OOTS #432 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[MReav]

Hinjo has a freakin' Direwolf?!?!?

What is this guy? Thrall?

What feat do I need to get me one of those?

[Shott]

Lol, coconut oil. Great strip overall. The Pokeball gets me every time.

[Fus.Weapon 1337]

Belkar is actually lucky. I would do anything for a wiener dog.

[Metool2]

Holy crap! o.o I was suprised by this turn of events... Hinjo really rocks. XD

Also, is coconut oil really THAT bad for ya cholesterol wise? *Is suprised Hobgoblins are so health concious*

[Innis Cabal]

AMAZING! let slip the dogs of war....

[Evil_Pacifist]

Ah, woe is Belkar. Poor thing.

[Ezlo]

I'm SOOOO calling the "Hinjo's Dog Fan Club" You heard it here first people.

[starwoof]

I fricken love that pokeball thing!

[S.ilver]

lol. Nice Dire Wolf. And it seems the pokeball thing is common among all Azure City paladins :P.

A diet high in fibre :snicker:

[Dhavaer]

So does this mean that the weiner dog is Belkar's animal companion?

[Chrismith]

Haha, love Belkar's expression in the second-to-last panel. Also, glad to see that Miko's not the only paladin to use Pokeballs. Awesometastic.

[J_Muller]

Unleash the fury... Yngwie Malmsteen reference? Is The Giant into shred metal?:smallconfused:

[Felinoid]

Hinjo gets cooler and Belkar gets slammed. Me likey. ;)

[M._A._Foxfire]

Is that a dire wolf? Freakin' sweet! Hinjo just gets cooler and cooler.

[Samiel_Fronsac]

Poor Belkar...

[Aimbot]

Cool. I would have liked a little more though.

[EvilElitest]

I just stopped playing wow.
from,
EE

[evnafets]

Order of the Stick. A barrel of laughs.
And also serving the community by promoting a low cholestorol diet.
And you can even have the occasional sorcerers fruit pie!

[silvadel]

Now THERES a mount... Shows just how little ingenuity Miko actually has. She coulda had a dire wolf :)

[ref]

But the guy that left prison is still unnamed...

[NeonRonin]

First, the coconut oil- loved the hobbos' reaction, cracked me up right there. But then the Dire Wolf steed... that put me over the edge. I'll say it now, Hinjo is THE MAN.

I was in a campaign a while back, where a paladin had a celestial lion as a mount, but this is much cooler. (Oh dear, does poor Belkar have mount envy?)

Great job as always, Rich.

[Hypothetical]

LOL, Coconut oil!

[Varian7]

Way to go Hinjo! Love the dire wolf!

[Nightmarenny]

But the guy that left prison is still unnamed...He has a bow.

[Kaerou]

hahaha.. oh dear. The Pokemon Paladins get me giglin every time i see them.

[Shapechanger]

Hinjo just got a whole lot cooler.

[greatscott]

You know what coconut oil means...

Popcorn! I think fireworks are coming in the next comic.

GS

[Saurous]

So I guess the pokeball is a running theme now?

And I agree with Mr. Grand Larceny, there just isn't any justice in the world. Especially when Hinjo gets a Dire Wolf, and Belkar is stuck with a wiener dog.

[Querzis]

Hojo has a freakin' Direwolf?!?!?

What is this guy? Thrall?

Hell yeah, Hinjo is a warcraft orc! Anyway, I wonder if that mean someone is going to tell Belkar he can actually get a dire wolf if he want to. He doesnt seem to know it.

[Innis Cabal]

very much so yes

[Balathustrius]

That was awesome!

[Iggero]

Hate to join the chorsu: But amazing strip as always. Like the pokeball reference, again, as always. Dire wolves beat my campaign's paladin mount (some light dragon or other). Amazing, and the lord fo the Saphire guard rocks. Belkar is unfortunate, but he is such an amicable evil.

[SquirrelKing]

Actually, the unleash the fury was a reference back to comic #140, when Belkar first got his riding dog. Well-remembered Rich!

[skinkatlarge]

That stupid aptitude test in high school told me to become a nutritionist; I wasn't impressed. But if I'd been a hobgoblin or a hordling (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0073.html), I guess I could have wielded great power!

Loved the chef hat on the battlefield. Now I'm gonna go make some peanut-butter oatmeal....

[KitsuneChan]

Argent doesn't observe proper personal hygiene. Hinjo should teach him better. I mean, all that slobber is going to end up on Hinjo's cape or something.

Wiener dogs need love too!

[Xi-1]

Love the oil-diet thing. And the direwolf in a Pokeball... or whatever Argent really is. Weiner dog? Belkar is actually referring THAT far back (to when he got the dog as a mount instead of a pony 'cause he complained about the pony)? OOTS really has great memeory.

[SumGuy]

Just when you think Hinjo cant get any cooler...

[Flak_Razorwill]

Damn. THAT'S a right proper Paladin steed there.

[Allandaros]

I really like the "blorblorblorp" sound effect. That just makes me bounce up and down happily. The rest of the strip is funny...but the blorblorblorp? THAT'S the pure awesome right there.

[Solara]

I don't think I've posted about how awesome Hinjo is recently, so just FYI, Hinjo is awesome.

Argent is such a cool name too. 'Windstriker' doesn't even come close in the badassery department, IMO.

[Megalomaniac2]

Hinjo's awesomeness quotient just QUADRUPLED. Man, can that guy pick a mount! Also, LOL @ Coconut oil.

Question: Hinjo, Elan, Belkar, Haley, and Guy from Prison are all holding the wall. Roy's grappling Xykon, and V's tied up with the Death Knight's division. Who's handling the other breach and its two inbound Xyklones?

[Spiky]

Hi, this is left field calling. How'd you like that comic we sent over?

[NeonRonin]

Actually, I'm starting to remember all sorts of past games featuring unusual paladin mounts. I mentioned Celestial Lion, and a game I ran actually featured a paladin acquiring a hippogriff mount.

I would soooo love a Dire Wolf... I may acquire one as an animal companion for my ranger once he gets to be high enough level.

[Lord Anath'Kash]

Dare I put forwards that it may be a Celestial Direwolf. It would make sense for a Paladin's wolf to be just as holy as he.

[NecroPaladin]

Wouldn't the coconut oil just make them more delicious when Xykon gives them cracker shields and feeds them to his tower's guardian?

[Innis Cabal]

it would make sense...

[Xenon]

ooh! halfling weiner envy. good joke. cocunut oil is EVIL though... that chef cant be good aligned.... lucky for him mikos in jail.

[WNxArrakis]

Very cool. Even reminds me a little of mount disputes in WoW.

[Alysar]

Waitaminute

Pokeball... Pokemon... Anime... Azure City... Pseudo-Japanese Culture..

I didn't see it before. It fits.

[NeonRonin]

Question: Hinjo, Elan, Belkar, Haley, and Guy from Prison are all holding the wall. Roy's grappling Xykon, and V's tied up with the Death Knight's division. Who's handling the other breach and its two inbound Xyklones?

I'm thinking the Unnatural Acts of Wizardry Girl might make a cameo helping to hold the line on that breach, but it's pure speculation at this point. It seems Hinjo, Elan, Belkar and Prison Dude may be heading either that way or towards Vaarsuvius, and Roy gave Haley orders- via Elan- to hold the wall. That leaves Durkon, and he could be headed anywhere at this point... perhaps him and the prison girl might team up?

[Lizard Lord]

He has a bow.

unnamed not unarmed.
Also I beleive the unnatural acts of wizardry girl is at the castle with the high level clerics and fellow arcane spell castors.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0413.html

[CindyKay]

Gotta' love those Pokemon references....

[Legendary]

*bows and WORSHIPS Rich*

Yeah, that's right. I'm no longer to be claiming to be a god anymore. This comic could make my PARENTS (if I ever send it to them via email. yeah, right) die laughing.

Well, I get the feeling that Hinjo is going to kick ass in these next couple of weeks. How can he NOT?

And Argent? Awesome name. I also have the fortune of having read another comic with an Argent (a god-like character in a JRPG parody). If OOTS Argent has an EIGHTH of ADV Argent's power, the war has been won.

Again, this is SHEER AWESOMENESS.

[skinkatlarge]

Hinjo's awesomeness quotient just QUADRUPLED. Man, can that guy pick a mount! Also, LOL @ Coconut oil.

Question: Hinjo, Elan, Belkar, Haley, and Guy from Prison are all holding the wall. Roy's grappling Xykon, and V's tied up with the Death Knight's division. Who's handling the other breach and its two inbound Xyklones?
Not Haley. Haley, Durkon, Unnatural Acts of wizardry, and Kidnappin' Old Dude are left.

I'm wondering if UAoWG had a chance to re-memorize her spells since her get-out-of-jail-free card. And how many of them might have been created by Evan, of Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion fame.

[Generic PC]

Dare I put forwards that it may be a Celestial Direwolf. It would make sense for a Paladin's wolf to be just as holy as he.


I was thinking exactly this. Great comic... just like everyone else...:smallamused:

[Zienth]

I'm thinking the Unnatural Acts of Wizardry Girl might make a cameo helping to hold the line on that breach, but it's pure speculation at this point. It seems Hinjo, Elan, Belkar and Prison Dude may be heading either that way or towards Vaarsuvius, and Roy gave Haley orders- via Elan- to hold the wall. That leaves Durkon, and he could be headed anywhere at this point... perhaps him and the prison girl might team up?

Hmmm, Unnatural Acts of Wizardry girl, assuming her unnatural acts involve necromancy, might be able to do something useful regarding all those zombies.

:xykon: Hey! Those are my zombies!


Zienth

[Xi-1]

Yay! I'm now a Dwarf in the Playgorund instead of a Halfling.

Crap, but Xykon (Redcloak)'s got some good tactics against walled cities. Not at all like Helm's Deep. I was expecting a drawn-out battle, yet I can't be disappointed by the Giant's results. Never could I be disappointed. Well, okay, I was disappointed that he didn't know about 'Monkey Island' as that could have brought Elan's retorts up a few levels, but that's Elan for ya. Better that Rich is being original anyway. Or MORE original.

George R. R. Martin made me a fan of direwolves.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

I normally don't do this, but this one is worth it.

Saturated fat. Oatmeal reducing cholesterol. The pokeball... With emphasis on the sound effects (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0373.html). Oh my. Argent is so cool.

And poor Belkar. I think that he deserves some cooler animal companion. Like... an owlbear. :smallwink:

[Lizard Lord]

Not Haley. Haley, Durkon, Unnatural Acts of wizardry, and Kidnappin' Old Dude are left.

The kidnapper decided to stay in jail.

[Krytha]

Hin-jo Rocks!

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Also, Argent is derived from "argentum", which is "silver" in latin. Cool, eh?

[Vox]

I have to say it......Grand Larceny dude is developing serious character potential. "Dude, there's no justice in the world"? Now that's CLASSIC.

And I thought Belkar and Elan made a good comic duo.....

Speaking of classic....Hinjo is the most seriously bad-A paladin EVER (Miko included). Which only goes to show that you do not have to be a self-righteous, delusional fanatic in order to be a good paladin (pun intended), or bad-A.

All hail Hinjo, Lord of Awesomeness!

Sangwaan Lives!

[Imrahil]

It's always nice to see another kick-ass paladin with a dire wolf mount out there.

[Aerysil]

Doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy!!!!!

[asqwasqw]

He he, pokeball. Nice wolf.

[DrowWolfrider]

Awsome! I almost feel sorry for Belkar but "Dude, there is no justice in the world." makes up for it:biggrin:

[Guest15]

Hah. I liked the 'chu' sound effect when the wolf came out.

[Vox]

Just another thought:

Redcloak has been getting a lot of credit lately (deservedly so) for his innovative and generally brilliant battle tactics...but I'd say Hinjo just matched him.

Boiling oil? Cliched.

Coconut oil?!?!?!

Genius. Sheer genius.

And then the direwolf thing....

I say it again: Hinjo is the MAN!

[Innis Cabal]

i really want to see what the unnatural acts girl will do, she is probably a necro...which will be very interesting

[Alex Knight]

Not Haley. Haley, Durkon, Unnatural Acts of wizardry, and Kidnappin' Old Dude are left.

KOD refused the offer and is still in the hoosgow.

[Tobimaro]

Gee, seems that Belkar has forgotten that one of his class features is that he can get an animal companion. Of course this is the same ranger who did not put ranks in Survival so that he could track. :smallbiggrin:

And now we get to see him suffer from "Class Feature Envy." :smallwink:

[UglyPanda]

Is it just me or is the Giant just teasing us with how cool Hinjo is in comparison to Miko?

[Harr]

Um. WHAT weiner dog?

Or was that just made up this strip for sake of the joke.

Anyhow, the oil / fiber thing was funny. So was Belkar's steed-envy but the weiner dog comment left me like wtf.

[5tephen]

Oooh, now THAT's an Astral Mount!

(Remember Belkar's mount in the Forest Side Quest? It was a Weiner dog.)

[Blaznak]

Meh. Pokeball was fun. Also the line about whether the oil should have been hot. Still, I'm waiting for the next one... I like this story line!

[pendejochy]

Hahaha, that was pretty funny.

I half expected some sort of hokey "edutainment" show parady with the oatmeal line. Maybe a "The More You Know" sort of rainbow popping up.

But, to add to what others have many said before, that mount was awesome. :D

[1337_master]

A...Wolf mount?...Is that...Possible?

[Innis Cabal]

varient rules, anything is possible

[kit]

Also, Argent is derived from "argentum", which is "silver" in latin. Cool, eh?

Actually, "Argent" is French for "silver". Or "money" too, actually. :smallconfused:

Either way, very cool.

[Haruki-kun]

Yeahhhh!!!!!!!! The Return Of The Pokeball!!!!!!

[Innis Cabal]

and an awsome super hero...

[kpenguin]

According to my DMG, a paladin of 6th level or higher can get a dire wolf special mount.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Actually, "Argent" is French for "silver". Or "money" too, actually. :smallconfused:

Either way, very cool.

Yeah, yeah, but the French word is also derived from the Latin one. :smallwink:

But it's very cool, indeed. :smallbiggrin:

[Imrahil]

A...Wolf mount?...Is that...Possible?


Personally, I have had a dire wolf mount named Firefox for a long while. Mind you, this was well before Mozilla used the name and took away any originality.

[Silverlocke980]

Holy Warg, Batman!

...

I never expected Hinjo to have such a great, big, and powerful ride!

Whoa!

[kabbor]

May I be the first to pedantalise that, although it is true that Coconut Oil is high in saturated fats, it does not contain cholesterol?

Cholesterol is exclusively an animal fat.

Doesn't mean that Coconut oil is any better for you, though.

[Sturmjaeger]

Dude, I want a Dire Wolf Mount for my Paladin. :o

[Porthos]

That. Was. Sheer. Awesomeness. :smallbiggrin:

Hinjo is officially the coolest Paladin, Evar! :smallamused:

[Innis Cabal]

that makes him the first awsome paladin ever...

[Alysar]

Um. WHAT weiner dog?

Or was that just made up this strip for sake of the joke.

Anyhow, the oil / fiber thing was funny. So was Belkar's steed-envy but the weiner dog comment left me like wtf.

This weiner dog (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0140.html)

Also further explains the 'Unleash the fury' line.

[NecroPaladin]

that makes him the first awsome paladin ever...

HEY! ...Heathen.

[Imrahil]

that makes him the first awsome paladin ever...

I smite thee for thine blasphemy!

[NecroPaladin]

I smite thee for thine blasphemy!

Agreed. We smite the heretic in concordance and zeal.

[Innis Cabal]

not my fault that paladins are the root of all evil, talk to "perfect" good about that. While your at it talk to "perfect" evil, he owes me money

[Adrius]

That was really good all the way through it but that last panel made me laugh out loud! That was GREAT!

[Renegade Paladin]

DUDE! He's got a dire wolf mount? AWESOME!

[Solmage]

While the oil was meh-ish that pokeball + dog + belkar was really funny! :smalltongue:

PS: Considering joining the Hinjo Fan Club ::smallwink:

PSS: New Fan of the Hinjo's Dire Wolf Fan Club. :smallsmile:

[happyturtle]

(Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. /nitpick)

'guy I let out of prison to fight' *giggle*

[Hushdawg]

That's all different shades of bitchin' awesomeness.

I'm lovin' the fad diet one-two punches that Rich throws into the strips.

On a side note, the use of crimes as names for the unnamed spring criminals makes me think of Battlestar Galactica in this one episode where Starbuck (of course) gets stuck in a prison while Apollo has to get him out and everyone there was named for the crime that they committed or that their ancestors had committed.

For you young whippersnappers that are confused; I'm talking about the original Battlestar Galactica from the 1970s. Not this self-hating crap that's on SciFi these days.
Why, in my day Cylons looked like Cylons and were never built by mankind and THAT'S THE WAY WE LIKED IT!!!

well.. anymore discourse will go off-topic..

I digress... a lot and often.

[Hushdawg]

(Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. /nitpick)

'guy I let out of prison to fight' *giggle*

Mmmm... actually virgin coconut oil melts around 70 degrees F so it is altogether possible for it to be liquid if the outside temperature was 80-85 although I do agree that it would more likely be a sludge rather than an actual sloshy liquid.

do sludges go "bloop bloop bloop" when dumped out? :smallbiggrin:

[Bel_Bel]

Thats hinjo's special mount.

And wow, he rocks.

And AHAHHAHA! Great strip.

[WarDragon]

I freakin' love Hinjo. Proof positive that you can be a paladin, and still be a badass!

[Zone]

*coughhahacough* I really thought that pokemon thigy was one-time joke :'D

You guys don't really know how hard it is laugh when you're sick (or ill?).

[AriesOmega]

The pokemount thing never gets old. I love it. As far as speculation on what is going to happen...if Unnatural Acts of Wizardy Girl (UAWG for short) is into some kind of necromancy...this should prove interesting. Also Durkon...what has he been up to? I can't wait to see.

BTW...I know this is late...love the previous strip and the whole "I threw on robes and called it a day" thing. Funny. I was thinking of something like that but had no idea of the death knight/hecuva/eyes of fear and flame thing. This strip is the best thing I have seen. Thank you Mr. Burlew for bringing such joy to the world.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I can't believe no one has mentioned where the original quote the strip is named for comes from...

It's from Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar, right before a huge battle scene. I had thought it was from one of the Henry's, but I looked it up via google and found I was wrong.

The full quote being: "Cry HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war!". The 'dogs of war' in this instance being the shock troops in the front line.

It's nice to see the old Bard quoted...

Oh yea, and Belkar is having 'wiener' envy, I guess one might say...

[Sethis]

This comic delivers.

As to the wolf, amazing. Argent means silver, from the latin root anyway, in one of the romance languages, but at 2 am I'm too lazy to look up which :P

[skinkatlarge]

If only there was some way for Belkar to steal Argent, and go off on his own. Then hook up with a kobold named Tonto.

Or would that be Tonton?

"A fiery dire wolf with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-yo Argent'! The Lobo Ranger!"

[Tordek]

There's actually a D20 book from Malhavoc Press called 'Cry Havok' which details how to integrate a full-blown war into a campaign world.

[Wolfram]

So, now we know who let the dog out!

[Wolfram]

I'd make an Elfquest ref here, but I never really read the comics when they were around.

[Mr Teufel]

This weiner dog (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0140.html)

Also further explains the 'Unleash the fury' line.

Don't you hate it when the DM screws you over, and then gives all the great stuff to his favourite NPC's? That really sucks!:smallsmile:

[Green Bean]

Heh. Excellent comic. You should never make cooks angry :smallbiggrin:

[Haruspex]

About time we see Hinjo's mount, and it's pretty awesome as well. I wasn't immediately sure it was a wolf though. Took me a few seconds to figure it out.

[Tharr]

Forget Pokemon we need Roy being Afro Samurai on Xykon.
The oil should have pour on women grappling each other.
Maybe some female warrior has one magic staff as her leg.

[The Doctor]

Proof yet again that Hinjo is a way cooler paladin than Miko...
'chu!'
Hmmm.

Two more days to go...

[B9anders]

the last two panels are possibly the funniest I have read yet in this strip. Gotta love the stunned look on belkar's face when Hinjo unleashes the fury and runs off into awesomeness.

Coupled with some great jokes before that as well. Classic strip.

[Tundar]

Hahaha, great strip. Poor Belkar is mount envious. Not that I can blame him, that wolf is freaking cool, even for one coming from a pokemon ball.

And hobgoblins on a diet. Well, gotta be a first for everything I guess :D

[Gatekreeper]

May I be the first to pedantalise that, although it is true that Coconut Oil is high in saturated fats, it does not contain cholesterol?

Cholesterol is exclusively an animal fat.

Doesn't mean that Coconut oil is any better for you, though.

Yes, but eating large amounts of saturated fats will lead to an increase in body cholesterol, which is part of the reason why diets to prevent heart disease will ask you to cut out the deep-fried goodies.

[Mangangatha]

Nice wolf. Really. The fury indeed, Belkar.

[Snake-Aes]

I laughed hard at EACH and EVERY crack this time, pure gold.

[Fingolfin]

Hehe, coconut was very good, and we got the pokemons again, lovely comic! :smallbiggrin:

[V Junior]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Poor Belkar, but this was too cool! Hinjo is OFFICIALLY the most bad-A paladin EVAR!

[Rift_Wolf]

He has a bow.

Un NAMED. He remains Un NAMED.

[denelian]

*groan* at the puns...
the only true form of pun appreciation

[magpie]

Argent? Are we expecting a visit from Grendel too?

[carais]

Gosh! That Dire Wolf has a shoulder height that exceeds Hinjo's haircut, I'd estimate, and look at his jaws... I wouldn't like to face something like that.

[Albion]

I saw the title and thought "Well that's a bit obvious... wait, silly me, of course it has some other, more literal? meaning." I wish I had had the time to speculate on what it could be. :smallsmile:

The Belkster should think about what a big flashy mount is the substitute for. I mean in hi current mount situation, the other way around he would opine the opposite given his personality.

Coconut oil? GOSH, off to the silly/almost absurd side, there's never been too much of that so far IMO :smallsmile:

Thanx.

[Stormwolf]

I can't believe no one has mentioned where the original quote the strip is named for comes from...

It's from Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar, right before a huge battle scene. I had thought it was from one of the Henry's, but I looked it up via google and found I was wrong.

The full quote being: "Cry HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war!". The 'dogs of war' in this instance being the shock troops in the front line.

It's nice to see the old Bard quoted...

Most people think it's from Henry V, but generally they could be forgiven as Shakespeare appropriated and modified the line from Grose's 'History of the English Army', (written early in the 16th century):
"Likewise be all manner of beasts, when they be brought into the field and cried havoke, then every man to take his part."

The warcry / command 'Havoc' (derived from the Old French 'crier havoc') was given (usually) as the signal to loot / pillage (i.e. it was a contemporary medieval term, rather than something likely to have been said by Anthony.

The original 'dogs of war' were the common soldiery / peasant levies who liked nothing more than a bit of the old loot'n'pillage (served with a side order of rape). Anyway, enough of the history lesson ;)

[Hinton]

Yet another great comic, Giant. Loved (poor) Belkar, especially the last two panels.

And that's either a really smart cook or a really dumb one.

*Edit: Is that direwolf going to be available as an avatar?

[Albion]

The first time I ran into that quote "let slip the dogs of war" was when I read Watership Down in Finnish! That book has a fancy quote in the beginning of every chapter. This makes me consider suggesting a some kind of rabbit beast as a mount for Belkar instead of my former input of were-pony.

I'll never babble again. Proceed :smallredface:

[Drascin]

And Argent? Awesome name. I also have the fortune of having read another comic with an Argent (a god-like character in a JRPG parody). If OOTS Argent has an EIGHTH of ADV Argent's power, the war has been won.

Again, this is SHEER AWESOMENESS.

Heh, my reaction to the name "Argent" was more or less the same. Loved Adventurers, and from that comic I especially liked Argent, so I couldn't help but remember ol' Judge Finis. The mere unconscious association with that guy has made Hinjo go a few points up in my chart, and god knows he was already pretty damn high. Seriously, a sane paladin (a rare thing indeed) and riding a dire wolf? Whoah, cool.

Also, liking the larceny guy. "Dude, there's no justice in the world" xDD. I respectfully disagree, I think Belkar getting shafted is the very definition of justice :P.

[ShiningTed]

Nope, didn't like this one. Sorry.

The 'saturated fats' joke was done before (the monsters in the dungeon who wouldn't eat Durkon) and this didn't feel like a running gag, just a joke that had been done before. Likewise the Pokemon joke had been done by Miko - that one did feel a little like a running gag (another paladin doing it) but still didn't get a laugh out of me.

Belkar complaining about his weiner dog was funny though, I'll pay that. And the basic structure of the comic - 2 seperate jokes (coconut oil and the celestial steed) + some exposition (what Hinjo / Belkar / Elan / unnamed guy are up to, and how the battle elsewhere fares) - all could have combined to make a great strip. Just the jokes had been done before.

Sorry, just my opinion, and just trying to be constructive. If Rich wants to email me I can send him some original joke ideas (yeah, thats gonna happen :smalltongue:)

EDIT: The steed is called Argent?? I mised that completely! Comic gets a +2 circumstance bonus for comedy then - hi ho, Argent!

[Fred Fumblrol]

Ron Argent from the band Argent used to be in...The Zombies.
Coincident? I think not.

[RMS Oceanic]

Waitaminute

Pokeball... Pokemon... Anime... Azure City... Pseudo-Japanese Culture..

I didn't see it before. It fits.

God, you...you're right! That never tweaked with me either. Thanks!

This strip is made of sunshine and laughter and good. Thank you for entertaining me like this, Mr Burlew. Hinjo love++!

[Estelindis]

Really enjoyed this comic. I thought Hinjo's assessment of how long the coconut oil tactic would last was hilarious. He said it so *seriously* - but it was such a pop culture, fad diet comment (not implying it's not correct) that the inconguity made his facial expression a source of total hilarity.


I freakin' love Hinjo. Proof positive that you can be a paladin, and still be a badass!
Yes! His awesomeness increases yet again. Hinjo rocks. :smallbiggrin: It's great that this comic has such interesting npcs, whether they're villains or the heroes' allies.


The steed is called Argent?? I mised that completely! Comic gets a +2 circumstance bonus for comedy then - hi ho, Argent!
Nice one! I didn't notice that myself, so thanks for bringing it to light. Truly excellent.

[Pvednes]

Doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy doggy!!!!!

:D Doggy!!

[Crispy SpThief]

Hehe, awesome. reminds me of a character idea, a Ranger/Hafling Outrider who would eventually be riding upon a Dire Wolf (who yes, was his animal companion.. mwahaha) Sadly, the gaming group died before I could get enough levels to upgrade my wolf to the next level.. a shame, cause I loved that character.

Bravo, Hinjo, you have acheived Supreme Awesomeness in my eyes.

[Enlong]

Unleash the fury... Yngwie Malmsteen reference? Is The Giant into shred metal?:smallconfused:
Actually, no. BAck in the town where Sabine sent Roy off on the Starmetal quest, they were getting mounts, and Belkar opted for a riding dog instead of a pony, imagining a powerful wolf-beast. He punctuated it with "H*** yeah I'll take a riding dog, let's unleash the fury!"

Punchline was, the dog was simply a tiny wiener dog he rode around. Hinjo's mount is everything Belkar expected from his riding dog.

[Delgarde]

Actually, what really gets me is the cook up on the battlements. Not some soldier pouring oil on the attackers, but a guy in chefs uniform, looking like he's just walked out of the kitchens. Looks to me like he's the same guy as the Halfling Drop Soup gag, back in #279...

And yeah, the dire wolf is a damn cool mount.

[KurenaiYami]

Gosh! That Dire Wolf has a shoulder height that exceeds Hinjo's haircut, I'd estimate, and look at his jaws... I wouldn't like to face something like that.

Yeah, Dire Wolves are roughly the size of a horse.

Best. Mount. Choice. Ever.

Hinjo gets a major boost of awesomeness for having that as his mount.

[Luklan]

Hinjo is awesome.

We need Hinjo plushies and action figures now >>

But seriously, the dire wolf paladin mount RULES. I need to remember that...

[TroyXavier]

Ahhh, Belkar.....there is actually justice in the world. That's why you have a weiner dog.:smallwink:

[agentx42]

Also, is coconut oil really THAT bad for ya cholesterol wise? *Is suprised Hobgoblins are so health concious*

Are ya kidding? That stuff's arterial dynamite! In fact, you should eat a bowl of Raisin Bran just for typing the words "coconut oil". Great, now I have to have a bowl as well.

Sure tastes great, though.



Yes! His awesomeness increases yet again. Hinjo rocks. :smallbiggrin: It's great that this comic has such interesting npcs, whether they're villains or the heroes' allies.

Yep. Strong characters, great dialogue, high fiber. The Guy Hinjo Released From Prison should get his own single page on the basis of... well, nothing really. I just wanna see it. Maybe it's the manly five o'clock shadow, who knows.

[Blood]

Bringin' back the weiner dog and the pokeball. :smallbiggrin:

[EllysW]

The full quote being: "Cry HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war!". The 'dogs of war' in this instance being the shock troops in the front line.

Well, if by "this instance" you mean this strip, then I'd vote for the "dog of war" being the cool puppy in the Pokeball.

But seriously, I love how you folks notice so many details and connections. The Pokeball/Azure City/Japanese-style culture link, "Hi-ho, Argent" -- good stuff, all.

[Pepz]

This comic was fricking awesome from the beginning till the end :D Coconut oil, pokeballs and dire wolfs saying Chu FTW

[Tz-Auber]

Yes, but eating large amounts of saturated fats will lead to an increase in body cholesterol, which is part of the reason why diets to prevent heart disease will ask you to cut out the deep-fried goodies.

Half-correct.... cut out the deep fried foods fried in poly-unsaturated fats due to the statistically high amount of double bonds breaking creating a stew of free radicals (saturated fats don't have that problem as there are no double bonds)

Anyway people, just do some simple google searches to learn up on the subject, such as:
"soy oil health"
"coconut oil health"
"soy cholesterol"
"coconut oil cholesterol"

Ahh... I'm not sure if Rich is completely nutritionally ignorant (like most of the rest of the western world) or is a subtle nutritional savant (idiot goblins as a commentary on the nutritionally ignorant public, although Hinjo is borderline on this as well)... but hopefully Rich will correct his mistakes by making a comic about the coconut oil plan backfiring something along the lines of:
1. Goblins gain temporary hit points from the lauric acid (almost directly digestible medium chain fatty acid that can provide a good energy boost)
2. Goblins gain DR 5/Fire from the fact that saturated fats are extremely heat stable (heat capacity if you will)
3. Goblins gain a stench aura, Fort save DC 12 or be dazed for a round. As much as I like coconut oil, a lot can get rather pungent

Oh and insert previous argument here about solid-liquid state of saturated fats in room temperature environments.

[Jaguira]

Dire Wolf mount for teh win! xD Loved it, especially the bit about the oatmeal reducing cholesteral or whatnot.

[Faramir]

Now if only Redcloak had the forethought to equip his troops with supplies of Lipitor...

[Baalzebub]

A dire wolf??? Hinjo just earned my attention, let's see how he does in battle! Go Xykon!! er... i mean... Go! Hinjo!!

[Rockstrel]

Wow...
things are really starting to happen. It won't be long before we actually get some plot-eriffic action. *hopes that at least, Elan will be spared.*

[mikeejimbo]

Best. Mount. EVARRRRR!!!

[Vox]

I freakin' love Hinjo. Proof positive that you can be a paladin, and still be a badass!

Uhhhh....I already said that!

Just kidding. It can't be repeated often enough.

[Vox]

Also, the full quote from Julius Caesar:

Mark Antony: O pardon me, though bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hands that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy-
Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue-
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use,
And dreadful objects so familiar,
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quartered with the hands of war,
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds;
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice,
Cry 'havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.


So Antony is standing over Caesar's body, prophesying civil war....yeah. Pretty bad-A. I think Belkar would have like that speech....If he was ever disposed to read Shakespeare, that is (I doubt that, somehow...).

[Noneoyabizzness]

coolest
paladin
ever


and will that nameless prisoner ever get a name to match his coolness

[Pokemaster]

Hinjo wins at the internets.

That is all.

[thatwolfguy]

so....much...funny....can't....breathe

[Pfooti]

It is funny, although I'm wondering about the humor judo going on here. Coconut oil is typically solid at room temperature (depending on the room, I suppose), and it's cholesterol-free. Also, the short-chain saturated fats in coconut oil have been shown to be fairy good for you, relative to the long-chain saturated fats found in (say) cow meat. Maybe Xykon or Redcloak will point that out to them tomorrow and have them running back to the front.

But seriously, I cook with coconut oil all the time. It's great for stir-frys.

[Fighteer]

Also, the full quote from Julius Caesar:
...
So Antony is standing over Caesar's body, prophesying civil war....yeah. Pretty bad-A. I think Belkar would have like that speech....If he was ever disposed to read Shakespeare, that is (I doubt that, somehow...).
I love it when people quote Shakespeare, and this strip inevitably reminded me of the Klingon General Chang's quoting of the same line in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

The fact that it's both a reference to the war itself AND a gag on Hinjo's (and Belkar's) choice of mount makes it a delicious triple entendre and once again affirms the Giant's genius. Keep 'em coming! :smallcool:

[Kalir]

Ladies and gentlemen, a master sauceror.

Belkar is going to be so happy when Elan casually reminds him that he can get an aminal companion. (as opposed to everyone else, who knows better)

[Fighteer]

Ladies and gentlemen, a master sauceror.

Belkar is going to be so happy when Elan casually reminds him that he can get an aminal companion. (as opposed to everyone else, who knows better)
Part of the justification for rangers' animal companions is their wisdom and compassion (or desire for domination, if you're evil) for the natural world. Whether evil or good, an animal companion represents an investment of time and care on the part of the ranger.

Can you really see Belkar doing that? He took the Ranger class so he could be a combat monster with the absurdly overpowered 3.0 two-handed fighting rules. He has no ranks in Track, Spot, or (apparently) anything else having to do with the roleplaying aspects of his class.

He couldn't get a rust monster to follow him around if he wore full plate armor. :-)

[Purple_cloack]

WIiiiiiiiii.....
Coco-oil. It works, Goddamit!
Nice mount. I love it. Its only good thing Belkar has his little-Doggie.
Or like us in finland says: Perkele, mikä hurtta!

[Calemyr]

I always read the pokeball joke to be a reference to the changes in paladin mounts in 3.5.

A dire wolf is a good choice, yeah. Personally, I prefer Giant Owls/Eagles or Gryphons. The birds because I enjoy companions that can talk and the gryphon because I think those dang things are just freaking cool. And I love the name Argent. It's the name I always use when I play Neverwinter Nights 2 (those who've played the game may know why). So Hinjo scores still more points for the argument that paladins can be cool characters, too.

By the way, how about these names for the prisoners?
Guy, or Lars - The grand larceny prisoner.
The Unnatural - The wizard lady.
The Aptly Named "Sir Not Appearing in this Battle" - The elderly kidnapper.

[mrocktor]

The Aptly Named "Sir Not Appearing in this Battle" - The elderly kidnapper.
Now that is a classic!

[SETI_fan]

ROTFL!!! Oh man, that was awesome! Poor Belkar. There is no justice.

Loved the continuity both of the riding dog and the Pokemon style summoning of paladin animals. "Chu!" lol

Great comic, Rich! This whole battle is just plain fun!

Seti

[Druid]

Yes, the pokeball mounts return!

[Haarculaneaum]

Well, it took until PAGE 5 for Tz Arbor to ninja me
but yeah, Coconut oil, in its virgin, un-messed-around-with form is ridiculously good for you.

I believe they mentioned that Azure city is in the south, so we could expect it to be 85+ degrees F.

But anyway -- it was a really poor joke. That entire section of the comic could have been excised and we wouldn't have lost anything except for some misinformation on coconut oil.

Definately off your game on this one.

Haar

[Hushdawg]

Don't you hate it when the DM screws you over, and then gives all the great stuff to his favourite NPC's? That really sucks!:smallsmile:

Tch, that's when playing a Chaotic Evil character comes in handy.
Kill the NPC and take his stuff. `Nuff said!

[the_tick_rules]

the oil joke, funny. Pokemon, not so much.

[Roderick_BR]

And Hinjo shows again why he's so badass. I simply love Belkar's reaction XD

[Kalir]

I dunno, when Belkar wants to, he can put forth quite a bit of effort towards his goals. Plus, he seems to be either indifferent or friendly towards animals, so he may yet be able to obtain a companion.

Of course, that's all up to the story (and the omnipotent floating brain behind the story).

[Angela Christine]

Gosh! That Dire Wolf has a shoulder height that exceeds Hinjo's haircut, I'd estimate, and look at his jaws... I wouldn't like to face something like that.

Especially since those jaws are likely to have Dire doggy breath. :smalltongue: I'm not sure what that is, but it must be worse than regular doggy breath, right?


I wonder what it eats? Windstriker eats Heavenly Oats brand horse feed. What do they feed the carnivorous mounts up in the celestial realms? Having them tearing apart heavenly bunny rabbits seems wrong somehow.

[Dragontail]

I just stopped playing wow.
from,
EE

You did what? How?

[Gerli]

Actually, "Argent" is French for "silver". Or "money" too, actually. :smallconfused:

Either way, very cool.

Or maybe he is from Buenos Aires :smalltongue:

[Zienth]

Anyone who paid attention in chemistry class should know that Argent is Latin for silver. That's why the chemical symbol for silver is Ag.

Zienth

[nybbler]

(Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. /nitpick)

It's melting point is actually right around 25 degrees Celcius, so if it's a warm day or if the oil is the "room temperature" of the hot kitchen, it will be liquid.

If it's a cool day and the oil was slightly warm, it'll make it really hard to climb those ladders, too. (UN)Holy waxed hobogoblin...

[happyturtle]

Now all we need is popcorn and for V to cast a fireball. Mmmmm :)

[AyuVince]

Hinjo has a freakin' Direwolf?!?!?

What is this guy? Thrall?

What feat do I need to get me one of those?

"Improved Badass Mount"
Prerequisites: Special Mount class ability, Charisma 15, feats: Leadership, Incredible Coolness.
Benefit: You may choose a creature as a mount that will probably pwn all other mounts that normal paladins ride.

[CGM3]

This makes me consider suggesting a some kind of rabbit beast as a mount for Belkar instead of my former input of were-pony.

That's it! The perfect mount for Belkar would be the Vorpal Bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail! Now all he has to do is find the enchanter called... Tim. :smalltongue:

Oh, and get it right, people: the proper terminology is, "Hi, yo, Argent!" :smallyuk:

[Hyrael]

Waitaminute

Pokeball... Pokemon... Anime... Azure City... Pseudo-Japanese Culture..

I didn't see it before. It fits.
For the love of God, I hope that no one makes a pokemon crack about my summoner next session. I signed with releif when miko's pokeball went unnoticed a few strips ago, but now...

"Fiendish Giant Praying Mantis, I choose you!"

the horror....

[MaxKaladin]

Especially since those jaws are likely to have Dire doggy breath. :smalltongue: I'm not sure what that is, but it must be worse than regular doggy breath, right?That reminds me of an old campaign where my fighter had a large war dog as a pet. It turns out that it wasn't a normal war dog. It had the breath weapon of a winter wolf (but wasn't evil -- we checked, believe me we checked.) We referred to it thereafter as the dog with the minty-fresh breath weapon...

[The_Kobold_Hero]

*jaw drop*

Suddenly Hinjo is even more awesome!

[octobergirl]

Holy crap! o.o I was suprised by this turn of events... Hinjo really rocks. XD

Also, is coconut oil really THAT bad for ya cholesterol wise? *Is suprised Hobgoblins are so health concious*

I would guess so. I have high cholesterol and my doctor removed coconut from my diet completely.

Loved the reference to the past strip with the weiner dog. Belkar made me laugh again! :smallbiggrin:

[Tredrick]

For the fans of Grand Larceny Guy, his first appearance is in panel 3 of comic 419.

[Niveus Candidus]

I forsee great things for "The guy." terrible things, but great things.

[Estelindis]

"Improved Badass Mount"
Prerequisites: Special Mount class ability, Charisma 15, feats: Leadership, Incredible Coolness.
Benefit: You may choose a creature as a mount that will probably pwn all other mounts that normal paladins ride.
High-larious! "Probably the best mount in the world." :smallwink:

[brionl]

The first time I ran into that quote "let slip the dogs of war" was when I read Watership Down in Finnish! That book has a fancy quote in the beginning of every chapter. This makes me consider suggesting a some kind of rabbit beast as a mount for Belkar instead of my former input of were-pony.

I'll never babble again. Proceed :smallredface:

Hmm, how about a Dire Rabbit for Belkar's animal companion?

One more thing... Argent is also the heraldic name for Silver(White) colors.

[Wonton]

Not the best of Rich's strips, IMO.

I felt the plot was kind of all over the place, and the jokes weren't that great.

Let's hope the next one's better.

[Mr Teufel]

By the way, how about these names for the prisoners?
Guy, or Lars - The grand larceny prisoner.I like 'Lars'.

The Unnatural - The wizard lady.'Una'?

The Aptly Named "Sir Not Appearing in this Battle" - The elderly kidnapper.<irrelevent>?

Oh, and note that "Argent" dates back to the original Lone Ranger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lone_Ranger), who's horse of course was named Silver.

[Horned]

How much do you want to bet that "guy I let out of prison to fight" turns out to be Sabine?

[Horned]

Or Nale, in disguise?

[zombie chick]

How much do you want to bet that "guy I let out of prison to fight" turns out to be Sabine?

hmm tis a posability, but it would be a long shot, dont think any rogues would bet on it.

really good strip, gotta play on the goblins health worries.
think the 'guy i let out to fight' is in danger of becoming belkars comedy sidekick

[Porthos]

How much do you want to bet that "guy I let out of prison to fight" turns out to be Sabine?


Or Nale, in disguise?

Highly doubtful for a couple of reasons.

A) You can see Grand Larceny Dude in the background in Comic #419 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0419.html) (Panel Three, behind Sabine).

B) Nale and/or Sabine would have to have been released from prision first. Why? Because they were in the Anti-Magic cells and thus couldn't have disguised themselves until they got out of the cells.

Now I suppose you might go with the theory that Nale/Sabine/etc were let loose to the prision bookkeeping error and one of them took the shape of Flunky Number One in the background.

But I highly, highly doubt it. :smallwink:

[Kilbia]

...so there's no such thing as Silver Wolves in the D&D universe?

I play ADoM (http://www.adom.de/) on occasion, and there's a monster in there called the silver wolf. So when Hinjo summoned a wolf named Argent, that's what I figured it was. But everyone else here is all dire this and celestial dire that...

[Ailurus]

How much do you want to bet that "guy I let out of prison to fight" turns out to be Sabine?

Unlikely I think. In strip 420 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0420.html), the guards in panel 2 seem to imply that the Linear Guild is still locked up, and all three prison characters are talking with Hinjo.

[Aereshaa_the_2nd]

I Think that the wolf is Way too big to be any sort of normal wolf. That is some sort of dire silver wolf.

[Mad Scientist]

I thought Belkar lost his riding dog when the rest of the oots lost their horses when the inn exploded. Am I wrong?


I would guess so. I have high cholesterol and my doctor removed coconut from my diet completely.

Loved the reference to the past strip with the weiner dog. Belkar made me laugh again! :smallbiggrin:

I'm pretty sure coconut oil is chloresterol free. I believe that only animal products contain chloresterol. However, it is still an extremely high calorie, high fat food.

[Professor Tanhauser]

Maybe hinjo's dog will grab one of xykon's arms, tear it off, run away and bury it. While X is stiull stunned, belkar's weiner will brab his other one, run off with it and bury it too.

Then, without hands to gesnture with, x will be unable to spellcast and renered helpless and harmless.

[Weasel of Doom]

i am so joining an Argent the celestial direwolf fanclub, might as well do Xykon's zombie silver dragon as well

[Unscrewed]

I haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know if this has already been said, but I find it ironic that a probably CN, CE character is saying there is no justice in the world.