May 11, 2015 Synergy, it's not just for skills anymore.

[SpeaksManyLanguages]

How come Minmax can say "Maxo Kickaxo"? He's not supposed to be able to rhyme on purpose...

He's not able to come up with verses, but he can repeat what someone else came up with.
Which raises a question, did Forgath teach him the askew splying rhymes or did he just forget and that is what he came up with himself.

[ForgetsOldName]

http://imgur.com/gallery/hvbvpGa

Not sure who Baron Karza is or why this is here, but here we go.

[SpeaksManyLanguages]

Kruelle already posted it earlier. The image is still on goblinscomic.org, it's just not on any page.

[Glemp]

...Yeah, the "I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU MINMAX! I SWEAR IT! YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE DEAD!" seems to have been settled way too fast for my liking. I know MM's had character development since then, but if that was all in aid of being able to justify "and then he and Complains became the Odd Couple!" I will be very disappointed. I know that not everyone here's seen Buffy, but a lot have so: remember when Angel came back, and everyone chewed Buffy out for betraying their trust by not telling them? Remember how it was a big deal them not trusting him again? Minmax killed One Eye - Minmax killed wounded, screaming goblins before Chief's terrified eyes. I know that Chief's dead but - after that, I honestly think things should be more serious. Not to mention that prejudice doesn't work like "I love this one monster chick, so goblins are okay." - it takes more than that. It's more like "Kin is a person, not a monster, so she doesn't count" or "Kin's a Yuan-ti, so I don't count those as monsters anymore."

If there is someone here who's experienced racism that contradicts what I've said, go ahead and take their experience over my words.

[nikohl]

I don't think it's settled. Or at least I hope it isn't settled; I hope they will have to seriously hash all that stuff out over time, because otherwise it will have been too fast and too glossed-over for my liking too. At the moment I assume the non-Kickass'o goblins are all accepting the fact that they're stuck with Minmax in a currently inescapable dungeon and have to deal with that first. Thaco vetoed killing him while he was sad, so they're just...going along with him until they're in a situation where they CAN fight it out fairly. Maybe by the time that situation arises they will have resolved it by talking or whatever.

Also, re: the rhyme. I think Minmax being able to say "Maxo Kickaxo" out loud kind of violates his on-purpose rhyming rule as we know it too... It's not 'cannot come up with a poem', it's 'cannot rhyme on purpose', i.e. intentionally choose to say things that he knows will rhyme in a rhyming sort of order...otherwise he could do spliying without the completely bodged recitation of the teapot thing. So either that's an oversight or we're missing something.

[Alarikun]

It's not settled.

Minmax has evolved a lot since then; his time with Kin changed him. He didn't see her as a monster, and that concept, that evolution alone will help him to start seeing things like Goblins as non-monsters. It helps that they... aren't 'monsters.' He's interacting with the most broken one of the bunch, and it's helping.

That said, Names is not over his grudge. Minmax killed so many Goblins in his camp; chances are, we have another epic fight between the two, someday in the future. But for now, they'll tolerate eachother; they have a better chance of getting through the dungeon together. On top of that, Minmax's presence and interactions are VISIBLY helping Fumbles heal. He's having a full conversation. Even Names can't deny that... would he destroy that which is helping one of his best friends to get better?

Not for now.

[spiderwrangler]

I think when the teapot thing first came up, it was the actual words, until someone pointed out the rhyming thing to thunt and he changed it. I may be misremembering though.

[Alarikun]

I think when the teapot thing first came up, it was the actual words, until someone pointed out the rhyming thing to thunt and he changed it. I may be misremembering though.

You remember properly. Thunt changed it, after someone pointed it out.

[nikohl]

We might see a similar edit happen shortly then, to have Minmax just react to Maxo Kickaxo, rather than say it out loud himself. Maybe he'll go "Maxo... That's (etc)" instead.

[SpeaksManyLanguages]

Here is my proof:

Maxo kickaxo is okay for Minmax because it's like a name. If someone's name is Fred Pled, he would be able to say it.

But he couldn't name someone Fred Pled or come up with maxo kickaxo. Poems or songs are right out, though.

[Morgaln]

Here is my proof:

Maxo kickaxo is okay for Minmax because it's like a name. If someone's name is Fred Pled, he would be able to say it.

But he couldn't name someone Fred Pled or come up with maxo kickaxo. Poems or songs are right out, though.

Rhymes don't count as rhymes if they are names, but only if someone else made up those names? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And what if it is a poem or song that uses Fred Pled as a rhyme? Would that be allowed or not?

[Zathyr]

Maybe because he can't rhyme on purpose he can say a name that happens to rhyme because he doesn't realize that it rhymes?

[nikohl]

Eh, I don't get it personally - for one thing, I thought Fumbles/Vorpal defined Maxo Kickaxo as a catchphrase not a name, but that aside, name or otherwise, saying it is still saying a rhyme. That's breaking the rule as we knew it; now we know an addendum to the rule, okay, but...eh. I'm not feeling it. If I was GMing and somehow had allowed a restriction like that in return for a bonus, but the player then went and stuck a couple clauses on the end to make it easier for them, I'd be fairly about it for sure.

Maybe because he can't rhyme on purpose he can say a name that happens to rhyme because he doesn't realize that it rhymes?

I can't parse your 'maybe this is why?' idea I'm afraid - he must be able to know what will and won't rhyme for the whole "cannot rhyme on purpose" effect to mean anything. He had to grasp the concept of rhyming in the first place to have been able to sacrifice the ability for a bonus, so he'd have to know e.g. 'that guy Fred Pled has a rhyming name', even if he only really twigs it just as the words are about to leave his mouth. Also, thinking about it, isn't he illiterate? Wouldn't he therefore have had to hear someone else say 'Fred Pled' to learn the name (and therefore know it rhymed) to then be able to say it? It's not like one of us, who could have read 'Pickup Hiccough' and not notice the innate rhyming potential until we spoke... Nah, sorry Zathyr, not to poop on your idea but I can't make that one work in my brain :/


...But, anyway, if '...except names' is what the full restriction is, then now we know.

[Basement Cat]

I agree that the goblins are tabling dealing with Minmax for now, but Thaco's speech about MM and Forgath having attacked their "War Camp" seems to carry some in-universe significance that we may be underestimating: Perhaps it has something to do with the same kind of goblin traditions that forbids goblins from using the magic weapons in their "Poorly defended treasure chest".

Hey, it's possible.

I agree with others that Minmax and Fumbles bonding almost certainly has a lot to do with it, too. The others were stressed out over Fumbles' catatonia so seeing him come out of it through interacting with Minmax carries a lot of weight in influencing how they perceive Minmax.

As for Minmax "rhyming" I don't see a conflict. Not being able to conciously rhyme is a far cry from never ever being able to link two words together that just happen to rhyme. Insisting that it does seems like overkill.

[Zathyr]

I can't parse your 'maybe this is why?' idea I'm afraid - he must be able to know what will and won't rhyme for the whole "cannot rhyme on purpose" effect to mean anything. He had to grasp the concept of rhyming in the first place to have been able to sacrifice the ability for a bonus, so he'd have to know e.g. 'that guy Fred Pled has a rhyming name', even if he only really twigs it just as the words are about to leave his mouth. Also, thinking about it, isn't he illiterate? Wouldn't he therefore have had to hear someone else say 'Fred Pled' to learn the name (and therefore know it rhymed) to then be able to say it? It's not like one of us, who could have read 'Pickup Hiccough' and not notice the innate rhyming potential until we spoke... Nah, sorry Zathyr, not to poop on your idea but I can't make that one work in my brain :/

Well it was really just a stab at a possible explanation, if not a plausible one. I mean this is Minmax we're talking about here - he is pretty dumb. It's not like he even needs to be. I know there have been times in my life when someone else pointed out that I said something that rhymed (the classic "You're a poet and you don't know it!") and I honestly didn't realize it until it was pointed out. It's like the same way someone can be afraid of bees and walk right by a bees' nest unfazed if they don't notice it.

[Davis8488]

Also, nobody is checking the creepy corridor for traps

That's why they're sending their partial rogue first.

Along with the new meat shield.

BTW, I'm also a little bit intrigued about what Ears is mending with his Axe back there. Probably nothing important, though.

In the third panel, where the Stupid is getting so intense it's making Thaco's teeth hurt, Ears is definitely giving the Axe a quizzical look. Either it's telling him something... or he's wondering why it isn't responding in some way he expects.

It appears to me that he's experimenting with the ability to make the ax pass through himself.

[thinkslogically]

Yeah... I'm not sure this new friendship makes sense either. There's a lot of history getting swept under the rug.

The thing I don't particularly get is that the dungeon is en route to the Goblin village. After minmax did so much damage at the war camp, I'd be surprised if the goblins helped him through the dungeon safely. Maybe they're going he'll be a handy meat shield, but unless he does something REALLY great to show them he's changed, i would be kicking his ass into the dungeon boss / deadliest trap in the place and leaving him there.

[pwnd4areason]

Maxo kickaxo is okay for Minmax because it's like a name. If someone's name is Fred Pled, he would be able to say it.

But he couldn't name someone Fred Pled or come up with maxo kickaxo. Poems or songs are right out, though.

[/quote]

Just like the guy who was allergic to apples. When he ate them by accident, nothing ever happened. (or this other friend of mine who is allergic to wasps - she can't tell bees from wasps, so whenever she gets stung she just keeps pretending it must have been a bee.)

Aside from witty anecdotes, this exception of a former stated rule has sure been planned in advance, as not only the whole story has been set straight years ago, but also the readers' inquiry regarding said exception must have been foreseen by the author.

Sooo... when will we see Minmax's illiteracy overcome by the fact that he is indeed unable to read LETTERS, but totally capable of conceiving letter-shaped paintings? I'm really looking forward to this.

[Arch Lich Burns]

It makes kinda sense for now. I mean...Minmax is in front. That means he will get the blunt of the traps and monsters, and I think it helps that fumbles is talking to him, because it seems a way to heal thier friend when previously he was catonic. I think they are willing to put that aside for now. And let him blunder into the traps for super effectivness.

[Guus]

I wouldn't be too quick to judge this thing a friendship. They're just exchanging playful blows, that doesn't mean they're suddenly buddies, they're exploring each others personalities. And they happen to both be complete fools, so hey, they have the most in common. Doesn't mean that they are now real buddies or anything. Maybe after a succesful battle where they execute their ideas with success or MinMax saves their lives (or the other way around) something close to friendship can form, but I wouldn't deem this friendship yet.

[spiderwrangler]

Aside from witty anecdotes, this exception of a former stated rule has sure been planned in advance, as not only the whole story has been set straight years ago, but also the readers' inquiry regarding said exception must have been foreseen by the author.

Not sure if that was sarcasm or not, but just because it's written doesn't mean he's infallible.

I seem to recall (though can't back this up with tweets or forum posts from 4 years ago), that the initial spliying rhymed, until someone reminded Thunt that Minmax can't rhyme, so he went back in and changed it.

[Urobolos]

I wonder if it's occurred to any of the goblins that Forgath and Minmax's attack on their camp actually saved lives in a roundabout fashion?

If they hadn't attacked they all would have been there when Kore arrived and everyone would have been slaughtered. Then Kore would have gone directly to their village and murdered everyone there too.

[Glemp]

I wonder if it's occurred to any of the goblins that Forgath and Minmax's attack on their camp actually saved lives in a roundabout fashion?

If they hadn't attacked they all would have been there when Kore arrived and everyone would have been slaughtered. Then Kore would have gone directly to their village and murdered everyone there too.

By complete accident. That doesn't make any change in the morality of F&M, because they didn't do anything, so it shouldn't affect the GAP's judgement either.

[RocketScientist]

Just like the guy who was allergic to apples. When he ate them by accident, nothing ever happened. (or this other friend of mine who is allergic to wasps - she can't tell bees from wasps, so whenever she gets stung she just keeps pretending it must have been a bee.)

I'm allergic to apples. So is my daughter. Whether we eat them accidentally or not. I'm also allergic to fresh, UV sterilized apple cider from an orchard. But I'm not allergic to cooked/processed apples or pasteurized cider, because heat and/or processing breaks down the protein that causes the allergy. It may not be that your friend ate them by accident. It could be that he has oral allergy syndrome, like we do, and the allergen was broken down by the time he ate it.

As for your other friend, maybe she's outgrown a wasp allergy if she's getting stung by them without having a reaction? Maybe none of you can tell the difference between a wasp and a yellow jacket or a hornet (I know I can't) but she's only allergic to one of them? Why automatically assume your friends are lying? Are they habitual liars?

Not trying to jump on you here, so I'm sorry if it came out that way. You may be exactly right about your friends. I have no way of knowing, obviously. But people accuse me of not really being allergic to foods all the time for some reason. So I just automatically explain oral allergy syndrome now. Sorry to go OT, everybody.

On topic: I think they're just adventuring together right now because they don't know what else to do. If they start fighting and get injured in the middle of a dungeon with no cleric, they could be in serious trouble.

[Brings Cupcakes]

@RocketScientist: I'm fairly sure that the person you quoted was being sarcastic there, mocking the idea that the handicap wouldn't apply in the case of ignorance.