OOTS #1226 - The Discussion Thread

[Rogar Demonblud]

Soon and Shojo were not related. Soon was without family after his wife got Snarled. Shojo was the son of the Azure City lord Old Jo.

[Fyraltari]

Am I wrong in thinking that Serini was only drawn by Rich in non-crayon form in the entirety of the comic including prequels exactly one (1) time? I would find that a bit dishonest, but it could be defensible...

That'd be entirely dishonest. here is what The Giant stated in the commentary of Utterly Dwarfed:

What, you still want a hint of something specific yet to come? Something you're not expecting? OK, how about this: Someone who has appeared in exactly one (1) page of the story so far (including all the prequel stories) will become an important ally in the first half of the next book. Good luck figuring that one out

Apicture of Serini was shown here and she appeared here, here and on page 43 of Start of Darkness. The Giant made no provision for the page being drawn in the usual art style so it's not Serini. My money is on spikey-mask bugbear with suspicious ties to Redcloak.

[Peelee]

My money is on spikey-mask bugbear with suspicious ties to Redcloak.

I like that guess, I'ma hop on that train with you.

[Anitar]

My money is on spikey-mask bugbear with suspicious ties to Redcloak.

I would say that's implausible due to being totally unguessable... but you did just guess it, so clearly it isn't.

[Ruck]

"Half expected" is my favorite name for a comic, because a lot of people expected Serini, but we only get "half" of her (the other half is green). Well played, Giant.

I've interpreted it as a pun on Serini being the halfling we were expecting. It would be the Giant's style, too ("Utterly Dwarfed" for example).

It works as both puns at the same time, as it's true that we weren't expecting that half of Serini's original form would be missing.

Yeah, it works as both. The Giant is quite good at puns like that. (Blood Runs in the Family is probably still my favorite example.)

[WindStruck]

Epileptic tree theory: the orange voice is the cloak, which is animated and sentient. What we see in #1189 is Sereni carrying the weapons, and the cloak (on her back) carrying the paladins.

...that would actually explain why she's still wearing a cloak way too big for her, I guess.

[Fyraltari]

I would say that's implausible due to being totally unguessable... but you did just guess it, so clearly it isn't.

Well, the Giant made it clear that it would be really hard to guess (I mean, one page!?) and that guy is at the North Pole already AND has done something in this book to make him (somewhat) stand-out among other spear-holders.

[wumpus]

Given that she strongly implies her hand has been replaced, this idea must be wrong, but I can’t shake the notion that she’s been hit with some rotting disease or a curse that has a progressive decay effect.

With a different (and potentially rotting) eye and hand in a D&D setting, I can't help but think of the hand and eye of Vecna. Presumably they would have their own voice, and attempt to control whoever is grafted to them. In 1e (quite possibly where Serini found them) their powers weren't settled, but up to the DM (with rules for rolling for them, or just writing his own choice). The rotting disease would fit the use of such things and fit 1e just fine. Not sure what the rules are in 3.5e.

postscript: looks like neither are in the d20 SRD, so likely are specifically trademarked and can't be used.

[arimareiji]

With a different (and potentially rotting) eye and hand in a D&D setting, I can't help but think of the hand and eye of Vecna. Presumably they would have their own voice, and attempt to control whoever is grafted to them. In 1e (quite possibly where Serini found them) their powers weren't settled, but up to the DM (with rules for rolling for them, or just writing his own choice). The rotting disease would fit the use of such things and fit 1e just fine. Not sure what the rules are in 3.5e.

postscript: looks like neither are in the d20 SRD, so likely are specifically trademarked and can't be used.

That's a really interesting notion. (^_^)b

But as you note, there would be major difficulties in including them. Not to mention, it looks like she also lost the part of her torso that arm was attached to (likely the arm too), as well as her foot.

I'd love to see some sort of middle ground, a homebrew idea of the Giant's rather than strict RAW. And regardless I'm stumped for exactly how someone missing at least part of their face (if not head) and that many body parts could 1) escape Xykon and 2) survive long enough to get to whoever performs the grafts.

[BruceGee]

My money is on spikey-mask bugbear with suspicious ties to Redcloak.

\

Since we're guessing who the mysterious ally is who only appeared on one page, I'll put down my money.
I still think orange-voice is a dragon. So the page that the ally appeared on was the page of dragons getting zapped by the familicide spell, but this is one that survived somehow.
Storywise, V still has to come face to face (not just zombies) with the real consequences of what they did.

[BruceGee]

*Also Serini may not be aware Xykon specifically is in the encampment, as the Bugbears have been there for a long time.

Nope. See 1189: Serini tells Lien not to make so much noise that "a certain lich hears you." (We're assuming Xykon is the only lich around, right?)

[Squire Doodad]

Nope. See 1189: Serini tells Lien not to make so much noise that "a certain lich hears you." (We're assuming Xykon is the only lich around, right?)

I mean, she might not have realized it was Xykon specifically.
But yes, thinking about it it'd be highly unlikely for her to not have known it was Xykon.

[bunsen_h]

And regardless I'm stumped for exactly how someone missing at least part of their face (if not head) and that many body parts could 1) escape Xykon and 2) survive long enough to get to whoever performs the grafts.

Maybe she was straddling the boundary of an area-of-effect Protection from Negative Energy when Xykon blasted her. She fell. He then did an Animate Dead on her, assuming that she was dead... and she played along. With such skill that he never realized that she wasn't really a zombie, until she managed to escape, keeping her living half out of his view the whole time.

[One Skunk Todd]

I guess she must have gotten the replacement at a secondhand store. 😃

Even so, I imagine it cost her an... 😜

[One Skunk Todd]

And you know that “firsthand” quip wasn’t all that humerus. It felt kind of half-hearted.

[Bilbo Baggins]

I'm willing to bet several quatloos that Serini pretty much has full knowledge of the immediate situation surrounding the gate, except for some of the more obscure details (e.g. the billions of worlds, the world within the rift, the fourth/fifth quiddities, Redcloak's Plan). I don't think she has any misconceptions about the paladins' or the Order's intentions; she's just decided (due to either correct reasoning or to a character flaw) that her own plans will work better with them out of the way.

[Ruck]

I guess she must have gotten the replacement at a secondhand store. 😃

I don't see a raspberry beret.

[arimareiji]

Maybe she was straddling the boundary of an area-of-effect Protection from Negative Energy when Xykon blasted her. She fell. He then did an Animate Dead on her, assuming that she was dead... and she played along. With such skill that he never realized that she wasn't really a zombie, until she managed to escape, keeping her living half out of his view the whole time.

I would make a joke about using the half-zombie template, but I have little doubt someone somewhere has written one. Probably someone who works the graveyard shift.

(/now i want to play a half-zombie half-dragon half-pixie half-celestial half-devil half-merfolk half-drow, just to see the look my DM gives me)

[danielxcutter]

I would make a joke about using the half-zombie template, but I have little doubt someone somewhere has written one. Probably someone who works the graveyard shift.

(/now i want to play a half-zombie half-dragon half-pixie half-celestial half-devil half-merfolk half-drow, just to see the look my DM gives me)

I think in the Dragon strips there was a snail with a load of templates like that, actually.

[Yanisa]

I think in the Dragon strips there was a snail with a load of templates like that, actually.

Yeah, a bunch of templates and some extra abilities to boot. "The Snail is a "vampiric half-dragon half-troll lycanthropic fiendish snail" with psionic powers and a Challenge Rating of 14.".

If you want to read more: wiki page.

[Corneel]

\

Since we're guessing who the mysterious ally is who only appeared on one page, I'll put down my money.
I still think orange-voice is a dragon. So the page that the ally appeared on was the page of dragons getting zapped by the familicide spell, but this is one that survived somehow.
Storywise, V still has to come face to face (not just zombies) with the real consequences of what they did.

Random guess: the (orange) beholder on page 32.
https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0032.html

[Keltest]

Random guess: the (orange) beholder on page 32.
https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0032.html

That seems unlikely for reasons elaborated on, on said page.

[lio45]

I would say that's implausible due to being totally unguessable... but you did just guess it, so clearly it isn't.

Rich said "Good luck figuring that one out." Not to be confused with "I trust that someone will figure it out eventually". Being unguessable in this case is more a feature than a bug, IMO.

My money is on spikey-mask bugbear with suspicious ties to Redcloak.

That's probably my favorite guess of all. That bugbear tribe is nearby. It's likely they'll interact with the Order at some point.

[KorvinStarmast]

That's probably my favorite guess of all. That bugbear tribe is nearby. It's likely they'll interact with the Order at some point.

but that masked bugbear was in two strips.

That bugbear tribe is nearby. It's likely they'll interact with the Order at some point.

That should be interesting.

[Peelee]

That seems unlikely for reasons elaborated on, on said page.

The fact that it appeared on page shows the near-certainty factual falsity of that premise, though. The joke was funny, but it didn't need to be completely accurate.

And that's the closest I'm going to get to speculation along that line of reasoning.


ETA: Actually, I see no problem with letting the comic handle that issue itself.

[sillymel]

but that masked bugbear was in two strips.

The second one it appeared in happened after Utterly Dwarfed was published.

[One Skunk Todd]

I don't see a raspberry beret.

Well, it's definitely not warm there... :)

[lio45]

but that masked bugbear was in two strips.

Yes, the "important ally" will be in N strips, with N>>2 and [N-1] of those strips being in Book 7.

[BruceGee]

To sum up, here is my evidence for orange-voice being a dragon:
1. Serini must have a powerful spellcaster as an ally, to create a teleportal rune behind every single door. She certainly didn't do that herself, and this doesn't seem like a world where a high-level mage would do a job like that as a subcontractor.
2. The spellcaster is still around. Someone suggested that her cloak allows flying -- but it would also need to create invisibility as well. And there would need to be two of them -- one for each voice. An active spellcaster seems far more likely.
3. On 1189, it looks like a single being is carrying both paladins, and Serini told her ally to grab both of them.
4. Serini's speech balloon on the last panel of 1189 is slightly above orange-voice's. That suggests some kind of mount -- probably a flying mount, given that the voices are moving across the page and the paladins' ledge was high and inaccessible.
5. A large, strong, flying spellcaster that can be used as a mount. I can't think of anything other than a dragon that fits the bill.

Getting more out on a limb here -- we know Girard has dragons in his family tree. So the scribblers could have met and befriended a relative, and Serini could have arranged for her ally to be resurrected after it was familocided on 639. Also, we know that Rich has repudiated the concept of "evil races," so even a black dragon might be good or neutral.

[littlebum2002]

Yes, the "important ally" will be in N strips, with N>>2 and [N-1] of those strips being before strip #1178.

Fixed that for you. A lot of people forget that the comment in question wasn't made at the end of the book, so the strips 1178-1189 don't count for the appearance of the creature for only 1 page of the story before that point.