The Giant plans things out far in advance

[BiggusGeekus]

So I was reading strip #411 where the gate is revealed. I thought to myself: "AH-HA! That gate is not the size of the one that Soon Kim discovered! I have caught the Giant in an error! I WIN AT TEH INTARNETS!!!!!1!!"


http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0275.html


Ooops. That wasn't the gate he discovered at all. I lose.

But geeze, the Giant sure does think this stuff out pretty far ahead, huh?

[Porthos]

But geeze, the Giant sure does think this stuff out pretty far ahead, huh?

Considering that The Giant showed that Miko might have one of the more ridiculous prerequisites for becoming a Blackguard way back in #209 (Hide [thanks to Monk levels]), yes, I'd agree that he plans these things out quite a bit. :smallamused:

[Archaicwonder]

Isn't awesome when an author sets it all up, you don't see it coming, and then you look back and think, "How did I miss that?"

My hat is off to you Mr. Burlew.

And to Jim Butcher, who does about the same thing for me in novel form.

[Silverlocke980]

Isn't awesome when an author sets it all up, you don't see it coming, and then you look back and think, "How did I miss that?"

My hat is off to you Mr. Burlew.

And to Jim Butcher, who does about the same thing for me in novel form.

Agreed... my favorite authors are the ones you can read over and over again, seeing new things each time.

Kind of like the LOTR movies- you can just keep watching 'em cause there's a little detail you missed last time that makes it feel all new again.

Wow.

[Yzorth]

Yeah, I love stories where the author sets up things far in advanced, and where there are tons of things hinted about, and when you look back, its like "Ooooooooooh!"

Anyway, that was probably a bit unclear, but its basically means that I love Rich's story telling.

[the_tick_rules]

well it woulda been easy to miss. like the strip mentioned who would think something odd about he leader of the sapphire guard having a sapphire on his throne?

[donkyhotay]

He's said before (can't remember where) that he has alot (but not all) of the story for the strips planned out to the end. The individual strips and jokes he makes up as he goes along but the overall plot he's had figured out for awhile now.

[Finwe]

So I was reading strip #411 where the gate is revealed. I thought to myself: "AH-HA! That gate is not the size of the one that Soon Kim discovered! I have caught the Giant in an error! I WIN AT TEH INTARNETS!!!!!1!!"


http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0275.html


Ooops. That wasn't the gate he discovered at all. I lose.

But geeze, the Giant sure does think this stuff out pretty far ahead, huh?



Note that that gate's also in a forest, and not a hundred feet in the air, unlike the Azure city gate, and that Soon specifically says that they're in the elven lands, not Azure city.

[Lord Zentei]

Considering that The Giant showed that Miko might have one of the more ridiculous prerequisites for becoming a Blackguard way back in #209 (Hide [thanks to Monk levels]), yes, I'd agree that he plans these things out quite a bit. :smallamused:

Well, Hide is a Monk skill, though we haven't seen her actually use it. She is more of the "charge in plain sight" type. Still...

Requirements: to qualify to become a blackguard, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. (This is from the SRD):

Alignment: Any evil. -- still under debate, though most are leaning towards the position that she is well on her way, at least.

Base Attack Bonus: +6. -- I'd say is pretty much a given. :smallwink:

Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks. -- The latter is pretty much a given; the former is possible through the Monk skills.

Feats: Cleave, Improved Sunder, Power Attack. -- The Power Attack was used against Lord Shojo, unless I'm much mistaken. The remaining two, I don't know about.

Special: Peaceful contact with an outsider who was summoned by him/her or someone else. -- Note that the outsider does not have to be summoned for the express purpose of enabling the character to become a Blackguard.


Lacking: Cleave, Improved Sunder, Hide 5 ranks (maybe).

[Sylvius]

So I was reading strip #411 where the gate is revealed. I thought to myself: "AH-HA! That gate is not the size of the one that Soon Kim discovered! I have caught the Giant in an error! I WIN AT TEH INTARNETS!!!!!1!!"
Give the man a prize.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0275.html


Ooops. That wasn't the gate he discovered at all. I lose.

But geeze, the Giant sure does think this stuff out pretty far ahead, huh?
I want my prize back.

[Porthos]

Lacking: Cleave, Improved Sunder, Hide 5 ranks (maybe).

On the Improved Sunder side of the equation, The Giant stated that in the second OotS vs Miko fight, Miko sundered Haley's bow during the fight. Now you can sunder a bow without getting an AoO....

... But it definitely points to the possibility that Miko uses Sunder as a Battle Tactic (as does #406 :smallamused: ).

As for Cleave.... To paraphrase Comic #354: "Wait... there are Fighter Types who don't take Cleave?" :smallyuk:

[Lord Zentei]

On the Improved Sunder side of the equation, The Giant stated that in the second OotS vs Miko fight, Miko sundered Haley's bow during the fight. Now you can sunder a bow without getting an AoO....

... But it definitely points to the possibility that Miko uses Sunder as a Battle Tactic (as does #406 :smallamused: ).

Yeah, I was looking for that thread for evidence as I didn't remember whether it was Miko who destroyed Haley's bow or whether it was Windstriker.


As for Cleave.... To paraphrase Comic #354: "Wait... there are Fighter Types who don't take Cleave?" :smallyuk:

Those without bonus feats? :smallwink: But yeah, it seems pretty likely that she has it, all things considered.

[Porthos]

The thing is, if Miko was designed from Day One to Fall, as is likely, then making her a Monk/Paladin combo makes sense. After all, the Hide (5) requirement is one of the more ridiculous requirements for Blackguard. I mean, just how many Paladins have five ranks in Hide? It's patently absurd. Almost no Paladin is going to meet that requirement.

Yet the Fallen Paladin is supposed to be the uber-Blackguard. Which just doesn't work if 95% of Fallen Paladins can't meet the entry requirement without a couple of levels in Something Else (either before or after Falling). And by taking a couple of levels in Somthing Else, it might mess up their character build. And they do this just so they could earn their Hide Ranks. Talk about delayed gratification. :smallfurious:

However, if you already conveniently have Hide thanks to your Monk Levels.... Well, let's just say your path to the Dark Side becomes a heck of a lot easier. :smallwink:

<Future Speculation SPOILERIZED>

I can easily see Rich looking at the Blackguard and saying, "Five Ranks in Hide? What a stupid rule. What sort of Paladin is going to have Ranks in Hide? I think I'll make fun of that when I introduce a Monk/Paladin into the strip."

Now, of course, Rich hasn't had Miko become a Blackguard yet. But I could definitely see him making fun of the Entry Requirements if it ever happens. :smallbiggrin:

[Krellen]

A 7th level Paladin can have 5 ranks in Hide. And you need to be 6th level to qualify as a Blackguard in the first place. It's not that silly a requirement - just silly for the "stereotypical" Fallen Paladin.

[Icewalker]

Yeah, I can definitely see that comic, I have suspected it for a little while. She is clearly heading towards the side of villain, and Blackguard would be a perfect way to do it, and she appears to meet the requirements.

[Draz74]

Yeah, I was looking for that thread for evidence as I didn't remember whether it was Miko who destroyed Haley's bow or whether it was Windstriker.


It was Windstriker. I remember him commenting about how he had to make sure the horse was intelligent enough to use such a tactic.

I don't think Miko has Cleave or Improved Sunder. Or Hide ranks.

[Ampersand]

It was Windstriker. I remember him commenting about how he had to make sure the horse was intelligent enough to use such a tactic.

So maybe people have it backwards and it will be Windstriker who becomes the Blackguard.

I mean, seriously...he comes out of a Pokeball. If that's not a rock-solid argument for an Evil alignment...

[Demented]

Windstriker has:
10 animal hitdice, which grant 13(2+Int) skills, 4 feats, and 7 BAB. (4 base HD, 6 bonus HD from being a Paladin's mount)
21 Strength (18 base, +3 Paladin's mount)
8 int (-1 mod) (Paladin's mount, again, otherwise 2 int)

Windstriker can get Power Attack, Cleave, and Improved Sunder easily enough, because of their low prerequisites. Evil is proven, and peaceful contact with a summoned outsider is still a possibility.

However, the skills... Neither hide or Knowledge are class skills for a Warhorse. Thus, to get 5 ranks in hide and 2 ranks in Knowledge (Religion), Windstriker would need (10+4) 14 skill points. With an int penalty, Windstriker only has 13 skill points. Well, fie.

[Adeptus]

It was Windstriker. I remember him commenting about how he had to make sure the horse was intelligent enough to use such a tactic.

I don't think Miko has Cleave or Improved Sunder. Or Hide ranks.

Parhaps Xykon is right then:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0373.html

I wonder what Miko the Death Knight would be like?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Knight

[Adeptus]

Check it out!

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html

It looks like Soon is giving the sapphire seal to Shojo's father. The oval in the throne is gray, and later it's blue. Cool!

[Sigma]

Check it out!

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html

It looks like Soon is giving the sapphire seal to Shojo's father. The oval in the throne is gray, and later it's blue. Cool!

Not only that, check out http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0276.html. The Azure City gate is shown as small and in the air above the city.

[PirateMonk]

Special:[/B] Peaceful contact with an outsider who was summoned by him/her or someone else. -- Note that the outsider does not have to be summoned for the express purpose of enabling the character to become a Blackguard.

Who, Sabine? She wasn't summoned. She came of her own accord. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0385.html) With Randy's help. Does that still count?

[Milandros]

I think it's pretty obvious that the Giant knows where he's going.

What I *suspect* he does is have all the major plot points figured, plus a number of climatic scenes - such as Miko's fall - in mind. He knows the motivations of the characters and the background secrets. Day to day comics he makes up as he goes along. If he gets a great new idea he can incorporate it then with only a little wiggling.


Oh, and as for Blackguard prerequisites, yes, they're daft. Almost every blackguard image you see is in heavy armour. Hiding in plate mail is not easy. Why hide? What on earth is the logical reason for it? Unholy Warriors and Mighty Champions of Evil lurk in the bushes? It's like asking the assassin to take 5 ranks of Ride skill, or the Arcane Archer to take Two-Weapon Fighting.

[Vonriel]

Just because you're using big heavy armor doesn't mean you can't hide. Last I checked, hiding just means making yourself unseen, so basically having that 5 ranks in hide requirement negates a good portion of Armor Check penalties. Maybe they figured that a blackguard at some point would like to try a bluff-hide into a sneak attack, and the 5 ranks in hide would help them accomplish that. But hey, what do I know. Oh, and, I'd assume Miko used some form of hiding when she first attacked TOotS (#199 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0199.html)) because no one saw her coming until after she confronted them.

As for Miko going blackguard? What else can she do? The psycho believes that she's still in the right, so she must still be lawful, meaning that her falling came from a drop to L-N rather than N-G. I can foresee her killing her guards when she escapes from the jail rather than simply incapacitating them. Monk levels means she still has the whole unarmed combat bonuses, so this won't be too hard for her. For some reason she has this belief that everyone is now against her (a la attacking her old friend and the second most powerful member of the Sapphire Guard) and her "kill first, kill second, kill some more, and then ask some questions once everyone's dead" M.O. (a cookie to whoever identifies where that quote is butchered from :smallwink: ) The only real question left is whether or not she has improved sunder. I'm inclined to think she does, but that's personal preference. I really wanna see her go all evil, then watch as Durkon goes all holysmiteyness on her. Clerics rule!

[KBF]

Is the quote butchered from "Shoot first, ask questions later"?