January 24 2016: Oopsie Whoopsy

[Aegis J Hyena]

http://www.goblinscomic.org/01312016/

Uh... Ears? I think you dropped something important, there.




unshaded version: http://www.goblinscomic.org/01242016-2/

[0z79]

Names <i>completely</i> deserves to have every bit of MM's mistrust rubbed in his nose. Bad Names!

[Alarikun]

I... don't quite understand what's happening in this picture. The axe dropped, Minmax reached out... then there was a RUMBLE.

I don't think Minmax fell, as his hand is still in the last panel... so... uhh... okay? I guess the net result is they lost 1x Axe of Prissan.

[Lurks_In_Shadows]

It looks like the rumble and the "Dooor!" groan may have been a direct result of dropping the axe down the shaft. They may have woken something up and alerted it that a door is open now. Perhaps, it couldn't escape? (We still don't know if it is possible to open the doors from the inside, even if there are handles).

[LooksClosely]

Pretty mysterious! I guess it'll make sense next time?

[Aegis J Hyena]

Imagine if the axe -broke- on impact with the ground from the fall...

Or worse, if something down there grabbed it and claimed it. Sure, only a paladin gets full power... but anyone can use an axe...

[wheatleygone]

Note to self: when attempting dangerous climbing stunt over bottomless abyss, let someone else hold my super important world-ending object.

I mean, on the one hand, it's a stupid mistake. On the other, it's exactly the kind of mistake I would make in a game of DnD when you kinda forget about certain things your character is holding when they do things.

[Krulle]

Or worse, if something down there grabbed it and claimed it. Sure, only a paladin gets full power... but anyone can use an axe...

Dang, since BE is not wearing his armour, we do not know if someone else claimed the axe, which would've made the armour disappear.

Who know whether the Axe broke? Then the demon is free, groans and screams "Door", to get out of the shaft.
We'll see soon enough.

The transcription:

► Show Spoiler

Complains of Names: Can you reach it?
Big Ears: Uhh!
Big Ears: Nope.
Big Ears: Well maybe...
Big Ears: Nope.

Complains of Names: Minmax, you've got long arms. See if you can reach across and open this other door.

Big Ears: I almost...
Big Ears: Nope.

Minmax: Pfft, yeah right. As soon as I lean over that drop, you'll push me to my death. No way.

Complains of Names: Would you relax? I'm not going to push you.
Minmax: Yeah you will!
Complains of Names: Just trust me, okay? No one's going to push you.

Minmax: Oh I'm sorry, is it annoying when someone doesn't trust you? I wouldn't know that that feels like! I've only got you staring at me while I sleep, cause you think I'm gonna murder everyone! Screw you, Names!

Big Ears: I think...
Big Ears: I think I got it...

Big Ears: Whaaa!

Big Ears: The Axe!

Big Ears: Oh no.

Complains of Names: Ears!
Minmax: Sigh. Get outta the way.

Minmax: Don't.
Minmax: Freakin.
Minmax: Push me.
Minmax: I'm not kidding.

Minmax: Here. Grab my...
SFX: Rruummble

Someone: Doooorrr!

[Guus]

I'm still kind of confused about the D&D thing. For the most part, the story shifted a long time ago from a D&D comic to a comic that tells a story and uses D&D, even when based on D&D campaigns. I still think that using those things in every detail is not a very good idea when the story is more important than the D&D context. Dropping the huge world destroyer axe is something I would use without blinkend as a DM. Why? Because a campaign is fluid, where stupid mistakes can jolt it into action (I can perfectly see THunt getting bored and making this happen because of the party taking too long). For an actual story, where the action of the character immediately influences the fate of everyone he cares about (which should be especially important for Big Ears), this behaviour seems very out of character.

I wonder how they plan on getting the axe back.

[Krulle]

If they even get it back.
Remember that Big Ears was in a previous incarnation of the story meant to die in the battle of Brassmoon City.
So the Axe being part of the story might have been a temporary thing to explain how BE was able to win against Saral Caine.
The author may have seen a chance at getting rid of the overpowerful Axe.
It may even be suitable to get Kore out of the way, if he shows up again.

"Where is the Axe?"
"It fell down that shaft."
*jumps*

[mertol]

Wouldn't it be cool if the pit is endless or maybe even the space in it has a torus like shape and after some time the axe just falls from above again? It might be a cool and somewhat safe way of storing the axe away from evil.

[Guus]

Fun theory, but it wouldn't work. Get an agile thief, latch on to another door, tie a net and then it becomes a matter of waiting.
And waiting isn't a problem as far as we know, this is the safest dungeon crawl room I've ever seen

Doesn't the demon escape as long as it's not handled by a paladin? So he cannot get rid of it, not without finding a proper proteg├® to take over the axe for him.

[RocketScientist]

This seems like it could be... bad.

[Krulle]

Doesn't the demon escape as long as it's not handled by a paladin? So he cannot get rid of it, not without finding a proper proteg├® to take over the axe for him.

It does not need to be a paladin, but good deeds should be one using the axe rather often.
Seeing how often the Axe was already laying useless in a dungeon, I am astonished the Demon is still inside...:

It was predicted that if this vital weapon were to lay dormant and unused or even worse, be used for evil, it would take only thirteen passings of the moon before the power of the axe would weaken to the point where the dreaded demon would break free and destroy our realm.

13 months of not having been used for good deeds....

Well, Saral even used it in a not so good way, and so far the Axe was not really able to help much, besides removing Saral Caine as helper for Dellyn Goblinslayer, thus allowing quite a few monsters to escape the prison. Which BE did not know about at that time. He only learned of the prison break once Saral was dead.

[WastesTime]

I was somehow reminded of this when seeing the latest update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRV5raXCDkA

[Guus]

Ah, thank you Krulle, that clears up some things in my head. Still, getting rid of the axe would be a bad idea, Big Ears needs it Back, because you don't want an insanely powerful demon to break loose in a year's time.

[Glemp]

Or worse, if something down there grabbed it and claimed it. Sure, only a paladin gets full power... but anyone can use an axe...

Dang, since BE is not wearing his armour, we do not know if someone else claimed the axe, which would've made the armour disappear.

We do, actually. BE's eyes are still solid yellow - you can see here and in the following page that they changed when he claimed the Axe.

[Kuzma Volkov]

Doesn't the demon escape as long as it's not handled by a paladin? So he cannot get rid of it, not without finding a proper proteg├® to take over the axe for him.

It does not need to be a paladin, but good deeds should be one using the axe rather often.
Seeing how often the Axe was already laying useless in a dungeon, I am astonished the Demon is still inside...:

It was predicted that if this vital weapon were to lay dormant and unused or even worse, be used for evil, it would take only thirteen passings of the moon before the power of the axe would weaken to the point where the dreaded demon would break free and destroy our realm.

13 months of not having been used for good deeds....

Well, Saral even used it in a not so good way, and so far the Axe was not really able to help much, besides removing Saral Caine as helper for Dellyn Goblinslayer, thus allowing quite a few monsters to escape the prison. Which BE did not know about at that time. He only learned of the prison break once Saral was dead.

You know... That's the funny thing about moral alignments... One persons Holy Deed is another's Vile Act...

Also.. Who "plays" Ears? Is it meant to be a person or DM's NPC? I sorta feel like it was a failed roll for the decision not to use the axes handle to open the door rather than his arms.. I mean between the blades is a non sharp area to grab after all..

[Guus]

Also.. Who "plays" Ears? Is it meant to be a person or DM's NPC? I sorta feel like it was a failed roll for the decision not to use the axes handle to open the door rather than his arms.. I mean between the blades is a non sharp area to grab after all..

That's part of the problem I have with the story. The fact that I know that these were apparently player characters and therefore all they do are actions played by people sitting around the table every now and then pretending to be something else hugely diminishes the value of the story Goblins is telling. Players are unable to fully grasp their characters most often, because D&D is a hobby, while professional storytelling is a different matter entirely. Nowadays I follow it out of curiousity how the players will progress other that what the story is trying to tell. It's a dissappointment to me, but still fun. I just wish THunt was more upfront about that earlier though, so my expectations were different.


About your remark of alignment: that's not how it works in D&D. At least, not on paper. Alignment is a cosmic force, that seperates not only people, but also gods. A good god is so because of his alignment, not because the god chose to be good. As are all monsters, and a lot of humanoids. That's because D&D is a game, and a character is meant to help the players play the game, so their alignments are set and rarely change. It's the players that can actually change alignment, although often with consequence. That's because the players are central to the game, so their development plays a key role in the story they are creating. However, a lot of things are evil in D&D because they are classified as being evil, not because they actually are deemed so. Because this is apparently just a couple of D&D campaigns thrown together what is morally right or wrong becomes irrelevant, because there is a cosmic force governing what is right and what is wrong. It's kinda stupid in the context of a story, but that's how it works.

[YardMeat]

I think the Axe simply woke something up as it fell--something that is already part of the dungeon. I doubt the demon has been freed.

You know... That's the funny thing about moral alignments... One persons Holy Deed is another's Vile Act...

But in D&D, those differences of opinion don't matter. Good and evil are objective, divine forces that shape the cosmos, rather than being a matter of philosophy and opinion.

[Kuzma Volkov]

I think the Axe simply woke something up as it fell--something that is already part of the dungeon. I doubt the demon has been freed.

You know... That's the funny thing about moral alignments... One persons Holy Deed is another's Vile Act...

But in D&D, those differences of opinion don't matter. Good and evil are objective, divine forces that shape the cosmos, rather than being a matter of philosophy and opinion.

Yet, there are tons of tales from the table that have done the exact same thing...

[Guus]

That's what I said, players divert from this rule, they fall in and out of alignment. NPC's can as well, but almost never do. Maybe one character in a campaign, but that's about it. For the stretch of the campaign fallen Paladins often already fell, or an alignment shift has a very significant impact on the story, but otherwise they'll stay the same.

[YardMeat]

I have my fingers crossed for some sort of weird undead creature made from the crushed bodies of all of the adventurers that have died falling down this chasm.

[Hjerne]

It's Not Walter. He has been stuck in this shaft for eons because the doors don't open from the inside.

Or someone else stuck for the same reason.

[RocketScientist]

The fact that I know that these were apparently player characters and therefore all they do are actions played by people sitting around the table every now and then pretending to be something else hugely diminishes the value of the story Goblins is telling.

Hang on. Where did you get this "fact?" I mean, the story has roots in Thunt's old DM sessions, but that doesn't translate to "Ears has a player." He might. I hope he doesn't. But we don't have any facts either way.