OOTS #443 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up. Decided it was cruel to make you wait any longer than necessary...

[Liquid]

Yes, it's undeservedly cruel :)

Wonder what happens to Roy next.

Speculations whether he's alive in 10...9...

[RMS Oceanic]

.....

.....

....

Damn....

This isn't good...

[wormmm]

oh goodness say it isn't so.

ROYYY :smalleek:

(1st post by the way. hi!)

[skyclad]

Ouch :smalleek: looks like he's a goner

[Ruyn]

Shame the talisman was made to be durable really. Oh dear. What's the betting someone stands on it and calls ceila in later in battle? As for the "is he alive?" thing those eyes look X'd to me.

[Lykan]

Hehehe... SPLAT!

It's going to be interesting to see how this one fits in the book...

[Nevrmore]

And all those people so sure that he would break the talisman and summon his winged lover have their dreams dashed like Roy's body on the ground.

Too soon?

[martyboy74]

Yeah, I'm gonna say crossed eyes aren't a very good thing.

Maybe the hobgoblins will accidentaly break the talisman, and Celia will get some of her own time in the limelight.

[WoDHells]

WTF!
:O




(I kinda enjoyed that, I must admit..)

[Brawl]

Roooyyyyyy... we wait for your ressurection! :biggrin:

[Carolyn]

Roy! Not the cross eyes! Anything but the cross eyes!

NOOOOOOOOOO!

[Om]

Its never too soon.

At least he didn't end up skewered on his own sword. That would be embarrassing (and fatal).

[Nad]

I really like the strip format. Bill Waterson dabbled in the idea of breaking out of the traditional box with Calvin N Hobbes but I like how Rich just smashes it. Gave the falling a whole new meaning.

Now we only have to hope that Roy isn't at -10 :smalleek:

[sun_tzu]

Crap.
.
.
.
.
.
Okay, that word didn't fully convey my feelings on this recent development.

[UglyPanda]

Wow...I'm at a loss for words. I never expected that Roy would just die like that. I mean, I expected him to falll but most of the readers probably thought he wouldn't have hit the ground.

[smellie_hippie]

Oh my.

This

doesn't

look

good......

:smalleek:

[The Anti Hero]

Yep. Roy is dead. The crossed eyes kind of give it away. Wait a minute though, does this fulfill Belkar's prophecy? By giving Roy the ring of jumping he kind of caused Roy's death. And before Belkar gave Roy the ring he was betting with that assassin guy if Roy would do it because Belkar figured that it would kill Roy. Hmmm....

[Kindred]

Umm, hi all. It's sad really, but it took this earth (and spine) shattering event to make me register. So, Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[RMS Oceanic]

Slightly too soon, yeah.

Now I have slightly better command of my faculties, this comic is the single most powerful strip to date. No plot device, no gag, no deus ex machina, just a rather ignomious death.

I'm completely sure this won't be permanent, but well played, sir! Your sense of drama is flawless!

[pendejochy]

HOLY POOP!

I think Nad's siggy says it all.

Plus, he fell right on his head...and with a "splat" sound a effect. Such a "wet" sounding impact sound doesn't seem so very good. :(

[Glarx]

Beautifully done. At last, a comic that has a realistic falling time. Wonderfully done.

And early, too! I haven't even had to leave for work yet. We love you, Giant.

[Asarth]

...Oh my.

So much for Character Shields.

I really didn't expect that.

[petak]

I hope someone have a ressurection spell at hand

[Black Cat Godess]

I saw the comic and actually said "Oh no!" out loud. This was the last thing I expected, but I don't see how this can be permenant. But as I just said, I've been proven wrong before! I hope he comes back though. I liked Roy. ._.

[Necromas]

The fall will break the talisman and celia will resurrect him?

[Glorfindel]

Awesome!

Nice format also.

[Kindred]

I hope someone have a ressurection spell at hand

In the middle of a big ol' battle like that, there's sure to be at least one cleric with it prepared. I hope it's Durkon who revives him though. It would be fitting, I think.

[Strengfellow]

DEAD, DEAD, DEAD BWAHAHAHAHA

Hmmm I think I just channeled Belkar.

Nice work Giant.

A writer should never be scared of killing a major character for plot purposes, or indeed for a laugh just to hear the lamentation of their readers.

[AriesOmega]

Wow...that was...wow. I know when I had my parachute accident when I was in the military the fall seemed to take forever. Wow....good strip Giant...you captured that well.

[fluffybunny]

Oh man, poor Roy! Guess those Con stats for warrior won't be much of help!
Wonder how much diamonds Durkon's carrying for a resurrect spell?

Or as Elan would have said: "Roy is a goner! Or is he? Dun dun dun <melodramatic sound effect>.

Roy: "FYI dad, you might want to mention meteor swarms to Julia"
Huh? anyone care to explain that to me?

Too bad, I was looking forward to the booty talisman :)

ps. agree with Nom, it would have been totally amateurish to be skewered by your own family heirloom sword...

[Ashbless]

I hope someone have a ressurection spell at hand

I wonder whereabouts on the battlefield he's fallen, getting the spell to him might be difficult. And also, if this has an effect on the Mark of Justice and Belkar's rampage.

[sklar dansig]

well, at first it seems troubling Roy might die, but in the world with resurrection spells it seem like minor inconvenience

[Niveus Candidus]

"I'm an adventurer, I can weasal out of this!"

Sadly not. And the talismon didn't even break.

[cheebie]

<Southpark>
You killed Roy!

You bass-herder
</Southpark>

[sun_tzu]

Okay, getting my thoughts cleared up. Now, several questions are forming...
1)When will Roy be resurrected? I mean, it's virtually certain he will be - he's more plot-central than any other protagonist. But Haley's speech impediment lasted roughly 150 strips - while Roy could get a resurrection in the next five minutes, it is equally possible that we won't be seeing him for several months.
2)Even if Roy does get resurrected...How is he going to deal with the level loss?
3)Since Roy seems to be out of the picture...What's gonna happen with Xykon? I'm not certain at all the paladins back in the throne room can hold back a level 18+ lich sorcerer. It is starting to look possible that Xykon will, in fact, conquer/destroy Azure City...and then, he'll have one of the gates.
Man. Not Good.

[Ronsian]

And hes down... One... Two... Three. He ain't coming back, he's got the Xs. Did Roy do like a 720? He kept turning.

[SPoD]

Roy: "FYI dad, you might want to mention meteor swarms to Julia"
Huh? anyone care to explain that to me?

Roy's oath of vengeance against Xykon is hereditary; if Roy dies, it passes to the next sibling (in this case, Julia). Roy's telling the ghost of his Dad, whom he hopes is listening, to warn Julia about the Meteor Swarms so the same thing doesn't happen to her.

In On the Origin of PCs, Eugene specifically says he wants Roy to sit out and wait for Julia to get older, since she's a wizard and is thus (in Eugene's biased eyes) much more powerful than Roy could ever be.

[BisectedBrioche]

Ouch (http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/tm_SMW_Game_Over.mid)

Ooo, he's gonna be stuck with his dad for a while now.

[The honest illusionist]

Aww, Roy was cool.

[InuSaga]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I literally jumped and gasped when Roy hit the ground.

Okay, we all know he's going to be raised. This is kind of [i]his[/] story, since a lot of the atory arcs have been centered around him. I think the Giant is going to give us a few comics of Roy in the afterlife in the meantime.

And I'm really looking forward to team reaction, Elan's in particular.

Yay, I just made Dwarf in the playground!

[Coldwind]

price of his foolishness and lack of wisdom.
i am not surprised.

[Hinton]

Holy pigs in a blanket!! Roy's dead?!?!

I thought for sure that he'd come up with something as I scrolled down, watching him plan his daring escape from certain death, but no...there, at the very bottom, the X's for eyes.

Thanks for the early post, Giant.

[daydreamer]

I just registered so that I could say, Noooooo! Any one got a diamond handy?

[Hel65]

Oh yeah, that was awesomeness. I so thought that Roy will get out of the situation cheaply with the amulet, but Rich shows once again why we all burn in anticipation of each new strip.

[The honest illusionist]

Wait, what if instead of getting resurrected, he gets Zombified? We already know that Red Cloak is sending out a team of evil clerics, what will happen if (Pick one: Elan/Haley/Belkar/Vaarsuvius) is forced to re-kill their team leader?

[ilikebasketball]

Ah, finally! Let the afterlife jokes commence!
Maybe a fun reincarnation? As a gnome? To get his size issues out of the way (trouser tiny, instead of titan?) ?

Poor roy, though.

Another thing: how on earth is this ever going to fit on a paper?
I vote for foldout... several pages ;)

[Dhavaer]

I can't help but notice that the smiley for this thread is actually smiling, whereas the previous few have been raging.

[Kindred]

Roy going kersplortch is possibly the best forum recruiting campaign ever. Do we start taking best on how many strips it is until he's raised?

[Carteeg_Struve]

...still in shock....

...was scrolling so that each 'frame' was at the bottom of my window....

...didn't see him strike until... well... he struck...

...stared at last frame for over a minute speechless...

...then said "holy [censored]!"....

...luckily nobody else has come into work yet...

...wow...

[GolemsVoice]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Roy! Why? Just why?
I truly hope he gets resurected. He can't be dead!

[darwinredux]

Rooooooyyyyyyy!!!!

Been reading OotS since about strip 50. NOW I register : P

I register so I can say: Rooooooooyyyyyy!!!!

Where will we be without his vexed steady counterpoint to the zany troupe?

[RMS Oceanic]

Wait, what if instead of getting resurrected, he gets Zombified? We already know that Red Cloak is sending out a team of evil clerics, what will happen if (Pick one: Elan/Haley/Belkar/Vaarsuvius) is forced to re-kill their team leader?

I'm scared by that theory, because it's perfectly valid.

Please, Giant! Please don't let Roy fall any further than he already has! Pun not intended.

[Aasharu]

This is definitely an... interesting development. I hesitate to claim that Roy is certain to come back, but it is very likely. However, if he doesn't... I wonder how much the story would shift as a result?

[The honest illusionist]

My guess (for being raised) is nine updates, Kindred.

If he gets Zombified, It would probably be two or three.

[Assassinfox]

I'm happy to see that the character shields are down. :smallsmile:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I did NOT see that coming!

I mean, I figured that Roy WOULD weasle his way out of it. Some plot device, that he would bite the booty talisman, SOMETHING!

Roy is dead. HOLY CRAP! ROY IS DEAD!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Wendneday's strip will have to be a doozy!

[Brawnspear]

Umm, hi all. It's sad really, but it took this earth (and spine) shattering event to make me register. So, Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
This comic is what finally got me to stop lurking as well, if only to voice the (hopefully unvoiced) opinion that belkar had brought about his prophecy. Sadly it seems I was beaten to it. So here's another fun thought:
Roy fell on the battlefield methinks, outside of the wall. Redcloak is sending clerics to raise the hobgoblin dead into zombies. If I were him, I would not pass up the chance to turn the Order's glorious leader into a fetid undead minion.

Edit: darn in looking how to create a spolier the fun was wrenched from my fingers!!!

[sun_tzu]

Ouch (http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/tm_SMW_Game_Over.mid)

Ooo, he's gonna be stuck with his dad for a while now.

Not necessarily. Eugene mentioned that he might get in trouble if he returned to the higher planes (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0292.html) (although how a self-absorbed jerk like got there in the first place is beyond me). Roy's mom, on the other hand...Or his grandpa (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0113.html)...

[ladysekhmetka]

I saw the comic and actually said "Oh no!" out loud. This was the last thing I expected, but I don't see how this can be permenant. But as I just said, I've been proven wrong before! I hope he comes back though. I liked Roy. ._.

That's pretty close to what I said to! though my phrase involved a word that starts in 'S' and ends with 'hit'

:smalleek: :smallfrown: :smallfurious: Durn it!! Poor Roy! Surely there will be a raise dead at the very least (hopes she gets the right spell)

[phobiandarkmoon]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo!

The Giant went Joss Whedon on us!

He'll probably be resurrected, but still.

I'm beginning to think Azure City might actually lose...

[fizzbang]

Sadly not. And the talismon didn't even break.

That's what happens when magic items have to be master-crafted items.

Great piece, Rich! I totally wasn't expecting this. And now, it's time to see how the rest of the party that's always given him grief react to his death.

I love Roy a lot, but I'm really hoping a resurrection isn't as easy as waiting until Durkon walks over with the diamond dust. Goodness knows, Roy won't be satisfied with going out like that and he'll be pounding on the planar walls to get back. And I bet there'll be an interesting talk with Dad.

But y'know what I'm even more curious about? Who's going to lead the team now? Haley's the natural choice as de-facto second-in-command, but will she really be able to keep the team together and organized as well as Roy did?

Great piece, again! Now to eagerly await the next one!

[Erk]

Well, that was awesome. I'm sad now.

I'm glad that the "summon celia" idea I supported was clearly not off the wall... he just didn't make it in time. Can't really blame him, that wasn't all that long of a fall when you really look at it.

Poor Roy. Poor Elan. As much as I love Roy (he's my favourite char, up with Elan), I hope he is down for the count for a good chunk of plot... it will give us a great chance to get to know the other characters on their own terms.

Elan has my vote for next team leader. Highest charisma, freshly into a powerful prestige class, getting settled down... I think this is his chance to shine. Alternatively, Durkon might step up and finally get some time in the spotlight. That would be cool too.

[Hawkeye]

The Giant went Joss Whedon on us!


So funny because it's true :)

But seriously...Roy, with crossed eyes?

...well a meteor swarm from a very high level wizard and a long fall will do that to you, don't care how many levels you've got :(

[pingcode20]

NO! :smalleek:

But yes, I think we can look forward to up to maybe 10 strips of afterlife, most likely interspersed with 'Meanwhile, During the Battle' segments - perhaps a running commentary and banter between Roy and his Dad at times?

I can see dramatic potential either way - Azure City demoralised by the fall of Roy, and being beaten back, with Roy being resurrected at great cost for a heroic comeback, Or; Azure City (being galvanised by his death,) beats back Xykon's forces and recovers his body, so he can be resurrected.

He is pretty much a national hero at this stage, after all. 5000gp of diamonds is nothing compared to a high level fighter being returned to unleash bloody massacre on the battlefield.

Heck, Belkar's spoils of war could pay for it. In that one great big pile.

Well, okay. That might be a bit of a stretch.

[Larrin]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo!

The Giant went Joss Whedon on us!


HA! Well, not quite, as the Giant didn't kill my two favorite characters...like Joss does in every finale of his shows. (Buffy, Angel, Serenity....two characters 'die' (to varying degrees) always my favorite two) , and since V and Durkon are still fine, its not quite Joss-ing me :D

[Vox]

Sooooo.....

Dang.

Roy's dead?

That was......unexpected.....

However, I doubt that this will be permanent.....perhaps Roy can learn something while in the afterlife that will assist them in later?

Meanwhile there will be many tears shed:
:durkon: ROY?!?! Say it isna' so!
:elan: *sobbing* He was....my friend.....*sobbing*
:vaarsuvius: Truly, he was the best of us....Farewell, Sir Greenhilt.
:haley: Well dang...guess I'm team leader now......
:belkar: Will you morons stop eulogizing Roy and get him resurrected? I want to kill him!

[lunatic113]

NOOOOOOOOOOO! ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYY!

*cry cry cry*

[Malhavok]

Crap ! I liked Roy too.
Can't wait to find out what happens next. . .

[Thoth]

Wow!

I was thinking it should happen, didn't think it actually would.

[TerraNova]

Didn't see this one coming a bit. Masterfully done, Giant. :)

[StarWidget]

Oh, my...

temporary or not, it's still unfortunate.

[Miles Invictus]

New comic is up. Decided it was cruel to make you wait any longer than necessary...

Outstanding comic. Now, you need to go on vacation for...oh, a week should be enough to drive the forums into complete and utter pandemonium. :smallamused:

p.s. Wednesday's and Friday's updates should just be Roy lying there. Maybe you could show some buzzards, too.

[/schadenfreude]

[battleburn]

Well, you've done it again Giant. Marvelous comic.
'nuff said

[Finn Solomon]

OH, MY GOD!

Roy, wake up! Please man, I'm begging ya!

[sun_tzu]

Elan has my vote for next team leader. Highest charisma, freshly into a powerful prestige class, getting settled down... I think this is his chance to shine. Alternatively, Durkon might step up and finally get some time in the spotlight. That would be cool too.
...
Elan as the team leader?
...
Er, no disrespect intended...but Elan, while undoubtedly much cooler and more badass as of late, is still an idiot - something the rest of the OotS are aware of. I don't see him leading this.
If the bandits arc was of any indication, the leader in Roy's absence will be Haley (and they'll need Roy to rescue the party).

[soozenw]

The Giant went Joss Whedon on us!


I actually think it would have been fitting for Roy to say "I am a leaf on the wind..." right before he splatted.

[General Leitmann]

Meh. I was starting to get to like him too. Shame.

[XtheYeti]

lets count the ways Roy could come back, 1Talsimin is broken by the fall, His bouty call turns into a res call. 2Durkon. 3V limited wish. 4V Wish (she offered to swap it with the drow wizzard) 5 random cleric resurection. 6 hes actualy not dead he is just at -hp

[Sebastian]

Hey, maybe he'll become a ghost and go fight Xykon in that form.

UNDEAD BATTLE ROYALE!!!

[Cleverdan22]

N-no! ROOOOOOOOY! I never truly liked his personality, but I didn't want him to die!

Well, my predictions are this. Everyone from the party will have to chip in all their gold, but they won't have enough for a resurrection spell, so they'll have to go on a quest to get enough.

[metz]

amazing.

Surely he'll be resurrected. or something.

I mean Durkon can cast control Weather, pretty sure will be able to rasie him.

But he'll have to take a level loss to the face.

[Valley]

So, who gets the sword?:belkar:

[Mystral]

Its just a game of D&D at level ~12, he'll be back on his feet in 2 days tops.

[BisectedBrioche]

Outstanding comic. Now, you need to go on vacation for...oh, a week should be enough to drive the forums into complete and utter pandemonium. :smallamused:

p.s. Wednesday's and Friday's updates should just be Roy lying there. Maybe you could show some buzzards, too.

[/schadenfreude]

Excellant, now that definatily won't happen. But technically it also won't not happen because of this post. THE MADNESS IS SPREADING!!

[TheWarBlade]

At least the sword failed its to hit against Roy...that would have been bad

[Jo_Jampa]

Uhmmm .... yea .... Typical Monday.

Talk about changing the dynamics of the strip. Artistic license and all, but this is a dark and depressing development.

[Leriel]

Hey, maybe he'll become a ghost and go fight Xykon in that form.

UNDEAD BATTLE ROYALE!!!

Mmm... maybe it's the right time to say something to his father instead... :smalltongue:

[CDR Grendelwulf]

Hmm, does this make any OOTS merchandise with Roy on it a collectable now?

His death was inevitable. In D&D, characters die...even ones that are liked. I wonder whom the new character will be? Hinjo after Azure City is raised the ground? Miko as part of her atonement? I think Elan will be the defacto leader (with Haley's support)...he has the whole "I shall avenge the death of my friend and big-brother-figure, etc..."

Ciao,
CDR Grendelwulf

[Tzomg]

Roy should be angry at Scott McCloud.

[Ryngard]

Poor Roy. :(

I think he will come back but I kind of hope he is out for a while. Roy is probably my favorite character but its a good plot development move I think. I like that the good guys lose every once-in-a-while.

R.I.P. Roy Greenhilt

[Wulfmaster]

Me this morning:

Speechless (early comic) :smalltongue:

Smug (figuring that he would do what i figured he would do all weekend and summon Celia).

Speechless (Splat) Ironically this was also the sound my jaw made as it his the bowl full of Cheerios i was eating at the time.

Another brilliant piece of work Mr. Burlew.

[Blaznak]

oooooh.... U G L Y! What a tragic end to Roy. Well, I guess the strip's over. No sense tuning in on Wednesday... ;)

Later!

[Baalzebub]

I'll just say... NOOOOO!! ROOOYYY!!

...

Oh well too bad. I can't wait to see what happens next!!!

[Miklus]

Awesome. I like the vertical layout of the strip. You scroll down, down, down and...splat. I did NOT see that comming.

[straphael]

OH NO! Roy can't be dead!

I know everyone wants Roy resurrected, but might The Giant have a satanic twist in mind? Worse have happened before in other stories, I believe, and the death of the party leader may be part of the plot.

But I seriously hope not.

[isocum]

Theory confirmed. You have to kill roy to make him stop speaking.

[Svella]

Ouch. Nuff said.

But I wonder how that strip is going to ever fit in a book :)

[Darkclaw]

First time posting hi everyone

Ok after reading this thread it has come to my attention that everyone is forgetting the most important thing. Belkar is not getting no experience for all his massive godly killing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[1337_master]

Damn it, Damn Xykon...DAMN IT ALL!!!

so......anyone else going to alter there signature for this?

[Retales]

Woo! Awesome! I hope he stays that way! :smallyuk:

[NeonRonin]

DAMN. I didn't expect the Monday strip to be up so fast... and I gotta admit, I have to give Rich props for hitting us in a totally unexpected way.

Falling sequence sorta reminded me of Wile E. Coyote descending from a cliff, in a weird way... just in the way Roy was scrambling for a way to slow his fall. And I liked the return of the Bag of Tricks, too.

Oh well. They'll figure out a way to fix this somehow.

Not to mention, Belkar's prophecy fulfilled. :smallfrown:

[Atheist_Cleric]

To all my fellow realists who believed Roy would die: We were right. Lets take a moment to enjoy that. That said...damn. Roy's a great character, and as has been mentioned by others so far, there's so many things that could happen to him now. Personally, I am now looking forward to the Orders reactions to the death of their leader. I wonder if any of them saw him fall?

[Edivad]

Ouch.

This vertical strip loading slowly gave me quite a bit of suspense, I didn't actually expect the talisman to be especially durable.
Oh well. There's still a little chance he's not really really dead(as in mostly dead, for those who saw the Princess Bride). Yes, I saw the XXXs, but it might be stunning/unconscious in this case.

Anyway, he can still be resurrected if he's not zombified or something. It would be really evil to see him as an intelligent undead(ghoul/ghast)under Redcloak/Xykhon's command :smallfrown:
Still...This was a very important moment in the comic.


There might be otherl kind of issues: Roy hanging in the afterlife with other dead people. And after he comes back, he might be a bit(just a bit)angry at Celia for making that talisman so tough...but I suppose she did it because she didn't want him to break it for futile reasons.

[fwiffo]

:belkar: Will you morons stop eulogizing Roy and get him resurrected? I want to kill him!

You know, I rarely see anyone make Belkar lines that sound 100% like Belkar. But this was perfect.

[factotum]

A couple of people have said that the Booty Talisman will be broken by the fall, thus summoning Celia. I guess they haven't noticed said talisman lying perfectly intact next to Roy's body in the final panel...face it, guys, Celia isn't turning up anytime soon (unless someone else breaks that talisman), Roy is dead.

How long he STAYS dead probably depends heavily on whether Azure City win the war or not, and I have to wonder about their chances of that given that there are at least three extremely high level undead still in the battle, quite apart from the massive army, Redcloak, and MitD.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Holy crap!
ne1 got rez?

[Annon]

Yeah...he most definately had to try the talisman for no effect, given how many people were so sure it would save him...

Can't wait to see what he faces on the other side =)

And there's a problem with a cleric just waltzing over and rasing him. #1, he's behind enemy lines. #2, Raise Dead takes a full minute to cast (10 minutes for resurrection), while Animate Dead takes 1 round. And I'm sure the hobs have plenty clerics of their own...

[Luvlein]

Roy's death...my first successful prediction about OOTS.

[Psyke_D]

Alot of things could happen now. But in response to people thinking Elan could become the next leader.. I dont think thats too unrealistic, really. When he hears about Roys dead, he totally succumbs into despair. But something (perhaps Haley gets captured) drastic happens that brings up the leader in him, and he becomes the melancolic, leader of the group, with haley as his adviser.

uhm, maybe not, but it would definitely be cool :D

Im thinking a bunch of low lvl goblins find his body and amulet. They all want the amulet, they fight over it, and accidentally break it. Then celia comes, totally fries the goblins, and the brings Roy into the city with tears in her eyes. Something like that :D

[Giscard76]

Roy joins the Hero of a Thousand Faces... He must pass through the land of death in order to reach his full potential. I wonder what Joseph Campbell would think of this :durkon:

[Dausuul]

Yeah...he most definately had to try the talisman for no effect, given how many people were so sure it would save him...

Can't wait to see what he faces on the other side =)

And there's a problem with a cleric just waltzing over and rasing him. #1, he's behind enemy lines. #2, Raise Dead takes a full minute to cast (10 minutes for resurrection), while Animate Dead takes 1 round. And I'm sure the hobs have plenty clerics of their own...

And #3, since Durkon doesn't have the diamonds on him (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0286.html), Roy would have to be rezzed by the Azure City clerics, who are about to be overrun with the rest of the city by thirty thousand hobgoblins and an epic-level lich.

[Zephra]

dead? DEAD?!? WHAT THE HECK! HE CAN'T BE DEAD, DARNIT!!!
NOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
where's the nitpicky loophole?
c'mon, Rich...
arghhh!!!

and:

New comic is up. Decided it was cruel to make you wait any longer than necessary...
but now we have to wait untill wednesday night! that's cruel!

[Yahoo_Serious]

we haven't seen Eugene in quite a while; about time for a nice father-son bonding session doncha think?

[moonbiter]

Poor Roy. An ignominious end after such a glorious and heroic start (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0430.html). :smallfrown: There is truly no justice in the world.

[Grumble]

Great cliffhanger for the next story.
I cant believe Roy is dead. Cant wait to see how he will survive.

[Lord Herman]

Okay, that was unexpected.

[Pvednes]

Holy crap!

Roy!

[Zephra]

perhaps someone will step on the talisman and break it, celia will fly him to saftey where she will raise dead him. assuming she's rich enough

[Castamir]

Wow...that was...wow. I know when I had my parachute accident when I was in the military the fall seemed to take forever.
Did you survive?

[Eldritch_Ent]

Wait, wouldn't his borrowed ring of jumping +30 somehow Mitigate the falling damage? Other than that, owwww.

[Logos7]

Thank you Mr. Burlew for showing that the Antagonist's Plot Armour isn't made of mithril or anything and that they are not above the rules.

I hope this means the the Bad Guys Take Azure City

Logos

[Drascin]

Roy? ROY?! ROOOOOOOOYYYY!!! [/Coronel]

I really hope he is resurrected soon. He's one of my favorite characters (with only maybe Vaarsuvius as a contender), and OotS might lose a bit of appeal without our dear eternal straight man.

Of course, given that Rich is Evil, it might be perfectly likely that Roy is turned into an undead and forced to kill some other OotSer

Now THAT would send the morale in Azure City straight to hell.

[RMS Oceanic]

I'm not sure about ow, actually. At terminal velocity, death on impact would be pretty much instantaneous. So, apart from being blasted by meteors, he didn't suffer, really.

[Annon]

How about this for suspense? The party could be completely unaware of Roy's demise (after all, they have their own fish to fry), until he storms the walls as part of Xykon's undead army. Belkar is the first to catch sight of him, and screams in frustration (DAMMIT, I CALLED DIBS ON KILLING HIM!! WHO DARED!?), thus calling everyone else's attention to him. Then the party is stuck--they'll have to destroy Roy to defend the castle, but that carries its own consequences with it as wel, no?

[Freelance Henchman]

CLERIC!!!

This came completely unexpectedly, to me at least. OMGWTH?!?!?!?

On the other hand, I'm already laughing at the next dialogue between Roy and Eugene.

[Kaerou]

hahaha, yaay! Crossed eyes! So the one who's death was caused by Belkar WAS Roy after all!

Wait..

*MGS voice* Snake? Err.. Roy? ROY? Roooooy!

[moleytov]

So, apart from being blasted by meteors, he didn't suffer, really.
well, If you don't count falling very fast and counting off your possible chances of survival 'suffering'...

[Annon]

Wait, wouldn't his borrowed ring of jumping +30 somehow Mitigate the falling damage? Other than that, owwww.


He could make a check to take damage as if the fall were ten feet shorter, but I don't think that singe d6 is gonna make a big difference...

[Strengfellow]

Alot of things could happen now. But in response to people thinking Elan could become the next leader.. I dont think thats too unrealistic, really. When he hears about Roys dead, he totally succumbs into despair. But something (perhaps Haley gets captured) drastic happens that brings up the leader in him, and he becomes the melancolic, leader of the group, with haley as his adviser.

Excelent plan one thing though a melanchoilc maudlin Elan will either write bad poetry or compose epic gothic ballads on the futility of hope and the bleakness of existance, in short he will become Jean-Paul Sartre.
:smalltongue: I just dont think a beret would suit him.

[Annon]

well, If you don't count falling very fast and counting off your possible chances of survival 'suffering'...


I think that was supposed to be a gag. He shouldn't have had time to go through all that, but players are always talking when they really shouldn't be able to. Like when they're in the negatives, bleeding to death yet urging other players to help the out...

[Pancho Villa]

Did anyone else find it ironic that the "in case of emergency, break glass" talisman didn't break open on impact?

[Stormwolf]

Not sure if it wouldn't have been funnier to have him survive the fall and then get impaled by his own sword but it was a great strip and certainly put paid to all those theories about how he was going to get out of this one just by calling Celia ...and I admit that was my first thought on how he'd get out of it too - I guess I just think faster than Roy ;)

[Darkuwa]

What?... What?... No. I attempt to disbelieve.

[Tawkis]

So this would be where O'Chul's talk with Haley comes full circle.

wow, that was a depressing strip to read. Great, but depressing.

I'm all sad and stuff before I go to work...

[GKBeetle]

New comic is up. Decided it was cruel to make you wait any longer than necessary...

Actually, I think the cruelest part was giving this to us on a Monday. I mean, cmon, Monday is already the most depressing day of the week, and you've got to lay this on us. Wow! I think I could have taken it better if this was from a Friday strip where I had the weekend to look forward to. Oh well.

Anyway, this was a great strip, despite the feeling of impending doom I felt throughout the strip while reading it.

[Vulion]

*currently has his jaw on the ground while trying to contemplate what he just saw*

WHY?!?! Not Roy, he was my favorite character!!!:smallfurious: :smallfurious: :smallfurious:

[Raeden]

Well, he's dead alright, his eyes are little crosses. No more Roy in the OotS. Now it's up to Elan to save the world.

[SteveMB]

perhaps someone will step on the talisman and break it, celia will fly him to saftey where she will raise dead him. assuming she's rich enough
I rather doubt that a "friggin' paraelemental" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0268.html) is anywhere near rich enough. Maybe after her law career kicks into high gear, but not yet.

[Pepz]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

........<catch breath>

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

man I was really hoping there'd be a way to get out of something.....:(

[Copacetic]

Yeash! This proves that character sheilds can be broken!

(( Poor roy........))

[Rididienn]

Hmm..
I predict a Church-like haunting of the OotS like in Red vs. Blue.

[OperationTREX]

Please, please please, say Roy i dead. Then make sure he stays dead!

I'm not even quite sure why I want him to stay dead, but I think I need to see that the adventurers can die.

It'll be cool to have Roy a ghost for awhile like his dad., refusing to be raised etc.

[Zynex]

NOOOO!! My favorite character just bit the dust, he's six feet under, crosseyed, bought the farm, kicked the bucket... he's gone to meet his maker! :smallfrown:

Just won't be the same now... at least the Belkar prophecy finally came to fruits. Technically, if he hadn't lent the ring of jumping to Roy, it wouldn't have ended that way.

It just isn't right, in my personal view, but things like this have to happen sooner or later I guess. :smallfrown: *sniff*

[RTGoodman]

Roy joins the Hero of a Thousand Faces... He must pass through the land of death in order to reach his full potential. I wonder what Joseph Campbell would think of this :durkon:

I was thinking the same thing. Hooray for two semesters of studying mythology...

Anyway, here's one prediction...

I like the idea of Roy being raised as and undead. I can imagine some epic strip that goes to every member of the OotS making their spot check (the shots behind each of their shoulders) to see zombie/ghoul/ghast Roy attacking the city. And Belkar would, of course, be more excited about actually seeing it (Hey! I think I made my Spot check!") than what actually means.

[Jarawara]

Now that was funny!!

And yet, I somehow feel bad for saying so.

'Look at the falling man! Isn't that the funniest thing you ever saw! And now he's dead. Hahahahaahaaa...' Yeah, that's just wrong. Sorry.

[Haruki-kun]

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! o.O
........................Did Belkar cause this.............? No.............., doesn't count.

[Azukar]

< < BELKAR CAUSED THE DEATH OF ROY > >

In other news, my whole body tensed up when I saw that last panel. 100% Shock.

Back to the original revelation I just thought of: Belkar caused the death of Roy, did he not? Discuss!

Edit: Half-ninja'd by the ninja!

[Runolfr]

Well, Belkar is now arguably responsible for Roy's death (having provided the ring and suggested the plan), possibly fulfilling the terms of his prophecy.

Now if we can just come up with several thousand GP worth of diamonds for Durkon to use on Roy...

[Mordeus_Dire]

Well, I kinda feel a bit of sympathy for Roy... But not much.

I mean, what a dope! As if Xykon was going to sit there and let Roy beat the bone splinters out of him with his uber sword. He IS a high level sorcerer after all, of course he would have a backup plan in case his undead wyvern got taken down. Roy got way to arrogant for his own good, and the in-depth discussion he had with himself during his plummet didn't exactly help either.

This is a glorious defeat of Lawful Stupid PC's everywhere! Huzzah!!

Evil NPC's of the world unite! :smallamused:

[Lurk]

Haley is supposed to be the next leader... she gets "elected" by the other teammembers on p70 of the Origin of PCs to be second in command. Why? treasure purposes of course.

[Caractacus]

Outstanding comic. Now, you need to go on vacation for...oh, a week should be enough to drive the forums into complete and utter pandemonium. :smallamused:

p.s. Wednesday's and Friday's updates should just be Roy lying there. Maybe you could show some buzzards, too.

[/schadenfreude]


Oh absolutely...Buzzards, and a couple of rats, looking optimistic...:smallcool:

The whole forum would look hydrophobic by next week...:smalltongue:

[One Skunk Todd]

Just won't be the same now... at least the Belkar prophecy finally came to fruits. Technically, if he hadn't lent the ring of jumping to Roy, it wouldn't have ended that way.

Also, part of the reason Roy got so agitated about landing and started rushing the fight is that he was worried about getting out of range of Belkar and setting off the MoJ. Yet another way in which it was Belkar's fault.

[Poukis]

:O
I clicked at the bookmark for fun, it is too early! And Roy died! :O
Thank you giant for the great strip and for the speed!
Out of correct syntax grammr and vocabulary...
Cheers!

[niking]

:eek:

now there's something i didn't expect to see...

it would have been cool if the sword had landed in him

[Pantler]

Holy crap.
I'd just like to notice that when Elan was at -9, but NOT dead, he didn't have the X's in his eyes.
Could it be the end? If so, I'll cry. I mean it.
Edit: I mean, I know he's dead. I'm just wondering if it is the end. I mean, there's a whole heap of drama in it if he doesn't get resurrected.

[Albion]

Talk about cruel, yeah

Biggest shock moment ever! For sure.
It was looking to get alright, and -
ROY IS DEAD! :smalleek:
He already figured the way out, then... SPLAT! Thunk!
Grandiose :smallredface:

I wonder if Giant considered making that sword land on Roy's chest thus impaling him in the last panel. The dot on the "i"! The irony! The drama!

Hehe, the bag of tricks...

[sun_tzu]

Well, I kinda feel a bit of sympathy for Roy... But not much.

I mean, what a dope! As if Xykon was going to sit there and let Roy beat the bone splinters out of him with his uber sword. He IS a high level sorcerer after all, of course he would have a backup plan in case his undead wyvern got taken down. Roy got way to arrogant for his own good, and the in-depth discussion he had with himself during his plummet didn't exactly help either.

This is a glorious defeat of Lawful Stupid PC's everywhere! Huzzah!!

Evil NPC's of the world unite! :smallamused:

Yes, because it would have made so much more sense for Roy to step back, let Azure City be destroyed, and allow Xykon to unlock the gate and hijack the Snarl's power, becoming godlike and taking over the multiverse.:smallannoyed:
Roy did the best he could in his situation.

[Caractacus]

So this would be where O'Chul's talk with Haley comes full circle.

Very true. Who'd have thought it would be Roy? :smalleek:

Haley's tough, but this will take a lot of dealing with. Between her and Durkon though, they'll manage to keep the party going...

[Mordeus_Dire]

I'll say one thing for Roy though, he's got a really hard head!

Check out how he cracked the ground open! :smallamused: lol

[Pancho Villa]

Well, I kinda feel a bit of sympathy for Roy... But not much.

I mean, what a dope! As if Xykon was going to sit there and let Roy beat the bone splinters out of him with his uber sword. He IS a high level sorcerer after all, of course he would have a backup plan in case his undead wyvern got taken down. Roy got way to arrogant for his own good, and the in-depth discussion he had with himself during his plummet didn't exactly help either.

This is a glorious defeat of Lawful Stupid PC's everywhere! Huzzah!!

Evil NPC's of the world unite! :smallamused:

Only two real options at the time Roy challenged Xykon to single combat:

1) Let Xykon do what he wanted to (not known to him at the time, but do you want to let a centuries-old sorcerer have things go exactly as planned?)

2) Fight him and hope you can take him down.

He wasn't dumb, he was taking the best option out of a set of bad ones. And a brave one, I might add.

[malakim2099]

Thank you Mr. Burlew for showing that the Antagonist's Plot Armour isn't made of mithril or anything and that they are not above the rules.

Technically, until The Giant changes the name of this strip to "Xykon's Merry Pranksters", Roy is a PROtagonist.

That said...

I think he'll get raised/discovered right around comic #450. Nice 'chapter break'. Though I hope we aren't kept in suspense for THAT long.

[jindra34]

I pray for Roy's ascention...

[elliott20]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~!!!!! :eek:

[B9anders]

Roy is croaked.:smalleek:

Powerful stuff. Was pretty much speechless reading that.


PS. Belkar needs to get over there asap to steal his magic items before the enemy does.

[Dark Dork]

Why does the title of this thread have a smiley face next to it?!? :smallconfused: :smalleek:

[Grey Watcher]

Um, Ow.

Yeah, X's for eyes has pretty consistently meant "dead as a doornail" in this strip, so I think Roy's out of commission until someone scrapes together 5,000 GP worth of diamonds. And even so, no one's gonna bother with the spell (it takes a while) until the battles over. I just hopes his remains aren't somewhere where something unfortunate happens to them.

[Darkuwa]

Comic is up for 2 1/2 hours and Roy's wikipedia article already has his death.

[warmachine]

It's turning into a Greek tragedy! Nooo! We're all doooomed! DOOOOMED!

[Beermancer]

Many will hate me but i can't resist





TRULY, HE WAS THE BEST OF US.

[the_tick_rules]

aww crap i see the X's. I have faith this is gonna work out but i'm still nervous. So he did TRY the booty talisman, so we were right in attempt at least.

[pendell]

Called it!
Xs in the eyes .. yep, our boy Roy is dead.


I can't believe this is the end of Roy's story, though. There HAS to be a resurrection in the works at some point. The Giant has foreshadowed resurrection three times ... once with Belkar (when Miko was about to kill him the first time), once with Lord Shojo (going through the process of actually casting the spell), and once with Nale (as reasons why we can't simply cut his throat).

Conclusion: A resurrection has to be in the works, sooner or later.

Because this is Roy's story. We have a number of comedy supporting actors, but he is *the* hero and this is his quest.

Heck, even Tolkien brought Gandalf back.


I also think this fulfills Belkar's prophecy. Since Roy could never have started this 1v1 with Xykon unless Belkar had given him a ring of jumping, Belkar caused this entire sequence of events. Therefore, Belkar caused Roy's death.

Disappointing. I certainly can't call this the BEST. STRIP. EVAH. And the person who does probably needs their head examined. But I'm confident it will fit in well with the overall story arc.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[stjohn70]

!!!

...now for Roy-zombies


Musings: Since Belkar talked him into jumping with his Ring of Jumping, does this count as Belkar causing his death, ala the oracle?

[pendell]

BTW, Giant :

Actually, I believe it is more cruel, not less, to show us this now than to wait for your normal evening deadline. The reason being, now we have an additional 12 hours to wait before this starts resolving.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Arang]

Am I the only one who sees the fantastic irony in the talisman remaining unbroken?

[mggreenberg]

Start the betting pool, who gets to Roy first and with what spell?

1) Durkon & Raise Dead
2) Redcloak & Animate Dead
3) Xykon & "Create Mighty Undead Slave"
or
4) Vaarsuuvius & Disintegrate

[pendell]

Re: person discussing parachute accident.


Did you survive?

Given that she/he's posting here, I believe the answer is 'yes'. The internet doesn't reach beyond the grave ... or does it ?

:Cue spooky music:

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[NecroPaladin]

Wow...did...not expect that to happen.

[fehler]

I admit I was expecting him to land on a soft, squishy pile of dead hobgoblins. Alas.

[Sethis]

You win Giant, You win.

Also, I called it :D

I thought that talisman might be hard to break without his sword as he was fallng...

Now the story gets interesting. I bet the next strip is it zooming out to find that he landed in plain view of half the army/party, and the shocked look on their faces.

[Belirahc]

Ok. I haven't read through all of the replies this morning (Dang ya'll are fast), but I noticed something, and I hope no one else hit on it in pages 4 through 6.

The strange cuts on Roy's chest make the clear indication that he is #1. Yeah. I'm stretching here, but could this be a subtle clue that Roy is not the only one to perish, but simply the first?

Hmmmmm.....

Yeah.. I know.. I need more caffiene, but it is something to think about. <(^_^)>

[nocker]

I don't know if somebody already pointed it, but Roy's torment is just beginning...

His father will be right besides him when he regains consciousness as a soul, and his first words to his son will be: I TOLD YOU SO!

[Darkuwa]

The strange cuts on Roy's chest make the clear indication that he is #1. Yeah. I'm stretching here, but could this be a subtle clue that Roy is not the only one to perish, but simply the first?


Oh gods no. I see it. Please be wrong.

[Fingolfin]

Arghh, Roy, no.. :smallfrown:

Fantastic technique used in showing us the comic though, fantastic.. and great comic!

[daydreamer]

Four people, including myself, registered today, just so that they could comment about Roy dying, that just shows how good a strip today's was.

[Anthea]

How do you get that printed?

NEW!
OOTS3!
Now with Roy on the centerfold!

[SMEE]

Alas, poor Roy. He was the best "fighter" of the lot. :smallfrown:

I hope he gets ressurected soon.

[SteveMB]

How do you get that printed?

NEW!
OOTS3!
Now with Roy on the centerfold!

LOL! (That said, I'd guess it'll print as several side-by-side frames.)

[chibibar]

Well, this is not good but in the same time Roy can finally have a talk to talk with Dad in the afterlife. Good thing one of Hinjo's cleric can cast Ressurection (and does have the component) so we'll see if Roy wanna come back.

[carais]

Decided it was cruel to make you wait any longer than necessary...

You, Sir, are an evil man :)

Well, while slowly scrolling down I thought it would end like this. For the German readers among us - anyone (who knows it) not reminded of Mike Krüger's song? "... Ich wollt' es grade tun, da schlug ich auf." (E: I just wanted to do it, then I struck [the ground])

[Jiktori]

I'm surprised no one's highlighted the fact that he threw a bunch of critters to their deaths!

Somebody please think of the critters!

[magicwalker]

SEE! This is what happens when people start talking about death! Rick goes and offs THE protagonist! Geeze..

[MinusInnocence]

The strange cuts on Roy's chest make the clear indication that he is #1. Yeah. I'm stretching here, but could this be a subtle clue that Roy is not the only one to perish, but simply the first?If that is the case OotS will definitively usurp Dinosaur Comics as the best webcomic ever.

Re: spoiler tags, I think they're absurd considering I can't possibly "spoil" anything, since I am not The Giant. However,I suspect Redcloak's lackeys or the Heucuva will reach Roy's corpse before anyone on the walls can. The only two who have a chance are Durkon (because we haven't seen him in awhile and thus could be anywhere) and Belkar, but not only would Belkar only loot the body, he is too vertically challenged to recover the remains. Then again, maybe the remaining OotS members can rally the defenders and force the army to withdraw, the freshly Uncroaked Roy (possibly more powerful than a zombie) defending Redcloak and Xykon.

Admittedly, the only reason I want this is because it will prolong or possibly prevent entirely Roy's resurrection. Great work, Rich.

[jjpickar]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :roy: was cool to. :smallfrown: sniffle.

[Orbital]

Wow! Didn't see that coming.

And great format too.

[erewhon]

Why does the title of this thread have a smiley face next to it?!? :smallconfused: :smalleek:


Notice the title of the comic. "The first step."


Roy's about to go on a little journey, and who KNOWS where he'll wind up. I mean, he's Lawful Good. Dying is a REWARD for those folks, to make up for all the snickering and pointing they have to endure during life. :)

I mean, seriously, I could see Roy refusing a ressuraction. He's done his part. He's gone on to his reward. World ends? No skin off his back any more!

Of course, he'd never do that, he'd come back to help his friends. But I bet he'll be thinking about it. :)

Man, this is gonna be GOOD.

Oh, and talk about a way to check out! He survived a freakin' METEOR SWARM to the FACE.

Wow! :)

[jindra34]

Notice the title of the comic. "The first step."


Roy's about to go on a little journey, and who KNOWS where he'll wind up. I mean, he's Lawful Good. Dying is a REWARD for those folks, to make up for all the snickering and pointing they have to endure during life. :)

I mean, seriously, I could see Roy refusing a ressuraction. He's done his part. He's gone on to his reward. World ends? No skin off his back any more!

Of course, he'd never do that, he'd come back to help his friends. But I bet he'll be thinking about it. :)

Man, this is gonna be GOOD.

Oh, and talk about a way to check out! He survived a freakin' METEOR SWARM to the FACE.

Wow! :)

HE is probably going to try to enlist the help of who ever he ends up in the afterlife with... and i honestly think he may succeed...

[JannaM]

Am I really the only one that feels sorry for Celia?

[Rad]

This was a GREAT strip! Sorry for Celia though... :smallfrown:

[ghostwlkr]

woah.....rough endin dude......first main character to get the axe....ouch...touch the hafling and ill kill you:smallfurious:

[Godmouth]

When I read that page, I just knew that there would be tons of replies. I just had to register to say that I believe that not only Roy will die, but probably also those on the walls (18+ lvl sorceror VS. a bunch of lvl 1-10 people). But please, Rich, can you make Belkar for once do something really useful, instead of just having all that attack bonus being unused except for undead (and Roy, but he can't attack him now)?

[Porthos]

As someone who thought the talisman would be used, the second I saw todays format of the strip, I knew Roy was a goner. You just don't devote a strip to a format like that if you ain't going to splat someone.

As for the strip itself, a few comments(spoilerized): In the future, Roy, you might want to ask about the DC check required to break a potentially life saving item. I'm just saying. :smallwink:
I suspect it will take a lonnnng time to get Roy Raised/Ressed. After all the Elan kidnap subplot took over 30 strips to finish and the Haley aphasia subplot took almost 150 strips to resolve itself. I'm betting Roy won't be alive again for at least 50+ more strips. :smallwink:
Eugene has been absent for far too long (side affect of the sword??) so I expect a minimum of 3-5 strips of father/son "bonding". I.e. a massive amount of passive-aggressive fighting.:smalltongue:
Roy as Undead? Possible. It certainly doesn't stop him from being eventually raised. But I'm not going to issue a prediction on that.
The next strip (or two) are probably going to be "Reaction Shots" as the disturbance in the Force is felt.
Azure City is going down. I've always felt that it would be burned to the ground, and this just cements that happening in my eyes. Oh I'm sure something will happen with the Gate that stops Xykon from using it. But the city itself? Not looking good...
If Roy gets the chance to be Raised/Ressed, of course he will return. He cares far too much about the saftey of the world to just sit back and "kick it" in the afterlife. Besides, his Dad will be nearby and will (probably) be constantly pestering/mocking him. That's probably more like Hell than Heaven for Roy. :smalltongue:

[MoelVermillion]

That comic was superb, as Roy was falling i kept thinking to myself "Roy will make it, Roy always makes it" but i guess this time he just didn't make it. I hope Roy gets raised otherwise it just won't be the same.

[erewhon]

Am I really the only one that feels sorry for Celia?


No. Roy's the kind of guy who gets a lot of crap, but leaves a really big hole when he's gone. I doubt there'll be a dry eye in the house.

You have to wonder how much a Sylph has to like a human to get physical. I mean, that's a BIG gap. 'Jungle fever' is nothin' next to that! :) I think she's going to be hurt badly.

And yet, I almost worry more for Elan. Poor guy will take this hard.... :(

[TroyXavier]

Wow...it's all I can say. It happened.:smalleek:

[tis_tom]

...

I'm speechless!

[Green Bean]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I liked that guy! He was too awesome to die!



With that out of the way, I must admit I did not see that coming. Please don't let this be permanent.

[Godmouth]

The strange cuts on Roy's chest make the clear indication that he is #1. Yeah. I'm stretching here, but could this be a subtle clue that Roy is not the only one to perish, but simply the first?
I wholedheartedly support that, because seriously, what kind of FLAMING SPHERE (it is in the spell descr. of meteor swarm) leaves a cut mark? (or two or three or four)

[Grungydan]

OH man. :( No way. Roy must get rezzed. Celia will miss him if he doesn't. :(

[Jewel Thief]

Oh, ****.

That's intense.

[SteveMB]

I don't know if somebody already pointed it, but Roy's torment is just beginning...

His father will be right besides him when he regains consciousness as a soul, and his first words to his son will be: I TOLD YOU SO!
Isn't dear old Dad still stuck (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0292.html) in the summoning circle?

[GrammatonCleric]

Yep, quite shocking...even trying to think about Roy as permanently dead is very hard. And the fight with Xykon...a worthy effort, but ultimately futile.

[scwizard]

Holy ****! Roy's dead!

[DeltaDart]

Wait a minute though, does this fulfill Belkar's prophecy? By giving Roy the ring of jumping he kind of caused Roy's death.

In fact, compare with the crossed eyes, i worried more about this......
I was expecting Belkar to kill Miko for a REALLY LONG TIME!

[DMcCoy1693]

Ah, finally! Let the afterlife jokes commence!
Maybe a fun reincarnation? As a gnome? To get his size issues out of the way (trouser tiny, instead of titan?) ?

Roy will have boobies.

[Deuce]

I would guess that if . . .

either Belkar or Elan saw him hit, they are going to go on a massive killing spree (ok, continue one for Belkar). Belkar will Rage, and Elan will find that catch-phrase he's been needing for when the puns run out. I guess Durkon might expend a Thor's Might to get to Roy ASAP. I would guess that Haley is killing hobbo's and zobies as fast as she can already. I guess Hinjo and Argent could cut a swath through the field to Roy.

V's pretty well out of AE spells, though a well timed dispell with a real lucky roll could still ruin Xykon's day. I know he's a high level Sorc, but there could be a funny little parallel to what happened to Roy. He starts to fall, goes to recast Overland Flight, finds he's burned all his slots at that level, then decieds to meta-magic it, and finds that
A.) He never took any meta-magic feats that change a spell's level.
B.) The only meta-magic feat he has would need another level he's bingo on, or . . .
C.) He's got a ton of feats, and takes too long tring to decide which one to use.

[scwizard]

I'm kind of survived he lived that long. A meteor swarm deals on average 112 damage (no save) when used that way! 2d6 for impact and 6d6 for fire (no save from fire when attacked directly). Multiply that by four meteors for 112 average damage.

According to class and level geekery Roy probably less than 100hp (his con isn't too great). Even if his hit points are maxed at 130, he'd need to save immediately against death by massive damage, a save he has a good chance of failing.

But if the meteor swarm isn't instadeath then 20d6 falling damage will certainly do (and has done) the trick.

[scwizard]

I'm interested to find out how in the world anyone plans on stopping Xykon from taking over the universe at this point.

[Zink]

Very powerful strip. I'm sad about Roy's death, but this strip and the entire arc are just plain awesome.

Most people probably wouldn't even know this, but this strip had an interesting timing. Today is the Israeli Memorial Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Hazikaron), commemorating fallen IDF soldiers and Israeli victims of terror. It is thus somewhat fitting for Roy to die as a soldier in war on this particular day. Of course, this is probably nothing more than a coincidence.

[Legendary]

****


Just ****. The OOTS is screwed.

[Xenon]

interesting.

but then, the potted daisy had less dialog. "oh no, not again"
roy should be fine as long as the whale dosent come to help.... you missed a great potential summon whale there.

[onikun86]

I can just see a future strip now...
:durkon:"Hang on, Roy! I'll raise ye!"
HELLO AND WELCOME TO THORPRAYER(tm). PLEASE RECITE THE FIRST 3 LETTERS OF YOUR DESIRED SPELL.
:durkon:"R-E-S?"
YOU HAVE SELECTED RESENTFUL SMITING.
:durkon:"Ach, not again."

[Wikkin]

So does this, in turn, paralyze Belkar? Roy's body may be within a mile, but his true self is far, far away.

[daydreamer]

Has the Giant read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

[Wikkin]

I'm kind of survived he lived that long. A meteor swarm deals on average 112 damage (no save) when used that way! 2d6 for impact and 6d6 for fire (no save from fire when attacked directly). Multiply that by four meteors for 112 average damage.

According to class and level geekery Roy probably less than 100hp (his con isn't too great). Even if his hit points are maxed at 130, he'd need to save immediately against death by massive damage, a save he has a good chance of failing.

But if the meteor swarm isn't instadeath then 20d6 falling damage will certainly do (and has done) the trick.
He had Spell Resistance cast upon him prior to engaging Xykon, so odds are some of the Meteor Swarm didn't affect him (small consolation now though).

[Roderick_BR]

If I ever saw a "oh, shi.." situation before, this definitively is one :o

Good to see that he died because the plot needed it, not just for cheap dramatic tension.

[Megalomaniac2]

What the hell's going to happen now, man?? Roy was the leader of the Order and arguably the strip's main character, and he's just gone ker-splat. Two prophecies down, four to go, although I doubt Belkar will be satisfied with this.

At least we got to see the Bag of Tricks again.

[Aliquid]

****


Just ****. The OOTS is screwed.I don't think the OOTS is completely screwed without Roy. They managed just fine from strip 386 to 400 without him.

When it comes down to it, Roy is more responsible for getting them into trouble... not getting them out of trouble.

[Ethereal_fire]

Poor Roy :(

[WonderJason]

OMG, it's zombie Shakespear!

Uh, no, it's just zombie Roy!!!!

[maus]

Good luck getting that onto one page in the book.

Can you say gatefold?

[Stagger Lee]

Call me crazy, but I bet he landed near the monster in the darkness.

[Amotis]

Haha.

How does that oil work...?

[Daedalus73]

Oh no. :(

Oh no no no. :(

Poor Roy. :(:smallfrown: :smalleek: :smallsigh:

[Wizzardman]

Darth Vader time!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!

[Snake-Aes]

I didn't quite get the title... What does that mean?

[Lisp]

I think it takes a Undead to properly take out and have the timeframe to properly take out a undead lich like Xykon, Time for "Revanant Roy" it dices it slices, he died with his quest unfullfilled and still needing to do more. Maybe
back with a vengence :)

Poor Roy, I personally hope he re-rolls a Monk, Monk -Lich battles can be legendary.

[BisectedBrioche]

Hmm..
I predict a Church-like haunting of the OotS like in Red vs. Blue.

:roy: Duuuurrkon! Duuuurrkon! I am the ghost of Roooooy!

:elan: You're not Roy, Roy is blue

:roy: Elan! I'm a freakin' ghost!

[bobvader314]

This doesn't sit well with me. Did I expect it? No. I don't mind being surprised--heck, I enjoy it. But this doesn't feel like that. This doesn't feel unexpected. It feels random. The Giant planted a perfectly reasonable solution to the "o crap I'm falling" issue in the strip in the form of the not-a-booty-talisman. Celia flying to Roy's rescue at the last possible moment could have been just as dramatic as this, could have even been unexpected. For instance, maybe Celia gets Roy out of trouble, but not in the way one might first suppose; or maybe she gets him out of trouble, but it's a frying-pan-into-the-fire situation; heck, maybe Celia saves Roy at great personal cost, and Roy has to level with himself for causing her pain. Perhaps the most dramatic thing would have been a frame where the fall has broken the talisman, and Celia is flying away with Roy's unconscious body draped between her arms.

Any of those scenarios made more sense given what's happened in the strip so far.


Yeah...he most definately had to try the talisman for no effect, given how many people were so sure it would save him...

You know why so many people thought that? Because it made sense. I can't help but feel like The Giant has written himself into a corner here. Unless he's planted something else, any solution to Roy's current situation is going to feel like a deus ex machina.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why this happened--if you want to snap your audience out of a false sense of security, this is the way to do it...and there was that whole "this is war, people die" speech at the beginning of the battle.

But what comes of this? How is the plot helped along? How do the characters grow? Roy was the plot. It's almost certain that things are about to get tangled, and it's very likely that the detour won't add very much to the story--not that I don't hope to be proven wrong. How can the characters develop from this? We get to see how the characters react to Roy's death. Want me to tell you? Durkon will be sad, stoic, and philosophical. V will be withdrawn. Elan will be inconsolable. Miss Starshine will find a way to deal with it. Belkar will probably just keep killing things. We already had the "team rallies behind thier leader" moment when Roy tore up the contracts. I don't think we need another one.

Yes, things had to get worse before they got better. That makes sense in terms of the story. Killing off Roy doesn't.

Honestly, if there was ever a strip to point to as an arguement for closing these forums, this is it. Giant, if you're reading this, let me say this. You need to write the story that you want to write. The story that best allows your characters to grow and develop. The story that flows out of what has come before. Not the one that will surprise the most people. Not the one that the fewest forum-goers thought would happen. The answer doesn't always have to be (d) none of the above. If the forum response to your strips is getting in the way of the plot development, it isn't the strip that should change.

Now, if this was supposed to happen all along, I suppose my entire post is moot, disregard it. But it doesn't feel like that to me, not right now. Keep a close eye on the strip over the next few days, forum-goers. Do the events following Roy's death make sense given what has happened so far? In retrospect, does Roy's death add something to the story that wasn't there before? If so, well, The Giant has shown up all the naysayers yet again. I hope this is the case, but at the moment, I can't say I'm optimistic.

EDIT: I missed the whole "The First Step" thing. Seems The Giant anticipated my objections, and is trying to reassure me that this is not, in fact, random. Thanks, whoever pointed that out, I'm a little less frusterated now. I also really like the whole "journey through the underworld" idea that's been suggested--very heroic.

[Quikngruvn]

Holy crap on a stick!

He'll get resurrected sooner or later. He's still in the employ of Hinjo (assuming he survives the battle) who, as ruler of Azure City (assuming it survives), has at his disposal clerics who can resurrect. They have the components already (see when they tried to resurrect Shojo).

So now the question is, how does Azure City survive the attack?

[Tobrian]

:smalleek: Le roi est mort - vive le roi?
Azure City lost a stalwart defender today. He leapt into the fray without hesitation or regard for his own life, and died in battle against a superior foe, worthy of a place in Valhalla.


Looks like I was right with my prediction about the Hero Journey. After the fight with the "dragon", the hero descends into the Underworld (sometimes metaphorical, sometimes real), meets the Goddess of Death or Wisdom nd re-emerges as The Hero Reborn.

Well well well... interesting. (If only the D&D system wasn't so keen on crushing all attempts at living up to the "Heroic Fantasy" genre under banal number-crunching.)

I'm more worried about the possibility that any moment now Redcloak will start blanketing the area with mass animate dead spells or something, and Roy's corpse will be in range...

...on the other hand, it looks like he landed behind (or to the side of) the enemy lines. Let's hope no ghoul finds him and takes him as a snack, or a Raise Dead won't work afterwards. Redcloak accidentally animating Roy as a sentient undead with turning resistance and then getting attacked by Roy would be hilarious, though. :smallwink:

Of course, even in death there are always heroic options: the Deathless (see Eberron setting, and Book of Exalted Deeds) and the Risen Martyr PrC (Book of Exalted Deeds). *cough* Blood oaths can be an odd thing, working beyond death...

(But just for the record, I really don't want Roy to become so completely consumed by his blood oath of vengeance that it is the only thing to drive him onward. Such characters become rather one-dimensional in a way since usually they have no further use after their goal is fulfilled. They're more suitable as NPCs.)

Edited to add:
From a gamer-geek meta-gaming standpoint I have only two things to say:
"Aw, the poor animals!" and
We all know what the reaction of 90% of male gamers playing a character like Roy would be, don't we? "Aw, crap, my fighter is dead? Wait... gamemaster, did the sword survive the fall? Please don't tell me my +5 sword shattered when it hit the ground! After all the stuff we went through to have it reforged!" Dead character can be revived, magic swords can't. :smallwink:

[mikeejimbo]

Wow, I expected him to break the talisman. The fact that he thought about it, but couldn't, just makes everything seem close-but-no-cigar. Definitely dramatic.

[Eriol]

My thoughts:

I think the "X"'s over the eyes kinda seal the deal that he is dead. DEAD. It's always been the definitive measure in this comic. That doesn't mean it's PERMANENT, but just that he is actually dead.
Somebody was wondering in one of the prediction threads whether or not one of the OOTS would ever die. That seems to be rather sealed now that the answer is YES.And one spoiler:
I think Roy won't score a True Rez, and will have to take whatever he can get, and the loss of stats will get him laughed at by Belkar.

[jindra34]

Average break DC on a masterwork amulet is like 30... i think...

[evil bob]

Even so, wouldn't 20d6 falling damage do it, or have I just gone too long without reading the rulebooks?

[jindra34]

Even so, wouldn't 20d6 falling damage do it, or have I just gone too long without reading the rulebooks?

oh... but the amulet is soo... light it probably only took 1d6 or 2d6 of damage...

[Atomisk]

I'm sure Hinjo will have him raised after this is though. But that is assuming that everyone doesn't die.

Which is a pretty big if.

[evil bob]

oh... but the amulet is soo... light it probably only took 1d6 or 2d6 of damage...


Meh, I had figured that at that height, it would probably reach terminal velocity, but you're right - that still probably would only do a few points of damage because of weight.

[Foeofthelance]

Alas, tis not the fall that kills; it's that sudden stop at the end.

[Bel_Bel]

Nooooooooooooooo! I don't want Roy to die! :smallfrown:

Giant! Please don't let Roy stay dead!

Pretty please? :smallfrown: