Stupidest hypothesis ever

[FlawedParadigm]

Suppose...just suppose with me here a mo---nevermind, this is just going to be idiotic.

The Snarl was defeated long ago by the Gods, who continued to war amongst each other. The missing Eastern Gods actually exempted themselves from this fighting and created a paradise inside the world. However, to keep mortals and evil out of it, stories of the Snarl were allowed to persist.

This is why Girard expected Soon to break his oath - a Paladin might not break an oath to not fool with sealed evil, but if he had given an oath to not speak of a hidden paradise? That might be why Girard expected him to welch on his oath within weeks.

Heck, the Girard skeleton we found might have been someone else entirely; Girard and Serini might be sitting on a beach somewhere inside the rift, sipping mai tais.

[GreatWyrmGold]

It's possible, I'll give you that.

But the title underhyped it. I've seen much stupider hypotheses.

[Kiraxa]

Not a terrible hypothesis. But as long as the "they're still in an illusion!" People exist, it'll be hard to be Top Stupid Theory.

[Ellye]

Not a terrible hypothesis. But as long as the "they're still in an illusion!" People exist, it'll be hard to be Top Stupid Theory.The last panel of the last strip in the last book, many years from now, will feature the OotS standing still in that corridor in the pyramid, with the runes glowing. :smallamused:

[Michaeler]

This actually gives me the idea that maybe the Eastern gods survived and were still fighting to subdue the snarl from within all this time. By now they have conquered it and are getting on with creating a new world where they have been trapped.

[Fan67]

Who killed Soon's wife then? I expect that snarl just got tired of waiting and created a world himself... But how would that move the plot is beyond me.
Paradise for eastern gods also doesn't give much chance for climatic ending...

[Ted The Bug]

This actually gives me the idea that maybe the Eastern gods survived and were still fighting to subdue the snarl from within all this time. By now they have conquered it and are getting on with creating a new world where they have been trapped.

This is where my money is, and I really want to see it. I LOVE whatever unnamed ancient civilization the Eastern gods were loosely based on, and I hope to see Rich's take on it.

What is this "Athens" of which you speak?

[The Smallest]

It's not that stupid....

[FlawedParadigm]

Who killed Soon's wife then? I expect that snarl just got tired of waiting and created a world himself... But how would that move the plot is beyond me.
Paradise for eastern gods also doesn't give much chance for climatic ending...

*Shrugs.* Some random Mage/undead/other evil from the other side? Could be any number of explanations with an entire world in there. Wouldn't be quite as "paradise" as I was thinking it to be, but hey. Or it could even just have been a surge of energy from the rift opening in the first place.

[David Argall]

Suppose...just suppose with me here a mo---nevermind, this is just going to be idiotic.

Actually it is kind of clever, in its own way, which has almost zero to do with the "reality" of the strip. But such clever ideas are a dime-a-dozen in places like universities just filled with people in love with their own brain power and its creations instead of the facts.
Essentially the idea says "let's forget everything we know and invent something entirely different." We can do that dozens of times, and the results will be entertaining, but they won't be reality.

[FlawedParadigm]

Actually it is kind of clever, in its own way, which has almost zero to do with the "reality" of the strip. But such clever ideas are a dime-a-dozen in places like universities just filled with people in love with their own brain power and its creations instead of the facts.
Essentially the idea says "let's forget everything we know and invent something entirely different." We can do that dozens of times, and the results will be entertaining, but they won't be reality.

I know you're a contrarian and all, but the only things this idea contradicts are the things we've been told several times by now aren't necessarily true. We know there's more than the Snarl inside the rifts, which is originally all that was said to be in there. In fact, the only proof we have of the Snarl at all are the things Redcloak knows, which come from The Dark One, who could have been lied to, or perhaps even the Gods don't know everything that's going on here. We certainly haven't seen anything in strip to show they've had the slightest bit of interest (aside from mild Thor intervention) in this whole thing.

V has specifically pointed out to the audience twice that the Order is underinformed for the task they are performing. The IFCC is specifically keeping V at this very moment from sharing V's knowledge. Whatever the truth within the rifts is, this strip blatantly proves that What We Knew Before Was Wrong. So yes, any theories about what's going on now are going to contradict the previously established "facts" - because they were at least on some level erroneous to begin with. Belkar has it figured out now. Do you need 200 foot tall flaming letters? Perhaps you have something better to share?

[F.Harr]

I've had MUCH stupider hypothosys. Like the countdown clock.

[Amphiox]

Not a terrible hypothesis. But as long as the "they're still in an illusion!" People exist, it'll be hard to be Top Stupid Theory.

The illusion was cast by Girard's desert "bomb" trap (it wasn't a bomb). Everything's been an illusion since!

Tarquin is a figment. He's what the illusion metric produced when it was forced to combine Elan's wish fulfillment with Roy's cynicism and Haley's paranoia.:smalltongue:

[Porthos]

I've seen much stupider hypotheses.

It has nothing to do with Therkla, Haley, and/or Right-Eye's Daughter for one. :smalltongue:

Ah, memories. :smallamused:

[David Argall]

the only things this idea contradicts are the things we've been told several times by now aren't necessarily true.

"Aren't necessarily true" does not mean false. In fact it most commonly means there is "only" a 99% chance of it being true.



We know there's more than the Snarl inside the rifts, which is originally all that was said to be in there.
We may have assumed that, but the statements we are given do not tell us the prison was empty, merely that the Snarl could not get out.



In fact, the only proof we have of the Snarl at all are the things Redcloak knows, which come from The Dark One,
We get more evidence from the Sapphire Guard.



V has specifically pointed out to the audience twice that the Order is underinformed for the task they are performing.
V has worries, and a quite unstable mental state, but no evidence the OOTS is doing other than the correct action.



The IFCC is specifically keeping V at this very moment from sharing V's knowledge.
The motives of the IFCC are a mystery and keeping information from the OOTS simply is not enough motive to explain what they are up to.



Whatever the truth within the rifts is, this strip blatantly proves that What We Knew Before Was Wrong.
This strip shows the party discovering the tiger has stripes. The party has not gained any information about its diet, and has no reason to to challenge the theory it is a meat-eater.



So yes, any theories about what's going on now are going to contradict the previously established "facts" - because they were at least on some level erroneous to begin with.
This theory, like many of its type, pretty much rejects the information given wholesale, and then proposes what is entirely an unsupported fancy.



Belkar has it figured out now.
Belkar is the one described as the one with the intellect of a table [which may be an insult to tables].



Perhaps you have something better to share?
I have. But a better idea would be to wait a couple of weeks for when we have a little more information before we try such daydreams.

[Chessgeek]

Belkar is the one described as the one with the intellect of a table [which may be an insult to tables].

That's his point. Even Belkar was able to smell the rat, therefore it is extremely obvious that something isn't adding up.

[Lombard]

I like the Eastern Gods aspect.. perhaps they took their own threads and created their own world instead.

Which would mean everything the Dark One was told was untrue.. not sure what the motivation would have been... perhaps the other gods are worried about competition? Can't really think of anything else but it's a big question mark.

Oh and


We get more evidence from the Sapphire Guard.

It's quite possible that the Sapphire Guard got their information from interrogating goblins. The means of discovering the information was quite vague as I recall.

[Emanick]

I like the Eastern Gods aspect.. perhaps they took their own threads and created their own world instead.

Which would mean everything the Dark One was told was untrue.. not sure what the motivation would have been... perhaps the other gods are worried about competition? Can't really think of anything else but it's a big question mark.

Oh and



It's quite possible that the Sapphire Guard got their information from interrogating goblins. The means of discovering the information was quite vague as I recall.

The Order of the Scribble couldn't have gotten all of their information on the Gates from the goblins, though.

SoD Spoilers
Xykon and Redcloak didn't know there was more than one rift until after Lirian told them by accident. So clearly the Scribblers didn't rely solely on the goblins for their information.

Also, for what it's worth, Redcloak said the Dark One's goblin agents were thwarted first by the Scribblers and then by the Sapphire Guard, implying that the Guard didn't interfere in the conflict over the Gates until after the Scribblers were largely done with adventuring. Technically this information comes from the knowledge imparted by the red cloak, I think, but as it's real, down-to-Stickworld history that took place only 30 or so years before Redcloak's time, I think we can assume its accuracy. So again, I somewhat doubt that the Sapphire Guard got their cosmological knowledge of SnarlHistory from the goblins.

Also, the Guard was founded by Soon after his adventuring days were largely behind him, though I suppose it could be argued that the Azurites were waging war with the goblins even before Soon came along, and discovered this information independently from the Scribblers.

[Anatares]

One thing is for certain: Soon's wife was killed by something reaching through the rifts. Being a Paladin, he's the least likely party to have lied, IMO.

[Fitzclowningham]

One thing is for certain: Soon's wife was killed by something reaching through the rifts. Being a Paladin, he's the least likely party to have lied, IMO.

That's the one piece of evidence that stands in the way of my pet theory: Soon's wife's body. I like the idea that the rifts are unstable without the gates, and that they might suddenly expand or shrink, which activity could be construed as a snarl of some kind. Anyone (anything?) that is touched by the rift is instantly transported to the other world (multiverse?) and lost to this one, including the outer planes. As far as anyone can tell, they have been unmade, but they continue to live in the other world.* It's neat, it fits, and it's simple.

But then there's Soon's wife's body, which is there and has been killed by something to do with the rift. Why she alone**, even including the Eastern Gods, was not unmade is a mystery. And it kills my theory.



*Unless they went through the Azure City rift and found themselves in rapidly-decaying orbit.

**As far as I can tell from the comic. I may have missed something.

[FlawedParadigm]

I know baiting people into pointless arguments over semantics is your pet hobby, David, but I'm not interested in being involved. For one, I'm fairly certain the chances of anything in the original post being more than vaguely correct are abysmal. Which is why I titled the thread as I did. It's a random line of amusing thought which isn't directly contradicted anywhere by the source material. Of course with as little as we actually know about what's inside the rift, almost any line of conjecture is possible.

A dragon could have reached through and killed Soon's wife. Any number of things could have. It's entirely possible that Soon saw *something* kill his wife, not necessarily what was pictured. In the shock of the moment, his mind could have seen just about anything.

Or a hundred thousand other possibilities. There's an unknown world in there. I was just wanting to get peoples' minds going and they could all talk about their theories and have some fun.

If you don't like it or get it, that's fine. But don't come in here ruining for everyone else. Actually I'd be perfectly pleased if you never responded to any of my posts or threads. I usually go out of my way to avoid you as is.

[Lombard]

The Order of the Scribble couldn't have gotten all of their information on the Gates from the goblins, though.

SoD Spoilers
Xykon and Redcloak didn't know there was more than one rift until after Lirian told them by accident. So clearly the Scribblers didn't rely solely on the goblins for their information.

Also, for what it's worth, Redcloak said the Dark One's goblin agents were thwarted first by the Scribblers and then by the Sapphire Guard, implying that the Guard didn't interfere in the conflict over the Gates until after the Scribblers were largely done with adventuring. Technically this information comes from the knowledge imparted by the red cloak, I think, but as it's real, down-to-Stickworld history that took place only 30 or so years before Redcloak's time, I think we can assume its accuracy. So again, I somewhat doubt that the Sapphire Guard got their cosmological knowledge of SnarlHistory from the goblins.

Also, the Guard was founded by Soon after his adventuring days were largely behind him, though I suppose it could be argued that the Azurites were waging war with the goblins even before Soon came along, and discovered this information independently from the Scribblers.

You're quite right, actually. I'd read SoD but didn't put that together.

That would seem to increase the odds of the Snarl story being up front as far as it was told. The only other non-lame option I could think of to explain it would be collusion among both good and evil gods of Stickworld against the Eastern Gods. Some sort of large conspiracy to tell a big lie, like Snarl Claus or something lol.

[Chessgeek]

I'd be perfectly pleased if you never responded to any of my posts or threads. I usually go out of my way to avoid you as is.

It's easy enough to go to his profile and add him to your ignore list. Much easier than convincing someone to never reply to you, at any rate.

[FlawedParadigm]

It's easy enough to go to his profile and add him to your ignore list. Much easier than convincing someone to never reply to you, at any rate.

That doesn't keep him out of my threads, though. Hopefully a polite request will, so that everyone else can share their pet theories about what's within without being nitpicked by someone unwilling to contribute.

[David Argall]

That doesn't keep him out of my threads, though. Hopefully a polite request will, so that everyone else can share their pet theories about what's within without being nitpicked by someone unwilling to contribute.
A pet theory that is not nitpicked [and/or outright hit with sludge hammers] is a piece of junk. Pretending it is actually sensible may be good for the ego of the one proposing it, but it does not get us to the truth, or even close to it.

[SaintRidley]

And woosh.


OP - It may be a stupid hypothesis, but it's an entertaining one. I think it's the mai tais that give it its strength.

[exenia]

It could be VERY wrong, but it's not stupid at all. If we've been misled about the nature of the rifts, it's a very deep conspiracy.

In line with this suggestion, maybe Hades reached out and clawed up some mortals so that they'd have motivation to seal up the rifts and let the retired gods enjoy their privacy. Miju and Kraagor's death have such consequences it's hard to write them off as a simple lie.

[FlawedParadigm]

It could be VERY wrong, but it's not stupid at all. If we've been misled about the nature of the rifts, it's a very deep conspiracy.

In line with this suggestion, maybe Hades reached out and clawed up some mortals so that they'd have motivation to seal up the rifts and let the retired gods enjoy their privacy. Miju and Kraagor's death have such consequences it's hard to write them off as a simple lie.

Well, that someone was misled at some point is something which even Belkar has cottoned to. The manner or capacity of that or those misdirection(s) is what I'm speculating on. I mean your idea is about as probable as mine, so far as specifics go.

If I were to take up a more scientific view - which is not my true object, which was, as stated, to be purely for fun - then all I can attest to is that we were led to believe that the Snarl would be a deity-killing monstrosity and the only thing worth mentioning inside of these rifts.

That is all.

What we have since learned is that, if nothing else, the Snarl is not the only thing inside the rifts. We know there is some kind of world in there - although without any proof of life thus far - it could well be that the Snarl "became" a world in some fashion. Unlikely, perhaps, but at this stage anything is possible. I might wonder vaguely if there is some connection between the fact that where, in the main world, lies a desert, there lies some great body of water in RiftWorld. That may mean something or nothing.

If I were to hold to anything in my original statement being likely, it's that there's something in the nature of the RiftWorld that Girard had reason to believe Soon might risk his honour for. It would explain beyond simple alignment differences why he might so poorly misjudge Soon's character and/or moties. Hence my idea that there had to be something good, nice, or pleasant about the RiftWorld which Soon's Paladin nature might consider it dishonourable to conceal from either confederates or the world at large.

There is supposition that Serini is still alive, although this is based largely on the simple idea that we have no proof that she is dead. I suggested that Girard was still alive only half-seriously. It's a world of magic, so it's possible, and high power spellcasters are notorious for extending their lifespans in a multitude of ways. We already know Girard led a life of misdirection and illusion, so it is not entirely unreasonable to suspect that he might fake his own death for any number of reasons.

But hey, at our current amount of information it's equally likely that the Snarl is composed entirely of highly toxic raspberry jam, possibly lethal even to deities, and The Dark One's plan may amount to threatening to sugar gods to death. *Shrugs.*

Anyhow, I'm done defending my silly conjecture whether Mr. Argall likes it or not. Feel free to provide other ideas, so long as you don't mind the apparently unavoidable presence of Mr. Stop Having Fun.

[F.Harr]

For one, I'm fairly certain the chances of anything in the original post being more than vaguely correct are abysmal. Which is why I titled the thread as I did.

I still don't think your hypothosis is any stupider than the planet being the snarl smiling at people and tempting them into crossing.

And that's largely based on the idea that I don't want the nice chaotic leader of a nation that brutally murdered goblins to have done that for no damned good reason.

[FlawedParadigm]

I still don't think your hypothosis is any stupider than the planet being the snarl smiling at people and tempting them into crossing.

And that's largely based on the idea that I don't want the nice chaotic leader of a nation that brutally murdered goblins to have done that for no damned good reason.

Well, we have good reason to believe that Shojo is more of a trickster than was ever previously apparent. It could also explain by Belkar seems to be the second one catching on, in that he personally - uh...ghostally? visionally? - instructed Belkar in the finer points of being a manipulative bastard. He may or may not have made a clean breast of everything he knew when info dumping the plot on the Order. It's possible that he shared everything as he knew it, whether or not what he knew was entirely factual, or it's equally probable he altered some details, left things out, or embellished things for any number of reasons.

He was outed as a liar not long after his introduction - so it's a question of whether Chaos or Good meant more to him. I like to think he was more the latter than the former, but really one could make an argument either way at the present point.

[F.Harr]

You're perfectly right, which is a big reason why the hypothosis is not stupid. But that would mean that he was not only a liar, but a murderer as well as there was no reason to kill all those goblins.

That makes me sad just thinking of it.

[FlawedParadigm]

You're perfectly right, which is a big reason why the hypothosis is not stupid. But that would mean that he was not only a liar, but a murderer as well as there was no reason to kill all those goblins.

That makes me sad just thinking of it.

Depends how much he knew, how much of it was right, and what parts he might have obscured in the later telling. Even though his Paladins did not apparently know the Crimson Mantle itself was the major danger, he or they knew that the tribe that had it was some kind of danger, which is perfectly true so long as anything dangerous is involved in or within the RiftWorld at all. So long as anything dangerous exists in RiftWorld, then his orders may have been justified to at least some small extent. How those orders were handled was the more morally questionable act since we know at least some Paladins did indeed Fall from that raid, even though Rich chose, for dramatic reasons, to not show any Falls on-panel.

So he may have been at least partly justified so far as he knew, but it's up in the air at this moment how much of anything he knew was correct or unbiased.

[F.Harr]

How do you know that any fell?

But, to your larger point, yeah, that makes sense. Sort of. It still makes me sad. Bleading-heart liberal over here, you know.

[FlawedParadigm]

How do you know that any fell?

But, to your larger point, yeah, that makes sense. Sort of. It still makes me sad. Bleading-heart liberal over here, you know.

It's in the Index of Rich quotes, and I think commentary from one of the books. I know it specifically mentions he didn't show them on-panel to preserve the drama of Miko's later Fall.

[F.Harr]

Oh. Cool. Thanks.

[tomandtish]

Certainly no crazier than other ideas.

Remember. All WE know for certain is that there are rifts (at least 4 that have been seen and allegedly a 5th). They tend to go boom when destroyed. And in looking inside two of them there appears to be a world.

Note: For first hand knowledge I will count characters who we directly follow. So OOTS, Team Evil, and LG all count. Order of Scribble doesn’t since we never directly follow them in their adventures.

Everything else we think we know comes from second hand sources (or third, etc.). Those sources may be right. Or they may be lying, misinformed, wrong, or outdated.

The truth is we actually know very little. WE don’t actually know there is a Snarl. Others have said there is. The Dark Lord has told Red Cloak there is, but even he could be: Lying to Red Cloak to further his own ends, or misinformed on what he knows.

[ChristianSt]

How do you know that any fell?

But, to your larger point, yeah, that makes sense. Sort of. It still makes me sad. Bleading-heart liberal over here, you know.It's in the Index of Rich quotes, and I think commentary from one of the books. I know it specifically mentions he didn't show them on-panel to preserve the drama of Miko's later Fall.

Actually Rich didn't really confirm whether any paladin did Fall that day, but it is somewhat implied (Spoilered mainly for length):

Oooo! Oooo! I know this one!

The events of Start of Darkness are not a narrative being told by Redcloak, except for the crayon pages (which totally are). You are right, your friend is wrong. Everything you see happened.

However, everything that happened is not necessarily seen.

Suffice to say that the Twelve Gods are not beholden to put on the same visual display they did for Miko for every paladin who transgresses, and that all transgressions are not created equal. It is possible that some of the paladins who participated in the attack crossed the line. It is also possible that most did not. A paladin who slips up in the execution of their god-given orders does not warrant the same level of personal attention by the gods as one who executes the legal ruler of their nation on a glorified hunch. Think of Miko's Fall as being the equivalent of the CEO of your multinational company showing up in your cubicle to fire you, because you screwed up THAT much.

Of course, while Redcloak is not narrating the scene, it is shown mostly from his perspective; we don't see how many Detect Evils were used before the attack started, and we don't see how many paladins afterwards try to heal their wounds and can't, because these things are not important to Redcloak's story. Whether or not some of the paladins Fell does not bring Redcloak's family back to life. Indeed, if we transplant the scene to real life, he would think it cold comfort that some of the police officers who gunned down his family had to turn in their badge afterward (but were otherwise given no punishment by their bosses at City Hall).

Dramatically, showing no-name paladins Falling at that point in the story would confuse the narrative by making it unclear whether or not Redcloak had already earned a form of retribution against them. To be clear, he had not: Whether or not some of them lost a few class abilities does not change the fact that Redcloak suffered an injustice at their hands, one that shaped his entire adult life. That was the point of the scene. Showing them Fall or not simply was not important to Redcloak's story, so it was omitted.

Further, it would have cheapened Miko's fall to show the same thing over and over--and Miko, as a major character in the series, deserved the emotional weight that her Fall carried (or at least that I hope it carried).

I hope that clears this issue up. I hope in vain, largely, but there you have it.

(Oh, and I leave it up to the readers to form their own opinions on which paladins may have Fallen and which didn't.)

[137beth]

The title is a lie! this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213985) is much worse:smalltongue:

And I bet I could come up with an even crazier one:
Roy is the Snarl. That's how he was able to "beat" Xykon in DCF, he had divine-level strength, and hurled Xykon into himself! Think about it, Soon saw the snarl before Roy was born. Now, the snarl has decided that Eugene was so creepy that it would manifest itself and pose as Eugene's son--so now there is no longer a snarl beyond the rifts, because it is on the material plane!

[The Pilgrim]

This is the stupidiest theory I've ever read since that time when people suggested Malack was a Vampire.

Oh, wait...

[Hopeless]

What if Kraagor defeated the Snarl after he was stuck on the other side of the rift and is even now enjoying his retirement in addition to his hobby in brewing since those humans certainly can't brew a decent beer?! :smalltongue:

[Mammal]

I was actually digging through the Index of the Giant's Comments for a specific quote which ChristianSt provided.


Of course, while Redcloak is not narrating the scene, it is shown mostly from his perspective

The same post also opens up the possibility that any scene narrated by a certain character (for example, the first exposition on the Snarl, delivered by Shojo) could contain mistruths, misinformation, or outright lies. Given what we know right now, it doesn't seem likely that Shojo would knowingly mislead the Order, but it's possible that he himself was operating off flawed or incomplete knowledge.

It seems to me that whatever lies within the Rifts, the world would be unmade if they were all opened. And the old gods have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo while the Dark One has a vested interest in shaking things up. It follows that the old gods would encourage their followers to guard the gates at all costs, while the Dark One would encourage his to meddle.

Perhaps the Dark One is trying to manipulate his followers into destroying the world for the sake of it being remade (with monstrous humanoids given a fair shake)?

It's a flawed theory, but I sort of like the possibility that the Snarl isn't necessarily malevolent, just destructive.

[Kish]

The Snarl was just described by Shojo as "hateful." That doesn't mean it's malevolent in general; I mean, I hate the OotS gods too, and I'm not generally malevolent, am I?

(Don't answer that.)

[pendell]

The Snarl was just described by Shojo as "hateful." That doesn't mean it's malevolent in general; I mean, I hate the OotS gods too, and I'm not generally malevolent, am I?

(Don't answer that.)

Shojo was not describing the Snarl from personal experience. Presumably he describes it this way because the 12 gods told him it was hateful. But the
12 gods are not omniscient; I strongly doubt they had anything like a peaceful
conversation with the god-killing abomination to find out why it was doing what it was doing.

So the Snarl might not ever have actually been hateful. Suppose there is a colony of intelligent ants, one I kick over by accident. Perhaps they think
I am hateful. But it isn't that I hated them ... it's that I had neither any clue
they were there in the first place, or that intelligent beings were inconvenienced by the action. Like the Horta in Original Star Trek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_in_the_Dark).

And even if the Snarl WAS hateful at the time, there is no guarantee it remains hateful now. Or, in fact, that it still exists AS the snarl. It may
have been transformed into the world we now see.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[FlawedParadigm]

In retrospect, the thread title will be nicely ironic and amusingly humble if any part of it ends up being right.

I hadn't considered that Kraagor might also be in there. Hrmmmm. That's as many as three possible Scribbles alive.

[F.Harr]

The title is a lie! this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213985) is much worse:smalltongue:

And I bet I could come up with an even crazier one:
Roy is the Snarl. That's how he was able to "beat" Xykon in DCF, he had divine-level strength, and hurled Xykon into himself! Think about it, Soon saw the snarl before Roy was born. Now, the snarl has decided that Eugene was so creepy that it would manifest itself and pose as Eugene's son--so now there is no longer a snarl beyond the rifts, because it is on the material plane!

That's right out there.


What if Kraagor defeated the Snarl after he was stuck on the other side of the rift and is even now enjoying his retirement in addition to his hobby in brewing since those humans certainly can't brew a decent beer?! :smalltongue:


I was actually digging through the Index of the Giant's Comments for a specific quote which ChristianSt provided.



The same post also opens up the possibility that any scene narrated by a certain character (for example, the first exposition on the Snarl, delivered by Shojo) could contain mistruths, misinformation, or outright lies. Given what we know right now, it doesn't seem likely that Shojo would knowingly mislead the Order, but it's possible that he himself was operating off flawed or incomplete knowledge.

It seems to me that whatever lies within the Rifts, the world would be unmade if they were all opened. And the old gods have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo while the Dark One has a vested interest in shaking things up. It follows that the old gods would encourage their followers to guard the gates at all costs, while the Dark One would encourage his to meddle.

Perhaps the Dark One is trying to manipulate his followers into destroying the world for the sake of it being remade (with monstrous humanoids given a fair shake)?

It's a flawed theory, but I sort of like the possibility that the Snarl isn't necessarily malevolent, just destructive.


In retrospect, the thread title will be nicely ironic and amusingly humble if any part of it ends up being right.

I hadn't considered that Kraagor might also be in there. Hrmmmm. That's as many as three possible Scribbles alive.

Sigh, back to sane theories. Bye smiling snarl.

;)

Oh, and I think the guy with the links in his signature to conspiricy theories in Star Wars are bloody marvelous marvelous!

[Sith_Happens]

No, the Stupidest Hypothesis Ever is the following:

The world inside the rifts is 2e/AD&D, whose rules are such a "snarl" as to become literally deadly to the gods after they converted to 3.0. Unlike the Forgotten Realms, where killing off the god(ess) of magic lets you basically handwave any subsequent setting changes, the OotS-verse had to be remade entirely to conform to the new edition.

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While certainly amusing, the major holes in this hypothesis are obvious:

1. Many of the older OotS characters are referenced as having previously been 2e (or even 1e) characters.

2. The inevitable "exploring the world inside the rifts" sequence would require the comic to start making a copious amount of rules-jokes that almost no one would understand.