Is the title of 942 a timeline clue?

[Acrux]

Since the Polearm Emporium receives newly forged halberds in the spring, does that give us any new information about how close we are to timeline related events (Belkar's death, etc.)?

[Keltest]

Im fairly certain they've been a lot more explicit about Belkar's prophecy than that (or at least the general timeline), but I cant seem to find the specific page where Roy says something to the effect of "He wont be a problem in a couple of months."

[TroubleBrewing]

It's the one where he comes back to life. 74-something.

EDIT: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0666.html

Totally off.

[titan_monarch]

I just went through the strips since then, and it looks like we're 29, maybe 30 days away from him dying now, if that "seven weeks" back there is strictly accurate. I may have accidentally counted an extra day somewhere, but that's about right.

[ORione]

We would need to know where on the Oracle's calender spring is for it to be useful. We haven't had much indication of seasons (like snow or blooming flowers or whatever) in the strip, so there isn't much to ground a season-related clue.

But if we want a to figure out Belkar's expiration date, here's some clues: this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html) indicates that Roy was resurrected a fortnight (two weeks) ago. This (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0666.html) happened on that day, and Roy said that they had seven weeks. So at most, Belkar has five weeks left.

[Cavenskull]

Roy's misadventure at the Polearm Emporium happened very early in the story. Since then, the OOTS went on a quest for starmetal, fought bandits, and got hauled all the way back to Azure City by Miko. After that, we saw the Azure City new year, a massive battle that resulted in the fall of the city, and almost a full year of goblinoid occupation. Per Redcloak's speech, the one-year anniversary of their conquest was going to be in six weeks. When all this is considered, it's all but guaranteed that more than a full year has passed. All we know from this is that if Jiminy was telling the truth about receiving newly forged halberds in the spring, then he probably received newly forged halberds sometime within the past year.

[Warren Dew]

But if we want a to figure out Belkar's expiration date, here's some clues: this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html) indicates that Roy was resurrected a fortnight (two weeks) ago. This (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0666.html) happened on that day, and Roy said that they had seven weeks. So at most, Belkar has five weeks left.
And between those two, time passed at one week per 88 strips. That suggests that Belkar has around 440 strips left - plenty of time to finish the story.

[skim172]

Is the title of 942 a timeline clue?

Why, yes, it is!


The halberd rose to prominence in the Late Middle Ages, when its design was refined and perfected. Thus, we know that Belkar will die sometime in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Unless this story is taking place in Vatican City, where the Swiss Guard continues to use the halberd as ceremonial weapons. In which case, this story might be taking place as we speak.

[ChowGuy]

Unless this story is taking place in Vatican City, where the Swiss Guard continues to use the halberd as ceremonial weapons. In which case, this story might be taking place as we speak.

Well yes, except for That Guy With a Halberd (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0432.html):smallwink:

(So do the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London by the way, and I imagine quite a few other cerimonial guards)

[Bird]

All we know from this is that if Jiminy was telling the truth about receiving newly forged halberds in the spring, then he probably received newly forged halberds sometime within the past year.
Well, that's the trick, isn't it? Since one of the very few things we know about Jiminy is that he lies for no evident reason. :smallwink:

[ChowGuy]

he lies for no evident reason. :smallwink:

He exaggerates.

[Rodin]

And between those two, time passed at one week per 88 strips. That suggests that Belkar has around 440 strips left - plenty of time to finish the story.

Given that the time for strips to take place has varied from "a few seconds" to "several weeks", I don't think we can take the number of strips remaining as any sort of guideline on when Belkar will bite it. For all we know, the next strip could jump 6 weeks and mention Belkar dying of a heart attack and falling into the ocean off-panel.

[ThePhantasm]

Belkar will die within 7 weeks, not necessarily at the end of 7 weeks. He could die in the very next strip for all we know.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Since the Polearm Emporium receives newly forged halberds in the spring, does that give us any new information about how close we are to timeline related events (Belkar's death, etc.)?

If the halbards are forged, the timeline could be as well.

[Keltest]

Well yes, except for That Guy With a Halberd (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0432.html):smallwink:

(So do the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London by the way, and I imagine quite a few other cerimonial guards)

Im pretty sure that's just a big axe. Theres no spearhead at the top.

[David Argall]

We would need to know where on the Oracle's calender spring is for it to be useful.
We have word of giant that the Oracle uses the Azure City calendar, meaning it was already Fall when the prediction was made [and technically Belkar should already be dead since a total of up to 13 months have passed since the Azure City New Year, according to various time clues in the strip].

But if we want a to figure out Belkar's expiration date, here's some clues: this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html) indicates that Roy was resurrected a fortnight (two weeks) ago.
"At least...", which routinely means a much longer period. This could be read as a month without strain to the text. Our attempts to count the days seem to come out in the low 20's [without allowing for dead time, such as spending weeks just fruitlessly asking people if they have seen any big spenders in town of late, or any of lots of ways time might have passed. Right now, we can presume this is the night of the fight, but since it was a 2 day flight to Windy Canyon, 1-3 days could have passed without notice. And even then we have to ignore questions about how the Tarquin Takedown Team assembled so fast.]