I was thinking last update how awesome that would be, but I had no idea he’d actually DO that!!
It was more of a ‘hehehe, that’d be wild…nahhh.” sort of passing thought.
HOLY CRAP!!!!
Byron just made up for every time he’s ever been chumped all at once.
THAT is a berserker folks….
You know, it’s nice to see berserking actually looking fucking nuts. You so seldom get that effect in tabletop gaming. It’s more like, “Okay, Crunch, you have the initiative.” “I rage, rolled a 23 to hit, 15 damage.” A creative DM usually remembers to get creative with the kills, but I’ve never had one go, “You start foaming at the mouth.”
Yeah, but if you want to compare to D&D, this isn’t your vanilla Barbarian in a Rage; it is a “Frenzied Berzerker” in a Frenzy.
It’s the difference between being “so mad I could rip your arms off” and “so mad I will kill you and anyone else in sight, be it friend or foe, regardless of life-threatning injury”.
Also, thanks to the wonderful art, I feel this is really getting across in this comic.
Ah, good call on the Frenzied Berserker. Still, it’s just so much less dramatic in the games I’ve been in. We had one in our party once, (with three different conditional Fort and Will saves set up by his teammates and equipment (I made him an enchanted sword) in case he failed his roll to end frenzy), and that was fun, but our DM never did mention the foaming.
Huh…I’m guessing that there may be some explanation as the boss is saying that Byron is a daemon and there is a madness within him some time down the road huh? After all, to others a Berserker may just be a…well a Berserker. But if there is a reason for this reaction aside from being scared, I would like to see it. :D
Not necessarily. We can assume reasonably that Trolls have had berserkers in at least the past (Harki is clearly recognizing this, and I doubt he hung with human adventurers a lot).
Now think about the horror of a berserk Troll. Fast healers, they don’t drop from blood loss or concussions as other species berserkers might. They are hard as hell to kill as a class, so adding regen means that killing them in the only option, and that option is a horribly difficult and bloody task.
Troll Berserkers probably became the worst kid of legend, probably devastating entire tribes at times. It’d not be unfathomable to think they were demonized and forbidden. So Harki is staring down his peoples bogey man, and he is crapping himself.
Although then again, we saw a cultist with black magic that made another pass out just start to push him into that mode. So there might be something to be said for it also being a literal dark side (though I still think the troll versions live in infamy)
He is actually foaming at the mouth?! I hope this quiets down some of the: “Byron the Bitch” talk. The fact that he fights that off all the time makes him even MORE of an awesome character.
To the creators: Once again sirs, my hat is well and truly off to you.
On one hand this was totally expected as we mostly assumed Byron would be the wielder of the spear but on the other hand it was totally unexpected due to the way he did which is pretty fucked up. Nice work.
However this berserking looks more like possession than extreme rage. While the differences are subtle I’d say this is as much of a curse for Byron as it is a combat advantage.
Yeah, I’ve got to agree with you on this one. It seems more like he’s possessed by some spirit of rage rather than just getting mad and freaking out like a barbarian or something. Which would explain Harki’s reaction.
Heh,you know the comments here made me thinking,what f it really isn’t a natural berserker rage?
I mean has nobody else thought about gravedust by now?
The guy is a shaman, maybe as a spirit he is kind of Possesing Byron áfter he left his own body and pushing him over the edge?
Oh well,or not.
Also as much as everbody like’s how badass Byron now is, i wish he would become a better fighter when he is normal. A joking Axeman is much more likeable than a crazy psycho murderer with foam from its mouth…and more funny.
Yes, there’s something “unnatural” or demonic about B’s rage and it may very well not be the standard form of berserking. The authors may have changed their mind on how to go about this but if we think back to when Byron was killin’ those kobolds he did have that maniacal glint in his eyes but it was very different from what we’re seeing here. It’s quite possible that cultist messed him up.
Berserkers and trolls: the rules of physiology don’t apply here. It’s good to finally see that Byron is a REAL berserker. Now, I’m with Harki– get me away from this Nutjob! I have a feeling he’s as much a liability to any of his friends as he was Harki.
Then there’s the whirlwind attack….Just so you know he’s a real berserker…
I thought he did a Whirlwind from Diablo 2(LoD)
That or he went into Avatar mode. (white glowish eyes man, angry-dissappoint face of the Avatars always do…)
I think Syr’nj (i totally forgot how here name spells) slipped some Rage Potion when she knelt at him…
And the earth split, and the heavens split, and the seas parted.
Thus was there a voice that was not a voice, but yea it was a multitude of voices that were as one united in one great cry. And in their unison, they cried for all to hear, “OH SHIT!”
The last comic had some serious action scenes, raised lots of questions as to what was going on, and ended on a cliffhanger prior to a weekend. It garnered 150 posts.
I’m willing to bet this one will get MORE.
Furthermore, I won’t post on this one further until that 150+ post is reached. (Don’t want to rig the bet, y’unnerstand)
You guys are great.
Most evenings I’m checking about five webcomics, a minute each… and GA – taking about 10 Minutes, because I have to read all the comments.
Or he could be sputtering out blood because of the gaping chest wound that’s cutting into his lungs. Considering he’s roaring, he’s spitting out oxygen-rich blood.
I’d say more likely this is blood from the spear shaft through his chest, somehow I don’t think he’s going to be in very good condition once this berserk wears off.
Can he turn it off at will? Probably not, else he’d do this all the time. Run and hide, people. Not sure what he’ll do against a squad of archers though.
Harki is going to seriously drop in the polls even if he were to kill all the PCs. Turning tail after talking smack does not look good.
Nah. If you look at literature that involves berserkers, you’lll see that once they’re in the berserkergang they scare the shit out of everybody and NO ONE can take them on one on one. (With a few exceptions. There’s one story where when a berserker attacks a king the king strikes him so hard with a “hammer of wondrous size” that he crushes him.)
Woot!! Byron the Berserker! Living up to his name in a serious way!! ^_^ Yeah, lets hope he doesn’t become the new danger to his friends in this rage. So totally worth the wait!
yea, I greatly believe that its some sort of inner demon. Psychological or otherwise. “The Maddness” “Devil” Demon” and the trolls (extended) freak out seem to match better with that theory than the Troll being a wuss and byron being a normal rager
it seems like it would be difficult for Byron to plunge the spear that far into Harki without using his hands, so my thoughts are that Bandit helped to stab the spear as Byron charged
(which would mean the spear was a sneak attack)
Oh boy.
My thoughts go for the rest of the group right now…
What if Byron doesn’t recognize his comrades anymore?
They will be in very deep shit, just to start!
The spear is indeed cleverly used. Pinning one’s foe to oneself, with the said foe’s back towards one is clever. Quite probably, in my mind at least, Byron held the spear while charging, with the first panel a mere moment after the weapons are drawn. Cleaving through the shaft in the third was due to Harki’s grasp of the axes.
It seems likely the troll has trolled similarly potent berserkers before (which is quite likely among the Savage Races), with near-fatal results and thus does not relish a fair fight here.
One doubts the rage can be stopped at will, or even controlled beyond the voice of reason trying to point out the most irritating fellow in the vicinity to visit anguish upon first, which suggests that Harki surviving the initial onslaught is somewhat beneficial to the rest of the lot.
As a side note, is this simply one’s opinion, or has the action become much more animesque than it was under Henderson’s assorted illustration tools?
i just wonder,
Would developing strategies, such as pinning the enemy first in order to land blows more accurantly, mean that he’s still at his senses (to a limit)?
Hm. I don’t think so. But he certainly has a more “action-y” way of drawing things. Normally an art shift like that would throw me off, but I personally think that most of what he’s done so far looks great and the plot is good enough for me to force my tastes to adapt.
I think it helps that Erica toyed with her art a fair bit in the early days as well. Now, obviously swapping artists entirely is more dramatic than anything she implemented during her run, but it is still less jarring than if they had changed up a comic with a nigh immutable house style.
Gone is the careful, tactical fighter. Now we see pure, raw, rage.
Harki, and anyone else in the near vicinity, is screwed until that subsides.
At which point Byron is screwed. That’s still not damage you walk away from.
Oh, and I called if way back when he got hit with the spear in the first place. Straight through.
Just saying.
I don’t make calls like that often, I like to bask.
I called it on that page too. And on at least two subsequent pages, because I was drunk and forgot I’d already made almost exactly the same comment, but never mind that. *bask bask bask*
hi guys. i’m out…i thought i could get used to the new art, but i guess it turns out i can’t…it’s not that the new stuff is bad, john’s got all the right stuff- it’s that i miss erica’s work, and GA isn’t the same for me without it.
best of luck, Phil, T and John. hope to catch you all on future projects down the road.
Didn’t see this coming tbh. I thought I was supposed to be the “can’t live without Erica”-guy. If you’re going to listen to the two doodes above me than try to keep your pelvis reasonably in-between or there’s gonna be hell to pay.
Sorry to see you go, Dojang. I miss Erica’s work too. She definately had(and has) a unique style(as probably do all artists) that is hard to emulate or follow. It really suited GA well, but… things change. Hope to see you again down the road.
dude, i’ve nothing but respect for the work you do. triweekly comic updates are not for the faint of heart, and the quality you sink into these is really astounding.
That’s sad, Dojang. A story this epic, and you’re gonna miss out? Yeah, the art style is different, but I think it still conveys the story well, and isn’t nearly as drastic as the style changes I’ve seen on other works.
I don’t think he will. He’ll prolly follow it but not post or something. GA would be good enough to read even if the art was just stick figures. Don’t see how one could stay away for long.
He’s gonna be off the radar. Renegade and all that shiz. Nobody can stay away from a good plot forever. Heck, I’ve finished some really, really bad books just for what little plot THEY contained.
But, then again, I suppose not everyone is like me. :P
Honestly, I think the art is outstanding. I miss Erica’s textures, but I think John’s depiction of the characters is amazing and Erica’s shoes, much to my surprise, fit him very well.
Thanks for taking up that challenge, John. And sorry to see you go, Dojang, I loved to hate to read your puns.
It was really jarring when it first turned up, but I don’t even notice the difference any more. The characters are still themselves. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE comic-art buff.
Dojang, you are very limited in your scope of web comic love! Bye and don’t let the Berserker chop you in the ass on the way out…BYE.
Byron is FINALLY fully up and running but…the scooby gang is gonna die once he gets done with the troll bait! Unless bandit clubs him from behind (if that will even work) I hope the elf lass fixed Gravedust before she shot and he is recovering now, they need a long range fighter against the archers and we need some SCIENCE! oh and Frigg, ilovesyou but even since you let the shit elf Best bang you? you kinda are lame….GET TO IT BITCH and see a real MAN! Byron is the MAN!!! Trolls just dont run for nothin’
BYYYYYYRROOOOONNNN!!! HELLS YEAH!!! That was soo about Time.
Besides, id someone else recognize that Byron climps after Harki in the last Panel? THAT is whut i call AWESOME!!!
Well, I think the savage races may have to consider peace with Gastonia now, seeing as Byron’s probably going to slaughter half their army by the looks of it…
I think the idea of a berserker isn’t quite the same as the barbarian – true D&D 3 and onwards has melded the two, but historically, berserkers were a different thing than barbarians. I mean, the word barbarian is basically Roman for “bearded dudes who think we suck.” (A very loose translation!)
But berserkers…yeah, that’s where Byron is now. A berserker tastes blood and cannot stop his rage until all potential targets are eliminated. Only the very best ones could stop themselves from eliminating friends right alongside foes. They were horrendous, fearsome opponents, and usually they were sung about after they died…having been shot to death and/or hacked to pieces by their own side. This is the kind of rage that no longer sees friends, foes, or even people. Only targets.
Even the vikings* thought that berserkers were bad news.
*Masters of the “Bearded dudes who think we suck**” way of life.
**Or more accurately “Bearded dudes who think we suck at fighting and keep taking our lunch money”.
*ahem* “……And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.”
Is he climbing the wall after Harki in that last panel, or just slamming his axes into the ground in frustration? Because the former will make me squee.
Also, Locke? Nearly every single comment of yours makes me gigglesnort.
Been waiting for this for a loooong time, always wondering if he was just a barbarian and *called* a berserker for flavor, or or an actual frenzy style berserker. Congratulations Byron, you now rank up there on the list next to Orson and Gutz!
I was hoping that something like this would happen. Byron’s refusal to go berserk until now made me think that his rage was more a thing he was born with, rather than a class or description. An actual legitimate berserker. The kind that when they taste blood just will not stop. If you cut off their arm they will just pick it off the floor and make you eat it. They feel no pain, no fear, no fatigue, nothing except pure rage until the fury ends and they collapse unconcious in a pool of their own blood.
Congratulations! You’ve made Byron absolutely terrifying. And I love it.
There is NOTHING normal or reasonable about what Byron just did. Hell standing up and forcing the impaled spear/poleaxe into a troll twice his thickness just showed this isn’t just someone really ticked off. I suspect we’re about to see a berserker jump up into the stands and start a wholesale slaughter. And then when the madness falls off, I think Science will be necessary to keep him alive.
Silly, silly Harki, you have now provided Byron with the way up into the stands and more people to kill, because if you think he’s giving up just cause you grabbed to rope…. I forsee an awesome piggyback ride of death. :D
It seems to me that the Berserker taken over by madness, cared about one thing – kill, Kill, KILL.
He didn’t care about the spear in his chest, only that the axes cleave his enemy into two – Leaping with the axes in hand, his spear still staked in him and the tip of the spear was droven in by the weight. I think that the stabbing not intended but a happy coincidence for his attack.
If YOU were Byrons friend, wouyld you want to be within 100 miles of that later? He suddenly went from “big lovely puppydog with a heart of gold” to “terrifying ticking bomb”.
Nah, he’s past the “epic hero walking in from the horizon to whoop ass” state. Now he’s down to the “KILL EVERYONE WHO’S NOT ON MY SIDE BLARGHARGLE!” mode.
o_O Um. Wow. Seriously, guys. Phil, T, Erica, well worth the wait.
And when you go back and re-read a bit, and it’s inferred he’s sitting on that rage ALL THE TIME, constantly controlling himself…because of course he knows the consequences…
I just wish Erica stayed a little longer so we could see her take on Byron’s REAL ULTIMATE RAGE.
Still, I must admit John did a very nice work, he looks positively scary.
I couldn’t place what it reminded me of, at first, but for some reason I found the last panel funny. Then I realized it. With blanked out eyes and wide open mouth, he looks a bit like if Gluttony from FMA had a thinner, hairier brother.
I’d like to say, finally. I’ve waited since best defeated Byron to see such magnificent beserking. I had always hoped, having that tiny inkling feeling that he’d do something so outrageously over the top and that day has finally come. Thank goodness. And I for one would LOVE to see a wallpaper made of Byron doing what he should be doing best. Beserking and taking his foe down by swathes not notches.
Waaaaaaaaaait. Bayron is using two hands and still holding the troll in the spear that’s lodged on his torso?! That’s abdominals for you.
Also, never knew Bayron was the Blade Master LOL! That round attack is something I want to see forever and ever more!
Other Referencies for His New Ability:
Barbarian from Diablo2.
Axe from DoTA.
Yurnero from DoTA.
Whirlwind Attack.
Round Attack from Age of Wonders and Pox Nora.
That is the best depiction of a crazed berzerker I’ve seen in while.
I wanna see how much he can take before he calms/goes down. Given that he just shoved a halberd through a troll when its lodged through his abdomen, I’m thinking nothing short of dismemberment or decapitation is going to stop him.
I think Byron’s friends will be fine since he’s still focused on Harki. I’d hate to be part of the crowd watching though, since he’s probably going to attack the walls, and then, well, go berserk on the people in the stands.
Well. Um…wow. This has exceeded my expectations by a factor of awesome.
That first panel is just brilliant.
Is he climbing up the arena wall using the axes?
Still want that rematch now that he’s “nice ‘n’ pissed off” now, Frigg? Love ya, but I think you may need to be the armor-polishing bitch this time…does OxyClean work on troll blood?
Can’t wait to see not only how the fight ends, but also the consequences.
Excellent work, guys. And damn you for making me wait until Wednesday for more!
Indeed. I think she’ll cringe if she lives through this and is reminded that she called him a wuss. She couldn’t even give him pinpricks on Harki’s skin with her mace’s spikes, and Byron almost cleaved through him with his right-handed axe!
What I’m curious is where Harki’s shoulder pads and chest straps go so fast. First panel hes staring in horror at Bryon with the armored shoulder pads then after that they’re gone. Along with the arrows snapping.
Last panel of previous page, the blade of the spear came straight through the cloth bands holding them on. At that point, the only things attaching the shoulder pads were arrows, and it makes sense that with a bit of jostling they’d fall off pretty quick.
H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T.
I guess that, much as with Angel of the Buffyverse going into bitey-mode, it takes a lot to provoke Byron into switching to berserker mode.
I would have really liked to see a scene like this in the old art style. I feel like the new designs are a little too cartoony.
AWESOME. I would like to be the first to request a poster version of the first and last cells.
If that means, “Avatars of this awesomeness”, then I second that motion.
The first panel specially. That’s awesome.
He’s… kind of a wimp when it comes down to it, isn’t he?
That or Byron is even scarier if you know what’s wrong with him.
Bah. He’s still much bigger than Byron and can regenerate.
BWAK BWAK BWAK!
Heal doesn’t mean regenerate. He’ll still lose those fingers.
Whatever. He’s still a big yellow chicken.
Hold a second. He didn’t even PULL THE SPEAR OUT before using it to impale Harki! HE STABBED HIM WITH A SPEAR PROTRUDING OUT OF HIS OWN CHEST.
That is several kinds of bad-ass.
My thoughts exactly.
It took me a few reads before I realized “WTF?! The goddamn spear is still in him!”
If he had taken the spear out, and held it with his hands to stab Harky, then he wouldn’t be able to use both hands for more axey business.
also, he obviously wanted to hold Harki close to him for as much chopy love as possible.
Also —
Spear left in = Less blood loss.
i don’t think he thought that far. he probably thought that it was nice to have an extra weapon, because i doubt it is hurting him anymore.
Provided he’s really thinking anything other than “KILL” right now.
I was thinking last update how awesome that would be, but I had no idea he’d actually DO that!!
It was more of a ‘hehehe, that’d be wild…nahhh.” sort of passing thought.
HOLY CRAP!!!!
Byron just made up for every time he’s ever been chumped all at once.
THAT is a berserker folks….
No, he won’t have quite made up for ALL of his previous suckage until Harky (or possibly someone else who deserves it) is DEAD.
Still, I am pleased. :D Nice job, guys, and IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!
And that is why this page is about 20x better than I thought it could possibly be. And also why it has over 100 comments in less than 8 hours.
o_o.
Hells. Yeah.
Bonus points for spearing the guy while speared….
FINALLY
Well now.
“There are no words” sounds about accurate.
Did I miss a page? When did a shapeshifter eat Byron’s corpse and steal his spear?
I don’t curse often, but I’ve been holding this in for a long time:
AW FUCK YEAH!!!
Um, Byron…maybe now’s a bad time but you seem to have a little something on your face…
For real though it is about time we saw the berserker half of Byron the Berserker
The magnitude of Byron’s awesome is poetic. Harky got Shakespeare’d.
Foist upon his own petard, as it were.
Recursive spear is recursive! Let’s see Chuck Norris top that. :-)
You know, it’s nice to see berserking actually looking fucking nuts. You so seldom get that effect in tabletop gaming. It’s more like, “Okay, Crunch, you have the initiative.” “I rage, rolled a 23 to hit, 15 damage.” A creative DM usually remembers to get creative with the kills, but I’ve never had one go, “You start foaming at the mouth.”
I have a Halfling Barb in my group right now… might have to start doing this.
Yeah, but if you want to compare to D&D, this isn’t your vanilla Barbarian in a Rage; it is a “Frenzied Berzerker” in a Frenzy.
It’s the difference between being “so mad I could rip your arms off” and “so mad I will kill you and anyone else in sight, be it friend or foe, regardless of life-threatning injury”.
Also, thanks to the wonderful art, I feel this is really getting across in this comic.
Ah, good call on the Frenzied Berserker. Still, it’s just so much less dramatic in the games I’ve been in. We had one in our party once, (with three different conditional Fort and Will saves set up by his teammates and equipment (I made him an enchanted sword) in case he failed his roll to end frenzy), and that was fun, but our DM never did mention the foaming.
Took him long enough.
And I SWEAR that I didn’t read the alt-text before posting that.
Haha, Moe, didn’t know you were a fan of this one… yeah, it’s definitely a red state of mind for Byron ;)
Snort.
YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
Huh…I’m guessing that there may be some explanation as the boss is saying that Byron is a daemon and there is a madness within him some time down the road huh? After all, to others a Berserker may just be a…well a Berserker. But if there is a reason for this reaction aside from being scared, I would like to see it. :D
Bad ass page by the way.
i think he was more cal;ling out to his devils and daemons than calling byron one
Actually, I think Harki is calling Byron a devil and a demon. He is doing so because Byron’s actions don’t fit Harki’s image of humans.
That, or “devil” and “demon” are just common names or slang for the berzerkers amongst his people.
I really feel Harki knows EXACTLY that he is facing a berzerker and that even his regeneration won’t stop Byron from hacking his body into cutlets.
Sure, the fingers might grow back but, it must still hurt like hell to have them cut off.
Not necessarily. We can assume reasonably that Trolls have had berserkers in at least the past (Harki is clearly recognizing this, and I doubt he hung with human adventurers a lot).
Now think about the horror of a berserk Troll. Fast healers, they don’t drop from blood loss or concussions as other species berserkers might. They are hard as hell to kill as a class, so adding regen means that killing them in the only option, and that option is a horribly difficult and bloody task.
Troll Berserkers probably became the worst kid of legend, probably devastating entire tribes at times. It’d not be unfathomable to think they were demonized and forbidden. So Harki is staring down his peoples bogey man, and he is crapping himself.
Although then again, we saw a cultist with black magic that made another pass out just start to push him into that mode. So there might be something to be said for it also being a literal dark side (though I still think the troll versions live in infamy)
DAEMON
DAEMON OF THE FALL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrBrH5PZtcc
If you hate long songs, start it at 2:30.
Never. Touch. Byron’s. GIRLFRIEND!
Er… I mean… they’re totally NOT dating… really. Yeah.
Also: Bout damn time, dammit!
Also did not read the alt text… *L*
It was worth the wait!
He is actually foaming at the mouth?! I hope this quiets down some of the: “Byron the Bitch” talk. The fact that he fights that off all the time makes him even MORE of an awesome character.
To the creators: Once again sirs, my hat is well and truly off to you.
Cheers,
Cote
Oh hey, the troll dropped some phat lewt! Someone score those pauldrons before Syr’Nj shards ’em.
You mean those two fingers Byron scored there? Given the sheer magnitude of the badassery here, yeah. those are loot.
COMMENCE THE METAL!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmap19V-9KQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-DTrMG4vs&feature=related
You missed one:
Berserker
Holy FUCK
Ohhh shit! I just realize that he charged with the thing still stuck in him. Damn that’s crazy.
That’s not just crazy. that’s berserk.
On one hand this was totally expected as we mostly assumed Byron would be the wielder of the spear but on the other hand it was totally unexpected due to the way he did which is pretty fucked up. Nice work.
However this berserking looks more like possession than extreme rage. While the differences are subtle I’d say this is as much of a curse for Byron as it is a combat advantage.
Also, *ka-snap*. :P
Btw, I don’t think Harky is a wimp. His reaction seems well justified.
Yeah, I’ve got to agree with you on this one. It seems more like he’s possessed by some spirit of rage rather than just getting mad and freaking out like a barbarian or something. Which would explain Harki’s reaction.
Heh,you know the comments here made me thinking,what f it really isn’t a natural berserker rage?
I mean has nobody else thought about gravedust by now?
The guy is a shaman, maybe as a spirit he is kind of Possesing Byron áfter he left his own body and pushing him over the edge?
Oh well,or not.
Also as much as everbody like’s how badass Byron now is, i wish he would become a better fighter when he is normal. A joking Axeman is much more likeable than a crazy psycho murderer with foam from its mouth…and more funny.
Yes, there’s something “unnatural” or demonic about B’s rage and it may very well not be the standard form of berserking. The authors may have changed their mind on how to go about this but if we think back to when Byron was killin’ those kobolds he did have that maniacal glint in his eyes but it was very different from what we’re seeing here. It’s quite possible that cultist messed him up.
No, I’d do the same as Harki in that situation, but he’s still a wimp. I mean, come on, man, retreat with some DIGNITY.
“Ka-snap” is the sound of Harki’s scapula shattering to let the axe follow that motion line…
Berserkers and trolls: the rules of physiology don’t apply here. It’s good to finally see that Byron is a REAL berserker. Now, I’m with Harki– get me away from this Nutjob! I have a feeling he’s as much a liability to any of his friends as he was Harki.
Then there’s the whirlwind attack….Just so you know he’s a real berserker…
I just thought he was the Tazmanian Devil.
I thought he did a Whirlwind from Diablo 2(LoD)
That or he went into Avatar mode. (white glowish eyes man, angry-dissappoint face of the Avatars always do…)
I think Syr’nj (i totally forgot how here name spells) slipped some Rage Potion when she knelt at him…
BLADESTORM!!! <3
Now it’s all over but the “blah-blah-blah” and the “Yakkety-smakkety!”
Loet’s go get ourselves a tal cool glass of oj.
Hey man, that’s wild.
Ladies and Gentlemen, my I introduce Byron…the…BERSERKER!
That is some serious shiat. Wow. Just wow. Now we understand WHY. That’s not the kind of thing you want your friends see you doing…
And the earth split, and the heavens split, and the seas parted.
Thus was there a voice that was not a voice, but yea it was a multitude of voices that were as one united in one great cry. And in their unison, they cried for all to hear, “OH SHIT!”
Best, you are SO lucky bastard. If you only knew how close you were…
Indeed, if luck were a stat, it’d be the opposite of his dump stat.
Best, Syr’nj, the Cultist….the entire town…
The last comic had some serious action scenes, raised lots of questions as to what was going on, and ended on a cliffhanger prior to a weekend. It garnered 150 posts.
I’m willing to bet this one will get MORE.
Furthermore, I won’t post on this one further until that 150+ post is reached. (Don’t want to rig the bet, y’unnerstand)
Yeah, we need a forum. This comment shit ain’t cutting the mustard anymore.
A forum, or possibly an agora.
I’d settle for just sitting on the steps of the senate.
You guys are great.
Most evenings I’m checking about five webcomics, a minute each… and GA – taking about 10 Minutes, because I have to read all the comments.
Well, at least you’re not the only one that does it. ;)
Or someplace to set up a soap-box.
Well, that was easy.
I could be wrong, but the way he’s bleeding from the mouth in the last panel could suggest that he’s bitten his tongue in the frenzy.
Or he could be sputtering out blood because of the gaping chest wound that’s cutting into his lungs. Considering he’s roaring, he’s spitting out oxygen-rich blood.
I’d say more likely this is blood from the spear shaft through his chest, somehow I don’t think he’s going to be in very good condition once this berserk wears off.
If by “Berzerk” you meant “Rabies”, well, there it is.
Very nice. :D
HELL YEAH! Worth. The. Wait.
Can he turn it off at will? Probably not, else he’d do this all the time. Run and hide, people. Not sure what he’ll do against a squad of archers though.
Harki is going to seriously drop in the polls even if he were to kill all the PCs. Turning tail after talking smack does not look good.
Nah. If you look at literature that involves berserkers, you’lll see that once they’re in the berserkergang they scare the shit out of everybody and NO ONE can take them on one on one. (With a few exceptions. There’s one story where when a berserker attacks a king the king strikes him so hard with a “hammer of wondrous size” that he crushes him.)
nope, i fear that it’s because his internals are being pierced.
ogod.
I wanted to make a ‘yo dawg, we heard you like spears…’ joke here, but im afraid Byron might stab me through the monitor for making it.
Oh, come on, man, no character can rage hard enough to break through the fourth wal- ARGHGURGLEGHUG
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else. But I am like to making fuck.
I’m only surprised it took this long for someone to say it.
Did he say “making fuck”??
Yes, you read that rightly.
(It’s a line from the movie ‘Clerks’)
Woot!! Byron the Berserker! Living up to his name in a serious way!! ^_^ Yeah, lets hope he doesn’t become the new danger to his friends in this rage. So totally worth the wait!
A well earned epithet t’would seem.
I hope he is able to turn it off before he turns on his friends.
yea, I greatly believe that its some sort of inner demon. Psychological or otherwise. “The Maddness” “Devil” Demon” and the trolls (extended) freak out seem to match better with that theory than the Troll being a wuss and byron being a normal rager
The Worst Piggyback Ride Ever.
Gold star?
it seems like it would be difficult for Byron to plunge the spear that far into Harki without using his hands, so my thoughts are that Bandit helped to stab the spear as Byron charged
(which would mean the spear was a sneak attack)
GRIPPED IT WITH HIS DIAPHRAGM
He attacked with a pelvic thrust… OF DOOM!
im not so sure, he didnt jump to the left or step to the right.
It certainly drove him Insaayaaayaaayaaayaane.
Meh…Just enjoy the awesomeness wrought by the willing suspension of disbelief. ;-)
MY LOVE FOR YOU IS TICKING CLOCK,
BER-ZER-KERRRRR!!
WOULD YOU LIKE SOME MAKING F***
BER-ZER-KERRRRRRRRR!!!
RWARWARWAR ARGHLEBARGHLE
HAAAAGH FRAGHRUGHAGLERUH!
Why are youfrRRGHACHNGRRCHLCH
MAY THE RATS EAT YOUR EYES
THE DARKNESS COMES!
Aw yeah, sweet relief. Foaming at the mouth and everything .
Well. This is interesting.
Oh boy.
My thoughts go for the rest of the group right now…
What if Byron doesn’t recognize his comrades anymore?
They will be in very deep shit, just to start!
The spear is indeed cleverly used. Pinning one’s foe to oneself, with the said foe’s back towards one is clever. Quite probably, in my mind at least, Byron held the spear while charging, with the first panel a mere moment after the weapons are drawn. Cleaving through the shaft in the third was due to Harki’s grasp of the axes.
It seems likely the troll has trolled similarly potent berserkers before (which is quite likely among the Savage Races), with near-fatal results and thus does not relish a fair fight here.
One doubts the rage can be stopped at will, or even controlled beyond the voice of reason trying to point out the most irritating fellow in the vicinity to visit anguish upon first, which suggests that Harki surviving the initial onslaught is somewhat beneficial to the rest of the lot.
As a side note, is this simply one’s opinion, or has the action become much more animesque than it was under Henderson’s assorted illustration tools?
i just wonder,
Would developing strategies, such as pinning the enemy first in order to land blows more accurantly, mean that he’s still at his senses (to a limit)?
I’m not convinced that was intentional strategy. I think that was “RAGE. STAB. KILL.” And there happened to be a pointy thing in his chest.
Hm. I don’t think so. But he certainly has a more “action-y” way of drawing things. Normally an art shift like that would throw me off, but I personally think that most of what he’s done so far looks great and the plot is good enough for me to force my tastes to adapt.
I think it helps that Erica toyed with her art a fair bit in the early days as well. Now, obviously swapping artists entirely is more dramatic than anything she implemented during her run, but it is still less jarring than if they had changed up a comic with a nigh immutable house style.
Not so much “animesque” as Hanna Barbera.
Don’t make Byron angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
Yes I will! :D
Touche! ;)
Shit. Now I wish he actually had turned out to be a complete pussy. He’s going to off his friends if he doesn’t collapse first.
I’m actually disappointed he’s berserk. I sort of liked the running gag that he’s not really a berserker.
Sad :(
GTFO
Seconded.
no need for profanity. Just stating my opinion.
I just find this ‘limit break’ to be less epic than the rest of you. I’ll still be eagerly reading the comic though.
He is foaming at the mouth. Therefore your argument is INVALID.
Whoop whoop whoop! :3
that’s actually a very logical point.
I suppose I don’t have much else to say
:D
Oh, i was just going for an expression of disbelief. Not really trying to be vulgar, though i am aware of what the acronym stands for.
Gone is the careful, tactical fighter. Now we see pure, raw, rage.
Harki, and anyone else in the near vicinity, is screwed until that subsides.
At which point Byron is screwed. That’s still not damage you walk away from.
Oh, and I called if way back when he got hit with the spear in the first place. Straight through.
Just saying.
I don’t make calls like that often, I like to bask.
I called it on that page too. And on at least two subsequent pages, because I was drunk and forgot I’d already made almost exactly the same comment, but never mind that. *bask bask bask*
hi guys. i’m out…i thought i could get used to the new art, but i guess it turns out i can’t…it’s not that the new stuff is bad, john’s got all the right stuff- it’s that i miss erica’s work, and GA isn’t the same for me without it.
best of luck, Phil, T and John. hope to catch you all on future projects down the road.
I am legit bummed to see you go, Dojang.
Keep your feet on the ground.
Seconded. But I’d like to see you keep your head in the clouds.
Didn’t see this coming tbh. I thought I was supposed to be the “can’t live without Erica”-guy. If you’re going to listen to the two doodes above me than try to keep your pelvis reasonably in-between or there’s gonna be hell to pay.
i did.
Sorry to see you go, Dojang. I miss Erica’s work too. She definately had(and has) a unique style(as probably do all artists) that is hard to emulate or follow. It really suited GA well, but… things change. Hope to see you again down the road.
dude, i’ve nothing but respect for the work you do. triweekly comic updates are not for the faint of heart, and the quality you sink into these is really astounding.
get on phil’s ass to fix that creators page soon.
That’s sad, Dojang. A story this epic, and you’re gonna miss out? Yeah, the art style is different, but I think it still conveys the story well, and isn’t nearly as drastic as the style changes I’ve seen on other works.
You’ll be missed!
I don’t think he will. He’ll prolly follow it but not post or something. GA would be good enough to read even if the art was just stick figures. Don’t see how one could stay away for long.
He’s gonna be off the radar. Renegade and all that shiz. Nobody can stay away from a good plot forever. Heck, I’ve finished some really, really bad books just for what little plot THEY contained.
But, then again, I suppose not everyone is like me. :P
Honestly, I think the art is outstanding. I miss Erica’s textures, but I think John’s depiction of the characters is amazing and Erica’s shoes, much to my surprise, fit him very well.
Thanks for taking up that challenge, John. And sorry to see you go, Dojang, I loved to hate to read your puns.
It was really jarring when it first turned up, but I don’t even notice the difference any more. The characters are still themselves. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE comic-art buff.
Seconded. I’m insanely picky about comic art and John is rocking my socks.
what a girl that Troll, once there is a little threat
-5
The 1950’s called. They want their sexist insults back.
Who, Bandit?
KILL
Well, now we know just what that cultist(?) was trying to awaken. The thought of turning him loose in a city is pretty terrifying…
Dojang, you are very limited in your scope of web comic love! Bye and don’t let the Berserker chop you in the ass on the way out…BYE.
Byron is FINALLY fully up and running but…the scooby gang is gonna die once he gets done with the troll bait! Unless bandit clubs him from behind (if that will even work) I hope the elf lass fixed Gravedust before she shot and he is recovering now, they need a long range fighter against the archers and we need some SCIENCE! oh and Frigg, ilovesyou but even since you let the shit elf Best bang you? you kinda are lame….GET TO IT BITCH and see a real MAN! Byron is the MAN!!! Trolls just dont run for nothin’
BYYYYYYRROOOOONNNN!!! HELLS YEAH!!! That was soo about Time.
Besides, id someone else recognize that Byron climps after Harki in the last Panel? THAT is whut i call AWESOME!!!
I….I can’t pun…I’m too scared.
That is MUCH better, Byron. Bout damn time you grew a pair and manned up to your proud, bloodthirsty heritage.
Little disappointed you only got two of his fingers, but it’s definitely a good start.
…and the tip of his right ear in panel two. ;)
and quite a big chunk of his shoulder.
…and Harki’s heart or lung…and sternum…
Pfft. Those are flesh wounds. He’ll walk’em off.
Well, I think the savage races may have to consider peace with Gastonia now, seeing as Byron’s probably going to slaughter half their army by the looks of it…
I think the idea of a berserker isn’t quite the same as the barbarian – true D&D 3 and onwards has melded the two, but historically, berserkers were a different thing than barbarians. I mean, the word barbarian is basically Roman for “bearded dudes who think we suck.” (A very loose translation!)
But berserkers…yeah, that’s where Byron is now. A berserker tastes blood and cannot stop his rage until all potential targets are eliminated. Only the very best ones could stop themselves from eliminating friends right alongside foes. They were horrendous, fearsome opponents, and usually they were sung about after they died…having been shot to death and/or hacked to pieces by their own side. This is the kind of rage that no longer sees friends, foes, or even people. Only targets.
I’m scared >.>
Even the vikings* thought that berserkers were bad news.
*Masters of the “Bearded dudes who think we suck**” way of life.
**Or more accurately “Bearded dudes who think we suck at fighting and keep taking our lunch money”.
Barbarian is Greek for “everyone but us.” Berserker is viking for “Badass motherfucker”. There’s a subtle difference.
You, sir, are full of win.
Have a complimentary internets for your time!
Hooray! Someone knows.
In preparation for this role, the actor who plays Byron consumed twenty packets of Pop Rocks and drank a twelve pack of Jolt cola.
And didn’t explode!
You know what, it’d be a real let down if it was revealed that Byron just got rabies from a small rat in the colliseum off-screen.
Damn … Harki is much much sturdier than what I imagined.
By the way : at last. What kept you ?
And I suspect ol’ Byron is gonna be getting lots of exercise before he has to turn on his friends.
Oh, my, yes.
Syr’nj: I need a blow gun, a dart and a shit ton of sedative… stat! Things are about to get real messy.
Awww here it goes!
I thought that “kill” in the first panel looked familiar:
Chapter 17 Page 19
And
Chapter 17 Page 20
Yeah! Harki gets shown for the pansy he is
and Byron won’t remember a damn thing in the morning
And with all that rage, in the heat of combat, Byron still takes time for dental hygiene.
XD
I’ma be deeply pleased if Bandit is at the top of that rope.
SO deeply pleased. Because that is what a rogue is FOR.
*ahem* “……And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.”
Is he climbing the wall after Harki in that last panel, or just slamming his axes into the ground in frustration? Because the former will make me squee.
Also, Locke? Nearly every single comment of yours makes me gigglesnort.
Been waiting for this for a loooong time, always wondering if he was just a barbarian and *called* a berserker for flavor, or or an actual frenzy style berserker. Congratulations Byron, you now rank up there on the list next to Orson and Gutz!
oooops. Would help if i spelled Guts right. O_o
Oh. Wow. Fuck.
I was hoping that something like this would happen. Byron’s refusal to go berserk until now made me think that his rage was more a thing he was born with, rather than a class or description. An actual legitimate berserker. The kind that when they taste blood just will not stop. If you cut off their arm they will just pick it off the floor and make you eat it. They feel no pain, no fear, no fatigue, nothing except pure rage until the fury ends and they collapse unconcious in a pool of their own blood.
Congratulations! You’ve made Byron absolutely terrifying. And I love it.
Now i remember where i have seen that spear before:
http://guildedage.net/webcomic/chapter-7/chapter-7-page-13/
Maybe the cultis was truly telling the future?
Nice catch
There is NOTHING normal or reasonable about what Byron just did. Hell standing up and forcing the impaled spear/poleaxe into a troll twice his thickness just showed this isn’t just someone really ticked off. I suspect we’re about to see a berserker jump up into the stands and start a wholesale slaughter. And then when the madness falls off, I think Science will be necessary to keep him alive.
Silly, silly Harki, you have now provided Byron with the way up into the stands and more people to kill, because if you think he’s giving up just cause you grabbed to rope…. I forsee an awesome piggyback ride of death. :D
It seems to me that the Berserker taken over by madness, cared about one thing – kill, Kill, KILL.
He didn’t care about the spear in his chest, only that the axes cleave his enemy into two – Leaping with the axes in hand, his spear still staked in him and the tip of the spear was droven in by the weight. I think that the stabbing not intended but a happy coincidence for his attack.
BOO-YEAAAAAH! Go Byron! I am both surprised and somehow not surprised in the slightest by Byron’s actions in this page and the previous.
Oh my. That’s really something there.
If YOU were Byrons friend, wouyld you want to be within 100 miles of that later? He suddenly went from “big lovely puppydog with a heart of gold” to “terrifying ticking bomb”.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the first panel. Poor Harky. No killing royalty today after all. :-)
Title for this page…..”Oh it’s on”
oh and these are the songs in my mind as I read the page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxh-FfElY0M
Nah, he’s past the “epic hero walking in from the horizon to whoop ass” state. Now he’s down to the “KILL EVERYONE WHO’S NOT ON MY SIDE BLARGHARGLE!” mode.
Besides, I was thinking more along the lines of this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXHnTKcjTL0
o_O Um. Wow. Seriously, guys. Phil, T, Erica, well worth the wait.
And when you go back and re-read a bit, and it’s inferred he’s sitting on that rage ALL THE TIME, constantly controlling himself…because of course he knows the consequences…
Beautiful. I can’t wait for more. Thank you.
and harki was just getting cockey
me thinks that frig’ll stop ribbing Byron from now on, and instead be a little bit terrified
though if he only snaps out of iy=t when he hurts Syr’nj, I quit…
I just wish Erica stayed a little longer so we could see her take on Byron’s REAL ULTIMATE RAGE.
Still, I must admit John did a very nice work, he looks positively scary.
I’m curious too. Perhaps she might be persuaded to grace us with a bit of “fan art” at some later date! (Please?)
For some reason B’s face in the last panel makes me thing of The Exorcist.
I couldn’t place what it reminded me of, at first, but for some reason I found the last panel funny. Then I realized it. With blanked out eyes and wide open mouth, he looks a bit like if Gluttony from FMA had a thinner, hairier brother.
This page is so amazing!!
Ouch it got me inspirated!
http://img263.imageshack.us/i/byrontheberserkercopy.jpg/
Two Gold Stars.
Then double ouch!
What’s the “play now” thing? It wants to download an .exe file (some kind of player?) but I’m on a Mac and am not set up for dual boot… :-(
Leave it alone. It’s probably one of the many scams of the internet. All I posted is a picture.
Thanks–I thought it was some kind of an animation. Glad I’m a Mac user. ;-)
Hm… Very… Vague.
…On the one hand, I want to say “Ha ha, not so tough when facing a worthy opponent, eh?”. On the other hand, I’d be wizzin’ myself about now too….
Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Especially when you have a spear sticking out of you, and can use the it to stab the sonnofabyotch.
The Auld Grump
I’d like to say, finally. I’ve waited since best defeated Byron to see such magnificent beserking. I had always hoped, having that tiny inkling feeling that he’d do something so outrageously over the top and that day has finally come. Thank goodness. And I for one would LOVE to see a wallpaper made of Byron doing what he should be doing best. Beserking and taking his foe down by swathes not notches.
So that’s why he’s the only survivor of the War That Felled Battleshire, i guess?
If he kills the archers too then he might as well have been the war.
On second thoughts, can’t we just be friends? you know? let Byrons be Byrons?
Waaaaaaaaaait. Bayron is using two hands and still holding the troll in the spear that’s lodged on his torso?! That’s abdominals for you.
Also, never knew Bayron was the Blade Master LOL! That round attack is something I want to see forever and ever more!
Other Referencies for His New Ability:
Barbarian from Diablo2.
Axe from DoTA.
Yurnero from DoTA.
Whirlwind Attack.
Round Attack from Age of Wonders and Pox Nora.
He’s my new favourite cliché EVER!
Tazmanian Devil, as I noted above. Don’t forget the classics, man.
Also, I’m quite sure that Frigg will be fighting Byron if past comics are any indication.. Unless of course she calls for a draw.
http://guildedage.net/webcomic/chapter-2/chapter-2-page-23/
That is the best depiction of a crazed berzerker I’ve seen in while.
I wanna see how much he can take before he calms/goes down. Given that he just shoved a halberd through a troll when its lodged through his abdomen, I’m thinking nothing short of dismemberment or decapitation is going to stop him.
More evidence: Troll’s D: face.
I think Byron’s friends will be fine since he’s still focused on Harki. I’d hate to be part of the crowd watching though, since he’s probably going to attack the walls, and then, well, go berserk on the people in the stands.
…and they’ll deserve every painful moment of it.
Well. Um…wow. This has exceeded my expectations by a factor of awesome.
That first panel is just brilliant.
Is he climbing up the arena wall using the axes?
Still want that rematch now that he’s “nice ‘n’ pissed off” now, Frigg? Love ya, but I think you may need to be the armor-polishing bitch this time…does OxyClean work on troll blood?
Can’t wait to see not only how the fight ends, but also the consequences.
Excellent work, guys. And damn you for making me wait until Wednesday for more!
Indeed. I think she’ll cringe if she lives through this and is reminded that she called him a wuss. She couldn’t even give him pinpricks on Harki’s skin with her mace’s spikes, and Byron almost cleaved through him with his right-handed axe!
Rawr. >:3
HOLY CRAP. I thought he was just hitting the ground in rage. If he IS climbing the walls with his axes, that’d be even MORE hardcore.
…Sweet merciful Jesus on a pogo-stick, this is fucking EPIC.
http://guildedage.net/webcomic/guest-week-i/guest-week-jason-meador/ I’m reminded of this.
Also? ‘Bout friggin time, Byron.
But no Happy Murder Grin. :(
Phenombulous. Beautimus. 100% Totally Awesome.
What I’m curious is where Harki’s shoulder pads and chest straps go so fast. First panel hes staring in horror at Bryon with the armored shoulder pads then after that they’re gone. Along with the arrows snapping.
Last panel of previous page, the blade of the spear came straight through the cloth bands holding them on. At that point, the only things attaching the shoulder pads were arrows, and it makes sense that with a bit of jostling they’d fall off pretty quick.