V is Neutral, not Good, right?
I think this nails it. We don’t yet know why the other elf glares at V whenever they’re in the same room, but V seems to.
If you’re not being ironic here, you’ve really missed a substantial portion of the meaning of the story. Burlew has definitely been making a point about acts that are technically defined as Good while still being morally wrong.
Please forgive me if this has been tread on before, but I’m looking for a little clarification: In #774, Haley says in the last panel, “The potion [of Glibness] only works on things that aren’t true.” However, her speech balloon is peach-colored, so she’s bluffing to Elan. Why? I personally see some foreshadowing, as in Haley will be tricking Elan at some later point. I don’t think Haley will turn out to be as “good” as we’re lead to believe.
I think that the speech balloon color indicates that she’s speaking while under the power of the glibness potion, it may or may not indicate that she’s bluffing. But that’s just a WAG.
I see. And looking back, I think you’re right. Her speech balloon gradients from peach to white as she’s stepping through the border of the anti-magic zone.
By the way, people we’re discussing the party members’ alignments. My guesses:
Roy: Lawful Good. One could argue that he represents the humanitarian side of Lawful Good, whereas Miko represented the sanctimonious, authoritarian side.
Haley: Chaotic Good. Rogue? Check. Overt disregard for authority? Check. Emancipator of slaves? Check.
Elan: Neutral Good. He’s naive, happy-go-lucky, and likes people, always assuming the best intentions.
Dorukan: Lawful Good. Priest of Thor. I really like him, but I find him to be one of the weaker characters with little motivation behind his actions other than being the party healer (maybe that’s the joke, though).
Belkar: Chaotic Evil. Duh.
Vaarsuvius: Tough one. I’d say True Neutral or Neutral Evil. When she has a goal, nothing will get in her way (I think V’s female). She would not have no qualms about committing genocide if it was for the “greater good”, but that “greater good” is on her terms.
When Roy died, and got interviewed for his Afterlife Destination, he’s explicitly judged as being Lawful Good with a few flaws, but he’s TRYING. Haley is really amazingly Good, considering her profession and upbringing. Elan is more Neutral Stupid than anything, though he really does want the best for everyone, so that qualifies him as Good. I like the dwarf, and I wish that he’d get some more exposure. I really enjoyed his chat with the lizard cleric. Belkar is just plain fun, and is, I believe, a spoof of the way many people play their characters. I think that V started out as Good, but with her (I think that V might be female, too) allowing evil spirits to augment her powers, that’s definitely an evil act…especially since she had a non-evil alternative. She did it for the sake of her ego.
Make that “she would not have any qualms”. :smack: Yes, I speak English.
The alignments of all the party members are canonically known, except for Vaarsuvius. Roy and Durkon are Lawful Good, Haley and Elan are Chaotic Good, and Belkar is Chaotic Evil. Vaarsuvius’s has never been officially stated, but is generally regarded as having mixed up the “gender” and “alignment” spots on es character sheet, and put down “True Neutral” for both.
I think that when Elan sang “O Buddy Roy” he specifically mentioned that he was chaotic and so wouldn’t see lawful Roy in the afterlife.
I was just flipping back through some old strips and came across this one:
I have a question. Was it ever explained why Belkar took no damage from that fireball? If not, what possible explanations are there?
High-level rangers get the Evasion ability, which lets them avoid all damage from things like fireballs, on a successful save. But it’s not something that lets you kill faster, so Belkar forgot that he had it.
Rogues also get Evasion, starting from a fairly low level, a point which Haley is quite aware of (having used it numerous times in the strip). Monks, too, for that matter, which is why Miko asked for a fireball centered on herself, in the fight versus the ogres.
V is good in the same sense that Willow from Buffy is good-they’ve spent most of their lives helping the heroes defeat evil, but fell off a moral cliff along the way and have had to climb back up out of the hole they dug in their psyches afterwards (I’m half-sick tonite so sue me and my *&%$# mixed metaphors).
Belkar is a parody of the entire alignment concept, or at least its limitations-he’s committed some truly awful acts, but has chosen to hang out with a bunch of goody-goody types and has no interest in pursuing Evil Causes (like trying to destroy the world, say). Oddly, he’s never been shown being tempted by the actual purveyors of the Dark Side into working for them, which is a bit strange when you think about it. It’s kind of like he’s evil in a personal sense, but good when it comes to the big picture, if that makes any sense (that may just be an artifact of him being a “player character” who by default must stick with his comrades-some GMs won’t brook any intra-party intrigue at all). In any event the word “evil” is almost wholly inadequate in describing him.
Belkar isn’t unusual at all. He does what he enjoys without regard to its impact on others. That, right there, is evil in a nutshell. Why should he be tempted by the Powers of Darkness? It’s just as much fun to kill them as it is to work for them. And, like most evil people, he prefers that the rest of the world be relatively good, because that makes things better for him.
Actually, he was, as seen in the two strips starting here. Strongly tempted.
Gives hints that this portion of the storyline may be winding down soon.
I like the Heraldry on the front of the podium.
Twin winged dragons with a drop of blood?
Actually, I think it’s winding up - my money is on Girard being revealed within 5 strips, and Xykon (remember him?) appearing within 5 strips after that.
Oh, and Xykon will kill Tarquin.
Have there been any updates on Rich Burlew’s health? I’d hate to see the strip suddenly go away.