Belkar's death coming up soon? (spoilers)

[Fussy]

Ok, so the oracle predicted that

in comic #329, Belkar 'should savour his next birthday cake. 'Nuff said.

Interpretation 1: Now, we haven't actually seen Belkar's birthday come up yet, and they've been adventuring for over a year now (including the three unseen months), so I'm assuming his birthday happens some time during these 3 months - so Belkar could be due a death very soon - or maybe has died already

Interpretation 2: The oracle mentioned birthday cake for a reason. There's obviously no time for a party/cake while trying to stop the end of the world, so maybe the year of peace after Xykon and Redcloak are stopped will be the year Belkar dies - in other words, he will never have a point in his life where there aren't monsters to slaughter. Possibly a plus from his point of view.

Interpretation 3: His death will be linked with him causing the death of Roy, V or Miko's stupid horse.

Interpretation 4: Who cares? He can be ressurected.

I wasn't sure how much to put in a spoiler, so I went with the old addage

Put it all in the spoiler! Go in, shove it all there like a weasel in a microwave.

[Kaelaroth]

Ok, so the oracle predicted that

in comic #329, Belkar 'should savour his next birthday cake. 'Nuff said.

Interpretation 1: Now, we haven't actually seen Belkar's birthday come up yet, and they've been adventuring for over a year now (including the three unseen months), so I'm assuming his birthday happens some time during these 3 months - so Belkar could be due a death very soon - or maybe has died already

Interpretation 2: The oracle mentioned birthday cake for a reason. There's obviously no time for a party/cake while trying to stop the end of the world, so maybe the year of peace after Xykon and Redcloak are stopped will be the year Belkar dies - in other words, he will never have a point in his life where there aren't monsters to slaughter. Possibly a plus from his point of view.

Interpretation 3: His death will be linked with him causing the death of Roy, V or Miko's stupid horse.

Interpretation 4: Who cares? He can be ressurected.

I wasn't sure how much to put in a spoiler, so I went with the old addage

Put it all in the spoiler! Go in, shove it all there like a weasel in a microwave.

What kind of crazy sick-ass adage is that! I haven't heard that one before! I like weasels... :smalleek:

And you're quite right, I was beginning to wonder when we'll see Belkar's funeral. However, it is possible that he's died during the three months of Roy's death. :smalleek:

[Fussy]

The addage is made up, because everyone knows addages give weight to your argument. I might have quoted Oscar Wilde:

'Truly, the amount of information in a spoiler is directly proportionate to the coolness of the poster'

Anyway, I think Belkar's funeral is imminent. That's not what I really want, though. It could be another reason why nobody has been able to contact Hayley - Hayley and Belkar were confronted, Belkar decided it would be great fun to tackle Xykon's army by himself (Hayley guarded Roy) and died. Hayley is in some sort of magical prison, Roy's corpse is... something. Being the guide to the next gate?

[Tempest Fennac]

That is an interesting point regarding what the prediction could mean (admittedly, would anyone really want to bother with reviving him, or would they even be able to?).

[Fussy]

I'm not so sure they would ressurect Belkar ('they' probably being Durkon) if he did die after the threat was averted. Their quest against Xykon was keeping him in check because he had things to kill, but at the end all it means is they levelled up a CE psycho killing machine.

Unless they managed to permanently increase Belkar's wisdom - we saw in comic number [can't find it just now] that when his wisdom was increased to be able to use a scroll of cure light wounds, he became almost a pacifist. Maybe it's his lack of wisdom that makes him so evil?

[Mr. Mud]

Ok, so the oracle predicted that

in comic #329, Belkar 'should savour his next birthday cake. 'Nuff said.

Interpretation 1: Now, we haven't actually seen Belkar's birthday come up yet, and they've been adventuring for over a year now (including the three unseen months), so I'm assuming his birthday happens some time during these 3 months - so Belkar could be due a death very soon - or maybe has died already

Interpretation 2: The oracle mentioned birthday cake for a reason. There's obviously no time for a party/cake while trying to stop the end of the world, so maybe the year of peace after Xykon and Redcloak are stopped will be the year Belkar dies - in other words, he will never have a point in his life where there aren't monsters to slaughter. Possibly a plus from his point of view.

Interpretation 3: His death will be linked with him causing the death of Roy, V or Miko's stupid horse.

Interpretation 4: Who cares? He can be ressurected.

I wasn't sure how much to put in a spoiler, so I went with the old addage

Put it all in the spoiler! Go in, shove it all there like a weasel in a microwave.



Good point but:

1.) Wouldn't Belkar's Birthday be a Signifigant event, and some sort of refernce made to it already?

2.) I have a gut feeling this will mean something completly irrelavent to him dying.


-- Maybe the oracle meant the wedding cake, Thus belkar would be killed/captured in the attack in 506... He might die in 507, who knows? :smallwink:

[David Argall]

Ok, so the oracle predicted that

in comic #329, Belkar 'should savour his next birthday cake. 'Nuff said.

Interpretation 1: Now, we haven't actually seen Belkar's birthday come up yet, and they've been adventuring for over a year now (including the three unseen months), so I'm assuming his birthday happens some time during these 3 months - so Belkar could be due a death very soon - or maybe has died already

Interpretation 2: The oracle mentioned birthday cake for a reason. There's obviously no time for a party/cake while trying to stop the end of the world, so maybe the year of peace after Xykon and Redcloak are stopped will be the year Belkar dies - in other words, he will never have a point in his life where there aren't monsters to slaughter. Possibly a plus from his point of view.

Interpretation 3: His death will be linked with him causing the death of Roy, V or Miko's stupid horse.

Interpretation 4: Who cares? He can be ressurected.


#4 is right only in the technical sense. The oracle's earlier prophecy was that Belkar is going to check out early and the 2nd implies he is going to get birthday cake only once more in his life. So he can be ressurected, but even if he is, his permanent demise is not far away.

#3 is also only marginally right. He won't die before causing the death of one of the 4 mentioned in the prophecy. But you cause something before it happens and so Belkar may have caused the death of any or all of them already. In particular, Belkar's giving the ring of jumping to Roy fully fits here, even if most of us would prefer a more substantial and direct cause.

As to 1 & 2: The mention of birthday cake gives us both a minimum and maximum. Essentially, Belkar is safe until we hear birthday cake mentioned in the comic.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I don't think Belkar will die "off screen." He's a major character, and that just wouldn't make sense.

Also, despite all the "Belkar caused Roy's death by lending Roy the ring," none of the beings Belkar listed have died at his hand. Roy either killed himself, was killed by Xykon, or was killed by being hit by a large, fast moving planet. :smallbiggrin: Belkar is more of an up close and personal killer, Roy's death is no more on Belkar's hands than it is on the hands of the readers of this strip.

Belkar's birthday could be any day of the year, but it's only been four months since they saw the oracle. His birthday could be coming up, or it might have passed, but until Belkar gets a "confirmed kill," technically he's safe.

[factotum]

Since we have no idea when Belkar's birthday is, the Oracle's prediction just tells us Belkar will die at some point before 2 years (minus 2 days) elapses from the time of the prediction. Given what's happened in the comic it could be as little as 4 months and a few days since that point, so it could easily be well over a year and a half before Belkar actually dies. Or it could happen tomorrow, of course.

It's interesting to note that Belkar himself won't realise this is going to happen, of course--he forgot everything other than the answer to his specific question when he left Sunken Valley.

[hewhosaysfish]

I wasn't sure how much to put in a spoiler, so I went with the old addage

Put it all in the spoiler! Except for the title!

Fixed that for you. :smallbiggrin:

[mockingbyrd7]

Perhaps Belkar's next birthday cake will be particularly tasty (or not come for years), and there shall be a scandal in the I.R.A., and the Oracle shared that information with them hoping to construe a different meaning and get Belkar mad. Who knows?

[Fussy]

Does 'birthday cake' mean his next birthday, or just the next birthday with cake?

This could actually be important (even though it's a ridiculous sentence) as any birthdays celebrated while an apocalypse is being prepared probably won't feature cake.

It could be that, after Xykon and Redcloak are defeated, Belkar becomes bored with a life without regular slaughter (wouldn't you?), and his death - however it comes - is welcomed by him.

We already sort of know that Durkon will die soon after Team Evil are stopped (he seems to love his homeland so much that it will be among the first places he visits once peace is restored. He knows he is returning posthumously, and so one might assume he would stay away as long as possible so as to avoid death, but his tears when he learns he will be going home - regardless of the fact that he will be dead - makes me think that'll be one of the first places he goes to. End of really long brackets) so why not Belkar, too?

The other 5 get on well, and I can picture them adventuring together, retiring near each other and staying friends. Belkar, maybe not. He only seems to like Elan, and is indifferent to Hayley and Durkon, but I can't imagine him getting on well with Roy without killing to distract him (him forming a friendship with V is out of the question).

Belkar is a vital part of the order
BUT
Belkar without Team Evil to fight? Boredom-driven rampages, all-out fights with V, various other evil doings.

Therefore he'll probably die not too long after Team Evil are defeated, or possibly just before they are.

The only solution would be to have his wisdom permanently increased, turning him into a typical peaceful ranger (see comic #58). I can see comic potential in Peaceful Belkar living and being friends with V, and V re-casting owl's wisdom every morning.

[NerfTW]

They haven't been adventuring for over a year. The first dungeon couldn't have taken more than a week. Assuming a week or so travel time to Cliffport, then a week getting the loot out of the dragon's dungeon. Miko's journey only took a few weeks, as described by Rich in NCFtPB. And stick the bandits story in there somewhere.

Maybe a week for the Oracle situation. Definitely not months or anything. Cliffport was about 4 days total. Then Xykon's army was a day away the following day.

So up until the 3 month gap, the most they've probably been together has been about a few months.

I'd put it at maximum 9 months.

[Tempest Fennac]

Sadly, Owl's Wisdom only has a duration of 1 minute/caster level, so even if it was extended, it wouldn't really be a practical solution. Iguess someone could stick a Crown of Opposite Alignment to his head, but there's a risk that he'd end up like Miko in the sense that he would kill everything he sees as evil. Alternatively giving him an item whic ncreases his Wisdom by at least 4 perminantly would be a better solution (unless he de-equiped it).

[Project_Mayhem]

Ok, how about this for an idea? SPOILERS obviously, but I dont know how to do the little box thing so I tried to hide it with colour. So shoot me.

We know that V is probably going to get ultimate power at some point. What if, on reaching this, he goes with mad with the power, and Belkar kills him, being obliterated in the process. This would allow him to be *sort of* redeemed and have a decently dramatic death without actually changing alignment and all.

Dunno, nobody ever said everyone survives

[squid96]

The Oracle could have been lying about Belkars death because she didn't like him. As he didn't ask if he was going to live to see old age, so the Oracle could have been lying. The Oracle only had to answer his question. (Im new to this)

[squid96]

The Oracle could have been lying about Belkars death because she didn't like him. As he didn't ask if he was going to live to see old age, so the Oracle could have been lying.

[David Argall]

They haven't been adventuring for over a year.
So up until the 3 month gap, the most they've probably been together has been about a few months.

I'd put it at maximum 9 months.

#489 shows us the party had been together for just over a year at the time of Roy's death. Now the time since the oracle has not been long. A week if we want to cram things a bit, certainly well less than a month. But we can say that it has been 3 months since the prophecy.


The Oracle could have been lying about Belkars death because she didn't like him.
The oracle is male - see SOD
And if we say the Oracle lies, instead of merely twists his words, we lose all fun of the game.


Ok, how about this for an idea? SPOILERS obviously, but I dont know how to do the little box thing so I tried to hide it with colour. So shoot me.
Well, I'll shoot you down to the extent of saying others have suggested this.

[no one special]

...Alternatively giving him an item whic ncreases his Wisdom by at least 4 perminantly would be a better solution (unless he de-equiped it).thats where Nale's super glue comes in:smallbiggrin:

[WrstDmEvr]

Hold it. What about http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0261.html?

[Arkatsson]

Belkar could have a cake... He would loot/steal for a little cake for his birthday

[MCerberus]

The cake is a lie! *weighted companion cube falls on Belkar*

oh my...

[MrCustomer]

He says he should "savour" his next birthday cake.

That means he will at least still be alive during his next birthday. So even if it is is last birthday he could have a couple of years left. For instance he could have had a birthday just weeks before hand (we don't know when it is) Belkar isn't bright so may not be aware of the current date, or maybe his last birthday occured while adventuring and taking time off to celecrate while fighting a horde of zombie goblins was too distracting. In that case his birthday could be 11 monthes away, and he might not die until just before his next birthday occurs. so he could have 22 monthes to live on the short side, which could be a long time in the story indeed.

IN might mean no more then the hafling has a short life expectancy, he won't live till old age, he might still have a couple of decades left though. The Orracle is sarcastic in his statements, so that could be his way of saying Belkar should savour his life while he still can. Belkar's lifestyle isn't one that lends itself to longevity and will likely not see old age. But you can't overanalyze a sarcastic comment.

[psychoticbarber]

thats where Nale's supper glue comes in:smallbiggrin:

Supper glue? I have a wonderful mental image of a mass of food, glued together.

[no one special]

Supper glue? I have a wonderful mental image of a mass of food, glued together.that was a slight mistake made by my laptop's keyboard and some "auto correct" thing my laptop is using(that I cant disable!!!) I meant super glue (going to fix the mistake right now)

[Wolfie_1066]

#4 is right only in the technical sense. The oracle's earlier prophecy was that Belkar is going to check out early and the 2nd implies he is going to get birthday cake only once more in his life. So he can be ressurected, but even if he is, his permanent demise is not far away.

#3 is also only marginally right. He won't die before causing the death of one of the 4 mentioned in the prophecy. But you cause something before it happens and so Belkar may have caused the death of any or all of them already. In particular, Belkar's giving the ring of jumping to Roy fully fits here, even if most of us would prefer a more substantial and direct cause.

As to 1 & 2: The mention of birthday cake gives us both a minimum and maximum. Essentially, Belkar is safe until we hear birthday cake mentioned in the comic.

you never know, when your trapped in a city full of hobgoblins you really dont have time to get a cake i dont think, so i would say B is still safe :smalltongue: and in the words of GLaDOs "you just keep on going till you run out of cake" :smallwink:

[Tempest Fennac]

That is a good point about the super glue (also, I don't think Belkar has anything equiped in his throat slot, so there woldn't be issues with equiping him with it). That's also an intersting point about his idea of a good birthday involving dead humans.

[Infernal Undead]

I prefer the theory that someone once posted about Belkar getting diagnosed with diabeties along with the scandel at the IRA theory. Or even better Belkar 'accidently'(ok yeah maybe that words a little too much) kills someone incharge of managing the economy of the nation that had the IRA causing a depression and all the money gets lost.

Still Belkar dead could be just as bad as Belkar alive if the Oots universe's outer planes uses the same rules as most of the ones in normal D&D settings.

I think Belkar probably has what it takes to become a demon lord.

[slight strider]

Belkar as a demon lord would be scary, in my opinion...