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View Full Version : Can Nale maintain his prescence as a villian?



krossbow
2006-12-23, 08:58 PM
Can Nale continue to exist as a relevant major villian in light of what has transgressed? His main capabilities before were playing Elan's foolish weaknesses, and using his highly competent team to execute brilliant plans.


As things stand, he has had his power base broken. Yik-yik is dead, Sabine is against him, pompei and Leeky are Awol, though thog appears to still be loyal. As it is, his team is shattered from the crack squad it used to be (in comparison to Xycon, who has a massive army of expendable, yet stupid, lackeys). In addition, Elan has shown in the last comic to now be above Nale as a fighter, and now to be free of his ploys.

Can Nale operate anymore? With Sabine against him, he cannot hope to rebuild easily, and Elan will no longer be taken in easily. I hope for him to continue as a villian, but he is ruined. Perhaps some bluff checks, or even his knowlege of the gates could help him?

sunbeam
2006-12-23, 09:21 PM
I'd say Nale seems more like a BBEG than ever after that performance with Thog and especially trying to get Elan to hate Haley.

Just my impression but I think Thog is the only Linear Guild member Nale would have any qualms about getting rid of.

Sabine is useful. In aaah many ways. But there is only one boss and that's Nale.

As to the rest it's only a detail, there are always more henchmen out there. Besides Pompey is free, just in another city. Leeky could always be rescued. There isn't a shortage of Kobolds in the world either.

I'd worry about Sabine though. She's kind of overstepped her bounds, and that has repercussions.

Querzis
2006-12-23, 09:25 PM
Sabine wont be against him for too long, he just have to explain he wanted to kill Haley (Beside she is supposed to stay with him, its her order). I reallly dont know what happened to Pompey and Leeky but I guess we will find soon enough, beside yeah he is not that good of a fighter but the best villian fight with their head, not their muscle. Anyway, whatever what happen, Elan wont kill Nale.

I seriously doubt Nale wont come back stronger then ever next time.

Iranon
2006-12-23, 09:30 PM
He is an excellent villain, and his comment about plans never unravelling slowly hints that he can fall back from seemingly-catastrophic defeats.

Considering how he almost succeeded based on his wits alone after being surprised and outmatched, I still have high hopes for him. After this is wrapped up, it will probably be some time until he and the Order clash directly again.

Silkenfist
2006-12-23, 10:32 PM
Nale will come back. He has recovered from defeat already and will do so again.

krossbow
2006-12-23, 10:52 PM
I gotta say, I'm suprised at the number of people who think that Nale will get outside help.

I think he's far too proud for that myself, and I doubt he take it even if forced to. So far, the main thing that Nale's resurgence hinges on is Sabine's forgiveness. Those two are a team, and they have excellent chemistry. Let's face it, Sabine isn't exactly the brains of the operation, and she flies off the handle WAY too easily; on the other hand, she is an excellent fighter. Nale is horrid at fighting, but has great plans. In this relationship, she's the brawn and he's the brains, and neither is as good as both together.

If they can work it out, it only becomes a matter of time. Thog is loyal as usual, and, when properly supervised, an excellent underling. the other three members can be easily replaced, though only one NEEDS to be. Nale has shown he is excellent at tactics, if nothing else, and thus can work with most any crew, as long as he has Sabine by his side.


I am eagerly anticipating any hand he may have in the coming battle at Azure city (although I think the order will teleport out just before Xycon arrives).

RandomNPC
2006-12-23, 11:11 PM
how long can he go before his "i'm back! and here's a new group of friends!" gets old?

Demented
2006-12-23, 11:33 PM
He made a man out of Elan and cured Haley of aphasia, and introduced Oots to our dear Celia. If we see the last of him as a major character after this, who else are we going to rely on to raise OOTS to become a cohesive adventuring team?

Yzorth
2006-12-23, 11:41 PM
He will get away while Elan and Haley are discussing Haley's feelings.

the_tick_rules
2006-12-23, 11:46 PM
or a sneak attack.

krossbow
2006-12-23, 11:52 PM
He made a man out of Elan and cured Haley of aphasia, and introduced Oots to our dear Celia. If we see the last of him as a major character after this, who else are we going to rely on to raise OOTS to become a cohesive adventuring team?


Leeky seemed to have made Durkon man up when it comes to trees too...


though Roy's getting all his motivation and such from Xycon.

Grey Watcher
2006-12-23, 11:54 PM
Frankly, I don't agree that Nale's power base is all that damaged:

1: Leeky, Pompey, and Yok-yok were replacements anyway. He's replaced three lost members before, he can do it again. Those three (and their predecessors, Hilgya, Zzdtr'i, and Yik-yik) were little more than hired goons to make up for talents that Sabine, Nale, and Thog didn't have on their own.

2: Sabine isn't really turned against Nale. Granted, she's pissed at him now, but she's in the midst of a jealous rage, and, assuming outsiders can even GET intoxicated, somewhat drunk at this point, to boot. He may have to do some fast-talking to convince her, but Nale ultimately can convince her of the truth, that she was seducing Haley in order to betray her.

3: Playing off Elan's stupidity has never really been a key part of Nale's plan. In fact, the only plan Nale's ever hatched that relied on ANY trait specific to his brother was the identity-swap, and that only relies on their similar appearence. I don't think Nale was betting on the fact that Elan could not only manage to escape prison, but secure passage on a means of transprot capable of catching up to Nale (if Elan had gotten a horse, carriage, or gone on foot, it would've taken months for him to get to the Azure City). Besides, his plan can't be that easy to see through, since it's fooled everyone except Belkar (and even Belkar didn't notice until Nale changed out of Elan's clothes). Would we have been able to spot what had happened if we weren't privy to Nale pulling the switch, side-conferencing with Sabine, or internally monolouging? Maybe not.

Axl_Rose
2006-12-24, 01:00 AM
In addition, Elan has shown in the last comic to now be above Nale as a fighter, and now to be free of his ploys.

I wouldn't be so quick to write off Nale as a fighter, I mean, as stated he "brought a dagger to a swordfight." Had Nale been armed with his usual sword (forgive me, I know not the proper name) I'm sure he would be more of a match.

Wiione
2006-12-24, 01:36 AM
Had Nale been armed with his usual sword (forgive me, I know not the proper name) I'm sure he would be more of a match.

It's a longsword. And I agree, BTW.

Querzis
2006-12-24, 02:12 AM
I cant believe the people who say he will only be a minor annoyance. Nale as been closer to destroying the entire OOTS then anyone else! Without the prophecy of Roy father, they would have been killed by Nale first plan and if he woudnt have heard about the gate, he would have killed the entire order before Elan could get there.

Overlord
2006-12-24, 02:26 AM
I voted that he is going to get outside help, not because he needs it so much as he will probably get it anyway.

I disagree that Nale's too proud to get help; he's already done so repeatedly in the past by enlisting the aid of Sabine, Thog, and various other lackeys. He can and might survive on his own or with just Sabine and/or Thog, by slinking of into the night and hiding. But I think that he'll be back later, probably to help/get help from Xykon during/before the invasion of Azure City.

Holy_Knight
2006-12-24, 02:44 AM
I agree that he could stay a threat, but I have to say I would love for him to be killed off here. He deserves it more than ever with everything he just tried to do. That being said, I would be surprised if he doesn't survive.

Oh, and while I agree that he would put up a better fight if he had his longsword, I think that Elan would still come out on top in a duel. He held his own against him the first time they clashed, and that was before his recent dramatic increase in effectiveness (pun intended).

Man, though, how great would this be...

:elan: *glaring at Haley* You've been lying to me this whole time... NALE! *turns and stabs Nale, ending his miserable life*.

The_Old_Fox
2006-12-24, 04:36 AM
I am rather impressed by :nale: 's ability to spin even the worst of situations, for example #393

Even though his WIS is low his INT is high enough that he can keep coming up with evil plans, of course being an evil NPC in D&D usually leads to failure eventually and one can only fail so many times before they become lame

I say :nale: has one or two more schemes left in him

TreesOfDeath
2006-12-24, 05:33 AM
Nale's always been pretty incompetent. The strip where he keeps using Sending was meant to tell us that hes not exactly the evil mastermind he thinks he is and he kept his prescnce up for a while. He has the linear guild backing him.
I think it can be done, though he might drift to the annoyance catergory.
Elan is dumb as ****, if he had killed Nale hundreds of lives would be saved

Mawhrin Skel
2006-12-24, 05:57 AM
I wouldn't be surprise if...

Nale manipulates Miko to work with him against the OotS. Obviously he'd need a way of avoiding Detect Evil.

I don't believe that's an original prediction.

Setra
2006-12-24, 06:14 AM
I wouldn't be surprise if...

Elan manipulates Miko to work with him against the OotS. Obviously he'd need a way of avoiding Detect Evil.

I don't believe that's an original prediction.

Don't you mean Nale?

In any case, I expect to see a dagger in Elan's chest next comic. Since Nale's Intelligence and Wisdom fluctuate with the comedic flow, it's hard to really guess what he might do. One thing I am curious about, is his inner thoughts concerning the Gates.

If he did kill the OotS, would he try to stop Xykon? I'm pretty sure that even though Nale is Evil, he still wants to live, helping the Snarl Escape would be counter-productive to that.

Sir_Banjo
2006-12-24, 06:30 AM
He'll probably become a blackguard or something. This should restore his presence a villain.

Merry Christmas

danielf
2006-12-24, 06:38 AM
I think there is no Nale, Nale is the Elan alter-ego imagination, like "Fight Club"

Querzis
2006-12-24, 07:23 AM
Don't you mean Nale?

In any case, I expect to see a dagger in Elan's chest next comic. Since Nale's Intelligence and Wisdom fluctuate with the comedic flow, it's hard to really guess what he might do. One thing I am curious about, is his inner thoughts concerning the Gates.

If he did kill the OotS, would he try to stop Xykon? I'm pretty sure that even though Nale is Evil, he still wants to live, helping the Snarl Escape would be counter-productive to that.

His int and his wis never flow, he just got a really high int but a low wisdom. He is also going by the phrase: «It doesnt matter if you lose or win as long as you do evil complicated plan.»

Alex Kidd
2006-12-24, 08:32 AM
I say dead Nale, later cutting to Sabine and a bereft Thog eating fudge ripples(Sabine scared of the results of abandoning Thog in this state) as Azure City burns(Xykon invading and all). Maybe have Miko die and get raised as a Death Knight or something as the replacement secondary villain, give some other characters a shot at major plot and character development(imagine Belkar, V and Durkon dealing with an evil Miko. Also a Miko with all the stuff she's pent up coming out would be interesting. Hell a romance spawning between Belkar and undead Miko could make some of the best, and in other ways worst sexual innuendo ever).

Atheist_Cleric
2006-12-24, 08:59 AM
I think Nale will recover. He's too valuable a villain and plot device to get rid of. Of course, if you think about it, he could still come back even if Elan kills him. In the D&D world, death is just a huge inconvenience. Plus a ghostly Nale, unable to influence the physical plane but still talk? It would be good material for the comic until he was brought back, and Sabine might take her time on that, as payback. In the long run, Nale's arrogance will undo him though. He's smart, but he thinks he's brilliant. He has Elan's incredible confidence, but twisted so that he doesnt just think he can handle anything, he also thinks everyone else is so much lower than he is, and that's what will ruin him. Sooner or later he'll try one of his clever but flawed plans out on someone like Xykon, Miko, or maybe just a really pissed off Elan or Roy, and they will just kill him, something I dont think he can even take the possibility of happening into account.

Amon Star
2006-12-24, 10:37 AM
I disagree that Nale's too proud to get help; he's already done so repeatedly in the past by enlisting the aid of Sabine, Thog, and various other lackeys. He can and might survive on his own or with just Sabine and/or Thog, by slinking of into the night and hiding. But I think that he'll be back later, probably to help/get help from Xykon during/before the invasion of Azure City.

The Linear Guild are his minions. Using them doesn't count as outside help. Also, I doubt it if :xykon: and :nale: will ever team up again.


Nale's always been pretty incompetent. The strip where he keeps using Sending was meant to tell us that hes not exactly the evil mastermind he thinks he is and he kept his prescnce up for a while. He has the linear guild backing him.

I think that was done for humour. Or to show what a Bond Villain he is, as he's obsessed with the sound of his own voice.


I think it can be done, though he might drift to the annoyance catergory.
Elan is dumb as ****, if he had killed Nale hundreds of lives would be saved

:elan: is the good twin, not the neutral one.

Setra
2006-12-24, 10:46 AM
It would be funny if there was a third child, would he or she be True Nuetral then?

Tussy the Druid
2006-12-24, 10:50 AM
Nale isn't bad at combat. He's not very good, but he managed to hold of Roy in their first encounter. Plus, Elan had the element of suprise, attacking Nale when he had no armor, maybe he didn't have a full list of spells prepared, and all he had was a dagger.

Amon Star
2006-12-24, 11:05 AM
Nale isn't bad at combat. He's not very good, but he managed to hold of Roy in their first encounter. Plus, Elan had the element of suprise, attacking Nale when he had no armor, maybe he didn't have a full list of spells prepared, and all he had was a dagger.

He didn't hold off :roy: He ran away from :roy: to avoid getting a solid beating;

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0064.html

&

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0067.html

Also, Sorcerers don't prepare spells.

Zifna
2006-12-24, 11:15 AM
Prediction: Nale won't be eliminated before we meet the "neutral twin."

Just make sense.

mockingbyrd7
2006-12-24, 11:58 AM
Well, let's see...
Elan just slaughtered Nale in hand-to-hand combat, meaning he's a better fighter now.
Sabine is furious with him. But now, if he explains he was going to kill Haley, she may still be mad because SHE wants to kill her.
Thog is Nale's tank, thug, and up-front people smasher. But now Thog seems to also be loyal to Elan. If Elan can win Thog over, Nale will be seriously crippled without a fighter-type.
Pompey is AWOL. Probably abandoned ship when he realized he screwed up on guarding them. Not to mention he's an underpowered, low-level summoner. Not much of a threat.
Leeky is AWOL. He's probably the most powerful force that the Linear Guild has had, but we don't even know for sure if he was even part of the Linear Guild. (I'm pretty sure he's in jail.)
Yikyik is dead. He was a non-factor.
Yokyok is dead. He was a non-factor.
Hilgya has been AWOL since comic 84. Chances are that she's never coming back, but she was a pretty good cleric.
Zz'dtri was dragged away by lawyers. He's a wizard with scimitars. Not much to say here, except that he almost beat Vaarsuvius. He's probably not coming back.

So, the only team members are:
A badly injured Nale.
A furious, drunk Sabine.
A confused Thog with loyalties to both Elan and Nale.
And an AWOL Pompey and Leeky.

I'd say the Linear Guild has a fork in them. They're done!

Aust_Arrowsplitter
2006-12-24, 12:39 PM
I think Nale's still got a plot or two left in 'im. Granted, he will, in time, become either dead or a minor annoyance who is locked up with the key disintegrated, but I doubt that this is that time.

Still, those quips and puns are aweome. Nale has been BURNED.

krossbow
2006-12-24, 01:17 PM
It'd be easier to peg leeky's situation down better if we knew something about him besides being an insane druid. When I first saw him, I thought he was totally unrelated to the linear guild, and was just a coincidence that was happening at a bad time. It was only later when Nale talked about having the members seperated whilst showing leeky that I realized he was definitely with Nale.


Why did he join the guild? Where did Nale find him? What are his motivations besides tree's killing people? These things are all factors that need to be addressed to know his probability.


Thog I don't think is loyal to Elan; his conversation once he arrived back at the room showed that he is still fully loyal to Nale, and was only trying to save him. I kind of am wondering what the odds of sabine being able to pry thog off her are without enraging him; that'd be BAAAD news.



I have to wonder how Elan would fare against roy in a fight now to figure out whether Nale is truly outmatched or just got suprised by a better equipped foe.


I'd actualy love for the order to teleport off just before Xycon arrives, and end up with Nale destroying the gate to prevent Xycon from having it; kind of a "DAMN IT! Now I have to do something good to keep him from getting arcane power first!"
________
Yamaha xt 125 r history (http://www.yamaha-tech.com/wiki/Yamaha_XT_125_R)

Holy_Knight
2006-12-24, 08:46 PM
:elan: is the good twin, not the neutral one.
Yeah, but at this point I don't think that will matter. Elan would be totally justified in killing him, and may be at the point where he's willing to do it, too. When you keep sparing someone's life, and they keep coming up with increasingly horrific ways to try to destroy you, it's time to move from the "compassionate mercy" side of goodness to the "wreak mighty vengeance upon the wicked" side.

mockingbyrd7
2006-12-24, 11:19 PM
Yeah, but at this point I don't think that will matter. Elan would be totally justified in killing him, and may be at the point where he's willing to do it, too. When you keep sparing someone's life, and they keep coming up with increasingly horrific ways to try to destroy you, it's time to move from the "compassionate mercy" side of goodness to the "wreak mighty vengeance upon the wicked" side.

Amen!

<filler text>

V Junior
2007-01-23, 02:29 PM
THE DRAMATIC RETURN

Scene- Azure City Anti-Magic Cells

Nale: I'm gonna beat the **** out of Elan next time!
Sabine: Yeh, but there's gonna be NO NEXT TIME!!! WE CAN'T GET OUT THE JAIL!
Thog: thog agree.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
Nale: Wa-
Thog: thog scared!
Sabine: Ack!
Nale: Wait- the jail broke, and so did the anti-magic field!
Sabine (fiend form) Boo'ya! Let grind these paladins into paste!
Thog: thog rage!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arcane_Secrets
2007-01-23, 10:34 PM
I voted for they'll be back, but with help from another major villain (Xykon-inadvertently). I think that in the chaos of Xykon's invasion, the prison will somehow end up broken into or busted and in the battles, Thog, Sabine, and Nale will escape.

It might be interesting if Nale had to confront Xykon, considering how badly Nale's first plot failed in terms of stopping the Order of the Stick.

Snake-Aes
2007-01-24, 09:19 AM
As it is, his team is shattered from the crack squad it used to be (in comparison to Xycon, who has a massive army of expendable, yet stupid, lackeys).

Hobgoblins are seldom stupid, actually, they show all cunning they'd ever need in combat, and you heard RedCloak: "And all that discipline this military that..."

Xykon's army is amazing, if you look at it. no human army with the same numbers would win without massive mage support.

random11
2007-01-24, 09:32 AM
He is the perfect villian for the OOTS, mainly because unlike other villians, every single action (except the first) is dedicated directly to harm the OOTS.
Add the cliche about the "evil twin" that will never get old and ask yourself: Do you think the giant can throw this gem away?

Jefepato
2007-01-24, 09:41 AM
If Nale had any sense, he'd rethink his life after his last encounter with Vaarsuvius.

He doesn't, so he'll be back.

Yuki Akuma
2007-01-24, 09:56 AM
I voted for all four, entirely because you really should use radio buttons, not tick boxes.

Amon Star
2007-01-25, 06:26 AM
If Nale had any sense, he'd rethink his life after his last encounter with Vaarsuvius.

He doesn't, so he'll be back.

:nale: will think about that encounter, but it will just mean that he won't fall for it again. :nale: is smart and he knows that his ego is his biggest weakness. However, he's always made a comeback before and he will do so again.