Family Drama and Humans

[Ionathus]

A couple of comments on different forum threads - alongside the occasional in-comic reference like the last panel here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0916.html) have led me to an interesting realization:

So far Roy, Haley, and Elan are the only characters whose parents we have seen in-depth (at least outside of Origin of PCs, which I haven't yet read, so spoilers on that front would be appreciated). And they are the three members of the party who are human. I think it's interesting that we've met Roy's entire family, Elan's entire family, and what Haley has left of a family all in the comic, while Durkon, Belkar, and V have gotten nothing...outside of the occasional reference to hilariously awful camping trips (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0643.html).

Additionally, all three are - or at least have been - on poor terms with their fathers. Hence all the "daddy issues" jokes. Also interesting to note here is that Elan has Scoundrel as a positive father figure, and Roy sorta has his grandpa Horace, but Haley has nobody that I can think of.

Once again, I've never read any of the supplemental books, so I could be off, but I just thought this was an interesting theme.

[RMS Oceanic]

If I recall correctly, Rich has said that a parent appearing for more than a few strips is so they can be a source of conflict for the main character. To raise that conflict with the demi-humans (beyond blindingly obvious deals with the devil and similar) would require spending a bit of time establishing how those races differ to humans with regards to maturity and how a child is raised.

Ah, Here's his thoughts on parental strife. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12240501#post12240501)

[Keltest]

Haley has her father, I guess. She obviously cares for him deeply, and while his parenting methods might have hindered her as an adventurer, they made more or less perfect sense in the environment that they lived in at the time.

[martianmister]

They're also the "main-main" characters of this comic, non-human members of OotS, who are "side-main" characters compared to them. It's probably because readers are more likely to empathise with humans.

[Trillium]

Notice - all three have "daddy issues" and not a single "mommy" issue.
I'd say what it means, but I still haven't read anything of Freud =|

[martianmister]

Notice - all three have "daddy issues" and not a single "mommy" issue.
I'd say what it means, but I still haven't read anything of Freud =|

Haley has "mommy issues". BECAUSE SHE'S A WOMAN

[Keltest]

Notice - all three have "daddy issues" and not a single "mommy" issue.
I'd say what it means, but I still haven't read anything of Freud =|

doesn't Haley have a slight abandonment issue from when her mother died?

[RMS Oceanic]

Haley has her father, I guess. She obviously cares for him deeply, and while his parenting methods might have hindered her as an adventurer, they made more or less perfect sense in the environment that they lived in at the time.

Well, yes and no. For Greysky City, the wretched hive of scum and villainy it is, I suppose it can be reasoned that you play your cards close to the chest and don't stick your neck out, but it looks like Mia at least (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0772.html) wanted them to live a better life, and if you spend too much time adapting to one environment you're in danger of floundering in others, hence Haley's trust issues.. I'll be interested if we get to explore this a little more, but I think even at the time it was obvious that Ian got the wrong end of what Mia was trying to say.

[Ionathus]

If I recall correctly, Rich has said that a parent appearing for more than a few strips is so they can be a source of conflict for the main character. To raise that conflict with the demi-humans (beyond blindingly obvious deals with the devil and similar) would require spending a bit of time establishing how those races differ to humans with regards to maturity and how a child is raised.

Ah, Here's his thoughts on parental strife. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12240501#post12240501)

Huh. Seems there's nothing new under the sun, even on forum discussions of D&D stick figure comics. But yeah, that was one of my theories: that doing a family dynamic with a demihuman race would open up a whole different can of worms. Still, I think it's interesting that character growth for all three human characters has involved their parents.

By design, naturally. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0918.html)


Haley has her father, I guess. She obviously cares for him deeply, and while his parenting methods might have hindered her as an adventurer, they made more or less perfect sense in the environment that they lived in at the time.

True. You need to teach children, from a very young age, to fear old ladies:smalltongue:.

[Keltest]

As far as the demi-humans go, Belkar hates his family equally or greater than he hates everyone else and Durkon has made it pretty clear that dwarves as a rule don't have family issues like the humans do. Too much honor and duty for petty stuff like that.

[martianmister]

As far as the demi-humans go, Belkar hates his family equally or greater than he hates everyone else and Durkon has made it pretty clear that dwarves as a rule don't have family issues like the humans do. Too much honor and duty for petty stuff like that.

Where did you get these? :smallconfused:

[Keltest]

Where did you get these? :smallconfused:

Here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0084.html) we see Durkon's opinion on dwarfdom, and in the last few panels of this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0171.html) We see that Belkar considers being forced to spend time with family to be worse than being sold into slavery.

Also, sorry if the links don't work right. Im new and still trying to figure out how everything works here.

[Acrux]

Notice - all three have "daddy issues" and not a single "mommy" issue.
I'd say what it means, but I still haven't read anything of Freud =|

I'd be careful to avoid a form of "The Personal Heresy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Personal_Heresy)" in a story, especially when it comes to family dynamics. The statement the Giant is making through these relationships is universal, so attributing meaning to some private understanding is less useful than one that most people can relate with.

[ReaderAt2046]

Notice - all three have "daddy issues" and not a single "mommy" issue.
I'd say what it means, but I still haven't read anything of Freud =|

The Giant's actually on record as saying that was pretty much pure coincidence. It's somewhere in the Index, if you want to look it up.

[Ionathus]

It's actually in the second post on this thread, RMS linked it.
Enjoy, it's a swell read.

[veti]

Here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0084.html) we see Durkon's opinion on dwarfdom, and in the last few panels of this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0171.html) We see that Belkar considers being forced to spend time with family to be worse than being sold into slavery.

Also, sorry if the links don't work right. Im new and still trying to figure out how everything works here.

Durkon's opinions on dwarfdom don't tell us much about his family. And Belkar's comment about spending time with his family echoes what many, many people in their 20s and 30s say. It's possible to be extremely fond of your parents, but still find that 'spending time with them' tests your patience and/or sanity.

I think that's the basis of, probably, quite a few successful sitcoms.