OOTS #823 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Mordokai]

Great and even before the end of the year. I was gonna post a topic to ask if that's possible, but you beat me to the punch :smalltongue:

A little anticlimatic, but it's nice to see the change of pace and story finally moving on.

[Narren]

Someone just got promoted.

[Vemynal]

OMG! This means Team Evil is back in the game!

WOOOOOOOOOT! =D

[Hussam B.]

Well, Whaddaya know? They found it...

Thought it'd be swallowed up by some fish or other

[Ancalagon]

Nice. This means it's like ten rounds before Xykon & Co pop up in the desert as well. :)

[Kareasint]

The Clock just struck twelve. Team Evil is on the move now.

The big question is how much time has past since the OOTS left the Empire on the carpet.

[vegetalss4]

You know looking at that net they use to sieve the sewer water, I would think that the holes are to big for the job I.e. the phylactery would just slip out between them if it was expelled that way.

[Yendor]

I see one goblin is taking "leave no stone unturned" literally.

[Adicted To]

The goblins fighting monsters in the background reminds me of a little quote

:xykon:: "Sacrificing minions: Is there any problem it can't solve?" :smallbiggrin:

[Ninja Dragon]

So the philactery went to the right...

A four way battle is coming.

Or maybe more, if any other side decide to interfere.

[Palthera]

OOOOOH!!!

I smell a climactic middle-ending coming up...

[thereaper]

Ok, if no one else is going to ask:

Aquatic Goblins?!?

[Cranica]

Yessssss. Tarquin vs Xykon is going to be AWESOME.

Also, it looks like the rift over Azure City is considerably larger than the last time we saw it.


Ok, if no one else is going to ask:

Aquatic Goblins?!?

Water Breathing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/waterBreathing.htm) requires only 5th level clerics, which I presume Gobbotopia has plenty of, at 2hrs/level. Redcloak alone could cast five of them per day at 30+ hours total duration divided amongst targets, assuming he's at least 15th level (which he is, since he uses Summon Monster VIII).

EDIT: Alternately, if Xykon or Redcloak has a Ring of Elemental Command (Water), they can cast it without restriction.

[Edhelras]

Cool!

I was starting to wonder what had happened to Xykon.

Man, I wish I had a goblin army to clean up the mess at my own house... :smallamused:

[Messenger]

Remember this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0783.html)? This webcomic has the awesome distinction of making me go "S***!" :smalleek: out loud when I saw that last panel. That's how much it moved me.

And now, it just made me exclaim "Oh, F***." :smalleek:

My respect for you and your craft just keep growing, Giant. Nice work! Please keep it up!

[Bavarian itP]

Yay, an otyugh! At least I think it is one ...


You know looking at that net they use to sieve the sewer water, I would think that the holes are to big for the job I.e. the phylactery would just slip out between them if it was expelled that way.

I thought so as well.

[The Pilgrim]

At last, Team Evil is on the move again.

BTW, were those Water Goblins, or just regular goblins affected by some "breath-under-water" spell?

[blueblade]

YESS!!!

Nice work with the strip title Giant

[Ninjaman]

And now it all begins.


BTW, were those Water Goblins, or just regular goblins affected by some "breath-under-water" spell?

They look like the aquatic goblins from DStP the book (page 572a).

[Kobold-Bard]

Someone just got promoted.

You stole my joke. I'll kill you :furious:

Wasn't expecting an update pre-New Years, so cheers Giant.

Edit: Is that an Otyugh I see? Any Goblins planning to cheese their way to Ur Priest levels by messing around in it's hole I wonder?

[Ninja Dragon]

The Clock just struck twelve. Team Evil is on the move now.

The big question is how much time has past since the OOTS left the Empire on the carpet.

:elan: Exactly enough for the best possible amount of drama.

[Doompuppy]

At last, Team Evil is on the move again.

BTW, were those Water Goblins, or just regular goblins affected by some "breath-under-water" spell?

Looking at them all wearing those amulets, I'm guessing they're regular goblins who are also clerics/sorcerer/wizards and using magic, or those amulets themselves provide the underwater breathing.

[Messenger]

I see one goblin is taking "leave no stone unturned" literally.Not surprising, given how utterly PISSED Xykon was when it was lost. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html) Who knows what else he would not have allowed Redcloak to regenerate (after burning/blasting/ripping it off him) if he didn't spare the manpower?


Ok, if no one else is going to ask:

Aquatic Goblins?!?Given how Redcloak has given up racism towards other goblins, why not? Having a mandate from their god helps massively. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0704.html)


BTW, were those Water Goblins, or just regular goblins affected by some "breath-under-water" spell?Aquatic Goblins. If it was the spell (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Water_Breathing), then the hobgoblin cleric should have gills and webbed feet as well.

[Wanderer]

Water Breathing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/waterBreathing.htm) requires only 5th level clerics, which I presume Gobbotopia has plenty of, at 2hrs/level. Redcloak alone could cast five of them per day at 30+ hours total duration divided amongst targets, assuming he's at least 15th level (which he is, since he uses Summon Monster VIII).

EDIT: Alternately, if Xykon or Redcloak has a Ring of Elemental Command (Water), they can cast it without restriction.

I thought that at first, but if you look closely at that panel their feet are webbed, and their ears have the look of a water creature rather than the look of the normal goblin/hobgoblin.

[Welf]

Uh, Team Evil gets moving :smallsmile:

[Wrecan]

Ok, if no one else is going to ask:

Aquatic Goblins?!?

In addition to what Cranica said, stats for aquatic goblins can be found in Unearthed Arcana. Since Gobbotopia is to be a haven for all goblins, if there are aquatic goblins in the OOTSiverse, I'm sure many of them would flock (swim?) to Gobbotopia.

[Edhelras]

I thought that at first, but if you look closely at that panel their feet are webbed, and their ears have the look of a water creature rather than the look of the normal goblin/hobgoblin.

That is just so cool. I didn't notice that myself. So nice to see these little-used racial variants used. Hey, I just want to try them out myself. A water-based goblin campaign, hmmm.....

[Palthera]

They look like the aquatic hobgoblins fought previously to me...

Saying that, that may be in the book only now I've tried to find a link and failed...

[Thrar]

Nice. This means it's like ten rounds before Xykon & Co pop up in the desert as well. :)

More precisely, two rounds (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html).

[M.A.D]

@Palthera: Those were aquatic trolls (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0507.html)

Also, FINALLy!!!!

[Wanda V'Orcus]

Yay, an otyugh! At least I think it is one ...

Could be a neo-otyugh as well... :smallwink:

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[The Giant]

The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).

[Moonshadow]

And a collective cry of "Oh ****" rings out amongst the Legions of Good.

[Pantler]

I suppose those (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#aquaticGoblins) would work just as well.

[Caractacus]

Someone just got promoted.

If by 'promoted' we mean probably being granted 'the touch of Xykon', then yes...

With Xykon, the reward distribution is 50% "Great work, generic goblin. Redcloak, why aren't you useful like this?" and 50% "Great work, generic goblin. Good night." *bzzzt*

It seems to depend upon his whim of the moment.

[Killer Angel]

Ah, well done!
Go, team evil: on the run again! :smallbiggrin:

[Draconi Redfir]

Woo-Hoo! A return to Gobbotopia! And it's grown even more since we left off! And aquatic Goblinoids! Our Goblin-brothers outreach program must be working! :smallbiggrin:


And wouldja lookit that, a Hobgoblin Adventuring Group! Somebody call the GAP!

[factotum]

I think it's unlikely there's a big time gap between Roy and the others leaving the Empire of Blood and the events of this strip--wouldn't make any sense to switch back to the finding of the phylactery if it didn't mean Xykon and the others are about to crash the party at Windy Canyon. Things are likely to get a bit busy over the next 10-20 strips, I reckon!

[Pory]

Well, it seems we have more raiders of the lost (plot) arc :smalleek:.
Wait...is Xykon in Gobbotopia yet or is he still making "errands"?

[luc258]

Lawful evil genry savy fighter vs. chaotic evil "let's just sacrifice more minions" sorcerer incoming. I can't wait.

[Raistlin82]

Oh, $#*%!!! :smalleek:

[Firemeier]

Wow, 3D Azure City looks great.

[St Fan]

Mmmh... nobody's commenting on the Rift?

That thing has grown HUGE!

[Sunken Valley]

That was...brief.

Will this change how Xykon guards it from now on?

[Palthera]

@Palthera: Those were aquatic trolls (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0507.html)

Also, FINALLy!!!!

They were in the book not online, because I remember Hinjo saying it was nice to kill hobgoblins even if they were the wrong colour. Unless I've gone mad and am making up new OotS comics in my mind.

But I'm at work so can't check the book.

[Draconi Redfir]

They were in the book not online, because I remember Hinjo saying it was nice to kill hobgoblins even if they were the wrong colour. Unless I've gone mad and am making up new OotS comics in my mind.

But I'm at work so can't check the book.

read the book recently, you are not insane.

[Julian84]

Time for a delicious battle royale :smallamused:

[Gusion]

"uh-oh"

He's going to bring the pain. Should be fun to watch.

[BobVosh]

As much as I love Tarquin, glad to see Team Evil on the move.

Also I always have Otyughs in my sewers as well.

[dmuzzy]

I initially though that the strip title was in reference to my immediate question of "wow, is the rift getting bigger?"

Of course if wouldn't be surprising if the title was meant to answer both questions. :)

[Beowulf DW]

Thank you, Mr Burlew! A happy New Year, indeed!:smallsmile:

Hmmm... Xykon's Team Evil will beheading toward the next gate, now. I'm suddenly reminded of a lesson I learned from the old Halloween Disney Villain Special: The last thing a villain needs is another villain. Should be interesting to see what happens when the poo hits the fan with three different teams of villains in the vicinity.

[hamishspence]

The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).

They're not mentioned in the MM. The Aquatic Races in Unearthed Arcana/SRD could be modified slightly to produce an Aquatic template, or the Amphibious template in Stormwrack, are probably the best ways to represent them.

Unearthed Arcana & the SRD provides rules for Aquatic Goblins, but not aquatic hobgoblins- though the template should be fairly easy to produce from those stats:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#aquaticRaces

[HandofShadows]

It's been said before and I say it again. Oh*(^*%$! :smalleek:

[luc258]

Good point with the rift.
But if that one is growing will the one buried in the mountain after Elan "accidently" pushed the button in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0118.html or
the one from Start of Darkness in the woods grow, too? Maybe i remember it wrong, but i think those gates were destroyed, too. Shouldn't those rifts be growing as well?

[i6uuaq]

It's been said before and I say it again. Oh*(^*%$! :smalleek:

There is, really, only one appropriate response to this strip.


:elan: dunh dunh DUNH!

[Akisa]

More precisely, two rounds (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html).

Maybe it'll take 8 rounds to tell team evil they found it.

[Wanda V'Orcus]

The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).

Thanks for the clarification, O Giant! :smallsmile:

I figured that's what those guys were, just couldn't remember the precise name for "aquatic hobgoblin from 1st Edition AD&D" -- what sort of gamer am I???!!?! :smalleek:

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[hamishspence]

Aquatic trolls are called scrags, aquatic ogres are called merrow, aquatic ghouls are called lacedons and aquatic gargoyles are called kapoacinths.

I can't think offhand of any other aquatic versions of surface races with exotic names.

[Agnostik]

Let's not forget that Redcloak has his own (spoilerific) agenda, and the fact that the phylactery was found by hobbos doesn't automatically mean that it will find its way back to Xykon's hands. After all, Xykon has no way to detect the phylactery himself (other than "dying" and regenerating).

Granted, it is unlikely that Redcloak will try to hide the bling from Xykon at this point in the story, but anything is possible.

P.S. Long time reader, first time poster. Hi everybody!

[Wanda V'Orcus]

Aquatic trolls are called scrags, aquatic ogres are called merrow, aquatic ghouls are called lacedons and aquatic gargoyles are called kapoacinths.

I can't think offhand of any other aquatic versions of surface races with exotic names.

Aquatic umber hulks are called vodyanoi.

There's an aquatic offshoot of the beholder, called eye of the deep.

Aquatic elves are called aquatic elves.

. . . :smallconfused:

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[FlawedParadigm]

I've been wondering. Given that the reason for Xykon's phylactery being RC's holy symbol no longer has any bearing (SoD), why does Xykon still let RC carry it around? Shouldn't he have it deposited inside of a permanent Prismatic Sphere at the bottom of an underground maze in the deepest, darkest, most abandoned corner of the plane? There's not a distance limit on those things that I ever read about.

[hamishspence]

I forgot about vodyanoi. I was referring to races that are literally aquatic versions of existing ones, with exotic names- so, not including the aquatic elf.

The Eye of The Deep isn't exactly a beholder with the aquatic trait- it has claws, much less in the way of eyes (only 3), and those eyes have different powers from a normal beholder's (a flash of bright light from the central eye, rather than antimagic).

[Ron Miel]

Thank you, Mr Burlew! A happy New Year, indeed!:smallsmile:

A little early for that. However, it is a great birthday present for me.

[Snurk]

Ah I like those aqua gobbo's!
Great strip as usual!
And have a happy and healthy new year Giant!

[CoffeeIncluded]

Oh. Crap. :eek:

[Burner28]

Guess Xykon is coming back!:smallsmile:

[Defiant]

Very much appreciate the title. :smallwink:

[Kancsar]

Cool. The background vignette of goblins fighting reapers in the obligatory sewer-themed dungeon suggests the goblins may now have a nice core of leveled-up troops with PC class levels to give Tarquin and OotS a level-appropriate challenge.

Xykon v Tarquin!!! How will Tarquin handle the narrative implications?!

[JSSheridan]

Thanks Giant!

[Kobold-Bard]

Cool. The background vignette of goblins fighting reapers in the obligatory sewer-themed dungeon suggests the goblins may now have a nice core of leveled-up troops with PC class levels to give Tarquin and OotS a level-appropriate challenge.

Xykon v Tarquin!!! How will Tarquin handle the narrative implications?!

Nah, an Otyugh is CR4, they're still just mooks. Anybody worth mentioning probably wouldn't even get XP from them.

[Adventurer]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.

[skaddix]

Team Evil joins the fight for the Battle of the Gate. I can actually see why Belkar is going to die. This is going to be a dangerous fight. Especially with Order down V.

[Asis]

I've been wondering. Given that the reason for Xykon's phylactery being RC's holy symbol no longer has any bearing (SoD), why does Xykon still let RC carry it around? Shouldn't he have it deposited inside of a permanent Prismatic Sphere at the bottom of an underground maze in the deepest, darkest, most abandoned corner of the plane? There's not a distance limit on those things that I ever read about.
Maybe it's because a permanent Prismatic Sphere isn't the most comfortable place to regenerate on? :smallbiggrin:

[runhidesurvive]

wouldn't it be easyier for xylon to make a custom spell which makes the holy symbol teleport back to him when lost? He did make "Xylons moderatly escapable force prision,"

[Goosefeather]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.

Setting the scene? Creating an atmosphere? A mood?

Or would you prefer we just skipped to the end of the story and one of the characters flatly summed up for us the events that had taken place?

[silvadel]

I still like "Don't Screw this up." to Redcloak. I do agree that that is direct and to the point.

Actually the rift probably puts incoming goblins in the proper mindset. More effectively than a set of pyramids at least.

[Kish]

I've been wondering. Given that the reason for Xykon's phylactery being RC's holy symbol no longer has any bearing (SoD), why does Xykon still let RC carry it around? Shouldn't he have it deposited inside of a permanent Prismatic Sphere at the bottom of an underground maze in the deepest, darkest, most abandoned corner of the plane? There's not a distance limit on those things that I ever read about.
A lich who keeps his/her/its phylactery close at hand risks being defeated by adventurers who immediately smash it, but a lich who hides it somewhere far away risks being defeated and going, "Ha ha, suckers, I'll be back in three days!...Why is my soul being pulled downward instead of going to my phylactery? Ah crap!" Also, in the latter situation, the phylactery can be destroyed before dealing with the lich.

Xykon apparently preferred the former, though he may, or may not, change his mind now that he has it back.

On an unrelated and off-topic note, in the phrase "went all X," X is an adjective, not a verb; the sentence verb is "went."

[Dr.Epic]

Wait, what are the aquatic guys?:smallconfused:

[Yuki Akuma]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.

Did I suddenly step into the El Goonish Shive forums by mistake? :smalleek:

[Kobold-Bard]

Wait, what are the aquatic guys?:smallconfused:


The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).

Ask, and ye shall pre-emptively receive.

[Who149]

huh, so it WAS in the obligatory sewer themed labyrinth (seeing as it wasn't in the Ocean or the Sewage Plant).

Best Anti-Climax ever!

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Oh gods, this is the best christmas present ever.

Need more... :smalleek:

[Goosefeather]

On an unrelated and off-topic note, in the phrase "went all X," X is an adjective, not a verb; the sentence verb is "went."

Actually X can also be a noun (usually but not exclusively a proper noun), as it is in the example actually used in his signature. Admittedly, that usage is more colloquial, but it's still widely used - e.g. 'He went all Mike Tyson on that guy's ass'.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

At last, Team Evil is on the move again.

BTW, were those Water Goblins, or just regular goblins affected by some "breath-under-water" spell?

I thought just the same! They look like Water Goblins or something, the spell doesn't give you that weird ears I think

[Blas_de_Lezo]

The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).

Oh,here it is. I knew it!

[Toper]

Nice. I thought the aquatic goblins were well and subtly drawn; I also figured they were enchanted at first, but the lack of any sign of magic made me look more closely at the ears and feet. The otyugh is both cute and obligatory. And this is a rare comic where it's actually very nice to have the title answering the question asked in the final panel!

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Nice. This means it's like ten rounds before Xykon & Co pop up in the desert as well. :)

No. It's 2 rounds, see panel before last http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html

[the_tick_rules]

That's it?

[RMS Oceanic]

I've been wondering. Given that the reason for Xykon's phylactery being RC's holy symbol no longer has any bearing (SoD), why does Xykon still let RC carry it around? Shouldn't he have it deposited inside of a permanent Prismatic Sphere at the bottom of an underground maze in the deepest, darkest, most abandoned corner of the plane? There's not a distance limit on those things that I ever read about.

I actually suspect that, barring an attempt to conceal the discovery from Xykon or perhaps the Elvish Resistance getting their hands on it, Xykon will not give the Holy Symbol back to Redcloak but give it to someone else.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.


That's it?

Yep. That's why I said I needed more. :smallamused:

[Jimorian]

OOOOOH!!!

I smell a climactic middle-ending coming up...

No, that's just the sewers they were searching.

[KoboldRevenge]

*Sniffle* :smallfrown::smallredface: Our little Rift has grown up.

Also is that monster the one that attacks Luke in the trash compacter? EDIT: Looked up called a Dianoga. :smallconfused:

[Dr.Epic]

Koalinths? I do not remember them in 3.5. Time to break out the various MM I guess. Check what their stats are.

[Jay R]

So the philactery went to the right...

A four way battle is coming.

Or maybe more, if any other side decide to interfere.

"Maybe" more? The Linear Guild alone comprises three sides (Nale, IFCC, Tarquin). Xykon and Redcloak aren't on the same side. Girard may or may not be on the same side as Orrin.

But as near as I can tell, the Order of the Stick actually only represents one side in the coming battle(s).

[rbetieh]

Way to make generic nameless goblin fighter find it. Maybe he will be promoted to assistant to Jirix now :smallbiggrin:

Oh, and since nobody has commented, how long DOES it take for a society like Gobbotopia to learn Masonry? Everything they build is wooden. By now somebody should have hired a few unscrupulous dwarves or gnomes of clerics to make them proper stone fortifications, shouldnt they?

[Warren Dew]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.
Agreed that there isn't much action for an entire strip.

The strip does serve demonstrate how the entire city of Gobbotopia is focused on finding the phylactery. I think it does that fairly well. Using an entire strip may also be intended to show that some time was involved in the effort.

[M.A.D]

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.

It's never safe to call a OotS comic strip "useless". Just sayin'

[Hattish Thing]

I wonder what Xykon has been doing.:smalleek:

[hoff]

Good work Hobgoblin Soldier #9214!

[Draconi Redfir]

Way to make generic nameless goblin fighter find it. Maybe he will be promoted to assistant to Jirix now :smallbiggrin:

Oh, and since nobody has commented, how long DOES it take for a society like Gobbotopia to learn Masonry? Everything they build is wooden. By now somebody should have hired a few unscrupulous dwarves or gnomes of clerics to make them proper stone fortifications, shouldnt they?

We're working on negotiations with some of those underdark dwarves, those guys are just fickle as all abyss though:smallwink:

[SpaceBadger]

WooHoo, a new strip is up, Happy New Year!

Hmm, isn't that place where the hobgoblin finds it just about the place that it first fell into the sewer? So I guess it didn't get swept into any of the tunnels at all.

[t209]

It's nice to see Azure City in 3d. I hope Hinjo get to liberate Azure city and move on to conquer blue river.

[Wanda V'Orcus]

The Eye of The Deep isn't exactly a beholder with the aquatic trait- it has claws, much less in the way of eyes (only 3), and those eyes have different powers from a normal beholder's (a flash of bright light from the central eye, rather than antimagic).

That's why I called it an aquatic offshoot of the beholder in my original post... :smallwink:

And in Pathfinder, there are aquatic humans (augmented over the centuries by their aboleth masters) known as gillmen, IIRC.

But to the best of my knowledge, no aquatic dwarves, gnomes or halflings out there... And wonder why hobgoblins have an aquatic offshoot, but not other humanoids like orcs and so on? :smallconfused:

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[OracleofWuffing]

No, see, that guy that found it? He's actually that one guy who keeps asking "Is this it?" after picking up every single thing. No, that's a rock. No, that's a crocodile. No, that's a bodily excrement. No, that's another rock. No, that's a guitar string. No, that's your own boot. He'll just get tuned out and ignored while the rest of the city continues looking. :smalltongue:

Also, yes, the phylactery was totally eaten by a sea creature between then and now. Why's it not in the sea creature's stomach now? Well... Don't think about it too hard. :smallwink:

[Tobimaro]

Well, that's one hobgoblin who will not die just to amuse Xykon.

Also, I'd like to see more of Graycloak (the hobgoblin arcane caster). Please? :smallwink:

[Alex Warlorn]

At first I was going to say 'give that hobgoblin a name and a promotion.'

But then I remembered what happened to the LAST Hobgoblin who did something useful! (See the taking back of Xykon's tower from a silver dragon).

Poor guy.

[Wanda V'Orcus]

Also is that monster the one that attacks Luke in the trash compacter? EDIT: Looked up called a Dianoga. :smallconfused:

That critter in the background is an otyugh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otyugh). It's kind of a D&D cliché that any sewer system the characters are exploring, will have one of these somewhere... :smallwink:

(One of my favourite old-school D&D monsters, BTW...)

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[Alex Warlorn]

Well, that's one hobgoblin who will not die just to amuse Xykon.



No, he'll be killed to save on paper work like the LAST generic Hobgoblin who did something useful! Remember the slaying of the silver dragon? The guy will be declared too useful to be a grunt, but not unique enough to be a minion, and get disposed of.

[SpaceBadger]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

You don't think it's the least bit funny that after all of the scenes of searching out in the ocean and through the sewers, the Unnamed Hobgoblin finds the phylactery right about where we last saw it, when it hit the water in Strip #660? OK, not LOL funny, but still more than the hint of a joke.


...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.

Nonsense, the story has been on the Western Continent since Strip #673, which was when, about August 2009? This strip serves a useful purpose in re-orienting readers to location in Azure City and what has been going on there.

[Wanda V'Orcus]

Hmm, isn't that place where the hobgoblin finds it just about the place that it first fell into the sewer? So I guess it didn't get swept into any of the tunnels at all.

To quote many a Doctor Who companion, "All these tunnels/corridors look the same to me!!" :smallbiggrin:

Cheers, JohnH / Wanda

[ORione]

The internet's slow at my current location, so it took a bit of time for this comic to load. When I saw the snarl and the tops of Azure City's Gobbotopia's buildings, I cheered.

[LtNOWIS]

A whole strip just showing hobgoblins searching around, with no hint of a joke, and no storyline purpose that couldn't be served by Redcloak simply mentioning in a random panel that his phylactery has been found.

...I can safely say this was the most useless OotS comic up to this point.
Show, don't tell is a good rule for comics. The comic already has plenty of strips where characters stand around discussing the situation.

[SamBurke]

This is... epic.

So underplayed. Beautiful.

I now cringe to think of how the story will be turning. At least we got to see Azure City again!

[Another_Poet]

I just want to say kudos to Rich for a truly above and beyond comic. I always love OOTS but this one really exemplified what is best about it, to me.

There was no need to explain what was happening or have anyone say "Waterbreathing!" in the panel. The world is so saturated with magic that we just know what's going on. And the random encounter in the background was such a nice touch.

Thanks for an artsy one Rich and for putting a smile on my face :)

[Incom]

The strip title is also a bit of a joke IMO. You can guarantee someone will come around saying "I bet it's not the real phylactery, guys"...

[brionl]

Way to make generic nameless goblin fighter find it. Maybe he will be promoted to assistant to Jirix now :smallbiggrin:



"I have a name, it's 'Guy who found the amulet in 823'. Didn't make much sense until now."

[super dark33]

Otiugh! i love those!

[Psyren]

The whole strip focused on showing the search was necessary; it explains better than words how thoroughly the goblins were combing every inch of that nasty sewer. (Remember that the phylactery was immune to a metric ton of divinations.)

Secondly, we learn that the rift has still been GROWING. I mean, holy ****.

Thirdly, the goblins themselves may have been gaining some levels with all the critters underground and time spent.

[deuxhero]

Love the geometric appearance of the city.

[Aerysil]

Hey, a 3D city rendering! neato!

[Esprit15]

Oh crap that's not good. *waits for Xykon to kill the hobgoblin because he thinks it stole his phylactery*

[silvadel]

A lich who keeps his/her/its phylactery close at hand risks being defeated by adventurers who immediately smash it, but a lich who hides it somewhere far away risks being defeated and going, "Ha ha, suckers, I'll be back in three days!...Why is my soul being pulled downward instead of going to my phylactery? Ah crap!" Also, in the latter situation, the phylactery can be destroyed before dealing with the lich.

Xykon apparently preferred the former, though he may, or may not, change his mind now that he has it back.

On an unrelated and off-topic note, in the phrase "went all X," X is an adjective, not a verb; the sentence verb is "went."

You can also always put a contingency on the phycatlery to teleport it to your hiding place if you are defeated.

[Lawyergoblin]

Am I the only one who wants to see those Hobgoblins fighting the Otyugh in panel four get a series of bonus strips in the next book as a "Gobbotopian Adventuring Party"? Just a few strips dedicated to their journey through the sewers? I mean, all the focal points are there...a Fighter (Sword and Shield), a Rogue (The on with the Bow), a Wizard (Brown Cloak), and the one that is completely useless (The guy the Otyugh's got). Just sayin'.

I hereby dub them the G.O.G.S. (the Guild of Goblins Squad) :smallbiggrin:

Tanzil: Hobgoblin Fighter 3rd
Gechik: Hobgoblin Rogue 1st/Ranger 2nd
Cabott: Hobgoblin Wizard 3rd
Philroe: Hobgoblin Warrior 2nd/Expert 2nd

[Maxios]

I have a feeling there's going to be a threeway battle between the Order, Xykon, and Linear Guild + Tarquin; at the gate.

[Esprit15]

Am I the only one who wants to see those Hobgoblins fighting the Otyugh in panel four get a series of bonus strips in the next book as a "Gobbotopian Adventuring Party"? Just a few strips dedicated to their journey through the sewers? I mean, all the focal points are there...a Fighter (Sword and Shield), a Rogue (The on with the Bow), a Wizard (Brown Cloak), and the one that is completely useless (The guy the Otyugh's got). Just sayin'.

I hereby dub them the G.O.G.S. (the Guild of Goblins Squad) :smallbiggrin:

Tanzil: Hobgoblin Fighter 3rd
Gechik: Hobgoblin Rogue 1st/Ranger 2nd
Cabott: Hobgoblin Wizard 3rd
Philroe: Hobgoblin Warrior 2nd/Expert 2nd
I think he's a cleric, not a wizard, but otherwise I think it would be a funny little blurb.

[xyzchyx]

I experienced two almost diametrically opposed reactions to this comic:

My first reaction: "Oh, crap".

Shortly thereafter, just before I posted this, I felt I must applaud the Giant in this creative application of a cliffhanger at the close of a calendar year. Well done!

[skaddix]

This fight is going to be a mess u have xykon as one team, red cloak as another, IFCC, Tarquin Team, Linear Guild, Order of Stick plus whoever else is at the gate.

[Alex Warlorn]

"I have a name, it's 'Guy who found the amulet in 823'. Didn't make much sense until now."

Who is now dead meat because Xykon will kill him for a job well done because now that he's done something unique and useful he needs to be eliminated before he inspires all the other grunts to think.

[Lawyergoblin]

I think he's a cleric, not a wizard.

I just remembered that the Brown Cloak Haley fought used Dancing Lights, which I didn't think was a Cleric spell, but I could be wrong.

Looking at 3.5 Player's Handbook, I do not see Dancing Lights as a cleric Orison. I have always thought that Brown=Wizard, Blue=Cleric.

[Solauren]

I'd very much like to see Xykon having taken extreme measures to guard his phylactry while it was missing.

i.e;

Inside a specifically built extra-dimensional space. Say a small demiplane with the Major Negative Energy Trait.

With a bunch of captured high level monsters in it he's made immune to negative energy.

With his final parting show being that if someone does manage to locate and destroy it, it will release the Tarrasque onto them (thanks to him having captured it to 'Trap the Sou'l on it.


For real kicks, there was a spell in Champions of Ruin he could use to fragment his soul ala Voldemort from Harry Potter, so you have to trash multiple phylactry's.

[McDouggal]

Crap. Tastic. Nice end of the year comic though. And also:

:elan: DUN DUN DUN!

[eusticepious]

(1) There is no sign that Xykon is back from his errand (page 2, panels 7 and 8) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0704.html) yet.
(2) Is it possible that Redcloak will not immediately reveal the Phylactery discovery to Xykon? (It's not very likely). (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0704.html)
(3) Xykon instructed Redcloak to be ready to teleport out of the city two rounds after they find his Phylactery (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0662.html), so we should be moving soon (Redcloak expressed the view that Xykon would likely be back quickly from the errand).
(4) Xykon and Redcloak have answers to the riddles (4th panel from the end) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0545.html) that Oots will face. I credit O'Chul as telling the truth in that strip because he is a paladin and acting with honor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/paladin.htm) means not lying.
(5) As per V (second panel) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0696.html), at least Serini and Draketooth are on alert.

[Whiffet]

The strip title is also a bit of a joke IMO. You can guarantee someone will come around saying "I bet it's not the real phylactery, guys"...

I assumed the title was chosen precisely to prevent that kind of thing. :smallwink:

Scene change! I'm glad to see it. And I'm really looking forward to the inevitable meeting of Xykon and Tarquin.

[Nerd_Paladin]

...is that really it? I kind of figured there would be a little more to it than just, "It's missing, we can conveniently curtail the bad guys for however long we want, and now that we need them again it's been found." I realize that that's the utility of this plot turn, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it would have been nice if it had been exploited to do something marginally interesting before being resolved. Then again, perhaps Mr. Burlew feels that it's more important to get the momentum of the primary conflict moving again. Sometimes you have to do things the un-pretty way I guess.

[mawexzon]

Now i want to see desert goblins in the western continent :smallbiggrin:

[Sylthia]

That monster in the sewer was going to eat that phylactery, but then he took an arrow to the knee...

[Kymme]

Finally! Team Evil can get moving again!
Nuf said.

[Harbajar]

And for his efforts that hobgoblin now gets a tour of Goblin Dan's Gouda Cheese Factory - complete with a cracked glass elevator and imprisoned half-lings painted orange whom a re whipped all day to dance and sing repetitive songs.

And yes within the next X strips it'll be(potentially):
OoTS (maybe still minus V?)v Team Evil v Linear Guild with a possible side show featuring Ian Starshine and Uncle Geoff.

"When plot lines collide" - Go Giant! Thanks for the great comic!
:smallbiggrin:

[Chad30]

I didn't think they'd find it. Or if they did, it wouldn't just be that easy. I hope something happens to that guy before he gets it to Xykon.

[WickedWizard17]

HOLY MOTHER OF THOR! IT'S TEAM EVIL! THEY'RE BACK AFTER 115 STRIPS! THEY FOUND THE PHYLACTERY! OH MY GODS OH MY GODS OH MY GODS. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE I AM SO EXCITED. AHHH I CAN'T WAIT FOR MONDAY I HOPE THERE'S A COMIC. :smalleek::smallbiggrin::smalleek:

And then this means that Team Evil, OotS, and the new Linear Guild are ALL going to Windy Canyon . . . no wait. Team Evil is going straight to the Gate! AHHH!!!! This is so epic. I can't even.

If anyone gives me crap about using all-caps I'm reporting them. :smallannoyed:

[Nohar]

Uh-oh. Houston, we have a problem !

(And now it's guaranteed that we're going to see Xykon at the Windy Canyon).

[Chris Wiz]

It's a searching montage, it's not useless filler. You just need to have the appropriate montage music going through your head when you read the comic.

"You're the best around, no one's ever gonna bring you down, and you're going to find the amulet too!"

[hamishspence]

But to the best of my knowledge, no aquatic dwarves, gnomes or halflings out there... And wonder why hobgoblins have an aquatic offshoot, but not other humanoids like orcs and so on? :smallconfused:

Stormwrack adds a few:

Seacliff dwarves (not aquatic, but good swimmers)
Wavecrest gnomes (not aquatic, but better at fighting locathah and sahuagin, instead of kobolds and goblinoids)
Shoal halflings (aquatic, amphibious)

There's also the aforementioned aquatic races in Unearthed Arcana/SRD.

[Velaryon]

...is that really it? I kind of figured there would be a little more to it than just, "It's missing, we can conveniently curtail the bad guys for however long we want, and now that we need them again it's been found." I realize that that's the utility of this plot turn, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it would have been nice if it had been exploited to do something marginally interesting before being resolved. Then again, perhaps Mr. Burlew feels that it's more important to get the momentum of the primary conflict moving again. Sometimes you have to do things the un-pretty way I guess.

I see where you're coming from, and it could be a missed opportunity to do something interesting with the phylactery search. But if it doesn't advance the main story somehow, then it all it would accomplish would be to clutter up the comic. The otyugh fight in the background serves well enough to illustrate that the search encountered some difficulties; I think it's reasonable to assume they have run into other problems as well, or else the search would likely have been concluded by now.

That said, this is exactly the sort of thing that would work for bonus content in the next book, which for all we know could be the plan. And even if that doesn't happen, and the search for Xykon's phylactery ends up as nothing more than a convenient way to write Team Evil out of the story for awhile as the Order has their own adventures on the western continent, that's alright. Surely the Giant is entitled to play at least one trope straight after all this time?

[Porthos]

...is that really it? I kind of figured there would be a little more to it than just, "It's missing, we can conveniently curtail the bad guys for however long we want, and now that we need them again it's been found." I realize that that's the utility of this plot turn, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it would have been nice if it had been exploited to do something marginally interesting before being resolved. Then again, perhaps Mr. Burlew feels that it's more important to get the momentum of the primary conflict moving again. Sometimes you have to do things the un-pretty way I guess.

We already had a scene (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0699.html) describing what was going on while the phylactery was missing.

It's just that most of the action was centered on the Western Continent.

[pendell]

HOO-RAY! Just how long have they been looking for that, in-game?

Hmm ... that rift is growing at an alarming rate.

So ... does this mean we get to see Redcloak, Xykon, the MITD, and Tsukiko soon?

YAY!

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Lord Raziere]

Looks like the other shoe just dropped….

[treyh37]

the rifts gotten bigger... considering how big it is now the one in the redmountain hills may have swallowed most of the hills

[Toxinthegreat]

I noticed the difference in the Hobgoblins by their color. Anyone else notice that they were green before the abnormal feet and ears?

[Dentarg]

Time for Xykon to get back on the road, and for the evil antics of Team Evil to resume!

[Morgan Wick]

Cool. The background vignette of goblins fighting reapers in the obligatory sewer-themed dungeon suggests the goblins may now have a nice core of leveled-up troops with PC class levels to give Tarquin and OotS a level-appropriate challenge.

I have a feeling Redcloak will want to keep as many of them where they are as possible.


I actually suspect that, barring an attempt to conceal the discovery from Xykon or perhaps the Elvish Resistance getting their hands on it, Xykon will not give the Holy Symbol back to Redcloak but give it to someone else.

Jirix, maybe? But he's already threatened Redcloak with same...


Oh crap that's not good. *waits for Xykon to kill the hobgoblin because he thinks it stole his phylactery*

Um, why? Xykon saw it fall into the sewer, and the hobgoblin is letting (Jirix?) know he found it so he's hardly hoarding it...


(4) Xykon and Redcloak have answers to the riddles (4th panel from the end) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0545.html) that Oots will face. I credit O'Chul as telling the truth in that strip because he is a paladin and acting with honor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/paladin.htm) means not lying.

One, O-Chul didn't have much choice there because Redcloak wasn't taking no for an answer (and if he wasn't lying there, then he lied a lot more when he kept saying he didn't know how Girard's Gate was defended). Two, even if he wasn't lying, Redcloak thought he was, so he won't have spent any time studying Serini's diary trying to decode the riddles.

[Juggling Goth]

ZOMG. Was not expecting an update - sort of assumed the Giant was on his Xmas holidays - let alone one this major.

[Esprit15]

Um, why? Xykon saw it fall into the sewer, and the hobgoblin is letting (Jirix?) know he found it so he's hardly hoarding it...
This is the same Xykon who can't be bothered to pay attention to even remember who it was that stopped him earlier in the story. And the same Xykon who killed two guys for blocking his view. I never said ti was a rational reason, just that past performance suggests that he's probably going to kill someone for stupid reasons.

[Reluctance]

People seem to be forgetting two comics back. Who else thinks LG will waltz in thinking that they get Primary Antagonist treatment, only to find out who's the real villain and who's just a sidequest.

[Menarker]

Hehe, I'm mildly amused that Jirix is just chillin' and supervising that he doesn't even seem to notice the sewer monster just around the corner from where he is standing, nevermind doing his part to contribute to defeating it with spells or healing the hobgoblin just behind him who is submerged in such a state so as to imply he is wounded, unconscious and drowning.

[Anarion]

This was a great comic, very flavorful. Loved seeing the hobgoblins at work including the presence of aquatic goblins and the new building work that they put up around the Azure City coastline.

Also looks like the rift has grown larger.

And finally, my reaction to the ending, which I'm sure was typical: :smalleek:

[Bleak Ink]

*is much too busy performing a victory dance in her seat to voice an opinion*

[Hbgplayer]

Something just occurred to me. How hard would it have been to dam off different sections of the sewers, and drain them with magic? If they had systematically started at one end and done one or two sections per day, with the number of spell casters they have access to it wouldn't have taken all that long for them to search the entire sewer system.

Of course I know that wouldn't have worked in this comic, because that would likely be moving faster than the speed of plot :smalltongue:.

[Doug Lampert]

Something just occurred to me. How hard would it have been to dam off different sections of the sewers, and drain them with magic? If they had systematically started at one end and done one or two sections per day, with the number of spell casters they have access to it wouldn't have taken all that long for them to search the entire sewer system.

Of course I know that wouldn't have worked in this comic, because that would likely be moving faster than the speed of plot :smalltongue:.

Would it? They've been in the Western continent for about 3 weeks at most, (Belkar had less than 7 weeks to live when they arrived), and they arrived off the coast on the same day X lost the phlactory in V's attack.

Searching the ocean off the coast and the entire sewer one section at a time could EASILY eat up quite a bit of time. Why are you sure it would be faster than using a horde of Hobgoblins to search the whole thing at once?

[clight101]

I love me some Otyugh and go team Evil.

[Kish]

I don't think Xykon will kill the hobgoblin because he thinks he stole his phylactery.

I think Xykon may very well kill the hobgoblin out of hand because, "You found the phylactery! Well done! I bet you think that means you're better than a meaningless minion, don't you? Wrong!"

[U2QueenBee]

My only reaction is this:

Oh, crap.

[Das Platyvark]

My only reaction is this:

Oh, crap.
OOOOHHH CR-
You seem to have beat me to it.

[eusticepious]

One, O-Chul didn't have much choice there because Redcloak wasn't taking no for an answer (and if he wasn't lying there, then he lied a lot more when he kept saying he didn't know how Girard's Gate was defended). Two, even if he wasn't lying, Redcloak thought he was, so he won't have spent any time studying Serini's diary trying to decode the riddles.

Thanks for the reply, Morgan Wick. Its an interesting argument you make. O'Chul must be lying because he said both (a) The gate is defended by riddles and the answers are contained in Serini's diary, and (b) "I don't know how it's defended" which do seem to contradict, at least partially. Thanks for pointing it out. I think that O'Chul is probably not lying and said "I don't know" in reference to questioning about the nature of illusions that Girrard used. I guess time will tell.

I agree, Redcloak probably has not spent time with the diary -- it's possible he has off-strip. But I expect that Redcloak and Xykon will bring the diary with them.

[St Fan]

Aquatic trolls are called scrags, aquatic ogres are called merrow, aquatic ghouls are called lacedons and aquatic gargoyles are called kapoacinths.

I can't think offhand of any other aquatic versions of surface races with exotic names.

Aquatic Umber Hulks are "Vodyanoi". :smallamused:

Edit: Drat, ninja'ed 3 pages ago...

[Da'Shain]

Thanks for the reply, Morgan Wick. Its an interesting argument you make. O'Chul must be lying because he said both (a) The gate is defended by riddles and the answers are contained in Serini's diary, and (b) "I don't know how it's defended" which do seem to contradict, at least partially. Thanks for pointing it out. I think that O'Chul is probably not lying and said "I don't know" in reference to questioning about the nature of illusions that Girrard used. I guess time will tell.There's also the fact that the paladins' unwillingness to even try to find out about the other gates is a fairly major plot point. How would O'Chul know? The scene seems clear, to me, about him legitimately not knowing and his story about Girard's gate having been an educated guess presented as the truth to try and keep Redcloak from killing the prisoners.


BTW, awesome comic. I like the time-outs for visual mood-building and gags every so often, and await the return of Team Evil with bated breath.

[grimbold]

just like old times :smallcool:

[Valyrian]

Can only repeat: didn't expect another strip this year, and didn't expect it to be Azure City!

Also, I think that this goblin has a wide array of possible "rewards" coming for him, ranging from death to becoming Jirix' second hand and everything inbetween. Although, as a general principle, you're usually better off not getting Xykon's attention.

I think it's also great the Giant felt compelled to quench excessive forum speculation with the strip's title :D

[The Witch-King]

I think it's also great the Giant felt compelled to quench excessive forum speculation with the strip's title :D

Consider it a Christmas present. :)

[Aaron]

:elan: Dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnn.

Well all the spare time the OOTS had ahead of Zykon and Team Evil just disappeared.

Won't be too long till they both collide for conflict, but this time the New Linear Guild will be there also.

[tiercel]

Not sure what's the bigger "oh crap" moment -- that Xykon is back in play finally.... or that Xykon isn't even the OotS's biggest problem, the way that rift (and presumably other(s)) is growing.

Ah well... 2012 is supposed to have a full blown adult-sized apocalypse, looks like we're heading for one (or a few)!

[swethy]

I am in shock at the plotline change.
also @ comic 811: Nergal was the Babylonian god of war.

[Aurabolt]

Oh, really? I'm totally shocked it was still in the sewers, and simply didn't go out to sea like I imagined it would.

[Shoelessgdowar]

Aquatic trolls are called scrags, aquatic ogres are called merrow, aquatic ghouls are called lacedons and aquatic gargoyles are called kapoacinths.

I can't think offhand of any other aquatic versions of surface races with exotic names.

Alu-Tel'Quessir (Aquatic or Sea Elves)

[homeslice]

Looks like Team E is back in the game now. One more side to add to the chase.

[Blaznak]

Otyugh for the win :)

[i6uuaq]

Hey, a 3D city rendering! neato!

I noticed how the angle at which each building is portrayed is subtly different - you can't see the roofs of the taller buildings, but can see the roofs of the shorter ones. The facing of the buildings changes slightly also, depending on distance.

Lots of subtle details, adding perspective and realism (as far as blue oblongs go, anyway)

[blazingshadow]

now i wonder if Xykon will still be in no nonsense mode like he was after V's fight or will he get more relaxed and goofy now that he knows his phylactery is safe. i believe this will be the most important factor in determining if Tarquin will be curbstomped or have a chance to be a recurring villian

[Maquise]

I just had an idea.

When the Order finally meets up with Xykon again, he still won't remember Roy. He will, on the other hand, remember V, who caused him a serious amount of grief. Roy will get mad at this.

[i6uuaq]

I just had an idea.

When the Order finally meets up with Xykon again, he still won't remember Roy. He will, on the other hand, remember V, who caused him a serious amount of grief. Roy will get mad at this.

Has Roy had enough character development to not get mad at this any more?

[t209]

If Miko haven't slash the gate's sapphire like an idiot, the rift wouldn't have happened, azurites wouldn't have been enslaved or exiled at sea, and I wouldn't have crazy theory on Gobbotopia (other areas) raided by Forsworn (Skyrim).

[Almaseti]

Oh, crap. :smalleek:

[ORione]

I just had an idea.

When the Order finally meets up with Xykon again, he still won't remember Roy. He will, on the other hand, remember V, who caused him a serious amount of grief. Roy will get mad at this.

That would be pretty funny.

It would sort of be revenge for this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0031.html).

[Syklone]

Remember, Xykon thought V was part of the elven team trying to take back the city, not the Order

[t209]

Since they found phylactery, it's good news for Lord Hinjo and Elves to liberate Azure City. I hope the elves didn't use Hinjo as puppet ruler to attack Gobbotopia (and probably subjugating natives in Blue River along the way).

[3.1415926535897]

It'd be funny if that wasn't Xykon's phylactery, just an ordinary necklace :smalltongue:

[PhallicWarrior]

This does not bode well for Team Good.

[zimmerwald1915]

Since they found phylactery, it's good news for Lord Hinjo and Elves to liberate Azure City. I hope the elves didn't use Hinjo as puppet ruler to attack Gobbotopia (and probably subjugating natives in Blue River along the way).
For Hinjo and the Azurite exiles, "attacking Gobbotopia" and "liberating Azure City" are essentially synonymous. That's usually the case when two peoples are laying claim to the same piece of land, or when their claims overlap. Hinjo and the Elves know this. The whole point of finding Azure Island was to secure a base from which an attack on Gobbotopia (not that they know about the renaming unless the elven commandos or the Resistance have been Sending to Hinjo) could be built up and launched. Redcloak and Jirix know this. It's why stamping out the Resistance and maintaining human slavery are not incidental but rather existential questions for Gobbotopia.

Then again, given that the Rift seems not to have stopped growing, the whole dispute could easily become moot. Gobbotopia would have to move its capital (and as much of the population as can be evacuated) to the city/fortress in the mountains, and the Azurites would have to adopt Azure Island as their new home, in order to make room for the Independent Republic of Riftdom.

[skaddix]

Since they found phylactery, it's good news for Lord Hinjo and Elves to liberate Azure City. I hope the elves didn't use Hinjo as puppet ruler to attack Gobbotopia (and probably subjugating natives in Blue River along the way).

Not sure I would want to live there with how big the RiFT is that is not looking good.

Still Team Good's Only Chance is to play all the opposition groups Empire, Linear Guild, IFCC, Xykon and Redcloak against each other. Oh and a whole lot of luck.

[skaddix]

Since they found phylactery, it's good news for Lord Hinjo and Elves to liberate Azure City. I hope the elves didn't use Hinjo as puppet ruler to attack Gobbotopia (and probably subjugating natives in Blue River along the way).

Not sure I would want to live there with how big the RiFT is that is not looking good. Still The World in the Rift I am guessing is a mirror world so it would be interesting to see how things differ over there. The obvious one is having all the good guys as evil and all the bad guys as good.

Still Team Good's Only Chance is to play all the opposition groups Empire, Linear Guild, IFCC, Xykon and Redcloak against each other. Oh and a whole lot of luck.

[Kish]

Has Roy had enough character development to not get mad at this any more?
Extremely unlikely. He's grown in a number of ways since he started, but he's still pretty stuck on himself.

[t209]

For Hinjo and the Azurite exiles, "attacking Gobbotopia" and "liberating Azure City" are essentially synonymous. That's usually the case when two peoples are laying claim to the same piece of land, or when their claims overlap. Hinjo and the Elves know this. The whole point of finding Azure Island was to secure a base from which an attack on Gobbotopia (not that they know about the renaming unless the elven commandos or the Resistance have been Sending to Hinjo) could be built up and launched. Redcloak and Jirix know this. It's why stamping out the Resistance and maintaining human slavery are not incidental but rather existential questions for Gobbotopia.

Then again, given that the Rift seems not to have stopped growing, the whole dispute could easily become moot. Gobbotopia would have to move its capital (and as much of the population as can be evacuated) to the city/fortress in the mountains, and the Azurites would have to adopt Azure Island as their new home, in order to make room for the Independent Republic of Riftdom.

Gobbotopia as in Blue River and Redmountain hills! I hope there are rebellion in these areas (think like Stormcloak Rebellion except with mongolian riders and khans).

[Esprit15]

It'd be funny if that wasn't Xykon's phylactery, just an ordinary necklace :smalltongue:

However, the title of the strip confirms that it really is his phylactery.

[Occasional Sage]

There's also the fact that the paladins' unwillingness to even try to find out about the other gates is a fairly major plot point. How would O'Chul know? The scene seems clear, to me, about him legitimately not knowing and his story about Girard's gate having been an educated guess presented as the truth to try and keep Redcloak from killing the prisoners.


BTW, awesome comic. I like the time-outs for visual mood-building and gags every so often, and await the return of Team Evil with bated breath.

O'Chul is only recently a paladin, so only recently prohibited from learning MORE about the gate defenses.

[ORione]

O'Chul is only recently a paladin, so only recently prohibited from learning MORE about the gate defenses.

How would he have known as a fighter? It's not exactly common information.

[skaddix]

O'Chul is only recently a paladin, so only recently prohibited from learning MORE about the gate defenses.

No way to learn more the gates are not common knowledge nor would a random fighter be told. I suppose its possible they get told some general stuff as paladins though. the agreement was not to travel to the other gates but having a general idea that other gates exist and their locations is not unusual. Not to mention who was in charge of what gates should be known. I mean if u no draketooth was an illusionist u can easily build a lie around that.

[Icedaemon]

Yessssss. Tarquin vs Xykon is going to be AWESOME.

Also, it looks like the rift over Azure City is considerably larger than the last time we saw it.

Redcloak's victory is becoming more phyrric as time goes along. Maybe he should study up on how the gates were originally constructed before it's too late.


Water Breathing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/waterBreathing.htm) requires only 5th level clerics, which I presume Gobbotopia has plenty of, at 2hrs/level. Redcloak alone could cast five of them per day at 30+ hours total duration divided amongst targets, assuming he's at least 15th level (which he is, since he uses Summon Monster VIII).

EDIT: Alternately, if Xykon or Redcloak has a Ring of Elemental Command (Water), they can cast it without restriction.

Elemental water? What sort of outdated preschool nonsense is that? Some pitiful azurite might go for that, but not a goblin.


In addition to what Cranica said, stats for aquatic goblins can be found in Unearthed Arcana. Since Gobbotopia is to be a haven for all goblins, if there are aquatic goblins in the OOTSiverse, I'm sure many of them would flock (swim?) to Gobbotopia.

It would be interesting if the city grew an underwater extension.

[Juggling Goth]

Thanks for the reply, Morgan Wick. Its an interesting argument you make. O'Chul must be lying because he said both (a) The gate is defended by riddles and the answers are contained in Serini's diary, and (b) "I don't know how it's defended" which do seem to contradict, at least partially. Thanks for pointing it out. I think that O'Chul is probably not lying and said "I don't know" in reference to questioning about the nature of illusions that Girrard used. I guess time will tell.


Redcloak tried a bunch of mind probes and whatnot before moving on to the traditional torture methods (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0546.html). If O-Chul had known all along, Redcloak would have found out sooner rather than later. It's possible that O-Chul got it right by sheer coincidence, which will lead to a "...huh" moment, but all the evidence in the comic says O-Chul didn't know.


Hehe, I'm mildly amused that Jirix is just chillin' and supervising that he doesn't even seem to notice the sewer monster just around the corner from where he is standing, nevermind doing his part to contribute to defeating it with spells or healing the hobgoblin just behind him who is submerged in such a state so as to imply he is wounded, unconscious and drowning.

I wondered myself, but I don't think that is Jirix - these hobgoblins have white, green and red belts, and Jirix wears blue. It is pretty funny though. And I hadn't noticed the submerged hobgoblin - nice catch.

[cc_kizz]

I'm amused that the goblins, living in this massive city of impressive architecture, are still building what looks like grass huts. :-)

[Icedaemon]

Good point with the rift.
But if that one is growing will the one buried in the mountain after Elan "accidently" pushed the button in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0118.html or
the one from Start of Darkness in the woods grow, too? Maybe i remember it wrong, but i think those gates were destroyed, too. Shouldn't those rifts be growing as well?

They better. The one in the forest for one is probably the size of a small nation, unless Lirian passed the gate-making spell on to some allies outside the Scribblies.


Aquatic trolls are called scrags, aquatic ogres are called merrow, aquatic ghouls are called lacedons and aquatic gargoyles are called kapoacinths.

I can't think offhand of any other aquatic versions of surface races with exotic names.

Aquatic elves are called vermin.

In reply to CC Kizz, the goblinoids are not just going to abandon their culture and way of life because they have the opportunity to loot that of the azurites. They have standards.

[Karoug]

Saw the title first, then Azure city... in each panel that passed without a gag the feeling that something very bad was going on was stronger and stronger. And then, the punchline was just shocking. One of the most brilliant works of tension building I have ever seen. kudos.

[zimmerwald1915]

Gobbotopia as in Blue River and Redmountain hills! I hope there are rebellion in these areas (think like Stormcloak Rebellion except with mongolian riders and khans).
Come now, Gobbotopia's got no territory in the Redmountain Hills. The Hobgoblin fortress-city is located in the Southern Mountains, and the Blue River rises in the Southern Mountains and flows east to the Wet Sea. As for rebellions in the Blue River valley, why should there be? Redcloak mentions when the army embarks on their campaign that only one nation lies between them and the Gate: Azure City. This suggests that there was no polity organized enough to claim, administrate, and defend the territory crossed by the army's line of march until they started encountering Azurite early warning beacons (and we saw how they dealt with those). Furthermore, everything we know about the Blue River valley suggests that most of the population is actually goblinoids and lizardfolk! We see and hear of no humans besides the Azurites in the area, either in SoD or War and XPs. The Azurite outposts are just that: military bases intended to serve as strong points in defending the core territory (which mostly stretches south along the coast from the city rather than east up the river) and from which forays could be made against targets designated by the Lord of the city. They are not towns or settlements in any real sense.

The reason there are no polities between the hobgoblin city and Azure City is because Azure City periodically forayed against the goblinoids and lizardfolk, keeping them scattered and disorganized. These are just the sort of people Gobbotopia relies on for support, the people they are most likely to court (and have courted, successfully), and the people least likely to rise up in rebellion, especially at the behest of and for the benefit of Azurites. Could there be machiavellian leaders who might choose to join the Azurite side in the hopes of getting some power or influence out of the settlement? Sure. But the wind in every sense seems to be blowing in Gobbotopia's direction as opposed to Azure City's (with the caveat that it's mostly blowing in a third direction that bodes ill for all parties), and it would take something pretty big to make it change to favor the Azurites in any way. I suspect too that such leaders would have trouble convincing people to follow them, simply because of the audacity of the proposal. Work with dirty, oppressive humans, who have on many occasions proved themselves willing to slaughter women and children, against fellow Gobbotopians because they might offer us a better deal? Please.

Azure City's army would indeed be weak after a reconquest, if indeed they can bring such a thing off at all, and they might indeed reach out to the surrounding peoples. But given who the surrounding peoples are, who the Azurites' enemy is, and the history between them all, a goblinoid/lizardfolk/what have you rebellion against Gobbotopia seems less than likely. More likely is that they'd recall the refugees the fleet dropped off in other Southern Lands (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0501.html) to make up the lost population, and turn to those lands and/or the Elves for military support. After that, three courses of action are open: abandon the Blue River valley entirely, try to restore the status quo ante, or attempt to extirpate the threat posed by the remaining Gobbotopian settlements, primarily the hobgoblin city. Every option that involves prolonged war is immediately unattractive to the Azurites, because of their weakness. Their army is small and untested, they lack the advantage in low- and mid-level people with PC classes that they had at the Battle of Azure City, and the supplies they would need to mount a long campaign are nonexistent. We know from Haley's, Celia's, and Belkar's escape that the old watchtowers are now manned by Gobbotopians, so either restoring the status quo ante or engaging in a long campaign of conquest/subjugation outside the old Azure City borders would be time- and blood-intensive.

[squidbreath]

Uh oh, that ain't good =S

[Kaytara]

Huh. Mixed feelings on this one.

On one hand, the phylactery just turning up more or less where it was lost seems very anticlimactic, since I was all prepped for some third party getting their hands on it and making things more interesting/difficult for Xykon. Doing it this way seems to make it more obvious that the loss of the phylactery was just a narrative device to force Xykon to sit on this thumbs for as long as it was convenient for the storyteller. So resolving the problem of the lost phylactery in a random "And then they found it" seems less smooth than I'm accustomed to from Rich.

On the other hand, it IS vastly more probable that the phylactery, being perhaps heavy, did not leave the sewers and is now found where it was lost. Compared to the more "right"-sounding scenario of some fisherman finding it in a fish's gullet or the like, it seems mundane and realistic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I guess I just thought it would be more of a plot point than a time-stalling narrative device.

[zimmerwald1915]

Considering the amount of power Xykon could bring to bear on whoever could realistically find the phylactery, and considering how ineffectual that person's attempts to harm either it or Xykon himself would likely be, a third party finding the phylactery would still amount to killing time. The only real difference is that we'd get a few strips worth of Xykon destroying this hypothetical finder instead of whatever comes after 823.

[ExtravagantEvil]

Is it wrong that when I saw that last Panel my first thought was This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjv_JKVnIKw) in the style of Xykon?

[zimmerwald1915]

Yes. And yet...so right.

[EternalRuin]

I just noticed something... back in this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0544.html), Redcloak said that the rift would stop growing after another 100 feet. I guess his calculations were wrong :smalltongue:

[Belsirk]

Well
now we have Xykon and the evil team, The 3 demons and the Linear Guidl, Tarquin and his team ...

Chan chan chan!

Not surprise why Belkair will have hist last breath soon...

Happy new year and Thanks for all the laughts you give us Giant!

[Bad Hair Day]

I think the raised Jirix will be left behind to be the governor/mayor of the city. The phylactery will be left with Jirix.

Then Xykon's army is defeated but Redcloak survives and is held captive, so Redcloak bargains for the safety of Gobbotopia by betraying Xykon, who is killed before regenerating out of the phylactery.

With the Azurites desperate to get their city back, Redcloak and/or Jirix will be quick to make a deal with Tarquin. Gobbotopia will pay a tribute to Tarquin and fly Tarquin's banner, and then Tarquin will squash whatever is left of the Azurites and force upon them them a new piece of land for them to begin to build their own new blue city. Or maybe they will consider blue bad luck and pick a different color. Regardless of the color, it will also pay tribute to Tarquin and fly his flag.

Tarquin can then play off the fears of Gobbotopia vs. New Azurites to extract as much as he wants from each of them.

I am also guessing that Belkar won't bite the dust until the Azurites are back on the scene.

[Cranica]

I just noticed something... back in this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0544.html), Redcloak said that the rift would stop growing after another 100 feet. I guess his calculations were wrong :smalltongue:

We don't really have any good sense of scale here. Azure City isn't a very large city by real-world standards, even if it's a big one by OOTS-verse ones. According to the discussion in #413-414, Azure City before the battle had 'thousands' or 'tens of thousands' unable to fight. I'd estimate pre-battle Azure City had no more than perhaps 200,000 people, not all of whom necessarily lived within the city walls. That would make the city as a whole not that large.

[Kish]

I think[...] Xykon, [...] is killed [...] Gobbotopia will pay a tribute to Tarquin and fly Tarquin's banner, and then Tarquin will squash whatever is left of the Azurites and force upon them them a new piece of land for them to begin to build their own new blue city. Or maybe they will consider blue bad luck and pick a different color. Regardless of the color, it will also pay tribute to Tarquin and fly his flag.
Prepare for disappointment.

:xykon:=main villain of the comic, still. :tarquin:=subplot villain, probably not long for the world.

(When I wrote that and previewed it, I thought Tarquin might have a default forum smiley now...but that Xykon does and Tarquin doesn't speaks volumes on the subject of this post, so I'm leaving it as-is.)

[Gift Jeraff]

We don't really have any good sense of scale here. Azure City isn't a very large city by real-world standards, even if it's a big one by OOTS-verse ones. According to the discussion in #413-414, Azure City before the battle had 'thousands' or 'tens of thousands' unable to fight. I'd estimate pre-battle Azure City had no more than perhaps 200,000 people, not all of whom necessarily lived within the city walls. That would make the city as a whole not that large.Azure City's population was "530,000 (90% human, 5% half-orc, 5% half-elf). Approximately half of the population resides within the walls of Azure City itself." according to WaXP.

[EternalRuin]

We don't really have any good sense of scale here. Azure City isn't a very large city by real-world standards, even if it's a big one by OOTS-verse ones. According to the discussion in #413-414, Azure City before the battle had 'thousands' or 'tens of thousands' unable to fight. I'd estimate pre-battle Azure City had no more than perhaps 200,000 people, not all of whom necessarily lived within the city walls. That would make the city as a whole not that large.

Yeah, the perspective is pretty difficult to determine, but it still looks MUCH larger than it did then (i.e., more than a 100 foot difference). In any case, if Redcloak WAS right, then there wouldn't be any worries about the rift actually swallowing the city, as some people have theorized. Probably.

[Sethala]

So, does this strip set the record for "least words in a OotS strip?"

[Belsirk]

by the way... just wondering

If... the goblins searched all the sewers and the near ocean ...

How much medium to higher treasures they could had find ? :smallbiggrin:

I mean,it's almost a rule that the Sewers have access to "ancient temples with good items"

[Kish]

So, does this strip set the record for "least words in a OotS strip?"
No (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0313.html), it does not.

[One Skunk Todd]

Shouldn't the rift be lower than that? On a level with the castle?

[Wanda V'Orcus]

:elan: Duhn DUHN DUHN!!!

[eusticepious]

O'Chul is only recently a paladin, so only recently prohibited from learning MORE about the gate defenses.

Occasional Sage and D'Shain, check out the paladin investigating the Lirian gate destruction which its been noted looks like O-Chul. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0290.html). Maybe it is and maybe its not him; its not clear how O-Chul could learn that the answers are in Serinis diary. I do think the Paladins know a bit more about the gates than has been revealed so far. In investigating Dorukan's gate, the Paladins used divination but there is no mention by Shojo of their learning anything about Lirian or the destruction of that gate. Why send paladins there the oath is to "not interfere" and i think the paladins do not think staying informed about gates is interfering.

[Whiffet]

Shouldn't the rift be lower than that? On a level with the castle?

You mean the castle that exploded?

[Zorgophlats]

You mean the flippin huge, omg that's so big, dang it's 3 times taller than any other building around it, castle that exploded?

Fixed that for ya.

Also, no to the previous question.

[firesail]

The comic was sorta.... Anti-climactic. But we get to see Team Evil now, so that's a great change



P.S. Id like to see what has happened to the Azurite fleet.

[Jimorian]

(When I wrote that and previewed it, I thought Tarquin might have a default forum smiley now...but that Xykon does and Tarquin doesn't speaks volumes on the subject of this post, so I'm leaving it as-is.)

All that speaks to is the fact that NOTHING in the original forum graphics package has been updated in YEARS simply because The Giant has better things to do. :smalltongue:

I agree that Xykon is the primary villain and the story ends with the OotS taking on him and Redcloak. The question regarding the Linear Guild/Tarquin (and others of the 9 sides) is more a matter of which of these 2 sides do they provide the biggest road bump to?

[Kaytara]

Considering the amount of power Xykon could bring to bear on whoever could realistically find the phylactery, and considering how ineffectual that person's attempts to harm either it or Xykon himself would likely be, a third party finding the phylactery would still amount to killing time. The only real difference is that we'd get a few strips worth of Xykon destroying this hypothetical finder instead of whatever comes after 823.


The IFCC were watching when the phylactery was lost. So no, there was any number of ways the lost phylactery plot point could have gone in a very interesting direction without amounting to killing time.

[zimmerwald1915]

The IFCC were watching when the phylactery was lost. So no, there was any number of ways the lost phylactery plot point could have gone in a very interesting direction without amounting to killing time.
The IFCC can only act directly on the mortal plane when making a deal, and any agents of theirs that could act directly on the material plane would be just as affected by the anti-scrying and other protective spells as Xykon. The most they could do would be to tell their agents where to look.

[Geordnet]

Huzzah! Finally the (implied) return of Team Evil!

By the way, does that rift (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0544.html) look like it's getting *bigger* (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0823.html) to you?

[UtimaII]

Well, it's about to hit the fan now, isn't it?

[One Skunk Todd]

You mean the castle that exploded?

The castle was only damaged. You can get a good idea of the original layout in 422. In 463 you can see that it's only the NE corner of the inner and outer walls that are destroyed (I'm taking seaward to be West and landward to be East) the rest is still standing. It's the part with the towers that you can see in this strip.

[Zorgophlats]

The castle was only damaged. You can get a good idea of the original layout in 422. In 463 you can see that it's only the NE corner of the inner and outer walls that are destroyed (I'm taking seaward to be West and landward to be East) the rest is still standing. It's the part with the towers that you can see in this strip.

After anaylizing your argument, I've realized that we don't know how a rift expands. If it grows from the center outward (roughly evenly) then, yes, it is far too high in the sky. If the rift expands randomly (as is my guess) then all I can say is that the lower portion actually does touch the area of the castle that exploded.

After thinking about it more, I realize that there is no mention of the rifts being stable, not drifting. So it's possible that the rift has drifted towards the sky.

My final thought is this… it doesn't matter to me what the explanation is. Our little rift has grown so much. It's so cute. :3

[Cranica]

Well, we at least know the rifts don't drift while sealed, since that one remained within the Azure Sapphire for however long.

[Zorgophlats]

Well, we at least know the rifts don't drift while sealed, since that one remained within the Azure Sapphire for however long.

Another thing, the rift in Azure City was found, had a castle built up to it, sealed, and then had the castle finnished around it. All this, and the rift didn't grow.

Side note: I wasn't here during the first glimpse of the rift expantion, so I don't know if this has been discussed before.

[Cranica]

Another thing, the rift in Azure City was found, had a castle built up to it, sealed, and then had the castle finnished around it. All this, and the rift didn't grow.

I would assume the Snarl's been beating at the walls of its prison like it had been before the Gates were built. It's been quite some time, and my guess would be that the blasts from the destruction of the Gates help it out somehow. I'm a tad curious as to what the first rift (the one that had been sealed by Dorukan's gate) looks like after all this time.

[rbetieh]

I would assume the Snarl's been beating at the walls of its prison like it had been before the Gates were built. It's been quite some time, and my guess would be that the blasts from the destruction of the Gates help it out somehow. I'm a tad curious as to what the first rift (the one that had been sealed by Dorukan's gate) looks like after all this time.

I suspect Dorukans gate and Liriams gate look exactly like they did after they exploded. I theorize that it is contradiction that feeds the snarl. Gobbotopia is not standard goblin operating procedure, thus a good source of snarl power.

[The MunchKING]

HOO-RAY! Just how long have they been looking for that, in-game?

Hmm ... that rift is growing at an alarming rate.


Huh... I thought Redcloak said it wouldn't grow anymore (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0544.html). Looks like he was wrong!!

[eusticepious]

I suspect Dorukans gate and Liriams gate look exactly like they did after they exploded. I theorize that it is contradiction that feeds the snarl. Gobbotopia is not standard goblin operating procedure, thus a good source of snarl power.

Really interesting theory!

Question: if the oracle makes predictions through Tiamat's read of the threads of reality, do more contradictions mean the oracle's predictions may become inaccurate?

[t209]

The comic was sorta.... Anti-climactic. But we get to see Team Evil now, so that's a great change



P.S. Id like to see what has happened to the Azurite fleet.

And Possible secession by a province in One of the southern nations (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0501.html) who went furious over their government's negligence and acceptance of Gobbotopia! (Just like how Hammerfell seceded from the Empire after War with Nazi Elves in Skyrim.)

[WhamBamSam]

I suspect Dorukans gate and Liriams gate look exactly like they did after they exploded. I theorize that it is contradiction that feeds the snarl. Gobbotopia is not standard goblin operating procedure, thus a good source of snarl power.Pretty much. It might be more accurate to say that Divine Contradiction feeds the Snarl, though. Goblins have free will, so its ultimately not contradictory for them to deviate from their usual M.O. However, Gobbotopia does represent direct conflict between the Dark One and the other gods over the place of Goblins in the world. Focusing the mortal representation of that conflict at the point of the rift is probably what's causing the rift to grow so much.

This might end up being an interesting way of forcing the Azurites and the gods to back off from Gobbotopia, or possibly making the Plan the only hope for the entire world if the good guys and their gods are too stubborn to give up the fight.

[dtilque]

Another thing, the rift in Azure City was found, had a castle built up to it, sealed, and then had the castle finnished around it. All this, and the rift didn't grow.

Side note: I wasn't here during the first glimpse of the rift expantion, so I don't know if this has been discussed before.

In the Crayons of Time explanation (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0276.html) by Shojo, he says that the gates strengthen the fabric of reality around the rifts so they don't grow. Now the rifts were first sealed and then the gates built around them. Obviously, the seal spell broke down for the Azure City rift when the gate was destroyed. I expect the same happened to the other two rifts with destroyed gates, although there's no way to verify that..

[Niknokitueu]

Happy New Year, beveryoddy! (Even if I am 3 days late...)

Loved the comic Rich (as usual), but feel you mis-named it. IMO it should have been called "Yes. Yes, It Is." :smallbiggrin:

Have Fun!
Niknokitueu

[zimmerwald1915]

In the Crayons of Time explanation (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0276.html) by Shojo, he says that the gates strengthen the fabric of reality around the rifts so they don't grow. Now the rifts were first sealed and then the gates built around them. Obviously, the seal spell broke down for the Azure City rift when the gate was destroyed. I expect the same happened to the other two rifts with destroyed gates, although there's no way to verify that..
Yes there is. Both Lirian's and Dorukan's Rifts were larger than Soon's, and both the Gates containing them were destroyed earlier. Lirian's was destroyed much earlier. Here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0639.html) we get a sattelite-eye view of the planet, including the Elven Lands and Redmountain Hills. We see no Rifts. Now, this doesn't tell us anything precisely unless we can calculate how large the Ootsworld is and how far away from it our vantage point in that comic is, but we do know that we can't see the Rifts from that far away.

In the case of Soon's Rift, it's high in the sky and unobscured, so we know that it simply hasn't grown large enough, by that time, to be seen. Lirian's Rift might be hidden under the forest canopy, and Dorukan's under a pile of rubble, but that still tells us that the Rifts haven't grown enough to swallow up the barriers shielding them from sight.

[Palthera]

I understood from what Redcloak says on his field trip with O'Chul that the way Miko broke the gem gave the rift a jumpstart so it would unravel. I assumed this was because of the extra gem that Soon hands over to Shojo's father, that the extra enchantments built into it meant that shattering the gem would cause the extra unravelling...

[Toofey]

Does anyone else think the title is also a reference to "does that rift look much bigger?"

[lukelightning]

They look like the aquatic hobgoblins fought previously to me...

Saying that, that may be in the book only now I've tried to find a link and failed...

Good old AD&D had aquatic hobgoblins called kapaocinths (or something... kapaocinths might have been the aquatic versions of ghouls or gargoyles...)

[Mutant Sheep]

Does anyone else think the title is also a reference to "does that rift look much bigger?"

Yes. Yes people do.:smalltongue:v(and that's just on the second page.:smallwink:)
I initially though that the strip title was in reference to my immediate question of "wow, is the rift getting bigger?"

Of course if wouldn't be surprising if the title was meant to answer both questions. :)

[blazingshadow]

do you guys think that Xykon will come back from his trip as a demilich? losing that phylactery could have given him the idea to take some precautions by making more phylacteries to stay ahead of the game.

assuming that this is not true do you guys think that he will leave the phylactery somewhere safe or will he give it back to redcloak?

edit: i believe that he will give it back but he will have an epic spell to look for it/teleport it to somewhere safe just in case

[dtilque]

Yes there is. Both Lirian's and Dorukan's Rifts were larger than Soon's, and both the Gates containing them were destroyed earlier. Lirian's was destroyed much earlier. Here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0639.html) we get a sattelite-eye view of the planet, including the Elven Lands and Redmountain Hills. We see no Rifts. Now, this doesn't tell us anything precisely unless we can calculate how large the Ootsworld is and how far away from it our vantage point in that comic is, but we do know that we can't see the Rifts from that far away.

The planet in that image is about 300 pixels across. That's a rough estimate, based on the size of the image; I didn't load it into a paint program or whatever and measure it. Assuming the planet is about as large as Earth (say 12,000 km diameter), that gives one pixel to about 40 km. A single pixel is not really enough to show a feature; you need 3 or so to tell it's not random noise and even then it would be a very small feature. So figure that no rifts are more than about 100 km in size.

This is not exactly a very stringent upper limit. They could have grown a lot and still be much smaller than that.

[Gorbad Ironclaw]

Take a look (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0823.html) at the third panel. All of the goblins underwater in that scene (with the exception of the hobgoblin cleric) all have webbed feet and finned ears. I don't think these are goblins What are they?

[Gift Jeraff]

Answered by the author:
The guys in Panel 3 are intended to be koalinths, a form of aquatic hobgoblin that's been in the game since First Edition. I'm sure they made it into 3.5, too, though I don't see them in the SRD (possibly because the unique name "koalinth" was deemed Product Identity).