November 26, 2015: Multicolored Forgath

[nikohl]

A large amount of amusement is to be derived from all the people more bothered by her having sex every day(which she admits to enjoying) rather than her being killed every day(which she clearly hates). The internet sure has become warped on the subject of female sexuality.

Everybody was super uncomfortable with the death curse and most people in this thread seem more concerned that Bowst's consent is being bypassed, not that Idle is having and enjoying intercourse. Did you actually read this thread (and the last one) before you decided to make your claim, or are you just here to try to provoke people?

[GathersIngredients]

Off topic: I'm sure it has been answered but, is Idle a goblin or an elf?

I think THunt posted a preview of Idle on Twitter, before she was in the story, stating that she'll be a new GOBLIN in the comic. (Anyone bored enough to find the link?)
I also was in a live feed, where he talked to a fan, who showed him something in a MMORPG, namely a goblin who the fan had made in honors of THunt & Goblins. The character was being depicted as "idle" and the text in the box above it said so (apparently you were able to view the char in different poses or whatever and the text box stated which one was currently displayed). Thunt found it hilarious, because he initially thought that the goblin's NAME was idle, and he said in the live-feed that he was going to name one of his future -goblin- (the race, not just the comic) characters "Idle" because of that.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure she's a goblin.

[thinkslogically]

Holy exposition batman!

That is some very specific information from Idle about Junior right there... Maybe it's just me, but it all feels like this page was written purely for our (the readers) benefit and to move the other storylines forward. None of it feels particularly authentic as a conversation between Forgath and Idle. I would love to see more of the Klik society for example, and this sort of revelation could easily have been spread over 2-3 pages while Forgath & Idle explore Kliktown to find a way out (or whatever). It's not my story, I know, but there must be more natural ways to give us this information without making it feel quite so jarringly out of context.

As for the Curse... I'll wait and see where the storyline goes, but I'm not sure I see the point in this one at the moment. Like guus says, the death curse kind of fits within D&D mechanics, so while it's pretty horrific, it's at least following the set rules of the game. On the other hand, including sex in a game is (AFAIK) an RP decision made by the players / DM according to however they want to play their campaign. I think the problem I have with Bowst's curse is that we haven't had enough character development for either him nor Idle to really understand how either curse affects their characters / RP. The Kin / GS / Minmax storyline by contrast was developed slowly over dozens of pages of the comic, which meant that we were given time to care about each of the characters and better understand their reactions to this stuff. Right now, Bowst & Idle's reactions to two horrible curses seem almost flippant, and if they don't care, why should I?

For me, it feels like a lot of the recent comics (especially FBI & the Kliks) have been rushing to move the storyline forward, and it's left the characters far behind. I know you guys have talked about this at length in the forum already, but I would love to have seen THunt slow the pace down a bit and give us some more time with the characters. The story can develop in its own time.

[hightechartist]

Wow, just what this comic needed, more rape.

Whelp, I'm out.

My parting prediction: An overwhelming reaction to this god-awful "twist", then Thunt shuts down from all the abuse he is going to be flooded with (note I'm NOT condoning harassing him, but it IS going to happen), then another long hiatus or the comic stops all together.

Such a shame.

[SpeaksManyLanguages]

Off topic: I'm sure it has been answered but, is Idle a goblin or an elf?

I think THunt posted a preview of Idle on Twitter, before she was in the story, stating that she'll be a new GOBLIN in the comic. (Anyone bored enough to find the link?)
I also was in a live feed, where he talked to a fan, who showed him something in a MMORPG, namely a goblin who the fan had made in honors of THunt & Goblins. The character was being depicted as "idle" and the text in the box above it said so (apparently you were able to view the char in different poses or whatever and the text box stated which one was currently displayed). Thunt found it hilarious, because he initially thought that the goblin's NAME was idle, and he said in the live-feed that he was going to name one of his future -goblin- (the race, not just the comic) characters "Idle" because of that.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure she's a goblin.

No, you got it a bit wrong, i believe. A fan did indeed sent him once a screenshot of his WoW character named Complains of Names, a goblin WoW character. The screenshot was taken from an in-game preview that showed the current animation sequence, which was "Idle". And it totally looked in a way, as if it was the goblin's name. Tarol found it hilarious and decided to name a character that was about to be introduced that. I remember quite well that it was "a new character" and not "a new goblin character".

There was no preview of Idle & Bowst other than the sneak peek right before that page. (well, my word for that, i guess)

However, Tarol did rambled about intruducing two new characters, a warrior and a wizard, beforehand and posted a bunch of warforged pictures then. It was in January. Everyone assumed that the new characters will be warforged-like. Actually, now i think that those warforged were alluding to animated statues in GAP&MM room. Or something else intirely.

► Show Spoiler

[JustRight]

Finally some back story on Junior. I'm hoping THunt can arrange a little encounter between Junior and Kore...with some mutual destruction.

And perhaps the sex issue can be put into perspective -- like the 'Lectroid said at the end of Buckaroo Bonsai - "So what, big deal!"

[Vordox]

Desperate measures desire desperate actions.

Honestly, I don't see any offensive here at all, Fictional storytelling with fictional situations with fictional expressions.

Been a long time fan of Goblins (Forgot where I started, around the time when Kore was first introduced(The Tavern with the kid and Orc.))
And I'll hope Thunt continues this story arc no matter what.

Personally I'm more interested in the dungeon they went to, cause it sounds like it's designed immaturely. I also wonder about tbe backstory of Idle and Bowst and their circumstance for going to that dungeon.

So many questions.

[thesilence]

Well this certainly explains how Thunt knew he would get a lot of blowback on this page. He was absolutely right to ignore the Internet's response.

For what it's worth, we think it's brilliant. Bowst suffers, sure, but clearly less than Idle does at needing to be killed...and the fact that she is sexually liberated keeps this from veering too far into nightmare territory. Obviously it's not fun, but that's kind of the point of a curse. When we know more about Bowst's personality and backstory, it will probably be more clear how and why this happened. But we have no doubt it will be good storytelling, because Thunt is an excellent storyteller, whenever he doesn't let the Internet bully him about how "uncool" his creative ideas are.

[SuperVaderMan]

What kind of DM comes up with a curse like 'have sex every day or die'? If that were my DM, that would certainly prompt a "what the hell, dude?" from me.

Fun fact: the BWW forum is actually having less of a reaction to his page than this forum is. The general sentiment there is that the curse is just kinda dumb and juvenile, and I'd have to agree.

[Krulle]

P.S. I don't believe Bowst could've made it up. He's very straightforward. Doesn't seem like a person who can make a convoluted plan.

Since Idle and Bowst went together into "The Cursewalk" it is very likely they contracted the curses at the same time, and thus know exactly how the other got his/her curse and what it entails...

[BlueAmaranth]

A large amount of amusement is to be derived from all the people more bothered by her having sex every day(which she admits to enjoying) rather than her being killed every day(which she clearly hates). The internet sure has become warped on the subject of female sexuality.

Everybody was super uncomfortable with the death curse and most people in this thread seem more concerned that Bowst's consent is being bypassed, not that Idle is having and enjoying intercourse. Did you actually read this thread (and the last one) before you decided to make your claim, or are you just here to try to provoke people?

Emphasis mine--yeah, this is what I was going to say. Bowst has a lot less freedom to choose here than Idle does. He is the one who will actually die if he doesn't have sex, and although Idle says she enjoys it, we don't know that Bowst does. And it's a curse, so he's probably not having a great time. It's pretty messed up.

[nikohl]

...Bowst has a lot less freedom to choose here than Idle does. He is the one who will actually die if he doesn't have sex, and although Idle says she enjoys it, we don't know that Bowst does. And it's a curse, so he's probably not having a great time. It's pretty messed up.

Exactly, BA.

For all we know, Bowst isn't interested in girls either, or something like that (I know there's been a brief bit of talk about this potentially being a lead-in to a probably not very funny situation with Big-Ears, but I'm being serious for a sec) - yes, Idle says "I'm the only gal that's been around", but she could just be substituting "gal" for "person"; my point is that we have seen precisely 0% of Bowst's reaction to this curse, and his feelings on it could range from 'this is inconvenient but actually I'm okay with it' to 'every cell of my body hates every part of this' or anywhere in between.

Compulsion and therefore non-consent aside: He might be gay, he might be ace, he might be straight but monogamous and married to someone who isn't on this adventure, he might be genuinely not interested in Idle and not okay with friends-with-benefits, he might secretly really like her but be horribly upset that he's had to ask this of her every single day despite her reassurances that she's okay with it and know the curses have ruined any chances of them ever having a proper relationship, he might be quite rightly freaked out by it having to happen chronologically quite close to her dying every day... and that's just scratching the surface of "reasons he might not be at all happy about it", not looking at deeper stuff that I don't want to dwell on or baselessly speculate about and which might upset other people to bring up, like Bowst's personal history, previous experiences, etc.

I don't really want to see much more of this curse in action, and so I won't mind too much if we don't find out Bowst's feelings... but I -do- want to say that to assume he doesn't have them is pretty closed-minded. If the next page proves me wrong and he's just totally blas├® about it, then okay I guess... but right now I think there's probably more to it than "he has to have sex every day, which he's fine with, and luckily Idle is fine too."

[thesilence]

he might be quite rightly freaked out by it having to happen chronologically quite close to her dying every day

We see little reason to assume that's the case. They kill Idle at the end of the day because they don't want to waste her free rez unless they have to. However, given what has been said, there is no reason to think Bowst dies if he has sex a second time during the day, and the odds of him being jumped by a succubus in any given dungeon are relatively low. So we would speculate that the pair probably takes care of his curse first thing in the morning, as a matter of course (sometimes they will wake up to find themselves ambushed by monsters and there won't be time, but as a general rule, they probably do it prior to decamping and going looking for trouble). This avoids the risk that they'll find themselves so thoroughly harried that midnight approaches, and suddenly they have to stop and screw in the middle of a fight (or, worse yet, they forget and Bowst drops dead).

[Krulle]

Off topic: I'm sure it has been answered but, is Idle a goblin or an elf?

I think THunt posted a preview of Idle on Twitter, before she was in the story, stating that she'll be a new GOBLIN in the comic. (Anyone bored enough to find the link?)
I also was in a live feed, where he talked to a fan, who showed him something in a MMORPG, namely a goblin who the fan had made in honors of THunt & Goblins. The character was being depicted as "idle" and the text in the box above it said so (apparently you were able to view the char in different poses or whatever and the text box stated which one was currently displayed). Thunt found it hilarious, because he initially thought that the goblin's NAME was idle, and he said in the live-feed that he was going to name one of his future -goblin- (the race, not just the comic) characters "Idle" because of that.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure she's a goblin.

Here's a look at the next Goblins update. Coming Friday, December 4th

► Show Spoiler

It just fit into this discussion. We will know next week... ;)

[nikohl]

he might be quite rightly freaked out by it having to happen chronologically quite close to her dying every day

We see little reason to assume that's the case. They kill Idle at the end of the day because they don't want to waste her free rez unless they have to. However, given what has been said, there is no reason to think Bowst dies if he has sex a second time during the day, and the odds of him being jumped by a succubus in any given dungeon are relatively low. So we would speculate that the pair probably takes care of his curse first thing in the morning, as a matter of course (sometimes they will wake up to find themselves ambushed by monsters and there won't be time, but as a general rule, they probably do it prior to decamping and going looking for trouble). This avoids the risk that they'll find themselves so thoroughly harried that midnight approaches, and suddenly they have to stop and screw in the middle of a fight (or, worse yet, they forget and Bowst drops dead).

Maybe you would be able to put the memory of graphically beheading your sexual partner out of your mind so as to be able to get down to business after a short nap, but I certainly couldn't. I class "within the same day" as "chronologically quite close," especially where death and/or sex are concerned.

[Zeus1976]

We don't know the context of all of this yet so no need to jump down thunts throat.

Hell he might even be dead against sex and this curse is actually soul destroying every time he does it.

[thinkslogically]

That's sort of the issue here though no? We really don't know anything about these guys so the revelations re their curses just fall flat.

[Arch Lich Burns]

We don't know the context of all of this yet so no need to jump down thunts throat.

Hell he might even be dead against sex and this curse is actually soul destroying every time he does it.

Which makes it q whole lot Worse.

[Morgaln]

We don't know the context of all of this yet so no need to jump down thunts throat.

Hell he might even be dead against sex and this curse is actually soul destroying every time he does it.

Which makes it q whole lot Worse.

Especially since Forgath immediately assumes that Idle is the one for whom this curse is a burden, not Bowst.

[Talos]

It's a risky move on Thunt's part, I'll say that. I think it is questionable and is not in any way necessary, no matter what convolutions are (or have been) implemented later to explain why daily sex and death are needed. "It's a curse" or "a wizard did it" are quick and lazy ways to put almost anything in. No matter what point he is trying to make, there has got to be a better way than this.

However, this isn't really THAT bad next to what we have already seen so far. That said, this really has taken a turn towards "porn tinged" lately. Sure, it isn't explicit, but it is edging in that direction as far as the plot goes. So far we have the lust-related dungeon, the gay goblin, the sex curse, the serpentfolk rape victim, and probably a few things I've missed. In addition to the near-nakedness of many of the characters at times, but I don't think that last one is a serious issue. Unless Bowst is gay and they run into Big Ears, who seems to like human-sized males. Then, that's getting just plain weird.

I will say that her line about enjoying it is probably there to set aside the idea that Bowst is forcing it on her. Or that she doesn't like it. Kinda like an anti-Kin in that way. She isn't being raped daily, but she is doing it daily with a guy, although he is forced to do so by a curse. No, I don't think he's lying about it, although it is possible. We've seen that these curses are a thing in the comic. Yes, it is also possible that she is lying about it, but I doubt that too.

All that said, this focus isn't so bad next to many (or most?) webcomics on this issue, so keep that in mind.

P.S. If Thunt's goal was to give material to the Bad Webcomics Wiki, he succeeded with flying colors. Too much mutilation, too many death and/or sex curses, too much rape, too much gore...

[GathersIngredients]

Tarol found it hilarious and decided to name a character that was about to be introduced that. I remember quite well that it was "a new character" and not "a new goblin character".

Well, okay, then maybe I misunderstood him. Or I misremembered. Human brains are funny things. Thanks for clearing that up.

It just fit into this discussion. We will know next week...

Yay!

[FailsWildly]

That's sort of the issue here though no? We really don't know anything about these guys so the revelations re their curses just fall flat.

You mean that since we don't know why the curses exist the curse itself is irrelevant?

I mean, if it really IS they're being punished for atrocities they've committed in the past, I really doubt they're gonna just up and say it.

And just because we don't know the cause behind the curse, doesn't mean knowing what the curse DOES is pointless. If later on we found out Bowst is cursed to have sex daily or die because he cheated on or betrayed a lover, but then right at that moment they say, "Oh yeah btw my daily curse is to have sex every day. Sorry I never told you before even though our whole introductions were us having tons of ridiculous curses and you're aware we have daily curses. It just never came up, ya know?" I'd be way more upset with that and say that's writing that falls flat. This is build up. We're meant to wonder the circumstances behind these curses. Are they being punished? Fighting personal demons? Just a DM who's a jerk? Did they walk through a fetish dungeon? Were they given some sort of choice or alternative curse? Was the dungeon known for its curses? Did they do this knowingly? What was beyond the curse walk that they wanted so badly?

Tons of factors here.

[thinkslogically]

No, not at all. But it's hard to know how to feel about the curses (beyond the obvious "they are bad") when we know nothing about the characters who are cursed. I mean, it gives the forum a chance to speculate and stuff, I just think I'd care more about the curses if I cared more about bowst and idle. But that's just my opinion

[Sessine]

What do we know about Bowst and Idle? So far, it's true, not a whole lot. They are coming across as distinct personalities with the potential to be really engaging. It's just early days yet.

We know more about Idle because she's done most of the talking and interacting. Bowst, to this point, has been Idle's sidekick and not much more. Idle, on the other hand, is... smart enough, but not wise. (Though Bowst defends the decision, it was almost certainly her idea to go into the Cursewalk in the first place.) She has an earthy sense of humour, likes practical jokes, takes risks just for the hell of it, and her reaction to bad consequences may be rueful, but she's not the sort to throw blame about.

She also seems to have a bit of a crush on Forgath. Initially it was, ooh, here's a cleric who's almost to the point where he can rid us of all these nasty curses! But it seems to have progressed to really liking Forgath as an individual.

Actually, I am predicting now that she is destined to have something to do with this: "Love will fuel hate..."

[Liquidmark]

Wow, just what this comic needed, more rape.

Whelp, I'm out.

My parting prediction: An overwhelming reaction to this god-awful "twist", then Thunt shuts down from all the abuse he is going to be flooded with (note I'm NOT condoning harassing him, but it IS going to happen), then another long hiatus or the comic stops all together.

Such a shame.

well, the deal with idle and bowst isn't rape because idle consents. Bowst doesn't have a choice in the matter, true, but idle isn't forcing him to have sex with her. I think the revelation of this plot point could have delivered better. Like, maybe have forgath catch them in the act behind some bushes or something. It just seems odd that she'd be so frank about that with a complete stranger. Especially one that she seems to be digging on.

That said, I want more Minmax and the goblins, this plot point is ok, but I'm not terribly invested in "Not Kin" (idle) and "Not Minmax" (Bowst).