Black gem?

[J.Gellert]

Have we seen that black gem in Xykon's hands before? It looks like something he took from Dorukan together with the headband, but I cannot remember if it has already been used in the story or will be later :smalltongue:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0532.html

[Mordokai]

Read Start of darkness for an answer. Or check the spoiler if you can't wait.

It's the gem in which Xykon's got Lirian and Durokan's souls catched by the Trap the soul, or what is that spell called.

[Tempest Fennac]

SoD spoiler:

He didn't take the black saphire from Durokan. As Mordokai said, he used it to trap Lirian and Dorukans's sould after killing them. The spell is called Soul Bind. It could be used later, unless it was destroyed when Xykon was thrown into the gate, which could explain how Kim Soon knew about Xykon's Psylactery.

[J.Gellert]

Oh Start of Darkness, I see. Haven't read that, very interesting.

[Ancalagon]

Read it. It is really worth it. In my opinion it is one of the best parts of this comic and surely a piece of the best storytelling I have read so far. There's a little "shop" icon to the left, I advise anyone uses it as soon as possible. Origin of PCs is nice (you can read it, but you do not have to), but SoD is just rocking (I suggest every reader of OotS buys one). ;)

[NikkTheTrick]

Indeed. Xykon's speech at the end of SoD alone makes the book worth buying. Explains a lot and is quite depressing, too. Will make one want to start a crusade and hunt down Paladins :smallwink:

[Mordokai]

Hey, hey, HEY!

Just don't bad mouth paladins :smallmad: We're not all self righteous jerks.

[Morgan Wick]

Read it. It is really worth it. In my opinion it is one of the best parts of this comic and surely a piece of the best storytelling I have read so far. There's a little "shop" icon to the left, I advise anyone uses it as soon as possible. Origin of PCs is nice (you can read it, but you do not have to), but SoD is just rocking (I suggest every reader of OotS buys one). ;)

Why is it that Burlew is, in your view, a better storyteller in SoD than in anything seen in OOTS so far? And why, do you think, is SoD so different from Origin of PCs or OOTS? And does the existence of this thread show that Burlew has backslid on his "you don't need the prequels" promise?

[WalkingTarget]

And does the existence of this thread show that Burlew has backslid on his "you don't need the prequels" promise?

Well, knowing what that black gem is isn't necessary for the joke. It's an easter egg for those of us with SoD, but it's not relevant to the plot.

[FujinAkari]

This wasn't directed at me, but I can answer:


Why is it that Burlew is, in your view, a better storyteller in SoD than in anything seen in OOTS so far?

Because SoD is a complete story, while OOTS is digested a page at a time. This makes it a much more fulfilling read. Additionally, SoD travels at its own pace, while OOTS is forced to make every page stand on its own merit, and so often times a joke that would be hilarious but require a lot of setup is simply bypassed.


And why, do you think, is SoD so different from Origin of PCs or OOTS?

Origins told several separate stories that really didn't tie together (ok, you can say they did as the OOTS joined, but that wasn't a climactic moment in its own right) whereas SoD does. SoD ends with Xykon taking control of the Dungeon of Durokan and serves as an appropriate conclusion to the story.


And does the existence of this thread show that Burlew has backslid on his "you don't need the prequels" promise?

Absolutely not, largely because Rich didn't say that. What Rich said was "You will never need information from the books to understand the main strip." Knowledge of the Gem was most certainly not required to understand this strip, and thus very obviously is in keeping with Rich's oath.

[bibliophile]

Do we have any conclusive evidence on weather or not the gem was destroyed with the destruction of Dorukan's gate? Where was the gem last seen in SoD, Xykon's pocket?

[factotum]

We have no conclusive evidence either way. Until we see a panel in the online strip where Xykon has it (that ISN'T a flashback to events prior to Dorukan's Gate being destroyed) there's no way to tell.

[Fitzclowningham]

Not that this proves anything one way or another, but he did manage to hang onto the headband - he didn't lose everything.

[Porthos]

We have no conclusive evidence either way. Until we see a panel in the online strip where Xykon has it (that ISN'T a flashback to events prior to Dorukan's Gate being destroyed) there's no way to tell.

Yes, but since we see Xykon with Durukan's Headgear before the explosion and after the explosion, I think it's a pretty safe bet to presume that the gem is still around as well. :smallwink:

EDIT: Ninja'ed. Typical, really. :smallsmile:

[Kish]

Do we have any conclusive evidence on weather or not the gem was destroyed with the destruction of Dorukan's gate?
Sometimes the absence of evidence is evidence of absence. Rich wouldn't pull a cheap trick like hand-waving it away when it would be so easy for him to show it being destroyed, if he wanted it destroyed.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I've got another theory- it's the black onyx gemstone worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm) material component for Animate Dead. Or the more valuable one for Create Undead.

[David Argall]

Because SoD is a complete story, while OOTS is digested a page at a time. This makes it a much more fulfilling read. Additionally, SoD travels at its own pace, while OOTS is forced to make every page stand on its own merit, and so often times a joke that would be hilarious but require a lot of setup is simply bypassed.
Looking over SOD, I can't say I see the difference. The book can be largely be broken into pages just like the strip can. Just add in a few double page strips and I have no problem seeing SOD as a collection of strips instead of the original book I know it to be.



Origins told several separate stories that really didn't tie together (ok, you can say they did as the OOTS joined, but that wasn't a climactic moment in its own right) whereas SoD does. SoD ends with Xykon taking control of the Dungeon of Durokan and serves as an appropriate conclusion to the story.
Of the two, Origin did the better tieing job. At the end of Origin, the party is together and the beginning is ended. All parts fit in. SOD has 20 or so pages of Eugene that are really a loose end. They really fit better in Origin for the most part.



Absolutely not, largely because Rich didn't say that. What Rich said was "You will never need information from the books to understand the main strip." Knowledge of the Gem was most certainly not required to understand this strip, and thus very obviously is in keeping with Rich's oath.
So far the gem hasn't played any part in the strip, but given it took the talisman over 200 strips to achieve its purpose, we might want to wait a tad before we say it isn't going to.

[Raging_Pacifist]

I would have to say the gem was destroyed along w/ Xykon's body.

[FoE]

Of the two, Origin did the better tieing job. At the end of Origin, the party is together and the beginning is ended. All parts fit in. SOD has 20 or so pages of Eugene that are really a loose end. They really fit better in Origin for the most part.

I would disagree on that point, in that the scenes with Eugene really go well with the whole theme of SoD.

[The Extinguisher]

Why?

What would be the point in including something so powerful and important in a book written AFTER Xykon's body was destroyed if it was never going to be a part of the main plot? Why bother including it at all.

If he still has the headband, why wouldn't he have the gem? It's almost guarenteed to show up in-story, with explanation of what it is. It's not a Checkov's gun. It's a Checkov's freaking Space Laser. If it doesn't show up again in the entire run of comics, I will eat the shirt off my back. Literally.

[factotum]

Why?

What would be the point in including something so powerful and important in a book written AFTER Xykon's body was destroyed if it was never going to be a part of the main plot? Why bother including it at all.


Why are you thinking the gem itself has power? There's no evidence of that...as far as we know:


Xykon just used it as the destination when he cast Soul Bind. The gem itself is probably valuable, and of course has the souls of two powerful spellcasters trapped inside, but in and of itself it has no power.

[Demented]

If it doesn't show up again in the entire run of comics, I will eat the shirt off my back. Literally.

If it helps, I'm considering a line of edible t-shirts, for the extra kinky.
as of 3 seconds ago

[FujinAkari]

Looking over SOD, I can't say I see the difference. The book can be largely be broken into pages just like the strip can. Just add in a few double page strips and I have no problem seeing SOD as a collection of strips instead of the original book I know it to be.

Of the two, Origin did the better tieing job. At the end of Origin, the party is together and the beginning is ended. All parts fit in. SOD has 20 or so pages of Eugene that are really a loose end. They really fit better in Origin for the most part.

So far the gem hasn't played any part in the strip, but given it took the talisman over 200 strips to achieve its purpose, we might want to wait a tad before we say it isn't going to.

... are you honestly arguing with me regarding my opinion?

[Mordokai]

Why are you thinking the gem itself has power? There's no evidence of that...as far as we know:


Xykon just used it as the destination when he cast Soul Bind. The gem itself is probably valuable, and of course has the souls of two powerful spellcasters trapped inside, but in and of itself it has no power.


Granted, I'm not well versed in laws of magic, but wouldn't a gem with souls of two epic spellcasters be powerful enought by itself? I mean, there's got to be a way to free those souls and maybe even use them somehow. If nothing else, crafting exp, they would probably generate a lot of those.


If it helps, I'm considering a line of edible t-shirts, for the extra kinky.
as of 3 seconds ago

Do they come in mint flavour? If they do, put me down for ten of those :smallbiggrin:

[Gamerlord]

its eaither a referance to start of darkness or a referance to elder scrolls 4...

[Migodnar]

Wow, I really didn't noticed that gem x_x

[dish]

I really hope we see the gem again because
I need to know what happened to Lirian and Dorukan's souls.

I also agree that SoD is amazing and contains some exceptional story-telling. On first reading I found SoD to be dramatically different from the other Oots books. While it does contain many excellent jokes, the one-joke-per-strip feel is (for me) noticebly absent.
For me, the overall tone of the book was one of tragedy - deep, grand tragedy - with some lovely black humour thrown in. I was used to being entertained and moved in a light-hearted way by a stick figure comic, but nothing prepared me for the profound, painful and disturbing way I was discomforted by the destruction of Lirian's glade, or, most especially the ending of Right-Eye. Grand tragedy on an epic scale as presented through the medium of stick-figures = seriously good story-telling skills.

[AutomatedTeller]

SoD is a lot darker and sadder than OOTS or origin of PCs. Not that it's not funny or anything - this is a comic - but there are elements that make you see characters differently.

[Newtkeeper]

... are you honestly arguing with me regarding my opinion?

We're allowed to argue over whose opinion is better. Otherwise, a whole bunch of politicians would be out of work.