Since people are going to ask: MAD, among D&D nerds, means “multiple ability dependent”, referring to a class which needs several good ability scores to work well. The counterpart is SAD, “single ability dependent”, for a class that isn’t hurt much by 5 out of 6 scores being bad, so long as one is good. Strictly speaking, both Fighter and Barbarian are MAD, since in addition to strength, they also really ought to have good scores in Constitution and probably Dexterity. But a fighter who took a prestige class to add his Int bonus in combat would be even more MAD. Thog, by contrast, doesn’t bother at all with any of the mental ability scores, and so is much closer to being SAD than Roy is.
Only because there’s no puppies.
But seriously, thanks for explaining the D&D in-jokes. I never played the system and I miss all of the references unless somebody points them out.
New strip. Things look grim for Mr. Scruffy.
That is going to be one dead Ranger.
Not as grim as they’re going to look for YukYuk once Mr. Scruffy finds Belkar…
He should be so lucky. Belkar only kills people he’s mostly indifferent about.
Hopefully the pace will pick up. This might be the only strip that came out this month (can’t tell unless there’s a hidden or coded time stamp on each strip somewhere).
The last two came out on the 4th and the 13th.
You can also check my scrolling up - this thread is pretty diligent!
I hope Mr. Scruffy makes it… 
So, does it look to you like Qarr is deliberately shooting to miss?
NOOOOO, NOT MR. SCRUFFY!
Belkar is going to turn Yukyuk into a hat and shoes and a jacket.
Either that, or Mr. Scruffy is going to run ahead and hide, leap out in ambush, and make Yukyuk imitate the late Eviceratus.
Prediction?
Belkar. Jailbreak. Epicness ensues.
I can’t help but think that if Belkar dies saving Mr Scruffy’s life, he’s going to be VERY surprised which afterlife he ends up in.
Remember what Belkar did to an old friend for even talking about hurting/eating Mr. Scruffy.
I don’t know who I fear for more: the cat or the kobold.
Bingo. I don’t know how anyone can think this means anything other than the end of Belkar…I mean, “they’re no real threat to us”?? C’mon…
Prediction: Belkar dies saving Mr. Scruffy, and then, in his memory, the rest of the order turns Yukyuk’s head into a litter box. It’s what he would have wanted sniff
I think Mr. Scruffy’s demise is going to be the turning point of Belkars life. He might realize that his best friend died because he was lazy and apathetic.
Hmmmm, Interesting. If he reinvented himself and changed his name to reflect his worldview change, would that fulfill the death prophecies?
It’s a pretty poor ranger/rogue who can’t straight up kill a housecat by shooting at it. Especially considering this probably counted as a sneak attack (assuming the “don’t worry I won’t hurt you” bit was a successful bluff attempt).
Note to mention, he must have taken at least Rapid Reload and some mounted combat feats instead of, y’know, good ones. I must admit I’d never thought about using two-weapon fighting with hand crossbows before though, that’s pretty clever. In a retarded way.
In summation: who’s up for some extra-chunky salsa ?
As Mr. Scruffy is Belkar’s animal companion, he’s quite a bit tougher than the ordinary, Commoner-slaying house kitty. The OOTS forums at giantitp go into some details as to their guesses about Scruffy’s stats. And how the V vs Z duel is playing out, etc…
They’re worth looking at anyways, for the sheer amount of their howls of rage over Scruffy getting shot. It’s funny, Belkar and Thog have killed how many innocent, hapless people, and both of their characters are amongst the most popular in the strip, but stick one housecat and suddenly you’re worse than Xykon and Bozzok combined.
I agree with those of you who think this is it for Belkar. Sure going to be entertaining though to see who ends up taking Belkar down, and how Burlew makes it happen. (Hopefully, he’ll make it happen a little faster though. This two weeks between strips is ridiculous.) I wonder how Belkar’s going to be “kill” or “cause the death of” V before he dies though? “And as for the elf—”