Or even anything more then the faintest of speculation.

Now if you'd said something like 'there is going to be a Gladiator parody, and Belkar will get done in by Tarquin in the arena' then you might be on to something. Afterall, a lot of time has been spent introducing Tarquin, he's very much the exact opposite to Belkar (charming, inteligent, competent and with a long term plan rather then riding the wave), and given what he's set up with Elan to really cross the line he needs to kill one of Elan's friends associates.

But just 'Belkar did something awesome (debateable), therefore he is toast' is not much of a foundation for death speculation.

Now if he starts showing pictures of Rosie and talking about settling down, well that's a different matter entirely.

[martianmister]

Exta point: He is not playing nice anymore. Belkar in EOB story-arc is no different from his normal, evil self.

[Kish]

Exta point: He is not playing nice anymore. Belkar in EOB story-arc is no different from his normal, evil self.
No, he's still playing nice (remember how he kept asking for permission to kill the commoner?). He's just really really really bad at it.

[The Pilgrim]

At this point I'm not sure any longer that Belkar is gonna hit the grave at the Arena. Looks like the combats are just one-vs-one stand alones, and he is not scheluded to fight again today.

[Mystic Muse]

I'm sure there have been faster instances around here, but this is a record to me. Godwin's Law comes to fruition by comment #7 of a GitP thread. Astounding.

Happened in the second post in a thread of mine. Granted, that was about Germany but still.

Assuming Belkar wins his next fight, and Roy wins both the fight against the champ and whoever remains after the fight of Gannji/Enor, Roy could end up giving Belkar the death blow. It's not likely, but it's a possibility.

[Souhiro]

Well, Altough I'm the OP of this thread, I think that Belkar won't die soon.

Why? Because the oracle said that he was tempted to name his town "shouldacheckeddamap". So, Belkar's death will involve his lack of survival skill, and he didn't checked a map.

[kierthos]

Well, Altough I'm the OP of this thread, I think that Belkar won't die soon.

Why? Because the oracle said that he was tempted to name his town "shouldacheckeddamap". So, Belkar's death will involve his lack of survival skill, and he didn't checked a map.
I believe the "shouldacheckeddamap" reference means that if Belkar had checked a map (or even looked outside) he would have realized "Oh, hey, a town. If'n I kills the Oracle here, the Mark of Justice will activate."

And yes, Belkar has changed a little, at the very least. He genuinely cares about Mr. Scruffy. Of course, considering that this is a cat that just disemboweled a mostly incompetent commoner (let's face it, Belkar could have been weaponless, had one arm tied behind his back, and limping, and still beaten that guy), so it's not a nice cat.

But Belkar is showing concern for something other then himself.

[Souhiro]

And yes, Belkar has changed a little, at the very least. He genuinely cares about Mr. Scruffy. Of course, considering that this is a cat that just disemboweled a mostly incompetent commoner (let's face it, Belkar could have been weaponless, had one arm tied behind his back, and limping, and still beaten that guy), so it's not a nice cat.

But Belkar is showing concern for something other then himself.

I think, the main question would be "Will the order dismiss him when he dies, or the they will miss him for the rest of their lives, because the climatic way he will die?"