OOTS #487 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Hehehehe... "frequent dying miles" :smallbiggrin:

[Nu]

I chuckled.

[archon_huskie]

I like that Daddy got a little bit of a smack down there.

[Jasdoif]

Bureaucratic Deva, heehee. Wonder if those come in LN variety....

[Porthos]

Oh dear god, that was hilarious.

Especially the revolving door bit.

Pure Gen-i-us! :smallbiggrin:

[ladysekhmetka]

::rofls at 'Frequent Dying Miles'::

[Zaria]

"Only 'til morning, old chap."

Hee hee, excellent!

[The Extinguisher]

"Actual beings of pure Law and Good!"

Nice.

[expirement10K14]

"Frequent dying miles"
Possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard. Good job with the entire afterlife sequence, I have to say its been my favorite part so far.

[plainsfox]

I know the Fanclub is past us, but I think there's room for a new one :)

[silvadel]

So it seems that Roy is indeed NOT restricted by the blood oath... I hope his father likes being alone because alone he shall be sooneth.

[plainsfox]

It also seems that the celestials are not impressed with Eugene. I guess we're not the only ones to view him as Lawful-mascotforapoliticalparty

[Icewalker]

Hoorah for the first joke in OOTS to actually make me laugh out loud in a long time.

Frequent dying miles...AWESOME.

[kirbsys]

Probably one of the best minor references ever.

Indiana Jones rocks.

[Foeofthelance]

You know, I think I recognized the spare NPC as one of my characters...

[Ladorak]

Well, I’ll never look at local Government administration the same way again... Although I more see them as bureaucratic devils… Usually bearded ones

I don't think this comic was up to the Giant's usual high standard, although that could be because the last two strips were the highlight of my week (It’s been a pretty crappy week but they were still brilliance incarnate) but it's still gold. I love the idea of heaven’s bureaucrats (A force to be avoided surely) I know the Chinese had their 'Celestial bureaucracy' but I never looked at it like that before and 'Frequent dying miles' was hilarious

[Aerysil]

Nice to see pappy put in his place.

Oh, and I didn't know Conan O'Brien was an adventurer...

[blackspeeker]

So it seems that Roy is indeed NOT restricted by the blood oath... I hope his father likes being alone because alone he shall be sooneth.

Not what I got out of the conversation, she as jut sorting his paper work for when he ascends again after this Xykon thing is cleared

[Solharath]

Oh Hell/Heaven - Law officials.

[Palpie]

While Eugene getting shot down was good, I particularly liked:
"when you are raised and subsequently killed"
Not die, but killed. Suggesting that Roy is fated to be KIA again. That could be a funny gag, having Roy keep getting rezed and killed over the next arc.

[Elderac]

"Frequent dying miles." Priceless! :smallsmile:

[....]

While Eugene getting shot down was good, I particularly liked:
"when you are raised and subsequently killed"
Not die, but killed. Suggesting that Roy is fated to be KIA again. That could be a funny gag, having Roy keep getting rezed and killed over the next arc.

He'd be useless, unless the Order was using True Ressurection each time.

[berrew]

So... funny...

Thanks!! After an annoying day, a GREAT way to end it!

[Green Bean]

Heh. Chuckled more than a few times at that. "Frequent Dying Miles". :smallbiggrin:

[DracoDei]

Those would have to be True Ressurections or he would end up behind the power curve of the rest of the party...

[caboose117]

haha frequent dying miles, and the revolving doors in heaven. i love revolving doors

[NoDot]

Those would have to be True Ressurections or he would end up behind the power curve of the rest of the party...Or...Will Roy run into a Martial Adept?

*runs far away*

[sednanalien]

Frequent...dying miles?

Bwahahahahaha!

And, I'm just glad to see Eugene getting his butt kicked by celestial beings :smallbiggrin:

[Colt]

Frequent Dying Miles, needs to be a shirt...

[Aethir]

Never heard of revolving door afterlife before but it makes sense in D&D.

[ref]

Eugene... you're in trouble!

[3Power]

One of the Deva's speech balloons isn't yellow.

[Charles Phipps]

I think it'd be funny to have Roy a few levels behind everyone else for awhile. Just the idea of Elan being more badass than him for awhile would force Roy to try and go kill the Tarrasque for EXP.

[Ruduen]

Huh. You're right, the 8th frame doesn't have the text in yellow.

That being said, this was a really good strip. And, it would make sense, given the frequent resurrections adventurers seem to have.

Now, the question is, what services can you purchase with Frequent Dying Miles? Reduced EXP loss would sound pretty good, but I'm sure there are probably plenty of other things that would be good.

[Toothygrin]

Absolute genius. This one goes right to my top-ten faves - and that's saying a lot!!!

BRAVO! BRAVI!!
:smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

[Fanatic-Templar]

There are so many jokes to make about D&D afterlife. I wonder how long this humourous sequence will last, before we return to the thrilling suspense of mundane life back in Azure City.

[Invariel]

I hope I'm not the only person rolling on the floor about the concept of Frequent Dying Miles; they've been a staple of Discworld MUD for ages.

Not that the comic itself wasn't funny - it was... But that joke's hardly new.

[Vulion]

Hah hah hah! I love the Frequent Dying Miles bit. I also loved the fact that Eugene got put in his place. Fantastic comic all around!

[TARDIS]

Brilliant! Pure brilliance as normal Giant...wonder what benefits Roy will end up soaking up over the course of the comic:smallbiggrin:

[Morchaint]

THAT was a funny comic. a bit short but hey I dont make the comics, I just read them.. frequent dying miles for adventurers LOL :smallbiggrin:

when are we going to get back to the others?

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

I had a character back in 2e that I think had enough Frequent Dying Miles to get a free trip to any Outer Plane of my choice. We joked that even though he was married on Faerun, he had a wife and two children on the Fugue Plane that he visited when he was "in town."

[Shadic]

It's nice just to have a pure joke comic.. But at the same time... Damn, I wanna see what happens in the story.

I like how both Greenhilts answer, though.

[Azzurus]

Can I become a platinum member with the Premium Dying Miles Club Card? :smallbiggrin:

[shaddy_24]

Ok, that strip was a hilarious montage of great jokes. Let's see if I can list them all:
1. Eugine skirting blood oath laws
2. Both Greehilts answering
3. Eugine getting put in his place
4. Celestial fast-track
5. Revolving door to the Celestial Planes
6. Frequent Dying Miles

Not bad for a single comic. It's 12 panels, so we're looking at a 50% punchline strip. If this is what we get after a break, I think the Giant should get one after every story arc. Man, I love this. Thanks so much Giant!

Not to mention, I can see Outer Planes in DnD having to do something similar to that with all the people that would be raised on a constant basis. A regular door would be opening and closing all the time, so a revolving door works so much better.

[Gaelbert]

One of the first to make me laugh out loud in a while. Great job.:smallsmile:

[blennus]

Great comic as always, and such a heavenly bureaucracy is very appropriate for a lawful good plane. Frequent dying miles. :biggrin:

[SurlySeraph]

Awesomesauce!

[Lerch]

More proof that the paperwork will NEVER end.:smallfurious: at least Rich believes it as well....

:smalleek:

[Wolfram]

It's like the old joke, "Welcome to Hell. I'm your caseworker."

Of course I used to quip that cemetaries in the MArvel Universe need to have revolving doors. Same principle.

[John Campbell]

Those would have to be True Ressurections or he would end up behind the power curve of the rest of the party...

Not really. Not as long as he doesn't die too frequently.

Due to the way the XP award system works, in a mixed-level group, the lower level PCs gain more XP from any given encounter than the higher level PCs. On top of that, lower levels require fewer XP for the next level than higher ones. When you're behind, you get more experience points, and the levels come more quickly anyway. And the further behind you are, the faster you catch up.

I'm currently playing a crafting wizard, and burning quite a lot of XP on magic items, permanent spells, and the like. I lag a bit behind the rest of the group in XP, level a couple sessions after they do, but it seldom runs more than that; I've never been more than a level behind. At one point, when we got a large lump of XP all at once, for a multi-session fight for which I'd been a level down, my XP total actually passed everyone else's.

If Roy can keep from dying in every encounter, he ought to catch up again.

[Rogue 7]

My favorite's gotta be "only till morning, old chap." The guy KNOWS he's gonna get resurrected, speaks a lot about the D&D setting.

[David Argall]

So it seems that Roy is indeed NOT restricted by the blood oath...

The strip is indefinite on that point. Miss Bureaucrat says "..and clear up this blood oath nonsense..." can mean the point is trivial, decisive [but she expects Roy to kill the lich and remove the problem], or depending on other rules.

[Mugen Nightgale]

she totally casted "Smite Annoying Dad" at him.

[Alfryd]

New comic is up.
Very good. Carry on.

I like transparent desks.

[EvilJames]

So it seems that Roy is indeed NOT restricted by the blood oath... I hope his father likes being alone because alone he shall be sooneth.

Yes he is the deva just wants to get the paperwork out of the way anyway.

[SquireJames]

I gather Mr. Revolving Door's body isn't flopping around in a "Weekend at Bernie's" fashion with no cleric in sight. If Roy's wasn't, I'd say he'd be in the same position.

[Invisigoth]

He'd be useless, unless the Order was using True Ressurection each time.

Not necessarily. Lower level characters in a party get more XPs. They eventually will catch up.

[Heroic]

Excellent strip! The "Frequent Dying Miles" joke... LMAO :smallbiggrin:
Keep it up Rich!

[One Skunk Todd]

Eligable?

Eligible.

[johnnyriot999]

Very funny stuff!:smallbiggrin:

[Grim Greyscale]

Also on errors: In the first panel, Roy says Told twice.

Still a funny comic overall, though.

[NikkTheTrick]

Frequent Dying Miles, needs to be a shirt...
With some frames of Roy falling to his death.

Next time I talk about those miles, I will "accidentially" misspell the "flying" part:smallamused:

[jmucchiello]

Frequent Dying Miles wasn't rip-roariously funny for me. It amused but I thought some unit better than miles should be involved. Spirits traversing the planes aren't traveling for miles. OTOH frequent dying planar jaunts just doesn't sound right either. Oh well.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Ah, that whole page was hillarious, but the "frequent dying miles" made me laugh out loud. It's nice to see the Giant when he's not advancing the plot.

[malakim2099]

Is Roy bound by the Oath?

STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK! :smalltongue:

Awesome comic.

[CockroachTeaParty]

It's good to see the comic back in action. With school starting up again, the time really does fly now. During the summer it felt like it took months between each strip, mostly out of idle boredom. Now I just need to get my hands on Start of Darkness...

[Shatteredtower]

Hmm. I wonder if we're going to see what -- and maybe who -- is on that case file?

[Caledonian]

Odd. You'd think a Celestial Bureaucracy would be more in-line with the Southern Gods, not Law and Good in general.

So if Law and Good have divine social workers, what does Chaos and Good have?

[David Argall]

Very good. Carry on.

I like transparent desks.

Well, when the lass is wearing a short dress anyway.

However, at the moment, I like more having 3 comics in one week, possibly for the first time since July.

[Shatteredtower]

So if Law and Good have divine social workers, what does Chaos and Good have?

Valet parking and complimentary mints.

[Eriol]

Hoorah for the first joke in OOTS to actually make me laugh out loud in a long time.

Frequent dying miles...AWESOME.
Same here. I was smiling before that, but when I hit the last two panels, I laughed out loud! (after today, I needed it too)

[Miraqariftsky]

"Frequent dying miles"--- GAHAAHHAAHA!

[Tobimaro]

I wonder if Roy should ask for legal assistance. :smallwink:

Of course his sweetie is an elemental type, not a celestial.

Anyways, I liked the verbal smackdown that Roy's father got. He really deserved it. And I wonder if the reason that he has not gone to his final reward is that he did nothing in his life to deserve one? :smallwink:

[Bitzeralisis]

Ooh! Ooh! Can I get frequent dying miles? *dies and never gets resurrected, because resurrection doesn't exist right now... :smalltongue: *

[DaveTheTurd]

I'm surprised Roy's dad hasn't ribbed Roy about his body having an arrow in the nads. :smalleek: What a way to wake up from the dead...with a skewered staff...

Great strip (in general). Glad I found it.

[Wolfman42666]

I wasn't expecting it, and it was as usual genuis.
Beyond that I don't know what to say.

[WarriorTribble]

I'd really like to know what rewards you can get for those mile points.

[Kaelaroth]

It's here! Yaay! Thanks Rich!

[Omicroncubed]

Wonderfull strip there Rich :smallbiggrin: :smallsmile:

[Taghor]

:xykon: I think i just had an humorgasm...

What i like more than "Frequent dying miles" are the frequent comics this week :smallsmile:

Thx Giant

[Fingolfin]

Dying miles, you can't ask more then that when being a hero like Roy. :smallbiggrin:

[SteveDJ]

I like how the desk just, POOF, appears...

...and, could that possibly be an iMac computer? It only has the monitor and keyboard (no main box) much like an iMac... hmmm...

[morbiczer]

I knew these afterlife strips would be good.

[banjo1985]

Roy in the afterlife stuck with his dad = well worth waiting for!

Glad to see the higher planes have the same bueracracy as everywhere else!

[Ecalsneerg]

On the one hand, we want back to the plot...

... on the other hand, all the strips are good anyway. Damn my indecision.

He-he. Eugene got his ass whipped.

[Freelance Henchman]

If you get enough Frequent Dying Miles(tm), do you get a free Raise now and then? Whats the payoff?

[kukn]

Nice :smallbiggrin:

[carabaldo]

Indeed resurrection is a spell that forces a very strong reality subspension (is it there a better term in english?).
Adventurers are a bunch of people for whom death is something that can happen many times, and is lightly felt.

Just because players don't accept the death of their characters.
In many campaigns I did as a dm, resurrection was a spell that didn't existed.
Just the fact that this spell is so lightly considered that has an abbreviation -Rez- makes me sad.

- What happened to Lazarus, I thought he was dead?
- oh, Jesus Christ passed, and rezzed him.
- Ah, ok. What's for dinner?

[Renx]

Aw man, I haven't laughed this hard for a while.

Apparently, the OotS world doesn't have a "three strikes" rule. I like to think of resurrection as a player aid; Players put in a lot of time to their characters, and to lose the investment just because the DM happens to roll two criticals in a row is simply annoying. Think of them as extra lives (hit start to continue - Drizzt x 2), make your players pay for it by the book (maybe even bring back the 5-year cost and have NPC priests charge exorbitantly for them) and be clear on the fact that after three (or two) times there's no coming back. No problem.

Eagerly awaiting next strip and flashbacks.

[Elfanatic]

Can't...type...too busy...laughing...my ass of.

[Haruspex]

I'd be pissed off too if I was Roy. Going through so much afterlife sheenanigans because of an oath someone else swore. Nice to see the slain paladins lining up in an orderly fashion though.

EDIT: Crap, wrong strip. The paladins were in #486. THat's what happens when you miss updates for a few days. Anyway, the concept of afterlife lawyers always gets me.

[shylocxs]

OMG...

Frequent Dying Miles needs to be a shirt, a coffee mug, a mouse pad, whatever.

That may have been one of the funniest things I've ever read.

And the clearest candidate for an OOTS phrase becoming a standard saying in RPGs in the entire strip. Ever.

[hewhosaysfish]

Is that the Archon's Aura of Menace we're seeing in panel 7? Eugene certainly seems menaced, :smallamused:

[Ganurath]

Now this is funny. Although it is the regular desirable haha funny, it's the odd funny too. Did Eugene go through this processing thingamajig after he died? If not, it makes me wonder about the old man's alignment.

[Solara]

Ahahaha oh God, 'frequent dying miles'. :D I think I'm going to sue Rich, I was in the middle of taking a drink when I read that and damn near choked to death. :smalltongue:

[Baalzebub]

"Frequent Dying Miles" lol!!!! :smallbiggrin:

I will include that on my role playing sessions, it's hilarious!! Excelent Comic Rich!! :smallbiggrin:

[drewnchick]

"Frequent Dying Miles"! :smallbiggrin:

We've actually used that term in our campaign, so it was especially poignant for me and my wife (who plays the oft-dead character).

[shakes019]

I think the Deva brigade is still cheesed at Eugene for impersonating one of their number in the trial.

As to the "revolving door" concept: in my campaigns, and I think for most players, it takes while to get to that point. I would say that up to about level 7 to 9 or so, a character dying means start a new one. It's only the very advanced ones that get that kind of treatment.

I've been strongly in the camp that believes that Roy is not actually bound by the oath, but I like that the strip doesn't set it one way or another.

My speculation is that if Roy is in fact bound by the oath, then the Deva will explain that there is some sort of case precedent that causes it.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Now this is funny. Although it is the regular desirable haha funny, it's the odd funny too. Did Eugene go through this processing thingamajig after he died? If not, it makes me wonder about the old man's alignment.

SoD Spoilers:
Yes, Eugene had to go through inprocessing, and was held up because of the unfulfilled Blood Oath of Vengance.

But the wording of the oath only keeps Eugene OUT of Celestia, it doesn't deny Roy the possibility of entering. I'm wondering if that will come up in Monday's strip.

I'm just wondering about "lesser oaths." Miko swore by the twelve gods to get Roy and that halfling, Roy swore to get Xykon, but neither oath was put in writing. If you swear to pick up a loaf of bread on your way home from work, but still forget, are you denied an afterlife?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I like the revolving door of resurection as well!

Most Computer RPGs let you resurect most characters (but sometimes not the main character) for a nominal fee. I think the Final Fantasy and the Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games take 1/2 your carried gold if everyone dies, but doesn't touch the money left in the bank.

This strip has a mix of D&D tabletop and many of the computer/console RPGs mixed together. I will probably buy a Nintendo DS when Dragons Quest 9 comes out, unless they port it over to the Wii.

[The Tygre]

Funny strip, Giant!

It's good to see some celestial lawyers every one in a while. Those baatezu just hog up the whole court...

[Ganurath]

Funny strip, Giant!

It's good to see some celestial lawyers every one in a while. Those baatezu just hog up the whole court...Mainly Imps, though. Nothing a solid Smite Evil or Rage+Critical Hit can't solve.

[Boodi]

frequent dying miles... good as usual :D

[Leliel]

Ya know, if the Buddists and/or Hindus are right, this may be what the is like in real life in real life.

"Hello, I'm Yama, I'm here to weigh out your good and bad deeds. Lets see, you took in a puppy that was sick when your parents didn't want you to, thats a white pebble, with a black on the way for your dad if he did not take the pooch to the vet...wait, you died before your dad? Um, Shiva? Does this guy have any miles yet?"

:wink:

[SteveMB]

Is that the Archon's Aura of Menace we're seeing in panel 7? Eugene certainly seems menaced, :smallamused:

Couldn't happen to a nicer -- or at least more deserving -- guy. :smallsmile:


I've been strongly in the camp that believes that Roy is not actually bound by the oath, but I like that the strip doesn't set it one way or another.

I'm betting that Roy isn't bound by Eugene's oath, but it'll be a while before he finds that out. The scene with dear old Dad when he does ought to be most entertaining. :smallbiggrin:

Now that I think of it, I wonder if Eugene's attempt to brush off the diva was intended to forestall that revelation....

[SteveMB]

It also seems that the celestials are not impressed with Eugene.
Hmmm...
That raises the question of whether post-mortem misdeeds would count against him (and potentiall keep him out of the LG afterlife anyway) even if the blood oath is fulfilled. While his relationship with Violet might simply be a matter for two consenting adult oathspirits -- the marriage vow did say "until death" -- impersonating a celestial isn't going to put him in good standing with said celestials....

[warmachine]

Did you notice that Roy's right arm in the fourth panel is longer than normal?

Now sit still and listen... Ah, yes! God just killed another catgirl.

[Moff Chumley]

OOTS never ceases to disapoint. Frequent Dying Miles... that is definately T shirt worthy.

[Ripsaw]

Not really. Not as long as he doesn't die too frequently.

Due to the way the XP award system works, in a mixed-level group, the lower level PCs gain more XP from any given encounter than the higher level PCs. On top of that, lower levels require fewer XP for the next level than higher ones. When you're behind, you get more experience points, and the levels come more quickly anyway. And the further behind you are, the faster you catch up.

I'm currently playing a crafting wizard, and burning quite a lot of XP on magic items, permanent spells, and the like. I lag a bit behind the rest of the group in XP, level a couple sessions after they do, but it seldom runs more than that; I've never been more than a level behind. At one point, when we got a large lump of XP all at once, for a multi-session fight for which I'd been a level down, my XP total actually passed everyone else's.

If Roy can keep from dying in every encounter, he ought to catch up again.

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but some DM's do XP by average party level unless it's an individual/partial-group encounter (I'm currently playing a Warlock5/Wizard3/Eldritch Theurge 5 that's a level behind due to a missed session). This saves on complicated math in larger games (we're playing Age of Worms in Eberron with a 6-member party...In fact, we need to do a sidequest to level up before the next module due to it being a 6-party rather than a 4-party). A couple of the players in our campaign qualify for frequent dying miles...with different characters each time :). There also was our totem druid's wolf companion...

OTOH, by the straight rules, you're correct, a lower-level PC will tend to "catch up" over time.

OTGH (On The Gripping Hand), The Giant is not restricted by the rules of the game!

[Twilight Jack]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but some DM's do XP by average party level unless it's an individual/partial-group encounter (I'm currently playing a Warlock5/Wizard3/Eldritch Theurge 5 that's a level behind due to a missed session). This saves on complicated math in larger games (we're playing Age of Worms in Eberron with a 6-member party...In fact, we need to do a sidequest to level up before the next module due to it being a 6-party rather than a 4-party). A couple of the players in our campaign qualify for frequent dying miles...with different characters each time :). There also was our totem druid's wolf companion...

OTOH, by the straight rules, you're correct, a lower-level PC will tend to "catch up" over time.

OTGH (On The Gripping Hand), The Giant is not restricted by the rules of the game!

Yes, but even if the DM calculates XP for each character based upon average party level, the character behind the curve tends to get more experience once you adjust for inflation.

Let me put it this way: If I'm level 10 and y'all are level 12, in a party of five that makes our average level 11.6, which rounds to either 11 or 12 depending on whether the DM is rounding down or off. Whenever we defeat a monster, we earn experience based upon its CR as compared to our "average" level. But since I am only level 10, I need fewer XP to get to level 11 than the rest of you do to reach level 13. Therefore, even though all party members gain the same static number of XP, I am deriving the most immediate benefit from the XP earned.

[Ripsaw]

Yes, but even if the DM calculates XP for each character based upon average party level, the character behind the curve tends to get more experience once you adjust for inflation.

Let me put it this way: If I'm level 10 and y'all are level 12, in a party of five that makes our average level 11.6, which rounds to either 11 or 12 depending on whether the DM is rounding down or off. Whenever we defeat a monster, we earn experience based upon its CR as compared to our "average" level. But since I am only level 10, I need fewer XP to get to level 11 than the rest of you do to reach level 13. Therefore, even though all party members gain the same static number of XP, I am deriving the most immediate benefit from the XP earned.

The problem with that system is that you never actually catch up, as your XP TOTAL stays consistent with everyone else's.

[Raziel3024]

Who else loves the Bureaucratic Deva for putting Eugene Greenhilt in his place?:biggrin:

[Green Bean]

The problem with that system is that you never actually catch up, as your XP TOTAL stays consistent with everyone else's.

Yes, but eventually it no longer matters. At first level, 1000xp is the difference between level 1 and level 2. At level 15, it means you'll need one extra encounter, tops.

[factotum]

I'm just wondering about "lesser oaths." Miko swore by the twelve gods to get Roy and that halfling, Roy swore to get Xykon, but neither oath was put in writing. If you swear to pick up a loaf of bread on your way home from work, but still forget, are you denied an afterlife?

Since you've read SoD, you should know the answer to that is no. A Blood Oath requires more than just standing there and saying "I swear to do such and such"...as I recall, daggers and magic were involved.

[SteveMB]

OOTS never ceases to disapoint. Frequent Dying Miles... that is definately T shirt worthy.

I'm confused -- if it's disappointing, why is it worthy of a T-shirt? (Or is that sarcasm?)

[sun_tzu]

What I find interesting is that, if I understood this correctly, Eugene's final destination hasn't been revealed yet. I had been wondering how a jackass like him could end up in a LG plane, but now I'm wondering if he's bound there in the first place (he seems more like LN to me).

[Traveling_Angel]

Remember, Social Skills don't adjust alignment. Eugene may be a jerk, but he does want something from his son anyone would want. His methods aren't so great, but his intentions are okay in my book.

Now, he does need to be humbled. A lot.

[Porthos]

What I find interesting is that, if I understood this correctly, Eugene's final destination hasn't been revealed yet. I had been wondering how a jackass like him could end up in a LG plane, but now I'm wondering if he's bound there in the first place (he seems more like LN to me).

Minor Start of Darkness Spoilers:

SoD pretty much says that if it wasn't for the Blood Oath, Eugene would be in the "real" area of the Celestial Realms right now.

[lonewolf23k]

Who else loves the Bureaucratic Deva for putting Eugene Greenhilt in his place?:biggrin:

I love her because she's not just benevolent, she's also conveniant! That's Heavenly Bureaucrats for ya.

[wagomorph]

Frequent Dying Miles wasn't rip-roariously funny for me. It amused but I thought some unit better than miles should be involved. Spirits traversing the planes aren't traveling for miles. OTOH frequent dying planar jaunts just doesn't sound right either. Oh well.

Frequent flyer miles aren't actual miles. They are points you get for spending money to buy plane tickets.

Since a resurrection costs 5000 worth of diamonds (and true resurresction costs more), points are awarded for spending diamonds to buy this kind of "plane" ticket. :smile:

[Stormthorn]

So does that mean if they rez you ten times, your eleventh is free?

[David Argall]

I'm confused -- if it's disappointing, why is it worthy of a T-shirt? (Or is that sarcasm?)

I assume the writer mistyped, meaning something like OOTS never fails. It did not disappoint., instead of never failing to disappoint.

[Faramir]

Hmm, I wonder if the fact that Shojo sent Eugene back means that he got as annoyed with him as everyone else. I'd love to see that as a flashback :)

[Dentarg]

Okay, I can't help but say that even in my own campaigns, the revolving door view on resurrection is quite apparent.

Well played Giant, well played.

- Dentarg

[Fabio_MP]

New comic is up.

nice one :)

[Ganurath]

Gan think moustache angel man should be called that name nobody spell right that sounds like Sea-Sull. That just strike Gan as good name.

It's a Wonderful Life for Roy! Huzzah!

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Hey! Rich fixed the Bureaucratic Diva's speech bubble!

Hurray for attention to detail!

[TheRani]

The problem with that system is that you never actually catch up, as your XP TOTAL stays consistent with everyone else's.

I play a rogue (currently level 14) who has been killed and raised twice so far, and she's already quickly caught up to everybody else Level-wise, both times. She's still a little behind the others XP-wise, but she's the same level, so there's no power difference. Even if she had never died at all, she'd still have been level 14. She'd just need a little less XP to reach level 15. Plus, as we complete tougher and tougher adventures, the XP we gain tends to be in chunks larger than our XP difference, so nowadays we gain levels around the same time.

Example: The fighter may need 500 more XP to level, and the rogue who died a while back may need 2000 XP to level, but since they got awarded 3000 XP each after they completed the adventure, they both leveled.

Also, the priest (who has never died) often burns his XP making magic items. On paper it may look like the raised ones stay a little weaker than the rest of the party forever, but in practice, it works out in the end.

[Elw00d]

Bravo Rich, Bravo.

[the_tick_rules]

in D&D, death is more a revolving door than DBZ.

[mehilow]

The revolving door and "Frequent dying miles" were both pretty funny. It seems that Rich is coming back to joking with D&D rulesets being a part of the intrinsic world mechanisms. I like that, since I like those gags the best. Though they are easier to think up, since D&D rules percieved as real world rules by the characters is a hillarious concept to begin with.

But, don't you think that "Frequent dyer miles" would be even funnier?

[Adventurer]

Frequent flyer miles aren't actual miles. They are points you get for spending money to buy plane tickets.

Thank goodness someone explained that. It was getting frustrating seeing everyone laugh with the "frequent dying miles" joke and me not knowing what the heck it meant.

On that note, is the name Bureaucratic "Deva" also a play of words on something?

[DeadmanXI]

Thank goodness someone explained that. It was getting frustrating seeing everyone laugh with the "frequent dying miles" joke and me not knowing what the heck it meant.

On that note, is the name Bureaucratic "Deva" also a play of words on something?

No. Deva is just the kind of Celestial being she is.

[Jaguira]

Funny how Roy doesn't find the computer odd... Oh well, I'll just assume that he's assuming it's some kind of Celestial/Deva thing x3

[Green Bean]

Funny how Roy doesn't find the computer odd... Oh well, I'll just assume that he's assuming it's some kind of Celestial/Deva thing x3

:vaarsuvius:- Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.

[Porthos]

Funny how Roy doesn't find the computer odd... Oh well, I'll just assume that he's assuming it's some kind of Celestial/Deva thing x3

Don't forget that Roy is familiar with angry robots that have laser beam eyes and crushing titanium claws (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0266.html).

So I doubt a computer would phase him very much. :smallwink:

OTOH, we could just chalk it up to Yet Another 4th Wall Breakage. :smallamused:

[Kish]

Funny how Roy doesn't find the computer odd... Oh well, I'll just assume that he's assuming it's some kind of Celestial/Deva thing x3
Of course he doesn't find it odd, for the same reason he knows he has a class, alignment, and Fortitude save. There are only three walls in OotS--and have been from the very first strip.

[tgva8889]

"Now, you're an adventurer, so you're eligible to earn Frequent Dying Miles every time you stay with us..."

That's the best line ever. It's beyond hilarious. Great comic, Rich.

Also, the Deva is just a cool character in her own rite.

[Bendal]

Oh yes, both the revolving door and frequent dying miles jokes are so appropriate to an AD&D campaign! I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a waiting room for dead adventurers, in fact, so that they can wait a day or two for the inevitable Raise Dead/Resurrection rather than going on to their just reward.

But, it looks like that's where Roy is right now, doesn't it?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Don't forget that Roy is familiar with angry robots that have laser beam eyes and crushing titanium claws (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0266.html).

So I doubt a computer would phase him very much. :smallwink:

OTOH, we could just chalk it up to Yet Another 4th Wall Breakage. :smallamused:

That's because he's "Future Psychic" and knows these things already.

[Alfryd]

Hold the phone.

If we assume, say, a stable breeding population of 200,000 Good-aligned northerners on the planet, and roughly a 60-year lifespan, with soul processing taking 1 day, there should, statistically, be roughly 10 departed spirits waiting along with Roy there, simply from death by natural causes.

...
I have suddenly ceased to care.
Carry on.

[chibibar]

Hold the phone.

If we assume, say, a stable breeding population of 200,000 Good-aligned northerners on the planet, and roughly a 60-year lifespan, with soul processing taking 1 day, there should, statistically, be roughly 10 departed spirits waiting along with Roy there, simply from death by natural causes.

...
I have suddenly ceased to care.
Carry on.

ah... but as a PC, you get special privileges (like those frequent flyer people :) they get their ticket faster than regular folks... 1st class.. etc etc)

[Azazel]

I had to register just to ask this question.
It's been bugging me for over a day now and I'll obsess forever if I won't get an answer right now...
Is that comic title part of some song? I have... something... playing in the back of my head when I read it...

Oh and hello Giant and c.o. Longtime reader, first time poster.

[Roderick_BR]

"Actual beings of pure Law and Good!"

Nice.
One of my favorite quotes too. They'll never let him live/pass on this down :smallbiggrin:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I had to register just to ask this question.
It's been bugging me for over a day now and I'll obsess forever if I won't get an answer right now...
Is that comic title part of some song? I have... something... playing in the back of my head when I read it...

Oh and hello Giant and c.o. Longtime reader, first time poster.

I think you mean comic 486. And Yes, "Hey, You, Get Off of My Cloud" was a Rolling Stones song. Don't ask me the album, I'll just say "Greatest Hits." Cause I don't know.

p.s. I like your hat!

[Azazel]

I think you mean comic 486. And Yes, "Hey, You, Get Off of My Cloud" was a Rolling Stones song. Don't ask me the album, I'll just say "Greatest Hits." Cause I don't know.

p.s. I like your hat!

Problem solved! I really did mean #487 but I confused the line with a part of AC/DC's Hell ain't a bad place to be. Ahh... it's good when life stopping issues get resolved this easily.

Yeah that hat is fantastic. :smallbiggrin:

[Adventurer]

No. Deva is just the kind of Celestial being she is.

Thanks, DeadmanX:smallsmile:



Hold the phone.

If we assume, say, a stable breeding population of 200,000 Good-aligned northerners on the planet, and roughly a 60-year lifespan, with soul processing taking 1 day, there should, statistically, be roughly 10 departed spirits waiting along with Roy there, simply from death by natural causes.

First, who says soul processing takes a day? It could be a matter of 5 minutes for all we know. And second, this cloud is pretty huge, there could be lots of other people on it, each with their personal Deva, but we don't see them.

[David Argall]

If we assume, say, a stable breeding population of 200,000 Good-aligned northerners on the planet, and roughly a 60-year lifespan, with soul processing taking 1 day, there should, statistically, be roughly 10 departed spirits waiting along with Roy there, simply from death by natural causes.


The total figures are probably several times that. However, as mentioned, this is a whole lot of cloud. In 485, we see maybe a football field, and don't see Violet, who is there in 486. So there is plenty of room to scatter maybe 100 daily visitors. And SOD suggests the interview process need not be long.

[SteveMB]

The total figures are probably several times that. However, as mentioned, this is a whole lot of cloud. In 485, we see maybe a football field, and don't see Violet, who is there in 486. So there is plenty of room to scatter maybe 100 daily visitors. And SOD suggests the interview process need not be long.

I certainly hope it isn't anywhere near the 1 day per customer rate postulated in Alfryd's post -- if so, some of the casualties from this battle are going to be waiting in line for longer than they were alive. :smalleek:

[Black_Light83]

Eh, as far as comics go i'm not so much into this one

[berrew]

I certainly hope it isn't anywhere near the 1 day per customer rate postulated in Alfryd's post -- if so, some of the casualties from this battle are going to be waiting in line for longer than they were alive. :smalleek:Eh - they will treat it like Staten Island during a large influx of immigrants to the US, and fill up the desks with Bureaucratic newbies. Everyone will end up spending eternity with incorrectly-spelled names!

[maxon]

I certainly hope it isn't anywhere near the 1 day per customer rate postulated in Alfryd's post -- if so, some of the casualties from this battle are going to be waiting in line for longer than they were alive. :smalleek:

What does that matter? They have the rest of eternity, what's a couple of hundred years?

[SPoD]

But, don't you think that "Frequent dyer miles" would be even funnier?

No, because a "dyer" is someone who dyes (colors things with dye), not someone who dies (ceases to live). You would want "dier" but that isn't an actual word in the English language. So, to avoid confusion, he used "dying".

[SteveMB]

What does that matter? They have the rest of eternity, what's a couple of hundred years?

Well, then, I hope they each had a deck of cards or a book of sodoku puzzles or something.... :smallsmile: