OOTS #852 - The Discussion Thread

[Math_Mage]

Well... OotS is still a narrative, and the characters (especially Elan and family) are aware about genre conventions and cliches.

While I disagree on how Masamichi feels about Roy’s victory over Thog in the arena, I didn’t like, myself, the way Thog’s general stupidity was portrayed in that specific battle. I mean, he was still a drooling idiot who couldn’t use a second-person pronoun, but he was able to recognize and treasure “non-traditional panel layout” featured in their first adventure. That’s a very specific type of dumb.

Yes, the comic type. Think Calvin & Hobbes, where such incongruities were a regular occurrence.

I think the "dumb fighter talk smart" thing is Rich playing for laughs; the dumb strong fighter is a cliche that requires no support from the gaming rules (but gets it anyway); but that the game rules are still an important part of that fight.