OOTS #278 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

No, not a Tuesday OOTS, a very late Monday OOTS. Enjoy.

[Zargon]

Great strip!
V is still #1 in my book!
He's (she?) expressing what I would if I was at that trial - Why a booby trap?!

[Mal_the_Mad]

I just twist them to my purpose

muahahahaha classic


true lawyer she missed it the first time around

[Kulatu]

Two big thumbs up! ;D

[Jarlaxle]

Great one Giant.. Answering some more questions for us..

And Haley is hillarious!! ;D ;D


Wow!! 1st page for the 1st time.. Hurray for me!! ;D

[Hawkeye]

Excellent strip, Celia is apparently a genius in the legal field....

P.S Haley's got a hairdryer, where the hell does the power cable go?

(edit: deletion of rogue apostrophe)

[Ilover_Juventad]

'I just twist them to my purpose'

Hahahahaaha! Great job as always Giant!

[Gigantic_gnome]

Dear Mr. Burlew

You are awesome

End of line

[Paragon_Kobold]

Elan: Savior of the universe. He alone stood between us and a new dark age. ;D

[Quixote]

Excellent, my reward for hemming a pair of trousers for someone is to finish hemming just in time for the new comic.

"Some goblin in a red cloak". I'm glad Roy even noticed Redcloak, considering RC was just a minor expendable goblin surrounded by dozens of other expendable goblins at the time.

That's actually one of my favourite moments, just after Xykon has been defeated and Redcloak is standing there, and you can tell what he's thinking. It's a bit like the two displacer beasts who suddenly realise they're a random encounter... Redcloak realises that without his master, suddenly he's nothing more than a chunk of XP for Belkar to harvest... run away!

I hope Redcloak has a happy ending. He is, by definition, a chunk of XP, and it's a miracle he's lasted this long.

[Alfryd]

No, not a Tuesday OOTS, a very late Monday OOTS. Enjoy.

Very good. Carry on.

[Zink]

Lovely strip. Really liked Haley drying her hair in the first panel, that was a really nice effect on her hair. Also loved how everything Shojo says on this matter comes from the words of Mr. Scruffy. Really makes you believe that Mr. Scruffy is the current leader of the Sapphire Guard. Third thing about the srip I loved is Roy's comment about Redcloak's ever so generic name...

And that's it. Another awesome strip for us :)

[Hermes]

Thank goodness V voices what's been on all of our (or at least my) mind for a while now. And I just love the fact that Redcloak is described as "some goblin in a red cloak." That cracked me up. Also loved "Not Guilty by Virtue of Two Wrongs Make a Right," oh so clever.

In the American judicial system, intent does matter. Of course, maybe we'd overlook that here if someone had weakened the fabric of reality... I dunno.

Mayhaps, in days to come, this will be known as the Celia Manuvere. She definately one of my favorite supporting characters, to say the least.

EDIT: And not that there's been much of it this time around, but could someone please explain the thrill people get out of leaving their comments on the first page of the new comic thread. Cause, that's something I just don't understand....

[Odd_Thomas]

i like the last panel, good job giant.

[Greebo]

EDIT: And not that there's been much of it this time around, but could someone please explain the thrill people get out of leaving their comments on the first page of the new comic thread. Cause, that's something I just don't understand....

They think it means they'll get read, and seen as "more important" because they got on the first page.

Me, when I see "first page!" remarks in a post, I immediately skip it, because whatever they intended to say appears to be dwarfed (no offense, dwarves) by their desire to simply be on the first page. If they dont think their point is valid enough to stand on its own without self-inflating "first page" comments, then I dont think its valid enough to read. :)

[Vargtass]

The thing I like the most is the uncanny ability of the OotS in this strip to arrive at the exactly right conclusion on what really happened, while not really believing it to be true, but fitting in their current situation. Two wrongs actually made one right! The goblin that was observed running away (wearing a red cloak) was really Redcloak, running away with the Phylac... thingy containing the evil mastermind that, in turn, actually intended to use the gate in a controllable fashion!

Simply superb! (Stands in awe!)

I remember my players used to do this a lot (back in the golden age, when I found time to DM).

[metawidget]

V. is cute when angry!

It took me a little while to figure out what Haley was holding there. Yay for anachronisms.

And I'm enjoying the cat with the law and magical physics background.

[Greebo]

Oh and BY the way...

LOVED the hair dryer! ROFLMAO!

And Celia is going to do VERY well as a lawyer. OotS should put her on permanent retainer and contract a 1/7th share to her, if they get off.

Haley, I'm sure, is saying: QIPM ? ! ? ! FU QPR ! ! !

Edit: Spaces added to exclamations to stop a smiley from butting in...

[Single Shot Zombie]

Our favorite para-elemental has a bright career in law ahead of her........ ;D

And Vaarsuvius is wordy, as usual. Though I think Shojo can handle his/her long speeches.

[Vengeful_Hand]

V has always been my favorite character, because (s)he sees the world with such startling clarity. It is his/her perspective that really keeps the reader aware that this is, indeed, a rediculous(ly funny) comic. This mighty question of plot has burned in my mind, and now we know that the gates are rebuildable.

Hinjo, succeed your boss already, tell him to enjoy his retirement. I predict a golden age of responsible yet laid-back triumphs for the Sapphire Guard in years to come.

Celia...that was perfect. And you're right, the rules are crazy! Woohoo!

Thank you, Giant, especially for putting up the saga over the weekend.

[fwiffo]

The fear all along was that the trial would be conducted in such a way that a judgement would be passed on OOTS based on inaccurate prosecution information. And since prosecution is conducted by a trained legal professional (plus a guy in expensive suit), but the defence is by newbie paraelemental, OOTS would be at a great disadvantage.

But... the trial is conducted by Shojo himself, who pretty much dedicated his life to the subject and knows all the details of what happened, in fact more than anyone else, including OOTS themselves. Why does OOTS even need a defense, when Shojo knows that OOTS couldn't have known the purpose of the gates or the existence of self-destruct. Guilt kinda presupposes that the guilty party did know or at least could've known that they are doing something wrong. But Shojo knows OOTS had no way of knowing that. So, shouldn't the trial be over?

[kierthos]

Thank you, V, for voicing my thought. There should never be a "self-destruct" rune, button, switch or lever in any base, whether created by a good, bad or neutral person.

Plus, given their defeat, it looked highly unlikely that Xykon, Redcloak and the In-the-Shadow-beast were going to return to Dorukan's dungeon. Sure, maybe the demonic cockroaches might... but you get cockroaches everywhere.

[Quixote]

Plus, given their defeat, it looked highly unlikely that Xykon, Redcloak and the In-the-Shadow-beast were going to return to Dorukan's dungeon. Sure, maybe the demonic cockroaches might... but you get cockroaches everywhere.

Here I disagree. Roy defeated Xykon, or at least believed he did. What further reason did he have to remain in the dungeon? The Order would have left, and Xykon would have been able to return to continue his experiments in peace.

[Lord Herman]

Yay for the plot!

Now go get some sleep, Giant.

[Maryring]

A round of applause for the newbie paraelemental who without a doubt has the highest collective mental stats of everyone in that room. That was simply put brilliant. This comic was very enjoyable to read.

[Eldhrin]

Well Celia's certainly proving her worth, and thankyou to V for voicing what we've all been thinking.

The interesting thing for me in this strip, apart from the usual great humour, is that Lord Shojo himself appears to be inclining toward being persuadable to come around to the OOTS point of view. Sure he thought he knew the situation, and sent out Miko (who appears to have interpreted her mission in her own typically hard-lined style) to apprehend our favourite party of adventurers. But he's Good and Lawful, and will adjust his own judgement based on the facts, because he's Good and Lawful and that's what he must do.

The real problem of course is that he's not doing the judging - there's that planar being around for that.

[kierthos]

Here I disagree. Roy defeated Xykon, or at least believed he did. What further reason did he have to remain in the dungeon? The Order would have left, and Xykon would have been able to return to continue his experiments in peace.

I think comic #117 makes it pretty clear that Xykon is bugging out, regardless of whatever else happens. Mind you, this could be because if Redcloak stays, he'll get killed, and the phylactery would have fallen into the hands of the OotS, but he's clearly giving up on using this gate for the time being... Although Elan renders it a moot point.

[Sebastian]

"I don't make the crazy rules, I just twist them to my purpose"

Signature material and the lawful good/evil manifesto ;D

Beautiful even "if intent doesn't matter, let it don't matter in our favor"

[Albion]

It was charming to see V lose her patience, and there were plenty of laughs in this one. It's all making sense... exciting.

[Tawkis]

At least somebody asked the obvious question. I'm little surprised it wasn't Roy though. V while intelligent usually overthinks (and overstates).