OOTS #356 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

EDIT: Or maybe not? Technical difficulties, please stand by...

[gooddragon1]

where's the comic?
There it is, anyway... I wonder why pompey is smiling?
EDIT: first post woot!
EDIT: Why isn't the glass bloodstained?
EDIT: I c the glowing eyes yes...
Last EDIT: This is the first time I have ever gotten first post

[TinSoldier]

I love the twist at the end! I could kinda see it coming but not exactly in the way it came.

Roy pulling Pompey by the hair? Priceless.

7/10.

edit: I'm sure you're fixing it, but I had to enter the comic number manually to get it.

[c_olsen73]

woot second post! Fantastic Comic...Time for actual criminal justice in OOTs

[Tabiani]

Well, it's sorta there...

[ElfLad]

And Pompey survives another day. Think he'll be able to buff Sabine back up?

What, nobody else noticed that Sabine shifted to become the knight? Note the eyes, people.

[Sword_Noob]

First page and it's my first time posting ;D. And as to why Pompey is smiling, I'm pretty sure that's Sabine escorting him off.

[The Giant]

Sigh. Sorry about the minor delay; due to the number of people who have come to expect an OOTS just before midnight who keep refreshing, the server is running the update script VERY slowly. So the more people waiting for the strip, the longer it takes for it to get here.

[Elftist]

Good plot development. I had to reread it to figure out what was happening.

[StickMan]

this can't be good.

[Fillbert]

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!!

[TinSoldier]

Heh. I like the title, too.

[Vorais]

Well, looks like our friend LG is going to escape once more. I think Roy's thought of Nale's plan going completely wrong is not the case. Nale doesn't really care what happens to the rest of his lackey's as long as he gets what he wants so besides keeping the OotS busy he doesn't care about the rest of the outcome.

Edit: First page.. Nice.

[PN123]

why is roy saying pompey's line?
in the fourth panel

[Erloas]

was really hoping for Thog, but this will do

[Tmabbbb]

I was kind of getting bored with the comic, until I saw that last panel. That certainly can't be good. And I also liked how Pompey kept saying he was a lackey.

[Eloco]

See Roy should of "distracted" her a little longer... tsk tsk!

[ShrubberyJSC]

Yay! Good comic!

I like the get-aways. ;D

Edit: always press the > button.

(next comic)

That's how I found it by total accident.

And got on the second page. ;)

[Brickwall]

Pompey's speech bubble is misaligned.

Anyway, I am not sure I like this plot twist. Not that I think the badguys should lose, but it robs the transistory element from the comic, which was the element I thought was being set up. Basically...the comic seems incongruous and choppy to me.

Just a personal thought.

Oh, afterthought, it was very funny. I shouldn't put so much criticism when the jokes were funny.

[Ing]

GODDAMN IT! NOT AGIAN!

[RiderofStorms]

Awesome (as usual) comic! Lol, I can't help but luv the devil...or demon? ^^ :)

[aryeh88]

Dun dun dunnnnn! Has anyone from OOTS noticed Elan is missing yet?

[MetalKelt]

Well, now we know where Sabine went... Still awfully curious about Nale/Thog/Elan developements though...

[Rygar]

Heh. Amusing. Pompey is the total low man on the totem pole.

Also you silly people were thinking that Sabine was out for this fight. Tsk tsk tsk.

[Erloas]

And Pompey survives another day. Think he'll be able to buff Sabine back up?

What, nobody else noticed that Sabine shifted to become the knight? Note the eyes, people.

I'm pretty sure that he just charmed the guard that was supposed to take him to jail. I really don't think thats Sabine, not sure where she got off to, I would imagine its hard to hide a half naked women in the middle of a city like that.

[Draz74]

Hmmm, interesting twist. I didn't see that coming.

One criticism of the strip that I've sometimes had is the way characters don't use their abilities to their fullest often. Most obvious example: Durkon had plenty of good opportunities to use Thor's Might in between the two times we've seen it used. Same problem with other spellcasters, especially Elan. And I'm not sure we've ever seen Thog (or Belkar) Rage, technically.

I like how, by contrast, Sabine doesn't seem to hesitate at all to use her apparent "Disguise Self at will" power.

I'm surprised Roy so easily believed that he wasn't going to get anymore info out of Pompey.

I like how Pompey apparently recognizes his boss just by her whistling, and knows he's gotten off scot-free.

I don't like Julia's attitude, as always, but it would have been awfully out-of-character for her to start treating Roy with respect now, just because he beat Sabine and she's learned a bit of respect for Durkon.

The Chief is really starting to grow on me. With the "head on a pike" comment. :)

The way the police keep getting repeated reports of the makeup of the Guild makes me worry ... it's kind of a strengthening of earlier foreshadowing. I won't say what foreshadowing here (Spoiler), but it's what a bunch of people were speculating about after the comic where Thog knocked out Elan.

[Flak_Razorwill]

Hmm. Pompey's speech bubble in panel four isn't right...

Let me be the first to say, Oh SNAP!

[Fuu]

Well these was a kind of boring one, but some comic's most be for moving the story and surelly those 2 last paneles move the story a lot. :D Anyway i still wondering where's Belkar and how will he get out of his trouble without using letal damage

[Aerysil1]

Gotta keep your eye on that minx.

[sakusha]

That was at once supremely AWESOME of Roy and then supremely STUPID of him. XO

"Shutting up, yessir." Genius! ;D

[Nashua]

Wow! I really liked Sabine's great escape! Being a shape-shifting, winged fiend has its perks. ;D

[RiderofStorms]

One criticism of the strip that I've sometimes had is the way characters don't use their abilities to their fullest often. Most obvious example: Durkon had plenty of good opportunities to use Thor's Might in between the two times we've seen it used. Same problem with other spellcasters, especially Elan. And I'm not sure we've ever seen Thog (or Belkar) Rage, technically.


Lol, I must disagree, all except for Durkon...He most certinally could use it other times, but it's more fun to save that for special occasions ^^ besides after all he is a dwarf....And Elan...he's kinda to simple to use spells((as displayed with the oger in the water when he uses an illusion :) )) And Belkers always angry and wants to kill things and is only lvl 1 barbarian....And Thog...we havn't seen to much of ^^ but he's also not the brightest around

[Brickwall]

Hmm. Pompey's speech bubble in panel four isn't right...

Let me be the first to say, Oh SNAP!

I'll burst your bubble by letting you know that I was the first to point it out.

Oh SNAP!

[Felinoid]

Geez, having a shapechanger on your team seems to be a perfect "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

And damn if Roy doesn't get along with the cops like they were in the same army.

[SPoD]

I'm pretty sure that he just charmed the guard that was supposed to take him to jail. I really don't think thats Sabine, not sure where she got off to, I would imagine its hard to hide a half naked women in the middle of a city like that.

You seem to have forgotten that Sabine can shapeshift at will, as seen when she impersonated the dwarven blacksmith. Further, we've seen that she has a limited color palette when doing so, having only brown, red, black, white, and grey. Note then the red "CPPD" on the guard's chest, along with the red whistle (also seen when Sabine first appeared back in the first LG story) and it's pretty conclusively Sabine.

[RiderofStorms]

I'm pretty sure that he just charmed the guard that was supposed to take him to jail. I really don't think thats Sabine, not sure where she got off to, I would imagine its hard to hide a half naked women in the middle of a city like that.

Lol, I thought he was just being sarcastic ^^

[sakusha]

You seem to have forgotten that Sabine can shapeshift at will, as seen when she impersonated the dwarven blacksmith. Further, we've seen that she has a limited color palette when doing so, having only brown, red, black, white, and grey. Note then the red "CPPD" on the guard's chest, along with the red whistle (also seen when Sabine first appeared back in the first LG story) and it's pretty conclusively Sabine.

Agreed. And when she's being notoriously devlish (pun intended) her eyes glow red, which is also seen here. Her shapeshift (in this comic) appears limited to Change Self meaning her skin color and hair color don't change, but she can change her outward appearance other than that.

Edit: and why in the 5th-7th panel is the black scar near Roy's mouth gone? oO;

[RiderofStorms]

Edit: and why in the 5th-7th panel is the black scar near Roy's mouth gone? oO;


Perhaps the same reason their eyebrows dissapear every now and then?

[Yrogerg]

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!!

Darn, you took the words right out of my mouth, err, keyboard. Whatever.

[ref]

uh-oh... silly Roy, he pulled an Elan this time...

[Nerd-o-rama]

...God damn polymorph-type spells.

Good to see that Roy's getting along with authority for once, and won't get blamed for the mess...much.

[The_Bug]

Awesome comic! I just noticed it was up now :P

[Solmage]

Heh, fun. Roy may be smart.. now he just needs to grow a sense motive! :)

[EmeraldFire]

Knew Sabine wasn't dead, she is just way to important to die like that :)

[JT]

Okay... had to register finally.

Nice title... good strip... yes, Roy's injuries disappear or move about some (same as Julia's belt in #354... yes, that is Sabine as the CPPD lackey (at least, it [i]better[i] be) ;)

And as long as we're picking nits, Roy's torso scrape switches sides in panel 9.

But more important, where did Roy learn about Hades? (panel 5)
I thought that Zeus and those other weird-named Gods were destroyed by the Snarl. One would presume that the eponymic land of the dead would also be unknown.

[KeiranHalcyon]

Perhaps Thor's Might has expensive or rare material components? (Something like a premium dwarven lager as an offering to Thor... something Durkon would be hard pressed to come by and loath to part with except in dire circumstances.)

[Solmage]

Sigh. Sorry about the minor delay; due to the number of people who have come to expect an OOTS just before midnight who keep refreshing, the server is running the update script VERY slowly. So the more people waiting for the strip, the longer it takes for it to get here.

Hi there. I remember pointing out a long while ago that people constantly hitting refresh would end up putting a strain on the system, and this, ironically, is worse the more regular the comic is :)

I'd like to re-suggest my idea of implementing automatic AIM and/or email notification for when the new comic is up, ideally with a direct link to the new comic that bypasses the script. Specially AIM notification should significantly lower the refresh rates and thus lower bandwidth usage as a side effect.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the nice comic.

[CynicalIllusionist]

"You know, technically, i'm just an innocent victim here."

(monotone voice)"Shut up."

Haha great strip, The OOTS really need to get V or Durkon around to cast some kind of dispel magic on Sabine when she's "almost" beaten....

It'll be Durkon, V, Belkar or Elan next....i'm hoping to see what happened to V, or Belkar.

[Adghar]

And as long as we're picking nits, Roy's torso scrape switches sides in panel 9.
Because he's turning around to leave.


But more important, where did Roy learn about Hades? (panel 5)
I thought that Zeus and those other weird-named Gods were destroyed by the Snarl. One would presume that the eponymic land of the dead would also be unknown.
Only the Western Gods were forgotten.

[Heloisa]

OMG! Pompey is useless! ::)
And it's official, I hate Sabine, lol. :P

I really thought this one was going to be about Haley... :-[

[Krytha]

heh... oh no... OHH NOOO..

I guess Roy is too pre-occupied with messing up the rest of the guild to notice Elan is borked. Not that he would be PARTICULARILY broken up over that, but he did make a resolution to save Elan from his own stupidity... Next on the list? Yok-yok and Leeky?

[JT]

Because he's turning around to leave.
That would only be an explanation if he were a 2D see-thru character, but if that were the case, then his facial cut would also have to appear to switch sides. It doesn't. The torso scrape is on the side where Roy is holding Pompey, and then it's on the other side. For that matter, compare the scrape in panel 9 vs 10. If he's turned to leave, then why didn't his sheathed sword "switch sides."



Only the Western Gods were forgotten.
Nope. Gods of the East (OOTS #273). That's Zeus, Ares, and the Gods of the East. "Hades" (the God) is in that panthoen, and Hades (the place) was named after Him.

[Miklus]

Sabrine is now my favorite villain! Cunning and bad to the bone.

Is V still lying there, all beat up? I hope they don't forget him/her like they did Durkon that time. :P

[Adghar]

Roy's head kept turned the same way throughout panel 8-10, and he was actually turning to give Pompey to Disguised Sabine. In 9, he's still in the process of sheathing his sword and so it could be at the same point when he finishes sheathing the sword, he finishes turning back to face the CPPD police chief guy.

You win on the gods point.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Stupid. So stupid.

I know they are distracted, but I fail to see anything but stupidity in the fact that The Chief is giving orders to an officer that he clearly never saw before.

I know we just saw The Chief and two officers (the rookie and the weapon report girl) at the scene, yes, but can't The Chief notice the big red CPPD written on shapeshifted Sabine's armor?


Good comic, as usual, o Mighty Giant. Now we'll see real battles, because we have Roy to defeat the centipedes (if they are still not defeated), and Roy to help Julia to heal V and the three of them can help Durkon against Leeky.

Unless something happens... And of course it will. :D

EDIT: I've started writing this post on page 3, and then I thought I could put a link here or there to illustrate it, and there I went to search the ones. But I got distracted re-reading old comics, and just managed to post on page 4. Oh well... ;D

[charik]

I like how even the whistling is red.

[JT]

In 9, he's still in the process of sheathing his sword and so it could be at the same point when he finishes sheathing the sword, he finishes turning back to face the CPPD police chief guy.

Again... look at panels 9 and 10. If Roy has turned, then the sheathed sword would have to change position or orientation. It doesn't.

Try -- even without human joint limitations -- to spin your torso approximately 90 degrees, without moving your arms or shoulders.

And (just noticed) the crown flips directions (points go to the left in 8 and 10, points go to the right in 9). You can't change that by spinning/rotating/turning, except by rotating it to the far side, and then looking through the non-transparent body of Roy.

Roy's torso, from his silver-gray spaulders down to the bottom of his blue tunic, was flipped in panel 9. Since his sword stays on his back and in the same orientation in both panels 9 and 10, it has to be an error. You can't turn and account for everything.


Now, the above rant aside, I don't really care. If I were to try and draw two pictures, there'd be continuity and inconsistency problems. It doesn't detract from the story or comic, as far as I'm concerned. (I know... then why in Hades did I bring them up?) ;) I was just nit-picking. But I am right. ;D

[Draz74]

Perhaps Thor's Might has expensive or rare material components? (Something like a premium dwarven lager as an offering to Thor... something Durkon would be hard pressed to come by and loath to part with except in dire circumstances.)

I'd bet 100 to 1 that Thor's Might is just what Durkon calls Righteous Might. So no, that's not it. :(

[Adghar]

Again... look at panels 9 and 10. If Roy has turned, then the sheathed sword would have to change position or orientation. It doesn't.
I've accounted for this already.


Try -- even without human joint limitations -- to spin your torso approximately 90 degrees, without moving your arms or shoulders.His arms and shoulders have moved.


And (just noticed) the crown flips directions (points go to the left in 8 and 10, points go to the right in 9). You can't change that by spinning/rotating/turning, except by rotating it to the far side, and then looking through the non-transparent body of Roy.Turning could've caused jostling and spinning of the crown unless it's really heavy.


Roy's torso, from his silver-gray spaulders down to the bottom of his blue tunic, was flipped in panel 9. Since his sword stays on his back and in the same orientation in both panels 9 and 10, it has to be an error. You can't turn and account for everything.
What I meant was that his sword is still in the air during panel 9, but is attached to his back in panel 10.


Now, the above rant aside, I don't really care. If I were to try and draw two pictures, there'd be continuity and inconsistency problems. It doesn't detract from the story or comic, as far as I'm concerned. (I know... then why in Hades did I bring them up?) ;) I was just nit-picking. But I am right. ;D

I don't much care either.
In any case, I think it's a matter of opinion and interpretation.
But you've demonstrated that your opinion will not change.
So I've lost interest in this discussion.
Good night.

[Adeptus]

Nice :)

[Glorfindel]

Nice comic again :)

Knight takes Pawn ... checkmate? Not yet!

[Xilehxt]

That comic had its moments.

Rule Number One: Make sure you kill your helpless enemies. Roy is stupid, even if he wanted information out of Sabine, he should have either killed her, or made sure that she couldn't escape. This is the second time Sabine's let off sact free all due to Roy's naivety.

One could argue being Lawful Stupid prevents him from killing her in cold blood, but considering all the damage she has done, Roy would be justified in cutting off that sucubus's head (yes. it is a sucubus people. nothing wrong with CE lending help to LE Nale. That argument doesn't even make sense)

Again, this point I just made is pointless because being a web comic, it must have the plot progressed and villians reocurred. It's just that normally in a game, you make sure you killed the person. She's an outsider and she can't be resurrected even, so why not make sure that the threat is gone? For someone of Roy's intellect, this behavior is very odd, even if derailed for the plot.

[Trobby]

Dun dun dunnnnn! Has anyone from OOTS noticed Elan is missing yet?

Are you kidding? I don't think Roy has even noticed the GIANT BATTLE Durkan is currently locked in right now, and I'm also currently wondering why he hasn't gone to help him yet...and while we're on the subject of helping, has Julia delivered that potion to V yet? (Seeing the bottle in her hand, apparantly no, she hasn't yet.)

No no no...it's clear that NO character in Order of the Stick, even NPCs, bother to put any ranks in their spot checks.

On the subject of the comic itself, nothing particularly special, but a good comic nevertheless, and a clever use of supernatural abilities on Sabine's part.

As to why Durkan seems to only utilize Thor's Might is that he has the "Strength" Domain, and put down Righteous Might (Renamed "Thor's Might" for his god) as his domain spell, to be used only in combat-intensive emergencies.

Which is just the kind of cautious forward-thinking Durkon might utilize for battle. ^^

Editorial note *And possible spoiler*
Has it occured to anyone that Sabine may, in fact, be a mixed breed, both Demon AND Devil?

[Pvednes]

Now if Roy would just listen to Belkar for once, none of this sort of thing would happen.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Blast! Can no random NPC be trusted? It's like a full-blown Tsochar invasion!

[Zeb The Troll]

Again... look at panels 9 and 10. If Roy has turned, then the sheathed sword would have to change position or orientation. It doesn't.
I disagree. If you envision it with the "facing" argument, the hilt of the sword is over Roy's right shoulder in both panels.


Try -- even without human joint limitations -- to spin your torso approximately 90 degrees, without moving your arms or shoulders.
In panel 9 he's facing to the right of the panel and looking back over his right shoulder to talk to the chief. His torso and shoulders are both oriented to the right side of the panel and his right hand is on the hilt.

In panel 10, Roy is "talking" with his right hand while his left hand hangs straight, as is appropriate for a right handed person.


And (just noticed) the crown flips directions (points go to the left in 8 and 10, points go to the right in 9). You can't change that by spinning/rotating/turning, except by rotating it to the far side, and then looking through the non-transparent body of Roy.
Look back at the previous strip and strip 349. When Roy is on the left side of the panel facing right, the crown and wound are the same as in panel 9 of this strip. When he's on the right side of the panel looking left, they are identical to how they're drawn in panel 10 of this strip. Then go back to strip 340, where in panel 8 Roy is clearly walking to the right and talking over his shoulder and the hilt of the sword/orientation of the crown are identical to panel 9 in this strip. That makes the whole facing right/left discussion in this strip consistent with Roy's facing in the comic at least as far back as entering Cliffport.


Roy's torso, from his silver-gray spaulders down to the bottom of his blue tunic, was flipped in panel 9. Since his sword stays on his back and in the same orientation in both panels 9 and 10, it has to be an error. You can't turn and account for everything.
Ah, but I think you're mistaken. Look again. It's no error. The orientation of the crown is being used as a subtle clue as to which direction Roy's chest is facing and that still makes the hilt being positioned over the right shoulder, as appropriate for Roy's right-handedness.


Now, the above rant aside, I don't really care. If I were to try and draw two pictures, there'd be continuity and inconsistency problems. It doesn't detract from the story or comic, as far as I'm concerned. (I know... then why in Hades did I bring them up?) ;) I was just nit-picking. But I am right. ;D

I'm going to have to side with Adghar on this one. He's facing right in panel 9, with torso and shoulders facing Sabine but looking back over his shoulder talking to Chief, and left in panel 10, fully engaged with Chief.

Zeb

[dragon95046]

But more important, where did Roy learn about Hades? (panel 5)
I thought that Zeus and those other weird-named Gods were destroyed by the Snarl. One would presume that the eponymic land of the dead would also be unknown.


Roy obviously learned about Hades from his player as he is a PC after all. It runs along the same lines as him making a reference to Japan, which also doesn't exist in this world.

[Jarawara]

"Aww, Crap! Where'd she go?"

It's amazing how often that line (or one quite similar) comes up in my games. ;D

[The_Weredragon]

Is the police Sabrine in disgise ou did Pompey cast same quind of control spell ? ???

anyway, great strip :)

[SPoD]

Are you kidding? I don't think Roy has even noticed the GIANT BATTLE Durkan is currently locked in right now, and I'm also currently wondering why he hasn't gone to help him yet...

Uh, because there's a limited number of panels in each strip? Seriously, the characters can only do so much in each comic. Do you really expect everything to happen all at once?

Roy's first priority was finding his sister, which he did. Then he had to unload his prisoner, so that his hands were free to go fight. Which he did. In the process, he had to talk to the police so that they didn't think he was one of the bad guys. Makes sense to me. He'll probably go help Durkon now that he knows his sister is safe.

In other words, have a little patience and consider the restrictions of the comic format before questioning a character's behavior.

[taraxia]

That comic had its moments.

Rule Number One: Make sure you kill your helpless enemies. Roy is stupid, even if he wanted information out of Sabine, he should have either killed her, or made sure that she couldn't escape. This is the second time Sabine's let off sact free all due to Roy's naivety.

I think Sabine's been trying to mislead Roy as to her own level of power, though. She acted like she was defeated and helpless once her buffs wore off, when really she probably had a lot of fight left in her. Roy probably assumed that she was already on low hit points and that throwing her out the window would have left her unconscious or dying, when in reality she was only slightly wounded.

Also, Roy doesn't *know* about Sabine's shapeshifting. He knows she can make her wings and tail and glowing eyes subside and appear human, but she's never actually looked like a different person (in this case, a male police officer) before.


One could argue being Lawful Stupid prevents him from killing her in cold blood, but considering all the damage she has done, Roy would be justified in cutting off that sucubus's head (yes. it is a sucubus people. nothing wrong with CE lending help to LE Nale. That argument doesn't even make sense)

Indeed. Remember that CE Sabine is the doppelganger of CG (CN at the worst) Haley, and that her status as second-in-command of the Linear Guild under LE Nale basically parallels Haley's status as second-in-command of the Order of the Stick under LG Roy (despite the fact that Elan is supposed to be the "opposite" of Nale, Thog, who's supposed to be the "opposite" of Roy, parallels Elan's *role* in the OotS much more closely, and vice versa, in fact -- Nale is the Guild's Roy).


Again, this point I just made is pointless because being a web comic, it must have the plot progressed and villians reocurred. It's just that normally in a game, you make sure you killed the person. She's an outsider and she can't be resurrected even, so why not make sure that the threat is gone? For someone of Roy's intellect, this behavior is very odd, even if derailed for the plot.

In real life, if I threw someone out of a window and then (presumably) saw her lying motionless amid a sea of broken glass, I'd probably assume they were unconscious and I could deal with them later. Note that he *did* go to check on Sabine right after he'd dealt with Pompey -- it's just that he judged Pompey to be the more immediate threat (which he might've been, if he'd made his Spot check, won initiative, and gotten a chance to cast a spell before Roy initiated a grapple) and his highest priority at that point was finding his sister. After Pompey was dealt with and his sister found, his first thought was Sabine, but by then it was too late.

[Delgarde]

Is the police Sabrine in disgise ou did Pompey cast same quind of control spell ? ???

Well, considering a) Sabine has disappeared in the previous panel, and b) the policeman has Sabine's dark skin, black hair, and red eyes - yes, it's pretty obviously Sabine in disguise...

[taraxia]

One criticism of the strip that I've sometimes had is the way characters don't use their abilities to their fullest often. Most obvious example: Durkon had plenty of good opportunities to use Thor's Might in between the two times we've seen it used. Same problem with other spellcasters, especially Elan. And I'm not sure we've ever seen Thog (or Belkar) Rage, technically.

That's just narrative for you. Sabine shapeshifting when it suits her is interesting and adds complexity to the plot. Durkon abusing Righteous (Thor's) Might all the time would quickly become boring and make the story a lot less interesting by letting him stomp all over any challenges.

That said, in-character we have to remember that Durkon is highly Lawful and probably has strict religious beliefs about how his powers should be used -- note that the spells he prepares are almost always centered around healing and support, and he doesn't usually use things like Flame Strike or other direct-damage blasting clerical spells -- that's more the sort of thing a Cleric of Loki would do, in my estimation.

He probably only prepares one Thor's Might per day -- as others have suggested, likely in the domain slot -- with the strict understanding that it's only for emergencies, and that his powers are generally meant to support and protect his allies rather than seeking glory for himself. (The contrast between Durkon's attitude as a Cleric of Thor and Thor himself's attitude as a gloryhogging thunder god, of course, only adds to the humor. It seems that Durkon himself almost *never* does what Thor would do.)

As for Elan, Thog and Belkar... you realize that none of these characters have Wisdom scores we would exactly call high, and therefore it makes a lot of sense for them to forget or overlook the range of their abilities on a somewhat regular basis. Elan, particularly, seems to have a somewhat messed-up idea of what it is his Illusions can do and how he ought to use them.

(We don't know what Rage looks like, though. It's not necessarily a stereotypical berserker rage -- just a rush of adrenaline that allows you to act with much greater force and precision. Even though Belkar didn't seem exactly *angry*, the gleeful rush of success he seemed to be on in his fight with Miko might count. And remember that Nale and Sabine were quite sure that Thog was *going* to Rage as soon as they ran out of ice cream.)

[Zeb The Troll]

Also, Roy doesn't *know* about Sabine's shapeshifting. He knows she can make her wings and tail and glowing eyes subside and appear human, but she's never actually looked like a different person (in this case, a male police officer) before.
Actually, Sabine tells him in #349 that she was the blacksmith that sent him on the quest for the starmetal.

Zeb

[Cythraul]

I'm going to have to side with Adghar on this one. He's facing right in panel 9, with torso and shoulders facing Sabine but looking back over his shoulder talking to Chief, and left in panel 10, fully engaged with Chief.

I have to agree with Zeb and Adghar - you'll also note that whichever of Roy's epaulettes or feet is nearest to us (thus indicating which way his body is agled, although facing us both times), is larger than the one further away... perspective on a stick figure, no less!
I haven't noticed Roy's injuries changing at all, only the part of his body that you happen to be looking at... I think the Giant pays far more attention to detail than some of you are giving him credit for, and when you (in the plural, impersonal sense) are thinking he has made a mistake, it's usually the case that he is either setting up a joke or giving you an alternative perspective, pardon the pun.
"Yay Giant", is what I say!

Wonder how long before they figure out that this was all an elaborate ruse...

[fithi]

Whoops! Not paying attention to a life-sucking, shapechanging demon is generally a bad idea.

The shenanigans just keep on coming... this is fun!

[Zeb The Troll]

I haven't noticed Roy's injuries changing at all, only the part of his body that you happen to be looking at...
There is a perception that the red tic-tac-toe wound near his waste is changing. In some panels it's under his right arm and in others it's under his left. But I think it's just that he's wounded on both sides. Again, if you look all the way through the battle there's always a wound near his waist, regardless of which way he's facing. That tells me that Rich has been drawing two wounds ever since Roy got thrown through the wall, which is totally reasonable.

Zeb

[Kanashimi]

darn reoccurring characters. Also, too bad glass and falling damage don't get past her damage reduction. I had that problem with a succubus, too.

[Allandaros]

Hmm. Is the red-eyed guard supposed to be Sabine shapeshifted? Or is it (as I initially understood it) Pompey having managed to charm the guard?

I am perplexed.

[Blaznak]

Go Go Magic Succubus! Whoo hoo! Very nifty escape...

[Spit_Dog]

Hmm. Is the red-eyed guard supposed to be Sabine shapeshifted? Or is it (as I initially understood it) Pompey having managed to charm the guard?

I am perplexed.

Hmmmm, Sabine is missing from the spot below the window where Roy thought she was...the "guard's" eyes, the CPPD on "his" chest, his whistle and skin are all in Sabine's colours....plus Pompey has that sh*t-eating grin (all this has been mentioned in this thread already, but oh well).

What's to be perplexed about?

[Ravenlord]

For walking into a trap, they pretty much overpowered the LG so far without big difficulties. Not 'zactly what I was expecting after the lead-up, but heh!

[bosssmiley]

Great self-restraint from Roy, and EVIL use of genre cliches (#17: there's always a uniform handy to do the grunt work) by Sabine.

I'm liking this storyline. GJ Mr Burlew. :D

[Heads_or_Tails]

Hmmmm, Sabine is missing from the spot below the window where Roy thought she was...the "guard's" eyes, the CPPD on "his" chest, his whistle and skin are all in Sabine's colours....plus Pompey has that sh*t-eating grin (all this has been mentioned in this thread already, but oh well).

What's to be perplexed about?

In addition to what you have already mentioned, Pompey banned Enchantment, making a charm spell an impossibility.

[Sereno]

Heh, heh, heh.

"What part of "lackey" don't you understand? Geez..." -- Nice to see he can still be a smartass even when being dragged off to justice.

[Renegade Paladin]

Also, Roy doesn't *know* about Sabine's shapeshifting. He knows she can make her wings and tail and glowing eyes subside and appear human, but she's never actually looked like a different person (in this case, a male police officer) before.
Incorrect. She directly told him that she was the dwarven smith who sent them off on the starmetal hunt.

[Kiroho]

Giant, you sneaky SOB, that was great. Didn't see that coming at all.

[TheUdjat]

My favorite part is the red CPPD on Sabine's shirt. Perfect touch.

[Elcaz]

It wasn't funny in the hahaHAAAAAH!! sense, but it was a nice twist and keeps me wanting for more.

[Kruul]

Can't they just get locked up!? these villains are getting repetitive...

[Doug_Lampert]

Heh, fun. Roy may be smart.. now he just needs to grow a sense motive! :)
Right, a Default BtB Succubus only gets a +19 bluff for 29 on a take ten bluff. I'm SURE one or two cross class ranks in sense motive will spot that!

It's worse since Sabine is likely advanced, and probably has elite abilities. A 12 HD elite abilities Succubus gets +26 for a 36 on take ten, and is STILL has a substantially lower CR than the OotSticks APL. So we need to throw in a few class levels, which may well increase her bluff yet further.

And her disguise modifiers are substantially higher than her bluff modifiers. So the character's can't see through that either.

Deceit is the Succubus's main weapon and greatest strength (well, deceit and surprise, or maybe deceit, surprise, and ruthless devotion to the abyss, or ...).

In any case the fighter won't beat her deceits with a few cross-class ranks and a die roll.

[Filatus]

I have to say that Nale's plan is proving more intelligent than I suspected after the Marvel scheme with the half-orc on rocketskates.

He already got what he came for and it seems he also has a backup plan to get all the teammembers out.

Well.. for the non-expendable teammembers that is. :)

[TinSoldier]

Deceit is the Succubus's main weapon and greatest strength (well, deceit and surprise, or maybe deceit, surprise, and ruthless devotion to the abyss, or ...).No one expects the Succubus Inquisition!



Sorry, couldn't help it. I found your post very informative, thanks!

[Pvednes]

Can't they just get locked up!? these villains are getting repetitive...

They HAVE been locked up. They got out.

What they need is some stabbage.

[Krytha]

They HAVE been locked up. They got out.

What they need is some stabbage.

Also, we know their names and Belkar can't deal lethal damage within city limits! They're safe for now!

Julia really is a cheap faux-goth ho.

[chibibar]

something you have to consider... not all "gamers" are powergamers... some actually don't take certain feats because they don't want to due to character development.

The OoTS are PC that has flaws... sure Durkon can go "gung-ho" with his powers but he use them when really needed....

[fractal]

Regarding Thog and Belkar, I would assume that they typically do Rage; it's just not mentioned much of the time. We did have the one instance of Halfling Rage Jumping Attack!

Durkon has barely been in battle since defeating Xykon. He didn't fight the bandits, Miko, or the assassins; that leaves only the dragon and the ogres. The ogres might not have warranted one of his top spells, especially when each spell is also potential healing. Although Durkon presumably fought the dragon, we don't see him until after the battle is over (healing Elan). Therefore, we can't be sure that he didn't use Thor's Might in that fight.

[Paragon_Kobold]

Sigh. Sorry about the minor delay; due to the number of people who have come to expect an OOTS just before midnight who keep refreshing, the server is running the update script VERY slowly. So the more people waiting for the strip, the longer it takes for it to get here.

Will this eventually reach a stage where EVERYBODY is waiting for the strip, and it NEVER arrives?

[fractal]

Will this eventually reach a stage where EVERYBODY is waiting for the strip, and it NEVER arrives?
Presumably not; if strips never arrived, people would stop waiting, and the strips would arrive. Of course, then people would wait again, etc.

There must be a sort of equilibrium where the length of the wait chases off just enough people so that the wait can end.

[KeiranHalcyon]

I'd bet 100 to 1 that Thor's Might is just what Durkon calls Righteous Might. So no, that's not it. :(
Well, just what the real-D&D analog of Thor's Might is has been discussed quite enough already, but it's my opinion that it is an OOTSland-specific spell with OOTSland-specific components. But I do also like the explanation that he's bound by his faith not to cast it more often than necessary lest he abuse the privilege.

[Doug_Lampert]

No one expects the Succubus Inquisition!



Sorry, couldn't help it. I found your post very informative, thanks!
Welcome, if I hadn't wanted SOMEONE to make a Succubus Inquisition joke I shouldn't have put that in.

I actually seriously doubt that the poster I was replying to thought a few ranks in Sense Motive would help. But some poeple read this board that don't play D&D.

As for the Succubus Inquisition, just imagine all the people who miss their knowledge Religeon check (knowing about outsiders is under Religeon) who line up yelling "Take me! Take me!"

DougL

[Ezbez]

Presumably not; if strips never arrived, people would stop waiting, and the strips would arrive. Of course, then people would wait again, etc.

There must be a sort of equilibrium where the length of the wait chases off just enough people so that the wait can end.

Yeah, it's called RSS feeds. Hopefully we'll be getting that soon...

[Renegade Paladin]

Outsiders fall under Knowledge (the Planes), not Knowledge (Religion). Religion covers undead only for creature type knowledge, mainly because it synergizes with a combat ability (turning undead) rather than a minor skill like most other Knowledges.

[Trobby]

Uh, because there's a limited number of panels in each strip? Seriously, the characters can only do so much in each comic. Do you really expect everything to happen all at once?

Roy's first priority was finding his sister, which he did. Then he had to unload his prisoner, so that his hands were free to go fight. Which he did. In the process, he had to talk to the police so that they didn't think he was one of the bad guys. Makes sense to me. He'll probably go help Durkon now that he knows his sister is safe.

In other words, have a little patience and consider the restrictions of the comic format before questioning a character's behavior.


Don't worry lass, I'm just having a little fun jab of humor at Roy's expense. I know it makes tactical sense to do things in the right order, and that he probably did notice that Durkon is currently locked in a Giant Fight.

It's just more fun to imagine he hasn't noticed yet. ;)

[Beguiler_Jones]

funny thing about fiends...

they tend to not be that hurt when you throw them down a second-fourth story window

[the_tick_rules]

Turn your back on a shapeshifter for a second and look what happens. Hope something happens soon to resolve that. there's something a bit of a what the heck moment when the half-elf is caught and released in a single strip. For the record this is why my D@D characters coup de grace everyone that fights them unless they are obviuosly useful, leave them alive and they always come back.

[Tobimaro]

Seems that Pompey spent some cross-class ranks in Bluff, and Roy needs a higher Intimidate score (at least where it comes to questioning Pompey on where Nale is and what he is up to).

And not seeing Sabine is not a good thing. :o

[Fillbert]

Turn your back on a shapeshifter for a second and look what happens. Hope something happens soon to resolve that. there's something a bit of a what the heck moment when the half-elf is caught and released in a single strip. For the record this is why my D@D characters coup de grace everyone that fights them unless they are obviuosly useful, leave them alive and they always come back.


Absolutely! The most annoying thing in the world is re-occuring NPC's, unless they re-occur as hats.

[PN123]

I'll burst your bubble by letting you know that I was the first to point it out.

Oh SNAP!

Um i said it on the very first page.
Probably before you even read it.
OH SNAP!

[charik]

Editorial note *And possible spoiler*
Has it occured to anyone that Sabine may, in fact, be a mixed breed, both Demon AND Devil?
Yes. Yes it has.

[Morchaint]

Love the last two comics. they rock.

[LtNOWIS]

That comic had its moments.

Rule Number One: Make sure you kill your helpless enemies. Roy is stupid, even if he wanted information out of Sabine, he should have either killed her, or made sure that she couldn't escape. This is the second time Sabine's let off sact free all due to Roy's naivety.

I don't think that was feasible. He couldn't exactly jump out the window and Coup de grace Sabine. He would have to go downstairs anyways to get to her. And while he's down there, it's not like he'd just say "excuse me" and push past Pompey to go find where she fell. Pompey, as an intact enemy with info, was the more immediate priority.

[Xilehxt]

I meant instead of throwing her out the window, coup de gracing her in that building.

[Trobby]

Yes. Yes it has.
Thanks. ^^ I was asking that in earnest, as I didn't know if it had been brought up yet or not.

[DASLAYARGH]

Never look away from a demon or devil (or both) for even a second. I made that mistake in the game and I got... well... you don't want to know. :P

[Cythraul]

For walking into a trap, they pretty much overpowered the LG so far without big difficulties. Not 'zactly what I was expecting after the lead-up, but heh!

But the LG weren't really trying to beat the OOtS... they were providing a diversion while Nale captured Elan, and they have now escaped with minimal harm to themselves, and achieved (as far as we know so far) their objective.

I suspect that YokYok and Leeky may well get away in various random ways also, although given their lackey status, they may not be aware of the greater scheme, and may just be left!

[Hototo]

I'm probably gonna catch all sorts of flack for this, but the possibility of taking a kobold and that crazy druid for losing Elan... I'd almost be tempted to say it was a good trade. Besides, the OOTS have had to rescue Elan before. They are pretty good at it.

[Renegade Paladin]

I meant instead of throwing her out the window, coup de gracing her in that building.
How? She wasn't helpless.

[CynicalIllusionist]

I think Sabine had to get away, she's the second most important member of the Linear Guild, plus probably the most powerful. The only thing I would have changed is when Roy did that green energy starmetal sword attack, I would have had it hit. It wouldn't kill her, but it might give her a wound she wouldnt be able to heal, that would show up on her even whe she shapeshifted, thus giving the OOTS a bit of help with the whole shapeshifting thing.

[Sky_Schemer]

The only thing I would have changed is when Roy did that green energy starmetal sword attack, I would have had it hit.

I am pretty sure it did. If you look in the panel after the attack, she's sporting a new, and rather large, scar on her side.

[BurntOfferings]

Hey, shouldn't a wizard be smart enough to know that spiders and centipedes aren't insects? I guess Pompey didn't bother to put a skill point in Knowledge (nature). ;)

[Bilbo27]

OOOOH That Wil E Coyote makes me soooo angry!!!

Errr, or was that a rabbit and a Martian.

Either way, those shape shifters can be sooo nasty!

[TroyXavier]

Very nasty indeed. Sabine is awesome. She reminds me of Haley before the aphasia.