Oracle prediction *spoilers*

[Caelis]

This is my first crazy ass theory ever. Please don't hurt me. :smalleek:

With the oracle dead, doesn't the dragon goddess need another oracle? (not entirely sure how that works) If that's the case, there's a magical creature very much nearby. Is there any chance that Celia will become the new oracle? That would help the storyline along nicely.

[Ceaon]

A fun theory, but with Celia a LG sylph and Tiamat an evil deity, I don't really see this happening.
And we don't hurt people on these forums. Well, not over the internet at least. :smalltongue:

[Craig1f]

Tiamat would probably just pick another Kobold. And according to the explanation in #566, it would not have to be a Kobold with any magic affinity. Just a relatively intelligent and charismatic one.

[Raging Gene Ray]

Tiamat would probably just pick another Kobold...it would not have to be a Kobold with any magic affinity. Just a relatively intelligent and charismatic one.

The next Belkar-Opposite of the Linear Guild? Seriously, though, Neither Tiamat nor the comic necessarily need an Oracle this second, and Tiamat would definitely pick something Draconic and non-Good, being a goddess of Evil dragons and all.

[Atmbn]

What about all those kobalds in the village

[Corwin Weber]

Well Tiamat wasn't exactly evil per se.... that's largely a D&D interpetation. She was seen as a corrupting influence due to her affiliation with the ocean. (Salt water in your irrigation supply is a bad thing) She was also seen as more than a bit of a badass... but.... people had different ideas about that sort of thing back then. Let's face it, God from the Old Testament was pretty genocidal for that matter. People expected that sort of thing from their gods.

[Corwin Weber]

*sighs*

Freaking....

[Corwin Weber]

...server lag. *mad face*

[CarpeGuitarrem]

What about all those kobalds in the village
Lol, most definitely. They could ALL be Oracles!

[David Argall]

Well Tiamat wasn't exactly evil per se.... that's largely a D&D interpetation. She was seen as a corrupting influence due to her affiliation with the ocean.

This is reversing cause and effect here. Tiamat, and a variety of other monsters for various hero-gods, was basically something real powerful that the god defeated to prove he deserved to rule the other gods [and by no accident, that his city should rule other cities]. Any associations with sea, mountains, etc, are secondary.
But Tiamat's basic function in the story is to be evil, and to be defeated.

[slayerx]

Who to say that the oracle is gonna stay dead... knowing when you're gonna die has the nice benefit of being able to find a mid-high-level, lawful-neutral cleric and pre-pay them for a raise weeks before it actually happens.

The oracle foresaw his death by Belkar and that means he was doomed to die... but there was nothing saying he wouldn't come back later.

[Caractacus]

This is reversing cause and effect here. Tiamat, and a variety of other monsters for various hero-gods, was basically something real powerful that the god defeated to prove he deserved to rule the other gods [and by no accident, that his city should rule other cities]. Any associations with sea, mountains, etc, are secondary.
But Tiamat's basic function in the story is to be evil, and to be defeated.

Possible. it depends whether the story was generated entirely by the writer, or whether an adjacent (or near-adjacent) tribe or people actually did worship a being by that name. If the latter, association with certain natural forces is very close to being a given as most pantheons (i.e. religions with multiple deities) constructed them of beings responsible for many, if not all, natural forces. Monotheism did away with the necessity for that.

But if the need was there for a being to be destroyed and so was invented and was not worshipped actually by anyone, then, yep.

I look forward to the point where we discover that next Oracle is actually related to Yik-kik and Yok-yok:

Yak-yak: "What a great job! Big house. Lots of money. Fame. Security.
Ooh, customers..."
:belkar: "What the...? More of them?"
Yak-yak: I don't BELIEVE this...gaak..."

[Emanick]

Possible. it depends whether the story was generated entirely by the writer, or whether an adjacent (or near-adjacent) tribe or people actually did worship a being by that name. If the latter, association with certain natural forces is very close to being a given as most pantheons (i.e. religions with multiple deities) constructed them of beings responsible for many, if not all, natural forces. Monotheism did away with the necessity for that.

But if the need was there for a being to be destroyed and so was invented and was not worshipped actually by anyone, then, yep.

I look forward to the point where we discover that next Oracle is actually related to Yik-kik and Yok-yok:

Yak-yak: "What a great job! Big house. Lots of money. Fame. Security.
Ooh, customers..."
:belkar: "What the...? More of them?"
Yak-yak: I don't BELIEVE this...gaak..."

No, I actually think the Linear Guild's next Belkar opposite will be Yukyuk, a Jolly kobold who can't stop laughing. Not the best evil opposite, but if we saw a parallel to the two devils and the retired angel Belkar has...
Yukyuk when ordered by Nale to kill someone randomly (rhetorically): Wait, isn't the second guy supposed to be a devil or something?
Angel 2: No, it's just us and the eladrin, and trust me, you don't want him to come out.
Yukyuk's devil, at a psychiatrist: And then he kept laughing, over and over again...He's a kobold, he's not supposed to be jolly. Why is he jolly? WHY IS HE JOLLY?? :smallfrown:

Off-topic: We're getting close to a religious discussion here, so it'd be best to move back from real-world monotheism and polytheism to Tiamat's existence as an evil deity.

[TigerHunter]

...server lag. *mad face*
:smallfurious:

I find it more likely that the Oracle arranged his own resurrection. A kobold cleric is going to come by with a pocketful of diamonds soon.