OOTS #1146 - The Discussion Thread

[Dion]

I dont see how Elan could get any kind of happy ending without that :p

Banjo Quiddity is the name of my Mumford and Sons tribute band, so I really hope so.

[KorvinStarmast]

So Roy and Durkon are the oldest companions in the Order, and they've now both died and learned a long-forgotten secret in the afterlife.

Who's next? According to

Spoiler: Origin of the PCs

Show

page 57-63 of OOtPCs ...
Haley is the next one to die, followed by V,

if your theory fits into a pattern.
Problem with that pattern:
only one book left.
Belkar is foreshadowed as buying a farm.
Book 7 looks like his book to die.
So... good, I guess?

[b_jonas]

Wow! This strip changes everything! All this time we assumed that the MitD was connected to goblins somehow, because only a goblin family befriended them in the circus, everyone else saw him as a circus attraction. But now it turns out that the MitD is actually connected to dwarves, only all the dwarves have forgotten this. But Durkon now knows the secret of the MitD, so he'll be the key to do diplomacy not only with Redcloak, but also with the MitD.

So Roy and Durkon are the oldest companions in the Order, and they've now both died and learned a long-forgotten secret in the afterlife.

Yeah. Roy has in fact gotten a secret from the afterlife twice: once while he was there, and once when Eugene haunted him and foreshadowed an event. Plus Jirix died too, learnt a secret in the afterlife directly from the Dark One, and brought it back to Redcloak.

A number of forum posters somehow tortured it out of "Miko invokes the Twelve Gods in her oaths."

Yeah, that doesn't follow. Rich has stated it clearly enough:

The Twelve Gods are worshipped as a pantheon, by everyone, including evil characters like Kubota and Tsukiko.

The twelve gods simply demand that everyone worships them as a group, rather than individually. Miko isn't allowed to worship just the good ones.

[Fyraltari]

Sarcastic Thor is best Thor.

As a Cleric of Thor, Durkon refreshes spells at dawn, yes? Since the Council meeting isn't until "mid-morning" hopefully that means he'll be confronting Gontor with a full load of spells. And if Vaarsuvius has a chance to refresh as well, then Gontor might as well just go sunbathing now and get it over with.

Since it's night that wouldn't save time.

EDIT: I don't know if she's powerful enough to make much of a difference, but the woman with the dark curly hair was last seen fleeing in 1130 and, as far as I can tell, remains unaccounted for. As of 1128, it appears that only Gontor (by virtue of not being there), Ponchula, Dark Curly Hair, and Greg had not been dusted (and the new High Priestess of Hel, but she's safely locked away in a mountain top cathedral miles away). Ponchula dies in 1130 and Greg in 1131. So Curly is unaccounted for.

EDIT: The Nameless One went with Gontor, so that makes three vampires still lurking about. Hopefully none of them had a chance to learn/prepare Expedite Vampirism.

Seeing as the human Vampire has learned it, Gontor* and his cohort probably have as well.

Maybe she'll get talked into it or maybe a cleric from the Godsmoot will arrive.

The Godsmoot priests can't leave. I theorized once that Durkon would be raised by one of the Elders(' aids) but that was before Hilgya entered the picture. With her here, it has to be her resurrecting Durkon. Probably the reason Durkon has had time for all this talk with Thor is that the Order is still trying to convince her. I think the next cut-away will take use back in time to see what happened after Belkar shoved healing potions down everybody's throats.
That felt weird to write.

So Roy and Durkon are the oldest companions in the Order, and they've now both died and learned a long-forgotten secret in the afterlife.

I'm hoping for Durkon to meet a beloved family member too.

If Thor is Blond because of a certain Hemsworth portrayal, could that mean Mjolnir can be found in a crater by someone Worthy and therefore be granted the Power of Thor?

Marvel Thor was blond* long before Hemsworth got into cinema.

EDIT/ Getting Ninja'd by a halfling is not very surprising, but by a dragon too? That takes some serious skills.

*Is it blond or blonde? Or is it another American vs British English?

[dtilque]

Where to find a shampoo that both washes and conditions your hair?

The location of a good beard groomer.

[Ron Miel]

"A little secret your people forgot a few generations back…"

400 quatloos on a 1st edition cleric spell that did not make it to 3.5.

Regular bathing.

[TRH]

Regular bathing.

Or maybe the benefits of sobriety?

In any case, I'm now expecting us to get a rude awakening re: just how hard it's gonna be to get Hilgya to raise Durkon. Thor seems to be getting ahead of himself on that front.

[Kish]

So Roy and Durkon are the oldest companions in the Order,

Actually, pretty sure Vaarsuvius is older than either, in pure chronology.

Since it's night that wouldn't save time.
*Is it blond or blonde? Or is it another American vs British English?

Thor's male, so he's blond. Minrah is blonde.

[Peelee]

*Is it blond or blonde? Or is it another American vs British English?

There's technically three right answers, but the short version is nobody cares.

[Dion]

Thor's male, so he's blond. Minrah is blonde.

Minrah is a blonde and Thor is a blond, but both Minrah and Thor have blond hair. It's one of those rules that makes absolutely no sense to me.

[Fyraltari]

Does Odin sound saner in this strip than the previous one to other people too?

There's technically three right answers, but the short version is nobody cares.

Okay, thanks.

[dtilque]

Minrah is a blonde and Thor is a blond, but both Minrah and Thor have blond hair. It's one of those rules that makes absolutely no sense to me.

Someone way back when borrowed some French grammar into English. This was a mistake. English doesn't normally make f/m distinctions for adjectives or most nouns and then only for natural gender. So I'd say ignore the whole thing and just use blond everywhere. It'll save you a heap of unnecessary thinking.

[godsflunky]

I have to say, the presence of non-good gods does make for a tidier solution to the Problem of Evil.

Instead of waving various hands to say "This is why God isn't fixing things, and that's why there's evil!" Durkon and company can say, "The Problem of Evil is that there's Evil."

[Jack Frost]

Isn't Mjolnir supossed to be made by dwarves?

Perhaps some sort of recipe for a holy weapon is the secret dwarves forgot a few generations ago.

[Peelee]

Isn't Mjolnir supossed to be made by dwarves?

Perhaps some sort of recipe for a holy weapon is the secret dwarves forgot a few generations ago.

The Norse mythology Mjolnir, yes (and that's all I'm going to say on that one). Whether or not the OotS Mjolnir was, or if there even is an OotS Mjolnir, is another question.

[KorvinStarmast]

The Norse mythology Mjolnir, yes (and that's all I'm going to say on that one). Whether or not the OotS Mjolnir was, or if there even is an OotS Mjolnir, is another question.

If we want to take some previous bait regarding "previous generations" pointing to 1e artifacts, Hammer of Thunderbolts leaps to mind, with the "girdle of giant strength and gauntlets of ogre power" trifecta making for a nice upgrade to Durkon's set up. But they have to find all that ...

[Rrmcklin]

Actually, pretty sure Vaarsuvius is older than either, in pure chronology.

Thor's male, so he's blond. Minrah is blonde.

I think the person was specifically referring to Roy and Durkon having the longest relationship, not actual age. Although I don't think we know how long V and Haley knew each other.

[KorvinStarmast]

I think the person was specifically referring to Roy and Durkon having the longest relationship, not actual age. Although I don't think we know how long V and Haley knew each other.

I parsed that idea as "longest tenure in the order" hence my reply on who is the next one with "longest tenure" based on their order of signing up / entry.

[Ruck]

Actually, pretty sure Vaarsuvius is older than either, in pure chronology.

Oldest companions, as in, have been traveling together the longest. They were adventurers together before Roy met Elan and they recruited the rest of the Order.

Does Odin sound saner in this strip than the previous one to other people too?

Yes, because he says something based in the reality of the world (that they made the rules this way on purpose because there are more not-Good gods than Good gods) rather than just another metaphor nobody seems to understand.

[Jasdoif]

There's technically three right answers, but the short version is nobody cares.

Pretty much. We'll get ya, one way or another. Does Blondie count?

[Fish]

It’s a relic of the old masculine-feminine distinction in French, which is no longer preserved in English. Language has a lot of leftover things like that.

[Anarion]

I really like Odin popping back into sanity for this one, and that apparently everyone watches Elan.

[ATHATH]

I don't think so. In those comics, he's fighting other gods, not mortals. The only one where he stepped over the line--the control weather thing in Cliffport--he got chewed out by the Southern Gods for overstepping.

Wait, shouldn't Thor fighting other gods have created mini-snarls?

[Shoelessgdowar]

Nope, Thor is blonde because Jack Kirby drew him that way back in the 60s. (Thus the title of that comic.)


Also:
"Gosh, I could give you amazing magical spells on demand every single morning. Do you think that might help?"
I love this line so much.

He's not. He's blonde because of a certain Jack Kirby portrayal.

Edit: Sneaky, sneaky ninja.

Marvel Thor was blond* long before Hemsworth got into cinema.

EDIT/ Getting Ninja'd by a halfling is not very surprising, but by a dragon too? That takes some serious skills.

*Is it blond or blonde? Or is it another American vs British English?

Actually, pretty sure Vaarsuvius is older than either, in pure chronology.

Thor's male, so he's blond. Minrah is blonde.

There's technically three right answers, but the short version is nobody cares.

As if I hadn't been easily ninja'd by loads. Short answer is Males are Blond, Females are Blonde, people are blonds.

The Norse mythology Mjolnir, yes (and that's all I'm going to say on that one). Whether or not the OotS Mjolnir was, or if there even is an OotS Mjolnir, is another question.

Actually, even in Marvel, Dwarves made Mjolnir (Marvel just has Odin blessing/cursing it after it was made... Which was sort of part of my original point.)

Dwarves made Mjolnir, so maybe Durkon is "Worthy".

Not sure if it was Jack or Stan's idea for the "Worthy" plot, but from what I know of the first Tales of Suspense appearance of Thor, I have a suspicion that Jack was responsible for that too.

[Dion]

Wait, shouldn't Thor fighting other gods have created mini-snarls?

My assumption is that gods can fight other gods in the the same pantheon somewhat freely, because they have the same quiddity.

The trouble starts when a god comes into conflict with a god from a different pantheon, because the multiple quiddities cause the conflict itself to have powers greater than either of the gods in the conflict.

[DaLucaray]

Imean, the universe objectively runs off the rules of drama. That's how the Vector Legion was able to solidify power.

I'd say the Vector Legion solidified power by manipulating others into being expendable figureheads while staying out of the public eye so they can play rulers off each other. A pretty brilliant plot, but nothing that ties it to an objectively narrative world. We just got Tarquin's perspective of the story, but he has Narrative Insanity^tm and so framed it as such. When we see Miron and Laurin's interactions with him in 921 (Pixie, can't link) it's clear that the "objective rule of drama" is something that Tarquin believes and everyone else tolerates.

[DaLucaray]

I have to say, the presence of non-good gods does make for a tidier solution to the Problem of Evil.

Instead of waving various hands to say "This is why God isn't fixing things, and that's why there's evil!" Durkon and company can say, "The Problem of Evil is that there's Evil."

The Problem of Evil is primarily an abrahamic/monotheistic one- it only pops up when you're claiming that divinity as a whole is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. In OotS (and most DnD pantheons), divinity is absolutely not omnibenevolent, and oftentimes not omnipotent.

[Fyraltari]

I'd say the Vector Legion solidified power by manipulating others into being expendable figureheads while staying out of the public eye so they can play rulers off each other. A pretty brilliant plot, but nothing that ties it to an objectively narrative world. We just got Tarquin's perspective of the story, but he has Narrative Insanity^tm and so framed it as such. When we see Miron and Laurin's interactions with him in 921 (Pixie, can't link) it's clear that the "objective rule of drama" is something that Tarquin believes and everyone else tolerates.

Understanding Drama is Tatrquin's contribution to his team.
He has hindsight that can be exploited by the Vector Legion even if the other members probably translate it to more realistic terms or chalk it up to "he has good guts".

The Norse mythology Mjolnir, yes (and that's all I'm going to say on that one). Whether or not the OotS Mjolnir was, or if there even is an OotS Mjolnir, is another question.

It should be noted that dwarves forged Freya's necklace, and Thirden implies the context surrounding that was quite like the original myth's.
However Thor has his hammer with him in the Crayons of Time, but then again he probably wasn't a stick figure by then either.

[ZerglingOne]

:"Sending! We need ta talk, alone. Imp'rtant cleric business. Fate o' tha world and Tha Dark One at stake. Where do we meet?"

[Kish]

:"Sending! We need ta talk, alone. Imp'rtant cleric business. Fate o' tha world and Tha Dark One at stake. Where do we meet?"

"I'm trying, lads, but it's nae working. Tha spell's blocked."
"Yeah, I should have told you--Xykon keeps casting this spell called Cloister. It's why you and V couldn't contact me when we were in Azure City."