Vector Legion isn't one of the nine sides.

[ORione]

So, we remember the demon roaches' comments (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0548.html) about there being nine sides, some of which we haven't met. I don't have Don't Split the Party yet, but I've been told that in it Rich says that one of the nine sides will be introduced in the next book, the one we've just finished.

For most of the book, Vector Legion was the most natural guess. There weren't any other groups that seemed powerful enough to make a difference in the fight over the gates. But they have been defeated, and this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html) being the last we see of Tarquin would feel right; it denies him the climactic ending he wants so badly. He was a significant antagonist for one arc, but so were Samantha and Kubota. If we included them we'd probably get more than nine sides.

So, who that was introduced in the last book would make a better candidate for one of the main sides?

Hel (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0737.html), and her high priest (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0946.html), naturally.

[Bulldog Psion]

My personal opinion is that that "nine sides" quote has absolutely zero significance whatsoever to the story. People treat it like it's somehow crucial to figure out what these mysterious nine sides are, when in fact, IMO, it was nothing but passing ballpark estimate that had no more significance than someone saying "man, the traffic is so heavy out there I'm likely to get in like six traffic jams before I reach the corner store."

[Zmeoaice]

I doubt we'll see the last of Tarquin. His empire needs to be defeated and he might be more interested in the gates. We don't know what's up with Laurin, but I think it will be signifigant. Tarquin was a much larger villain than Samantha or Kubota. They were in for a few strips and then were defeated so the Order could move on. Tarquin was pretty much the villain in BRitF

The roach said "at least nine", and I'm not sure if Rich said he'd introduce only one more side.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I disagree. First of all, addressing your points about Kubota and Samantha (specifically them going over 9) : The demon roach said at least nine sides, not at most, or only nine sides. Second, the roach (and Redcloak) seem to be referring to the conflict over the Gates, which neither Samantha or Kubota knew anything about. The Vector Legion, on the other hand, has actually interacted with a Gate. Third, while Tarquin may no longer be part of the story, we saw Laurin and Miron later on interacting with the Gate, which suggests that they will be involved. Fourth, The Giant's words in the commentary are " readers will meet, for the very first time*, one of the 'nine side's mentioned by the demon roach in strip #548. That's right, there will be at least one entirely as-yet-unrevealed player in the struggle for the Gates who will be...well, revealed." (Empahsis mine) So, there can be more than one side introduced.

As a side note, I'd like to point out that we do not know for certain of Hel's plans involve the gates.

* I'm assuming he's referring to the sides we "don't know about yet".

[Kish]

My personal opinion is that that "nine sides" quote has absolutely zero significance whatsoever to the story. People treat it like it's somehow crucial to figure out what these mysterious nine sides are, when in fact, IMO, it was nothing but passing ballpark estimate that had no more significance than someone saying "man, the traffic is so heavy out there I'm likely to get in like six traffic jams before I reach the corner store."
This.

With the added note that if Rich tweeted exactly that, people would be asking him--and asking him seriously--"So, how many traffic jams have you gotten into? So that we know how many are left?"

[137beth]

I disagree. First of all, addressing your points about Kubota and Samantha (specifically them going over 9) : The demon roach said at least nine sides, not at most, or only nine sides. Second, the roach (and Redcloak) seem to be referring to the conflict over the Gates, which neither Samantha or Kubota knew anything about. The Vector Legion, on the other hand, has actually interacted with a Gate. Third, while Tarquin may no longer be part of the story, we saw Laurin and Miron later on interacting with the Gate, which suggests that they will be involved. Fourth, The Giant's words in the commentary are " readers will meet, for the very first time*, one of the 'nine side's mentioned by the demon roach in strip #548. That's right, there will be at least one entirely as-yet-unrevealed player in the struggle for the Gates who will be...well, revealed." (Empahsis mine) So, there can be more than one side introduced.

As a side note, I'd like to point out that we do not know for certain of Hel's plans involve the gates.

* I'm assuming he's referring to the sides we "don't know about yet".
This is my take as well. Even if the next page starts with Tarquin having a heart attack and his body spontaneously disintegrating before the ghost of the ancient black dragon casts soul bind on him, Laurin, Miron, Jacinda, and SPG are still in the game, and still interested in the gates. And there is really nothing stopping more than one side from being introduced in a single book.

Either way, I think the "9" is about as significant as Lines 2, 3, 5, 8, and 11 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0667.html).

[Cavenskull]

My personal opinion is that that "nine sides" quote has absolutely zero significance whatsoever to the story. People treat it like it's somehow crucial to figure out what these mysterious nine sides are, when in fact, IMO, it was nothing but passing ballpark estimate that had no more significance than someone saying "man, the traffic is so heavy out there I'm likely to get in like six traffic jams before I reach the corner store."
If it was just a random comment by a roach, I'd agree with you, but we're talking about something Rich has also mentioned outside the confines of the comic. Why would he bother to tell us we'd be meeting one of the nine sides in an upcoming book if it was essentially meaningless?

[ti'esar]

If it was just a random comment by a roach, I'd agree with you, but we're talking about something Rich has also mentioned outside the confines of the comic. Why would he bother to tell us we'd be meeting one of the nine sides in an upcoming book if it was essentially meaningless?

The point of the quote is to establish that there are multiple parties contending over the gates, not just Xykon vs. the OOTS (or Xykon vs. Redcloak vs. the OOTS, as that strip alone would suggest), and that we haven't met all of them yet. The specific number "nine", though, is meaningless - the roach even precedes it with an "at least".

The question of whether that original comment of Rich's was actually a hint at Hel taking an active role in the story, not Tarquin and the Vector Legion, might be worth discussing. This isn't the first place I've seen it suggested. But debating whether or not they counted as one of the "nine sides" isn't really meaningful, because it's not like there's a fixed list.

[ORione]

If it was just a random comment by a roach, I'd agree with you, but we're talking about something Rich has also mentioned outside the confines of the comic. Why would he bother to tell us we'd be meeting one of the nine sides in an upcoming book if it was essentially meaningless?

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.


Fourth, The Giant's words in the commentary are " readers will meet, for the very first time*, one of the 'nine side's mentioned by the demon roach in strip #548. That's right, there will be at least one entirely as-yet-unrevealed player in the struggle for the Gates who will be...well, revealed." (Empahsis mine)

Excellent, thanks for quoting that. Reading the exact wording, I think it could go either way whether the Giant means it when he says nine sides, or whether he's quoting the roaches.

[monkeyslinger]

I've always understood the roach's comment to mean that, at some point, Rich looked at the characters he had introduced/planned and counted nine sides. The 'at least' allows for people to divide up the sides differently and come up with more, or maybe for Rich to involve more sides in the conflict than he had originally planned for.