No, it’s the second panel that tickles me. She lashes out in panel one and then immediately goes into a meditative, prayerful pose, showing that her profanity is a sacrament. The inherent irony makes me giggle.
I’m interested that this is unlikely to be something Frigg has yet said, so it must be spontaneous for Rachael, and yet, it’s a reference to something that’s not in the world of Guilded age and Gastonia. – We don’t often see people making OC references outside of the five.
Bandit: “Good man, I have known a berserker in my time and you, Mister Brix, sir, are -no- berserker… ….I mean shit, man… no foaming mouth? What an amateur.”
Yeah, I’m imagining Bandit ironically going berserk on the berserker. Well, ironic from his point of view, since he doesn’t know her history. So yeah, I just explained the joke, didn’t I?
Actually sir, he seems to have had his cigar cut in half. And either that mace glanced the side of his head, or his cigar seems to be bleeding. Probably the former.
I think you’ll find that Scipio had his cigar knocked from his mouth, but he managed to replace it with a new cigar while the mace was still following through.
Crap. Scipio got clocked. And I can’t tell if Rachel is going to land on the ship or in the water. She’s become too awesome as a good guy to die now. :-(
OHHHHH crap, Scipio lost half his cigar.
Shit is about to get real on the ground, yo.
Also, did Mr. “Berserker” just turn his back on BOTH Scipio and E-Merl? Someone’s about to die a quick death.
I am finding this skirmish arc something between funny, awesome, and visually pretty.
In contrast, the other side of this chapter gets my kicks in a totally different, know-thyself kind of way. Best of both worlds! I salute you, creator-people Campbell, Kahn & Waltrip.
She’s probably gonna whip out a knife and do that pirate movie thing. The thing with the splitting the sail to slow down. She’ll do some swashbuckling afterwards, and curse EVEN MORE. Yay, pirates!
That gnoll is shouldering the burden.
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
While hawk-face has feather fall, I don’t think it’ll help him.
When I decided to go speed dating, this isn’t what I had in mind.
Bandit is head and shoulders above the crowd (or below the crowd).
She’s giving him the cold shoulder.
I’m head over heels in love with Bandit.
Bandit is backpedaling.
Et tu Bandit?
Stand back!
This place has become a real dive.
Way to rub somersault in his wounds.
We tried diplomacy, but I see we’re back to stabbing.
Kriss my ass, dogface!
This is rather a poignard moment.
Bandit is always wrestling with her violent tendancies.
Stabbing him in cold blood gives me the shiv-ers.
Gnolls are always hungry, that’s why they’re so good at smelling what’s kukri-ng.
Actually, you’re mostly about to face the face of Brix the Bezerker.
Oh my god Bandit stabbed him with her knives.
What do you call a snowman with three noses? A carroty error!
I’m calling bs now for one simple reason: Harki is running the show, and from his response to Byron I don’t think he’d allow anything like him to be in his forces. These people are a representative force obviously meant for some symbolism and statement making (lookit what one of each of us can do! We are bringing an army!), which suggests they were both planned and individually chosen. Which means it’s likely Harki would have at least been informed if not inspected this dwarf. Since the dwarf was ok’d, we can assume his idea of berserker is something different.
That, or Harki doesn’t know that other races call it a Berserker. Which is plausible, I suppose, though it seems like the sort of thing he’d know.
I think it’s say to say most people “berserker” won’t be anything like Byrons :).
Even people who activley seek out battle (Frig), or people who no doublt know the classical soldieressque bezerker (Harki) where activley terrified by what Byon does. A normal bezerker, as in historically, was just some guy with very little respect for their own life.
my guess as to what’ll happen; everyone but bandit will be slightly creeped out by the anger, the dwarfs companions will try to stop it, and Bandit will just look at Brix unimpressed then stab him
Today’s strip really made me stop and admire the character design of these villains. The feathered scarf and silver spurs on the birdman, the primitive bird symbol on the leather breastplate — very nice. I just noticed today how the spikiness of Brix extends from his mace to his beard, and from his elbow guards to his personality. The other two characters, while not in focus today, display equal creativity. Kudos, John Waltrip!
They wanted Sonic to be Mario. Sonic can never be Mario. Mario is universally adored because he’s a traditional hero: Save the princess, stop the bad guy, and do it all with a smile on your face asking nothing in return except a cake and a kiss on the nose.
Sonic’s always been about runfast. And chili dogs. And rescuing his animal friends, but I get the distinct sensation they’re as much his “friend” as your “friends” on Facebook.
But beyond that, Sega saw that Nintendo had all these peripheral Mario titles that weren’t simply Mario games. They wanted to expand the license also, get your Sonic Party or Sonic Golf or whatever. But the key difference is that Sega stopped making traditional sonic games while they persued a new alternative. Nintendo did not, and so they were able to develop the Mario main title line and the Mario Brand Game Collection at the same time.
I’m not a doctor, though, this is all just what I’ve observed. Generations just came out and from what I have seen it’s pretty damn all right.
Well, I’ve heard the latest Sonic game isn’t that bad. Dunno for sure, but, well, after the “dark and terrible” things Time referred to, a good Sonic game would be way overdue.
Phil, you’re totally spot-on about that Sega wanting Sonic to be their Mario, though.
Yeah my friend brought it over and I watched everyone play it for a bit. It really seems like it’s dedicated to being just a straight up good traditional sonic game. I am without beef, save for the silliness that goes with the fact that barely anything has changed about sonic’s appearance between each generation of him…
Has anyone thought that this random, super tiny invasion force is a party from the other faction? Who else would wander into the enemy capital in such few numbers actually expecting to succeed? A party of players on a group quest that can see that the city guards are only level 5, of course.
If HR can be Bandit (interfacing with the world through a computer), a lot of the people they encounter can be regular gamers or at least playtesters at HR’s company.
Or am I missing something that was said in the first few RealWorld scenes cause I am one of those people that kind of skipped over those in the beginning.
I don’t think there’s anyone interacting with Gastonia other than “the five” and perhaps Deedalus and his secretary. They’re in an underground bunker server room with a book covered in dribbly wax occult candles…
That would mean that there’s no human participation in this scenario, except possibly Bandit’s player. As Mel pointed out just above, this scenario seems very much like an arranged conflict between player characters from two opposing factions.
If Daedalus had complete control over Kingdoms of Arkerra, and this were a conventional MMORPG, it would make perfect sense to keep the five isolated on a test server. But Daedalus doesn’t have control, and this isn’t a conventional MMORPG.
Uh-oh it’s the b-word everyone gets so hung up on
And–cut to Byron!
…please? :D?
Cut to Byron NOT going berserk ;D
Cut to Byron in the Realm of True Insanity…
He’s in /b/.
Okay, congratulations, you’ve just made me feel sorry for a fictional character.
>mfw a beserker was emo near me
/b/erserker?
oh dear.
Cut to the burning rubble where the guild once was with Byron dragging his friends out by the hair and foaming at the mouth…
Broken cigar?
“That’s not a berserker. _That’s_ a berserker.”
He’s not even foaming! What kind of berserker is that supposed to be?
Needs more RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-err-err-r-r.
Watch, he’ll still be going “…RRRRRRRR” in the next page.
I would accept next page being NOTHING BUT him continuing the RRRRRRRRRRRRRR for 6 panels.
Hurricane Software Support and Assistance:
Please describe said error.
“The NPC froze in place, and the audio sound of RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR just kept going until I left the area.”
[Response November 7, 2011 11:14:21 AM]
“This is actually part of the gameplay…”
HAHAHA a page like that should become vote incentive!
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
That’d be hoRRRRRRRifying.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRules!
Actually his cat just stepped on his keyboard.
LLLLLLLLLLLAAGGGGGG
Bandit has him pinned to the mat
Reaction to first panel?
Someones been taking their studies of Frigg a little too seriously. xD
Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that sort of language from that mouth. Still, “tardfuck” is a great insult. ^_^
No, it’s the second panel that tickles me. She lashes out in panel one and then immediately goes into a meditative, prayerful pose, showing that her profanity is a sacrament. The inherent irony makes me giggle.
I’m interested that this is unlikely to be something Frigg has yet said, so it must be spontaneous for Rachael, and yet, it’s a reference to something that’s not in the world of Guilded age and Gastonia. – We don’t often see people making OC references outside of the five.
Whole new meaning to “shoulder blades.”
Knife to see you.
On the cutting edge of pun wars, I see.
Let’s hope this comic will make it in paper edition with slashed prices.
I thought Gigundus & Byron already did that…
No, this is the NEW new meaning to Shoulder Blades. Literal blades. In your shoulders. Shoulder Blades.
Now, now, guys, Shoulder Blades aren’t worth picking bones over.
What is it about Gandit and blades in the shoulders?
At least this time she isn’t splitting hairs.
You know, typos really are infuriating.
Bandit: “Good man, I have known a berserker in my time and you, Mister Brix, sir, are -no- berserker… ….I mean shit, man… no foaming mouth? What an amateur.”
He’s close, but no cigar.
“Brix Blox” the Berserker? O.o
PTSD incoming.
Alternatively, yeah, he’s all hot air and gets the “honey, you ain’t SEEN berserking before!” treatment.
Yeah, I’m imagining Bandit ironically going berserk on the berserker. Well, ironic from his point of view, since he doesn’t know her history. So yeah, I just explained the joke, didn’t I?
bring on byron vs brix
Oh snap! He has lost the cigar. I can’t imagine that ending well. Beserker or no.
Actually sir, he seems to have had his cigar cut in half. And either that mace glanced the side of his head, or his cigar seems to be bleeding. Probably the former.
No sympathy for his bleeding cigar then? You’re heartless.
It’s okay, it didn’t hold any special value or anything. Sometimes a cigar… is just a cigar.
I think you’ll find that Scipio had his cigar knocked from his mouth, but he managed to replace it with a new cigar while the mace was still following through.
I think you’ll find that when he smashed that skinhead’s face open in the convenience store, some of his blood got in his smokes.
@ dwarven berserker
“Close but no cigar.”
bzzt!
Irony: Scipio is a berserker as well, the Cigar was the only thing keeping him in check!
THEY’RE ALL BERSERKERS, DEEP DOWN INSIDE.
I still think it would be awesome funny to see a “Bandit the Berserker!”
THEY’RE ALL BEST’S ALTS.
Cigar!?! I thought that was his eyebrow! Same shape! Look! And the blood is spurting from that general vicinity.
Wait wait… Panel 5…
is the dwarf DUCKING?!
Yeah, I think you’re right.
He’s ducking a fireball at that. How badass is that?
(not very)
I wonder how many skill points he had to put into Ducking?
just half a point, cross class skill but gets a racial bonus.
Because he’s part duck?
He’s not ducking! He just retracted his legs. It’s how he propels
himself forward to “ram” his enemies!
Oh man, I had that toy as a kid!
Didn’t Donald Duck technically qualify as a berserker?
Everything I learned as a child has come to make sense all of a sudden.
No, I think he’s just short…
I always thought dwarves came pre-ducked.
I feel he’ll come up short on the ‘zerker stakes.
Blade to the face in mid “..RRRRR!” next panel.
Crap. Scipio got clocked. And I can’t tell if Rachel is going to land on the ship or in the water. She’s become too awesome as a good guy to die now. :-(
all the awesome ones must die at least once in this story, just so someone can ask, ‘didn’t you die?!’ and they can reply: ‘I got better’
Or: “It is a habit of mine…”
And she’d be even more awesome if she became an air-to-ground missal.
Brix the Berserker has entered a martial trance!
Better than a marital trance.
Tin Star.
… Hey, gotta find something to do with all this damn cassiterite ore.
Not really. But Rachel has!
OHHHHH crap, Scipio lost half his cigar.
Shit is about to get real on the ground, yo.
Also, did Mr. “Berserker” just turn his back on BOTH Scipio and E-Merl? Someone’s about to die a quick death.
Don’t worry, even with half a cigar, Scipio is still tougher than most.
Phil & T tewk ewr peewns! Derka derrr!
Everybody…Back on the pile!
I am finding this skirmish arc something between funny, awesome, and visually pretty.
In contrast, the other side of this chapter gets my kicks in a totally different, know-thyself kind of way. Best of both worlds! I salute you, creator-people Campbell, Kahn & Waltrip.
She’s probably gonna whip out a knife and do that pirate movie thing. The thing with the splitting the sail to slow down. She’ll do some swashbuckling afterwards, and curse EVEN MORE. Yay, pirates!
Arrrr. I give this apple pastry four starrrrs.
Way to go Rachel!
All I can say is “He’s finally matched his meet. You really licked his ass.”
When you see it, you’ll shit brix.
This explains the prolonged RRRRRRRRRRRR.
No, that’s downshifting.
His love is like a truck.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
-cough- sorry.
..AHAHAHAHAHAHAH
someone /mot/ that last panel. please, for the love of BERSERKERRRRRRRRRRRR
Why was wrestlegnoll diving to the ground anyway?
Trying to catch Bandit on Speed.
I’m guessing Auraugu was trying to grab Bandit on her way down from the aerial cartwheel.
But instead she got him on the rebound.
Now let’s see if this is just fireworks or the real thing…
Brix. They were shat.
That’s a sharp tongue on Rachel. I love her transition from panel one to panel two, it has a special comedy all its own.
Come, show me what passes for fury among your misbegotten kind!
I AM THE WRATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS!
We’ve got Fury, Furry, Flurry and …um … shaman.
ooh. poor Wrestler Gnoll :( . he was going to be my one of my Favorit villain characters. alas the good one always get beaten early it seems.
Phil, you jerk. You stole the only pun I could think of.
Consider it just revenge for the eighty bajillion times you guys got pun over on me.
WAA WAAA WAAAAAA
Look at the avatar pics. Nothing could be more perfect.
Here are some puns and jokes you could use:
That gnoll is shouldering the burden.
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
While hawk-face has feather fall, I don’t think it’ll help him.
When I decided to go speed dating, this isn’t what I had in mind.
Bandit is head and shoulders above the crowd (or below the crowd).
She’s giving him the cold shoulder.
I’m head over heels in love with Bandit.
Bandit is backpedaling.
Et tu Bandit?
Stand back!
This place has become a real dive.
Way to rub somersault in his wounds.
We tried diplomacy, but I see we’re back to stabbing.
Kriss my ass, dogface!
This is rather a poignard moment.
Bandit is always wrestling with her violent tendancies.
Stabbing him in cold blood gives me the shiv-ers.
Gnolls are always hungry, that’s why they’re so good at smelling what’s kukri-ng.
Actually, you’re mostly about to face the face of Brix the Bezerker.
Oh my god Bandit stabbed him with her knives.
What do you call a snowman with three noses? A carroty error!
Okay, I’m done now.
Tardfuck?
I’m pocketing that one.
NEW TEST SUBJECT!
I’m calling bs now for one simple reason: Harki is running the show, and from his response to Byron I don’t think he’d allow anything like him to be in his forces. These people are a representative force obviously meant for some symbolism and statement making (lookit what one of each of us can do! We are bringing an army!), which suggests they were both planned and individually chosen. Which means it’s likely Harki would have at least been informed if not inspected this dwarf. Since the dwarf was ok’d, we can assume his idea of berserker is something different.
That, or Harki doesn’t know that other races call it a Berserker. Which is plausible, I suppose, though it seems like the sort of thing he’d know.
I think it’s say to say most people “berserker” won’t be anything like Byrons :).
Even people who activley seek out battle (Frig), or people who no doublt know the classical soldieressque bezerker (Harki) where activley terrified by what Byon does. A normal bezerker, as in historically, was just some guy with very little respect for their own life.
my guess as to what’ll happen; everyone but bandit will be slightly creeped out by the anger, the dwarfs companions will try to stop it, and Bandit will just look at Brix unimpressed then stab him
Anyone want to take bets on whether Brix is a Byron-like Berserker, or a poser?
Anyone else seen Mystery Men?
I’m going for Mr. Furious.
so what, just makes wierd noises until you hit the person he likes?
or capable of hanging out with a bunch of wierdoes without being embarased?
I suppose both fit perfectly :P
A poserker?
Today’s strip really made me stop and admire the character design of these villains. The feathered scarf and silver spurs on the birdman, the primitive bird symbol on the leather breastplate — very nice. I just noticed today how the spikiness of Brix extends from his mace to his beard, and from his elbow guards to his personality. The other two characters, while not in focus today, display equal creativity. Kudos, John Waltrip!
Thank you, Plover! :)
Phil, will you be disappointed if no one makes a Sonic reference to Bandit?
No, because Sonic is terrible.
Sonic was the bomb, 16 years ago.
Then things happened, dark and terrible things.
They wanted Sonic to be Mario. Sonic can never be Mario. Mario is universally adored because he’s a traditional hero: Save the princess, stop the bad guy, and do it all with a smile on your face asking nothing in return except a cake and a kiss on the nose.
Sonic’s always been about runfast. And chili dogs. And rescuing his animal friends, but I get the distinct sensation they’re as much his “friend” as your “friends” on Facebook.
But beyond that, Sega saw that Nintendo had all these peripheral Mario titles that weren’t simply Mario games. They wanted to expand the license also, get your Sonic Party or Sonic Golf or whatever. But the key difference is that Sega stopped making traditional sonic games while they persued a new alternative. Nintendo did not, and so they were able to develop the Mario main title line and the Mario Brand Game Collection at the same time.
I’m not a doctor, though, this is all just what I’ve observed. Generations just came out and from what I have seen it’s pretty damn all right.
You might not be a doctor…
But are you a doctor Mario?
I hope so. Otherwise I have no idea where I got all these pills from.
A pillock?
Well, I’ve heard the latest Sonic game isn’t that bad. Dunno for sure, but, well, after the “dark and terrible” things Time referred to, a good Sonic game would be way overdue.
Phil, you’re totally spot-on about that Sega wanting Sonic to be their Mario, though.
Sonic Generations is a beautiful game, the best Sonic game since… Probably the best one in at least a decade. At least the console/PC version is.
Yeah my friend brought it over and I watched everyone play it for a bit. It really seems like it’s dedicated to being just a straight up good traditional sonic game. I am without beef, save for the silliness that goes with the fact that barely anything has changed about sonic’s appearance between each generation of him…
I declare this chapter awesomely delicious.
WAIOOO!
Don’t you know who I am?! I’M THE JUGGERRRRRRRRRRRR…
i’m a jaegerbomb, bitch!
while True:
print(“R”)
if smacked_like_a_bitch == True:
break
Has anyone thought that this random, super tiny invasion force is a party from the other faction? Who else would wander into the enemy capital in such few numbers actually expecting to succeed? A party of players on a group quest that can see that the city guards are only level 5, of course.
If HR can be Bandit (interfacing with the world through a computer), a lot of the people they encounter can be regular gamers or at least playtesters at HR’s company.
Or am I missing something that was said in the first few RealWorld scenes cause I am one of those people that kind of skipped over those in the beginning.
That fits.
I don’t think there’s anyone interacting with Gastonia other than “the five” and perhaps Deedalus and his secretary. They’re in an underground bunker server room with a book covered in dribbly wax occult candles…
That would mean that there’s no human participation in this scenario, except possibly Bandit’s player. As Mel pointed out just above, this scenario seems very much like an arranged conflict between player characters from two opposing factions.
If Daedalus had complete control over Kingdoms of Arkerra, and this were a conventional MMORPG, it would make perfect sense to keep the five isolated on a test server. But Daedalus doesn’t have control, and this isn’t a conventional MMORPG.
So you’re saying we’ve not seen any scenes entirely composed of NPCs before?
I know that in our LARP games, we NPCS occasionally roleplay amongst ourselves while waiting for the next scenario to begin….
Scipio reminds me a little bit of Smoker, from One Piece
I know I am late to the party but I can just hear Bandit say…
“Berserker? I’ve been killed by a better berserker than YOU’LL ever be.
heehe //w//
That was a very clever reference in the second to last panel.
Or else it was great inspiration, depending on who did it first.