pendell
2013-08-06, 08:56 AM
[massive sarcasm warning ]
Somebody always makes these complaints about every OOTS strip so I thought I'd start it off this time.
Let's see .. out of character ... out of character ... well , Durkon spontaneously cast "inflict wounds" when he meant to cast "cure moderate wounds".
Ah, but Durkon is an experienced adventurer and he has a high wisdom score. So clearly it is ABSOLUTELY, COMPLETELY INCONCEIVABLE that he could ever make such a mistake. He should have known, he MUST have known , that a vampire channels negative energy and therefore he ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT POSSIBLY make such a mistake, EVER.
And he should have had a bunch of healing spells properly prepared instead of relying on spontaneous conversion of his existing spells because, honestly, isn't every high-level cleric prepared for the possibility of being turned by an undead monstrosity at any moment? It's almost as if he were a plausible character in a story rather than a player sitting at a table with fifteen source books open in front of him and a spreadsheet with which to calculate the optimal choices every round.
So it is OUT OF CHARACTER! Yes! Completely unbelievable writing that makes him look like a stick figu ... well, actually he IS a stick figure but THAT IS NOT THE POINT! The point is that it is TERRIBLE WRITING!
Deus Ex Machina... deus ex machina... well darn this is hard because it's almost all reasonable and to be expected ...
so should the tack be that because everything IS expected the comic is boring, conventional, unsurprising, and on obvious plot rails? Naw, I've got it. The OOTS is being bailed out of trouble by Durkon -- a vampire descending into the pit with them -- vampire descending! Ah-ha! I get it! It's a vampire ex machina! The OOTS is being saved from something they couldn't get out of by a vampire metaphorically dropping in on a machine to save them from a situation they had absolutely no way of getting out of ! Deus Ex Machina! After all ,everyone who reads a dictionary knows that "Deus Ex Machina" means "some development in the story that is even remotely surprising!"
So, I'm sorry to have to tell you this Rich, but I think the comic's unsalvageable. You had a really good thing going once, and it doesn't matter that you make your living writing this while I'm a nameless boob on the internet who's never written a single strip and sold it anywhere. And it doesn't matter that you have a loyal following of devoted readers who loved this strip. Sorry. The universe revolves around ME and that means you must do what I want, regardless of whether it is a good idea or not and regardless of whether it has even a nodding acquaintance with common sense.
So I think you should go back to the drawing board. Yes, that's it. Junk the whole thing and rewrite the strip from backwards and forwards and try it again. Completely reboot. And ditch the D&D aspect anyway, which people always argue over . I'm thinking ... something about a round-headed kid who always has the football pulled away just as he kicks it, some kid with a blanket, and a beagle who always sleeps on top of a doghouse. In fifty years of writing, I don't think anyone EVER wrote to Charles Schultz to complain that Charlie Brown must have rolled a natural 20 and made the kick at least *once*, so his writing is unbelievable and out of character and Lucy's ability to keep it away from him is totally Deus Ex Machina.
[/massive sarcasm]
*Pant pant pant*
... maybe I need a short vacation from the forum?
Tongue-in-cheek,
Brian P.
Somebody always makes these complaints about every OOTS strip so I thought I'd start it off this time.
Let's see .. out of character ... out of character ... well , Durkon spontaneously cast "inflict wounds" when he meant to cast "cure moderate wounds".
Ah, but Durkon is an experienced adventurer and he has a high wisdom score. So clearly it is ABSOLUTELY, COMPLETELY INCONCEIVABLE that he could ever make such a mistake. He should have known, he MUST have known , that a vampire channels negative energy and therefore he ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT POSSIBLY make such a mistake, EVER.
And he should have had a bunch of healing spells properly prepared instead of relying on spontaneous conversion of his existing spells because, honestly, isn't every high-level cleric prepared for the possibility of being turned by an undead monstrosity at any moment? It's almost as if he were a plausible character in a story rather than a player sitting at a table with fifteen source books open in front of him and a spreadsheet with which to calculate the optimal choices every round.
So it is OUT OF CHARACTER! Yes! Completely unbelievable writing that makes him look like a stick figu ... well, actually he IS a stick figure but THAT IS NOT THE POINT! The point is that it is TERRIBLE WRITING!
Deus Ex Machina... deus ex machina... well darn this is hard because it's almost all reasonable and to be expected ...
so should the tack be that because everything IS expected the comic is boring, conventional, unsurprising, and on obvious plot rails? Naw, I've got it. The OOTS is being bailed out of trouble by Durkon -- a vampire descending into the pit with them -- vampire descending! Ah-ha! I get it! It's a vampire ex machina! The OOTS is being saved from something they couldn't get out of by a vampire metaphorically dropping in on a machine to save them from a situation they had absolutely no way of getting out of ! Deus Ex Machina! After all ,everyone who reads a dictionary knows that "Deus Ex Machina" means "some development in the story that is even remotely surprising!"
So, I'm sorry to have to tell you this Rich, but I think the comic's unsalvageable. You had a really good thing going once, and it doesn't matter that you make your living writing this while I'm a nameless boob on the internet who's never written a single strip and sold it anywhere. And it doesn't matter that you have a loyal following of devoted readers who loved this strip. Sorry. The universe revolves around ME and that means you must do what I want, regardless of whether it is a good idea or not and regardless of whether it has even a nodding acquaintance with common sense.
So I think you should go back to the drawing board. Yes, that's it. Junk the whole thing and rewrite the strip from backwards and forwards and try it again. Completely reboot. And ditch the D&D aspect anyway, which people always argue over . I'm thinking ... something about a round-headed kid who always has the football pulled away just as he kicks it, some kid with a blanket, and a beagle who always sleeps on top of a doghouse. In fifty years of writing, I don't think anyone EVER wrote to Charles Schultz to complain that Charlie Brown must have rolled a natural 20 and made the kick at least *once*, so his writing is unbelievable and out of character and Lucy's ability to keep it away from him is totally Deus Ex Machina.
[/massive sarcasm]
*Pant pant pant*
... maybe I need a short vacation from the forum?
Tongue-in-cheek,
Brian P.