Did the Order forget Blackwing because he got too close to the Rift?

[Tragak]

I just noticed that the strip where V and Blackwing first realize that nobody remembers B takes place only a few days after the incident in Gobbo Azure City. Maybe, in the exact opposite of a recent Doctor Who season, open rifts make people be forgotten only by - instead of except by - the people who didn't know them well?

... and now I'm wondering if Blackwing counted primarily as V's class feature or as Blackwing the person, since Xykon got just as close and nobody's forgotten about him.

Maybe if Belkar got too close to a rift, everybody would forget about his history with Kobolds, and they would wonder why he thinks he has massive Favored Enemy bonus against Reptilian Humanoids the way they wonder why V thinks V has a familiar?

[thereaper]

We've seen Blackwing interact with other people since then (such as the diamond dust salesman in Sandsedge).

There's no reason to believe that the rift would make certain people forget you but not others.

Furthermore, we know that the Scribblers were near an open rift, but apparently didn't forget one another.

Finally, if the rift made people be forgotten by those who knew them, V would have forgotten Blackwing, class feature or not (it wouldn't be the first time).

Blackwing being forgotten is a running gag about Wizards always forgetting about their familiars. When V finally remembers him, everyone else forgets in order to keep the gag going. That's all it is.

[137beth]

No, it didn't.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Blackwing being forgotten is a running gag about Wizards always forgetting about their familiars. When V finally remembers him, everyone else forgets in order to keep the gag going. That's all it is.

Actually, I read that scene as the rest of the Order winding V up about remembering his familliar. They know who Blackwing is - indeed, Haley even gave him the name.

[Dissection]

Actually, I read that scene as the rest of the Order winding V up about remembering his familliar. They know who Blackwing is - indeed, Haley even gave him the name.

But then later Roy and Belkar act like they don't know who Blackwing is, even though Vaarsuvius isn't there to make mad

[Sir_Leorik]

I just noticed that the strip where V and Blackwing first realize that nobody remembers B takes place only a few days after the incident in Gobbo Azure City. Maybe, in the exact opposite of a recent Doctor Who season, open rifts make people be forgotten only by - instead of except by - the people who didn't know them well?

... and now I'm wondering if Blackwing counted primarily as V's class feature or as Blackwing the person, since Xykon got just as close and nobody's forgotten about him.

Maybe if Belkar got too close to a rift, everybody would forget about his history with Kobolds, and they would wonder why he thinks he has massive Favored Enemy bonus against Reptilian Humanoids the way they wonder why V thinks V has a familiar?

You're seriously overthinking this. Besides the fact that multiple characters, including Qarr, Enor and Gannji have interacted with Blackwing subsequently to Blackwing looking into the Rift, Xykon got just as close as Blackwing and the person who was "closest to him" (Tsukiko) most certainly did not forget about him. (In fact she dreamed of Xykon nightly, until the day her own Wights ate her...)

Its a running gag that V would forget that Blackwing is on her shoulder unless there was a mechanical or plot reason to remember Blackwing. Now that V is making an effort to remember Blackwing, the party is trying to puzzle out why there is a crow on V's shoulder.

:vaarsuvius: "It is not a crow, it is a RAVEN!" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0674.html)

Uh, right. Anyway, it is a continuation of the running gag, but inverted.

(Players of Wizards and Sorcerers forgetting about their familiars is something of a real life occurrence. When playing my 3.5 Sorcerer PC, Yehoash, I was slightly guilty of this regarding my sorcerer's viper familiar... that is until that little guy prevented a TPK when the entire party was paralyzed by Meenlocks. Yehoash's viper was the only member of the party not to fail the Will save against the Meenlock's paralyzation attack, then the Meenlocks couldn't hit the viper, while he was poisoning them left and right until the party could break free of the paralyzation. Basically we were about to have a TPK until I remembered I had a familiar, and insisted that the DM allow me to run him. The DM, amused by this idea, agreed. Then I kept rolling high for the Viper's saves and attacks, and the DM rolled 1's for attack rolls and Fort saves vs. poison. Afterwards Yehoash treated his familiar much better, though he didn't treat it as badly as V treated Blackwing!)

[Rakoa]

(Players of Wizards and Sorcerers forgetting about their familiars is something of a real life occurrence

I can definitely agree to this. Hell, I've had Druids who forget about their animal companions until mid combat.

[Jay R]

I don't see why they'd bother to forget Blackwing. They haven't forgotten any of V's other class features. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0154.html)

[ORione]

It seems kind of odd to me that a running gag would have such a big impact on the plot (since V didn't tell Roy about the world in the rift because Roy didn't remember Blackwing (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0693.html)). So I'm thinking there's more to it than that, but we don't know what exactly it is yet.

Maybe I'm overthinking things.

[thereaper]

Strictly speaking, it's happened before in the sense that there have been running gags that have had just as much of an impact on the plot (or lack thereof) on the plot.

The reason V didn't tell Roy about the world in the rift is because he wanted to figure out what it was himself before bringing it up (he's the scholar; he's supposed to be able to explain stuff), and because he didn't want to publicly delve into the events of the Soul Splice. Note how Blackwing told him about the world in the rift on the boat to the western continent (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0672.html), yet the party didn't express doubt in V having a familiar until after they had arrived in Sandsedge. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0674.html) V's given reasoning for keeping the secret was nothing short of rationalization.

As an example of a running gag that sort of affected the plot but didn't, consider Belkar's inability to think ahead (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0286.html) preventing him from joining the villains. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0520.html) In a sense, his lack of planning affected the plot, but at the same time the entire situation was contrived just to give him an excuse to not join up. If Belkar were a better planner, something else would have stopped him (or the situation wouldn't have even come up in the first place).

[Kish]

It seems kind of odd to me that a running gag would have such a big impact on the plot (since V didn't tell Roy about the world in the rift because Roy didn't remember Blackwing (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0693.html)).
Either a running gag (if you classify it under "the lawyers") or a one-time gag is the only reason Zz'dtri lost his initial fight with Vaarsuvius and was out of the entire comic from Dorukan's Dungeon to the Empire of Blood.

That said, forum history proves that if and when Roy unambiguously acknowledges Blackwing as Blackwing, the familiar Vaarsuvius had since the beginning of the comic, there will, within twelve hours, be a post going, "Wait, I don't understand, how did Roy shake off the rift's effect on Blackwing?"

[137beth]

Either a running gag (if you classify it under "the lawyers") or a one-time gag is the only reason Zz'dtri lost his initial fight with Vaarsuvius and was out of the entire comic from Dorukan's Dungeon to the Empire of Blood.
Z still could have been taken out by Roy or Haley, though, it was just funnier that way.

That said, forum history proves that if and when Roy unambiguously acknowledges Blackwing as Blackwing, the familiar Vaarsuvius had since the beginning of the comic, there will, within twelve hours, be a post going, "Wait, I don't understand, how did Roy shake off the rift's effect on Blackwing?"
Indeed.

[Sir_Leorik]

Strictly speaking, it's happened before in the sense that there have been running gags that have had just as much of an impact on the plot (or lack thereof) on the plot.

Well, there was Durkon beating the Bandit Leader with a running gag. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0169.html)

Or Belkar leaving Elan unprotected from Nale because of the running gags with Kobolds, Princess Bride references and the mark of justice curse. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0348.html)

And who could forget Banjo the Clown being embraced by the Orcs, leading to Lien being trussed up as a human sacrifice? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0554.html)

Plenty of the running gags have become ways to move the plot forward, resolve sticky situations, create deus ex machina and put the OotS in trouble.

[Tragak]

This just in (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0900.html): Jossed (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Jossed) :smalltongue:

[Sir_Leorik]

This just in (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0900.html): Jossed (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Jossed) :smalltongue:

I think the Giant has to explicitly make a statement contradicting a theory to render something Jossed; just having contradictory evidence appear in the comic strip itself isn't enough. (And sometimes Word of Giant isn't enough for some people either. :smalltongue:)