OOTS #330 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[InaVegt]

Loved the your voice payment

[Earl_Grey]

LOL! A reptilian Alex Trebek.

First Page!

[Aurorax]

Oh my, LOL. Everyone is staring at me for bursting out.

[rcuhljr]

Simply killer, the repayment options :P

[rosebud]

For some reason, I see a kobold hanging out the window in the future...

[soni]

heh.. oracle tells of family reunions... that means Thog is coming back soon!


Woot!


(I guess there's no point in me asking a question)

(you can understand me?)

(huh?)

[rising_dragon]

good stuff, so can the kobold tell us what else is going be in the next trade paper back?

[Ronald_saveloy]

Nice Comic! But somehow not really satisfying. Have to wait for the Haley translation to get the laughs.

[Kanashimi]

hee hee, excellent comic!

I think the translations are:

"I guess there's no point in me asking a question"

Then

"You can understand me?"

then
"Huh?"

I guess the oracle didn't have to wait long! ;)

[Whamme]

Heh heh heh.

Awesome.

[Aurorax]

Text is kinda small this time. Is it "R FJWHH QDWAW'H MX ARXMQ"? That doesn't work in my decoding....

[LostInBrittany]

Wonderful!

:) Really funny :)

[just_al]

Funny Stuff

I think even dealing with a credit agency provokes attacks of oportunity, or as I like to call them "specially selected to be preaproved yadda yadda 0% yadda"



FIRST PAGE w00t!

[Rune]

Ha, the credit check joke was great! (I love those D&D technical jokes)

Here's my attempt at translating Haley without decrypting the code (just guessing based on word length and the oracle's replies):

"I guess there's no point in me asking a question"

"You can understand me?"

"huh?"

EDIT: bah, you guys beat me to it. Anyway, I guess this means I was correct at least :)

[Finwe]

"dealing with credit companies always counts as threatened"

lol!

[Lo_aJeNo]

Lol. Most funny strip in a lot of time
"dealing with credit agencies always counts as being threatened" :D

[Kanashimi]

hee hee, no electrum. I always thought electrum was dumb. I mean, yes, it is a naturally occurring mix of gold and silver but, come on. If you're going to mint it you need to smelt it, and they have different smelting properties, so they'd come apart. For jewelry or decorative daggers, sure. Electrum can be really pretty. But not coins. That's just lazy minters.

[Selv]

And a teaser for the long-term readers: Looks like the Linear Guild story-line is coming back soon. I've got to say, this is one of my favourites of recent times.

[warmachine]

Credit check? You can get credit without a guarantour or securable assets in AD&D? The party have no land or buildings that can be seized or rich patron who will pay in the case of defaulting. The OotS universe has a banking system, rather than independent money lenders?

Yeah, I know. It's meant to be funny, not correct.

[Aurorax]

hee hee, no electrum. I always thought electrum was dumb. I mean, yes, it is a naturally occurring mix of gold and silver but, come on. If you're going to mint it you need to smelt it, and they have different smelting properties, so they'd come apart. For jewelry or decorative daggers, sure. Electrum can be really pretty. But not coins. That's just lazy minters.

Not really that dumb. Gold has to be mixed with something or it'll be too soft for durable currency. Mixing it with silver would make the coins harder. Problem is making sure everyone uses the same blend of gold/silver or no one really knows what they are getting.

BTW, is it an "a" at the beginning of the fifth word? I got to the same answer you did, but only but that first letters shouldn't be "a" should it?

[carabaldo]

No one ever wanted electrum.
I remember my old days in D&D... copper,silver,gold coins... we could understand those.
But what the hell was this electrum? And who needed a coin that was just worth half a gold one, and weighted the same?

By the way.. do you remember the coin-metric sistem in D&D for calculating weight? :)

PS: Who's Alex Trebek?

[Elftist]

What a great way to start the day. A reptilian Alex Trebec, indeed.

Alex Trebek is the host of the popular American show Jepoardy. Trivia answers on the show are given in the form of a question.

[TroyXavier]

Not as super funny as some of the latest strips, but some good jokes in that one. Got to love the...credit agencies always count as threatened joke.

[Dabble]

Very Nice Comic,

Can't wait for the answers to the questions that are asked.

Love family reunions.

2nd (or 3rd) page!

[Ronald_saveloy]

Alex Trebek is the host of the popular American show Jepoardy. Trivia answers on the show are given in the form of a question.

Ok, now this is quite a good joke! Knowing that the cobold refers to Jeopardy [Some years ago, the show formate appeared in german TV too!] actually makes the statement really funny!

Hey, do i get this right? Haley already asked her question!

[Sir_Norbert]

Very nice. ;D I actually found that funnier than most of the last few, so as usual it's a mixed bag of opinions. Nice to see a lot of the fans' questions being answered -- like how Roy wasted his question and had to resort to violence ;)

[Mordeus_Dire]

Finally, a kobold as an important NPC.

Go the kobold! (Though someone had better but Belkar on a leash if anyone wants a chance to hear their futures)

[Shakalooloo_Doom]

All this strip was missing was a little input from V.

[Nekkira]

Love the 'Your Voice' payment option and that credit checks always count as threatened!! LOL!
Also the 'you two are both late for family reunions' to Roy and Elan. Nice foreshadowing for them.

[rosebud]

I always thought electrum was dumb. I mean, yes, it is a naturally occurring mix of gold and silver but, come on. (...) Electrum can be really pretty. But not coins. That's just lazy minters.The earliest coins (Lydia circa late 7th century BC) were electrum. One problem was other than by guessing based on color, you could not tell how much gold and silver it had. (Specific gravity was not discovered until the Archimedes in the third century BC.) This was an advantage to the government, who was believed to be greedy not lazy. They figured out that they could vary the amount of silver and gold and produce electrum coins that had less gold. Long term, this hurt them, though, since traders weren't completely stupid. So, in order to stabilize their currency, they switched to making silver coins and gold coins and electrum became less common. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that gold is a very soft metal. So you want to use an alloy of gold rather than pure gold for ciculating coinage; otherwise, it will be too soft.

Here's some links to early Lydian (http://rg.ancients.info/lion/article.html) and Ionian (http://rjohara.net/coins/) coins.

You also see electrum in later Byzantine "gold" coins (http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sb/sb1974.html). The empire was in decline and some of the electrum coins have very little, if any gold.

One of the dumbest coin compositions was the nineteenth century experiments with goloid (http://www.uspatterns.com/18morgolset.html), which was silver with a bit of gold and copper in it. Since it looked like silver, it just cost more to make and looked no more expensive than 0.900 fine silver. (The goal was to make a lighter silver dollar.)

[Tom_Violence]

Hehe, its been a fair while since I've laughed at anything as much as I did at the "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I am doing" line.

And as someone who's been cursed with a Visa Electon card for some time now I know exactly how painful it can be to see signs like that. :P

[TinSoldier]

The only bit I found funny was Haley and the Oracle. "No, I can't understand you, but I can look forward into the future to the point where this particular strip is compiled into a book and just read the translation."

That was pretty good.

I thought the Oracle would say he/she could just look into the future and read the translation on the forum.

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I am doing." was good too.

So it looks like Roy and Elan are the two who are late for family reunions. Alright! Julia and Nale in the near future.

Last bit -- on the payment sign "Your Voice" from Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Okay so the strip elicited a couple of internal chuckles.

[Winged One]

The two of you are running late to a pair of family reunions...Elan missed his "Dun dun dunnnh" moment. ;)

[M._A._Foxfire]

Everything I had to say has already been said - Except "In the throne room."

I suspect that the oracle is Lawful Evil. Or a really sadistic LN.

4th page yay!

[Brother_Hood]

Darn, Belkar didn't get to fliet the Kobold. I was looking foward to that. :D

[Bakta]

This once I was left with ... duh ???

Is there supposed to be anything funny in this strip; I mean really for it went really past my head if there was.

[sakusha]

There was a strip earlier (post strip 300), which I would find if I wasn't at work, that had Durkon citing the oracle as a "she/her" but in just the last script, the oracle was referred to as a "he/him".

Could Durkon just have been "confused" by the memory wipe/warp that the oracle referenced once a person leaves his zone of control?

Edit: Hrm so I'm not sure where I thought I saw that but please excuse my confusion. On to funnier things ...

[okpokalypse]

Credit check? You can get credit without a guarantour or securable assets in AD&D? The party have no land or buildings that can be seized or rich patron who will pay in the case of defaulting. The OotS universe has a banking system, rather than independent money lenders?

Yeah, I know. It's meant to be funny, not correct.

Heh, they could just leave a few backup magic items with the Oracle ;). They're so over-valued it's rediculous. Roy's sword is probably worth close to 100k gold (Assuming +7 Enchantment Mod).

That's close to "buy a town" rich in D&D when you look at costs of Inns, Houses, etc...

[KuH]

I'm impressed by this strip. Rich has taken a lot of time to think through the implications of being an oracle and knowing the future - and I love the 'you are running short of time for family reunions' and all that sort of stuff that results. An intelligent comic.

Haley's translation was also really easy this time - nice to not have to think about it.

[Kaerou]

Its oficial.. the Oracle Kobold is my favorite character in OotS!

Sooooo cute, AND funny!

[chibibar]

hehe.. I wish I could take a 10 in my credit check :)

[Swashbuckler]

Man, the Oracle sure got it right about credit checks always being in the "threatened" condition ... ;D

"A pair of family reunions" - totally looking forward to that!

A great comic all around, again. Kudos!

[Pathos]

Funny ;D

And third page :D

[Deuce]

Credit check - love that! Takes me back to the good old days of playing Call of Cthulhu . . . "Remind me again why we brought along the rich brat? Oh yeah, he has a great credit score." Probably saved our hides more often then the other characters firearms skills, but not as much as the Professors "Read/Write Latin" (though that led to other problems down the line . . . )

Anywho . . . fun strip - humor and plot, so yeah!

Oh, and the obligitory "Nth page, w00t - look at me . . . "

[SumGuy]

sooo many good things about this comic. Haley's confusion, and Belkar's griping were particularly good. The "family reunion" hint to Roy and Elan was also hilarious

I think this kobald may be one of the best guest stars ever!

[Player_of_Games]

The oracle is probably the funniest small reptile in the OoTS to date.

You have to wonder though, would Haley's voice be worth full credit given her condition?

[chibibar]

It could be Haley's and Elan's Family reunion :) remember? Haley's Dad is still in jail!

Or V's spouse? or Durkon's dad? (remember the prophecy?) of course Roy's Dad is fun.

Of course does Belkar have any living family to visit?

[Midnight Son]

Is this a ploy by The Giant to let us know he's having credit issues? Guess it's time to hit the ol' PayPal button to the left, eh?

[Blaznak]

Ok... This one was funny. Very funny. I liked just about everything about it. I like the oracle explaining he IS using his powers to make money. Credit Agencies are "threatened" ... oh, sigh... too much fun...
Later!

[Solara]

To me this one wasn't quite as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the other recent comics, possibly because I'm not a fan of excessive fourth wall breakage.

Still, loved the smartass kobold (Hopefully he'll be wise enough not to answer with "On a zombie dragon" this time atround :D), and got a kick out of the exchange with Haley. For once no one can complain about the cryptograms since everything she said was helpfully translated and obvious at a glance.

Oh, and of course, "family reunions?" Dun dun DUUUN! (Sorry, had an Elan moment...loved the foreshadowing though. I was wondering when we'd get back to Roy's sister...)


It could be Haley's and Elan's Family reunion remember? Haley's Dad is still in jail!

Don't think so. He was speaking to Roy and Elan at the time, and Roy and Elan are the only ones whose family members are conveniently together right now.

[indianajoe]

I enjoyed the strip. It brought a couple of smiles to my face. I also enjoyed the plot direction.

[Antina]

THAT IS OUTSTANDING!!!

THANK YOU, MR. GIANT!!!

lofl!!! ;D

"No I can´t understand you - I just look things up in the translation..."

"Bunch of family reunions..." so we do expect "Brother Nale" and Roys little Sister...

"YOUR VOICE" I ALWAYS DO LISTEN TO URSULAS GRUMBLING while reading this line...

so great!!

Very, very, very well done, Rich Burlew!!!

[Bannor]

Hey, do i get this right? Haley already asked her question!

Why yes, she DID ask a question! Looks like Belkar will get to dangle a kobold out the window!

[Lostboy]

I've always been one of those learn-to-play-as-you-play gamers, so i don't know every D&D rule. And apparently one that has never come up in my gaming is "taking 10." What's that about? That last panel left me confused.

Also, interesting notion, that Haley might already have used her question up when she asked, "You can understand me?" That's exactly the sort of thing I would expect from a devious DM.

Edit: Ah, never mind! I looked on google and found the definition of taking 10 and taking 20. Now I understand! :) And next time I play D&D, I have a new option at hand that I never knew before. (Maybe someday I'll actually READ the PHB.)

[Otterella]

Yes, that was a wonderful Spaceballs moment.
"How can you watch the movie? We're still in the middle of making it!!"

[servetus]

Some time ago, I had a debate with someone or other on this thread that the early strips were some of the funniest material in OotS. My disputant argued that more recent strips were more sophisticated because they had many more jokes. In general, I stand by my original argument, but this strip provides him/her with heavy ammunition for increasing sophistication. This strip is chock--CHOCK--with sophisticated jokes.

I particularly enjoyed the Jeopardy and "In his throne room" bits, and I always love a moderate breaking of the 4th wall.

As for the previous comments that this strip foreshadows the imminent return of the Linear Guild--I just don't see it. It's been obvious for a very long time that the LG would be back, and this remark is too cryptic to tell us it's going to be soon. Oracular remarks almost surely can't be taken at face value, especially with such ambiguous words as "running late" (I know some grad students who are running late on their dissertations, due in two years). Now, if only he'd said, "Looking into the future, I see that your family reunion will be posted as strip #367" or somesuch, THEN we'd have more information!

And even then I'd not be surprised to have Roy and Elan's second cousins once removed pop up in #367....

[Antina]

It could be Haley's and Elan's Family reunion :) remember? Haley's Dad is still in jail!

Or V's spouse? or Durkon's dad? (remember the prophecy?) of course Roy's Dad is fun.

Of course does Belkar have any living family to visit?


Oh come on - he obviously said it to Elan and Roy referring to "the two of you"...

So it has to be Nale and Julia - which are very likely to show up "together"

[orcmonk89]

:lol: nice one there.

[Krytha]

heh... no kobold fun for belkar...

I love the hat...

[sakusha]

I've always been one of those learn-to-play-as-you-play gamers, so i don't know every D&D rule. And apparently one that has never come up in my gaming is "taking 10." What's that about? That last panel left me confused.

Also, interesting notion, that Haley might already have used her question up when she asked, "You can understand me?" That's exactly the sort of thing I would expect from a devious DM.

"Taking 10" and "Taking 20" are references to Skill checks special rules & circumstances. Normally, you have to roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifier for a skill check to see if you beat the Difficulty Class (DC) rating, right? (Because if the sum is higher than the DC then it's a success.) Well if you are not under pressure (or being threatened as is the case in the strip), then you can "take 10" and assume that you rolled a 10 on that d20 roll. This works great if you know you'll beat the DC as long as you don't get less than a 10.

If you have lots of time on your hands, you can "take 20" and assume that you rolled a 20 on the d20. This one, however, also requires you to not be under pressure for time, damage, failure, etc. So sometimes, even if you do have the *time* to take 20, if there is a heavy consequence of failure, then you still can't "take 20".

Taking 20 is also a *huge* clue as to how high a DC is because if you can't make it on a "take 20" then you obviously need to get more bonuses to your roll or you can't make it at all. (This happened to Haley, as voiced by V, when the OotS chars were first put in jail in Azure City; she needed Elan's morale-boosting Circumstance Modifier to beat the DC. http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=262) Of course, if you take 10 and this happens, then you know that you either 1) have to roll or 2) try to take 20 and then reassess the situation.

Both of these options take longer in game play, tho; I believe 1 minute and 10 minutes respectively, but don't quote me on that; this is all off the top of my head knowledge and I mostly play Living Greyhawk with the RPGA. The official wording should be in the beginning of the Skills chapter of the PHB.

Edit: Wow that was wordy ... I think I was channeling V there for a bit ...

[Eldhrin]

Yes I think it's fairly clear that the Oracle means that Roy and Elan will be encountering Julia and Nale on a reasonably imminent timescale - or at least, they'll be encountering without too much intervening mucking about.

'You two are running late for a pair of family reunions' implies to me that the family reunions are next on the list after the visit to the Oracle. But that's not necessarily correct of course.

Also I'm not sure that Haley's 'you can understand me?' counts has her actual question, because since payment hasn't yet been received, surely the Oracle isn't going to be giving out any oracular answers.

[Krytha]

It could also mean that Roy will encounter his dad again...? along with running into Nale's group. Is the kobold lying a bit? Xykon isn't IN his throne room, he's marching (N-E-S-W?) with an army of undead...

[sakusha]

It could also mean that Roy will encounter his dad again...? along with running into Nale's group. Is the kobold lying a bit? Xykon isn't IN his throne room, he's marching (N-E-S-W?) with an army of undead...

Xykon *was* in his throne room the last time that Roy and Durkon came to ask the oracle the question. The oracle was just repeating his answer that he gave at the time; the one that provoked them hanging him outside his window by his feet.

[Mal_the_Mad]

the family reunion implies that elan will run into nale again and roy's sister was at least during our last visit a captive of nale.


I feel like a 50's adventure show announcer.

when we last left our hero's ...
tune in next week when..

ack

[cloudncali]

lol no electrum. that brings me back into the good old days of D&D ;D

ps. vary funnny comic :)

[Nerd-o-rama]

This is one of those strips (like the last one, come to think of it,) where the punchline isn't mind-blowing, but all the little jokes add up. A fourth wall gag, reptilian Alex Trebek, no electrum...good stuff.

[Alsadius]

"Taking 10" and "Taking 20" are references to Skill checks special rules & circumstances. Normally, you have to roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifier for a skill check to see if you beat the Difficulty Class (DC) rating, right? (Because if the sum is higher than the DC then it's a success.) Well if you are not under pressure (or being threatened as is the case in the strip), then you can "take 10" and assume that you rolled a 10 on that d20 roll. This works great if you know you'll beat the DC as long as you don't get less than a 10.

If you have lots of time on your hands, you can "take 20" and assume that you rolled a 20 on the d20. This one, however, also requires you to not be under pressure for time, damage, failure, etc. So sometimes, even if you do have the *time* to take 20, if there is a heavy consequence of failure, then you still can't "take 20".

Taking 20 is also a *huge* clue as to how high a DC is because if you can't make it on a "take 20" then you obviously need to get more bonuses to your roll or you can't make it at all. (This happened to Haley, as voiced by V, when the OotS chars were first put in jail in Azure City; she needed Elan's morale-boosting Circumstance Modifier to beat the DC. http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=262) Of course, if you take 10 and this happens, then you know that you either 1) have to roll or 2) try to take 20 and then reassess the situation.

Both of these options take longer in game play, tho; I believe 1 minute and 10 minutes respectively, but don't quote me on that; this is all off the top of my head knowledge and I mostly play Living Greyhawk with the RPGA. The official wording should be in the beginning of the Skills chapter of the PHB.

Edit: Wow that was wordy ... I think I was channeling V there for a bit ...

Most of that is right, except for the time used. Taking 10 takes just as long as just rolling(so, for a 1-round skill check, taking 10 also takes 1 round). Taking 20, on the other hand, takes 20 times as long as the base check. It's most often used for things like Search checks, where you have time to kill(a 10-minute search of a room check takes over 3 hours to take 20 on), and where getting it right is more important than getting it soon.

As for the comic, it was awesome.

[silvadel]

If the oracle is too picky about payment we might end up back at belkar -- I am sure he would love to make the oracle pay instead...

[Aidan305]

Fourth wall breaking, foreshadowing, and a dnd joke.

Brilliant.

[Solmage]

Ooh, more cryptogram goodness 8)

[Evik]

Ha hahahahaa!
dealing with credit companies always counts as being threatend LOL
I hear that!
and i love the tease --you two are running late for a couple of family reunions.
heh
good times

[alanbahr]

Great Job Giant!

[Harliquinn]

This one had a lot of goodness packed into a single comic :) I enjoyed it!

[Elcaz]

Since I'm not into tabletop AD&D, I didn't get the punchline, but the Alex Trebek remark made up for it.

[Zeful]

Best. Comic. Ever. and I've found a good many funny.

RE Questions: No one has used their questions, because the oracle hasn't been paid yet so they don't count.

RE Punchline: It's at the top of the page 5.

[sugarmouse121]

Nice! LOL, family reunions! ;D

[tunagolem]

So it looks like Roy and Elan are the two who are late for family reunions. Alright! Julia and Nale in the near future. Can be Roy's father, and red.

[LordOfNarf]

Great comic, how are the adventurers going to pay, since they are short of cash and magic beans, belkar has no soul, and haley is the only onw who might be willing to pay in voice.

[GypsyThorn]

...
RE Questions: No one has used their questions, because the oracle hasn't been paid yet so they don't count....


And some players have already asked multiple questions and received multiple answers. Besides, no one will remember anything but the answers to the "official" questions. Anything else the Oracle says is irrelevant. Amusing, but irrelevant to the characters.

[Lightman]

New comic is up.
Funniest. Comic. Ever.

[The_Kobold_Hero]

Nice job Giant.

[Kish]

If the oracle is too picky about payment we might end up back at belkar -- I am sure he would love to make the oracle pay instead...

I'm sure Belkar would, but, as previously discussed, Roy and Durkon aren't evil.

[servetus]

Great comic, how are the adventurers going to pay, since they are short of cash and magic beans, belkar has no soul, and haley is the only onw who might be willing to pay in voice.


Well, Haley had 7 bags of holding with which to stuff loot, and she did retrieve one of the huge sacks of dragon hoard. They lost the really really enormous treasure when the inn blew up, but they should still have plenty of money. If Haley's willing to spend any, at least....

[DreadSpoon]

I'm sure Belkar would, but, as previously discussed, Roy and Durkon aren't evil.

Given that they already threatened the Oracle with death once to get an answer, one is led to believe that they may let Belkar have a little fun if the Oracle proves uncooperative.

[Psymon]

Best comic for a while!

[Doug_Lampert]

Given that they already threatened the Oracle with death once to get an answer, one is led to believe that they may let Belkar have a little fun if the Oracle proves uncooperative.
They threatened the Oracle with death when, AFTER being PAID to answere questions, he responded "In his throne room" to "Where is Xylon".

i.e. they threatened the Oracle when he broke the implicit agreement that the answeres would be usable rather than useless garbage.

This is quite different from threatening him to avoid paying for services, when, in fact, your group has plenty of money. Threatening him now, prior to paying, would be robery and criminal assualt.

[infiniteviking]

;D What a shame they won't remember any of this. Family reunions and credit checks and The Haley Translations? Yay foreshadowing!

[Devils_Advocate]

There was a strip earlier (post strip 300), which I would find if I wasn't at work, that had Durkon citing the oracle as a "she/her" but in just the last script, the oracle was referred to as a "he/him".

Edit: Hrm so I'm not sure where I thought I saw that but please excuse my confusion.
You're thinking of On the Origin of PCs.


Could Durkon just have been "confused" by the memory wipe/warp that the oracle referenced once a person leaves his zone of control?
Yes. Roy didn't remember the Oracle's race, either, after all. My guess would be that the charm causes previous visitors to the valley to unconsciously fill in some missing details of what happened, but obviously not necessarily the correct ones or the same ones as they came up with last time. That way they can retain no actual knowledge beyond paid-for answers, yet still not even realize that their memories were wiped.

[EmeraldFire]

i especially liked how the Oracle had answered Roys question from before.

"Where is Xykon?"

"In his throne room."

*window*

[charik]

This is one of those strips (like the last one, come to think of it,) where the punchline isn't mind-blowing,
Ah, the sweet innocence of youth. Some day, you'll look back at this strip and wish you still didn't find the last panel so unsettlingly funny. :-[

I think this is, in fact, the best strip ever; there isn't a single word in the entire thing that wasn't funny.

[Bilbo27]

how would you like to try your own lungs? I can show you how to prepare them for you.


HA!

Love the classic Belkar, to bad he won't live longer than a few more birthdays.
I will miss him so.

Loved the payment options and the family reunion leak.

[Lord_Oni]

They day Belkar dies is the day an evil alignment sheds a single solem tear

[firepup]

r fjwhh qdwow'h mx axrmq rm vw bhzrmf b ejwhqrxm- yeah i see you point there...

very funny

[Felinoid]

Oh, don't get me started on credit agencies. Paid a card off recently, and the next month they sent us another bill for 1 cent of interest. So then I've got to use a 37 cent stamp to send them a 1 cent check, or else those sneaky b******s would just start building it up all over again. Since then, they've been sending offers for more cards. ::) "Threatened" doesn't even begin to cover it.

On a similar note, I'm really beginning to like this Oracle. I love non-informative answers to important questions. ;D

But RAAAGH! on the new comic going up only 15 minutes after I went to bed. :(

EDIT: Aw, foo. I was kinda hoping the filter would change that word into something funny like wombat or spoon. Had to censor it myself. Oh, the effort! :P

[Soul_Selim]

This one wins on so many levels. On another note, Could the Oracle's Real name be that of Ursala?

And why do I feel that Belkar will get a new helmet?

Anyway, Keep 'em coming.

[Njerus_Xhazekarath]

Inspirational, I love diviners!

[Haggis_McCrablice]

...would Haley's voice be worth full credit given her condition?
Oh, yes, I imagine so. It's still lovely and pristine, it's just something gets garbled in the translation. Think of it as being a woodwind player with a broken reed...the instrument itself is still in good condition.

[Antina]

Great comic, how are the adventurers going to pay, since they are short of cash and magic beans, belkar has no soul, and haley is the only onw who might be willing to pay in voice.

LOFL
Great comment! "no soul"
Thank you :)

[Antina]

Ah, the sweet innocence of youth. Some day, you'll look back at this strip and wish you still didn't find the last panel so unsettlingly funny. :-[

I think this is, in fact, the best strip ever; there isn't a single word in the entire thing that wasn't funny.


Jip! You are SO RIGHT, Charik! :-*

[Freelance Henchman]

They have TV in OOTS-world ??? ? Or is this "Alex Trebek" the Oracle speaks of some sort of vile necromancer who makes zombies state "more brains" in the form of a question
;D

[jaded_empath]

Firstly, thank you, Rich, for making a little decryption possible if you like that, yet not necessary to understand the comic. :)

And as others have stated, I find the humor increasing in sophistication (and thus my 'smirk factor' - thanks for making me at least half smile! ;D )


the family reunion implies that elan will run into nale again and roy's sister was at least during our last visit a captive of nale.

That appears to be the consensus (if not a unanimous one); however I'd like to point out that being late for those family reunions (and even being aware that they're running late) doesn't mean that our hale and hearty PCs will correct that by their future actions...



I feel like a 50's adventure show announcer.

when we last left our hero's ...
tune in next week when..

ack


Hey, I like the Buck Rogers/Tom Mix -style serial recaps! ;)

(Oh, and as for your .sig, the line from the song is "Whoop! There it is." so NYAH! ;) )

[jaded_empath]

Oh, don't get me started on credit agencies. Paid a card off recently, and the next month they sent us another bill for 1 cent of interest. So then I've got to use a 37 cent stamp to send them a 1 cent check, or else those sneaky b******s would just start building it up all over again. Since then, they've been sending offers for more cards. ::) "Threatened" doesn't even begin to cover it.

Ah, kindred spirit...though I always hold credit lending agencies in slightly higher esteem than credit reporting agencies that charge you money to see YOUR financial history so that you can correct the mistakes THEY'VE made in reporting someone else's bad debts as yours.... >:(




On a similar note, I'm really beginning to like this Oracle. I love non-informative answers to important questions. ;D

Kinda like Micro$oft Support, isn't it? :)


But RAAAGH! on the new comic going up only 15 minutes after I went to bed. :(

Bah, at least you've got a more reasonable excuse - I was fully awake for HOURS yesterday after he'd put it up, and still never checked... :(


EDIT: Aw, foo. I was kinda hoping the filter would change that word into something funny like wombat or spoon. Had to censor it myself. Oh, the effort! :P

That's one of the reasons I like the MMO 'Puzzle Pirates'; you can choose several ways to filter naughty words that are thrown your way in chat including comicfy (#^@@!) and my favorite pirateify ('billions of blistering barnacles, stop that you tart or I'll knock you on yer booty' for example :D )

[Frozen_Northman]

I wonder if they'll remember to save their receipts, so that they can request reimbursement from Lord Shojo...

[sakusha]

I wonder if they'll remember to save their receipts, so that they can request reimbursement from Lord Shojo...

That's a terrific idea! After all, when they were still the captives of Miko they made her pay for everything too! http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=225

[sakusha]

on Jul 12th, 2006, 9:35am, Rizumu Sakusha wrote:There was a strip earlier (post strip 300), which I would find if I wasn't at work, that had Durkon citing the oracle as a "she/her" but in just the last script, the oracle was referred to as a "he/him".

Edit: Hrm so I'm not sure where I thought I saw that but please excuse my confusion.

You're thinking of On the Origin of PCs.

Quote:Could Durkon just have been "confused" by the memory wipe/warp that the oracle referenced once a person leaves his zone of control?

Yes. Roy didn't remember the Oracle's race, either, after all. My guess would be that the charm causes previous visitors to the valley to unconsciously fill in some missing details of what happened, but obviously not necessarily the correct ones or the same ones as they came up with last time. That way they can retain no actual knowledge beyond paid-for answers, yet still not even realize that their memories were wiped.

Well at least I'm glad I wasn't making it up in my head! Thank you for reminding me and I agree.

[mattingly]

If Haley sells her crypto-voice, will her plain voice be left? Might this be her cure?

[Messy]

If Haley sells her crypto-voice, will her plain voice be left? Might this be her cure?

Actually...that doesn't sound like an unusual prediction.

[sakusha]

If Haley sells her crypto-voice, will her plain voice be left? Might this be her cure?

I thought the cure had to come from the divulgeance of secrets (or one secret in particular it would seem which I think is about her dad and the reason for being greedy) she's been keeping in the little Secrets Lump of her brain ... so while that sounds kinda' nifty, I dunno if it would actually work.

[munehiro]

Can someone please explain me the "Your voice" joke? because i didn't get it, although I have some idea. I'm not american, so if it references to american culture i have no clue: Is it because when you pay with your cash you pay "in cash" and when you pay with your voice you pay "in voice" which is like "invoice" ?

But isn't an invoice a receipt you obtain after you buy something?

Very good comic, however, as usual.

[Daracaex]

I think that Roy should try to get Elan to pay with his voice. All he needs to do is not roll a 1 on his bluff check. :P

[TinSoldier]

Can someone please explain me the "Your voice" joke? because i didn't get it, although I have some idea. I'm not american, so if it references to american culture i have no clue: Is it because when you pay with your cash you pay "in cash" and when you pay with your voice you pay "in voice" which is like "invoice" ?

But isn't an invoice a receipt you obtain after you buy something?

Very good comic, however, as usual.
It's from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_%281989_film%29). In it, the mermaid Ariel gives her voice to the sea witch Ursula in order to become human and find her true love.

[Doug_Lampert]

Can someone please explain me the "Your voice" joke? because i didn't get it, although I have some idea. I'm not american, so if it references to american culture i have no clue: Is it because when you pay with your cash you pay "in cash" and when you pay with your voice you pay "in voice" which is like "invoice" ?

But isn't an invoice a receipt you obtain after you buy something?

Very good comic, however, as usual.

It's not an Americanism.

Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid.

The price for the Sea Witch's help is the Mermaid's voice.

There is also a Disney movie, but Andersen came first.

[TinSoldier]

It's not an Americanism.

Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid.

The price for the Sea Witch's help is the Mermaid's voice.

There is also a Disney movie, but Andersen came first.Well, I knew that. I just forgot that she paid the same price in the original story.

Plus, it's just cool the way Ursula says "Your voice!" in the movie.

[Doug_Lampert]

Well, I knew that. I just forgot that she paid the same price in the original story.
I haven't actually seen the Disney version, I assume they gave it a happy ending.

Her selling of her voice is a crucial plot point in the story, because if she could have told the Prince what she wanted and who she was it was quite clear he would have married her.

DougL

[munehiro]

It's not an Americanism.

Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid.

The price for the Sea Witch's help is the Mermaid's voice.

There is also a Disney movie, but Andersen came first.

Ok, I'm too old to watch Disney movies, too young to have children watching Disney movies, and too busy to read anything but technical books and OOTS :)

thanks for the explanation

[Hototo]

Wow, all of that because of a voice. Not only do I feel bad that I didn't get that it was a joke, but now I feel like I must go watch The Little Mermaid since I haven't seen it since I was 6. Oh well.

[sakusha]

Wow, all of that because of a voice. Not only do I feel bad that I didn't get that it was a joke, but now I feel like I must go watch The Little Mermaid since I haven't seen it since I was 6. Oh well.

I buy tons of movies just because I remember them as a child and like little nostalgic trips down memory lane. :) Including all of the Disney Princesses. =^^=

Oh and in addition to:


I haven't actually seen the Disney version, I assume they gave it a happy ending.

Her selling of her voice is a crucial plot point in the story, because if she could have told the Prince what she wanted and who she was it was quite clear he would have married her.

Yeah of course they gave it a happy ending and the other thing that this let's Ursula (the evil Sea Witch of Disney's version, whose name was already dropped earlier in the thread) do in the Disney rendition is to use Ariel's voice to make the Prince think that she (Ursula in human disguise) was the one that saved the Prince, so Ariel and her sea friends have to stop a wedding set up by a Charmed Eric etc. etc. The point is that yes the price of "Your Voice" was a major plot point in both Andersen and Disney's versions of the story.

[TinSoldier]

Ok, I'm too old to watch Disney movies, too young to have children watching Disney movies, and too busy to read anything but technical books and OOTS :)

thanks for the explanation

No one is too old to watch Disney movies! Especially the good ones!

[sakusha]

No one is too old to watch Disney movies! Especially the good ones!


Right On! =^_^= I think the same goes for going to Disneyland, Disney World, etc.

[WhiteRider]

Ok, I'm too old to watch Disney movies, too young to have children watching Disney movies, and too busy to read anything but technical books and OOTS :)

thanks for the explanation



Actually, The Little Mermaid is several years old. More than 12, I'd say... I was in elementary school when it came out.

I haven't gotten to read the Hans Christian Anderson version though... can anyone recommend a good translation? I think I've bought one before, but I was less than pleased with the book. The same go with the Brothers Grimm... it is so hard to find the true stories in a format that seem storylike to me... plus they tended to do their own censoring as well along the way.

[Kanashimi]

Okay, I just noticed this looking at the comic again. The oracle's head is orange, but he's either wearing a black body suit or his body is actually black! (black pants maybe?)

[TinSoldier]

Okay, I just noticed this looking at the comic again. The oracle's head is orange, but he's either wearing a black body suit or his body is actually black! (black pants maybe?)Underwear? Maybe something frilly :o ;D!

[Doug_Lampert]

Actually, The Little Mermaid is several years old. More than 12, I'd say... I was in elementary school when it came out.

I haven't gotten to read the Hans Christian Anderson version though... can anyone recommend a good translation? I think I've bought one before, but I was less than pleased with the book. The same go with the Brothers Grimm... it is so hard to find the true stories in a format that seem storylike to me... plus they tended to do their own censoring as well along the way.IMDB is your friend, it came out in 1989. Anyone who was too old for Disney movies 17 years ago should by now be old enough not to worry about it being by Disney.

The Andersen story is out of copyright, google can find you multiple versions on the web.

[Ravens_Wing]

lol where is the bad guy? In his thrown room.... lol priceless

[Haggis_McCrablice]

Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid. The price for the Sea Witch's help is the Mermaid's voice.

Actually, in the Anderson version, the sea witch takes the little mermaid's tongue as payment--cuts it right out of her wee head, she does. And at the end she's told to kill her beloved prince with a dagger through the heart and let his blood wash over her feet to get her tail back. She does not, and she is melted into sea foam at sunrise, as per the rules of the agreement. The Mouse bowlederizes the original a bit.

Sorry if I scared ye. ;D

Oh, by the way, re: the whole fuss about the priapristic minister in the Disney film: does no one else realize that Ariel wears no pants or skirt when she rises from the water with her new legs, and everyone on shore can see her wee bacon strip? :-[

[Doug_Lampert]

Actually, in the Anderson version, the sea witch takes the little mermaid's tongue as payment--cuts it right out of her wee head, she does. [

From a translation on the web:
http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html

“But I must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me; the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. My own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two-edged sword.”

The price is the voice. Cutting out her tongue is merely the collection method.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

No...no....she uses a magic amulet....GAH my childhood is in ruins now. I'm going back to SMBG.

I just wanted to say hi to wandering llama and now i'm all scarred by poor Ariel getting her tongue cut out.

[TheWanderingLlama]

Awwww, Masked Llama of Death. I was wondering what you were doing over here. ;D ;D

[Dario]

Classic! One of my absolute favorite entries to date. Very witty in each and every panel.

Nice work again, Giant.

[Solmage]

I think that Roy should try to get Elan to pay with his voice. All he needs to do is not roll a 1 on his bluff check. :P


Oooh, and the entire party gets a permanent competence +10 situational bonus! This idea has merit ;)

[sakusha]

This idea has merit ;)

Quoting Jafar from Aladdin now are we? Or am I just being a Disney Freak? ^^; Both are entirely plausible...

[kirn]

For the old schoolers... When I saw the oracle put on his robe and wizard hat, the next line I was expecting was:

I cast Lvl. 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman

[Finwe]

Oooh, and the entire party gets a permanent competence +10 situational bonus! This idea has merit ;)


No, the -10 competency bonus that they had all been under would be lifted.

[Krytha]

No, the -10 competency bonus that they had all been under would be lifted.

That's hardly a bonus...

[Arin]

That's hardly a bonus...

Ever taken a pebble out of your shoe after an hour of hiking with it? Trust me, it's a bonus. :)

BTW, I don't know if anyone posted this before regarding the family reunion debate, but the Oracle specifically said the two of you, so it's clearly Elan and Roy, not Haley.

[Shea Landford]

Good comic.

[saraswati]

and everyone on shore can see her wee bacon strip? :-[

I've....never heard it called...that. And I've heard it called a lot of strange stuff. um, ewwww.

Anyway, on the question of looking for translations of Hans Christian Anderson , I recommend the Dover publication translations, but only the unedited ones. Cheap and complete.

Also, I'm still not clear, do they get a question each? Or just the standard three, no matter how large the party is?

[Krytha]

Ever taken a pebble out of your shoe after an hour of hiking with it? Trust me, it's a bonus. :)

BTW, I don't know if anyone posted this before regarding the family reunion debate, but the Oracle specifically said the two of you, so it's clearly Elan and Roy, not Haley.


I was talking about the -10 modifier being a bonus. Of course removing something negative is a good thing...

[Aereshaa_the_2nd]

:D That was very funny!
"Can't I take 10?"

[Finwe]

I was talking about the -10 modifier being a bonus. Of course removing something negative is a good thing...


If you read my post more carefully, I said that they are already under a -10 modifier, and that it would be lifted were Elan to lose his voice.

[Felinoid]

I believe what he is referring to is this...

No, the -10 competency bonus that they had all been under would be lifted.
-10 to competency stirkes me as more of a penalty than a bonus (positive modifier). Yes, it would be a bonus (good thing) to get it lifted, but what you're getting lifted would be a penalty.

Now let's hear it for the semantics crew! ;D

[molonel]

My lip curled up just the tiniest little bit on the last sentence of the last frame, but that's about it.

[Haggis_McCrablice]

I've....never heard it called...that. And I've heard it called a lot of strange stuff.

The Voice of Mod: Yeah, you know what? No.

This thread is far off topic anyway.