It's Oracle-tastic II (SPOILERS)

[jng2058]

Following a reasonable amount of success with my first set of guesses (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36695) about what's happening next, I'm going double or nothing on what may be in store for our favorite band of stick figure adventurers.

Once again, the usual warnings:

1) I'm not advocating these guesses as what SHOULD be, only speculating on what Rich has ALREADY planned. I love "The Order of the Stick" as written by Rich Burlew, NOT by jng2058. Rich will do what Rich will do, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2) I'll be referencing the prequel books ("On the Origin of PCs" and "Start of Darkness") in some of these predictions. If you haven't read those books yet and don't want to be spoiled, for heaven's sake, hit BACK now, dude!!

3) Finally, this is by definition a speculation thread on upcoming events. If such things bother you, don't read them!! I'll dump 'em behind a spoiler-shield anyway, just in case, but if you hit one of those buttons, don't blame me if you find potential spoilers....


Short term guess about the immediate future (as of #496)
Thanks to Xykon's Cloister spell, the plan for V or Durkon to Message Haley and Belkar will fail. This will lead to a split party (Lord of the Rings style) that will go on for a while, maybe even half the next book (so 75-90 strips) or even longer.


A consequence of the previous guess...
Therefore, Durkon won't be the one to Raise Roy from the dead. My money's on Roy's "Uncle" Myrtok, who was Eugene Greenhilt's Dead Raiser of Choice, as seen in Origins and SoD.


A new enemy...
...is someone else's old friend. I'm betting that the red and black voiced figure pulling Kubota's strings is Xykon's old flame, the wizardess Yydranna who has since lichified herself.

After all, when they parted in SoD she vowed to crush him mercilessly if they ever met again (and he replied he'd be disappointed if she didn't try). That's what I'd call the gun on the wall in Act I that's getting fired now in Act III. (Though I guess she'd technically be a gun on the wall in Act -I, but you see what I mean, I hope.)

I could also see the green-skinned Ninja Mistress being related to Bozak, the half-orc Thief Guildmaster whose service Haley left in Origins. That last bit may be a stretch, though...


Long Term Speculation...
I've been thinking this one for a while now. I'm betting that the "Lord Tyrinar the Bloody" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html) in whose jail Haley's dad is rotting is the same "cold and ruthless general" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html) that's been mentioned earlier.

You know, Elan and Nale's dad.

I expect drama and hijinks on the Western Continent where both Tyrinaria and Girard's Gate are located....


There we go. Four more guesses. I'll be back next year or so to see how I did.... :smalltongue:

[†Seer†]

*pays the Oracle for their time* Your clairvoyance is unmatched!

The only problem...I asked about the races tomorrow... :smalltongue:

Look forward to seeing which come true though!

[Forealms]

Excellent predictions, once again. I'm looking forward to see how many are right in the future!

[SoD]

I'm actually guessing that the 'new enemy' is one of Sabines mentors/superiours/employers from comic number 380. I mean, yellow eyes speaks in yellow, orange eyes in orange. Red eyes doesn't talk, presumably he talks in red though. Apart from that, I'll agree with your predictions now I've heard them. *pays the oracle*

[Chronos]

Red eyes doesn't talk, presumably he talks in red though. Apart from that, I'll agree with your predictions now I've heard them. *pays the oracle*I thought so, too, but a closer inspection of that comic shows that there is no "Red eyes". The non-talking fiend has purple eyes.

Which doesn't rule out it being some other fiend who was mobilized by Sabine's report, but it isn't one of the three we saw.

On the others, your first and fourth predictions have been floated by just about everyone, and your second and third depend on material from the prequel books. Rich has stated that he intends to keep the online material a self-contained standalone entity, so anything he brings in from the prequel books is going to need a fair amount of introduction if it's going to be that significant.

[David Argall]

Following a reasonable amount of success with my first set of guesses (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36695) about what's happening next, I'm going double or nothing on what may be in store for our favorite band of stick figure adventurers.

Your previous guesses did pretty well, better than mine at least, but...


Short term guess about the immediate future (as of #496)
Thanks to Xykon's Cloister spell, the plan for V or Durkon to Message Haley and Belkar will fail. This will lead to a split party (Lord of the Rings style) that will go on for a while, maybe even half the next book (so 75-90 strips) or even longer.

This one is almost a gimmie on the order of saying the sun will rise in the morning. As an alternative, I will offer that Haley and Belkar will rescue O-chul.


A consequence of the previous guess...
Therefore, Durkon won't be the one to Raise Roy from the dead. My money's on Roy's "Uncle" Myrtok, who was Eugene Greenhilt's Dead Raiser of Choice, as seen in Origins and SoD.

Most unlikely. There will be a lot of running around, but eventually, Roy, Durkon, and a bit diamond will get together.


A new enemy...
...is someone else's old friend. I'm betting that the red and black voiced figure pulling Kubota's strings is Xykon's old flame, the wizardess Yydranna who has since lichified herself.


Defiitely not Yydranna as a lich. All undead, liches in particular, have black and white speech. Also doubtful in general. SOD tells us that nothing in there is needed for understanding the strip, which would simply rule her out. Now our writer has been known to change his mind, or even "misrepresent" things to us, so we can't say absolutely not, but the best bet is that the voice is of a new enemy, quite possibly a devil, and not one of Sabine's demonic masters.



Long Term Speculation...
I've been thinking this one for a while now. I'm betting that the "Lord Tyrinar the Bloody" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html) in whose jail Haley's dad is rotting is the same "cold and ruthless general" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html) that's been mentioned earlier.

You know, Elan and Nale's dad.

I expect drama and hijinks on the Western Continent where both Tyrinaria and Girard's Gate are located....

Again, this is betting the obvious. Not as dead certain as Roy having trouble being raised, but still you are going to have to give the odds here, not accept them. It is also a little too long term. Even if we get 3 comics a week, the current book will take until 09, and is not likely to cover the point. Now I will offer that the current book will feature the lick leaving almost on his own, the party battling to restore/retain Hinjo, and end with a water adventure. As the party sails from some degree of victory in the city, it will encounter problems on the sea.

[mimicgogo]

You're forgetting one meta-thing. We're T-minus 1-2 weeks til the .5K mark of comics. I'll be darned if that won't be when Roy gets raised, and I don't see how that could involve Durkon at this point.

[jng2058]

Some commentary:

Re: Yydranna as "impossible" because she's in SoD.

Please. The two liches show up in the same panel, there's a little dialog about how they both worked under the Unholy Master, and the story continues unhindered.

Something being IN SoD doesn't keep it from showing up in the regular strip, just that anything that crosses over will get an explanation for people who haven't read it.

For example, the fact that Eugene had chances to go after Xykon that he ignored was a big deal in SoD. Its now ALSO in the main strip as the reason he's bound by the Blood Oath and stuck on a cloud. Being in SoD didn't keep that facet of Eugene's history out of the strip, just like being in SoD won't keep Yydranna out of the strip if Rich wants to use her. You just know what those choices were if you read SoD, and just take it on faith that he had blown chances if you didn't.

Likewise, if/when Yydranna shows up, a little conversation establishes her as someone from Xykon's past, which is enough for the main story, but only SoD readers know the details of their relationship. (And that of Keith Baker :smallamused: )

But hey, this is all fair game. Let's see where it goes. I'm reasonably confident in my predictions and we'll just see.

What else do you want from an Oracle, lottery numbers? Please. Like I'm not using 'em myself if I had THOSE.... :smalltongue:

[dragongirl13]

Those are pretty good predictions, but...

A lich is an undead. Undead speech is in white and black, not red and black. Red and black sounds more Fiend to me. If it is Yydranna, she has turned herself into a fiend. I think that it is most likely that the creature pulling Kubota's strings is a powerful demon or devil of some sort.

And about the "related to Bozzak" idea... could be. I mean, Bozzak was the leader of the Thieves' Guild and the green-skinned woman is pretty obviously a Rogue or a Ninja or both.

I hope the Giant doesn't read this because he has an irksome habit of disproving every idea we post.

[jng2058]

Those are pretty good predictions, but...

I hope the Giant doesn't read this because he has an irksome habit of disproving every idea we post.

I'm not too worried about it. The Giant's said he doesn't read threads marked as Spoilers for just that reason, so the Spoiler tag in the beginning should be good enough. Beside, my last Oracle post came through just fine. :)

[Alfryd]

Following a reasonable amount of success with my first set of guesses about what's happening next, I'm going double or nothing on what may be in store for our favorite band of stick figure adventurers.
Your perspicacity is indeed uncanny, if not downright unnerving.

The Cloister effect and Haley/Tyrinar connections are pretty good runners, but I can't see any definite suggestion for Ydryanna.
As for the party split... well, clearly enough it's going to carry on for quite some time, merely because Roy's so confident that it won't. I'd still reckon Durkon will do the honours eventually.

[The Bushranger]

Isn't there some sort of clock running on how long they have to resurrect Roy? His body's going to get kind of...ummmm...."ripe" before too long.

[RMS Oceanic]

Short term guess about the immediate future (as of #496)
Thanks to Xykon's Cloister spell, the plan for V or Durkon to Message Haley and Belkar will fail. This will lead to a split party (Lord of the Rings style) that will go on for a while, maybe even half the next book (so 75-90 strips) or even longer.

Pretty much a given, IMO. Either that, or a Julio Scoundrel-esque recap of what boths sides got up to in the few days since Roy died, and he's revived in the middle of a pitch battle of some sort.

:roy:: I'm alive! Guys, wait until I tell you-
:haley:: Actually, Roy...
(Zooms back to a scene of pure chaos.)
:haley:: We're kinda busy here.
:roy:: :smalleek:



A consequence of the previous guess...
Therefore, Durkon won't be the one to Raise Roy from the dead. My money's on Roy's "Uncle" Myrtok, who was Eugene Greenhilt's Dead Raiser of Choice, as seen in Origins and SoD.

Looks reasonable, but for all we know, Myrtok has passed on. And how would he know about all this? At most, he'd learn Azure City was overrun by Hobgoblins. A few too many variables to be a safe bet, IMO.



A new enemy...
...is someone else's old friend. I'm betting that the red and black voiced figure pulling Kubota's strings is Xykon's old flame, the wizardess Yydranna who has since lichified herself.

After all, when they parted in SoD she vowed to crush him mercilessly if they ever met again (and he replied he'd be disappointed if she didn't try). That's what I'd call the gun on the wall in Act I that's getting fired now in Act III. (Though I guess she'd technically be a gun on the wall in Act -I, but you see what I mean, I hope.)

I could also see the green-skinned Ninja Mistress being related to Bozak, the half-orc Thief Guildmaster whose service Haley left in Origins. That last bit may be a stretch, though...

Not necessarily lichified, for reasons of coloured text, but I could see her having undergone some sort of fiendish transformation after selling her soul to some lower being. I like this angle, either way.



Long Term Speculation...
I've been thinking this one for a while now. I'm betting that the "Lord Tyrinar the Bloody" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0131.html) in whose jail Haley's dad is rotting is the same "cold and ruthless general" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0050.html) that's been mentioned earlier.

You know, Elan and Nale's dad.

I expect drama and hijinks on the Western Continent where both Tyrinaria and Girard's Gate are located....


I like this one, and hope it's true.

[Alfryd]

Isn't there some sort of clock running on how long they have to resurrect Roy? His body's going to get kind of...ummmm...."ripe" before too long.
Very true. However, if Durkon's hit level 14, they'll have access to Resurrection over Raise Dead, in which case they'll only need a portion of his remains. They'll need extra diamonds, though.


:roy:: I'm alive! Guys, wait until I tell you-
:haley:: Actually, Roy...
(Zooms back to a scene of pure chaos.)
:haley:: We're kinda busy here.
:roy:: :smalleek:
Heh. *nods in approval*

[Chronos]

Very true. However, if Durkon's hit level 14, they'll have access to Resurrection over Raise Dead, in which case they'll only need a portion of his remains.Last we had any indication, everyone's 13, which is still enough for Resurrection. Raise Dead has a time limit of 1 day per caster level and costs 5000 GP worth of diamonds, and Resurrection is limited only to 10 years per caster level, but costs 10,000 GP worth of diamonds.