Brewfore we celebrate by bringing out the mixers, I’d like to remind us that we haven’t vaccine this thing tested. Byron will have remain ferment holding his rage off for now. I would be disdraught if Syr’Nj’s concoction failed at the worst time.
I’m not sure if you’re trying to pun or something, but you successfully rendered your comment utterly nonsensical. Next time try not inserting random topical words throughout your sentences… not that Kagato’s was much more legible (serum a war? How does one “serum” a war?) …
Changing someone is meh, but it isn’t so meh when it’s something they WANT changed. What she’s doing isn’t saying “this part of you sucks, now fix it or else.” She’s saying “I see this is upsetting you, here, let me help.” It’s not a part of his personality. It’s a rage he -can’t control-, and if his reaction is any indication, he’s more than happy for her help.
Byron killed all of his friends in a berserker rage. If he WASN’T feeling upset and questioning himself over it, I’d be extremely disappointed in him. Doing something like that and just moving on with no personal conflict would make him a pretty poor character.
Me too. At first I thought “Aw, she’s so happy to be doing what she loves in the company of the person she cares about most.” But then I realized she was also excited at coming up with a temporary solution to Byron’s issue. John did a great job showing this.
I’ve have created for you, my love, a plot device. Take it, and misuse it at an inopportune time, only to discover that it is just a placebo. You controlled yourself the whole time!
No reali! She was Karving her initials on the Moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given to her by Svenge – her brother-in-law -an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian movies: “The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Molars of Host Nordfink”…
Wait, let me get this straight:
Syr’nj knows next to nothing about what makes Berserkers go Berserk (doubt anyone does or it would be a problem) yet see going to pore a bunch of chemicals down Byron throat and say it all cool now!?
Ether: A.) It a placebo or B.) Byron will turn green and become the Hulk!
Not that I object to role-playing, but if someone tried to pull this one in my last DND 3.5 group, the player would A: Never be the leader, and B: Be laughed out the door. (We don’t play anymore, naturally.) But if the player insisted, most likely the wizard or cleric in our group would have come up with some sort of Helmet of Mind Blank, arguing that Rage was a “barbarian self-only mental effect.”
Of course, having an absent-minded party leader would be a source of mass hilarity as well, never mind having a guy forget what he was doing mid-axe-swing. XD
PROTIP: If you REALLY hate a campaign because of a lame or railroading DM, roll a Berzerker. Explain to the players outside of the game first of course, or you could make them angry too.
For irony’s sake use inspire frenzy on the entire party after explaining to them outside of the game to avoid making them angry so they can all be miniature schroedinger’s FBs.
Er, we’ve dealt with several ‘zerkers in our games already. One, there is a save a break out of it. Two, our standard modus operandi is to get a collar of calm emotion made for the ‘zerker, which can be activated remotely by another party member.
We once had an FB in our party with like a -10 will save and our cleric had forgotten to prep calm emotions… he got knocked down to like -200 health and then hold person’d until he snapped out of it and died… AFTER killing our cleric so we couldn’t rez him. I don’t think a couple knocks on the head would stop one.
I was thinking mello yello, myself. However, now I can’t stop imagining Syrn diving through her bag in a panic, shouting “Where’s the mountain dew!? WHERE’S THE MOUNTAIN DEW!?”
“Wait, Syr, why am I turning green? Is that some sort of “elf-potion” thing? I mean, I… I’m also getting kinda buff, sweet. But… I’m feeling a little… Angry…. Me… Angry…. ME NO AM BYRON BERSERKER! ME AM BULK! BULK SLASH!” *cue super-powered foamy-mouthed rampage*
Wow, someone’s actually trying to treat the disabled guy’s disability instead of just treating him like he’s a dickbag for being disabled.
…And, y’know, warning them well in advance about his disability, presumably so they wouldn’t be caught out by it if it ever came up.
I also appreciate the reminder from Phil and/or T. that Byron had to be more-or-less fuggin’ killed for the ‘Zerk Rush to kick in the first time.
Seconding the earlier comment, though, that for a character who has goggles as part of her basic visual design to wait until she’s mixing smoke-producing chemicals to leave the goggles on the table is just hilarious.
A wild retort appeared!
I approve your first point – it’s awesome that she’s trying to fix the problem instead of treating him as the problem – but disagree that he gave appropriate warning. To paraphrase the first-published adventure: He didn’t say “fo’reals.” Other than “use of axes” Byron defied almost every trope about Berserkers out there; with actions speaking louder than words, he needed to use more words to convince people.
On multiple occasions the party members expressed ignorance regarding the nature of his condition as well as interest in why he didn’t match the public image of the berserker.
He never clarified this, and specifically dodged the issue. He used a word with widespread misconceptions associated with it and then refused to explain what that word meant.
That’s not being in the open about anything or keeping your teammates informed at all. If anything it’s the intentional planting of misinformation.
“Hi, I’m Superboy! Want me on your team?”
“Oh, Superboy! Sure. So basically the same schtick as Superman and Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog etc etc etc. Fly around, superstrength, all sorts of nasty bullet proof goodness and we’ll just keep you away from the green rocks?”
“Oh! Gee! Allow me to conspicuously change the topic!”
[later]
“Come on Superboy! We need some X-ray vision right now, and the villain’s flying away! Why with all these things that need getting done you might need to resort to superspeed!”
“Actually I don’t have any of those. Just a limited form of telekinesis I can’t use very well yet”
*Proceeds to get murdered by the villains*
Yeah, it’s totally ridiculous that anyone’s at all upset with him over this. He was totally out in the open about all of this from day 1. It’s right there in the name. Superboy has tactile telekinesis. Everyone knows that. Everyone except for most of the inhabitants of his universe including his allies. They all had preconceived notions about what it meant when someone called themselves Super___ and tactile telekinesis wasn’t such a preconception. They’d never heard of tactile telekinesis and would have needed the concept explained to them from the ground up.
I do agree that it’s cool that Syrnj is handling it this way. I find it humorous that anyone expected less of her, Byron included.
Are you tired of mutilating the people around you?
Do you dislike frothing at the mouth in social situations?
Do you find your shield marginally less effective with multiple mouthfuls missing?
Beserkenol might be for you.
Ask your local Apothecary, Leech, Barber or Hedgewitch about Berserkenol.
Side-effects of Beserkenol may include: Warts, Rampant Hair Growth, Insomnia, Exploding Discharge, Second Head, Flesh to Stone, and the desire to propagate a universal consciousness of Krishna.
You, sir, win an internet. Unless your surname is “Proto-Drake”, in which case you earn my daggers in your scaly bronze behind, you nonexistent bastard.
Byron, we’ve secretly replaced your prozac potion with a home-brewed blend of crack cocaine, anabolic steroids, 100% Colombian-grown arabica coffee beans and a dusting of PCP. Can you tell the difference?
And the real questions are: How long does it last? And when does he take it? And is she doing it for him, or for herself? Cause, ya know, nobody wants a beserker in bed. All that foaming at the mouth and stuff is just a real turn-off.
I wonder if that stuff will work though? I mean, the only way to actually TEST it is… well… they’d better keep a steel gate between themselves while he goes toe to toe with those toe-less machines. >:3
A real Labor of love on Syr’nj’s part. If she’s cooked up a real solution though, it might be the game beaker Byron needs to serum this war through.
Brewfore we celebrate by bringing out the mixers, I’d like to remind us that we haven’t vaccine this thing tested. Byron will have remain ferment holding his rage off for now. I would be disdraught if Syr’Nj’s concoction failed at the worst time.
I’m not sure if you’re trying to pun or something, but you successfully rendered your comment utterly nonsensical. Next time try not inserting random topical words throughout your sentences… not that Kagato’s was much more legible (serum a war? How does one “serum” a war?) …
With one’s eyesrum, of course.
I am sad I used to like her.But now I don’t like her much anymore as a hcaracter.Changing someone is meh.
And poor Byron…man. I miss his old self..this whimpering is…blah. Already made my piece last two comics
i have to say this. NEVER EVER change the random portrait generator. it never ceases to be hilarious.
I just see this as her own depth, what she does during her non combat time, doesn’t make her 2-D to me.
Changing someone is meh, but it isn’t so meh when it’s something they WANT changed. What she’s doing isn’t saying “this part of you sucks, now fix it or else.” She’s saying “I see this is upsetting you, here, let me help.” It’s not a part of his personality. It’s a rage he -can’t control-, and if his reaction is any indication, he’s more than happy for her help.
Byron killed all of his friends in a berserker rage. If he WASN’T feeling upset and questioning himself over it, I’d be extremely disappointed in him. Doing something like that and just moving on with no personal conflict would make him a pretty poor character.
I see that she decided to finally do science to it.
I like the look on her face in pannel 3
Me too. At first I thought “Aw, she’s so happy to be doing what she loves in the company of the person she cares about most.” But then I realized she was also excited at coming up with a temporary solution to Byron’s issue. John did a great job showing this.
I can’t help but think they should get together in “real life” (as far as it applies to the comic).
I’ve have created for you, my love, a plot device. Take it, and misuse it at an inopportune time, only to discover that it is just a placebo. You controlled yourself the whole time!
Now let’s make out.
Flap your ears, Byron!
Either that or he’ll take it and lose ALL the abilities that make him…him. Like that one Family Matters where Steve Urkel became Stefan Urquelle.
Kind of miss that show.
Dude! Is that Elvish Green? That’ll totally take the harsh off.
To quote a wood elf: “It’s a comfort to me.”
Did she just invent Thorazine?
Now with 30% more Thor!
“We keep the God of Thunder chained in the basement to make it. How? Oh, heh, you don’t EVEN want to know.”
hssssssss
He is scared of Moose. I thought everyone knew that.
a moose once bit his sister.
No reali! She was Karving her initials on the Moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given to her by Svenge – her brother-in-law -an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian movies: “The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Molars of Host Nordfink”…
“Also, it glows in the dark, and you can still drink it and live! How cool is that?”
Wait, let me get this straight:
Syr’nj knows next to nothing about what makes Berserkers go Berserk (doubt anyone does or it would be a problem) yet see going to pore a bunch of chemicals down Byron throat and say it all cool now!?
Ether: A.) It a placebo or B.) Byron will turn green and become the Hulk!
No no no, Hulking it what it prevents. In battle he when he snaps he’ll turn green and become perfectly pleasant.
So he becomes the jolly green giant? Will he beat the enemy down with nearby vegetation?
Now I want to develop a Treant Berserker paragon path for 4th Ed D&D. It could be for either the Warden or the Barbarian!
Or if you’re playing 3.5 go wildshape ranger+MoMF :D
Byron Smash Deus Ex Machina!
I almost started on brain chemistry, but. Well, she knows next to nothing about human physiology. :|a
maybe she secretly took a blood sample from him.
I have to believe this is just a first, rough idea made based on the general premise. She’ll see how it works and go from there.
Sometimes you gotta use a little trial and error in these things.
You really don’t want to do trial and error with a berserker considering error means your all dead… again!
Not that I object to role-playing, but if someone tried to pull this one in my last DND 3.5 group, the player would A: Never be the leader, and B: Be laughed out the door. (We don’t play anymore, naturally.) But if the player insisted, most likely the wizard or cleric in our group would have come up with some sort of Helmet of Mind Blank, arguing that Rage was a “barbarian self-only mental effect.”
Of course, having an absent-minded party leader would be a source of mass hilarity as well, never mind having a guy forget what he was doing mid-axe-swing. XD
This is not a barbarian’s rage.
This is a Frenzied Berserker’s frenzy. If you know anyone with Complete Warrior, take a look. It’s scary.
Either way, however, your solution is entertaining.
PROTIP: If you REALLY hate a campaign because of a lame or railroading DM, roll a Berzerker. Explain to the players outside of the game first of course, or you could make them angry too.
For irony’s sake use inspire frenzy on the entire party after explaining to them outside of the game to avoid making them angry so they can all be miniature schroedinger’s FBs.
Er, we’ve dealt with several ‘zerkers in our games already. One, there is a save a break out of it. Two, our standard modus operandi is to get a collar of calm emotion made for the ‘zerker, which can be activated remotely by another party member.
What, you lot haven’t introduced the ‘Hammer of Berserker Pacification’ artifact yet? Administer two blows to the head and call me in the morning.
We once had an FB in our party with like a -10 will save and our cleric had forgotten to prep calm emotions… he got knocked down to like -200 health and then hold person’d until he snapped out of it and died… AFTER killing our cleric so we couldn’t rez him. I don’t think a couple knocks on the head would stop one.
EVEN IN DEATH, I STILL ‘ZERK
Excellent avatar for that, I must say.
OH
OH YEAH!!
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid, Byron.
Naw she’s trying to pacify an angry gamer with a drink. That’s totally mountain dew.
I was thinking mello yello, myself. However, now I can’t stop imagining Syrn diving through her bag in a panic, shouting “Where’s the mountain dew!? WHERE’S THE MOUNTAIN DEW!?”
WIN.
Watch out, now. Doc Nickel’s homebrew Dew might cause more damage than it cures…
What is the deal with Mountain Dew anyway?
Isn’t it pretty much just funny-tasting lemonade?
“Wait, Syr, why am I turning green? Is that some sort of “elf-potion” thing? I mean, I… I’m also getting kinda buff, sweet. But… I’m feeling a little… Angry…. Me… Angry…. ME NO AM BYRON BERSERKER! ME AM BULK! BULK SLASH!” *cue super-powered foamy-mouthed rampage*
Wait… is it lime flavored? Because I’m a cheery man myself.
I’m happy for you!
I can’t wait for the first shot to cause uncontrollable giggling and inability to focus.
“I know green is sort of your thing, but does this come in red? I like red.”
“No, Byron. Only by absorbing this green can the Spirit of Christmas save your mind.”
I legitimately had a lol.
OH MY GOD. It’s Ecto-Cooler!
“I call it…ritalin!”
I see she has forgone hiding her tattoos of royalty.
Wow, someone’s actually trying to treat the disabled guy’s disability instead of just treating him like he’s a dickbag for being disabled.
…And, y’know, warning them well in advance about his disability, presumably so they wouldn’t be caught out by it if it ever came up.
I also appreciate the reminder from Phil and/or T. that Byron had to be more-or-less fuggin’ killed for the ‘Zerk Rush to kick in the first time.
Seconding the earlier comment, though, that for a character who has goggles as part of her basic visual design to wait until she’s mixing smoke-producing chemicals to leave the goggles on the table is just hilarious.
Beware of flaming retorts!
A wild retort appeared!
I approve your first point – it’s awesome that she’s trying to fix the problem instead of treating him as the problem – but disagree that he gave appropriate warning. To paraphrase the first-published adventure: He didn’t say “fo’reals.” Other than “use of axes” Byron defied almost every trope about Berserkers out there; with actions speaking louder than words, he needed to use more words to convince people.
On multiple occasions the party members expressed ignorance regarding the nature of his condition as well as interest in why he didn’t match the public image of the berserker.
He never clarified this, and specifically dodged the issue. He used a word with widespread misconceptions associated with it and then refused to explain what that word meant.
That’s not being in the open about anything or keeping your teammates informed at all. If anything it’s the intentional planting of misinformation.
“Hi, I’m Superboy! Want me on your team?”
“Oh, Superboy! Sure. So basically the same schtick as Superman and Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog etc etc etc. Fly around, superstrength, all sorts of nasty bullet proof goodness and we’ll just keep you away from the green rocks?”
“Oh! Gee! Allow me to conspicuously change the topic!”
[later]
“Come on Superboy! We need some X-ray vision right now, and the villain’s flying away! Why with all these things that need getting done you might need to resort to superspeed!”
“Actually I don’t have any of those. Just a limited form of telekinesis I can’t use very well yet”
*Proceeds to get murdered by the villains*
Yeah, it’s totally ridiculous that anyone’s at all upset with him over this. He was totally out in the open about all of this from day 1. It’s right there in the name. Superboy has tactile telekinesis. Everyone knows that. Everyone except for most of the inhabitants of his universe including his allies. They all had preconceived notions about what it meant when someone called themselves Super___ and tactile telekinesis wasn’t such a preconception. They’d never heard of tactile telekinesis and would have needed the concept explained to them from the ground up.
I do agree that it’s cool that Syrnj is handling it this way. I find it humorous that anyone expected less of her, Byron included.
Also, the lack of leather gloves while pouring boiling hot liquids from an unwieldy glass flask. *snirk*
But I suppose those wouldn’t give John a chance to show off her rocking tattoos.
Also, also, I could have sworn I clicked on “reply” to TNB’s comment.
The goggles! They do nothing!
I anticipate Byron tripping out, trying to suck water through his toes.
Are you tired of mutilating the people around you?
Do you dislike frothing at the mouth in social situations?
Do you find your shield marginally less effective with multiple mouthfuls missing?
Beserkenol might be for you.
Ask your local Apothecary, Leech, Barber or Hedgewitch about Berserkenol.
Side-effects of Beserkenol may include: Warts, Rampant Hair Growth, Insomnia, Exploding Discharge, Second Head, Flesh to Stone, and the desire to propagate a universal consciousness of Krishna.
You, sir, win an internet. Unless your surname is “Proto-Drake”, in which case you earn my daggers in your scaly bronze behind, you nonexistent bastard.
Just the one name, like Cher.
Exploding Discharge… is that like exploding runes?
In that it’s better not to read too much into it.
-is handed a piece of paper-
“What’s this?”
-reads-
“I prepared explosive runes this morning…? Ohshi-“
I’m assuming that’s an OotS reference?
I had a thought, “Green potion: Instant Berserk mode, Red Potion: Instant De-serk mode. Note to self: Must not forget to place labels on flask.”
: YOU CANNOT GET YE FLASK
<3
These comment threads are going to make me hate puns.
Also, the potion is so pretty…
Please pardon our prolific paronomasia.
So what if a side effect is that it’s an aphrodisiac?
Fan fic!!
Arg the splinters
Byron, we’ve secretly replaced your prozac potion with a home-brewed blend of crack cocaine, anabolic steroids, 100% Colombian-grown arabica coffee beans and a dusting of PCP. Can you tell the difference?
No one seems to realize that its people! Syr’nj Green is people! how else would she expect it to work on a human?
also, I know expect to see a Gatoraid style ad with Byron sweating green.
It’s the Gamma radiation that gives it that extra glow. :3
I didn’t know Syrn’j knew how to make sopor slime from scratch.
Dear God, I hope Byron doesn’t start speaking juggalo-speak as soon as he drinks it.
And the real questions are: How long does it last? And when does he take it? And is she doing it for him, or for herself? Cause, ya know, nobody wants a beserker in bed. All that foaming at the mouth and stuff is just a real turn-off.
He can’t take it after midnight, and if he gets any water on himself while the effects are on, he multiplies.
Whoops, got confused with something else there for a second. :3
Pff, Foam Mouth is best mouth.
That’s why I brush with Colgate ™ !
Little does he know that it’s a suppository.
Holy crap, I hope not! Then, as opposed to “foaming at the mouth”, he’d be “foaming at the… aaaaaanus….”
Yaaah… Eew.
Byron, nooooooooo! Didn’t you read Jeckyl and Hyde?!
She’s like Doctor Strange! :3 Miracle worker!
I wonder if that stuff will work though? I mean, the only way to actually TEST it is… well… they’d better keep a steel gate between themselves while he goes toe to toe with those toe-less machines. >:3
“We’ll need a name for it…. what do you think of ‘Pepto Abysmal’?”
Guilded Age: Teaching us that drugs are the solutions for all our problems since 2011.
syr’nj is a-pourin her BEEEEEEKAAAAAAASSSS!