Bard Senses Tingling!

[evileeyore]

Although I really hate Elan as a character I must admit I love the way the Giant employs Elan's Bardic Senses. It does tickle the funny bone.

I wonder if this will cause the remaining OotS to be hurried into the Throne Room by Elan to be there for the Big Finale?

[Basalock]

why hate elan:smallconfused:

[Twilight Jack]

Yes, praytell, why do you hate Elan?

[EyethatBinds]

I can kind of understand, he is sometimes a bit TOO stupid and childish.

[Redblade]

I have to agree, he is quite annoying at time. I must admit I have moved from 'hate' to 'grudging tolerance' since the him and thog prison break.

Although ever since that thread Iv liked thog less and less.. odd that.

[Ladorak]

I can kind of understand, he is sometimes a bit TOO stupid and childish.

Then why do you vote for him?

... Oh sorry, thought you were talking about someone else

[evileeyore]

why hate elan:smallconfused: I dislike stupid and childish, unless it is in an actual child. Then it becomes merely tolerable.

Elan is also purposefully chaotic and "weird". I dislike that.

I can understand why some may prefer Elan and Belkar, I do not.

However this thread was more about Elan's Bardic Senses and my appreciation of the way the Giant employs them than my like/dislike of a character.

Hence the Title.

[NeonRonin]

I don't mind Elan too terribly, because I've known all too well what it's like to be the odd man out- or, in my gaming experiences, the one contributing the least to the party's overall success.

This can be attributed in some cases to the fact that a number of my fellow players are power gamers, and spend far more time crunching numbers, maxing abilities and poring over more sourcebooks than I do. So even when I do have a good character, the fight usually winds up ending before I can even do anything.

It may be due to the others' min-maxing, or my notorious bad dicing streak... my point is, I've had my fair share of lackluster performances at the table. Much like Elan.

So maybe he is silly and childish. Maybe he does make a lot of mistakes. At least the poor sap tries to be part of the team. At least he's been loyal from the start, even when other members kept ragging on him. (Even when V yelled at him for 'mocking' wizards several hundred strips back, Elan didn't go so far as to leave the team. He just sat on the porch and sulked.)

I won't go so far as to say Elan is my favorite. I'm just saying I know how he must feel sometimes.

[Clamps]

I'll think it's actually his dramatic instincts (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0392.html)

[Admiral_Kelly]

I like Elan. He's stupid and childish but he fits and he has shown character development. Can't stand Thog though...

Back on topic; Elan might be plot-motivated into getting everyone into the thrown room. It's plausible.

Oh, and how long do you think it will take for those "red shirts" to get killed off?

[GSFB]

Elan and Belkar may not be "great" characters, but they are the entertaining ones, and I read this for entertainment.

Elan is like Gilligan. And guess what? They called the show "Gilligan's Island," not "The Smart Professor's Island" or "The Hottie Cowgirl's Island."

People watched the show to see Gilligan screw everything up. He was the star.

Elan and Belkar make this comic strip fun. Without them, it would be the "Boring old adventurers run around having no fun" show. Who would watch that?

As for Bardic Senses... is that something new that comes with the Dashing Swordsman PrC?

[delguidance]

I don't think that the rest of the order fully gets what's up with Elan's new prestige class. Also no one tends to listen to him anyway. I do hope he gets to be witty and fight Miko though.

[Quikngruvn]

Hold up:

One of the class abilities of the Dashing Swordsman is the ability to make a Big Entrance, and being launched from a catapult and crashing through the throne room window would certainly count as a Big Entrance. The question is, could he make it a group effect?

Elan could simultaneously make use of both of his classes!

[GSFB]

What kind of concentration check would a person need in order to maintain bardic music while being launched by a catapult?

also, how does this plan incorporate the large wooden alpaca?

[DorimTrollfist]

I'm sure the Concentration check would be enormously high. DC 40 probably doesn't even begin to cover it. Not only is it difficult to play an instrument while moving, being a couple hundred feet above the ground wouldn't help much either.

As for the Alpaca, maybe this is the start of a new legend.

Move aside Trojan Horse! I give you... The Azure Alpaca! (Kind of catchy)

[Icewalker]

I find Belkar semi-funny, because he certainly has his moments, primarily the homicidal crazy moments like chasing the lawyer.

In regular situations I think Elan would be a boring and somewhat intolerable character, but The Giant pulls him off amazingly. He has very funny moments, and I find him to be one of the best.

Wait.

No, I guess I don't. Thinking about it, Durkon has more character, Roy has a personality I find that I like more, V I find funnier and can relate to, Belkar has funnier moments (but less of them), and Haley is a very interesting character.

Elan is one of the best compared to anything outside OOTS. In OOTS he is medium-good, which, compared to everything else, comes out totally awesome.

[Alfryd]

Although I really hate Elan as a character I must admit I love the way the Giant employs Elan's Bardic Senses. It does tickle the funny bone.
Ah, the ol' fashioned Cassandra complex. Fated never to be believed.

Elan is also purposefully chaotic and "weird". I dislike that.
It wouldn't be so bad if he were bright enough to actually learn from his experiences. Or discern when his acts of random tomfoolery directly threaten the fabric of the universe as we know it.
I'm beginning to think that V's headband of intellect might be better employed elsewhere.

[Twilight Jack]

Well, considering Elan is my absolute favorite character (the only member of the OotS to ever actually make me cry (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0367.html)), I like to think that his odd blend of luck and dramatic instincts could make this catapult thing a reality. Whichever way it works, Elan still needs his moment to absolutely shine in this battle (his tribute song to Roy doesn't qualify when compared to the feats of the others, in my opinion), and his Prestige Class could very well give him additional bonuses in climactic situations. Hell, look at how ruthlessly he took Nale down when he pulled the daring Haley rescue. He wasn't that effective against the hobgoblins even before he ran out of puns. If nothing else, the pull of the story will ensure that he finds his way into the throne room before the final curtain falls on this battle.

[chibibar]

I think it is more of a "Plot Sense" or "Change in event drama sense" ;)

[Twilight Jack]

Indeed, but it allows him to arrive where he needs to be, when he needs to be there, by the most spectacular method possible. There's no rope handy, so the catapult is his next best bet. As long as they all loaded onto it, only Belkar would hit the wall instead of the window. The joke's preserved, the prophecy's fulfilled, and the plot moves forward.

[Smiley_]

Elan's character actually seems to be developing quite nicely. Sure he is stupid and childish, but he is developing a more concrete Personality over time. Even Belkar is not the same homicidal maniac we saw in the first hundred strips.

And in any case, can you imagine Elan as anything but stupid and childish?

[frynque]

hate elan? dislike belkar?

meh, they're the entirety of flavor in the strip. haley is the stereotypical angst ridden female rogue. V is well, V, meh. roy is kind of funny because he's really freakin intelligent for a tank. durkon, meh, i've seen a bajillion drunken dwarf clerics, next... but...

elan is perfect: innocent, naive, faithful to the end, the awesome inverse of the stereotypical "han solo roguish dude" that the part of group bard needs.

belkar is immense: he is the character i have always wished someone would play in my campaigns. completely free spirited, unfettered by rules, but still operates within the group ethic (he bows to roy's leadership, even if grudgingly) and has friendships too (for whatever twisted reason, he really enjoys elan's company).

together they are the fudge and caramel sauce on this sundae delight of a comic.

consume.