How could Tarquin be more badass? WMG

[Longest Skies]

So we all know this guy is a fighter, but do you think Tarquin has any other class levels?

Now Personally I do not play D&D so please feel free to correct my viciously when I mistake class abilities.

Some levels in Blackguard. Personal hope, because having some greater abilities than just Fighter would be cool. Image since Tarquin said "But they only cost a few charges from your staff..." line to Malack. Made me think what if Tarquin could also raise undead minions though with considerable strain. Now Tarquin seems ridiculously smart even compared to Roy for instance. So would he let that intelligence score go to waste? IDK I feel like Tarquin would like having an Ace-In-The-Hole ability/ magic powers.

Now I know it might make him more cliché, but I was wondering what you guys think would be badass for Tarquin to reveal about his abilities?

[Thrax]

Since blackguards are more about "teh evulz" (while Tarquin is all about personal gain, rather than any abstract moral concepts), I see him as more of a Paladin of Tyranny - with Smite Chaos as opposed to Smite Good.

[Dr.Epic]

I was wondering what you guys think would be badass for Tarquin to reveal about his abilities?

Maybe once he just abandoned his loyal teammate to certain death when he could have easily saved him. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0153.html)

Or maybe he betrayed all his loyal teammates just for a chance to score with a complete stranger. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0204.html)

Or maybe he almost killed one of his teammates just because he thought they were telling a joke. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0880.html)

No wait, none of those things are evil. They're all Lawful Good. My mistake.

:smallwink:
:smalltongue:

[Once a Fool]

Everything that Tarquin has been shown to be capable of is something that a high-level fighter can do.

He is clearly not a blackguard, because he serves no master but himself. If he were a blackguard, I think it likely we would have seen him detect and/or smite good at least once by now. If he were sufficiently high-level, he would have a fiendish servant, which, unless it's Kilkil, is not something we've seen.

Frankly, Blackguard is just not a good fit for what we've seen of Tarquin so far.

...And straight fighter is. I think that Tarquin and Roy both illustrate that high intelligence doesn't have to map directly to a class feature in order to be useful.

[gorocz]

So we all know this guy is a fighter, but do you think Tarquin has any other class levels?
We actually don't know for sure he has even one fighter level. It does seem most probable, since he seems to have quite a few feats and fighter is one of the basic classes, but he could easily be something else. I don't think utilising Occam's Razor as an evidence for his classification as a fighter is the best thing in this comic since it'd probably be more interesting if he wasn't "just another fighter"...

On the other hand, I don't think he has some very obscure prestige class from some long forgotten sourcebook (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0390.html) either. It'd be cool if he was something other than a fighter but somehow obvious yet also hidden, if you know what I mean...

Blackguard is mentioned quite often, just because how cool it is and it's an evil melee character. But the lack of evidence (never cast any spell, has never been seen utilising any of the class abilities...) is a strong reason against, though this might be played only for a dramatic reveal later after which thousands of forumers are going to brag how they predicted it a long time ago...

[martianmister]

Do you know what would be really badass? Killing Belkar and his manslaughterer cat! He totally should do that!

Well, at least, killing Belkar would be a good start...

[Kish]

I truly wonder why martianmister has it in for Mr. Scruffy.

[Shred-Bot]

I truly wonder why martianmister has it in for Mr. Scruffy.

Maybe she's a dog person?

And clearly Tarquin is a gestalt cleric//warblade, using DMM persisted divine power.:smallbiggrin:

[Longest Skies]

Cool thanks for the responses. Like I said this was like an improbable hope. As for not casting spells or using those class abilities. I may be grasping at straws, but so far has he really needed to use them? I mean the dude is obviously a high-level something. IDK how many campaigns 35 years is in OoTS universe but must be worth something?

I know this I all guessing but I would imagine some of those abilities as a "Bankai"-like techniques(sorry only thing I could really think of). But IDK I guess your right. Please give more theories all this stuff is interesting to me. :D

[Kish]

Maybe she's a dog person?
I'm a cat person, yet somehow, that doesn't make me wish Argent ill.

Responding to the OP, I think the most badass thing Tarquin could reveal is that he's a single-classed fighter, who's gotten as far as he has on actual brains, not plusses.

I don't expect that to be the case, because I actually think Tarquin's a good deal less cool than that.

[Shred-Bot]

I'm a cat person, yet somehow, that doesn't make me wish Argent ill.

Responding to the OP, I think the most badass thing Tarquin could reveal is that he's a single-classed fighter, who's gotten as far as he has on actual brains, not plusses.

I don't expect that to be the case, because I actually think Tarquin's a good deal less cool than that.

... maybe martianmister is really Alf, then? :smalltongue:

[King of Nowhere]

I don't see the blackguards as cool. I see them as an overused clichè, so I don't think the story will be improved if he was one just for the sake of it.

Well, I feel the same about vampires actually (I mean, I walk in any bookstore and look at the ffantasy section, and see half the books there are about vampires fighting werevolwes, and I think what the hell, try to be a bit creative when you write a fantasy book!), but malack has a lot of personality so he don't count as a random vapire on my clichè-meter. In general, rich burlew put enough personality and twist into his character that they never trigger the aformentioned clichè-meter even if many are pretty archetypical.


P.S. I plead guilty about using a blackguard myself in my time as a DM when I needed an expendable villain for a sidequest. The same sidequest featured nymphs that the pcs obviously tried to woo. But I gave him a bit of personality and made him the butt end of a joke; I also used the nymphs to get some laughs at the players. So I can overall forgive myself for overusing overused elements. I don't know how many will be intersted in how i twisted my cliches, but the scene came to my mind and now I can't stop writing it.

The balckguard's evil monologue was on the line of "Everyone always thought me useless and incompetent, and I've grown up planning to show them all! Even my parents called me that, and so I tied them up and set fire to the house. Except [starts cying], it turned out they were right, because I couldn't lit a fire no matter how much tar I poured over the walls! And then I decided to go in and finish them with a knife, but turned out I was also incapable of tying knots, since they already freed themselves and fled!" That just after he tried to summon a balor and ended up with an imp. That after he failed to sacrifice the nymph tied to his altar, stabbing her in the shoulder instead of the heart.

As for the nymphs, I decided that don't actually feel anything particular there, they have no concept of sexuality, and so to they would have nothing against sex with humans. To them, it is no different experience than just holding hands, and since humans appear to like it so much, and they had a debt with them, they had no reason to refuse. The downside was that since they don't experience any sexual ssensation, their attitude during the sexual act ranged from total indifference (up to filing their nails or compiling crosswords) to laughing at their partner because they thought he was making funny faces.
I'm still picturing the scene in my mind and laughing for it.

[Clericzilla]

Maybe she's a dog person?

And clearly Tarquin is a gestalt cleric//warblade, using DMM persisted divine power.:smallbiggrin:

Crusader gestalted with Fighter 10/Cleric2 /Ruby Knight VWindicator 8 ?

Yeah just for the hell of it

[rgrekejin]

Frankly, the thing that would impress me most is if Tarquin has avoided taking any levels in those silly Martial Adept classes everyone seems to think he must have levels in.

[Mike Havran]

He's been around since the olden days, so I doubt he has any prestige class. But he'll get more badass - with his next appearance.

[SowZ]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he grabbed a few levels in Warblade, but since he has been around since the old days, as others have said, most of his levels are likely fighter levels.

[martianmister]

I truly wonder why martianmister has it in for Mr. Scruffy.

It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:

[gorocz]

It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:

Well, the guy tried to hurt his master (Belkar) who seemed confused whether he can kill him or not... Even a 1st level Commoner can roll a 20...

[Thrax]

It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:

(It's a cat, it doesn't have a conscience to tell right from wrong, or innocent from guilty - "if it can hurt me or my pack, I hurt it to stop it")

Also, warblade might be a good fit for Tarquin, though it may not be core enough.

[Forum Explorer]

It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:

Two things

1. I don't think the cat can tell the difference between an evil vampire eating Belkar and a level 1 commoner

2. He's not innocent, after all he got arrested for something [/Malack] :smallwink:

[martianmister]

(It's a cat, it doesn't have a conscience to tell right from wrong, or innocent from guilty - "if it can hurt me or my pack, I hurt it to stop it")


1. I don't think the cat can tell the difference between an evil vampire eating Belkar and a level 1 commoner

Doesn't really matters. It's a danger to well-being of other people, so it should be put down.

[Joe the Rat]

If you take his being from way back literally, then he's probably a straight-up fighter. The other wonky fighter-like classes way back when had alignment restrictions. Though I suppose he could have dual classed over from something else first...


It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:
No, he was guilty. Otherwise he wouldn't have been sent to the arena.

:smallbiggrin:

[Morty]

I sincerely hope that yes, Tarquin is just a single-classed Fighter. If you think that a high Intelligence score goes to waste on a Fighter, then I advise you to pay more attention to that big black guy with a sword who shows up pretty often.

[Rig]

After reading game of thrones, I'm curious as to where he'll go with this. Personally i think he's going to have both a deep characterization and potent intriguing skill to the point where his badass is justified. Another thing would be seeing how he compares to those rulers and otherwise as capable as himself. The elf leaders for instance. I look forward to this continent being fleshed out a bit.

[Thrax]

Doesn't really matters. It's a danger to well-being of other people, so it should be put down.

It does matter, very much. That's all I'm going to say on this matter in this thread.

[Kish]

It's killing innocent people (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html) wouldn't be a good reason? :smallconfused:
He.

And no, "the evil ranger's animal companion killed one of the evil ranger's apparently good-aligned enemies" is not a good reason to develop a colossal mad-on, not for Belkar, but for Mr. Scruffy.

[martianmister]

colossal mad-on, not for Belkar, but for Mr. Scruffy.

Strawman arguement. I already said that Belkar should be put down.


And no, "the evil ranger's animal companion killed one of the evil ranger's apparently good-aligned enemies" is not a good reason to develop a colossal mad-on

Why? Because he's a nameless NPC? Next one could be Roy, or some paladin who want to put down a murderous halfling.


He

It.

[Kish]

And yet, you do not attempt to claim that Belkar is a thing rather than a he, even using the word "his" in your first post in this thread. So...no. Not a strawman.

[Shale]

I'll be mildly disappointed if he doesn't turn out to be a ridiculously intelligent single-class Warrior.

[Kish]

Clarification question here. Do you mean warrior, the NPC class, or do you mean fighter?

[Mike Havran]

Mr. Scruffy has so many loyal fans. Obviously that's reason enough to hate it. Brings Balance to the For-um. :smalltongue:

[martianmister]

And yet, you do not attempt to claim that Belkar is a thing rather than a he. So...no. Not a strawman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_%28pronoun%29


In English, words such as it and its genitive form its have been used to refer to human babies and animals, although with the passage of time this usage has come to be considered too impersonal in the case of babies, as it may be thought to demean a conscious being to the status of a mere object. This use of "it" is also criticized when used it as a rhetorical device to dehumanize their enemies, implying that they were little more than other animals. The word remains in common use however, and its use increases with the degree to which the speaker views an object of speech as impersonal. For example, someone else's dog is often referred to as "it", especially if the dog isn't known by the speaker, or if the dog's gender is unknown. A person would rarely say "it" when referring to his/her own cat or dog. Examples:

The baby had its first apple.
They are taking their dog to the vet, as they said it looked ill.


:sigh:

[Longest Skies]

lol wonderful argument though feels random...

[Thrax]

lol wonderful argument though feels random...

Yeah, apparently Tarquin could be more badass by killing Belkar's cat. Who knew?

[Shale]

Clarification question here. Do you mean warrior, the NPC class, or do you mean fighter?

The NPC class. I meant to make that clear by capitalizing it, but I probably should have specified.

[Gift Jeraff]

If it turned out his old (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html) helm (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0725.html) was his true face.

[Rig]

He's pissing about while expecting Xykon to show up, if I'm correct about how much Nale knows. This question will soon be answered.

[Caex]

Beat down Xykon. Not likely to happen, but it would certainly mean he's more badass.


I'll be mildly disappointed if he doesn't turn out to be a ridiculously intelligent single-class Warrior.

While that would be awesome, it would leave him something short of the feats or class abilities that are probably needed for him to do the things we've seen him do in combat.

[SaintRidley]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_%28pronoun%29



:sigh:

You only quoted something which defeats your argument. Babies and animals get an it only when their sex is unknown. They get the appropriate gendered pronoun otherwise.

Examples:

Look at that baby over there. It looks so happy.

Why is this baby naked? He's going to get sand in everything!

Don't touch that cat; it might have fleas.

"Dude, your cat is nibbling my toes."
"Oh, yeah, she does that sometimes."


So unless you're arguing that Shojo named his female cat Mr. Scruffy as part of his senility ploy, Mr. Scruffy is he (and if you are arguing that, Mr. Scruffy is a she. At no point is Mr. Scruffy an it, unless we encounter someone who does not know the cat and does not know his name and who refers to the cat in which case Mr. Scruffy is an it to that person, but still not to us). As a reader, you are within the familiarity zone.

So, congratulations on that spectacular own goal.

[rodneyAnonymous]

While that would be awesome, it would leave him something short of the feats or class abilities that are probably needed for him to do the things we've seen him do in combat.

Like what?

[martianmister]

...

Please read the whole post...again?

[SaintRidley]

I did. Did you? Because it only works that way if you're in a position where familiarity with the baby or animal is not assumed. As a reader, familiarity is assumed.

[martianmister]

I did. Did you? Because it only works that way if you're in a position where familiarity with the baby or animal is not assumed. As a reader, familiarity is assumed.

Let me help you then:


The word remains in common use however, and its use increases with the degree to which the speaker views an object of speech as impersonal. For example, someone else's dog is often referred to as "it", especially if the dog isn't known by the speaker, or if the dog's gender is unknown. A person would rarely say "it" when referring to his/her own cat or dog.

[rodneyAnonymous]

I'd say it's "correct" to refer to a non-human animal as it even if you know better, but that's explicitly not nice.

[martianmister]

I'd say it's "correct" to refer to a non-human animal as it even if you know better, but that's explicitly not nice.

Well, that's what I learned from english classes in my country...

[pearl jam]

I'd say it's "correct" to refer to a non-human animal as it even if you know better, but that's explicitly not nice.

Explicitly not nice seems to overstate things to me. It may be unkind, but situation and intent matter, I think.

[Living Oxymoron]

I recommend you to see this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13844027&postcount=87), which is, in my opinion, one of the best possible explanations about Tarquin's abilities.

[Thrax]

Well, that's what I learned from english classes in my country...

So you admit you're trying to get a rise out of people?

[Kish]

The second martianmister chose to brush off correction from a native English speaker, and quoted a Wikipedia entry that, even if someone treated it as authoritative, doesn't actually support "it" being the correct form for an established-male cat, it was obvious that being maximally technically correct was not her priority.
'This use of "it" is also criticized when used it as a rhetorical device to dehumanize their enemies'...Mm hm.

[pearl jam]

Well, Mr. Scruffy is not human, so I'm not sure that dehumanizing him is a particularly cruel offense. If Martianmister were speaking to Belkar it would be more polite to refer to Mr. Scruffy as "him", but given that she has, clearly, no personal relationship with Mr. Scruffy, referring to Mr. Scruffy as "it" is not all that unusual, as indicated by the quote from Wikipedia.

[SaintRidley]

Well, Mr. Scruffy is not human, so I'm not sure that dehumanizing him is a particularly cruel offense. If Martianmister were speaking to Belkar it would be more polite to refer to Mr. Scruffy as "him", but given that she has, clearly, no personal relationship with Mr. Scruffy, referring to Mr. Scruffy as "it" is not all that unusual, as indicated by the quote from Wikipedia.

That would work if Mr. Scruffy were not part of the main adventuring group. Being a reader of said group's antics does put you in a type of personal relationship with the group. It doesn't mean you have to like everybody in the group, but you can't claim the degree of unfamiliarity necessary to use it when you know the character's gender.

[Rig]

Now, why did Tarquin bring along his accountant? And why the strangely effective holy word? http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0863.html.

[Kish]

Huh? The Holy Word did exactly what it was expected to do.

[pearl jam]

That would work if Mr. Scruffy were not part of the main adventuring group. Being a reader of said group's antics does put you in a type of personal relationship with the group. It doesn't mean you have to like everybody in the group, but you can't claim the degree of unfamiliarity necessary to use it when you know the character's gender.

What I meant when I suggested she does not feel a personal relationship toward Mr. Scruffy is that, clearly, she views him as something of an antagonist and feels no connection with him at all, thus she refers to him by the impersonal "it". I have no particular feelings about Mr. Scruffy one way or the other, but since he's called "Mr. Scruffy", I would use "him". Both of these situations seem to fall within accepted usage for referring to animals, in my opinion. Clearly referring to Mr Scruffy as "it" rubs some people the wrong way, but, since he's not my pet, it doesn't bother me.

[Thrax]

Now, why did Tarquin bring along his accountant? And why the strangely effective holy word? http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0863.html.

I think Holy Word affects non-good characters, so he's not necessarily evil.

[martianmister]

That would work if Mr. Scruffy were not part of the main adventuring group. Being a reader of said group's antics does put you in a type of personal relationship with the group.It doesn't mean you have to like everybody in the group, but you can't claim the degree of unfamiliarity necessary to use it when you know the character's gender.

As I said before, It's a perfectly normal to use "it" as a pronoun for animals (whether I like or hate them). More proof from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_personal_pronouns#Use_of_he.2C_she_and_it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_in_English#Personal_pronouns


Though animals are often referred to as it, he and she are sometimes used for animals when the animal's sex is known and is of interest, particularly for higher animals, especially pets and other domesticated animals.[6] Inanimate objects with which humans have a close relationship, such as ships, cars and countries considered as political, rather than geographical, entities, are sometimes referred to as she.[6] This may also be extended to other entities, such as towns.


it (and itself, its) is used when the referent is something inanimate, often when it is an animal, and sometimes for a child when the sex is unspecified.


The second martianmister chose to brush off correction from a native English speaker, and quoted a Wikipedia entry that, even if someone treated it as authoritative

As I said before, that's what I learned from my teachers in my country, and wikipedia article is supporting what they said.


doesn't actually support "it" being the correct form for an established-male cat

For the god's sake, yes it does:


For example, someone else's dog is often referred to as "it", especially if the dog isn't known by the speaker, or if the dog's gender is unknown. A person would rarely say "it" when referring to his/her own cat or dog.


it was obvious that being maximally technically correct was not her priority.

Pardon me Kish, but you're the one who claimed that my use of pronoun is wrong. You're the one who started this discussion in the first place...


'This use of "it" is also criticized when used it as a rhetorical device to dehumanize their enemies'...Mm hm.

Yes, I dehumanized a cat... :smallannoyed:


This use of "it" is also criticized when used it as a rhetorical device to dehumanize their enemies, implying that they were little more than other animals.


So you admit you're trying to get a rise out of people?

No. What kind of a question is this? And why do you attacking to me? :smallannoyed:

[pearl jam]

I'd say it's "correct" to refer to a non-human animal as it even if you know better, but that's explicitly not nice.

The bolded part is where the confusion here started.


Well, that's what I learned from english classes in my country...

My impression is that your reply is focused on the first part "'correct' to refer to a non-human animal as it"


So you admit you're trying to get a rise out of people?

While question is emphasizing the second half, "that's explicitly not nice"



No. What kind of a question is this? And why do you attacking to me? :smallannoyed:

If you were agreeing with the whole first quote, and the bold part in particular, then your use of "it" for Mr. Scruffy would be a deliberate choice to disrespect him. If, in fact, you were only really agreeing with the first half of that quote, then this is not the case.

[R-Group]

Hmmm...my biggest concern here isn't over any kind of grammatical issue, but more to the point of martianmister's opinion that an animal, and a house-cat at that, deserves to be put down for "manslaughter". I have very strong feelings over the rights of animals and how they should be treated, and especially against the use of death as a punishment for an animal's actions. Cats and dogs aren't sentient like us glorified apes, they can't have "malicious intent" like a person can, and I find it wrong to condemn an animal's actions with human justice. Mr. Scruffy defended his owner, who was fighting defensively against a hostile enemy, and in the end a house-cat killed a commoner. It would be akin to sentencing a family dog who killed a violent assailant to jail time. It makes no sense! That kind of thinking only leads to a Disney Movie Morality to cross over to the real world. Animals aren't inherently good or evil, and I highly doubt that Mr. Scruffy had any kind of murderous tendency before or after he defended his master.

However, I hope this isn't taken as any kind of personal attack on you, martianmister. I don't mean to be offensive, I just want my position to be clearly understood. It is just a discussion, after all.

[Emmit Svenson]

So we all know this guy is a fighter, but do you think Tarquin has ...Some levels in Blackguard[?]

Yes, yes I do.

Because this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0419.html

...becomes interesting in light of this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0858.html

On the one hand, it would be weird if Sabine and Tarquin hadn't ever had sex.

On the other hand, "friendly contact with an evil outsider".

There's been a lot of Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker references between Tarquin and Elan. Taken further, this would imply Tarquin fell from some state of heroic grace.

So yes, I think some blackguard levels. Two would be my guess, for Dark Blessing's charisma bonus to saves.

[Once a Fool]

I'd just like to point out that we (and all characters within the OotSverse, who are familiar with him) can confidently say that Mr. Scruffy is a he. Because his name is Mr. Scruffy.

[Living Oxymoron]

I really think he is a Swordsage (what to me is badass enough) based on the link I posted before in this thread and on some things like his ability to defend himself against exotic combat styles (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0762.html) and love for battles (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0822.html). But the decision of taking a whip instead of other weapon, besides his love for drama (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0725.html), knowledge of narrative structures (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0762.html) and ability to use it for his own favor (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0821.html) made me wonder if he has one or more levels of Bard.

Levels of Bard in his build are far away from what I consider (badass), but it would be realistic considering what I pointed out above. As for the Blackguard... well, I generally am not against any decision the Giant makes about his story, but if Tarquin reveals himself as a Blackguard in the future, I would be very disappointed, because it would spoil his character, which is good (or evil) enough without some boring outsider to account for.

[Silverionmox]

Yes, yes I do.

Because this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0419.html

...becomes interesting in light of this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0858.html

On the one hand, it would be weird if Sabine and Tarquin hadn't ever had sex.

On the other hand, "friendly contact with an evil outsider".

There's been a lot of Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker references between Tarquin and Elan. Taken further, this would imply Tarquin fell from some state of heroic grace.

So yes, I think some blackguard levels. Two would be my guess, for Dark Blessing's charisma bonus to saves.
I'm sure "friendly contact with an evil outsider" means the opportunity to negotiate a faustian bargain, rather than actually buddying up with one in your daily life.

Given the whip reference and the fact that we're already in a kind of trapped temple I think the Giant is freely mixing well-known dramatic plots, so I don't think he feels the need to adhere rigidly to any scheme.

[Once a Fool]

I suppose it's possible that Mr. Giant retroactively turned Tarquin into a Swordsage, who's been wearing an expensive set of halfweight armor (+3 minimum, could have been had Glamored added later) at least since Nale was a little boy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html).

It's possible. But I think it's safe to say that Tarquin wasn't originally conceived as a Swordsage, because his first appearance was in 2004 and Tome of Battle wasn't released until 2006.

[gorocz]

On topic:

It's possible. But I think it's safe to say that Tarquin wasn't originally conceived as a Swordsage, because his first appearance was in 2004 and Tome of Battle wasn't released until 2006.
I don't think he's been conceived as anything in his first appearance, other than an evil warlord. I'd say that Rich doesn't prepare a character sheet for any character that appears in 2 panels of one comic. He had a character and knew that he can expand on it when needed and as needed. Why decide anything about a character you won't need for another 600 or so strips when you can do that on spot and make it just right for your current needs...


The second martianmister chose to brush off correction from a native English speaker, and quoted a Wikipedia entry that, even if someone treated it as authoritative, doesn't actually support "it" being the correct form for an established-male cat, it was obvious that being maximally technically correct was not her priority.
'This use of "it" is also criticized when used it as a rhetorical device to dehumanize their enemies'...Mm hm.
Oh... how often have I been corrected on my grammar by US speakers just because theyknow that I'm from a non-english speaking country. Yet some of these cases have proven to be just a difference between UK english and US english. English as a second language is always taught in the UK version. Teachers usually allow US words but will scrictly correct any US grammar (I still use an amalgamation of both, because I'm heavily influenced by both US and UK culture...). An example of this would be the usage of the present perfect tense. While it's not used much in the USA, it's required to be used in English lessons.

By the way - I'm fairly sure I've been taught the same as martianmister about gender specific pronouns.

And that's in a country, which uses, in it's language, "he" or "she" equivalents even for inanimate objects (even without any emotional attachment to it, we'd never let emotions in the way of our grammar and its rules) but can use the "it" equivalent for children, baby animals and in some cases even adult animals (we use "it" for a chick or a guinea pig but we'd use "she" for an amoeba or a song and "he" for a horse or a castle... )

When we know the gender of an animal AND WANT TO SPECIFY IT, we just use a different word for it altogether - like horse and a mare, cow and a bull, cat and a tom/-cat. We'd never use a gender-specific pronoun for a animal that's explicitly known as of the opposite gender than the one the general noun implies (e.g. we wouldn't say "He's a one tough cat.").

[pearl jam]

English as a second language is always taught in the UK version.

This may be true in your country, but it is not true everywhere. Some schools or businesses require American English to be taught. That, however, is a small detail and doesn't actually detract from the rest of your point.

[Longest Skies]

I really think he is a Swordsage (what to me is badass enough)... ability to use it for his own favor[/URL] made me wonder if he has one or more levels of Bard... I generally am not against any decision the Giant makes about his story, but if Tarquin reveals himself as a Blackguard in the future, I would be very disappointed, because it would spoil his character, which is good (or evil) enough without some boring outsider to account for.

Yeah as I have been reading around I agree. Though could you give me a wiki link for Swordsage, because I a unfamiliar with that one. Tarquin having been a bard makes sense. And honestly the blackguard idea after thinking about it doesn't make sense or conversely wouldn't be that cool.

and I end with a joke. "How can Tarquin be a Swordsage? he uses a goddam axe!" (but yeah thank you for the theory :smallbiggrin:)

[Living Oxymoron]

Yeah as I have been reading around I agree. Though could you give me a wiki link for Swordsage, because I a unfamiliar with that one. Tarquin having been a bard makes sense. And honestly the blackguard idea after thinking about it doesn't make sense or conversely wouldn't be that cool.

and I end with a joke. "How can Tarquin be a Swordsage? he uses a goddam axe!" (but yeah thank you for the theory :smallbiggrin:)

Hehehehe, thanks, Longest Skies, but the conception of the theory is not mine, it was already noted by some people in this forum, and the first thing I read about it was this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13844027&postcount=87), that compares Tarquin's abilities with the Swordsage Class abilities. But the things I wrote in my last post were from my perception about the possibility of Tarquin being a Martial Adept (a type of class presented in the Tome of Battle that includes the Swordsage, Crusader and the Warblade), and a Bard, according to things presented in the story.

I found this site (http://dndtools.eu/classes/swordsage/) with the details of the Swordsage, though it doesn't describe the manuevers, which are essential to understand the class.

[Longest Skies]

Hehehehe, thanks, Longest Skies, but the conception of the theory is not mine...
I found this site (http://dndtools.eu/classes/swordsage/) with the details of the Swordsage, though it doesn't describe the manuevers, which are essential to understand the class.

Cool thank you. I was born just late enough to never really know people into Tabletop games, which sucks cause they seem cool. But anyway reading through those links they put forwards a good case. I have to wonder if Rich even checks these What If? or WMGing threads. But I am kinda getting excited when the reveal of Tarquin's full potential is.

On that note I hope the order finishes their Lich problem first then turns do deal with Tarquin. Be cool maybe shift the focus to Elan again, and blasphemous but maybe some new heroes that join Elan to stop his father, allow for some epic cameos and... **** off-topic.

Anyway yeah it makes sense as much as most of the ideas presented.

[gorocz]

This may be true in your country, but it is not true everywhere. Some schools or businesses require American English to be taught. That, however, is a small detail and doesn't actually detract from the rest of your point.
Well yeah, I guess I meant "In European primary and secondary schools, English as a second language is mostly taught in British version.". I mean, we even had a guest teacher from Arizona one year back in high school and now at the university, half of the lecturers for courses taught in English are from the USA...

[Emmit Svenson]

I'm sure "friendly contact with an evil outsider" means the opportunity to negotiate a faustian bargain, rather than actually buddying up with one in your daily life.

I'm pretty sure "friendly contact" with Sabine goes well beyond contracts and buddying.