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The Giant
2006-08-05, 01:19 AM
New comic is—




—up.

BelkarsDagger
2006-08-05, 01:21 AM
Nice one.

w00t first post! For once!

That was-

-funny. I like how Nale kept-

-saying he had words left.

Messy
2006-08-05, 01:21 AM
Haha! Nale and his sending spells. 8)

Hmm...well, first time first page. Oddly, I did have first post, then somehow it got removed. :(

Now we know why Nale needed so many scrolls. ;)

The Voice of Mod: Posts that do nothing but shout "Woot!" or "First post!" are deleted as spam.

Oops, was planning to edit it and put something different after I read the comic. ;D I guess the itch to get first post is too powerful for me to resist. ::)

Smashymcsmash
2006-08-05, 01:23 AM
Heh heh totally sweet! Go sending!

Messy
2006-08-05, 01:27 AM
New comic is—




—up.
Heh.

Oh, and: Roy! Oh no! They're gonna go after his sister! :o :-/ Does that mean a Linear Guild fight soon, or what? Nale said they only wanted Elan, though... ???

I just noticed the growing amount of scrolls at Nale's feet every time. ;D

Laman_Stahros
2006-08-05, 01:28 AM
LOL ;D

That was great. Nale needs to learn to write things out before hand. ;D

Oh, by the way. WOOOOT! First page! ;D

sendhil
2006-08-05, 01:29 AM
Yay! I got on the first page! I was wondering how this plot would begin to arc back. I guess we'll see. So what spell was

A_Sock_Paladin
2006-08-05, 01:30 AM
Woot first page =D

I love your joke, so funny =)

Thomar_of_Uointer
2006-08-05, 01:31 AM
I like the way this is heading...

Felinoid
2006-08-05, 01:34 AM
Well, that would explain why he needed so many of them. I love how he spent a full one complaining, though it's spectacularly stupid not to complain and then recast. Good small joke + plot advancement = Nice comic and a half.

EDIT: Didn't particularly like the spelling out at the beginning, though. It smacks of Superman telling us what he's doing while he's doing it.

Krytha
2006-08-05, 01:34 AM
CURSE YOU GIANT!! CURSE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-




UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Eriol
2006-08-05, 01:34 AM
That was good, especially the satisfaction on Roy's face when Nale gets pissed off at his own plan failing and succeeding at the same time.

Edit: And I gotta say, apparently Pompey did a REALLY good job finding sending scrolls too (look at all of the discarded ones around Nale's feet)

boxboy582
2006-08-05, 01:37 AM
You would think after the first couple of times he'd get the picture. . . or actually think about what he'd be saying. Very nice comic Giant.


Woot long time post watcher first time poster. . . i'm all excited ;D

And first page t'boot. I thought my Order of the Stick senses were tingling! ::)

LoH
2006-08-05, 01:37 AM
Roy's sister is a mage, so she knows about the spell (and she isn't longwinded like Nale loves to be). And dad's dead.


woot first--

jomac2k
2006-08-05, 01:38 AM
great strip. I just wanted to see if I could do a quick post to get on the first page. and with that 25 words.

Brickwall
2006-08-05, 01:38 AM
Well, ONE of them is a strategist. Probably the one who's related to someone who knows how to word a Sending spell well enough to throw in information, a childish threat, AND an insult.

That's Roy for those of you who had trouble with that. Roy is a strategist, Nale is an egotistical idiot. Or just overly verbiose. Like every comic book villain. Either way, it's signs of poor strategy.

Leo_Forestclaw
2006-08-05, 01:40 AM
Tho I'm loath to admit it, Nale brings up a great proint with such a silly restrction on the spell.

On the other hand, we've seen what V can do when given no limits on verbal acrobatics.

Perhaps the spell was designed by an apprentice who had a teacher who talked too much - passive aggressive revenge in spell form...

DaMullet
2006-08-05, 01:47 AM
Fantastic comic, as usual. This makes me wonder, though... Is Nale really stupid enough to kill Roy's sister? We all remember what happened when his sword was sundered, imagine his reaction to his own sibling.

TheWanderingLlama
2006-08-05, 01:48 AM
BEST COMIC EVAR!

No, really. I liked the gag overall, and it was brilliant how Julia was able to get everything she wanted into one spell.

Krytha
2006-08-05, 01:49 AM
Roy's sister is a mage, so she knows about the spell (and she isn't long winded like Nale is). And dad's dead.


woot first--

You still have one more word left.

cleric_of_BANJO
2006-08-05, 01:49 AM
AWESOME STRIP!! nice one giant.

I loved the look on roys face every time nale appeared again, and the "She had words left but I dont?" was priceless.

By the way, since I made the spell longer, I have... ummm... 3 words left.

obviously, WOOT SECOND-

page... damit!!

rcuhljr
2006-08-05, 01:50 AM
Woot! fast new post! happy me.

Brickwall
2006-08-05, 01:51 AM
Fantastic comic, as usual. This makes me wonder, though... Is Nale really stupid enough to kill Roy's sister? We all remember what happened when his sword was sundered, imagine his reaction to his own sibling.

Keep in mind: who mouthed back more? Who did ol' daddy favor more? Sword or sister?

Julia may be hot, but there's no need to even say that she's deserving of being only allowed 25 words per ANY conversation. On a good day.

rosebud
2006-08-05, 01:58 AM
I'm amused at the notion of limiting posts to 25 words (as well as restricting them from being "w00t" and "first post!"). Message board haiku.

Thez
2006-08-05, 02:00 AM
He he - so funny :)

I just thought of something - wonder if the giant is a fan of Futurama... Nales lil' goat beard.

Reminds me of Benders "evil" "twin"...

cleric_of_BANJO
2006-08-05, 02:02 AM
i dont think so... Goatees were always thought to be evil. if you look carefully, most bad guys in most movies will have goatees.

Seerow
2006-08-05, 02:15 AM
I'd like to thank-


dammit.

dragon95046
2006-08-05, 02:19 AM
Fantastic comic, as usual. This makes me wonder, though... Is Nale really stupid enough to kill Roy's sister? We all remember what happened when his sword was sundered, imagine his reaction to his own sibling.

I get the impression that the loss of his sister would not cause him as much anguish as the loss of his sword. Ressurecting his-

damn, his sister is better at this than I, ressurecting his sister just requires him procuring enough diamonds which are much easier to come across-

Stupid spell. Now where was I? Oh. Diamonds are easier to come across than starmetal. YAY, leftover words (see how making 2 words into one-

Winged One
2006-08-05, 02:23 AM
I liked how Roy just acted blase until Nale actually made his point. Really shows how-

ElfLad
2006-08-05, 02:24 AM
WOW! This was 1 337 strip.

GET IT? One 337 strip=1337 strip? Oh, the wit.

Messy
2006-08-05, 02:26 AM
WOW! This was 1 337 strip.

GET IT? One 337 strip=1337 strip? Oh, the wit.
I can tell you were just waiting for many strips until #337 so you could say that. ;)

Bakta
2006-08-05, 02:32 AM
Elan having trouble to figure out numbers, Nale unable to make the difference between 17 and 25..

hmmm the counting is weak in those ones

cleric_of_BANJO
2006-08-05, 02:34 AM
nale didnt make a mistake.

he had used up 17 words, and then said eight more when he said he'd used that many. Its a-

Abd al-Azrad
2006-08-05, 02:39 AM
Nice. I try to plan my Sendings in advance, but this was awesome.

ref
2006-08-05, 02:39 AM
This is a funny strip. Let's see what they do to poor Julia... I wonder what Nale was about to say when he was cut-off. Over.

Holy_Knight
2006-08-05, 02:43 AM
EDIT: Didn't particularly like the spelling out at the beginning, though. It smacks of Superman telling us what he's doing while he's doing it.
I actually thought it was kind of amusing.

Roy: It's just a mental projection in my brain!
Nale: I'm mentally projecting this into your brain!

I don't know, it made me smile.

I liked how Nale's first set of words in this panel came to 23--which leaves room for the "Hello, Roy" from last time. Nice attention to detail there. The plot is starting to get really interesting...

Elurindel
2006-08-05, 02:51 AM
I found this comic to be hilarious. I've never used Sending, but remind me to take serious preparation before I do. It seems that just-

As you're getting started, it cuts you off ;D

Talas
2006-08-05, 02:56 AM
Sweet! the 25 word per-cast-limit does suck tho...

schmikey
2006-08-05, 03:04 AM
HMmmmm.... is 25 one word or two? If it's two, Nale was allowed to cheat magic itself! I wonder what the repercussions of that -


are.

Flashlight_Fish
2006-08-05, 03:17 AM
Am I the only one who actually counted the words in each one of Nale's spells? OCD (and acronyms) ftw! Roger, Wilco, over and out.

Behold_the_Void
2006-08-05, 03:17 AM
I really liked that. One of the first laugh out loud strips for me from any webcomic in a long time. Bravo!

Adder
2006-08-05, 03:36 AM
Tehee, seems like Nale and Elan have more in common than everyone thought ;D

Eldhrin
2006-08-05, 03:56 AM
I thought it was very funny how Julia is clearly very experienced with Sending (or at least knew the limitation beforehand) and is able to succinctly state exactly what's necessary.

I also appreciate that her opinion of Roy appears to be much the same as Eugene's. Poor Roy. He's going to get abuse from his family whatever he does now!

rosebud
2006-08-05, 03:59 AM
Am I the only one who actually counted the words in each one of Nale's spells?No.

JessmanCA
2006-08-05, 04:11 AM
Ah, the villain's folly, just classic, this would have been great writing even in Greek times.

Alfryd
2006-08-05, 04:15 AM
New comic is—
—up.
Very droll.
Once more it becomes evident that Nale is his own peculiar brand of intellectual imbecile.

Tho I'm loath to admit it, Nale brings up a great proint with such a silly restrction on the spell.
What? You expect unlimited free international calls?

Marcyss
2006-08-05, 04:23 AM
*giggles*

Oh... that's.. great....





stupid spell! heheee

Matuse
2006-08-05, 04:25 AM
The pile of scrolls that develops at Nale's feet is worth the price of admission alone.


Also, Roy's sister threatening to tell on him...to their dad. I guess Roy isn't the only one who gets unwanted visitors at night.

Michael_Sandy
2006-08-05, 04:26 AM
Hey, even smart people miss stuff. I bashfully admit that I had not noticed 'Nale' is 'Elan' backwards till this comic. High Int, Low Wis?

Haggis_McCrablice
2006-08-05, 04:34 AM
So this spell is basically the equivalent of a mystical answering machine tape.

I have twelve words left.

Would a belch count as a word?

Mattaeu
2006-08-05, 04:51 AM
Oh man, it's been awhile since I've seen a new favorite.

This one is up there; good job Rich.

Ronald_saveloy
2006-08-05, 04:55 AM
And dad's dead!

Speak with the dead?

Anyway: Superb comic! Obivously, Roy is dumb as sourdough when it comes to magic. But hey, he's a fighter, isn't he?

But Nale clearly isn't the right character to use that spell. He far to theatrical to condense his speeches down to 25 Words. Propably, it would be the same for some of my RPG-Characters too, who also like to make a lot of words, hehe!

Like the pile of used scrolls at Nales feet, growing during the panels!

DarkCorax
2006-08-05, 04:58 AM
LoL I really like this comic this is a new contender for favourite OotS Strip!

The_Magpie
2006-08-05, 05:03 AM
Sending: D&D's answer to SMS text messaging. ;D

Dervag
2006-08-05, 05:03 AM
My uses of sending were always telegraphic for this reason. Sending is much like a telegram. You pay by word, so you use fewer words.

Sir_Norbert
2006-08-05, 05:05 AM
Am I the only one who actually counted the words in each one of Nale's spells?
And did you notice that one of them (the one just after Julia's) has only twenty-four?

Ah well, still a hilarious strip for those who--

Antina
2006-08-05, 06:10 AM
Wow - Giant - a refreshment SO FAST!!! And extra-length!

THANX!!! ;D

And Nale really PROVED to be Elans brother *giggle*
These word limitations got me once, too, but SO often in a row?!


With all that shouting of Roys - why aren´t the others vast awake an by his side??

And Roys sister is "gonna tell daddy"?! What is she - a necromancer?!

Max_Sinister
2006-08-05, 06:16 AM
Yes, that was cool. I wondered why Nale needed that many Sending Scrolls (am not that deep into the details of D&D). Now we know it.

Overelemental
2006-08-05, 06:21 AM
Hilarious, first time in awhile I've chuckled :) Great work.

Miraqariftsky
2006-08-05, 06:30 AM
Salutations, all !

Great comic, as always.

By the way, if Nale does not have any more Sendings, his Parthian Shot'll be broke midflight...

Miraqariftsky
2006-08-05, 06:33 AM
And Roys sister is "gonna tell daddy"?! What is she - a necromancer?!

No--- she's in the cool circles in school society, right? Therefore: cryomancer...
;)

fwiffo
2006-08-05, 06:46 AM
He-he... A typical strip has 4 rows of panels. This one has 6. It's as if Giant was trying to say something and run out of space.

In other words, this is proof positive. Giant is Nale.

Borealis
2006-08-05, 06:46 AM
Always fun to read. :) Now, on with the plot! I wonder which OOTS member will be most looking forward to the reunion?

warmachine
2006-08-05, 06:47 AM
That was funny! The evil genius that likes to hear himself talk with a word limit. And a great punchline.

Neopolis
2006-08-05, 06:48 AM
Dhehe, funny. Why do villains always use overly complicated sentences? :P

Freelance Henchman
2006-08-05, 06:56 AM
LOL hilarious! :D

This has been the best comic in quite a while, with the best "main joke" (!?).

Picasso007
2006-08-05, 06:59 AM
ye gods, he posts at 1:40 AM and by 7 am there're already 5 pages in the board thread! Get to bed, all of--

--ye! Loved the strip, though. I love it when characters like Nale demonstrate their own stupidity. Also, I figured out how to word Nale's message--

--in only eighteen words. "We have your sister. Bring Elan to the warehouse on Avenue Street in Cliffport before Tuesday or else." Not bad, eh?

Ronald_saveloy
2006-08-05, 07:11 AM
ye gods, he posts at 1:40 AM and by 7 am there're already 5 pages in the board thread! Get to bed, all of--

For Old Europe, this is quite convenient! 1:30 AM East Coast Time means 8:30 Central European Time. So, we had the whole morning to post.

Delgarde
2006-08-05, 07:11 AM
Dhehe, funny. Why do villains always use overly complicated sentences? :P

They learn it at villain school, with classes on delivering long-winded monologues, and on revealing your secret plan to the heroes. It's the equivalent of Elan's training in narrative convention and dramatic action.

Korta
2006-08-05, 07:19 AM
Hilarious!!! I love it!!! ;D


p.s... Giant, your avatar is so SERIOUS looking :(

prettyripples
2006-08-05, 07:34 AM
Well done Giant, that was the best (for me) in a while. Laugh-out-loud, and the Linears back again as a bonus.

Sebastian
2006-08-05, 07:37 AM
have you considered how much tihs costed to Elan (dignity aside). he used 8 scrolls of Sending, Each is around 2500 GPs, I don't know which level is Nale but 20.000 gps are not cheap, Only an NPC could be allowed to pull something like that. ;)
And about sending, if it really project an image what about using miming rather than words? that could overcame the words limit (and make a pretty funny joke by itself).

And I agree that this was of the funnier comic in a long time, and this is saying a lot.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-08-05, 08:43 AM
*guffaws*

Y'know what, you could tell Elan and Nale were related even if they didn't look like one another ::)

Delgarde
2006-08-05, 08:45 AM
have you considered how much tihs costed to Elan (dignity aside). he used 8 scrolls of Sending, Each is around 2500 GPs, I don't know which level is Nale but 20.000 gps are not cheap, Only an NPC could be allowed to pull something like that. ;)

Nah, it's not as bad as that. According to the DMG, an arcane scroll of Sending is 1125 (divine is 700). Although the DMG also lists it as a 5th level arcane spell, while the PH says 4th. Either way, it's no more than 10000 - still not cheap, but manageable. And perhaps Pompei gets a student discount, might cut a thousand or so off the cost.

LE4dGOLEM
2006-08-05, 08:59 AM
Baah. 5th Page again.

Stupid Spell. At least he thought to use Scrolls...

Begle1
2006-08-05, 09:16 AM
ILoveTheStrip, ButHowIsItThatTheEvilGeniusNaleDidNotFigureOutTheR ealWayToUseSendingWithoutGettingCutOff? ItIsNotTooHardToAbuseTheSpell, There'sJustACertainDownsideToDoingSo...

;D ;D ;D

Aerysil1
2006-08-05, 09:20 AM
We don't need to stinkin minutes.

Calsan
2006-08-05, 09:34 AM
Briliant! I loved it! see.
sending spell madness, I wonder what he wanted to see last rolf.

ncriker
2006-08-05, 09:46 AM
first time poster, been lurking for months. very good comic. the 25 word limit was very funny

morbiczer
2006-08-05, 09:53 AM
I don't really post here, but I must say, that this comic was simply brilliant!

BlythraB
2006-08-05, 10:17 AM
what a cruel heart you have, Mr. Burlew! :(
Edit: Clarify- not giving us the last statement-

Zherog
2006-08-05, 10:19 AM
hehehehe.... Avenue Street. hehehehe

There's a major road near me and Rich that has the highly uncreative name of Street Road. Most people in this area think it's a perfectly legit name, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Also - a little late on this one, Rich. Did you swipe the bedtime conversation in 336 from what goes on in our house after the kids go to bed? ;D

Eldritch Knight
2006-08-05, 10:21 AM
Brilliant!

cbolttoak
2006-08-05, 10:33 AM
Who is YikYik? I was curious if anybody was going to answer that in the thread.

smellie_hippie
2006-08-05, 10:41 AM
Who is YikYik? I was curious if anybody was going to answer that in the thread.


YikYik "was" the kobold part of the Linear Guild... who became a Belkar "hat".... posthumously.

The question that has been burning in MY brain is why did Nale NEED so many scrolls of sending. Oh no, I understand why he USED so many. The true irony is that even BEFORE he started this whole dastardly plot... he KNEW he was going to blow it with his low tolerance for frustration and his own ineptitude.

Great comic Giant. ;D

Elcaz
2006-08-05, 10:47 AM
Genius! Absolute GENIUS!

Raise your hands those of you who went 'one two three four five...' while reading the comic.

It must be terribly hard to write a comic with punchlines, funny jokes in the middle of the strip AND a storyline.

NullAshton
2006-08-05, 10:55 AM
Sending is kind of easy to get by the 25 word limit. I just have a natural knack for not going past that.

Deckmaster
2006-08-05, 10:55 AM
Nale is pretty long-winded.

I totally could manage to say what I want in less than 25 words.

See?

KIDS
2006-08-05, 10:55 AM
ROFL ROFL ROFL.... damn, I haven't laughed this hard for like last hundred comics, this one was really perfect!

Solara
2006-08-05, 10:59 AM
Best. Comic. Ever. :D

Seriously, it's a classic! And it's now in my invisible mental 'Top ten' list. I haven't LOLed this hard in a long, long, time.

Argh I wish I had time for a longer post...I'll have to come back later, this deserves a few paragraphs of praise at the very least.

NullAshton
2006-08-05, 11:02 AM
Just by looking at that I know you went over the 25 word limit. Have to be more careful.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-08-05, 11:02 AM
Who is YikYik? I was curious if anybody was going to answer that in the thread.
He's the yellow thing introduced in strip #44 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=44) and ended in strip #63 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=63) ;D

Sesshoumaru_Cian
2006-08-05, 11:06 AM
Nice one. Seriously, that was awesome.
I like that if you count the words in the last panel, you'll find out that Nale has ran out-

-of words. But really, what is up with people running out of words in this topic?

Orzel
2006-08-05, 11:17 AM
LOL
Orzel remember when he bought discount scrolls are the 99 Piece store. Those stupid things counted-

-Grrrr... Letters in arconyms as words. Same with numbers. And only allowed 20 words. Burn that store down-

-to the ground. But not before stealing more stupid scrolls. Truly a Top Ten Comic! 5 words left. Now 3-

greenoak
2006-08-05, 11:29 AM
Somebody fill me in...

Why does Nale actually want Elan back?

What was his master plan again? I can't find the comic. I seem to remember his spewing his plan in a couple panels a long way back.

Thanks!

TheEscapist
2006-08-05, 11:41 AM
Easily my favorite epsiode ever, gonna be tough to top in my opinion.

Even if the words did go over 25. I dunno, I was enjoying it too much to count them.

warmachine
2006-08-05, 12:06 PM
Although 25 can be written as one word, it is spoken as two. Strictly, this makes Nale's rant 26 words.

Yet another pointless piece of trivia from your friendly, neighbourhood pedant.

Edit: fixed Nale, not Elan. Silly me.

Edit: I'm wrong.

Kish
2006-08-05, 12:14 PM
Why is a pedant talking about Elan's rant?

SteveMB
2006-08-05, 12:22 PM
The question that has been burning in MY brain is why did Nale NEED so many scrolls of sending. Oh no, I understand why he USED so many. The true irony is that even BEFORE he started this whole dastardly plot... he KNEW he was going to blow it with his low tolerance for frustration and his own ineptitude.

I don't think he consciously realizes it on that level. Note his reaction when Julia gets her message across in one sending (gibes at Roy and all) -- he seems to think that that, not his own long-winded ranting, is unusual, almost as if Julia were "cheating" somehow.

Nerd-o-rama
2006-08-05, 12:31 PM
Nale should really try
Taking some ranks in the Craft:
Haiku skill next time.

Not twenty-five words, but useful for the right mindset for Sending.

BlueWolf35948
2006-08-05, 12:37 PM
Regardless of the cost of those scrolls, I wonder if anyone has noticed the 10 minute casting time. Elan, for all his faults, must be a very patient person to wait essentially one hour to get his shpiel out. Good job giant.

Kesnit
2006-08-05, 01:04 PM
Nale should really try
Taking some ranks in the Craft:
Haiku skill next time.


ROFL! Very cute. :)

I kept wondering if Nale was ever going to get his message out. (Of course, the answer is "no.")

"I'm telling dad."

TheRani
2006-08-05, 01:07 PM
This of course is what the oracle was talking about when he made that comment about a family reunion (which they weren't allowed to remember. How cruel.) ;)

I haven't laughed this hard at a comic in a while. I think I like Julia almost as much as Vaarsuvius now.

kyrin
2006-08-05, 01:25 PM
Hey, even smart people miss stuff. I bashfully admit that I had not noticed 'Nale' is 'Elan' backwards till this comic. High Int, Low Wis?

Well, ya know, when you can't use Charisma (for persuasion skills) and Intelligence (for skill points) as dump stats, something's gotta go. Hey, less than --

JIM
aka kyrin

Gregor_LeBlaque
2006-08-05, 01:27 PM
Regardless of the cost of those scrolls, I wonder if anyone has noticed the 10 minute casting time. [Nale], for all his faults, must be a very patient person to wait essentially one hour to get his shpiel out. Good job giant.

Darn, I combed all seven pages of this thread to make sure no one had picked up on that before I posted about it, and -

Gregor_LeBlaque
2006-08-05, 01:37 PM
Stupid spell. Anyway, and I got beat to mentioning it by less than an hour. Okay, that was fifteen words, I guess I have ten-

Argus
2006-08-05, 01:39 PM
Am I the only one who actually counted the words in each one of Nale's spells? OCD (and acronyms) ftw! Roger, Wilco, over and out.
Well, I would imagine that Rich Burlew counted the words in each message while writing the strip. Can I assume that your count matched his?

Zherog
2006-08-05, 01:41 PM
Although 25 can be written as one word, it is spoken as two. Strictly, this makes Nale's rant 26 words.

Yet another pointless piece of trivia from your friendly, neighbourhood pedant.


Twenty-five is one word. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/twenty-five)

Finwe
2006-08-05, 01:44 PM
After reading the first page of the comic, I was so mad that the giant was going to leave Nale's speach hanging... and then he did it anyway on the half page. Heh.



Stupid spell. Anyway, and I got beat to mentioning it by less than an hour. Okay, that was fifteen words, I guess I have ten-

That was funny 7 pages ago.

Messy
2006-08-05, 02:06 PM
I think someone pointed it out, but just to bring it up again -- one of the Sending spells (the one that Nale cast after Julia's) only has 24 words in it, and then Nale is cut off.

saraswati
2006-08-05, 02:07 PM
Somebody fill me in...

Why does Nale actually want Elan back?

What was his master plan again? I can't find the comic. I seem to remember his spewing his plan in a couple panels a long way back.

Thanks!

I think its just your basic revenge plot - with rocket skates!

see :

http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=255

qodopob
2006-08-05, 02:10 PM
Nale seems to be a typical villain.

He keeps chatting on and on, just like movie or series viillans explaning the plan to hero before--

warmachine
2006-08-05, 02:17 PM
Twenty-five is one word. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/twenty-five)
Well, I'm embarrased.

LoH
2006-08-05, 02:27 PM
He he - so funny :)

I just thought of something - wonder if the giant is a fan of Futurama... Nales lil' goat beard.

Reminds me of Benders "evil" "twin"...

It's a Star Trek Original Series thing--Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty end up in a 'mirror universe' where everyone is evil. Spock had the--

Nightfall
2006-08-05, 02:28 PM
That was so hilarious! And Julia deserves to be left hanging if she thinks it's all Roy's fault. Brainwashed idiot! Another great job, Giant!

UtherSRG
2006-08-05, 02:29 PM
Bwahahahaha! I chuckled and guffawed and had to make my coworker read it so he'd know what I was laughing at. :)


. . . or actually think about what he'd be saying.Well, he is Elan's brother....

UtherSRG
2006-08-05, 02:39 PM
Always fun to read. :) Now, on with the plot! I wonder which OOTS member will be most looking forward to the reunion?
No doubt about it, Belkar would most like the reunion. More stabbity-stabbity death!

stickygoo
2006-08-05, 03:13 PM
Oh my gosh that was funny. I loved it! great gag!Nale has more in common with Elan than he knows!

EmeraldFire
2006-08-05, 03:15 PM
hahaha, great comic

Giant


I especially liked Julia using the 25th word to call Roy a loser.
I can just see Pompey and Sabine standing behind Nale handing him scroll after scroll after scroll

Ted_Stryker
2006-08-05, 03:19 PM
Regardless of the cost of those scrolls, I wonder if anyone has noticed the 10 minute casting time. Elan, for all his faults, must be a very patient person to wait essentially one hour to get his shpiel out. Good job giant.
Scrolls are activated by the Spell Completion (http://d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#spellCompletion) method. It's a standard action to activate a scroll; all the casting time/material components/focus/etc. stuff is taken care of during the scribing of the scroll.

EDIT -- Also, I enjoyed the strip quite a bit, maybe the most of all the 300's so far.

Felinoid
2006-08-05, 03:43 PM
The pile of scrolls that develops at Nale's feet is worth the price of admission alone.
Hey, you can't praise! It's a free comic! :P

(Sorry, but it had to be done.)

Ragnarokpc
2006-08-05, 03:54 PM
That was one of the funnier ones in a long time. Awesome!

The_Kobold_Hero
2006-08-05, 04:24 PM
So much for a classic villain monolouge (sp?). ;D

Nice one.

Tawkis
2006-08-05, 04:30 PM
Aweomeness

OOTS vs. LG round 2 starts Tuesday...

Perhaps Tuesday in real time?

Morchaint
2006-08-05, 04:46 PM
wow leave for two months and find that your webcomic, has a. some cool new comics, and b. you need a map AND the back of your hand to get to here in the forums.

love the comics.

ekedolphin
2006-08-05, 04:54 PM
Ha, this was funny! Leave it to Rich to make even a telepathic ransom note drip with hilarity!

My favorite segment:

"--DAMN STUPID SPELL! I mean, who can really get anything meaningful said in 25 frickin' words? I'm gonna find whoever designed this spell and--"

I also liked the end. "I actually have words left? Then allow me to say--"

Arakune
2006-08-05, 05:05 PM
now i started to think who are the dumb brother...

anyway, good work!

Solmage
2006-08-05, 05:33 PM
New comic is—
—up.

I really laughed a lot, thanks. 8)

ff6shadow
2006-08-05, 05:51 PM
Avenue street would likely be in a town. This brings up issues. Can Belkar can actually do anything or will the Mark of Justice hinder-

ref
2006-08-05, 05:53 PM
Am I the only one who actually counted the words in each one of Nale's spells?

Am I the only one that gets 24 in his second-to-last scroll?

Also, let's not imagine what would happen if Vaarsuvius had to comunicate something with this method!

UKMonkey
2006-08-05, 06:37 PM
After all the points about "twenty five" being one word or two (it's two) no one's noticed that "I've" "They've" They're" etc all count as two words, ergo at the end he uses 27 rather than 25 words ... just a minor point ;D

So is Roy planning on abandoning Elan to his brother or will he try to save them both?



In advance ... Good bye Elan :-/

Blackdrop
2006-08-05, 06:44 PM
Wait a minute. Who is Yikyik? Nale mentions him but I can't seem to find him any comics.

Messy
2006-08-05, 06:45 PM
After all the points about "twenty five" being one word or two (it's two) no one's noticed that "I've" "They've" They're" etc all count as two words, ergo at the end he uses 27 rather than 25 words ... just a minor point ;D

So is Roy planning on abandoning Elan to his brother or will he try to save them both?



In advance ... Good bye Elan :-/
"I've, They've, They're, twenty-five" all count as one word. So would other contractions or numbers. Certain numbers would be more than one word (i.e. four hundred thousand).

I seriously doubt Roy would abandon his sister or Elan, and we will try to save them both.

Edit: Yikyik is Belkar's orange kobold double (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=63).

Blackdrop
2006-08-05, 06:49 PM
After all the points about "twenty five" being one word or two (it's two) no one's noticed that "I've" "They've" They're" etc all count as two words, ergo at the end he uses 27 rather than 25 words ... just a minor point ;D

So is Roy planning on abandoning Elan to his brother or will he try to save them both?



In advance ... Good bye Elan :-/



I don't think Haley would let Roy leave Elan behind.

fall_ark
2006-08-05, 06:53 PM
Holy crap! And what an amazing spell of sending messages. Absolutely Nale is not an total opposite to Elan, as they share the same talking --

--Ahh anyway I forget what I want to say, twenty five words are often not enough. Great comic Giant! It looks like I still have ----;D

Evik
2006-08-05, 07:02 PM
That was awesome lol
I loved the way that worked...kept waiting for Nale to run out of scrolls. hahaha
I guess let that be a leson to Villains eveywhere....
Always keep your egotistical gloating to a minnimum when working within spell limitations.

charik
2006-08-05, 07:25 PM
Having used Sending before, I can assure you that it is important to plan ahead. As that old saw reminds us all, "Measure twice, cut

cleric_of_BANJO
2006-08-05, 07:39 PM
I think that they've, they're, we've, etc. are one word. They are abrivietions, that means they should count as one word, right? also, 25 is a number, and all numbers, except those that are a single digit, are two words—


—what the... I was done speaking!! and that was way more than 25 words!!

Tawkis
2006-08-05, 07:44 PM
So is Roy planning on abandoning Elan to his brother or will he try to save them both?


Roy's Old School and will save them both.

After all there's no school like the old school.

WarriorTribble
2006-08-05, 08:03 PM
Really late to mention this, but it's rather odd how Julia's school couldn't/doesn't protect their students against kidnappings from random adventures... I guess it could be part of the curriculum.

The Glitter Ninja
2006-08-05, 08:08 PM
Julia's going to be hard to feel any sympathy for, I can just tell.

Nale and Elan seemed to have a lot in common today. The way Nale kept using up his 25 words was awesome.

brionl
2006-08-05, 08:53 PM
Nale forgot the seven "P's.

Prior Proper Planning Preculdes Piss-Poor Performance.
;D

Stick_Assassin
2006-08-05, 10:07 PM
If Nale was appearing as a vision in Roys mind then he could have just held up a sign;

"Now just read this sign. Great, I have twenty words left to taunt you with, oh crap only ten now, well better get on with -"

Jarawara
2006-08-05, 10:10 PM
Aaaahhhhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha -



- ha ha haa haa haaa haaaaa... That was good.

Steward
2006-08-05, 10:10 PM
Really late to mention this, but it's rather odd how Julia's school couldn't/doesn't protect their students against kidnappings from random adventures... I guess it could be part of the curriculum.

Oh, come on. They actually let a Half-Orc walk in and cut down one of their students without batting an eye. Compared to that kidnapping doesn't really matter, especially as a plot device.

okpokalypse
2006-08-05, 10:14 PM
Nale forgot the seven "P's.

Prior Proper Planning Preculdes Piss-Poor Performance.
;D

Heh, that's 6 Ps. Piss-Poor is hypenated.

:)

In the Army it's the 5 Ps. Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

Oh, and good comic Giant!

Woolysock
2006-08-05, 10:32 PM
THOG better at sending! Thog have talky-man sister. Bring Elan Avenue street warehouse Cliffport NOW or Thog kill. Thog like puppies

greenoak
2006-08-05, 10:47 PM
So all Nale wants to do is kill Elan in a complicated way after he gets him back.... Hmmm. I don't buy it. If he wants Elan dead why not just kill him on the spot?






I think its just your basic revenge plot - with rocket skates!

see :

http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=255

rwald
2006-08-05, 10:58 PM
The funny thing is, the game session on last Saturday had more Sending spells than actual encounters, so we had to deal with this exact problem quite often. This was one of the better comics recently.

Blood
2006-08-05, 11:15 PM
If he wants Elan dead why not just kill him on the spot?
Read Comic #258 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=258) again. Nale says he wants revenge on Elan, in the most exquisitely torturous way possible. He won't settle for simply killing him. He wants to torture him.

GM_West
2006-08-05, 11:19 PM
Awesome strip! Nale's verboseness (I don't know if that's a word.. but meh...) reminds me of one of my favorite animated movies, The Incredibles. Where Frozone is reliving the 'good old days' and talking about an arch villain that "had him on a platter but wouldn't shut up".

Also reminds of every villain in the old James Bond flicks. What the heck is it with villains and monolguing anyway? You'd think they'd eventually learn...

jmucchiello
2006-08-06, 12:33 AM
Not that anyone will read this but I just had to comment on how much I enjoyed the picture of Nale accumulating spent scrolls at his feet after each casting. Subtle and brilliant.

Thortok2000
2006-08-06, 12:50 AM
Hilarious. Having the girl do her line perfectly was a nice offset to Nale.

Honestly, OotS is one of the best webcomics around for comedy. You hit my funny bone just right, all the other comics I like kind of miss the mark, you get the bullseye.

Anyone else notice that the 'double page' of four rows per page, the second page is....cut off? Only two rows. I'm not sure if that means anything, though, I haven't payed close enough attention to know if it's normal to have a two-row when it's doubled up like that.

Thortok2000
2006-08-06, 12:56 AM
Awesome strip! Nale's verboseness (I don't know if that's a word.. but meh...) reminds me of one of my favorite animated movies, The Incredibles. Where Frozone is reliving the 'good old days' and talking about an arch villain that "had him on a platter but wouldn't shut up".

Also reminds of every villain in the old James Bond flicks. What the heck is it with villains and monolguing anyway? You'd think they'd eventually learn...


Since storylines typically follow from the hero's point of view, when the hero comes in contact with the villain near the end of the story, the villain has a long monologe explaining what and why he was doing all the stuff that was going on before and during you were watching from the hero's point of view.

The alternative is to alternate between what the villain is doing and what the hero is doing (like our occasional strips of Xykon's doings, for instance), so the audience knows but the hero does not. This, of course, doesn't work if you want what the villain is doing to be a surprise to the audience. Hence, you need a monologue to work it all out and make sure the audience gets it.

...That's my theory, anyway.

Fishies
2006-08-06, 01:21 AM
Haha, the 25 words thing is awesome. I loved the growing piles of scrolls at his feet. So I have one, two, three, four, five--

charik
2006-08-06, 02:05 AM
Anyone else notice that the 'double page' of four rows per page, the second page is....cut off? Only two rows. I'm not sure if that means anything, though, I haven't payed close enough attention to know if it's normal to have a two-row when it's doubled up like that.
Been done before. There's an example in DCF (#50) which, incidently, also includes Nale.

Blood
2006-08-06, 02:18 AM
Been done before. There's an example in DCF (#50) which, incidently, also includes Nale.
But each time it happened was for a different reason. In Comic #50, it was 50% larger because it was the 50th comic. In the most recent comic, it was 50% larger because it's a subtle gag about Nale's Sending scrolls being cut off. It's supposed to look like a double comic that was cut-off halfway through the second one.

(In comic #50, the rows are all connected, because it's simply larger. In this comic, they weren't connected, because it was meant to look like a double comic (cut off).)

Sir_William_Black
2006-08-06, 02:52 AM
I wonder who ol' Goat-turner got to replace poor Yikyik? Maybe some manner of Large creature, to go with his Evil Opposites hangup?

infiniteviking
2006-08-06, 04:05 AM
Laughed my head off at the last few comics, and this one's no exception. Nale's increasing frustration and Roy's responses to each new development -- fantastic! Julia is hilarious -- but can't any of Roy's relatives appreciate the trouble they're giving him? I'm sorry for the boy. ;)


He he - so funny :)

I just thought of something - wonder if the giant is a fan of Futurama... Nales lil' goat beard.

Reminds me of Benders "evil" "twin"...

Ever since Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror", every evil twin in existence HAS to have an evil goatee. It's, like, in the job description.

Monzz
2006-08-06, 04:12 AM
Hahaha, I loved this comic. The having to pause every 25 words- the scrolls were a nice touch, too. Thanks Giant.

Invariel
2006-08-06, 05:30 AM
Due to not reading pages six through ten, I wonder if anyone noticed that Rich gave himself a deadline for the next comic: Before Tuesday.

Delgarde
2006-08-06, 06:49 AM
So all Nale wants to do is kill Elan in a complicated way after he gets him back.... Hmmm. I don't buy it. If he wants Elan dead why not just kill him on the spot?


Because Nale is an evil villain (or at least, a would-be). Evil villains don't just kill their enemies - they have to drag things out. Really, Nale has a lot in common with his bardic brother, what with all the narrative conventions that a proper villain has to adhere to.

Delgarde
2006-08-06, 06:52 AM
Julia's going to be hard to feel any sympathy for, I can just tell.

Oh, I don't know about that. I agree, she's not shaping up as being easy to get on with. But I've enjoyed her appearances so far - her dismissive attitude to the losers who kidnapped her, her comment that Nale could be cute if he lost the goatee, and now her ability to fit everything she wanted to say into a single Sending, casual insult included. She's not *nice*, but she's entertaining.

Adeptus
2006-08-06, 06:53 AM
Brilliant Giant, brilliant! :D

The_Librarian
2006-08-06, 07:08 AM
The last two comics have been very giggle-worthy - thanks Giant!

Calamity
2006-08-06, 08:16 AM
It just keeps getting better, keep up the great work Giant! ;D

chibibar
2006-08-06, 10:29 AM
heh.... that is WAY funny...

Maybe this is my "bard type" players don't use sending ;) go julia... of course she can do it.. she is a natural spellcaster..... duh!!!!

Friv
2006-08-06, 10:47 AM
Brilliant! This is one of the best comics in a while, loved it. Still chuckling. ;D

MaxKaladin
2006-08-06, 12:08 PM
THOG better at sending! Thog have talky-man sister. Bring Elan Avenue street warehouse Cliffport NOW or Thog kill. Thog like puppiesLOL! I was just thinking something like that! ;D

Akanochi
2006-08-06, 01:34 PM
After all the points about "twenty five" being one word or two (it's two) no one's noticed that "I've" "They've" They're" etc all count as two words, ergo at the end he uses 27 rather than 25 words ... just a minor point ;D

Contractions are one word. Furthermore, 25 is technically spelled twenty-five, and hyphenated words are also counted as one word.

However, English is a very subjective language. Aside from the second to the last scroll (which only has 24 words) all of these are correct according to "proper" English. But unlike some other languages, English varies a lot throughout areas, and "twenty five" would be acceptable by nearly everyone. Things aren't as clearly defined as they are in, say, Icelandic, where there is a very rigid way in which you are supposed to say your numbers (25 would be tuttugu og fimm, three words, and tuttugu fimm/tuttugu-og-fimm/tuttugu-fimm/etc. would be simply unacceptable).

So if we really want to nitpick at the rules, then we should also take into account that there are different languages. If 25 is one word (or maybe even two words) in English and three in Icelandic, it wouldn't be improbable to assume that a phrase could vary greatly in length between Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orcish, etc. And then we have to take into account the fact that certain languages might require certain formalities or ways of speaking that other's wouldn't. I imagine an Orc could be more blunt in his speach than an Elf. If we really want to get specific, we'd have to invent all these languages and their respective societal rules so we'd know how many words were being used for the spell.

Or, we could remember that D&D is just a game (and this comic is, likewise, just a comic) and not concern ourselves with silly little semantics.

Finwe
2006-08-06, 01:38 PM
THOG better at sending! Thog have talky-man sister. Talky-man bring Elan Avenue street warehouse Cliffport NOW or Thog kill. Thog like puppies. And fudge ripple.



Fixed

ref
2006-08-06, 03:43 PM
Oh, I don't know about that. I agree, she's not shaping up as being easy to get on with. But I've enjoyed her appearances so far - her dismissive attitude to the losers who kidnapped her, her comment that Nale could be cute if he lost the goatee, and now her ability to fit everything she wanted to say into a single Sending, casual insult included. She's not *nice*, but she's entertaining.


Uh-oh...

fractal
2006-08-06, 04:03 PM
That was so hilarious! And Julia deserves to be left hanging if she thinks it's all Roy's fault. Brainwashed idiot! Another great job, Giant!
It really is all Roy's fault, though. He made a group of powerful enemies, and then neglected to do anything final about them. If the Order of the Stick had either fallen to the Linear Guild, or decided to finish Nale off, Julia would be fine.

Felinoid
2006-08-06, 04:20 PM
Due to not reading pages six through ten, I wonder if anyone noticed that Rich gave himself a deadline for the next comic: Before Tuesday.

Possible but doubtful that Rich meant it as a deadline for himself as well as for the Order. After all, this is a no-deadline zone as of late.

Daedrous Avari
2006-08-06, 04:58 PM
I like how she fits in 25 words perfectly.

Funniest one.

Dib
2006-08-06, 05:35 PM
No.


Second to last of Nale's spells only has 24, than he runs out. eh? Or am I just counting wrong.

BTW, another hilarious strip. YAY! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Blaznak
2006-08-06, 05:47 PM
Hee hee hee....

I like it when we get strips reminicent of the old "Murphy's Rules" column. This was pretty sweet. I also liked the pile of scrolls getting deeper and deeper and...

M._A._Foxfire
2006-08-06, 06:12 PM
Roy's sister is a mage, so she knows about the spell (and she isn't long winded like Nale is). And dad's dead.


woot first--

Well, this might have been replied to already, but I'm too lazy to go through the full twelve pages to find out.

While both parents are dead, there are spells to get around that.

eheins
2006-08-06, 06:20 PM
Thog would be better at Sending, since his natural grammar has a reduced word count--but show me a half-orc that can cast a Sending spell, and I'll show you one smart enough to master Common.
Nale's speech did indeed stop at 24 words, but I'll suggest that he cut off the message himself, either because he was finally starting to plan ahead, or because he simply couldn't be bothered to count his words.

fractal
2006-08-06, 06:21 PM
I like how she fits in 25 words perfectly.
Yeah, she, like Roy, apparently has both an Intelligence and a Wisdom bonus. Not many characters in the strip who can say that; certainly Vaarsuvius wouldn't be able to manage a Sending spell.

I wonder what level Julia is. If we figure the OotS is about level 12, and the Linear Guild is somewhere around level 10 (to be a challenge but not impossibly so), what is she? Is she as powerful as Pompey (probably between 8-10)? She did manage to use the Sending scroll on her first try, it seems. The Linear Guild had better not turn their backs on her.

5tephen
2006-08-06, 06:27 PM
Love it, as usual!

Rich, I love (and share) you passion for the old-school joke. Every time you do a Python reference, or some classic Vaudeville-esque number, I roll around on the floor for hours.

This was a superb use of the type.

charik
2006-08-06, 07:21 PM
I think I've solved the 24-word issue of the second to last Sending. He started with a word that can't be included in a family-friendly comic.

Varian7
2006-08-06, 08:33 PM
Loved the comic! I liked the "miserable waste of skin" comment by Roy. Somehow I don't think Roy is going to let Nale live through their next encounter.

Zherog
2006-08-06, 08:40 PM
also, 25 is a number, and all numbers, except those that are a single digit, are two words...

Look back at my previous post. I linked to dictionary.com, but I'll do it again for ya. Twenty-five is one word (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/twenty-five).

Kanashimi
2006-08-06, 08:43 PM
hee hee,

I have used Sending before. I usually do more like what Julia does. PLAN out your words. I think Nale epitomizes some of the characteristics of the bad guys The Giant talks about in the Form or Function section. Kinda lazy.

Great-



-comic

Zherog
2006-08-06, 08:45 PM
I wonder what level Julia is. If we figure the OotS is about level 12, and the Linear Guild is somewhere around level 10 (to be a challenge but not impossibly so), what is she? Is she as powerful as Pompey (probably between 8-10)? She did manage to use the Sending scroll on her first try, it seems. The Linear Guild had better not turn their backs on her.

A first level wizard could use a scroll of sending, or even a scroll of wish for that matter, as long as she made her caster level check.

wally_c
2006-08-06, 10:08 PM
It's also possible that the spell, being literal minded, decided that cliffport was the same as cliff port and a cheap attempt to sneak 26 words in.

mikeyq6
2006-08-06, 11:43 PM
Erm... when was the last appearance of Julia? I can't remember which strip it was... :-[

fractal
2006-08-07, 12:10 AM
A first level wizard could use a scroll of sending, or even a scroll of wish for that matter, as long as she made her caster level check.

True, but a first level wizard will also fail to read a scroll of Sending almost half the time. Even without other information it's possible to make an educated guess on level. If I were informed that a wizard was using scrolls of Sending, I'd probably guess around 6th or 7th level. A wizard using scrolls of Wish is perhaps 15th or 16th.

Of course, Julia being forced to read a scroll by Nale isn't the same thing, but her success still changes our Bayesian expectation of her level.

Nale himself, being a multi-classed character, is harder to predict, especially when we know neither his character level nor the ratios of his class levels.

Ravens_Wing
2006-08-07, 01:00 AM
That was really great!

Looks like another Epic tale between good and evil is not far coming!

lol poor poor Nale always running out of --

Artisan
2006-08-07, 05:26 AM
Will our itnrepid heroes catch wind of Xykon's evil plan to attack Azure city?

Will Roy face Nale and the Linear Guild before it's too late?

Will Miko get her revenger on the Order of the Stick?

Will we ever find out why V's raven needed Ginko Bilboa?

All these questions and more answered on The Order of the Stick

Same Stick time! Same Stick channel!

(Narrate, narrate, narrate the teaser trailer...)

trehek
2006-08-07, 06:31 AM
This one really reminded me of all those times we've used Sending creatively. Like the time we used it to telepathically harass a evil mage:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!
*hufffff*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!
*hufffff*
.....
....
x25

We yelled in his head until he became crazy! ;D

Anyway, I'm not too shocked about Roy's sister casting that spell. Sending items are so usual, they just might have bought her a special scroll, which uses a spell trigger or use activation instead of a scroll's usual spell completion.

So she may be a wizard or sorcerer, or she may just have an apprentice level, or she may not... :-/

Anyone counted how much money those scrolls cost Hale? ;D

Zherog
2006-08-07, 07:26 AM
True, but a first level wizard will also fail to read a scroll of Sending almost half the time. Even without other information it's possible to make an educated guess on level. If I were informed that a wizard was using scrolls of Sending, I'd probably guess around 6th or 7th level. A wizard using scrolls of Wish is perhaps 15th or 16th.

Of course, Julia being forced to read a scroll by Nale isn't the same thing, but her success still changes our Bayesian expectation of her level.

Nale himself, being a multi-classed character, is harder to predict, especially when we know neither his character level nor the ratios of his class levels.

We'll skip deciphering a scroll, because a simple read magic spell handles that task.

Sending is a 5th level spell; we'll assume 9th level caster. So for a wizard of less than 9th level to activate the scroll, they need to make a caster level check with a DC of 10. A first level caster needs to roll a 9 or better - a 60% chance of success. That hardly qualifies as "most of the time."

GKBeetle
2006-08-07, 08:05 AM
That was awesome. It reminds me of the way that I used to leave voicemail messages. I was always getting cut off by answering machine.

UtherSRG
2006-08-07, 09:17 AM
Since storylines typically follow from the hero's point of view, when the hero comes in contact with the villain near the end of the story, the villain has a long monologe explaining what and why he was doing all the stuff that was going on before and during you were watching from the hero's point of view.

The alternative is to alternate between what the villain is doing and what the hero is doing (like our occasional strips of Xykon's doings, for instance), so the audience knows but the hero does not. This, of course, doesn't work if you want what the villain is doing to be a surprise to the audience. Hence, you need a monologue to work it all out and make sure the audience gets it.

...That's my theory, anyway.This is part of it. The other part is the psychology of megalomania and egomania. Megalomaniacs and egomaniacs like themselves. A lot. So much so that they have to gloat and taunt and tell their plans. Oh and note - this has nothing to do with evilness.... although plenty of evil comes from egomania or megalomania, one can be egomanic or megalomanic and not be evil, and vice versa.

UtherSRG
2006-08-07, 09:27 AM
I think I've solved the 24-word issue of the second to last Sending. He started with a word that can't be included in a family-friendly comic.Looks like 25 to me.

1. Tuesday,
2. or
3. she'll
4. have
5. more
6. in
7. common
8. with
9. poor
10. Yikyik
11. than
12. you'd
13. really
14. probably
15. like.
16. I
17. actually
18. have
19. words
20. left?
21. Then
22. allow
23. me
24. to
25. say

flamestrike
2006-08-07, 10:04 AM
This is part of it. The other part is the psychology of megalomania and egomania. Megalomaniacs and egomaniacs like themselves. A lot. So much so that they have to gloat and taunt and tell their plans. Oh and note - this has nothing to do with evilness.... although plenty of evil comes from egomania or megalomania, one can be egomanic or megalomanic and not be evil, and vice versa.

True. Some of the best literature comes from works written from the villain's point of view... especially when you include the "anti-hero" type. For a really great contemporary novel of this type, check out Grendel by John Gardner... just amazing. It's Beowulf from the monster's point of view, whose journey involves trying to figure out why in the heck he's doing what he's doing. I'll quote a review from Amazon that sums it up nicely: "I found myself really unnerved when I began to understand what Grendel was thinking. And after the feeling of shock wore off, I felt awe at the novelist's ability. Gardner gives us an absolute monster and makes us understand him, and that is what makes this a great book.
Highly recommended."

Oh, it definitely helps to have read Beowulf first, the epic poem on which it's based.... and it's definitely NOT a family-friendly book. A must read, though, especially if you've read Beowulf.

Sir_Norbert
2006-08-07, 10:17 AM
Looks like 25 to me.
That's the last one. We're talking about the second-to-last.

Spiky
2006-08-07, 11:20 AM
Everyone seems to think Julia's class gives her the ability to properly use the 25 word limit. Not! She's a teenage chick. Practice makes perfect.

UtherSRG
2006-08-07, 11:23 AM
That's the last one. We're talking about the second-to-last.
Ah... my mistake. IRTE.

Lostboy
2006-08-07, 01:32 PM
OK, I have seen some people speculating about Nale's goatee, and others just now discovering his name is Elan's backward. It's a Star Trek reference. In an episode of the original series (I believe the episode title was "Mirror, Mirror") the evil mirror-universe Spock had a goatee. Apart from that, the good and evil Spocks were identical.

A dozen or so years ago, Mike Meyers on Wayne's World, the SNL sketch, pointed this out and said he was going to dress as the EVIL Wayne Campbell on Halloween by simply applying a fake goatee. Then about 7 years ago, the "Evil" mirror-universe Eric Cartman appeared in South Park, with a goatee. This is just another in an honored line of Star Trek evil goatee jokes.

I'm sure the people on Star Trek put the goatee on Spock because he looked like Satan when it was combined with his arched brows and pointed ears... but I very much doubt you'd have seen a goatee on Wayne, Cartman, or Nale if Spock had not done it first. As for the name being backward, it kinda drives home that mirror-universe gag.

baltor85
2006-08-07, 02:30 PM
Hilarious comic, on my top 10 list of favorites. I like the smirk from Roy after Nale fails AGAIN!


Heh, I'm as good as Julia!

Draak
2006-08-07, 02:52 PM
Apparently Roy failed his spellcraft check. He did not realize that the spell "Sending" allows the recipient to respond in kind immediately. Assuming that one has to wait for the sender to finish before replying, all Nale got in response was "Hello?" and "Get back here you..."

Do you suppose Nale took Roy's silence to be a form of taunting?

taraxia
2006-08-07, 04:53 PM
Can't believe no one's brought this up yet -- those are 5th-level scrolls Nale is burning like candy, there. 1,125 gp a pop. He's doing the equivalent of wasting 2 hours on an international phone call to China.

I'd be very tickled if Julia, in true teenage-girl style, had a special shorthand used for _sending_ spells and the like. "Roy hwru? mfnthx. kidnapped. need hlp pronto."

chibibar
2006-08-07, 05:03 PM
Can't believe no one's brought this up yet -- those are 5th-level scrolls Nale is burning like candy, there. 1,125 gp a pop. He's doing the equivalent of wasting 2 hours on an international phone call to China.

I'd be very tickled if Julia, in true teenage-girl style, had a special shorthand used for _sending_ spells and the like. "Roy hwru? mfnthx. kidnapped. need hlp pronto."

I figure Nale got some money to burn... or at leat got a discount on sending scrolls from the university :)

Fudge ripples and sprinkles on the other hand is harder to get ;)

ncriker
2006-08-07, 05:29 PM
[/sarcasm]obviously, nale is a DM's pet is how he can afford them, and DM pets ruin the game, even though they are sometimes appropriate, like in this case[/sarcasm]

Faramir
2006-08-07, 08:21 PM
Ever since Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror", every evil twin in existence HAS to have an evil goatee. It's, like, in the job description.

Exactly, see
http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=35
for example

So Julia seems to have inherited her father's personality. Poor Roy.

I think my favorite part of this excellent strip was Roy's sucession of expressions.

clem
2006-08-07, 08:26 PM
Just a comment on Julia's message to Roy:

"I'm telling Dad."

Huh? Is she a Mystic Theurge?

Deuce
2006-08-07, 11:23 PM
Just a comment on Julia's message to Roy:

"I'm telling Dad."

Huh? Is she a Mystic Theurge?

Not sure I'd back that - but she was on her way to Necromancy 101 when the Linear Guild spotted her in #256.

ncriker
2006-08-07, 11:48 PM
so? intro to necromancy? unless she is planning on dropping necro entirely, that is probably a required wizarding class. besides, i doubt that she doesn't know that her father is a ghost, and it is not like it is complicated (or neccesarily evil) necromancy to speak with dead.

Felinoid
2006-08-07, 11:58 PM
"Telling dad" doesn't mean she's going to do absolutely all of it. Remember papa's lamentation at the end of #15 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=15)? She could just pay a cleric to cast Speak with Dead if she couldn't do it herself. (Not to mention the clerical "good buddy" of dear old Dad referenced in OtOoPCs.)

magney
2006-08-08, 06:41 AM
"Telling dad" doesn't mean she's going to do absolutely all of it. Remember papa's lamentation at the end of #15 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=15)? She could just pay a cleric to cast Speak with Dead if she couldn't do it herself. (Not to mention the clerical "good buddy" of dear old Dad referenced in OtOoPCs.)

Actually, I half figured Julia fully expects Roy to screw up the rescue attempt, resulting in her demise, and she'll tell Dad in person.

Lasombra
2006-08-08, 11:34 AM
nah, she is so going to end up dating belkar when the rescue is succesful. ;D

battleburn
2006-08-08, 11:41 AM
Yes, she did say that Nale would be attractive if he would shave of 'that stupid beard'

General Leitmann
2006-08-08, 01:46 PM
Did anyone else notice that Nale had 2 words left in his first try at the spell?? Whatever, I liked the strip anyway. Like the oracle said to Elan and Roy in #330 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=330) '...the two of you are running late for a pair of family reunions.

Great strip!
- thatCdnguy

Blood
2006-08-08, 01:56 PM
2 words were leftover because in the previous comic, Nale said "Hello, Roy" (two words).

But in the second-to-last Sending, there was only 24 words.

battleburn
2006-08-08, 02:20 PM
did we get our first look at Julia in 113 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=113)?

General Leitmann
2006-08-08, 02:29 PM
2 words were leftover because in the previous comic, Nale said "Hello, Roy" (two words).

But in the second-to-last Sending, there was only 24 words.

Oh! Thanks. I totally forgot about that.

Draz74
2006-08-08, 02:31 PM
Yes, though she was also mentioned in OtOoPC's.

Sir_Norbert
2006-08-08, 02:38 PM
Whoa, I only just noticed that Cliffport has been mentioned before (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=110). Anyone else pick this up?

General Leitmann
2006-08-08, 02:43 PM
Well yes, seeing as that's where Nale would have had to kidnap Julia because that's where Roy and his family are no doubtedly from. Though I didn't catch that, good eye.

- That Canadian Guy

Sir_Norbert
2006-08-08, 02:49 PM
He didn't kidnap her there, though -- he kidnapped her from the wizardry school. (Strip 257.)

ncriker
2006-08-08, 02:55 PM
... which is probably in cliffport.

battleburn
2006-08-08, 02:57 PM
I just noticed in 196 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=196) that Xykon is totally wrong on the gates. He mentiones that all of them take a gate, except for the halfling chick, who records the locations in code in the diary. But then during the trial in 277 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=277) the halfling does take one gate. The dwarf is dead after all. Do you think Xycon does know the real locations of the gates?¿?

chibibar
2006-08-08, 03:06 PM
I just noticed in 196 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=196) that Xykon is totally wrong on the gates. He mentiones that all of them take a gate, except for the halfling chick, who records the locations in code in the diary. But then during the trial in 277 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=277) the halfling does take one gate. The dwarf is dead after all. Do you think Xycon does know the real locations of the gates?¿?


The halfling took the gate in the name of the dwarf and fill it with monster and stuff and went on adventuring some more (from what I got from it)

and probably recorded the location in her journal.

ncriker
2006-08-08, 03:28 PM
the halfling did it as the dwarf wanted, and dedicated it to him. therefore, it is the dwarf's-style of gate.

chibibar
2006-08-08, 03:32 PM
the halfling did it as the dwarf wanted, and dedicated it to him. therefore, it is the dwarf's-style of gate.

Yupper.. than thus... Xykon would know the gate location since the halfling recorded in her journal :)

ncriker
2006-08-08, 03:43 PM
yeah, but i was arguing that it counts as the dwarf's. i agree that it is recorded in the journal.

Leeroy_Jenkins
2006-08-08, 04:18 PM
Sending is a 5th level spell; we'll assume 9th level caster. So for a wizard of less than 9th level to activate the scroll, they need to make a caster level check with a DC of 10. A first level caster needs to roll a 9 or better - a 60% chance of success. That hardly qualifies as "most of the time."


From the SRD:


If she meets all three requirements [spell type, class list, ability score] but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully.

Sending's CL is 9 for an arcane spell, so 9+1=10, which is a 55% chance of success. (The SRD says nothing about lowering the DC by subtracting the caster's level).

I doubt Nale is a 10th-level socerer (minumum level to cast 5th-level spells for a socerer), as it would seriously outpace his fighter and rogue levels (but possible), so a few casting failures (or perhaps even a mishap) would be expected.


Also: both Nale and Julia have an INT >=15 (unless buffed with a Fox's Cunning). Or, Nale *could* be using UMD, with a roll >=30 to emulate an ability score.

chibibar
2006-08-08, 04:42 PM
From the SRD:


Sending's CL is 9 for an arcane spell, so 9+1=10, which is a 55% chance of success. (The SRD says nothing about lowering the DC by subtracting the caster's level).

I doubt Nale is a 10th-level socerer (minumum level to cast 5th-level spells for a socerer), as it would seriously outpace his fighter and rogue levels (but possible), so a few casting failures (or perhaps even a mishap) would be expected.


Also: both Nale and Julia have an INT >=15 (unless buffed with a Fox's Cunning). Or, Nale *could* be using UMD, with a roll >=30 to emulate an ability score.

Is it possible to get a lower CR scroll?

jim_pinto
2006-08-08, 06:48 PM
Funny. Best strip in a long time. Always love the fourth wall jokes. And Nale is certainly more interesting for me than Elan. Two words.

charik
2006-08-08, 07:17 PM
From the SRD:


Sending's CL is 9 for an arcane spell, so 9+1=10, which is a 55% chance of success. (The SRD says nothing about lowering the DC by subtracting the caster's level).
Perhaps a Knowledge (Arcana) check needs to be made to look up "caster level check". ;) From the glossary at the back of the PH 3.5: caster level check: A roll of 1d20 + the caster level (in the relevant class).

euler
2006-08-08, 09:16 PM
Loved the comic! Though this is buried far into the forum, I wanted to say, I thought it was interesting that it was Elan that pointed out Roy's 'counting' mistake, and Nale that didn't seem to be able to count his words correctly...

ncriker
2006-08-08, 09:31 PM
nale probably has about a CL of 4 or so, so he probably failed with his scroll 40% of the time, correct?

Zherog
2006-08-08, 10:01 PM
From the SRD:


Sending's CL is 9 for an arcane spell, so 9+1=10, which is a 55% chance of success. (The SRD says nothing about lowering the DC by subtracting the caster's level).


As Charik said, roll a d20 and add your caster level. If Julia's caster level is 1, she only needs to roll a 9 or better to succeed. Or, as I said earlier, a 60% chance of success.

Leeroy_Jenkins
2006-08-09, 01:37 AM
Perhaps a Knowledge (Arcana) check needs to be made to look up "caster level check". ;) From the glossary at the back of the PH 3.5: caster level check: A roll of 1d20 + the caster level (in the relevant class).

Sorry, don't have a PHB; was going off the SRD.

Assuming Nale is a Soc 4, that would still put his success rate at 75%, no?

roguemomof7
2006-08-09, 03:45 AM
All you experienced gamers are absolutely right that's exactly what the books/srd/etc say, but....

Nale (and Julia) can cast Sending as often and as successfully as is necessary to advance the plot, class levels and difficulty checks aside.

And anyway, wouldn't Nale's repeated inability to convey his main message due to his congenital long-windedness count as "failing" his checks? Just a thought! ;D

Psiwave
2006-08-09, 04:18 AM
Twenty-five is one word. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/twenty-five)

They have a dictionary entry for twenty-five? what's so special about twenty-five? surely that's just asking for an unbelievably massive dictionary, just to fit all the numbers in.

Sir_Norbert
2006-08-09, 04:26 AM
Hardly; there are only 72 hyphenated number-words. They wouldn't have to add all the names that are more than one word..... because they're more than one word ;D

Blackdrop
2006-08-09, 04:38 AM
But in the second-to-last Sending, there was only 24 words.

The only way theat the second to last sending had twenty-five wods if it counts can't as can not.

battleburn
2006-08-09, 05:45 AM
The only way theat the second to last sending had twenty-five wods if it counts can't as can not.

Or if, as mentioned before, Cliffport is seen as the word Cliff and the word port.
Or a slight miscalculation on the Giants side. After all, if i'm correct, the Giant posted past midnight, so it could have been the lack of sleep
07:19 in the Netherlands is 01:19 on the standard forum time

Blood
2006-08-09, 08:09 AM
Contractions (can't, they're, whatever else Nale used) count as one word.

Towns (Cliffport) count as one word.

There were only 24 words, unless someone else has a new theory.

ncriker
2006-08-09, 09:37 AM
i think it might be, as was stated above, that the poor man was just too tired and miscounted. he did post after midnight, for him.

chibibar
2006-08-09, 10:01 AM
i think it might be, as was stated above, that the poor man was just too tired and miscounted. he did post after midnight, for him.

I'm going with that Nale is sooooooo absorb in counting the words.... he miscounted next to the last and ended the spell early..

It can happen.

octobergirl
2006-08-09, 10:17 AM
And did you notice that one of them (the one just after Julia's) has only twenty-four?

Ah well, still a hilarious strip for those who--

Yes, I noticed that too. I'm still thinking I must be missing a word somewhere. But, actually, I like to think that the person that created that one particular scroll purposely made it only 24. hee-hee :D



Raise your hands those of you who went 'one two three four five...' while reading the comic.

Raising hand. hee-hee


Not that anyone will read this but I just had to comment on how much I enjoyed the picture of Nale accumulating spent scrolls at his feet after each casting. Subtle and brilliant.

LOL - Yes! That's exactly what I said to a friend of mine too! I LOVED that! :D

Starr
2006-08-09, 10:58 AM
Raises hand. ;D

The first one only has 23 words.

octobergirl
2006-08-09, 11:00 AM
Raises hand. ;D

The first one only has 23 words.

The strip before this one, Nale says "Hello, Roy". There's the first two words. :)

silvadel
2006-08-09, 12:49 PM
With the changes the site is running *MUCH MUCH* slower than normal -- including this board. I have typed this whole message and it still says 15 items remaining at the left. And each little smily is coming up one by one.

An it took at least a full minute to load #337 even on my 7M/1M cable connect -- usually takes maybe a second.

Krytha
2006-08-09, 02:29 PM
Holy moley! The board is shiny!

Thomar_of_Uointer
2006-08-09, 04:35 PM
With the changes the site is running *MUCH MUCH* slower than normal -- including this board. I have typed this whole message and it still says 15 items remaining at the left. And each little smily is coming up one by one.

An it took at least a full minute to load #337 even on my 7M/1M cable connect -- usually takes maybe a second.


Yeah, all of the images are different, so nobody has them chached anymore. It should clear up before the next comic gets posted.
::)