OOTS #444 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Shadic]

Man, those stupid things should have been there to save his fall! Stack up atop each other to cushion it even more!

How do you think the others will take it?

And why aren't they talking about resurrection!? Roy HAS to come back!

[jindra34]

The FLumps ARE BACK!!!! YEah perfect Joke!!!

[kapa]

awww :-(

poor haley

[1337_master]

He's dead jim...awesome title...

[skinkatlarge]

Great touch with the flumphs, haha! And the "does he have the X's in the eyes?" :smallbiggrin:

But I think I'm gonna cry a little when Elan finds out...

[Dabble]

Have to say, I'm sad that Roy is dead, but Love the Flumps!

It was also nice the way Durkon explained it to Haley.

Lets win this one for Roy!

[Brother_Hood]

Roy's dead, and Durkon's gone dense.

I'm depressed now.

[wormmm]

why are they acting like roy's really dead? oh goodness.

and i kinda hate my avatar now. where were you when roy needed you! :smallmad:

[thegreatmightynerd]

Durkon wasn't full of it when he said he was all about honor.

[Guildorn Tanaleth]

Poor flumphs. They'll feel so left out once they discover that they could have been crushed by yet another falling adventurer.

On an unrelated note, how long had Haley & Durkon been watching Roy when he hit the ground?

[knownaspirate]

*sigh*
i'll have to wait for friday. this wasnt what i was hoping for, but i suppose it needed to be said.
i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:

[Sinsie]

Great touch with the flumphs, haha! And the "does he have the X's in the eyes?" :smallbiggrin:

But I think I'm gonna cry a little when Elan finds out...

Agreed. It always touches me a bit when someone is affected by something this devestating. If Durkon had showed more emotion like Haley, that scene would've been more effective.

I guess we know who's wearing the pants in the party now though.

[ladysekhmetka]

Well... I thought that those particular monsters were gone for good o.O Though I don't think it would have helped that much...

[Hypothetical]

Classic, just classic.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Well, there's the confirmation, but still no catharsis. We'll just have to watch and see (and fill the boards with dozens of redundant speculation threads until Friday :smallbiggrin: ).

[NecroPaladin]

Heheheh, flumphs are like airbags in cars, except they get even less love.

[Helgraf]

Heh ... long live the flotation device monsters ... flumphs.

[Kuldace]

Chalk one point up for Haley. Her reaction (I failed him ----> vengeance) is the best.

[Demented]

Alas, poor Roy, alas!
That Lawful Good Flumph will never forgive him...itself.

[Daneel the Sane]

Wait... did they not get the memo?

[fwiffo]

No "Let's win so we can bring him back to life"??! What in Thor's beard got into Durkon?

[Sturmjaeger]

Poor Roy, hopefully a rez is coming soon.

[Sethis]

I called it :P They saw him fall and had a dramatic moment. Looks like the Giant reads the forums, that should clear up any weaning "He's not dead" concerns. Funny that Durkon thinks he hurt Xykon enough to, well, HURT him since thats partially what roy was beating himself up for during the fall.

[EvilElitest]

Damn flump bastards
from,
EE

[Gaelbert]

When cultures collide. Another nice one strip.

[Elcaz]

Good one. But can anyone read what it says on the blackboard in the final panel? Is it my monitor resolution or the white lines are just too thin?

[Professor Tanhauser]

Man, I can't believe it wasn't more like

Haley:"Durkon, gitchyer dwarf ass over there and ressurect him NOW, or so help me I'm gonna steal your hammer and sell it to an ORC!"

Durkon: "Ach, lass, no need ta get vile! I'm goin', I'm goin!"

[Ravenlord]

The return of the Flumphs (or however you spell 'em)... almost started to miss those guys. :)

[Jonrea]

She was really second in command? Since when?

[Kuldace]

why are they acting like roy's really dead? oh goodness.

and i kinda hate my avatar now. where were you when roy needed you! :smallmad:


Uh? Because he is? Just because people can be resurrected doesn't mean they shouldn't be grieved when they die. I mean, dying is pretty inconvinient.

[chibibar]

Haley, you can never fail me baby :)

[Casinodwarf]

:durkon: Shows us all what it's like to think like a dwarf.

Flumfs - "Wait - why do I feel like we were supposed to be somewhere?"
"Just eat your brunch."

Why does that feel so perfect? I will admit I cried in shock when I realized Roy died (he has the "X-X"), but how many Flumfs have to suffer to save the popular kids:wink:

[teratorn]

Great title. It's time for Haley to kick some ass.

[Professor Tanhauser]

Didn't the flumps of whatever get eaten by the what, displacer beasts?

[Abelard]

i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:

and Jonrea, too...


It's from "On the Origin of PCs", last page or two.

[Haruki-kun]

YES!!!!!!! FLUMPHS!!!!!!!!!!
Man.......Elan's not gonna take this well.....

[DougWykstra]

Great job showing the characters of Haley and Durkon. Haley blames herself (despite being with Elan, self-loathing still constitutes a major part of her personality), while Durkon accepts the idea of death in battle, and even sees some glory in Roy's fall. You don't see this side of Durkon too much, but it's definitely there. So yeah, masterful comic.

EDIT: Oh, and Haley has always been second in command. I think the closest we got to this in the online comic was Haley taking control of the group to rescue Elan after Roy refused. Also, notice that she and Roy seem to confer the most on what decisions the group should take.

[mikeejimbo]

Come now Rich, you do read the forums, at least a bit. That perfectly addressed everything.

Hehe, X's in the eyes.

I really do like this comic, especially Durkon's wisdom for Haley.

[wormmm]

Good one. But can anyone read what it says on the blackboard in the final panel? Is it my monitor resolution or the white lines are just too thin?

"Cliffport Cafe. Today's Specials: Egg White Omelette with Mimosas. 10gold."

[Great Dane]

Man, I can't believe it wasn't more like

Haley:"Durkon, gitchyer dwarf ass over there and ressurect him NOW, or so help me I'm gonna steal your hammer and sell it to an ORC!"

Durkon: "Ach, lass, no need ta get vile! I'm goin', I'm goin!"

She's a woman. They're emotional :smallwink:

[Turcano]

Wow. That was the exact opposite reaction than what most people were expecting.

[EntilZha]

She was really second in command? Since when?



Since getting herself appointed to that position in On the Origin of PC's

[Orzel]

Bah. No "cover me while I go ressurect him"?

And people miss Durkon?
Dwarves....

[Snipers_Promise]

A peice of me has died today. Stupid Flumphs.

[Demented]

Didn't the flumps of whatever get eaten by the what, displacer beasts?

Nah. Running gags have more plot immunity than villains, because they exist in meta-plot-reality. :smallcool:

[Kevlimin_Soulaxe]

*Doing my best newly-freed Neo impersonation*

No, this can't be. This isn't real. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


...resurrection?

[wormmm]

Uh? Because he is? Just because people can be resurrected doesn't mean they shouldn't be grieved when they die. I mean, dying is pretty inconvinient.

sorry, i meant, why are they talking like they're not going to bring him back. my bad! =)

[cavalier973]

I wonder what Durkon knows that we don't? Will Roy not be coming back? I guess the Giant got tired of the lawful good characters. Miko's fallen, Roy's dead. . . Watch your back, Hinjo!

[Felinoid]

I cackled like a witch when I saw the flumphs. That has got to be the best punchline in quite a while. :smallbiggrin:

[Alysar]

*sigh*
i'll have to wait for friday. this wasnt what i was hoping for, but i suppose it needed to be said.
i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:

Sabine is second in command of the Linear Guild, and she's Haley's evil opposite.

Of course, Thog is Roy's evil opposite and Nale is Elan's evil opposite....


Never mind

::sits down and shuts up::

[theinsulabot]

eh, this one really didn't do it for me. guess i was expecting something more meaningful after the hammer of last strip, this one seemed like a filler episode.

i think its maybe the 3rd for 4th comic i haven't liked, to be fair, thats still a darn good ratio though

[DrivinAllNight]

A great start to this new string on the story, and so many speculations seemed to pop up or get nullefied.
Awesome new beginning to this turn in the battle.

[Atheist_Cleric]

Well that's Haley and Durkon's reactions down, grief followed by determination and pride followed by encouragement. Hopefully in the next comic we'll see how the others take it, im hoping for some emotion from Elan, and something other than the predicted detatchment would be good for V.

[Axl_Rose]

lol I was wondering when they'd re-appear

[Shadic]

"Lass, ye cannae dwell on tha now. Yer second-in-command, tha maeans tha right now, ye're our leader."

Anybody notice how Durkon said that? I don't think that Durkon is willing to let Roy just rot.

Hopefully we see Roy back sooner than later, though.

[Dentarg]

*Holds up #1 foam finger for Xykon*

Goooo Evil Dudes!

Anywho, wow, a character death, and already the morale in the party has suffered a bit. Good think Durkon managed to smack some sense into Haley, but I sure as heck wasn't expecting her to break down like that.

Guess someone failed their system shock.

[Bel_Bel]

I think it would be stupid not to revive Roy after the battle (assuming they win).

Hopefully, Roy will be revived sooner or later.

Please don't let me down Rich! :smallfrown:

[Mad Scientist]

Awww. I was so excited for the new comic and now I'm all sad. . . *sniff* Poor Roy. Now it feels more real that he's dead because Haley and Durkon know.

[Lloyd]

*sigh*
i'll have to wait for friday. this wasnt what i was hoping for, but i suppose it needed to be said.
i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:

Actually, I disagree. As much debate as there was, as much as people thought otherwise, I think we all pretty much knew deep down that :roy: was dead.

And though the "showing of the character" for :haley: and :durkon: was well written, IMHO, the strip would have been better off continuing with the plotline of the battle. This strip kinda makes it feel like we've hit the "Pause" button on the battle, and this just doesn't feel like the right time for that.

All in all, Giant, great strip for character development, wrong time for it.

[Tharr]

The stealing from rich made bit of laugh since Rich is the writer.
Great no price tag on his one telescope.
Do the flumphs eats weird egg food or was that just on sale.
For the next comic the monsters eat Roy with some pancake material.

[Tredrick]

Resurrection takes 10 minutes to cast. Unless you think Redcloak will agree to a truce so Durkon can raise Roy, it will not be case during the battle. First you avenge him, then you check your resources and see what you can do about death.

[Khantalas]

Felt... satisfied. And enjoyed the comic. And the flumphs.

Uhh... heart beating too fast, can't think of anything much. Will post more later, after reading it again.

[cavalier973]

why are they acting like roy's really dead? oh goodness.

and i kinda hate my avatar now. where were you when roy needed you! :smallmad:

They are using language that indicates a certain finality to Roy's death. Maybe he won't be raised from the dead, after all. Maybe resurrection is not possible, after all. I mean, the D&D rules allow for it, and the characters have talked about resurrecting this dead character or that one, but have we actually seen, in the OOTS universe, someone being resurrected?

[DarthMuffin]

I really hope he's coming back! It just wouldn't be the same without him. I'm totally hooked now :smalleek:

[JackShandy]

I'm not surprised that Durkon reacted the way he did. Remember how happy he was when the Oracle told him he was going to go home only after he was dead?

[flamingoptimus]

I remembered that Shojo did mention that :haley: is the 2nd-in-command of OoTS ...

Read here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0289.html)

Other than that ... somehow i think :roy: didn't really die ...

no that it can't be truth ..... :smalleek: :smalleek: :smalleek:

[SteveMB]

Maybe resurrection is not possible, after all. I mean, the D&D rules allow for it, and the characters have talked about resurrecting this dead character or that one, but have we actually seen, in the OOTS universe, someone being resurrected?
They wouldn't have bothered trying to resurrect Shojo if they didn't think it would work -- in fact, nobody but Belkar realized why it didn't.

[Blackeagle]

She was really second in command? Since when?

Since On the Origin of PCs.

[NeonRonin]

I have to admit at first I was a little taken aback by Durkon's reaction(or lack thereof), but I thought about it for a bit and I'm not really so surprised now. There have been countless cultures that praise warriors who die in battle- the Spartans, and in some cases even samurai, so it doesn't surprise me that dwarven culture might take such a viewpoint on combat death. 'He died doing his duty, with honor, and he will be grieved at the proper time. Right now, though, we've got a war to win, so don't let his efforts be in vain.'

And Durkon did make that point pretty clear to Haley- and I don't blame her one bit for reacting the way she did. I'd probably be the same way myself.

Oh, and one last point... whose job was it to dial the flumphs and tell them where to stand in the battle? Obviously that call wasn't made, the flumphs were thus absent, and someone is going to get fired over this!!!

:smallbiggrin: Good strip, Rich.

[Rygar]

His best friend is cleric. I doubt this is final.

[Zakama]

I think Durkon knows that Roy will get rezed, so thats why he doesn't seem sad. Or maybe he's just made of sterner stuff then Haley. Then again, if he was happy when he heard he was going to die, he wouldn't care if Roy died. But anyway, lets hope that cleric that tried to raise Shojo is still around!

EDIT: wow, 4 posts while i was writing this!

[cavalier973]

They wouldn't have bothered trying to resurrect Shojo if they didn't think it would work.

I was thinking about that, too. Belkar theorized that Shojo's resurrection was unsuccessful because Shojo didn't want it.

But what if the Snarl is messing up resurrection magic? I'm wondering if (and I mentioned this somewhere else) the entire OOTS team will have to die in order to face the Snarl head on.

[Rainspattered]

Dwarves are stoic, yo.

[Varian7]

I loved the "Does he...does he have x's for eyes?" quote. Also, depending on the spell cast, Roy might still have to make a constitution save to be able to come back.

[Innis Cabal]

well it wouldnt be a good story if someone didnt die i guess..though why couldnt it have been Elan

[thegreatmightynerd]

well it wouldnt be a good story if someone didnt die i guess..though why couldnt it have been Elanbecause Elan has to live happily ever after

[lovelyluthien]

Oh my, Belkar will go mad with joy... He managed to cause a death by giving Roy the ring of jumping...

[Quikngruvn]

Heh. That should put to rest whether Haley is Chaotic Good or not. No Chaotic Neutral I know of would ever act like that....

Durkon's right, though. Now's not the time to raise Roy-- now's the time to win the battle for Azure City.

[cavalier973]

Has anyone in the strip been verifiably resurrected? I know they talked about the transport wizard, and they tried, and failed, to raise Shojo. . .

[fractal]

because Elan has to live happily ever after
No, we just know that he'll be happy when his story ends. Not the same thing at all. :smallwink:

[malakim2099]

because Elan has to live happily ever after

That doesn't mean he can't get killed and raised later himself, though.

And Durkon is a dwarf. War first, raising later. I'm pretty sure that Hinjo, at least, will try to get him raised after the battle, if it is possible.


I still maintain that a res'd Roy riding a res'd Ancient Silver Dragon into battle would be an awesome panel. :smallbiggrin:

Eventually, of course. But I suspect that Roy isn't going to be dead AND gone for long (we need his afterlife story! C'mon!)

[Nogard]

Does he have the X's in his eyes?

That just cracks me up... which is good because otherwise this would be pretty depressing (not that i dont believe he will be rezed, but still...)

[Brian]

Rich did mention in his commentary in "No Cure for the Paladin Blues" that one of the main characters (Roy, Haley, V, Durkon, Elan, or Belkar) would have something change about the way they are drawn, permanently...

[rgoodfellow]

I waited all day to read this, jumped on it as soon as it came up and now I got to wait 'til Friday for more. Anyone else sitting in this boat with me?

[Eaquae Legit]

They are using language that indicates a certain finality to Roy's death. Maybe he won't be raised from the dead, after all. Maybe resurrection is not possible, after all. I mean, the D&D rules allow for it, and the characters have talked about resurrecting this dead character or that one, but have we actually seen, in the OOTS universe, someone being resurrected?

I believe Eugene was ressurected a few times before he decided to stay dead.

[EYanyo]

Wow... mentioning the x's and the flumphs... It's like taking the major discussion from the forums and actually using it! Exxxcellent work, Giant.

[Shadeogrey]

FANTASTIC!!!

"And now, young Miss Starshine, *higher octave* you will die!"

But seriously, great work, Xykon!
All he needs is the head of Roy's sister, and he would have collected a set.
How cool is that!

[Xenon]

love the punchline :) heh

[Tach13]

Funny end to a rather sad comic. Durkon's reaction dead on where it should have been though. You want to fight your way through all those Hobgoblins and undead to get to Roy, and in the process leave the city less well defended? Not the time yet.

[Blue_C.]

But what if the Snarl is messing up resurrection magic? I'm wondering if (and I mentioned this somewhere else) the entire OOTS team will have to die in order to face the Snarl head on.

I feel certain that someone, in the seventy odd years since the Snarl tear appeared above Azure City, would have noticed if resurrection magic no longer worked. The place has an order of paladins and clerics on call, after all.

I also feel that this comic lacked a bit. To have that many comics in a row that featured bigger than life acts and depictions run up against this seems odd. Anti-climatic. It might also be that Haley's reaction seemed a little out of character. She's not exactly known for big emotional moments, and when she does have a "moment" it takes quite a bit of time for her to work up to it. I would have expected her to still be in shock, not tearful.

[caranha]

"Do you see the X in his eyes?"

Hmmm, I like fourth wall jokes, but I guess this one went a bit too far. The X are clues for the readers, the characters being aware of them is does not work for me :-/

Besides that, nice comic.

[Fawkes]

The sad thing is, this is a really well-written strip, but I can't laugh at it. Not with Roy dead. Maybe, if this blows over, and Roy comes back, I can look back and enjoy this, but right now, I'm really just depressed. I really love this comic, but Roy's death just seems too... real.

Please, Rich. Bring him back. I don't think I'll be able to laugh at the Order's antics anymore without Roy there.

[musicnerd]

Well, I had kind of a choked up laugh at the end. :smalleek:

[Braden]

Sad to see roy die. I laughed really hard at the pendant thing, but with another strip with him dead, I hope he comes back.

[Eromreven]

Oh, come now!

Stop WAITING for Roy to be ressurected. It's not happening. He's out in some random-ass place, far out, and in order to get to his corpse they'd have to, oh, I don't know...FIGHT BACK AN ENTIRE ZOMBIE/GOBLIN ARMY.

Which they're not going to do. Why? Because in a war of attrition, the Undead win every time. This is a war of attrition. You don't think so? Remember: They're DEFENDING Azure City. Only Belkar has stepped FOOT outside the walls, and even he did it by accident. And as we all know, Redcloak/Xykon would never, ever, ever order a retreat. For one, they hate the Hobgoblins. For two, everyone that dies is a zombie just waiting to be made. Why retreat?

Of course, if we want to get meta about it, Azure City is not the last gate. That means they lose from the start.

Roy isn't getting ressurected. If anyone is recovering the corpse, it's the Evil Army.

[Lizard Lord]

I have to admit at first I was a little taken aback by Durkon's reaction(or lack thereof), but I thought about it for a bit and I'm not really so surprised now. There have been countless cultures that praise warriors who die in battle- the Spartans, and in some cases even samurai, so it doesn't surprise me that dwarven culture might take such a viewpoint on combat death.

I thought more as the fact that the Norse are one of those people that praise warriors that fell in battle, and Durkon worships a Norse god.

[SandroTheMaster]

Nice reaction from :durkon: , it's not often someone remembers everyone else how dwarves see life. Before all, they are a race of warcrafting, the art of war, fighters and such, and second to that, DISCIPLINED fighters.

The dwarves are more inclined to war than any hobgoblin or chinese revolutionary. Even though it is just to defend themselves, they defend themselves against nasty things. From all usual races, they are the ones who dwell deeper into the earth, and, 55 out of 56 fantasy worlds, the nastier living creatures live down there with them. The death of a dwarf in combat must be quite common, so, even with the long life spam, if their society didn't had this view over death, it would crumble into chaos.

Maybe I went a bit far... well :haley: second on command? Why not someone else? :elan: ... err... would he have what it takes to order someone? :vaarsuvius: is smart, smart is good for leadership, but... :vaarsuvius: is way too smart. He would take so much time giving the orders that, when he would be done, the group would be dead. :durkon: is wise, which is nearly as good as inteligence in a leader. But... I think he has some issues with communication. :belkar: as a leader would... wait, did :belkar: and a function that requires a minimal of wits and group management abilities were found in the same sentence? HAHAHAHA...hehehe...heh...meh.

[Nogard]

I waited all day to read this, jumped on it as soon as it came up and now I got to wait 'til Friday for more. Anyone else sitting in this boat with me?

EVERYONE is in the same boat as you. In fact, i predict we might capsize soon from the vessel being overloaded. :smallsmile:

[Darkxarth]

Oh man, the best part of the entire comic is the title. Masterfully done. :smallbiggrin:

[doliemaster]

Yay Roy is dead 'dances happily' now for some unabridged OOTS insanity without mister killjoy!

[Geekus Maximus]

Oh my, Belkar will go mad with joy... He managed to cause a death by giving Roy the ring of jumping...

Yes! I was just thinking about the oracle's prediction as to Belkar causing someone's death. I remembered Roy was mentioned in the list, but forgot about Belkar giving the ring to go pursue Xykon (even though, technically, a zombie dragon shouldn't be able to fly....but then control weather shouldn't be able to deliver massive sonic damage. yay DM's perogative!)

I have to say i applaud Rich's ability to deliver all sorts of story-telling goodness in his work. It's easy to suspend disbelief here, even with a stick figure world that frequently metagames. I love how his characters are so well-developed, and exist in a world with consequences, where the hero doesn't always break the talisman at the very last second to be saved--although future booty talisman makers would be wise to perforate their wares, and avoid materials such as adamantine, mithril and steel.

[Legendary]

Haley is second-in-command because of the prequel book.

And I'm quite glad to see that Haley had a HUMAN reaction, instead of whining that the rezzing would cost her gold. It annoys me so much that people assume she's more 2D than Belkar.

Hello, she spent several comics chatting with the goth part of her mind. She showed that her personality was starting to fragment under the strain of having no one to talk to, she showed she cared about human beings with the dirt farmers and when they tried to stop the assassins from blowing up the inn. She is the most compassionate member of the group, if you ask me.

Well, maybe Elan beats her, but the rest are lacking.

[Tobimaro]

Bah. No "cover me while I go ressurect him"?

And people miss Durkon?
Dwarves....


I would not expect that to happen while a rampaging army of hobgoblins and undead are right outside Azure City. Should they survive the fight, then he should be able to handle the resurrection just fine.

Besides, Roy might be willing to come back at that time, especially after having to deal with his father. :smallbiggrin:

And Tredrick is correct to point out that Resurrection takes ten minutes to cast, making that rather difficult in this changing battle, even if a high-enough level caster remembered to pray for it that morning, as opposed to using that same spell slot for some healing (maybe a mass cure wounds spell). And that spell is quicker.

[Dervag]

This is a really good comic. I didn't laugh at the end, but I did smile. And since the character I admire most bought it one strip ago, that's a very good job.


Stop WAITING for Roy to be ressurected. It's not happening. He's out in some random-ass place, far out, and in order to get to his corpse they'd have to, oh, I don't know...FIGHT BACK AN ENTIRE ZOMBIE/GOBLIN ARMY.Actually, a quick run to recover the body is at least feasible. If any arcane casters have Overland Flight spells ready, someone could probably fly out, grab Roy's body, and play escape&evade until he got back to the walls.


Why? Because in a war of attrition, the Undead win every time. This is a war of attrition.Not necessarily. The undead will usually win a war of attrition, but in this war if a zombie goes down they stay down. So, at the absolute limit, assuming that the bad guys have enough evil clerics with Animate Dead spells on hand to zombify and reanimate their entire army, they have to kill every person in the opposing army twice.

That's going to be really really hard, but not something that we can say a priori to be impossible.

Wars of attrition are all about the casualty ratio. As long as the casualty ratio is favorable, you can win a war of attrition against anything.


Redcloak/Xykon would never, ever, ever order a retreat. For one, they hate the Hobgoblins. For two, everyone that dies is a zombie just waiting to be made. Why retreat?At some point, the hobgoblins will probably rout, but that could take a long time.


Maybe I went a bit far... well :haley: second on command? Why not someone else? :elan: ... err...Please to not be using the emoticon faces as names, thankyouverymuch.

Your argument is excellent; I just find the format hard to read.

[Callista]

The "Darn, he died, now make with the Rez" reaction is more of a player thing than a character thing.

In-game, consider:
--Durkon has likely never cast a Raise Dead spell before.
--He's probably the highest level cleric around, being an adventurer, and has likely never seen anybody else raised, either.
--Yeah, people come back from the dead--but it only happens when a cleric especially favored by his deity asks for a miracle. And even then, sometimes it doesn't work.

In-game, death is real and scary, and Resurrection a chancy thing that leaves you drained and weak, if you come back at all.

Basically, it's about as bad in the D&D world as it is in our world for someone to be in a deep coma. He could come back... but you don't know if he will, and he may never be the same.

Also, DMs who kill PCs so often that Resurrection becomes trivial should be shot, and I will personally hand out the hammer-guns with which to do the shooting.

[Fineous Orlon]

Oh my, Belkar will go mad with joy... He managed to cause a death by giving Roy the ring of jumping...

Yeah, I think that's a...

...prophecy-turned-disappointment for Belkar. Belkar did cause Roy's death, by giving him the ring, and Roy was one of the people, that at the time, the Belkster wanted to cause the death of. However, Belkar did not ask if he was going to personally enjoy the method of that caused death.

Belkar caused Roy's death by giving him the ring. Belkar did not get to kill Roy himself, or particularly enjoy it; well, Belkar did not ask those questions of the prophet.

Disappointment-by-prophecy.

At least he made money off of it. Maybe he'll live to enjoy the money, and being free of Roy.

I'm not taking any bets on that.

[Lauren]

The real question is, did Roy hit the ground as hard as Haley just hit the fourth wall?

[Fineous Orlon]

This is a really good comic. I didn't laugh at the end, but I did smile. And since the character I admire most bought it one strip ago, that's a very good job.

With ya, there.

Not necessarily. The undead will usually win a war of attrition, but in this war if a zombie goes down they stay down. So, at the absolute limit, assuming that the bad guys have enough evil clerics with Animate Dead spells on hand to zombify and reanimate their entire army, they have to kill every person in the opposing army twice.

That's going to be really really hard, but not something that we can say a priori to be impossible.

Well, the Animate Dead spell has a material component, a black onyx worth at least 25 gold for each body animated, to be placed in the mouth, if I remember correctly. Plus, you need the casters who have memorized it in spell-slots, or spontaneous casters that have the spell-slot capacity.

There is an upper limit to how many times it can be cast, and also how many dead can be animated.

That fact may come up in the strip.

[Timespike]

Looks like Roy is going to stay dead.

[Nightmarenny]

"Do you see the X in his eyes?"

Hmmm, I like fourth wall jokes, but I guess this one went a bit too far. The X are clues for the readers, the characters being aware of them is does not work for me :-/

Besides that, nice comic.
....Thats not a meta-joke. The characters arn't drawn as stick figures, they are stick figures. Its not a clue. Its an actual, physical sign of death in their world.

[E-Rock]

On an unrelated note, how long had Haley & Durkon been watching Roy when he hit the ground?

I'm sure an exploding dragon above the battlefield would catch your attention. I'd guess they saw the whole fall.

As to why no one's planning to run out and bring Roy back; they have to defend Azure City first. How pissed would Roy be if they brought him back and told him that they abandoned the wall and let :xykon: take the city?

[Meshakhad]

I have an idea for Elan. Haley catches him just as hobgoblins close on them both (Durkon is elsewhere). Elan breaks down, and takes Haley with him. Then, just as the hobgoblins close in, their tears turn to anger.

Result: Elan/Haley lover-warrior pwnage scene. Elan rips through the hobgoblins with his rapier, Haley unleashes death from her bow.

[Twisted Otaku]

*sigh*
i'll have to wait for friday. this wasnt what i was hoping for, but i suppose it needed to be said.
i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:



Probably because :vaarsuvius: would take way tooo much time to explain/concoct plans. And well :durkon: ... well he's no match for a tree... Hailey is a straight thinker and if anything else would put survival at the forefront of her thoughts.

[Professor Tanhauser]

You know if this is the end of roy it means belkar and V made much more contributions to the battle for AC than he did.

Even tho he did look cool leaping up to fight boney.

[The Corinthian]

Masterful work, Giant. I must say, I really disagree with most of the criticisms agianst this strip. For one, I think the juxtaposition of the over-the-top battle scenes with this low-key, but impacting character development works well. And second, I genuinely hope Roy doesn't get resurrected. At all. Not because I don't like him, but because that would really steal the thunder of the past two strips. Certainly there are some good jokes one can run about Resurrection, but I think the strip will be worse off for it in the long term. If he returns,(And he shouldn't, I think) have it be as a revenant or ghost to take vengeance on Xykon and stop the Snarl.

[happyturtle]

I called it: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2468063&postcount=38)


Haley will have to hold it together for Elan, and she will also have her inner voices telling her that it's her fault and if she had only done _______ then it would have turned out okay.

The flumphs are my least favorite characters in the entire oots-verse, so they spoiled the moment for me. Oh well. Roll on Friday.

[Demented]

If we have to keep Roy around as a ghost in the same fashion that we had to keep Haley around as an aphasiac....

People will be begging for a high-value diamond.

[Shatteredtower]

You know if this is the end of roy it means belkar and V made much more contributions to the battle for AC than he did.

Even tho he did look cool leaping up to fight boney.Well, he did kill the death knight and delay Xykon for a little while. I'm not sure how many lives that saved -- probably no more than one (during another pass on the walls for that bite attack), but we'll never know.

As for raising Roy, I can't seem him taking this lying down, if given the option. What we've seen of the guy and his development shows him as the sort that isn't going to dodge the call to save the world, or to get anyone else to do it in his place.

Good comic. I liked it. Mind you, the first thought out of my head was, "You evil man," before I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

[Bilgore]

Maybe I went a bit far... well :haley: second on command? Why not someone else? The others voted her to that position in origin of the PCs.


:belkar: as a leader would... wait, did :belkar: and a function that requires a minimal of wits and group management abilities were found in the same sentence? HAHAHAHA...hehehe...heh...meh.

See my sig :smallwink:

[Brawl]

Roy, we salute you. Maybe He haunt someone :) And white, squid-thingys rock :D (aka Flumphs)

[Elphilm]

The flumphs are my least favorite characters in the entire oots-verse, so they spoiled the moment for me.

I'll go slink into the corner now...

Anyway, a nice comic! Balances out the last few hair-raising strips.

[Bilgore]

....Thats not a meta-joke. The characters arn't drawn as stick figures, they are stick figures. Its not a clue. Its an actual, physical sign of death in their world.

The proof (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0339.html) is in the last panel.

[Luvlein]

I'm not surprised that Durkon reacted the way he did. Remember how happy he was when the Oracle told him he was going to go home only after he was dead?
Exactly.
To all those that expected Durkon to make a hasty rezz: Durkon would not steal Thor's gift, a heroe's death, away from his friend. He would not urge him airily to come back. Don't you know a thing about dwarves?

[JetTheOne]

I'm surprised to see how many people have jumped out to criticize Durkon. Durkon sees beyond the fact of Roy being dead is a bad thing, there is more to Roy's death than that. It seems that some of my fellow Playgroundians cannot though, so I will try to explain it. Roy died, true, but he did not just die, he sacrificed his life for the greater good. He knew what he had to do, regardless of Xykon's words, level difference or his odds in the fight. This sense of duty struck Durkon as commendable, since he died doing his job, just like any dwarf would. Considering how xenophobic dwarves tend to be, it is a MASSIVE honor for Durkon to even compare a human (Roy) to a dwarf. Durkon will continue with this war just the way he would expect Roy to if he (Durkon) were to die. I bet if Durkon had died in this (or any fight), Roy would have known that Durkon would not want people to feel sad (at the moment) but to continue on fighting and serving the greater good to win the battle so Durkon's dying would not be in vein.

I do hope my fellow Playgroundians take the time to read this and understand my words and not disrespect or hate Durkon for how he acts.

[H. Zee]

Well, that's Haley's and Durkon's reactions dealt with. What about the others? I'm guessing it'll be...

Elan: Noooo! Rooyyy! *breaks down into tears*

V: I may not show any exterior signs of pain or remorse, but believe me, I am crying inside.

Belkar: OH MY GOD!!! ... Is my ring of jumping OK?!

[Green Bean]

So close, yet so far

[Lolzords]

I bet in the next comic we're gonna see Belkar wander over to Roy, see reflections of the body in Belkar's eyes then Belkar says:

:belkar: Suhweet.

[Pantler]

Durkon's reaction was a bit odd for a human, but I guess a dwarf could think that way. But Haley? Come on, unless she's fishing for roleplaying XP she shouldn't be acting like that. I mean, she is perfactly aware of how common a Resurrection spell can be. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0399.html) I can understand her shock in the first moment, but later it should be more like "Let's win this battle so we can resurrect im". I think.
As for me, this strip didn't work. Neither plot nor humor, and the characters' emotions didn't really seem convincig. Oh well, waiting untill Friday.

[Aren]

Maybe Roy can now go give his Dad a piece of his mind, face to face!
Come back to us soon Roy. :(

[Caractacus]

Spelling error: "ignominious"

[Dread]

As for me, this strip didn't work. Neither plot nor humor, and the characters' emotions didn't really seem convincig. Oh well, waiting untill Friday.

I agree. Showing the reactions of those particular members of the order might be crucial for the plot later on, though. Still, I think the quality of the strip can not live up to the Giant's usual standards.
Well, not every strip can please every reader. That would be insane.
Looking forward to the next one!

[V Junior]

Will Haley be willing to fork over cash for a diamond?

[Aiani]

I am still feeling sad about Roy but the joke at the end was pretty hilarious.

[The Glitter Ninja]

I have nothing to say here but FLUMPHS! Also: mimosas.

[Vargtass]

You know if this is the end of roy it means belkar and V made much more contributions to the battle for AC than he did.

Even tho he did look cool leaping up to fight boney.

He also incapacitated the zombie dragon, "forcing" Xykon to dispose of it permanently.

[RMS Oceanic]

A perfect Dwarven reaction from Durkon. I don't think he has no intention of getting Roy revived. He's just lawful enough to see the bigger picture. Win battle/thwart Lich first, save friend later. He'd never abandon his post in battle. Don't think him heartless because of his culture.

Haley's reaction is cool as well, showing how much her self loathing has a grip on her personality. She'll have lots of character development yet!

[Pepz]

it really surprised me that neither of them even suggested a resurrection spell....ok, durkon explained that he thought it was a good death, so he might be argued to think the dead should stay dead (at least Roy ) ...but Haley? I think Haley should have at least thought about it...until of course someone would have mentioned the cost :)

and to all the people saying Roy wasn't dead....the title should give you enough of a hint of what the giant's thinking about this ;)

[Last_resort_33]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Those damned Flumphes... oh yeah, and Xykon probably had something to do with it too

[johnnyriot999]

After reading that strip I have come to the conclusion that was not Hailey, but rather emotionally screwed-up doppelganger.! :smalleek:

Seriously though, if losing all her gold caused her to be unable to speak and seeing the leader of her party dead causes her to spout cliches ("Let's win the battle for insert dead peron's name here"), then this girl is more messed up than her multiple personalities give her credit for.

This strip just didnt do it for me either. Not bad though considering the only other arc that left me this dissatisfied was the kobold oracle one. It makes me look foward to friday's that much more though.

[TheAnimal]

OHNOES! :smalleek:

[K'tai]

I bet in the next comic we're gonna see Belkar wander over to Roy, see reflections of the body in Belkar's eyes then Belkar says:

:belkar: Suhweet.

Actually I envision something more like this:
While Haley and Durkon are telling the others and kicking Hobgoblin fang, Belkar makes his way towards the fallen Roy, slashing his way through the Hobgoblins hordes. As he gets near Roy's body we get a close up on Belkar's face. His eyes fill with tears as he gazes at the dead fighter. He stands a moment, then tips his head back and yells...."CRAP!!!! I wanted to do that! I am so gonna kill whoever's responsible..."
...Or something like that.

[Fingolfin]

Ah, poor Roy with X's on his eyes :smallfrown: Where were those damn living trampolines he ought to fall into hehe :smallsmile: Good comic.

[carais]

First, Durkon's reaction is quite perfect for him. It so matches his sense of duty, just compare this to his explanation why he's happy about the prophecy that he'll return home posthumously. If I would have to choose one word for Durkon, it would be duty.

Second, I'm wondering why people are always talking of resurrection. What's the problem with the faster and cheaper Raise Dead?

Third, I understand that the material component for both of those spells is not required to be a single diamond, just diamonds with a collective value of 5 or 10k gp. Making the whole thing not exactly cheap and easy, but much easier to fulfill than finding a solitaire big enough. Did I get that right? I assume using one (ridiculously) large gem was done for artistic/aesthetic reasons.

[Solmage]

Very Funny. And yet oooh soo sad :(

[Shadeogrey]

A pity Xykon is still in the air.
A better lich would have animated Roy into a wight/zombie/deathknight and made him fight his former allies...
Funny AND cruel, and against the humans defenders, the psychological effect is efficient too!!!
At the same time Belkar would've no problems killing this ex-Roy and justifying it.
Like I said, pity...

[Albion]

:smallfrown: Oh, rats... the mourning.
...the wisdom of Durkon makes the world endurable. He's a necessity.
Lass, listen to me. LISTEN! :smallsmile:
He didn't need to slap or smack or jostle Haley though. This nae sticksoapopera ain't.

It looks so childishly innocently helplessly SAD when a stick figure cries!

[katana2665]

"X's on the eyes"? ...oh please...lol...now where's my eraser?

[Ruyn]

Rich did mention in his commentary in "No Cure for the Paladin Blues" that one of the main characters (Roy, Haley, V, Durkon, Elan, or Belkar) would have something change about the way they are drawn, permanently...

Yeah but I believe that was Elan's change of clothing after his jailbreak.

As for the Durkon/Haley exchange, if they don't have good leadership for the battle they're not likely to survive. Durkon is ensuring Haley has her attention where it needs to be. and if that involves saying things about honouring his sacrifice, at least it's more likely to pull her out of shock than saying "get it together before we lose another party member"

[Tharr]

People getting upset over the possibly not permanent death of character.
Do not watch any news or then real any read comics its happens alot.
The only sad thing is that some kids read this and might be confused.
For once I think reading Start of Darkness might be some Xykon past.
Many villians turn out having torn past like Vader for example had this.
Having Xykon reminded me of Thanos who really was tormented as child.
Prehaps good will come out from the ashes of evil as we known from history.

By the way Durkon is happy Thor is back in Marvel this July for good.
Having Thog happy with World War Hulk in May as well.

[Hypothetical]

Actually I envision something more like this:
While Haley and Durkon are telling the others and kicking Hobgoblin fang, Belkar makes his way towards the fallen Roy, slashing his way through the Hobgoblins hordes. As he gets near Roy's body we get a close up on Belkar's face. His eyes fill with tears as he gazes at the dead fighter. He stands a moment, then tips his head back and yells...."CRAP!!!! I wanted to do that! I am so gonna kill whoever's responsible..."
...Or something like that.

Actually I think :belkar: is going to find :roy: 's body, and get pissed that someone else got to kill him. He's then going to drag :roy: s body back to the city so that :roy: can get rezzed, so that :belkar: will have another chance at him.

[kalo]

o man i imagine elan responding to the death of roy ''elan colaps'' or

-elan ''ROY!, wait? why dont you go revive him durkon?''

-durkon ''co's... i ain't thinke'd about that!''

-belkar ''yes! the command word is gone with roy's death only thing i cn do now is keep roy from reviving.''

-aley shakes durkon ''revive him now!''

of course this is what should happen but if u want u can make roy become a zombie for xykon and redcloak hehe what a turn

[Caelestion]

There's a spelling error on the café blackboard. It says "omlette", rather "omelette". Darn seaside cafés - their owners can't spell for toffee! :)

[Tharr]

The only thing Belkar will say is Xykon you Son of Lich stole my kill here.

[TheJustWiseSage]

Will Haley be willing to fork over cash for a diamond?

Why bother? You're not thinking like a rogue...

She'll know that they were waving around a 5000gp diamond trying to raise Lord Shojo. It wasn't used up for the spell, and as they were going to use it up for a resurrection spell, I'm sure they won't mind if it's used for another resurrection spell, I'll just borrow it off them.....
oots0410.html (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0410.html)

Of course, if she was anywhere in the vicinity when they were waving it around, she might have "accidently" pick it up .....

As to the subject being willing, by the time Roy gets resurrected, his dad's probably chewed his ear off telling him that he was a stupid big dumb fighter, who should have waited for Julia, so much so that dropping a level or too wouldn't be that much of a hardship to avoid his dad.

[B9anders]

hehe. The flumps never get old. Terrific blast from the past.

[cavalier973]

I believe Eugene was ressurected a few times before he decided to stay dead.

Was that in the Origin of PCs?

[RMS Oceanic]

Yes.
Eugene tells Roy that he's dying.
:roy:: That's it? You've died like six times already, mainly since your two best friend are Clerics, so just get Uncle (Can't Remember) to resurrect you and leave me alone.
Eugene: This time I'm dying of old age, smarty-pants!

[cavalier973]

I know what's going to happen: Celia's Talisman will be broken, somehow. Celia appears and sees Roy, dead. In a cry of rage and anguish, Celia takes to the skies, flying faster than anyone thought possible. She flies around the world opposite to its rotation, numerous times, actually making the planet spin backwards, and causing time itself to reverse. After a while of doing this, she flies the other direction, causing time to return to its normal flow. She returns to the battlefield, only to see Roy go SPLAT!, because she juuuust missed him. . .

She'll try this several times, with each time Roy going SPLAT!, until Roy is falling, with his arms folded and a scowl on his face, saying "You know, Celia, you really ought to. . ." SPLAT!

[kukn]

After the thunderstrike of the previous strip, this one is appropriate - a pause in battle and time where the characters come to terms with Roy's fall.
I hope to see Belkar's reactions...

[Habzial]

:durkon: Shows us all what it's like to think like a dwarf.

Flumfs - "Wait - why do I feel like we were supposed to be somewhere?"
"Just eat your brunch."

Why does that feel so perfect? I will admit I cried in shock when I realized Roy died (he has the "X-X"), but how many Flumfs have to suffer to save the popular kids:wink:I thought it was great when Roy died. It seemed perfect to me, too. Besides the refreshing lack of deus ex machina, it fits my mindset as a role player.

I've noticed that the more I got into RPing, the more important the death of my characters became. I mean they're going to die eventually, so they may as well die to something besides a bad decision followed by crappy rolling (while staying IC-appropriate). Naturally the blaze-of-glory mentality of dwarves is highly appealing to me. It seems a number of other dwarf players tend to have a similar mindset that eliminates any desire to play a tall, fair-skinned character with perfect hair and a love of poetry.

Personally, I'd love to have a character go out like Roy did. Fighting a lich 8 levels more experienced... atop a flying zombie dragon... then falling to a hideous, crater-smashing death after striking a blow for the team. Magnificent! My characters should be so lucky. As it stands, I'm probably going to inadvertantly kill my shaman with physical drain from overcasting... :smallannoyed:


Predictions: Roy spends time in one of the afterlives or another...
... while Haley is forced to fight his zombiefied corpse. Zombiefyed? How do you spell that...?

[Choas_Dragoon]

That bit at the end made the strip for me. Lots of text.

[Giscard76]

Roy's dead, and Durkon's gone dense.

I'm depressed now.


Not Dense... he's just being very Dwarvan or posibly Klingon.

[TroyXavier]

till the last panel, it felt rather chatty, but the flumph scene was priceless.

[Habzial]

Oops, forgot to say my opinion on this issue as a whole! I thought it was absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure why people are getting so upset that Roy's death was treated with humor. Shojo's death had some incredibly funny lines.

"It seems... not everyone agrees with your assessment..."

"YOU KILLED THE OLD GUY WITH THE CAT?!?"

Oh man that series of episodes cracked me up...

[Kriel]

I can only imagine V's reaction. He may keep his emotions in check, but he'll probably show his grief and/or rage by unleashing magic Armageddon on the invading forces.

Hmm... I wonder if the OotS would get a circumstance bonus due to Roy's death, what with the whole "avenging Roy" thing... If so, I imagine it'd be a considerable amount.

[KingDragon]

I dunno... I'm dubious of Roy's mortality in this situation. For a main character it seemed a bit... abrupt...

I mean; even though there was foreshadowing: *fsshhh* 'waaahh!' *boomp* -dead- seems a bit.. well.. unresolved?

For the deaths of other main characters, like Shojo, there was a lot of tension around the time before they died (and similar when Haley or Elan- I forget which- thought they were going die, Haley was getting all emotional and about to tell Elan that she loved him). Of course the tension might have come because there were people about at the time to be activly upset...

[Baalzebub]

Good strip, I can't wait to see the other oots reactions.

[kow8675309]

Ya i bet he is going to come back im just trying to figure out how... and it wouldn't be a smart move to kill him off right....right?

[Blaznak]

I really have been enjoying this series. I think Rich has dug deep and come up with a really polished gem of a story. Very nicely done.

I do wish the resturant sign was a bit clearer - Egg white omelets with WHAT exactly?

Later!

[LordVader]

Damn you white squid-thingies! Why weren't you there? WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE?! WHY?!? Also, isn't Durkon planning to rez him? He is capable of it, but I didn't get the impression that he was going to.

[Shadow8472]

Look folks, :roy: will be back. The whole premise behind the quest of the Order is that :roy: needs to avenge his father's death by eliminating :xykon:. That hasn't happened yet.

If you read Rich's comments at the end of "No cure for the Paladin Blues" book, you'll notice that he mentions that one of the characters will go through a change which permanently alters his or her art. Might this and the subsequent resurrection be it?

[Deme]

whenever Durkon talked in this strip, my brain kept trying to pull me to this line of his:

"my mum taught me tha' I should always take feelings like that, and bury them inna deep, dark part o' my soul, and nev'r, ev'r talk about 'em again."

So I guess I need to praise the consistancy of his behavior. and as for Haley seeming abruptly upset; it's probably because someone's dead, and she can't deny it.

[Delgarde]

Nah. Running gags have more plot immunity than villains, because they exist in meta-plot-reality. :smallcool:


Yep. Characters may die, but nothing will kill off a good running joke. Even if the butt of the joke may wish otherwise.

[Rason]

What irks me is that it appears Durkon has just been standing there looking thru a telescope the whole battle.

[Delgarde]

Rich did mention in his commentary in "No Cure for the Paladin Blues" that one of the main characters (Roy, Haley, V, Durkon, Elan, or Belkar) would have something change about the way they are drawn, permanently...


Already happened - that would be Elan's change of costume.

Nice idea though - it could otherwise point to the use of the Reincarnate spell instead of one of the traditional raising spells...

[Delgarde]

Was that in the Origin of PCs?


Yup. There's a shot of his tombstone as of his final death - it's got quite a few date entries on it...

[the_tick_rules]

ah so it's the you killed our leader prepare to die effect, interesting. Does he have X's, brilliant. Now we only have to ask when their gonna ressurrect him.

[Skeeve_Plowse]

I really have been enjoying this series. I think Rich has dug deep and come up with a really polished gem of a story. Very nicely done.

I do wish the resturant sign was a bit clearer - Egg white omelets with WHAT exactly?

Later!

Mimosas - champagne and orange juice cocktails.

[SteveMB]

Well, he did kill the death knight and delay Xykon for a little while. I'm not sure how many lives that saved -- probably no more than one (during another pass on the walls for that bite attack), but we'll never know.

Taking out the death knight saved Vaarsuvius, and probably quite a few Azure City soldiers (that DK is tough, and had gotten inside the wall). The ironic thing is that Roy's biggest contribution to the battle is the one he never knew about.

[hyikim]

great comic!

[Gamgee]

I do not think Roy will be revived after the battle, he may be revived at a later date but something will complicate the resurrection and thus roy will not be revived imidiately. Just my little opinion.

[Mr Teufel]

Masterful work, Giant. I must say, I really disagree with most of the criticisms agianst this strip. For one, I think the juxtaposition of the over-the-top battle scenes with this low-key, but impacting character development works well. And second, I genuinely hope Roy doesn't get resurrected. At all. Not because I don't like him, but because that would really steal the thunder of the past two strips. Certainly there are some good jokes one can run about Resurrection, but I think the strip will be worse off for it in the long term. If he returns,(And he shouldn't, I think) have it be as a revenant or ghost to take vengeance on Xykon and stop the Snarl.The trouble is... there is no in-story reason why he shouldn't eventually get res'd. His party may have to wait until the tide of the battle has turned one way or the other, but as soon as either victory or defeat is inevitable they'll make their way to safeguard his body. Finding the diamonds required may be difficult, but definitely not impossible. Roy himself will not refuse to be res'd, as his oath is still not fulfilled. So really I believe his eventual resurrection to continue the quest is inevitable. It won't be straight away, and it at times will seem impossible - or threatenned by circumstance; but it will happen. In the meantime I believe we'll see him deal with his father's disgust and cruel taunts of "I told you so!" And we may see more of the afterlife... maybe he can talk to Celia, or even Shojo.


Actually I envision something more like this:
While Haley and Durkon are telling the others and kicking Hobgoblin fang, Belkar makes his way towards the fallen Roy, slashing his way through the Hobgoblins hordes. As he gets near Roy's body we get a close up on Belkar's face. His eyes fill with tears as he gazes at the dead fighter. He stands a moment, then tips his head back and yells...."CRAP!!!! I wanted to do that! I am so gonna kill whoever's responsible..."
...Or something like that.That is quite perfectly in character for both Belkar and The Giant.

[Horned]

I am more worried that Xykon or Redcloak will turn Roy into an undead warrior and then the OOTS folks would have to fight him.

[Haruspex]

I guess the flumphs deserved a break after breaking so many falls. Nice to see the members of OOTS having feelings instead of "oh, we'll just rez him later".

[Caractacus]

The trouble is... there is no in-story reason why he shouldn't eventually get res'd. His party may have to wait until the tide of the battle has turned one way or the other, but as soon as either victory or defeat is inevitable they'll make their way to safeguard his body. Finding the diamonds required may be difficult, but definitely not impossible. Roy himself will not refuse to be res'd, as his oath is still not fulfilled. So really I believe his eventual resurrection to continue the quest is inevitable. It won't be straight away, and it at times will seem impossible - or threatenned by circumstance; but it will happen. In the meantime I believe we'll see him deal with his father's disgust and cruel taunts of "I told you so!" And we may see more of the afterlife... maybe he can talk to Celia, or even Shojo.


Well, thank the Twelve Gods for Mr Teufel. You are absoutely right. Rich is not going to drop Roy from the story and he won't remain a ghost forever. On the other hand, we all know that making life easy for Roy (pun absolutely intended) WILL ruin the tension and perceived threat level for our characters.

Exactly as pointed out above, there will be stages to his return. Rich will make Roy's journey back a sort of 'side quest' of its own and we will have to wait.

What might happen is that Durkon may not wish to resurrect Roy, given that his death was as heroic as one can possibly imagine (from a Dwarven, and many humans', point of view). Belkar is also likely to be ambivalent about the whole issue.

Roy, will eventually return because:

1) The characters certainly can get together the resources,

2) The characters care enough about him (at least, the organised ones do)

3) The story really focuses on him - nothing would keep the whole team together otherwise.

4) I think Rich wants him in the strip - I almost feel it's Rich talking sometimes when I hear Roy... If not, we will need a new member who will be sufficiently like Roy to replace him - not just as a fighter, leader and what have you, but as a comedy foil for the other characters. It might not be successful, to try to fit a new character in - the comparisons with Roy would cause a new rift int he fans (even worse than the Miko rift... *shudder*)

But the emphasis is certainly on the difficulty of the return - as Mr Teufel points out.

While those who like Roy want him back, I don't think any of us want him back cheaply, instantly and with no consequences. More to the point, I expect that neither does Rich.

Given that Rich plans the broad sweep of the story well in advance (indeed, down to knowing what the final scene will be), this is such a major twist that we have here that it will be have been very well prepared for. Rich knows the criticism he would get if he made Roy's death cheap, and so I expect that we have an exciting and well-planned period ahead of us - whatever its specifics actually are.

[Grungydan]

I'm actually finding myself looking forward to reading the comic less and less. It was very ...big, to kill off Roy, but it made me realize something. I don't want this comic to have to resort to the death of main characters to "shake things up". I don't need "realistic character development" from Order of the Stick.

I want a comic. Sure, serious moments, whatever. But I want a comic. I want my OotS characters to live forever. I want them to be practically immortal. Why? Because I care about them. All of them. I don't care if they're not horribly realistic. I just care that they're there, and that they are part of a decent, but most of all, fun story.

Death is realistic. It's a part of life. But in a comic like OotS, it should be something that happens to NPCs. It should be on the periphery. Mooks and semi-important but not very well developed extras should die. The main characters that we care about? Shouldn't die. It's not fun, it's not funny, and it takes away from why I read the comic in the first place.

If I want "serious" and "character development in the form of death", I'll go read another comic. (And in fact, I do.) This isn't meant to be some expose on how I "can't handle death in fiction" or some such nonsense. It's my opinion on why it doesn't fit OotS.

And to cut off a few of the the nonsensical flames that are sure to follow this:
- Yes, I'm aware that it's not my comic.
- Yes, I'm sure there's "a plan".
- Yes, it's possible that Roy will get resurrected (in fact, I'm hoping it's the case, as I'm already feeling as though the comic won't be as good or worth reading as regularly without him), and no, I don't know where the story is going.
- Yes, I'm aware that not everyone agrees with me.
- Yes, I'm aware that I'm only one person.

I'll of course be checking the comic to see where it goes. I just don't look forward to it anymore. At least not right now.

edit: All that said, I of course agree with the many posters that have provided excellent reasoning as to why it would make no sense to leave Roy dead. (Party could easily have him rezzed, being the most obvious.) And if it's interesting/done well, the whole process will indeed make for some good story.

My feelings at present, however, are based on the lack of actual indication in the comic that Roy will return. Until I see the process begin, I'll most likely continue to feel as I do now about the whole situation.

[TheNovak]

I don't see what all the fuss concernin' Durkon's "insensitivity" is about. One, he's a dwarf; they think differently than humans. Like Durkon explained, Roy died a good death; that's enough for a dwarf. Second, he's a cleric; he knows that there's an afterlife, that Roy was a genuinely good person and a brave warrior and will be rewarded as such. And third, again, he's a cleric -- Raise Dead FTW.

Why would he be all teary-eyed? Ach, but ye humans be daft.

[Freelance Henchman]

I loved the display of the dwarven understanding of duty and honor from Durkon.

I could imagine Roy's heroic act could attract the attention of higher powers. With so much at stake, couldn't there be at least *one* god that decides that Roy just did some major hero-ing for the cause of law and good? Plus, he associates with a cleric of Thor. C'mon Thor, if someone is deserving of some Divine Intervention it's Roy!

[scwizard]

I'd be really upset if Rich decided not to ever resurrect Roy just because everyone was expecting him to and he wanted to be cool and break clinches about the main character never dying etc.

[Mordaedil]

*sigh*
i'll have to wait for friday. this wasnt what i was hoping for, but i suppose it needed to be said.
i didn't know haley was second in command. i thought maybe :durkon: or :vaarsuvius:

In the Origin of the PC's Haley blackmails the team into promoting her to become the perfect applicant for second-in-command, and demands a larger share of the treasure because of it. Shortly after, Roy considers bringing the team back to the inn to split up, but Durkon effectively keeps the team together. So, even though Haley is the second-in-command by title, Durkon is the one pulling the strings and supporting the team when they need it.

[mdvk1012]

Resurrection takes 10 minutes to cast. Unless you think Redcloak will agree to a truce so Durkon can raise Roy, it will not be case during the battle. First you avenge him, then you check your resources and see what you can do about death.

Highly doubtful that the battle will pause for recovery of Roy, but it did happen in the Iliad where they stop battle for 7-days to hold the funeral pyre and funeral games.


Roy isn't getting ressurected. If anyone is recovering the corpse, it's the Evil Army.

My prediction:
:redcloak: will make :roy: into some type of undead and he will be used as a human shield for :xykon: in the throne room when the OOTS team arrives on the scene. OOTS will have to find a way to subdue :roy: without destroying him.or

:redcloak: and :xykon: will recover the sword or other distinguishable item of Roy's and have one of the undead use it to make the OOTS team believe they are fighting against :roy:.

[Zynex]

someone has prolly posted this already and i wouldn't be surprised if they did, but i think the Giant overlooked putting the 1000 gp tag on Durkon's telescope. just saying. :smallbiggrin:

[Baltek Grimm]

Dead as a doornail... really sarcastic... but really good!

Another great strip, Giant!

[Em]

Narrative imperative has gone awry... don't think Roy will be back for a good while... if ever! :(

[Calemyr]

Okay, first off, I thought the reactions were perfect. Durkon is PROUD of his friend, and if he can will certainly revive him when possible. However, the only way Roy is going to get revived is if he can get Hailey off the floor and into the fight. His entire approach is practical, dutitful, and, above all, Dwarven. Hailey, on the other hand, loses her grip for just a moment. Yeah, it's easy to think straight and talk about the ease of reviving the dead when you're the victor and the enemies are tied up. It's a whole other thing when you're in the middle of a chaotic battlefield and witness your leader - no, your friend - fall to his death after a heroic bid to end the war quickly. She's not thinking clearly, she's acting on impulse and emotion, and that demonstrates her depth of character.

As for Roy's accomplishments in this battle, they are no mean list:
1) An undead ancient silver dragon, which took out a pretty high level caster in a single bite and toss action, was rendered non-combative and then destroyed.
2) The death knight, who's SR made him nigh immune to V and was killing everything and everyone unchecked, was destroyed.
3) Xykon has suffered (quite possible a lot of) damage in the struggle, damage that will make it easier for defenders to take him out when he arrives back on the scene.
4) During his battle with Roy, Xykon expended a large number of spells, including finger of death and meteor swarm. He may be a sorcerer, but he is NOT a warlock, he will regret wasting all those spells when he finds himself confronted with the defenders. Pushing him to waste a meteor swarm on him alone probably saved a good twenty lives in the near future.
5) His death can serve as a rallying cry for the Order of the Stick, pushing them even to fight even harder than they were before in the hopes of getting revenge and perhaps even reviving their fallen comrade. I know for certain that at least Durkon is going to have renewed purpose - a dwarf may not cry over the fallen, but he will make enemy pay dearly for it.

Finally, my own view of what Belkar's reaction:
Belkar is having the time of his life, moving like a halfling quisinart through the hobgoblin ranks. During his rampage he comes across Roy's body. he stops fighting, walks over to it, and stabs it in the head. Then a second time. He yells "Da** it! That wasn't satisfying at all!" and jumps back into the melee with even more ferocity than before...

[Suraht]

I didn't see this brought up before now, but if it takes a decent amount of time for Roy to be brought back(assuming he will be, that is),

Then he'd have time to hopefully get to talk to other people that have fought Xykon and lost before, like Dorukan, and maybe get some insight into what else might hurt Xykon. Several people have lost to him, all with a fairly wide range of abilities, and there's a good chance a few of them might have a clue on what will defeat Xykon. When(and if) Roy is brought back, all that info could be put to good use.

Of course, knowing Roy's luck, he'll reach Xykon's old instructor, who will say something along the lines of "Oh yes, Xykon could never stand to be touched by..." or "Xykon would stop everything he was doing to focus completely on..." and get resurrected just before he heard the big weakness Xykon has.

[One Skunk Todd]

halfling quisinart

Hahahahahah... Oh man that made me laugh. "It slices, it dices, but wait! There's more!". :)

[pendell]

Some thoughts ...


First, we have every indication that Roy is coming back. We've seen Belkar plan Miko's fall around Durkon's being able to cast Raise Dead. Second, they refused to kill Nale because True Res would just bring him back. Third, we have seen Resurrection *cast* during the comic for Lord Shojo.

In eighth-grade English we called this "foreshadowing". He placed Chekhov's Resurrection on the table THREE TIMES, and emphasized it, so that when it later makes it's appearance it is part of the game world and not Deus Ex Machina.

But that doesn't tell us How it will happen, or when, or to whom. Rich has the right to keep Roy dead if he wishes, but somehow I don't think we've seen the last of him in the pages of OOTS.



I am confident that Roy will re-join the story at some point. And I'm sure that, when he does, it will be done in a way that will both surprise and delight me. Rich Burlew hasn't let me down yet.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Stryker14]

Maybe this story isn't centered around Roy at all. Maybe all of this is leading up to Roy's sister joining the OotS. Maybe Roy will now haunt his sister and annoy her like his father did.

Or maybe I'm wrong...

[One Skunk Todd]

Maybe the Giant has been watching Xena reruns lately and...

Miko will somehow get knocked unconscious and Roy's spirit will inhabit her body to lead the OOTS on a quest to recover Roy's body and raise him. I realize Roy's body hasn't actually been lost or captured yet but the defenders don't seem likely to get to it before the Redcloak and the others.

[niking]

:smallbiggrin:

Flumphs rule!

[Dragor]

Sad.... but oh so funny, too. :smallbiggrin:

It's funny how many emotions you can instill, Rich :smallsmile:

[handofme]

Zombie Roy time!

[Loki_d20]

sorry, i meant, why are they talking like they're not going to bring him back. my bad! =)When have they ever brought someone back from death? Why would it be something they would casually consider if they have never done it?

[Halfling_Daniel]

Dead as a doornail... really sarcastic... but really good!

Another great strip, Giant!
Durkon doesn't look like he's being sarcastic. As a matter of fact, he seems to think that being "dead as a doornail" is something glorious (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0333.html).

[Yahzi]

Did anyone notice that Durkon's telescope doesn't have the $1,000 price tag attached to it?

He must have bought it a discount shop. :D

[Deuce]

Just had a funny thought, since someone mentioned Miko :

So Roy is dead, and I'm guessing that his soul is at/heading for the Lawful-Good afterlife. Now all we need is for a nice big boulder to smash into Miko's cell, kill her, and let her meet up with Roy standing in line at whatever passes for the Pearly Gates in this world.

[Yahzi]

When have they ever brought someone back from death?
Didn't they bring back the wizard that gotten eaten by a Roc?

[itliaf]

hehe

Brunch

[Cybaster]

Maybe the Giant has been watching Xena reruns lately and...

Miko will somehow get knocked unconscious and Roy's spirit will inhabit her body to lead the OOTS on a quest to recover Roy's body and raise him. I realize Roy's body hasn't actually been lost or captured yet but the defenders don't seem likely to get to it before the Redcloak and the others.

Oh, Gods no. o_o

Miko being forced to become Roy's replacement as the Fighter PC would be bad enough...

Trading in a Fighter with Feats for a Fallen Paladin/Potential FF4 Kain-ish Blackguard with none (and being bumped down to PC levels and Hit Die) that the party hates with absolute prejudice would be even worse. :smallconfused:

..."Roy's got boobs again!", though... XD

[Sothicus]

I can't wait for the book so I can read what the Giant was thinking about when approaching Roy's death.

[Loki_d20]

Didn't they bring back the wizard that gotten eaten by a Roc?Nope: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0379.html

Someone in Azure City did (supposedly - we never see him alive afterwards).

[Hushdawg]

GREAT!

I love it!

The reaction from Haley and Durkon both was precisely what is in character for them.

I love the fact that this is giving a triggerpoint for further character development for the other OOTS members.

Roy's death will not just be a minor inconvenience and "oh, we'll res him, no problem" because they had to use a SPYGLASS to see him clearly.

This means they will not be able to recover the body until the battle is over!


That is, unless Haley is able to nail an arrow into the talisman to shatter it and bring Roy's sylph girlfriend back to fly his body to safety.


Excellent pep-talk by Durkon and groovy cameo by our Pflump-y friends (however the hell you spell that critter's name).

[factotum]

I see there are still people who think the diamond used in the attempt to resurrect Shojo will be hanging around so Haley can steal it. It doesn't work that way--you don't get refunds on material components, even if your spell fails for some reason. That diamond is gone (and in fact you can clearly see that the cleric no longer has it in his hand when he turns to speak to Hinjo back in #410).

As for resurrection, yes, resurrection is possible, but it takes 10 minutes to cast and I somehow doubt the thousands of hobgoblins still attacking the city will calmly stand aside while a cleric goes out to bring back an opponent who could easily kill dozens of them.

[Unscrewed]

Personally, The two funniest parts to me were the title and the flumphs.

Reading title "He's dead, Jim" I'm thinking "That's probably in response to all the fourm debates." While laughing my butt off. The flumph gag was the icing on the plot cake.

[One Skunk Todd]

Trading in a Fighter with Feats for a Fallen Paladin/Potential FF4 Kain-ish Blackguard with none (and being bumped down to PC levels and Hit Die) that the party hates with absolute prejudice would be even worse. :smallconfused:

..."Roy's got boobs again!", though... XD

Yeah, but think of all the wacky, zany super-funtime adventures with Belkar. :)

[Crazy_Uncle_Doug]

I miss Roy already. He's my favorite guy.

That said, will he be back? I don't know. I think Mr. Burlew is doing well with creating uncertainty in a setting where resurrection spells and raise dead spells are possible. If we can sit back and wait for the rez-spells, the tension and emotion associated with his death is lost entirely. Moreover, if Roy's death is easily remedied, then that would imply that all the character's deaths would be the same. We would lose even more tension, as we wouldn't have to worry whether the principle characters will survive or at the very least live again to fight another day. In almost every case involving death of a minor character so far, the state has been permanent. We need to at least worry that Roy's status might be the same, even if it eventually proves to be otherwise.

Personally, I think a rez may be attempted, and we may very well get a lovely scene of the afterlife where Roy must debate whether to accept the rez or decide to remain where he is. "Do I want to remain in eternal paradise, or do I want to go back to finish my unfinished business along with Elan and Belkar?"

Durkon's and Haley's reactions I think represent the differences between Chaotic Good and Lawful Good impulses. Haley, though in general good, wants to help her good friend and leader Roy, regardless of the siege situation. Durkon realizes they are mid-siege and there are greater things to worry about than even the loss of his best friend. Neither reaction are invalid. I think it interesting that for now, the Lawful Good impulse wins.

[happyturtle]

Wizard Guy never did get resurrected. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0405.html) Miko interrupted things, and the clerics used the spell on Shojo instead.

[Balok]

These have been some of the most enjoyable stories for me. I suspect that Roy will return, if only in flashback or as a ghost. And I'm confident that Rich will handle it properly, with the mix of humor and seriousness demonstrated in this comic, that keeps me coming back to this page.

[The_Wiz_Kid]

Roy as a ghost opens up all sorts of interesting angles for Rich to work with and either way I look forward to seeing where he goes with it. Haley's reaction being the the opposite of what people expected is most likely something that was intended all along. The same goes for Durokan's, I suspect.

[Grungydan]

as we wouldn't have to worry whether the principle characters will survive or at the very least live again to fight another day.

As it should be. It should be like watching your favorite western serial. You should never be worried that Matt Dillon might not be in the show anymore. He should be put into harm's way, and it should create a little tension, but you should never have a reason to be truly worried.

/gripe

[AyuVince]

Alas, poor Roy! I knew him, Durkon! A fighter of infinite prowess, of most excellent tactical knowledge.


She was really second in command? Since when?

Since always. Well, at least since strip #1, I don't know about Origin of PCs. It was mentioned in several strips. Here, for example: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0289.html (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/../comics/oots0289.html). Shojo compliments Haley on her wits and beauty: "Your second-in-command ... is as astute as she is lovely."

[Adeptus]

What's with the pessimism and the dark mood in here?


Roy will totally be resurrected. He's the central straight-man character, and if his death would be permanent, it wouldn't have happened like it did. Roy may well die in the end (though I doubt it) but that is still a long time in the future. It will be interesting to see how his trip to the afterlife changes him... or doesn't.

[Vox]

[QUOTE=AyuVince;2482353]Alas, poor Roy! I knew him, Durkon! A fighter of infinite prowess, of most excellent tactical knowledge.

Ah....Gotta love Shakespeare.....

See Hamlet, Act V, Scene 1 for the reference.....

"And Roy's spirit, raging for revenge,
With Eugene by his side, heckling unmercifully,
Shall on this battlefield with an exasperated voice
Cry "*******" and let fly the curses of a dead PC in war."

[Lostboy]

Perhaps if they cannot locate a 1000-gp diamond as a material component for the resurrection spell, they might have to get the aid of a druid to reincarnate him. Then we might get to see Roy trying to cope with being a female halfling with Belkar hitting on him or something like that. That would be fun.

[Black_Light83]

what starshine's the second in command?!?! cmon shes not even halfway competent

[Crazy_Uncle_Doug]

As it should be. It should be like watching your favorite western serial. You should never be worried that Matt Dillon might not be in the show anymore. He should be put into harm's way, and it should create a little tension, but you should never have a reason to be truly worried.

/gripe

Actually, I disagree. If we know our main characters needn't feel the final end, we lose out. We no longer assume, "This is serious, this could be their end." We assume they will live or failing that, they'll be rezzed and rejoin the party soon. The danger is less real. The consequences of leaping into the air onto the neck of a zombie-dragon becomes merely an involuntary nap.

The idea that "this could be it -- or worse -- for Roy" (or any of the others) makes the story all the more engaging.

[doliemaster]

Well with Roy dead hopefully the comic can get back to humor and out of fighting.:smallfurious:

[fruityjanitor]

Heh. A joke about how Xs for eyes is the only sure way to tell if somebody is dead and a joke about the flumphs not being there to break Roy's fall...

Is Rich SURE that he doesn't read the forums?

[cavalier973]

Yup. There's a shot of his tombstone as of his final death - it's got quite a few date entries on it...

That's hilarious

[cavalier973]

Yeah, but think of all the wacky, zany super-funtime adventures with Belkar. :)

And if Roy comes back as Miko, Belkar could kill Roy/Miko (Royco?), thus fulfilling the prophecy of the Oracle, again.

[cavalier973]

As it should be. It should be like watching your favorite western serial. You should never be worried that Matt Dillon might not be in the show anymore. He should be put into harm's way, and it should create a little tension, but you should never have a reason to be truly worried.

/gripe

That was the secret to Tolkien's writing. He always made sure, especially in The Hobbit, that the reader knew things would turn out okay.

[Niveus Candidus]

Very little, if any, emotion in this comic - and it should have been chalk full of it. Not a fufilling edition at all. This is the FIRST DEATH OF A MAIN CHARACTER IN FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR EPISODES. I expected more.

[Snipers_Promise]

Is Rich SURE that he doesn't read the forums?


I think he does it a little bit, just to mess with us.

[Traveling_Angel]

I think Roy is coming back. How is up in the air, but he is the closest thing OOTS has to a single protagonist. Sure, the other members of the Order are important, but Roy takes a very central role. Could the Order of the Stick do without Belkar but some other funny guy without changing much? almost certainly. Yea, Belkar is hilarious, but removable. But the plot thus far hinges on Roy. He is important to the forming of the order in On The Origin of PCs and has continued to be THE plot character. Heck, he even was the cause of the starmetal sidequest.

[dekai]

I really don't think he does, or at least he does not use them at all too come up with new plot points. He might just read them to see the appreciation of his fans. I think that oots (just like any other literature.

Not because of bad writing, but simply because with a little thought, it is easy to see the basics in what going to go well next. You know what I mean?

[squidly_bard]

THIS BROKE MY LAWS?!??!? THE LAWS!!! OF PHYSICS!!!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!!?!?!? THOR! WHY THOR WHY!?!?!? how the heck will durkon survive with HALEY as leader!?!?!? THOR HELP US! ROY COME BACK FROM VALHALOR!!! o and bring me a burger or something i'm starved. oh where was I... ah yes thor help us went thruaghe that... ok...mmm yes... o i'm done......
CHEESE!!!!!!!!......THOR!!!!!!!!!.........JOE JOE MAN GE O!!!!!......(that's it.... get on with your lives they bin wasteed enoughe on other crap.)

[FlyingCow371]

This was a great episode/comic or whatever name is given to a unit of oots. Nice jokes. It's been a while since I've done D&D, but don't clerics need to prepare their spells ahead of time? And if you were going into a big battle in which you're greatly outnumbered and plan to deal with undead, wouldn't you rather spend your spell slots on things other than resurrection? Since so long as you don't die, you can prepare resurrection for the next day or after the battle and then it's all good again. I don't know.

As far as roy staying dead or not, I don't know. I didn't expect this to be the kind of story in which the heroes could die. But being wrong wouldn't be that horrible. I enjoy a series of books, "a song of ice and fire", in which characters are allowed to die and then that's the end of them. I remember after one character died, I was hoping that something special would happen and somehow he would survive...I didn't yield that hope until I reached the end of the book, at which point I was sad that he died but had more respect for the author and the world he created in which actions can have lasting consequences. In this case, I think it'll take 3 in-story days after the battle ends or Roy's ghost saying he doesn't want to come back before I abandon the possibility of Roy comming back. But it'll be interesting to see what happens next.

[Vulion]

Damn, Flumph's, never around when they're needed, I blame them for all the wrongs of the world.:smalltongue:

[Nightfall]

No "Let's win so we can bring him back to life"??! What in Thor's beard got into Durkon?

Durkon's a dwarf. To die in battle is the greatest honor that can be awarded a hero. No MacArthur's "just fade away" for Roy. Durkon's reaction was exactly what it should have been. Fight now, grieve later, if grieving is called for. I have a feeling a dwarven funeral is a lot like an Irish wake. A lot of heavy drinking and toasting involved.

Farewell, Roy.

[Hypothetical]

I loved the display of the dwarven understanding of duty and honor from Durkon.

I could imagine Roy's heroic act could attract the attention of higher powers. With so much at stake, couldn't there be at least *one* god that decides that Roy just did some major hero-ing for the cause of law and good? Plus, he associates with a cleric of Thor. C'mon Thor, if someone is deserving of some Divine Intervention it's Roy!


Hmmm, :roy: as a Risen Martyr. Now there's an interesting idea.

[Nightfall]

[quote=AyuVince;2482353]Alas, poor Roy! I knew him, Durkon! A fighter of infinite prowess, of most excellent tactical knowledge.

Ah....Gotta love Shakespeare.....

See Hamlet, Act V, Scene 1 for the reference.....

"And Roy's spirit, raging for revenge,
With Eugene by his side, heckling unmercifully,
Shall on this battlefield with an exasperated voice
Cry "*******" and let fly the curses of a dead PC in war."

While we're quoting Shakespeare, let's not forget King Henry V's speech on the battlefield on St. Crispin's day (Act IV, Scene III). A stirring battlefield soliloquy to be sure.

"...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (:elan: And sisters...yes, definitely sisters!) for he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother..."

[cavalier973]

[quote=Vox;2482509]

"...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (:elan: And sisters...yes, definitely sisters!) for he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother..."

...and/or my sister

[Gato]

Four is pronounced in various asian dialects into the word "death". Thus, was it planned to kill off a major party member in the "triple death" episode knowingly. Coming from a writer who knows the asian zodiac well and put them in proper cyclic order that smacked-down Mikky the Pally... it might not be a coincidence after all. Or is it.

When you see a falling fighter, don't duck, run.:smalleek:

[Mr. Mud]

Great title... Great Finshing Joke... Great comic all together

[Raistlin1040]

YAY Star Trek referances!

[Piedmon_Sama]

I gotta be honest, this one underwhelmed me. I realise it's in the middle of a battle, but the pathos could have been done better. I won't say how any character "should" react, but I found it... well, as underwhelming as most PC deaths are in an actual game of D&D. Everyone goes "damn, sorry dude" and you pull out another sheet. While Durkon is slightly crazy enough to treat it like no big deal, and I buy that, I would have liked to at least see a chink in his usual stoicism. Haley's reaction wasn't nearly forceful enough--Roy just died! Roy just died!

Flumphs was a brilliant moment, though.

[Wolf_In_Exile]

:frown: sad day, poor Roy. He's my favorite too

[Faramir]

Any comic with flumphs is a good comic.