August 23, 2016: They just.... disagree...

[Orzahn]

Yet paladins do not receive their powers from a deity, they get their abilities from the cosmic un-anthropomorphised good. So having a deity locked up inside him would not explain why he is still a paladin. At least not in the way this theory states.

[Krulle]

There is a special place in hell, reserved for those complaining about the rules.

So, do not complain that Kore is still a Paladin....

Hell is coming anyway.

Enjoy your weekend, gals and boys!

[Guus]

True, it wouldn't work according to the rules of D&D 3.5, but then again, must rules that's been relevant have been played loosely to say the least. And the further we get in the comic, the more that becomes clear.

Honestly, I wish it was a bit more according the rules, so we'd have something to go by. I don't really enjoy the "whims Hunt comes up with" out of D&D context.

I think that Hunt never considered the lawful/chaotic alignments as cosmic forces. Unlike par example OotS, Hunt seems to use the D&D rules as loose and play.

[WearsHats]

Just thought I'd mention that in tonight's livestream (which is still going on, so I can't link the video yet), shortly before the 5 hour mark (at the tail end of a long ramble that started being about The Matrix and got into Thunt's ideas on storytelling), Thunt talked for at least 10 minutes about the current page. You can watch the video yourself if you're interested, but the short version is this:

The last panel is, by all appearances, entirely redundant. Everything the demon is conveying was said higher up on the page, we've already had the establishing shot of him in that pose... nothing new is in that last panel, but it's huge and repeated. Thunt says that's deliberate. That whenever you see something like that in his comic, it's a setup for something. It's a clue to what will happen or a setup for a later callback or something. Put there for some deliberate storytelling reason.

He did also say that, in this case, it's setting up the next page. But he didn't give any more detail. And he didn't preclude the possibility that it's also setting up something further down the road.

[Krulle]

Good to know. Thank You, Wears!

True, it wouldn't work according to the rules of D&D 3.5, but then again, must rules that's been relevant have been played loosely to say the least. And the further we get in the comic, the more that becomes clear.

Honestly, I wish it was a bit more according the rules, so we'd have something to go by. I don't really enjoy the "whims Hunt comes up with" out of D&D context.

I think that Hunt never considered the lawful/chaotic alignments as cosmic forces. Unlike par example OotS, Hunt seems to use the D&D rules as loose and play.

And we have a bad GM in this meta-world.... Herbert allowed fight-bonuses in exchange for non-fight relevant trivia.
Since this is a war-oriented world, things like that do break the game-equilibrium.

[Guus]

True. Which also kind of makes it pointless putting the story in a framework of the D&D rules, but I still stubbornly try

[Krulle]

Feel free. If I would know the rules, I would try to too...

[Gift Fastidious]

In addition to the flea demon's other deceptions, its reaction to Complain's of Names's claims of being spoken to the Sacred seems a bit incredulous and desperate. That it speaks of the demon sealed by the axe as the Sacred shows that is has a degree of reverence for it, as much as a demon can most likely. How much a demon can hold reverence, I'm not sure, but probably at least enough to put aside other things unrelated to gaining sustenance.

In any case, the toothy one speaks as though personal attention from the Sacred is a great honor that very few attain, and I think this flea demon has never been spoken to itself despite being, in its opinion, one more worthy than most of the demon god's favor. But Complains of Names could be in an position more strategically interesting to a trapped demon god than even the most powerful of flea demon worshipers, and I think the Mr. Mouthy is super jealous about that.

[ForgetsOldName]

And we have a bad GM in this meta-world.... Herbert allowed fight-bonuses in exchange for non-fight relevant trivia.
Since this is a war-oriented world, things like that do break the game-equilibrium.

Thunt stated outright on the live stream that Herbert is a terrible GM.

Failing to rhyme on purpose should mess up the door-finding cantrip, right?

[Gift Fastidious]

Now that this page is all shaded, I have to say that it looks super good, and I already thought it was partcularly cool before.

[DragonStryk72]

"Two evil creatures won't assume the other to be good." Well, in our world there are very, very few creatures who acknowledge themselves to be evil. Just about everyone, no matter how evil, self-identifies as good, or at worst a victim of circumstances. Their opponent is the one who is Evil.

Demons, though, and other officially evil creatures in D&D, don't just act evil. They also self-identify as Evil.

"They just... disagree." I took this to be a euphemism for "tear each other to pieces if they can."

It's interesting, however, that they don't shout 'You're Good' at each other. When there's a fight, they just fight.


Incidentally, I don't think we are supposed to believe everything this demon says. It seems remarkably willing to explain, but it's a freaking demon, so I would be on the lookout for lies, lies by omission, and twisted half-truths. Even if it's telling the truth as it sees it, its point of view is alien; I wouldn't rely on our heroes properly understanding what it means.

You also have to bear in mind that within D&D, the IS an objective good, and an objective evil. If there were not, spells such as Detect Good/Evil/Law/Chaos would be incapable of function. Kore SHOULD, by all points, be long since stripped of his powers as a Paladin. The only possibility that retains his paladin-abilities is if he is cursed to a point of having no choice in the matter.

The point where this is confirmed for certain is when he straight up murders a dwarven child who he even ACKNOWLEDGED himself was not evil, purely based upon potential future evil. That's the end of paladinhood, straight up. Not just because of the good/evil aspects, but Paladins are held to a higher standard than others are, and you CAN lose your status for dishonorable, like say, straight up murdering a small child who you know is not a threat to you.

[Rooks]

Now that this page is all shaded, I have to say that it looks super good, and I already thought it was partcularly cool before.

Indeed. That last panel is amazing. The lone paladin with the broken weapon standing firm in the face of evil (even though he's far from lone).

[GovernmentSpook]

Agreed, seems like the shading added another layer of malevolence to Mr Bones.

[armatil]

these last pages have been so good, it's almost ridiculous. the art is amazing, there's a bunch of philosophical exposition, and the plot... i'm not sure what's going on exactly, but it's coming together. i'm in awe.

goblins forever!