Theories on what Shoulder Pads Guy is

[CaDzilla]

What's his backstory? This a thread for all theories based around SPG.

EDIT:No spoof theories.

[WindStruck]

At this rate, he's just an extra. :smallwink:

[Flame of Anor]

What, the sixth Vector Legion guy? If he's important, we'll know later.

[ti'esar]

Well, I still like my idea that he's really just a meat puppet for the VL's real sixth member, his sentient sword. But that's largely facetious, and since the Giant has asked for a moratorium on spoof theories - then yeah, he's functionally an extra that we don't know anything about.

[RNGgod]

I maintain that we should call him Ory.

[Sir_Dr_D]

Well personally I think shoulder pad guy is the leader of the vector legion, just because we haven't seen a direct leader in the group yet. Tarquin isn't the leader, even if he thinks he is. Tarquin is someone who do to genre suaveness could come up with the suggestion of the multiple empires scheme. But he would be terrible at actually implementing the idea.

Since no one else is the apparent direct leader, I vote shoulder pad guy.

[Forikroder]

Well personally I think shoulder pad guy is the leader of the vector legion, just because we haven't seen a direct leader in the group yet. Tarquin isn't the leader, even if he thinks he is. Tarquin is someone who do to genre suaveness could come up with the suggestion of the multiple empires scheme. But he would be terrible at actually implementing the idea.

Since no one else is the apparent direct leader, I vote shoulder pad guy.

really? cause Tarquin has been extremely competent so far in such skills

seems like as soon as Tarquin killed Nale all of a sudden people atarted thinking he was a bufoon

[Keltest]

Well personally I think shoulder pad guy is the leader of the vector legion, just because we haven't seen a direct leader in the group yet. Tarquin isn't the leader, even if he thinks he is. Tarquin is someone who do to genre suaveness could come up with the suggestion of the multiple empires scheme. But he would be terrible at actually implementing the idea.

Since no one else is the apparent direct leader, I vote shoulder pad guy.

Where do people get the idea that Tarquin is a terrible leader, or incapable of providing direction to an adventuring party? The only time weve seen him lose directly is through a series of events he could not possibly have predicted.

[Porthos]

Where do people get the idea that Tarquin is a terrible leader, or incapable of providing direction to an adventuring party? The only time weve seen him lose directly is through a series of events he could not possibly have predicted.

Comments from Rich, partially. :smalltongue:

Thuogh, admittedly, he later backtracked by saying that might have been a little strong. :smallwink:

[Flame of Anor]

Where do people get the idea that Tarquin is a terrible leader, or incapable of providing direction to an adventuring party? The only time weve seen him lose directly is through a series of events he could not possibly have predicted.

The Giant basically told us that Tarquin was not a great leader.

[Gift Jeraff]

He's a fallen paladin turned blackguard (one of the "more righteous mortals than [V]" corrupted by the IFCC that Sabine alluded to). He was frowning when Tarquin was explaining the scheme because he was only talking about gaining power/gold, then Tarquin got him on board with all that "It's in the people's best interest" nonsense.

I base this on nothing.

[orrion]

I base this on nothing.

Oddly enough, that makes it equivalent to every other "theory" about SPG.

[thereaper]

And that's why any "theory" about SPG is no better than a spoof theory.

[CaDzilla]

We have enough info to base theories on SPG. He frowned when Tarquin was talking, he's in a class that has martial weapon and shield proficiency, he dresses in a weird style, and he was somehow convinced to go along with the plan.

[Dorsidwarf]

My theory on what SPG is, based on what we know about him:
Grumpy.

[Chantelune]

My theory on what SPG is, based on what we know about him:
Grumpy.

I support this theory, strange as it is. :smallamused:

[Trillium]

Since it is somewhat confirmed that Tarquin is the leader only in his fantasies...

SPG is Vector Centurion.

[Quild]

Comments from Rich, partially. :smalltongue:

Thuogh, admittedly, he later backtracked by saying that might have been a little strong. :smallwink:

wow, missed this one. So I was totally right when I made my thread asking if Tarquin was the leader of his group at all. Oh yeah!

[Chantelune]

Or maybe there's no real leader and they mostly rule themselves by who make the best tactical call on the spot ? :smallbiggrin:

[Vinyadan]

Well, following the Tarquin doctrine (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0819.html), a party is made up by a fighter, a rogue, a wizard, a cleric, a jack-of-all-trades, with the possible addition of a foil.

Rogue = cat lady
wizard = psionic lady (well, more or less), scarf lad
cleric = vampire lad
fighter = Tarquin? (he thinks of himself as a warrior), SPG?
JOAT = ? SPG? psionic lady?
foil = Tarquin (I like to think he is.)? SPG? Scarfman?

[jidasfire]

I always figured he was the actual party muscle. Tarquin is a warrior of some sort, sure, but he's a straight-up defensive combatant, and Jacinta, as an assassin, is a stealth combatant. Hence, SPG is most likely the offensive warrior who smashes things and takes hits. He may never matter in the story, but the logic probably goes that since they were an adventuring party, they'd need someone to be the heavy hitter, and it clearly wasn't Tarquin, so why not make a guy to fill that role? Just a guess, but it seems in keeping with the internal consistency of the OOTS-verse.

[Loreweaver15]

I always figured he was the actual party muscle. Tarquin is a warrior of some sort, sure, but he's a straight-up defensive combatant, and Jacinta, as an assassin, is a stealth combatant. Hence, SPG is most likely the offensive warrior who smashes things and takes hits. He may never matter in the story, but the logic probably goes that since they were an adventuring party, they'd need someone to be the heavy hitter, and it clearly wasn't Tarquin, so why not make a guy to fill that role? Just a guess, but it seems in keeping with the internal consistency of the OOTS-verse.

From what we've seen, Tarquin's combat role is as a black hole: He draws the enemy in and keeps them focused on him while his allies take them out. SPG is likely a more offensively-focused melee combatant.

[Keltest]

I always figured he was the actual party muscle. Tarquin is a warrior of some sort, sure, but he's a straight-up defensive combatant, and Jacinta, as an assassin, is a stealth combatant. Hence, SPG is most likely the offensive warrior who smashes things and takes hits. He may never matter in the story, but the logic probably goes that since they were an adventuring party, they'd need someone to be the heavy hitter, and it clearly wasn't Tarquin, so why not make a guy to fill that role? Just a guess, but it seems in keeping with the internal consistency of the OOTS-verse.

in his first appearance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0758.html) we can see that SPG has a shield, while we know that Tarquin's weapon of choice is a big freaking axe.

[orrion]

We have enough info to base theories on SPG. He frowned when Tarquin was talking, he's in a class that has martial weapon and shield proficiency, he dresses in a weird style, and he was somehow convinced to go along with the plan.

That's zilch as far as a backstory goes. Backstories generally reveal character information and motivations. Consequently, theories about backstories need to be based on some character information and motivations, and we've got a whopping zero in both categories for SPG.

"Somehow convinced to go along with the plan," for instance, is so vague that it's just as useful to say "he's a human." The four Vector Legion characters so far introduced have had such varied reasons to go along with the plan that SPG's reasons for doing so could be anything.

You're free to continue wild mass guessing, but don't equate wild mass guesses to theories.

[DrBurr]

Well, following the Tarquin doctrine (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0819.html), a party is made up by a fighter, a rogue, a wizard, a cleric, a jack-of-all-trades, with the possible addition of a foil.

I see it more like this

Rogue = cat lady
wizard = psionic lady (well, more or less), scarf lad
cleric = vampire lad
fighter = Tarquin? (he thinks of himself as a warrior), SPG?
JOAT = ? SPG? psionic lady?
foil = Tarquin (I like to think he is.)? SPG? Scarfman?


Rogue= Cat Lady (I think its Jacinda or something)
She clearly is the group's stealth character

Wizard= Miron
He's somekind of spellcaster, we haven't seen alot of his spells in comparison to Laurin

Cleric = Malak
Clearcut and confirmed

Fighter= SPG
Seems to be some kind of Fighter or Barbarian

Jack-of-All-Trades= Tarquin
Everytime we've seen Tarquin fight he's always seems to be using some new defensive technique, including pun battling, with whips and using arrows as improv weapons. We also know hes a capable commander and diplomat, not particularly good but enough that he's been able to keep an empire

Foil= Laurin
Unlike the other five Laurin's motives have been for her daughter, a much more noble ambition in this ring of villains.

[Mike Havran]

I believe that the closest one to be the leader of the Legion was Malack. He was certainly the oldest and he would inherit the scheme, which makes him a likely leader, the "older brother" sort. He was probably also the most powerful one when the Legion was formed, and power means a lot in Evil parties.

SPG? Probably a mirror of Roy - loyal, pragmatic and slightly jaded.

(Tarquin is Legion's Elan, Jacinda~Belkar, Laurin~Vaarsuvius, Miron~Haley and Malack~Durkon)

[jidasfire]

in his first appearance (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0758.html) we can see that SPG has a shield, while we know that Tarquin's weapon of choice is a big freaking axe.

Yeah, but look at how Tarquin fights. He doesn't go in full-force smashing like Thog, or even for consistent yet heavy hits like Roy. He hangs back, letting enemies overextend and waste attacks he can either evade or absorb, while sneakily getting nickle and dime shots in and then backing off to repeat. Like I said, defensive. I imagine it would be a good combination to have next to a big guy who hits hard.

Also, to address the idea that many have about Tarquin being incompetent, I don't think Rich exactly said that. What he said is Tarquin's competence comes not from being the greatest strategist, diplomat, or warrior, but instead from his understanding of stories. It clearly yields its share of problems for him, but it allows him to make fairly impressive leaps of logic, as well as avoid a lot of pitfalls and prepare for a lot of contingencies. It's why he was able to spot Roy's ambush in the temple before there was any evidence of it (probably thinking something like, "a hallway this long where nothing happens is always a trap!) and come out fine himself, yet when it came to the nuts and bolts of the fight, Roy was able to outmaneuver him and force him to flee, because Roy is a real strategist.

Also, I am reasonably certain that the Vector Legion doesn't have a leader, at least not in the traditional sense. None of them seem particularly suited to it, even Tarquin, who does have brains and charisma, but is probably too crazy for the others to defer to. The fact that the team has rules everyone has to abide by suggests it's a sort of evil democracy which they all agreed upon to keep them from backstabbing one another out of their success. And when you think of actual adventuring parties in games, it's often the case that there is no leader, because no one wants to give up a their sense of autonomy.

[Keltest]

Yeah, but look at how Tarquin fights. He doesn't go in full-force smashing like Thog, or even for consistent yet heavy hits like Roy. He hangs back, letting enemies overextend and waste attacks he can either evade or absorb, while sneakily getting nickle and dime shots in and then backing off to repeat. Like I said, defensive. I imagine it would be a good combination to have next to a big guy who hits hard.

The only real fights weve seen him in, he had an agenda other than "kill everyone." Specifically, he wanted to see how Elan would do in a fight. Its even flat out stated that he could have easily torn the Order to bits if he had wanted to.

[Gnome Alone]

The Vector Legion, however evil they are, at least act like grown adults - I don't see them necessarily having a leader. They seem pretty capable of democratically managing their elite dictatorial cabal. Of course Tarquin, being so Lawful and Evil, probably wouldn't see it that way. It would however be hilarious if SPG was essentially the "Roy" of the group to Tarquin's "Elan" after all.

[Crusher]

The Vector Legion, however evil they are, at least act like grown adults - I don't see them necessarily having a leader. They seem pretty capable of democratically managing their elite dictatorial cabal. Of course Tarquin, being so Lawful and Evil, probably wouldn't see it that way. It would however be hilarious if SPG was essentially the "Roy" of the group to Tarquin's "Elan" after all.

This would be *amazing* to see play out. In fact, I would be willing to trade away ever finding out what MitD is to see this sequence.

[Socksy]

He's Hilgya in disguise. She wants a way to meet Durkon on the battlefield.

I reckon he's either a barbarian and that's mithral he wears, or he's a blackguard. He looks a little bit chaotic, from his hair mostly, so I'd lean away from the fallen paladin route, although appearances can be deceiving. And who knows, he may be the mystery Mr.Shattersmith/other half of Hannah's DNA.

[Vinyadan]

He's Hilgya in disguise. She wants a way to meet Durkon on the battlefield.

I reckon he's either a barbarian and that's mithral he wears, or he's a blackguard. He looks a little bit chaotic, from his hair mostly, so I'd lean away from the fallen paladin route, although appearances can be deceiving. And who knows, he may be the mystery Mr.Shattersmith/other half of Hannah's DNA.

Is it a feeling, or legal good people have a tendency towards a bald head?

Horace Greenhilt is bald.
Roy is bald.
Durkon is bald.
O'Chul is bald.
Roy's grandfather is bald.

LG with hair are Hinjo and Soon.
There is the paladin in Durkon's old party, but he didn't really act all that LG. And the Paladins in SOD had hair, I believe.

[Flame of Anor]

Is it a feeling, or legal good people have a tendency towards a bald head?

Horace Greenhilt is bald.
Roy is bald.
Durkon is bald.
O'Chul is bald.
Roy's grandfather is bald.

LG with hair are Hinjo and Soon.
There is the paladin in Durkon's old party, but he didn't really act all that LG. And the Paladins in SOD had hair, I believe.

Sir Francois and Lien have hair. Geoff doesn't, and he's hardly Lawful.