OOTS #606 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[starwoof]

Seeing Shojo wearing a blue version of my GMing shirt made me throw back my head in laughter!

This comic is ace. Actually this is the best comic ever.

[Fenix]

surrealistic

[Moriarty]

i laughed so hard at panels 3 and 4..

mr scruffy-head is just awesome

[starwoof]

Woah I just noticed that Belkar can be seen sleeping in the background. Fantastic.

[Athaniar]

That was certainly weird.

And is this finally the end of the debate on whether they live in a game world or are a group of people who play D&D?

[RMS Oceanic]

Wow. A vision quest that results in fake character growth? That's genius!

[Charmy]

Huh.

Not at all what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed the creative, surreal panels. Think I was a little too puzzled to laugh though.

Somehow this doesn't feel like standard OoTS, and I'm not sure what this will mean for Belkar.. I mean.. didn't he already come to the realization that he should fake character growth for his own personal gain in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0125.html ?

Guess will just have to wait and see where Rich is going with this.

[Danukian]

Yea, not only a Shojo appearance, but amoral morality lessons as well -what a great dream - it's no Jessica Biel in a hot tub, but it makes a better comic...

[Surfing HalfOrc]

For some reason, Belkar in the green armor made me think he had become, for just one moment, a Paladin! I don't know why...

And I thought I had some bizarre dreams!

[Atelm]

Absolutely brilliant, finally Belkar get's it, fake character growth.

[Spiryt]

Wow, really, really well made dream atmosphere. And all with stick figures!

That Shojo's thoughts about life are interesting ones too.

[Tamburlaine]

Nice dream sequence, looks a bit like the backwards room in twin peaks.

[aapje]

Hehe play the game

Nice surreal comic and an interesting form of character growth!

[RMS Oceanic]

Somehow this doesn't feel like standard OoTS, and I'm not sure what this will mean for Belkar.. I mean.. didn't he already come to the realization that he should fake character growth for his own personal gain in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0125.html ?

True, but this is a subversion of the Vision Quest. Usually at the end of such a vision the character has gained profound personal insight into himself and often makes dramatic changes to his life. Here, he's learned to pretend to gain profound personal insight, and will more or less remain the same.

I just read the comic title, "The Philosophy of Chaos", and I realised something. Belkar, while Chaotic Evil, has often acted as "KILL KILL DIE" 'Stupid Evil'. Shojo, a fellow Chaotic, is teaching Belkar how to utilize the chaotic part of his alignment.

[flamingoptimus]

Now I know ...

I'll pretend to have it too!!!

[Danukian]

Somehow this doesn't feel like standard OoTS, and I'm not sure what this will mean for Belkar.. I mean.. didn't he already come to the realization that he should fake character growth for his own personal gain in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0125.html ?

in 125, Belkar faked character growth to exploit a loophole in the XP system, but he's stated goal was still immoral (killing villagers in their sleep), Shojo was telling him to fake character growth to get by in society and fake some morality, like the lessons of Dexter's father,

[PePe QuiCoSE]

wow, really great comic.
You know, when you have to make a comic for so long and still keep it funny you have to reinvent yourself style or surprise yourself with the page you are coming up with. This one does that in a great fashion

[vegetalss4]

Now I know ...

and knowing is half the battle

sorry i couldn't resist, i personally lauged from this one

[Lokasenna]

... That actually makes a lot of sense, in a surreal way. So either Belkar is having character growth in order to learn to pretend to have character growth, or his subconscious is whacking him over the head with a two by four by way of Shojo, the person Belkar probably has the greatest respect for.

I swear that the best thing to happen to the members of the OotS was meeting Roy, because everything comes from that point.

[Supermagle]

My head is spinning with all those references!

[dogmac]

Damn, and there I thought he might have REAL character growth for a moment there. Should have known better.

[Thant]

Simply awesome. And definitely there will be more roleplay exp for Belkar in the future.

[liuzg150181]

As some forumites had already mentioned,#606 is rather surrealistic and a bit philosophical(at least to me) as well.

Though it seems the style is rather similar to Scott McCloud's comic strips on gaming in Computer Gaming World magazine, if anyone of you had read it before.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Crazy dream sequences for the win!

[Dziadek]

I just can't wait to see the 'new' Belkar.

(Will Halley be pleased or suspicious of his development..?)

[Bilgore]

Does this mean he'll start listening to the slaad instead of the devil or the other devil?

[Coke_Can64]

Awesome. Pure awesome. And Chaos too, but still... having Belkar tripping out is kinda interesting to say the least.

Dang, that's one messed-up dream...

[Moran]

Sniff. My little sociopath is all grown up.

[Fraxinus]

Ok ok, I give up... the little bugger isn't going to die anymore, thanks to Shojo's "dirty enlightment"

An intense, yet very grim, dark comic. At the end of the day, cheating and pretending are the keys to society, according to the OOTS's "philosophy", or better... so it seems. How I wish Roy could appear abruptly in Belkie's dream and beat Shojo -and his "enlightment"- to an oniric pulp!!