Ending

[FollowerofBanjo]

"OOTS does indeed have a finite lifespan, however, and I already know what the last panel of the last comic will be, so don't expect it to linger around forever"-The Giant

So does anyone want to guess what the last panel will look like for all of OOTS any personal ideas?

[Pyrous]

"The End"

White letters in black background.

[Kantaki]

The words „The End” or some variation thereof. „Fin” would be my preferred variant.
Of course it could be something along the lines of „and their adventure continues”, but I expect it to be the former.

[ti'esar]

"The End"

White letters in black background.

Possibly with a small speech bubble of Elan saying "Hey! I found a whistle!" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0334.html)

[An Enemy Spy]

The words „The End” or some variation thereof. „Fin” would be my preferred variant.
Of course it could be something along the lines of „and their adventure continues”, but I expect it to be the former.

Is "Fin" a normal thing to end with in Europe? Over here in America, it's primarily used to make fun of artsy-fartsy pretentious independent movies. You know the kind.

[Mandor]

I think the very very very last panel, in the entire webcomic...
... we learn Daigo's last name.

[blunk]

The Snarl pooping out the Eastern gods.

[NerdyKris]

A punchline, almost certainly delivered by Elan.

[Quild]

Last panel of #120 in new-new-new art style.

[Vinyadan]

That's All: Stick to It!

(groaning sounds)

[Killer Angel]

The words „The End” or some variation thereof. „Fin” would be my preferred variant.


that's all folks! :smallwink:

[Emperor Demonking]

Last panel of #120 in new-new-new art style.

Last panel, but two, of #120 in new-new-new art style.

[Quild]

Last panel, but two, of #120 in new-new-new art style.

Damnit, you're right. What a foreshadowing from the Giant :smalleek:

[Corneel]

- A black panel with in white letters "The End" at the top, and a white ellips in the middle, within which is Haley('s face) winking.
- The order and friends enjoying a feast of wild boar and mead (except for Elan who's tied up and gagged)
- O-Chul rides of in the sunset singing "I'm a poor lonesome paladin, and a long way from home"
- A big feast with Elan's mom bringing a large stack of waffles and Roy toasting with champagne.

[Vinyadan]

The Order is undone by the Snarl while under the effect of Hideous Laughter.

Happy ending!

[aurilee]

I always imagined a "The End" panel featuring all the characters (not just the Order...literally all the characters in a big crowd) waving goodbye in the background.

[NerdyKris]

I would consider "ending panel" to be the ending to the actual story, not a splash panel saying goodbye or thank you. They're two different things. I assume he was referring to the ending to the story when he said that, since he was talking about the plot. It wouldn't make any sense to say "I already know what the last panel of the last comic will be" in the context of "the story has an ending" if he was just referring to a regular thank you for reading shot or "the end", since such a panel could go anywhere in the story at any time that he stops writing it.

[Pyrous]

Next-to-last panel: "The End"

Last panel: "Or is it? dun, dun, DUN!!!!"

[KorvinStarmast]

Next-to-last panel: "The End"

Last panel: "Or is it? dun, dun, DUN!!!!" That has to include Elan peeking in from the edge of the panel.

[aurilee]

I would consider "ending panel" to be the ending to the actual story, not a splash panel saying goodbye or thank you. They're two different things. I assume he was referring to the ending to the story when he said that, since he was talking about the plot. It wouldn't make any sense to say "I already know what the last panel of the last comic will be" in the context of "the story has an ending" if he was just referring to a regular thank you for reading shot or "the end", since such a panel could go anywhere in the story at any time that he stops writing it.

All The Giant said was "last panel of the last comic". He didn't say "last story panel", or "ending panel". It could very well be a "The End" panel.

I agree though, that given the context of him talking about the ending of the story, it is likely related to how the plot ties up.

In which case, my prediction(s) is/are as follows...

Perhaps it ends at someone's funeral (ie Belkar's)? Or a wedding (Elan + Haley)? Or some other mass gathering/party?

Personally I have a thing where I like stories that end with large gatherings/celebrations and I think having the story end with Belkar's funeral and everyone delivering eulogies would be great (especially as Belkar fan). My preferred last panel for that scenario would be the gang gathered around Belkar's tomb/gravestone/whatever sociopathic halflings get.

Or it could be related to a plot point we haven't even been made aware of yet, which is possible.

Or it could end with the destructions/re-creation of the world. That'd be cool too.

[Dissection]

It's going to be the same as the last panel of 886 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0886.html).

[Vinyadan]

Personally I have a thing where I like stories that end with large gatherings/celebrations

I guess you like Asterix, then :smallwink:

[aurilee]

I guess you like Asterix, then :smallwink:

You are correct sir. :smallamused:

[Havelocke]

Elan looking at Haley fondly, she is sitting in a rocking chair flipping through a book which looks suspiciously like an OOTS graphic novel. There is a group of kids playing with dice, pencils, and paper on the floor, arguing over how to beat the villain. Elan calls their names (each named after a team member) and starts to recount his version of the story.

[littlebum2002]

LOL yeah Elan is gonna name his kids like Harry Potter did.

Vaarsuvious Therkla Starshine and Hinjo Durkon Starshine

(Elan took Haley's name when they got married because he actually doesn't have one)

[SephirotAero]

We finally find out what V's gender is (Really, how has no one here thought of that?)

[Pyrous]

We finally find out what V's gender is (Really, how has no one here thought of that?)

Because that's the one thing we are sure won't happen. It's utterly irrelevant, and no one cares (or at least shouldn't).

Besides my obvious guess upthread, I think that the last panel will reveal the MitD species.

ETA: I also like the asterixian ending, but unlike Asterix comics, OotS can't end with the bard gagged. We have in comic evidence for that. Unless Elan and Haley are about to bathe the orangutan.

[littlebum2002]

I thought Rich confirmed that V was agender in his commentary?

[NerdyKris]

I don't think he's ever confirmed it, unless it was in one of the new PDF commentaries. He's stated that V's kids were adopted specifically so we couldn't rule out anything. I don't think it's ever going to be revealed. Like Pyrous said, it's irrelevant to the character, at this point the character is essentially non gendered.

The MitD reveal is part of the main plot, not an afterthought.


Neither. The reveal is a crucial part of the story and it will happen when it's time for it to happen.

[KorvinStarmast]

The MitD reveal is part of the main plot, not an afterthought. So too is Belkar's transformation into a better person, with Mr Scruffy as catalyst. It will creep up on him/us, as shown in strip 957. It occurs to me that he wasn't only talking to Durkon when he said:


people don't just change who they are inside in an instant. It doesn't work like that. It takes time, so you don't even know you're changing. Until one day, you're just a little bit different than you used to be and you can't tell what the hell happened.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0957.html

[Lissou]

I thought Rich confirmed that V was agender in his commentary?

He said "genderqueer" but I too interpreted it as agender. And it's in the commentary for Blood Runs in the Family, talking (if I recall correctly) about how Tarquin must hate it that his son, the white male, is overshadowed by a black man, a genderqueer person and a woman. I don't remember the exact wording but it was pretty clear that the person who was genderqueer is V.

[Ron Miel]

Elan pointing to Mr Scruffy while singing : "Pardon me, Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes."


Yes, the entire 7-book arc is a 16-year set up for a lame pun.

[Lissou]

I don't even get the pun >.>

[ti'esar]

I don't even get the pun >.>

"Pardon me, Roy, is that the Chattanooga choo-choo?" is a fairly-well-known line from a song (although I don't really know anything more than that myself).

[Porthos]

I don't even get the pun >.>

"Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattanooga_Choo_Choo)?"

Kinda an old-timey reference now, but probably the most famous "recent" pop-culture use would be in Young Frankenstein:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZLPJuy9oyQ

There have been other recent references to the song, as noted in the link above, but that's probably the most recognized.

[Lissou]

Thanks, guys! I didn't know the line at all.

[Markozeta]

Popcorn and Soda invade. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0301.html)

or you know...

More Q&A answering. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0259.html)

It'd be the best thing ever if a Q&A happened right in the middle of this dwarven vote.

[Bedinsis]

Since the Giant has said that he know what the last panel will contain it is fairly certain that whatever it is it won't be able to be changed by the story taking a different direction(or the same direction, only with other parts in it that leads to other characters being present/existing that wouldn't if the story stayed on the very same course). I.e. that it is fairly fixed.

I suggest the Giant himself appearing, thanking the reader for having stuck with the story for so many volumes. That can happen no matter what direction the story goes.

[NerdyKris]

The story isn't going to change direction. He already has it plotted out. That's the intent of his statement. That the story has a set path and ending. The statement makes no sense in context if he meant a panel unrelated to the plot of the comic.

[Porthos]

The story isn't going to change direction. He already has it plotted out. That's the intent of his statement. That the story has a set path and ending. The statement makes no sense in context if he meant a panel unrelated to the plot of the comic.
Welllll, not necessarily. The producers of Lost famously said that they had the "last shot" of their series planned out years in advance. And it's fairly obvious to me that they in fact did have it planned out.

HOW they got to that last shot was probably not quite as nailed down as they implied. :smalltongue:

Mind, you're probably right in broad strokes. Still, wanted to post a contra-example.

[ti'esar]

I'm also reminded of J.K. Rowling saying that she had planned out the ending of the Harry Potter books, and that the very last word would be 'scar' - which it wasn't. The ending to all appearances never substantially changed, but that detail was apparently reworked (I suspect very possibly because she mentioned it). Likewise, I think it's more likely that Rich may ultimately change some minor details of the last panel than that he came up with a last panel that can remain fixed no matter what, but is willing to dramatically change how the story gets there.

[zimmerwald1915]

He said "genderqueer" but I too interpreted it as agender. And it's in the commentary for Blood Runs in the Family, talking (if I recall correctly) about how Tarquin must hate it that his son, the white male, is overshadowed by a black man, a genderqueer person and a woman. I don't remember the exact wording but it was pretty clear that the person who was genderqueer is V.
Clearly Tarquin hasn't been reading the Number of Character Appearances thread :smalltongue:

(Elan has more appearances than Haley and V by any measure. Roy, of course, is head and shoulders above everyone else.)

[Porthos]

I'm also reminded of J.K. Rowling saying that she had planned out the ending of the Harry Potter books, and that the very last word would be 'scar' - which it wasn't. The ending to all appearances never substantially changed, but that detail was apparently reworked (I suspect very possibly because she mentioned it). Likewise, I think it's more likely that Rich may ultimately change some minor details of the last panel than that he came up with a last panel that can remain fixed no matter what, but is willing to dramatically change how the story gets there.

This actually reminds me about a VERY interesting point that was made in the PDF version of No Cure for the Paladin Blues-

:haley:: Available NOW for the low low price of-

THANK you, Haley. Sheeesh. Must she always cut in to hawk stuff?

Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, Rich addressed the (in)famous comment about Miko "lasting to the end of the story" that was mentioned in the original commentary of NCftPB. Turns out that originally some of what went down in Azure City was going to happen MUCH MUCH later in the storyline. Thus Miko would indeed have been around much longer.

There was also commentary in Blood Runs in the Family about how he excised entire plot points/didn't develop them fully after seeing how the story was going. Which shouldn't be too surprising since he said something similar in the original commentary of NCftPB about how Miko changed as he wrote her and how that impacted future strips.

That's why I commented on "broad strokes" earlier. I am exceedingly certain that Rich has the broad strokes of OotS worked out all the way to the end. But the finer details might still be in flux. And if enough of those finer details flux enough....

...

Well, it probably won't change the entire scope of the ending. But one never really knows for sure until it is written, no?

[Lissou]

Clearly Tarquin hasn't been reading the Number of Character Appearances thread :smalltongue:

(Elan has more appearances than Haley and V by any measure. Roy, of course, is head and shoulders above everyone else.)

That was less about how many panels they've each appeared in and more about him having a support role (specifically in the battle in question, but that's true in a lot of the story) while the others have more active roles. They deal the damage, Elan encourages them or tries not to get in their way. (Slightly less true now with V deciding to do more support stuff).

[Sam113097]

Let's stop kidding ourselves, we all know that it's gonna end with Banjo joining the Northern Pantheon

[Corsair]

If it's a joke, I'm hoping for it ending with them converting to 4th/5th Edition, and Belkar getting screwed in the transition -again-.

[Havelocke]

that would be a good ending, "aw nuts another new edition?"

[aurilee]

If it's a joke, I'm hoping for it ending with them converting to 4th/5th Edition, and Belkar getting screwed in the transition -again-.

That'd be interesting, also a fun callback to the early days of just making D&D jokes.

I'm not very familiar with the changes that happened with 4th and 5th though. Any ideas on what might change for our heroes?

[windgate]

My Theory regarding the final panel of the webcomic:

That panel will include a still alive Belkar realizing the prediction was wrong and he survived the entire comic.

[Psyren]

"The End"

White letters in black background.


Last panel of #120 in new-new-new art style.

One of these gets my vote.


The Snarl pooping out the Eastern gods.


It's going to be the same as the last panel of 886 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0886.html).

These made me sad :smallfrown:


Clearly Tarquin hasn't been reading the Number of Character Appearances thread :smalltongue:

(Elan has more appearances than Haley and V by any measure. Roy, of course, is head and shoulders above everyone else.)

It counts Nale-in-disguise panels as Elan though. Not how I would personally do it, and I don't think Tarquin would count that way either, but I'm not the curator.

[KorvinStarmast]

I suggest the Giant himself appearing, thanking the reader for having stuck with the story for so many volumes. That can happen no matter what direction the story goes. This opens the door for long time fans to buy "Order of The Stuck" t-shirts.

[quinron]

I suggest the Giant himself appearing, thanking the reader for having stuck with the story for so many volumes. That can happen no matter what direction the story goes.

Or it's the Giant closing his notebook, congratulating the Order's players - and the readers - on a great campaign and telling them to roll up new characters for the next one.

[Psyren]

This opens the door for long time fans to buy "Order of The Stuck" t-shirts.

*groans* *dies*


Or it's the Giant closing his notebook, congratulating the Order's players - and the readers - on a great campaign and telling them to roll up new characters for the next one.

"Uh, ok, but I thought we weren't actually representing a game campaign, we were just living in a world where the laws of-" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0606.html)

[Darth Paul]

So, no-one thinks "riding into the sunset"?

[quinron]

"Uh, ok, but I thought we weren't actually representing a game campaign, we were just living in a world where the laws of-" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0606.html)

Oh, don't ruin my indulgent saccharine fantasies by quoting scripture.

[Razade]

I don't even get the pun >.>

Probably because the meter of the two lines don't synch up.

[littlebum2002]

Probably because the meter of the two lines don't synch up.

Also that the song it references is 75 years old

[keybounce]

My Theory regarding the final panel of the webcomic:

That panel will include a still alive Belkar realizing the prediction was wrong and he survived the entire comic.

Followed by a look at the calendar showing the in-game date :-).

My personal favorite: The characters together, celebrating, and someone asks, "So how many experience points did we just earn?", or "How many levels did you gain?", or something similar.

[TheNecrocomicon]

I say it'll be Rich in cartoon/comic form, walking into the hallway of a house, saying "You're still here?! It's over. Go home. Go."

[Mayrax]

Elan complaining the ending is too cliché.

[Silferdrake]

I've always imagined something like the last pannel of comic 120 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0120.html). Something that will look good for the last pannel of the paperback ;).

[Valynie]

By the time the comics end , The order will have hopefully defeated an epic level lich sorcerer
when such a campaign finish , the protagonists are amongst the strongest people in their world

It is then traditional for them to continue the campaign on another world

What better world than the one we have seen through the gates

So the last before the last panel should see them passing through a gate and the last panel should be
' A New beginning...'

[KorvinStarmast]

' A New beginning...' Closing time at OoTS. The gods of this world tell the Order that "you can go anywhere you want, but you can't stay here" so they head through the gate to the snarl's new world because ...
every new beginning is some other beginning's end.

OK, complete ripoff from a song but why not?

[Ruck]

Welllll, not necessarily. The producers of Lost famously said that they had the "last shot" of their series planned out years in advance. And it's fairly obvious to me that they in fact did have it planned out.

HOW they got to that last shot was probably not quite as nailed down as they implied. :smalltongue:

Mind, you're probably right in broad strokes. Still, wanted to post a contra-example.

The LOST showrunners also didn't have the answers to the mysteries they raised at the beginning of the series. Rich does, or at least, given how well the series to date has been plotted, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.


If it's a joke, I'm hoping for it ending with them converting to 4th/5th Edition, and Belkar getting screwed in the transition -again-.

The 4th edition conversion jokes were already made and appear in Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales.

[Prowl]

I'll be disappointed if the ending isn't "rocks fall, everybody dies". :elan:

[PoeticDwarf]

Is "Fin" a normal thing to end with in Europe? Over here in America, it's primarily used to make fun of artsy-fartsy pretentious independent movies. You know the kind.

Not really. Especially not in east but also not in other parts of Europe

[Lissou]

Is "Fin" a normal thing to end with in Europe? Over here in America, it's primarily used to make fun of artsy-fartsy pretentious independent movies. You know the kind.

It is in France, where it just means "the end". So whenever you'd have "the end" in English, you'll have "fin" in France. I think it's more common in older stuff than in recent stuff (in both languages) though.

[Kish]

To what extent "fin" seems particularly highbrow or pretentious, it's because speaking French is seen as particularly highbrow or pretentious. The way Mitsuru spoke French in the English translation of Persona 3.

...Now I wonder if highbrow/pretentious Japanese movies put "The End" at their ends.

In the Japanese Playstation 2 game Persona 3, the brilliant and wealthy Mitsuru Kirijo occasionally sprinkles English phrases into her speech. For obvious reasons, that didn't work for the translation of the entire game to English, so instead they have her sprinkle French phrases into her speech, saying "tres bien!" and "magnifique!"

[Deliverance]

So does anyone want to guess what the last panel will look like for all of OOTS any personal ideas?
Xykon and Redcloak in the Abyss in a lull in the midst of a battle in the blood war, both scarred from many wounds.

Observing an advancing battleline of Tanar'ri on the left and another of Baatezu on the right with the two of them caught in the middle, Xykon turns to Redcloak and says, "Well, that's another nice mess you've gotten me into, Redcloak."

[skim172]

- But, what if you're the imaginary one?

- Then ... if I was, then that'd mean that...

...

- ... everyone I ever knew...

...

...

- ...or cared about ...

...

...

...

- Everything, that there ever was, was a lie.





(Alarm Clock Beeps, Snoozed)

- Man, that dream was like 80% filler.


The End! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/12/11/episode-1070-what-were-you-expecting/)

[Captain Raveman]

With the fatted calf showing up, handing Roy a knife and telling him to make it quick.

[Tvtyrant]

The D falls off of the end sign, lands on Belkar, he dies.

[Seto]

Haley and Elan get married, with Durkon as a minister, V and Roy as best man/woman and break the fourth wall giving the readers a nice goodbye, while at the same time implying that their story goes on, with a hint of light-hearted self-parody.

[BriantheGinger]

The Order manage to defeat the villains, re-seal The Snarl and save the world. Belkar, however, dies in the process and is sent to either the Neutral or Chaotic Evil afterlife. He is able to visit Mr. Scruffy every now and then, though.

As for the rest of the Order, they go their separate ways, but still keep in contact. Elan and Haley get married and live to old age with a large family; Durkon returns to his homeland and becomes the new High Priest of Thor; Vaarsuvius begins to pass on his magical knowledge onto the next generation of wizards and other spellcasters, in addition to continuing on trying to work on his personal faults; Roy is still a wandering adventurer, trying to help others in any way he can and often checks on the seals for The Snarl.

The second-to-last panel of the series will be a replica of the team shot from #120, but with a much-older Order and the ghost of Belkar in it. The final panel is a black backdrop with "The End" in big white letters.

But that's just what I think, and I know that's not what will necessarily happen. Guy can dream, though. :smallsmile:

[unbjorn]

Last panel of 936

[littlebum2002]

There's one concern I have about Belkar's death in this comic.

Belkar is on a redemption arc. Either he completes it, and gets redeemed; or doesn't, and doesn't.

If he doesn't get redeemed, won't this whole arc seem like a waste of time? What's the point of spending hundreds of strips showing someone getting better and better if you're just going to kill them without any conclusion?

If he does get redeemed, and dies, why wouldn't the Order bring him back?

Since both of these scenarios seem...wrong to me, I think that Belkar will die in such a way that Resurrection won't raise him. Maybe he'll be sucked into the snarl, or another plane of existence...who knows. But that's how I'm placing my bet.

[Jay R]

"Uh, ok, but I thought we weren't actually representing a game campaign, we were just living in a world where the laws of-" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0606.html)

Of course they think that. All PCs think that. Certainly my PCs all think they are in control of their own actions.


If he does get redeemed, and dies, why wouldn't the Order bring him back?

Personal redemption isn't an all-or-nothing binary effect. I expect Belkar to die for the Order, maybe even saving Vaarsuvius's life, to enable the Order to save the world.

That one action will neither completely change his way of life, make him other than Chaotic Evil, nor pay for innumerable murders.

[littlebum2002]

I've got it!!!!


The strip where Roy kills Xykon should be called "I've got 99 problems but a Lich ain't one"

[xyz]

spoiler alert:

roy commits suicide to get to the plane of good when xykon planeshifts to the plane of evil. roy goes and saves durkon, they journey to hell itself and start kickin xy's ass when the lich pulls a fast one and starts rekkin their ****. roy's grandpappy comes and saves the day and completes his blood oath and is allowed into the afterlife finally. roy and durkon talk one more time on the fiery mountain and durk gives his final farewell to roy, and roy is raised from dead to live out the rest of his life. aftermath 100 years later shows oots at a tavern durkon built in the afterlife. the question gets asked where'd belkar go and it cuts to a final scene showing belkar talking to someone. we see someone reply back with basically "I should have never doubted you. I finally understood what he meant." and then witty bantz, and it's miko. They ride off into a sunset. (ps: this starts the next mini-comic where miko and belkar find true redemption and fight their way out of the afterlife to try and get re-tried to get to a better final resting place.)

[woweedd]

spoiler alert:

roy commits suicide to get to the plane of good when xykon planeshifts to the plane of evil. roy goes and saves durkon, they journey to hell itself and start kickin xy's ass when the lich pulls a fast one and starts rekkin their ****. roy's grandpappy comes and saves the day and completes his blood oath and is allowed into the afterlife finally. roy and durkon talk one more time on the fiery mountain and durk gives his final farewell to roy, and roy is raised from dead to live out the rest of his life. aftermath 100 years later shows oots at a tavern durkon built in the afterlife. the question gets asked where'd belkar go and it cuts to a final scene showing belkar talking to someone. we see someone reply back with basically "I should have never doubted you. I finally understood what he meant." and then witty bantz, and it's miko. They ride off into a sunset. (ps: this starts the next mini-comic where miko and belkar find true redemption and fight their way out of the afterlife to try and get re-tried to get to a better final resting place.)
Are you joking?

[martianmister]

spoiler alert:

roy commits suicide to get to the plane of good when xykon planeshifts to the plane of evil. roy goes and saves durkon, they journey to hell itself and start kickin xy's ass when the lich pulls a fast one and starts rekkin their ****. roy's grandpappy comes and saves the day and completes his blood oath and is allowed into the afterlife finally. roy and durkon talk one more time on the fiery mountain and durk gives his final farewell to roy, and roy is raised from dead to live out the rest of his life. aftermath 100 years later shows oots at a tavern durkon built in the afterlife. the question gets asked where'd belkar go and it cuts to a final scene showing belkar talking to someone. we see someone reply back with basically "I should have never doubted you. I finally understood what he meant." and then witty bantz, and it's miko. They ride off into a sunset. (ps: this starts the next mini-comic where miko and belkar find true redemption and fight their way out of the afterlife to try and get re-tried to get to a better final resting place.)

Roy's grandfather has nothing to do with the oath. It was his son who did it.