May 8, 2017 - Only Souls Pray

[RocketScientist]

That title's not too spoilery, is it?

Is that Y&B over there looking like Slimer from Ghostbusters?

Link: http://www.goblinscomic.org/05082017-2/

[GathersIngredients]

Is that Y&B over there looking like Slimer from Ghostbusters?

She ought to be, seeing how she was this clans most recent late teller.

[Krulle]

Do the souls imprints still have predictive powers?
If yes, they might only come if they foresee a chance to get absorbed by Fumbles in time before the Flea Demons pick them apart.

[Glemp]

I wonder if she'll have a chance to tell Fumbles about her encounter with Kore? I guess we don't know how independent "imprints" are.

[Krulle]

This would be the point in time for the GM to tell the party that their village is in grave danger and that they need to get moving in that direction.
Sound like a good setup for the GM to give the party their real quest.

[Morgaln]

I have serious problems parsing how panel two came to be. Here's how I look at it, maybe someone can explain to me where I'm wrong:

The previous page gave us a very clear picture of where everyone was in relation to each other. The demons broke through the wall in the upper left area, right next to MinMax and Complains. But in panel 2 of the new update, they are suddenly way down in the room and moving toward Thaco, who was the second farthest party member from where they appeared (only Big Ears is further away). Even worse, they are moving toward him at a 90 degree angle to the green strip leading up to the door. That means the demons didn't even go toward Thaco in a straight line. They must have moved down into the room at a line parallel to the green strip, while ignoring the two armed fighters right next to them, as well as Fumbles who was still closer to them than Thaco. In game terms, that should have triggered a number of attacks of opportunity. Then, once they reached the height of Thaco, they suddenly turned sharp left at a 90 degree angle to move towards him. The way they are drawn suggests that they were slowly stalking while doing that, so not moving fast.
Minmax is clearly even further down into the room. That only works if he was moving ahead of the demons instead of attacking them, because when they appeared, he was on their right flank. If he had attacked, he should be either at their back or their left flank now, depending on whether he stayed on height with them or let them pass and followed. Moving ahead would leave him open to their attacks and is a very un-Minmax-like thing to do.
Thaco has previously been facing toward Fumbles (i. e. down the green strip or to the right of the panel). Now he's suddenly facing away from Fumbles and screaming his name into the empty room. He should be facing toward Fumbles when addressing him, especially when he's trying to get his attention urgently.

[AXIS]

Long time reader, first time poster.

Been reading since Biscuit first had a sunny day. Figured it was well past time where I stop lurking reading the forums to pick up on things I missed and start getting involved.

Yeah I can't parse panel 2 either. I feel like I'm totally missing and element of what's going on.


I haven't been this confused about a panel since Kore's original shield flip. Or worse that weird flip Forgath and MinMax did in the Maze when fighting the zombies.


Gonna have to think on it some more, something must make it make sense, as it's very jarring right now where I can't work out what's going on.

[Krulle]

Well, I just take the visual as it is.
There seem to be other details missing, like the -4 hovering above Thaco.

Also, I do imagine to see a kind of disgust in Fumbles' eyes. Not even Y&B's imprint? He's going to be a zero-imprint teller?
Nah, he's not going to do that. He'll run forward, embrace Y&B's imprint, turn around and, with the new powers, start fighting while more and more imprints come and imprint themselves on him.

And Y&B's imprint is not in the stance of either the death of her body (link) or her dismissal from the conversation with Kore (link). So the stance suggests to me the imprint will be making all haste to get to the "safety" of Fumbles BEFORE the Flea Demons get to the imprint, and the magical gate they come through.

Edit:

► Show Spoiler

but Thunt already tweeted an image I searched for transcription [additional information] when going back through my twitter feed.
I just saw that it's not on this page, so beware, this image is spoilery! (I did not remember it when posting)

► Show Spoiler

[Never Finishes Anyth]

Loving the dynamic flow of Fumbles's mustache in the last panel.

[lurker]

I am guessing the current situation makes that souls entering through the gate WANT to get imprinted ASAP with fumbles, meaning he could keep taking in souls without having to fight them because the souls see that it is either being an imprint on fumbles, or become snack for the demon.
Fumbles could truly become the greatest teller ever to grace history of that world.

[Rooks]

I am guessing the current situation makes that souls entering through the gate WANT to get imprinted ASAP with fumbles, meaning he could keep taking in souls without having to fight them because the souls see that it is either being an imprint on fumbles, or become snack for the demon.
Fumbles could truly become the greatest teller ever to grace history of that world.

Honestly, I'm really hoping for that. It would be such an awesome way to give them an "out" when Kore and mega-demon show up. Fumbles, the epic teller of all badassness giving a +10 aura bonus to all party members.

[Xavier78]

How does one "smell a prayer"? Also, who did that Demon tell that too? I don't recall that ever being said before. Believe me, that would be hard to forget.

[AXIS]

How does one "smell a prayer"? Also, who did that Demon tell that too? I don't recall that ever being said before. Believe me, that would be hard to forget.

I understood that to be a reference to a prior recent conversation between the demons.

Like ten seconds ago they were saying......

"Dude...Can you smell a prayer around here somewhere?"
"Nah..... you're just hungry man, aint no prayers about.
"No, for real dude, I swear I can smell a prayer, juicy ones too......... this way"
*Breaks through wall*
"Told you I could smell a prayer!"

[Glemp]

Complains can apparently smell demon types (http://www.goblinscomic.org/08132016-2/), so I'm guessing it's a general soul sense? As for the "I told you" bit, I suppose that could have been a cut line from when the voice was talking to Complains from inside the Axe, and this is that voice?

[AXIS]

I still think that only makes sense as an internal discussion between the demons.

That would be a weird thing to say to the GAP.

Still damned if I can work out Panel 2 though, ah well maybe the next page will clarify things.

[Krulle]

For the curious ones:

Actually, I'm looking at this pic of the earliest & most recent shots of Fumbles &... What is this? Am I getting choked up? Is this tears?!

(left one of this page)

[Wolfie]

His art style has gotten so much better

[RocketScientist]

How does one "smell a prayer"? Also, who did that Demon tell that too? I don't recall that ever being said before. Believe me, that would be hard to forget.

I understood that to be a reference to a prior recent conversation between the demons.

Like ten seconds ago they were saying......

"Dude...Can you smell a prayer around here somewhere?"
"Nah..... you're just hungry man, aint no prayers about.
"No, for real dude, I swear I can smell a prayer, juicy ones too......... this way"
*Breaks through wall*
"Told you I could smell a prayer!"

That's how I interpreted it, too.

I've got no clue about panel 2, though.

[Guus]

Why is "smelling prayers" something weird?
...Well, it is, but it's also something that has to do with religion. And religion is a thing that exists and has real world consequences in ways that they don't in the real world. Gods intervene, they grant people powers, it is a force that can be observed, recognised and used. So the fact that a demon could have a sense for these religious powers doesn't seem far fetched to me. Smelling may be a weird phrasing, but who knows, maybe their smelling senses are attuned to prayer, in a world where prayer is something that actually grants power (like a religious ritual). That power could very well be recognisable for the demons.

Also, yeah, panel two seems out of place. Especially because all the debris and everything seems to have dissapeared. I don't mind the positioning though, both MM and Complains could've shifted back while the flea demons went through the wall, which gives the demons some room. It wouldn't be a tactical move game-wise, but it would make sense for them to jump back character-wise, leaving an opening for the demons. The fleas walking onward might be a dumb move, but I'd assume there are a lot of flea demons. They seem smart enough, based on the conversation earlier, but I'd imagine they would want to get to the delicious soul source as soon as possible and before the others, disregarding their safety even to get the boon.

[Overshot]

I dont understand? What do you guys not get about panel two? Two demons are going for Minmax and Complains respectively, while the middle one is charging at Thaco who id still in negative hitpoints. What's not to get?

These are three different demons we're seeing, not one huge entitiy.

[Morgaln]

I dont understand? What do you guys not get about panel two? Two demons are going for Minmax and Complains respectively, while the middle one is charging at Thaco who id still in negative hitpoints. What's not to get?

These are three different demons we're seeing, not one huge entitiy.

What we don't get is not what the demons are doing, that's pretty clear. The issue is where the demons (and by extent, Minmax and Complains) are compared to where the where just before.
Look at the third panel in this page. The demons burst through the wall where Complains and Minmax are in that panel, and we see them standing right there in the first panel of the current page. In the second panel, they're suddenly way down the hall, right next to Thaco; judging from the size of the goblins, that's a jump of somewhere between 10 and 15 meters (about 35-50 feet if you're American). That's not a distance you cover instantly, and the demons don't look like they're charging anywhere, they give the impression of slow, deliberate movement; especially the one going for Thaco.
There's also the point that the two demons in the back are not facing the people they're supposedly fighting (Minmax and Complains, respectively), that the demons must have gone right past Fumbles to reach where they are now but completely ignored him and that Thaco is screaming at Fumbles while looking somewhere that's nowhere near where Fumbles is, even though he faced him in the previous page.

[AXIS]

Yeah they have pretty much ignored Fumbles and the ceremony it looks like. They are moving way down the room.

We seem to be looking diagonally across the room, which is why that band of colour looks a little weird. It's the strip down the centre of the room that Thaco is lying at the edge of. I'll try and screenshot it when I'm off my phone.

Thacos body orientation seems a little off, but I forget how much they are allowed to move.


This suggests to me the souls they are coming to eat are not the imprints as I was thinking, but the Bigears and Thaco who are in negative hp. Maybe being in negatives means their souls are near to leaving their bodies as they are hanging in a breath before death.

To;dr

The demons want the negative hp goblins not the imprints.

EDIT1:

Just realised something. The prayer they are attracted to is the one Names just made to start the ritual. I was thinking something a bit more different. Like they could smell the imprints because they smelled like prayers. But no, they literally just smelled Names praying to the goblin god.

Which explains why they broke in next to him I guess.

I missed that on my first read

EDIT2:

[Guus]

Ah, I had the positioning all wrong in my head it seems
Thanks AXIS!

[GathersIngredients]

Uhm, I don't know if you're trying to say that the demons should be on the right side of your second panel, but this panel

► Show Spoiler

shows that they are breaking through the wall right next to MinMax and Complains, so it would be LEFT in your second panel.

► Show Spoiler

Just talking about the entry point of the demons here, mind you.

So what people don't understand is: how did they get away from them without e.g. drawing lots of AoO. Or why MM and CoN are this far away from both the wall and the demons (and each other) in the second panel of the current comic (http://www.goblinscomic.org/05082017-2/).

[AXIS]

Uhm, I don't know if you're trying to say that the demons should be on the right side of your second panel, but this panel

► Show Spoiler

shows that they are breaking through the wall right next to MinMax and Complains, so it would be LEFT in your second panel.

► Show Spoiler

Just talking about the entry point of the demons here, mind you.

So what people don't understand is: how did they get away from them without e.g. drawing lots of AoO. Or why MM and CoN are this far away from both the wall and the demons (and each other) in the second panel of the current comic (http://www.goblinscomic.org/05082017-2/).

No I agree we are seeing them break out through the left hand wall, I said "right" meaning timewise. As in this is the situation as is happening right now kind of thing.

Then they seem to be moving down into the room in the direction of Thaco while being flanked by Names and Minmax the whole while.

MM/Names do seem to be attacking, so we do seem to have some kind of actions being taken.

I was originally confused because I expected Panel 2 to immediately follow Panel 1, instead there seems to be a tiny time-jump where some actions have taken place that we haven't seen. As Guus says, the debris is gone from Panel 2, which was supposed to clue us in on that the action had moved down into room.

Confusing perhaps, but no problem I guess technically.


Just interesting that the Demons seem to be heading for the injured gap, not the ritual. I had thought Fumbles was the one about to be in danger. But its Thaco and Bigears.


Which makes sense I guess. Plot wise this gives Fumbles the time to aborb the imprints, while MM and Names attempt to keep the demons off of Thaco and Bigears. (and probably allow Fumbles the opportunity to absorb a whole bunch of imprints while everyone else is distracted)