[Webcomic] The Order of the Stick thread
- Thread starter Piotyr
- Start date
Oh, I totally disagree, Tarquin. That's a great ending.
#937: Travel Time
There's nothing about the new strip I don't love. I heart Julio Scoundrel so much.
There's nothing about the new strip I don't love. I heart Julio Scoundrel so much.
I'm guessing it didn't have a release date, as well?
Someone wrote a review of the current OOTS storyline...http://comicsalliance.com/order-of-the-stick-rich-burlew-review/
figmentPez
Staff member
That last pun is fantastic.
TRILBY. 
Durkon's alignment has switched to evil. The strip bases it's facts on D&D game knowledge, and in every book alignment change is part of the vampire transformation. How long Durkon can control his urges is the issue. Evil doesn't mean he's going to kill everyone. It just means that he he's not afraid to hurt other people to get what he wants. We just may not know how the plays out for a while.
Too be fair, Belkar is evil as well and he (usually) doesn't fuck things up for everyone else... mostly because he has an outlet for his tendencies. In Durkon's case, he could just value his friends enough that he'd be willing to do TERRIBLE THINGS to protect/keep them around. Evil isn't always psychotic and psychopathic. Sometimes it just means only caring about one thing.
figmentPez
Staff member
An evil character can work very hard to save the world. They'll just be saving it because they don't want to die. Or because they want to impress a romantic interest. Or because they're madly obsessed with a piece of art and don't want that sculpture to be destroyed when the world goes under.
There are a lot of ways to put your own interests above the good of society or the world as a whole, and yet still end up doing good actions. Durkon's evil may show up in very subtle ways.
I think we are going to be led along for a little while that everything is normal and then Durkon is going to shock us out of our complacency.
From not that long ago: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0910.html
Belkar: What about Durkon?
Roy: That IS Durkon!
Belkar: No, it isn't!
Roy: It's Durkon enough for our purposes.
I still think that they should bull-rush him at the end of the day when they get to a friendly town, kill the vamp, and bring REAL Durkon back. Because isn't he a soul-less undead now, or how to Vampire rules work in 3.5? Who "is" that? Obviously (thank you Belkar) it's not "The real Durkon" as we've known him.
Belkar: What about Durkon?
Roy: That IS Durkon!
Belkar: No, it isn't!
Roy: It's Durkon enough for our purposes.
I still think that they should bull-rush him at the end of the day when they get to a friendly town, kill the vamp, and bring REAL Durkon back. Because isn't he a soul-less undead now, or how to Vampire rules work in 3.5? Who "is" that? Obviously (thank you Belkar) it's not "The real Durkon" as we've known him.
But he's still Lawful, so controlling his urges shouldn't be a problem as long as there's other way for them to be met when they're unavoidable (as long as he gets the blood he needs, he's fine).
This sounds an awful lot like "people with <insert addiction/need here> aren't evil as long as they just have a steady supply of it!" No, the vampire is STILL evil in this fantasy context. If we want to get into some other Vampire mythos and debate that, fine, but not in this one. In this one, he's evil by definition. That will still have consequences, regardless of lawfulness.
And remember my post above: it's NOT Durkon. It's Durkon-like only.
Durkon/Durkon-like is a null point we really can't decide now - I know the consensus on the OOTS forums is different, but we don't. BELKAR said so, that's not exactly word of God. D&D 3.5 supports either way.
He's Evil, yes, but the archives clearly indicate and show that alignment isn't always the end-all be-all. Our beloved blue Paladin was "Good" but was still an antagonist, working against the heroes and general well-being. Belkar is Evil and still a protagonist working for and with the OOTS.
There will be a personality change. It doesn't suddenly mean Durkon's going to betray people, not hold to old allegiances, or try and sabotage Good characters by default.
Also evidenced by him seemingly still praying to Thor - which is in conflict with standard 3.5 rules, by the way.