Final Showdown? (Spoilers Possible!)

[Hann]

I don't know if anyone has thought this far ahead, but let me start passing out tickets to my train of thought.

Xykon's going after Girard's gate next.

The Linear Guild are headed to Kraagor's gate, which is basically one epic encounter after another.
The Oots knows where Xykon's headed, and appear to be headed across the water (possibly to the western continent)
The laws of dramatic tales state that if there is a set number of plot specific objects, all of them should appear in the story.

My theory is that after failing at Girard's gate, Xykon will move on to Kraagor's, probably reaching the gate in the dungeon. The Oots will follow, with all the recurring characters they can find. When they get there, they will begin to fight through the dungeon, eventually getting into a penultimate showdown, with the Linear Guild, with all of the guild dying, and one of the Oots. The rest of the Oots then move on to Xykon, who will pull out all the stops in one climactic battle, in which a happy ending occurs, and we all get some kind of epilogue so we don't wonder what the heck happened to the characters afterward.
What do you think?:smallsmile:

Edit: Ok, I changed some things toward the end, made it a tad less cliched.

...Hmmm, maybe the epilogue should come out as a print-only book...

[mport2004]

I dont think that I would like that ending

[yoshi927]

Actually, you bring up a good point. The LG will probably level up like heck if they're going to Kraagor's gate.

[the_tick_rules]

nah, sounds too clean. OOTS is a whacky whacky world, it won't go down that easily

[Hann]

Very good point.

[RAGE KING!]

i dont like it, i think one of the OoTS needs to die, but the only possibility is belkar, otherwise it would make elan sad and ruin his happy ending.

[Magioth]

its durkon, its already be told its durkon

[Hann]

All right, I changed some stuff, feel free to provide me with some other feedback to make it better, and make it what the readers REALLY want to see!:smalltongue:

[Kish]

its durkon, its already be told its durkonDurkon will return to the dwarven homelands posthumously. But Belkar is unlikely to have more than one more birthday cake.

[Angel in Black]

The Snarl has to show up at some point. Rich practically said it- "Its claws cut through them like daggers through parchment. Some have theorized since that gods were even MORE vulnerable to the Snarl than a mortal of the same level would have been." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html)

[....]

The Snarl has to show up at some point. Rich practically said it- "Its claws cut through them like daggers through parchment. Some have theorized since that gods were even MORE vulnerable to the Snarl than a mortal of the same level would have been." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0274.html)

People keep mentioning that the Snarl is 'weak against mortals'.

Well, yeah, okay, maybe the Snarl gets a +2 unnamed bonus on his AC against Gods... but it still destroyed EVERYTHING ON THE PLANET the first time it got out.

So unless the OOTS starts to get divine ranks, I doubt the Order will be going toe to toe with the Snarl.

[Alex Warlorn]

Why is it always the cleric that bites it in this gaming media?
They have good spells, decent hit dice, good armor. How's that work?

[Ithekro]

Because it seems unexpected I would guess. That and it is the one character that the others need most of the time. Plus in D&D it would probably be the cleric who is the highest level by the end of a long campaign...since everyone else would have died at least once by then. Or course now it is expected, though through expectation comes plottwists.

[Axl_Rose]

A part of me feels that somewhere down the road the Oots and the Linear Guild will ally together

[Kjata]

I want to see V, Belkar, and Durkon die. I just like to see heroes die for some reason. I just think it makes a better story if all the heroes dont live.

[Squark]

The LG is going for Kraagor's gate????

Where was this stated???:confused:

[Hann]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0458.html

When Nale said that they were going to find a different one, he already knew they were headed to Girard's gate. It would be a lot like Nale to disappear into the shadows and then come back after a long absence.

[David Argall]

I don't know if anyone has thought this far ahead,
Loads have. But feel free to join the other misguesses. We have enough problems predicting the next strip.


Xykon's going after Girard's gate next.

The Linear Guild are headed to Kraagor's gate,
Nope. Not first anyway. While it is not stated which they are going to, everything points to their going to Girard's too. On plot, Girard's will presumably be a full book long, and you don't want to put the LG on the sidelines for a full book. On hints, we have the potential interactions with Elan & Nale's pop, and Haley's dad. We may not have absolute proof that this is in the next book, but it seems a safe bet. So LG will be in the next book, about Girard's Gate.


after failing at Girard's gate, Xykon will move on to Kraagor's, probably reaching the gate in the dungeon. The Oots will follow, with all the recurring characters they can find. When they get there, they will begin to fight through the dungeon, eventually getting into a penultimate showdown, with the Linear Guild, with all of the guild dying, and one of the Oots.
Possible, but only one of a very large number of possibilities.

The presumption is that Durkon must die before they even approach the final gate since it seems to be in dwarf territory. He is then raised some way and thus can return to dwarven lands posthumously. The other prophecy, that he will bring disaster to dwarven lands?, would fit that the OOTS arrives ahead of Xykon and bring an ignored warning of his approach.


The rest of the Oots then move on to Xykon, who will pull out all the stops in one climactic battle,
As many have suggested, all this talk about the Snarl makes a serious case that it appears onstage. It could certainly stay just a mcGuffin, but the chance of the Snarl being the final boss is substantial.


in which a happy ending occurs,
The definition of happy ending can be quite flexible. There are fatal results that can be deemed happy endings for Elan, Belkar, and V for sure. Durkon is a good shot too.

[Alex Warlorn]

Three padlocks are destroyed. With just two left, the majority of them gone, I'm wondering how soon it'll take the Snarl to begin to appear in bits and pieces around the it's cage.

[Oberon]

I want to see V, Belkar, and Durkon die. I just like to see heroes die for some reason. I just think it makes a better story if all the heroes dont live.

I think most of us expect Belkar to die first (but how often has what we expected come true?)

I, for one, would not like to see the death of V. It would make me sad. Also, I don't expect V to die, not unless that's how s/he achieves ultimate power.

[SPoD]

Elan knows now that Durkon would be satisfied to return to dwarven lands after his death. Thus, Durkon can die and not invalidate Elan's happy ending, as long as Elan knows that Durkon's body is in dwarven lands.

[Acyberexile]

There are facts that we know, we know that Belkar will get to cause Roy's or the Oracle's death, so we can theorize that we may see the Oracle again. We know that Durkon or Belkar will die at one point, we know that V will achieve ultimate arcane power and we certainly know that Xykon is headed to Girard's Gate. So my guess is this, Xykon will fail to open the Gate and as the end of the fourth major arc, they will head to the Kraagar's, and the order will follow. The order will meet up with LG there, and ally with them in order to beat Xykon. They probably will be able to beat Xykon, but since four of the gates would be destroyed at the time, Snarl would appear, and attack with all its power. And then, probably triggered by some dramatic event, by saying the right words, V will achieve ultimate arcane power and become some kind of a god (remember Shojo saying that elves have created their own gods in time, maybe they created them this way?) and battle with Snarl. Belkar and Durkon will probably die at this climactic battle, and after the conclusion, we'll see the epilogue, which will probably include Haley and Elan's children (that kinda stuff is somehow necessary in epilogues I think, LotR series did it, Harry Potter series did it, many others too, did it.) and Durkon's burial. And again, maybe, we'll see the places where the gates used to stand, named after or include something that references the Order of the Stick. (Dungeon of Dorukan becomes Dungeon of Durkon (heh) and Azure City builds a monument of Roy maybe?)

Hmm. A bit stretched? Nah, it's fine

[....]

Why is everyone so sure Belkar is going to die?

I see no reason he'd get killed, now that Miko is dead and he dosn't want to trick her into killing him anymore.

[Tirian]

I don't think that anything the Oracle said suggests that Durkon must die in this quest. He could die two hundred years from now, and just as long as his body is buried in his homeland, the prophecy is fulfilled.

I similarly think that, since one can find an interpretation in which Belkar's actions led to Roy's death, that that prophecy is also off the table. Blame Belkar for not asking about True death. I don't see any particular reason why the Oracle has to show up in the strip again.

I also don't buy that the LG is headed for Kraagor's gate. When they broke out of prison, Nale made it clear that their purpose was still "the never-ending escalation of petty revenge," and from a practical point of view why would Rich have such awesome characters sit out for the entire Girard's Gate arc?

[Gundato]

What I am more confused about is why people think Elan would be happy if Belkar died. Last I checked, most of the OOTS either likes Belkar, or considers him a friend/companion. And him and Elan seem to get along rather well.

Perma-death is a given, and at least one member will die for plot purposes (I have a feeling it will end up being a bit more than one, but whatever). But that doesn't necessarily mean Elan won't get a happy ending (assuming the Oracle wasn't using slang for a special kind of massage :p). How many happy endings involve one of the heroes sacrificing themselves to save the city/castle/nation/world/universe/multiverse or being insta-offed to motivate the rest of the heroes to succeed? Isn't a case of "YAY!!! Tancred died!" but instead a case of "Many great men fell, but we suceeded. The world is safe for now"

[lord_khaine]

and we dont know if V will manage to obtain ultimate arcane power, all we know is that its actualy possibel for him to do so.

[Gundato]

Negative, we DO know that Vaarsuvius will achieve it, we just don't know when. Personally, I am leaning towards the elven version of lichification (do they have a special variant, or are they just liches?) a la Xykon in an eleventh hour act, but that is just me.

[Lira]

Why is everyone so sure Belkar is going to die?

I see no reason he'd get killed, now that Miko is dead and he dosn't want to trick her into killing him anymore.From what the Oracle said in 329 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0329.html), it seems fairly likely that Belkar will die within a year after his next birthday.
and we dont know if V will manage to obtain ultimate arcane power, all we know is that its actualy possibel for him to do so.
V said: "How will I achieve complete and total ultimate arcane power? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0331.html)". So it sounds to me like V will obtain it.

[Ecalsneerg]

I think one of the Order of the Stick has to die. It makes the ending much happier for those who did survive. This is a breakdown of the dying:

Roy: He's already dead, but is likely to be brought back somehow (I'd love him to be reincarnated as a bugbear, but the only druid encountered so far was Evil). Since he's already died once, I think he is least likely to die. It is his story after all.

Durkon: The oracle said he'd return home posthumously. This doesn't mean he'll die during the events. But it does, admittedly, make it much more likely.

Belkar: Perhaps the most likely to die. His death prophecy was as good as saying "within a year or two". It may not be true death. But the fact remains that he is likely to get taken down.

Vaarsuvius: I don't think he'll die, but he is more likely to die than roy is. I also think the last strip ever will reveal his gender. :P

Haley & Elan: Elan, as both a Dashing Swordsman and a bard, has a life governed by plot devices. The fact remains he has to get the girl and walk off with her in the end. Unless rich pulls off a On Her Majesty's secret Service, and kills off Bond's (Elan's) wife, they'll survive.

I think that at some point Nale will either redeem himself and die in the process, or get kiled by Elan.

[Aris Katsaris]

Here's my own predictions, based on the facts we know Girard's gate is across the sea but Kraagor's gate is at north (where Durkon's homeland also in):

Durkon: Dies in battle near Girard's Gate, which is also destroyed. Lacking a proper cleric, (and perhaps low in cash and hoping his dwarven family will help share the costs of resurrection) the OoTS brings his body to the dwarven homeland to rez it there, which is on the way. Death and destruction follows them. Unknown whether Durkon is rezzed finally or left to rest in peace with his ancestors.

Belkar: Killed by the Snarl. His soul destroyed, and thus no possibility of resurrection.

Vaarsuvius Gender is *not* revealed. There are only two options after all, and there'd not be any point in a revelation. In the end He/She manages to achieves total arcane power and is left to duel and destroy the Snarl alone.

He lives but then *loses* all arcane power, forcing him to live a life where he/she spents the rest of his life in humility, were it not for the abject devotion and worship that the whole of the world, including the gods, is willing to give him for saving their collective bacon.

Haley and Elan: Free Haley's dad from the dungeons of whatsitsname, and leave a happy ever after existence.

Roy: Alive in the end, he's died once already, no need to kill him again.

[Ronsian]

My money is V dies. Why? "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful then you can possibly imagine." Honestly, it's too good a reference to pass up. I also think the Linear Guild and Order will join up, there can be lots of humor with all the interactions. I do think The Snarl will come out, and I dunno if Nale will survive, it could go either way.