Cerebus Syndrome does have its perks 
Good point, but seeing as he’s at least neutral (he was adventuring with a Paladin, after all), I’d think he’d be more likely to have brass or copper dragon allies than blue and green.
First of all, half-dragons can have any alignment, regardless of their ancestry.
Second of all, no-one said they’re allies or followers. They could be mercenaries.
I’m leaning towards Girard, now - 2 half-dragons doesn’t jive with Nale’s “evil opposites” schtick.
Hell, maybe they ARE evil followers, and Girard has gone Kurtz.
It took me a little bit because my mind went to Scott Kurtz of PvPonline. Talk about being baffled.
Now my heart/mind is in the right place and no longer part of the darkness.
My guess is they are acting on their own, after indepenently discovering who killed all the dragons. I think this is going to be resolved by Tiamat stepping in and actively stopping her followers from killing the dragon slayer. Whatever reasons the fiends gave her to get her onside will mean she will actually defend V as a matter of practicality.
That sounds like a dead end, plot-wise. OTOH, it seems as though now would be the time for the Girard’s Gate thread to start in earnest. The comic has been dicking around with side quests for too long.
I can see them as working for Girard.
Look at the trap he set in the desert. He assumed that Soon would break his oath and set a trap for anyone who was looking for him because he assumed it would be oath-breaking paladins.
So we know Girard is a guy who is very sure of his judgments but misjudges things. And he’s willing to do jump in and use force (like setting an explosive trap) without considering the possibility that he may have missed some other possibility or checking first to see what’s going on.
So I can see him as being somebody who would decide that anyone who is looking for him must be an enemy and having his followers shoot first before asking any questions.
I think you’re onto something, Little Nemo. Look at the last panels of #698, in which the scrying eye looks in on the false location of the Gate after the OotS sets off the trap: 698 Stopping for Direction - Giant in the Playground Games
Whoever is scrying (and it makes sense it would be Girard or a confederate) clearly sees the OotS there. We don’t yet know if there is a direct connection between that and the attack on V, Haley, and Elan, but it’s at least a good possibility right now.
I don’t think the scrying spell in 698 was Girard’s. Burlew has generally followed the rule of each magic using character having a distinctive color for their spells. Girard’s magic is purple not green.
Also, pre-breakdown V would have gone on a rant about how Haley should have saved him/her instead of Elan - rather than being understanding about saving one’s loved ones even if it puts them at a strategic disadvantage.
I really like the growth Vaarsuvius has shown since s/he went batty. S/he has finally realized that awesome cosmic power is not the best/most important thing in life. Too bad it took such a horrible step to get there.
How long did the stupid hotel ninjas, King of Nowhere, Belt of Masculinity/Feminity threadline go, remind me ? And what purpose did it serve in the grand scheme of things ?
The defense rests 
It showed the development of Roy’s character. He had earlier abandoned Elan to the bandits before realizing he had an alignment duty to help the helpless. His decision in the hotel to save Elan even at the cost of his own masculinity shows he had learned this lesson. And Roy’s willingness to selflessly sacrifice himself out of a sense of duty to the greater good may end up saving the entire universe.
So, yes, it was sort of an important detail.
Also, without that subplot we wouldn’t have Belkar using his Craft Disturbing Mental Image feat.
Worth it all for that alone! “Mmm, baby, I hate to see you leave but I love to watch you go!”
The inn subplot has several functions, story wise.
Just for a start lets imagine what the strip would be like if they only ever fought Xykon. Fight him at Dorukun’s dungeon, fail to destroy him, go to Azure City, fight Xykon and lose, go to Girard’s gate, fight Xykon and lose. The story would be short, repetitive, and dull, and the main characters would look like total losers. To retain reader sympathy they have to meet and beat lesser bad guys in between their encounters with Xykon.
Apart from that, the inn blowing up caused Haley’s aphasia which in turn eventually led to admitting her love for Elan.
I acknowledge that. Filler is not *bad *per se. Why, some of my best friends are… wait, no, no that doesn’t work.
But filler material is still recognizable as such. And Rich has used liberal amounts of it over the years, too. So Alessan’s assumption that this latest development is the big hook to get back on serious track just because “the party’s been fucking about” a bit too long is, IMO, premature.
Maybe you’re right.
Still, I don’t think V’s about to get another personal arc. It’s somebody else’s turn.
Has Durkon had anything for a while?
Durkon’s had almost nothing, actually. He had a short (heh) romantic subplot with Hilgya, he showed some battiness about trees several times, and we know that he’ll return to the Dwarven Lands only posthumously (have we learned the reason why he was sent away in the first place in the regular comic or only in On the Origin of the PC’s? My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet). Otherwise, he’s had the least character development of the protagonists.
Still, I’m going to hazard a guess that this attack is about the Gates and isn’t a side issue. It’s true that the scrying wasn’t in the color of Girard’s magic – could it be related to Sereni? All we know about her gate is that she loaded it with the most powerful magic creatures possible, in honor of Kraagar.
The problem with character development for Durkon is that, without a doubt, he’s already the best person in the OOTS. He is:
- Lawful Good
- Loyal
- Responsible
- Level-headed (except on the whole ‘tree’ thing)
- Wise
and so forth. Any real character growth or change would likely be for the worse and damage his already exemplary behavior pattern. Also, there’s been little tension surrounding him. Maybe he could at some point elect to defy his dwarven masters and return to the homelands without permission but the stakes would have to be very high for that to occur. Maybe he could confront Thor about Thor’s irresponsible behavior in the face of mortal devotion or something.
I agree that Durkon is the only character who’s essentially stayed the same throughout the story. I don’t know if this portends he still has a major life-changing experience ahead or not. His main unresolved character flaw is his passivity - he’s always waited until somebody else took the initiative. And his main unresolved plot hooks are the two prophecies about him (Odin’s and the Oracle’s).