How has your opinion of Nale changed over time?

[BaronOfHell]

So far Nale and his linear guild has made 3 strikes, each with its own classic bad guy tactics.

1) Betray in Dungeons of Dorukan - Aim: Defeat Tarquin.

2) Kidnapping in Cliffport - Aim: Destroy OotS.

3) Ambush in the Empire of Blood - Aim: To rule the world(?).

Further more, there have been two scenes which I believe have provided further information.

A) When they fled Azure City, changing goals.

B) When the IFCC called them something along the lines of "stupid pawns".

Evaluating Nale as a leader of the Linear Guild, Nale has both been seen in positive as well as negative light on the boards.
While in all of his strikes, OotS had effectively "lost" in the sense Nale at least had the upper hand in some way, just to be thwarted by the OotS getting help in some way. Sometimes more predictable (Malack), sometimes not so (Ghost Eugene).

Nale has further more managed to get his ideas through and replace team members as needed.

On the other hand, Nale tends to focus with single-minded determination on his current plot to such an extend it does not look like he takes into account what to do should his plan actually succeed. But that's a personal interpretation as Nale has never completed any of the goals I believe he has been pursuing.

Further more, while he can get his team to follow his orders and can manage to collect a team, he also tend to easily lose team members.

Finally, one ought to consider what would have happened, had Nale not lost by, to different extend, unpredictable influences.
1) After Nale lost in Dungeons of Dorukan, we clearly saw how two low level clerics could handle the monsters. Therefore I think it stands to reason that even with the army as his disposal, Nale would not have been able to complete his goal of conquering his father's kingdom.
2) If Elan had never met Julio Scoundrel, Nale would have had free game to continue his assassination, but would he had been able to succeed? Would Durkon have been able to raise the others anyway? I don't know for sure, but it's my impression that Nale alone, despite being in disguise, would hardly have been able to make a dent into the OotS, at most a bit of disturbance and confusion.
3) Finally, I don't think the Ambush ever had a chance of working, but I also find it his weakest plan to date. I was surprised when they managed to take out Durkon, and it looked like half of the order was in trouble, but it was in Tarquin's kingdom, and I am certain he could quickly make arrangements for getting Elan and Haley raised, if needed be.
Durkon on the other hand I don't know what would have happened to.

A big part of Nale is not only him as a leader, but also the goals he sets. I personally try to identify with the ways of each character under the premises laid before me. As such to begin with I really enjoyed Nale because he managed to both create unnecessary conflict (which makes the story more interesting), and had a higher goal, where the OotS merely seemed like a random encounter for him.

So during the first strike, my opinion of Nale was high.

After his first loss, it seemed like he changed goal to revenge. As that is something I don't identify with easily, it seemed a bit lame to me, but he managed to bring an interesting fight and generated an interesting threat, which I at the time thought was a real threat.

As such, after the first strike, but before the Cliffport fights, my opinion of him had dropped a lot, but afterwards it rose once again.

Then came the scene where they fled Azure City, Nale having received the information of the Gates seemed to change goals and since the OotS got separated he got a head start in his search for a Gate.

Since Nale seemed to go away from what I considered an unworthy goal, which was exactly what had made my opinion of him drop, and on the same time changed it into something more grandeur, my opinion of Nale rose even further.

A long time passed since then, and we were introduced to the IFCC who I've high opinion of as antagonists, however as they described Nale in rather negative terms, it made me consider if Nale was worthy of high opinion.

Since then, Nale have had what I imagine would be approx. a year to complete his goal undisturbed under the nose of his own father. While managing to stay hidden. He has not managed to find what he searched for and further more there's no indication he knows what to do when he finds it. As such, my opinion of Nale dropped quite a lot.

How did your opinion of Nale change for each time he got scene time?

[Gift Jeraff]

I've started to feel bad for him after seeing who he had to deal with his whole life. :smallyuk:

As a strategist, I give him more credit than other characters do. He accurately predicted how the Order would divide themselves in Cliffport, after all.

[Reathin]

As time goes on, I like Nale less and less. This is not because of his evil deeds (Xykon has way better ones and he's one of my favorite characters), I just don't like the guy. I don't like most of the Linear Guild either (although Thog amuses me from time to time, even though he's a nasty piece of work). The more he shows up, the more screen time the Order has to spend dealing with him rather than something more interesting.

The strange thing is that I normally LIKE villains who prefer needlessly complicated plans. Maybe it's because I'm naturally predisposed to hate people who think they're incredibly brilliant but couldn't think their way out of a paper bag, perhaps the Linear Guild just feels played out...But I think it's because he reminds me of the steriotypical annoying baby brother who follows their more mature siblings around doing stupid things to get attention (my own younger brother, mercifully, wasn't the type but you see that sort of thing often enough). "Look at me, look at me, I'm important, please don't ignore me!". Ugg.

I have had exactly one moment of respect for Nale in the entire comic's run:

:nale: Malack. How's the family?

That took Epic level audacity and momentarily short circuited my loathing of him. The delivery was so perfect, I can only assume it was somehow borrowed from Tarquin via proximity.

[Raineh Daze]

I find him amusing to watch. He really needs to learn that planning all the fine details out in advance isn't going to work. :smallbiggrin:

Also, thread name pedantry: it should be has or opinions. Assuming that I am, in fact, awake enough to be correct.

[Water_Bear]

I like to argue with the "Nale is stupid and needs to die" camp, but there's no denying he is a little off in terms of his planning. His plans are rigid and have too many potential points of failure, he consistently overestimates his own abilities, and doesn't take narrative into account as much as he ought to.

I think Nale has a lot of insight into people's behavior and motives, probably why he is so good at putting disparate groups together. He also shows a lot of determination, and a surprising amount of creativity for a "cliche" villain. But he doesn't have the experience, in either sense of the word, to match Tarquin; he has trouble realistically evaluating people's abilities and rarely seems to make contingency plans. Overall, a strong leader if not a successful one.

Also, I'm not sure it's fair to call the ambush a "plan" on par with the first two. The reason he was in the Empire of Blood was to find Gerard's Gate without his father realizing it, a goal which he achieved with flying colors. The ambush was a reaction to the Order showing up unexpectedly and he mentions that it was thrown together at the last minute.

[Olinser]

As time goes on, I like Nale less and less. This is not because of his evil deeds (Xykon has way better ones and he's one of my favorite characters), I just don't like the guy. I don't like most of the Linear Guild either (although Thog amuses me from time to time, even though he's a nasty piece of work). The more he shows up, the more screen time the Order has to spend dealing with him rather than something more interesting.

The strange thing is that I normally LIKE villains who prefer needlessly complicated plans. Maybe it's because I'm naturally predisposed to hate people who think they're incredibly brilliant but couldn't think their way out of a paper bag, perhaps the Linear Guild just feels played out...But I think it's because he reminds me of the steriotypical annoying baby brother who follows their more mature siblings around doing stupid things to get attention (my own younger brother, mercifully, wasn't the type but you see that sort of thing often enough). "Look at me, look at me, I'm important, please don't ignore me!". Ugg.

I have had exactly one moment of respect for Nale in the entire comic's run:

:nale: Malack. How's the family?

That took Epic level audacity and momentarily short circuited my loathing of him. The delivery was so perfect, I can only assume it was somehow borrowed from Tarquin via proximity.

That was close to the single funniest one-liner in the entire comic, I had to admire Nale's titan-sized balls for making that comment.

Other than that, though, I have always had a pretty low opinion of Nale.

Basically it boils down to - he doesn't seem to have an endgame.

Xykon's endgame is to control the Gate and rule the world.

Tarquin's endgame is to continue building up power, and live a life of luxury until he dies and he is immortalized by Malack.

Redcloak's endgame is to raise goblinkind up to equal with all of the humanoid PC races.

Nale's goal seems to change according to his whim. He wanted to rule the Empire of Blood... because he wanted to rule. We never really found out why he wanted the Amulet of Dorukan, his goal in Cliffport was basically to destroy the OOTS, and he only found out about the Gates by accident.

Nale is a reactive villain. His goal seems to be, 'lash out at anybody that doesn't recognize my greatness'.




On a random note - what's that picture you have as your avatar? It looks very familiar, but I can't place it.

[Gift Jeraff]

The commentary for Paladin Blues clarifies that Nale wanted the Talisman of Dorukan to get back at his father for some probably imagined slight (which we now know to be denying him the throne).

[Kish]

People often talk about the Order only thwarting Nale due to luck, and ignore the way his plans only get anywhere near as far as they do because of luck.

His first plan was thwarted by a perfectly timed natural 20 from Haley, rather than by the Order seeing through Nale's lies and refusing to help him right away, because the Order was 5/6 "incredibly gullible" and 1/6 "assumes the worst of everyone," with no one with an actual Sense Motive worth mentioning.

His second plan, same notation, including Haley only accepting the date with him because of a prophecy--the same thing Nale's defenders decry as having rigged the dice for the Order in the first plan! Luck on the Order's side: Julio Scoundrel. Luck on Nale's side: The prophecy, Vaarsuvius rolling a natural 2 when s/he tried to dispel Nale's Charm Person on Belkar, Elan stupidly announcing that Haley couldn't speak right, Sabine showing up at just the right moment to help Nale when it came to a fight.

The third fight, the only major intervention of luck on either side that I see was Roy getting stuck in an arena with Thog (which was lucky for Nale, since reducing the conflict between Roy and Thog to one-on-one brute force was the only way Thog could almost win it). (Possibly also lucky for Nale that Roy's sword happened to hit Thog's tooth, but I wouldn't really count that one because it's such an obvious callback joke. On the other hand, Sir Scraggly landing in the arena at just the correct moment to re-enrage Thog counts, especially since a barbarian can't normally rage twice during one battle.) The third fight, which was an improvised ambush based on an entirely erroneous belief that the Order was chasing him, also came the closest to Nale actually winning. So Nale is at his best when he can't do the elaborate planning he prefers to do; real selling point for him there.

[Reathin]

That was close to the single funniest one-liner in the entire comic, I had to admire Nale's titan-sized balls for making that comment.

Other than that, though, I have always had a pretty low opinion of Nale.

Basically it boils down to - he doesn't seem to have an endgame.

Xykon's endgame is to control the Gate and rule the world.

Tarquin's endgame is to continue building up power, and live a life of luxury until he dies and he is immortalized by Malack.

Redcloak's endgame is to raise goblinkind up to equal with all of the humanoid PC races.

Nale's goal seems to change according to his whim. He wanted to rule the Empire of Blood... because he wanted to rule. We never really found out why he wanted the Amulet of Dorukan, his goal in Cliffport was basically to destroy the OOTS, and he only found out about the Gates by accident.

Nale is a reactive villain. His goal seems to be, 'lash out at anybody that doesn't recognize my greatness'.




On a random note - what's that picture you have as your avatar? It looks very familiar, but I can't place it.

That would be Nox, the primary villain from Wakfu's first season. Extremely powerful Xelor (ie. Time mage) with a very cool esthetic, a magical artifact that accounts for both his immense magical strength and utter insanity, and a surprisingly heartbreaking backstory and goal. At first, you think he's just a power mad nutcase, but he's considerably more tragic near the end of the first season (and in some side material) when his backstory becomes more evident.

[Olinser]

That would be Nox, the primary villain from Wakfu's first season. Extremely powerful Xelor (ie. Time mage) with a very cool esthetic, a magical artifact that accounts for both his immense magical strength and utter insanity, and a surprisingly heartbreaking backstory and goal. At first, you think he's just a power mad nutcase, but he's considerably more tragic near the end of the first season (and in some side material) when his backstory becomes more evident.

Hmm, never heard of it. Any good? I'm a pretty big manga fan in general.

I realized where I saw it though - he looks an awful lot like Blue Venom from Tower of God

http://www.mangahere.com/manga/tower_of_god/c139/15.html (picture of him without his hood).

[Reathin]

Hmm, never heard of it. Any good? I'm a pretty big manga fan in general.

I realized where I saw it though - he looks an awful lot like Blue Venom from Tower of God

http://www.mangahere.com/manga/tower_of_god/c139/15.html (picture of him without his hood).

Strictly speaking, it's not actually manga/anime. It's produced by a French company. There are a few variant series within its setting out there, but the one with Nox in it is put together with a rather unusual (but very well done) animation style. The story is good, the characters are excellent and the art is fantastic. On the other hand, it's primary plot (in both seasons) is mostly focused in the begining and the end of the series, with quite a bit of filler between. It's definitely worth watching though.

And to add to the original topic, I agree with you on one of the reasons I'm not fond of Nale: no end goal is definitely an annoyance. It also fits in quite closely to the whole annoying little brother feeling I get from it.

[Imgran]

Basically it boils down to - he doesn't seem to have an endgame.

I think that's largely because Nale is behind the rest of the class in the "actually figure out what the crap is going on" race.



Nale's goal seems to change according to his whim. He wanted to rule the Empire of Blood... because he wanted to rule.

That's speculation. There could have been any of a number of reasons for the LG to stand up to Tarquin. I suspect there will be some forthcoming information about what was going on there. My guess: Sabine was heavily involved.


his goal in Cliffport was basically to destroy the OOTS,

Umm no it wasn't. His goal in Cliffport was to scatter and distract the OOTS while he got Elan alone, switched places with him, and infiltrated the OOTS personally. Which he pulled off brilliantly.


and he only found out about the Gates by accident.

No, he found out about the Gates because he infiltrated the OOTS, which he would not have been able to do if that was not his intention.

There's a distinct possibility that this is why the IFCC is aware of the Gates, as well.


Nale is a reactive villain. His goal seems to be, 'lash out at anybody that doesn't recognize my greatness'.

No, I don't think he is. The issue with Nale is that he's spent most of the adventure behind on the information-gathering side of things. When he's known what was afoot, he's been able to accomplish his goals with pretty fair effectiveness.

His issue right now is that without Tarquin, he doesn't match up against the OOTS, and with Tarquin, the strengths he brings to the table aren't going to be used much because Tarquin's better at pretty much all of them, leaving him as a horrendously optimized multiclasser with nothing else going for him.

[B. Dandelion]

I generally like him. Not as a person, obviously, but as a character he's all right. His completely unwarranted megalomania tends to amuse me. The only way it's really changed is that in this last arc I've really started to question how much of the way he turned out was inherent and how much of it was Tarquin's influence, which makes me wonder if I should feel somewhat sorry for him. The increasing dislike I've come to feel for Tarquin amplifies this, to the point I would say I think I just plain want him to be at fault there. But I don't know, I could see it going the other way, or maybe even be a little of both (e.g. if Nale had been raised by his mother, he might have been less evil but still not really a nice person, so Tarquin is to blame for bringing out the worst in him but wouldn't have been able to do it to anyone who didn't have those latent traits in the first place).

1st plan was pretty good. I thought he showed some good insight onto motivation in being able to manipulate everyone in the Order, even Haley through reverse psychology. After things went south with Haley's natural 20, the whole thing pretty much came apart and wasn't particularly impressive. 2nd plan was actually extremely good up until he decided he wanted to try and kill Haley -- he sacrificed Yukyuk and Leeky, but he didn't care about them in the first place, and he was able to successfully replace Elan which got him into position to find out more about the Gates. He couldn't have kept it up forever, but he was able to do it long enough to set the stage for the 3rd conflict. 3rd plan came pretty close to succeeding, but then once again came apart spectacularly once Malack came onto the screen. So honestly, the nature of the plans hasn't changed too much for me. They're not terrible overall, but once things go off the rails he has a hard time getting them back on. Guy doesn't seem to work very well at all under pressure.

[Olinser]

I think that's largely because Nale is behind the rest of the class in the "actually figure out what the crap is going on" race.




That's speculation. There could have been any of a number of reasons for the LG to stand up to Tarquin. I suspect there will be some forthcoming information about what was going on there. My guess: Sabine was heavily involved.



Umm no it wasn't. His goal in Cliffport was to scatter and distract the OOTS while he got Elan alone, switched places with him, and infiltrated the OOTS personally. Which he pulled off brilliantly.



No, he found out about the Gates because he infiltrated the OOTS, which he would not have been able to do if that was not his intention.

There's a distinct possibility that this is why the IFCC is aware of the Gates, as well.


No, I don't think he is. The issue with Nale is that he's spent most of the adventure behind on the information-gathering side of things. When he's known what was afoot, he's been able to accomplish his goals with pretty fair effectiveness.

His issue right now is that without Tarquin, he doesn't match up against the OOTS, and with Tarquin, the strengths he brings to the table aren't going to be used much because Tarquin's better at pretty much all of them, leaving him as a horrendously optimized multiclasser with nothing else going for him.

Yes, but infiltrating the OOTS wasn't his GOAL. It was the means to accomplish his goal - destroying them. Finding out about the Gates was just a bonus, that now altered his goal again.

Less than a week after infiltrating them he had Belkar charmed and was about to gut Haley. If he was planning on remaining in place for an extended period of time he was certainly doing a terrible job of it.

[Dr.Epic]

3) Ambush in the Empire of Blood - Aim: To rule the world(?).

OF COURSE!!!

[Procyonpi]

It hasn't, really, he's still an egotistical buffoon.

[Mike Havran]

Not so much.

I have never really liked him - he's the sort of a big bad wannabe who is just clever enough to complicate the journey of the protagonists a bit, but never makes a dent into them on his own. There is just not enough depth in him so far.

I hope there will be the LG/TAG prequel that gives it to him. Like, where did he get the info about Dorukan's amulet in the first place, or how he met Sabine...or what exactly were Tarquin's intentions with him. I've always thought that Tarquin raised him to make him his successor in the meta-villainious scheme and Nale didn't go along and turned on his father. But when Malack said Tarquin was perfectly fine with leaving the Westen continent up to Nergal and his minions...I wonder whether they had the final conversation on the topic after Nale's rebellion, or before.

[dps]

People want to list "Is consistantly able to find replacement members for the Linear Guild" as one of Nale's strengths, but it seems to me that just shows his lack of effectiveness--he's constantly having to find replacement members because he's constantly losing party members.

[jidasfire]

My general impression of Nale is that he's a despicable little creep, and it remains somewhat frustrating (I think intentionally so) that he manages to always manages to slip away on the numerous occasions he should die. That said, I don't mind him being around in the sense that the Order needs a villain like him, who isn't a thousand steps ahead of them at every turn and they can beat in a fair fight.

What I think is interesting to note in this arc is that for all his bluster, and the fact that the Linear Guild is ostensibly his team, he's really much of a figurehead, while most of the other members are running obscure and complex agendas of their own. Tarquin and Malack likely have some scheme they're enacting behind his back, while Sabine and Qarr certainly each have their own, and the IFCC are pulling both of their strings. It's amusing to note that the Linear Guild members (including Tarquin) often mistake Elan for the leader of the Order of the Stick, while in truth, Nale is barely the true leader of his team, even if it is nominally his. I wouldn't go so far as to say this makes Nale sympathetic (he remains a despicable little creep), but it does force us to question just how much blame he truly deserves for their evil.

[Kish]

But when Malack said Tarquin was perfectly fine with leaving the Westen continent up to Nergal and his minions...I wonder whether they had the final conversation on the topic after Nale's rebellion, or before.
Considering what Malack said about "a passing phase of my long existence," I doubt he would have minded very much pushing his plan back another thirty years or so.

(Now, if Nale had started making further plans for his half-fiend-and-thus-longer-lived-than-a-human-anyway child to inherit after him, his relationship with Malack might have broken down. But...I doubt Tarquin would have been fussed had his expectations of his own death included "and then my son and my best friend will engage in a battle to the death and/or destruction for whom inherits control of this continent, but the winner has promised me an even bigger statue either way," either.)

[Shred-Bot]

People want to list "Is consistantly able to find replacement members for the Linear Guild" as one of Nale's strengths, but it seems to me that just shows his lack of effectiveness--he's constantly having to find replacement members because he's constantly losing party members.

Well... those are really 2 different skillsets. Recruiting vs. keeping your team alive.

Pro: always manages to convince another kobold to be on the team...
Con: ... even though the kobolds always get killed off (pending Kilkil, of course)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I was never terribly impressed with Nale, to be honest.

He was always sort of a git, even at the beginning when he was actually extremely threatening. The LG's first appearance set him up as a very nasty piece of work, sure, but also as a much more hands-on villain. Xykon wasn't about to dirty his phalanges dealing with the Order personally until he had to. We'd seen Xykon doing the whole 80's cartoon villain speeches and killing off lesser minions, but he was always a distant threat. Nale actually stuck his brother in the back with a sword! Holy crap! Actual consequences of injuries.

But then he lost. And lost. And he never seemed to recover. Oh yeah, he'd rebuild his team each time, but remember who he got on his second team? A Half-Elf Sorcerer who was, what? Level 6? Maybe? A Druid who...let's face it, might as well have been an unrelated threat. He wasn't even evil, just ticked off at the city for over-development, right?

See, despite his atrocious build and thus middling skills, Nale was always a damn clever man. It's just that, as good as he was at what he did, his ego was waaay out of proportion. The guy's an Olympic Runner who thinks he's the Flash. He's good, but not that good. And the problem is that every loss seems to reduce his esteem, his grandeur, his je ne suis qua?, that spark every great person needs to drive themselves onto bigger and better things. And yet he surrounds himself with a sycophant for a girlfriend and an idiot. The latter makes him feel better to have around so he can say "Least I'm not as dumb as Thog", while the former actually feeds his out of control Ego, the thing that keeps ruining his plans (thinks he can take on Tarquin, won't shut up when V insults him, etc).

Really, at this point he's just in the story to die. He's gonna die, possibly tragically. I feel bad for the guy just because he's lost all initiative. He had free run for a year and he barely did anything! Where's his drive? His passion for evil schemes? He's got nothing left. The best part about Sabine being banished is that for the next day or so he has a chance to realize how pathetic he's become and do something about it. Like his father when he got cr-ushed, fell back to regroup, and came back to rule an entire continent from the shadows.

[Shadowknight12]

They haven't changed at all, actually. I still think he's a horrible person and I have no sympathy for him whatsoever.

Much like his father, actually.

[Forum Explorer]

Nale started off as an interesting villain. In a sort of side quest kind of way. And he's never really graduated from that status. He's always been a secondary opponent to be beaten in between the real threats. I mean the second plan didn't seem to have an end goal in mind, plus it involved recruiting a low level wizard who promptly ditched him at the first opportunity.

[TheYell]

I'm with Ninjadeadbeard.

Malack did more against the Order than Nale, because he tackled one guy at a time and made sure he won. Nale sets up multiplex battles and his plan fails because at least one OOTS wins and then rallies to help the others. Snowballing collapse.

As to the future, he isn't going to dominate, so...

[SadisticFishing]

Nale started off as an interesting villain. In a sort of side quest kind of way.

These are my feelings as well. He's boring, outclassed, and every moment of him on screen is a waste.

[Agnostik]

One of the big problems with Nale (character-wise, not writing-wise) is that he's the only major villain in the comic without a Grand Plan of Epic Grandness. Well, maybe he'll surprise us all and reveal such a Plan later, but for all we know, his elaborate scheming serves immediate goals: killing his lovely family. That puts him a level (not *that* level) below other Big Bads.

I never thought about it before, but for all his personality flaws and failures, Nale would be taken much more seriously if he indeed had some sort of grand ambition. One or two lines about some epic super-scheme would make many readers look past the apparent ineptitude of the Guild so far and wait for Nale to reveal his trump card. Since he doesn't seem to have any at the moment, the Guild serves as little more than a recurring annoyance.

[BaronOfHell]

Am I right in my perception that most of you have had the same opinion of Nale throughout the story?

Just to clarify, my opinion of Nale is not because I approve of his intentions, but as how interesting a character in the story he is to me.

[Reathin]

Am I right in my perception that most of you have had the same opinion of Nale throughout the story?

Just to clarify, my opinion of Nale is not because I approve of his intentions, but as how interesting a character in the story he is to me.

Well, I can't speak for the rest of course, but in my case, basically yes. My opinion is mostly the same, it just gets more intense over time with each appearance giving me an eye roll. I would much rather Team Evil or Tarquin and Malack get the screen time. They interest me far more as characters than the Linear Guild and they serve to advance the story in more interesting ways.

[Olinser]

Well, I can't speak for the rest of course, but in my case, basically yes. My opinion is mostly the same, it just gets more intense over time with each appearance giving me an eye roll. I would much rather Team Evil or Tarquin and Malack get the screen time. They interest me far more as characters than the Linear Guild and they serve to advance the story in more interesting ways.

Agreed, you Naled it. :smallcool:

[Kish]

Nale hasn't really changed. And as we learn more of him, it just cements what we learned about him in the first battle with him, which is largely an elaboration on what we learned as soon as he started on his internal monologue.

Redcloak is a character of surprises. Nale...is not.

[Kilo24]

Pretty much, my opinion of Nale hasn't changed. Save for the very minor love that he has with Sabine, he's a one-note joke character. As the comic got deeper, he didn't. He sticks to his transparently arbitrary motivation for doing everything. As one of the few things that have recurred from the strip's early days without any real change, he sticks out.

I don't really hate him. At their worst, he and the Linear Guild mostly hog the spotlight away from other, more interesting recurring villains when they show up. But he's not too different from the average one-off villains. However, he's okay in the current storyline because he interacts in fun ways with Tarquin and Malack.

[Dwy]

Nale is great! Unlike the rest of the villains round stick-world, he isn't brilliant at it. That somehow makes him stand out.

[tassaron]

Sometimes I feel like calling Nale my favourite character just to spite all the people who seem to hate him. :smalltongue:

He's not incredible but I think he's amusingly pathetic. If he were in the comic any more than he is, he'd get pretty annoying, but I really like the role he's had in it so far. I've never been bored by him.

[dps]

Well... those are really 2 different skillsets. Recruiting vs. keeping your team alive.

Pro: always manages to convince another kobold to be on the team...
Con: ... even though the kobolds always get killed off (pending Kilkil, of course)

It's not just the dead kobolds, though. Other than Thog and Sabine, party members that get separated from him tend not to bother trying to get back together with him.

[Forum Explorer]

Am I right in my perception that most of you have had the same opinion of Nale throughout the story?

Just to clarify, my opinion of Nale is not because I approve of his intentions, but as how interesting a character in the story he is to me.

Pretty much. He's a sideshow and he is entertaining in his way. He also has some pretty awesome moments. But he isn't compelling in the same way Tarquin, Redcloak, or even Miko is/was.

He also hasn't truly grown as a character. We've learned a bit more about him, but in pretty much every scene he's in any other character dominates my interest instead of him.