OOTS #354 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

Also, a news update.

[MetalKelt]

The centipede reference was great. Another great comic giant!

EDIT: Woot first page and first post (first time for each :) )

[Finwe]

Awesome :D

[chaospet]

sweet!

[Bookman]

Niiiiiiiice!

I think Giant's nostalgic tonight ;)

[killfxx]

I feel old now I have centipede on my cell phone

Another great comic Giant

[LadyOfTheStick]

::grins:: That made my day

[Idiotbox90]

Ah, the wonders of natural spell.

[ref]

Yeah, centipede! Cool!

(#FP: 3)

[DraxtonSmitz]

Great stuff!

[Martok]

"Help! I'm out of quarters! I mean, 'spells'!"

LOL! Brilliant!

[McBish]

Yeah for arcade games.
"Wait There are druids who don't take the Natural Spell Feat?" LOL

[Dragon_Rider]

Sigh... more one word posts.

Anyway, its nice to see Thor's Might again.

The question is: Is Thor's Might a Domain Special Ability, or perhaps just the spell "Righteous Might" renamed. Or is it "Divine Might"... I don't remember.

Whatever, just kick his druidy little ass, Durkon!

[JepDeiod]

GO DURKON!!!

[Dhavaer]

What arcade game is Julia referencing?

[Swashbuckler]

Man, that DID bring back memories! And THOR'S MIGHT, too! :D

Love the current story arc!

[charik]

Loved the joke.

[Bilbo27]

Love the centipede game flashback

[DraxtonSmitz]

What arcade game is Julia referencing?

Centipede

[Dragon_Rider]

Also... only two magic missiles? That makes her what, a third level caster? And a sorcerer, so not even 2nd level spells! Wow, I thought she was going to be a bit more powerful than that.

[teratorn]

I'm old, I remember playing that game. Thor's might is always impressive.

[TinSoldier]

What arcade game is Julia referencing?Centipede. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede_%28video_game%29)

Solid update. I loved the Centipede reference. 6/10.

[charik]

What arcade game is Julia referencing?
Centipede. Before your time, kid.

[Dawnstrider_Moogle]

The bear still looks like he's smiling when Durkon's hitting him with the hammer, for some reason.

[TinSoldier]

The bear still looks like he's smiling when Durkon's hitting him with the hammer, for some reason.Looks more like a surprised grimace to me.

[Axl_Rose]

nuts so close to 1st page.

oh well prediction came true, woo

[Rygar]

Out of quarters. Heh.

Page 2. OH yeah

[CockroachTeaParty]

Before your time? I'm not even two decades old and I love centipede like a homeless person loves a ham sammich!

[SPoD]

Also... only two magic missiles? That makes her what, a third level caster? And a sorcerer, so not even 2nd level spells! Wow, I thought she was going to be a bit more powerful than that.

Julia isn't a sorcerer. She's a wizard, like her dad.

Two MM's means she's 3rd or 4th level, and while she might be the same level as Pompey (who is at least capable of casting 2nd level spells), there's no guarantee they're in the same class. He just knows her as the most popular girl in school. I know when I was in high school, the popular girls often dated/were asked out by older guys, so it's not impossible that Pompey is "5th year" and Julia is only "3rd year" or whatever.

[EmeraldFire]

This is the first time i felt old cuz i played that game when i was little.

great comic Giant!

[reorith]

yay archaic arcade games. nice reference

[Tabiani]

Love it! And Durkon keeps his place in the spotlight a bit longer.

[firespitter]

Thor's Might! If Durkon can keep Leeky-Bear busy until V is back in commission, there will be a reckoning.
Where's a good old fashioned "Evard's tentacles of forced intrusion" when you need it? ;D

Run Forrest, Run! I mean, run Julia...Run!

Great comic. I bow to the Gian'ts omnipotent plotline skills.

[Wolfram]

Oh my. This one brought back memories. For some reason Centipde was the game I exceled at. I could never get to the princess in Donkey Kong and once I used the thrust in Asteroids I was in trouble. I was medocre in Space Invaders and the less said about Defender the better. But Centipede was my game.

[Fillbert]

Absolutely fantastic!!! I love centipede.... on the odd chance you find it in an arcade, I play for hours.

And go THORS MIGHT!!!!

Edit: Also, Julia having only 2 MM's... since she has been passing her classes by "Hey, don't you want to pay attention to the girl with boobs" method. It's not surprising she isn't as powerfull as everybody thought/hoped.

[Eldritch Knight]

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!

That was hilarious!

Well Done!

[Aerysil1]

Sigh, yet another ambiguous "we're cool cuz we're old/we're lame cuz we're old" joke.

The Centipede reference did make me laugh, though.

[Moebius]

Woohoo! The Giant's really been on a tear recently.

I like the title ('Copper Piece Arcade').

[theKOT]

I'm somewhat undecided on this one. On the one hand, I found it fun and liked the joke, but on the other hand it was really, REALLY predictable. Almost exactly what I, and many others thought was going to happen. I think ol' tinny has got it on this one-6/10


On a side note, I love the way teh G has used the CPPD. It really feels fresh. A+ there.

[Felinoid]

Holy damn. Predictions taken care of in the first half, and jokes taken care of in the second half (with an exception in each). It's so beautiful I could go kill something. ;)

[Corp]

Forgot all about Thor's Might. Nice comic.

"I'm out of quarters...I mean spells!" ;D

[Finwe]

Actually, Julia shot one magic missile twice. So, assuming that it wasn't just drawn that way for comedic purposes, she's only 1st or 2nd level.

[Fale]

I love the retro gaming references. Keep 'em up! ;D

[Tawkis]

This is shaping up to be a real battle of the Titans.

The two most powerful core classes duke it out for Supremecy. The poke at the fact that Druids always, ALWAYS take Natural spell is nice too. Really though, you'd have to be crazy NOT to take the feat.

[denelian]

sometimes, nostalgia MUST win...

[Winged One]

Druids not taking Natural Spell? Unthinkable!

[drkdstryer]

Woohoo! The Giant's really been on a tear recently.

I like the title ('Copper Piece Arcade').

I was hoping for a reference to Gabe and Tycho (www.penny-arcade.com) myself...

But still, definitely a good comic. I mean, if you complain about it being predictable, what ELSE was gonig to happen? Durkon NOT using Thor's Might? Weren't the last two comics un-predictable enough for you?

[Daracaex]

what's all this talk about two magic missles? I clearly counted three. One before the arcade nostalgia panel (that me laugh loudly) and two more in the panel.

[The_Bug]

It's great to see the new comic up. I was kinda hoping for something we didn't expect (after the 13 posts saying that Durkon was going to use Thor's Might), but still, it was a great comic. I really like the Centipedes arcade reference, too :D

[Krytha]

man... people used to pay money to play centipede? I remember it being on those really crappy computers, but quarters for that is like paying money to do simple arithmetic.

[silvadel]

Of course you are also forgetting her int bonus. Probably good for another MM or two -- and the possible specialization... She looks level 1 to me.

And yes -- she didnt have enough quarters(spells) to keep a kid in an arcade for more than 15 minutes... Centipede in the arcade was kind of tough... But the track-ball was nice.

If you dont have a track-ball you arent playing centipede -- at least not the way it was meant to be played... I mean with a joystick avoiding the spider is often a pain -- with the trackback you could loop around it and into position with practice.

We even pretty much know what level leeky is -- I mean he can become a dire bear and that bear isnt huge -- that narrows it down a ton.

Actually looks like a teddy bear now to the enlarged durkon.

[Krytha]

I dont know what I want to say, but I do know that I want to say that the comic is AWESOME!

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

I go with the people saying that Julia is just a newbie wizard Two MM or, worse, two one-shot MM spells.

But Pompey, with SM2, can only summon a fiendish large centipede, 3d8 hp. And SM1, which he used to summon a small spider (in the Arcade panel there is one), that has 1d8 hp... He looks more powerful than Julia to me. Or maybe Julia has not memorized useful spells. I'd say his specialization is... Enchantment. ;)

Ah, but let's not forget the "speed of plot" mechanics.

This makes me wonder if there is a "spell of plot". Thor's mega powered lightning with a chained sonic attack? :D

[Heads_or_Tails]

I'd say his specialization is... Enchantment. Wink
Uhh... who do you think is an enchantment specialist? Pompey is a conjurer (who barred enchantment), and Julia is a girl soo...

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Uhh... who do you think is an enchantment specialist? Pompey is a conjurer, and Julia is a girl soo...

Oh, I meant HER specialization.

Stupid pronouns. :)

[theKOT]

I was hoping for a reference to Gabe and Tycho (www.penny-arcade.com) myself...

But still, definitely a good comic. I mean, if you complain about it being predictable, what ELSE was gonig to happen? Durkon NOT using Thor's Might? Weren't the last two comics un-predictable enough for you?
Eh, it just felt a bit linear. I enjoyed it, but almost every good strip has its shortcomings. Don't look at it as us being impossible to please, look at is as us trying to be objective.

[tis_tom]

Dude Durkon kicks some serious ass! I had no idea he was so good!

I hope he beats Leeky ¬_¬

[Spanxxx]

Centipede. Nice! My buddy has one up in his bonus room. Sadly, the monitor blew out on it about a year ago while we were moving stuff around :(

I love the giant bear vs. the giant dorf thing going on. Great stuff.

[Solmage]

Amusing. I loved the look on the bear when he got the big guns! :)

And woooo centipede!

I do however have the sinking feeling that Julia is going to screw up healing "da elf"..

[Eldhrin]

I'm glad to see Durkon using Thor's Might, as is clearly the sensible thing to do.

As for Natural Spell... after consulting the hypertext d20 SRD, I would also like to say "What?? There are druids who don't take Natural Spell?"

Well of course there are - the ones who don't have 13 Wisdom. Why you'd want to be a druid with less than 13 Wisdom when all your spellcasting relies on it though...

One final thought - does Durkon know Silence?

[Solmage]

man... people used to pay money to play centipede? I remember it being on those really crappy computers, but quarters for that is like paying money to do simple arithmetic.

Heh. I suppose the fact that someone would pay a pretty large sum for an original version of centipede in mint condition would also be inconceivable to you huh :) (Damn word stuck ever since that PB panel!)


Actually, Julia shot one magic missile twice. So, assuming that it wasn't just drawn that way for comedic purposes, she's only 1st or 2nd level.

I agree, it's quite possible she's only level 2.. 2 spells for being level 2, 1 bonus spell for decent int, that gives her 3 1-shot magic missiles.

[EloquentRune]

it rocks... totally awsome

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

I'm glad to see Durkon using Thor's Might, as is clearly the sensible thing to do.

As for Natural Spell... after consulting the hypertext d20 SRD, I would also like to say "What?? There are druids who don't take Natural Spell?"

Well of course there are - the ones who don't have 13 Wisdom. Why you'd want to be a druid with less than 13 Wisdom when all your spellcasting relies on it though...

One final thought - does Durkon know Silence?

Ones that multiclass into War Shaper or Master of Many Forms. Druids don't just do spellcasting, you know.

[Wizzardman]

Ha ha! Page 5!

...And I am still rolling on the ground from this comic's title.

[xyzchyx]

man... people used to pay money to play centipede?
People have been chomping at the bit to play the latest video games for as long as video games have been around. Just because it's poor by today's standards for arcade games doesn't mean that was always the case. I can guarantee that most of even the hottest games today will be considered fairly lame by the next generation.

[ThorFluff]

oh god, thatole game...
anyways the comic ROCKED and GO DURKON!

[KeiranHalcyon]

My knowledge of Centipede comes from the easter egg on the oscilloscopes in the lab I TA in. But it was enough to illicit a grin.

I've never actually played D&D 3.x, so I had to look Natural Spell up... I don't like it. Should be a metamagic feat. You want to cast while in animal form? Fine, but you're gonna have to burn higher-level slots to do it.

[TinSoldier]

My knowledge of Centipede comes from the easter egg on the oscilloscopes in the lab I TA in. But it's enough.Wow. Thanks for making me feel even older :-[ ...

[Hallavast]

Durkon is really showing his dwarf, yo! It's about time, too...

[Soepvork]

Ones that multiclass into War Shaper or Master of Many Forms. Druids don't just do spellcasting, you know.


Leeky probably has more wisdom than 13, considering the spells he has already cast (Liveoak on the trees (?), stoneskin on the hawk, a 6th and 5th level spell respectively).

On another note, when did Julia have time to prepare her spells? Maybe the 2 MM's were the spells left when she was kidnapped? ;)

[bosssmiley]

"Before you time kid" - agh! When did I become an old fart? :(

Dwarven giants, or giant dwarves, ftw! ;D

[JadedDM]

I only count two missiles, myself, but...hey, let's not read too much into this, eh?

[The_Weredragon]

I fell nostalgic after read this comic... THOR´S MIGTH!!!

I loved this comic ;D

[bexie]

"Man, that brought back memories."

"I don't get it."

"Before your time kid. Before your time."

heh. Brilliant comic Giant, keep up the fantastic work. Also, I like how Julia doesn't know if V is a girl or a boy either. It's like no one knows but OOTS.

Good job. :)

[Retales]

Awesome stuff, once again :P

[Delgarde]

It's like no one knows but OOTS.

Eh? The OOTS certainly don't know V's gender either...

[Tussy the Druid]

not one of the funniest ones in my opinion, but it was still pretty good

[Alfryd]

New comic is up.
Good work.

Thor's Might! If Durkon can keep Leeky-Bear busy until V is back in commission, there will be a reckoning.
Druids have the same BAB as clerics and Dire Bears have an obscene strength bonus, plus they get TWO primary attacks, with Improved Grab for free grapple checks. Durkon's only significant advantage would be hit points, assuming he has the better con, and rather better AC.
V'll need to get back in action fast.

[kamoo]

just LOVED the bear's face when Durkon hit him with the hammer!

"before your time,kid. Before your time!"

[Grunjon]

Cool comic! Thor's Might was predicted by many in the last comic's discussion thread, but it was great to see it in action again and Durkon kicks ass!

The Centipede panel got a guffaw out of me; gotta luv it. For those of you who don't know about the game, someone in the thread has already linked to a Wikipedia entry about it. But you may also want to look over its entry at the Killer List of Video Games website (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=C&game_id=7299). KLOV is the perfect site to wax nostalgic about old quarter-snatchers.

And no, I don't work for that site. I work for a DVD news site, though. (http://tv-shows-on-dvd.blogspot.com/2006/09/dd-really-cool-packaging.html) :)

[Sebastian]

Julia isn't a sorcerer. She's a wizard, like her dad.

Two MM's means she's 3rd or 4th level, and while she might be the same level as Pompey (who is at least capable of casting 2nd level spells), there's no guarantee they're in the same class. He just knows her as the most popular girl in school. I know when I was in high school, the popular girls often dated/were asked out by older guys, so it's not impossible that Pompey is "5th year" and Julia is only "3rd year" or whatever.
Actually 2 MM could means that she is a 1st level wizard with a 12+ int.

and even with natural spell Durkon would be in advantage in melee, he can spontaneously convert his spells in healing, the druid must use the one he prepared.

[Sebastian]

On another note, when did Julia have time to prepare her spells? Maybe the 2 MM's were the spells left when she was kidnapped? ;)

Spell mastery is a useful feat for a wizard (not useful as natural spells for druids of course) and magic missile is an obvious choice to use with it.

[Mr_Shrubber]

Yay for Thor's Might!

Hands up those of you who didn't see that coming.

Anyone? ;)

[Jukashi]

Only casting two magic missiles is nnot really an indicator of Julia's level. As has been pointed out, those might merely be the only combat spells she had prepared. Additionally, there might have been more spellcastings "between panels".

And it may be that, because she was kidnapped while at school, the majority of her slots were left open in order to memorise and practise whatever spells her teachers were teaching that day.

[Sky_Schemer]

Durkon's only significant advantage would be hit points, assuming he has the better con, and rather better AC.
V'll need to get back in action fast.

Assuming Thor's Might is the same as Righteous Might with a different name, there's also damage reduction. With that and the strength bonus, I'd say Durkon and Leeky are fairly evenly matched in their current forms...with Durkon having the leg up because Leeky's been pounded a couple of times already.

[Geech000]

Ahh, the memories... good stuff. Keep up the good work Giant!

[battleburn]

So what about duration. Durkon can't stay in this form forever...
Unless V is healed before Durkon's spell ends, I really think Durkon is going to lose this little battle.

[Morchaint]

great comic. thors might never thought of it being used that way

[Tussy the Druid]

Assuming Thor's Might is the same as Righteous Might with a different name, there's also damage reduction. With that and the strength bonus, I'd say Durkon and Leeky are fairly evenly matched in their current forms...with Durkon having the leg up because Leeky's been pounded a couple of times already.


Even though he's been pounded a few times, i think when you wild shape you regain full hitpoints. Quote me if i'm wrong.

[bengator]

I especially liked the use of the game panel in the middle to break up the other panels. I think Rich does a great job of breaking up the view of his comic to tell his stories w/o being limited by the space of a single panel.

As for the comic itself, I'm ready to see what everyone else is up to. Like whether Belkar has found the city limits yet.

[BlythraB]

YES!!! THOR'S MIGHT RETURNS!!!
oh, and awesome comic anyway.
"...quarters! I mean, spells!" hehehe

[LE4dGOLEM]

SO we've got a webcomic, three books, and aboard game, when's the Julia-vs-Summoned-monsters arcade game coming out then?

[Ratkiller]

i saw nothing in the SRD about being healed when wildshaping. so i would have to say that a wounded druid that wildshapes is a wounded animal.

copy/paste from SRD:

Wild Shape (Su): At 5th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the polymorph spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity.
The form chosen must be that of an animal the druid is familiar with.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
A druid can use this ability more times per day at 6th, 7th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level, as noted on Table: The Druid. In addition, she gains the ability to take the shape of a Large animal at 8th level, a Tiny animal at 11th level, and a Huge animal at 15th level.
The new form’s Hit Dice can’t exceed the character’s druid level.
At 12th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a plant creature with the same size restrictions as for animal forms. (A druid can’t use this ability to take the form of a plant that isn’t a creature.)
At 16th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a Small, Medium, or Large elemental (air, earth, fire, or water) once per day. These elemental forms are in addition to her normal wild shape usage. In addition to the normal effects of wild shape, the druid gains all the elemental’s extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities. She also gains the elemental’s feats for as long as she maintains the wild shape, but she retains her own creature type.
At 18th level, a druid becomes able to assume elemental form twice per day, and at 20th level she can do so three times per day. At 20th level, a druid may use this wild shape ability to change into a Huge elemental.

[martyboy74]

i saw nothing in the SRD about being healed when wildshaping. so i would have to say that a wounded druid that wildshapes is a wounded animal.

copy/paste from SRD:

Wild Shape (Su): At 5th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the polymorph spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity.
The form chosen must be that of an animal the druid is familiar with.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
A druid can use this ability more times per day at 6th, 7th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level, as noted on Table: The Druid. In addition, she gains the ability to take the shape of a Large animal at 8th level, a Tiny animal at 11th level, and a Huge animal at 15th level.
The new form’s Hit Dice can’t exceed the character’s druid level.
At 12th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a plant creature with the same size restrictions as for animal forms. (A druid can’t use this ability to take the form of a plant that isn’t a creature.)
At 16th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a Small, Medium, or Large elemental (air, earth, fire, or water) once per day. These elemental forms are in addition to her normal wild shape usage. In addition to the normal effects of wild shape, the druid gains all the elemental’s extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities. She also gains the elemental’s feats for as long as she maintains the wild shape, but she retains her own creature type.
At 18th level, a druid becomes able to assume elemental form twice per day, and at 20th level she can do so three times per day. At 20th level, a druid may use this wild shape ability to change into a Huge elemental.

They regain HP as if they had rested for a night.

[Aerysil1]

Note the "like the polymorph spell" phrase. That is the spell that heals you a night's worth of hp.

The 3.x books in so many ways require you to look up the results of an effect that is only mentioned in passing. "Web causes the subject to become entangled". Ok... what's entangled mean? Oh - it's in the glossary!

[martyboy74]

Note the "like the polymorph spell" phrase. That is the spell that heals you a night's worth of hp.

The 3.x books in so many ways require you to look up the results of an effect that is only mentioned in passing. "Web causes the subject to become entangled". Ok... what's entangled mean? Oh - it's in the glossary!
The SRD has it in the section on wild shape...

[Serina_Spellbinder]

I love it when the Giant throws a bit of nostalgia in (am I dating myself as well? :o).

[Kruul]

All fun and games... BUT WHERE IS ELAN!?

[martyboy74]

All fun and games... BUT WHERE IS ELAN!?
In a body bag?

[ShadeMoon64]

Now for some real druid smackdown dwarf style! 8)

[The_Kobold_Hero]

Yay! Arcade games! :D

[Rama_Lei]

Really only one joke. didn't do much for me. sorry. 6/10.

[Vreejack]

Eh, it just felt a bit linear. I enjoyed it, but almost every good strip has its shortcomings. Don't look at it as us being impossible to please, look at is as us trying to be objective.

How do you know you have played too many computer games? When you start thinking that books are "too linear."

edit: Woot! Last page! (so far)

[Haarculaneaum]

1 spell, 2 magic missiles.
Hoolia is out of spells because she spends them all on "alter self to make my ta-tas look bigger" every morning ;)

Haar

p.s. Check out my pirate build coming tonight.

[Sir_Rosh]

Just to clear up the Magic Missile thang. It's 1 missile +1 missile per two levels above 1st (max 5). She either cast 3 level 1 MM's or 2 level 2 one's (you don't see the effects too well in the first instance and she definitely fires 2 in the 2nd instance)

Lovin this story arc btw ;D GO DURKON!! Druids rock but Clerics are teh l33t3st

[AyuVince]

The OOTS certainly don't know V's actual gender, if ze even has one. Roy, Durkon and Haley don't care, Elan thinks V is a camel (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0087.html) and Belkar is trying to find "it" out all the time.

I'm predicting a culmination of all ongoing battles in the next strip.

Roy vs Sabine
Belkar vs Yokyok
Durkon vs Leeky
Haley vs "Kitty"
V vs Unconsciousness
CPPD vs Bugs
Julia vs Pompey?

[xyzchyx]

Just to clear up the Magic Missile thang. It's 1 missile +1 missile per two levels above 1st (max 5). She either cast 3 level 1 MM's or 2 level 2 one's (you don't see the effects too well in the first instance and she definitely fires 2 in the 2nd instance)That 1 missile plus 1 per 2 levels above 1st applies to a _single_ casting of the spell... so a single casting by a 3rd or higher level wizard produces multiple missiles, which can can be directed as desired to each target a single opponent (they can also be combined so that more than one missle affects a single target). While a spellcaster can always cast any spell at a lower power than their actual level (to a minimum of the minimum level required to cast the spell), it does not change the actual level of the spell, and therefore does not change how many times it can potentially be cast in one day.

[Querzis]

I'm pretty sure Haley know V gender. She knew V before everyone else in the group and she also knew V was married but she just dont realize that everyone else dont know V gender so she never talk about it.

[Ego Slayer]

Centipede!! :D That was awesome.. heheh

[Finwe]

What happened to the SWAT team in this one?

[wagomorph]

You are soooooo young.

I have been told on may occasions that I am juvenile.

Juvenile means young, so that's good, Right????


What arcade game is Julia referencing?

[Fillbert]

Aaaaahhhhh Centipede..... bad graphics, poor user interface, hypnotic distorted warbled rythmic sound.... video games were so much better when they used mind tricks to take your quarters instead of scantily clad women fighting or playing volleyball and jiggling around.....

[Haarculaneaum]

Hey Filly!
Watch for the pirate build 2nite.

Anyway

Julia is missing her belt in panel 10 (out of quarters. . .).

Haar

[Arian]

(I love the sig line! ;D )

[Sky_Schemer]

So what about duration. Durkon can't stay in this form forever...

Duration is 1 round/level. Assuming Durkon at 12th or 13th level, which seems to be the current best guess, that's 12 or 13 rounds.

When's the last time you were in combat for 12 or 13 rounds?

[Varian7]

Great Centipede reference. I remember when I used to play that game in college. Go Durkon with Thor's Might!

[the_tick_rules]

julia has a good point. any druid players or have you seen a druid without that feat, i sure haven't.

[theKOT]

Julia is missing her belt in panel 10 (out of quarters. . .).


It fell off while she was running.

[Felinoid]

It fell off while she was running.

More than possible, but how much you wanna bet it mysteriously reappears in the next strip? ;)

[Arachnophile]

I've always liked playing Centipede. I have it in a classic arcade games disc for Playstation.

[Shea Landford]

Woot for arcade references! Like Pong!

[OzymandiasVolt]

Nostalgialicious!

[theKOT]

More than possible, but how much you wanna bet it mysteriously reappears in the next strip? ;)
Yeah, but it is always fun to be annoying.

[jackal59]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned my favorite line -

"OK, OK, you can do this, Julia."

Proof that she really is Roy's sister, and that she's really a kid (well, that was showed by her reaction to Durkon's scolding).

Eh. Some folks repeat the punch lines. Others argue the game mechanics. I like the little glimpses of depth.

[charik]

As for the Julia's level/how many castings thing, I'd have to say she's 3rd~4th level, casting her last/only memorized spell. In the panel where she first meets the giant centipedes, there is no glow around her hands, so she isn't casting a spell there. The only glow is around the creatures, due to the magic conjuring them. In the arcade frame, her hand is glowing, and two missiles are shooting towards the foul vermin.

[Thortok2000]

I'm not sure this game is "before my time" but I must've missed out on it when I was playing Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Pong. What was it like?

[charik]

I'm not sure this game is "before my time" but I must've missed out on it when I was playing Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Pong. What was it like?
It was exactly like what you see in the comic (not counting Julia's presence). Something I was willing to spend a couple quarters on along with Space Invaders, but what really took my cash was Gauntlet.

[Felinoid]

In the panel where she first meets the giant centipedes, there is no glow around her hands, so she isn't casting a spell there. The only glow is around the creatures, due to the magic conjuring them.

Look again; there's a green glow around her hand in addition to the purple glow around the centipede.

The debate over whether she cast two missiles or more is unwinnable for both sides IMO, because while there is glow but no missiles in the farthest bottom left frame, it's possible both that it could be just the glow of the spell cast in the arcade panel or that it could be a separate spell.

[battleburn]

Check a random strip where V, or another magic-user uses a spell. It's like they are charging up before they start using the spells. at that point there is a glow around there hands.

[Ezbez]

Check a random strip where V, or another magic-user uses a spell. It's like they are charging up before they start using the spells. at that point there is a glow around there hands.


But there isn't always a pre-glow, leaving us at the same point that it could be 1 or it could be 2 or more (that we don't see).

[charik]

Look again; there's a green glow around her hand in addition to the purple glow around the centipede.
Charik hangs head in shame. :-[ I had even checked the comic right before my post, and yet somehow I missed this. :'(

[kirbsys]

Just cuz the comic only showed two MMs doesn't meean she didn't cast more.... Just a thought...

[lunar]

I'm not sure this game is "before my time" but I must've missed out on it when I was playing Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Pong. What was it like?


http://www.everyvideogame.com/play-nes-Millipede_(J).htm

I couldn't find centipede, but here is millipede which is similar.

[Soul_Selim]

This comic is by far one of my favorites. I would have supposed that V was a bit nearer then that, but it's good that Julia had to do a bit more then just a simple walk over, shove in throat.

Ahh, the merories are coming back. Anywho, I think Durken will do just fine in battle.

[Nekkira]

Thortok2000: I just started another thread called Centipede that has a link to a shockwave version of the old arcade game.

P.S. Heres the link again http://www.wzzm13.com/games/centipede.html

[Molary]

Ha! Thor's Might!!!

Down with evil druids!!!

Dwarves rule!!

Great centipede reference btw...

8)

[Mr._Blinky]

By the way, does anyone else imagine the "Bwip-bwip-bwip!" noise from the Super Mario games every time someone shapeshifts or grows like that? You know, the one you hear when he gets a growth mushroom or something? 'Cause every time someone casts a spell like that, that sound just pops into my brain.

[TinSoldier]

By the way, does anyone else imagine the "Bwip-bwip-bwip!" noise from the Super Mario games every time someone shapeshifts or grows like that? You know, the one you hear when he gets a growth mushroom or something? 'Cause every time someone casts a spell like that, that sound just pops into my brain.I do now... ;D

[Blaznak]

Oh good lord.... What a HORRIBLE visual pun. Funny, but NOW I see why the spell looked the way it did before....

Later!

[xyzchyx]

By the way, does anyone else imagine the "Bwip-bwip-bwip!" noise from the Super Mario games every time someone shapeshifts or grows like that? You know, the one you hear when he gets a growth mushroom or something? 'Cause every time someone casts a spell like that, that sound just pops into my brain.Personally, I always think of the transformation sound effect from the Transformers cartoon.

[Doug_Lampert]

julia has a good point. any druid players or have you seen a druid without that feat, i sure haven't.
Any Druid of level 1-5 won't have it since you need Wildshape to take it and they don't get that till level 5, but a single class Druid has no feat available to spend at level 5, so he doesn't get it till level 6.

So no, not all Druids have the feat. Only all Druids of level 6+ have it.

[Tobimaro]

julia has a good point. any druid players or have you seen a druid without that feat, i sure haven't.

I know of at least one druid who does not have that feat. I am in the LG campaign, and there is one player of a halfling druid who did not take the Natural spell feat. Of course that player's druid rarely uses Wildshape. Instead, that particular halfling druid has feats that makes her spot cheks start in the upper 30s and gets initiatives in the upper 20s to lower 30s (not lying). And her spellcasting is focused on battlefield control (Wall of Thorns/Murderous Mist) or summoning animals and using Animal Growth on them.

Now, I too enjoyed the Centipede reference, having played that game in both arcades and in a couple of pizza restraunts. And I too liked the Thor's (Righteous) Might spell. Another good showing by Durkon. :)

[Krytha]

It's true that Julia is going pretty far to get V that potion... After all, Leeky was standing like 6 feet away from V when the trees exploded, Durkon got to Leeky when he was still on the ground so V should STILL be 6 feet away. Did he get blown off to some remote location?

Maybe Durkon can get in enough damage to reduce Leeky to negatives and fizzle any healing spells while he's laying the smackdown.

[Ragan]

Is it just me, or is OOTS gettting better and better? Especially since the post summer slumber .. err I mean less frequent posts :-)

Oh and BTW - anyone going 'woot' about you-know-what : I cannot tell you how I fell about that, because it it would ban my ass in a sec. Quit it. It's lame. It's sooo last year, ok? In fact, I will now think less of anyone who posts on the first 2 pages. You got nothing to say anyway.

[Nightfall]

Also, Julia having only 2 MM's... since she has been passing her classes by "Hey, don't you want to pay attention to the girl with boobs" method. It's not surprising she isn't as powerfull as everybody thought/hoped.


I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Just because she's Roy's sister, and comes from a (we think) long line of wizards, doesn't mean she excels at her craft.

On a related note, I think the Giant is playing up the reputed snooty attitude some wizards seem to have...that because they can do magic, they're superior to everyone else. Julia seems to have a double-dose of that attitude. Now that she's actually in a situation where her limited magic capabilities are in demand, she's finding she can't make the cut. This will be an exceptional learning experience for her.

[battleburn]

Now she finally sees why she should pay attention in class.
And not all druids have it. Because you don't always want to play the über munchkin. It's nice to play characters with flaws. A 'real' druid doesn't use bear form for combat. A he would probably use it to fit in, when walking through nature. He won't need to cast additional spells then.
Those who can have trained for battle, but that shouldn't be the base motive for a druid. Well IMHO anyway.

-Battleburn

[Orzel]

Oh Centipede was badl. But those accursed SPIDERS were evil.

Some druid prefer to run from combat and ingore natural spell 'til later levels.

[chibibar]

heheh..... A Druid not taking a natural spell feat is like a Ranger not taking tracking...... that never happen (yea right)

anyways... it is an option for a player to take or not to take a feat/skill..... that is what make RPG so much fun!

[Democratus]

heheh..... A Druid not taking a natural spell feat is like a Ranger not taking tracking...... that never happen (yea right)


All rangers get Tracking as a free feat. So they all have tracking.

Our favorite ranger, though, just didn't put ranks in survival.

[chibibar]

All rangers get Tracking as a free feat. So they all have tracking.

Our favorite ranger, though, just didn't put ranks in survival.

oh yea..... I think Belkar just forget that he has tracking ;)

[Cythraul]

RE Julia having only 2 magic missiles - isn't it possible that we were watching a time-delayed version of events? I mean, it would be wonderfully authentic, but tragically boring to watch a whole game's worth. I don't think it necessarily means that she only has 2, although I agree that we shluldn't be surprised if that is the case...

[Akiosama]

That was classic, Giant.

Brings back memories for me, too. Many a quarter spent in the old Centipede machines out there. I'm surprised I didn't get Carpel Tunnel from the trackball. ;D

Good one.

Akio

[DougTheHead]

Great comic! I also loved the title's reference to penny-arcade.com. Can't wait to see what happens next!

[fractal]

Great comic! I also loved the title's reference to penny-arcade.com. Can't wait to see what happens next!
I think the title's reference is to actual video arcades, not the Penny Arcade webcomic. It just happens that the name of the Penny Arcade webcomic is ALSO a reference to actual arcades.

[fractal]

People keep wondering about Julia's Magic Missile... I'm wondering about Thor's Might. Durkon is about size Large prior to his last expansion; after it, he looks Huge. Righteous Might wouldn't do that (for a Medium Dwarf), so I wonder if it is a different (and possibly better) spell for followers of Thor.

Perhaps Thor's Might is more like the Giant Size spell from Complete Arcane, with growth based upon caster level.

[warmachine]

Hurrah for Durkon! You can always count on him to counter the enemy's heavy weapons, to patch up the others and hold off the bad guy. An example to clerics everywhere.

[jscheibel]

Really hes a tribute to good guys everywhere. And as fun as some of the other characters are I think he's the most enchanting character in the comic on the whole....


(though all the characters have their moments.)

[Nightfall]

Sorry to post twice in one day, but I had to share that my 16-year-old son not only GOT the reference to Centipede, but rolled on the floor laughing about it as well.

I must have raised him right! ;D

[Solmage]

Sorry to post twice in one day, but I had to share that my 16-year-old son not only GOT the reference to Centipede, but rolled on the floor laughing about it as well.

I must have raised him right! ;D

Hehe! Woo for good parenting! ;)

[Mr._Mark]

the comic has really been on a roll lately. can't wait for the next one.