Introducing the Vector Legion!

[Jack of Spades]

So in case you're missing it, Rich Burlew is answering questions on Twitter right now. Including this juicy little bit of nomenclature:

Word of the Giant (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/435651746556149760)

Edit: He's done now. But there's some good, witty stuff on the feed.

[Everyl]

What class is Tarquin?

Upper.

Good stuff in there, gonna have to read through the rest of it.

[Gift Jeraff]

I found the cut battle in the pyramid and wishing the current book was split into 2 tweets most interesting.

[zimmerwald1915]

Good on whoever proposed "Vector Cabal" way back when.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

The one about an important female character that had already been introduced was interesting. And, of course, the Vector Legion was interesting to know. I liked the comment about the flumphs. :smallamused:

[zimmerwald1915]

Also, apparently there's a map of the world.

[Gift Jeraff]

I guess Bandana is the female character in question? Or Lien if "here" just means introduced/established.

[jere7my]

Interesting bit of support for my own Monster in the Darkness theory.


@RichBurlew: Paisley, obviously. RT @chrisforrence Is the MitD more a plaid kinda fellow or a polka dot chap?

I've long suspected, and mentioned here before, that the MitD is actually Rich's heavily-templated entry from Roger Moore's list of Giant Space Hamster variants in Dragon #175—i.e., a:

Subtropical Amphibious Crimson Displacer Shrieking Transparent Fomorian Groaning Aboriginal Lamia Heavy War Gelatinous elder Dun Berserker Blood Sea Heucuva Huecuva Guardian One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eating Astral Ixitxachitl Shambling Vampiric Beholder Rust Poisonous Slithering Volcanic Storm Tri-Flower Flumph Thessal Spitting Cockatrice Paisley Super-Genius Abjurer Blink Faerie Throat Leech Rotting Teenage Mutant Ninja Ju-Ju Republican Charioteering Interposing Glaive-Guisarme All-Beef Patty Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onion on a Sesame-Seed Bun Goblinoid Fire-Retardant Anchovy Death Great Wyrm Myopic Megalo Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame.

One point confirmed. Seventy-four to go. :smallbiggrin:

[ti'esar]

Q: was Thog KIA in his match with Roy or will there be more of him in the future? (or neither?)
A: Those are not mutually exclusive scenarios.

Verrrry interesting.

[Grey Watcher]

I guess Bandana is the female character in question? Or Lien if "here" just means introduced/established.

Funny, my thought was that it was hinting at Hilgya's return. But Lien is far more likely, given that she was last seen explicitly heading towards the North, while Hilgya's specifically trying to get away from there (because that's where her husband is).

[Lord Raziere]

Verrrry interesting.

Why would it be? Thog can be turned into an undead.

[Porthos]

My thought was it might be Amun-Zora, actually.

[ti'esar]

Why would it be? Thog can be turned into an undead.

Yeah, but with the Linear Guild no more, I thought he had pretty clearly outlived his narrative purpose. For that matter, I thought he was dead well before that.

[Sniffnoy]

Huh, I was thinking he might be referring to Sabine...

[Bird]

Yeah, but with the Linear Guild no more, I thought he had pretty clearly outlived his narrative purpose. For that matter, I thought he was dead well before that.
I didn't get "he'll be undead" from the Giant's tweet. I think there's going to be "more" of Thog in the future because we'll see him in the afterlife.

Remember that the Giant has implied in the past that Nale isn't really LE. (I don't have the post on hand, but someone wrote an argument describing how Nale's behavior is more chaotic than lawful, and the Giant said something like "Interesting. Don't you think?") I find it quite likely that we'll see Nale reunited with Thog in the CE afterlife, with Sabine likely dropping by as well.

*

Bandana was my first thought about the female character he was referring to. She's the boss of the Mechane, now, so if the Order is going to use the Mechane for a while, she could be a relatively prominent character.

*


Mine too. Though Tarquin and Malack were fun, too. RT @kgmps2 I love Redcloak. Who's your favorite villain to write?
So, evidently -- favorite villain Redcloak; Tarquin and Malack as runners up. Xykon only his fourth (at best) villain to write? Gah!

*


Yes, there's a chance. Not 100% chance, tho. RT @NeosmithXeno Any chance of Nale/Malach/Tarquin prequel book a la Start of Darkness?
Here's hoping.

[ti'esar]

I didn't get "he'll be undead" either. I'm just very intrigued by the implication that Thog has any further role to play.

[Bird]

I didn't get "he'll be undead" either. I'm just very intrigued by the implication that Thog has any further role to play.
Fair enough. Way I see it , Tarquin doesn't like to work with loose cannons, but the IFCC may be more willing.

[ti'esar]

I don't have that book -- is this development major? I thought that the retrieval of the body was pretty well covered in the online strip. Did Haley have a "moment" with his corpse?

No. What it did do was show that Bozzok and Crystal were still actively trying to have Haley killed, which makes her killing of the latter (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0648.html) come off as a lot less cold-blooded than it did in practice.

Based on past comments, I strongly suspect that's what he's referring to.

[Everyl]

I don't have that book -- is this development major? I thought that the retrieval of the body was pretty well covered in the online strip. Did Haley have a "moment" with his corpse?

From the spoilers I've read on the forum, that subplot makes it clear that Bozzok and Crystal were still trying to kill Haley, even after Celia arranged a "peaceful" resolution. This makes Haley killing Crystal and reneging on her end of the deal much more understandable; going from only the online strips, it looks like Haley murdered Crystal in cold blood to steal her magic items and get out of paying her back dues to Bozzok. I don't have that book, either, but apparently Haley's actions were supposed to be more of a retaliation or escalation of a conflict that Bozzok and Crystal started/perpetuated.

Edit: Ninja'd. Of course.

[Finagle]

Someone want to post a list of these questions and answers? For those of us for whom twitter is blocked, or just plain dislike twitter.

[Porthos]

Someone want to post a list of these questions and answers? For those of us for whom twitter is blocked, or just plain dislike twitter.

The important ones so far. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17020309&postcount=965)

[B. Dandelion]

Redcloak is the best villain!

...and some other stuff, I guess.

Okay, Tarquin and Malack were fun. Granted.

[Bird]

No. What it did do was show that Bozzok and Crystal were still actively trying to have Haley killed, which makes her killing of the latter (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0648.html) come off as a lot less cold-blooded than it did in practice.

Based on past comments, I strongly suspect that's what he's referring to.
Ah, got it, thanks. I've seen that conversation before, but was thinking of "retrieving the corpse" in terms of the sequence with the MitD after the Battle of Azure City, and didn't make the connection to the Greysky subplot.

[Ridureyu]

What if the Monster in the Dark is Hello Kitty?

-It's on the umbrella
-People think it's cute, even though it is monstrous
-It kind of matches the pieces on the Go board (look at the shape! Cat ears!)
-It is a foul being of endless destruction
-It would be a punchline.

[SarahV]

What, no one is suggesting Hannah the plumber as the new 'lead' female who was already introduced? Seems like she has a pretty important role to play, after that last comic... :smalltongue:

[Bird]

What, no one is suggesting Hannah the plumber as the new 'lead' female who was already introduced? Seems like she has a pretty important role to play, after that last comic... :smalltongue:
"Happy birthday, honey. Your present is right on the other side of this rift. And if you could do something about the god-killing abomination while you're there, that'd be lovely."

[SarahV]

"Happy birthday, honey. Your present is right on the other side of this rift. And if you could do something about the god-killing abomination while you're there, that'd be lovely."

Nothing unsnarls a Snarl like a nice soak in a lake-sized hot tub. Epic Level Plumber to the rescue!

[colanderman]

So, evidently -- favorite villain Redcloak; Tarquin and Malack as runners up. Xykon only his fourth (at best) villain to write? Gah!

Well, Xykon is pretty one-dimensional, no doubt on purpose (for the same reason Belkar is). His backstory is shallow, his motivations are transparent, his only secrets are what spells he has prepared, and the only times we've ever seen him really show emotion (beyond "mildly annoyed") were his first post-lichdom taste of coffee, and when his phylactery was lost. Heck, he doesn't even remember who the main character is.

Redcloak, on the other hand, has a backstory that makes you sympathize with him, multiple conflicting motivations, secrets and guile up the wazoo, and can actually emote. Frankly, I think he's why Team Evil's scenes are interesting to read; I'm not surprised that he's why they're interesting to write, too.

[Loreweaver15]

I am torn.

On the one hand, Sabine is a fantastic character and I want as much of her as possible.

On the other hand, I'm currently scripting a story that involves an evil outsider helping the heroes for her own selfish reasons, and I really don't want to feel like I ripped off Rich :P

[Rogar Demonblud]

Nothing unsnarls a Snarl like a nice soak in a lake-sized hot tub. Epic Level Plumber to the rescue!

That made me laugh. I needed it.

edit: also, given all the Star Wars references, I'm surprised no one guessed that Tarquin's friend would compose his finest Legion.

[CoffeeIncluded]

I thought the whole "We'll see Thog again" referred to kickstarter bonus stuff. I guess the fun part is that there's so many ways to interpret it that we won't know until it happens!

[Enero Irontoad]

When he said we'd be seeing more of an important female character who had already been introduced, the three that first came to my mind were Amun-zora, Sabine, and Serini.

It's nice to have an official name for Tarquin's team. I do wonder why the Giant won't reveal his character class though... I suppose he's shown it's not really important at this point.

[Bird]

Well, Xykon is pretty one-dimensional, no doubt on purpose (for the same reason Belkar is). His backstory is shallow, his motivations are transparent, his only secrets are what spells he has prepared, and the only times we've ever seen him really show emotion (beyond "mildly annoyed") were his first post-lichdom taste of coffee, and when his phylactery was lost. Heck, he doesn't even remember who the main character is.

Redcloak, on the other hand, has a backstory that makes you sympathize with him, multiple conflicting motivations, secrets and guile up the wazoo, and can actually emote. Frankly, I think he's why Team Evil's scenes are interesting to read; I'm not surprised that he's why they're interesting to write, too.
That's a good analysis. Belkar has much more dimensionality than him, at this point. (And I wasn't seriously criticizing the Giant; his favorites can be whatever he likes. I appreciate a preference for multi-dimensional characters, too.)

To me, the fascinating thing about Xykon is that his propensity towards boredom, incredible power, childishness, and complete lack of ethics make him so unpredictable. He doesn't usually explode, but there's always a threat that he might, so he generates tension in a scene at the drop of a dime. (I remember how anxious I was to find out what he would do when Redcloak admitted to murdering Tsukiko.) He can also pull off casual supervillainy ("follow the bouncing ball") in a way no other character approaches.

He and patient, goal-driven, guilt-suppressing Redcloak really are perfect foils for each other.

[Keltest]

When he said we'd be seeing more of an important female character who had already been introduced, the three that first came to my mind were Amun-zora, Sabine, and Serini.

It's nice to have an official name for Tarquin's team. I do wonder why the Giant won't reveal his character class though... I suppose he's shown it's not really important at this point.

Probably for the same reason he wont reveal any character levels: so he has some room to work with when deciding what they can and cannot do. Its not like hes dead, and I wouldn't put it past him to try and come back, even if he gets hilariously outgunned.

[Sir_Dr_D]

The Giant's statement on thog doesn't really mean anything. It was just a silly non answer, like Tarquins class being upper.

A character in D&D or OOTS who is "dead" , isn't any guarantee of being out of the story. And i thought that the obvious meaning behind it was if Thog is dead, he can always be resurrected.

In general I thought that twitter feed was quite funny.

[Gift Jeraff]

So, evidently -- favorite villain Redcloak; Tarquin and Malack as runners up. Xykon only his fourth (at best) villain to write? Gah!

Lich Burlew confirmed for being Lawful Evil.

[allenw]

I've long suspected, and mentioned here before, that the MitD is actually Rich's heavily-templated entry from Roger Moore's list of Giant Space Hamster variants in Dragon #175—i.e., a:

Subtropical Amphibious Crimson Displacer Shrieking Transparent Fomorian Groaning Aboriginal Lamia Heavy War Gelatinous elder Dun Berserker Blood Sea Heucuva Huecuva Guardian One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eating Astral Ixitxachitl Shambling Vampiric Beholder Rust Poisonous Slithering Volcanic Storm Tri-Flower Flumph Thessal Spitting Cockatrice Paisley Super-Genius Abjurer Blink Faerie Throat Leech Rotting Teenage Mutant Ninja Ju-Ju Republican Charioteering Interposing Glaive-Guisarme All-Beef Patty Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onion on a Sesame-Seed Bun Goblinoid Fire-Retardant Anchovy Death Great Wyrm Myopic Megalo Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame.

One point confirmed. Seventy-four to go. :smallbiggrin:

Sadly for your theory, MitD appears to have two eyes. :smallsmile:

[Porthos]

Sadly for your theory, MitD appears to have two eyes. :smallsmile:

That objection has already been examined. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234528) :smalltongue:

[Asteroid Bomb]

I wish we got to see that extra fight with the LG. I thought that was a kind of anticlimactic way for Nale to go when you realize his last personal "fight" with Elan was the chase at the palace.

Tarquin is the best villain in the comic IMO, though he took a nosedive when he turned out to be a raving drama-obsessed lunatic. He was much cooler when he was an evil warlord with a genius plan for conquering the desert with the genre savviness as just a funny thing on the side. Now he's just a tad better than Redcloak. I don't like Xykon very much. He's just so... generic. Like Roy said in the Battle of Azure City, he's a walking villain cliche.

[Loreweaver15]

I wish we got to see that extra fight with the LG. I thought that was a kind of anticlimactic way for Nale to go when you realize his last personal "fight" with Elan was the chase at the palace.

Tarquin is the best villain in the comic IMO, though he took a nosedive when he turned out to be a raving drama-obsessed lunatic. He was much cooler when he was an evil warlord with a genius plan for conquering the desert with the genre savviness as just a funny thing on the side. Now he's just a tad better than Redcloak. I don't like Xykon very much. He's just so... generic. Like Roy said in the Battle of Azure City, he's a walking villain cliche.

As Giant said, he was always that way. The clues were there before his breakdown; I admit I was suckered in too, but this is Who Tarquin Is, and I actually think he's still one of the best villains in the comic because of how well it's pulled off as a discussion of fiction.

[Seto]

By the way, do we know what Kilkil referred to at the end of this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0882.html) ? Was it the fact that Tarquin prepared an army and Laurin/Miron ?

(A little off-topic, sorry... But after all this IS about the Vector Legion :smalltongue:)

[allenw]

That objection has already been examined. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234528) :smalltongue:

And it seems to me it was sustained. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12815434&postcount=11) :smalltongue:

Now, if Rich had added "two-headed," I'd withdraw my objection. But he didn't.

[Bird]

By the way, do we know what Kilkil referred to at the end of this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0882.html) ? Was it the fact that Tarquin prepared an army and Laurin/Miron ?
Yes, you've got it.

[Heksefatter]

I have a stupid question: I get the names 'The Order of the Stick', 'The Linear Guild' and 'The Order of the Scribble.' What's the pun behind 'The Vector Legion?'

(My question is stupid because I'm sure it's just as obvious as the above names, but I haven't figured it out. You may point and laugh).

[Gift Jeraff]

I have a stupid question: I get the names 'The Order of the Stick', 'The Linear Guild' and 'The Order of the Scribble.' What's the pun behind 'The Vector Legion?'

(My question is stupid because I'm sure it's just as obvious as the above names, but I haven't figured it out. You may point and laugh).

OOTS is made with vector-based graphics:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics

[Heksefatter]

OOTS is made with vector-based graphics:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics

Makes sense. Thank you.

[Ornithologist]

Groups of people (Order, Guild, legion)
Straight lines (Stick, Linear, Vector)

Its more of a running gag, Because all were named by one of Elan's family. I wonder what the name of the Restaurant where Elan's Mom works at is?

no ideas...

[Heksefatter]

Groups of people (Order, Guild, legion)
Straight lines (Stick, Linear, Vector)

Its more of a running gag, Because all were named by one of Elan's family. I wonder what the name of the Restaurant where Elan's Mom works at is?

no ideas...

Well, if the Order of the Stick has a major falling out, just like the Order of the Scribble did, they can meet up at that place for reconcilliation and it can be called the Stick Restauration?