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http://goblinscomic.com/comic/page-8-2018

Poor Idle.

edit:

edit: The transcription, with some links to sketches of panels 1, 2, 6-8:

http://goblinscomic.com/comic/page-8-2018 wrote:

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Forgath: My feet are killing me.
Idle: We're never going to find this warped Klik. We're just wandering around this mountain as it turns into a nightmare world for some reason.

Forgath: Hey Idle, I'm curious. If you jumped off here and died, would you come back to life up here or down there, where you landed?
Idle: Well I normally come back right where I die, but if I concentrate just before death, I can re-appear anywhere in the area. So if I wanted, I could re-appear back up here. It's kinda cool, except for the fact that I gotta die exactly once per day. And you'd be surprised at how difficult it can sometimes be, to die.

SFX (flashback): Rwaaar!
Idle (flashback): Get ready, monster! I hope you're hungry for some rabbit!

Idle (flashback): Waahoooo!

SFX (flashback): Thwuck

SFX (flashback): Thomp
SFX (flashback): Thomp Thomp
Lifepoints Idle (flashback): -4

SFX (flashback): Thomp Thomp
SFX (flashback): Thomp Thomp
Lifepoints Idle (flashback): -5

Idle (flashback): Moannnn
SFX (flashback): Thomp Thomp
SFX (flashback): Thomp
Lifepoints Idle (flashback): -5

sketches of panel 1, panel 2, last row

I like the use of the grey color as a flashback. Well delivered joke, will work well in print version.

But, now we are transitioned away from the dungeon.

Q : Did we resolve if that act of Forgarth has met the prophecy?

AFAIK we discussed it, but no, we did not come to conclusion.
And since word of Thunt is that we'll recognise the time for the prophecy when it happens clearly, I don't think his fall off the bridge was that.

I also liked the joke, but it'll be a quiet week, since there isn't much we can discuss about on this page with respect to the larger story.
And Idle must've been hoping to NOT throw a saving stabilizing save throw.
Can you voluntarily miss the save throws, by not throwing?
Or will that depend on the GM?

Well, maybe the transition won't be too long if Kore happens to be falling around here.

Reminds me of some of the 90s video games where there's no reset button, but if you've failed the mission you need to die to get back to your save point and start over, which isn't always the easiest thing. Especially if you need to waste all of your remaining lives just to get back to the save point.

Bapuvitttssf wrote:Well, maybe the transition won't be too long if Kore happens to be falling around here.

It looks like Kore is falling inside the caverns of the dungeon, while Idle and Forgath are out in the open air.

Krulle wrote:

Bapuvitttssf wrote:Well, maybe the transition won't be too long if Kore happens to be falling around here.

It looks like Kore is falling inside the caverns of the dungeon, while Idle and Forgath are out in the open air.

I don't think so. I think it's the world collapsing into the netherworld because of the destruction of the axe.

It's not just your old name, you seem to have forgotten about the trap that Kin telegraphed several pages ago and used on the previous page; that Kore fell into a pit is a completely separate issue from a Hellish transformation of Thuntonia.

Either that, or you and Bapu are both forgetting that Forgath is just OUTSIDE the Dragon's Maw, probably half-way to Spitrock Mountain already.

*Looks at current page*

*Looks down at the most recent blog post*

Huh.

Idle wrote:I gotta die exactly once per day.

Emphasis mine.

She's gonna die, f'real. Probably soon. I don't want her to, but that was WAY too heavy handed (IMO). Likely, because Thunt is kind of evil, it'll be by Bowst who didn't know she had already died that day.

I hope you're wrong, I like Idle.

Yeah, I like Idle too, but I get the feeling that she's about to hit the GM waste basket as well.

On a different note; was it just me, or did the first two panels have more of a 3D feel to it? Looked good but was a little startling at first...

The thing about Bowst is that bowstrings break. They're unreliable.

I don't think he'll kill her unless she says so. That's how we learned about it the first time. If she hasn't died by the time they set up camp, she tells him and he reluctantly obliges.

But I'm thinking more that Idle's curse will be a super power at the right time. We've just established that she can not only resurrect instantly but she can use that ability to teleport anywhere in the area. That's pretty powerful.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's powerful enough to help against Junior.

WearsHats wrote:The thing about Bowst is that bowstrings break. They're unreliable.

Maybe, for one reason or another, he -won't- kill her.

WearsHats wrote:Unfortunately, I don't think it's powerful enough to help against Junior.

Actual Junior, right? Not the current mutated Klik that they're tracking?

I'm going against the general opinion but I intensely disliked this one. The flashback was completely unnecessary and I didn't think it was funny. It takes long enough between updates that I really want the story to keep going as much as possible. Not turn into Walking Dead with three quarters of each year just being filler. What we just saw was Rick saying "Let's attack the Saviors." followed by the rest of the episode being Carl eating pudding.

Hjerne wrote:I'm going against the general opinion but I intensely disliked this one. The flashback was completely unnecessary and I didn't think it was funny. It takes long enough between updates that I really want the story to keep going as much as possible. Not turn into Walking Dead with three quarters of each year just being filler. What we just saw was Rick saying "Let's attack the Saviors." followed by the rest of the episode being Carl eating pudding.

It's exposition basically.

Thunt wanted to establish some ground rules to how Idle's curse works.

That's the sole purpose for the page, the rest is basically fluff and humour. Which is why the page a little hard to "enjoy."

Not Thunt's worst attempt at weaving exposition into the story admittedly, at least its through dialogue that doesn't seem too forced and vaguely on topic.

But when it comes down to it, it's still exposition and exposition never feels quite like story.

Hjerne wrote:I'm going against the general opinion but I intensely disliked this one. The flashback was completely unnecessary and I didn't think it was funny. It takes long enough between updates that I really want the story to keep going as much as possible. Not turn into Walking Dead with three quarters of each year just being filler. What we just saw was Rick saying "Let's attack the Saviors." followed by the rest of the episode being Carl eating pudding.

I agree with you, it was pointless filler. This is mostly all stuff we were already well aware of or didn't need to know. The new dues ex power aside,this wasn't informative nor did it move the story along. It's fine though. With such a busy schedule he probably just needed a break and this was just to keep people from waiting.

Let us not forget that Thunt is a human and he likes to draw (or at least I really hope he does otherwise he made a horrible career choice). Maybe he just wanted to draw a big dinosaur and decided to put in filler this week. Nothing wrong with him doing something like this once in awhile.

Sure it's not the epic story moving forward, but it's still Thunt's story and we are just along for the ride.

Xavier78 wrote:

Hjerne wrote:I'm going against the general opinion but I intensely disliked this one. The flashback was completely unnecessary and I didn't think it was funny. It takes long enough between updates that I really want the story to keep going as much as possible. Not turn into Walking Dead with three quarters of each year just being filler. What we just saw was Rick saying "Let's attack the Saviors." followed by the rest of the episode being Carl eating pudding.

I agree with you, it was pointless filler. This is mostly all stuff we were already well aware of or didn't need to know. The new dues ex power aside,this wasn't informative nor did it move the story along. It's fine though. With such a busy schedule he probably just needed a break and this was just to keep people from waiting.

Er, are you seriously complaining that the details of a known power are being further established in the story (these details will likely become relevant later)? This isn't Deus Ex Machina at all, more of a Chekhov's Rifle. To use a power without establishing it (or at least hinting at it) certainly would be considered bad story telling. I suppose Thunt could have had Idle pulled down with the mud monster and reappeared up above after she died, as a way of establishing the extent of the curse. I suspect he wants the pace of the comic to be such that another day doesn't have to pass until the point where the death curse is used to solve a story critical problem.

Also I think the criticism of this page as filler is more than a little harsh. It's simply establishing a scene change rather that immediately jumping to a new scene in media res (Which can work but shouldn't be overused).

I'm pretty sure that the information on this page will come in handy at some point in the future, either to serve as foreshadowing or some other THunt-only-knows purpose.

Reading the pages as they come out, especially when they only update once per week, means the pacing seems much slower than it actually is.

In my own opinion, I liked this update. I got a slight giggle out of it, since I've had D&D characters do something similarly stupid and failing spectacularly. The second panel jarred me slightly, since it has a softer look than most of the other pages we've seen.

She looks pretty happy about attempting to jump down that monster's gullet. Still my favorite character!

I disagree with the sentiment that this is filler. Goblin is also about silliness and humor at times, saying that this page should not have come into existence is like saying we should have removed all the other previous joke pages as well.

I'll admit that sometimes the jokes take more panels than necessary to execute, but in this case it was relatively well done (The last three copy/paste panels were used to good effect to give a sense of prolonging to Idle's suffering...which is sort of the point of the joke)

Well, seeing the amount of detail (especially panel 1), putting this page down as a filler is... calling for a fight....


Anyway, I indeed found the colours of the new page odd, but then it just becomes more apparent we have a new colourist to enjoy.
new setting, and he can place more of his shine on the comic.
Might look weird when printed, due to a lack of visual continuity.

And yes, I like this page.
Less action, more slow, character background,...
Necessary. I wouldn't want to play a D┬┤n┬┤D game without knowing the other characters at least to a degree.
This sort of chatting happens when the DM needs to sort some things out, or focusses on a part of the group.

MinesData wrote:

Xavier78 wrote:

Hjerne wrote:I'm going against the general opinion but I intensely disliked this one. The flashback was completely unnecessary and I didn't think it was funny. It takes long enough between updates that I really want the story to keep going as much as possible. Not turn into Walking Dead with three quarters of each year just being filler. What we just saw was Rick saying "Let's attack the Saviors." followed by the rest of the episode being Carl eating pudding.

I agree with you, it was pointless filler. This is mostly all stuff we were already well aware of or didn't need to know. The new dues ex power aside,this wasn't informative nor did it move the story along. It's fine though. With such a busy schedule he probably just needed a break and this was just to keep people from waiting.

Er, are you seriously complaining that the details of a known power are being further established in the story (these details will likely become relevant later)? This isn't Deus Ex Machina at all, more of a Chekhov's Rifle. To use a power without establishing it (or at least hinting at it) certainly would be considered bad story telling. I suppose Thunt could have had Idle pulled down with the mud monster and reappeared up above after she died, as a way of establishing the extent of the curse. I suspect he wants the pace of the comic to be such that another day doesn't have to pass until the point where the death curse is used to solve a story critical problem.

Also I think the criticism of this page as filler is more than a little harsh. It's simply establishing a scene change rather that immediately jumping to a new scene in media res (Which can work but shouldn't be overused).

Yes I am seriously complaining because this page wasn't Chekhov's rifle and wasn't exposition about the details of her power. The first two panels were. The rest could have been taken up by Bowst showing stress and signs he's getting close to breaking or any number of other bits of exposition which might need to be stuck in.

An example of exposition that works well is back when Max and Fumbles were role playing. The entire page could have been completely pointless filler but the rest of the group in the background were discussing why a chief was needed and how a chief was made. You got a bit of humor on the page but you also got story advancement.

Hjerne wrote: Yes I am seriously complaining because this page wasn't Chekhov's rifle and wasn't exposition about the details of her power. The first two panels were. The rest could have been taken up by Bowst showing stress and signs he's getting close to breaking or any number of other bits of exposition which might need to be stuck in.

An example of exposition that works well is back when Max and Fumbles were role playing. The entire page could have been completely pointless filler but the rest of the group in the background were discussing why a chief was needed and how a chief was made. You got a bit of humor on the page but you also got story advancement.

So now it's down to just not liking less than half a page, I think just like the term "Deus Ex Machina", the term "Filler" is getting way overused. If we saw ten pages of meaningless conversations before jumping back to another group then the term filler might be applicable. Here it was more of a case of "Part of this page was a joke I didn't like". I think for an accusation of "filler" to be valid it has to comprise of a significant period of the story. Saying "Great episode but I hated that 1 minute 20 of filler in the middle of it" would be taking the term filler to ridiculous extremes.

It's quite normal in many media for an establishing shot to be slow paced without driving the story forward significantly and just be banter between characters, enhancing the feeling of "getting to know" the characters or seeing them behave in a normal environment. I thought this page went a little at least towards reinforcing the carefree attitude of Idle. You might not like it and that is your prerogative but it certainly wasn't filler in any reasonable sense of the word.