OOTS Polls III: Baleful Pollymorph

[Cizak]

Well, it's been done two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?234693-OOTS-Polls-(feat-Favourite-NPC-Tournament)&highlight=oots+polls) times (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?269885-OOTS-Polls-II-Would-you-like-to-take-a-survey) before, and now I'm hijacking the concept!

One or more new question(s) with each new strip!

Current questions:
#956, Moving On:
Will the stop in Tinkertown last longer than planned?
Yes or No

Will the Order get seperated from the Mechane crew in Tinkertown?
Yes or No

Old Questions
#947, Keep in Mind:
Will Durkon's Mama play a role in battling the High Priest of Hel?
Yes: 6 (60%)
No: 4 (40%)

Do you like the upgraded art style?
Yes: 10 (100%)
No: 0 (0%)

#948, Behind the Eyes:
Is this lightning bolt divine interference from Thor?
Yes: 4 (33,33%)
No: 8 (66,67%)

Will the damage to the airship cause significant trouble?
Yes: 10 (83,33%)
No: 2 (16,67%)

#949, Method Doctor:
Is Bandana going to be a new major recurring character?
Yes: 2 (20%)
No: 8 (80%)

#950, Spell it Out:
With the new art, Vaarsuvius looks...
More masculine: 2 (18,18%)
More feminine: 2 (18,18%)
No different from before/As gender-ambiguous as before: 7 (63,64%)

#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes: 2 (18,18%)
No: 9 (81,82%)

Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your grave" joke?
Yes: 4 (36,36%)
No: 7 (63,64%)

#952, Weather or Not:
Is the High Priest of Hel in trouble?
Yes: 0 (0%)
No: 6 (100%)

#955, Strike Two:
Will we actually get to see Blackwing as a roc?
Yes: 3 (33,33%)
No: 6 (66,67%)

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I'll go with Yes for both.

[Mike Havran]

#947:
Will Durkon's Mama play a role in battling the High Priest of Hel?
Yes or No
Yes. Mama will be the first victim of Durkula's rampage.


Do you like the upgraded art style?
Yes or No
Yes. But I like the old style a bit more.

[Gift Jeraff]

No, I'm guessing she's dead.

Yes.

And thanks for rerestarting this topic!

[zimmerwald1915]

No, mme. Thundershield will not play a role in vanquishing the vampire. Or, at least, I don't think her having appeared in Durkon's flashback is enough to predict that she'll appear in real life, much less take an active role in events. That flashback took place something like forty years ago; mme. Thundershield could be dead.

Yes, I think the new artstyle looks fine. I find it more annoying to work with than the old style, but all my production gripes are the consequence of the program I use and would disappear if I could afford Illustrator.

[Mike Havran]

That flashback took place something like forty years ago; mme. Thundershield could be dead.
She could, but I think it's pretty improbable. The fact the flashback happened forty years ago speaks against it (or, at least against death of old age). Dwarves live long and Mama Thundershield appears to be middle-aged in the flashback. Forty years later she probably won't be even very old. After all, Durkon's grandfather died only a few years ago because of liver failure. And if his death was of enough importance to be mentioned by High Priest, Mama's death would be even more important.

[Silferdrake]

Yes, yes she most certainly will. Durkon's mother has both clearly established character traits and a rather unique look, as such we're going to see her at least a few more times (probably in flashback strips such as 947). I do however think that it's the memory of her (since Durkon has mentioned other relatives before, but not his mother, I too suspect she might be dead) that's going to help him combat the vampire.

Yes, I am actually very thrilled about it. It looks absolutely stunning.

[ChristianSt]

On the first one I'm rather unsure myself. If I need to pick an answer I would say yes (Though even the Giant said that conservation of detail is overrated...)

YES! I honestly don't know how this could be answered any other way

[137beth]

No for the first question. I think its just background.
Yes, I do like the new art style.

[the_fennecfox]

No- I think that this is just a flashback giving extra information about Durkon's life before.

Yes- I like the extra detail and new font, I hope that the new style won't cause extra time between comics coming out though… can't wait till the next one.

[oppyu]

Yes, even if it's a small role like being a memory that reminds Durkon to dinnae leggo. Di. Nae. Le. Go.

Yes, although the hands still wig me out. Everything else is great, but those hands... *shudder*

[Keltest]

Yes to both. Mama Thundershield may not appear outside of Durkon's head, but she is given too much emphasis to be a throwaway character. I don't care for the hands, but it may just be because they seem like new objects to look at and focus on rather than actually disliking them.

[Cizak]

Results
#947, Keep in Mind:
Will Durkon's Mama play a role in battling the High Priest of Hel?
Yes: 6 (60%)
No: 4 (40%)

Do you like the upgraded art style?
Yes: 10 (100%)
No: 0 (0%)

New questions:

#948, Behind the Eyes:
Is this lightning bolt divine interference from Thor?
Yes or No

Will the damage to the airship cause significant trouble?
Yes or No

---

And thanks for rerestarting this topic!

No problem, I always liked it. :smallsmile:

[zimmerwald1915]

New questions:

#948, Behind the Eyes:
Is this lightning bolt divine interference from Thor?
Yes or No

Will the damage to the airship cause significant trouble?
Yes or No
Yes, the lightning bolt is divine interference from Thor. The Mechane is leaving the Western continent and heading to the Northern continent, for one thing.

Yes, the damage to the airship will cause significant trouble. At the very least, Bandana shouldn't be able to pull off "evasive maneuvers" anymore.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Yes to both once more. It looks like the bolt hit the engine to me, so I don't see how it could cause anything but significant trouble.

[Gift Jeraff]

No, but it's probably symbolic foreshadowing for Thor doing stuff later. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

Yes, I'm guessing it will lead into a side-quest-like thing.

[ChristianSt]

No
Yes

Basically both has the same reason: I think the High Priest of Hel caused this by using another two words from Durkon: Weather Control. (This was my initial thought before seeing the last panel.)

[oppyu]

No. Thor has to have a lot of clerics and subjects. Is he really going to bust out the lightning because one of them met a nasty end?

Yes. Otherwise, the time skip would have just continued until they hit the Northern continent.

[Ezekiel]

Yes
and
Yes.

[Inevitability]

No. Thor hasn't been shown to pay a lot of attention to his followers in the past. He's probably not even noticed that Durkon's body has been taken over. He'll probably do once Durkon hasn't asked for spells for a while, but not now.

Yes. The bolt seems to have hit the main rotor of the ship, so the Mechane will probably be slowed down, forcing them to travel further through other means.

[Mike Havran]

No, Thor doesn't care about Durkon very much unless he asks him for something.

No, both V and Durkula want to get to the Northern Continent quickly and they will have Make Whole or somesuch available.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Leaning toward Yes, for the first question; I think even Thor might notice one of his more powerful clerics* no longer calling in.

Yes for the second; this will probably introduce complications for the Order and delay their arrival to Kragor's gate, leaving plenty of time for shenanigans to occur.

* Extrapolating from Quarr's comments on V and V's level, I don't think there's many clerics of Durkon's level in the world.

[pwning doodes]

No, I don't think the lightning bolt is divine intervention from Thor. He just throws them around randomly, remember? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0201.html)

Yes, the fire in the Mechane is probably going to cause significant problems. Otherwise, why would Rich bother to show it on-panel?

[martianmister]

No and no.

[the_fennecfox]

No Don't think Durkon is important enough for Thor to take notice of him and actually do something about it. It's probably just random.

Yes It looked kind of bad and it's about time something like this happened, maybe they will have to crash land somewhere and have a little side adventure.

[Cizak]

Results
#948, Behind the Eyes:
Is this lightning bolt divine interference from Thor?
Yes: 4 (33%)
No: 8 (67%)

Will the damage to the airship cause significant trouble?
Yes: 10 (83%)
No: 2 (17%)

New Question:

#949, Method Doctor
Is Bandana going to be a new major recurring character?
Yes or No

[Jaxzan Proditor]

No. She will appear quite a bit while the Order is on the Mechane, but she will not be a major character.

[Gift Jeraff]

Yes, assuming major characters include the likes of O-Chul and Lien.

[Inevitability]

No. The remaining part of the story will likely take place in the dwarven cities, Kraagor's tomb, and maybe, just maybe the snarl dimension, and I don't expect to see Bandana in any of those places.

[ChristianSt]

Honestly it depends on what exactly you mean with "major recurring character".

But on basically any usage I would use the word, I think the answer is No. I don't think she will be seen once the Order has left the Mechane (which I think will be earlier than later).

[zimmerwald1915]

#949, Method Doctor
Is Bandana going to be a new major recurring character?
Yes or No
Apropos of ChristianSt...In my book, a recurring character is a character who returns after their first more-than-incidental departure. The Order of the Stick is full of those, Julio himself being an example. Being a major recurring character requires something more than that. What it is is more a standard than something that can be easily defined, but I don't think Bandana has or will have it. No.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Going with ChristianSt and Zimmerwald here, no.

[137beth]

Reoccurring? Yes. Major, no.

[oppyu]

One of the things Rich said in his Twitter Q&A is that we had already met one of his new strong 'lead' female characters (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/435655752724647938), and I figured Bandana was most likely who he was referring to. So yes.

[the_fennecfox]

No I think she is just part of the crew on the Mechane, they'll probably see her again, but I doubt she will ever play a critical role or influence the story much.

[Mike Havran]

I see her being somewhere on the level of screentime/importance/reoccurrence mix as Niu, Jirix or Katos. So that's a No, I suppose.

[Cizak]

Results:
#949, Method Doctor:
Is Bandana going to be a new major recurring character?
Yes: 2 (20%)
No: 8 (80%)

New question:

I saw some comments about this in the main thread, so I thought this one could be interesting.

#950, Spell it Out:
With the new art, Vaarsuvius looks...
More masculine or More feminine or No different from before

[Jaxzan Proditor]

No different from before.

The only difference that I see is that their hair is a little smoother than it was before.

Edit: to clarify, like zimmerwald and oppyu below, when I say "no different" I mean that there is no difference in apparent gender; Vaarsuvius looks a ambiguous as before. Obviously, there are differences (mainly, the arms are wider :smalltongue:).

[zimmerwald1915]

#950, Spell it Out:
With the new art, Vaarsuvius looks...
More masculine or More feminine or No different from before
About as gender-ambiguous as before. She obviously looks different. Her hair's smoother, looking rather a lot like Haley's would if hers were purple, and her feet have gone from being longer than anyone except Durkon's to the most petite of the Medium characters. But the defining characteristics of her gender-ambiguity, the eyes and mouth midway between "male" and "female" height and the indiscernible body shape, are still present.

[oppyu]

No different from before, though like Zimmer, I clarify that this means V is as gender-ambiguous as before, not that V looks no different than before.

[thatSeniorGuy]

No different from before.

[Gift Jeraff]

Very slightly more masculine.

[ChristianSt]

I would my vote down to About as gender-ambiguous as before. I really didn't noticed any step toward female or male, though it isn't hard to see that V looks different than before.

[Bitzer]

V's gender ambiguity is no different than before. While he does look different, it is only improvement and does not affect his gender ambiguity.

[137beth]

As gender-ambiguous as before.

[Miriel]

The changes make them look more feminine, yet it ranks as gender-ambiguous still.

[Gorfnod]

As someone who has always thought of V as a she regardless of the gender ambiguity, I definitely thought V appeared to be more femininewith the art upgrade.

[Gnome Alone]

I'm getting a more masculine vibe from 'Suvie, but I'm not sure if it's the art upgrade or that I find it easier to imagine a guy doing that bloodless, flat affect thing V's got going on.

[Cizak]

Besides the actual polls, this thread can be interesting to me when regarding how to formulate the questions. :smallsmile:

Results:
#950, Spell it Out:
With the new art, Vaarsuvius looks...
More masculine: 2 (18,18%)
More feminine: 2 (18,18%)
No different from before/As gender-ambiguous as before: 7 (63,64%)

New questions:

#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes or No

Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your grave" joke?
Yes or No

[Mike Havran]

New questions:

#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes or NoDo you mean something other than his ultimate mission? If so, then no.

Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your graves" joke?
Yes or No
No, and I hope he won't. If he'd feel bad about every snarky comment to Belkar he made, he would be quite depressed.

[Sylian]

#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes or No

Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your graves" joke?
Yes or NoNo, and No. I think the High Priest of Hel is just lying low at the moment. As for Roy, while he might come to view Belkar in a different light, I doubt he's going to regret that one specific comment. I suppose it's possible that he will, especially if Belkar almost dies or actually dies, but it was probably just a joke.

[Gift Jeraff]

No
Yes
sjfj

[137beth]

I'm going with no and yes.

[zimmerwald1915]

New questions:

#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes or No
The whole point of him is to be up to something. Yes.


Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your grave" joke?
Yes or No
No. It's a joke (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0887.html), and probably one Belkar appreciates.

[Porthos]

It's a joke (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0887.html), and probably one Belkar appreciates.

Well, you know that old phrase involving Belkar and approval (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0171.html). :smallwink:

[CaDzilla]

Yes and

Yes, but not the way you think

[Jaxzan Proditor]

No, nothing in particular.

No, because it was a joke.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Right at this moment? Aside from the whole usurping Durkon's body thing and the death to all dwarves thing? No, I think its just out of shot.
For the second question, probably No.

[Veya]

No, not really, we know what he is up to in the big picture, but he don't have to be up to something at all times.

No, I honestly hope that Roy's opinion of Belkar eventually change enough to make him somewhat respect Belkar, but this? just minor banter between (kinda of) friends, for someone CE like Belkar, it might as well be standard snark.

[martianmister]

No and no.

[Bitzer]

No, the High Priest is not up to anything specific during this strip.

Yes, Roy will likely regret his comment in the future.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I think we may have had our answer to Question #1 from #948.

[Cizak]

Results:
#951, Helping Hand:
The High Priest of Hel seems to be missing. Is he up to something?
Yes: 2 (18,18%)
No: 9 (81,82%)

Will Roy's opinion of Belkar ever change enough to make him regret or feel bad about the "dancing on your grave" joke?
Yes: 4 (36,36%)
No: 7 (63,64%)

New question:

#952, Weather or Not:
Is the High Priest of Hel in trouble?
Yes or No

An uninteresting one, but I'm drawing a blank on this strip.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

If we're talking about right now, then I would say No. Many people on the forum have offered up bluffs that will get the High Priest of Hel out of this, and I don't think the Order will uncover him now. However, I do think they have become suspicious of him.

[Bulldog Psion]

No.

For one thing, he doesn't have trouble, he is trouble. And for another, it would be quite a leap of logic on their part to figure out the whole thing from the lightning's behavior.

[zimmerwald1915]

New question:

#952, Weather or Not:
Is the High Priest of Hel in trouble?
Yes or No

An uninteresting one, but I'm drawing a blank on this strip.
As Jarxan said, it is not in any trouble it can't easily get out of.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Probably no, I think he (it?) will be able to spout some mumbo-jumbo the rest of the team and the crew will accept (with the exception of Belkar that is).

[Miriel]

No. Minimum character limits are undone.

[Sylian]

For the time being? No, I suspect the High Priest will find a way to placate them, for now.

[Cizak]

Due to reasons, I've been away from the forums for a while. But I'm back, so let's update this.

Results:
#952, Weather or Not:
Is the High Priest of Hel in trouble?
Yes: 0 (0%)
No: 6 (100%)

New question:

#955, Strike Two:
Will we actually get to see Blackwing as a roc?
Yes or No

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I would say No just because I can't conceivably see how Vaarsuvius would accomplish that. It would be cool to see, though.

[thatSeniorGuy]

I'm guessing No.

[137beth]

I'm guessing no. If I'm right, I get highly limited bragging rights. If I'm wrong, then I won't care because OMG BLACKWING IS A ROC!:smallbiggrin:

[Miriel]

No, for my part. Just saying it shows how desperate everything is, and it's enough.

[zimmerwald1915]

#955, Strike Two:[/B]
Will we actually get to see Blackwing as a roc?
Yes or No
Not in this scene. We will, however, see someone polymorphed into something sometime in this book.

[137beth]

Not in this scene. We will, however, see someone polymorphed into something sometime in this book.

We've already seen a polymorphed creature in this book...
First panel. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0950.html)

[Gift Jeraff]

Yes, in the background and/or 1 panel we'll see him changing back.

[strijder20]

Yes, but not for his intended use to block the lightning. This is clearly a case of Checkhov's Roc, and using him in another situation will make things even better.

[martianmister]

Nofbdvbfdvvcxvcvdgv

[Socksy]

Yes, and V will be forced to sit on his shoulder and pretend to be his familiar.

[Cizak]

Results:

#955, Strike Two:
Will we actually get to see Blackwing as a roc?
Yes: 3 (33,33%)
No: 6 (66,67%)

New questions:

#956, Moving On:
Will the stop in Tinkertown last longer than planned?
Yes or No

Will the Order get seperated from the Mechane crew in Tinkertown?
Yes or No

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Yes. One way or another, we will get up to some series fun in Tinkertown.

Yes. They will be separated.

[zimmerwald1915]

#956, Moving On:[/B]
Will the stop in Tinkertown last longer than planned?
Yes or No
What kind of a softball question is that? Of course the stop in Tinkertown will last longer than planned.


Will the Order get seperated from the Mechane crew in Tinkertown?
Yes or No
Not all of them will be separated from the Mechane crew, but some of them will. This will also entail a separation from each other. I'll count that as a yes.

[137beth]

Yes, since otherwise they would get to the last gate before the end of book six, and there is still a seventh book coming.

Yes, and it will be related to whatever delays them in Tinkertown.

[thatSeniorGuy]

Yes (its OOTS, of course there will be a delay), and I'm leaning towards Yes for the second question (not entirely sure though).

[martianmister]

Yes and No.

[RadagastTheBrow]

I'm saying yes on both. Repairs and restocking on supplies always takes longer than planned, and the Mechane crew are too competent to stick around for very long.