Are some members of the Order favored over others in the story?

[ilcane87]

Hello, I'm a long time fan of this story and never miss the chance to praise it; however, I've been having the impression that, among the members of the OotS, Roy, Elan and Haley are generally favored over Durkon, Vaarsuvius and Belkar.

By "Favored", I mean that they seem to get a lot more relevance, development and exposure compared to the other, supposedly equally important members of the Order.


Off the top of my head:

Roy: Has several known relatives, one of which crucial to the plot (Eugene). Has a known weapon with a magical effect (which was reforged and enphasised) and received other items on panel (Bag of Tricks, Belt of Strength), several plotlines revolved around him, had two romantic plotlines (Miko, Celia), the main antagonist is mostly linked to him, his Linear Guild alternate never changed, and he is almost guaranteed a happy ending, by extension of Elan's predicted one.

Elan: Has several known relatives, some of which crucial to the plot (Nale, Tarquin). Has changed his weapon with a known one and received other items on panel (Boots of Elvenkind, Belt of Charisma), changed outfit, several plotlines revolved around him, has a dedicated Prestige Class, had two romantic plotlines (Haley, Therkla). Three antagonists had/have more to do with him than any other member of the OotS (Nale, Kubota, Tarquin), his Linear Guild alternate never changed, and he has a guaranteed happy ending.

Haley: Has a couple known relatives, relevant to the plot (Ian, Geoff). Has obtained a new weapon with magical effects, has obtained an additional melee weapon and other items on panel (Bags of Holding, Boots of Speed, new Leather Armor, "protective jewelry" from Crystal), has changed outfit twice, had a romantic plotline, a few plotlines revolved around her. Several antagonists had/have more to do with her than any other member of the OotS (Thieves Guild members), her Linear Guild alternate never changed, and she is guaranteed a happy ending, by extension of Elan's predicted one.

Vaarsuvius: Has three known relatives with very little panel-time, basically irrelevant to the plot, has no weapon or known items besides the Ring of Wizardry, only temporarily changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one plotline (Black Dragon plotline). His Linear Guild alternate has changed, and he's most likely going to have a bad ending.

Belkar: Has no known relatives, has never changed his weapons and only had one known item (Ring of Jumping), never changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one plotline (Mark of Justice plotline). His Linear Guild alternate changed three times, and he's guaranteed to die before the end.

Durkon: Has no known relatives, has never changed his unknown weapons and only received one known item (Amulet of Natural Armor), never changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one minor plotline (Hylgia's). His Linear Guild alternate changed two times, and he's almost guaranteed to die before the end.


As far as Roy goes, it is to be expected, given he's the main protagonist of the story, but I've never really liked when the author seems to play favorites with equally important side-character/co-protagonists, it tends to break my suspension of disbelief.

Did anyone else get the same impression? :smallconfused:

[Hazzardevil]

Roy: Has several known relatives, one of which crucial to the plot (Eugene). Has a known weapon with a magical effect (which was reforged and enphasised) and received other items on panel (Bag of Tricks, Belt of Strength), several plotlines revolved around him, had two romantic plotlines (Miko, Celia), the main antagonist is mostly linked to him, his Linear Guild alternate never changed, and he is almost guaranteed a happy ending, by extension of Elan's predicted one.

To be expected and I have had enough of hearing about Roy really.


Elan: Has several known relatives, some of which crucial to the plot (Nale, Tarquin). Has changed his weapon with a known one and received other items on panel (Boots of Elvenkind, Belt of Charisma), changed outfit, several plotlines revolved around him, has a dedicated Prestige Class, had two romantic plotlines (Haley, Therkla). Three antagonists had/have more to do with him than any other member of the OotS (Nale, Kubota, Tarquin), his Linear Guild alternate never changed, and he has a guaranteed happy ending.
Yes, we know a lot about him and I would rather find out about someone else.


Haley: Has a couple known relatives, relevant to the plot (Ian, Geoff). Has obtained a new weapon with magical effects, has obtained an additional melee weapon and other items on panel (Bags of Holding, Boots of Speed, new Leather Armor, "protective jewelry" from Crystal), has changed outfit twice, had a romantic plotline, a few plotlines revolved around her. Several antagonists had/have more to do with her than any other member of the OotS (Thieves Guild members), her Linear Guild alternate never changed, and she is guaranteed a happy ending, by extension of Elan's predicted one.

I would like to know more about Haley really, but there's only so much we can learn about her.


Vaarsuvius: Has three known relatives with very little panel-time, basically irrelevant to the plot, has no weapon or known items besides the Ring of Wizardry, only temporarily changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one plotline (Black Dragon plotline). His Linear Guild alternate has changed, and he's most likely going to have a bad ending.

We know next to nothing about him and he hasn't shown any character development aside from the splicing and realizing he has killed innocent people.


Belkar: Has no known relatives, has never changed his weapons and only had one known item (Ring of Jumping), never changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one plotline (Mark of Justice plotline). His Linear Guild alternate changed three times, and he's guaranteed to die before the end.

I've had enough of Belkar really, he is just comic relief waiting to be killed off.


Durkon: Has no known relatives, has never changed his unknown weapons and only received one known item (Amulet of Natural Armor), never changed outfit, had the most relevance in only one minor plotline (Hylgia's). His Linear Guild alternate changed two times, and he's almost guaranteed to die before the end.

We know nothing about Durkon really, he is just a stereotyped dwarf that will be killed before he goes gone and I think he will be revived when he's there.


Did anyone else get the same impression? :smallconfused:
Yes, I would like to know meor about Durkon.

[FujinAkari]

Well... I wouldn't call it uneven except for Belkar. Roy, Haley, and Elan have had their character arcs, whereas V and Durkon have not. We know Kraagor's Gate will be Durkon's Character Arc (ok, we suspect, but Rich has explicitly said he has plans for Durkon in the future) and V's arc is begun, but very obviously not finished.

Some characters have to happen first, so I don't think it is fair to call it favoritism, anymore than Julie is favored over me because she was in line ahead of me and got lunch before I did.

Belkar though, will most likely NEVER have a character arc, at least not one that fleshes him out. Rich said in OotPCs:
He intentionally left Belkar's origin story out because Belkar is a crazy, quirky, psychopathic killer. It is important that we be able to laugh at Belkar's antics, and explaining -why- Belkar is so maladjusted and -why- he reacts so violently to situations risks turning Belkar into a tragic character and making every instance of his comedic rampages into a aftershock of tragedy, ruining our enjoyment of them.

[zimmerwald1915]

Rich is a human being. It's unsurprising he'd find it easier to write subplots for his human characters.

[Morquard]

Honestly, if you consider Ian and Geoff to be "relevant to the plot" despite them not actually having done anything so far, then V's relatives should be relevant too. After all without them the whole splicing wouldn't have happened, O-Chul wouldn't be saved, and... oops yes, the Draketooths wouldn't have been wiped out.

[FujinAkari]

Honestly, if you consider Ian and Geoff to be "relevant to the plot" despite them not actually having done anything so far, then V's relatives should be relevant too. After all without them the whole splicing wouldn't have happened, O-Chul wouldn't be saved, and... oops yes, the Draketooths wouldn't have been wiped out.

I'm also not sure why V's decision to change his hairstyle doesn't count as an art upgrade, nor why V is only creditted with being the focus of the Black Dragon story arc, rather than the Black Dragon Story Arc, the young Black Dragon Story Arc, the IFCC/Qarr Story Arc, and the Familicide Repercussions Story Arc. Yes, all those arcs are inter-related, but they are clearly separate events.

[KillianHawkeye]

I don't have a problem with this because it happens in our actual D&D games all the time. There will be two or maybe three characters with fleshed out backstories or well-developed personalities. One of them will end up being the de facto party leader and get the most face time with the villains, make the most enemies, and get the most glory. Then there's the guy who just likes to hit things and the guy who just cares about min-maxing his wizard, both of whom just follow along where the story is going and don't really do that much roleplaying.

One way that the author of a comic and the DM of an adventure are similar is that it's a lot easier to come up with story ideas for characters that actually have a story going.

[rgrekejin]

FujinAkari covered most of my objections in an elegant and concise manner (which I appreciate, as past posts clearly illustrate that brevity is not my strong suit) but I do still have some objections.

How is someone's Linear Guild counterpart changing (or not) a sign of favoritism in any way? It's a non sequitur. The conclusion does not in any way follow from the premise. Screen time, sure. Character development, sure. Even known items matter a little, I guess. But who their counterpart in the Linear Guild is? I just don't see why this matters.

Also, Roy's Linear Guild counterpart has changed (from Thog to Tarquin) and although V didn't get a costume change after the soul splice incident, she did get a new hairstyle which changes the overall appearance of the character a lot, plus Blackwing is now her constant companion, not just a recurring joke. Now that I think about it, Belkar got Mr. Scruffy, too. Who is totally awesome. Not magic items, but it kind of puts the lie to the argument that Belkar and V never get anything nice.

edit: Also, I agree with Gift Jeraff. The Thieves' Guild arc was really more Belkar's arc than it was Haley's.

[Gift Jeraff]

To be fair, Haley has been largely irrelevant in Sabine's subplot so far, so having a consistent and prominent counterpart has yet to really matter much. Same kinda goes for Roy and Xykon, really.

And the Thieves' Guild arc was actually Belkar's story disguised as Haley's story.

[ilcane87]

Well... I wouldn't call it uneven except for Belkar. Roy, Haley, and Elan have had their character arcs, whereas V and Durkon have not. We know Kraagor's Gate will be Durkon's Character Arc (ok, we suspect, but Rich has explicitly said he has plans for Durkon in the future) and V's arc is begun, but very obviously not finished.

Some characters have to happen first, so I don't think it is fair to call it favoritism, anymore than Julie is favored over me because she was in line ahead of me and got lunch before I did.

Belkar though, will most likely NEVER have a character arc, at least not one that fleshes him out. Rich said in OotPCs:
He intentionally left Belkar's origin story out because Belkar is a crazy, quirky, psychopathic killer. It is important that we be able to laugh at Belkar's antics, and explaining -why- Belkar is so maladjusted and -why- he reacts so violently to situations risks turning Belkar into a tragic character and making every instance of his comedic rampages into a aftershock of tragedy, ruining our enjoyment of them.

I agree about character arcs, but that is just one of the things that I feel some characters have priority over others about, just check my list on the first post.

Even if, say, Durkon gets a late character arc revolving mostly around him, does it make him even with Elan's/Haley's(/Roy's) prominence througout the whole story?

I don't think so. :smallconfused:


Honestly, if you consider Ian and Geoff to be "relevant to the plot" despite them not actually having done anything so far, then V's relatives should be relevant too. After all without them the whole splicing wouldn't have happened, O-Chul wouldn't be saved, and... oops yes, the Draketooths wouldn't have been wiped out.

When I defined them as "relevant", it was because they're currently wild cards roaming around the location the gate, and I expect them to play some (small) role directly, whereas Vaarsuvius's relatives were just an undirect influence over his actions.

I guess it was an arbitrary distinction, but I didn't put much thought into every little thing. :smalltongue:


I'm also not sure why V's decision to change his hairstyle doesn't count as an art upgrade, nor why V is only creditted with being the focus of the Black Dragon story arc, rather than the Black Dragon Story Arc, the young Black Dragon Story Arc, the IFCC/Qarr Story Arc, and the Familicide Repercussions Story Arc. Yes, all those arcs are inter-related, but they are clearly separate events.

Well, the reason I didn't list his hair-style change is because I didn't want to bother listing all the little cosmetic changes that I could've, otherwise I'd have to add Roy's belt, Haley's hairstyles, etc...
Again, it was arbitrary, but I didn't really focus on every little detail in my list, just wanted to give a general overview.

About the rest, I was thinking in terms of plotlines, the same applies with the Mark of Justice plotline for Belkar. It's true that there were several events that defined their development, but then I would have had to list all the countless events that defined the other characters' plotlines too.
My point was that Roy/Elan/Haley had several plotlines that revolved mostly around them during the course of the story, not just one, with any number of events involved.


Though it's obvious someone else could make up a different series of plotlines than the one I'm seeing, so don't take me too literally here, I'm just talking about a general impression that I got from reading the story several times. :smallsmile:

[Omergideon]

Hello, I'm a long time fan of this story and never miss the chance to praise it; however, I've been having the impression that, among the members of the OotS, Roy, Elan and Haley are generally favored over Durkon, Vaarsuvius and Belkar.

By "Favored", I mean that they seem to get a lot more relevance, development and exposure compared to the other, supposedly equally important members of the Order.

As far as Roy goes, it is to be expected, given he's the main protagonist of the story, but I've never really liked when the author seems to play favorites with equally important side-character/co-protagonists, it tends to break my suspension of disbelief.

Did anyone else get the same impression? :smallconfused:

I think they are favoured, in the sense you say. I think of Elan as the second protagonist of the Order (much as Xykon and Redcloak are the primary and secondary villains) and as such is going to get more screentime and important arcs. Haley, as someone important to that character is also important. However unlike you I don't mind this at all. Having favoured characters is no issue to me. The only time it bothers me is if a character I dislike is being given more screen time than others. And by dislike I mean find actively annoying and/or unpleasent to read about.

just a difference of opinion.

[Excise]

While obviously some characters get more screen time and plot focus than others, a lot of the criteria here seems irrelevant. Relatives, changes in weapons, or how many times their Linear Guild opposite has changed seems very unimportant.

[Morty]

Trying to achieve some artificial "balance" between the way various characters are treated by the story would have little point and likely come off as forced. The story isn't made out of rubber and you can only strain it so much.

[ilcane87]

While obviously some characters get more screen time and plot focus than others, a lot of the criteria here seems irrelevant. Relatives, changes in weapons, or how many times their Linear Guild opposite has changed seems very unimportant.

True, but I never said those characters are favored only in crucial things, impressions are born from small things too.

For instance, in the current arc, 3 characters out of 6 received a "powerup" in the form of a new magic item, guess which ones?
It's not like it makes any real difference in the end, but it kind of bothers me to see that even something so unimportant always happens to the same old three, it diverts my attention from the story.

[zimmerwald1915]

Trying to achieve some artificial "balance" between the way various characters are treated by the story would have little point and likely come off as forced. The story isn't made out of rubber and you can only strain it so much.
Pushing the pendulum the other way, if a character is not terribly relevant, why are they in the story in the first place? OOTS ain't a D&D game, where if your friend shows up to play there's some implicit obligation to include her in the action.

[FujinAkari]

For instance, in the current arc, 3 characters out of 6 received a "powerup" in the form of a new magic item, guess which ones?

Oooh! I know! Roy, Elan, Haley, Durkon, Vaarsuvius, and Belkar! ... wait ... you count to three really poorly :P

[zimmerwald1915]

Oooh! I know! Roy, Elan, Haley, Durkon, Vaarsuvius, and Belkar! ... wait ... you count to three really poorly :P
Come now, you're an intelligent and perceptive fellow. You know perfectly well that ilcane meant Roy's Belt of Giant Strength, Haley's +<somethingorother> leather armor, and Elan's Belt of Charisma, and not Tarquin's flying carpet. :smallbiggrin:

[FujinAkari]

Come now, you're an intelligent and perceptive fellow. You know perfectly well that ilcane meant Roy's Belt of Giant Strength, Haley's +<somethingorother> leather armor, and Elan's Belt of Charisma, and not Tarquin's flying carpet. :smallbiggrin:

... fellow?

And Roy already had the belt of giant strength, so that really doesn't count as a new magic item, Haley didn't get any new leather armor in the current arc, and I don't even remember Elan's belt...

so I really don't see this evidence as being compelling :P

[Morty]

Pushing the pendulum the other way, if a character is not terribly relevant, why are they in the story in the first place? OOTS ain't a D&D game, where if your friend shows up to play there's some implicit obligation to include her in the action.

That would be true if there were any characters in the story that aren't relevant. Each member of the Order is relevant, some of them just get more subplots, related characters and such.

[ilcane87]

... fellow?

And Roy already had the belt of giant strength, so that really doesn't count as a new magic item, Haley didn't get any new leather armor in the current arc, and I don't even remember Elan's belt...

so I really don't see this evidence as being compelling :P

Actually, zimmerwald1915 has it right. :smalltongue:

With "current arc" I meant the "Search for Girard's Gate" arc, since I'm used to group arcs by compilation books, sorry if I didn't make myself clear. :smallsmile:

[Forikroder]

i think the only characters whohavent been flshed out as much are Belkar and Durkon, Belkar shouldnt be fleshed out for reasons explained, his character is best right where it it is what Belkar has done in the past doesnt affect him so doesnt need to be brought up

Durkon while someone who hasnt been fleshed out much does get alot of screen time and alot of talking about his beliefs and we know some of his back story so its ok for him to be the last character to really get fleshed out

i think this sort of discussion should be left until the series is over, its hard to flesh out every chacter all at the same time so i ahve no problem with each of them getting there own arcs and subplots to flesh out with

[zimmerwald1915]

... fellow?
I don't see gender :smallredface:

More precisely, your gender marker appears as a small red "x" to me. I could have assumed that meant "martian", but that just seemed so outlandish.


And Roy already had the belt of giant strength, so that really doesn't count as a new magic item, Haley didn't get any new leather armor in the current arc, and I don't even remember Elan's belt...

so I really don't see this evidence as being compelling :P
Depends where you put the beginning of the arc, I guess. Putting the beginning of the arc in Sandsedge isn't unreasonable.

[thepsyker]

More precisely, your gender marker appears as a small red "x" to me. I could have assumed that meant "martian", but that just seemed so outlandish.

OT, but wouldn't it make more sense for the little Mars symbol to mean "martian"? A red X would obviously mean Pirate, based on their love of marking things with X's.

[rgrekejin]

Depends where you put the beginning of the arc, I guess. Putting the beginning of the arc in Sandsedge isn't unreasonable.

Durkon disagrees. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0732.html) :smallbiggrin:

[Jaros]

I'm also not sure why V's decision to change his hairstyle doesn't count as an art upgrade, nor why V is only creditted with being the focus of the Black Dragon story arc, rather than the Black Dragon Story Arc, the young Black Dragon Story Arc, the IFCC/Qarr Story Arc, and the Familicide Repercussions Story Arc. Yes, all those arcs are inter-related, but they are clearly separate events.

And a bunch of stuff running through the Azurites at sea arcs. And you might count his/her own part of the Azure City battle.

[Cizak]

Roy: [...] his Linear Guild alternate never changed [...]

Except that it just did...

[Ninja Dragon]

I don't know about V or Belkar, but I really think Durkon should get some character development. The last time he did was in Dungeon Crawling Fools, when he met that dwarf girl.

[Kish]

Let's see. Items confirmed since the start of the comic:
:belkar: Ring of Jumping. Consumed Jar of Dune Spice.
:durkon: Amulet of Natural Armor.
:elan: Haggled-Up Belt of Charisma. Elvenest Boots Ever. +3 Keen Rapier That Fought The Devil-King of Dinosaur Island.
:haley: Minty-Fresh Bow. Formerly Lime Green Boots of Speed. Dyed Leather Armor. Lots of Bags of Holding. Crystal's Daggersword.
:roy: +5 Green Energy Greatsword. Belt of Unknown Giant Strength. Bag of Tricks.
:vaarsuvius: Ring of Wizardry. Lots of Heroism Potions.

Am I missing any?

Edited: Thanks.

[Gift Jeraff]

Julio's rapier. Not sure if you'd count Crystal's +4 dagger.

[Winter]

Hello, I'm a long time fan of this story and never miss the chance to praise it; however, I've been having the impression that, among the members of the OotS, Roy, Elan and Haley are generally favored over Durkon, Vaarsuvius and Belkar.

By "Favored", I mean that they seem to get a lot more relevance, development and exposure compared to the other, supposedly equally important members of the Order.

Yes, that is because the first three are the actual main chars of the story and the latter are merely supporters.

Each supporter has one major character flaw they have to deal with - and that is where their spotlight happens, their character development and their focus (Durkon has the problem we have not really seen his part).

I think there's nothing to see here. The three most likeable, most complex main characters get the spotlight and have the focus of the story on them and the supporters only support them... yeah, hum... please go on, citizen, nothing to see here.

When it comes to "heroics" and "awesome moments", I think all characters (the Order as well as all NPCs) get their spotlight in quite big chunks.

[Eigenclass]

Yes, that is because the first three are the actual main chars of the story and the latter are merely supporters.

I sort of agree with this view, but maybe Elan isn't really "main" either - and we're also downplaying Belkar's role in the story.

Roy & Haley are interesting characters because they have initiative, the ability to make plot happen - Elan does not. It's debatable whether he's even had his own plotlines, or whether he appears in plot points that are actually dominated by NPCs and adds interpretation for the audience. "His" romantic subplot with Therkla was really all about her - replace Elan with a pet rock and you'd get largely the same story. Same with the Empire of Blood - Haley was the one actually moving the story.

Belkar probably fades into the background because he's simply not a very relatable character. He's a psychotic murder that occasionally provides comedy, and he's only slightly less annoying ever since he got the cat...

But from a storytelling perspective, Belkar is an undeniable presence. In a way he represents the common reaction of adventurers in an RPG to problems, meeting them with violence and murder first - even so-called Lawful or Lawful Good characters. The fact that we know that he's an evil little bugger is what makes his ideas sound horrible, and provides a good foil for the "Good" approach favored by Roy and occasionally Haley.

In addition to being probably the main reason for Miko to distrust the OOTS, the panels with Belkar and his unrestrained brutality provide most of the "action movie" feel to the combat scenes. He doesn't just stand there and swing his arm like Roy and Durkon, he goes nuts like a honey badger in your face. Like when he disassembled the Thieves Guild goons in the Greysky City episode, I was actually cheering!

In comparison, everyone else looks pretty static when they fight (with the key exception of Roy in the arena, but even that was mostly Thog being brutal). I think the difference is that Belkar actually enjoys fighting and looking good doing it - he takes combat seriously. I love to watch that little guy kick ass, and it really wouldn't be the same comic without him.

[Gnomish Wanderer]

I think that the only character that hasn't been equally represented is Durkon. Everyone else has had their big moments and their time in the spotlight. And if certain characters have gotten more spotlight, it's because they are actually doing things worth watching. You can't expect Rich to have all the characters do compelling things and keep having the story make sense, that would definitely feel forced. Just try to imagine one of your 'side' characters in the role of one of your 'main' characters. It just wouldn't make sense and it wouldn't be an interesting read. I'm excited for when Durkon gets to shine, and the whole storyline has been really compelling for me, more than you should expect from free media.

[Steven]

You know what you get if you try and give every character in your story an equal amount of representation and character development? Well you can get a pretty awesome story. Or.... You can get the three or four painfully slow extraneous books in the wheel of time series. Ouch.

[Math_Mage]

Rather than asking whether each character has gotten the SAME amount of screen time in the story, we should be asking whether each character has gotten an APPROPRIATE amount of screen time. Is each character's screen time proportionate to his role in the story and room for character growth? I think the answer to that is 'yes'.

Roy is...well, he's the driver of the main plot.

Elan is following a classic 'growing up' character arc, lots and lots of room to play with story there. He also gets to share a lot of Haley's spotlight thanks to their relationship, and his childish nature makes a lot of light-hearted scenes possible, which is why he's the second most storied character in the Order.

Haley and V are each following classic story arcs; "There's more to life than money," and "Power corrupts." Lots of story to play with in both cases.

Belkar? Ironically, he's part of the light-hearted side of this story so far. There's a limit to how much story you can give a comic relief character before he stops being one. His own character arc parodies the idea of character growth--how much real character growth can you give to someone like that?

And Durkon...well, his lack of distinguishing characteristics is even lampshaded here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0602.html). What is there for the Giant to flesh out? Reverting to a gamer's perspective for a moment, it's the classic problem of a character sheet without enough backstory for the DM to work it into the plot.

If there's anything missing from the story, it's that Durkon wasn't given a distinctive enough presence around which story arcs could be built. Other than that, I'd say each character got, not the same amount of time, but a suitable amount of time. And that's the way it should be.

[Winter]

Elan is part of the "Haley-Thing". So I agree he's not in the same league as Roy and Haley but Elan is an integral part of that and as such I'd count him among the main chars of this comic (but I would not have a problem if someone else said the mains are Roy and Helay and the rest of the Order were supporters).

Belkar is afaik unimportant for the story. Yes, he has some moments where he rescues other and makes a difference, but he really does not go beyond being the guy who makes all the "brutal jokes".

He got a quite nice sideplot where he got char development by faking char development, but all in all, he's less important to the story than Durkon (who is totally bland and had no char development or longer own plot by now).

Belkar fullfills the role of the "funny guy who causes mayhem" and that was it.

And since he started to do the "Cat **** in People's Mouths" jokes, I think he really has to go very soon. If any character in this comic had a "Jump the Shark" moment, it was Belkar with that scene (and the repetition of it a bit later).

[Murray]

If I wanted to exacerbate things, I could point out how the human characters all got romantic dinners during the festival in Azure City, while the three demi-humans got stuck at a crappy chain restaurant (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html). AND Rich rolled poorly on their Charisma attributes! Is Rich a human supremacist? Or just bogged down juggling multiple plots with an ensemble cast? Was Star Trek: The Next Generation sexist because the blind guy got more episodes than the female doctor or the therapist?

There's an interview transcript that suggests Rich recognizes some of these issues:
(section 5C (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12094927&postcount=2), from ThePhantasm's snazzy Giant quote thread)

Jesse - It seems like Vaarsuvius has become a character with a lot of internal moral conflict recently as well.

Rich - That's true, that is correct, and that was a conscious sort of effort on my part, because I felt like Vaarsuvius had been underutilized. . . by the end of the War and XPs book I felt like Vaarsuvius was sort of. . . "and then we have an elf!" Which is a problem I still have with Durkon but I have plans to address as well.

Somewhere in the transcript, he also talks about how certain characters are easier to write than others.

Overall, Durkon's pretty dang effective in combat, and seems a lot more confident when he's applying Dwarvish smackdown and less bewildered than normal. Dead or no, I'm expecting him to get a lot more face-time when the Order gets to Kraagor's gate, especially if it's in or near Dwarven lands, his old home turf.

[martianmister]

If I wanted to exacerbate things, I could point out how the human characters all got romantic dinners during the festival in Azure City, while the three demi-humans got stuck at a crappy chain restaurant.

Then you must be missed (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0483.html) the obvious (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0223.html) love (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0781.html) triangle (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0316.html) between (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0645.html)them (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0667.html). :smallamused:

[rgrekejin]

If I wanted to exacerbate things, I could point out how the human characters all got romantic dinners during the festival in Azure City, while the three demi-humans got stuck at a crappy chain restaurant (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html).

...okay, two of those three human character had a romantic dinner with EACH OTHER. That does not count. V was married at the time and Belkar is incapable of engaging in a meaningful relationship with another sentient being. Any of the rest of them getting romantic dinners would have required an enormous break in character.