OOTS #587 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Snipers_Promise]

Babymaking, life-taking machine....

Thats great.:smallcool:

[Natural20]

Wow. Best lines ever?

[Ichneumon]

That was amazing....

[Cubey]

OH MY GAHD!

That was badass.

[Sylian]

Huh, she seems mad... 'course, they did just knock out her husband and threatened to kill her and the baby.

[Paragon Badger]

Nothing like a horde of ninjas kicking your spouse in the face to bring about the pregnant mood swing in all it's incomprehensible horror. Even Cthulhu &#*$s himself at the thought. :smalltongue:

[Wizardzo]

ROFL giant. Good one ^^

[Totally Guy]

Ouch. I hope the potion doesn't make the baby aggressive too.

[Zone]

:awesome: Must be the funniest strip in a while. :smallbiggrin:

[Bedinsis]

Looks like I worried unnecessarily for Kazumi & Daigo. (thank god)

[disorder]

"If you're pregnant, or think you may become pregnant, please consult your physician or cleric before taking Heroism Potions(R)."

...'cause if Kazumi thought the baby could kick before, just wait till that potion crosses the placental barrier. Ow!

[Admiral_Kelly]

:smallsigh: Guess Diago just sucks falling into the 'men married to pregnant wives are useless' trope, huh?

Still, gGotta say that is one badass pregnant mother. Moral of the story for all you Mooks out there? You do not put the life of a child in mortal danger within proximity of the mother - and, by extension, the life of the mother if she is pregnant. She will go berserk.

Edit: Screw the criticism. This scene would be impossible without Diago getting KO'ed.

[Retales]

Crazy... :smalleek:

[tyckspoon]

So first I was like :smalleek:

And then I went :smallbiggrin:


The Class and Level people are gonna love this one. Or be really frustrated.. Ok. 8 ninja were visible in the previous comic. If they're all coming in, Kazumi has 4 more to go before Conservation of Ninjitsu really kicks in.

[Halvormerlinaky]

Another awesome comic, if I may say so.

Who else is thinking Kill Bill here?

But I can definitely say that the Belkster is gonna be plenty irked by his lack of participation in the bloodbath to follow.

I don't know that the next few strips will be appropriate for under-aged viewers.

[TigerHunter]

Badass incarnate.

[Wolfprint]

Haha "baby-making, life-taking..."

I wonder if potions affect the baby. What if the kid got a little super-strength effect like Obelix? Expectant mothers should be more wary of what special mystical potions they imbibe.

[Cubey]

I'm sure we'll see this as an example of Mama Bear or/and Crowning Moment of Awesome on TVTropes.org. In roughly 2-3 days, top.

[Justyn]

Can we all agree that this is a Crowning Moment of Awesome? And does this make her an Action Mom (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionMom), or a Mama Bear (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MamaBear), or both?

Either way, Giant, keep up the good work.


I'm sure we'll see this as an example of Mama Bear or/and Crowning Moment of Awesome on TVTropes.org. In roughly 2-3 days, top.

Two days? I'm working on it now.

[Child Conscript]

Omg If thats her irritated mood
I wonder what the baby blues will bring :smalleek:

[DSCrankshaw]

The Class and Level people are gonna love this one. Or be really frustrated..

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage. Maybe there's something in the ToB that I'm not remembering. Either way, that's one high level ninja. (Of course, it's hard to tell whether he's still alive or Kazumi's killed him--he's not the first one she kills, I think, but they do all look alike.)

[Cubey]

Can we all agree that this is a Crowning Moment of Awesome? And does this make her an Action Mom (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionMom), or a Mama Bear (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MamaBear), or both?
In hindsight, Action Mom fits better. She was able to kick ass before, and Mama Bear is for meek characters who become kickass when their child is threatened.



Two days? I'm working on it now.

Yeah, s' why I said two days tops.

[Holammer]

Ahhh, good old "@#!%". An elegant placeholder... for a more civilized time.

[Edhelras]

Ooo! Careful with pregnant women!

I loved this strip!

[SPoD]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage. Maybe there's something in the ToB that I'm not remembering. Either way, that's one high level ninja. (Of course, it's hard to tell whether he's still alive or Kazumi's killed him--he's not the first one she kills, I think, but they do all look alike.)

An unarmed attack, that is also a Sneak Attack, that does more nonlethal damage than the target has hit points. What's so complicated about that?

[Nychta]

Kazumi seems a little obsessed with her baby. Just a little.

[Adventurer]

Woooo, mommy kicks ass!:smallbiggrin:

Her hubby got defeated way too easily though. Is it because he was caught flat-footed (pun intended)?

[Borris]

Good. Kazumi will finally be able to catch up with all the XP Daigo has been gaining while fighting orcs and giant devils. It's a sad thing when someone in a couple gets higher than the other in level. It makes adventuring together that much more difficult, and that's just the start of a dysfunctional family.

I wonder what was in that potion. Rage, maybe?

[tyckspoon]

An unarmed attack, that is also a Sneak Attack, that does more nonlethal damage than the target has hit points. What's so complicated about that?

Biggest problem? A character with enough levels to have sufficiently high Sneak Attack/Sudden Strike to do that will also be tough enough that there should be no way for Kazumi to one-shot him back. Like I said, the Class and Level Geekery people are either going to love this one or be massively frustrated by it.

[Need_A_Life]

I bow before you Giant in humble reverance to your mastery!
Truly such a work of art have not been seen by mortal eyes before.

:smallsmile:

[DSCrankshaw]

An unarmed attack, that is also a Sneak Attack, that does more nonlethal damage than the target has hit points. What's so complicated about that?
When the target is a 6th level fighter, that's a lot of HP to beat. You need to have a lot of rogue (or ninja) levels--somewhere around 9--to beat that in one sneak attack, even with a good roll of the sneak attack dice (and the more dice you have, the more likely that you're near average, not good). Which is why I pointed out that he'd need to be a pretty high level in either 3e or 4e.

Anyway, we should probably save this for the Geekery thread.

[Borris]

Biggest problem? A character with enough levels to have sufficiently high Sneak Attack/Sudden Strike to do that will also be tough enough that there should be no way for Kazumi to one-shot him back. Like I said, the Class and Level Geekery people are either going to love this one or be massively frustrated by it.

The Class and Level Geekery probably won't care about the stats of a nameless ninja minion. And we already know that Daigo is at least 6th-level, so the most it can do is hint that he might have a low Constitution score.

[Delgarde]

Kazumi seems a little... upset? :)

Excellent strip...

[RMS Oceanic]

On the issue of a knock-out of a level six martial character, three words: Story over Rules.

[Hurkyl]

On the issue of a knock-out of a level six martial character, three words: Story over Rules.
And we all know that a boot to the head is more deadly in cutscenes than a normal fight.

[datalaughing]

If the ninja had a sufficiently high level to do that, I don't think they would have been nearly as surprised that he went down so fast.

[Osgiliath]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage. Maybe there's something in the ToB that I'm not remembering. Either way, that's one high level ninja. (Of course, it's hard to tell whether he's still alive or Kazumi's killed him--he's not the first one she kills, I think, but they do all look alike.)

Now I'm not a rules lawyer, but doesn't sneak attack damage also get applied to subdual hits, and for that matter do Ninjas have the sneak attack class feature...I would assume so anyway.

This comic brings up the humorous proverbial, "I am women hear me roar!" I really hope the potion doesn't have any harmful effects on the child, if I can read the author correctly I would assume that the child will be fine except for one TINY little quirk the child will have. Such as the uncontrollable urge to say "inconceivable" every 5 minutes. :-p

The only way this strip could have gotten any better was if they couple was doing some sort of co-op action, where one was assisting the other, and in the middle of all the action, the baby was mimicking its parents and fighting within the womb.

Great strip mate, this is one I'll have to reference too from time and time again as one of D&D's funniest moments!

Os

[Fri]

So THAT'S why there's the 'not for pregnant woman' thingie on some potion.

[KIDS]

Ahhahahahahah, this was beyond incredible.... the rage, the rage lol!

[Dallas-Dakota]

Wow....
Rich, I repeat, you are the master of awesome, all hail Rich Burlew!

Pregnancy rage.... Heheh... :smallbiggrin::smalltongue: :smallamused: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

[Paragon Badger]

The only way this strip could have gotten any better was if they couple was doing some sort of co-op action, where one was assisting the other, and in the middle of all the action, the baby was mimicking its parents and fighting within the womb.

Os

That... is a scary mental picture. I don't think I want to see a stick figure fetus.

[Eldariel]

Biggest problem? A character with enough levels to have sufficiently high Sneak Attack/Sudden Strike to do that will also be tough enough that there should be no way for Kazumi to one-shot him back. Like I said, the Class and Level Geekery people are either going to love this one or be massively frustrated by it.

Kazumi critted. As did the Ninja. Also, the Ninja rolled max damage.

[Guran]

Nice one! Assassins get their butts kicked by pregnant woman. I can see the frontpage off the Azure fleet daily papers right before me:smallbiggrin:

[warmachine]

I suppose that's one way of dealing with the Mark of Cain.

[HOLEkevin]

Never mess with a she-lion defending her sandwich runner.

[Victor Thorian]

oh hohoho

this strip delivers.

[Animefunkmaster]

probably one of the best lines in any oots strip.

[The Stray]

How about this: the DM has decided to incorporate the minion rules from 4th edition into this game world. Daigo was just unlucky enough to have been ruled "chumped" (I.E. using one-hit minion rules for otherwise normally fully HP opponents) for dramatic effect.

[soozenw]

I think this is the best strip ever. I got a warm fuzzy feeling reading it. Go mama!

[Bayar]

At least now we know that you can actually swear in OotS, but you get censored...

[Jeivar]

And we all know that a boot to the head is more deadly in cutscenes than a normal fight.

EXACTLY! All the normal rules are suspended during cutscenes. :smallbiggrin:

[Kilarny]

Good thing they've been saving up his last name, they might need it. :smallcool:

[Gamerlord]

awesome.....
Now the only thing this strip needs is for giant to use coding to put in a play button for some rock and roll music

[SPoD]

When the target is a 6th level fighter, that's a lot of HP to beat.

Warrior. A 6th-level warrior, not a 6th-level fighter. Daigo was a nameless NPC soldier, remember?

[Red XIV]

Good. Kazumi will finally be able to catch up with all the XP Daigo has been gaining while fighting orcs and giant devils. It's a sad thing when someone in a couple gets higher than the other in level. It makes adventuring together that much more difficult, and that's just the start of a dysfunctional family.
I got the impression that Kazumi was already at a slightly higher level than Daigo. After the troll attack (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0508.html) she said "Welcome to the 6th level," which would indicate that she was already at least level 6 herself. And since they each gained a level in that panel, she'd have to be at least level 7 now. Daigo might have closed the gap during his various tag-along-with-the-PCs adventures since then, but we don't really know how long Kazumi's been out of action due to pregnancy.

[TreesOfDeath]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MamaBear

[dogmac]

You go Kazumi!!

From this, I think we can fairly accurately predict she is at about 26 weeks :P

You go girl!

[Grunjon]

That strip was mother%$@ing AWESOME!!! I %$@ing LOVED it! :smallsmile:

Great job, Giant. Seriously. Not exactly what I was expecting, which made it all the better. Keep up the good work.

[DracoDei]

Wild Guess(es): He is faking to set up the flank, or go for help (they might have been kidnapping rather than killing for all he knew for sure at that time).

[Lissou]

Kazumi's pretty neat, there, but... I have to say, Daigo sounds so sweet :smallredface: (before he get knocked out, obviously).
I'm starting to really like them both, I hope they'll be fine. Not that I'm scared for Kazumi, sounds like nothing can stop her right now :smalltongue:

[Otempora]

Is there a Kazumi fanclub yet? If not, someone needs to make one.

Well, I guess I was wrong about the labor thing. But this is MUCH better.

[insecure]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage. Maybe there's something in the ToB that I'm not remembering. Either way, that's one high level ninja. (Of course, it's hard to tell whether he's still alive or Kazumi's killed him--he's not the first one she kills, I think, but they do all look alike.)

What about the assassin PrC? It can make an attack that can paralyze the victim.

[Derivious]

Awesome comic... is awesome. :smallsmile:

[DeathQuaker]

Man, angry pregnant woman versus ninja.

Every ninja in the world is DOOMED. That's nigh unstoppable power right there.

[Aerysil]

So THAT's what they mean when they say, "Her talent for profanity was legendary."

[Gentlemaniac]

My fiancée loved this one... it got her to exclaim loudly that "I want to be a mother like that!" I almost got worried that she meant "right now"...

[JoseB]

Well, what Kazumi should have said in the end is...

"Enough is enough! I have had it with these mother%$@ing ninjas on this mother%$@ing ship!"

*runs and ducks for dear life*

[Mauve Shirt]

Haha! Kazumi is badass!

[TerrickTerran]

Never challenge a woman with a child....inside or outside of her.:smallbiggrin:

[Archaicwonder]

And I thought my wife's pregnancy was difficult. Awesome strip.

[Aquillion]

She's lucky there's no rules for pregnancy in 3e (outside of that book, which is presumably not in use.) At worst, she gets a -2 circumstance penalty right now.

...I hope that potion was tested on pregnant women, though.

[Xerrik]

I like the joke it made about the kicks. Suffice it to say that Daigo WON'T miss out on them.


EXACTLY! All the normal rules are suspended during cutscenes. :smallbiggrin:

It's a comic. The whole thing IS a cutscene.

[Ferrous]

So like, if you're pregnant, do you get a +something bonus?

And yes, a pregnant woman kicking the shizzle out of the ninjas is amazing. I hope Daigo gets up and helps defend his woman/unborn child.

[RebelRogue]

I loved the ninjas comments on her glow :smallbiggrin:

[Xerrik]

So like, if you're pregnant, do you get a +something bonus?

And yes, a pregnant woman kicking the shizzle out of the ninjas is amazing. I hope Daigo gets up and helps defend his woman/unborn child.

If he doesn't get up, it'll haunt him for the rest of his life. "Honey?" he says as he walks in the door, "will you please make me a sandwich?"
"Why should I?" she screams in righteous indignation. "I don't recall you helping me against those ninjas! If anything, YOU can go make ME a sandwich!"
"Ok, dear..." He sighs in exasperation.

Poor Daigo.

[Eric]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage. Maybe there's something in the ToB that I'm not remembering. Either way, that's one high level ninja. (Of course, it's hard to tell whether he's still alive or Kazumi's killed him--he's not the first one she kills, I think, but they do all look alike.)

Meh, common house rule: attack by suprise, make a save vs death or KO for 1d100 rounds.

In any case, they aren't PC's and the needs of the story outweigh the needs of the rule.

;-)

Oh, and there's six in the room, two lying dead, one just killed, one klanged and two looking worried. So if there were 8, two are waiting to come in.

Of course, we may ne heading for a Kill Bill/Crazy 88's moment, where the ninjas keep coming in, so you never get to the one lone ninja standoff.

[Aquillion]

Meh, common house rule: attack by suprise, make a save vs death or KO for 1d100 rounds.

In any case, they aren't PC's and the needs of the story outweigh the needs of the rule.

;-)

Oh, and there's six in the room, two lying dead, one just killed, one klanged and two looking worried. So if there were 8, two are waiting to come in.

Of course, we may ne heading for a Kill Bill/Crazy 88's moment, where the ninjas keep coming in, so you never get to the one lone ninja standoff.
Could be a Stunning Fist (which doesn't actually require that you use your fist). In that case he'll get up soon.

I think there's a feat that makes stunning fist knock people out, too...

[Dacia Brabant]

Who else is thinking Kill Bill here?

Oh yeah (except for the censored swear words, which is lame I'm sorry), the first thing I thought was "so that's what O-ren Ishi would've been like if she and the Bride had switched places." Forget Miko, Lucy Liu has to play Kazumi in the film adaptation. :smallbiggrin:

Daigo's a lucky man, no matter how embarassing this moment may be for him.

[Yendor]

Holy crap, Kazumi is awesome.

And poor Daigo. "I hope I don't miss all the kicking..." Ow.

[Ezbez]

This calls for some Battle Without Honor or Humanity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnfFTVjRpLI).

[ref]

Wooo! Go Kazumi!!

[Robert Paulson]

Now THIS is a funny comic! :biggrin:

[nybbler]

Perhaps it's an application of Inverse Ninja... the first ninja to come in was temporarily super-badass and thus could KO Daigo, but when joined by his partners he fell down to wimpy 8-ninja level.

[Grokvar]

Hehe, this one was very funny. :smallbiggrin:

[Sturmjaeger]

Good thing there wasn't just one ninja.

[Selene]

I seriously love Kazumi. :smallcool: She's on my List of Awesome with O'Chul.

[Bendal]

Let's hope that the potion wasn't Haste, or she may be going into labor right after this fight is done.

Or maybe before it's done, which would give Elan and his new sort-of-wannabee-girlfriend something to do...

Heh; watching Elan trying to deliver a baby might be just as funny as this comic.

[Shatteredtower]

This is what happens when you keep people from their sandwiches.

I'm not sure why there's this revulsion toward peanut butter, pickle, and pepperoni sandwiches. They're actually quite good. Bread and butter pickles are best for this purpose, but pickled beets or carrots will do in a pinch. Mustard pickles don't work as well, but a sprinkling of tumeric can help with that. Or some sauerkraut and onion, though that tends to work better with peanut butter on a hot dog.

No, really, it's quite good.

[M84]

Wow...just wow.

Much like in real life, it's never a good idea to piss off a pregnant woman, especially if she has a military background not limited to a desk job.

True, following the D&D rules she might not be able to KO assassins in one hit (unless they are really lousy assassins); however, this is awesome enough and funny enough that nobody should care. The second part of that last sentence can apply to a lot of situations seen in the comic, now that I think about it (first situation I can think of is when Roy beat the crap out of Xykon with these bare hands and threw him into a power glyph).

I almost wish I was a woman in real life, if only so I could use Kazumi's quote(s) as a signature in my posts.

"I'm a goddamn baby-making, life-taking MACHINE!"

"Why should I care how many people I have to kill? I can just make MORE in my TUMMY!"

Has someone already tried to point out that babies aren't made in the stomach? With the rule mongering seen before in the forums, it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to make a big deal about this either.

Again, great comic.:smallbiggrin:

[ericgrau]

Wild Guess(es): He is faking to set up the flank, or go for help (they might have been kidnapping rather than killing for all he knew for sure at that time).

Even the ninjas wondered why he went down so easy. He may have a plot yet. Like close the door and go to town after the last ninja enters. Or he may be stunned, and about to wake up in a couple rounds.

I'm gathering from all the previous posts that I would have found this comic more amusing if I spent some time around pregnant women.

[T-O-E]

At least now we know that you can actually swear in OotS, but you get censored...

What are you talking about? The word "Ass" is mentioned in the very first comic.

[ref]

Xerrik: Turn that 0 into a 1, please. :smallsmile:

[Jokerz]

... Holy crap. Kazumi's gonna wrek them... until there's one ninja left, that is. Then, I expect that therkala and Elan will arive. Or something. Either way, it's a crowning moment of awesome for the mauve shirt! (could it be deep purple shirt now? They're pretty main character now. Sorta like a less annoying Celia...)

[Conners]

What are you talking about? The word "Ass" is mentioned in the very first comic. Is "Ass" technically a swear-word :smallconfused:? There's been tons of lesser swear words throughout the course of the comic (not complaining), of course.


.... Either Rich is stretching the boundaries of realism (slightly more than usual) or that is one HECK of a potion :smalleek:. Heroism, perhaps? I'm curious as to how well you can fight when you're a pregnant woman--and I'm guessing not well. Maybe the potion nulls the affects of pregnancy?:smallconfused:?

[reignofevil]

When I first read the last panel, I thought it said poison.
So I thought she was actually do badass, she picked some poison off of a ninja's belt and drank it, just to show those ninjas who's boss.
Hint: Its her

[alfredbester]

The ninja was just wearing the common wild magic item Boots of Plot Development. Duh. They're only like 250 gold and come with a raffle ticket to win a first name. :)

[RNG]

The first truly funny OotS strip in a looong time. Glad to know you still have it in you, Rich.

[Knaight]

An unarmed attack, that is also a Sneak Attack, that does more nonlethal damage than the target has hit points. What's so complicated about that?

Probably also throwing a bit of power attack in the mix, and its probably Sudden Strike, not Sneak Attack, which means that even when flanking Kazumi they don't get it.

[delguidance]

It's refreshing to see a character kick but like that. Great attitude.

[Zweee]

Best strip in a long time. Don't mess with the pregnant, hormonal chick.

[black_Lizzard]

"I'm a goddamn baby-making, life-taking MACHINE!"

"Why should I care how many people I have to kill? I can just make MORE in my TUMMY!"

New T-shirt quotes!

[Palin11]

Even the ninjas wondered why he went down so easy. He may have a plot yet. Like close the door and go to town after the last ninja enters. Or he may be stunned, and about to wake up in a couple rounds.

I'm gathering from all the previous posts that I would have found this comic more amusing if I spent some time around pregnant women.

There's really only one thing to get in this one: MOOD SWINGS.

It's true, one minute you're feeling all cuddly and good and then something pisses you off and you want to kill every body, and then you want to cry hysterically and then you are good again. All I have to say is lucky Kazumi, I don't get to kill the door-to-door salesman or that guy on the annoying radio commercial or whoever. :smallamused: j/k

I just have to wonder: what's the Giant's wife like when she's pregnant?

[Jokerz]

I just got the "I hope I don't miss out on all the kicking" joke. heh.

[Deme]

Has someone already tried to point out that babies aren't made in the stomach? With the rule mongering seen before in the forums, it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to make a big deal about this either.


I generally assume the word "tummy" to refer not to the stomach exactly, but more to the general abdominal region. I assume "belly" to mean the same thing. Both can be used for the stomach, but neither really feels like a very exact word.

[funkyhomosapien]

Wow, this one was terrible. Easily the worst so far BY FAR. Not even remotely funny or amusing or clever or interesting AT ALL.

[Ironfist Orc]

Next Mood Swing: Hysterical crying over all the corpses. Possibly to switch over to a (mild) rage when Diago gets up.

[LuisDantas]

I got the impression that Kazumi was already at a slightly higher level than Daigo. After the troll attack (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0508.html) she said "Welcome to the 6th level," which would indicate that she was already at least level 6 herself. And since they each gained a level in that panel, she'd have to be at least level 7 now.

That's possible, but it is slightly more likely that they both reached level 6 at the same time. You can't quite welcome someone to a place that you just left.

[funkyhomosapien]

Next Mood Swing: Hysterical crying over all the corpses. Possibly to switch over to a (mild) rage when Diago gets up.

Dude, Diago's dead. He isn't getting up.

Kinda makes you wonder why Rich has her making corny puns when her husband just got murdered. I really don't understand the tone of this one, it makes no sense. Actually, nothing makes sense.

[Querzis]

Dude, Diago's dead. He isn't getting up.

Kinda makes you wonder why Rich has her making corny puns when her husband just got murdered. I really don't understand the tone of this one, it makes no sense. Actually, nothing makes sense.

...ok you never read the comic before or what? It was a kick, thats non-lethal damage. Daigo aint dead. Hell he doesnt even have the X in his eyes. If you dont pay attention to the comic then please at least read the thread before posting things like that.

Anyway, great Crowning moment of awesome for Kasumi there.

[ericgrau]

The first truly funny OotS strip in a looong time. Glad to know you still have it in you, Rich.


Wow, this one was terrible. Easily the worst so far BY FAR. Not even remotely funny or amusing or clever or interesting AT ALL.

Apparently you can't taylor every joke to everybody. Here here for variety in humor broadening your target audience:smallwink:.

[funkyhomosapien]

...ok you never read the comic before or what? It was a kick, thats non-lethal damage. Daigo aint dead. Hell he doesnt even have the X in his eyes. If you dont pay attention to the comic then please at least read the thread before posting things like that.

Yeah, that makes sense, cause, you know, those ninjas aren't experience at killing people at all, so they would just leave him there instead of finishing him off while Kasumi blabbers for ten minutes. Just face it, no goofy excuse can hide the fact. They "took care" of him.

[Inhuman Bot]

Biggest problem? A character with enough levels to have sufficiently high Sneak Attack/Sudden Strike to do that will also be tough enough that there should be no way for Kazumi to one-shot him back. Like I said, the Class and Level Geekery people are either going to love this one or be massively frustrated by it.


Actually, its not that hard. The ninja had 2 possibilites for that:
1) It was the inverse ninja law, or
2) He rolled badly for hitpoints. If he rolls badly, a level 30 barbarian might only have 50 hp, and a barbarian of a third his level could have over 100.

As for the comic: Ummm......:smalleek:

[SoC175]

Yeah, that makes sense, cause, you know, those ninjas aren't experience at killing people at all, so they would just leave him there instead of finishing him off while Kasumi blabbers for ten minutes. Just face it, no goofy excuse can hide the fact. They "took care" of him.
Except for the fact that the last panel shows him alive

[Dacia Brabant]

Yeah, that makes sense, cause, you know, those ninjas aren't experience at killing people at all, so they would just leave him there instead of finishing him off while Kasumi blabbers for ten minutes. Just face it, no goofy excuse can hide the fact. They "took care" of him.

Read it again, specifically panels 6, 7 and 11.

[Yendor]

Except for the fact that the last panel shows him alive

And the ninja explicitly states "he's just knocked out -- for now."

[Dragon Rawr]

"Turns out I get knocked up more easily than I get knocked out."

Priceless.

[the_tick_rules]

lots of pro feminism in this strip. Good strip to show your girl if you're in the dog house with her.

[Kish]

Read it again, specifically panels 6, 7 and 11.
Actually, I'd say "specifically, every panel from 6 on."
Panel 7: Kazumi asks, "What did you do to my husband?" and the ninja replies that he's just knocked out for now.
Panel 8: Kazumi knocks out the ninja.
Panel 9: Kazumi kills the ninja.
Panel 10: Kazumi drinks a potion.
Panel 11: Kazumi wades into the ninjas, killing at least two more of them (who, unlike Daigo, have Xs in their eyes).

Kazumi blabbers for ten minutes? Must be in some other comic 'cause it's certainly not in OotS.

[funkyhomosapien]

He's dead, get over it. Also, feminism eh? Boy, it sure will be fun when this comic turns political...

*sigh*

[Friv]

Yeah, that makes sense, cause, you know, those ninjas aren't experience at killing people at all, so they would just leave him there instead of finishing him off while Kasumi blabbers for ten minutes. Just face it, no goofy excuse can hide the fact. They "took care" of him.

Yeah, the ninja specifically says that they didn't. But good attempt.

(Rules-wise, I could see it, although I agree that "dramatics win" is probably in place here. Unlikely, but possible; with Con 10, Daigo would have around 30 HP. A Level 5 ninja who focused on Str over Con could deal 3d6 + 1d4 + 8 on a power attack, and if it was a critical hit it would be 3d6 + 2d4 + 16. That could hit 30.)

And story-wise, that was brilliant, and Kasumi is as awesome as ever. Poor Daigo, he's really going to have trouble living this one down.

[funkyhomosapien]

And story-wise, that was brilliant, and Kasumi is as awesome as ever. Poor Daigo, he's really going to have trouble living this one down.

Assuming he is alive, which he isn't, why would he have a hard time living it down? What is there to be embarassed about from getting knocked out from an attack you had no way of seeing coming? Or will he be embarrassed because his wife kicks ass? Seems to me like that would be something to wear as a badge of honor, not to be ashamed of.

[Dacia Brabant]

Actually, I'd say "specifically, every panel from 6 on."
Panel 7: Kasumi asks, "What did you do to my husband?" and the ninja replies that he's just knocked out for now.
Panel 8: Kasumi knocks out the ninja.
Panel 9: Kasumi kills the ninja.
Panel 10: Kasumi drinks a potion.
Panel 11: Kasumi wades into the ninjas, killing at least two more of them (who, unlike Daigo, have Xs in their eyes).

Kasumi blabbers for ten minutes? Must be in some other comic 'cause it's certainly not in OotS.

Right, I missed the "blabbers for ten minutes" claim, which clearly is proven absurd by those other panels.

{Scrubbed}

[funkyhomosapien]

{Scrubbed}

{Scrubbed}

[teratorn]

Wow, this one was terrible. Easily the worst so far BY FAR. Not even remotely funny or amusing or clever or interesting AT ALL.
Well, you are consistent, complaining against all the last strips, but as you've seen most of us like this arc.

I confess I enjoyed this strip mainly because they hit Daigo. I hate the guy, though I was a bit relieved when he didn't show as (x X), because of the baby.

[Dacia Brabant]

{Scrubbed}

Nope, I subscribe to the "when a person is proven wrong yet continues to spout the same statements contrary to fact, identify him for what he's doing and move on" school of thought.

Good day to you sir.

[Jigsaw Forte]

Has Rich, by any chance, been watching Series 7: The Contenders?

[Shott]

That was freaking hilarious.

[Graymayre]

"If you're pregnant, or think you may become pregnant, please consult your physician or cleric before taking Heroism Potions(R)."

...'cause if Kazumi thought the baby could kick before, just wait till that potion crosses the placental barrier. Ow!

Wow, I can't imagine what will happen if you have a small creature that has just taken a heroism potion in your womb...

[disorder]

{Scrubbed}
{Scrubbed} your argument makes no sense.

In case you aren't trolling, and you really do think Daigo is dead...Rich uses a convention that dead people have "X X" eyes, while unconscious people's eyes look like lines. This has been true, without exception, since the first strip; the characters even refer to it (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0444.html). (:haley:: "Does he have the X's in his eyes?")

Daigo's eyes are lines, not X's. He has been knocked out, but is not dead.

(And not that any other proof is necessary, but you said yourself that Kazumi, while angry, is not behaving like someone whose husband has been murdered.)

[Graymayre]

Yeah, the ninja specifically says that they didn't. But good attempt.

(Rules-wise, I could see it, although I agree that "dramatics win" is probably in place here. Unlikely, but possible; with Con 10, Daigo would have around 30 HP. A Level 5 ninja who focused on Str over Con could deal 3d6 + 1d4 + 8 on a power attack, and if it was a critical hit it would be 3d6 + 2d4 + 16. That could hit 30.)

And story-wise, that was brilliant, and Kasumi is as awesome as ever. Poor Daigo, he's really going to have trouble living this one down.

what if they are higher level? and the only reason Kazumi is destroying them is because of a heroism potion and that she activated her 5/day "Pregnant Rage" Ability.

[Morty]

(And not that any other proof is necessary, but you said yourself that Kazumi, while angry, is not behaving like someone whose husband has been murdered.)

There's also this thing about ninja saying that Daigo's knocked out but not dead yet.

[chiasaur11]

Gotta love the ninja in the last panel's "Aww." moment. This was very fun.

Of course, it does lead to a question if Elan will be needed at all.

[jmucchiello]

FOOMF: What's the feat chain allowing you to disarm someone with a pillow such that you end up with their weapon in your hand?

[nowiwantmydmg]

Hilarious and true; pregnant women are scary.

[Mike_the_Mystic]

Kazumi seems a little obsessed with her baby. Just a little.

That's called being a mama. I agree with everyone that this should be a
Crowning Moment of Awesome
And a Action Mom and also a Moma Bear. Oh yes, Kazumi kicked major ninja @$$ this strip, and it will be remembered throughout the ages. She's gonna be Already is an awesome mom. Huzza!:smallbiggrin:

[R.O.A.]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can knock someone out with one kick in 3e. In 4e, it's easy (Level 9 Rogue Daily, "Knockout"), but I don't know a way to do it in 3e without either magic or an impractical amount of subdual damage.

I'm sure when 4e came out, Rich said he may occasionally use 4e rules, making the ootsverse run on homebrewed rules. So maybe he let the ninja take the 'knockout' feat.
Or maybe they're magical boots - kicking unconcious +3 :smallbiggrin:

[stabbybelkar]

huh. you know I think that this is the first time in the comic that anyone used the F- word.

[disorder]

Gotta love the ninja in the last panel's "Aww." moment. This was very fun.

Of course, it does lead to a question if Elan will be needed at all.
I would bet that Elan and Therkla will be needed. Kazumi is kicking ass right now (but not taking names, since she knows better than that.) But the ninjas will turn the tide through sheer numbers. (Or, given that they're nnjas, the last one will turn the tide through lack of numbers.)

After all, if Elan were to abandon the fight on the island, race back to the fleet in a rowboat, and crash dramatically through K&D's window, just as the damsel in distress finished solving the problem on her own...well, they can revoke your Dashing Swordsman license for less.

[thereaper]

There's also this thing about ninja saying that Daigo's knocked out but not dead yet.

As well as the fact that kicks are unarmed strikes and therefore deal nonlethal damage.

Great strip. Sheer awesome.

I'd say that most likely, it was a lucky power attack critical hit, along with sudden strike or whatever sneak-attack-like class feature ninjas get. Add to that the assumption that said ninja had high STR and low CON, and it would explain why he was able to knock out Daigo but get pwned by Kazumi. Of course, the low CON part assumes she's already killed that particular ninja (or will kill him very easily). It's also possible he'll be killed off-panel, in which case it's possible his CON isn't low. Still doesn't mean he couldn't have very high STR, though.

[Tundar]

ROFL!

They deserve any kind of punishment they get for being stupid enough to piss off a pregnant woman. They are all on the edge of insanity - hormones and strange food does that to one, you know :)

[Yendor]

But Therkla is a ninja, so if she shows up, any remaining ninjas will have their ninjutsu reduced, making them easier targets.

Incidentally, Kazumi should be taking names, so they can prove who sent the ninjas.

[Lawliet]

That was one of the best comics of this strip, seriously. I wonder if someone already updated TVTropes with this.

[silvadel]

One just always has to remember to take out the last 2 ninjas simultaneously to avoid the inverse ninja law.

[Trizap]

*reads comic*

*shrugs, smiles* :smallbiggrin:

[quick_comment]

Most people seem to assume she drinks a potion of heroism or some such, but I'm thinking she looks like a responsible woman; shouldn't it be a potion of pregnancy protection, or something to that effect? With all the care the couple has been taking to protect the baby, I wouldn't think she would just happen to have a potentially harmful potion at hand when they're specifically expecting no problem - far more likely, it's a potion that protects the baby from the mother's physical strain, in case no one can be around to help her.

It would also be interesting if the potion has a limited duration; how fast can she kill those ninjas?

[VersysRyder]

Awesome comic, Rich! Loved every panel of it.

[Timespike]

I love the resolve of these surviving Azure city people. Hinjo, Shojo, Lien, O-Chul, Kazumi, Daigo - once they get sufficient reinforcements, evil in general should be really scared. These people do NOT back down. These are my kind of heroes.

Also, on a related note, I can't begin to tell you how refreshing this was. I just finished reading Watchmen about half an hour ago, and I needed something like this to cleanse the ol' intellectual palette of the bleak-as-Hell worldview I just subjected myself to.

[Aquillion]

Also, this fight involves no PCs. Fights involving no PCs often aren't done by the rules anyway; the DM just tells the PCs what happens when they find out.

[Conners]

{Scrubbed}

[NENAD]

Does that apply in a world with no DM?

Also, being that she's in the late stages of pregnancy, Kazumi's DEX should be something like half of what it normally is, shouldn't it? Though that potion may have evened that out a bit.

[paulg]

Coming from a guy whose wife is 8.5 months pregnant....I can relate to this.

[Timespike]

He's dead, get over it. Also, feminism eh? Boy, it sure will be fun when this comic turns political...

*sigh*

Hey now, strong women aren't anathema to any particular political view except at the FAR extreme ends of the spectrum. Besides, there have been a few subtle jabs at left-wing politics in the strip, too, if you know what to look for. Or maybe, just maybe, Rich is trying to tell a entertaining fantasy story without bringing real-world politics into it. I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but so does the statement "wildly popular stick-figure webcomic." Especially when you consider that there are two of them. (OotS & XKCD) Take it easy, man. :smallsmile:

Seriously, it's a fantasy webcomic whose primary stated goals are entertainment and humor, not any sort of ideological advocacy. If the story is causing some stress, take a break for a few strips and come back, maybe? Based on the history of the strip, I'd think most of your fears would be put to rest.

I'm generally pretty conservative, and I found nothing to be offended by in this strip. Kazumi is exhibiting pretty standard "mother bear" behavior, here. Also, Daigo is very much alive. Rich has used "X" eyes to indicate death and closed (or "-" symbol, if you will) ones to indicate unconsciousness throughout the entire run of the comic. As long as Kazumi isn'toverpowered by ninjas, I think Daigo will be just fine.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff of Moddingham: While I expect this warning will be buried under an avalanche of new posts in short order, I feel compelled to try to nudge this thread in the right direction. Please do not attack, insult, belittle, or abuse other posters. Please report posts that violate the Forum Rules but do not flame the poster. Please treat each other with respect and in a civil manner. Please eat cheese.

[Timespike]

Does that apply in a world with no DM?

Also, being that she's in the late stages of pregnancy, Kazumi's DEX should be something like half of what it normally is, shouldn't it? Though that potion may have evened that out a bit.

I would think it's more an issue of encumbrance penalties, and if that potion just upped her STR score, I think they just went away.

[Timespike]

Sheriff of Moddingham: While I expect this warning will be buried under an avalanche of new posts in short order, I feel compelled to try to nudge this thread in the right direction. Please do not attack, insult, belittle, or abuse other posters. Please report posts that violate the Forum Rules but do not flame the poster. Please treat each other with respect and in a civil manner. Please eat cheese.

...wait, was that aimed at me? I was trying (very hard!) to disagree in a respectful and civil manner! I can delete the post if you want, but I'm actually trying to douse the flames a bit, not add fuel to them.

[paulg]

Wow!

I had no idea I dropped my insightful affirmation of the wonders of pregnancy rage right in the middle of an all out flamewar.

Crazy.

[Friv]

...wait, was that aimed at me? I was trying (very hard!) to disagree in a respectful and civil manner! I can delete the post if you want, but I'm actually trying to douse the flames a bit, not add fuel to them.

If you pop back up the thread, you'll find a wide variety of scrubbed posts; I imagine this is aimed at them, plus anyone who decides to wade in. ;)

Anyway... yeah, I don't think there's anything political about this one, just raw awesomeness.

Also, I am mortified that I misspelled Kazumi's name. I may need to be put on fanclub-probation.

[InuSaga]

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is my favorite strip. Ever.

[DSCrankshaw]

All right, let's do this carefully.

Daigo is level 6 (at least, we don't know whether he's advanced since then). If he's fighter, that's d10 per level. If he's warrior, that's d8. For now, I'll stick with averages--we'll get to minimum, maximum scores later. So, at level 6, a PC fighter with 10 con (which is low for a fighter), would have, on average, 37 HP. 49 HP with reasonable Con for a fighter. An NPC warrior would have, on average 27 (NPCs don't get maximum HP first roll), and usually have average Con scores. Now Daigo is a named NPC who's actually adventured with the party (and survived). Those tend to have actual class levels and reasonable stats (closer to 47 than 27), but we'll go through the possibilities.

Now, the ninja is doing unarmed damage (that's subdual, not lethal). That's 1d4 (1d6 with the Improved unarmed strike, in which case it could be, but doesn't have to be, lethal). He could get Power Attack, and he definitely gets sneak attack. How high of a level does he have to be before he does at least 27 to 47 maximum damage? Average damage?

So if the Ninja has 16 strength (the highest I can imagine for a ninja actually) and power attack (unlikely for a ninja, but possible), then...

At level 1:
d6 (hit) + 3 (strength) + 1d6 (sneak attack/sudden strike) = 10 average (15 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 6 + 1d6 = 16 average (24 maximum)

At level 3:
d6 (hit) + 3 (strength) + 2 (power attack) + 2d6 (sneak attack/sudden strike) = 15 average (22 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 10 + 2d6 = 24 average (34 max)

At level 5:
d6 + 3 + 3 + 3d6 = 20 average (30 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 12 + 3d6 = 29 average (42 max)

At level 7:
d6 + 3 + 6 + 4d6 = 26 average (38 max)
On a crit, 2d6 + 18 + 4d6 = 39 average (52 max)

At level 9:
d6 + 3 + 7 + 5d6 = 31 average (46 max)
On a crit, 2d6 + 20 + 5d6 = 44 average (56 max)

Okay, that's probably enough. So if we stat Daigo as a NPC with low Con (for a fighter), then a knockout unarmed blow could, at earliest, have happened for a level 3 ninja. Which is reasonable, actually. If we stat him with 37 Con (which I feel is more reasonable, even for a warrior), then the ninja would need to be level 5, and very lucky with his rolls. If Daigo's near 49, then we're looking at level 7. Now, these are for successful criticals. If it wasn't a critical, then the respective levels are 5 (for 27), 7 (for 37), and 11 (for 49).

So, it's just possible, to one shot a 6th level warrior with low Con with a 3rd level ninja in 3e. Unlikely, but possible.

(Of course, this is assuming average HP rolls. Minimum rolls and poor Daigo could have HP of 6, but I'm not going to go there--there's no way he could have survived this long if that were the case.)

[chiasaur11]

Sheriff of Moddingham: While I expect this warning will be buried under an avalanche of new posts in short order, I feel compelled to try to nudge this thread in the right direction. Please do not attack, insult, belittle, or abuse other posters. Please report posts that violate the Forum Rules but do not flame the poster. Please treat each other with respect and in a civil manner. Please eat cheese.

Will Goldfish crackers do?

[FoE]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Crowning Moment of Awesome. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/CrowningMoment/WebComics) :smallbiggrin:

[Tusalu]

About Daigo being knocked out, don't you all think it is possible that the ninja made a powerful, high-rolled crit sneak attack. I mean he was surprised that he knocked him out weren't he.

[Hectonkhyres]

Geet een mah bellah!
...
That is all.

[Lilivati]

I think this is my favorite strip, ever.

Kazumi is badass.

[Kinneus]

Hmm... should she really be taking potions while pregnant? I mean... what if her baby's born with barkskin or something?

[teratorn]

Please eat cheese.

Done... with pumpkin jelly (you can't find peanut butter around here so I don't know if it would agree as well), and with pepperoni like stuff and pickles on the side.

[MyrddinDerwydd]

I know it's been said already a hundred different ways, but I just have to--
This Strip Kicked Some Serious Ninja @$$!!!
I vote Kazumi for the new O'Chul of Immediate Temporary Awesomeness. :amused:

[Duggan]

It's probably because I recently watched Juno, but my first thought was "Lead with the belly. Follow with the sword."

In terms of the rapid knock-outs, I didn't blink twice because I've lately been largely playing Mutants and Masterminds which uses the True20 system with a damage roll rather than HP. There, it's possible to get an instant-knockout if the defender rolls badly enough. Normally, in the case of PCs, they're able to use a Hero Point to re-roll with a guaranteed result of above 10 which is almost always enough to avoid instant takedowns unless they're really outmatched, but the GM may have overridden the result for dramatic result, giving Daigo and additional Hero Point for playing along. :) And, of course, the ninja are minions (yes, much the same as 4E. You can't say WotC doesn't learn from their competitors) which means that any damage roll they fail, they fall, and that Takedown Attack (the equivalent of Cleave) works as long as she keeps taking them out (house rules often allow her to even Take 10 on the attack when it comes to minions, meaning we only check to see if they pass the damage roll. This is a superhero game after all).

[Dunesen]

The very first thing I thought when reading this was "How many tropes does this depict?" And right in the first page of this thread there's people saying they're already in the midst of adding this. How delightful :smallbiggrin:

[Hectonkhyres]

I vote Kazumi for the new O'Chul of Immediate Temporary Awesomeness. :amused:
Speaking of which, I think its pretty obvious that O-Chul is the real father.
The baby is actually the one doing the asskicking and Kazumi is merely in the way.

[Blaznak]

You know, there's like a half-dozen new gamer t-shirts waiting in this strip...

[Oberon]

(Of course, this is assuming average HP rolls. Minimum rolls and poor Daigo could have HP of 6, but I'm not going to go there--there's no way he could have survived this long if that were the case.)

Actually, with minimum rolls, he'd have 11 hp (because at 1st level you get your hit dice max) plus his con modifier, if any. So that might change the calculations a little, but I still say it was a crit, and tit makes it plausible. Plausible is all we need.

[Dervag]

Hmm... should she really be taking potions while pregnant? I mean... what if her baby's born with barkskin or something?I suspect that was a Potion of Heroism, in which case the only real danger is that her baby will be born as a world-conquering badass who can do things like strangle snakes in his cradle.

How is that a bad thing?

[factotum]

If we stat him with 37 Con (which I feel is more reasonable, even for a warrior), then the ninja would need to be level 5, and very lucky with his rolls. If Daigo's near 49, then we're looking at level 7.


I hope you mean HP, not Con--37 Con would be very high indeed!

[Hectonkhyres]

I suspect that was a Potion of Heroism, in which case the only real danger is that her baby will be born as a world-conquering badass who can do things like strangle snakes in his cradle.

How is that a bad thing?
This is D&D... a world with Lamarckian evolution. The poor thing was already doomed to be born to two important leveled characters... fleeing an epic lich-sorcerer and his unending hobgoblin army... while a pantheon-eating abomination of uncreation chews its way back into the universe... and mommy beats ninja assassins like they were full of candy.

Even before this potion was swilled, this baby was doomed to be born into awesome. Now... lets just say that a fully formed O-Chul clone is going to come crawling out from between her legs as somebody plays the 'Ode to Joy'.

[disorder]

I suspect that was a Potion of Heroism, in which case the only real danger is that her baby will be born as a world-conquering badass who can do things like strangle snakes in his cradle.

How is that a bad thing?
It's a bad thing for snakes.

[Military Man]

Well that was unexpected.........

[The Sandman]

The ninja didn't realize that they just got 'upgraded' to 4e...by getting turned into Minions. :smallbiggrin:

Well, until they started getting one-shotted. :smalltongue:

[Manoftyr]

This comic actually inspired me to finally get off my ass and register, it was just too funny.


Awesome job Giant.

[StickMan]

Rich great great epic comic of goodness. Those two really should have there own spin off comic.

[Danukian]

All right, let's do this carefully.

So if the Ninja has 16 strength (the highest I can imagine for a ninja actually) and power attack (unlikely for a ninja, but possible), then...

At level 1:
d6 (hit) + 3 (strength) + 1d6 (sneak attack/sudden strike) = 10 average (15 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 6 + 1d6 = 16 average (24 maximum)

At level 3:
d6 (hit) + 3 (strength) + 2 (power attack) + 2d6 (sneak attack/sudden strike) = 15 average (22 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 10 + 2d6 = 24 average (34 max)

At level 5:
d6 + 3 + 3 + 3d6 = 20 average (30 max)
On a crit, that's 2d6 + 12 + 3d6 = 29 average (42 max)

At level 7:
d6 + 3 + 6 + 4d6 = 26 average (38 max)
On a crit, 2d6 + 18 + 4d6 = 39 average (52 max)

At level 9:
d6 + 3 + 7 + 5d6 = 31 average (46 max)
On a crit, 2d6 + 20 + 5d6 = 44 average (56 max)

So, it's just possible, to one shot a 6th level warrior with low Con with a 3rd level ninja in 3e. Unlikely, but possible.

(Of course, this is assuming average HP rolls. Minimum rolls and poor Daigo could have HP of 6, but I'm not going to go there--there's no way he could have survived this long if that were the case.)

Let’s not forget the fact that the NiQ (Ninja’s in Question) are not necessarily are form of Rouge or Ninja prestige class, in the same way that Miko was a Samurai without having levels in Samurai.

A 5th level Monk Would do 1d6+STR mod unarmed damage plus Stunning Attack 1/day which stuns in addition to unarmed damage. d8 for 9th. If the Ninja’s were Rouge/Monk multi-class, they could add a critical sneak attack into the mix, as Daigo was clearly flat footed.



I suspect that was a Potion of Heroism, in which case the only real danger is that her baby will be born as a world-conquering badass who can do things like strangle snakes in his cradle.

How is that a bad thing?

You don't have toddlers, do you? :smallwink:

[Martok]

Wow! I suddenly love Kazumi so much at this moment.

"I'm a goddamn baby-making, life-taking MACHINE!" Simply awesome. :smallbiggrin:


Fantastic strip, Rich! You've been really on your game the last couple months (even more so than usual), and I thank you for that. :smallsmile:

[Daen]

Awesome, LOL! I hope when her hubby wakes up, she asks him first for the sandwich. :smallbiggrin:

[AyuVince]

I assume once Elan and Therkla (or anyone else) arrive to help, they'll see a room full of dead ninjas with an unconscious Daigo and a bloodsoaked Kazumi in the midst.

Hum, I have an idea for a new sig...

[JonathanC]

Let’s not forget the fact that the NiQ (Ninja’s in Question) are not necessarily are form of Rouge or Ninja prestige class, in the same way that Miko was a Paladin without having levels in Paladin.

Small nitpick: Miko *was* a Paladin...though she was a 'Samurai' without having levels in any 'Samurai' class.

[Danukian]

Yea, that's what i said... :smallredface:

[MeTheGameGuy]

Wow. Remind me never to annoy Kazumi. :smalleek:

Just brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilli-huh? Oh. :smallbiggrin:

The really confusing thing, however: how does she say everything in panel 10, when she's drinking a potion? Wouldn't she get choked or something??? :smallconfused:

[Manoftyr]

Plffft, we all know that pregnant+endangered child and husband+pissed off= The ability to circumvent the laws of physics

[Balkash]

They forgot the Golden Rule: Never mess with pregnant chicks.

[chiasaur11]

They forgot the Golden Rule: Never mess with pregnant chicks.

It's number three, after "Never start a land war in Asia" and "Never play mind games with a Scillian when death is on the line".

[Chronicled]

Why should I care how many people I have to kill? I can just make MORE in my TUMMY!

Easily the best line I've seen in any form of media in a long, long time.

[FatJose]

To quote a line from The 40 year-old Virgin


That woman scares the &*^% out of me!

Man, that is just crazy. Especially the whole, "I can kill as many people as I want! I can just make MOAR!!!!!1"

[alexeduardo]

Easily the best line I've seen in any form of media in a long, long time.

heck yeah, my prengant cousin is totally getting a print of this on her baby shower.

[Lupy]

Kazumi is the new most insanely epic character in Oots.

This may well be the best of the hundred Rich! :smallbiggrin:

[Raikou]

The really confusing thing, however: how does she say everything in panel 10, when she's drinking a potion? Wouldn't she get choked or something??? :smallconfused:

Talking is a Free Action (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TalkingIsAFreeAction) looks like it applies here also.

[Danukian]

But Talking while Drinking leads to stained shirts...

[Max_Sinister]

Damn, she is indeed badass.

I wonder how Rich came up with the "I can always make more" line.

[MisterM]

Not even O-Chul could touch her now... :smalleek:

[Wanderer]

In hindsight, Action Mom fits better. She was able to kick ass before, and Mama Bear is for meek characters who become kickass when their child is threatened.

Not exclusively meek characters. Note on the Mama Bear page it even mentions that Action Moms can do it too. The real point is that, however tough or not-tough she was before, she WILL kick your freaking butt and grind it into the dust when you try to hurt her baby.

[TheBST]

I'm sorry but the 'knocked up/knocked out' quip was god damned awful. Steve Seagal Quip awful.

Then again the 'make more in my tummy' line more than makes up for it. The comic usually gives me a broad smile- that was the first full-on belly laugh I've had from the strip. Cheers!

[Ceric]

Yeah! Go Kazumi! :smallbiggrin: I love how she knocked out the first ninja with a pillow.

[Toadie]

http://forum.americasarmy.pl/images/smilies/rotfl.gif

You stupid pieces of @#!%!

[DraPrime]

Just read the comic. I will never ever look at a pregnant woman without thinking of her as a vicious killing machine.

[Cleverdan22]

That was...that was amazing. Mrs. Kato, have my babies, please.

[chiasaur11]

That was...that was amazing. Mrs. Kato, have my babies, please.

She's currently backordered. Ask later.

[Aystra]

A peanut butter, pepperoni, and pickles really doesn't taste that bad you know.



Just kidding! That sounds awful! :smallyuk:

[dps]

When the target is a 6th level fighter, that's a lot of HP to beat. You need to have a lot of rogue (or ninja) levels--somewhere around 9--to beat that in one sneak attack, even with a good roll of the sneak attack dice (and the more dice you have, the more likely that you're near average, not good). Which is why I pointed out that he'd need to be a pretty high level in either 3e or 4e.

Anyway, we should probably save this for the Geekery thread.

He's already taken damage just think about what she wanted on her sandwich. Yuck!

[Blanth]

And now all you fine lasses have an appropriate way of breaking the news to your fellow when you Find Out.

Just text message him: "EGG PERIMETER BREACH".
:-)


p.s: As Sherrif of Moddingham noted, we still have some lovely Azure City Gouda. Have some. It's delicious.

[Danukian]

Just read the comic. I will never ever look at a pregnant woman without thinking of her as a vicious killing machine.

You mean you didn't always see them that way?

[David Argall]

Our writer fools us again. We were wondering if Therkla and Elan would get there in time and now we find they don't need to bother [probably]. Now as to the future... Somehow the credit for the dead ninjas will go to Daigo. Maybe Kazumi will frame him, or maybe Elan will get things wrong... But there is a pretty good chance of the credit going to the wrong party.


I got the impression that Kazumi was already at a slightly higher level than Daigo. After the troll attack (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0508.html) she said "Welcome to the 6th level," which would indicate that she was already at least level 6 herself.
The assumption is invalid. It would be quite correct for a new wife to tell her hubby "welcome to married life." even tho she entered that status at the same time she did. We also have things like somebody telling the new inductee to the Hall of fame wecome without being a member himself. Quite often, welcoming someone is a duty carried out by some of quite limited qualifications. It can be a minimum wage job to welcome people of quite high status.



A 5th level Monk Would do 1d6+STR mod unarmed damage plus Stunning Attack 1/day which stuns in addition to unarmed damage. d8 for 9th. If the Ninja’s were Rouge/Monk multi-class, they could add a critical sneak attack into the mix, as Daigo was clearly flat footed.
While the clear explanation is that it's best for the plot if he goes down right away and the rules are to be ignored, it is not completely impossible by the rules.
One point is that the strip rarely follows the rules precisely. In the current case, a quite routine case here would be that ninja attacks with surprise and then gains the inititive for a round of attacks. But instead of two attacks being shown, the damage is combined into one attack.
This extra round can be pretty massive damage under the right circumstances. The monk can make several attacks in a round by combining flurry of blows with two weapon fighting. The penalty to hit is something massive, but against a flatfooted foe with no armor, there would be a fair chance of hitting. Add in a level of rogue for sneak damage and we are talking about 7d6 + 4xStr bonus. And we can add in a critical too. That is plenty of luck for the ninja, but our 2nd level ninja can manage to drop Daigo before he has a chance to act.

[chiasaur11]

Our writer fools us again. We were wondering if Therkla and Elan would get there in time and now we find they don't need to bother [probably]. Now as to the future... Somehow the credit for the dead ninjas will go to Daigo. Maybe Kazumi will frame him, or maybe Elan will get things wrong... But there is a pretty good chance of the credit going to the wrong party.


The assumption is invalid. It would be quite correct for a new wife to tell her hubby "welcome to married life." even tho she entered that status at the same time she did. We also have things like somebody telling the new inductee to the Hall of fame wecome without being a member himself. Quite often, welcoming someone is a duty carried out by some of quite limited qualifications. It can be a minimum wage job to welcome people of quite high status.



Just looking at it, and the exact situation it does seem like she was 6th already from my point of view. Just the fact she's the one stabbing it and the "I love you" and everything. All I mean is I can see where the argument is coming from.

[stabbybelkar]

That was one of the best comics of this strip, seriously. I wonder if someone already updated TVTropes with this.

they did allready.

[NikkTheTrick]

"What are the rest of you spineless mother****ers waiting for? I am a goddamn baby-making life-taking MACHINE! Why should I care how many people I have to kill? I can just make MORE in my TUMMY!"

Those lines are just pure gold! They alone make it one of the best strips ever. And I am using them somewhere else!

P.S. Does anyone have a link to TV troupse page with it? found it

[Lissou]

Just looking at it, and the exact situation it does seem like she was 6th already from my point of view. Just the fact she's the one stabbing it and the "I love you" and everything. All I mean is I can see where the argument is coming from.

I saw it as them both levelling up to 6th level at the exact same time, actually, and I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

[Alge'n]

They clearly level up at the same time, since there are two "Ding!" in the panel

In this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0515.html) for example, when Belkar gains a level there is only one.

Awesome strip by the way.

[Ishha]

HAHA!
man nothings scarier than a really pregnant woman thats rally pissed off:smallbiggrin:

[potatocubed]

Crying. With. Laughter.

:smallbiggrin:

[Steven the Lich]

Laughed so hard when at the bottom. The Giant is truely a genius in the department of comedy. All hail the Giant!

Something that may happen, ninjas are traced to Kubota, and he is or is not saved from execution by Therkla's pleas to Hinjo.

Also, being pregnant must grant several levels in Barbarian, because that seems like some serious rage. Although I wonder what is the potion she just drank.

[banjo1985]

Thus showing why women are not to be trifled with, especially pregnant ones. :smalleek:

Remind me to emigrate if Mrs Banjo gets a bump!

[Vulion]

@%$&ing awesome!

Heh heh, I wonder if Kazumi's hormonal rage is the same as a barbarian's rage?

[Rastaban]

I seriously LOLed on this one. I loved her "Please" exclamation. Ninja Please!

[Evil DM Mark3]

@%$&ing awesome!

Heh heh, I wonder if Kazumi's hormonal rage is the same as a barbarian's rage?

IIRC the Slayers guide to Minataurs (not idea when I read that) has rules for pregant minataurs that basicly say "perminent barbarian rage."

[nathanbrazil]

YEA! Now that's what I'm talking about: kicking ass and taking names, and they're all out of names!

[Eric]

They clearly level up at the same time, since there are two "Ding!" in the panel

All that means is they both went up a level. That doesn't mean they both went up to 6th level.

We don't have anything either way to go on.

It could also mean some of the other grunts went up a level.

[Krytha]

That potion sure isn't folic acid. I hope the baby doesn't suffer in its development for that.

[Zolem]

Biggest problem? A character with enough levels to have sufficiently high Sneak Attack/Sudden Strike to do that will also be tough enough that there should be no way for Kazumi to one-shot him back. Like I said, the Class and Level Geekery people are either going to love this one or be massively frustrated by it.

Critical Sneakattack Flatfooted with Improved Sneakattack Feat changing the die to d8. Another posibility is that sicne the setting seems to use the Instant Death Rules, as demonstrated in one books bonus material, it's entirly possible he rolled 3x20 in a row resulting in instant KO of a 6th level fighter. If he had been using a lethal attack at the time...

Anyway, great twist. Everybody on teh forums was totly counting her out. Nobody expected her to be able to do ANYTHING and placed all responsibility on Daigo.

Also, fun fact about cravings, don't ignore them, and they aren't always wierd. For example, when my Mother was pregnant with twins, she just HAD to have orange juice all the time. She bought so much you'd think she had stock in it. When the doctors realized it was twins, they told her she'd need a lot of folic acid, and a great source for that was , everybodyall together now, ORANGE JUICE! And she hadn't even known that before. Cravings are the body's way of aquiring the necesary nutrients for pregnant mothers.

P.S. A friend of the family did in fact crave peanutbutter and pickles for a bit. Turns out that it's good for protiens and imunity development.

[Linkavitch]

That was AMAZING!!! Best comic you've made in a while, Giant! I'm a life-taking, baby making MACHINE! HAHAHA!! Instant classic!!

[Linkavitch]

That potion sure isn't folic acid. I hope the baby doesn't suffer in its development for that.

Did you see what it did to the mother? It'll probably grow up to be Superman!

[Felixaar]

Hmm. And yet, I'm still not relieved by Kazumi's competent ass-kicking, she has only killed three out of the minimum eight ninjas there - still more than enough to get her easily.

[fractal]

I like the "that kick was two hits and the ninja is a monk/rogue" explanation. A flurrying Monk 1/Rogue 5 deals 8d6+2*Str against a flatfooted opponent, sufficient to take out an average hp level 6 Fighter with a good roll (it could also be a critical hit, but that doesn't help much, since sneak attack damage is unaffected). I suppose he could also add 8 more damage by Power Attacking for 4, although that seems like poor tactics. Did someone earlier suggest some sort of leap attack or charge feat for extra damage?

Presumably Nale did something similar to decapitate the 6th level Police Chief in "one blow", since he can't have had more than 3d6 Sneak attack damage himself.

[John Campbell]

There's a group of feats out there (Complete Scoundrel, I think) that'll let you trade Sneak Attack dice for various special effects. I don't recall if there's one that'll let you trade for "Fort save or KO", but there might be, or it might've been house-ruled in. Most of those effects, the save DC isn't very high, and Daigo's probably got a good Fort save, so it's possible that the ninja used it but was surprised that it actually worked.


Also, I think people misunderstand how the inverse ninja law works. What counts is how many ninjas were in your group to start with, not how many of them are still up and fighting. Being the last ninja left of a group that the hero's already mostly mopped up doesn't get you an upgrade. And the group membership is determined more by matching uniforms than by actual presence in the room together. If you've got a bunch of ninjas in identical uniforms spread out through an installation, and the hero encounters them one at a time, he'll still mop the floor with them. But then when he gets to the final encounter and there's one ninja in a white uniform surrounded by thirty guys in the standard black uniform, the guys in black'll take an average of somewhat less than one blow apiece to take out, but that guy in white's still gonna be a fight, even though there's thirty other ninjas around him... they've got different uniforms; they don't count against his tally.

[chiasaur11]

There's a group of feats out there (Complete Scoundrel, I think) that'll let you trade Sneak Attack dice for various special effects. I don't recall if there's one that'll let you trade for "Fort save or KO", but there might be, or it might've been house-ruled in. Most of those effects, the save DC isn't very high, and Daigo's probably got a good Fort save, so it's possible that the ninja used it but was surprised that it actually worked.


Also, I think people misunderstand how the inverse ninja law works. What counts is how many ninjas were in your group to start with, not how many of them are still up and fighting. Being the last ninja left of a group that the hero's already mostly mopped up doesn't get you an upgrade. And the group membership is determined more by matching uniforms than by actual presence in the room together. If you've got a bunch of ninjas in identical uniforms spread out through an installation, and the hero encounters them one at a time, he'll still mop the floor with them. But then when he gets to the final encounter and there's one ninja in a white uniform surrounded by thirty guys in the standard black uniform, the guys in black'll take an average of somewhat less than one blow apiece to take out, but that guy in white's still gonna be a fight, even though there's thirty other ninjas around him... they've got different uniforms; they don't count against his tally.

True. Ninja math is a complicated subject.

It should be taught more in schools.

But you forgot that if there's one ninja in white and one in black, they'll both be more powerful than the mookks in example one, but less powerful than the lead ninja if they are on the same side.

[Werewindlefr]

Ninja math
It's called Ninjadynamics. And the branch you are talking about is Ninja Chromodynamics.

[TARINunit9]

I intentionally delayed posting here to make sure I'm safe. Because if I was not careful, that angry female will not just rip out the ninjas' spines and strangle them with them, but if her anger reaches a certain point, she will begin to stop differentiating between enemies and neutral people! And if she starts attacking me, I will be fighting the (temporaraly) strongest mortal alive!

[DrivinAllNight]

I saw this comic and wondered if the Giant somehow has met my wife before, scary similarities :) Otherwise a great and wonderful comic as usual

[chiasaur11]

It's called Ninjadynamics. And the branch you are talking about is Ninja Chromodynamics.

See? School has failed to prepare me with even the proper terminology for these scenarios?

How can modern kids hope to compete without this vital information?

[Zurpl]

So THAT'S what a pregnant woman does when she's angry. Hormones are ridiculous. Then add that potion? It's over. House of Diago ftw.

[Tobimaro]

What about the assassin PrC? It can make an attack that can paralyze the victim.

Ninjas need to study a target for three rounds before attempting their sneak death attack (paralysis or death).

I have to agree with the ninja in the last panel. "Aww, she really has that pregnant glow, doesn't she?" :smallbiggrin::smallcool:

[dragongirl13]

Nice. Kazumi kicks butt. Awesome scene. This is one of my favorite OotS strips.

[factotum]

All that means is they both went up a level. That doesn't mean they both went up to 6th level.

We don't have anything either way to go on.


She says to him, "Welcome to 6th level, honey." There is no-one else in the frame at the time she says that, and there are two dings, so the most likely explanation is that they both levelled up to 6th level at the same time. If she was some level other than 6th she wouldn't say "welcome to 6th level" (because that clearly implied she was 6th level herself), and if it was someone not even in the picture who'd levelled, why would Rich have even put the extra ding in?

[TheNovak]

I don't know if this has been put forward yet, but about the whole "Daigo getting one-shotted" thing...guys, remember the massive damage rule? If you're hit for more than half your HP in one strike, you have to make a fortitude save or fall to -1. (At least, that's the version my DM uses.)

It's not inconceivable that a moderately low-level ninja could do enough subdual sneak attack damage to knock the guy out.

[chibibar]

That is awesome. This reminds me of Lethal Weapon 4 :) NEVER mess with a pregnate woman.

[OperationTREX]

Rich better not be setting it up to kill her and leave that kid motherless, I'll be very upset. Those two deserve to ride off in the sunset, not get couped by ninjas

[Zolem]

It's called Ninjadynamics. And the branch you are talking about is Ninja Chromodynamics.

And they are forgeting that the Finaly Avenger anomily dose somethimes happen even in larger groups, resulting in a beefed up ninja who's the last of his group/team/clan. The percentage is best represented by (XN/YN) - (Ci/Cr) = FA where N represents the number of ninjas in a group, X represents the starting amount, Y represents the current amount, C indicated Chromodynamic value, i indicates the color of the remaining ninja, and r represents the number of ninjas in the origional group that posessed the same color.

[Kheldarath]

Or it could just be the law of narrative requirements :smallbiggrin:

Seriously funny comic. I don't mind if it doesn't follow the rules precisely because its just so damn funny anyway!

[Eran of Arcadia]

Kazumi's line there was so impressive that I just had to sig it . . . on another forum.

[faden]

2 things all of you are forgetting about Daigo going down:

The ninja was surprised by the amount of damage he did to an asummingly full hp character. The easiest answer to this? He was not at full hp. Much more consistent than a special stunning attack which would not surprise the ninja.

Secondly, note the forced march rules. Travel/march for 8 hours? no problem. Keep marching beyond that point, and you start taking exponential subdual damage until you can finally rest (1hp first hour, 2 second hour, I think 4 3rd hour etc). I can't imagine this is entirely unlike the frantic care Daigo is trying to provide for his wife.

Thus, a much lower level foe could take him out. Daigo would feel comfortable running his hp so low if he was expecting no combat at all.

[Cizak]

I really hope Rich doesn't kill them. I like those two characters, and I keep having the feeling that their baby is gonna be awesome :smalltongue:

[David Argall]

I don't know if this has been put forward yet, but about the whole "Daigo getting one-shotted" thing...guys, remember the massive damage rule? If you're hit for more than half your HP in one strike, you have to make a fortitude save or fall to -1. (At least, that's the version my DM uses.)

It's the rule your DM uses, which may be superior to the book rule, but is not the book rule that merely mentions 50 hp.