Holiday Ornament 2023 and new T-Shirt designs!

[The Giant]

Hey everyone, it's time for a new round of t-shirts, ornaments, and associated tchotchkes from our CafePress store.

First up, we have this year's holiday ornament. After years of having the Battle Ornaments, we're moving on to a new series. This will be the first in a new line of Love Ornaments, focusing on the caring relationships (romantic, familial, platonic) of the OOTS cast. Naturally, we're kicking it off with our OOTS OTP, Haley and Elan. These ornaments are about the same size as the old ones but they're a clear acrylic rather than ceramic. The same art is also available on shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc.

Next, we have one of the most requested shirts ever. I don't know if that's because people wanted to buy it or if the incomplete set was just bothering them, but at long last, our LAW shirt:

Then we have an ad for everyone's favorite free-to-play game, Marshmallow Test Saga (and I even spelled "marshmallow" right this time). Wearing this shirt gives you 5000 in-game currency, which is useless:

This next shirt is just me smashing all my action figures together:

Let everyone know that you, too, are a sphere of burning rays with our Ball of Sunshine shirt:

Next, the shirt no one is going to buy but I made the art for my Patreon questions (posting tonight, probably?) so no way was I wasting the opportunity to put it on a t-shirt, it's Laser Snail!

Finally, we have a new set of nine designs, highlighting each character class and the variety of characters from the comic that follow that path. Pick the one that matches your current D&D character, your internal self-conception, or just your favorite OOTS character!






That's it for CafePress this year. Here's some FAQs, some of which are actually frequently asked and some of which I'm just guessing.

Product Questions

Why did you end the Battle Ornament series?
It was not entirely intentional. I was planning for this to be the last year for it, but it seems that at some point in the last year, they discontinued the oval ornament I had been using. (Naturally, I did not notice this until I had finished the art and was getting ready to upload it.) Normally I would bring all the designs back for one last sale before retiring a series so that customers could pick up any they missed. Obviously, that’s no longer an option here, so apologies to anyone collecting the series who was hoping for a chance to complete the set.

Are you bringing back the Snowfall Ornament series?
Yes! The round ornaments that I previously used for the original “Snowfall” series were also discontinued, but unlike the oval set they were replaced with a different ceramic round ornament. Since they, too, could go away at any point, I’ve re-activated the entire series, from 2004 to 2016. If you were collecting those, I’d recommend assuming that this is the last chance to get any of them. And even then, I can’t guarantee the base ornament will be a perfect 100% match to any existing ones you have, though they do look pretty similar to me.

Why aren't there class shirts for Barbarian, Druid, Psion, Warlock, etc.?
Because I don't have enough characters with those classes to make a design. For example, with barbarians, I have Thog and Kraagor, and then I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel with "Guy Who Gave Belkar His Barbarian Exam" and such.

Why didn't certain characters make the cut for their class shirt?
I tried to use the most significant characters, but in cases where there was no clear choice, I erred on the side of visual distinctiveness. That's why Julia didn't make it onto the Wizard shirt, because she's the exact same color palette as Eugene, who's a more prominent character in the story. Likewise, Hinjo is visually similar enough to O-Chul, Miko, and Lien that I preferred to include some other paladin-types from the comic.

Other Sales

Is there going to be an Ookoodook sale this year?
No, no sale from Ookoodook this year. That also means no new calendar and no new book this season.

Is there going to be a Gumroad sale this year?
Yes, use promo code LaserSnail for 50% off the PDF of any of the main OOTS books (i.e. Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, Start of Darkness, etc., but not A Monster for Every Season or the Belkar and Haleo & Julelan bonus stories), now through December 8. Also, we've brought back PDFs of the 2014-2020 art calendars in a big old bundle for anyone still interested in them. They have some great jokes, if nothing else.

[Tubercular Ox]

So, does this nix "Tarquin is a Swordsage"? Cuz that Ballista Throw and the constricting stance were nova hot.

OMG, it nixes the Blue Carbuncle, too. Unless that's an ordinary Carbuncle.

[The Giant]

So, does this nix "Tarquin is a Swordsage"? Cuz that Ballista Throw and the constricting stance were nova hot.

OMG, it nixes the Blue Carbuncle, too. Unless that's an ordinary Carbuncle.

I honestly enjoy having had no awareness of either of these two theories.

EDIT: Wrecan is technically a Crusader so there's still some flexibility in each category anyway.

[Neponde]

I love the concept of the class shirts. Those are really cool, and very well done up.

[cosmicsodacan]

Eee, I LOVE all of these designs! Not least of all because of the new-style renditions of characters we haven't yet seen depicted that way...

(Geez, I really need to compile reference sheets for all the major characters. Gotta love the teeny-tiny details. )

Definitely gonna grab a bunch of these. And a massive THANK YOU for the calendar bundle! I've been dying to see the art inside for ages! (Downside number one to being a younger fan: you're too late to enjoy a lot of the cool past goodies.)

[Coppercloud]

For the Class & Level Geekery crew: this is the confirmation that Amyth is a sorcerer instead of a wizard (she's the dwarf on the right of the Sorcerer drawing).

It's always nice to see some of the older characters with the new art style! I missed Celia and Tsukiko. Zhou, Saha, Sir François, Sangwaan and Tingtox are a welcome sight too. And it just led me to reread the entirety of Good Deeds Gone Unpunished, which is always a good thing. Nale and the detailed Flumph are slightly terrifying, in a good way.

Thank you, Giant!

[Grey Watcher]

Wrecan was a Paladin? I guess I always figured he was some flavor of Fighter.

And yeah, I thought Durkon's cousin was a Wizard, actually. Sorcerer is cool, though. (The Bandit Leader was too deep a cut, I guess. No pun intended.)

[The Giant]

And yeah, I thought Durkon's cousin was a Wizard, actually. Sorcerer is cool, though. (The Bandit Leader was too deep a cut, I guess. No pun intended.)

The thing with the Sorcerers is that the actual important inclusion there is Qarr, but he's so small that I needed someone else to balance out the image. Durkon's cousin has the benefit of fitting under him, and I never said she wasn't a sorcerer, so...

[Faldrath]

My memory must be failing me, but who's the hobgoblin ranger next to Oona?

[Tubercular Ox]

EDIT: Wrecan is technically a Crusader so there's still some flexibility in each category anyway.

Spoiler

Show

Malack spending two feats to be closer to Tarquin was awesome while it lasted.

[Peelee]

The thing with the Sorcerers is that the actual important inclusion there is Qarr, but he's so small that I needed someone else to balance out the image. Durkon's cousin has the benefit of fitting under him, and I never said she wasn't a sorcerer, so...

You could have always used a devilishly handsome silver dragon sorcerer who just looks human.

Of course, there's the small issue of "im not in your comic" but that's just semantics, probably.

[Coppercloud]

My memory must be failing me, but who's the hobgoblin ranger next to Oona?

He's Tingtox, from How the Paladin Got His Scar, the main story - by page count - of Good Deeds Gone Unpunished, the Azurite prequel.

ETA: I love both the idea that Durkon's cousin and Qarr were combined into a stand-in for a medium-sized character, and the thought of Peelee writing self-insert OOTS fanfiction.

[Errorname]

A lament for the Druids, Warlocks and Barbarians, who lack enough named characters to have class designs of their own.

(The Bandit Leader was too deep a cut, I guess. No pun intended.)

Also just in terms of visual diversity, she's the same height and skin tone as three of the other characters on the design, which has to be a factor. Guessing that's also why Sir Francois (I think that's his name?) made the Paladin design over Hinjo or Soon, just to keep the Paladins from being overwhelmingly blue.

[Metastachydium]

EDIT: Wrecan is technically a Crusader so there's still some flexibility in each category anyway.

And Therkla is a Ninja. (Or as pissed as a dead Half-Orc can get for my mixing up her chosen profession with her class, I guess.)

And yeah, I thought Durkon's cousin was a Wizard, actually. Sorcerer is cool, though. (The Bandit Leader was too deep a cut, I guess. No pun intended.)

The thing with the Sorcerers is that the actual important inclusion there is Qarr, but he's so small that I needed someone else to balance out the image. Durkon's cousin has the benefit of fitting under him, and I never said she wasn't a sorcerer, so...

I for one appreciate the fact that we're finally getting a fully canonical, non-Evil/jerkwad/problem person/you-name-it Sorcerer who doesn't get that Sorcerer casting innately. (It's an odd pick for a Dwarf, but maybe she's a Dream Dwarf. Those do come with darker skin tones and no CHA penalty.)

[ti'esar]

I for one appreciate the fact that we're finally getting a fully canonical, non-Evil/jerkwad/problem person/you-name-it Sorcerer who doesn't get that Sorcerer casting innately.

I had actually totally forgotten Girard was a sorcerer and not literally an illusionist-subtype wizard. And I feel kinda bad that my first takeaway here was rules-related stuff...

[Metastachydium]

I had actually totally forgotten Girard was a sorcerer and not literally an illusionist-subtype wizard. And I feel kinda bad that my first takeaway here was rules-related stuff...

I mean, he multiclassed into Ranger! What full-caster with a halfway decent INT score does that?!

[Lord Torath]

Love, these, Rich! Time to go shopping!

The Ball of Sunshine shirt is adorable!

Also, if you ever decide to add an Apron option for Tarquin's "Can't make an omelet..." quote, I will snatch that up so quickly!

[Reboot]

Since Ookoodook is sold out of Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales and has been for a while; will it be made available on Gumroad?

[Ruck]

Huh, I'd always assumed Laser Snail shot lasers out of its body somehow, like from those antennae, not that it carried a laser gun.

Unless you are Rich, please do not reply with "it can be both" or some such.

[DataNinja]

Since Ookoodook is sold out of Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales and has been for a while; will it be made available on Gumroad?

Yeah, I've definitely been hoping to be able to pick that up at some point, so I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat. (I already used this as a reminder to fill out the rest of my collection!)

[Tubercular Ox]

Actually, the Carbuncle's carbuncle is blue, it's just its body isn't blue like I imagined, so I think this confirms the Blue Carbuncle theory!

[MJSchryver]

Semi-aside: Are there images the same size as the Law image up above, for the other four alignments? I want to try to make the skeleton of an alignment grid (just for my desktop; not for anyone else).

[Coppercloud]

Semi-aside: Are there images the same size as the Law image up above, for the other four alignments? I want to try to make the skeleton of an alignment grid (just for my desktop; not for anyone else).

Here are the visuals on the store but I can't find them in a higher resolution (Law is on its separate page, as of now).

[LWM]

Cute!

Wait, why is the "Princess on a Unicorn" not available on baby onesies?

[Lord Torath]

Cute!

Wait, why is the "Princess on a Unicorn" not available on baby onesies?

It is, but with slightly different wording: "When I grow up, I want to be a princess on a unicorn."

In long or short sleeves.

[Metastachydium]

A lament for the Druids, Warlocks and Barbarians, who lack enough named characters to have class designs of their own.

Technically, Barbarians totally have enough named characters (Thog('s name Thog), Belkar (Bitterleaf), Kraagor, Juta (the Barbarian), Gortok (the Destroyer), Kuurk (the Anemic), Lokor (the Chronically Insecure) and Hak-Tonog (the Moderately Incontinent)); it's not like the High Priestess of Odin really has a name; or that the one Warlock (V would like you to know V doesn't count) we've ever seen does any better on the same front.

[LWM]

It is, but with slightly different wording: "When I grow up, I want to be a princess on a unicorn.]"

In long or short sleeves.

Oh thank you, that's just as good :) Somehow I never saw it!

[Errorname]

Technically, Barbarians totally have enough named characters (Thog('s name Thog), Belkar (Bitterleaf), Kraagor, Juta (the Barbarian), Gortok (the Destroyer), Kuurk (the Anemic), Lokor (the Chronically Insecure) and Hak-Tonog (the Moderately Incontinent)).

Fair, but in my defense I'd forgotten about most of those guys. I remembered Thog and Kraagor, but the other two Barbarians I was thinking of were Enor and the Frost Giant Berserker, which of the core classes that didn't receive designs means they'd definitely have the largest selection but also some of their more prominent members are too big to easily fit onto a design, which is a very Barbarian problem to have.

[Coppercloud]

I just bought the calendar bundle and it's absolutely amazing. The puns, the art, the jokes, Thog getting a puppy... There was even an owlbear plushy and a drawing of Sunny years before they were revealed in the comic! And the marketing text boxes told a tale of their own. It was a good laugh. Thank you so much, Giant!
Intercontinental shipping being what it is, I stick (pun not intended) to digital merch for now. But I'll definitely order a whole bunch of things when my friends finally read the comic and I can gift them shirts without it being weird. And yes, Laser Snail will be among those.

[Precure]

I assume this is Miko's summer uniform? (comparison)