OOTS #372 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

Yesterday, I had some personal things that prevented me from getting a comic up; since it was a bonus Tuesday comic anyway, I figured it was OK. But with luck we'll be back to bonus comics tomorrow.

[Erloas]

nothing painfully funny, and nothing greatly quotable, but a very solid and funny strip non-the-less

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I almost thought they were just going to wander off and forget to kill her in the end. But it looks like she lives on. Not quite sure what is left to do with the Miko/Xykon thing. I assume he'll probably just leave her there and head back to his army and she will have little choice but to sit around waiting for that forcecage to expire then heading back to Azure city to warn them.

[Dawnstrider_Moogle]

"As indignant speeches go I've heard better" - brilliant!
I also liked the argument...very interesting.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Aww, c'mon, you gotta have a little demon cockroach standing at a pulpet somewhere in there!

Edit: By the way, does bring up an interesting point. Do any paladins fear becoming evil?

[krossbow]

See; even that speech doesn't make Miko blink. She's heard it all before, she's not going to fall over some little thing like this.

[Faramir]

Hmm, not where I expected this to be going...

[Spiky]

Very strange. But unpredictability is good, shut's up the "Giant stole my idea from the forum" people.

[Holy_Knight]

That was cute. And I must say, Miko has been doing unexpectedly well in the comebacks department the last couple of strips.

[Solara]

Wooo! Great speech! Go Redcloak! You're #1!

I knew they weren't actually going to kill her, but I was trying to figure out what would make Xykon realistically pass on that. Trust my favorite 100% all natural goblin to step in and say just the right thing. (Well, favorite except for Complains of Names, that is, but that's a whole nother comic...)

Heh. Though I almost snorted Sprite out of my nose at some of Xykon's lines ('You dare compare me to a paladin!?') so I guess they're about even.

Also, nice way to slip a reference to #251 into that last panel there...

Edit: Damn, never gotten a post even close to...that place I can't mention before, and now I can't even mention it.

[Swashbuckler]

Meh. As comics go, I've seen better.

[Alchemistmerlin]

Hell yes.

Miko fails hard, oh how it overjoys me. Now all we need is that killing blow and the world will be a far better place.

Come on Xykon, make us proud.

[Tmabbbb]

Not as good as some others, but considering it was a bonus OOTS, I enjoyed it. Especially that "as far as indignant speeches go, I've heard better".

[Tiako]

Aww, c'mon, you gotta have a little demon cockroach standing at a pulpet somewhere in there!

Edit: By the way, does bring up an interesting point. Do any paladins fear becoming evil?

In real world terms: Nobody thinks they are evil, because from their perspective they are doing good. In RPG terms: Paladins strike me more as beings of action rather than of thought.

And what roach? I didn't see one in today's. (EDIT: Nevermind, i misread your post).

[fwiffo]

Nice. A psychoanalysis by Redcloak, and a pretty darn effective one too. He is quickly rising to a major character.

OTOH, I found the last panel to be out of character for both Xykon and Miko. Xykon doesn't give that much thought to killing. And Miko doesn't make jokes like that.

[Spiky]

I find it curious that Miko is nicer to the actual villains than to Roy, even in conversation/fighting with the villains she goes after Roy with more anger.

I think someone's in love.

[Cyclone231]

Ugh, I wanted to like Miko. I really did. But this whole thing with Xykon has made her out to be such a visceral, single-minded, self-righteous morale crusader, far more than any encounter with the Order of the Stick has ever done.

[theKOT]

I'm glad Miko has the sense left in her half-insane mind to ignore the biased prattlings of an evil cleric. Note though: he is partially correct. Miko's problems come from repressed emotions and a lack of honest self-inspection.

Now as to a rating

This comic has nothing strong in it. The dialogue is tedious(however necessary), the plot moves an inch and the jokes are yawnfests. I gotta say, I've come to expect more. 3/10

[DougWykstra]

I don't know much about D&D, but that's not really a class feature of paladins, is it?

I like this comic alright, but I have this sneaking suspicion that Rich is throwing away a chance to make Miko more complex a character, and is instead getting up on his soapbox about how horrible judgemental people are. But since he hasn't even finished this arc, I'm willing to watch where it goes, and not assume that one of Rich's D&D characters was touched in an inappropriate manner by a paladin when he (the character) was a child.

[Renegade Paladin]

I don't know much about D&D, but that's not really a class feature of paladins, is it?

No, not as such. Paladins are immune to the mechanical effects of terror (effectively, they don't piss their pants and run away), but that doesn't mean that they are completely lacking an entire facet of emotion.

[Hyrael]

wow, I never thought of "immune to fear" that way. you make a good point rich.

[5tephen]

Represent, Redcloak!

[Miraqariftsky]

And so is born a maelstrom of chaotic currents
Of suffering sinful self and faltering faith
Lo! The god-wrought walls crumble,
And a tide of darkness floods
The now-hark'nin' heart...

[Axl_Rose]

lol - wow. I wonder how long it'll be befor they regret letting her live.

[Tiako]

Ugh, I wanted to like Miko. I really did. But this whole thing with Xykon has made her out to be such a visceral, single-minded, self-righteous morale crusader, far more than any encounter with the Order of the Stick has ever done.

Just for the fun of it, let me give Miko's perspective: She has been crusading against evil forces for quite some time. In that time, she has seen villages massacred, innocents slaughtered, and all manner of unspeakable brutality. Now, after that, you are encountering Xycon, and lich, a being who is by its very nature incredibly evil, and is trying to destroy the world. I bet you would be a bit moralistic too, wouldn't you?

Besides, you are taking moral advice for a...thing that regularly kills his subordinate and turns them into zombies (Yes, Redcloak does that too). I could understand Roy, but Xycon?

[Finwe]

Hehe, I love Xykon. He's so evil


"You dare compare me to a paladin?"



But where did Miko's weapons go?

[krossbow]

lol - wow. I wonder how long it'll be befor they regret letting her live.

about 5 panels, giver or take.

[Atheist_Cleric]

Well it's official, no one in the OOTS world likes Miko. And frankly, i'm inclined to agree. It's not just what Redcloak has been saying, but what happened in the previous strip...Miko's one saving grace used to be that she was at least fair on a bare low level. But the second she heard an UNDEAD LICH, quite possibly one of the hardest creatures to get rid of for keeps, was alive, one that the OOTS clamied to have beaten, she went nuts. It couldnt have been that he had a phylactery. It couldnt have been that he revived some other way. It couldnt have been that he faked his defeat, no it had to be that the OOTS used some kind of never-before-seen magic to fool a celstial of pure justice and a court of paladins into believing that they had beaten Xykon. Give me a break. She was desperate for something to give her an excuse to kill the whole damn team on sight next time she encounters them. Yet she doesnt even believe that, she thinks all she's doing is following the path that is right, because a paladin can never be wrong, as well as not having fear.

I swear, I doubt Miko will die in this comic, I think she'll break. She's close already, and another push will do it. Nothing more satisfying than seeing a self-righteous bully break. Hah, I hope that somehow she finds out her master Lord Shojo actually faked the whole trial, and secrelt was responsible for freeing Belkar. That would crack her like an egg, she'd either go nuts and lose all her paladin powers through wrongful violent actions....or she'd kill Shojo and try to claim control of the Sapphire Guard. God help the whole world if she did.

[Renegade Paladin]

Even if she did kill Shojo, Hinjo is next in line to command the Sapphire Guard. Shojo aside, Hinjo is in fact a paladin, so she'd have a hard time justifying stripping him of his inheritance even if she could.

[Kamakazee_Gnome]

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it."

I think that Miko's reaction is perfectly suitable -- nothing annoys a villian like a response of "bite me."

[reorith]

"fight or fight some more"
i'll be bringing that up in psychology later today