OOTS #1132 - The Discussion Thread

[Borris]

I'm surprised no one has commented on the "me teeth're square." joke. Looking at the image, you can see Durkon's are almost perfect, mathematical squares. Not like those silly, awkward shapes you see on real-world humans.

[Peelee]

almost perfect, mathematical squares.

That "almost" means rectangles.

[Oxenstierna]

An interesting change in direction. Another ‘Dragonball’ journey gaining new powers and character knowledge in the afterlife before resurrection? (Like Roy) Or some more exposition on the snarl and the gods’ conflict? Either way, I’m tuning in to find out more!

[Sloanzilla]

Durkon should res himself, just to cause the "that's not how the rules are supposed to work" people to explode.

[Casimir-Ivanova]

Durkon should res himself, just to cause the "that's not how the rules are supposed to work" people to explode.

Lifegiver (in the Godbound ttrpg) allows a Godbound to resurrect a mortal that's been dead for no more than 24 hours. I often wonder if that includes undead. That would be a particularly fascinating battle against a necromancer. Godbound resurrects the dead to life and fight for him, necromancer reanimates the dead to fight for him.

Oberon-Well, you died ages back and had your spirit trapped in it's own body while a spirt of negative energy ran your body, but technically you only keeled over 5 minutes ago. Soooo...

[Perficio]

Maybe he can get the materials off another band of adventurers.

[nabcif]

Durkon should res himself, just to cause the "that's not how the rules are supposed to work" people to explode.

Nitpick: I believe you'll find that only our heads explode. Page 43 of Book of Pedantic Forumites, if memory serves.

[Particle_Man]

By-the-book D&D, Thor does need to be LG, NG, or LN to have Lawful Good clerics of Thor, as distinct from clerics of the Northern Pantheon, or non-spellcasting worshipers of Thor.

It's one of the things specific campaign settings very often change, though.

And Durkon is a cleric of Thor specifically and not the pantheon as a whole. Maybe Thor is NG?

[Hekko]

I'm probably a bit late to the party, but with Durkon's death and the prophecy in mind...

What are the odds that Firmament will be suffering an outbreak of Sphinx Pox in a few weeks? After all, we've been informed that the party as a whole (along with the crew of the Mechane, and ESPECIALLY Mister Scruffy) are all infected, and they've been meandering through the temple of Thor, a feasting hall, and who knows how many tunnels of the town. And they still have more places to go besides, like the council meetings.

Or will they shake it off with that good old Dwarven fortitude?

Do we know how long it takes until the infected cat gets infectious (the latency period)? I know that Hel said that everyone on the ship was infected already, but she could have been disregarding that it takes time, just as she was when she waited for the outbreak to happen.

[zimmerwald1915]

And Durkon is a cleric of Thor specifically and not the pantheon as a whole. Maybe Thor is NG?

Couldn't be. Thor is an oaf and a buffoon who doesn't see projects through to the end, and those are all purely Chaotic traits.

[Adeptus]

Haha, this one was fun :D

Also Richard is totally cheating by having only lawful good characters die and go to the afterlife. He only needs to draw that one plane.

[Particle_Man]

Well we have also seen Hel and whichever lower plane the IFCC is based in. V even visited the latter. And by visit I mean whisked away from where V was and strapped down to a table.

[Dausuul]

Haha, this one was fun :D

Also Richard is totally cheating by having only lawful good characters die and go to the afterlife. He only needs to draw that one plane.

Except... is it the same plane? Compare Roy's cloud to Durkon's. The sky around Roy's cloud is bright and sunny. The sky around Durkon's is gloomy and gray. They're both Lawful Good followers of the Northern gods, so they should have gone to the same place.

Either Durkon has been sent to a different afterlife, or the afterlife itself is changing as the gates fall.

[Ironsmith]

Well we have also seen Hel and whichever lower plane the IFCC is based in. V even visited the latter. And by visit I mean whisked away from where V was and strapped down to a table.

We also got a glimpse of the Astral Plane from Xykon's visit/flashback there.

[Fyraltari]

Either Durkon has been sent to a different afterlife, or the afterlife itself is changing as the gates fall.

Or maybe it's nighttime.

[Sloanzilla]

Nitpick: I believe you'll find that only our heads explode. Page 43 of Book of Pedantic Forumites, if memory serves.

well played

[Particle_Man]

Except... is it the same plane? Compare Roy's cloud to Durkon's. The sky around Roy's cloud is bright and sunny. The sky around Durkon's is gloomy and gray. They're both Lawful Good followers of the Northern gods, so they should have gone to the same place.

Either Durkon has been sent to a different afterlife, or the afterlife itself is changing as the gates fall.

Either way Rich has to draw it differently so he isn’t just copying an old background.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Or maybe it's nighttime.

Implementing nighttime would have solved Roy’s time dissociation disorder from before.

I just imagine that the dwarven afterlife is set in an underground tunnel so it feels more like home, but we’ll probably get a better explanation on the very next page.

[Ruck]

Except... is it the same plane? Compare Roy's cloud to Durkon's. The sky around Roy's cloud is bright and sunny. The sky around Durkon's is gloomy and gray. They're both Lawful Good followers of the Northern gods, so they should have gone to the same place.

Either Durkon has been sent to a different afterlife, or the afterlife itself is changing as the gates fall.

Should they have gone to the same place? Roy went to Celestia and Durkon should be going to Valhalla.

I think it's more likely that either it's just nighttime, or the entrance to Valhalla is darker because the Dwarves live underground and their Good afterlife is designed to better accommodate them regarding the amount of natural light available and such.

[eilandesq]

Seeing both Durkon and Minrah in the afterlife should help to resolve any nagging questions as to whether they will answer the call to return via Raise Dead/Resurrection when it comes--someone in authority will probably interact with Durkon to let him know his exile is over (so he can agree to go back), and Minrah will ask Durkon to raise her when he gets back, disregarding the risk to her soul going forward.

[Ruck]

Seeing both Durkon and Minrah in the afterlife should help to resolve any nagging questions as to whether they will answer the call to return via Raise Dead/Resurrection when it comes--someone in authority will probably interact with Durkon to let him know his exile is over (so he can agree to go back), and Minrah will ask Durkon to raise her when he gets back, disregarding the risk to her soul going forward.

I don't think you've really connected A to B re: Minrah here. I'm pretty confident Durkon will be resurrected, but I don't see their mere presence together here as a sign Minrah will be raised.

[jwhouk]

Do we know how long it takes until the infected cat gets infectious (the latency period)? I know that Hel said that everyone on the ship was infected already, but she could have been disregarding that it takes time, just as she was when she waited for the outbreak to happen.

Five weeks. This was pointed out to her in-strip.

[Fyraltari]

Five weeks. This was pointed out to her in-strip.

That's how long before symptoms start, not how long before you can spread the disease around. That the former is longer than the later is the reason we can't easily contain epidemics.

[PontificatusRex]

I'm pretty confident Durkon will be resurrected, but I don't see their mere presence together here as a sign Minrah will be raised.

I'm sure this has been pointed out somewhere already, but it seems that unless there was a pressing need (e.g. saving the world from a lich), I expect no one would ever raise a dwarf who was known to have died honorably. Why would you take someone out of Valhalla and create the chance that they might die dishonorably next time?

[KorvinStarmast]

Nitpick: I believe you'll find that only our heads explode. Page 43 of Book of Pedantic Forumites, if memory serves.

I never got the errata, thanks.

Except... is it the same plane? Compare Roy's cloud to Durkon's. The sky around Roy's cloud is bright and sunny. The sky around Durkon's is gloomy and gray. ... or the afterlife itself is changing as the gates fall.

I like your latter explanation .

[Particle_Man]

So why is Minrah’s accent less pronounced than Durkon’s? Have young millennial dwarves gotten more cosmopolitan and lost their accents or is it more of a regional dialect thing?

[Fyraltari]

Implementing nighttime would have solved Roy’s time dissociation disorder from before.

The place with the clouds were Roy was judged is on a different planet than the Mountain. That there is no day/night cycle on the mountain does not mean there isn't any on the demi-plane of judement or whatever
it is called.

[Ironsmith]

So why is Minrah’s accent less pronounced than Durkon’s? Have young millennial dwarves gotten more cosmopolitan and lost their accents or is it more of a regional dialect thing?

Given that Sigdi has the same accent, but most of the other dwarves don't, it might be a familial thing. It wouldn't even be surprising if Durkon normally would have lost the accent, but deliberately kept it as a reminder of home (which would also explain why he bothers with transcribing it).

[Canisius]

I heard Durkon's last line about 'tha cat' in James Doohan's voice.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Should they have gone to the same place? Roy went to Celestia and Durkon should be going to Valhalla.

I think it's more likely that either it's just nighttime, or the entrance to Valhalla is darker because the Dwarves live underground and their Good afterlife is designed to better accommodate them regarding the amount of natural light available and such.

Valhalla has a natural day-night cycle, remember. Fight All Day, Party All Night.