OOTS #1271 - The Discussion Thread

[Sir_Norbert]

Of course, the point of these strips is to heighten the tension and make us really looking forward to the coming confrontation.

And it's working.

[Peelee]

The whole "second breakfast" thing always raises my hackles. It doesn't make a lot of sense to break one's fast twice in short order, unless every meal should also be considered to be breaking a "fast". And Tolkien would never have called it that; he'd have used the proper term "elevenses". Breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner, supper.

You sure about that?

[Crusher]

He remembered everything bar what happened on Mount Celestia itself. So, everything he saw as a ghost on the material plane, plus the clouds.

Right, but he wasn't a ghost or on the clouds for very long. The ships had left dock but were still clearly in sight of the city immediately before his interview with the Deva started. I don't recall how the timeline worked out exactly but it probably wasn't more than a couple hours which is a very small slice of the months he spent dead. Ok, he did see half the party dealing incompetently with the Oracle but it probably wasn't for more than an hour (most of which was cleanup).

Eh, call it a draw.

[Fyraltari]

Right, but he wasn't a ghost or on the clouds for very long. The ships had left dock but were still clearly in sight of the city immediately before his interview with the Deva started. I don't recall how the timeline worked out exactly but it probably wasn't more than a couple hours which is a very small slice of the months he spent dead. Ok, he did see half the party dealing incompetently with the Oracle but it probably wasn't for more than an hour (most of which was cleanup).

Eh, call it a draw.

He came back to the clouds to check on the party. Regularly.

A lot of Dstp is framed as Roy keeping tabs on what was going on in his absence.

[hamishspence]

Yup - he stays on the cloud but finds something to do (play games), between their getting hold of Celia, and their arrival at the oracle:

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0565.html

then he leaves the cloud and trains with Horace for a few weeks between them leaving the Oracle, and them arriving at Greysky.

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0600.html

And he's prepared to remain on the cloud for a few months while they're in Greysky (at the time, he expected them to have arrived at Cliffport) - they're not there that long, so he's still on the cloud when the message comes that he's about to be resurrected:

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0664.html

[SirKazum]

Hmm, so I see that order of ascetics from SS&DT (I unfortunately don't have the book with me right now to check their name) that refused food, drinks or any other comforts that provided no appreciable rules-based benefits didn't quite make an impression on the Order of the Stick.

[hamishspence]

Belkar does point out that he's not sure if the Dragon Strips are the same continuity:

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0475.html

[brian 333]

Okay, Elan forgot to say "Dun-dun, duunnn!" When Roy said he wanted to step out for fresh air.

Otherwise, great comic. Everyone except V and Durkon gets to show a bit of personality.

[Psyren]

How does Roy not know better than to split the...

Oh, right, he was dead for that part.

He still got the message though, so it's still shortsighted for him to do so now.

[Particle_Man]

What does it say on the cauldron?

[Guancyto]

I'm starting to wonder if Serini isn't still trying to stall them.

That's kinda my feeling too, honestly...

[Mic_128]

What does it say on the cauldron?

"Never wash in the dishwasher or scrub it with a steel-wool soap pad."

[Fyraltari]

What does it say on the cauldron?

It's a cypher. Someone broke it the first time we saw the cauldron, I think it was "cauldron of instant potion-making" or something along those lines.

[alceryes]

Roy is about to find that he does not have an easy way to return or let others know that he has found something interesting. Not all of Serini's friends will know about the new alliance. They could easily perceive Roy as a wandering adventurer.

Roy can still communicate with Blackwing and Blackwing with everyone else. So we've got the potential for a nice game of telephone (with side commentary) here.

[pearl jam]

Ahah, yes, imagine someone calling two different meals of the day variations on breakfast. Would would do that. So crazy.

Linguistics do not care for "making sense".

Also, Tolkien does mention all the meals you've listed un addition to second breakfast, despite qtating elsewhere that Hobbits have six meals a day. Either this is a little mistake or one of them is not considered a proper meal and more of a snack or something.

Or there are more than 6 established meals and it's just unusual for one to partake in all of them in the same day, much like eating breakfast, brunch and lunch in the same day is probably not the ordinary habit of most humans.

Thanks for the heads-up, given that the index seems likely to require a second reload in perpetuity... unfortunately for me, my Twitter feed tends to be crowded enough that I'd probably miss it.

If you click the bell on his profile page you'll get a notification when he tweets so that you can be sure to see it.

[danielxcutter]

Hmm.

I'm not sure if Serini is specifically stalling for something, though I'm fairly sure she's stalling in general.

Granted, considering that she's scared of Xykon for somewhat understandable reasons I can totally see why she'd want to put that off. Would explain why she stopped struggling so easily.

Also even ignoring that I suspect she's used to being able to take her time, and being old probably doesn't help with that either.

Since Sunny and Elan are back now maybe the "Serini was breaking the oath" thing might come up, especially with the paladins in the room. It's weird that Roy might be outside the room for that, but I dunno. Maybe he's just trying to contact Eugene or something, and not just frustrated with Serini.

Do kinda want to jump to Serini telling them about the Scribblers though. Hopefully there's not too much until that part.

[catagent101]

For a minute there I thought that was Tarquin in the second panel.

"We're back!"

[danielxcutter]

Oh, and speaking of that, Elan and Sunny peeking through the hole like that is adorable.

[pearl jam]

For a minute there I thought that was Tarquin in the second panel.

"We're back!"

Yeah, because of the desaturation Elan's hair looks much closer to Tarquin's. I had the same initial thought when I read the comic.

[Alexandrite]

Of course, the point of these strips is to heighten the tension and make us really looking forward to the coming confrontation.

And it's working.

Fair, but Serini is probably the only character who isn't dead or Schrodinger's Dwarf to have insight on her team, and we haven't gotten too much of that so far either from her or the rest of the comic. The story can slow the pace to provide tension and still give the reader interesting things to think about.

If it turns out Serini is just stalling them though, then the way it's going makes perfect sense and I have no complaints at all.

[Edric O]

I'm starting to wonder if Serini isn't still trying to stall them.

I'm gonna go with "Serini is definitely stalling them."

In fact, call me paranoid, but I think her plan since she agreed to help them has been to get them to lower their guard. Roy is going to be the only one not immobilized in a few strips.

[Squire Doodad]

I'm gonna go with "Serini is definitely stalling them."

In fact, call me paranoid, but I think her plan since she agreed to help them has been to get them to lower their guard. Roy is going to be the only one not immobilized in a few strips.

You're paranoid.

To be honest, while Serini is definitely more here for herself than the rest of the cast, she's already seen that the party can dispatch her in this kind of scenario without much hassle, and Sunny will at most defend her nonviolently or even disable her harmlessly (levitation or slowness lasers). There's very, very low odds that it's worth attacking the party, and she is wildly outnumbered with none of her tricks already at play even if she assumes Sunny is on her side.
She may be stalling because it is psychologically difficult for her to accept that she's going to actually take on Xykon, indirectly or otherwise. She may be stalling because she needs some time to herself to think about whether to help them stock up and shoo them off, or actually go into the fray. She may be stalling because she's trying to think of a good excuse to stay home, and one that would stop Sunny from going along too. She may be stalling because she needs to rack her memory of where she put the super-secret rainy day stuff, or which marking she used for the dungeon corridor that has that Protean family roaming it who'd be up to helping with Xykon.
Or of course she may just be in need of a nap and she might as well do so while the soup's cooking and the adventurers plan instead of right before they set off.

[danielxcutter]

I think either “not ready to fight Xykon” or “old” make good enough sense really. Might be even a bit of both.

Also in hindsight Serini might not be that great at fighting any more. Sure she has more Sneak Attack dice than you can count on your fingers, but her Dex and Con are not going to be impressive with a -6 to each from age penalties(even if Str is irrelevant for a non-compound shortbow or hand crossbow). I don’t think the party is going to think any less of her for that, at least.

[Edric O]

She may be stalling because it is psychologically difficult for her to accept that she's going to actually take on Xykon, indirectly or otherwise. She may be stalling because she needs some time to herself to think about whether to help them stock up and shoo them off, or actually go into the fray. She may be stalling because she's trying to think of a good excuse to stay home, and one that would stop Sunny from going along too. She may be stalling because she needs to rack her memory of where she put the super-secret rainy day stuff, or which marking she used for the dungeon corridor that has that Protean family roaming it who'd be up to helping with Xykon.
Or of course she may just be in need of a nap and she might as well do so while the soup's cooking and the adventurers plan instead of right before they set off.

All of those options make a lot more logical sense than what I suggested.

However, I humbly submit that what I suggested makes more dramatic sense. We've had several strips now showing the main characters getting increasingly relaxed. This feels like a set-up for a sudden attack on them.

And I'm fairly certain that Team Evil isn't about to find and attack them just yet.

[Aquillion]

Also in hindsight Serini might not be that great at fighting any more. Sure she has more Sneak Attack dice than you can count on your fingers, but her Dex and Con are not going to be impressive with a -6 to each from age penalties(even if Str is irrelevant for a non-compound shortbow or hand crossbow). I don’t think the party is going to think any less of her for that, at least.

She has +3 Charisma, almost certainly maxed UMD, and a nearly unlimited budget for consumable items. She'll be fine.

[danielxcutter]

Consumables are less effective at higher levels though.

[Peelee]

her Dex and Con are not going to be impressive with a -6 to each from age penalties

I assume you mean "as impressive".

Its like that old joke, what do they call the one who graduated bottom of their class in med school? "Doctor". Sure, everyone else did better, but that person still did all the work and graduated. And Serini is still an epic level rogue. With all that that implies.

[Borris]

Can someone explain the "grim resolve" reference? Is it a 5th edition thing?

[Fyraltari]

Can someone explain the "grim resolve" reference? Is it a 5th edition thing?

Maybe. My read on it was that Lien is referencing how Paladins stereotypically act again as measured by an imaginary scale in order to jokingly point out that they still do need to eat and take care of themselves even if they act like they don't.

[masamune1]

Roy leaving for some "fresh air" strikes me as something that could go very badly.

Especially if his idea of "fresh air" is going outside for some actual fresh air, where he might run into the villains, but even just staying in the caves might chance that or he might fail to get back or whatever.

He's getting impatient, so he's likely going to make a mess of things somehow.