The other pantheons already have their armies. The Dark One needs one just to stay on equal terms.
There was a race in Dark Sun that was called the Gith. They were githyanki who had been attacked with a massive githzerai psionic weapon in the middle of trying to conquer Athas (the Dark Sun world) and forgot who and what they actually were.
They do? Is that from some rule/splat book? Because I don’t recall it saying that anywhere in the strip, unless a vague reference to a war (which I don’t remember the exact words of) by one of the Three Fiends counts as it.
The current strip? Set in Valhalla? A hall full of warriors waiting to be called into battle?
That’s the way superhero comics work. Every twentieth villain has a legitimate beef with the world, like Magneto for example. But they take it to an extreme and beyond; strict story formulas make them interchangeable with any other villain.
Rich explores different aspects of D&D alignment. In the forward to Start of Darkness he says, “There are people in this world who are driven to evil because of what their life has forced them to endure. Xykon is not one of those. Redcloak might be, though.”
In part. I suspect Redcloak is a tragic figure, someone who might have been neutral or better under the proper circumstances. Making the Dark One a meglamaniac (not entirely unreasonable, since he is a god) would undermine that theme. So I don’t think Rich will go that route.
On the other hand if a plot device is needed, the Dark One could probably provide.
In the Norse religion, the warriors in Vallaha were training to be ready for Ragnarok. But this strip (especially Thor) is not based strictly on Norse mythology. Rather more on the Marvel Universe version of Thor and whatever other gods appear there.
At any rate, we actually haven’t seen Vallhala up close, just a view from a distance. So we don’t know for certain what it’s like. You can assume it’s much like the Norse version, but don’t be surprised if it turns out different. One thing that’s different is that there’s no expectation of there even being a Ragnarok.
Actually, Ragnarok does exist in Oots. During the vote on ending the world a character in panel 4 said, “It’s no Ragnarok, but it’ll do. Sutur, Lord of Fire Giants, votes Yes.”
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1012.html
Also, historically most polytheistic religions allowed for other gods worshiped in adjoining regions. Multiple pantheons was the assumption I’d WAG before monotheism took hold.
Ragnarok is an inevitable end-of-the-world battle. There might be an end-of-the-world battle in OotSverse, but as far as I can tell, it’s not inevitable. It’s an idea specific to Norse mythology and not shared by the other two pantheons/mythologies. That’s what I meant by there being no Ragnarok in OotSverse. Not that the idea/name weren’t known.
Looks about right…
The Giff were from Spelljammer.
Ah yes.
Man, the 90’s were weird.
Which had its own branch of gith, too…
You should’ve tried the 70s.
The Gith are also in Dark Sun. But they are a degenerate version of that race, primitive and feral.
And don’t forget the giant space hamsters!
Would they have been that memorable if not for Minsc and Boo?
MrDibble, well, they’re using the whole body in your image, not just the head.
I dig the castle on stilts that are rooted in the dead god’s eyesockets. (Cue guitar arpeggio here.)
Damnit Rich, quit screwing around and get to the ‘what’s so important about the Astral Plane?’ reveal already.
Those are chains - I believe it’s flying, and those anchor it.
Sure they were!
Don’t get me wrong - 3rd and 5th Edition were much better games, but in terms of content, 2nd Ed was the craziest, most imaginative period in D&D history. TSR was flailing, and they were throwing everything they could against the wall hoping it would stick. Most of it was crap, of course, but it was damn fun to read.
Beware Woolly Rupert!