The Index of the Giant's Comments VI―Making Dogma from Zapped Bananas

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Remove

GW

[Throknor]

I'm voting to keep it because I still consider the information that the titles are bonus jokes relevant.

Ditto.

Keep.

[hroþila]

Remove. I don't see how "they're bonus jokes" isn't self-evident as things stand now - that had a different meaning when they weren't visible and it was easy to miss them altogether.

[littlebum2002]

Remove. It's obsolete.

[Schroeswald]

I've been watching this discussion the whole time without weighing in and I've finally been convinced that Remove is the best option.

[Doug Lampert]

Remove

Added characters to build character.

[Jasdoif]

The entry for Why the Strip Titles Weren't On the Strip Pages failed to remain included (4 for keeping, 7 for removing); it will be removed.

Keep Votes: Jaxzan Proditor, Joerg, mjp1050, Throknor
Remove Votes: Ron Miel, Gwynfrid, Grey_Wolf_c, hroþila, littlebum2002, Schroeswald, Doug Lampert



The Index has been updated.


I'm aware the rules disagree with me. Or rather, I disagree with the rules and would remove that rule in a heartbeat if I could have it my way.What would you recommend for Rule D instead? Ideally without going too far in the other direction and ending up at "in the case of concurrent conflicting entries on the same subject, cite whichever one supports your position and ignore the others; prolonging pointless 'debates'"; the prevention of which is the intent of the rule (or at least, the most legitimate effect of it that I can see).

[Ortho]

Rule D: If two quotes seem to contradict each other, only the quote that illustrates Rich's most recent and current opinion or position will be included. The index is not meant to be a complete collection for leisurely reading. It is meant to be an accurate research aid for forum discussions. (reference to rescinded rule removed on 12/16/2014)

(Posted for reference)



What would you recommend for Rule D instead? Ideally without going too far in the other direction and ending up at "in the case of concurrent conflicting entries on the same subject, cite whichever one supports your position and ignore the others; prolonging pointless 'debates'"; the prevention of which is the intent of the rule (or at least, the most legitimate effect of it that I can see).

Personally, I actually do use this thread as a complete collection for leisurely reading, just because I find behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating. I prefer touring the farm over eating the hamburger (if there's a better metaphor, I don't know it). I'm here because I enjoy this thread's entertainment value as a trivia collection. So if you were to ask me, I'd be in favor of striking Rule D entirely.

Now, I realize that's never going to happen for a wide variety of reasons, but I think a deletion log of some sort would be nice to have. The old, obsolete quotes would still accessible to us rulebreakers, but at the same time, it's still clear that the quotes are no longer relevant. :smalltongue:



Rule C: The index is a forum tool, meant primarily to provide easy access to direct statements from the author for the purpose of forum discussion. Thus, while the index may be fun to read through on a whim, this is not its primary purpose or focus - it is a research aid more than it is a trivia collection. It is for discussions more than it is for leisurely reading. (rescinded as rule on 12/16/2014)

...

(reference to rescinded rule removed on 12/16/2014)
Completely tangential to the topic at hand, but why is this still in the rules? We're six years and three threads away from this change; do we really need to keep notifying people of it?

[Jasdoif]

....I think a deletion log of some sort would be nice to have. The old, obsolete quotes would still accessible to us rulebreakers, but at the same time, it's still clear that the quotes are no longer relevant. :smalltongue:Sounds almost like you want the Index to retain "removed" entries, violating the trust of anyone who rightfully believes a vote for removal from the Index could cause a removal from the Index :smalltongue:



(Known) Removed Entries

"How the Paladin Got His Scar" Will Probably Get a Full Book Release of Some Sort
And is almost as long as "On the Origins of PCs".
#1041
2016/06/29


About Roy Fighting HPoH ( https://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Hel%20Priest_zpsv6pywjna.png ) at the Godsmoot
It's the beginning of the arc, not the climax of it.
#1016
2015/12/19


eBooks
PDFs of Dungeon Crawlin' Fools and On the Origin of PCs are now available. It's not yet certain when/if other books will receive the same treatment.
#999
2015/08/27


Crystal is a Flesh Golem
#972
2015/01/13


Hel Has No Living Worshippers
"That means literally not one single living person, ever." We'll find out why someday.
#962
2014/09/11


Vampire Durkon Can Cast Spells
A cleric doesn't have to worship a deity to cast spells.
#883
2013/04/09


The Kickstarter Cameo
It hasn't happened yet. "When it happens, I will almost certainly mention it in the News."
#869
2013/02/14


Durkon Throws Diamond Dust
Durkon threw diamond dust into the air in 844.
#844
2012/03/09


Orrin Draketooth's Daughter
She's not Haley.
#816
2011/11/21


Haley's Boots of Speed
Yes, she did get them dyed to match her brown/tan garb.
#793
2011/05/29


eBooks
Digital PDFs are currently not in the works, as the Giant prefers to sell physical books. He has said he'll "consider it when (he's) finished all the Kickstarter stories (https://twitter.com/richburlew/status/458839353754935296)," however.
#786
2011/04/11


Why the Strip Titles Weren't On the Strip Pages
The titles are "bonus" jokes; The Giant prefers not to put them above the strip itself. (As of the 2020 server migration, the strip titles are visible below the strips)
#759
2010/11/20






Rule C: The index is a forum tool, meant primarily to provide easy access to direct statements from the author for the purpose of forum discussion. Thus, while the index may be fun to read through on a whim, this is not its primary purpose or focus - it is a research aid more than it is a trivia collection. It is for discussions more than it is for leisurely reading. (rescinded as rule on 12/16/2014)

...

(reference to rescinded rule removed on 12/16/2014)

Completely tangential to the topic at hand, but why is this still in the rules? We're six years and three threads away from this change; do we really need to keep notifying people of it?Because I don't want to change the lettering of the rules, nor explain a gap in the lettering of the rules.

[Ortho]

Sounds almost like you want the Index to retain "removed" entries, violating the trust of anyone who rightfully believes a vote for removal from the Index could cause a removal from the Index :smalltongue:

Well, when you phrase it like that...it is kind of a silly proposal, isn't it? :smallbiggrin:
Thank you for the list; that's exactly what I was looking for.



Because I don't want to change the lettering of the rules, nor explain a gap in the lettering of the rules.

Eh, that's fair.

[Ron Miel]

I don't understand why rule C was removed in the first place. It seems like a good rule to have. Proposal to re-insert it. Any seconders?

[Jasdoif]

I don't understand why rule C was removed in the first place.General worthlessness as a "rule"; the lack of an objective standard means it didn't result in anything constructive since we already have update cycle procedures to handle subjective standards. Also because the vote to move it out of the rules (and the rules spoiler) and into a statement of intent (above the rules spoiler) passed 10-1.

[Gwynfrid]

I don't understand why rule C was removed in the first place. It seems like a good rule to have. Proposal to re-insert it. Any seconders?

The removal was the outcome of a pretty heated debate about the purpose of the Index, prompted by a quote that some felt should have been excluded by rule C, while others disagreed with the existence of rule C. The rule wasn't worded in such a way it could be normative. Removing the rule was a clarification: We got rid of interpretative debates, and I think this improved the thread.

[Throknor]

I don't understand why rule C was removed in the first place. It seems like a good rule to have. Proposal to re-insert it. Any seconders?

Sure. If I can propose putting up every quote that's ever been voted out for new votes as well.

[Peelee]

Sure. If I can propose putting up every quote that's ever been voted out for new votes as well.

What changed with those quotes that a new vote should be considered?

[Jasdoif]

If I can propose putting up every quote that's ever been voted out for new votes as well.You can certainly propose older quotes to be included; I don't feel previously-included quotes are special in that regard. (The one that was recently removed still has the well-established consensus against its inclusion, of course.)

It'd be more moving if you had reasons to include the quotes on their own merits, however; same as it would be any other additions.

[Throknor]

You can certainly propose older quotes to be included; I don't feel previously-included quotes are special in that regard. (The one that was recently removed still has the well-established consensus against its inclusion, of course.)

It'd be more moving if you had reasons to include the quotes on their own merits, however; same as it would be any other additions.

Well, I could list every single one in separate posts with just "it seems a good quote to have". But instead I'll apologize for not making my sarcasm plainer. Revoting decided matters when nothing has changed other than the passage of time is the worst kind of thread clutter. Rule C specifically led to many contentious arguments; things have been much calmer without it.

[Kish]

What changed with those quotes that a new vote should be considered?
Rich was explicitly quoted repeatedly by multiple people, me among them, as having said that anything he said on the message board was fair game, that he had only objected to someone submitting a quote from his Twitter account that had nothing to do with OotS for inclusion. And the "Rich said he hates this thread, let's include as little as possible!" people finally, eventually, stopped being quite so overt about that being their reasoning.

[Jasdoif]

Rich was explicitly quoted repeatedly by multiple people, me among them, as having said that anything he said on the message board was fair game, that he had only objected to someone submitting a quote from his Twitter account that had nothing to do with OotS for inclusion.It was a forum post about Avatar (the animated series), actually.

Let me pull the relevant posts out of the earlier Index thread, in case anyone here didn't see any of the exchange when it happened around seven years ago....



For the last ten years, the dependence of the very first OOTS strip on knowledge of D&D 3.5 has been a barrier to new readers. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16008744&postcount=94)

OK, I think I’m going to have to chime in here.

I am fully in support of this project to document stuff I’ve said about OOTS so that people can stop arguing about it, but there has to be a line drawn. And I think that line is when I’m talking about other topics on other parts of this message board. Because otherwise, it’s like following me around with a tape recorder and everything I say about any topic becomes “on the record.” And that’s just creepy.

When I responded to that thread, I did so because I wanted to talk about that subject, not OOTS. But even as I did, a voice in the back of my head said, “They’ll probably link this for some reason in the index.” And here we are. Which means that ultimately, I can’t hold a casual conversation on the message board that I own—I can only make pronouncements that will be relinked and analyzed by the whole community. The end result of that will be me not talking about anything, because that makes me uncomfortable. So if your interest is in reading my thoughts on the creative process, linking them here is a surefire way to guarantee I never share such thoughts again.

If you want to follow everything I say about every topic because you like to read every word I write, I would ask that you do so under your own initiative. Please don’t just link here to every post I make. If it’s not about OOTS and/or it’s not in the OOTS board, I'd ask that it not be in the index.

To be clear, if I post it in the OOTS forum, I am fine with it being indexed, regardless of how tangental the topic is. Whether or not it should be indexed is up to you, but you won't bother me by doing so.


What is NOT fair game is anything you say anywhere else in the world. The friendly banter forum, the role playing forum, your twitter feed.If I make explicit comments about the characters or plot or whatever of OOTS, then that would be OK. I can't imagine a situation where I would do that except maybe for the Twitter feed, but it would theoretically be OK.

[Peelee]

Rich was explicitly quoted repeatedly by multiple people, me among them, as having said that anything he said on the message board was fair game, that he had only objected to someone submitting a quote from his Twitter account that had nothing to do with OotS for inclusion. And the "Rich said he hates this thread, let's include as little as possible!" people finally, eventually, stopped being quite so overt about that being their reasoning.

Given that that was said when ThePhantasm was running the first iteration, then despite being a rebuttal to the "Rich said he hates this thread, let's include as little as possible!" people, I fail to see how it answers the question of "what changed".

[Kish]

What changed is that the invalid assumptions that got a whole bunch of quotes removed are now recognized as invalid (though I didn't remember exactly what Rich initially responded to; thanks, Jasdoif).

[Peelee]

What changed is that the invalid assumptions that got a whole bunch of quotes removed are now recognized as invalid (though I didn't remember exactly what Rich initially responded to; thanks, Jasdoif).

Again, given that was said before any removals, I am wondering why it is being seen as new information.

ETA: I should note that I'm not opposed to you arguing this in favor of new votes. I just dont believe that it answers my specific question of "what changed".

[pearl jam]

Perhaps the implication is that there may be quotes which failed to ever be included, at least in part due to objections based around the former rule C, which could potentially merit consideration for inclusion now that rule C has been struck down?

[Kish]

Again, given that was said before any removals
:smallconfused: It most definitely was not. Unless for some reason you're restricting "removals" here to "removals during Jasdoif's tenure," in which case the answer is: I am not.

[Peelee]

:smallconfused: It most definitely was not. Unless for some reason you're restricting "removals" here to "removals during Jasdoif's tenure," in which case the answer is: I am not.

So I did a quick skim (for certain definitions of "quick") - basically went page by page and only looked at ThePhantasm's posts. Not only did I not see any removals, but an hour before the Giant's comment in question, ThePhantasm pondered removing quotes to trim down the index a bit. That was not the first mention of removing quotes, but it did imply that it had not yet been done.

If I missed any removals prior to September 2013, please, feel free to point them out. Especially ones that were removed under the argument of "Rich Burkew hates this thread", as those would be the only relevant ones in any case.

[Jasdoif]

To reiterate....


If anyone wants to propose older quotes to be included in the Index, feel free. In this regard I see no difference between quotes that were removed, quotes that had inadequate support to be included at the time, and quotes that were never considered for inclusion in the first place. The exception would be quotes that were recently removed/rejected, as the consensus against them is already measured (and because I'm not going to entertain scenarios where quotes are immediately reproposed after each update; that sort of double jeopardy doesn't even pretend to offer a true daily double).

Because community consensus will change, as the people in it develop (or come, or go). I mean, only one person voted against rule C when the rules were voted on the first place; and only one person voted to keep rule C when it was voted out less than three years later. (That I happened to be the one who voted against it originally is neither here nor there.) So what was consensus before, is not necessarily consensus now.

Mentioning a change, where a reason to include a quote exists now where it didn't before, would certainly be helpful; as the change alone means a reconsideration is probably warranted. Such a thing isn't required, however...if only because that involves figuring out what reasons applied before to tell what current reasons are different, and that sounds like a lot of work compared to just saying the current reasons.

Conversely, "because the reason it was removed no longer applies" is hardly moving on its own. Primarily because it implies a possibly-out-of-date consensus rather than a current one. It shouldn't be that hard to come up with the reasons to include a quote on its own merits...as in, if it is that hard, the quote shouldn't be included.

[Kish]

Looks like I misremembered what happened. Oops. Sorry about that.

[Peelee]

Looks like I misremembered what happened. Oops. Sorry about that.

No worries, I've made that same admission more than my fair share of times.

[Jasdoif]

In any case, what I said above still applies; if anyone wants to (re-)propose quotes that were removed a while ago, feel free. I'm not referencing the list I posted for mjp1050 partly because it's probably not complete (I have a vague recollection of hard-deleting at least one entry rather than marking it "removed"), but mostly because it includes entries that were removed for being in violation of thread guidelines after their initial inclusion...which is going to keep them from being included again.


Incidentally, if anyone else wants to express an opinion on Rule D, like how it tends to be "cited" for things it doesn't (currently?) apply to, now's a good time.

Rule D: If two quotes seem to contradict each other, only the quote that illustrates Rich's most recent and current opinion or position will be included. The index is not meant to be a complete collection for leisurely reading. It is meant to be an accurate research aid for forum discussions.If my parsing of the free snippet of the Patreon post is correct, we're about two-and-a-half weeks out from the next Q&A post; may as well make good use of the time.


Suggestions for any other rules, whether existing or hypothetical, are welcome too.

[Fawkes]

Has the giant made any comment on the Kickstarter project recently? The most recent update I can find is a backer update from September 2018. Was wondering if I was missing something.

(Apologies if that's outside the purview of this thread - I wasn't sure where else to ask.)

[Jasdoif]

Has the giant made any comment on the Kickstarter project recently? The most recent update I can find is a backer update from September 2018. Was wondering if I was missing something.That's the most recent update I could find, unless you count an indirect reference.

[Fawkes]

Bummer. Thanks for checking.

[Peelee]

This is pretty much just a minor bookkeeppiinngg issue, but the non-functional image here could probably be fixed or removed.





HPoH ( https://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Hel%20Priest_zpsv6pywjna.png ) Made a Tactical Error in #1009
Durkon "showed him Roy telling him the story about what happened with Eric. That's it."
#1009
2015/10/19

[Jasdoif]

This is pretty much just a minor bookkeeppiinngg issue, but the non-functional image here could probably be fixed or removed.Are you sure it's not a bbookkeeppiinngg issue?

Anyway, removed for now; been meaning to implement more centralized smiley support anyway, so it'll be easy to restore if/when a replacement is readily available.

[Peelee]

Are you sure it's not a bbookkeeppiinngg issue?

Well that just looks silly.

Anyway, on a more serious note, I couldn't find the Giant explicitly calling Shojo Good through the indexed quotes, but dancrilis was able to snag it for me. If this (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?286395-Vigilantism-and-the-Lawful-Alignment-in-OotS/page5&p=15378004#post15378004) is already in elsewhere, I think it should be amended to say Shojo is Chaotic Good, and if it's not, I think it should be in the Alignment/Specific Characters/Good Characters section, either as an addition to or replacement for the current bit on Shojo, which is more about his government.

[Jasdoif]

Anyway, on a more serious note, I couldn't find the Giant explicitly calling Shojo Good through the indexed quotes, but dancrilis was able to snag it for me. If this (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?286395-Vigilantism-and-the-Lawful-Alignment-in-OotS/page5&p=15378004#post15378004) is already in elsewhere, I think it should be amended to say Shojo is Chaotic Good, and if it's not, I think it should be in the Alignment/Specific Characters/Good Characters section, either as an addition to or replacement for the current bit on Shojo, which is more about his government.It's not in the Index; it appears the initial proposal escaped notice at the time.

What's everyone else think?

[Ron Miel]

Not needed for inclusion, his alignment is specified in the comic.

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0410.html

[hamishspence]

That's only Belkar's opinion though. Having an actual quote from the Giant confirming this is useful.

[Kish]

Should be included, yes. I say as perhaps the only person who actively disbelieved that Belkar's line on the subject indicated any more than that Belkar, unsurprisingly, wouldn't know Good from a hole in the ground.

I still periodically get into arguments about whether Shojo's in-comic presentation earns that Good tag, but that's neither here nor there.

[Fyraltari]

Include the quote in addition to the one about his rulership.

[Gwynfrid]

That's only Belkar's opinion though. Having an actual quote from the Giant confirming this is useful.

It's more than just Belkar's opinion: It's the consensus of the room. When Belkar makes that statement, everyone agrees his explanation of the failure to resurrect Shojo makes sense.

In addition, the Giant himself (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?286395-Vigilantism-and-the-Lawful-Alignment-in-OotS/page5&p=15378004#post15378004) said that he called Shojo's alignment in-comic. Of course, I realize the irony of quoting the Giant to confirm that this same quote is redundant with the comic :smallbiggrin:

[Throknor]

It's more than just Belkar's opinion: It's the consensus of the room. When Belkar makes that statement, everyone agrees his explanation of the failure to resurrect Shojo makes sense.

In addition, the Giant himself (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?286395-Vigilantism-and-the-Lawful-Alignment-in-OotS/page5&p=15378004#post15378004) said that he called Shojo's alignment in-comic. Of course, I realize the irony of quoting the Giant to confirm that this same quote is redundant with the comic :smallbiggrin:

Actually, using a quote to prove it isn't needed to make a point makes the opposite point as far as I can see. :smallbiggrin:

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I like it as an addition for what we have on Shojo already.

[Gift Jeraff]

Include. Belkar also called Ian CG (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0779.html) while Rich confirmed he's CN (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?293540-No-love-for-Neutral-alignments-in-OOTS/page2&p=15667889#post15667889), Elan called Julio good (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0930.html) while Rich said he's neutral, Nale called himself Lawful (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0057.html) while Rich implied that wasn't the case (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=15364378&postcount=36), etc.

[Reboot]

Include per Gift J.

[ti'esar]

Include. As someone who has long voiced their puzzlement that Shojo is officially CG while Ian is officially CN, I'm really surprised it's not in there already.

[137beth]

Include, because of what Gift Jeraff said.

[Jasdoif]

I like it as an addition for what we have on Shojo already.My plan was to move the existing chaotic government entry into the "general" area of the Alignment section with some rewording; and put the proposed Shojo entry with the rest of the Good character entries. So the overall Alignment section would look like:



General Information

The Morality of Deception
"Taking advantage of someone is neither Good nor Evil, inherently. What matters is what you take advantage of them for."
#981
2015/04/28


"Lovable" Does Not Mean "Not Evil"
Case in point, Thog.
#936
2014/01/11


Genocide is Always Evil
See also here.
#935
2013/12/24


Alignment and Authorial Intent
What does the Giant mean when he says X character is Y alignment?
#903
2013/07/23


🍍🍌Azure City's Chaotic Government
Azure City's chaotic government (under Shojo) was still good, not evil.
#891
2013/06/06


Elan and Nale's Parentage
How did it affect their alignment? The Giant can't fully answer because of events yet to be revealed. Elan spared Nale's life because of Elan's understanding of what it means to be good.
#815
2011/11/18


Alignment and Environment
Enor and Gannji were not operating wholly outside the ethical framework of the Empire of Blood. This doesn't change the nature of their acts but does mean that the acts are not as indicative of their overall alignment as some might suppose.
#812
2011/10/25





D&D Alignment

Usefulness of the alignment system in D&D games
A great aid for teaching new inexperienced players how to roleplay.
#921
2013/09/29


"Lawful" vs "Legal"
More here and here.
#891
2013/06/03


D&D's Alignment System
Thoughts on how it could be improved.
#838
2012/02/18


About Lawful Alignments
On being Lawful in D&D and the OOTS.
#281
2006/02/15





Specific Characters
Evil Characters

Everyone on Tarquin's Team is Evil
And Tarquin is kind of like the Elan of their team. See also: here.
#934
2013/12/08


Redcloak is Evil
#830
2012/01/23


Tarquin is Lawful Evil
#763
2010/12/07


Belkar is Chaotic Evil
#251
2005/12/01


Nale, Sabine, and Thog are all Evil
#142
2005/01/20


Good Characters

Haley is Chaotic Good
#936
2014/01/12


Elan is (Still) Chaotic Good
Elan let Tarquin fall because he was using a different interpretation of Chaotic Good.
#936
2014/01/11


🍌Shojo is Chaotic Good
#891
2013/06/05


Durkon is Lawful Good
#798
2011/07/27


Neutral Characters

Girard is Chaotic Neutral
#980
2015/04/25


Who Else is Neutral
A long list of Neutral characters in the comic. See also here.
#903
2013/07/22


Enor & Gannji are True Neutral
#812
2011/10/24


V is True Neutral (and Always Was)
"Vaarsuvius was never Neutral Good"; strip #11 does not suggest otherwise.
#801
2011/08/17

[Fyraltari]

Looks good to me.

[Peelee]

Perfectly solved the very minor problem I had of not finding Shojo's alignment super easily, so I'm happy.

[dancrilis]

Good Characters

Haley, Elan, Shojo are Chaotic Good
#936
2014/01/12


Wouldn't the above suffice for the chaotic good column - are multiple entries needed?

*EDIT: this post has the quoted text edited to reflect my intention.

[Jasdoif]

Wouldn't the above suffice for the chaotic good column - are multiple entries needed?I believe you're talking about broadening this entry to cover Elan and Shojo, as well as Haley:



Haley is Chaotic Good
#936
2014/01/12



Facts about cosmological forces are largely unrelated to what people feel about themselves and others. Haley feels she is not "Good enough" based on a complex set of personal experiences and insecurities; the universe still dumps her in the Chaotic Good box, next to Elan and Shojo.

Anyway, the individual quotes do address different points that specifically brought alignment into question in the first place: Haley's insecurity, Elan's different treatment of Tarquin and Nale, and Shojo's dearth of story relevance. There's value in being able to link to a post that makes a specific case like that.

What's everyone else think?

[Peelee]

I like the individual links because it covers the reasoning for each in addition to confirmation, which is super helpful when I'm trying to find a quote to use in discussion.

[Throknor]

I like the individual links, because it covers the reasoning for each in addition to confirmation, which is super helpful when I'm trying to find a quote to use in discussion.

I hate wasting space for just "me too", but I wouldn't want it to look like it is unsupported.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

My plan was to move the existing chaotic government entry into the "general" area of the Alignment section with some rewording; and put the proposed Shojo entry with the rest of the Good character entries. So the overall Alignment section would look like:



General Information

The Morality of Deception
"Taking advantage of someone is neither Good nor Evil, inherently. What matters is what you take advantage of them for."
#981
2015/04/28


"Lovable" Does Not Mean "Not Evil"
Case in point, Thog.
#936
2014/01/11


Genocide is Always Evil
See also here.
#935
2013/12/24


Alignment and Authorial Intent
What does the Giant mean when he says X character is Y alignment?
#903
2013/07/23


🍍🍌Azure City's Chaotic Government
Azure City's chaotic government (under Shojo) was still good, not evil.
#891
2013/06/06


Elan and Nale's Parentage
How did it affect their alignment? The Giant can't fully answer because of events yet to be revealed. Elan spared Nale's life because of Elan's understanding of what it means to be good.
#815
2011/11/18


Alignment and Environment
Enor and Gannji were not operating wholly outside the ethical framework of the Empire of Blood. This doesn't change the nature of their acts but does mean that the acts are not as indicative of their overall alignment as some might suppose.
#812
2011/10/25





D&D Alignment

Usefulness of the alignment system in D&D games
A great aid for teaching new inexperienced players how to roleplay.
#921
2013/09/29


"Lawful" vs "Legal"
More here and here.
#891
2013/06/03


D&D's Alignment System
Thoughts on how it could be improved.
#838
2012/02/18


About Lawful Alignments
On being Lawful in D&D and the OOTS.
#281
2006/02/15





Specific Characters
Evil Characters

Everyone on Tarquin's Team is Evil
And Tarquin is kind of like the Elan of their team. See also: here.
#934
2013/12/08


Redcloak is Evil
#830
2012/01/23


Tarquin is Lawful Evil
#763
2010/12/07


Belkar is Chaotic Evil
#251
2005/12/01


Nale, Sabine, and Thog are all Evil
#142
2005/01/20


Good Characters

Haley is Chaotic Good
#936
2014/01/12


Elan is (Still) Chaotic Good
Elan let Tarquin fall because he was using a different interpretation of Chaotic Good.
#936
2014/01/11


🍌Shojo is Chaotic Good
#891
2013/06/05


Durkon is Lawful Good
#798
2011/07/27


Neutral Characters

Girard is Chaotic Neutral
#980
2015/04/25


Who Else is Neutral
A long list of Neutral characters in the comic. See also here.
#903
2013/07/22


Enor & Gannji are True Neutral
#812
2011/10/24


V is True Neutral (and Always Was)
"Vaarsuvius was never Neutral Good"; strip #11 does not suggest otherwise.
#801
2011/08/17




That seems fine to me. It does make more sense the quote about Shojo (a character) is in the character section while the quote about his government (not a character) isn't. And also what Peelee said.

[Jasdoif]

Well, I suppose there's little sense putting this off any longer...Looks like strong support on Shojo's alignment, and little in the way of condensing other alignment entries together, so!


Proposed Additions/Updates for Index 6.5

🍍🍌Azure City's Chaotic Government
Azure City's chaotic government (under Shojo) was still good, not evil.
#891
2013/06/06
Updated at my discretion.


🍌Shojo is Chaotic Good
#891
2013/06/05
No vote required, will be included.



With nothing eligible to be voted on, there will be no vote; the Index has been updated.


Any bets on if a new Patreon Q&A is going to come out in the near future, now that I've given up on waiting for it to do these two entries in the same update? :smalltongue:

[Fyraltari]

New batch of answers is here (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)!


1.) Kevin Bumgarner: Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?

Yes, it’s intended to be a memory. In the D&D rules that OOTS is loosely based on, elves don’t actually sleep—ever—and therefore do not dream. They simply enter a trance and meditate to review old memories, deciding what to keep and what to allow to fade. That’s what V is doing in that part, except they’re getting stuck on one particular memory. I used that as a riff on the classic technique of opening a scene with a dream sequence, to go back and show something that we didn’t get to see the first time.

2.) Michael Curley: Has Elan told his mother about Nale's death? Or is he waiting to see her in person?

I don’t think he would have had the opportunity to do so yet. He can’t cast sending the way Durkon and Vaarsuvius can. I suppose he could have asked one of them to send it for him, but his mother doesn’t know either one. So that would result in a strange elf or dwarf contacting her telepathically out of nowhere to tell her that her son is dead, which seems like the sort of thing Elan would be emotionally sensitive enough to avoid doing.

3.) River Psmythe: For the MitD I’ve seen a lot of speculation out there on what it is, and my two questions tie into that. I’m hoping these can be answered without spoiling anything. I realize saying who would be, so I’m hoping only for yes/no here. First, has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right? Second, has anyone out there made a guess or come to the wrong conclusion but made you think ‘that’s better than what it really is, even for a second?’

Obviously I cannot answer the first question. If I say yes, then everyone will go scouring through the internet to get a fixed list of what he could or could not be, and if I say no, then they will throw out all the existing guesswork and start over. Either way, I’ll be spoiling something. And besides which, I don’t really read what people are speculating in the first place and I’m not about to start, so I have no actual way of knowing.

For the second question: No, because if he was something else then it wouldn’t fit everything that is going to happen and has already happened. It’s not a guessing game I added to the strip just for extracurricular fun and games, it’s part of the story. There’s no answer that’s better than what he is because everything written for the last 15 years has been written with that answer in mind.

4.) [bɜnd͡ʒəmɪn t͡ʃəɹkaskʰi]: what made you decide to add a new character to the main cast so late in the story?

I presume you’re referring to Minrah, in which case the answer is clearly, “I didn’t, really.” Minrah is traveling with the team and helping them out, but she is not a member of the main cast, which is and has always been numbered at six. She’s closer to Blackwing or Bandana—an important ally, but not a main protagonist. The difference is, I’m not going to be delving deeply into Minrah’s backstory and she’s not going to get a huge amount of solo spotlight time to work through whatever personal issues she needs to sort out in her life. To be honest, there’s not going to be enough room for that from here on out. She has an important role to play, certainly, both in terms of her working relationship with Durkon and some specific events that will be happening, but the story is not really going to focus on her development.

So the answer to the qustion of why I decided to add her, regardless of her character status, is that bringing her in gave me a unique opportunity to look at my main characters from the outside and see how they’ve changed since the beginning of the comic. And to tell new jokes—it’s always good to have a fresh face with a new point of view so I’m not rehashing the same gags over and over.

5.) joel kramer: The artwork upgrade for the Julio Scoundrél story in SSaDT bears a striking similarity to that in Utterly Dwarfed. Did you use that short story as a test for the art upgrade in the main strip or did the main strip upgrade idea come first?

I suppose more the former, but I wasn’t actually thinking of it that way. I was casting about looking for a way to make the art more special for the Julio story and came up with that solution. Some of the techniques I used in that story I really liked, so when I was getting frustrated by the limits of my regular style toward the end of Blood Runs in the Family, I started thinking about porting the more helpful parts over to the main strip. But not all of it; the shadows in the Julio story would’ve been a nightmare to start using on every panel of the color comic, and I didn’t really like how the speech balloons came out. So yeah, I guess it was a test bed, but it wasn’t an intentional one at the time.

6.) Leo Barlach: How often do you go back to old comics when writing new ones? For example, to connect Hylda and Durkon's plot last book, how much did you need to check comics from the first book?

Less often than I should, because I keep making mistakes where I think my memory is better than it is. But certainly yes, for something like Hilgya’s reappearance, I thought it was important to go back and look at exactly what was said and done in that original scene. I don’t know how to really quantify that, other than to say I try to do it more often than I think I should and end up doing it less than I actually need to.

7.) K G: How much thought do you put into your characters’ names? I was wondering at what stage in the creative process you assign a name to a new character, and the extent that the name is influenced by that character’s prospective personality. In particular, I was thinking of Vaarsuvius’s similarity to Vesuvius, but I’d also be interested to know if there’s any significance in the more common names.

I am much more influenced by how names sound than by any meaning for them. The important thing is for names to sound different from one another so it’s hard for readers to confuse characters. After all, people butcher the name Xykon constantly (Zykon, Xyklon, Xkon) but everyone still knows who they’re talking about because no other character in the strip has a name even close to his. My big mistake in this category came early, when I named the starting dungeon the Dungeon of Dorukan even though I had Durkon in my main cast.

For the name Vaarsuvius, no, I wasn’t specifically trying to reference Mt. Vesuvius. I was trying to come up with something that sounded elaborate and vaguelly formal, in order to differentiate V from the other one-word name character, Elan. I wanted V to have a unique first syllable and a name that didn’t look the same as anyone else’s in print. Any connection to anything in the real world most noted for exploding in a overwhelming display of fiery obliteration is a pleasant coincidence, though I suppose it’s possible that as V progressed, that aspect of their character may have been influenced by their name rather than vice versa.

8.) Erin S.: Something that's been nagging me for a while; did you intend to make V "genderqueer" (quote marks because of the explanation from the first round of questions) from the start, or was it just a happy accident?

It was more or less a happy accident. I’ve told this story before, but it basically came about because early readers of the first few strips disagreed on V’s gender, and rather than correct anyone, I latched onto and ran with that. So if you define “the start” as the literal very beginning, then no, but if you definie it as “the first 5 or 6 strips” then yes. And no, it doesn’t matter what I thought V’s gender was before those readers said anything, because it turns out I was wrong.

Even though I played it for laughs at times during the early days, I always tried to make it so that V themselves was never the butt of the joke; it was always Belkar looking like a fool for caring so much, or Roy getting frustrated because he’s uncomfortable with ambiguity. I don’t know if I succeeded at that, but that was my intent. Generally, readers’ feedback on V has always been very positive, though I do think some of the jokes from those early days probably wouldn’t stand scrutiny today. At this point, though, it’s just become something that’s a fact about the character, who I think is far more defined by their actions during the story than their gender presentation.

9.) Abraham Kotev emet: Would you consider publishing new comics on a constant pace? Once a week, for example? I would love it if I could expect when the next comic strip will be released. Sometimes it's couple of days and sometimes it can arrive to two weeks.

This is a question that I have addressed many times in the past, but I realize that not everyone sees everything I’ve written, and also some readers are relatively new to the comic and may not have been around years ago when I used to talk about it more frequently, so I think it’s important that I give a definitive answer: What you’re suggesting is not something I can actually do.

I can’t flip a switch and speed up the pace of creating comics. I publish them as soon as each one is finished, give or take some time differences (I don’t generally update in the middle of the night). So if a strip takes two weeks to show up, that’s because it took two weeks to make. That might be because the art was particularly complex, especially for new scenes with splash panels or the like. It might also mean the script was unusually difficult, which can itself take several forms. The current strip as of this writing, #1208, is a good example of a situation where the entire conversation occurring needed to be continually finessed to make sure it was saying exactly what I wanted it to say. Sometimes I will complete an entire comic and then realize that something else needs to happen before those particular events to give them context, so I put that aside and start a new page—which often leads to that second page coming out faster, unless I see yet more problems in the interim and need to rework it. The fact that there is no opportunity for editing the story after each installment is released means that I must make sure all of the work of fitting it into my overarching tale needs to happen during the creation of that individual strip, rather than during a traditional “editing pass,” and there’s no way to put a fixed limit on how long that process takes. It varies wildly.

Now, you might think to yourself, “But such-and-such comic produces pages at a higher pace!” Well, I’m not the author of such-and-such comic, I’m the author of this one. I fully concede that other creators are far more efficient at producing finished artwork than I am, even artwork that is significantly more detailed than mine, and further I am willing to stipulate that I would probably be more successful and happier and just generally better off if I could match their creative output pace. I can’t. I wish I could. After literally every comic, I say to myself that I’m going to post the next one in two or three days, and it only rarely works out that way. There are a lot of reasons why, ranging from physical limitations related to my health to economic circumstances such as the need to simultaneously be working on paid products in order to pay my bills. Maybe, if I was perfectly healthy and independently wealthy, I would produce faster. But maybe not; it is not unheard of for me to spend a whole day staring at my script looking for a punchline. And maybe I could build up a buffer of completed strips if I didn’t post any for a few months, but I try to do that every time I take a hiatus and what usually happens is that I obsess over the art and words too much and take a month to finish each one. Sometimes, the only thing that forces me to stop fiddling with a comic and push it out the door is the pressure of knowing how many days it’s been since I updated.

So there’s no way for me to speed the process up other than being a different person with different issues, at which point this would probably be a different story. If you want this exact story, I’m sorry to say that you’re stuck with this particular messed-up brain attached to this specific beat-up thumb, and they’re both already working at their maximum sustainable pace.

10.) Gregory Pratt: Any thoughts on trying to get OOTS back into a magazine again?

No, I don’t think so. I’ve tried it twice, first with Dragon Magazine and then with Gygax Magazine, and I think I don’t really enjoy the format. I can’t tell much of a story with a comic that only comes out one page per month where not every reader will necessarily have bought the previous issue, and I certainly can’t write one as complex as the online comic without the ability for readers to reference an archive. It was fun when I did it, but I’m really a lot more interested in the story than thinking up one-off gags over and over, especially when I can’t hang them on the ongoing plot.

11.) Tomer Mlynarsky: Why did Nale hate Malack so much as opposed to the rest of Tarquin's gang?

This question is sort of a category error, in that it presumes that the variable between how much Nale plotted the murder of Malack versus how much he plotted the murder of everyone else was the strength of his feelings about Malack, rather than the difficulty of the murder itself. In other words, Nale likely hated them all equally but spent more effort planning Malack’s death because Malack was harder to kill. Given his well-documented love of intricate plans, it’s reasonable to assume that he viewed it as a puzzle that was enjoyable to solve in its own right.

12.) Brian Leybourne: Will there ever be another not-in-the-main-storyline book (such as 0, -1, 1/2 and D) or will OOTS as a whole be wrapping up at the end of this book?

Both things can be true. OOTS as a whole will be wrapping up at the end of this book, but that’s still a while off and there are a few more events that need to be recounted before that happens. I suppose I also can’t rule out some stories that don’t get released until after the main series ends, but there are no plans for a full-on spin-off or sequel or what have you.

13.) Andrea: We love the Order of the Stick coloring book from the Kickstarter campaign. Would you ever be willing to create more coloring pages for your youngest fans, even just as PDFs on Gumroad?

That’s a great idea. I feel like I should also point out in the meantime that all five existing sets of the A Monster for Every Season line of print-out game miniatures include a black-and-white line art version that can be used for coloring. Each set has 300-400 different monsters you can print out and color. And then you can cut them out and fold them up into little figures you can play with. I mean, your kids. Your kids can play with them. Wink.

I vote we include the whole lot.

[Schroeswald]

This is what I get for having a life, I miss stuff like this, don't worry, I'll do better and from now on never stop checking the forums ever. Since Fyraltari simply reproduced the answers, I'll keep the tradition up (and also cause I have my opinions and whatever)

1.The dream-like thing V is having in 623 is a memory V is going over. I'll go with a weak yes cause its a bit ambiguous.
2. Elan hasn't really had the chance to tell Elan's Mother about Nale's death. I haven't seen many people talking about this as a question so I'll go with a light no.
3. Their is no choice for the MitD better than what he is, because he has to be what he is for what has happened and is going to happen. I feel like similar stuff is already there so add this to that if its there, if I'm wrong yes.
4. Minrah is not a main character, she is an ally, who was added to show a different perspective on the core six (and tell new jokes). Clear cut yes.
5. Rich deliberately ported some of the techniques from the Julio Scoundrel story into the main comic. Not really sure.
6. Rich looks back at older comics more than he thinks he needs to but less than he should. Light no
7. Rich chooses names based on how they sound rather than literal meaning, some stuff on V's name in particular. Maybe, idk
8. Information on V's gender and the history. I think most of it was said before but the bit about trying to avoid V's gender being the butt of the joke is interesting as an add-on.
9. Stuff on updating and Rich's pace. Yes, its interesting with a enough new information.
10. Rich isn't interesting in putting OOTS in a magazine again because he couldn't really tell a story. Maybe?
11. Nale planning to kill Malack was so complex because it was harder than killing the rest of the Vector Legion, not because he hated him more. This is interesting definitely yes
12. Stuff about side books, I'm not sure enough on what its saying to decide if its good enough maybe
13. Rich thinks more coloring pages would be a great idea (and in the meantime, a Monster for Every Season does have line art where you can color stuff). I'd say yes

[Ortho]

Any bets on if a new Patreon Q&A is going to come out in the near future, now that I've given up on waiting for it to do these two entries in the same update? :smalltongue:

Off by only three days...


And I second Fyraltari's vote: nothing's really worth excluding, so let's include them all.

[Emanick]

New batch of answers is here (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)!



I vote we include the whole lot.

1.Yes for the answer about V's dream. It's story-related enough and interesting, and it clarifies something that's potentially confusing. I wouldn't be terribly sorry to not see it indexed, though.
2. Yes - interesting insight into Elan's decision-making process. Basically, if something is story-related and interests me, it's an automatic yes from me.
3. No, everything here has already been said somewhere else.
4. Yes; reading this really helped me understand how Rich sees Minrah's status in the story, and clarified why she was introduced at such a late juncture.
5. I'm not voting on this one. It doesn't interest me, but I can imagine why it might interest other people. Basically, I can't tell whether it would be important to people who care about this sort of thing.
6. No. I don't think this is a particularly significant question or answer.
7. Yes, definitely. How an author thinks about names and what priorities he has in mind when choosing them is very interesting for lots of aspiring writers (or at least it is to me). It's also interesting, and probably surprising, at least to most readers, that the connection between Vaarsuvius and Vesuvius doesn't seem to be deliberate.
8. Yes, with the proviso that, as Schroeswald suggested, it should be an add-on to an existing entry. Most of the information is old but there's some new stuff, most notably the statement that Rich "was wrong" about V's gender being fe/male early on, and Rich's intent in how he wrote the jokes about V's gender.
9. A weak yes, but only as an add-on to an existing entry. There's very little new information here, although some of the details are new.
10. Yes - it's notable that Rich doesn't think OOTS will appear in a magazine again, and it's also interesting to hear why he thinks that.
11. Yes. A bit weird, because it contradicts what I thought that comic was saying fairly clearly - that Nale had a specific hatred for Malack above and beyond any hatred he had for the rest of the Vector Legion - but because it does that, it clearly provides new information about an important character, so it obviously merits inclusion.
12. No, there isn't any new information. The only potentially useful new stuff there is that Rich still hasn't ruled out other side books, but since we already have confirmation that he hasn't ruled that out from not-that-long-ago, I don't think it's worth including this. Also, as Schroeswald said, it's not the most clearly-written answer, so honestly, including it might obfuscate more than it would enlighten.
13. No, this is basically just telling a fan that he likes her idea and reiterating some information that is already public.

[Fyraltari]

This is what I get for having a life, I miss stuff like this

I’m not sure how to react to this.

[Schroeswald]

I’m not sure how to react to this.

I wasn't the very first person to inform the thread of the post because I was doing something besides focusing only on the forums, and that means I did something wrong, I can never not be the very first person to post in the thread about it.

[Gwynfrid]

Most of these would be good additions.


12. No, there isn't any new information. The only potentially useful new stuff there is that Rich still hasn't ruled out other side books, but since we already have confirmation that he hasn't ruled that out from not-that-long-ago, I don't think it's worth including this. Also, as Schroeswald said, it's not the most clearly-written answer, so honestly, including it might obfuscate more than it would enlighten.

Most of the answer boils down to "maybe", so it's not super useful. Still, I don't think we have a quote that explicitly says the Giant has no plans for a sequel. This alone is worth including, imo.

I think we can include everything as-is, except:

3. Redundant with the "The MitD Reveal is a Crucial Part of the Story" quote and its add-on.

8. Redundant with the "V's Gender History" quote. I'm not convinced the additional remarks in yesterday's answer are important enough to warrant an add-on.

9. This isn't entirely new, but is the clearest version of the answer to a question that pops up pretty regularly. I suggest adding this answer, and making the existing "A Buffer of Strips Wouldn't Help" quote an add-on to it.

13. Isn't about the comic.

[Jasdoif]

13. No, this is basically just telling a fan that he likes her idea and reiterating some information that is already public.

13. Isn't about the comic.I'm not even sure how I could make a meaningful entry out of that one...I'm pretty sure allusions to the Giant's various A Monster for Every Season posts are exactly the kind of thing Rule B-3 is supposed to prohibit, and the nonanswer is (obviously) not substantive.
Anyway, assuming that gets resolved somehow....



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?"
(A memory.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"Has Elan told his mother about Nale's death? Or is he waiting to see her in person?"
(No, he hasn't.)
4
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: Schroeswald


3
"For the MitD I’ve seen a lot of speculation out there on what it is, and my two questions tie into that. I’m hoping these can be answered without spoiling anything. I realize saying who would be, so I’m hoping only for yes/no here. First, has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right? Second, has anyone out there made a guess or come to the wrong conclusion but made you think ‘that’s better than what it really is, even for a second?’"
(Not answering, and that can't happen.)
3
2
Vote-able
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid


4
"what made you decide to add a new character to the main cast so late in the story?"
(Didn't, though Minrah still has important roles.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"The artwork upgrade for the Julio Scoundrél story in SSaDT bears a striking similarity to that in Utterly Dwarfed. Did you use that short story as a test for the art upgrade in the main strip or did the main strip upgrade idea come first?"
(Not deliberately, but technically yes.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"How often do you go back to old comics when writing new ones? For example, to connect Hylda and Durkon's plot last book, how much did you need to check comics from the first book?"
(Not often enough.)
3
2
Vote-able
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid

Against: Schroeswald, Emanick


7
"How much thought do you put into your characters’ names? I was wondering at what stage in the creative process you assign a name to a new character, and the extent that the name is influenced by that character’s prospective personality. In particular, I was thinking of Vaarsuvius’s similarity to Vesuvius, but I’d also be interested to know if there’s any significance in the more common names."
(Most important that they sound distinct from each other.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"Something that's been nagging me for a while; did you intend to make V "genderqueer" (quote marks because of the explanation from the first round of questions) from the start, or was it just a happy accident?"
(Not at the very beginning, but close.)
4
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick

Against: Gwynfrid


9
"Would you consider publishing new comics on a constant pace? Once a week, for example? I would love it if I could expect when the next comic strip will be released. Sometimes it's couple of days and sometimes it can arrive to two weeks."
(No.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"Any thoughts on trying to get OOTS back into a magazine again?"
(Not likely to happen.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Why did Nale hate Malack so much as opposed to the rest of Tarquin's gang?"
(He didn't, really.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"Will there ever be another not-in-the-main-storyline book (such as 0, -1, 1/2 and D) or will OOTS as a whole be wrapping up at the end of this book?"
(Maybe another sidestory book after the main story ends, but nothing's planned.)
3
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid

Against: Emanick


13
"We love the Order of the Stick coloring book from the Kickstarter campaign. Would you ever be willing to create more coloring pages for your youngest fans, even just as PDFs on Gumroad?"
(Advertising copy (https://gumroad.com/richburlew?sort=newest&tags=miniatures).)
3
2
Vote-able
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid





Voter
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3
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5
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7
8
9
10
11
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13


Fyraltari
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Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
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Emanick
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallannoyed:

[137beth]

1.) Kevin Bumgarner: Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?

Huh, I just realized I've been wildly misinterpreting that scene all along. I thought it was showing a current scene of Azurites who have somehow survived the last few months in Azure City without being caught, and that the person who thinks they bumped into V didn't actually do so (since V is long gone). I thought it was just to set up the joke of the soldier saying "I hope you choke," followed by V gasping.

It never occurred to me that it was a flashback to something that V was remembering.

[Peelee]

Huh, I just realized I've been wildly misinterpreting that scene all along. I thought it was showing a current scene of Azurites who have somehow survived the last few months in Azure City without being caught, and that the person who thinks they bumped into V didn't actually do so (since V is long gone). I thought it was just to set up the joke of the soldier saying "I hope you choke," followed by V gasping.

It never occurred to me that it was a flashback to something that V was remembering.

Panel 1 of 623 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0623.html) is more or less a direct continuation of panel 8 of 452 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0452.html).

[hamishspence]

True - but the link's wrong. This is 623.

Panel 1 of 623 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0623.html)

[Sir_Norbert]

Ooh, we voting? I know I'm not a thread regular but I'd like to be in your chart with the smiley faces.

1. No, it's about a single strip that was almost 600 strips ago, not interesting at this point.

2. Yes, new information about recent in-comic events.

3. Undecided, it's similar to earlier answers on the MitD but it's nice to have a couple of points stated this clearly.

4. Yes, relevant to current arc of the comic.

5. Yes, interesting background information.

6. Yes, interesting background information.

7. Yes, same.

8. Yes (could be added to the current entry on V's gender). Makes things really clear.

9. Yes, unfortunately people do ask this kind of thing a lot.

10. Yes

11. Yes, fills in some important background.

12. No, redundant with "There will be seven books", which we have.

13. No opinion.

[theangelJean]

Ooh, we voting? I know I'm not a thread regular but I'd like to be in your chart with the smiley faces.



Not an official vote yet, but it's actually even more influential - and yes, your opinions get to be in the chart! This is where the thread decides what does and doesn't need a full vote. Also, welcome!

[Kish]

Include them all.

[Jasdoif]

Ooh, we voting? I know I'm not a thread regular but I'd like to be in your chart with the smiley faces.Well, not formally a vote at this point...but you can certainly express your opinions that way. Normally it'd just be a bunch of conversion about a new comment the Giant made; but with this many coming in at once, lists (that look a vote) are easier for everyone to keep track of.

And if you can post, you can vote; so your opinion would still count if this was a formal vote.

Anyway, again assuming someone comes up with a way #13 would not violate Index rules....


#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?"
(A memory.)
6
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Kish

Against: Sir_Norbert


2
"Has Elan told his mother about Nale's death? Or is he waiting to see her in person?"
(No, he hasn't.)
6
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: Schroeswald


3
"For the MitD I’ve seen a lot of speculation out there on what it is, and my two questions tie into that. I’m hoping these can be answered without spoiling anything. I realize saying who would be, so I’m hoping only for yes/no here. First, has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right? Second, has anyone out there made a guess or come to the wrong conclusion but made you think ‘that’s better than what it really is, even for a second?’"
(Not answering, and that can't happen.)
4
2
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Kish

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid


4
"what made you decide to add a new character to the main cast so late in the story?"
(Didn't, though Minrah still has important roles.)
7
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"The artwork upgrade for the Julio Scoundrél story in SSaDT bears a striking similarity to that in Utterly Dwarfed. Did you use that short story as a test for the art upgrade in the main strip or did the main strip upgrade idea come first?"
(Not deliberately, but technically yes.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"How often do you go back to old comics when writing new ones? For example, to connect Hylda and Durkon's plot last book, how much did you need to check comics from the first book?"
(Not often enough.)
5
2
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: Schroeswald, Emanick


7
"How much thought do you put into your characters’ names? I was wondering at what stage in the creative process you assign a name to a new character, and the extent that the name is influenced by that character’s prospective personality. In particular, I was thinking of Vaarsuvius’s similarity to Vesuvius, but I’d also be interested to know if there’s any significance in the more common names."
(Most important that they sound distinct from each other.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"Something that's been nagging me for a while; did you intend to make V "genderqueer" (quote marks because of the explanation from the first round of questions) from the start, or was it just a happy accident?"
(Not at the very beginning, but close.)
6
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: Gwynfrid


9
"Would you consider publishing new comics on a constant pace? Once a week, for example? I would love it if I could expect when the next comic strip will be released. Sometimes it's couple of days and sometimes it can arrive to two weeks."
(No.)
7
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"Any thoughts on trying to get OOTS back into a magazine again?"
(Not likely to happen.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Why did Nale hate Malack so much as opposed to the rest of Tarquin's gang?"
(He didn't, really.)
7
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"Will there ever be another not-in-the-main-storyline book (such as 0, -1, 1/2 and D) or will OOTS as a whole be wrapping up at the end of this book?"
(Maybe another sidestory book after the main story ends, but nothing's planned.)
4
2
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Kish

Against: Emanick, Sir_Norbert


13
"We love the Order of the Stick coloring book from the Kickstarter campaign. Would you ever be willing to create more coloring pages for your youngest fans, even just as PDFs on Gumroad?"
(Advertising copy (https://gumroad.com/richburlew?sort=newest&tags=miniatures).)
4
2
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Schroeswald, mjp1050, Kish

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid





Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13


Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Emanick
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Sir_Norbert
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:



Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

[Personification]

Yes to all.

[theangelJean]

By the way, anyone here a Patron? There's a total of one comment on the Patreon post, and it's a question which has an answer here in the Index. Anyone want to go link it for that supporter?

[137beth]

I'd say include all.

[Fyraltari]

I would like to retract my support of answer #13.
I still support the inclusion of the other twelve, though.

[Jasdoif]

I would like to retract my support of answer #13.
I still support the inclusion of the other twelve, though.So noted. Probably just as well; without a viable entry there's not really much sense in tracking it....

Anyway, so we're up to....


#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?"
(A memory.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Sir_Norbert


2
"Has Elan told his mother about Nale's death? Or is he waiting to see her in person?"
(No, he hasn't.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Schroeswald


3
"For the MitD I’ve seen a lot of speculation out there on what it is, and my two questions tie into that. I’m hoping these can be answered without spoiling anything. I realize saying who would be, so I’m hoping only for yes/no here. First, has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right? Second, has anyone out there made a guess or come to the wrong conclusion but made you think ‘that’s better than what it really is, even for a second?’"
(Not answering, and that can't happen.)
6
2
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid


4
"what made you decide to add a new character to the main cast so late in the story?"
(Didn't, though Minrah still has important roles.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"The artwork upgrade for the Julio Scoundrél story in SSaDT bears a striking similarity to that in Utterly Dwarfed. Did you use that short story as a test for the art upgrade in the main strip or did the main strip upgrade idea come first?"
(Not deliberately, but technically yes.)
7
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"How often do you go back to old comics when writing new ones? For example, to connect Hylda and Durkon's plot last book, how much did you need to check comics from the first book?"
(Not often enough.)
7
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Schroeswald, Emanick


7
"How much thought do you put into your characters’ names? I was wondering at what stage in the creative process you assign a name to a new character, and the extent that the name is influenced by that character’s prospective personality. In particular, I was thinking of Vaarsuvius’s similarity to Vesuvius, but I’d also be interested to know if there’s any significance in the more common names."
(Most important that they sound distinct from each other.)
8
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"Something that's been nagging me for a while; did you intend to make V "genderqueer" (quote marks because of the explanation from the first round of questions) from the start, or was it just a happy accident?"
(Not at the very beginning, but close.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Gwynfrid


9
"Would you consider publishing new comics on a constant pace? Once a week, for example? I would love it if I could expect when the next comic strip will be released. Sometimes it's couple of days and sometimes it can arrive to two weeks."
(No.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"Any thoughts on trying to get OOTS back into a magazine again?"
(Not likely to happen.)
8
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Why did Nale hate Malack so much as opposed to the rest of Tarquin's gang?"
(He didn't, really.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"Will there ever be another not-in-the-main-storyline book (such as 0, -1, 1/2 and D) or will OOTS as a whole be wrapping up at the end of this book?"
(Maybe another sidestory book after the main story ends, but nothing's planned.)
6
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Emanick, Sir_Norbert





Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:



mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Emanick
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Sir_Norbert
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Personification
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


137ben
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

[Jaxzan Proditor]

With the exception of 13, I think they're all fine to include. I'm a bit on the fence about 1, 3, and 12 but not to the point where I am actively against their inclusion.

[Jasdoif]

#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the dream V had in #623 an actual event that happened, or was V just having a bad dream based on their decision to run from battle?"
(A memory.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Sir_Norbert


2
"Has Elan told his mother about Nale's death? Or is he waiting to see her in person?"
(No, he hasn't.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: Schroeswald


3
"For the MitD I’ve seen a lot of speculation out there on what it is, and my two questions tie into that. I’m hoping these can be answered without spoiling anything. I realize saying who would be, so I’m hoping only for yes/no here. First, has anyone out there that you’ve seen guessed right? Second, has anyone out there made a guess or come to the wrong conclusion but made you think ‘that’s better than what it really is, even for a second?’"
(Not answering, and that can't happen.)
6
2
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Emanick, Gwynfrid


4
"what made you decide to add a new character to the main cast so late in the story?"
(Didn't, though Minrah still has important roles.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"The artwork upgrade for the Julio Scoundrél story in SSaDT bears a striking similarity to that in Utterly Dwarfed. Did you use that short story as a test for the art upgrade in the main strip or did the main strip upgrade idea come first?"
(Not deliberately, but technically yes.)
8
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"How often do you go back to old comics when writing new ones? For example, to connect Hylda and Durkon's plot last book, how much did you need to check comics from the first book?"
(Not often enough.)
8
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: Schroeswald, Emanick


7
"How much thought do you put into your characters’ names? I was wondering at what stage in the creative process you assign a name to a new character, and the extent that the name is influenced by that character’s prospective personality. In particular, I was thinking of Vaarsuvius’s similarity to Vesuvius, but I’d also be interested to know if there’s any significance in the more common names."
(Most important that they sound distinct from each other.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"Something that's been nagging me for a while; did you intend to make V "genderqueer" (quote marks because of the explanation from the first round of questions) from the start, or was it just a happy accident?"
(Not at the very beginning, but close.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: Gwynfrid


9
"Would you consider publishing new comics on a constant pace? Once a week, for example? I would love it if I could expect when the next comic strip will be released. Sometimes it's couple of days and sometimes it can arrive to two weeks."
(No.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"Any thoughts on trying to get OOTS back into a magazine again?"
(Not likely to happen.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Why did Nale hate Malack so much as opposed to the rest of Tarquin's gang?"
(He didn't, really.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Schroeswald, mjp1050, Emanick, Gwynfrid, Sir_Norbert, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari, Jaxzan Proditor

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"Will there ever be another not-in-the-main-storyline book (such as 0, -1, 1/2 and D) or will OOTS as a whole be wrapping up at the end of this book?"
(Maybe another sidestory book after the main story ends, but nothing's planned.)
6
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Kish, Personification, 137ben, Fyraltari

Against: Emanick, Sir_Norbert





Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:



mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Emanick
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Sir_Norbert
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Personification
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


137ben
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



I suspect it's not going to move a whole lot further from this point...So, entry titles/descriptions:


Proposed Additions/Updates for Index 6.6

🍌Don't Expect More OotS Magazine Strips(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"It was fun when I did it, but I'm really a lot more interested in the story than thinking up one-off gags over and over, especially when I can't hang them on the ongoing plot."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌Elan Hasn't Told his Mother about Nale's Death(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"I don't think he would have had the opportunity to do so yet."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌How a Name Sounds is More Important Than Its Meaning(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"After all, people butcher the name Xykon constantly (Zykon, Xyklon, Xkon) but everyone still knows who they're talking about because no other character in the strip has a name even close to his."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌Minrah Isn't a "Main Cast" Character(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"Minrah is traveling with the team and helping them out, but she is not a member of the main cast, which is and has always been numbered at six."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌On Nale's Focus on Malack(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"....Nale likely hated (the Vector Legion) equally but spent more effort planning Malack's death because Malack was harder to kill."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌On the Flashback in 623(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...it's intended to be a memory."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌The Comic Cannot Be Posted on a Consistent Basis(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"What you're suggesting is not something I can actually do."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌The Giant Does Check Older Comics For Consistency(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...for something like Hilgya's reappearance, I thought it was important to go back and look at exactly what was said and done in that original scene."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌The Julio Scoundrél story in Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales Indirectly Inspired the New Art Style(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...I guess it was a test bed, but it wasn't an intentional one at the time."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌There Could Possibly Be More Side-Story Books In the Future(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"I...can't rule out some stories that don't get released until after the main series ends, but there are no plans for a full-on spin-off or sequel or what have you."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌There is no "Better" Possibility for What MitD ( :mitd: ) Is(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"It's not a guessing game I added to the strip just for extracurricular fun and games, it's part of the story. There's no answer that's better than what he is because everything written for the last 15 years has been written with that answer in mind."
#1208
2020/07/31
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌Vaarsuvius is Genderqueer(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-2020-34406298)
But "not talking about gender is just culturally part of being an elf". See also here(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949) ("Even though I played it for laughs at times during the early days, I always tried to make it so that V themselves was never the butt of the joke....")
#1193
2020/03/01
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.

[137beth]

I'd like to float the idea of altering this summary:

Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods.
To mention Tsukiko. The reason being that after seeing the thread asking if Tsukiko was a godless cleric, I opened all the spoilers on the first page of this thread and CTRL+F'ed for "Tsuk" looking for that quote. I'm not sure exactly what the wording should be, though.

[Jasdoif]

The reason being that after seeing the thread asking if Tsukiko was a godless cleric, I opened all the spoilers on the first page of this thread and CTRL+F'ed for "Tsuk" looking for that quote.I don't think it'd preempt "well what if she got her clerical powers from somewhere other than the Twelve Gods even though she worshiped them", though.

[Jasdoif]

Okay then!


Proposed Updates for Index 6.6

🍌Don't Expect More OotS Magazine Strips(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"It was fun when I did it, but I'm really a lot more interested in the story than thinking up one-off gags over and over, especially when I can't hang them on the ongoing plot."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌Elan Hasn't Told his Mother about Nale's Death(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"I don't think he would have had the opportunity to do so yet."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌How a Name Sounds is More Important Than Its Meaning(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"After all, people butcher the name Xykon constantly (Zykon, Xyklon, Xkon) but everyone still knows who they're talking about because no other character in the strip has a name even close to his."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌Minrah Isn't a "Main Cast" Character(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"Minrah is traveling with the team and helping them out, but she is not a member of the main cast, which is and has always been numbered at six."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Nale's Focus on Malack(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"....Nale likely hated (the Vector Legion) equally but spent more effort planning Malack's death because Malack was harder to kill."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On the Flashback in 623(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...it's intended to be a memory."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Comic Cannot Be Posted on a Consistent Basis(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"What you're suggesting is not something I can actually do."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Giant Does Check Older Comics For Consistency(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...for something like Hilgya's reappearance, I thought it was important to go back and look at exactly what was said and done in that original scene."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Julio Scoundrél story in Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales Indirectly Inspired the New Art Style(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"...I guess it was a test bed, but it wasn't an intentional one at the time."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌There Could Possibly Be More Side-Story Books In the Future(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"I...can't rule out some stories that don't get released until after the main series ends, but there are no plans for a full-on spin-off or sequel or what have you."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍌There is no "Better" Possibility for What MitD ( :mitd: ) Is(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949)
"It's not a guessing game I added to the strip just for extracurricular fun and games, it's part of the story. There's no answer that's better than what he is because everything written for the last 15 years has been written with that answer in mind."
#1208
2020/07/31
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Vaarsuvius is Genderqueer(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-2020-34406298)
But "not talking about gender is just culturally part of being an elf". See also here(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/39917949) ("Even though I played it for laughs at times during the early days, I always tried to make it so that V themselves was never the butt of the joke....").
#1193
2020/03/01
No vote required, will be included.




With nothing eligible to be voted on, there will be no vote; the Index has been updated.

[Sniffnoy]

New Q&A: https://www.patreon.com/posts/45605183

[Doug Lampert]

New Q&A: https://www.patreon.com/posts/45605183

1) Quiddities decision date: Yes.
2) Comic posting times: No
3) Crayon drawing difficultly: Yes.
4) Miko's worship: Yes.
5) Dark One and Redcloak Evil: YES.
6) Frustration with being locked in by previous decisions: No.
7) Names for books: Yes.
8) Durkon's accent: Yes.
9) Last strip: No.
10) Haley and Elan's fathers in conflict: No.
11) Red Cloak's Niece: Yes.
12) Writing Process: No.

[137beth]

I'd say yes to all of them except 2 and 9.

[Jasdoif]

Okay, so, questions with condensed answers:



#
Question


1
"Was the importance of the quiddities a planned plot element far in advance? I'm asking because I didn't even notice the colors until Loki mentioned them in strip 998. I looked back through the archive and sure enough, the gods had their colors from the start. To have that set up so far back and not mention it until so late is very patient plotting!"
(Yes.)


2
"You've mentioned you post the comic when you finish it, do you ever wait so that you can post it at a better time?"
(Sometimes.)


3
"When you make strips that happen in the past, you usually use crayon as to give them a distinctive visual identity, which I find awesome. You use real crayons? Or some digital brush with a crayon effect? If you do use real crayons, do you find it more or less difficult then making digital art? (as I assume it's how the rest of the comic is made)."
(Actual crayons.)


4
"Was Miko a paladin of all the Twelve Gods equally, or did she worship one of them over everyone else?"
(She worshipped the pantheon equally.)


5
"Why does the Dark One count as evil? Same question about Redcloak, who presumably has been following the will of the Dark One? Based on strip #1208, what Redcloak wants seems extremely reasonable. So too were the demands of the Dark One, as we have been shown."
(All the Evil they do.)


6
"In the long process of writing all the stories so far, have you ever felt frustrated with the decisions you made choosing the composition of the core party members? Such as wishing you had someone else to make a story point, or having an arc where you felt uninspired writing one or more members of the party? My mental context for this question is wondering whether you ever feel restricted much later by plot decisions you made early on, before you even thought this story would have continuity."
(Yes.)


7
"At what point do you come up with the names for the trade paperbacks? I understand that, at first, you likely didn't have anything in mind for the series since you didn't even know how far it would go. But as time has gone on and you've now completed 6 main line books and 4 extra books (if I'm counting right in my head without looking to check) do you have an idea what the name of the book will be when you're getting started with it? Or is it something you only really think about when it's come time to release the physical book?"
(It varies.)


8
"I've always found it takes longer to read Durkon's speech, and exponentially so when he has long mono-/dialogues. Ironically, I think during the last stretch of strips it's helped me to slow down my reading and increase my immersion in the strip. How much longer (if at all) does it typically take you to write Durkon's speech compared to others? Do you ever regret the decision to write his speech in the style you chose? Do you write it by hand, or use a spelling replacement algorithm, or take a "method" writing approach? Are there any particular frustrations or difficulties (or joys) regarding Durkon's speech?"
(A little.)


9
"(W)hen you actually post the last strip, will you announce it to be such, or will it be obvious from the title, or what?"
(Yes.)


10
"In some of the behind the scenes commentaries, you mentioned that you had major plans for each character when you started writing volume 0, including Durkon's touch with prophecy and vampirsm. Did you also plan for the conflict between Elan and Haley's fathers as the ruler and a prisoner of Tyriana respectively, or did that grow organically as more elements of the story fell into place?"
(Since Haley looked at the ransom letter.)


11
"I realise this may edge into "stuff that hasn't happened yet" if the answer is yes but: do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy."
(Possibly?)


12
"What is a regular "creation day" for you? I mean, what is your process for writing and drawing? Like, do you listen to music/podcast while working, do you always take at least half an hour to tweek the writing, do you alternate days of heavy writing or heavy drawing...?"
(A bunch of stuff.)

[Jaxzan Proditor]

After a quick look, I think the ones I would definitely support are 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11. 2 is a no from me, and the others I am ambivalent about.

4 and 5 to me seem especially likely to be relevant. 11 maybe as well, although not as much as I thought it would be before reading the last three words of that answer.

[theangelJean]

I actually think 11 is worth indexing in terms of the Giant's motivation for writing the plot the way he did in the first place (he needed this and this so that the character would feel such and such a way). I feel like the actual question and non-answer are better summed up as "Will this have consequences later on?" and "Oh geez, I wasn't thinking about that at the time" or even "Look, it already had consequences right there and then" respectively, but the description of what he actually was thinking about, as an author, is kind of neat. It would probably need to be spoilered for SoD though.

So I'd say yes to all of them except 2 and maybe 9.

ETA: I strongly support the inclusion of 12 because 1) it's a frequently-asked question for any author and Rich notes it was frequently asked even in this Q&A and 2) he's restricted it mostly to details specific to the comic-writing process. I can see how it could have fallen on the "prying into Rich's private life" side of the boundary if Rich had chosen to answer the question that way - there are people out there who will post about what they eat for breakfast and their daily routine, and that wouldn't be relevant to the comic. But the most private things he posted in this answer are that his sleep schedule is odd, he takes time away from his materials to think (with his cat) and he can't listen to music during the writing phase but he can while making art. Even the latter two are potentially relevant enough to put in the index.

[Jasdoif]

I suppose after a four-month lull, I can't be sure how much activity should be expected. Looks like we're currently at....




#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the importance of the quiddities a planned plot element far in advance? I'm asking because I didn't even notice the colors until Loki mentioned them in strip 998. I looked back through the archive and sure enough, the gods had their colors from the start. To have that set up so far back and not mention it until so late is very patient plotting!"
(Yes.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"You've mentioned you post the comic when you finish it, do you ever wait so that you can post it at a better time?"
(Sometimes.)
0
4
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean


3
"When you make strips that happen in the past, you usually use crayon as to give them a distinctive visual identity, which I find awesome. You use real crayons? Or some digital brush with a crayon effect? If you do use real crayons, do you find it more or less difficult then making digital art? (as I assume it's how the rest of the comic is made)."
(Actual crayons.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Was Miko a paladin of all the Twelve Gods equally, or did she worship one of them over everyone else?"
(She worshipped the pantheon equally.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"Why does the Dark One count as evil? Same question about Redcloak, who presumably has been following the will of the Dark One? Based on strip #1208, what Redcloak wants seems extremely reasonable. So too were the demands of the Dark One, as we have been shown."
(All the Evil they do.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"In the long process of writing all the stories so far, have you ever felt frustrated with the decisions you made choosing the composition of the core party members? Such as wishing you had someone else to make a story point, or having an arc where you felt uninspired writing one or more members of the party? My mental context for this question is wondering whether you ever feel restricted much later by plot decisions you made early on, before you even thought this story would have continuity."
(Yes.)
3
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: Doug Lampert


7
"At what point do you come up with the names for the trade paperbacks? I understand that, at first, you likely didn't have anything in mind for the series since you didn't even know how far it would go. But as time has gone on and you've now completed 6 main line books and 4 extra books (if I'm counting right in my head without looking to check) do you have an idea what the name of the book will be when you're getting started with it? Or is it something you only really think about when it's come time to release the physical book?"
(It varies.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"I've always found it takes longer to read Durkon's speech, and exponentially so when he has long mono-/dialogues. Ironically, I think during the last stretch of strips it's helped me to slow down my reading and increase my immersion in the strip. How much longer (if at all) does it typically take you to write Durkon's speech compared to others? Do you ever regret the decision to write his speech in the style you chose? Do you write it by hand, or use a spelling replacement algorithm, or take a "method" writing approach? Are there any particular frustrations or difficulties (or joys) regarding Durkon's speech?"
(A little.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"(W)hen you actually post the last strip, will you announce it to be such, or will it be obvious from the title, or what?"
(Yes.)
0
2
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben


10
"In some of the behind the scenes commentaries, you mentioned that you had major plans for each character when you started writing volume 0, including Durkon's touch with prophecy and vampirsm. Did you also plan for the conflict between Elan and Haley's fathers as the ruler and a prisoner of Tyriana respectively, or did that grow organically as more elements of the story fell into place?"
(Since Haley looked at the ransom letter.)
3
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: Doug Lampert


11
"I realise this may edge into "stuff that hasn't happened yet" if the answer is yes but: do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy."
(Possibly?)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"What is a regular "creation day" for you? I mean, what is your process for writing and drawing? Like, do you listen to music/podcast while working, do you always take at least half an hour to tweek the writing, do you alternate days of heavy writing or heavy drawing...?"
(A bunch of stuff.)
2
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, theangelJean

Against: Doug Lampert







Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


137ben
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



theangelJean
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

[Fyraltari]

I'll throw in an Include for all but #9.

[ti'esar]

A very, very emphatic vote for including 11. The rest I can go with the consensus on one way or the other, but I've argued for years about how Redcloak's niece was not necessarily intended as a dangling plot point. Rich's response supports that, but also casts an entirely different light on his reasoning (I always thought the idea was to provide a 'ray of hope' so Right-Eye's story didn't end on a total downer, and never considered the angle that his actions at the climax were motivated by still protecting her).

[Kish]

Include all.

[theangelJean]

A very, very emphatic vote for including 11. The rest I can go with the consensus on one way or the other, but I've argued for years about how Redcloak's niece was not necessarily intended as a dangling plot point. Rich's response supports that, but also casts an entirely different light on his reasoning (I always thought the idea was to provide a 'ray of hope' so Right-Eye's story didn't end on a total downer, and never considered the angle that his actions at the climax were motivated by still protecting her).

I propose summarising that one as "Why Redcloak's niece got away."

I assume it will be in an SOD spoilers section?

[Peelee]

A very, very emphatic vote for including 11. The rest I can go with the consensus on one way or the other, but I've argued for years about how Redcloak's niece was not necessarily intended as a dangling plot point.

That sounds like something Right Eye's niece would say...

[Ron Miel]

You mean Redcloak's niece. Right-Eye doesn't have a niece.

I suggest the following summary:


On Redcloak's niece adopted by humans
This little detail was added as a motivation for Right-Eye's actions. It was never intended as a plot hook with an eventual payoff, and probably will never be referred to again.



Now that he has cleared up that point, could someone please ask him for clarification on the nine sides.

[Emanick]

You mean Redcloak's niece. Right-Eye doesn't have a niece.

I suggest the following summary:


On Redcloak's niece adopted by humans
This little detail was added as a motivation for Right-Eye's actions. It was never intended as a plot hook with an eventual payoff, and probably will never be referred to again.


I think you mean:


On Redcloak's niece adopted by humans
This little detail was added as a motivation for Right-Eye's actions. It was never intended as a plot hook with an eventual payoff, and probably will never be referred to again. Unless it is.


:smallwink:

(And yeah, based on the wording of Rich's comment, I think that actually makes sense.)

[Gwynfrid]

Yay, interesting answers to interesting questions. Well, I don't find all of them equally interesting, but folks asked them, so they're of interest to the Index.

I would include every one except #2. That one runs into the standard exclusion of anything relative to the rate of comic posting. Everything else is fine to include.

[fuschiawarrior]

Include all except #2.

Unrelated question: Is the repeated text in rule E on purpose?

[b_jonas]

On the new Q&A post on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/posts/45605183).

Definitely exclude question 2, to steer clear of trouble with forum rules.

Include question 3. “The Giant finds it harder to draw with crayons than he used to when he made the Crayons of Time sequence in #273 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0273.html), because of his hand.” Incidentally, do we have a word from the Giant about how his eyesight (vision) is bad nowadays? This answer doesn't say, and I can't find it in first post. It might not even be true, I may have just imagined it.

Exclude question 4. This is about worship of the twelve gods, already covered by the forum post from 2012-04 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=13053125), which is linked from the “Religions and Deities in OOTS World” entry. Because of that, don't add this question as a new heading, though you may link it as an addition from the same entry.

Include question 8. “The Giant is careful so that Durkon's transcribed accent doesn't make him hard to understand to readers.”

Exclude question 9. I just don't like it, seems too obvious.

Include question 10. “The Giant invented the role of Tarquin and Ian by #131, when Haley rereads the ransom note (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html).”

Include question 11. “The Giant made Redcloak's niece survive in order to give personal motivation to Right-Eye.”

Include question 12 somewhere. It doesn't tell us anything really new, but it gives a very clear summary of all that the Giant has told already about his creative process for the OotS.

Abstain for the remaining few questions.

[Sir_Norbert]

No to 2, 4 and 9 (same reasoning as b_jonas above), yes to the rest.

[Jasdoif]

#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the importance of the quiddities a planned plot element far in advance? I'm asking because I didn't even notice the colors until Loki mentioned them in strip 998. I looked back through the archive and sure enough, the gods had their colors from the start. To have that set up so far back and not mention it until so late is very patient plotting!"
(Yes.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"You've mentioned you post the comic when you finish it, do you ever wait so that you can post it at a better time?"
(Sometimes.)
2
8
Exclude
In Favor: Fyraltari, Kish

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert


3
"When you make strips that happen in the past, you usually use crayon as to give them a distinctive visual identity, which I find awesome. You use real crayons? Or some digital brush with a crayon effect? If you do use real crayons, do you find it more or less difficult then making digital art? (as I assume it's how the rest of the comic is made)."
(Actual crayons.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Was Miko a paladin of all the Twelve Gods equally, or did she worship one of them over everyone else?"
(She worshipped the pantheon equally.)
8
2
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior

Against: b_jonas, Sir_Norbert


5
"Why does the Dark One count as evil? Same question about Redcloak, who presumably has been following the will of the Dark One? Based on strip #1208, what Redcloak wants seems extremely reasonable. So too were the demands of the Dark One, as we have been shown."
(All the Evil they do.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"In the long process of writing all the stories so far, have you ever felt frustrated with the decisions you made choosing the composition of the core party members? Such as wishing you had someone else to make a story point, or having an arc where you felt uninspired writing one or more members of the party? My mental context for this question is wondering whether you ever feel restricted much later by plot decisions you made early on, before you even thought this story would have continuity."
(Yes.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert

Against: Doug Lampert


7
"At what point do you come up with the names for the trade paperbacks? I understand that, at first, you likely didn't have anything in mind for the series since you didn't even know how far it would go. But as time has gone on and you've now completed 6 main line books and 4 extra books (if I'm counting right in my head without looking to check) do you have an idea what the name of the book will be when you're getting started with it? Or is it something you only really think about when it's come time to release the physical book?"
(It varies.)
8
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"I've always found it takes longer to read Durkon's speech, and exponentially so when he has long mono-/dialogues. Ironically, I think during the last stretch of strips it's helped me to slow down my reading and increase my immersion in the strip. How much longer (if at all) does it typically take you to write Durkon's speech compared to others? Do you ever regret the decision to write his speech in the style you chose? Do you write it by hand, or use a spelling replacement algorithm, or take a "method" writing approach? Are there any particular frustrations or difficulties (or joys) regarding Durkon's speech?"
(A little.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"(W)hen you actually post the last strip, will you announce it to be such, or will it be obvious from the title, or what?"
(Yes.)
3
5
Vote-able
In Favor: Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Fyraltari, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert


10
"In some of the behind the scenes commentaries, you mentioned that you had major plans for each character when you started writing volume 0, including Durkon's touch with prophecy and vampirsm. Did you also plan for the conflict between Elan and Haley's fathers as the ruler and a prisoner of Tyriana respectively, or did that grow organically as more elements of the story fell into place?"
(Since Haley looked at the ransom letter.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert

Against: Doug Lampert


11
"I realise this may edge into "stuff that hasn't happened yet" if the answer is yes but: do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy."
(Possibly?)
11
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, ti'esar, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"What is a regular "creation day" for you? I mean, what is your process for writing and drawing? Like, do you listen to music/podcast while working, do you always take at least half an hour to tweek the writing, do you alternate days of heavy writing or heavy drawing...?"
(A bunch of stuff.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert

Against: Doug Lampert




Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


137ben
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



theangelJean
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


ti'esar










:smallbiggrin:



Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


fuschiawarrior
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


b_jonas

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:



:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



Okay, so the entries will probably be like:

Tentative Updates for Index 6.7

🍍🍌On Coming Up with a Book's Title(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Sometimes, it just comes to me before I'm even done with the strips....Sometimes, I sit and wrack my brain when the printer is waiting for my files to start production....Most of the time, though, I have a vague idea that I need to hammer into shape." More about "Blood Runs in the Family" in particular here.
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Planning and the Conflict between Elan's and Haley's Fathers(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Well, I had plans for it starting when I drew the strip where Haley is looking at the letter (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html). Which might count as being planned in that it wasn't paid off for like ten more years, but I'm pretty sure I didn't know it was going to happen until I created that page."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Redcloak's Niece(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
Right-Eye "needed the exact right mix of doing it to protect someone while not putting that same person in more danger in the process, and his daughter being out there alive somewhere--but in a way that he couldn't just run away and be with her--felt like a good compromise."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Transcribing Durkon's Accent(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"As far as regrets...yeah, a little. It adds so much flavor but at the potential cost of clarity."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Crayon Drawings are Made with "Actual Crayons"(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Giant on Being Constrained by His Own Decisions(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I accept the downside of being locked into certain aspects that I decided early as the price I pay for the freedom of getting to invent everything else as I go."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Giant on How He Works on the Comic(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I'll take a shot at answering it in more depth even though I don't really have 'regular' creation days. That is, I don't plan out what I'm going to work on ahead of time or schedule specific tasks for specific days. I usually...."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Importance of Gods' Colors was Planned in Advance(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...from the time I introduced the different pantheons during the first set of crayon strips."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Last Strip Will Be Identifiable As the Last Strip(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"If nothing else, it will probably end with THE END on a black panel or something similarly blatant."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be eligible for vote


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon")
#848
2012/04/11
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.")
#830
2012/01/23
Tentative, appears will be included without vote




You mean Redcloak's niece. Right-Eye doesn't have a niece.That's just what she wants you to think. Having spent her childhood in the shadow of her mother's survivor's revivee's guilt over being the only recipient of a raise dead spell by a wandering cleric that lacked the diamonds and/or caster level to try a second time, she's stridently avoided being the subject of any dramatic revelation that could lead her uncle's murderer (also her uncle) to her mother; for the sake of her mother's sanity if not her life.

Or maybe not.

Unrelated question: Is the repeated text in rule E on purpose?It was there when I took over curatorship of the Index almost seven years, the Department of Redundancy Department approved its use, and there's been neither cause nor impetus to remove the amusement I derive from referencing the Department of Redundancy Department from the Index guidelines.

So yes, it's on purpose.

[Gwynfrid]

Regarding #4, b_jonas has a good point, this answer is redundant with the pre-existing quote. I change my take to exclude. Using a see-also insertion is a possible compromise, but not really necessary.

[Ron Miel]

🍌On Redcloak's Niece(#11)
Right-Eye "needed the exact right mix of doing it to protect someone while not putting that same person in more danger in the process, and his daughter being out there alive somewhere--but in a way that he couldn't just run away and be with her--felt like a good compromise."

I don't like this wording. It doesn't include the point that it was a minor detail with no plans to follow it up, which I think was the main point of the question and answer.

Include all of them, except for "the end." Some of them should be "see also" as appropriate.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I‘m fine with #4 being not it’s own separate entry, but I think it should definitely be a “see-also”, based on the fact that adds the information about preference based on sign of birth.

[Jasdoif]

🍌On Redcloak's Niece(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
Right-Eye "needed the exact right mix of doing it to protect someone while not putting that same person in more danger in the process, and his daughter being out there alive somewhere--but in a way that he couldn't just run away and be with her--felt like a good compromise."


I don't like this wording. It doesn't include the point that it was a minor detail with no plans to follow it up, which I think was the main point of the question and answer.I don't think that point was ever made. There's a lot of ground between not being "a whole thing" and being a "minor detail"...which may not be the same lot of ground as between not being "a while thing" and "with no plans to follow it up". To say nothing of the tautological "she won't be dealt with again, unless she is". It all looks a heck of a lot like the other times the Giant's responded to questions about the future story/plot that he understandably doesn't want to spoil, by putting down a seemingly-related statement to kind of imply something that may or not be correct.

That aside, statements about specific things the Giant did do are generally more useful/memorable/interesting than statements about a general category of things the Giant didn't do...and, well, the description of the entry is already rather long; expanding it further seems like a bad idea.

[Ron Miel]

I don't think that point was ever made.

QUESTION : " do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy. "

ANSWER : But the truth is that this has been dramatically blown out of proportion as an “obvious” plot thread that will someday be paid off when it’s…not that.

I think that this is the main part of the question, and the most important part of the answer.

What does anyone else think?


It all looks a heck of a lot like the other times the Giant's responded to questions about the future story/plot that he understandably doesn't want to spoil, by putting down a seemingly-related statement to kind of imply something that may or not be correct.

I'm not seeing anything there about not spoiling future stories. Did you link to the wrong comments?

The first is a reply to claim that new vampire Durkon shouldn't be able to cast spells this soon. The reply was basically to say "Oh yes he can."

The second is a reply to someone who misunderstood him as saying that Durkon is a non-theistic cleric.

[Gwynfrid]

QUESTION : " do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy. "

ANSWER : But the truth is that this has been dramatically blown out of proportion as an “obvious” plot thread that will someday be paid off when it’s…not that.

I think that this is the main part of the question, and the most important part of the answer.

What does anyone else think?

I agree. On the other hand, the detailed description of how the Giant built a motivation for Redcloak's actions isn't needed in the summary, imho.

[137beth]

Quote nine, at the very least, validates this ten year old prediction. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?158171-The-last-panel-of-the-last-comic&p=8811250#post8811250)

[Peelee]

Quote nine, at the very least, validates this ten year old prediction. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?158171-The-last-panel-of-the-last-comic&p=8811250#post8811250)

T-O-E didn't warn me.

[Jasdoif]

QUESTION : " do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy. "

ANSWER : But the truth is that this has been dramatically blown out of proportion as an “obvious” plot thread that will someday be paid off when itÂ’sÂ…not that.

I think that this is the main part of the question, and the most important part of the answer.The (non)answer to the question asked is "Redcloak’s niece will never be mentioned again or dealt with in any way, shape, or form, unless she is."



It all looks a heck of a lot like the other times the Giant's responded to questions about the future story/plot that he understandably doesn't want to spoil, by putting down a seemingly-related statement to kind of imply something that may or not be correct.I'm not seeing anything there about not spoiling future stories. Did you link to the wrong comments?No. I might have been slightly off in the presentation, though...there's certainly some intersection between the Giant not being interested in spoiling upcoming content and not wanting comic dialog to spoil an upcoming scene; but the thing that sticks foremost in my mind is how the former linked post was originally included in the Index as saying "Vampire Durkon" could cast spells because he wasn't worshipping a deity, and only addressed removed after a vote years after the latter linked post showed it was an incorrect inference...the sort of scenario I'm hoping to avoid here.


On the other hand, the detailed description of how the Giant built a motivation for Redcloak's actions isn't needed in the summary, imho.Hm, I suppose the earlier (and much shorter) "I felt Right-Eye needed the motivation his family provided in order to do what he attempted at the very end of Start of Darkness" would have a similar effect....

[theangelJean]

The (non)answer to the question asked is "Redcloak’s niece will never be mentioned again or dealt with in any way, shape, or form, unless she is."

No. I might have been slightly off in the presentation, though...there's certainly some intersection between the Giant not being interested in spoiling upcoming content and not wanting comic dialog to spoil an upcoming scene; but the thing that sticks foremost in my mind is how the former linked post was originally included in the Index as saying "Vampire Durkon" could cast spells because he wasn't worshipping a deity, and only addressed removed after a vote years after the latter linked post showed it was an incorrect inference...the sort of scenario I'm hoping to avoid here.

Hm, I suppose the earlier (and much shorter) "I felt Right-Eye needed the motivation his family provided in order to do what he attempted at the very end of Start of Darkness" would have a similar effect....

I'd support the latter suggestion, much more than any comment on possible/unlikely upcoming appearances. The question may have been about whether Redcloak's niece will appear again in the comic, but what we get is a non-answer. What we do have is a much more detailed and concrete answer to a question not asked, which is "Why was Redcloak's niece in that position in the comic in the first place?" and I feel like that is in itself worth indexing. And I don't think it would be the first time we indexed something that was tangential to a question asked, which was also interesting in itself.

[Gwynfrid]

Hm, I suppose the earlier (and much shorter) "I felt Right-Eye needed the motivation his family provided in order to do what he attempted at the very end of Start of Darkness" would have a similar effect....

Yes, exactly.

[b_jonas]

Right, I also want the part about Right-Eye's motivation to get included, as you can see from the snippet that I have provided.

And for question 8, I specifically want to highlight how much care the Giant takes with Durkon's speech, because that's the interesting part. That the transcribed accent adds to flavor but makes him harder to understand is obvious and we don't need an interview for that.

Now the hard part is writing the summary snippet for question 12.

[Ron Miel]

Right, I also want the part about Right-Eye's motivation to get included, as you can see from the snippet that I have provided.

But shouldn't we include that it isn't a plot hook with a planned payoff? I think that's important too.

[Jasdoif]

Since we're on a new page....

In case anyone missed it, the Giant made a new "answer post" over on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) several days ago. Current state of the discussion on which questions to include appears to be:



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Voters


1
"Was the importance of the quiddities a planned plot element far in advance? I'm asking because I didn't even notice the colors until Loki mentioned them in strip 998. I looked back through the archive and sure enough, the gods had their colors from the start. To have that set up so far back and not mention it until so late is very patient plotting!"
(Yes.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"You've mentioned you post the comic when you finish it, do you ever wait so that you can post it at a better time?"
(Sometimes.)
3
8
Exclude
In Favor: Fyraltari, Kish, Ron Miel

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert


3
"When you make strips that happen in the past, you usually use crayon as to give them a distinctive visual identity, which I find awesome. You use real crayons? Or some digital brush with a crayon effect? If you do use real crayons, do you find it more or less difficult then making digital art? (as I assume it's how the rest of the comic is made)."
(Actual crayons.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Was Miko a paladin of all the Twelve Gods equally, or did she worship one of them over everyone else?"
(She worshipped the pantheon equally.)
8
3
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, fuschiawarrior, Ron Miel

Against: Gwynfrid, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert


5
"Why does the Dark One count as evil? Same question about Redcloak, who presumably has been following the will of the Dark One? Based on strip #1208, what Redcloak wants seems extremely reasonable. So too were the demands of the Dark One, as we have been shown."
(All the Evil they do.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"In the long process of writing all the stories so far, have you ever felt frustrated with the decisions you made choosing the composition of the core party members? Such as wishing you had someone else to make a story point, or having an arc where you felt uninspired writing one or more members of the party? My mental context for this question is wondering whether you ever feel restricted much later by plot decisions you made early on, before you even thought this story would have continuity."
(Yes.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: Doug Lampert


7
"At what point do you come up with the names for the trade paperbacks? I understand that, at first, you likely didn't have anything in mind for the series since you didn't even know how far it would go. But as time has gone on and you've now completed 6 main line books and 4 extra books (if I'm counting right in my head without looking to check) do you have an idea what the name of the book will be when you're getting started with it? Or is it something you only really think about when it's come time to release the physical book?"
(It varies.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"I've always found it takes longer to read Durkon's speech, and exponentially so when he has long mono-/dialogues. Ironically, I think during the last stretch of strips it's helped me to slow down my reading and increase my immersion in the strip. How much longer (if at all) does it typically take you to write Durkon's speech compared to others? Do you ever regret the decision to write his speech in the style you chose? Do you write it by hand, or use a spelling replacement algorithm, or take a "method" writing approach? Are there any particular frustrations or difficulties (or joys) regarding Durkon's speech?"
(A little.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"(W)hen you actually post the last strip, will you announce it to be such, or will it be obvious from the title, or what?"
(Yes.)
3
6
Vote-able
In Favor: Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior

Against: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Fyraltari, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel


10
"In some of the behind the scenes commentaries, you mentioned that you had major plans for each character when you started writing volume 0, including Durkon's touch with prophecy and vampirsm. Did you also plan for the conflict between Elan and Haley's fathers as the ruler and a prisoner of Tyriana respectively, or did that grow organically as more elements of the story fell into place?"
(Since Haley looked at the ransom letter.)
10
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: Doug Lampert


11
"I realise this may edge into "stuff that hasn't happened yet" if the answer is yes but: do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy."
(Possibly?)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Doug Lampert, 137ben, Jaxzan Proditor, theangelJean, Fyraltari, ti'esar, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"What is a regular "creation day" for you? I mean, what is your process for writing and drawing? Like, do you listen to music/podcast while working, do you always take at least half an hour to tweek the writing, do you alternate days of heavy writing or heavy drawing...?"
(A bunch of stuff.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: 137ben, theangelJean, Fyraltari, Kish, Gwynfrid, fuschiawarrior, b_jonas, Sir_Norbert, Ron Miel

Against: Doug Lampert





Voter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


137ben
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



theangelJean
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


ti'esar










:smallbiggrin:



Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


fuschiawarrior
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


b_jonas

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:



:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Ron Miel
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:




And the (just-now-updated) draft of the entries for the Index are:


Tentative Updates for Index 6.7

🍍🍌On Coming Up with a Book's Title(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Sometimes, it just comes to me before I'm even done with the strips....Sometimes, I sit and wrack my brain when the printer is waiting for my files to start production....Most of the time, though, I have a vague idea that I need to hammer into shape." More about "Blood Runs in the Family" in particular here.
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Planning and the Conflict between Elan's and Haley's Fathers(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Well, I had plans for it starting when I drew the strip where Haley is looking at the letter (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html). Which might count as being planned in that it wasn't paid off for like ten more years, but I'm pretty sure I didn't know it was going to happen until I created that page."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Redcloak's Niece(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"I felt Right-Eye needed the motivation his family provided in order to do what he attempted at the very end of Start of Darkness."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌On Transcribing Durkon's Accent(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"I do sometimes vary his accent depending on whether I think the meaning will be lost in a specific sentence if I don't...."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Crayon Drawings are Made with "Actual Crayons"(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Giant on Being Constrained by His Own Decisions(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I accept the downside of being locked into certain aspects that I decided early as the price I pay for the freedom of getting to invent everything else as I go."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Giant on How He Works on the Comic(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I'll take a shot at answering it in more depth even though I don't really have 'regular' creation days. That is, I don't plan out what I'm going to work on ahead of time or schedule specific tasks for specific days. I usually...."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Importance of Gods' Colors was Planned in Advance(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...from the time I introduced the different pantheons during the first set of crayon strips."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍌The Last Strip Will Be Identifiable As the Last Strip(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"If nothing else, it will probably end with THE END on a black panel or something similarly blatant."
#1222
2020/12/30
Tentative, appears will be eligible for vote


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon")
#848
2012/04/11
Tentative, appears will be included without vote


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.")
#830
2012/01/23
Tentative, appears will be included without vote

[Schroeswald]

Include to all but 2 and 9

[Throknor]

All seem good to me.

[Kish]

QUESTION : " do we ever find out what happened to Red Cloak's niece, Right Eye's daughter. I've wanted to know for years if she managed to grow up somewhere, hopefully happy. "

ANSWER : But the truth is that this has been dramatically blown out of proportion as an “obvious” plot thread that will someday be paid off when it’s…not that.

I think that this is the main part of the question, and the most important part of the answer.

What does anyone else think?
.


But shouldn't we include that it isn't a plot hook with a planned payoff? I think that's important too.
I'm with Jasdoif; Rich's words "unless she is" make "it isn't a plot hook with a planned payoff" an inaccurate paraphrase. She may, at this point, have a planned payoff; it's worth noting that creating a plot thread wasn't what Rich was going for there and what the actual reason for establishing her existence was, but not worth asserting that there is and will never be a plot thread there.

After the final strip of the seventh book is up, we can come back and rewrite the answer into "Redcloak's niece has no payoff."

[Peelee]

After the final strip of the seventh book is up, we can come back and rewrite the answer into "Redcloak's niece has no payoff."

[sadly stops writing my fanfiction story titled "The Super Cool Adventures of Redcloak's Niece" ]

[Throknor]

I'm with Jasdoif; Rich's words "unless she is" make "it isn't a plot hook with a planned payoff" an inaccurate paraphrase. She may, at this point, have a planned payoff; it's worth noting that creating a plot thread wasn't what Rich was going for there and what the actual reason for establishing her existence was, but not worth asserting that there is and will never be a plot thread there.

After the final strip of the seventh book is up, we can come back and rewrite the answer into "Redcloak's niece has no payoff."

I can't disagree with this more. He is literally saying there is no planned return. He has no intention at this time of ever mentioning her again. However, he is specifically not locking himself into never bringing her back in case he surprisingly thinks of a reason to do so but nothing is planned for it.

[The Linker]

I can't disagree with this more. He is literally saying there is no planned return. He has no intention at this time of ever mentioning her again. However, he is specifically not locking himself into never bringing her back in case he surprisingly thinks of a reason to do so but nothing is planned for it.

I do not think he is saying that at all! I could see 'he was not planning a return at the time' as an interpretation*, but now? Now I'm quite sure he knows whether or not Redcloak's niece is coming back.

He's begun the final book. He's thought about this for years. There's no way this final chapter is not tightly, tightly plotted to the point where there would be room to 'add in' Redcloak's niece. At least in any meaningful way. And if he is planning to have her back, he would answer this Patreon question the same way, because of course he wouldn't want to spoil that. That's just poor show.

*Though I would lean more towards 'he had ideas for her return, but did not include her survival specifically as a plot thread, rather, simply as motivation for Right-Eye.' It's not mutually exclusive to say that he didn't include it as an obvious plot thread to be paid off one day, but still thought of a way to pay it off anyway.

[Jasdoif]

Well, looks like #9 is still hanging in the vote-able range....so!


UPDATE COMING, CALLING FOR PMs TO REQUIRE VOTES

Anyone thinking the entry marked "Accepting PMs to require vote" should not be included in the Index should send me a private message, saying the entry should require a vote. (The default is to include, an item not voted on will be included in the Index.) If I get PMs from two or more people about the particular entry, it will be voted on to decide inclusion; the vote will be the next stage, and I'll announce it when the vote is ready.

The other entries below reached strong consensus already. A vote is considered unnecessary in that case; they will be included.


Proposed Items for Index 6.7

🍍🍌On Coming Up with a Book's Title(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Sometimes, it just comes to me before I'm even done with the strips....Sometimes, I sit and wrack my brain when the printer is waiting for my files to start production....Most of the time, though, I have a vague idea that I need to hammer into shape." More about "Blood Runs in the Family" in particular here.
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Planning and the Conflict between Elan's and Haley's Fathers(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"Well, I had plans for it starting when I drew the strip where Haley is looking at the letter (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html). Which might count as being planned in that it wasn't paid off for like ten more years, but I'm pretty sure I didn't know it was going to happen until I created that page."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Redcloak's Niece(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"I felt Right-Eye needed the motivation his family provided in order to do what he attempted at the very end of Start of Darkness."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Transcribing Durkon's Accent(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"I do sometimes vary his accent depending on whether I think the meaning will be lost in a specific sentence if I don't...."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Crayon Drawings are Made with "Actual Crayons"(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Giant on Being Constrained by His Own Decisions(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I accept the downside of being locked into certain aspects that I decided early as the price I pay for the freedom of getting to invent everything else as I go."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Giant on How He Works on the Comic(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...I'll take a shot at answering it in more depth even though I don't really have 'regular' creation days. That is, I don't plan out what I'm going to work on ahead of time or schedule specific tasks for specific days. I usually...."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Importance of Gods' Colors was Planned in Advance(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"...from the time I introduced the different pantheons during the first set of crayon strips."
#1222
2020/12/30
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Last Strip Will Be Identifiable As the Last Strip(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"If nothing else, it will probably end with THE END on a black panel or something similarly blatant."
#1222
2020/12/30
Accepting PMs to require vote PM threshold met, vote required.


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon")
#848
2012/04/11
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.")
#830
2012/01/23
No vote required, will be included.





PMs will be accepted until January 10th, 9PM EST already. I'll try to update the table if/when entries get sufficient PMs.

To send me a PM, click my username (The vaguely-pronounceable(?)-looking word above the spellcasting-and-invocation-using banana with purple hair) and select "Private Message". Or I guess you could click here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=23376). Anyway, include the title of the entry you're nominating in the message. Mentioning something about "Index Nomination" in the subject line would be helpful.

A few final reminders:

Don't post suggestions to require votes. They're sent by PM to avoid filling up the thread with them, posts will not be counted.
Only PM for entries you think should be excluded. They'll be included if they don't receive sufficient nominations.
We're not voting on the entries yet. The voting will be the next stage; I'll call for the vote at an appropriate time.
We still have a banana in charge. Hi. :smalltongue: (I neither confirm nor deny a zapped status.)



Further discussion of entries is encouraged at this point. In particular, recommendations for different titles and descriptions for the quote entries are things I'd be happy to consider.



After the final strip of the seventh book is up, we can come back and rewrite the answer into "Redcloak's niece has no payoff."[sadly stops writing my fanfiction story titled "The Super Cool Adventures of Redcloak's Niece" ]No no no; see, the less the comic does with Redcloak's niece, the more flexibility you have in doing what you want without violating canon (or looking like a hack for not caring that you're violating canon).

[Jasdoif]

Well that was relatively fast. No sense waiting around to start the vote...

Item up for voting:


🍌The Last Strip Will Be Identifiable As the Last Strip(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183)
"If nothing else, it will probably end with THE END on a black panel or something similarly blatant."
#1222
2020/12/30





Please bold your yes/no vote, it'll make it easier for me to notice when I go through and count everything.
Votes must be posted (as in, not PM-ed to me) to be counted.
Please avoid discussing the quotes themselves, outside of giving an explanation for your vote in the same post as your vote. This'll make it easier to catch up after the vote, if a new quote comes along while we're still voting.
Per Rule F4, inclusion by vote requires a quote to have two more votes in favor than votes against.



Voting will be open until January 11th, 9PM EST.

The other ten entries will go into the Index after the vote is concluded.

[b_jonas]

I vote exclude on the Patreon answer about the last strip. I just still irrationally dislike that question.

[Ortho]

I vote No.

This is a rare question that's guaranteed to be answered, so I don't think its inclusion here adds anything.

[Darth V]

Vote NO.

Reasoning:
Why on earth would anybody* even ask such a thing?
And even if somebody would still be unsure if they would recognize an ending we could link them to six perfectly fine End-Of-Book comic strips which made abundantly clear that yes, here is the end of the current book. There is no reason to even assume that the last book would be handled differently.

TLDR: Dumb question is dumb, no need for direct quote to answer that. Clutter and all that.



*This includes the patreon backer who asked that in the first place! Just Why???

[Fyraltari]

No.

What Darth V said.

[DataNinja]

Yeah, I vote No. I... don't even know how it would be unclear if it was the end.

[b_jonas]

Yeah, I vote No. I... don't even know how it would be unclear if it was the end. It would be unclear because readers really underestimate the Giant. When #936 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html) was posted, multiple people asked if this was the last strip of the book. It could happen again. Nevertheless it's a stupid question and we should exclude it.

[Ron Miel]

Nope. Trivial. Leave it out.

[Darth V]

It would be unclear because readers really underestimate the Giant. When #936 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html) was posted, multiple people asked if this was the last strip of the book. It could happen again. Nevertheless it's a stupid question and we should exclude it.


And IIRC even back then a lot of people rightfully pointed out that all previous books had an announcement at the end...

[137beth]

I'm also voting exclude.

[Doug Lampert]

No.


Added characters to add character.

[Gwynfrid]

No. I don't think the Index will ever be needed to help answer a question like this.

[Jasdoif]

Hrmm. Bonus points for question #9 being voted on nine times, I guess....

The Last Strip Will Be Identifiable As the Last Strip failed to pass; 0 for, 9 against.



Entry
Yes Votes
No Votes
Voters


The Last Strip
0
9
Yes Votes: :smallannoyed:

No Votes: b_jonas, mjp1050, Darth V, Fyraltari, DataNinja, Ron Miel, 137ben, Doug Lampert, Gwynfrid





Voter
The Last Strip


b_jonas
:smallannoyed:


mjp1050
:smallannoyed:


Darth V
:smallannoyed:


Fyraltari
:smallannoyed:


DataNinja
:smallannoyed:


Ron Miel
:smallannoyed:


137ben
:smallannoyed:


Doug Lampert
:smallannoyed:


Gwynfrid
:smallannoyed:




The Index has been updated with the remaining entries.


No. I don't think the Index will ever be needed to help answer a question like this.So now I'm wondering if I misinterpreted your earlier post as supporting this one:

Yay, interesting answers to interesting questions. Well, I don't find all of them equally interesting, but folks asked them, so they're of interest to the Index.

I would include every one except #2. That one runs into the standard exclusion of anything relative to the rate of comic posting. Everything else is fine to include.

[Gwynfrid]

So now I'm wondering if I misinterpreted your earlier post as supporting this one:


I had little time to post, so I gave you a quick initial view, focused on item #2, which I saw as problematic. I didn't care as strongly about #9. But if we're voting on it, then I agree we don't need it.

[Peelee]

I just finished buying ten votes with my large investment of Schrute Bucks so I vote ye-awwwwwww.

So now I'm wondering if I misinterpreted your earlier post as supporting this one:

Small copy/paste snafu with the link there, I suspect?

[Jasdoif]

I had little time to post, so I gave you a quick initial view, focused on item #2, which I saw as problematic. I didn't care as strongly about #9. But if we're voting on it, then I agree we don't need it.Ah.

Small copy/paste snafu with the link there, I suspect?Yes; I may need new digital glue...fixed now.

[Emanick]

I just finished buying ten votes with my large investment of Schrute Bucks so I vote ye-awwwwwww.

Doesn't matter, I was able to buy 500 votes for no with my accumulated hoard of Stanley Nickels.

[Peelee]

Doesn't matter, I was able to buy 500 votes for no with my accumulated hoard of Stanley Nickels.

Stanley Nickels were commemorate coins that never entered circulation and everybody knows it!

[theangelJean]

As linked in Rich's Twitter, he was interviewed for an article about the 2002 Fantasy Setting Search (https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/feature/making-of-eberron-dnd-contest).

It mentions Rich as being the writer of OOTS, and the influence of this contest on his decision to focus on writing rather than graphic design, but is otherwise unrelated. I don't think we should index it.

[137beth]

I do think it's worth including. I didn't realize that the setting search convinced him to try being a writer and not "just" an artist. Or maybe I did know that but I hadn't seen him express it like he did in this interview.

[mattender]

I do think it's worth including. I didn't realize that the setting search convinced him to try being a writer and not "just" an artist. Or maybe I did know that but I hadn't seen him express it like he did in this interview.

I came by the forum to make sure there was a note about it (and happily, there was). I also think it is noteworthy.

[Jasdoif]

As linked in Rich's Twitter, he was interviewed for an article about the 2002 Fantasy Setting Search (https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/feature/making-of-eberron-dnd-contest).

It mentions Rich as being the writer of OOTS, and the influence of this contest on his decision to focus on writing rather than graphic design, but is otherwise unrelated. I don't think we should index it.
I do think it's worth including. I didn't realize that the setting search convinced him to try being a writer and not "just" an artist. Or maybe I did know that but I hadn't seen him express it like he did in this interview.
I came by the forum to make sure there was a note about it (and happily, there was). I also think it is noteworthy.

Two for, one against....It looks like it'd extend this entry well enough:


Supporting the Strip

On the Comic As a Business
The website was originally intended to support a game design career, and the gaming comic was envisioned to keep people visiting the site to see the latest gaming articles. The comic was never produced purely for arts' sake: "It is a business of selling a creative work, but it is still a business."
#1066
2017/02/21



What's everyone else think?

[Kish]

I say to include, predictably enough.

[snowblizz]

I tend to be for inclusion. The story of how Rich got going I think is also included in some book commentary because I've read it, but not everyone is going to have access to that.

I always found that story to be quite interesting.

[Gwynfrid]

As an extension to the comic as a business entry, it adds nice color and makes a lot of sense.

[ti'esar]

Another vote for inclusion. I've read some of the things the Giant has written about both that contest and how he got started, but I don't think I've ever seen the part about how it was what made him start thinking of himself as a writer and not just a graphic designer before. That's really interesting, IMO.

[Jasdoif]

Okay; with the after-two-months date for the next update cycle being only two weeks away now, I suppose I should put a tentative entry together....


Proposed Items for Index 6.8

🍍🍌On the Comic As a Business
The website was originally intended to support a game design career, and the gaming comic was envisioned to keep people visiting the site to see the latest gaming articles. The comic was never produced purely for arts' sake: "It is a business of selling a creative work, but it is still a business." See also here (https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/feature/making-of-eberron-dnd-contest), on Wizards of the Coast's Setting Search contest and how it led the Giant to "start Giant in the Playground as a place to publish my further work...."
#1066
2017/02/21
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.




Hmm, looks a bit long in the description....

[Jasdoif]

Well then!


Proposed Updates for Index 6.8

🍍🍌On the Comic As a Business
The website was originally intended to support a game design career, and the gaming comic was envisioned to keep people visiting the site to see the latest gaming articles. The comic was never produced purely for arts' sake: "It is a business of selling a creative work, but it is still a business." See also here (https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/feature/making-of-eberron-dnd-contest), on Wizards of the Coast's Setting Search contest and how it led the Giant to "start Giant in the Playground as a place to publish my further work...."
#1066
2017/02/21
No vote required, will be included.




With nothing eligible to be voted on, there will be no vote; the Index has been updated.

[hamishspence]

Do you think The Giant's comment on Fenris from 1232 being the same god as Fenrir from 999, is worth mentioning?

https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25016573&postcount=11

[ByzantiumBhuka]

Probably not. A spelling difference seems a bit too small for this.

[Ron Miel]

I say nay.

[Emanick]

I agree, it’s not really worth including.

[snowblizz]

And it's mentioned what twice? I think basically at this point effectively it's a typo for all intents and purposes.

Edit:
I should say I reserve my right to change my mind the second I see 3 people in a row get confused by this and start posting threads. That's why am usually in favour for inclusion, I've seen people confused.

[Gwynfrid]

In the past we’ve had lengthy debates about things arguably just as unimportant as this one, and in some cases they were even voted in. But I agree, this isn’t worth an entry.

[Jasdoif]

Do you think The Giant's comment on Fenris from 1232 being the same god as Fenrir from 999, is worth mentioning?

https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25016573&postcount=11I think that the post refers to it as something that could be "fixed", means the Giant considers it an error and thus it isn't worth mentioning. Which also seems to be the consensus....

(I imagine something of the sort applies to Dvalin and Davlin (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1016.html) as well.)

[Fyraltari]

New Q&A post: (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)


"Q: Do you regret killing fruit Pie? A: No" No.
"Q: Did you enjoy writing Tarquin? A: Yes." Yes.
"Q: Why did Redcloak think he's have to kill his spy. A: He wasn't sure it'd be needed, but considered it."Yes.
"Q: Are dinosaurs mythical? A: Dinosaurs exist, but maybe creatures from other IP exists as myths." No.
"Q: Did you consider making more Monsters for Every Season? A: I did make more and there's another one coming."Undecided.
"Q: How do dragons run? A: Like big dogs or cats." Yes, very important lore.
"Q: Was Tsukiko inspired by a Walking Dead character? A: No." Yes.
"Q: Are all 9 sides known by now? A: The number 9 is arbitrary and meaningless." YE GODS, YES.
"Q: Is the Azurite hair color natural? A: Yes." Yes.
"Q: How much do you cut? And do you feel the need to reuse it? A: Not much."Yes
"Q: Do you write conversations/battles in advance? A: Conversations yes, battles are more improvised." Yes.
"Q: Do you feel more social media presence would help the comic. A: No, it's better for me this way." Undecided.
"Q: Do you look up D&D rules when writing? A: Haha, no." Yes, that flowchart is glorious.
"Q why did you change your use of colors? A: It looks better now, especially on books." Yes.

[ByzantiumBhuka]

New Q&A post: (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"Q: Are all 9 sides known by now? A: The number 9 is arbitrary and meaningless." YE GODS, YES.


At last! All nonagons shall be banished with the summoning of a banana!

Agreed on almost all counts, except on 4 and 7 (undecided) and 12 (yes).

[snowblizz]

Yea we need more of that flowchart. Cracked me up something fierce.

[Schroeswald]

Yes on 2, 3 and 8 through 14, undecided on 4-6, no on 1

[Metastachydium]

Okay. A very emphatic YES to 3, 8 and 9; a smaller, but firm YES to 1, 2, 6, 7, 11 and 13; a NO to 4, 5, 12 and 14; and an I don't know for 10.

[Darth V]

.

HOLY GUACAMOLE we can finally put this nine sides nonsense to a rest!


1. Fruit Pie? Seriously? Even the Giant doesn't take this question seriously, so NO
2. "How to write Tarkin" would be a nice addition to the writing/characters section, but i don't have any strong feelings on this quote. Let others decide.
3. Insight in Redcloak's motivation regarding the spy. YES
4. Mythical Dinosaurs? The answer doesn't even say anything substantial. NO
5. Someone failed a bunch of spot checks and missed not only Kickstarter updates, but on this very site: news announcements, forum threads, product pages (https://www.giantitp.com/Shop.html) and the banner of The Giant advertising his latest product. One has to wonder if that asker confused the patreon with Google or Alexa... :smallmad: Obviously NO, we can link directly to that stuff and don't need a quote.
Next Question: War&XPs was such an awesome book, are there any plans to release more books after that? ... :smallsigh:
6. Dragons are giant cats. Interesting. Why not? Undecided, feels too much like clutter and doesn't really matter anyway.
7. Parallels and Plagiarism: YES
8. Kill those ****ing nine side discussions. Kill it with fire!!! YESYESYESYES (Why could that not have been question number nine?)
9. Blue hair. YES
10. Cutting content. Maybe? small yes
11. Plotting dialogue and battle scenes. Very useful inside in the writing process. YES
12. Personal question without relevance to the comic. NO
13. No quote please, just the flowchart! :smallbiggrin: YES
14. The change of the colour palette was technically already discussed in the comment section of either DCF or NCFTPB, but we can't link to that. So... maybe? YES

[b_jonas]

.5. Someone failed a bunch of spot checks and missed not only Kickstarter updates, but on this very site: news announcements, forum threads, product pages (https://www.giantitp.com/Shop.html) and the banner of The Giant advertising his latest product. One has to wonder if that asker confused the patreon with Google or Alexa... :smallmad: Obviously NO, we can link directly to that stuff and don't need a quote. The shop page that you linked to, the one that is linked from the sidebar of the webpage whenever you're reading comics, (https://www.giantitp.com/Shop.html) it doesn't mention the Utterly Dwarfed book or the fifth AMFES. I think it's not surprising that some people miss that those products exist, or at least think they're not on sale. For reference, you can find the product page for the fifth AMFES (https://www.giantitp.com/AMFESSpring2.html) from the news page. That said, I don't think this answer is worth to include in this quote database.

[Darth V]

Huh, didn't notice that. Failed a spot check myself! Mabe someone should direct the attention of The Giant to these missing tidbits. My point still stands, though. AMFES are listed way more than the asker had known to exist.

[Gwynfrid]

A very cool post from the Giant here... I think everything except #1, #4, #5, and #12 should be included. I could be persuaded to keep #1, just because the answer is a fun read, even though it doesn't say anything informative.

That flowchart made my morning :smallbiggrin:

[Jasdoif]

On the odd chance my post ends up on a different page anyone's missed the link, there's a new Q&A post over on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064).

I will note that #5 looks to be inappropriate for inclusion under Rule B...but it doesn't look like there's much drive for it to be included anyway.



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Do you regret killing fruit pie?"
(<SarcasmOverflowException/>)
1
5
Exclude
In Favor: Metastachydium

Against: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Gwynfrid


2
"Did you enjoy writing for Tarquin? Was is hard to write the pun duel between him and Elan?"
(Yes, and no; respectively.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


3
"Why did Redcloak think the polymorphed hobgoblin spy had to die? Redcloak ended up telling Xykon that he destroyed the resistance and retrieved the phylactery from them, so there seems to be nothing the spy would know that needed to stay secret. Did he not want Xykon to know he could have destroyed the resistance earlier? Did he have a different plan before he killed Tsukiko? If so, was the original plan?"
(Less risky.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Are dinosaurs considered mythical creatures in the OOTS world? Or are they just ordinary animals that happen to exist in the world?"
(No.)
0
4
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid


5
"During the Kickstarter event you did two Monsters for Every Season (Autumn 2016 and Winter 2018). I really love them. Have you considered doing more of these and offering them for sale?"
(Yes.)
0
4
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, b_jonas, Gwynfrid


6
"How do dragons run in the OOTS universe? Is it more like a weasel or a lizard? Perhaps dachshunds?"
(Big dogs or cats.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Metastachydium, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


7
"I just started watching The Walking Dead a few months ago. I'm not sure if you have seen it. (Spoilers, sort of, on season 4) There is a character, a young girl, that loves the "walkers", and plays with them. She thinks they are misunderstood. This was in 2014, and I'm not sure what year Tsukiko came on scene. Was she inspired by this, a coincidence, did you think I already wrote that girl, or have you never watched TWD?"
(No.)
4
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"In this comic the roaches mention 9 different groups in this conflict. Have all 9 been revealed or are some still hidden?"
(Demonic roaches betrayed you.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"Do citizens of Azure City/paladins/members of the Sapphire Guard dye their hair/beards shades of blue, or does it grow that color naturally?"
(Natural.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"How much stuff winds up on your "cutting room floor"? I know you've said your scripts end up too wordy and have to be trimmed. Do you find that trimming is more often of the 'consolidation' variety or of the "that whole weird tangent about gnome commoners and railguns has to go'? do you keep a notebook/log of cool things you had to snip, in hope to find somewhere else to use it?"
(Consolidated, mostly.)
5
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Do you write the scripts for entire scenes in advance or strip-by-strip? For example did you write Durkon and redcloak's conversation in 1204-1210 all in advance and then separated it into individual pages (adding the necessary punchlines at the end of each strip) ar did you just had a rough idea of where the conversation had to be at the end of each strip and wrote that strip accordingly once the previous one was done? And do you proceed differently for conversations and battles?"
(Both.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"By contrast, you don’t really engage with your fans on social media very much. Do you think that helps or hurts your comic, and what led you to make that decision?"
(Not that social.)
2
3
Vote-able
In Favor: ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid


13
"How much of a challenge is it at this point to incorporate DnD rules into the story? I know you've said before that you don't have specific stats for characters (and don't sweat the details about every rule as written for given spells). But a comic like like #928 still requires the general knowledge of "contingency" spells. Is that mostly based on memory/continued experience playing the game? Or do you come up with a storyboarding concept for a given comic first, then figure out how to make it work with DnD rules (looking things up as needed)?"
(Memory bound by apathy, usually.)
7
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, snowblizz, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


14
"You had much brighter and harsher colors in the older comics, but I like the colors you have now. What made you change the colors you use?"
(Colors evolved alongside art style and desire to publish books.)
5
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Gwynfrid

Against: Metastachydium





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14


Fyraltari
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


ByzantiumBhuka
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


snowblizz












:smallbiggrin:



Schroeswald
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:




:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Darth V
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


b_jonas




:smallannoyed:











Gwynfrid
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

[Kish]

Include all except 5.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I think overall I'm with the thread consensus on this latest Q&A. I think I'm against including 12 because it's more about the Giant personally and how he feels about interacting with fans of the comic than anything pertaining to the comic itself. The answer to 1 is hilarious, but sadly I don't think it's something that really belongs in the Index. 5 I agree is not something that is allowed in the Index. To be honest I'm not even sure what's being asked or answered in 4. Everything else I am for including and am particularly happy with the answers given in 2, 3, 8, 13, and 14 (I love a good art answer).

[Precure]

Include all except 2, 4, 5, 7 and 12.

[Reboot]

Everything except 1 and 5.

[WanderingMist]

I am only against 5, 7 and 12. I am for the rest.

Attacks:
5: Irrelevant to the comic
7: This can be confirmed simply by comparing publishing and airing dates, we don't really need the author's denial.
12: Irrelevant to the comic.

Defenses:
1: Needs to stay just in case the author is being sarcastic
2: Nice background info
3: Nice glance into Redcloak's mindstate at that particular time.
4: Nice background info, even if I disagree on the why of his answer, as plenty of real creatures were once considered mythical
6: Nice background info
8: For the love of The Dark One, keep this one even if you discard all the rest.
9: Nice background info
10: Ah, the pains of editing. All aspiring writers should learn of it.
11: Interesting look at how the comic is written
13: Might as well keep this, since people keep trying to deny scenes in the comic by RAW
14: Interesting note on how the artstyle developed.

[Peelee]

plenty of real creatures were once considered mythical

Can you give examples? I've never heard of this.

[Fyraltari]

Can you give examples? I've never heard of this.

Most of Australia's wildlife?

[WanderingMist]

Can you give examples? I've never heard of this.

Sure, I'm sure I can find some:

https://www.discovery.com/nature/Mythical-Animals-Turned-Out-to-Be-Real


If you don't want to click the link, I'll summarize it:

Narwhals: This was more of a Viking con where they didn't say where the horn was from, but the horns were from real creatures.

Rhinoceroses: Pliny's description of unicorn does not match the modern image: "has the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a boar ... it makes a deep sound in lowing, and has a single black horn which projects from the middle of its forehead"

Platypus: Most well-known hoax that turned out to not be one

Gorilla: Human-like monsters that visit camps, not identified properly until 1847.

Giant Squid: The Kraken.

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/monster-week/mythical-animals-that-turned-out-to-be-real/

This article reinforces Gorilla and Platypus, and adds Komodo dragons, manatees, and okapis to the list.

Komodo dragons: No one believed it existed until live examples showed up.

Manatees: Mermaids!

Okapi: You know how giraffes easily seem mythical if you've never seen one? Well, the okapi is even worse, because it's half-deer, half-zebra.

[Yendor]

Exclude 1, 4, 5, 7, 12. Include 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14. Don't really care about 6.


7: This can be confirmed simply by comparing publishing and airing dates, we don't really need the author's denial.

This. Tsukiko was dead for two years by that point.

Also suggesting expanding the note for 9 to say that Azure City was a play on Emerald City from Oz.

[Peelee]

Sure, I'm sure I can find some:

https://www.discovery.com/nature/Mythical-Animals-Turned-Out-to-Be-Real


If you don't want to click the link, I'll summarize it:

Narwhals: This was more of a Viking con where they didn't say where the horn was from, but the horns were from real creatures.

Rhinoceroses: Pliny's description of unicorn does not match the modern image: "has the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a boar ... it makes a deep sound in lowing, and has a single black horn which projects from the middle of its forehead"

Platypus: Most well-known hoax that turned out to not be one

Gorilla: Human-like monsters that visit camps, not identified properly until 1847.

Giant Squid: The Kraken.

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/monster-week/mythical-animals-that-turned-out-to-be-real/

This article reinforces Gorilla and Platypus, and adds Komodo dragons, manatees, and okapis to the list.

Komodo dragons: No one believed it existed until live examples showed up.

Manatees: Mermaids!

Okapi: You know how giraffes easily seem mythical if you've never seen one? Well, the okapi is even worse, because it's half-deer, half-zebra.

To nearly all of those: were such creatures mythical to the indigonous populations, or to Europeans? I doubt Indonesians thought komodo dragons were mythical or central Africans thought gorrilas were mythical; its hardly their fault that foreign explorers didn't bother to believe the indigenous peoples or came in with the expectation that nothing in the flora and fauna would be different. This may be a bit unfair, since the article openly admits to this, but I still feel it's valid.

As for manatees/mermaids... Well, that's definitely a whole 'nother can of worms, but I'm leaning against saying "this fat cuddly sea cow is totally mythical because they were horrendously mis-imagined by sailors fantasizing about whatever they wanted the creatures to be". And narwhals are fairly definitively not unicorns.

Kraken I'll totally accept though.

[Fyraltari]

I think I recall hearing about a biology book where the author specified he would only talk about creatures whose existence were confirmed by (then-)modern science, so no griffins, dragons, mermaids or pelicans.

[Sir_Norbert]

Include all except 1, 4, 5, 7, 12. I agree with the reasons given by others on those ones.

[Gwynfrid]

On second thought, I agree with WanderingMist and others that we don't need #7.

[Jasdoif]

Okay.



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Do you regret killing fruit pie?"
(<SarcasmOverflowException/>)
4
8
Vote-able
In Favor: Metastachydium, Kish, Precure, WanderingMist

Against: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot, Yendor, Gwynfrid


2
"Did you enjoy writing for Tarquin? Was is hard to write the pun duel between him and Elan?"
(Yes, and no; respectively.)
10
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: Precure


3
"Why did Redcloak think the polymorphed hobgoblin spy had to die? Redcloak ended up telling Xykon that he destroyed the resistance and retrieved the phylactery from them, so there seems to be nothing the spy would know that needed to stay secret. Did he not want Xykon to know he could have destroyed the resistance earlier? Did he have a different plan before he killed Tsukiko? If so, was the original plan?"
(Less risky.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Are dinosaurs considered mythical creatures in the OOTS world? Or are they just ordinary animals that happen to exist in the world?"
(No.)
3
6
Vote-able
In Favor: Kish, Reboot, WanderingMist

Against: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Precure, Yendor, Gwynfrid


5
"During the Kickstarter event you did two Monsters for Every Season (Autumn 2016 and Winter 2018). I really love them. Have you considered doing more of these and offering them for sale?"
(Yes.)
0
10
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, b_jonas, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid


6
"How do dragons run in the OOTS universe? Is it more like a weasel or a lizard? Perhaps dachshunds?"
(Big dogs or cats.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Metastachydium, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


7
"I just started watching The Walking Dead a few months ago. I'm not sure if you have seen it. (Spoilers, sort of, on season 4) There is a character, a young girl, that loves the "walkers", and plays with them. She thinks they are misunderstood. This was in 2014, and I'm not sure what year Tsukiko came on scene. Was she inspired by this, a coincidence, did you think I already wrote that girl, or have you never watched TWD?"
(No.)
6
4
Vote-able
In Favor: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot

Against: Precure, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid


8
"In this comic the roaches mention 9 different groups in this conflict. Have all 9 been revealed or are some still hidden?"
(Demonic roaches betrayed you.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"Do citizens of Azure City/paladins/members of the Sapphire Guard dye their hair/beards shades of blue, or does it grow that color naturally?"
(Natural.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"How much stuff winds up on your "cutting room floor"? I know you've said your scripts end up too wordy and have to be trimmed. Do you find that trimming is more often of the 'consolidation' variety or of the "that whole weird tangent about gnome commoners and railguns has to go'? do you keep a notebook/log of cool things you had to snip, in hope to find somewhere else to use it?"
(Consolidated, mostly.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Do you write the scripts for entire scenes in advance or strip-by-strip? For example did you write Durkon and redcloak's conversation in 1204-1210 all in advance and then separated it into individual pages (adding the necessary punchlines at the end of each strip) ar did you just had a rough idea of where the conversation had to be at the end of each strip and wrote that strip accordingly once the previous one was done? And do you proceed differently for conversations and battles?"
(Both.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"By contrast, you don’t really engage with your fans on social media very much. Do you think that helps or hurts your comic, and what led you to make that decision?"
(Not that social.)
4
7
Vote-able
In Favor: ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Kish, Reboot

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid


13
"How much of a challenge is it at this point to incorporate DnD rules into the story? I know you've said before that you don't have specific stats for characters (and don't sweat the details about every rule as written for given spells). But a comic like like #928 still requires the general knowledge of "contingency" spells. Is that mostly based on memory/continued experience playing the game? Or do you come up with a storyboarding concept for a given comic first, then figure out how to make it work with DnD rules (looking things up as needed)?"
(Memory bound by apathy, usually.)
13
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, snowblizz, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


14
"You had much brighter and harsher colors in the older comics, but I like the colors you have now. What made you change the colors you use?"
(Colors evolved alongside art style and desire to publish books.)
11
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: Metastachydium





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14


Fyraltari
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


ByzantiumBhuka
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


snowblizz












:smallbiggrin:



Schroeswald
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:




:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Darth V
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


b_jonas




:smallannoyed:











Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Reboot
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


WanderingMist
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Yendor
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



Haven't seen any movement for a couple days, so I guess I better draft some entry wording....


Proposed Items for Index 6.9

🍌Azurite Hair is Naturally Blue(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"... I decided to riff on Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz and make almost everything blue, including the hair of many of its inhabitants."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌How Dragons Run in OOTS(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...I would assume something like a larger dog or even a cat."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌On Animals Being "Mythical"(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...I'm not sure what would qualify for that since there's been stats printed for pretty much every imaginary monster ever conceived at this point."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌On Scripting by Scene or by Strip(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"In situations where a conversation needs to explicitly move the plot forward, I develop the entire scene ahead of time....But for other sorts of scenes, it's less likely that I script it completely in advance."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌The Giant Hasn't Watched The Walking Dead(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌The Giant on Killing Off Fruit Pie the Sorcerer(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I wail and gnash my teeth when I think about it, often because I am eating a fruit pie at the time and gnashing teeth is sort of how you do that."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌There Have Already Been More Than Nine Sides in the Comic(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"This is one of those things that I think has been maybe taken a little bit too literally, as if there are exactly nine factions involved."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌Why Redcloak Thought the Polymorphed Hobgoblin Spy Had to Die(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...the bottom line is, he was prepared to kill him if he needed to....The exact situation he might have been worried about was probably not clear even to him."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌The Giant Writes Everything Too Long
In his own opinion, at least. See also here(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("When I'm tight on space, I re-evaluate those clarifications to see...if I'm wasting space explaining details that 90% of the audience will get right away.").
#980
2015/04/26
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌The Inspiration for Tarquin was Elan
See also here(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("It was fun to think about how to turn Elan's obsession with stories into something menacing....")
#980
2015/04/26
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌Art Colors can Change
Whether because the Giant doesn't like the old color, or because his system doesn't. See also here(#14) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("I started to pick more realistic colors for the scenery as I began drawing more complex situations, both to sell the scene and to help the characters be the visual focus of a given panel.")
#942
2014/01/28
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌Evolution of D&D Adherence
The Giant hasn't made explicit statements about feats/items since 2008, OOTS' internal consistency is still maintained, and the Giant has no regrets about using D&D in OOTS. See also the flowchart here(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) "that explains the steps I take in incorporating the D&D rules into the comic's narrative".
#886
2013/05/09
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.

[b_jonas]

Of the Giant's Patreon Q&A post 2020-04 (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064), I vote to exclude question 1, 4, 5 (Fruit Pie Sorcerer, dinosaurs mythical, more AMFES), include question 2, 3, 14 (enjoy writing Elan, Redcloak and the Goblin who got the phylactery, more muted colors), abstain regarding question 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

For question 3, I recommend that the summary mentions something like “The fake Phylactery wasn't ready yet, so Redcloak was prepared to lie about when he recaptured the real one.” You can find the facts in the comic, but I haven't put them together, so perhaps other readers haven't either. For question 13, I'd make the statement in the table more explicit, such as “The Giant almost never looks up D&D rules (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) or cares enough to change the script to match the rules.”

[Reboot]

If #7 makes it in, I would definitely point out that Tsukiko predates the Walking Dead TV show as part of the summary.

[Jasdoif]

Of the Giant's Patreon Q&A post 2020-04 (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064), I vote to exclude question 1, 4, 5 (Fruit Pie Sorcerer, dinosaurs mythical, more AMFES), include question 2, 3, 14 (enjoy writing Elan, Redcloak and the Goblin who got the phylactery, more muted colors), abstain regarding question 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

Okay, that was enough to push #1 and #4 out of the vote-able range....



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Do you regret killing fruit pie?"
(<SarcasmOverflowException/>)
4
9
Exclude
In Favor: Metastachydium, Kish, Precure, WanderingMist

Against: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas


2
"Did you enjoy writing for Tarquin? Was is hard to write the pun duel between him and Elan?"
(Yes, and no; respectively.)
11
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas

Against: Precure


3
"Why did Redcloak think the polymorphed hobgoblin spy had to die? Redcloak ended up telling Xykon that he destroyed the resistance and retrieved the phylactery from them, so there seems to be nothing the spy would know that needed to stay secret. Did he not want Xykon to know he could have destroyed the resistance earlier? Did he have a different plan before he killed Tsukiko? If so, was the original plan?"
(Less risky.)
13
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas

Against: :smallbiggrin:


4
"Are dinosaurs considered mythical creatures in the OOTS world? Or are they just ordinary animals that happen to exist in the world?"
(No.)
3
7
Exclude
In Favor: Kish, Reboot, WanderingMist

Against: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Precure, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas


5
"During the Kickstarter event you did two Monsters for Every Season (Autumn 2016 and Winter 2018). I really love them. Have you considered doing more of these and offering them for sale?"
(Yes.)
0
10
Exclude
In Favor: :smallannoyed:

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas


6
"How do dragons run in the OOTS universe? Is it more like a weasel or a lizard? Perhaps dachshunds?"
(Big dogs or cats.)
9
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Metastachydium, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


7
"I just started watching The Walking Dead a few months ago. I'm not sure if you have seen it. (Spoilers, sort of, on season 4) There is a character, a young girl, that loves the "walkers", and plays with them. She thinks they are misunderstood. This was in 2014, and I'm not sure what year Tsukiko came on scene. Was she inspired by this, a coincidence, did you think I already wrote that girl, or have you never watched TWD?"
(No.)
6
4
Vote-able
In Favor: Fyraltari, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Reboot

Against: Precure, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid


8
"In this comic the roaches mention 9 different groups in this conflict. Have all 9 been revealed or are some still hidden?"
(Demonic roaches betrayed you.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


9
"Do citizens of Azure City/paladins/members of the Sapphire Guard dye their hair/beards shades of blue, or does it grow that color naturally?"
(Natural.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"How much stuff winds up on your "cutting room floor"? I know you've said your scripts end up too wordy and have to be trimmed. Do you find that trimming is more often of the 'consolidation' variety or of the "that whole weird tangent about gnome commoners and railguns has to go'? do you keep a notebook/log of cool things you had to snip, in hope to find somewhere else to use it?"
(Consolidated, mostly.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"Do you write the scripts for entire scenes in advance or strip-by-strip? For example did you write Durkon and redcloak's conversation in 1204-1210 all in advance and then separated it into individual pages (adding the necessary punchlines at the end of each strip) ar did you just had a rough idea of where the conversation had to be at the end of each strip and wrote that strip accordingly once the previous one was done? And do you proceed differently for conversations and battles?"
(Both.)
12
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"By contrast, you don’t really engage with your fans on social media very much. Do you think that helps or hurts your comic, and what led you to make that decision?"
(Not that social.)
4
7
Vote-able
In Favor: ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Kish, Reboot

Against: Metastachydium, Darth V, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid


13
"How much of a challenge is it at this point to incorporate DnD rules into the story? I know you've said before that you don't have specific stats for characters (and don't sweat the details about every rule as written for given spells). But a comic like like #928 still requires the general knowledge of "contingency" spells. Is that mostly based on memory/continued experience playing the game? Or do you come up with a storyboarding concept for a given comic first, then figure out how to make it work with DnD rules (looking things up as needed)?"
(Memory bound by apathy, usually.)
13
0
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, snowblizz, Schroeswald, Metastachydium, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid

Against: :smallbiggrin:


14
"You had much brighter and harsher colors in the older comics, but I like the colors you have now. What made you change the colors you use?"
(Colors evolved alongside art style and desire to publish books.)
12
1
Include
In Favor: Fyraltari, ByzantiumBhuka, Schroeswald, Darth V, Kish, Jaxzan Proditor, Precure, Reboot, WanderingMist, Yendor, Gwynfrid, b_jonas

Against: Metastachydium





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14


Fyraltari
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


ByzantiumBhuka
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


snowblizz












:smallbiggrin:



Schroeswald
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:




:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:


Darth V
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Reboot
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


WanderingMist
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Yendor
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


b_jonas
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:








:smallbiggrin:




For question 3, I recommend that the summary mentions something like “The fake Phylactery wasn't ready yet, so Redcloak was prepared to lie about when he recaptured the real one.” You can find the facts in the comic, but I haven't put them together, so perhaps other readers haven't either.That sounds like it'd undercut the "didn't know exactly what he was worried about" point. (Also sounds well suited for TheWombatOfDoom's annotated companion guide.)


For question 13, I'd make the statement in the table more explicit, such as “The Giant almost never looks up D&D rules (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) or cares enough to change the script to match the rules.”Seems reasonable!


If #7 makes it in, I would definitely point out that Tsukiko predates the Walking Dead TV show as part of the summary.The comic series the TV series is based on predates Tsukiko, though; I'm not sure how effective the chronology is going to be, here. Still, the entry would benefit from a description...maybe there's a compromise that doesn't call for quoting the entire thing.


So with some removals and some rewording based on the last couple posts....


Proposed Items for Index 6.9

🍌Azurite Hair is Naturally Blue(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"... I decided to riff on Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz and make almost everything blue, including the hair of many of its inhabitants."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌How Dragons Run in OOTS(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...I would assume something like a larger dog or even a cat."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌On Scripting by Scene or by Strip(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"In situations where a conversation needs to explicitly move the plot forward, I develop the entire scene ahead of time....But for other sorts of scenes, it's less likely that I script it completely in advance."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌The Giant Hasn't Watched The Walking Dead(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"So if there's any connection there, it was the other way around."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be eligible for a vote.


🍌There Have Already Been More Than Nine Sides in the Comic(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"This is one of those things that I think has been maybe taken a little bit too literally, as if there are exactly nine factions involved."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍌Why Redcloak Thought the Polymorphed Hobgoblin Spy Had to Die(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...the bottom line is, he was prepared to kill him if he needed to....The exact situation he might have been worried about was probably not clear even to him."
#1232
2021/04/27
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌The Giant Writes Everything Too Long
In his own opinion, at least. See also here(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("When I'm tight on space, I re-evaluate those clarifications to see...if I'm wasting space explaining details that 90% of the audience will get right away.").
#980
2015/04/26
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌The Inspiration for Tarquin was Elan
See also here(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("It was fun to think about how to turn Elan's obsession with stories into something menacing....")
#980
2015/04/26
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌Art Colors can Change
Whether because the Giant doesn't like the old color, or because his system doesn't. See also here(#14) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("I started to pick more realistic colors for the scenery as I began drawing more complex situations, both to sell the scene and to help the characters be the visual focus of a given panel.")
#942
2014/01/28
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.


🍍🍌Evolution of D&D Adherence
The Giant hasn't made explicit statements about feats/items since 2008, OOTS' internal consistency is still maintained, and the Giant has no regrets about using D&D in OOTS. See also here(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064): D&D rules used in the comic are "entirely based on memory".
#886
2013/05/09
Tentative, appears will be included without vote.





What's everyone think?

[Jasdoif]

Hmm. Okay then....


UPDATE COMING, CALLING FOR PMs TO REQUIRE VOTES

Anyone thinking entries marked "Accepting PMs to require vote" should not be included in the Index should send me a private message, saying the entries should require a vote. (The default is to include, an item not voted on will be included in the Index.) If I get PMs from two or more people about a particular entry, it will be voted on to decide inclusion; the vote will be the next stage, and I'll announce it when the vote is ready.

The other entries below reached strong consensus already. A vote is considered unnecessary in that case; they will be included.


Proposed Items for Index 6.9

🍌Azurite Hair is Naturally Blue(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"... I decided to riff on Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz and make almost everything blue, including the hair of many of its inhabitants."
#1232
2021/04/27
No vote required, will be included.


🍌How Dragons Run in OOTS(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...I would assume something like a larger dog or even a cat."
#1232
2021/04/27
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Scripting by Scene or by Strip(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"In situations where a conversation needs to explicitly move the plot forward, I develop the entire scene ahead of time....But for other sorts of scenes, it's less likely that I script it completely in advance."
#1232
2021/04/27
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Giant Hasn't Watched The Walking Dead(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"So if there's any connection there, it was the other way around."
#1232
2021/04/27
Accepting PMs to require vote. Will be included.


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
#1232
2021/04/27
Accepting PMs to require vote. PM threshold met, vote required.


🍌There Have Already Been More Than Nine Sides in the Comic(#8) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"This is one of those things that I think has been maybe taken a little bit too literally, as if there are exactly nine factions involved."
#1232
2021/04/27
No vote required, will be included.


🍌Why Redcloak Thought the Polymorphed Hobgoblin Spy Had to Die(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"...the bottom line is, he was prepared to kill him if he needed to....The exact situation he might have been worried about was probably not clear even to him."
#1232
2021/04/27
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌The Giant Writes Everything Too Long
In his own opinion, at least. See also here(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("When I'm tight on space, I re-evaluate those clarifications to see...if I'm wasting space explaining details that 90% of the audience will get right away.").
#980
2015/04/26
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌The Inspiration for Tarquin was Elan
See also here(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("It was fun to think about how to turn Elan's obsession with stories into something menacing....")
#980
2015/04/26
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Art Colors can Change
Whether because the Giant doesn't like the old color, or because his system doesn't. See also here(#14) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064) ("I started to pick more realistic colors for the scenery as I began drawing more complex situations, both to sell the scene and to help the characters be the visual focus of a given panel.")
#942
2014/01/28
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Evolution of D&D Adherence
The Giant hasn't made explicit statements about feats/items since 2008, OOTS' internal consistency is still maintained, and the Giant has no regrets about using D&D in OOTS. See also here(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064): D&D rules used in the comic are "entirely based on memory".
#886
2013/05/09
No vote required, will be included.





PMs will be accepted until May 14th, 9PM EDT. I'll try to update the table if/when entries get sufficient PMs.

To send me a PM, click my username (The vaguely-pronounceable(?)-looking word above the spellcasting-and-invocation-using banana with purple hair) and select "Private Message". Or I guess you could click here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=23376). Anyway, include the title of the entries you're nominating in the message. Mentioning something about "Index Nomination" in the subject line would be helpful.

A few final reminders:

Don't post suggestions to require votes. They're sent by PM to avoid filling up the thread with them, posts will not be counted.
Only PM for entries you think should be excluded. They'll be included if they don't receive sufficient nominations.
We're not voting on the entries yet. The voting will be the next stage; I'll call for the vote at an appropriate time.
We still have a banana in charge. Hi. :smalltongue: (I neither confirm nor deny a zapped status.)



Further discussion of entries is encouraged at this point. In particular, recommendations for different titles and descriptions for the quote entries are things I'd be happy to consider.

[Jasdoif]

And we've got another vote!

Item up for voting:


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
#1232
2021/04/27





Please bold your yes/no vote, it'll make it easier for me to notice when I go through and count everything.
Votes must be posted (as in, not PM-ed to me) to be counted.
Please avoid discussing the quote itself, outside of giving an explanation for your vote in the same post as your vote. This'll make it easier to catch up after the vote, if a new quote comes along while we're still voting.
Per Rule F4, inclusion by vote requires a quote to have two more votes in favor than votes against.



Voting will be open until May 17th, 9PM EDT.

The other ten entries will go into the Index after the vote is concluded.

[Kish]

Yes, include.

[Metastachydium]

No, exclude.

[Reboot]

Yes, include.

[Joerg]

No, exclude.

[Schroeswald]

Yes, include.

[Arin]

I just want to be part of history.

Arin, God of Nothing, votes Yes.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

No, exclude.

[hamishspence]

Yes, include.

[snowblizz]

And votes of the Snowblizz jury gives 12 points to... Yes, Include

[Gwynfrid]

I lean on the side of No.

[arimareiji]

I don't understand how the Giant asking that he not be the focus of comic fandom belongs in an index focused on comic fandom. arimareiji, demi-deity of sarcastic pedantry, votes No.

[Argis13]

This quote is much more about the Giant than about the comic.

I vote No.

[Fyraltari]

Damn, the suspense is griping.

Anyway, I think we ought not discuss the Giant's life outside of the comic, so I vote No.

[Shadowknight12]

I concur with the above, my vote is also No.

[WanderingMist]

No, exclude.

[137beth]

I vote exclude.

[Jasdoif]

Since we're across the page boundary...in case anyone missed it, there's a vote going on:


Item up for voting:


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
#1232
2021/04/27





Please bold your yes/no vote, it'll make it easier for me to notice when I go through and count everything.
Votes must be posted (as in, not PM-ed to me) to be counted.
Please avoid discussing the quote itself, outside of giving an explanation for your vote in the same post as your vote. This'll make it easier to catch up after the vote, if a new quote comes along while we're still voting.
Per Rule F4, inclusion by vote requires a quote to have two more votes in favor than votes against.



Voting will be open until May 17th, 9PM EDT.

[Sniffnoy]

Voting include.

[Lord Torath]

Voting Exclude.

[Doug Lampert]

Voting Exclude.

[Precure]

Voting Exclude.

[Ionathus]

No, exclude.

[Jasdoif]

Okay.


The Giant's Position on Social Media failed to pass; 7 for, 14 against.



Entry
Yes Votes
No Votes
Voters


🍌The Giant's Position on Social Media(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/50478064)
"I write a comic, and the comic is the product, not me."
7
14
Yes Votes: Kish, Reboot, Schroeswald, Arin, hamishspence, snowblizz, Sniffnoy

No Votes: Metastachydium, Joerg, Jaxzan Proditor, Gwynfrid, arimareiji, Argis13, Fyraltari, Shadowknight12, WanderingMist, 137ben, Lord Torath, Doug Lampert, Precure, Ionathus



The Index has been updated with the remaining entries.

[Ortho]

There's a new answers post up on the Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)

Don't have time to write out my full thoughts, but after a cursory glance-through, I think everything except for #8 is a candidate for inclusion.

[Peelee]

There's a new answers post up on the Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)

Don't have time to write out my full thoughts, but after a cursory glance-through, I think everything except for #8 is a candidate for inclusion.

2 and 3 don't seem particularly relevant.

[Metastachydium]

Marvelous! Let's see:
a. Must absolutely be INCLUDED: 1 (it's about Serini, her role and capabilities; not as important as the others, but of some relevance), 7 (the second paragraph of this one was outright revelative for me, as it gives a partial explanation for something about the portrayal of fathers that's been bugging me for ages), 8 (a couple of key worldbuilding details), 9 and 11 (providing canonical facts so many of us were so looking for; probably the two most important answers in quite a while);
b. should likewise be INCLUDED: 6, 12 (interesting facts for sure, but that's the extent of it);
c. might as well be included, but I have NO STRONG OPINION on these: 3, 5, 13 (stuff like this made its way into the Index before, and I can see why, but beyond that, I don't really care either way);
d. [shrugs] NO STRONG OPINION: 4, 10;
e. should be EXCLUDED: 2 (come on, folks, most of this (and some more) is literally available on the Giant's freaking Wikipedia page).

[IthilanorStPete]

Unrelated to the Patreon Q&A: I was rereading the index entries, there's an entry in the Drawing section for "Examples of the Giant's Non-Stick-Figure Art Talent"; problem is, the image links in the posts it links to are broken, the images don't display. Given that the point of the entry is linking to example art, should it be removed?

[Doug Lampert]

1-Yes.
2-No (Not comic relevant).
3-No (Not comic relevant).
4-Yes (There has been forum discussion of possible meanings of duplicated titles).
5-Yes.
6-Yes.
7-Yes.
8-Yes (Negative information is still information).
9-Yes.
10-Yes.
11-Yes.
12-No (Doesn't actually provide any information beyond the fact that this is an easily solvable issue not worth time in the comic, it's not worth time in the index either).
13-Yes.

[Jasdoif]

Okay, so looks like new Q&A is starting out at....



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Did you always plan for Serini to return, or did that develop as you wrote the story?"
(Yes, she was always going to return.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"I'm not sure if this crosses the threshold into personal information, but I was curious about what kind of training you received as it relates to art and writing. Are you self-taught and just enjoy drawing and consuming a breadth of media or have you specifically attended classes to develop the skills you exhibit? As a related follow-up, have you considered teaching a class?"
(Not a whole lot.)
1
3
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050

Against: Peelee, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert


3
"As an artist, what was The Moment when you realized, "Hey, I could do this professionally?""
(Kind of stumbled into it.)
2
2
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium

Against: Peelee, Doug Lampert


4
"Do you ever find yourself held up on putting up a comic because you're trying to find a good title?"
(Sort of.)
2
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


5
"Was there anything that you've drawn that just made you laugh after you've finished drawing it?"
(The Coming of the Reapernana.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


6
"You’ve written a lot of death scenes in the comic. Which character’s death hit you hardest emotionally to write?"
(Sangwaan's.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


7
"I understand if you'd rather plead the 5th, but after years of reading our heroes go through personal struggles with their families while on their mission to save the world, I wonder if you might have seen or experienced similar ordeals. Would you be willing to talk about some of your inspirations, or am I a tactless ghoul for asking something so personal?"
(Nothing specific.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


8
"Who would be the most conventionally beautiful characters (male and female) if they were drawn non-sticky?"
(<insert curation comment about multifaceted sarcasm here/>)
2
1
Include
In Favor: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: mjp1050


9
"Hi, I really enjoy your comic. Thor agreed with Durkon's point that the goblins got a bad deal when the gods created the OOTS world. However, the hobgoblins that Red Cloak dragooned to attack Azure City had a robust city. You showed a picture of it. Maybe goblins weren't doing so well, but those hobgoblins right there were doing OK. They overcame the obstacles that had been set before them. Why does Red Cloak feel that it is worth throwing away what has been accomplished by him and others on the chance that the next world will be better?"
(He's the kind to overplay a hand that isn't as good as some have guessed.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"What is one color palette choice you made early on that you wish you could change now?"
(Elan's initial appearance. Also Nale's initial appearance.)
2
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


11
"What is the alignment of each of the twelve gods? I interpreted Rat to be evil, how about others? Since, according to your previous answer, most Azurites worship the pantheon as one, how do good aligned worshipers feel about revering evil gods this way and vice versa? Does this imply that many of the followers of the religion are neutral aligned? How about the paladins in Azure city, how can they worship evil gods by proxy of worshiping the whole pantheon and still be strictly good?"
(They kind of have to be True Neutral.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"I know this is dumb but where do dwarves get the cloth for their clothes from?"
(<insert pithy summary of an Underdark textile industry here/>)
2
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium

Against: Doug Lampert


13
"How do you come up with the designs for the covers of the books?"
(A single dynamic image of the protagonists not spoiling the book's contents.)
3
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: :smallbiggrin:



Unrelated to the Patreon Q&A: I was rereading the index entries, there's an entry in the Drawing section for "Examples of the Giant's Non-Stick-Figure Art Talent"; problem is, the image links in the posts it links to are broken, the images don't display. Given that the point of the entry is linking to example art, should it be removed?Well, seeing as the Giant has reuploaded images on multiple occasions, I don't think removing the posts is particularly pressing...what's everyone else think? (There's probably some comment to be made about how the image links break every time the website is redone, but that's in no way restricted to this particular website....)

[Schroeswald]

1. Yes
2. No
3. No
4. Yes
5. No
6. Yes
7. Yes
8. No
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. Yes
12. Yes
13. Yes

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Since it’s the only one that seems to be in contention, I lean against including #3, since it doesn’t seem particularly OOTS-focused. Other than the financials of running the comic full time, that is.

I’m glad that it seems the Patreon questions will be continuing a little more regularly, so that we all have something to discuss here. :smallsmile:

[Sir_Norbert]

Yes 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13
No 2, 3, 8

[Precure]

1. Yes
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. No
6. No
7. No
8. No
9. Yes
10. No
11. Yes
12. No
13. No

[Jasdoif]

Alright, that brings the current standings to....



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Did you always plan for Serini to return, or did that develop as you wrote the story?"
(Yes, she was always going to return.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"I'm not sure if this crosses the threshold into personal information, but I was curious about what kind of training you received as it relates to art and writing. Are you self-taught and just enjoy drawing and consuming a breadth of media or have you specifically attended classes to develop the skills you exhibit? As a related follow-up, have you considered teaching a class?"
(Not a whole lot.)
1
6
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050

Against: Peelee, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure


3
"As an artist, what was The Moment when you realized, "Hey, I could do this professionally?""
(Kind of stumbled into it.)
2
6
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium

Against: Peelee, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Jaxzan Proditor, Sir_Norbert, Precure


4
"Do you ever find yourself held up on putting up a comic because you're trying to find a good title?"
(Sort of.)
4
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert

Against: Precure


5
"Was there anything that you've drawn that just made you laugh after you've finished drawing it?"
(The Coming of the Reapernana.)
3
2
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: Schroeswald, Precure


6
"You’ve written a lot of death scenes in the comic. Which character’s death hit you hardest emotionally to write?"
(Sangwaan's.)
5
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert

Against: Precure


7
"I understand if you'd rather plead the 5th, but after years of reading our heroes go through personal struggles with their families while on their mission to save the world, I wonder if you might have seen or experienced similar ordeals. Would you be willing to talk about some of your inspirations, or am I a tactless ghoul for asking something so personal?"
(Nothing specific.)
4
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald

Against: Precure


8
"Who would be the most conventionally beautiful characters (male and female) if they were drawn non-sticky?"
(<insert curation comment about multifaceted sarcasm here/>)
2
4
Vote-able
In Favor: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert

Against: mjp1050, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure


9
"Hi, I really enjoy your comic. Thor agreed with Durkon's point that the goblins got a bad deal when the gods created the OOTS world. However, the hobgoblins that Red Cloak dragooned to attack Azure City had a robust city. You showed a picture of it. Maybe goblins weren't doing so well, but those hobgoblins right there were doing OK. They overcame the obstacles that had been set before them. Why does Red Cloak feel that it is worth throwing away what has been accomplished by him and others on the chance that the next world will be better?"
(He's the kind to overplay a hand that isn't as good as some have guessed.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"What is one color palette choice you made early on that you wish you could change now?"
(Elan's initial appearance. Also Nale's initial appearance.)
4
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert

Against: Precure


11
"What is the alignment of each of the twelve gods? I interpreted Rat to be evil, how about others? Since, according to your previous answer, most Azurites worship the pantheon as one, how do good aligned worshipers feel about revering evil gods this way and vice versa? Does this imply that many of the followers of the religion are neutral aligned? How about the paladins in Azure city, how can they worship evil gods by proxy of worshiping the whole pantheon and still be strictly good?"
(They kind of have to be True Neutral.)
6
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"I know this is dumb but where do dwarves get the cloth for their clothes from?"
(<insert pithy summary of an Underdark textile industry here/>)
3
2
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Schroeswald

Against: Doug Lampert, Precure


13
"How do you come up with the designs for the covers of the books?"
(A single dynamic image of the protagonists not spoiling the book's contents.)
5
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert

Against: Precure





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Peelee

:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:












Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor


:smallannoyed:












Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:


Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:

[littlebum2002]

Yes to all the green and #5, no to all the red and other yellows.

I personally think allowing #8 will take away any credibility this thread has lol

[dancrilis]

I would say to include 8.

It may speak to something of Azure City culture that they have both of the most attractive individuals.

For Mr. Scruffy if further speaks to Belkar's good treatment of his animal companion.

For Azurite archer to beat out Sabine/Samantha/<insert other individuals known to be attractive here> may imply a number of items about the culture of Azure City in relation to the value it places on beauty - this soldier was not being kept in a noble retinue, they were not being protected by the commanders of the army, etc solely because someone powerful liked the look of them.
If you imagine that same soldier in Tarquin's forces it would be more surprising to me - so I think it says something (albeith something minor) about cultural differences between Azure City and the Empire of Blood.

[Metastachydium]

If you imagine that same soldier in Tarquin's forces it would be more surprising to me - so I think it says something (albeith something minor) about cultural differences between Azure City and the Empire of Blood.

(Apparently, this doesn't make women of great beauty in the Empire any worse at, khm, dealing with their competitors in some manner that sounds pretty definitive (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0755.html). Speaking of Fahruzi and the Bloody military, have we ever seen a member of said armed forces who we know to be female (it's hard to tell with reptilian folks) other than those three members of the Bleedingham Amateur Snorkeling Club?)

[Jasdoif]

(Apparently, this doesn't make women of great beauty in the Empire any worse at, khm, dealing with their competitors in some manner that sounds pretty definitive (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0755.html). Speaking of Fahruzi and the Bloody military, have we ever seen a member of said armed forces who we know to be female (it's hard to tell with reptilian folks) other than those three members of the Bleedingham Amateur Snorkeling Club?)If you were asking about the hobgoblin army attacking Azure City, we'd have a definitive answer:


Out-of-universe, my bet is that Rich copied and pasted a hobgoblin figure a zillion times, realized after the fact that he'd wound up with an entirely male hobgoblin force, slapped in a note about how the hobgoblin women stayed back at home to take care of the kids, and didn't really think about it again.

It warms my heart that someone is finally beginning to understand how my creative process works.

But also, I wanted to make sure the audience was on the Azurite's side during the battle. Giving their side gender integration was an easy shorthand way to show that they were more enlightened, socially. Further, having all the hobgoblins be identical helped de-emphasize them as individuals, which made it easier to do things like a horse ramp of dead hobgoblins. Having several different models for the Azurites (male, female, sword-and-shield, archer, halberd, etc.) made them feel more like people and less like cogs in a machine. I didn't really want the audience to weep for the hobgoblin dead, though, so I made them all interchangeable.

I suppose it would have been equally valid to make the entire fighting force identical women rather than men, in that case, but a.) it didn't occur to me, b.) I think that would have required more explanation, and c.) it may have lead to a weird misogynist vibe when I did things like the aforementioned horse ramp, or Belkar's Sexy Shoeless God of War scene. Maybe there will be a day when we're all so gender-blind that a bloodthirsty male killer standing atop a pile of women's corpses and bellowing about his martial and sexual prowess will be seen as nothing but a warrior who has courageously defeated his worthy combat adversaries with great skill, but that day ain't today.

[Metastachydium]

If you were asking about the hobgoblin army attacking Azure City, we'd have a definitive answer:


I know about that one. By "the Bloody military", however, I meant the Bloody military, i.e. the armed forces for the Empire of Blood, the personnel of which are anything but interchangeable: they come from three different species (kobolds are less common, but there) and their skin/scale colours vary a lot.

[Jasdoif]

(Apparently, this doesn't make women of great beauty in the Empire any worse at, khm, dealing with their competitors in some manner that sounds pretty definitive (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0755.html). Speaking of Fahruzi and the Bloody military, have we ever seen a member of said armed forces who we know to be female (it's hard to tell with reptilian folks) other than those three members of the Bleedingham Amateur Snorkeling Club?)If you were asking about the hobgoblin army attacking Azure City, we'd have a definitive answer:I know about that one. By "the Bloody military", however, I meant the Bloody military, i.e. the armed forces for the Empire of Blood, the personnel of which are anything but interchangeable: they come from three different species (kobolds are less common, but there) and their skin/scale colours vary a lot.Hmm. I don't think so...at the very least, with the general tenor of threads about Tarquin and sexism at the time I'd think it'd be easy to find posts pointing out a woman in his army, if such a circumstance was portrayed. Looking through the comics where Tarquin's army attacked the Order of the Stick didn't I didn't find anything (other than my impression that the troop distribution rendered on-panel became more and more human as the battle went on).

[Fyraltari]

Include: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
Exclude: 2, 3 and 8.

[Gwynfrid]

I would include everything except #8, which is just a throwaway joke. I understand that discussions like #2 and #3 aren't strictly about the comic, but I find them relevant, indirectly, to the writing process, so I would still include them.

[super dark33]

Exclude 8, what a weird question to ask.

[hroþila]

If I don't vote on the other questions, can I vote 13 times against #8?

Anyway, exclude 8 (x13)

[Personification]

As usual, I am generally for total inclusion, but I get the arguments against 2 and 3, and they are very unpopular anyway, so I will abstain from voting on them (everything else is an include). I kind of like 8 because, while I agree that the question is kind of foolish, I think that the answer provides an interesting bit of technically canon trivia and the existence of it in our database might be enough to stop someone from asking it again.

[Jasdoif]

In case anyone missed it on the last page, new answers post by the Giant over on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768).



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Did you always plan for Serini to return, or did that develop as you wrote the story?"
(Yes, she was always going to return.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"I'm not sure if this crosses the threshold into personal information, but I was curious about what kind of training you received as it relates to art and writing. Are you self-taught and just enjoy drawing and consuming a breadth of media or have you specifically attended classes to develop the skills you exhibit? As a related follow-up, have you considered teaching a class?"
(Not a whole lot.)
2
8
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid

Against: Peelee, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari


3
"As an artist, what was The Moment when you realized, "Hey, I could do this professionally?""
(Kind of stumbled into it.)
3
8
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Gwynfrid

Against: Peelee, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Jaxzan Proditor, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari


4
"Do you ever find yourself held up on putting up a comic because you're trying to find a good title?"
(Sort of.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Precure


5
"Was there anything that you've drawn that just made you laugh after you've finished drawing it?"
(The Coming of the Reapernana.)
7
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Schroeswald, Precure


6
"You’ve written a lot of death scenes in the comic. Which character’s death hit you hardest emotionally to write?"
(Sangwaan's.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Precure


7
"I understand if you'd rather plead the 5th, but after years of reading our heroes go through personal struggles with their families while on their mission to save the world, I wonder if you might have seen or experienced similar ordeals. Would you be willing to talk about some of your inspirations, or am I a tactless ghoul for asking something so personal?"
(Nothing specific.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Precure


8
"Who would be the most conventionally beautiful characters (male and female) if they were drawn non-sticky?"
(<insert curation comment about multifaceted sarcasm here/>)
4
9
Exclude
In Favor: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, dancrilis, Personification

Against: mjp1050, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, super dark33, hroþila


9
"Hi, I really enjoy your comic. Thor agreed with Durkon's point that the goblins got a bad deal when the gods created the OOTS world. However, the hobgoblins that Red Cloak dragooned to attack Azure City had a robust city. You showed a picture of it. Maybe goblins weren't doing so well, but those hobgoblins right there were doing OK. They overcame the obstacles that had been set before them. Why does Red Cloak feel that it is worth throwing away what has been accomplished by him and others on the chance that the next world will be better?"
(He's the kind to overplay a hand that isn't as good as some have guessed.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"What is one color palette choice you made early on that you wish you could change now?"
(Elan's initial appearance. Also Nale's initial appearance.)
8
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Precure


11
"What is the alignment of each of the twelve gods? I interpreted Rat to be evil, how about others? Since, according to your previous answer, most Azurites worship the pantheon as one, how do good aligned worshipers feel about revering evil gods this way and vice versa? Does this imply that many of the followers of the religion are neutral aligned? How about the paladins in Azure city, how can they worship evil gods by proxy of worshiping the whole pantheon and still be strictly good?"
(They kind of have to be True Neutral.)
10
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"I know this is dumb but where do dwarves get the cloth for their clothes from?"
(<insert pithy summary of an Underdark textile industry here/>)
6
3
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Schroeswald, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Doug Lampert, Precure, littlebum2002


13
"How do you come up with the designs for the covers of the books?"
(A single dynamic image of the protagonists not spoiling the book's contents.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification

Against: Precure





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Peelee

:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:












Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor


:smallannoyed:












Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:


Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:


littlebum2002
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:


dancrilis







:smallbiggrin:







Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


super dark33







:smallannoyed:







hroþila







:smallannoyed:







Personification
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:




If I don't vote on the other questions, can I vote 13 times against #8?Since we aren't at the point of voting yet, it doesn't matter that much; you can certainly reiterate your disdain for a hypothetical entry that would make me wonder whether Rule B could benefit from more clearly reflecting usage of the "Reflections from the Author" subcategory.

[Peelee]

Keeping in mind that I didn't intend for my comment to actually be on favor or against any of the contenders, as I stopped voting on things like this once I became a moderator.... I would like to break tradition and openly support #12, given my previous pithy commentary on that subject.

This is D&D. It's a subterranean race, so they would clearly use Deep Cows. Also there's even odds the milk would be Evil.


Deep Sheep are used for their Wiley Wool. Deep Cows are the ones that make the Malevolent Milk.

And bonus points to the Giant for not going for the low-hanging Deep jokes.

[Kish]

Include all.

[Jasdoif]

If I don't vote on the other questions, can I vote 13 times against #8?Since we aren't at the point of voting yet, it doesn't matter that much; you can certainly reiterate your disdain for a hypothetical entry that would make me wonder whether Rule B could benefit from more clearly reflecting usage of the "Reflections from the Author" subcategory.Actually, I'll tell you what: Unless/Until someone can make a reasonably convincing case that this is actually relevant to Order of the Stick, instead of a comment about what it would be if it absolutely wasn't Order of the Stick, I'm not going to make an entry for it on account of violating Rule B.



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Did you always plan for Serini to return, or did that develop as you wrote the story?"
(Yes, she was always going to return.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"I'm not sure if this crosses the threshold into personal information, but I was curious about what kind of training you received as it relates to art and writing. Are you self-taught and just enjoy drawing and consuming a breadth of media or have you specifically attended classes to develop the skills you exhibit? As a related follow-up, have you considered teaching a class?"
(Not a whole lot.)
3
7
Exclude
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Kish

Against: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari


3
"As an artist, what was The Moment when you realized, "Hey, I could do this professionally?""
(Kind of stumbled into it.)
4
7
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Gwynfrid, Kish

Against: Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Jaxzan Proditor, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari


4
"Do you ever find yourself held up on putting up a comic because you're trying to find a good title?"
(Sort of.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Precure


5
"Was there anything that you've drawn that just made you laugh after you've finished drawing it?"
(The Coming of the Reapernana.)
8
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Schroeswald, Precure


6
"You’ve written a lot of death scenes in the comic. Which character’s death hit you hardest emotionally to write?"
(Sangwaan's.)
10
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Precure


7
"I understand if you'd rather plead the 5th, but after years of reading our heroes go through personal struggles with their families while on their mission to save the world, I wonder if you might have seen or experienced similar ordeals. Would you be willing to talk about some of your inspirations, or am I a tactless ghoul for asking something so personal?"
(Nothing specific.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Precure


8
"Who would be the most conventionally beautiful characters (male and female) if they were drawn non-sticky?"
(<insert curation comment about multifaceted sarcasm here/>)
5
9
Vote-able
In Favor: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, dancrilis, Personification, Kish

Against: mjp1050, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, super dark33, hroþila


9
"Hi, I really enjoy your comic. Thor agreed with Durkon's point that the goblins got a bad deal when the gods created the OOTS world. However, the hobgoblins that Red Cloak dragooned to attack Azure City had a robust city. You showed a picture of it. Maybe goblins weren't doing so well, but those hobgoblins right there were doing OK. They overcame the obstacles that had been set before them. Why does Red Cloak feel that it is worth throwing away what has been accomplished by him and others on the chance that the next world will be better?"
(He's the kind to overplay a hand that isn't as good as some have guessed.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"What is one color palette choice you made early on that you wish you could change now?"
(Elan's initial appearance. Also Nale's initial appearance.)
9
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Precure


11
"What is the alignment of each of the twelve gods? I interpreted Rat to be evil, how about others? Since, according to your previous answer, most Azurites worship the pantheon as one, how do good aligned worshipers feel about revering evil gods this way and vice versa? Does this imply that many of the followers of the religion are neutral aligned? How about the paladins in Azure city, how can they worship evil gods by proxy of worshiping the whole pantheon and still be strictly good?"
(They kind of have to be True Neutral.)
11
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"I know this is dumb but where do dwarves get the cloth for their clothes from?"
(<insert pithy summary of an Underdark textile industry here/>)
8
3
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Schroeswald, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Peelee, Kish

Against: Doug Lampert, Precure, littlebum2002


13
"How do you come up with the designs for the covers of the books?"
(A single dynamic image of the protagonists not spoiling the book's contents.)
10
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish

Against: Precure





Poster
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:


Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Jaxzan Proditor


:smallannoyed:












Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:


Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:


littlebum2002
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:


dancrilis







:smallbiggrin:







Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


super dark33







:smallannoyed:







hroþila







:smallannoyed:







Personification
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:


Peelee











:smallbiggrin:



Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:



So, since posts have slowed/stopped...potential entry-ness:


Tentative Entries for Index 6.10

🍌Design of the Book Covers(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...making sure all of the protagonists are on the cover....make sure the covers give you an idea of what's in the book without giving away spoilers...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On Changing Elan's and Nale's Original Appearences(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...have you ever used an entire story arc as a vehicle for changing a costume you don't like anymore?"
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Dwarven Textile Industry(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"Keeping in mind that I am absolutely 100% inventing this answer on the spot...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Overestimated State of Goblin Civilization(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"If you wanted to hand out an award for Most Improved Civilization relative to their starting point, sure, maybe the goblins would rate well by that measure, but otherwise they're objectively worse off."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Surprise of Sangwaan's (Re)death Scene(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I had absolutely no plans to ever address the character or her demise again....But...I surprised myself by finding more depth there."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌Serini was Always Going to Return(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...it was planned from the first introduction of the Scribblers...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I soon realized that if I accepted the position, there was no way I would be able to continue producing the comic on the side.....I decided to take the risk of turning down the new job...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌The Giant's Favorite Self-Comedic Drawing(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"The banana tree scene in [/i]Good Deeds Gone Unpunished[/i]"
#1260
2022/06/22


🍍🍌Repeated Strip Titles are Accidental (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/893520904571031552)
See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...reusing titles...is not symbolic of any deep connection between the strips...").
#1088
2017/08/04


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here[sup](#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon") and here#11 (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("Functionally speaking, the Twelve Gods are all True Neutral....their alignment is pulled in all directions at once by different believers projecting their own morals onto them, and they end up in the middle somewhere.")
#848
2012/04/11


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.") and here(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...furious about getting less even if one slice was technically enough to survive on....")
#830
2012/01/23


🍍🍌Parental Problems
Parents are in the story only to introduce conflict. That fathers are included and mothers are absent for the human characters is simply a coincidence. See also here(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) on the latter point ("...there's just not much more to it than poor planning and unexamined influences.")
#815
2011/11/18




Anyone have any suggestions/alternate proposals?


And bonus points to the Giant for not going for the low-hanging Deep jokes.I believe pig tails (https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Pig_tail) are traditional, anyway.

[137beth]

I'll say include all of them except 8, and exclude 8.

[Kish]

Actually, I'll tell you what: Unless/Until someone can make a reasonably convincing case that this is actually relevant to Order of the Stick, instead of a comment about what it would be if it absolutely wasn't Order of the Stick, I'm not going to make an entry for it on account of violating Rule B.
Sarcastic as it is, I think it encodes the information:
1) You should not assume good looks are in any way correlated with how major a character is here.
2) Mr. Scruffy is a very attractive cat.

Neither of which anyone is too likely to build a massive theory over not having pointed out to them, but, as always, I think the default position should be inclusion, not exclusion, and I see no reason not to include it.

[Satohika]

include all except 3 and 8.

[b_jonas]

On recent Patreon answers (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768).
Include 1 (Serini rogue) because it helps us understand a specific decision that the Giant made. Include 11 (Twelve Gods alignment) because how that pantheon works is still confusing and comes up often and we will be looking for all the pieces that the Giant tells about them. Include 13 (design book cover art) because it's very informative and specific example about the Giant's artistic decisions.
Exclude 2 (the Giant's education) because it's not very new. Exclude 4 (dupe titles) because it doesn't tell anything that we didn't know already. Exclude 5, 8, 12 because they're irrelevant trivia, not something useful to understand the comic that we need in our ever-growing database.
Abstain on 3, 6, 7, 9, 10.

[Jasdoif]

Okay, so a couple things have been re-dispositioned in the last few days....



#
Question
In Favor
Against
Disposition
Posters


1
"Did you always plan for Serini to return, or did that develop as you wrote the story?"
(Yes, she was always going to return.)
14
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika, b_jonas

Against: :smallbiggrin:


2
"I'm not sure if this crosses the threshold into personal information, but I was curious about what kind of training you received as it relates to art and writing. Are you self-taught and just enjoy drawing and consuming a breadth of media or have you specifically attended classes to develop the skills you exhibit? As a related follow-up, have you considered teaching a class?"
(Not a whole lot.)
5
8
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Gwynfrid, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, b_jonas


3
"As an artist, what was The Moment when you realized, "Hey, I could do this professionally?""
(Kind of stumbled into it.)
5
8
Vote-able
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Gwynfrid, Kish, 137beth

Against: Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Jaxzan Proditor, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Satohika


4
"Do you ever find yourself held up on putting up a comic because you're trying to find a good title?"
(Sort of.)
11
2
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Precure, b_jonas


5
"Was there anything that you've drawn that just made you laugh after you've finished drawing it?"
(The Coming of the Reapernana.)
10
3
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Schroeswald, Precure, b_jonas


6
"You’ve written a lot of death scenes in the comic. Which character’s death hit you hardest emotionally to write?"
(Sangwaan's.)
12
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Precure


7
"I understand if you'd rather plead the 5th, but after years of reading our heroes go through personal struggles with their families while on their mission to save the world, I wonder if you might have seen or experienced similar ordeals. Would you be willing to talk about some of your inspirations, or am I a tactless ghoul for asking something so personal?"
(Nothing specific.)
11
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Precure


8
"Who would be the most conventionally beautiful characters (male and female) if they were drawn non-sticky?"
(<insert curation comment about multifaceted sarcasm here/>)
5
12
Exclude
In Favor: Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, dancrilis, Personification, Kish

Against: mjp1050, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, super dark33, hroþila, 137beth, Satohika, b_jonas


9
"Hi, I really enjoy your comic. Thor agreed with Durkon's point that the goblins got a bad deal when the gods created the OOTS world. However, the hobgoblins that Red Cloak dragooned to attack Azure City had a robust city. You showed a picture of it. Maybe goblins weren't doing so well, but those hobgoblins right there were doing OK. They overcame the obstacles that had been set before them. Why does Red Cloak feel that it is worth throwing away what has been accomplished by him and others on the chance that the next world will be better?"
(He's the kind to overplay a hand that isn't as good as some have guessed.)
13
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: :smallbiggrin:


10
"What is one color palette choice you made early on that you wish you could change now?"
(Elan's initial appearance. Also Nale's initial appearance.)
11
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Precure


11
"What is the alignment of each of the twelve gods? I interpreted Rat to be evil, how about others? Since, according to your previous answer, most Azurites worship the pantheon as one, how do good aligned worshipers feel about revering evil gods this way and vice versa? Does this imply that many of the followers of the religion are neutral aligned? How about the paladins in Azure city, how can they worship evil gods by proxy of worshiping the whole pantheon and still be strictly good?"
(They kind of have to be True Neutral.)
14
0
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, Precure, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika, b_jonas

Against: :smallbiggrin:


12
"I know this is dumb but where do dwarves get the cloth for their clothes from?"
(<insert pithy summary of an Underdark textile industry here/>)
10
4
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Schroeswald, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Peelee, Kish, 137beth, Satohika

Against: Doug Lampert, Precure, littlebum2002, b_jonas


13
"How do you come up with the designs for the covers of the books?"
(A single dynamic image of the protagonists not spoiling the book's contents.)
13
1
Include
In Favor: mjp1050, Metastachydium, Doug Lampert, Schroeswald, Sir_Norbert, littlebum2002, Fyraltari, Gwynfrid, Personification, Kish, 137beth, Satohika, b_jonas

Against: Precure







Poster
1
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7
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9
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13


mjp1050
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
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Metastachydium
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
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Doug Lampert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
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Schroeswald
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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Jaxzan Proditor


:smallannoyed:












Sir_Norbert
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin:

:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
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Precure
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:


littlebum2002
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
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dancrilis







:smallbiggrin:







Fyraltari
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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Gwynfrid
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallannoyed:
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super dark33







:smallannoyed:







hroþila







:smallannoyed:







Personification
:smallbiggrin:


:smallbiggrin:
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Peelee











:smallbiggrin:



Kish
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
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137beth
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
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Satohika
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:
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:smallbiggrin:
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b_jonas
:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:

:smallannoyed:
:smallannoyed:


:smallannoyed:


:smallbiggrin:
:smallannoyed:
:smallbiggrin:




Most notable is that the question about the Giant's background training has entered the vote-able range, so I've created an entry for it. (There has to be some sort of cross-class skill joke in there somewhere....)


Tentative Entries for Index 6.10

🍌Design of the Book Covers(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...making sure all of the protagonists are on the cover....make sure the covers give you an idea of what's in the book without giving away spoilers...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On Changing Elan's and Nale's Original Appearences(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...have you ever used an entire story arc as a vehicle for changing a costume you don't like anymore?"
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Dwarven Textile Industry(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"Keeping in mind that I am absolutely 100% inventing this answer on the spot...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Overestimated State of Goblin Civilization(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"If you wanted to hand out an award for Most Improved Civilization relative to their starting point, sure, maybe the goblins would rate well by that measure, but otherwise they're objectively worse off."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌On the Surprise of Sangwaan's (Re)death Scene(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I had absolutely no plans to ever address the character or her demise again....But...I surprised myself by finding more depth there."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌Serini was Always Going to Return(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...it was planned from the first introduction of the Scribblers...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I soon realized that if I accepted the position, there was no way I would be able to continue producing the comic on the side.....I decided to take the risk of turning down the new job...."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌The Giant's Art Background(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I mostly taught myself how to draw in Illustrator....For writing, I am entirely self-taught."
#1260
2022/06/22


🍌The Giant's Favorite Self-Comedic Drawing(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"The banana tree scene in [/i]Good Deeds Gone Unpunished[/i]"
#1260
2022/06/22


🍍🍌Repeated Strip Titles are Accidental (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/893520904571031552)
See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...reusing titles...is not symbolic of any deep connection between the strips...").
#1088
2017/08/04


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon") and here(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("Functionally speaking, the Twelve Gods are all True Neutral....their alignment is pulled in all directions at once by different believers projecting their own morals onto them, and they end up in the middle somewhere.")
#848
2012/04/11


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.") and here(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...furious about getting less even if one slice was technically enough to survive on....")
#830
2012/01/23


🍍🍌Parental Problems
Parents are in the story only to introduce conflict. That fathers are included and mothers are absent for the human characters is simply a coincidence. See also here(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) on the latter point ("...there's just not much more to it than poor planning and unexamined influences.")
#815
2011/11/18




Also fixed some formatting errors I missed the last time....Any suggestions/proposals?


And, because this distinction seems to keep coming up when I'm categorizing entries; I intend to have the top-level "Art" category labelled "Visual Art" going forward. Anyone have objections?





Actually, I'll tell you what: Unless/Until someone can make a reasonably convincing case that this is actually relevant to Order of the Stick, instead of a comment about what it would be if it absolutely wasn't Order of the Stick, I'm not going to make an entry for it on account of violating Rule B.Sarcastic as it is, I think it encodes the information:
1) You should not assume good looks are in any way correlated with how major a character is here.
2) Mr. Scruffy is a very attractive cat.

Neither of which anyone is too likely to build a massive theory over not having pointed out to them, but, as always, I think the default position should be inclusion, not exclusion, and I see no reason not to include it.Hrmm....Since this is still in easy reach of coming up, how would you suggest categorizing an entry to that effect? It doesn't really work for Visual Art (since it's like the opposite of that), or Reflections from the Author (as sarcastic as we note it is, it'd be more like putting words in the Giant's mouth keyboard there), or Reading Too Much Into It (because that would be meta-referential for my own amusement and I try to keep stuff like that out of the Index).

(It also occurs to me that the panel the Giant indicates in #423 (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0423.html) has two Azurite archers, one of which the Giant describes as "drop dead gorgeous" and the other the comic portrays as dropping and presumably soon-to-be dead.)

[Jasdoif]

Well then.


UPDATE COMING, CALLING FOR PMs TO REQUIRE VOTES

Anyone thinking entries marked "Accepting PMs to require vote" should not be included in the Index should send me a private message, saying the entries should require a vote. (The default is to include, an item not voted on will be included in the Index.) If I get PMs from two or more people about a particular entry, it will be voted on to decide inclusion; the vote will be the next stage, and I'll announce it when the vote is ready.

The other entries below reached strong consensus already. A vote is considered unnecessary in that case; they will be included.



Proposed Items for Index 6.10

🍌Design of the Book Covers(#13) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...making sure all of the protagonists are on the cover....make sure the covers give you an idea of what's in the book without giving away spoilers...."
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On Changing Elan's and Nale's Original Appearences(#10) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...have you ever used an entire story arc as a vehicle for changing a costume you don't like anymore?"
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On the Dwarven Textile Industry(#12) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"Keeping in mind that I am absolutely 100% inventing this answer on the spot...."
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On the Overestimated State of Goblin Civilization(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"If you wanted to hand out an award for Most Improved Civilization relative to their starting point, sure, maybe the goblins would rate well by that measure, but otherwise they're objectively worse off."
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌On the Surprise of Sangwaan's (Re)death Scene(#6) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I had absolutely no plans to ever address the character or her demise again....But...I surprised myself by finding more depth there."
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌Serini was Always Going to Return(#1) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...it was planned from the first introduction of the Scribblers...."
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍌The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I soon realized that if I accepted the position, there was no way I would be able to continue producing the comic on the side.....I decided to take the risk of turning down the new job...."
#1260
2022/06/22
Accepting PMs to require vote. PM threshold met; voted required.


🍌The Giant's Art Background(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I mostly taught myself how to draw in Illustrator....For writing, I am entirely self-taught."
#1260
2022/06/22
Accepting PMs to require vote. PM threshold met; voted required.


🍌The Giant's Favorite Self-Comedic Drawing(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"The banana tree scene in Good Deeds Gone Unpunished"
#1260
2022/06/22
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Repeated Strip Titles are Accidental (https://twitter.com/RichBurlew/status/893520904571031552)
See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...reusing titles...is not symbolic of any deep connection between the strips...").
#1088
2017/08/04
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Religions and Deities in OOTS World
Background details on who worships whom, and on Thor, Hel, and the Twelve Gods. See also here(#4) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("...the vast majority of citizens of Azure City, Miko included, worship all twelve gods as a single pantheon") and here(#11) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("Functionally speaking, the Twelve Gods are all True Neutral....their alignment is pulled in all directions at once by different believers projecting their own morals onto them, and they end up in the middle somewhere.")
#848
2012/04/11
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Redcloak is Evil
More here(#5) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-aug-45605183) ("If you're reading Redcloak's dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you're overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon.") and here(#9) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) ("...furious about getting less even if one slice was technically enough to survive on....")
#830
2012/01/23
No vote required, will be included.


🍍🍌Parental Problems
Parents are in the story only to introduce conflict. That fathers are included and mothers are absent for the human characters is simply a coincidence. See also here(#7) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768) on the latter point ("...there's just not much more to it than poor planning and unexamined influences.")
#815
2011/11/18
No vote required, will be included.





PMs will be accepted until July 10th, 9PM EDT already. I'll try to update the table if/when entries get sufficient PMs.

To send me a PM, click my username (The vaguely-pronounceable(?)-looking word above the spellcasting-and-invocation-using banana with purple hair) and select "Private Message". Or I guess you could click here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=23376). Anyway, include the title of the entries you're nominating in the message. Mentioning something about "Index Nomination" in the subject line would be helpful.

A few final reminders:

Don't post suggestions to require votes. They're sent by PM to avoid filling up the thread with them, posts will not be counted.
Only PM for entries you think should be excluded. They'll be included if they don't receive sufficient nominations.
We're not voting on the entries yet. The voting will be the next stage; I'll call for the vote at an appropriate time.
We still have a banana in charge. Hi. :smalltongue: (I neither confirm nor deny a zapped status.)



Further discussion of entries is encouraged at this point. In particular, recommendations for different titles and descriptions for the quote entries are things I'd be happy to consider.

[Jasdoif]

That certainly didn't take long....

Items up for voting:


The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I soon realized that if I accepted the position, there was no way I would be able to continue producing the comic on the side.....I decided to take the risk of turning down the new job...."
#1260
2022/06/22


The Giant's Art Background(#2) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I mostly taught myself how to draw in Illustrator....For writing, I am entirely self-taught."
#1260
2022/06/22





Please bold your yes/no votes, it'll make it easier for me to notice when I go through and count everything.
Votes must be posted (as in, not PM-ed to me) to be counted.
Please avoid discussing the quote itself, outside of giving an explanation for your vote in the same post as your vote. This'll make it easier to catch up after the vote, if a new quote comes along while we're still voting.
Per Rule F4, inclusion by vote requires a quote to have two more votes in favor than votes against.



Voting will be open until July 12th, 9PM EDT.

The other eleven entries will go into the Index after the vote is concluded.

[Precure]

No to both of them.

[Kish]

Yes to both.

[b_jonas]

The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3) (https://www.patreon.com/posts/answer-post-6-68125768)
"...I soon realized that if I accepted the position, there was no way I would be able to continue producing the comic on the side.....I decided to take the risk of turning down the new job...."
#1260
2022/06/22
I vote exclude on the entry about how the Giant draws comics as his job, because it doesn't tell us much that we didn't know and it's not really about the comic.

And I still don't like how you call for yes/no votes but don't tell whether it's yes to exclude or yes to include the entries.

[pearl jam]

Yes is to include and No is to exclude.

Yes, to both.

[Gwynfrid]

Yes to both. I see them as relevant to the writing process. They also are questions that will occur naturally to readers interested in the comic’s origins. In that sense, they’re about the comic.

[Metastachydium]

NO, EXCLUDE on 2, for the same reason that I gave earlier. The Giant's Wikipedia page knew all this and more years before this Q&A. Let's be serious.

I still don't care enough about 3 to put in a definitive vote.

[Jasdoif]

Okay; while there's still thirty hours to go it's looking like...I shouldn't be surprised if the two-vote margin becomes a point of (expressed) contention.



Entry
Yes Votes
No Votes
Voters


The Giant's Art Background(#2)
3
2
Yes Votes: Kish, pearl jam, Gwynfrid

No Votes: Precure, Metastachydium


The Giant Lucked into Doing the Comic Professionally(#3)
3
2
Yes Votes: Kish, pearl jam, Gwynfrid

No Votes: Precure, b_jonas

[Ortho]

Yes to both.

[Doug Lampert]

No to both.