OOTS #484 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

Expect a news post soon-ish regarding scheduling and other stuff.

[The_Kobold_Hero]

Nice wrap up, I like the layout. Really shows where we're at right now.

Can't wait until September... :smallsmile:

[Silvermike]

9/17, huh? Have a happy vacation!

[johnnyriot999]

Hooray for the end panel!:smallcool:

Great strip Giant.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

Oh, oh, ooooooooooh!

Awwww, Rich, man! This is a great cliffhanger! Who's the guy that talks in red letters? Holy holy cow!

Oh... September 17th is so far away...

[Lira]

Wow. :o Well that wrapped a lot up and raised a lot more questions.

Enjoy the vacation Mr. Burlew! Get well!

[Winged One]

That was just mean, giving us so many cliffhangers right before your break. Still, from what I hear you do need a break and it's not like there's any more satisfying way to leave it, so I can't blame you. I eagerly await September 17th.

[Dunamin]

Utterly amazing way to wrap up the story arc. I can't wait to see the identity of the off-panel speaker!

[Incendius]

Ooh, is it just me or is that headband a Psicrown? Psionics, Psionics! (Though... I've never heard of Cloister before.)

Absolutely amazing end to the arc, can't wait till september comes by.

[O.T.R]

Death itself will not save you from your Dad's dissaproval.
And is that a half-orc ninja?
Another excellent end of arc strip. Enjoy your downtime.

[Maerdred]

oh wow. I have to read this over and over. I bet there's something going on I missed on my first perusal.

[Amiria]

Great great great ! I waited a long time to see Roy and his father. :smallsmile:

[Metal Head]

Eugene Greenhilt: Gosh son, thanks so much for killing Xykon. My soul can rest easy now.

:roy: Shut up Dad.

That made me laugh so hard. Good to know that Roy might show up every once in a while he's dead.

[wagomorph]

Cloister? Must be a nun thing.

[SteveDJ]

Awesome wrap-up. :smallsmile:

Waiting for Sept 17 is sure gonna be hard, though. :smallfrown:

[kpenguin]

Does anyone know what Cloister does?

[Silvermike]

So, major plot threads:

* Haley and Belkar hide out in the Azure City hinterlands, avoiding capture before they can raise Roy and recevie word from Vaarsuvius/Durkon

* Hinjo leads the loyalist survivors to found a camp as they re-group, re-arm, and otherwise plan the recapture of their city.

* The Red Voiced Villain (no hints who that is, really) undermines Hinjo, but the plot to overthrow him is just a cover for the Real Evil Doing

* Redcloak, Xykon, and the Tsukiko begin working on the next gate (which we know to be Girard's.) Having O-Chul there makes things spicy.

* The Linear Guild is hiding out, for the moment.

Anything else? Are there no other characters alive?

[Burrito]

Great way to "sort of" finish things up.

I am thinking the Cloister, spell will prevent any sort of magical communication between Team Durkon and Team Haley. Sucks for them...

[Recursive]

Does anyone know what Cloister does?
Given the "off the grid" remark, and the juxtaposition of Xykon's act right after Haley said she's confident that Durkon and V will be able to contact them...I imagine they've cut Azure City off into a pocket dimension of some sort. Something that will play hell with Haley and Belkar's ability to escape the city, or even to keep in magical communication with the rest of the Order.

[Nota Biene]

Guess this means will have parallel strips for awhile when the Giant comes back.

[GoC]

What did Xykon just do?

[smellie_hippie]

Wow. I'm gonna turn funny colors waiting until Sept 17th. :smalltongue:

Great comic!

[Haydenhawk]

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO
NO OOTS TIL SEPTEMBER!

Aw just hope i can live with that great ending cliffhanger though:smallbiggrin:

[JasonDoomsblade]

Hah Hah well done Rich. Well Done.
Oh by the way Nazzo, the guy who speaks in Red is one of the Dark Lords who appears on strip 380.

[FruitOfTheShroom]

Oh wow...

the 17th! whatever will I do? :(

[Hyozo]

Interresting, a RV(o)BB (Red Voice (on) Black Background) That always means even more ultimate evil. Who thinks it's Mr. Scruffy?

[lavidor10]

Wow what a wrapup.

But where's the splash page? You can't end an arc arc without a splash page. I suppose the 1 page panels will do.

Did anybody get what Xykon just did? Maybe he blocked all magical communication.

[Blackdrop]

With school starting for most of the younger crowd (myself included) the 17th will come swiftly...

:vaarsuvius: :"Like the owl."

[Issabella]

The one I am really curios about is the one ordering the Diamyo Kabuto around. He has the special voice coloring similar to the Lich. It begs all sorts of questions.

[the_tick_rules]

lot of scheming goin on, and i was waiting for roy's dad to throw his failure back into his face.

[Lira]

Hey, I just noticed something!
Xykon's wearing Dorukan's headband! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0196.html) :o

[feras]

great one :D roy's dad is the coolest character of all the comic

[SteveMB]

The one I am really curios about is the one ordering the Diamyo Kabuto around. He has the special voice coloring similar to the Lich. It begs all sorts of questions.

We have seen a similar voice balloon before (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0380.html)....

[Porthos]

Hmmmm.... I wonder if we've seen Red Voiced Advisor (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0380.html) before or not.

Certainly food for thought....

EDIT:; *&#%T*$^!!! Ninjaed a second time in as many minutes!!!! :smallmad:

[Blackdrop]

Those voices are orange and yellow. Not red.

[Lemur]

Have a good break, and thanks for the wrap up. I should really say, don't just have a good break, but I hope you start feeling better. Get some bubble gum, chew it all, then you can get back to kicking ass and taking names :smallwink:

[Naleh]

What a cliffhanger...

[slightlyloony]

Great strip Mr Burlew. I hope that you have a good break. And I look forward to ordering the next compilation. :smallwink:

[Dizcorp]

Nice place to leave it, it seems the salivating masses will be falling over themselves to catch up with OotS on the dawn of the 17th.

Enjoy your vacation Giant, I look forward to seeing how the Stick get themselves into even more trouble...

[Suraht]

I have no clue what the D&D spell(or whichever source he pulled it from) 'Cloister' does, but based on the definition of the verb form:

To shut away from the world in or as if in a cloister; seclude.

And the "off the grid" comment, I think it's safe to say that Azure City is locked away from the rest of the world. Keeps any busybodies out of the way while they read up and study about the other gates.

Now I'm hoping for two or three strips just focusing on Roy and Eugene, and at least a glimpse into which afterlife Miko ended up in.

22 days, huh?

[shylocxs]

Oooooohhhhhhh.......

How can I wait? How can I wait? How can I wait?!?!?!?

Oh yeah, but obsesively studying every single detail of the last few OOTS and trying to figure out what they all mean.

Well, not really. But I love the fact that death doesn't stop parental disapproval!

Have a good break!

[Deathmachine]

nice ending of the story arc

and giant, rest well on your time off, you deserve it :smallwink:

[Carteeg_Struve]

Heck of a Book 3 close-out. I have to say that after this massive battle and after reading Start of Darkness, Rich you have been overdoing yourself. This is kickass storytelling. Thank you, and KEEP IT UP!

BTW. When Sept 17th comes around, will we be getting another interlude (ie, Q&A session, battle of refreshment pantheons, etc.)?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Those voices are orange and yellow. Not red.

It's not the color, it's the style.

Since Roy and Company will probably rise all the way to Epic Levels before all this is over, they need Epic level encounters, and NOT just Xykon. Demons, devils, and maybe a few of the biggies, Demon Princes.

Orcus! Demon Lord of the Undead! Think he an Xykon might have a few things in common?

[Lissou]

Great update!
like the previous one, it has a nice symetry that will look great in the book. And that final page is hilarious. Good to see Roy again.
Maybe that will give people a fix if Roy isn't resureccted soon.

Have a great vacation, and we'll be here waiting :)

[WhatIsGravity]

What a tease. :smallmad:

[Porthos]

I usually don't like to do this sort of thing, but I got a Dialogue Error to point out, Rich. :smallsmile:

The Pony-Tailed Ninja says, "-he's no match for my two of my ninjas alone."

You might want to reword that so it makes more sense. :smallsmile:

[BRC]

Maybe roy will run into Miko and Shojo in the afterlife "observers room"

[Moral Wiz]

Ohh. What did Xykon do? I didn't get that, though I'm guessing epic spell.

[K2]

Woot!
Take care!

[Poeir]

Looking at Strip #380, two of the three Dark Lords speak: One in yellow text with yellow eyes, one in orange text with orange eyes. The third has red eyes, which leads me to believe that's the Dark Lord speaking to Daimyo Kubota.

I was hoping to find what Cloister does in this thread, but it seems no one knows. Google doesn't have any answers either. Whatever it is, it certainly seems to have a massive area of effect. Could it be perhaps a permanent illusion that makes it appear that the city is missing?

No one has mentioned just how important O-Chul's being left behind is. He's going to have some information and isn't in for a pleasant experience.

[BRC]

List of possiblities for Cloister
Prevents anything in the area from being scryed.
Prevents anybody from entering the cloistered area.

[Porthos]

It's not the color, it's the style.

Since Roy and Company will probably rise all the way to Epic Levels before all this is over, they need Epic level encounters, and NOT just Xykon. Demons, devils, and maybe a few of the biggies, Demon Princes.

Orcus! Demon Lord of the Undead! Think he an Xykon might have a few things in common?

Exactly. :smallsmile: The speech bubble clearly denotes someone non-human. And it is very similar in style and texture to the ones we saw in #380. So while I don't doubt it is a different style of demon/devil/daemon/what-have-you, I really do think we are looking at a Lower Planes Advisor.

Besides, Advisors From the Lower Planes are a Fantasy Cliche Stable. Which means there will be plenty of room for parody/hiliarity. :smallwink:

[StickMan]

Great Comic Giant have a good rest and see you in a few weeks!

[RMS Oceanic]

Never since Strip 120 have we seen such a strip. Everyone is accounted for, in this life and the next. The immediate plans are laid out, as well as some longer term plans, and in a foreshadowey way, a new character is revealed in the cloak of offscreen.

Admittedly I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat for the next 21 days, but I daresay it will be worth it. Enjoy your hiatus, Rich!

[Mawhrin Skel]

Since Roy and Company will probably rise all the way to Epic Levels before all this is over, they need Epic level encounters, and NOT just Xykon. Demons, devils, and maybe a few of the biggies, Demon Princes.

Perhaps also a suitable victim for Hinjo's funky black sword?

[Verick Severith]

Anyone else notice how Xykon pulls out Dorukon's (sp?) headband? While it makes sense that he has it I wonder why he's using it now?

Oh and it's always good to see Roy talking again...

[Dinkyass]

Ohhhh man!! How am I going to wait until September 17??? :smalleek:

[timbot]

You, Rich, are a master storyteller. Great suspense! I mean, I want to kill you now, but like it at the same time.

[mockingbyrd7]

Spoilered to prevent sidescrolling~Sheriff

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMME EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..................

[Train2nowhere]

noooooo, I need my fix

[Fitzclowningham]

Great catch, Lira! Now to find out what it does...

Also, I agree with Moral Wiz - Cloister is probably an Epic spell.

[orange]

Very nicely tied up, I very much enjoyed it. Have fun on your break, it's been long past due. Last month's irregular schedule aside, I've much appreciated all the double and triple strips we've been blessed with this last ark.

[Brasswatchman]

You, Rich, are a master storyteller. Great suspense! I mean, I want to kill you now, but like it at the same time.

Ah, but if you did that, then you'd never learn how the story ends. See his cunning plan?

Fantastic strip. Going to miss it during the next month as well.

[Platinum_Mongoose]

Holy new mysterious villain, Batman! Rock. On.

My calendar is marked and drooling. Yes, my calendar is drooling.

Thanks, Giant! Have a good vacation!

[Unscrewed]

First, I wish you a happy vacation Mr.Burlew, you sure earned it.

This strip was awesome, opening up new possibilities, introducing new characters, and both wrapping up the current arc while setting up the new one perfectly.

Enjoy your vacation, Mr. Burlew. Best wishes.

[Aerysil]

Great, bad guys on the boats. This is getting complex.

Get good rest, Rich.

[Fitzclowningham]

Actually, looking a bit longer at the strip, I think the Cloister effect comes from the headband. Xykon is holding the crown in one hand, which indicates to me that he wasn't planning on permanently swapping it for the headband. Also, the glow from the headband matches that over the city as Cloister comes into effect. If you look closely, you can see that the fires are still visible within the magical effect glow.

Cloister seems like just the kind of effect Dorukan would have wanted to maintain his seclusion from the world.

[Porthos]

I love the attention to detail when it comes to Haley commenting that Durkon will contact both herself and Vaarsuvius via Sending. After all, she doesn't know that the V man has rejoined the group, but she goes out of her way to mention it, thus reinforcing the point that Haley and Belkar aren't fully aware of the updated situation.

On the strip as a whole, tis made of Undiluted Win.

See ya back on the 17th, Rich. You've more than earned this vacation. :smallsmile:

[Adeptus]

Excellent! The art, the lay-out, the punchline!

My hat is off to you Giant,

-Adept

[EntilZha]

The Order of the Stick is returning on my birthday!! Woohoo!!!

[Brianish]

Of note: It is actually Haley, Belkar, Roy, and Celia. Haley very clearly has Roy's pendant, even if she doesn't know yet what it does.

[Alysar]

A new supernatural Big Bad, the return of Roy in the afterlife, and NO NEW COMICS FOR THREE WEEKS!

/My head a-splode

[Impikmin]

OMG, YES!!!!!! That comic was too awesome to explain with words! We got our top of the line cliff-hanger here: they need to find land (where?), who the hell are these new villains, why does that guy sound evil, why does that girl have green skin, what will they do to o-chul, how will he escape, what is that Wheaties toy really and how did it do that fire spell thing (meh you might know cus you play d&d), what did that spell do anyway, was it a cloaking spell, why is Roy and his father in the same afterlife, and what father son antics will ensue?????? I loved this strip waaaaaaaay to much to be normal...

[Porthos]

Of note: It is actually Haley, Belkar, Roy, and Celia. Haley very clearly has Roy's pendant, even if she doesn't know yet what it does.

Haley knows exactly what the amulet does. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0320.html) :smallsmile:

I figure by hook or by crook, that amulet is getting busted. :smallwink:

[Pyro]

Whooooo. Roy is finally in heaven with his dad. I was waiting for that to happen. Now just to find out what that headband is and what cloister does...

I'll check the other posts.

[TigerHunter]

This comic was made of win. Can't figure out what this Cloister effect is, though.

The Order of the Stick is returning on my birthday!! Woohoo!!!
Best birthday present ever. (Not to be rude, but please at least spoiler the images in your sig.)

[Rethorn]

Enjoy the break, Giant. You've earned it. Awesome end of the story arc. :smallbiggrin:

[Megalomaniac2]

Y'know, it's times like these that I really wish these forums allowed swearing, [scrubbed]

Or, to paraphrase: woo. Surprisingly, with an ending like this, I actually expect to make it to September 17 with my mind relatively intact. The Azure City War has been, without a doubt, one of Burlew's greatest accomplishments in the strip's run.

There are two, and ONLY two things, which might conceivably qualify as weaknesses here. First of all, Xykon looks absolutely RIDICULOUS with that stupid headband. Seriously, the green and yellow with the white, blue, and red? HORRIBLE. And what's a lich doing with Wheaties anyway?

Secondly, Hinjo's comments about having to retake the city make sense- Burlew can't really be expected to leave the place like this- but they heavily imply that the story will continue to focus on occupied Azure City for some time yet. Which is just a bit too much; Azure City has been at the center of the story since strip 260. Seriously, it's about time we moved on. There's a great big world out there coloured lots of hues other than blue. Hopefully Hinjo's reconquista will go swiftly and our heroes can be on their way soon.

A similar comment about Belkar's Mark of Justice: It's been around for nigh 200 episodes, and is in danger of becoming the new HaleySpeak in terms of subplots which overstayed their welcome. I recognize it's usefulness as a plot device to keep Belkar in the Order, but it should go soon.

Finally, about Mr. Off-the-Screen? I agree that it's probably one of Sabine's pals, but we shouldn't be too sure- Shojo was initially only shown to us as the Sinister Off-Screen Voice, and look how he turned out. I, personally, would be delighted if it was someone from completely left field... Ydranna, perhaps?

[Korias]

Wow. Great comic.

Now, to the questions:

One, what does this leave us with? It leaves us with many different storylines that will need to be resolved. Haley and Belkar, Hinjo and OOTS, Who the Red Speaker is, The fate of Ochul, and What Xykon's doing with Dorukans headband.

Now, Cloister is most likely a spell from the Spell Compendium, but I dont own it, so I cant verify. SRDs, if any, are turning up nill. So its most likely homebrew. If it does, it appears to be a mass forcecage-like effect. Cutting off the City from outside intervention. The City therefore is now a closed system. Nothing in, Nothing out.

Also, since Haley now posesses the Greenhilt Sword, Roy could, Theoreticaly, visit her with info. What this means is that Haley now has Eyes and ears to help her sneak around the city. Or, it could mean a running gag of what happened back when Roy's father was introduced.

[Robert_Frazer]

With regards to Xykon apparently donning Dorukan's headband - is it at all possible that there's more than one example of a green magically-endowed item to be found in this grand and boundless realm of derring-do and stirring adventure through which the Winds of Magic howl their agitated gales and the Tides of Fate roar with their thunderous surge and ebb? After all, just because two people happen to be wearing black (or very, very, very dark blue) socks doesn't mean that they raided each others' wardrobes!

[Haruki-kun]

Wow, seeing Roy there like that............ kinda makes you realize he's really dead...........

Well, CYA in september, Giant, have a good time!

[ref]

If there was someone who could pull it, that someone was The Giant. An amazing strip that is an ending, but also a beginning. Characters we don't know. Characters that don't assess the situation (And I'm not talking just Haley; Hinjo doesn't know what Kabuto is planning). A notice that we are to be OotS-less three weeks, which fills the fandom with frustration, but also with anticipation, because of that #484 strip.

And there are several options that haven't seen mentioned. For instance (spoilered because better safe than sorry): If Xykon has shielded the city from outside comunication, Haley might react to the lack of message with a new delving into the inner Haleys (I love the inner Haleys, they need a book dedicated to them, but I know it's not going to happen)

Of course, we may have more Roy in the Afterlife. We must find out about the LG, with new evil opposites for Durkon, Vaarsuvius, and Belkar. The Mark of Justice doesn't seem like it's going to disappear anytime soon...

All in all, I think we're in for quite the roller-coaster. So be prepared. :smallsmile:

Rich. Please take these three weeks to rest yourself well, solve this tricky health issue (or alleviate it in the measure of possibility if it can't be solved). We'll be waiting here. Just take your time. :smallsmile: :smallsmile:

[Thrivol]

Great comic, kinda sad it'll be a little less than a month till the next one.

[malakim2099]

I suspect that Cloister is a custom spell that basically functions as a city-wide Nondetection. Or something... it should prove interesting to see what happens now, especially since it seems like

we might finally GET ROY'S AFTERLIFE QUEST! YAY!

[The Extinguisher]

Wow. Really good.
Also. Called it. Roy wasn't coming back at the end of this book. *the the I called it dance*

Anyway, between now and the 17, expect the fourms to be aglow from all the speculation. Expect someone to come up with the right idea, only to be dismissed of as crazy.

Great comic.

[timbot]

OK. People:
1. Stop posting OOTS #380 as "Oh look, haven't we seen this bubble before?"
2. The third demonesque creature does not speak in 380, therefore it could be him who speaks.
3. Define "cloister
a. Cloister derives from the Latin clostrum= lock. It described the part of a monastery to which the public had no access
b. A place or state of seclusion.
c. the place in which the monks/nuns lived, thus the above.
4. There is not spell to my knowledge called cloister.
5. Did I mention this is my tied-for-favorite strip (along with 352)? Well. Now I have.
6. The Mark of Justice is the new "HaleySpeak®.

[The Extinguisher]

The people posting 380 are saying, "look the style seems familiar, and it could possibly be him."

[Chewy]

cloister? off the map? what happened during the last panels?

[timbot]

We don't know yet.

[mause]

pretty cool!
I can't wait to see who is the new mysterious character

[SteveMB]

cloister? off the map? what happened during the last panels?

The spell "cloister" doesn't appear to be anything in the standard spell list. From context, my best guess is that

it blocks the way in or out of the city somehow (scrying? communication? physical access?).

Speculation about the implications:

Possible result: Durkon and Vaarsuvius use their communications spells tomorrow, get no answer, and conclude that Haley and Belkar are dead....

[Lamech]

2. The third demonesque creature does not speak in 380, therefore it could be him who speaks.
Look the first one has yellow eyes, yellow text. The second has orange eyes orange text. The next one has purple eyes.

[Shadic]

No... :( We're done for... So long!

It's nice to see Roy again, though.

And alive!

Great comic.

[Malik]

Man absolutely great. Especially Roy and his dad, classic.

[Gol_Stoan]

One would almost detect some influence from Les Miserables here, :smalltongue:
Between the title and seeing what all of the characters are doing at the same time. Great work Rich :smallbiggrin:

[Moebius]

Wow. A friggin' huge strip, full of tied-up plot threads, dangling new threads, and a positively vast richness of information on almost every character....

....and somehow, the entire essence of the strip is distilled in the last three words: "Shut up, Dad."

And I also love that Belkar is only now figuring out that, yes, they really did leave without him.

[basilisk 89]

Remember, remember, the seventeenth of September...
Assassins, treason and plot
I know of no reason why the assassin treason should ever be forgot
Kubota, Kubota, 't was his intent
To murder Hinjo and all that he meant
Three score teams of assassins below
Poor old Hinno, to overthrow
By the Twelve Gods' will, he was catch'd
With a sword at his side and finger on the latch.
Holloa, Durkon, holloa V, prepare to board!
Holloa Lien, holloa Elan, gods save the lord!
Hip hip hoorah!

[Porthos]

I don't think this is been commented on yet, but now we know the reason why O-Chul survived....

:redcloak:: I'm so stupid, I should have captured that paladin instead of killing him! Now where am I going to find someone who knows how the other gates are ?!?

Comic immediately cuts to a scene showing the :mitd: dragging O-Chul and whistling to himself.

--------------------

Poor, poor O-Chul. I sense much interrogation/torture, followed by Undeadification, in your future. :smallfrown:

[LordVader]

Roy is back! Who cares about the rest of them!:smalltongue:
We even get the classic Roy :smallannoyed:!

[Fitzclowningham]

Steve MB - that's some good prognosticatin', there. Sounds very plausible (and scary!).

The idea of Haley and Belkar spending that kind of time alone together makes me kind of uncomfortable. Just because of their interactions; what Belkar will get up to instead of remaining quiet and hidden is another story entirely.

I could see Xykon having some kind of error message for people attempting to bypass the spell: "I'm sorry, the party you are trying to reach, has been cloistered. Please try again later."

[SteveMB]

Steve MB - that's some good prognosticatin', there. Sounds very plausible (and scary!).

If Durkon and V do conclude that Haley and Belkar were KIA, I'm not sure who I pity more -- Elan, or whichever one of them gets to break the news to him....

[Elderac]

Good comic. So many things to speculate on!

Have a good break, Rich! Thanks for all the wonderful strips.

[Corp]

Very nice comic, good cliffhanger. Enjoy your break.

[LordVader]

Also, I probably missed/forgot this, but does anyone have an idea of who that person talking in red was?

[Charles Phipps]

Well, finally some treatment of AfterRoy. I appreciate that, it helps drive home the permanence of the state.

But yeah, I'm worried now about Haley! Elan's prophecy indicates he might never see them again!

NO! HE CAN'T KILL HALEY TOO!

I do love Belkar can't seem to wrap his mind around being abandoned.

[Geilan]

I just love having a hint of closure, and the Roy/Eugene moment was good.

[Porthos]

Well, finally some treatment of AfterRoy. I appreciate that, it helps drive home the permanence of the state.

Alternatively, it is a signal that Roy Is Still A Part Of This Comic. :smalltongue:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Well, finally some treatment of AfterRoy. I appreciate that, it helps drive home the permanence of the state.

But yeah, I'm worried now about Haley! Elan's prophecy indicates he might never see them again!

NO! HE CAN'T KILL HALEY TOO!

I do love Belkar can't seem to wrap his mind around being abandoned.

What makes you think Roy's Death is perminant? This is D&D, and Roy has 13 days (OOTS Days) before Death actually sticks.

Nah, don't bother explaining. Roy WILL be back.

Hmmm... No sign of Miko, though...

[Elandegenerate]

I imagine that the headband of dorukans was probably a magic item in which he used to conceal his dungeon, makes sense. Kinda hard to get in the dungeon, defeat the goodies, and get to the gate...if you cant find/get to/ see it or whatever



secondly, I have just a good of chance of being wrong as right, but i think the only "typo" that might be fixed is the lack of capitals and quotes


I think the ninja mean "my Two of my ninjas" as in her "Second" (as in second in comand) or her "second best" meaning that even if he is killed we still got number one out there.

but who knows, we will see, sometime...later


Gods bless Rich

[Charles Phipps]

Alternatively, it is a signal that Roy Is Still A Part Of This Comic. :smalltongue:

I never said Roy wasn't going to continue being part of the comic.

I just think it'll be Spook-Roy as opposed to Fighter Roy.

[Kashkalgar]

What I think is really cool, is that this critical juncture in the storyline is accompanied by a partial eclipse of the moon.
Seriously, it IS an eclipse. Look at the moon sometime when it is waxing to full or waning from full and you will see what I mean.

[Oberon]

Alternatively, it is a signal that Roy Is Still A Part Of This Comic. :smalltongue:

My thoughts exactly: even though he's dead he will still make appearances (and he'll be back eventually. Why else would rich spend so many comics on rescuing his body?).

But the fact that he's watching this means he probably saw everything else that happened since his death, including Miko destroying the gate and himself getting shot in the groin. (ouch).

[Ubiq]

Considering that Xykon has an Evil Alignment, my guess would be that Cloister:

prevents Good-aligned creatures from entering the city through magical means, though it probably prevents magical communication and scrying. Anyway, this is most likely Xykon's way of avoiding a repeat of the whole Soon business.

As far as evil off-screen voice, it's pretty obvious that Garland has wandered over from 8-Bit Theater. More seriously, my guess is that Lord Tyrinar is looking into a southern expansion with the assistance of Kubota. Though it could always be the Unholy Master... or Mistress rather. Hard to imagine what they could be up to though.

[Quikngruvn]

Standing ovation.

For this comic, and for the other 483 as well.

Bravo, sir!

[Alysar]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but Zykon's new headband looks very familiar

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4936/dorukanzy0.gif

By the way, isn't 'Cloister' the god of the cat people? :smallbiggrin:


edit: I just scrolled up. Apparently it was mentioned.

[WarriorTribble]

Hmm... from the looks of things "Cloister" wasn't cast by Xykon, he only activated the spell cause the color of the spell matches Dorukon, not Xykon's "arua". So I wonder what else can that circlet do, since I assume someting that's worn 10+ hours a day should have some practical purposes, and why did D have something that could form some unknown barrier around an entire city?

[RTGoodman]

Poor Elan - he's so sad, he's actually speechless.

Also, check out how the head Ninja is a half-orc (or at least something green).

[Porthos]

and why did D have something that could form some unknown barrier around an entire city?

Maybe he didn't want people to be able to teleport/scry/what-have-you into his inner sanctum and capture his Gate. :smallsmile:

SoD Spoilers
It certainly answers the question of why didn't Xykon Scry Dorukan's exact location and Teleport in and blast him, instead of waiting for months for Dorukan to eventually come outside.

[Toper]

ROCK. Wow. See you in a few weeks.

[Eogan]

Further evidence in the Dorukan's Headband Theory is in the third panel of #196:

:xykon: - By the time he and I duelled, he had been retired and holed up in that dungeon of his for decades. I had a hell of a time drawing him out to do battle.

If I'm reading this properly, Dorukan was well protected in his cloistered dungeon and even Xykon couldn't get at him. I wonder what Xykon did to get him to come out? Probably the usual torturing and murdering of countless innocents.

Porthos: that's a Fantasy Staple, not Stable. A fantasy stable is where you keep the unicorns, gryphons, and pegasi.

[dish]

Amazing wrap-up, fantastic cliff-hangers. Well done, sir, well done!

I think all my questions have been answered as well as they possibly can:
- headband? (Durokan's?)
- cloister? (home-brew? cuts off city?)
- fate of Ochul? (worse than death - Redcloak's information source?)
- sinister evil advisor? (one of Sabine's overlords?)
Everybody has been accounted for - including Roy and his Dad - except for one:

Where is Mr Scruffy?

[Hegemon]

Wow, great way to take a pause Rich!

Get to feelin better and take a well deserved break and we'll see you in Sept for some more OOTS Crack to feed our addiction!

:smallbiggrin:

[Porthos]

If I'm reading this properly, Dorukan was well protected in his cloistered dungeon and even Xykon couldn't get at him. I wonder what Xykon did to get him to come out? Probably the usual torturing and murdering of countless innocents.

Start of Darkness answers this question (I won't go into further details, lest you be spoiled). :smallwink:


Porthos: that's a Fantasy Staple, not Stable. A fantasy stable is where you keep the unicorns, gryphons, and pegasi.

Details, details. :smalltongue:

[malakim2099]

Poor Elan - he's so sad, he's actually speechless.

Also, check out how the head Ninja is a half-orc (or at least something green).

Start of Darkness Spoiler...

Right-Eye's Daughter, perhaps? Just a random thought, since she might have gone into the same line of work as her dad (aka Rogue).

[Daedalus73]

What did Xykon just do?

He made an awesome Snake Plisken reference, that's what he did!

[Turcano]

Freakin' finally.

[Calix]

Noooooooooooo!!!

Great end to the story arch. I feel even worse for poor O'Chul now. Now that act three is finished, I feel as though it's all uphill from here... maybe?

Anyways, great comic! Get well Giant!

[WarriorTribble]

Maybe he didn't want people to be able to teleport/scry/what-have-you into his inner sanctum and capture his Gate. :smallsmile:That's true, I should've specified. I meant why did Dorukon have such a spell on an accessory, which implies he saw a need to cast that spell regularly.

Hmm... actually if it's possible to control the AOE of the spell it would be useful for everyday adventuring.
Right-Eye's Daughter, perhaps? Just a random thought, since she might have gone into the same line of work as her dad (aka Rogue).Huh, you could be right, I just noticed that Ninja/Rougue/whatnot has breasts.

[Nathander]

Start of Darkness Spoiler...

Right-Eye's Daughter, perhaps? Just a random thought, since she might have gone into the same line of work as her dad (aka Rogue).

That had been my initial thoughts as well, though I've started to doubt it somewhat due to the fact that her skin color seems too light to be a goblin-green. If anything, it looks more like Thog's, which could mean a half-orc. Yet, at the same time, the lighter color may not be due to race, but possibly due to the effects of living in Azure city. After all, her skin color might have changed due to living in such a drastically different area, though it's a long shot.

Still, if it is her, have to give it up for the irony that the location she eventually ended up at was the place responsible for the suffering of her people.

Otherwise....good God, that might have been the best volume-ender thus far. Can't wait to see what's in store for the Order, and it was simply wonderful to get to see Roy again after so long, if even just for two panels.

Applause, good sir.

[DrivinAllNight]

Go Roy !!! "Shut Up Dad!!"
Best line of the whole strip :)
See you next month :)

[boiled bones]

Wow. Very, very, very well done. I'm ready to vote for it for the best of 400-500, and we've still got 16 to go...

But, yeah, the typo... I assume that will be fixed when published?

[Ithekro]

So many questions. So many possible SoD related threads being pulled.

Possible Right Eye's daughter as a ninja chief (thought not goblin enough and probably too tall, so probably a write off).

Possible Lich Chick in the form of Xykon's old wizard partner Yydranna (or alternately her boss the Unholy Master).

Can't be the Dark One since he's the god Redcloak serves, and he speaks purple.

Or it could be as everyone thinks, one of Sabrine's boss'.

Roy's not having fun in death. He'll want to come back now and there is nothing in D&D to prevent his return since I doubt his CON has been reduced to zero before death. CON, if I remeber correctly, is the limiter on how many times a person can be brough back from the dead short of death from old age or having your soul trapped by an enchantment. As mentioned, the group has 13 days to raise him from the dead, but they have something like two centuries (or some ridiculous number of years) to get him resurrected.

However this turn of events does not make Belkar's situation any better, nor his life expectancy.
Of course if Belkar dies as well, Haley can stuff they both in a bag of holding with no worries at all.

On a semi-related note: I really want to buy the Book 3 now. I'm imagining so many really cool bonus strips to throw into this plot for a super huge book.

[Bitzeralisis]

Aww, September 16 (or 17, don't remember)? The suspense... it already burns.

BTW, what's cloister do?

[Naltyrr]

mmm, nice cliffhanger! enjoy your vacation Giant. :smallsmile:

[the mysterian]

nice cliff hangers.

and the disconnected voice is very interesting same with the half orc ninja

[Porthos]

So many questions. So many possible SoD related threads being pulled.

Possible Right Eye's daughter as a ninja chief (thought not goblin enough and probably too tall, so probably a write off).


Color is slightly off as well. So far, all of the goblins we have seen, including Right-Eye, have had the same shade of skin color.

She does have the right color scheme for a Half-Orc, however. I can't recall if we've seen a orc in color outside of the OotS Card Game, so I really can't tell if the color scheme matches a full blooded orc or not.

[Ithekro]

Well the Ninja chick's colors do seem to match the Silent Image of a female counterpart for Thog as seen here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0066.html) an awful long time ago in terms of comics.

We've not seen any full orcs have we? Or are these (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0143.html) ocrs?

[wojonatior]

what will happen in my opinion is lord shojo will order the ship back to azure to escape from chinise people (can't think of name and too tired). then the chinese will fight xykon and when mr.shadow monster returns he will finaly be revealed. in the chaos hinjo and his forces will go into hiding like haley and belkar and they won't find each other for a while beacuse ranger+rouge in hiding= hard to find. also haely will probably use the amulet beacuse she has it tucked in her pants. and mabey for all you miko fans redcloak or xykon might resurect her as a zombie.

rich i also hope you have a good vacation and get well:smallsmile:

[TheKnifeofTrust]

AWESOME. Sept. 17th feels a LONG time away.
Gives me time to catch up on my oots book reading! :smallbiggrin:

[IlanaAeryn]

Wait, wait... I know I'm discussing news related to the #484... but if The Giant doesn't want to be logging on to upload guest strips, does this mean an Erf hiatus too?

[Mr.Ace]

Wow! One day before my birthday, the Stick returns!

What a gift! :biggrin:

I feel so bad for O-Chul and Roy. They got the worst fates of them all.

[Porthos]

Well the Ninja chick's colors do seem to match the Silent Image of a female counterpart for Thog as seen here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0066.html) an awful long time ago in terms of comics.

We've not seen any full orcs have we? Or are these (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0143.html) ocrs?

Having just pulled out the card game, those are "Green Ogre-Like Things" who are "definitely not trolls".

And the card is right, because the card for Troll looks completely different. :smalltongue:

Anyway, having tracked down the relevant cards (Orc Summoner and Orc Barbarian), the shadings do in fact more or less match Half-Orcs. So that definietly raises the odds that the Ninja is some sort of Half-Orc/Orc (who probably hides her teeth). :smallsmile:

[Wolf_In_Exile]

Well the Ninja chick's colors do seem to match the Silent Image of a female counterpart for Thog as seen here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0066.html) an awful long time ago in terms of comics.

We've not seen any full orcs have we? Or are these (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0143.html) ocrs?

Nope, ogres I think. Anyway, /cry I want more now...

Great strip, I hate cliffhangers!

[Wolf_In_Exile]

I usually don't like to do this sort of thing, but I got a Dialogue Error to point out, Rich. :smallsmile:

The Pony-Tailed Ninja says, "-he's no match for my two of my ninjas alone."

You might want to reword that so it makes more sense. :smallsmile:

Error #2: Ninja is a Japanese word, therefore making it plural with an s makes no sense because that is the English way to do it. One of my pet peeves: It's not ninjas! It's just Ninja!

[Crimsonfur]

Frikkin' EPIC!

Enjoy your break, giant...you've definatly earned it...

[Porthos]

Error #2: Ninja is a Japanese word, therefore making it plural with an s makes no sense because that is the English way to do it. One of my pet peeves: It's not ninjas! It's just Ninja!

Well, your pet peeve is wrong. :smalltongue: You see, once a word has been "English-ized" then it starts following the rules of English, and not it's native language. It happens all of the time with words appropriated from other languages. :smallsmile:

After all, it's "stadiums" not "stadia", to give just one example. :smallsmile:

[David Argall]

Well, Book 3 ends with me incorrect on just about all predictions. [I still think I made the better choices, but I am not the writer.] So now to predict about book 4.


Our new speaker is probably completely new to the story. While one of the fiends Sabine reports to is possible, these fiends did receive a report from Sabine on the gates. So such a fiend would have insisted the nobles support the city defense, with the idea of killing Hinjo during the siege and then his human puppet becomes lord, and allows control of the Gate. To let the lich into the city would have run an unacceptable risk of the lich controlling the gate.
But if our new evil voice is a complete unknown, he probably does not know of the gate, and thus is willing to let the hobgoblins run riot in the city in the hope of taking over the remains of the city in a few weeks. After all, they will kill all those bothersome paladins that are infesting the city.

A different fiendish advisor seems reasonable. However, I don't think the story has had a vampire yet... And this is a night scene.

We clearly are going to have some attacks on the OOTS ship people. Also it seems there will be nobles vs Hinjo action.

The O'Chil sequence seems fairly clear.
MitD brings Mr. Stiffy to lich and Redcloak. He makes a fuss about their plans to slice and dice him. Lich interrogates O-Chil by magic spell. Finds out he knows less than they do. Since MitD won't let them kill him, he becomes a statue in some park. Haley and Belkar rescue him in some way.

The lich's mystery spell is a puzzle. The apparent effect is to cut off the city, which is plot useful at the moment, but why would he want to do that? As far as we know, there is nobody he wants to hide from. And he has no interest in the city. It has no gate. So why cast a spell like that?

Now one possible effect of the spell is to prevent the souls of Soon, Miko, etc from leaving the city, so the appearance of some of these is still on the table. Probably not, but it can't be ruled out.

Since we have Roy staying dead for a few days apparently, a Roy in Heaven arc seems possible, as is his now appearing to Haley since she is carrying the sword.

But all of this seems to force half or more of book 4 to be still in this city, not moving on to the next gate, where we have suggestions of several arcs. The plot is suddenly looking crowded if we are to finish with just 2 more books.

And we are already getting grumbling about wanting to leave the city, so it is somewhat questionable as getting entirely too long for little plot good.
I suppose the idea is for the OOTS to go from all the way down to tremendous success, but I don't see how this is to happen except by absurd measures.

Elan's feeling of never seeing Haley again and his happy ending - A happy ending is an ending. So maybe Elan is about to kick off. He does so in some way like a rescue of Haley that he can take joy in, even if others such as Haley do not. I can't say I would approve of such a plot twist, but it fits the evidence at hand.



Well, we have a few weeks to debate this.

[The_Hunting_Enemy]

Looks like there's another evil at work here besides Xykon and TLG. It's good too, I wanted more baddies, and judjing by the red lettring that none of the other Baddies had, this guy isn't a pushover.

[Porthos]

Well, Book 3 ends with me incorrect on just about all predictions. So now to predict about book 4.

But all of this seems to force half or more of book 4 to be still in this city, not moving on to the next gate, where we have suggestions of several arcs. The plot is suddenly looking crowded if we are to finish with just 2 more books.

Well, we have a few weeks to debate this.

A small point. :smallsmile:

The exact quote in [i]No Cure for the Paladin Blues was, "I have enough plot material for at least four more books after this one, and as we saw in the bandit sequence, I tend to run long in the telling, so who knows. We may end up with a total of seven, eight, or even nine books total! And that's not even counting the original OOTS books. We already have one of those - On the Origins of PCs - with at least two more planned..."

So, after this compilation we have at least three more books, with a possibility of six more books. So I wouldn't about cramming everything in.

Besides, by my calculations, this compliation is going to come in at about 300 pages (+/- 10 pages) when you include all of the commentary and bonus material, so who's to say that the other ones won't be as large, and therefore allowing plenty of "breathing space". :smallsmile:

[RandomMan360]

So uh...I dunno if this is the right place to post this or not, by the Gods, the first damn thing I thought of when I saw Shojo's ship meet up with the rest of the fleet, the first and only thing that popped in my mind was...

BATTLESTAR!

I mean, all the possible things that can happen to the Rag-Tag Fleet as it travels...man, I hope I'm right and we get to see some serious craziness.

I mean, low on water, low on food, low on weapons and warriors...what can can go wrong?

Is it the 17th yet?

[Porthos]

So uh...I dunno if this is the right place to post this or not, by the Gods, the first damn thing I thought of when I saw Shojo's ship meet up with the rest of the fleet, the first and only thing that popped in my mind was...

BATTLESTAR!

I mean, all the possible things that can happen to the Rag-Tag Fleet as it travels...man, I hope I'm right and we get to see some serious craziness.

I mean, low on water, low on food, low on weapons and warriors...what can can go wrong?

Oh I thought the exact same thing. :smallsmile: I certainly hope we get to see at least a couple or references to BSG along the way. :smallsmile:

[Sinsie]

September 17th is when my two other classes for college start. I'll be sure to remember to check the OOTS then! And seeing Roy one last time before then rules too (fav character).

[Caractacus]

How did Roy get into his LG plane without completing his Blood Oath of Vengeance?

Has he passed it on? :smallconfused:

(This is relevant to SoD, which some people may not have, so I won't elaborate).

[Omicroncubed]

Wonderfull comic there Rich. :smallbiggrin:

It's a shame I'm too inpatient so I might be suffering from OOTS withdrawal symptoms...

Meh... Looks like I'll be re-reading these... or just playing the MMORPG while I wait.

[Rollin]

Could a Magic: The Gathering card (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=13535997) have inspired Xykon's cloister spell?

EDIT: Scroll back up to the top--it's the "Bottled Cloister" card.

[Ashtar]

Well "Happy holidays Giant!"

[Wolfman42666]

I'm sorry I feel this warrants it:

Dun Dun Dun

[The Duskblade]

Hah Hah well done Rich. Well Done.
Oh by the way Nazzo, the guy who speaks in Red is one of the Dark Lords who appears on strip 380.

You might just be right there. The other twos text matched their eyes. And the red text we see now seems a match for the last guy.

[Psychonaut]

I'm quite surprised to see that nobody's yet mentioned how relatively small Hinjo's junk is in the first panel. :smalltongue:

I'm sure he uses it quite masterfully (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0028.html), though.

...Not to mention the size of Kubota's vessel...

[taraxia]

Roy's not having fun in death. He'll want to come back now and there is nothing in D&D to prevent his return since I doubt his CON has been reduced to zero before death. CON, if I remeber correctly, is the limiter on how many times a person can be brough back from the dead short of death from old age or having your soul trapped by an enchantment.

No such limit. There's no *hard* limit on how many times you can be resurrected, period. In theory it could happen thousands of times.

In practice, every time you get resurrected you lose a level, and have to earn it back. If you're at level 1 and don't have any levels to lose, then resurrection instead decreases your Con by 2 points -- someone whose natural Constitution is 2 or lower can't be raised. (This is one reason resurrection is so much more practical on PCs than your typical 1st-level Commoner.)


As mentioned, the group has 13 days to raise him from the dead, but they have something like two centuries (or some ridiculous number of years) to get him resurrected.

They have 13 days to cast raise dead on him, because Durkon is a 13th-level Cleric. If they could get the 10,000 GP worth of diamonds to cast resurrection, they conceivably would have 130 years to resurrect him (as long as part of his body is intact).

[Setra]

The last line..

Buahahaha. Hilarious.

[Zargon]

Wow! What a ending (at the end of the day) before the intermission (popcorn sings again?).
Seems like Elan, V and Durkon being stuck on ship as a known target might be in harms way even more than Haley & Belkar! Hopefully V/Durkon do reload their spells in time.

[taj]

Man something good needs to happen right about now.

[Fenix]

excellent ending :smallcool: I cant wait for the September.

[lord_khaine]

How did Roy get into his LG plane without completing his Blood Oath of Vengeance?

Has he passed it on?

Roy isnt bound by the blood oath because he did not take it, his father did, its just Roy was trying to complete it for him.

[LaValle]

Here's my thought on the whole "Cloister" thing. Some people have already suggested that it cut of the city from any intrusions, and given that Xykon is probably wearing Dorukans headband, I think they are correct. After all, Xykon said he had a lot of trouble to lure Dorukan out from his dungeon to do battle, so perhaps while the old mage was still alive his dungeon was also inaccesible, otherwise Xykon would probably kill him in the dungeon.

[nagora]

CON, if I remeber correctly, is the limiter on how many times a person can be brough back from the dead short of death from old age or having your soul trapped by an enchantment.

That's 1ed (possibly 2ed too). As with so many things, 3ed removed the limit.

[Delgarde]

In practice, every time you get resurrected you lose a level, and have to earn it back.

For Raise Dead and Resurrection, yes. But there's also True Resurrection, which has no negative effects on the target - although that costs considerably more, and requires a level 17+ Cleric.

Not practical for most people, but convenient enough for epic level characters...

[Delgarde]

That's 1ed (possibly 2ed too). As with so many things, 3ed removed the limit.

No, still applicable in 3.5e. If you run out of both levels and constitution, you're permanently dead.

[Ronald_saveloy]

That so reminds me of the end of STAR WARS Episode V!

One main character disabled? Check!
Team Evil has won an important battle? Check!
The good guys escape by the skin of their teeth and gather with their flee? Check!
Hell of a Cliffhanger? So check!

[kukn]

Great strip with everything that a story-arc ender needs. All the important characters are on it and the punchline at the end is beautiful :)

[tleilaxu]

i'm sure someone mentioned this, but the Daimyo says

"he's no match for my two of my ninjas alone"

i'm pretty sure it should be

"he's no match for two of my ninjas alone"

[Roderick_BR]

Oh, ye Gods! The clifhangers... Awesome job, Giant. Just a tiny bit of information to know what we can expect next.
And Roy finally showed up.... :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

[factotum]

Made of Awesome and Win, this strip...I like how the Giant plays around with the art sometimes (like here, where all the events are shown as little zoom-in circles pointing to the relevant part of the larger image). I also wondered what Cloister did, but the guess that it walls off Azure City from magical interference seems a good one. (I doubt it covers physical interference--you'd need something like a colossal Wall of Force to do that, and I think not even Xykon is high enough level to cast a spell like that!).

[Purple_cloack]

it feels fuzyy...Maybe the end of story arc? because hey, dramatic voice, new characters and all?

[Vulion]

So, it's the end of the story arc...the last frame just made me smile, cause I've been waiting to see our dear Roy in the afterlife for a while. It's nice to know we got a chance to see Roy before the break. Great comic, my dear Giant.

Go now, enjoy the rest you so tremendously deserve.

[Ronald_saveloy]

Here's my thought on the whole "Cloister" thing. Some people have already suggested that it cut of the city from any intrusions, and given that Xykon is probably wearing Dorukans headband, I think they are correct. After all, Xykon said he had a lot of trouble to lure Dorukan out from his dungeon to do battle, so perhaps while the old mage was still alive his dungeon was also inaccesible, otherwise Xykon would probably kill him in the dungeon.

I think too that the spell prevents intruders from coming into the city rather then perventing persons inside the city from gettin out. The Line "Azzure City is of the Grid now" indicates that AC is disconnected from the outside thus no longer reachable.

So, why would :xykon: do this? The only reason I can think of is to buy time for gathering information about the other gates.


And another tought:
The new Evil Overlord (red text on black background) might have another interest in the gates than :xykon: .
:xykon: already said that he doesn't intent to destroy the world. The first gates have been destroyed by pure stupidity (First Gate by the Goblins, Second by :elan: , Third by :miko: ).
But the new Evil Overlord could be so chaotic evil (or so insane) that he intents to undo the creation.


And still this: Some new characterized emoticons could be appropriate.

[r2e]

Nice comic!

Have a good couple of weeks of Giant!

Can we ban the "oh noes the sky is falling OOTS is doomed/finished" threads before they start?

[Monan]

OOTS goes out with a cloudhanger!!!! Great stuff!

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Looks like we've got us a new enemy! And this one seems serious! Well worth the wait, Mr. Burlew!

[Kgw]

September 17th? Ouch!

See you later, Giant. But at least last strip was a great "to be continued".

[nagora]

No, still applicable in 3.5e. If you run out of both levels and constitution, you're permanently dead.

As I understand it, though, if in 3e you manage to increase Con and levels you can keep coming back to life. In 1ed your original rolled Con, no matter what happens to your score later, is the limit and there's no option, no wish, no god, which will overcome that limit.

On the plus side, you did get 1000xp for being resurrected (as a consolation for getting no xp for the adventure where you died). Don't spend it all at once.

[explanetpluto]

Speculation:
Xykon's headband: Looks an awful lot like Dorukan's headband in the crayon history.
The voice on the boat: Remember Sabine going to talk to her leaders about the gate, I'd bet that's one of them.
Haley, Belkar, and ex-Roy: Are trapped until xykon leaves.
Durkon, Elan, V, and Hinjo's People: Sailing into a trap.

The next arc should be great.

[Mictlan]

I just wanted to send my best wishes to The Giant. Hope this time off will make you feel better. You health is more important than OotS.

[TheTick]

I'm trying to remember, have we ever seen Elan/Nale's dad speak in the flashbacks? Or the guy holding Haley's father (if he's not the same guy)? Might either one of those have black/red text?

[Actana]

Damn... That was interesting... Who is that voice? I've got my suspects, you've got yours. Only the Giant knows more.

September 17th eh? Its not so far away. A few weeks, and we have suffered enough of OOTS withdrawal.

And BTW, I laughed out loud on the last line.

Great work Rich! I (and probably everyone else) await anxiously for the next strip. This is going to be awesome.

Well, more awesome... :smallwink:

[Meshakhad]

Why do my two favorite running storylines (OotS and Heroes) have to resume in late September?

[Wikkin]

Very well done, Mr. Burlew.

Thank you and enjoy your break!

[Amon Star]

Well, first things first. Have a great Sabbatical Giant. And come ome back well. :smallsmile:

Next, today's comic. EPIC LEVEL EEEP!!!
It's not the color, it's the style.

Since Roy and Company will probably rise all the way to Epic Levels before all this is over, they need Epic level encounters, and NOT just Xykon. Demons, devils, and maybe a few of the biggies, Demon Princes.

Orcus! Demon Lord of the Undead! Think he an Xykon might have a few things in common?

BAH! Orcus is a wimp. All you need to kill him is arrows of Orc slaying & something to right 'us' on the end. :smalltongue:

[Senna]

Not much to say that hasn't been said. I also love the layout used here at the end - it really gave a full sense of scope to the events and was a great establishing shot for a wrap-up. And the final trail-up to the clouds... Very much loved. Can barely wait for Sept. 17. :)

[shakes019]

Great strip. Giant, I hope you get lots of rest and relaxation during your hiatus.

Joining the speculation train:
Regarding the headband. Although it's possible that other headbands exist in the OOTS world, it would be odd storytelling to show one, then have a character who killed the owner of it using a different one that looks exactly like it.

Regarding the green female ninja. I want to go with Right-Eye's daughter. I know the colour is off, but I still think that's a nice tie-in.

Who is the evil voice? I think it's the lord of Tynaria. I don't know how he got the evil voice, but that's who I'm guessing.

All in all, I'm looking forward to the 17th.

[Solharath]

I think it's awesome to finally see Roy again... without, y'know, all the scratches and X'd eyes. That has to be the most appropriate way to end the story arc.

[gerrymander]

Porthos:
The Pony-Tailed Ninja says, "-he's no match for my two of my ninjas alone."

You might want to reword that so it makes more sense.

It makes sense enough. It means Kubota sent two ninjas (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0453.html) to kill Hinjo. If not for an argument and an unexpected "death from above" assist, they might have done it, too.

[Moff Chumley]

I agree, I thought it would be interesting to see Roy reunited with his dad. But then, I wouldn't have thought that Roy's Dad would be Lawful Good. But, other than that, all I have to say is 'cue wild apluading.' Great way to end an arc.

[SteveMB]

I agree, I thought it would be interesting to see Roy reunited with his dad. But then, I wouldn't have thought that Roy's Dad would be Lawful Good. But, other than that, all I have to say is 'cue wild apluading.' Great way to end an arc.

Minor Start of Darkness spoiler:

Eugene can't settle down into whatever afterlife he would normally have received until his blood oath is fulfilled. Apparently, he's stuck wandering for now.

[Porthos]

Porthos:

It makes sense enough. It means Kubota sent two ninjas (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0453.html) to kill Hinjo. If not for an argument and an unexpected "death from above" assist, they might have done it, too.

No, it doesn't make sense because there is an extra "my" in the sentence. :smallsmile: It should either be "he's no match for my two ninjas alone" or "he's no match for two of my ninjas alone." But "... for my two of my..." is just grammatically wrong. :smallsmile:


I agree, I thought it would be interesting to see Roy reunited with his dad. But then, I wouldn't have thought that Roy's Dad would be Lawful Good. But, other than that, all I have to say is 'cue wild apluading.' Great way to end an arc.

Eugene Greenhilt's Alignment (SoD and OtOoPCs SPOILERS):

Eugene Greenhilt is confirmed as Lawful in On the Origins of PCs, and it is confirmed that Eugene Greenhilt is destined to head to a Good Plane on death.

Therefore Lawful Good it is.

And if you find that hard to believe, I will point out that we really haven't seen what Eugene Greenhilt is like when he isn't dealing with his son. :smallwink:

Also, we see that Eugene is on a First Name Basis with a Lawful Good Angel (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0292.html), so it's isn't that hard to believe that Eugene can be Lawful Good. I've said it before, and I'll say it again Alignments are Guidelines, Not Straight-Jackets. :smallsmile:

[YohanLeafheart]

Ok xykon pulled some bad-assery on Azure City. But leave Eugene with the best line in the Comic. Fantastic.

[El_Frenchie]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Hey everyone, thumps up on the exit panel!

Daigo and Kazumi are holding hands!

[selgnij]

It's going to be a long couple of weeks. What a cliffhanger.

On the off-screne bad-guy: I'm of the opnion that it is one of Sabin's bosses, but I' not sure.

On one hand: The speech bubble matches, and there is one other thing that hasn't been mentioned. Kubota said "the Northerners." The off-screne guy said "Order of the Stick." It shows that whoever it is, he knows about the order, which Sabin probably would of had to mention while explaining about the gates.

On the other: why would said feind care about helping Kubota control Azure City now that the gate is destroyed. Also, it would need to be quick action on the part of the Feind's. True, a quick plane-shift and knowing Kubota was ready to betray Hinjo would make it possible, but it is still only one day after they learned about the gates.

O, and I loved that last line. Good to see Roy again. (Still waiting for him to meet Miko in the afterlife)

[Megalomaniac2]

So uh...I dunno if this is the right place to post this or not, by the Gods, the first damn thing I thought of when I saw Shojo's ship meet up with the rest of the fleet, the first and only thing that popped in my mind was...

BATTLESTAR!

I mean, all the possible things that can happen to the Rag-Tag Fleet as it travels...man, I hope I'm right and we get to see some serious craziness.

I mean, low on water, low on food, low on weapons and warriors...what can can go wrong?

Is it the 17th yet?

"Fleeing the hobgoblin tyranny, the great ship Hinjo's Junk leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest. The retaking of a shining blue city, known as... Azure."

Alternatively:

"The lich was created by goblins.

He rebelled.

He evolved.

He does not look nor feel... human.

There are many copies. (At least, there used to be three.)

And he has a plan."

[Fitzwalrus]

Brilliant.... best last panel yet. Eugene just never gives up!:smallbiggrin:

Enjoy the break, Rich: it's very well deserved indeed.:smallcool:

[Generic PC]

Great Comic. Make sure that you get better.

[Zynex]

it'll be a long, yet well-worth-it wait for the return of the Order of the Stick. Till then, we are faced with certain, cliffhanging questions:

a.) Where will Hinjo and the group of survivors regroup and rebound for the retaliating strike to retake Azure City? :smallconfused:

b.) How will Haley cope with a dead man and a war-freak killer in tow amongst the massive army of Xykon's hobgoblin minions in a seized city of blue? :smalleek:

c.) Who is this new threat that rears its ugly speech upon the OOTS comic (couldn't say head, didn't see who/what it looks like. :smallamused: ) ?

d.) What exactly could O-chul be thinking as he is, time and time again for this story arc, a victim of one cruel prank after another of the fates themselves? (come on, give the guy a break. :smallsigh: )

e.) What does the headband that Xykon donned actually do? (my bet's on increasing bad@$$ery, but you'll never know :smallwink: )

e.) Will Roy ever hear the end of his father's rantings on his "success"? :smallsigh:

Now i'm thoroughly convinced that this is an RPG based comic. Its one great climactic final encounter leading up to the next campaign, an essential for any great story/campaign.

Truly a work of art, this comic just kept getting better as it grew older, and it hasn't disappointed.

Now, how to keep myself pre-occupied till the new comic's up... :smallannoyed:

[Fingolfin]

Well for me this was a perfect ending for "this season", we have a little cliff hanger as well. Now only remains the waiting period, but I'm sure it will be well worth it.

[Lumenadducere]

Absolutely wonderful job, Giant. Makes me wonder how the heck Haley is going to deal with the lack of communication from Durkon and the others if Cloister really is cutting them off from contact. Anyone else think Haley's going to face emotional issues about Elan abandoning her?

Can't wait for the new strips. Looking forward to the 17th!

[Leliel]

Could it be...
That Mr. Red Speech is a Darklord of Ravenloft? It would make sense that even a mortal Darklord has "Eeevillll" speech, and it gives a good motivation for wanting control of Azure City(All that lovely cover for your evil activities from people thinking you're a paladin!) and/or the gates(Hell, trying to free the Snarl-and not beacuse he wanted to control it-might be the reason he got sent to The Land of Mists in the first place!). This would also explain Ms. Half-Orc Looking Ninja's intelligence, if she's a Caliban(Ravenloft "enemy race") and his Nightlord(Lieutenant).

If he was one, there would have to be a gag in which the lawyers try to the Dark Powers and their ilk out of a 3rd edition product, only to be reminded that by being lawyers, ther're automatically entitled to dark powers checks. Hilarity ensures:smallbiggrin:

[Mad Scientist]

Wow. Awesome way to sum up the story line AND hint at future entanglements! Rich is amazing.

[LM TR]

thanks Rick (just kidding) for the best webcomic I know, I´m really like "gonna buy them books", if it wasn´t for the crappy paypal, I´d have them already

[sealemon]

What a great way to tie up an arc, Rich. You truly went above and beyond. I LOVED the splash pages with the little arrows marking where each of the characters are.

One thing I'm wondering...If the ninjas decide to attack tonight, while Durkon and V are resting, then it would be the fight of Elan's life.

Hope you feel better soon, and enjoy your well earned vacation.


P.S. Loved the Roy "cameo".

[Twilight Jack]

Extraordinarily well-done, Giant. I'm going to go into DTs waiting for September 17th at this time.

Carry on.

[Ecalsneerg]

e.) Will Roy ever hear the end of his father's rantings on his "success"? :smallsigh:
That's not a question. Theanswer is "NO NO NO" :smallbiggrin:

[Fabio_MP]

New comic is up.

Expect a news post soon-ish regarding scheduling and other stuff.

thanks for the great comic, have a nice vacation

[tleilaxu]

I wonder about the specific identities of the three fiends. Are they just three of many, or are they the three main fiends in OOTSland? How do fiends work into the cosmology as presented? I've only read the online comic, so I don't have any access to other sources which might tell how fiends and the elven and goblin gods fit in the the N-E-S-W human god scheme. If there are three main fiends, does one represent each of the evil alignments? Or maybe they're Moorcock fiends? He always had three big ones. Maybe the mystery bad guy is Arioch? Or maybe not. Whatever. I'm gonna stick to enjoying the comic without thinking about it too much.

[commander43]

A female half orc ninja. Thog romance, anyone?

[lavidor10]

Hey, the mitd has a purple whistling voice! Is that an art upgrade, or even a Clue (C) to its nature?

[katsniffen]

Awesome comic, thanks Rich.
We'll miss you, but I hope it helps you feel better!

[pendell]

Enjoy your vacation, Giant, and thank you.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[David Argall]

The exact quote in No Cure for the Paladin Blues was, "I have enough plot material for at least four more books after this one, and as we saw in the bandit sequence, I tend to run long in the telling, so who knows. We may end up with a total of seven, eight, or even nine books total! And that's not even counting the original OOTS books. We already have one of those - On the Origins of PCs - with at least two more planned..."

So, after this compilation we have at least three more books, with a possibility of six more books. So I wouldn't about cramming everything in.



A comfort, since I have suggested he keep the strip going effectively forever. However, we do have a lot of predictions of the total length being 1000 postings here. If we give the next two gates proper attention, not to mention the various complications, such as Nale & Elan's dad, and the Snarl, and..., there is plenty to fill 500 pages and devoting 100+ to blue city 2 is getting cramped. With 900-1800 to go, we do have a lot more room, but do we have them?



Kubota said "the Northerners." The off-screne guy said "Order of the Stick." It shows that whoever it is, he knows about the order,

Off-screen says "this Order...". That implies a limited knowledge of the OOTS. OS has heard of it [probably vaguely], but seems to deem it of little significance, a mere roadblock the minions can remove. Since we are challenging the English used in the same picture, we can't be certain on what amounts to a fine point, but the language is consistent with OS merely having heard the name a time or two here in the city, maybe from Kubota.



Daigo and Kazumi are holding hands!


possible, but maybe just an art flaw. Guards on duty shouldn't be holding hands in any case.


" The Pony-Tailed Ninja says, "-he's no match for my two of my ninjas alone."

She's likely seriously overestimating her ninjas. Even attacking when Hinjo already had an opponent, the two were overmatched. The huecuva kills one with a spell that a badly wounded Hinjo survives.




Quote:
"How did Roy get into his LG plane without completing his Blood Oath of Vengeance?

Has he passed it on? "

Roy isnt bound by the blood oath because he did not take it, his father did, its just Roy was trying to complete it for him.
In 298, Roy makes his own oath. The legalistics of course can make a lot of difference, but the presumption is that both Roy and his dad are bound by the same oath and neither can go to a final rest. So to speak, they are limited to the entry room of Heaven.



"Cloister"
So, why would do this? The only reason I can think of is to buy time for gathering information about the other gates.

but what does he need the time for? As far as we know, nobody he worries about is chasing him.



The new Evil Overlord (red text on black background) might have another interest in the gates than .
already said that he doesn't intent to destroy the world. But the new Evil Overlord could be so chaotic evil (or so insane) that he intents to undo the creation.

But again, why would he have any interest in a busted gate? He would want to destroy/control an existing gate. The city is no longer of interest to him under this theory.
Much more likely he has no idea the Gate even existed.

"BATTLESTAR!"

The lich has no interest in chasing and destroying the fleet, so this is not going to be much of a source for the future.

[5tephen]

Very nice. That will close up a book perfectly.

[Nathan]

Hah Hah well done Rich. Well Done.
Oh by the way Nazzo, the guy who speaks in Red is one of the Dark Lords who appears on strip 380.

Maybe. However, the font color they speak in matches their eye colors. There's no red-eyed Dark Lord.

[Dwarkanath]

Hey, the mitd has a purple whistling voice! Is that an art upgrade, or even a Clue (C) to its nature?He's whistling a Barney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_%26_Friends) tune, of course :-)

[crathoc]

i just had idea of what the monster in the darkness could be. A Grue!

[wojonatior]

did anybody notice that roy's dad said "thanks for destroying xykon" does this mean that only non-evil beings or the owner could use the headband and if you arent you are killed?:smallconfused: :smallconfused:

[Ganurath]

did anybody notice that roy's dad said "thanks for destroying xykon" does this mean that only non-evil beings or the owner could use the headband and if you arent you are killed?:smallconfused: :smallconfused::shojo: They can teach you to detect evil, but not sarcasm?

Eugene was being sarcastic and condescending toward Roy, par for the course.

As for my views of the comic: It's about time we had a half-orc who wasn't a comic relief stereotype. Hail to the ninja queen! Hilarity insues as Redcloak demonstrates his skill at using magic for interrogation, and the plans for killing the Order of the Stick Boat are failed by the neccesity of all the Create Food and Water spells Durkon can cast per day (can we get an estimate at max slots?) Haley's Self-Loathing returns now that the Order of the Looting has a safehouse of some minor capacity. Finally, Tsukiko gets a chance to prove herself. Find out how come mid-September on Order of the Stick. Giggity giggity, giggity goo.

[Grey Watcher]

did anybody notice that roy's dad said "thanks for destroying xykon" does this mean that only non-evil beings or the owner could use the headband and if you arent you are killed?:smallconfused: :smallconfused:

I believe that would be sarcasm on Eugene's part.

Umm, moderately spoilerish I suppose....

Anyway... that stylish headband Xykon's wearing. A trophy from his fight with Dorukan? (Dorukan was showing wearing a similar headband, and his magic aura is yellow, like the effect when Xykon casts Cloister.) Oh, and I doubt Azure City's on a different plane now, Cloister, I imagine just blocks out divinations (and, probably, much to Haley's and Vaarsuvius' frustration, communications like Sending.)

[Hashimashadoo]

I read through 3 pages of this thread and it's near on 5 in the morning here so forgive me if this has been mentioned already but I consider Haley to know the most about Vaarsuvius, having rented rooms with V in the past, etc. and Haley clearly referred to V-man as definatively being male.

What does one think of this?

[SteveMB]

I read through 3 pages of this thread and it's near on 5 in the morning here so forgive me if this has been mentioned already but I consider Haley to know the most about Vaarsuvius, having rented rooms with V in the past, etc. and Haley clearly referred to V-man as definatively being male.
Huh? It's clear that the "he" in Haley's comment refers to Durkon. Haley expects Durkon to contact them when he replenishes his spells (and she also expects Durkon to contact Vaarsuvius, since she doesn't know that V got onto the junk with Durkon and Elan).

[Lira]

Hashimashadoo, the "he" was referring to Durkon only. See, Haley was basically saying: "Durkon knows the plan. [Durkon will] contact us magically - Vaarsuvius too - as soon as [Durkon is] able."
She's saying that Durkon will contact them and V, NOT that V and Durkon will contact them.

EDIT: Ninja'd. :p

[tannish2]

almost the best cliffhanger ever.... he couldve said "09" though, wouldve been funnier.

[Xpawn]

:mitd:

Great comic!

Enjoy your vacation, we'll miss you!!

[Hobbes13]

Seems to me that it's Dorukan's headband, based on colour of it and its aura. Besides, Rich has proven plenty of times that little things in comics long ago can still have an impact on the story (top of my head: "Girdle of Feminity/Masculinity"). And if it's his, we can deduce a few things about "Cloister"; namely that it doesn't prevent physical entrance of the area of effect (Xykon has said that he was able to go charging in, but he prefered to lure Dorukan out instead), and it very likely prevents teleportation and scrying/other magical intrusion (or else Xykon could have just teleported to Dorukan's location and dueled him right away).
In which case, it seems like just the spell Xykon needs if he wants to avoid being sneak-attacked by some teleporting high-level Azurite nobles, eager to reclaim the city. Not to mention it fits perfectly with the "It can't get any worse" thing we've got going on. heh

Uber nerd moment:
The demon dude's text color doesn't match the eye color of the third
Lower-Plains guy:
Comic 484 colour-code - #DF282A
Comic 380 colour-code - #812373

Not even close. It's more of a burgandy/purple in 380 actually.
Could it be that old master of Xykon's in Start of Darkness? Suddenly I resent the lack of color so much more. lol

[banjo1985]

Hehe great strip again from the Giant, just the thing to leave me hanging on until the next one!

[Al'izh'dheg]

This is my first time posting to one of these threads. I've lurked on the boards a long time, and even sat in on two of Rich's GenCon OotS discussion panels. I must say I'm a dedicated fan!

Well done, Rich, and although you probably won't read this, my family and I wish you the very best and hope you have a speedy recovery. We have been very worried about you and hope everything is okay.

Thank you for giving us so many hours of entertainment.

[Ganurath]

Wow, just noticed: Kazumi and Daigo are holding hands. A nice touch on Rich's part, and subtle.

[Nakun]

Best end ever. I'm going to re-read it all before the 17th 'cause it's just that awesome!

[Thanatos 51-50]

Well played, Giant.
Well played.

Oh, and enjoy your vacation.

[SteveMB]

Could it be that old master of Xykon's in Start of Darkness?
If so, bets on
a riff on Darth Vader's "now I am the master" line?

[factotum]

Why would Xykon now be the master? His ex-master has had as long to level up as Xykon has, and he started from presumably a higher level...

[lavidor10]

The new guy is not the Unholy Master. The Master has a grey background voice and this one has a black background.

[spherissa]

It's not the color, it's the style.

Since Roy and Company will probably rise all the way to Epic Levels before all this is over, they need Epic level encounters, and NOT just Xykon. Demons, devils, and maybe a few of the biggies, Demon Princes.

Orcus! Demon Lord of the Undead! Think he an Xykon might have a few things in common?

I haven't read the whole thread but it is the colour also. The text colour matches the eye colour of the Lords.

Also they go from yellow to orange to red. Red being hotter d'you think it might be higher ranked?

And if they're around can Sabine be far away?

[EdgarVerona]

At the end of the day (Les Miserables)

"At the end of the day you're another day older
And that's all you can say for the life of the poor
It's a struggle, it's a war
And there's nothing that anyone's giving
One more day standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living.

At the end of the day you're another day colder
And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill
And the righteous hurry past
They don't hear the little ones crying
And the winter is coming on fast, ready to kill
One day nearer to dying!

At the end of the day there's another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that'll break any second
There's a hunger in the land
There's a reckoning still to be reckoned and
There's gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!"


... Was Giant making a Les Mis reference with the title? Commence speculation! ;)

[Amon Star]

A female half orc ninja. Thog romance, anyone?

:thog:: EWWW! Thog thinks pretty girls are icky!
:shojo: They can teach you to detect evil, but not sarcasm?

Eugene was being sarcastic and condescending toward Roy, par for the course.

As for my views of the comic: It's about time we had a half-orc who wasn't a comic relief stereotype. Hail to the ninja queen! Hilarity insues as Redcloak demonstrates his skill at using magic for interrogation, and the plans for killing the Order of the Stick Boat are failed by the neccesity of all the Create Food and Water spells Durkon can cast per day (can we get an estimate at max slots?) Haley's Self-Loathing returns now that the Order of the Looting has a safehouse of some minor capacity. Finally, Tsukiko gets a chance to prove herself. Find out how come mid-September on Order of the Stick. Giggity giggity, giggity goo.

15 Create Food & Water Spells. Assuming 13th level & 17 Wisdom. :biggrin:

[Hann]

And when she said MY ninjas, that means Kubota is alligned with a half orc, which make me think that he will be betrayed before the end.

[Constantinople]

Those voices are orange and yellow. Not red.

*Face Palm*

The colour of the text matches the colours of the eyes. Yellow-eye Guy has yellow text. Orange-eye Guy has orange text. So, even you should be able to say what colour text Red-eye Guy has...

I'll give you a clue: RED!

Make sense now?

[Porthos]

*Face Palm*

The colour of the text matches the colours of the eyes. Yellow-eye Guy has yellow text. Orange-eye Guy has orange text. So, even you should be able to say what colour text Red-eye Guy has...

I'll give you a clue: RED!

Make sense now?

Yeah... Except that last guy has purple eyes. :smalltongue:

[The Wanderer]

Color perception isn't everything though. In this (http://x1b.xanga.com/dc6d342703730108062392/w76629008.jpg) section of comic 277 it seems pretty clear that the goblin being beheaded was wearing a purple cloak, yet it was confirmed to be the Crimson Mantle is SOD. So perhaps Rich's computer is wonky with colors, or he's a little bit color blind, or sometimes we just have to not be complete sticklers for colors matching perfectly with later retcons. :smallwink:

[Porthos]

Color perception isn't everything though. In this (http://x1b.xanga.com/dc6d342703730108062392/w76629008.jpg) section of comic 277 it seems pretty clear that the goblin being beheaded was wearing a purple cloak, yet it was confirmed to be the Crimson Mantle is SOD. So perhaps Rich's computer is wonky with colors, or he's a little bit color blind, or sometimes we just have to not be complete sticklers for colors matching perfectly with later retcons. :smallwink:

I realize all of that. :smallwink: But I find it amazingly funny that people are using the fact that we saw Purple-Eyes in the same background where Sabine got her instructions as proof that it is the same person who speaks in a Red Speech Font.

Look, I'm actually in the camp that (very strongly) believes it is a Fiendish Advisor of some sort, sorely because of #380. But to flat out say it is the same person as the the one we saw in #380, I think is a tad premature. Not wrong, mind you. Just premature. :smallsmile:

[SteveMB]

Color perception isn't everything though. In this (http://x1b.xanga.com/dc6d342703730108062392/w76629008.jpg) section of comic 277 it seems pretty clear that the goblin being beheaded was wearing a purple cloak, yet it was confirmed to be the Crimson Mantle is SOD.
Not necessarily.

Minor Start of Darkness spoilers:
When we first meet him (the future) Redcloak was just given the white cloak of an acolyte. Perhaps various other colors of cloaks are used to represent ranks in the hierarchy, and the purple-cloaked goblin was a cleric of the Dark One.

Redcloak got the Crimson Mantle when its previous bearer, dying after the attack on their goblin village, told him to take it. When he protested that as a mere acolyte he was unworthy, the previous bearer wryly noted that he was "rapidly moving up in the hierarchy" as the rest of the goblins, including the other clerics, were cut down.

[The Wanderer]

But I find it amazingly funny that people are using the fact that we saw Purple-Eyes in the same background where Sabine got her instructions as proof that it is the same person who speaks in a Red Speech Font.

Look, I'm actually in the camp that (very strongly) believes it is a Fiendish Advisor of some sort, sorely because of #380. But to flat out say it is the same person as the the one we saw in #380, I think is a tad premature. Not wrong, mind you. Just premature.

Indeed, and even though I'm strongly of that school of thought as well, it is too early to declare it a certainty, however it appears. (Anyone remember how Miko first appeared to be a badass assassin sent by a dark master to kill the Order, as an example of one of many very reasonable but wrong assumptions based on limited info).

Of course, most of those saying that it can't possibly be a fiend because we didn't see one with red eyes, (and surely there can only be those three from 380, and no others), seem to be basing their responses solely on pedantry.

(Quick note to all the pedants: I used to use the pic from my previous post as proof of the Red Mantle being passed down and Redcloak holding a grudge over past actions of paladins when people used to say that the Sapphire Guard surely could do no wrong and that Redcloak just hated them cause he was evil, and it was pointed out then that the cloak was purple and so surely couldn't be related to Redcloak or the Crimson Mantle, so take that! :smallyuk: :smallwink: ).

Oh, and I may just be a tiny bit color blind, (as past girlfriends have informed me on plenty of occasions), but purple eyes' eyes actually look red to me... :smallredface:


When we first meet him (the future) Redcloak was just given the white cloak of an acolyte. Perhaps various other colors of cloaks are used to represent ranks in the hierarchy, and the purple-cloaked goblin was a cleric of the Dark One.

Redcloak got the Crimson Mantle when its previous bearer, dying after the attack on their goblin village, told him to take it. When he protested that as a mere acolyte he was unworthy, the previous bearer wryly noted that he was "rapidly moving up in the hierarchy" as the rest of the goblins, including the other clerics, were cut down.

Yeah, but later on when Redcloak is recounting how the bearers of the Crimson Mantle were wiped out by crusades by the Sapphire Guard, that exact picture is used, strongly hinting at it being the actual mantle. Not necessarily proof, but surely a big time hint