OOTS #475 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Knight13]

Mmmmm, delicious vulture stew.

[Siwenna]

Great comic! Vulture stew....

[Elanya]

I wonder how long Belkar is gonna keep calling him "Mr Flopsy" :smallbiggrin:

[Glorfindel]

Don't STOP making such great comics!

[Ronsian]

Very awesome, but where is he going to cook and other things (like the water in stew part).

[Darkstar90]

How I love the MITD and his ultimate power. He should have a cult following.
...Oh, wait, right... us....

[dun-dun-DUUN]

First time we'd actually see the MITD actually do something impressive / scary semi-purposely. (He had those triangle eyes.)
Hmm...

[Random314]

:mitd:- STOP! ...please?

Heh. He might be cuddly and lovable, but when he really, really wants something...

[DarkLightDragon]

I was like "Holy crap! MitD did something that is somewhat scary!"

Awesome comic.

[warmachine]

I never understood why cooking is a Profession skill in AD&D, rather than a Craft skill, like alchemy or sculpting.

[Emperor Ing]

Yaay! :mitd: had his badass moment! :smallbiggrin:

[Lord_Jadawin]

That was frickin' brilliant. This is my favorite strip in a long time, and firmly establishes that the Giant still has it (something I was a little concerned about after the last news). This *really* makes me anxious for SoD to get here.

[Rhyeira]

Absolutely great comic. :smallsmile:

That cooking stuff somehow reminded me of Bilbo Baggins and the trolls... :smallbiggrin:

[Robaato]

You know what he needs?

Taters.

[Alfryd]

New comic is up.
Very good. Carry on.


"Nobody has that kind of time."

I dunno. Exactly how long could the MitD hold out against Haley?

[Angela Christine]

Too bad about Skullsy, he could have been the stew pot and provided the fireball for quick cooking.






You know what he needs?

Taters.



What's taters, precious?

[Caractacus]

Goood Lord!

The MitD can certainly make itself understood when it wants to. I wonder what it sounds like?

Now for some cream of vulture stew with scone-cube croutons... :smalltongue:


Very good. Carry on.


"Nobody has that kind of time."

I dunno. Exactly how long could the MitD hold out against Haley?

At Monopoly? Hmmm...my guess is she'd play the game for as long as possible to keep sucking the funds from the other suck...players

[WhatIsGravity]

I could imagine the ground shaking when it shouted. :smalleek:

[Green Bean]

Vulture, the new new new white meat! :smallbiggrin:

[Repzak]

Ohhh. Nice voice of command there. Although the please spoiled it a bit :smallbiggrin:

And I love that Belkar is a "gourmet" chef :smallbiggrin:

[Bendal]

Looks like Belkar retrieved his Ring of Jumping from Roy in that last panel.

"Taters"? What's taters? Oh, you mean po-ta-toes!!

Somehow I think the MitD isn't going to care if the stew is cooked, burned or even recognizable as such, but of course Belkar doesn't know that...

[fluffybunny]

Mr Flopsy... poor poor poor Roy!

Belkar with ranks in Profession (Gourmet chef)! Go Belkar!!!

And the MitD doing scary stuff!

Oh what a brilliant comic!!!

Way to go Rich!

[Theodoxus]

Loved the shaking effect - very nicely done.

Also finally got a chance to read all the Dragon Comics - good to mention them. (they're also my favorite, as theres no plot, and they harken back to the first ones, all full of rules interpretations and jokes)

[Knight13]

I never understood why cooking is a Profession skill in AD&D, rather than a Craft skill, like alchemy or sculpting.
Yeah, I always wanted a Craft (sandwich) skill.

[Fenix]

Flopsy and Mr. Stiffly :smallbiggrin:

[Heavenfall]

The 4th wall is beginning to look like swiss cheese. With extra holes.

[Gnomish Lab]

I never understood why cooking is a Profession skill in AD&D, rather than a Craft skill, like alchemy or sculpting.

And I always wondered why alchemy is a Craft skill, and not something int based... :vaarsuvius:

[Miraqariftsky]

Wow! Belkar's got some greatkung fu level jumping, even without the Ring!

[OwN]

I think I like the MITD more and more as this goes on. And I love the SoD tie in with the stew.

[Comedian]

That was a nice one. Honest.

[MReav]

Isn't Belkar supposed to have an abysmal Wisdom? That's going to be a problem.

[Thanatos 51-50]

The 4th wall is beginning to look like swiss cheese. With extra holes.

Fourth Wall? What-huh? This comic has one?

Also, awesome comic.

<Rules thought in spoiler, in case you don't want to read it>

Pretty wierd how its automatically assumed anywhere you go you can improvise tools.
:haley: "Where'd you get the pot"
:belkar: "Improvised."
:haley: "We're on a near-featureless flat battlefield after the battle"
:belkar: "point being?

[DracoDei]

Belkar probably took his ring back from Roy's corpse... :smallcool:

And I like how he can get into killing stuff no matter how little of a challenge it is and how menial and hopeless seeming the larger task is... shows a purity of love for his art ('mindless slaughter' in this case) that really warms my heart. :smallbiggrin:

[SPoD]

And I always wondered why alchemy is a Craft skill, and not something int based... :vaarsuvius:

(Pssst! Craft skills ARE Int-based!)

[bosssmiley]

Goood Lord!

The MitD can certainly make itself understood when it wants to. I wonder what it sounds like?

Now for some cream of vulture stew with scone-cube croutons... :smalltongue:

Mmmmmm, delicious scavenger meat.

"Vultures? What's vultures precioussss?"
"You know, vultures. Vu-ul-tur-es. Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew."

MitD, meta-humour and stabbity death. #475 is win

[Antina]

SO GREAT!!!

Nicely done!

Haven´t laughed so much in a while!

Told you that in Dragon... - great!

Thing in the Darkness getting AAANGRYYY for one second and everybody is convinced.
Now I really am curious what it is!

Thank you, Mr. Giant!

Mr. Stiffly ... *giggle*

[Snowfall]

improvised tools *snicker*. And what did he mean by dragon magazine?


He would be referring to Dragon magazine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(magazine)) which the Giant wrote 22 OoTS strips for before it was announced that it was closing down (http://paizo.com/paizo). Since it was a different medium,Belkar made an out-of-character joke about it...

Nice strip, too funny... :smallbiggrin:

[Emperor Ing]

Hes a level 0 ninja! :smallbiggrin:

[cheesecake]

awesome comic! I wonder what Belkar will cook the stew in? Maybe his emergency chamber pot!

[Emperor Ing]

:smallfrown: you cruel person dont remind us of EOFAF's death :smallfrown:

[shylocxs]

The 4th wall is beginning to look like swiss cheese. With extra holes.

At least it's not looking like gouda cheese!

That was great... love it when I can start laughing from the first panel.

Hehe... paladins are like roaches.... hehe.

[Baxter Konrad]

So much to love!

The Monster in The Dark!

The sexual innuendo!
(Seriously, how did Belkar miss "Mr Stiffy"? :smallbiggrin:)

The reference to Dragon Magazine!


Truly, this has left us with so many questions...

Just what is the power wielded by the MiTD?

Can Belkar really cook up Vulture Stew with a -2 skill check modifier?

Will Belkar ever let "Mr Stiffy" and "Mr Floppy" live their nicknames down?

What does a D&D Monopoly board look like?


Stay tuned! :smallsmile:

[DaveJoha]

Continuity versus creativity...a classic issue in comics. As long as characters are in their true character everything is good.
Great strip Giant.

[otakuryoga]

hey now, that insult to roaches was entirely uncalled for

[Emperor Ing]

(Seriously, how did Belkar miss "Mr Stiffy"? :smallbiggrin:)

:smalleek: OMIGOD!!! I think i just had an evilgasm!

[kierthos]

I never understood why cooking is a Profession skill in AD&D, rather than a Craft skill, like alchemy or sculpting.
Craft skills work on the premise of doing (check result x target DC) in silver pieces per week (or copper pieces per day), so if it were a Craft skill, a good meal (50 cp, and a probable DC of 15) would require a check result of 20 to make meals for 6 people.

Congratulations, you just spent the entire day cooking and you fed the OotS for one meal.

That's why it's a profession. Because you can't Craft food fast enough to keep people fed.

[otakuryoga]

BTW...its mr stiff"L"y ----- not stiffy

[Alex Kidd]

Hmm I guess we can add the MitD to that short list of things Belkar's shown fear of.

Sweet comic.

[Gnomish Lab]

(Pssst! Craft skills ARE Int-based!)

But... but... I'm too young to start becoming senile... :smalleek:

Ok, Thanks.
Now it makes sense.

[moonbiter]

My favorite part of this cartoon is how :belkar: climbs onto, stands on, and walks all over :roy:'s corpse. Klasse.

[Fillbert]

Who knew that :mitd: would have the "Social Event of the Season"....

Edit: Oh, and I love how O-chul has a scone in his hands in place of his sword.

[KIDS]

The MITD is back, and it's as stylish as ever. Hoooray!

Pure awesomeness. Its earth-shattering "STOP! ...please?" was the best of it :smallsmile:

[Caractacus]

BTW, one just HAS to laugh at how Belkar just walks right over Roy when he walks off a bit to talk to Haley... That man halfling is just callousness in a box.

A three-foot high, ambulating box o' stabbity death. :smallcool:


Blimey! Ninja'd at the last minute by moonbiter... :smallbiggrin:

[Stonedef]

He would be referring to Dragon magazine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(magazine)) which the Giant wrote 22 OoTS strips for before it was announced that it was closing down (http://paizo.com/paizo). Since it was a different medium,Belkar made an out-of-character joke about it...

Nice strip, too funny... :smallbiggrin:

Can the Dragon Mag OOTS be found on-line? The WotC site is neigh unusable and I've not been able to locate the comics on there. :p

[Alysar]

Dragon Magazine comics!

Meta-Fourth Wall breakage FTW!

[Mojique]

Sometimes the vulture eats you, sometimes you eat the vulture. :smallbiggrin:

BTW: on which page was the first encounter between the Monster in the Dark with Haley and Belkar?

[Alysar]

Can the Dragon Mag OOTS be found on-line?

Not... shall we say... 'legitimitely'.

Rich did say that he intends to compile them into some sort of purchasable form. There aren't enough of them to make one full book by themselves, but he'll think of something. Bonus comics in one of the future books or something.

[darkgolem]

Belkar doing his death from above.. on a vulture.

The monster in the darkness going all wrathful for a panel... by accident.

Belkar having profession (gourmet chef).

one thing:

By all that is holy, foodie is not a word!!

[Alysar]

BTW: on which page was the first encounter between the Monster in the Dark with Haley and Belkar?

He probably recognizes them from the big fight between the Order and Xykon back in the Dungeons of Dorukan. MitD wasn't in the fight, but he was watching it.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Can the Dragon Mag OOTS be found on-line? The WotC site is neigh unusable and I've not been able to locate the comics on there. :p

No, at least not yet. Rich probably has some sort of exclusive clause with Dragon magazine. Dragon can't include OotS in it's downloadable PDF, and I'm sure Rich has to wait some period of time before he can post them here.

I am hoping Rich will be able to post the Dragon OotS's while he is enjoying his off time! (hint, hint!). But that will depend upon the contract Rich signed with Paizo Publishing... Rich's original plan was to do about 60-70 or so, and publish them in book format, but when WotC pulled their contract for Dragon and Dungeon magazine, Rich ended up with only 22 written.

BUT! Rich has promised to find a way to get them into the hands of the "obesessive completists." So... So. Anyways.

[Ezlo]

Graet comic to read of reading SoD, it got me back into funny mode from drama mode.

[Stonedef]

No, at least not yet. Rich probably has some sort of exclusive clause with Dragon magazine. Dragon can't include OotS in it's downloadable PDF, and I'm sure Rich has to wait some period of time before he can post them here.

I am hoping Rich will be able to post the Dragon OotS's while he is enjoying his off time! (hint, hint!). But that will depend upon the contract Rich signed with Paizo Publishing... Rich's original plan was to do about 60-70 or so, and publish them in book format, but when WotC pulled their contract for Dragon and Dungeon magazine, Rich ended up with only 22 written.

BUT! Rich has promised to find a way to get them into the hands of the "obesessive completists." So... So. Anyways.


okay, thanks for the fast responses. :) At least it means my ability to google them was really not that poor.

[Hranat]

aww... I somehow hoped Belkar would at least try to kill MitD...

[Mojique]

What's taters, precious?

Dialect variant of 'potato'.

[Mojique]

Belkar with ranks in Profession (Gourmet chef)!
We know he is very good in fragmentation of fresh meat. :smallbiggrin:

[Mojique]

aww... I somehow hoped Belkar would at least try to kill MitD...
MITD acupunctured by Belkar? It could be the begin of a wonderful friendship. :smallbiggrin:

[meep]

Well, that's not the direction I was expecting it to go....

but chances are looking better for Haley and Belkar.

[Amon Star]

Classic. Awesome. These are just a few of the words that describes today's comic.

Most of the goodness has already been described by others. However, I've been left with this nugget:

:haley: We're not going to kill a child.
:belkar: Unless we have to?
:haley: What?
:belkar: Come on, at least give me a little hope!
:haley: *sigh*

It's official. :haley:, is the new :roy:. Someone tell Milan. :smalltongue:

[Tach13]

Belkar, MITD, and the Roaches all in one comic, how can you beat that?
Oh, by the intense volume of "STOP!", Belkars psychopathy, and, and, this was incredible! Can't wait to see the stew.

[Wizzardman]

No, I'm fairly sure Rich said he was going to publish the Dragon Magazine OotS as a separate book, which probably precludes putting them online.

Also, before I read the final panel, I could have sworn Belkar was going to make Hobgoblin Stew. :smalltongue:

[Kurien]

Hmm, I'm not sure it'd be safe to eat a vulture, with what its diet and all. Carrion could carry parasites and diseases, which could be transferred to the bird. Well, if you cook it really thoroughly...

Meh, maybe I'm wrong. I'm not a bird expert.

Also, great strip!

[maitreyi]

That vulture may have been one of the ones that were eating Roy. That means that if you eat Belkar's stew, you're eating some of Roy by default.:belkar:

:yuk:

[DracoDei]

1.) Belkar would consider giving the MitD a deadly disease a GOOD thing....

2.) MitD probably has a pretty high Fortitude save, so it should be TOO likely to come up.

[Miklus]

This reminds me of a story I've been told. It included the statement "You kill it, you eat it!"...and a seagull :smallsmile:

[TreesOfDeath]

If thier was a screen shaking emote, I'd post STOP! in really large letters, but I just can't do it justice

[maitreyi]

:smallconfused: Where is Belkar going to find a pot, herbs or spices, and whatever else goes into a stew? Maybe the MitD has some.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

No, I'm fairly sure Rich said he was going to publish the Dragon Magazine OotS as a separate book, which probably precludes putting them online.

Also, before I read the final panel, I could have sworn Belkar was going to make Hobgoblin Stew. :smalltongue:

Hard to say. Here is Rich's statement on that, from a couple of months ago:


Now, I got this news only about an hour before anyone else did, but as far as I have been told, Order of the Stick will continue to run in all the remaining issues of Dragon. Right now, it's too early for any plans on when or how I might make the 22 OOTS strips I created for Dragon available. I was originally going to wait until I had about 60-70 Dragon OOTS before collecting them, but obviously that just ain't gonna happen now. But don't worry, obsessive completists, I'll find a way to get them into your hands somehow.

60-70 would have made a mighty thin book, but what the heck... 22 would make 7 weeks at 3 per week, with one left over. We get our fix, Rich gets his much needed and long over due vacation, and only the Dragon subscribers grumble... You can't please all of the people, all of the time, so do your best and move on.

And I was also thinking hobgoblin/gouda stew, meaty and creamy... More of a chowder? Meh... What do I know? I open the can, pour it into a bowl, and nuke it. Without a cookbook, I'd starve. I thank God for my wife!

[Drakron]

... but when WotC pulled their contract for Dragon and Dungeon magazine ...

Just a note, that is incorrect.

WotC sold publishing rights to Dragon to Paizo, the plug was pushed on Dragon recently by Paizo and WotC but I think it was Paizo that did it due to lack of interest on the magazine (Dragon was even combined with Dungeon and later with Polyhedron).

[Rad]

awesome!!!

[Swashbuckler]

By all that is holy, foodie is not a word!!

It is NOW! :biggrin:

I was always wondering how Belkar was able to make such snarky hats and salsa dip on short notice ... the Profession: Gourmet Chef explains it. And as someone once said, cross-class learning is the key to a rich and fulfilling life! :tongue: (yes, see here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0141.html). I'm just not that funny personally, so I had to borrow from a comic genius.)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Haha, this one was great :smallbiggrin:

I feel like vulture tonight, like vulture tonight...

[theplasticone]

'Ello. Longtime lurker, just registered to point something out after three pages.

...Did no one else go "Oops!" to themselves when they realized Belkar was about to, oh directly injure or kill a living creature?

(Potentially) poor Belkar.

[SKarious]

Stew stew stew stew stew stew stew.
It's such a fun word to say. And the effect of the STOP! was extremely nice. Now I'm getting REALLY curious about the MiTD.

BTW plasticone, they're outside the city walls. Belkar can kill anything he wants.

[Angel in Black]

'Ello. Longtime lurker, just registered to point something out after three pages.

...Did no one else go "Oops!" to themselves when they realized Belkar was about to, oh directly injure or kill a living creature?

(Potentially) poor Belkar.

The mark won't go off- he's not within the city limits.

[Kekken]

Fear the :belkar:'s mad cooking skills...


Incidently... Am I the only one thinking it's quite possible that the :belkar: will try something both rash and evil here, like maybe trying to poison the :mitd: ? Probably be a stupid idea, but since when did that stop the :belkar: ?

[Alysar]

'Ello. Longtime lurker, just registered to point something out after three pages.

...Did no one else go "Oops!" to themselves when they realized Belkar was about to, oh directly injure or kill a living creature?

(Potentially) poor Belkar.

That only counts if he's inside a city.

Perhaps you remember him taking on 50 quillion hobgobs recently and declaring himself a 'sexy shoeless god of war' (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html), immediately after pushing himself and larceny guy off the city wall while saying 'Now leaving Azure City limits' and decapitating him (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0435.html)?

[Fabio_MP]

beautiful little comic, perfectly cooked by a little gourmet chef :)

thanks giant :)

[OmegaDonut]

The 4th wall is beginning to look like swiss cheese. With extra holes.

No, Rich had a door installed in the fourth wall that he can walk through at any time.

[SteveMB]

Mmmmmm, delicious scavenger meat.

:belkar: "OK, here's your stew. I've got some for :haley: here. No thanks, I already had mine...."

[theplasticone]

That only counts if he's inside a city.

Perhaps you remember him taking on 50 quillion hobgobs recently and declaring himself a 'sexy shoeless god of war' (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html), immediately after pushing himself and larceny guy off the city wall while saying 'Now leaving Azure City limits' and decapitating him (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0435.html)?

Right you are. For a while there I was thinking that the no-kill-zone also applied to the safe radius around Flops-ah, Roy's body.

[Xenon]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Just a note, that is incorrect.

WotC sold publishing rights to Dragon to Paizo, the plug was pushed on Dragon recently by Paizo and WotC but I think it was Paizo that did it due to lack of interest on the magazine (Dragon was even combined with Dungeon and later with Polyhedron).

Hard to say who actually said or did what in the corporate world:


From Paizo.com Website: In April, Wizards of the Coast and Paizo Publishing announced the conclusion of Paizo's license to publish Dragon and Dungeon magazines. The magazines will cease publication following the release of the September issues, which ship to subscribers and newsstands in August. The final issues will be Dragon #359 and Dungeon #150.

Wizards of the Coast will be moving the kind of content currently found in Dragon and Dungeon to an online model. Both companies remain on good terms and continue to discuss future opportunities for publishing partnerships.


The way everything I've seen written up so far, WotC decided to pull back from Paizo to go to an online publishing model and bring Dragon and Dungeon magazines back into "in house" publications. I think both magazines were published by TSR/WotC before being farmed out to Paizo, but I could easily be wrong... All my older copies are back in Colorado.

I haven't been hanging out at the Wizards.com website as much as I used to, but I really don't remember seeing any announcements for the new "on-line" versions. Of course, I could be as blind as to what Wizards posts on its site as the MitD when it comes to gates... :smallbiggrin:

[jmucchiello]

WotC sold publishing rights to Dragon to Paizo, the plug was pushed on Dragon recently by Paizo and WotC but I think it was Paizo that did it due to lack of interest on the magazine (Dragon was even combined with Dungeon and later with Polyhedron).That is entirely wrong.

WotC licensed Paizo to use the Dragon and Dungeon trademarks on monthly periodicals. WotC did not renew that license in light of wanting to use those trademarks on its new digital initiative. Many Paizo employees have posted in various forums that Paizo would still be publishing the mags if WotC hadn't stopped them.

Dragon and Dungeon were never combined into one magazine.

Just do a google search on "wotc digital initiative" and you'll find lots of information about what happened to the magazines.

[Ettlesby]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?

...Indeed.

Mystery Meat...*shiver*

[teratorn]

What's taters, precious?


Dialect variant of 'potato'.
Someone doesn't know LotR.
Hint: "precious". Another hint: rabbit (not vulture) stew.

[pendell]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! That last panel... great! Absolute genius!

Belkar knows how to cook ... I didn't know that!

And Haley's a *really* good player. Fighting that thing would have been the last mistake either of them made ... we saw what it did to Miko, and she's a fighter class.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[jindra34]

And Haley's a *really* good player. Fighting that thing would have been the last mistake either of them made ... we saw what it did to Miko, and she's a fighter class.


And back when she could solo the OOTS... yep... that would have been bad.

[kire]

This comic was totally awesome! That looked really cool when the MitD's voice shoot the whole pannel. That must have taken a lot of work to pull off, but it looks fantastic!

[silvadel]

It all depends on if you think cooking is a science where ingrediants are the thing(craft) or if it is an intuitive thing where the right splash of ingrediants, presentation, and creative flair can make or break the meal(profession)...

Cooking is one of those things that falls somewhat between them... If anything I would think gourmet cooking would be more towards the latter while short order cook would be more the former...

At any rate intelligence(following the recipie precisely) only gets you so far as a cook -- you need intuition(wisdom) also... This is one of those things where the simplifications of 3rd edition hurts things... Low level cooking should be optional between 2xint modifier or int+wis and High level cooking more like 2xwis+int.

----

And yes you really wouldnt want to make the MiTD angry... And belkar could be perfect for this meal -- FAILING might be the best thing you could do and belkar has the knowledge(a full 4 ranks in the skill) with multiple penalties involved probably bringing it down to negatives... He could theoretically roll 1 and get a 0.

[delguidance]

Ha Ha! Great comic. Lol.

[RTGoodman]

And for all the cool stuff in the strip, you know my favorite part?

Roy's arms flapping majestically aimlessly in the breeze of MitD's STOP!

[Twisted Otaku]

hehe gourmet chef

[mroozee]

When the :mitd: shouts, "STOP!" don't the eyes remind you of someone we've seen before? Someone crayonic and scribbly?
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html

[Moebius]

Wonderful! Love the Dragon Magazine callback.

Also do *not* read the spoiler if you haven't seen Start of Darkness yet.

:mitd: "I can't help feeling like I've seen you somewhere before..."

Now, the MitD *might* be talking about the final fight in the Dungeon of Dorukan....
....or maybe this is supporting evidence for the 'Haley is Right-eye's daughter' theory.

[factotum]

That explains Belkar's comment when he climbed out of the soup during his major fight with Miko! :smallwink:

Thing is, though, if they don't have time to play Monopoly, how on earth do they have time to make stew? Stew takes hours to cook properly even when you're using decent meat. Using a freshly killed vulture, well, let's just say that this stew is likely to be very chewy...

[Nerd-o-rama]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?
Yeah, I know. I was actually just doing this in Desolace when I ran out of cooked food.

Mystery Stew: You can eat anything if the broth consists mostly of Dwarven Stout.

[Nathander]

Fear the :belkar:'s mad cooking skills...


Incidently... Am I the only one thinking it's quite possible that the :belkar: will try something both rash and evil here, like maybe trying to poison the :mitd: ? Probably be a stupid idea, but since when did that stop the :belkar: ?

Oh, quite possibly. However, if he does, it probably won't affect the MiTD anymore than the MiTD tasting it and, possibly, considering it a delicious seasoning.

Great comic. Haley and Belkar's current little mission has been one of the funnier moments in the storyarc, something that's direly needed despite my own love for the serious moments of the storyline. However, anyone else thinking...

That the MiTD may be unintentionally messing with Belkar and Haley when he says they can take Mr. Stiffly and Flopsy? While it's fairly easy to ascertain that Mr. Stiffly is O'chul, but we have never heard the name of the stuffed dragon toy, which I'm willing to bet is the actual Flopsy. Because of its childlike demeanor, I'm willing to bet the MiTD may honestly be considering this a game and, thus, will give over O'chul and his stuffed dragon doll to Belkar and Haley instead. Roy has become his new, favorite doll, and he'll be more willing to part with his stuffed dragon and O'chul (who looks old and cranky anyway) over Roy. But that's just me.

Edit: So Belkar may have been in food services? Well, I'd consider that as giving him a reason for being evil right there....

[Baalzebub]

:mitd: STOP!

Mitd rules when he is a badass.

[Porthos]

When the :mitd: shouts, "STOP!" don't the eyes remind you of someone we've seen before? Someone crayonic and scribbly?
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html

Start of Darkness pretty much nukes the idea that the CitD is related in anyway to The Snarl. :smallsmile:


Oh, quite possibly. However, if he does, it probably won't affect the MiTD anymore than the MiTD tasting it and, possibly, considering it a delicious seasoning.

Great comic. Haley and Belkar's current little mission has been one of the funnier moments in the storyarc, something that's direly needed despite my own love for the serious moments of the storyline. However, anyone else thinking...

That the MiTD may be unintentionally messing with Belkar and Haley when he says they can take Mr. Stiffly and Flopsy? While it's fairly easy to ascertain that Mr. Stiffly is O'chul, but we have never heard the name of the stuffed dragon toy, which I'm willing to bet is the actual Flopsy. Because of its childlike demeanor, I'm willing to bet the MiTD may honestly be considering this a game and, thus, will give over O'chul and his stuffed dragon doll to Belkar and Haley instead. Roy has become his new, favorite doll, and he'll be more willing to part with his stuffed dragon and O'chul (who looks old and cranky anyway) over Roy. But that's just me.

The plushie dragon already has a name (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0463.html). :smallsmile:

[Sliverghost]

awesome lol kill the bird

[Olorin93]

By all that is holy, foodie is not a word!!

Sure it is; it's used all the time in the restaurant/F&B industry: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/foodie

I have an image of Belkar hiding away his copies of Gourmet magazine so they don't spoil his image as a bad*ss.

[Nathander]

The plushie dragon already has a name (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0463.html). :smallsmile:

Ah, alright. My mistake then. :smalltongue:

[Forealms]

Excellent comic. Mr. Flopsy doesn't need to know what happened to him before/if he was/is rezzed.

[Sliverghost]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?

no even though i play it...what could i be having a flash back about from WOW?

[MrNexx]

Ok, so I'm the first person to think that, when Haley mentions needing a lot of d10s, his first thought was "But undead use d12 HD", and it wasn't until I started typing this message that I said.... "Ohhh, right, White Wolf uses d10s"?

[Raiser Blade]

Okay well lets figure the "how strong is the monster in the darkness equation"

Well MitD>Miko >OotS = MitD> OotS-Roy,V,Dukon= 0% Chance of victory
----------
Who can hit
the lightest?

[BobTheFerret]

I don't think Belkar's gonna catch that vulture.

Rather, I think he'll butcher a hobbo. (Belkar Stew is PEOPLE!)

[Shadic]

Very, very glad that Belkar and Haley didn't attack him there.

..Then again, I bet it would only tickle.

[TigerHunter]

That... was pure win.

[Snipers_Promise]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?

Oh! Oh! Me Me Me! Damn Vultures..... Great comic giant. It was one of the funniest ones in a long time.

[Charles Phipps]

I love the hint of pure evil from belkar too.

"Unless we have too."

I'd like also for Belkar to add parts of Roy for flavoring.

[David Argall]

Okay well lets figure the "how strong is the monster in the darkness equation"

Well MitD>Miko >OotS = MitD> OotS-Roy,V,Dukon= 0% Chance of victory


We can note a few errors in the math here, tho they don't seem to much change the conclusion.
The presumption the MitD is epic level, and thus more powerful than Miko is widely supported, but still has the basic flaw that we don't know that much about the MitD. It would not be hard to give it a flaw that make it a wimp in battle.
Miko was <OotS, not >OotS. She won with the aid of railroad plot and favorable conditions. In less favorable conditions, she lost to Roy & Hinjo. Roughly she is an EL15 encounter, not particularly dangerous to a 13th level party.

Now onto the comic, we get definite word that O'Chul survived [Haley seems to have made a heal check], to the dismay of those thinking paralysis kept the eyes from becoming Xs.

We also discover why there have been these vultures hanging around... Some things are planned well in advance around here... Which tells us

The not-booty talisman is about to be used

[Mordokai]

Anybody want to bet that Belkar and Haley took 2d6 sonic damage? :smallbiggrin:

Love this comic! That STOP!... please? moment of MitD was great, and it's triangular shape actually made it look scary :smalleek: And Haley and Belkar were both brilliant. I would never have thought that Belkar is gourmet chef :smallbiggrin: Can't wait to see what he will make out of the vulture!

More comics like this Rich! Please?

[Shatteredtower]

We also discover why there have been these vultures hanging around... Some things are planned well in advance around here... Which tells us

The not-booty talisman is about to be used Maybe it's just this fever I'm recovering from, but I can't see how your conclusion follows from your premise? Perhaps this is deadpan humour instead?

Seriously, I'm just completely bewildered. Please elaborate?

[mohair_ninja]

Great strip - good that it's 2 pages long.
It's hard to imagine What Will Belkar Do. I don't think his stew will be edible... to people. MitD would eat anything organic (even paper - he didn't complain it's not tasty). Vulture flesh, worms, grass, hobgoblin flesh, Roy's shoes, sylph wings, demon roaches...
And the "STOP... please?" shows all about MitD - he still tries to be polite, but sometimes he can't hold his emotions. Like a child.
And if MitD gets angry... we'll get a halfling stew :smallbiggrin:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

That's a side of Belkar I've never seen before!

[jamroar]

Are have been these vultures hanging around... Some things are planned well in advance around here... Which tells us

The not-booty talisman is about to be used

Yeah, and Haley just happened to walk in to the frame back when Roy was being given the (not a) Booty Talisman, normally a intimate matter she would have no way of knowing about.

But can Celia even carry the four of them, not to mention their gear in one trip?
Not to mention having to avoid the flying zombies in the skies, and becoming the target of every hobgoblin archer/cleric nearby as they make their descent.

[Gefangnis]

...Indeed.

Mystery Meat...*shiver*

Shiver indeed. If the quest reward is a recipe, forget it.

Great strip!

[SolkaTruesilver]

So.. Rich officially invented the 4th Door?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Yeah, and Haley just happened to walk in to the frame back when Roy was being given the (not a) Booty Talisman, normally a intimate matter she would have no way of knowing about.

But can Celia even carry the four of them, not to mention their gear in one trip?
Not to mention having to avoid the flying zombies in the skies, and becoming the target of every hobgoblin archer/cleric nearby as they make their descent.

Celia will give Haley a synergy bonus to her Diplomacy skill, and both women will talk the MitD into hiding them and taking them to Hinjo's junk on the promise of joining the MitD in another tea party, or some other social event. The MitD will jump at the opportunity to hang out with two hotties like Haley and Celia, if for no other reason than Xykon and Redcloak just don't seem to consider anything except their work.

Kind of like Eugene, before he died.

[Ridureyu]

That explains Belkar's comment when he climbed out of the soup during his major fight with Miko! :smallwink:

Thing is, though, if they don't have time to play Monopoly, how on earth do they have time to make stew? Stew takes hours to cook properly even when you're using decent meat. Using a freshly killed vulture, well, let's just say that this stew is likely to be very chewy...

You've never played a full game of Monopoly, have you?

[iabervon]

<Rules thought in spoiler, in case you don't want to read it>

Pretty wierd how its automatically assumed anywhere you go you can improvise tools.
:haley: "Where'd you get the pot"
:belkar: "Improvised."
:haley: "We're on a near-featureless flat battlefield after the battle"
:belkar: "point being?



:belkar: "We're on a battlefield after a battle. I just used one of--"
:haley: "Nevermind"
:belkar: "It worked great back in Cliffport"
:haley: "I said, nevermind"

[Gefangnis]

Heh. I just remembered this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0279.html).

[StupidFatHobbit]

I have an image of Belkar hiding away his copies of Gourmet magazine so they don't spoil his image as a bad*ss.

No, I think the Belkar Attitude is more like "I'm bad*ss, so anything I do is automatically bad*ss, so if gourmet cooking is something I do, it is bad*ss and nobody would think otherwise."

It's like Samuel L. Jackson being the only Jedi who's bad*ss enough to have a lilac-coloured lightsabre. He doesn't have anything to prove.

Edit: Also, I loved Haley's assessment of the MitD as "some sort of child" because this was simply perfect and true, regardless of the MitD's actual physical age. This is the only way to deal with the MitD.

[Eladrinstar]

I don't think they have ever broken the 4th wall this much before.

Classic OotS. I was pleasently suprised.

Good job Giant. :smallsmile:

[lavidor10]

Heh. I just remembered this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0279.html).

I remembered this one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html). There's a bit in otOoPs as well about Belkar's gourmet requirements.

[Chronos]

Belkar also turned up his nose at prison slop (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0261.html), identified barbeque sauce by its ingredients (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0098.html), and made chunky salsa from improvised ingredients (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0358.html).

[Mystitat]

LOVE the monopoly jab. No, I don't think anyone has time for a full game of monopoly. :D Great comic - paints the mitd in an even more childlike manner. And Belkar the chef? I knew he had the typical halfling affinity for food, but chef seems like a step up for him.

And when the MitD called Roy Flopsy, the first thing that came to mind were Peter Rabbit's sisters: Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail. ^_^

[DSCrankshaw]

He probably recognizes them from the big fight between the Order and Xykon back in the Dungeons of Dorukan. MitD wasn't in the fight, but he was watching it.
Not to mention all the time he spent watching them on the crystal ball.

[Draz74]

Heh. :belkar: Nobody has time [to play Monopoly]. :biggrin:

I would have thought Belkar had more than 4 ranks in cooking, judging by the ways he's used it throughout the strip. My favorite being the "needs pepper" soup. Oh, and why the heck would he choose "Profession (gourmet chef)" instead of "Craft (gourmet food)", since the latter would get rid of his ability penalty and replace it with his Int modifier (approximately in the +1 range)???

Smart of Haley to realize she better not fight the :mitd:.

I think we're being given a hint here -- I think whatever the :mitd: is, it probably really is a child.

[MythicFox]

Isn't Belkar supposed to have an abysmal Wisdom? That's going to be a problem.

Hence his comment about "an ability score penalty."

[jscheibel]

vulture stew... mmmmmMMMmmmmmmm :yuk:

[War]

Wow, the OoTS, sort of, is kind of doing something a little bit like having it out with the MitD at last! And it's more awesome than I ever could have dreamed! :smallbiggrin:

[Porthos]

As long as we're talking about Belkar's culinary gifts, there is also the bonus strip in Dungeon Crawlin' Fools where he disses Iron Rations and produces a real halfling meal (a roast duck that's basted in an orange rum glaze and is stuffed with capers) to give to Elan.

I figure that Belkar takes from the Gordon Rasmay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ramsay) school of cooking, myself. :smalltongue:

So whatever you do, make sure that you compliment Chef Belkar on your way out. Otherwise your kidneys might be going into Cold Storage for the next meal he prepares. :smallbiggrin:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

One VERY important thing to keep in mind when you are thinking about Gormet Chef Belkar:

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was quite a chef as well! :smalleek:

[Eldhrin]

Oh how marvellous is this! I laughed until I cried. How can anybody not love the :mitd:?

[Karellen]

You know, I think it's passing interesting that Belkar has put skill points into something as conceptually useless as Profession (gourmet chef). Granted, he's a Ranger, and they get lots of them, and Belkar doesn't really seem to care about skills beyond having a high Hide, Move Silently and Jump, but still, if he doesn't have points to spare to put into Spot or Survival, he has to go out of his way to get that skill, and you'd think coming up with something like that would take more effort to come up with than just picking something from the Ranger Class Skill list.

So, why would his imaginary and nonexistent player do that? Anybody who would make a Belkar has to be a major roleplayer type, which makes sense, but he likes his murderous powergaming too. So - and imagine this - maybe it's because he's planning to qualify for a prestige class? Whatever prestige class Hannibal Lecter has 10 levels in?

[Karellen]

One VERY important thing to keep in mind when you are thinking about Gormet Chef Belkar:

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was quite a chef as well! :smalleek:

That's funny, you had the same idea as me and managed to post it three minutes before I did. <_<

[Ganurath]

Belkar got his ring back!

...How else do you explain that sort of altitude?

[Senex]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?
Oh yes. I hope that Belkar gets lucky with the meat droprate on those vultures. :smallwink:

[Draz74]

Belkar got his ring back!

...How else do you explain that sort of altitude?

16 ranks of Jump, 16 Strength, and a +2 racial bonus?

[Fluff]

Too bad about Skullsy, he could have been the stew pot and provided the fireball for quick cooking.
{(Some-thing irreleavant)


Demonic Roach.

Begins with "m", ends with "olest-"

(*Slap*)

OW!

(He'll squeeze a roach.)

[Rufio]

Haha, yet another great comic. My favorite part was the panal where :mitd: said STOP. Man, the eyes were triangle and everything shook... Then it went back to it's old self... Please...

[KAZMYR]

I can't help hearing Elmo's voice for MitD...

[David Argall]

I don't think they have ever broken the 4th wall this much before.

I would say that http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
was more serious breakage, as are other strips.

Now as to Belkar needing cooking equipment, etc... he has a whole battlefield to roam, and an army comes complete with a lot of supplies, much of which ends up scattered on dead bodies, etc after a fight. So we don't need to strain the brain to let him have most anything the plot requires.

[RelentlessImp]

Pardon me but... when did Belkar start growing hair? (I may be late to the party on that question, but I just _now_ noticed it... it's not like he's had an actual close-up for a few strips).

[David Argall]

Maybe it's just this fever I'm recovering from, but I can't see how your conclusion follows from your premise? Perhaps this is deadpan humour instead?

Seriously, I'm just completely bewildered. Please elaborate?

We have vultures appearing in several strips without an obvious purpose. Now in 475, we find that is not just color, but at least one of them has a plot purpose.
Our writer belongs to the shotgun on the wall school -If the text describes an innocent shotgun safely displayed on the wall of a room, somebody will be shot by it within a few chapters.- If there are vultures, they are not just a color item, but have a story purpose. He does like to throw us curves, but the odds say something is not their by accident.
We have a NOT booty tasisman which is being kept visible even tho items like that routinely vanish when not in use. So it is about to be used. Just how and with what developments is not so clear, but expect to see Celia shortly.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

We have vultures appearing in several strips without an obvious purpose. Now in 475, we find that is not just color, but at least one of them has a plot purpose.
Our writer belongs to the shotgun on the wall school -If the text describes an innocent shotgun safely displayed on the wall of a room, somebody will be shot by it within a few chapters.- If there are vultures, they are not just a color item, but have a story purpose. He does like to throw us curves, but the odds say something is not their by accident.
We have a NOT booty tasisman which is being kept visible even tho items like that routinely vanish when not in use. So it is about to be used. Just how and with what developments is not so clear, but expect to see Celia shortly.

What frightens me, is that with that type of foreshadowing, will Belkar end up trying to kill a kid? :smalleek:

I'd hope not.

[Krinkels]

mmmm.... vulture.... its way better than rat meat!

[Maratanos]

Belkar also turned up his nose at prison slop (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0261.html), identified barbeque sauce by its ingredients (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0098.html), and made chunky salsa from improvised ingredients (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0358.html).

Not to mention the scene in Flavor Text (comic 34a) where Belkar has rations of "Roast duck basted in an orange rum glaze and stuffed with capers", "Risotto", and what looks like German chocolate cake.


It's also worth mentioning that Belkar, as a halfling from this universe, "requires only the finest foods to avoid going into culinary shock." In his words.




Halflings in this universe clearly borrow a bit from Tolkienian hobbits.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Which I find an excellent roleplaying suggestion, quite more solid than the usualy Hafling stereotypes.

Think of it: the Uber-Suber Hafling evil Sorcerer, that absolutely wants to find the proper special spice for his "Hydra Soufflé"

[MReav]

I think I realized something...

Y'know... I think the MitD is a type of invisible creature, with only yellow eyes to mark its presence. With the umbrella showing no hands, it holding Miko's travel pouch in without showing off its hands, and most damnably that in this comic, the shadow is fading off and there is nothing underneath, between, or to the left of its yellow eyes seems to indicate that it doesn't have a visible presence.

[Maratanos]

I think I realized something...

Y'know... I think the MitD is a type of invisible creature, with only yellow eyes to mark its presence. With the umbrella showing no hands, it holding Miko's travel pouch in without showing off its hands, and most damnably that in this comic, the shadow is fading off and there is nothing underneath, between, or to the left of its yellow eyes seems to indicate that it doesn't have a visible presence.

2 word rebuttal:

Art style.




In other words, I disagree. If the MitD had no visible presence other than his eyes, there would be no point in making him be cloaked in darkness, which has been admitted to be because of concealment of his true nature.






Second rebuttal:

the MitD was displayed in front of a circus audience for years before Redcloak found him. He was generally considered to be absurdly ugly. Invisible things AREN'T. You can prove my statements by reading SoD.

[MReav]

Second rebuttal:

the MitD was displayed in front of a circus audience for years before Redcloak found him. He was generally considered to be absurdly ugly. Invisible things AREN'T. You can prove my statements by reading SoD.

How's about you SPOILER TAG the SOD stuff. I haven't been able to find a copy in my area.

[PhallicWarrior]

Heh heh heh... That is good stuff, people.

[Aimbot]

Pretty much the best comic this year.
SOD
He ate gruel in the SOD books, I don't think a critical fumble would put him off.

[Wolfbite]

Just read it, hilarious! I liked how when Monster in the Dark:smallsmile: yelled, O'chul fell over. Going to be hard to enjoy a scone laying down!

[Nightfall]

Heh heh heh...yum! Vulture stew, just like Mom makes!:smallbiggrin:

[TheKnifeofTrust]

That was frickin' brilliant. This is my favorite strip in a long time, and firmly establishes that the Giant still has it (something I was a little concerned about after the last news). This *really* makes me anxious for SoD to get here.


I concur!!! I second that!!! etc :smallbiggrin:

[Azukar]

I wonder is Mister Stiffly (who is paralysed but not dead) caught a glance of MitD's true form at any time in this soiree? All it would take is for MitD to leave its umbrella behind when it dragged Flopsy over, or when passing the scones...

[Aris Katsaris]

I would say that http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
was more serious breakage, as are other strips.

Mmm, not even close IMO. The "Fourth wall" is the wall between the strip's characters and the readers, not the strip's characters and whatever RPG rules/edition they're following.

Referring to a specific comics publication in our universe -- that's I think a more serious violation of fourth wall than ever before. Honestly I didn't like it very much - it distracted me a bit. It's one thing the characters occasionally acknowledging they're characters in a strip, it's one step more severe to actually name the specific company/publication used.

I know it's not very logical on my part -- still I guess I'd have preffered if Belkar had just said something like "I'm not sure we were even in the same continuity when I told you that", leaving out mention of Dragon magazine specifically.

Or honestly am not sure if that's the reason the reference doesn't sit well with me... it may also be that previous violations of the 4th wall seemed whispered (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0198.html) as if the characters themselves knew they were stepping out of their roles for a sec, or actually cause confusion to other characters (e.g. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0330.html when Haley doesn't seem to understand what the oracle is talking about)...

Ah well, it's no biggie anyway.

[berrew]

I know it's not very logical on my part -- still I guess I'd have preffered if Belkar had just said something like "I'm not sure we were even in the same continuity when I told you that", leaving out mention of Dragon magazine specifically.The problem with this is that the line would make no sense at all for the vast majority of readers, who have not read Dungeon Magazine, and would have no clue what was being said here, pretty much ruining the joke. After all, the line about the magazine *is* the joke, and is done so in a way that strengthens the OoTS plotline.

[GusGusStrumSong]

!!!yum yum yum yum... Delicioso!!!

[Keldin]

This stew segment reminds me of the whole segment in Baldur's Gate 2 where you have to make stew out of dead dogs to distract some Umber Hulks. (sorry if it was mentioned earlier)

I wonder if we're ever gonna see the MitD.

[WarriorTribble]

Those Ranger spells would be awfully useful now....

OT: Huh, sloppy cooking and no snarky mention of Rachael Ray... Think I'm visiting too many food sites. Oh well,
:mitd:: YUM-O!!!

[One Skunk Todd]

I wonder if Roy's bag of small critters, or whatever it's called, is still around. And if so could those be added to the stew or do they disappear when killed. Also, doesn't Haley have several bags of holding? Wouldn't surprise me if they got other necessary items, cauldron, water, fire starting materials, etc... out of those.

[DrivinAllNight]

I must commend Mr. B. for changing his schedule to random 3 times a week, it sure seems as thought he strips are doing as good or better then before. And now I have one more reason to be a Belkar fan. He cooks just like I do, just take whatever you can, throw it together, and hope no one notices the rush job :smalltongue:
Although, with them possible getting Roy's body back soon, will we see him in the afterlife or no?
And as far as the fourth wall thing, which thanks to people defining it for me, I must say I like it, adds some good flavor to the mix.
Is there a 3rd or 5th wall that should be broken too???

[malakim2099]

Also do *not* read the spoiler if you haven't seen Start of Darkness yet.

:mitd: "I can't help feeling like I've seen you somewhere before..."

Now, the MitD *might* be talking about the final fight in the Dungeon of Dorukan....
....or maybe this is supporting evidence for the 'Haley is Right-eye's daughter' theory.

Same warning about SOD applies.

I'm sure he's talking about the Final Fight, because Haley doesn't exactly look like a goblin when she's age 15? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0093.html) I'd sooner believe that she was an aasimar or something. :smallconfused:

[H. Zee]

Best thing about this comic? Unquestionably the final panel. Dunno why, but that made me laugh more than I can remember laughing at any other OotS comic. *Salutes Giant.*

[factotum]

I wonder if Roy's bag of small critters, or whatever it's called, is still around. And if so could those be added to the stew or do they disappear when killed.

They only last ten minutes, and besides, he ran out of them when he was trying to find a solution to falling to his death--the bag won't be usable again for a while. (Tomorrow? Not sure what the recharge on a Bag of Tricks is).

[Helgraf]

And I always wondered why alchemy is a Craft skill, and not something int based... :vaarsuvius:

Umm, Willis. Craft is Int based.

[Lerch]

Did anyone notice that it's the paladin that's Mr Stiffy

perhaps another left-handed compliments for all of the paladins...

[johnnyriot999]

Bitchin effect in the 7th panel. Glad to see that shadowed weirdo finally let out it's inner monster. :smallmad:

[Poukis]

Loved the comic and loved the mitd getting angry :D
Excccelent!
Cheers!

[Zictor]

Best phrase in the strip:

Nobody has that kind of time

[darkgolem]

Could be worse. They could be playing Talisman, with all the expansions.

[OmegaDonut]

They only last ten minutes, and besides, he ran out of them when he was trying to find a solution to falling to his death--the bag won't be usable again for a while. (Tomorrow? Not sure what the recharge on a Bag of Tricks is).

It could be a week, but seeing as Roy's Bag of Tricks seems to be some kind of homebrewed, plot-driven version, it could be anything. His is tan, and normally (at least according to this (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm)) they only summon rhinos, warhorses, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!). Only the grey ones can summon badgers, weasels and rats.

Also, the Bag of Tricks can normally only summon up to one critter at a time.

[elan the mighty]

What kind of program does Rich Burlew use to make his comics? Just wondering.:elan: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/images/smilies/oots/haley.gif
:haley:

[Mordokai]

Could be worse. They could be playing Talisman, with all the expansions.

Never played Talsiman myself, but Munchkins with all expansions take a hell of time too :smallbiggrin:

[CindyKay]

Man, I don't know what's scarier - the MitD angry or Belkar cooking.

Looking forward to the next comic.

[eilandesq]

Uh oh. . .

Panel of Haley running at full speed past crowds of confused hobgoblins. She looks horrified and nauseated as she shouts: "The secret ingredient in Belkar's stew is Roy! IT'S ROY!"

Hobgoblins stare after her, and Belkar slips behind them, following Haley at a distance. He's holding Roy's and O'Chul's heads under his arms--all ready for resurrection spell usage--and he's muttering, "Aw hell, Haley--I'm sure it just ate a little." [muttering to self] "Girls are so squeamish. . ." ]:-)

[Eldhrin]

What kind of program does Rich Burlew use to make his comics? Just wondering.:elan: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/images/smilies/oots/haley.gif
:haley:

I believe he uses Adobe Illustrator. Definitely some sort of vector graphics app, but I think he's mentioned Illustrator before. On a Mac, I think.

[sealemon]

I know it won't happen, but I keep imagining...


changing scenes back to the party on Hiro's junk (Heh. 'junk') for several strips. When they finally go out into the plain to try and find out what happened, they see the MITD still having his tea party, but now with two new members: Pretty Stiff and Shorty McStiffy. "The stew wasn't really good. But now they REALLY like the tea!" I read too much Stephen King.

[AyuVince]

anyone else having world of warcraft flashbacks?

That's exactly what I thought as well when I read :belkar:'s last line. Farming ingredients for food quests is EVIL. Alliance players, remember Westfall Stew? I spent hours in that bloody wasteland killing Goretusks, vultures and Murlocs.

And Belkar's reading Dragon Magazine. He probably memorized all the Sage Advice tips so he could minmax his combat prowess. Munchkin.

[Shara_Littlebottom]

Wonderfully funny comic. It made me guffaw out loud (gol??). :-D

Thank you Giant!

[Em Blackleaf]

I wonder what vulture stew tastes like...

By the way, great comic!

[Demonicbunny]

That's exactly what I thought as well when I read :belkar:'s last line. Farming ingredients for food quests is EVIL. Alliance players, remember Westfall Stew? I spent hours in that bloody wasteland killing Goretusks, vultures and Murlocs

Yeah. I was thinking of Westfall stew as well (after all, it's one of the more famous recipies in Warcraft, mainly because of the digusting and slightly absurd ingredients. I mean, stringy vulture meat, goretusk snout and murloc eyes. Yuck).

[smellie_hippie]

heh heh heh...

I love :mitd: .

'nuff said.

[SouLReApeR]

Really liked the strip :belkar: cooking seems frightening...

[Robert Paulson]

:mitd: "Dibs!!"

:smallbiggrin:

[Azukar]

only summon rhinos, warhorses, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!).

Two points for OmegaDonut for making me laugh out loud.
Now, back to work Azukar...

[beholder]

good job giant. i love the last 3 panels. made me giggle like a schoolgirl.

[Holy_Knight]

Yeah. I was thinking of Westfall stew as well (after all, it's one of the more famous recipies in Warcraft, mainly because of the digusting and slightly absurd ingredients. I mean, stringy vulture meat, goretusk snout and murloc eyes. Yuck).

Yikes... I couldn't figure out what people meant about the Warcraft flashbacks, and then I saw this. I think I must have blocked out that stupid Westfall Stew from my mind...

Good strip, and I especially liked the shot of Belkar flying through the air at the vulture.

[durrem]

Aww, Belkar's making stew for...
his new animal companion.

:mitd: Stew, stew, stew

[16oz]

Just a couple of quick thoughts. Pretty much we are NEVER shown what the OOTSers are carrying on them, due to the 'limited' art style Rich uses. So he probably does have the basics for cooking on him, but also as Belkar himself points out, he's a gourmet chef, and in need of much more equipment than what he could be holding. Also, place me in the camp that says Blekar reclaimed his ring of jumping +20. While he might have a good STR modifier, a racial bonus of +2 to climb (silliest racial modifier EVER) and max ranks, one of the sad things about being size category small is that you divide you skill check result in half to find out how far you can jump. That ring +20, in this case, is EXACTLY what the chef ordered.

And with that last line of mine, I am taken back to the Playstation 2 classic 'Star Ocean 2', with it's own mini game version of Iron Chef. Just have this thought of Belkar competeing, losing to the Iron Chef, and him getting angry... in an area with LOTS of knives designed to cut through meat quickly and efficently (shudders).

[jolus]

I really am wondering how long :mitd: will stay in the dark.

Presumably the world will never know...

[fractal]

Also, place me in the camp that says Blekar reclaimed his ring of jumping +20. While he might have a good STR modifier, a racial bonus of +2 to climb (silliest racial modifier EVER) and max ranks, one of the sad things about being size category small is that you divide you skill check result in half to find out how far you can jump. That ring +20, in this case, is EXACTLY what the chef ordered.
No, your size category doesn't directly affect Jump checks at all. Size only matters for how it affects your strength bonus (net effect -1 for Halflings) and movement speed (net effect -6 for Halflings).

However, Belkar's first Barbarian level cancels out the reduced movement speed penalty. Therefore, since the racial bonus to jumping outweighs the Halfling strength penalty, Belkar may be a better jumper than Roy (who leapt onto a moving dragon).

And with that last line of mine, I am taken back to the Playstation 2 classic 'Star Ocean 2', with it's own mini game version of Iron Chef. Just have this thought of Belkar competeing, losing to the Iron Chef, and him getting angry... in an area with LOTS of knives designed to cut through meat quickly and efficently (shudders).
Suikoden II (PSX) had an Iron Chef style minigame, too.

[Haruspex]

Nice strip. The monster can be really scary when he wants to, hey?

[Akaziel]

Woo! Awesome comic! Hard to imagine Belkar as a chef, though.

[Monan]

I love how Belkar has been established as a pint sized killing machine and keeps reminding us of that. That last shot of him flying high to ready to skewer the vulture for a meal was classic! I don’t think there has ever been a more intimidating Halfling.

[carborundum]

Great strip - too many gems to count!

At least the MITD only wants stew - he could have demanded a shrubbery!

[Darkhands]

I can't help hearing Elmo's voice for MitD...

I always imagine Wallace Shawn's voice for the MitD:

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ap_shawn_070712_ssh.jpg

Audio Clip of Wallace (http://www.reelwavs.com/movies/sounds/princess_bride/jobisatstake.wav)

And another (http://www.reelwavs.com/movies/sounds/princess_bride/landwar.wav)

[Lolzords]

Haha, seems the MitD actually is really powerful.

[lord_khaine]

we allready knew that, he punched a paladin and a horse though a stone wall.

[Stormwolf]

we allready knew that, he punched a paladin and a horse though a stone wall.

Actually he tapped a paladin and a horse through a stone wall - remember they were playing 'lightest hit wins' :)

[mockingbyrd7]

I always imagine Wallace Shawn's voice for the MitD:

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ap_shawn_070712_ssh.jpg

Audio Clip of Wallace (http://www.reelwavs.com/movies/sounds/princess_bride/jobisatstake.wav)

And another (http://www.reelwavs.com/movies/sounds/princess_bride/landwar.wav)

Really?? I've always thought of BELKAR having a voice similar to Vizzini (the Sicilian from Princess Bride).

[Ithekro]

And the MitD was sad, becaue he lost...twice. (:mitd: "I suck")

[Fishybugs]

Really?? I've always thought of BELKAR having a voice similar to Vizzini (the Sicilian from Princess Bride).

The same voice as Vizzini?

Inconceivable.

[OmegaDonut]

Really?? I've always thought of BELKAR having a voice similar to Vizzini (the Sicilian from Princess Bride).

Well, he already killed Yokyok, and that was as close as anybody got to Vizzini.

EDIT: Oh wait, I'm mixing up my Princess Bride characters. ;)

[Chronos]

Don't Jump checks have a maximum based on the character's height, though? That would put halflings at a significant disadvantage. I've been presuming that the Ring of Jumping removed those maxima, as a side effect.

[Lavin]

Yes, the ring of jumping would definitely give Belkar a Vulture-attacking advantage.

*snort*
"Mr. Flopsy" is probably going to be a name that will stay for a while. Roy might...pardon the pun...never LIVE IT DOWN!!!!! Hahaahahaaha! Haa...ok, not really that funny, but still.

MITD is way stronger than we all know. The forcefullness of the way he said "STOP!" and, lets not forget the time he was playing the "let's-hit-each-other-as-lightly-as-we-can" game with Miko. He (I'm assuming it's a he...but what if I'm WRONG?!?!?! Duh-duh-daaaaaaaaah!) nearly killed Miko right then and there.

Anyways, great comic, Giant, thanks!

[SteveDJ]

Mmm, not even close IMO. The "Fourth wall" is the wall between the strip's characters and the readers, not the strip's characters and whatever RPG rules/edition they're following.

Referring to a specific comics publication in our universe -- that's I think a more serious violation of fourth wall than ever before. Honestly I didn't like it very much - it distracted me a bit. It's one thing the characters occasionally acknowledging they're characters in a strip, it's one step more severe to actually name the specific company/publication used.

I know it's not very logical on my part -- still I guess I'd have preffered if Belkar had just said something like "I'm not sure we were even in the same continuity when I told you that", leaving out mention of Dragon magazine specifically.

Or honestly am not sure if that's the reason the reference doesn't sit well with me... it may also be that previous violations of the 4th wall seemed whispered (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0198.html) as if the characters themselves knew they were stepping out of their roles for a sec, or actually cause confusion to other characters (e.g. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0330.html when Haley doesn't seem to understand what the oracle is talking about)...

Ah well, it's no biggie anyway.

Actually, wouldn't the most serious 4th wall breakage be this strip? http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0033.html

[vbushido]

The last panel conjured up memories of running through the Badlands for Mystery Meat & Flame Sacs.

And since we have conjured up references to cooking in Star Ocean, Suikoden II, and WoW, is there some reason that learning to cook automatically means you can inadvertently poison your teammates? And who in their right mind would look at the stinger of a 3-foot-long scorpid and think "I can make a snack of this?" :eek:

-----
Practice random intelligence and senseless acts of self-control

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Don't Jump checks have a maximum based on the character's height, though? That would put halflings at a significant disadvantage. I've been presuming that the Ring of Jumping removed those maxima, as a side effect.

Nope. However, they do suffer penalties based on your speed. Then again, Belkar's barbarian level(s) negate that.

[Eogan]

Actually, wouldn't the most serious 4th wall breakage be this strip? http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0033.html

No, that one happens "backstage", so it's more of an OoC aside. This one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0259.html), on the other hand, happens entirely in-character and in-world.

[factotum]

And who in their right mind would look at the stinger of a 3-foot-long scorpid and think "I can make a snack of this?" :eek:


Probably the same person who sees a snail creeping along leaving a trail of slime and thinks to themselves, "Boy, that looks appetising." :smallsmile:

[Caractacus]

And the MitD was sad, becaue he lost...twice. (:mitd: "I suck")

True. Although he can hardly be said to have been playing the second time. It was a non-talking horse that he basically attacked.

I think this is what conclusively proves that the MitD is a child in mentality (mind you, the evidence is everywhere): it basically thought a horse was capable of playing the game, that it would want to, and that it had indicated interest in playing.

The MitD is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum shrouded in an anomaly and dunked in obscurity... :smalltongue:

[Senko]

As I recall jump rings used to give a boost to distance jumped, then to jump check but removed penalties, then just to jump check (height maximums still apply).

[Silverblaze]

The same voice as Vizzini?

Inconceivable.

Hmmmm... I don't think that word means what you think it means... :smallbiggrin:

[paulg]

Ummmm.....When did Belkar get his Ring of Jumping back?

[EyethatBinds]

Don't you loot your fallen ally's corpse as soon as you find it?