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View Full Version : Guessing What Happens in Episode 1000?



Darth Paul
2014-08-07, 11:18 PM
I suddenly thought again about strip #959. Not the strip itself, but the number 959.

We are only 41 episodes away from #1000.

So, WHAT WILL HAPPEN in OOTS 1000?

The Giant fooled us in #100 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0100.html), and lampshaded it by joking that we all expected a big surprise that time. For #200 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0200.html) we had the double-page confrontation with Miko. Episode 300 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0300.html) brought us to the end of The Paladin Blues and the lovely splash panel of Xykon and his horde. We got this Big Damn Kiss (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0400.html) for #400.

We haven't really had any Wham Episodes on the "00" number strips since then, although we did get Roy and his grandad joking about it in #600 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0600.html). But doesn't it seem almost inevitable that something HUGE happen when we get to 1000? Or is it just inevitable that the Giant fools us again?

Will #1000 see the death of Belkar?

Will #1000 see the death of Belkar AND Durkula???

The possibilities are so endless, I get tingly thinking about it!! (No I don't... that's just exhaustion... I've been working all day.)

I do get a little apprehensive at the size of the can of worms I might be opening with this thread, though.

factotum
2014-08-08, 02:35 AM
I predict absolutely nothing special will happen. 1000 is just a number, there's no reason why the associated strip has to be a milestone--and as you point out, we haven't really had anything special for an 00 strip since strip 400, which is a long, long time ago.

ti'esar
2014-08-08, 03:13 AM
I'd say Blood Runs in the Family has pretty permanently shot down the idea of further special events happening on the "00" strips. Nothing really special happened in 700 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0700.html), nothing special happened in 800 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html), and - most significantly in my view - 900 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0900.html) was one strip after Girard's Gate exploded. I've also gotten the increasing sense that the Giant has come to value the books slightly higher than the online comic with regards to pacing and the like, which makes the "00" strips even less significant.

I don't think it's totally impossible that something special will happen on strip 1000, but it's extremely, extremely unlikely.

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-08, 07:01 AM
I will also place my bet on "nothing".

ChristianSt
2014-08-08, 07:15 AM
Some time back on Twitter (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/435634371840585729):

Question: Are you planning anything special for 1000th OotS strip?

Posting it shortly after 999 and not long before 1001, hopefully.

Reathin
2014-08-08, 08:18 AM
I seriously don't get why people insist that because it's a nice, round number (better still, four digits!) that something special has to happen. It's...There's no reason to adjust or adapt the comic to fit those non-goalposts. IF something impressive happens on 1000, it will be because that's when it was supposed to happen, with no regard to the number.

But you know what? Sure, why not. Strip 1000 is where Xykon teleports in, wielding an enormous guitar made out of the bones of ancient demigods he picked up on the astral plane (strings made out of lightning, of course) and promptly challenges Orangesword to a rock off. V provides special effects, Haley sings, Roy wishes his family weapon was an axe, Belkar gets Mr. Scruffy and Bloodfeast (de-polymorphed) to pose for the album cover, the High Priest of Hel sits there kinda bewildered, and Elan sits in the corner and weeps for the beauty of it. Without their bard, however, the Order's efforts are for naught. Xykon overwhelms them with the power of Necromantic Metal (a genre he invents on the spot), destroying the Order and all of space-time retroactively. The end (/beginning?).

Peelee
2014-08-08, 08:40 AM
1000 has as much meaning as 424 (100 for base 6 - what the OotS would probably count in if they actually existed). I rather like The Giant's willful refusal to do special bits for "special" numbers.

Rogar Demonblud
2014-08-08, 10:31 AM
What will happen in Strip 1000? Rich will bring the awesome. Just like always.

Aedilred
2014-08-08, 02:10 PM
1000 has as much meaning as 424 (100 for base 6 - what the OotS would probably count in if they actually existed). I rather like The Giant's willful refusal to do special bits for "special" numbers.

Apart from the times he did?

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-08, 02:52 PM
Some time back on Twitter (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/435634371840585729):

Question: Are you planning anything special for 1000th OotS strip?

Given the recent timing, I think that this is actually quite special, even if not actually in the strip.

Leviting
2014-08-08, 03:27 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if one of the characters hung a lampshade over it, but that is it. Though we will know it will not be a long update time between 999 and 1000, based on the tweet.

factotum
2014-08-09, 03:42 AM
Though we will know it will not be a long update time between 999 and 1000, based on the tweet.

I doubt the Giant even knows what's going to be in strip 1000 *now*, much less when he wrote that tweet--his plots always tend to run long, he's said, so I doubt he can tell at this stage how much time will elapse between the release of one strip and the next, particularly not so far out.

oppyu
2014-08-09, 04:22 AM
-Elan will do or say something foolish!
-Roy will be exasperated!
-The Giant will be roundly criticised for something!
-Some common narrative contrivance, probably with a name and a cute description on TV Tropes, will be lampshaded!

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-09, 07:42 AM
-Elan will do or say something foolish!
-Roy will be exasperated!
-The Giant will be roundly criticised for something!
-Some common narrative contrivance, probably with a name and a cute description on TV Tropes, will be lampshaded!

Well, that sounds special!

dtilque
2014-08-09, 09:07 AM
I suddenly thought again about strip #959. Not the strip itself, but the number 959.

We are only 41 episodes away from #1000.

About right on time for a strip#1000 speculation thread. Actually, there should have been (and probably was) one at least 10 strips ago. I'm not going to waste time looking for one though.


I do get a little apprehensive at the size of the can of worms I might be opening with this thread, though.

Don't worry about it. There'll be at least 2 and probably more (many more, if the post rate stays this low) such threads before strip #1000 actually gets here.

Cavenskull
2014-08-09, 03:00 PM
There's almost certainly going to be a lasting change that will occur when Rich releases comic #1000. He will probably stop using leading zeroes in the URLs.

breathandpaper
2014-08-09, 03:39 PM
More importantly, what will happen in the forums when we reach that page?

If it's gonna be some big event, we gotta start the preparations already!:smalltongue:

CrispyCriminal
2014-08-09, 08:13 PM
It's never wise to say a writer will do this or that at a specified point, but when it comes to narrative pacing in adventure stories there is always a point where the calm before the storm ends...which tinkertown ironically is going to be on the timeline.

Plus with the change of direction for how the story is going judging from the self deprecating going on, I think the giant doesn't want them to have their visit to Tinkertown to be as long as Azure City...which is to say an entire tabletop gaming session complete with number running and arguing the depiction of rules and role play. #1000 seems to be the perfect time to escalate the welcoming period to the LET'S GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE period of their visit to tinkertown.

Angelalex242
2014-08-10, 02:41 PM
I had a crazy thought.

In episode 1000, the Order of the Stick 'upgrades' itself from 3.5E to 5E characters of equal level. The world then uses 5E rules from then on.

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-10, 02:44 PM
I had a crazy thought.

In episode 1000, the Order of the Stick 'upgrades' itself from 3.5E to 5E characters of equal level. The world then uses 5E rules from then on.

I doubt it. If The Giant didn't update to 4E (and I'm pretty sure had reasons for this) I doubt he would update to 5E.

mouser9169
2014-08-10, 03:01 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if he does one of those director's/casting chair type things.

1000 strips is a pretty serious milestone, so for the webcomic to acknowledge that doesn't seem out of place. The other 00's aren't really as big - after the first few hundred the comic's established it's going to be around for a while.

I expect there will be a lot of strips in a short 'in comic' time from now on since I don't expect Belkar to die anytime soon, unless Durkula raises him as another vampire - "Sorry Roy, started drinking and just dinnae stop..." [The 'not long for this world' was a comment, not a prophecy and undead don't breathe].

Angelalex242
2014-08-10, 03:29 PM
That's cause 4E is a downgrade.

5E just might be a step in the right direction.

ti'esar
2014-08-10, 03:34 PM
That's cause 4E is a downgrade.

5E just might be a step in the right direction.

Um, that's not it. He explains his reasoning in the introduction to the "Invaders from the Fourth Dimension" story in SSDT; "edition wars" had nothing to do with it.

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-10, 03:39 PM
Um, that's not it. He explains his reasoning in the introduction to the "Invaders from the Fourth Dimension" story in SSDT; "edition wars" had nothing to do with it.

Ah, that's where it is. I thought it was in a comment of his.

I think a 3.5E OOTS vs. 5E OOTS could be interesting, depending on how many jokes can be made about the differences.

Cavenskull
2014-08-10, 07:57 PM
I had a crazy thought.

In episode 1000, the Order of the Stick 'upgrades' itself from 3.5E to 5E characters of equal level. The world then uses 5E rules from then on.

That is indeed a crazy thought. :smallwink: Rich made a news post over two and a half years ago specifically to shoot down that idea. Since I don't see an easy way to link directly to the actual news update, here's a quoted version:


1/12/2012

So, Wizards of the Coast announced on Monday that they are working on a new edition of D&D which will almost certainly not be titled "5th Edition," but is functionally 5th Edition. (Actually, I guess it's really like 9th or 10th Edition, if you count the original boxed set and the "basic" line and 3.5 and Essentials and...) And almost immediately, I started getting emails asking me whether I was going to switch the OOTS story to this new edition when it comes out. Just so I can get ahead of this thing and not be dodging this question for a year and a half like I did when 4th Edition was announced: No, I won't.

The reason I can say that with confidence is that my decision has nothing to do with the content of that still-unwritten ruleset. Everything I said about my decision not to make a wholesale switch to 4th Edition still stands: It would be an enormous amount of exposition for very little benefit, and it would likely change some of the characters in ways that would be difficult to reconcile with the story I've been planning. Further, this story is now three and a half years closer to its conclusion than it was when 4E was released, and it will be yet another year and a half before these new rules are widely available. The halfway point of OOTS is in the rearview mirror, and at a certain point, it just becomes an issue of not changing horses midstream (or at the very least, dancing with who brought you).

Plus I barely even reference the 3.5 rules anymore, using them just to determine what sort of spells or class abilities a character might have and then ignoring them the rest of the time. I'm certainly not looking to drive this narrative backwards to a point where I'm more chained to a ruleset over which I have no control. No, as an author, I'm more interested in deciding what happens in my world than I am in ceding that power to others.

Of course, the issue of whether or not I use any new rules in the comic is wholly separate from the issue of whether or not I use any new rules at the gaming table. If anything, I am encouraged by a lot of the language in the press release. Trying to bring gamers together again after the divisions of the last few years is a worthy goal, one I hope they can accomplish (but is fraught with certain pitfalls). Listening to their fans is probably a good start, though if I've learned anything here on my site, it's that there are always fans who have diametrically opposed views from each other. Their best bet would be to forge some sort of consensus on what all D&D must be, and then build a simple well-designed game that allows that core experience but can then be seasoned to taste by each gaming group. What they shouldn't do is attempt to craft One Game to Rule Them All in the hopes of co-opting/exterminating all previous editions. Because if you make that game, and the fans throw it in the volcano anyway, where do you go next?

(Oh, and for those waiting for the reprinting announcement: It's still coming, I just wanted to comment on this right away.)

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-10, 09:00 PM
That is indeed a crazy thought. :smallwink: Rich made a news post over two and a half years ago specifically to shoot down that idea. Since I don't see an easy way to link directly to the actual news update, here's a quoted version:

Oh, I think that is the quote I was thinking off. For some reason I thought he said it with regards to 4E. Thanks for quoting that.

dtilque
2014-08-10, 10:20 PM
I expect there will be a lot of strips in a short 'in comic' time from now on since I don't expect Belkar to die anytime soon, unless Durkula raises him as another vampire - "Sorry Roy, started drinking and just dinnae stop..." [The 'not long for this world' was a comment, not a prophecy and undead don't breathe].

That won't happen because Belkar isn't participating in the Durkula feeding rotation.

mouser9169
2014-08-11, 12:14 AM
That won't happen because Belkar isn't participating in the Durkula feeding rotation.

Not willingly, no. But he jumped off the airship on his own, right?

It seems an easy way to resolve a lot of plot things going on. Looking a bit long term: Belkar will have taken his last breath ever. Durkon made it to the dwarven lands posthumously. When they ultimately kill Durkula so they can raise Durkon Belkar will be free willed again.

Probably won't happen that way, but it's my guess as to what the future holds.

Peelee
2014-08-11, 01:31 AM
The 'not long for this world' was a comment, not a prophecy

Or anything The Oracle comments on regarding the future is a prophecy (due to his nature as, ya know, an oracle), and the green glowies only affect the prophecies in that the people requesting said prophecies can remember them after passing through the memory charm. Which makes much more sense than "it's a comment, not a prophecy, and also disregard all other 'comments' he made that turned out to be prophetical, because they don't count for some reason."

dtilque
2014-08-11, 02:08 AM
Not willingly, no. But he jumped off the airship on his own, right?

It seems an easy way to resolve a lot of plot things going on.

Too easy. Plus Durkula would then have to come up with a good reason why he was draining Belkar in the first place. Since they have the daily draining rotation set up to feed him, he wouldn't really have one.


Looking a bit long term: Belkar will have taken his last breath ever. Durkon made it to the dwarven lands posthumously. When they ultimately kill Durkula so they can raise Durkon Belkar will be free willed again.

But it wouldn't be Belkar, but rather some evil spirit impersonating him. And Durkon would know that.


Probably won't happen that way, but it's my guess as to what the future holds.

The main reason it won't happen is that we've already had an OotS member vampirized. It'd be repetitious.

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-08-11, 06:52 AM
Not willingly, no. But he jumped off the airship on his own, right?
The problem is that now the High Priest of Hel has to explain why he was sucking Belkar's blood when Belkar had indicated he didn't want to donate.


It seems an easy way to resolve a lot of plot things going on. Looking a bit long term: Belkar will have taken his last breath ever. Durkon made it to the dwarven lands posthumously. When they ultimately kill Durkula so they can raise Durkon Belkar will be free willed again.

Actually, it doesn't work that way. When Belkar become a vampire a spirit while take over his body, so even if the High Priest of Hel dies, Belkar is still not free.