OOTS #1201 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[ChaosOS]

The potion seller feels weirdly ominous. Am I forgetting a reference?

[Schroeswald]

Currently this discussion thread is named for the next unpublished comic, I'm sure it'll be good (just like this one), but thats not what you just posted.

[JumboWheat01]

Wow, the comic in the future is amazing. Glorious. We are not worthy!

Always good idea to get your side-plots tied up before you go past the point of no return. Don't want to miss out on those tasty rewards.

[Mordae]

Absolutely fantastic. Love the callback to Julio's potion-brewing deal (and perhaps the usual Final Fantasy airship vendor...).

[Grey_Wolf_c]

The potion seller feels weirdly ominous. Am I forgetting a reference?

In many video games, just before you go into the final battle, there is an unexplained (and mostly unexplainable) seller of basic potions just hanging out there, usually at the end of a very hard dungeon, peddling their wares as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Grey Wolf

[BisectedBrioche]

Oh Lord, the last panel's giving me flashbacks to that one battle in FFX!

...did the thread skip a number?

[Goosefarble]

YESSS the final merchant! He's everything I ever hoped he would be and more!

The potion seller feels weirdly ominous. Am I forgetting a reference?

Feh, they never sell anything but basic potions anyway.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

YESSS the final merchant! He's everything I ever hoped he would be and more!



Feh, they never sell anything but basic potions anyway.

Exactly, this is it, the room before the final battle. Hype!

[DaFlipp]

Ah, was gonna explain the End Dungeon (or at least Climactic Dungeon) Merchant but folks beat me to it.

Possibly the funniest example would be the one from Final Fantasy X who tries to sell you his wares while standing aboard an airship that is actively under attack. When someone points out to him that he shouldn't charge them since, if they fail, he dies too, he just coolly responds "I am confident in your victory."

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Feh, they never sell anything but basic potions anyway.

That's a bit unfair. Sometimes they also allow limited re-spec'ing. And of course


Grey Wolf

[AstralFire]

You're surrounded by darkspawn corpses! What happened here?

Enchantment? Enchantment!

It's not the specific reference, but my personal favorite on the last minute final vendor trope. Toad in Super Mario RPG is a close second.

[link3710]

Welp, I think I'm in full agreement with Elan this time, in pretty much every panel.

And uh... If they're depending on Julia to pass the message and they can only talk so long as his blood oath isn't fulfilled, well? Issue.

[King of Nowhere]

nice callback to that early belkar reference

[Grey_Wolf_c]

If they're depending on Julia to pass the message and they can only talk so long as his blood oath isn't fulfilled, well? Issue.

She probably can cast the regular sending the moment she notices the blood oath connection isn't active anymore.

Grey Wolf

[Rack]

Exactly, this is it, the room before the final battle. Hype!

So the last book is basically going to be one gigantic fight scene?

[Fyraltari]

So the last book is basically going to be one gigantic fight scene?

No, a final dungeon.

[BarakDeathBlade]

Didn't V lock the ship down with Dimensional Lock?

Yep, 946 with a stated plan to continue to refresh it.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

So the last book is basically going to be one gigantic fight scene?

No, it'll probably be a series of gigantic fights, with breathing space in between for some final character development. And MitD's reveal. But I repeat myself. And I'm all for it.

Didn't V lock the ship down with Dimensional Lock?

Yep, 946 with a stated plan to continue to refresh it.

Yes? Why would that be a problem? They can get on and off with a rope ladder.

Grey Wolf

[Lvl 2 Expert]

nice callback to that early belkar reference

Also, as minor as this is, this means the Giant has started dropping other shoes. Roy's Archon's mission, the Monster in the Dark, the planet inside the rift, they're all going to come into play, and it started with one teleporting potion salesman.

[Kantaki]

Huh, if the final dungeon merchant pops up here does that mean... Xykon's Astral Tomb-Fortress is a bonus dungeon?

[KorvinStarmast]

So the last book is basically going to be one gigantic fight scene?

No, the fiends evil plan is going to throw a big old curveball at it. But there should be some epic fights before the book is over; Xykon may not be The end boss, but he's a fine opponent for a high level fight.

[AstralFire]

Welp, I think I'm in full agreement with Elan this time, in pretty much every panel.

And uh... If they're depending on Julia to pass the message and they can only talk so long as his blood oath isn't fulfilled, well? Issue.

She is a smart kid who is a fairly good caster in her own right. If the blood oath gets broken, and she'll notice given it is her current experiment, she may well try another way to get a message to her brother.

[BarakDeathBlade]

No, it'll probably be a series of gigantic fights, with breathing space in between for some final character development. And MitD's reveal. But I repeat myself. And I'm all for it.



Yes? Why would that be a problem? They can get on and off with a rope ladder.

Grey Wolf

Yes, but how did the potion dealer pop into existence?

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Huh, if the final dungeon merchant pops up here does that mean... Xykon's Astral Tomb-Fortress is a bonus dungeon?

If it comes into play at all. Remember, Redcloak switched the phylactery for a newly made fake. Unless there's something else of importance there the whole thing has basically no function.

Yes, but how did the potion dealer pop into existence?

Story conventions trump magic.

That's why bards are so OP.

[AstralFire]

Yes, but how did the potion dealer pop into existence?

Clearly he was actually an evocation, created for this moment rather than called.

[Coyote0715]

Ah, the last minute merchant strikes again!

[Yendor]

She is a smart kid who is a fairly good caster in her own right. If the blood oath gets broken, and she'll notice given it is her current experiment, she may well try another way to get a message to her brother.

Ten gold says she complains about him ruining her project.

[Fyraltari]

Also, as minor as this is, this means the Giant has started dropping other shoes. Roy's Archon's mission, the Monster in the Dark, the planet inside the rift, they're all going to come into play, and it started with one teleporting potion salesman.

The colon tumor would want a word with you.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Yes, but how did the potion dealer pop into existence?

The same way any salesmen of potions manage to get to the room before the final boss regardless of the level of the enemies around them.

Grey Wolf