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[16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:13 am
by Glemp

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:29 am
by Generic
So. What's new? Angels and demons are grossed out by one another? Is this setting anything up?

Re: [16 October 2020] An Awful Lot of Information

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:47 am
by Krulle
So, two pages small font character sheet?
Lots of info?

AND having a line about being a good chief?

Re: [16 October 2020] An Awful Lot of Information

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:33 am
by Velgar
Krulle wrote: Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:47 am So, two pages small font character sheet?
Lots of info?

AND having a line about being a good chief?
I know. One would almost say...

Seems Contrived, but Whatever. o:)

But I'd kinda think in short term, the answer is an easy 'Yes'. Their clan lacks a chief at the moment, so there is a power-vacuum and the clan is without centralized leadership. Any boss nominated clears those. So yes.

On long term... Now that's a whole another question...

But apparently he will answer something along the lines "No, of course not. We already have a chief!" and so on... And go for the stinky boiling ogre pee person... Who also happens to stink up a storm.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:27 am
by Generic
Or he goes: Yes, but I am not going to.

After that all the horn breaking and chiefing-out-of-spite commence.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:05 am
by Aegis J Hyena
My guess is that he says "I can try."

Dunno if that'll throw her for a loop, but that's what I think.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:26 am
by redfeather
Aegis J Hyena wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:05 am My guess is that he says "I can try."
Complains is nowhere near calm, rational, or wise enough to give such an answer.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:43 am
by AnonySimon
The obvious answer to Trolls Mortal's question is "Yes". This is because the question asked was "Could you be a beneficial chief for your clan?" The key word being "Could", which implies potential and capacity for change. Now if the question started out with "Would" instead, that then implies a predetermination based upon past actions, making it a much more difficult question to answer.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:15 am
by Glemp
Aegis J Hyena wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:05 am My guess is that he says "I can try."

Dunno if that'll throw her for a loop, but that's what I think.
Nah. My thought is Ellie will use this to talk about her anxiety problems, especially before she transitioned, just as she used Fumbles/Kickass'O to talk about the transition itself.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:23 am
by Generic
Still trying to understand why we see this as a flashback.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:38 am
by ForgetsKeys
Glemp wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:15 am
Nah. My thought is Ellie will use this to talk about her anxiety problems, especially before she transitioned, just as she used Fumbles/Kickass'O to talk about the transition itself.
I might be in the minority here, but I feel that Elli hadn't intended to use this conversation to talk about her transition. Throughout the comic, Vorpal has been assigned negative identities and labels (Fumbles, Monster), and his response was to create a new name for himself that gave him a sense of confidence and comfort (which is why he shouted it when he attacked Kore). I think these themes were in Vorpal's character long before Elli transitioned. Hopefully exploring these themes through Fumbles has been cathartic, but I think these themes would have been explored regardless.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:40 am
by ForgetsKeys
Generic wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:23 am Still trying to understand why we see this as a flashback.
My current guess is that Elli thought it would be amusing to see the situation from Ears's and Thaco's perspective: Vorpal and Complains disappear, reappear looking awesome, and talking about things that make no sense.

Unfortunately, since the comic updates so slowly, it ended up being kind of frustrating for us: it's taking weeks to publish pages that confirm what we had already guessed.

But maybe there's another reason for the flashback.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 4:00 pm
by Inspired
I would have titled the discussion "Heavenly Hygiene" but I hate making new threads. :D

As ForgetsKeys says, the updates are kind of slow, so it means sometimes we get some seemingly low value pages like this, which feature just about everything we would have expected at this point, no point worrying about it.

On the other hand, I'm still curious how we will end up at the current storyline and also whether Thac0 and (not so)Big Ears will also willingly undergo some angelic shenanigans.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 3:24 am
by Nina
Hi Everyone!

Two thoughts: first, that was an interesting question, second, why would that be written down on his character sheet?

I'm curious so see what his answer is.

I don't think he has any flying magic, so likely he will get it right, after lots of thinking one thing and then maybe another. Likely a joke, but maybe some self realization here?

Hugs, Nina.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:09 am
by Chronocidal
Hmm... Well, the clan needs a chief, so perhaps the best response to give is 'Yes'.

Either it's right, and he has no remaining excuse not to lead the clan, or it's wrong, and someone else becomes chief instead.

Saying 'no', and being wrong, means not just letting himself down, but the entire clan.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:26 am
by JustRight
Noobie Off-topic question: Why wouldn't a good healing spell restore Big Ears' ears? What are the D&D technics of lost limb restoration?

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:34 am
by ForgetsHisUID
Complains: What?? Chief? That's a stupid question!!

Angel: I asked it, so, no, it's not. Answer the question.

Complains: It's a stupid question, because there's no way I'll ever be Chief, so it doesn't matter if I'd be a good one!

Angel: You could be made Chief. Your clan is small, there aren't that many good choices.

Complains: It'll never happen! Even if they offered it to me, I'd refuse!

Angel: (ominously)... You COULD be made Chief against your will.

Complains: Against my WILL? Goblins don't DO that!!!

Angel: Oh, they do. Now answer. The question.

Complains: I WON'T, because it's still a STUPID question. I. Will NEVER. Be CHIEF!!

Angel: (angry) Angels do NOT ask stupid questions! *waves her hand, Complains cries out in pain as a red handprint tattoo appears on his face*

Complains: W... wh... what did you DO??

Angel: I chiefed you. Complains Of Names, you are now Chief of the Clan of The Cryptic Fall.

Complains: W... Th... B.... WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??? THAT'S THE WORST THING YOU COULD HAVE DONE!!! I'LL BE A TERRIBLE CHIEF!! THE WORST EVER!!!

Angel: ... (looks at character sheet) That is the correct answer. *pulls white lever*

Complains: WHA *vorp*

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:06 am
by ForgetsHisUID
Probably won't happen that way (doesn't explain the two charges on his Sword of Tumbling), but I thought it was funny.

I also predict:

- Big Ears will go next, and intentionally fail his answer to get sent to Hell. He'll ask the Angel to let Thaco know what happened, first, and tell them to head back and leave him.
- Thaco will pass his test, get back to the others, who will go charging straight into Hell to rescue Big Ears.

JustRight: Healing has been shown to be limited in the Goblin-verse - you need a LOT of it to heal even a broken bone (in Brassmoon, Chief ran out of healing, and didn't have enough to fix Complains' broken arm). Missing limbs require regeneration or similarly powerful magic. Fortunately, the teams we're following have encountered quite a lot of limb-replacement magic (the Kliks, The Orb of Bloodlight, and PsiMax's Psionic Gears) in their adventures.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 1:16 pm
by WearsHats
Why would it be on his character sheet? Likely, it's a sentence or two in the fine print under "character traits." Something like "Although his self-doubt makes it hard for him to see, his strong heart and clear vision would make him a good leader." Or "He's brash, headstrong, and quick to anger. He always thinks he's right, but he'd be a terrible chief."

I'm guessing it's the former. The angel (who I think has been misunderstood around here) wants him to see that he can do the job, despite his misgivings and his demonic infection. He'll say it's impossible/moot. She'll chief him to prove him wrong. He'll tell her she's made a terrible mistake because he'd be awful. She'll pull the "you got it wrong" lever. He'll make it across the floating rocks, fight her, and escape.

As for lost limbs: That magic is extremely rare in the Thuntonian universe. Klik doing it for Dies was an incredible gift (that Klik, being young and inexperienced, screwed up). If it were that easy to replace a limb, Duv wouldn't have had to go to such lengths to attempt to restore her wing. I don't think Ears will be getting his back anytime soon.

I think when this scene is done and we can read it through in one go, it'll be clearer why it was a flashback. Part of it, I think, was the suspense of seeing SVK disintegrated. If we'd cut to his encounter with the Angel, we wouldn't have gotten that scene of worry with the rest of the GAP. But it's possible that something about Complains's interaction with her will also be a factor.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:29 pm
by Generic
JustRight wrote: Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:26 am Noobie Off-topic question: Why wouldn't a good healing spell restore Big Ears' ears? What are the D&D technics of lost limb restoration?
Anything where things come off is incurable until Klik or Orb of Bloodlight or Phymax machines or demonic viruses comes along. Unless it kills you, crushing damage that shattered stone walls is just fine. Swords through lungs/hearts is just fine. Rope fused with voice box seems to cause some permanent damage. Not sure how it works. Maybe because the rope is still there?

Ears' ears are gone however.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:37 am
by WearsHats
It's D&D rules. If you get stabbed or crushed or whatever, it takes off hit points, which do not otherwise impair your abilities and which can be restored with a simple healing spell or potion. Basic healing magic, however, cannot restore lost body parts, and you need special magic to deal with other things such as curses, diseases, and vampiric energy drain.

Rope fused with trachea did indeed have a permanent effect. It probably would have choked Kore to death if he wasn't immortal. In any case, a healing spell wouldn't remove the rope fibers.

Also, Elli has stated that stone in this world is more brittle than the stone we're used to, mostly for dramatic visual effect.

As I said, the Orb of Bloodlight is rare magic, and difficult to come by. Duv had an army of slaves set to retrieve it, and most of them died.

Psymax spent years building and perfecting his psionic gears. It wouldn't have been possible without the maze resetting things.

Kliks rarely try to heal limbs, either. Because, as we saw, the potential to get it disastrously wrong is high.

Also: Elli has made it a point that every single battle leaves some kind of permanent mark, no matter how small.

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:49 am
by Krulle
For those interested in the artists efforts and workflows, some images from twitter below:
► Show Spoiler

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:45 pm
by Velgar
Also the usual cutscene vs actual combat. :D

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 10:08 pm
by Generic
Velgar wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:45 pm Also the usual cutscene vs actual combat. :D
What?

Re: [16 October 2020] Seems Contrived, but Whatever

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 4:07 pm
by Velgar
Generic wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 10:08 pm What?
It's more of a game cliche, but definitely works in RPGs as well.

"Oh, no. Our king is dead!"
"... Mmke. But he was a king, right?"
"... Yeah?"
"Very important?"
"Yes!"
"Very influential?"
"The king of the kings!"
"So have one of his clerics Raise him."
"Uumm... Not possible."
"Have a druid Reincarnate him."
"Not happening."
"Well, I think there should be at least one wizard somewhere with Wish..."
"He's just not getting up, okay?!"

It's just the usual "someone gets really hurt for really reals" vs the multitude of methods to fix that. Sometimes even in RPGs it's just demanded that someone loses a limb. Or in case of Ears... Well, ears...