OOTS #362 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[chionophile]

Wow, no suspicion whatsoever. Good job, Roy.

Interesting that they gag Elan right away. Is that standard operating procedure?

[RiderofStorms]

Awesome Comic!!! YAY! Thanks ^^

[Risa]

Great job... poor Elan! :-/

[Axorcist]

Thog ... brings awesome :D

[Player_of_Games]

A very good comic.

Add: Poor Nale, his hours spent planning are washed down the drain by Roy's refusal to care. ;)

[Aerysil1]

Like sands through the hourglass...

This is turning into a regular soap opera. All we need now is an evil twin.

Oh, wait...

[LordOfNarf]

Once again I noticed the thread before the comic, I spend too much time on the boards.

Anyway, great comic, I loved it, especially how Nale is mad, and how Belkar doesen't notice.

[Lordkraken]

Wow, no suspicion whatsoever. Good job, Roy.

Interesting that they gag Elan right away. Is that standard operating procedure?

Only for spellcasters: its to stop him casting a spell.

Love the comic btw.

[Cybella]

Hehe. Looks like Nale will give himself away just out of annoyance that no one will test his brilliance :P

[drkdstryer]

Brilliant. I love how Nale KNOWS there's some pretty wrong things with his setup... buy Roy just completely ignores them anyway. I actually don't know how this could have gone better for him.

The police seem to have taken Elan out pretty easily though. I mean, sure, he's incompetent at combat, but they're NPCs...!

[rashambo]

it'll be interesting to see how this turns out

[Zangor]

Hehe. Looks like Nale will give himself away just out of annoyance that no one will test his brilliance :P
Quite possibly, that would be funny.

Great comic!

[Hario]

Elan can't get a break... nale can't get his room deposit back now...

[CynicalIllusionist]

Ugh, not even Haley showed any sign of seeing something was up....I mean come on, they are IDENTICAL TWINS, for gods sake, it's the oldest ploy in the book. If he kidnapped Elan to sacrifice him, why in the gods names did he vault down a window long enough to kill the police chief and be spotted?? I mean sure there's a lot going on to distract them, but seriously...he's actually talking about how dumb they are not to see through it in the last panel! And they arnt surprised that a fairly high level multiclass fighter rogue sorcerer has been subdued by a couple of low level npc class policemen???

Maybe i'm a naturally suspicious person in my D&D games, but I think the OOTS are really losing it here...

[jedihamster]

just asking...Has moderately-long-haired-cop-who-just-died appeared in any other comics besides this one and the last one? I feel like I've known him his entire life! It's a shame, kid like him had plot potential!

[ref]

Belkar is stupid or what? Elan would never talk that way! ._.

[LordOfNarf]

Belkar is stupid or what? Elan would never talk that way! ._.

You havent noticed before, Belkar isn't the sharpest shoty in the wagon train.

[Heloisa]

Hehe. Looks like Nale will give himself away just out of annoyance that no one will test his brilliance :P

My words exactly! :-/

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

... and The Giant does it again.

Yeah, a lot of people predicting (myself included) that Roy and Haley would see through Nale's disguise... And boom. The Giant turn the tables. Even Nale was offended.

Then again, one will not notice the discrepancies when it's worried about something else. Maybe later.

And Nale has been practicing? That's some news...

Loved the comic, Giant. Way to go! Now I have to wait 48 hours to see more... :D

[Tmabbbb]

That was kind of funny, how Nale spent so long preparing, and Roy was too stupid to notice.There is still a mark where Nale's goatee was, so that might help Elan. Haley seems like the only one who notices anything.

[EmeraldFire]

Yay! Resisting arrest is fun!

:) loved it, just loved it.

God, why is Roy just plain clueless ALL the time? The Oracle and his question, Haley pointing out Nale, now Nale disguised as Elan? *sigh*

[Axl_Rose]

lol wow - he looks so Elan.


Nice comic btw!

[jedihamster]

Also, and I guess this is a spoiler, but if Nale is the evil mastermind I think he is, then his evil plan should come to fruition very soon, probably while Thog's resisting arrest. This identity theft thing won't fly for very long, methinks

[LordOfNarf]

That was kind of funny, how Nale spent so long preparing, and Roy was too stupid to notice.There is still a mark where Nale's goatee was, so that might help Elan. Haley seems like the only one who notices anything.

That might just exist so that we can tell them apart while they are waering eachother's clothes, the charachters might not notice because they can't see it.

[Nashua]

Belkar's line was laugh out loud funny! For me, it made the comic, and I usually don't find Belkar's sense of humor conventionally funny. "Looks like somebody isn't getting their security deposit back" LOL! I thought fer sure he'd have something over the top to say, but his dedpan delivery was perfect.

[1337_master]

Good Gods, The comic just Appeared a few minutes ago and there is already 2 pages of posts, Do you people have nothing better too do than too just sit around the message boards one day? sheesh

[Erloas]

yay! resisting arrest is fun

Can't help but love Thog.

Its great how Nales evil plan isn't going to plan just because no one has yet bothered to try to notice him.

[c_rowles]

Holy crap! belkars scent!

[Sky_Schemer]

Belkar's ending line was an old joke, but funny nonetheless.

As for Roy not noticing...yeah he's dense, but to be fair, Thog is a little busy slicing guards in half. That might just be a wee bit distracting.

[Mewtarthio]

That might just exist so that we can tell them apart while they are waering eachother's clothes, the charachters might not notice because they can't see it.

When you remove your goatee as quickly as he did, you're bound to leave a mark.

[donkyhotay]

Good Gods, The comic just Appeared a few minutes ago and there is already 2 pages of posts, Do you people have nothing better too do than too just sit around the message boards one day? sheesh


No, usually it jumps to 3-4 pages in just a few mins. It's lessened since rich has forbidden any reference to what page a post is on.

[J_Muller]

Yeah, a merrily raging barbarian slicing through NPC cops in the middle of a blood-spattered room, with a summoning circle in the middle, and fresh corpses everywhere, with someone who looks like your opponent being subdued by police... tends to be a little bit distracting.

I must admit I failed in my predictions that Haley would notice.

[theKOT]

A good plot comic. It was handled well and wasn't totally predictable. I liked Haley pushing Roy(I get sick of his listening disability), the speed of the plotline, the emotion evoked(poor Elan!), and the jokes. 7/10

Now, Thog is getting old. His "blissful naivity of the horrible things he is doing" gag is only funny so often. I understand that is pretty much all he does, but I prefer the candyland/Celine Dion side of Thog's humor. I just think that has a greater longevity.

Anyway, I thought the deposit gag was about Nale's disguise. I thought Belkar must have figured it out. Was I wrong? I bet I was.

Lastly: I hate having to wait! What will happen? The tension!

[Peptuck]

"Yay! Resisting arrest is fun!"

Maybe its just the look of silly glee on his face as he's slicing cops in half, but for some reason this is the greatest Thog line ever.

[Grey Watcher]

Hehe. I love how paranoid Nale is about his own work.

I don't know why, but I found Elan and Nale's reactions very realistic and evocative. Elan's utter befuddlement at what's going on and why he's getting the crap kicked out of him, and Nale's alternating between giving a fairly convincing Elan and his internal monologues.

[Wolfram]

The police seem to have taken Elan out pretty easily though. I mean, sure, he's incompetent at combat, but they're NPCs...!

He was still pretty groggy. Groggy... groggy...groggy...groggy...groggy...groggy...grogg y...groggy...groggy...groggy...groggy...
THUD!

[chionophile]

Anyway, I thought the deposit gag was about Nale's disguise. I thought Belkar must have figured it out. Was I wrong? I bet I was.

The deposit joke was referencing the fact that Nale wrecked the room he was renting, what with the dead bodies and all.

[Dabble]

Very enjoyable.

Roy figures that Elan never has anything useful to say, so why listen when Thog needs to be captured?

We will see how it plays out.

Heck Belkar might enjoy hanging out with Nale better than Elan

[rosebud]

I love the Startrekesque quality of having the police character with no speaking role who (I think) just showed up in the previous strip be the one who was sliced.

As for complaints, except for the tragic death of the Chief, I don't see any issues. They're running, their spot checks are notoriously bad, and other things are happening. It's not like you have to sort out the issue in the first strip they encounter.

As for Elan, has he ever bested a foe in physical combat? He's made someone cry, he has faked being a giant, and he's won through cooties illusions, but I don't recall him actually physically subduing an oponent. (Could be wrong, though.)

[Myatar_Panwar]

I wonder why the oots keeps wanting to "subdue" people. Cant they just kill them like in a normal game of d&d?

[Taelas]

Now, Thog is getting old. His "blissful naivity of the horrible things he is doing" gag is only funny so often. I understand that is pretty much all he does, but I prefer the candyland/Celine Dion side of Thog's humor. I just think that has a greater longevity.
Thog is stupid, but he's not that stupid--he knows what it is he's doing. He's not "blissfully naïve" about killing; he's plain evil. He takes delight in it.

He is, however, stupid enough to not completely understand the fact that Nale and Elan switched identities, and Nale probably encouraged it. "Okay, when the cops come in, he's Nale, and I am Elan. Don't worry, I'll make sure you can tell the difference later."

Roy (and Haley) are obviously too distracted by both the entire scene and the rather grisly treatment Thog's giving the guards.
As for not noticing that "Nale" is too easily subdued... well, Elan is, ahem, "use-impaired", which probably influences their reactions a great deal.

[charik]

Cybella beat me to it, but I was going to post it in beige.

[5tephen]

Oh, this is gonna be fun.

Can wait to read the next series of strips. Very nice work, Mr Giant.

(especially the set-up in Ep. 336. The fact that Roy can't tell their voices apart. Nice, well thought out, patient work.)

[Skyserpent]

Good Gods, The comic just Appeared a few minutes ago and there is already 2 pages of posts, Do you people have nothing better too do than too just sit around the message boards one day? sheesh


This from a guy named 1337_Blades?

I kid, I kid... But honestly, we're fanboys/girls here and seriously we honestly love to rant/yell about everything remotely awesome in webcomics. It's the internet, dude chill.
Anyway, great comic Giant.

[Winged One]

Just classic examples of each character in action. :)

[theKOT]

The deposit joke was referencing the fact that Nale wrecked the room he was renting, what with the dead bodies and all.
You leave a deposit for a room? Huh. Learn something every day.


Thog is stupid, but he's not that stupid--he knows what it is he's doing. He's not "blissfully naïve" about killing; he's plain evil. He takes delight in it.

I was searching for the correct phrase for what I meant. But you are right, I was a bit off. Doesn't change my position though. His childlike glee at doing evil just isn't that funny to me.

[Rusty]

Holy crap! belkars scent!

Clever! 'Spoiler-ish' stuff below:

But it's also entirely possible he'll still smell (somewhat) like Elan since he's wearing his clothes.

[Solara]

Nothing really laugh out loud funny in this one, but it moves the plot along nicely, and I got a kick out of Nale's internal monologue...took me way back to when he was first introduced. :)

Also, I don't really see what the big deal is with Roy and Haley not recognizing Elan...sheesh, give them a break, guys. For one thing there's no reason why they should think they have to stop and scrutinize Elan to make sure he's really Elan, and obviously there are a few teensy little other things that might catch their attention first, like all the bodies and the pentagram and oh, I don't know, the big battle taking place just a few feet away from them? I'm surprised Nale even thought they woudl be engaging in a 'verbal game of cat and mouse' right then and there, but then he does seem to think everything revolves around him...

One thing I do wonder though, was his opening line going to be, "Roy, I'm Elan!" Because that's brilliant! They'd never suspect a thing! :D

Anyway, as for Belkar, I got the impression he walked in right after Nale's much too articulate whining and was only just then taking in the scene.

Once the fight's over and everything's cooled down, that's when it'll be interesting to see if he can fool anybody, and if all the comments about Roy and the others being dense are justified.

Of course, I do wonder if Belkar's going to figure it out even before that, since he can't join in the fight and will probably try and chat with "Elan" on the sidelines. Elan is one of the few people Belkar actually seems to genuinely like on occasion, and he might be able to tell that something's up.

[Krytha]

I think Roy cheated his way through that MBA...

[Holy_Knight]

Thog was hilarious! :D

Poor Elan though... :(

[Felinoid]

Still moving the plot we can see coming from a mile away. Though I have to say I'm rather stunned people still think they'll see through this. C'mon, it OotS. The party with the Spot and Sense Motive skills of Thog's axe and the common sense of a lemming. We love them precisely because they can't do ANYTHING right, but it still works out...after a fashion.

Not to mention Nale's little speech in the last panel, and Belkar still says "Hey, Elan." Nale could do everything in his power to give himself away and it wouldn't work. Even if Nale actually said, "I'm Nale," they'd just say, "This is no time for jokes, Elan." (In fact, I can so see that happening in a future strip and pissing Nale off because he won't be able to gloat over tricking them.)

I have to say, though, while the big picture is predictable to a fault, the specific way it's going down is genuinely entertaining. Thog's having a great time, Haley's contributing, the rookie's doing pretty well (with the information he has, that is), and Nale gets minorly foiled. And of course Belkar is Belkar.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"yay! resisting arrest is fun!"

Well, it's reasonable to me that Nale won't get busted when they're in the middle of combat. Thoughts on what Nale will do to get busted...will go in another thread. I just wanted this not to be one line.

[Lord_Kimboat]

Great comic!! I agree it's a bit much to expect Haley and Roy to notice Elan when there is a battle raging. Heck, Roy goes out of his way to NOT NOTICE Elan.

Thog is once again brilliant. "yay. resisting arrest is fun." But I think the cop with the blond beard was lucky he didn't decide to cleave. Although maybe Thog's cleavage isn't as great as Roy's. ;D

[Zeb The Troll]

Holy crap! belkars scent!
Ummm...

Perhaps I just didn't get enough sleep today, but what does this mean?

Zeb

[gooddragon1]

Gotta admit, thog's got a sweet backhand! ;D
All that effort for dissapointment, though I think belkar should be able to smell the difference (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0244.html)

[Yzorth]

FIRST POST! ;D

Anyway, I'd just like to remind everyone that the oracle kobold DID say that this would turn out well for Elan. Therefore...

I can't WAIT to see how Nale's plan falls apart. UGGG!!! TENSION!!!

I love OOTS! ;D

[Solara]

FIRST POST! ;D

Anyway, I'd just like to remind everyone that the oracle kobold DID say that this would turn out well for Elan. Therefore...

I can't WAIT to see how Nale's plan falls apart. UGGG!!! TENSION!!!

I love OOTS! ;D

I know you mean that was literally your first post, but given the new policy here I'd be a little more careful about using those two words together like that. ;)

Welcome to the forum btw. :)

[Rusty]

Ummm...

Perhaps I just didn't get enough sleep today, but what does this mean?

Zeb

I'll explain in beige here. Just highlight the below text.

Basically, Belkar can/should be able to tell who is who with his scent ability. Even if they are twins, Elan and Nale would certainly smell differently. That's why I suggested it's entirely possible Nale will smell somewhat like Elan in that he's wearing his clothes, which might throw off the little halfling's ability.

[TekGoNos]

Why is Nale complaining?
He just gave the best possible Elan impersonation possible : in the most inopportune moment (the middle of a battle) he comes to Roy to discuss something.

Yep, sounds very much like Elan.

And Roy ignores him (as he should) to move to more urgent matters.

An intelligent prepared speach would have raised way more suspicion as Elan is, well, neither intelligent, nor prepared.

Predictions :
Nale will be too eager to make a good Elan and fail because of this.
But as everybody is used to ignore Elan, this will take a long time.
I dont think Haley will spot the switch (would be too easy), perhaps Belkar.

[J_Muller]

Belkar should be able to smell the difference between Nale and Elan. Perhaps, given the location of his olfactory sensors, the first thing he'll smell is sulfur.

Think about it.

Also, a security deposit is a deposit you make when you rent a room, either a hotel room or apartment. When you stop renting it, if the room is in good shape, you get the money back. If the room is damaged, the landlord keeps the money. I'm betting Nale will lose his security deposit on this one, given that he's covered the walls in human blood.

[JepDeiod]

LOL

The best part was the comics name. Thog was awesome like always of course.

Me like some Thog!

[Trobby]

Ooo...pretty nice comic goin' here. ^^ What with Nale's master plan coming to fruition (I saw this coming, but I guess a lot of people did...) and the OOTS's lack of knowledge.

Hmm...Y'know, there's a lot of interesting things that could happen here now...

1: A LOT of people could fail to realize who is who...and by a lot of people, I truly mean almost everyone in the strip. Even Sabine might mistake Elan for Nale, if Nale and Thog were the only ones who really knew the full extent of Nale's plan *Nale's not exactly known for the whole "honesty" thing...*. In fact, we could wind up with Nale being in the OOTS for a loooong time now...taken way way far away from his whole party and forced to work for the side of good, while the LG and OOTS screw corks (Wee! I made up a metaphor!) trying to figure out what's wrong with their Bard/Bard-esque leader.

During which...

2: Halen/Nale?! This could prove interesting...for one thing, what if Nale tries to take advantage of this? Would Haley even know? Well...probably, because she'd be pissed at how much Elan suddenly changed. Though chances are, considering how different Sabine and Haley are, maybe nothing will happen at all, and Haley will start to question if she ever really loved Elan at all.

3: Belkar could very well know that it's Nale. In fact, I'm convinced that he does.

Belkar has made it clear over the course of The OOTS strip that his one and only reason for being on this team is not gold, not carnage and bloodshed, not all the hot ladies he can ask for, and DEFINATELY not to do the right thing and uphold justice with fellow do-gooders. His one and only desire as a member of the OOTS is:

To get underneath Roy's skin.

To the point where he will go very much out of his way just to see Roy as angry as possible. Now, if he does know that this is Nale, then he could tell Roy after the battle is over and revel in the fact that none of them knew it and let Elan get away, but since he knows how plotines work, he'll wait until they meet up with the LG again, and at the last second, when everyone else figures it out, tell Roy that he knew it all along and just didn't want to tell him because of the darn Mark of Justice Roy put on his forehead. Granted, that might make Roy activate the mark, but it just might be worth it to Belkar to see the look on Roy's face when he realizes how very very stupid he's been this whole time. Possibly enough that he'll forget about the mark entirely for the time being.

*/

It's also possible that someone else in the OOTS will figure it out...V probably won't because S/he's got a low Charisma and I don't know about her Wisdom, but it might not be high enough either. Durkon's got high Wisdom, but considering how nervous he gets about trees, Roy might brush off the Dwarf's worries as mere paranoia. Haley might catch on, but she's language-bound. Though this might just be the thing she needs to finally come out and tell us what she's been keeping secret for so long. Belkar we've already been over, and Roy...well, Roy himself would never figure it out...but Roy tends to disregard Elan like a Knight would disregard a squire that spends his time goofing off and playing music and making up cults that worship a puppet (Yay Irony!). That might get under Nale's skin enough to make him want to just give it up and reveal himself so he won't have to suffer anymore.

I'm gonna be keeping an eye on the upcoming strips, to see just what the Giant cooks up with this new string. If any of my predictions come true, it will only prove that I have some subliminal influence on the Giant. Or that we think alike. Or possibly that I am the Giant and have a hithertofor unknown split personality disorder.

..And it's very possible that none of this will come true, or that someone will see through the ploy right away and pincusion it before it goes anywhere at all.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Man, that was a lot of speculation. I hope the next post is still the right color! o.o;

Edit note: Huh, what do you know, it wasn't...^^; Time makes fools of us all.

[Skyserpent]

It would also be a bit tougher to recognize Elan now that the SNOT HAS BEEN BEAT OUT OF HIM.

[TheDRaconicLord]

"yay! resisting arrest is fun!"

Thog... will he ever change? Maybe it's because he says this with such innocence, but he looks so funny! :D

[NovaNightmare]

2 Things!

1. Yep thog is quite safe, for the moment (till Roy intervenes)

2. This Strip read quite well to Pink Floyd's Song "Interstellar Overdrive"

Weard!

[Arya_of_Evern]

Resisting arrest is fun!

Amen Thog, amen.

I'm so disappointed in Haley, but then again, the scene may be too distracting for her to really look at Nale yet...there is still time! ;)

[Tobimaro]

Why do I get the feeling that, in his effort to convince Roy and the others, that Nale will fail in his effort to convince them that he is actually Elan? If only due to the fact that he is incapable of acting as dumb as Elan does, as indicated by his musings in the last panel.

[Heads_or_Tails]

Well, it looks like Nale will require much less effort to accurately portray Elan then he previously thought. It's also good to see that he has apparantley gotten faster in his internal monologing.

On the thought that Belkar will smell the difference, they've been in a very bloody room for a while, so the difference may be temporarily masked. On a Belkar-related tangent, it looks like Belkars listen checks are down with his spot checks, judging by the way he didn't notice the VERY un-Elanesque remark.

Luckily of course, none of them have sense motive checks worth a damn.

[Skyserpent]

A few things Elan Possesses that Nale decidedly lacks.

Banjo the Clown. A Lute. A Kazoo. Banjo was introduced AFTER the Linear Guild fiasco... but then again... that's a bit esoteric

[Documn]

So how do you pronouce "schquirlkt" anyway?

[Devils_Advocate]

Why does everyone seem to think that identical twins smell way more different from each other than they look? Did I miss a factoid somewhere?

???

[Yorkiebar]

I'm impressed at Nale's plan. Note that he has a backup - even if it he does get arrested Sabine can get him out.

[CockroachTeaParty]

I wonder if Thogg even realizes that Nale has effectivley tossed him to the dogs? Then again... it could just be all part of the master plan. Oooooh!

[Rift_Wolf]

*Sigh* I was expecting one of the cops to have a high Spot or Sense Motive check, for some reason.

My thought is Miko's Detect Evil will somehow come into play here.

[chris003]

Wasn't Haley told when she gets an opportunity to cure her speech problem "do not look the gift horse in the mouth?"

Any chance that could mean Nale and his razor burned chin?

[Ragan]

Maybe i'm a naturally suspicious person in my D&D games, but I think the OOTS are really losing it here...

This may come as a surprise to you, but they are not *actual* players. The point is not only for them to advance in a game, but rather to be placed in humorous situations for our amusement. This *may* cause them to act in a way normal players would not.

[Adeptus]

Brilliant! Great punchline Rich :)

[Vargtass]

Why does everyone seem to think that identical twins smell way more different from each other than they look? Did I miss a factoid somewhere?

???

You are right. Even dogs have trouble telling identical twins apart. We (twins) actually do smell extremely similar.

The sight in a human is its most advanced mode of sensing, and face recognition is extremely accurate. Still, people have difficulties telling identical twins apart, especially if they are distracted, or do not find grounds for suspicion.
While scent is (in the Giant's interpretation) more advanced in the halfling compared to the human, there is no reason to believe a halfling's scent is more advanced than a human's (or halfling's) sight. In such a case, halfling's would use their smell to take in the world, much like dogs do.
Making a real-world parallel here, I do not think Belkar's scent is a threat to Nale's plan.

Vargtass (identical twin)

[Paragon_Kobold]

Identical twins are known to have very similar scents.

edit: Vargtass beat me to it!

[battleburn]

They usually live close together. So besides the identical smell because of genetics, there is also the similar smell of doing the same things.
Elan and Nale have been doing other things in life. So they smell different. Elan may still smell a little like the fireworks in Azure city. Or like hydra head. Nale smells more like killing lots and lots of people in the last few days. (Lots of different blood covering him)
Dogs certainly can smell the difference with such a different fenotype. The question is, can Belkar.

[Retales]

yay! resisting arrest is fun!

Belkar and Thog should team up and make their own adventuring group :P . They're the two best characters

[Sir_Norbert]

I'm so disappointed in Haley, but then again, the scene may be too distracting for her to really look at Nale yet...there is still time! ;)
Well, exactly. I don't know why everyone's assumed that Haley's been taken in; she hasn't had time to react to Nale yet. We'll find out whether she's fooled or not in the next strip (unlike Rich cuts to Xykon to *really* annoy us!!!!)

[battleburn]

by the way, did everyone notice V and Durkon have stayed outside. I guess Roy is sensible enough to realise losing Leeky as a prisoner would be a really bad mistake.

On a spoiler related note:
Durkon and V are with just two outside. This means Leeky, Sabine and Pompey are with three against two outside.

[Albion]

"Yay! Resisting arrest is fun!"

Maybe its just the look of silly glee on his face as he's slicing cops in half, but for some reason this is the greatest Thog line ever.

Agreed! So silly... so grotesque... so absurd... so amusing :)

[Shatteredtower]

You know, I think people might be crediting Belkar's sense of smell too highly. It could very well be that anyone in the group ought to be able to smell Roy.

Or it could be that Belkar was just making that up to insult Roy.

[Blood]

Doesn't look very good for Elan so far...

[Grunjon]

Why does everyone seem to think that identical twins smell way more different from each other than they look? Did I miss a factoid somewhere?

???


Errrrr...did I miss something? What publicity did the smelling thing get? Maybe you're not using the word "factoid" right.

Per my dictionary (American Heritage Dictionary): factoid (fktoid) - A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition.

i.e., a "factoid" is not, in fact, a fact at all. It is the opposite of a fact, and one that the masses accept as real because the news is essentially tricked into passing it on to everyone as if it were verified.

[Sebastian]

FIRST POST! ;D

Anyway, I'd just like to remind everyone that the oracle kobold DID say that this would turn out well for Elan. Therefore...

I can't WAIT to see how Nale's plan falls apart. UGGG!!! TENSION!!!

I love OOTS! ;D

Actually not, Elan asked

"will this story have a happy ending?"

And the oracle answered

"yes, for you, at least"

now, this can be read as "you will have an happy ending" but it could even read as "it will have an happy ending in your opinion". Elan is a bard, he know everything about narratives and know that a story could have a happy ending even if one or more of the main characters die.
So, not be too sure about Elan's well-being. :D

[sugarmouse121]

Great comic!

I predict...

(spoiler)

I think Haley will find out that "Elan" is Nale.

[taraxia]

Errrrr...did I miss something? What publicity did the smelling thing get? Maybe you're not using the word "factoid" right.

Per my dictionary (American Heritage Dictionary): factoid (fktoid) - A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition.

i.e., a "factoid" is not, in fact, a fact at all. It is the opposite of a fact, and one that the masses accept as real because the news is essentially tricked into passing it on to everyone as if it were verified.

A factoid is sometimes used to mean that -- it's also sometimes used to mean "free-floating" facts, that is, facts that get passed around without source or context so they might as well be (untrue) factoids. A lot of people learn lots of "fun facts" in this way, as little bits and pieces on, well, Fun Facts pages in popular magazines or driblets of information people drop on message board threads to make points or whatever.

[Solmage]

Hmmm, maybe there's something such as a plan working too well - it becomes boring :-) Poor Nale? heh

[battleburn]

Seeing the way Thog cuts right through that guard, it seems more likely that Nale could decapitate the Chief with one blow as well. Plus sneak attack, plus taking extra time for the aim.

[Rayek]

I don't know why, but for some reason I can imagine Elan saying exactly what Nale did in the last panel.

Oh, and I love how Roy refers to the room looking like the cover of a Heavy Metal album.

[Yzorth]

Spoiler.Ya, I can totally see Elan saying , "Roy, I-" and then be cut off. The smile really makes him look more like Elan. Nale definitely got lucky with how its turned out so far. I think if Nale were to start explaining things to Roy, he would seem TOO smart, and Roy might get suspicious.

[DougTheHead]

"Yay! Resisting arrest is fun!"

;D I have to agree with Thog there. ;D

and as for the scent thing- Belkar won't smell Nale, even if he does smell like Elan. Why? Because he's wearing Elan's clothes, and Elan is wearing his. Clothes absorb smells a lot better than skin or hair does- anyone who's ever been on a camping trip involving a smoky fire will attest to this. So for now, Elan smells like Nale, and vice versa, and once Nale's been with the Order for a while, his identical hormones and sweat glands will produce a scent identical to Elan's.

[Movoza]

The police seem to have taken Elan out pretty easily though. I mean, sure, he's incompetent at combat, but they're NPCs...!

well, elaN seems still dazed from being captured.

Good comic though

btw of the identical twins thingey,
i'm a identical twin. Even with me having long hair and my twin nearly bald, even my parents sometimes mistake us.

bttlburN says nale should smell of blood and elaN of fireworks or something. blood is a strong smell, elaN was in the middle of dead ppl with a spiked head in his hand. So was nalE. belkaR wont notice a thing, even if he gets his head started enough to notice.

[KuH]

One fact being overlooked in all the spoilers:
Sabine can pull the same imitation tricks, so for all we know Sabine is going to end up replacing V or something, and we can have two imposters in the OOTS.

[arronan]

"It looks like a heavy metal album cover in here!"

That was a good one! Made me laugh for a while!

[battleburn]

Wow, Movoza, you got yourself an acount here too?

LOL

[Holy_Knight]

btw of the identical twins thingey,
i'm a identical twin. Even with me having long hair and my twin nearly bald, even my parents sometimes mistake us.

Eh, parents don't really make a good example though--my parents call me and my sister the wrong thing sometimes... :P

[Goofy]

My mom calls me by my brother's name all the time. We look nothing alike and he doesn't even live with us anymore.

[Yorkiebar]

One fact being overlooked in all the spoilers:
Sabine can pull the same imitation tricks, so for all we know Sabine is going to end up replacing V or something, and we can have two imposters in the OOTS.Speaking of Sabine... Bet you ten quid that she gets noticed by one of the real police officers in a couple of strips' time and kills him in a particularly gruesome fashion.

[Robberbaron]

Fraid I know little to nothing about D&D, but y'all keep talking about Belkar not being able to tell the difference by scent. There is atleast one thing about Elan that should smell very different than Nale, last I checked most glues stink, and Elan has a goatee via a very powerful glue.

[Yzorth]

Well, I can't wait for the next comic. :D

[Melnor]

Hey! I haven'y posted in a while due to being gone most of the summer and the webcomics coming up on an infrequent basis. To tell the truth I was sort of losing hope in this comic, great tough it is, but not anymore! Honestly, I never expected you to meet every deadline for three days a week, Giant. You have both my sincere gratitude for the awesomeness of your comic and my humble apologies of doubting your own sincerity in writing it. Ausgezeichnet!

[Movoza]

Eh, parents don't really make a good example though--my parents call me and my sister the wrong thing sometimes... :P

well, more reason for belkaR not to notice, he's not looking for it, and twins do look/smell/talk/move nearly the same way, even twins who grew apart are not very different, really.

edit: uh, yeah hello bttlburn, i'm here and i'm not to leave i think. good to see you :o

[nybbler]

I like the way the cops are completely obvlious to the fact that the victim and perpetrator are twins.


And I think the halfling knows but he ain't telling... when Roy finds out he's going to be as angry as Miko was when she tried to kill Belkar.

[battleburn]

I think I should say this with the spoiler tags on so here it is:

In 356 Sabine walks away with Pompey, but in the new strip the cop that runs down Elan is the same person. Is this the real cop, or the Sabine in a different shape cop?

[MrsbwcMD]

As always, a great strip!

I love Thog! And, Belkar's line at the end is just hilarious.

[WeaponMasterLDO]

Subtlety is overrated.

[Totally Guy]

If the need arises Elan has a trick up his sleeve,

He could pretend to be Nale to have Linear Guild break him out and control them. Thus the one that finally exposes Nale as the villain will be Elan. Of course he'd have to pull out every smidgen of Bard mojo to pull that off.

But I think I know what's going to happen next,
Xykon will attack Azure city!

[taraxia]

I think I should say this with the spoiler tags on so here it is:


*Good* catch!

If true, then that's a really good, really useful fail-safe on Nale's part to make sure the cops' apprehension of Elan goes according to plan.

[the_tick_rules]

Hmm wonder how this is going to play out. Thog may be wasted in short order. He's no match for the entire OOTS, and Nale certainly considers him expendable. It's cute how Nale is depressed he didn't get to fake being Elan as much as he liked to after practicing so much i guess. But I still predict after the Thog situation is resolved it won't last long. Like I've said before, Nale is too smart to fake that level of stupidity. Maybe the old ask something only Elan would know. Come to think of it does Nale know anything about say Miko for instance?

[baerdith]

I think I should say this with the spoiler tags on so here it is:


I don't think it is. Look at the two again:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0356.html

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0362.html


"Sabine" was lighter and had spiky hair. This cop was darker and had wavy hair.

[kirbsys]

Maybe thog will be so stupid as to mess it up, I wouldn't be surprised.

[Imhotep]

Battleburn, it's an interesting idea, but you're probably wrong, if you look at the two characters again.

Slight Spoiler:
Unless of course she shapechanged again, but then again, it could be an entirely different cop.

[J_Muller]

Sulfur is particularly pungent, so Belkar still may be able to smell that it's Nale. He was able to tell that it was Roy when he was dressed as a girl, so why not? Also, Belkar may have memorized Sabine's smell anyway.

[SteveMB]

Slight Spoiler:
Unless of course she shapechanged again, but then again, it could be an entirely different cop.
Yes, but if you consider the possibility of an offscreen shapechange, anybody could be Sabine. It would verge on cheating to do that and not quickly reveal it or at least provide a hint. (I'm reminded of a t-shirt with a parody of the "Where's Waldo?" pictures -- a whole crowd of SF genre characters labelled "Where's Odo?")

[Caractacus]

Yeah, Steve MB,

I wrote earlier that a particularly evil plan would be (spoiler):

to have Sabine be the red-headed cop that we all like.

I am assuming not, and I also think that it would be a bit unfair if ANYBODY could be Sabine with no warning...

She had red text on her armour too... (her eyes change when she wants, but Rich is otherwise kind enough to usually give us a chance)

[Celisasu]

Belkar might know it's Nale. But does he care? I mean until Roy is dead he's got this annoying Mark of Justice that Roy can activate at will. If Nale kills Roy, then Belkar is free. Remember, Belkar's goals include the deaths of Roy, Miko, Miko's Horse, Varsuuvius, and The Oracle. He doesn't have Nale on his "I want you dead" list.

[Yorkiebar]

I think it was Sabine. Notice how the cop slams into Elan and interrupts him as he tries to explain? And he/she is the one who gags him.

[Tach13]

I don't think it's the same, but hey, I've been wrong before.

I do love Thog though, his latest line had me laughing quite well, made a long work week a bit nicer.

[Palpie]

He doesn't have Nale on his "I want you dead" list.
Maybe, but I doubt he has Nale on his lust list either.[/V]

And the cop that tackled Elan isn't Sabine. As pointed out Sabine was both lighter and had different hair. Plus the CPPD on her armor was red not blue. I expect she and Pompey are off waiting for Nale to ditch the Order once Elan's taken the fall. It's not like Nale will really want to travel with them.

[fangthane]

I don't think it was Sabine; if it were her, even without the eyes her CPPD would've been red for continuity and because the mimicry is meant to be good, but not perfect. I think she's run off to a safe distance with Pompey as a snack or ally as the mood suits her, pending Nale's return. Besides, there was a pair of guards involved in both phases of that subdual/gagging bit, not just the one. Granted that one had the dominant role, but that's hardly crucial.

As for Elan being taken down easily, remember that he hasn't precisely been in the best of conditions lately; he took a smack in the head, may have taken additional damage since (whether lethal or not) and was, as has been noted, also groggy groggy groggy etc.
spoiler: Charm Person (and its upgrades) lasts a fair while; I wonder if any of the cops are "on the take."

[Dark_Stalion]

Is it not possible that Roy just smells realy bad? :P

[1337_master]

Spoiler: ( I am not going too put it in Beige because everyone is going too look at it anyway)

Perhaps "Nale" shall escape from the prison or wherever he is being kept, So V casts a "find person" spell and it turns out that Nale is right in front of them!

[Robberbaron]

Belkar might know it's Nale. But does he care? I mean until Roy is dead he's got this annoying Mark of Justice that Roy can activate at will. If Nale kills Roy, then Belkar is free. Remember, Belkar's goals include the deaths of Roy, Miko, Miko's Horse, Varsuuvius, and The Oracle. He doesn't have Nale on his "I want you dead" list.

I'm doubting that Roy's death would deactivate the Mark, so Belkar needs Roy alive till it's removed, but I don't know the subtleties of the D&D magic universe.

[Taelas]

Why does everyone seem to think that identical twins smell way more different from each other than they look? Did I miss a factoid somewhere?

???
Natural smell (ie, not perfume or other things you've been exposed to) has very little to do with genes (though the amount of sweat, thus the amount of smell, does). It has far more to do with what you eat and drink.

Identical twins have a) identical hormonal glands and thus produce identical pheromones, and b) usually live together and thus eat much of the same food.

[Erloas]

One question is... does any of the other Linear Guild actually know Nales plan?

It wouldn't be suprising at all if Nale lied to them to about what his plan really was, he said earlier he wanted to torture Elan and kill the rest of the OOTS and so far that only partly fits what is going on.

if his plan is much more long term then what the rest of the LG knows, other then Thog they wouldn't know what has happened. Sabine and Pompey could break Elan out of jail thinking it is actually Elan. Elan may just be dumb enough that if someone else insists that he is Nale he might start to believe them, since he really doesn't know what has been going on.

[Yzorth]

Perhaps "Nale" shall escape from the prison or wherever he is being kept, So V casts a "find person" spell and it turns out that Nale is right in front of them!


Hmmm, I never thought of that. That WOULD be pretty cool. Definitely possible.

Also, I would like to note that when Belkar enters, he says, "Hey Elan". This probably means that he hasn't realized that "Elan" is actually Nale.

[Antina]

I don´t know if is has been spotted already, but:

Elans "new" beard is "growing" in a differnt way than Nales did! Nales had sharp - ahem - endings (?) (Konturen).
And the Elan-Version happens to have - well - like "ups and downs" (sorry - do not know, how to express that correctly) ::)

[ilinares]

OK, no-one seems to be pointing out what seems obvious to me:

Nale isn't going to be revealed as not being Elan until Hayley finally admits to "Elan" how she feels about him. Thus we finally get her back to being able to talk without advancing the Elan/Hayley romance plot an inch.

Not sure whether Nale would take advantage of Hayley's confession or not - it depends how willing he is to get on the wrong side of Sabine...

[Sir_Norbert]

Also, I would like to note that when Belkar enters, he says, "Hey Elan". This probably means that he hasn't realized that "Elan" is actually Nale.
Why? That's exactly what he *would* say if he'd caught Nale out and wanted to play along. Saying "Hey Nale" would get him killed in short order -- Nale wouldn't hang around waiting to see whether Belkar wanted to reveal him to Roy or not.

[Sonic_Moronic]

People who said that that young cop will have a good future, they were probably right. Because most of the cops died of Thog.

[SteveMB]

Not sure whether Nale would take advantage of Hayley's confession or not - it depends how willing he is to get on the wrong side of Sabine...
Well, Nale taking advantage of the situation (especially if he has the wrong idea about Haley and Elan's relationship) might end with both Haley and Sabine thinking it would be easier to tell them apart if Nale's voice were a bit more in the soprano range...

[Varian7]

I'm hoping Haley will save the day, she just needs a little more time to be less distracted.

[GymGeekAus]

Okay, perhaps I'm a bit out of it here.

But where does this assumption about Belkar having the scent ability come from? I admit I don't overbuy supplement books (although I do try) and that I spend more time reading about magic systems than anything else, but I don't believe that halflings get the scent ability. In fact, there's no real reference to their sense of smell in the racial description.

Now, if Belkar was a gnome, maybe.

[Sky_Schemer]

Anyone else notice that the guard that Thog sliced in half has red lines where his body was cut apart? In the past (Samantha, the ogres...) these have been black.

Rich is obviously getting extra gory for this story arc. :)

[Goofy]

Belkar knew Girl-Roy was still Roy by his scent back when Roy was wearing the belt.

[GymGeekAus]

Belkar knew Girl-Roy was still Roy by his scent back when Roy was wearing the belt. And V knew because it was still Roy, just with a mop on his (or rather, her) head and wearing a cape around his (or rather, her) waist.

Okay. That settles it. We need new pronouns for gender-confused situations.

Anyway, back in that strip, Haley also correctly identified Roy. In fact, nobody in the OotS assumed it wasn't him.

Belkar "activated halfling senses" to properly identify BBQ sauce, and he has some talent with his sense of taste ("needs pepper"). But I assumed that was just because halflings enjoy food. :)