OOTS #887 - The Discussion Thread

[ZMiles]

Interesting... saw panels there relating to happy endings from Roy's perspective (beating Xykon, statue), Haley's (vault of gold, her dad), and Elan (big happy family), but nothing from Belkar's perspective. Could mean he died (maybe this illusion spell does a tiny bit of damage every round, and it pushed Belkar over the edge?), or it could mean he's immune for some reason. Hmm.

And yep, given the comic's title, I gotta wonder if this is the happy ending the oracle kobold predicted for Elan.

Awesome strip! Especially loved the layout. The little details -- like all the characters in the 'saving Azure city' panel that we know are dead but the protagonists don't (Thanh, eyepatch resistance leader, matron resistance leader, Tsukiko) -- also worked really well.

[Nephrahim]

Interesting that they are fighting Tsukiko, since they don't realize that she's dead.

Also they're fighting WITH The resistance which they don't know it also dead.

As for who's fantasy it is, it SEEMS to be all of theirs... except Belkar's obviously. I wonder why? Or does he wish he WAS dead? That would be really dark, but I don't see why he isn't included otherwise.

[thereaper]

definitely seems like that is a shared vision cause several of those people Roy would have no idea what they look like (only that they exist at best).

if this is shared Belkar being dead in it means he is likely the one to break them out of it, as the odd man out in illusions usually is the one to point out what's wrong with it.

also some very awesome panels there, with a female puppet with banjo, mitd and o-chul.

not sure why in the vision Roy would throw away the phylactery before destroying it pretty sure Xykon could regen in that state.

He dropped it in a volcano (which would presumably destroy it).

Also, it's a giant LotR reference.

[CloakedDancer]

So is this the end of the comic?

I'm still wondering the same things I did at the end of the last strip.

Disconcerting.

[Jim Thunderbard]

not sure why in the vision Roy would throw away the phylactery before destroying it pretty sure Xykon could regen in that state.

He's tossing it in a volcano.

Ninja'd.

[Peanut Gallery]

Elan's family reunion fantasy makes me sad. Because it's super sweet and I hope he gets it but it's a fool's hope and I know it.

[shamgar001]

The layout is brilliant.

[Porthos]

This is the most clueless I've ever felt from an OOTS update.

Huh?

I just don't get it.

It's a continutation of the illusion/dreamscape from last strip. Roy/rest of the party is hallucinating what they are doing now that they've 'killed' Xykon and 'ended' their quest.

All in the shape of a purple swirly eye.

[Lurker-in-Forum]

Here's a cheerful thought:

The illusion seems to be playing out the fantasies of the combined group. We see things that clearly correspond to Roy's, Elan's, and Haley's "happy ending." They even show Durkon coming back... so, in this fantasy, it would be entirely consistent for Belkar to be resurrected. He's not.

What if part of that is Belkar's fantasy? Maybe he's actually feeling guilty for Durkon's death, to the extent that he wishes he were dead himself?

[Jordan Cat]

Also, it's a giant LotR reference.

I feel ashamed for not catching that.

[David Argall]

It does look like padding, at a time when the book i overlong. It does confirm that this is a delusion, and it's not bad of itself, but as said, it doesn't seem to advance the plot.

[Alysar]

not sure why in the vision Roy would throw away the phylactery before destroying it pretty sure Xykon could regen in that state.

It looks like it might be lava that they are dropping it into.

[MeanMrsMustard]

Elan's family reunion fantasy makes me sad. Because it's super sweet and I hope he gets it but it's a fool's hope and I know it.

Yes, definitely. I think it's telling how Tarquin is smiling, but Nale is scowling.

The layout is brilliant.

Agreed. One of the best-looking strips in my opinion.

[Sylthia]

So Belker dies in Elan's happy ending? I wonder if we'll get to see Haley and Belker's illusions as well.

[fan4battle]

I also think it's a collective happy ending, seeing as they are all getting their respective wishes. Except Belkar, he didn't get a kickass death. He didn't get get to say even one line in the whole illusion. The Order doesn't want him in their fantastic future, so he's killed off, and only Elan isn't apatethic about it. Roy's posture in the tombstone panel says "why bother let's go". So, we'll see what role will Belkar have in the disruption of this illusion. :)

[DaggerPen]

Well.

That's oddly terrifying.

[TaiLiu]

This is one of the most bittersweet comics I have ever read.

[Zeitgeist]

Looks to me like it's Elan's simply by the style. The first thing that came to my head was a roll of film, and since Elan is all about theatrics and a happy ending is something like you'd imagine in a story (or a movie) then it really fits. I'm going to assume that was intentional and not just me reading into the design too much.

[MeanMrsMustard]

Here's a cheerful thought:

The illusion seems to be playing out the fantasies of the combined group. We see things that clearly correspond to Roy's, Elan's, and Haley's "happy ending." They even show Durkon coming back... so, in this fantasy, it would be entirely consistent for Belkar to be resurrected. He's not.

What if part of that is Belkar's fantasy? Maybe he's actually feeling guilty for Durkon's death, to the extent that he wishes he were dead himself?

Ack! I hadn't thought of that, but that's actually pretty brilliant. It even makes me feel sorry for the heartless little psychopath.

On my first read, I didn't notice that the walls and floors were curved to match the spiral. Clever.

[Alysar]

So Belker dies in Elan's happy ending? I wonder if we'll get to see Haley and Belker's illusions as well.

I think this illusion is jointly formed by all of their minds. There are people there that Roy has never seen (or at least doesn't remember). Tsukiko is there since none of them are aware that she is dead.

[SaintRidley]

Also they're fighting WITH The resistance which they don't know it also dead.

As for who's fantasy it is, it SEEMS to be all of theirs... except Belkar's obviously. I wonder why? Or does he wish he WAS dead? That would be really dark, but I don't see why he isn't included otherwise.

It might make sense. He probably feels that he was supposed to die there, not Durkon. And moreso, if he's trapped by the illusion past the point in the illusion where he's dead (and he is), then he's just sharing in the illusion as illusory post-mortem Belkar. He doesn't necessarily get to contribute to the illusion anymore, but he's still locked in, thinking he's dead.

[Alysar]

I wonder if Belkar doesn't secretly realize that there isn't really a place for him in a civilized world, so he dreams himself sent off to an afterlife custom built for his alignment.

[treyh37]

He dropped it in a volcano (which would presumably destroy it).

Also, it's a giant LotR reference.

looked like desert to me but since several people think its lava I'll go with that since it makes more sense

[PeglegJim]

Hey you know what would be a great next panel?

Spoiler

Show

The End

Like a non-standard game over or something

[DaggerPen]

Of course, this so beautifully occurs entirely within a single swirly eye.

Masterful.

Oh my god, I didn't even catch that. That's amazing.

[MeanMrsMustard]

If this illusion is shared by the party, I wonder why we don't get to see any snippets of Belkar frolicking around in the Lower Planes. I'm not sure what they're like in DnD, but Belkar would probably treat the afterlife as an extended murderfest, as opposed to his life, which is a shortened murderfest.

[Living Oxymoron]

Roy doesn't care about Belkar's death, that's sad. I think it will change before he actually dies.

About the whole fantasy, I think we will see some fastfoward. And I wish I was so optimistic about them as they are.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Now I really can't wait for the books! Some of the details from the on-line version are a little hard to make out. Print will show some of the details from the center better.

Like what the MitD really is!

[fan4battle]

The content sure leads to thinking the illusion is shared, though technically I suppose it could still be only Roy's illusion, as there's nothing in there that he doesn't know (or haven't been told - Haley's told him about the Resistance, and Bozzok) or wouldn't be expecting of the group - he certainly would expect Haley to hoard a treasure and Elan to want to make piece with his brother. Also he knows Elan's fondness of dinosaurs and kid candy.

[Living Oxymoron]

Here's a cheerful thought:

The illusion seems to be playing out the fantasies of the combined group. We see things that clearly correspond to Roy's, Elan's, and Haley's "happy ending." They even show Durkon coming back... so, in this fantasy, it would be entirely consistent for Belkar to be resurrected. He's not.

What if part of that is Belkar's fantasy? Maybe he's actually feeling guilty for Durkon's death, to the extent that he wishes he were dead himself?

Very interesting thought.