Goblins XVIII: Being yourself can be dangerous

[Steven]

There is a real logic to it, using something enchanted and presumably not as easy to just destroy as something normal would be. And ultimately it may have saved more items then it lost since a false positive with the rocks could have destroyed so much more.

This could be the case. But based on the fact that Ears just didn't think of picking up a rock I don't think it can be argued that he was using logic to approach the situation.
Besides, if you were actually going to approach this in a logical manner you would start with something worthless, and then test it with more valuable things, not throw the first thing that comes to hand through it.

It has absolutely given the GAP a chance to avoid more costly losses, but IMO it's pretty bad writing to use Ears being stupid to get them that opportunity when I can't think of a single other example of him being this thick before.

[Cygnia]

And more needless wangst~!

https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/page-3-2022

[Dragonus45]

I wouldn't call it needless, it's actually some good character stuff and the specific dilemma feels more real then others.

[Quild]

The poking was funny.

I wonder what would happen if the axe went through the wall.
- Destroyed, no bridge?
- Destroyed, there's a bridge, but in an anti-magic field, which is a problem for demons?
- Destroyed, there's a bridge, no issue for demons?

[Fyraltari]

My learning editing is starting to pay off, my first thought on reading the second panel was: "wow, this dialogue could use a good trimming."

[Anteros]

My learning editing is starting to pay off, my first thought on reading the second panel was: "wow, this dialogue could use a good trimming."

I don't think you have to be an editor to realize that Goblins is unnecessarily wordy. That's been a common complaint for years.

[Radar]

I don't think you have to be an editor to realize that Goblins is unnecessarily wordy. That's been a common complaint for years.

Even the best writers need a good editor.

[Anarchic Fox]

Wordiness aside, it was good bit of character development. Absurdly-Lawful-Good Ears encounters a situation that his morality cannot encompass, and he lets a friend down. It's a reminder that Ellipsis does good characterization, when the story is sufficiently far enough away from the gratuitous suffering.

[BaronOfHell]

New update, and much sooner than I expected!

Page 4 2022

[Fyraltari]

That was a really good page.
Well, except for the background being mostly a gradient.

[Traab]

Moral quandaries are fun ways to test a paladin character, so long as they arent being used as catch-22s to make them fall or something. Its an interesting moral debate here, between the two is killing a person on their request or is leaving them stuck in a small chunk of stone possibly in danger of being enslaved again the worst option? You can even reframe the question in a few different ways and see if it changes your opinion.

[mucat]

https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/page-5-2022

Wait. This is...not soul-crushingly bleak!

Nicely played, Ellipsis!

[Fyraltari]

Spoiler

Show

So, they shove Kore through this and it resurrects everybody he's wearing? That sounds too clean and easy.

[Kantaki]

Spoiler

Show

So, they shove Kore through this and it resurrects everybody he's wearing? That sounds too clean and easy.

Spoiler

Show

I mean they'd probably end up merged into a horrifying blob of flesh, constantly screaming in pain-and still part of Kore's body -but they'd be resurrected, sure.

[Traab]

Thats the first time ive laughed at the comic in some time. And yes, the shocking reveal at the end was pretty awesome.

[sihnfahl]

Spoiler

Show

I mean they'd probably end up merged into a horrifying blob of flesh, constantly screaming in pain-and still part of Kore's body -but they'd be resurrected, sure.

So an amalgamate?

[remetagross]

I have honestly no idea why Complains is supporting the idea that goblins are inherently magical creatures. Besides, even if they had the [Magical beast] type or something like this, they're not objects.

[Gez]

I have honestly no idea why Complains is supporting the idea that goblins are inherently magical creatures.

They are fairytale creatures. Just like elves and dwarves and gnomes and kobolds and ogres and giants and pixies and nixies and pookas and leprechauns and so on.

Besides, even if they had the [Magical beast] type or something like this, they're not objects.

Yeah, the last thing I'd want to do with a Thuntian dungeon is bet my life on semantics. Generally the safest way to proceed isn't to cross the magical field blocking the threshold, but to dig a tunnel through the wall and never, ever use the doors.

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler

Show

I mean they'd probably end up merged into a horrifying blob of flesh, constantly screaming in pain-and still part of Kore's body -but they'd be resurrected, sure.

Spoiler

Show

I'm not sure that is Thuntian (Ellipsian?) enough. They'd be screaming because resurrecting them doubled the amount of agony they suffer, giving them flesh to be wracked with unimaginable pain on top of the spiritual/mental agony they were already enduring from being chained to Kore. The amalgamated abomination would be a huge, continually shifting mass of meat sprouting and absorbing limbs and faces at random, guided by Kore sitting at the very center and using the resurrectees as living weapons and armor. Anyone grabbed by the amalgamate could be swallowed alive and absorbed, becoming another of Kore's prisoners without even needing to kill them first.

[Mastikator]

I have honestly no idea why Complains is supporting the idea that goblins are inherently magical creatures. Besides, even if they had the [Magical beast] type or something like this, they're not objects.

TBF Complains and Big Ears probably are magical creatures, one has demon blood coursing through his veins and the other has angel horn grafted to his body.

[Lacco]

Spoiler

Show

I'm not sure that is Thuntian (Ellipsian?) enough. They'd be screaming because resurrecting them doubled the amount of agony they suffer, giving them flesh to be wracked with unimaginable pain on top of the spiritual/mental agony they were already enduring from being chained to Kore. The amalgamated abomination would be a huge, continually shifting mass of meat sprouting and absorbing limbs and faces at random, guided by Kore sitting at the very center and using the resurrectees as living weapons and armor. Anyone grabbed by the amalgamate could be swallowed alive and absorbed, becoming another of Kore's prisoners without even needing to kill them first.

Spoiler: Not Spoiler

Show

I'd also expect it would hurt. Like sickness.

[Vinyadan]

New page. https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/page-6-2022

Spoiler

Show

Besides the obvious, damn, is Thac0 tired. He's been getting more and more jaded since he entered the dungeon. First the way he bandaged Ears, now he doesn't manifest any joy or surprise, just resignation. I wonder if the comic considers this mood a temporary state (the fight with Names would be a decent reason, and it still needs a solution) or if it's just his personality now.

[Keltest]

New page. https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/page-6-2022

Spoiler

Show

Besides the obvious, damn, is Thac0 tired. He's been getting more and more jaded since he entered the dungeon. First the way he bandaged Ears, now he doesn't manifest any joy or surprise, just resignation. I wonder if the comic considers this mood a temporary state (the fight with Names would be a decent reason, and it still needs a solution) or if it's just his personality now.

Spoiler

Show

Hasn't Thaco been a grumpy old man since forever?

[Vinyadan]

Spoiler

Show

Hasn't Thaco been a grumpy old man since forever?

Spoiler

Show

I think that there are many layers to his personality. On one hand, he was Chief's mirror image: a loremaster and an authority figure. On the other hand, he had a history of self-sacrifice for the good of the clan. He also had PTSD from his time with Goblinslayer, so, while he was braver than Chief, he still had to overcome his fears to act in Brassmoon. Overall, he definitely didn't lack emotion and showed that he cared for others. So it's a bit odd that the grumpy side is the only one to react (with the target-oriented one, I guess).

[Anarchic Fox]

New page. https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/page-6-2022

Spoiler

Show

Besides the obvious, damn, is Thac0 tired. He's been getting more and more jaded since he entered the dungeon. First the way he bandaged Ears, now he doesn't manifest any joy or surprise, just resignation. I wonder if the comic considers this mood a temporary state (the fight with Names would be a decent reason, and it still needs a solution) or if it's just his personality now.

Considering this comic's pacing, I'm glad we went straight to Plush's reveal instead of spending a comic watching everyone be confused. Thac0's characterization took a ding, but that's fine.

Anyway, prepare for awkwardness, fellow readers.

[Morgaln]

Spoiler

Show

I think that there are many layers to his personality. On one hand, he was Chief's mirror image: a loremaster and an authority figure. On the other hand, he had a history of self-sacrifice for the good of the clan. He also had PTSD from his time with Goblinslayer, so, while he was braver than Chief, he still had to overcome his fears to act in Brassmoon. Overall, he definitely didn't lack emotion and showed that he cared for others. So it's a bit odd that the grumpy side is the only one to react (with the target-oriented one, I guess).

The problem with Thaco is that his story is over. His arc was facing his past with Goblinslayer and getting over that trauma and fear. He did that in Brassmoon. Ever since, he hasn't had his own story, and thus he is reduced to being the straight man the other goblins bounce their shenanigans off of. That requires him to be the grumpy old man to provide a contrast to Ear's compassion, Complains' brashness and Vorpal's optimism. He's got nothing else going for him that would allow him to show other aspects of his personality and is kind of just tagging along.

By rights, it should have been Thaco who died at the bridge, since Chief's story was anything but over. Of course that would have required the story to go down a bit of a different way; the battle on the bridge eliminated both clerics from the party (quite deliberately, I imagine) to enable the lol-pearl incident. But since the whole requirement for Complains to become chief and Vorpal to become fortune teller were pulled out of thin air the moment they became necessary, it wouldn't have been difficult to account for Chief to be present.

[Vinyadan]

The problem with Thaco is that his story is over. His arc was facing his past with Goblinslayer and getting over that trauma and fear. He did that in Brassmoon. Ever since, he hasn't had his own story, and thus he is reduced to being the straight man the other goblins bounce their shenanigans off of. That requires him to be the grumpy old man to provide a contrast to Ear's compassion, Complains' brashness and Vorpal's optimism. He's got nothing else going for him that would allow him to show other aspects of his personality and is kind of just tagging along.

By rights, it should have been Thaco who died at the bridge, since Chief's story was anything but over. Of course that would have required the story to go down a bit of a different way; the battle on the bridge eliminated both clerics from the party (quite deliberately, I imagine) to enable the lol-pearl incident. But since the whole requirement for Complains to become chief and Vorpal to become fortune teller were pulled out of thin air the moment they became necessary, it wouldn't have been difficult to account for Chief to be present.

That's right, I guess. I thought that Ears also could have died at the bridge. He's already more or less complete, and he's always had a tendency towards self-sacrifice. In a way, I feel that the pain for his death would have been more immediate, because he always was good and funny, and lived up to his ideals. His sacrifice could have given Chief a huge reason to strive to be a better goblin and a better leader (which he did become in canon, but his sacrifice was useless and it's a pity that he only revealed his new colours in a single scene that didn't show a better understanding of his subjects). If Ears died, I could see Chief hardening after the axe broke, and slowly coming to grasp that he is the leader of the only known party that could tackle the demon problem.
Even the bit with the Angel could have been left: give Complains a prophecy that he will be a great chief. It opens tension for Chief's fate, and Complains has to start meditating and looking for examples, maybe even competing with Chief, only to learn that he has to understand people to be able to lead.

It still would leave Thac0 without much to do, though.

[Daywalker1983]

In other news, plush is the newest member of Team magical limb replacement, only for him it's a complete body. Guess we are lucky it's not... Solid.

[Anonymouswizard]

In other news, plush is the newest member of Team magical limb replacement, only for him it's a complete body. Guess we are lucky it's not... Solid.

Considering their growing romance I hope Big Ears isn't disappointed he's not hard. Although the lack of genitals might be the bigger problem.

[Anteros]

Is it weird that Plush is giving me real "furry" vibes? Somehow in a comic full of goblins, half snakes, and people with magical colorful body modifications his design still looks weirdly artificial and out of place.