Annotated 13-22
I had a “dagger as lightning rod” bit here that was probably better off cut.
Stokla’s demise feels a little Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to me now. She can kill these jerks who are only surviving to piss her off, she can. She can do it if only she just… tries a little… bit… harder…
But at least she got to be pretty menacing and effective for a chapter. Pour one out for Gobleon, the member of the Reverse Guild who never even made it to print: “Gobleon ‘the Perforator’ Stickhide (Goblin Mafioso) – A take-no-guff kinda Goblin, dis guy knows what bein’ a good mafia soldier’s allabout. You need a guy whacked? Fuggedaboutit. Outstanding loans with a client? He’s on that like pastrami on rye. He’s professional, if not polite, and efficient, if not pleasant to watch. He’s got a gruff exterior and a thinker’s interior. He’s a planner and a tactician more because he’s good at it and less than it being his passion. He’s happy with his role and enjoys his work enough. One look at this guy and you can tell that this dude has seen some SHIT.
Color Scheme: Gunmetal
Build: Gobleon has the average Goblin build, average Goblin height. One wouldn’t perceive him as anyone terribly different from your average joe goblin, save his collection of scars from a life of Mafia Soldierdom. Mid-50’s, this guy is a fuckin’ vet. Has a chewed ear and a dead eye and a few other scars up and down his exposed arms and face. I don’t know what to do for headshape and face, but it should at least be recognizably different from the Goblin Redshirts.
Dress: Dressed in custom-designed Goblin soldier uniform (Give him something that looks fairly “Tough Guy,” designed for someone who has to run and gun). Has a chewed ear and a dead eye and a few other scars up and down his exposed arms. He’s sharply kempt, despite being gnarled by a life of fighting (opposite of Brix, Gobleon appreciates the value of good grooming as any mafia soldier ought to). Wields a goblin-styled musket rifle with a serrated bayonette (something like an era-appropriate Lancer). He keeps a stocked utility belt so he can reload on the go and wears a modest pack on his back (what’s inside? Probably traps and shit). Combat knife in boot. Fingerless gloves. Modest hoop earring in left ear (superstitious folk believe an ear piercing enhances vision).”
(The other members of the guild had “build” and “dress” notes too, which John translated pretty directly.)
With your description I’m imagining a goblin version of Sal “Pussy” Bompiensaro.
So instead, she’ll toot Stokla’s…
…HORN! … ya.. horn.
It never occured to me to wonder, before, but…just what does it take to kill a troll?
Stokla’s head is still attached, so as wounds to take down a regenerator for good go, that’s actually a pretty weak one.
Obviously, her healing abilities are nowhere near Harky’s ‘”I was healed from death by his blood” is completely reasonable’ level, but…
Well, if we go by D&D rules, a troll’s corpse must be burned or dissolved in acid to prevent it from regenerating. Also, once a troll goes down, it will take at least one hour for it to get back on its feet, leaving plenty of time to destroy it.
Block the ability to breathe and sever the flow of blood to the brain and if she doesn’t pull those knives out within a couple of seconds she’ll be unconscious. She might heal if someone were to patch her up a bit but that seems unlikely to to happen under the circumstances…
One thing that has consistently stood out to me as I read these commentaries is that there’s a disconnect in tone between each of them and the page that they’re appended to, respectively.
I think this is a product of the commentary being produced for collaboration’s sake, rather than for the audience, but it’s interesting how much more modern each feels relative to its related page, yet still feels connected to and somewhat describes the content. Maybe it’s just that the written commentary is unaccompanied by illustration tailored to it? But the feeling it evokes is totally different.
I didn’t have a point, that’s just an observation that I felt compelled to share and felt was interesting.