I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict the Order will encounter Team Color-voice (i.e. Greenvoice and Orangevoice) next. Before Team Evil comes back out the other tunnel.
I used to play that way. Then I met a mysterious stranger, and everything changed.
DragonCon, 2002 or thereabouts, I was running a pickup game. The PCs, exploring a cave near an underground river encountered a pile of skulls, and as they approached, the skulls swiveled toward the PCs and began to scream.
I readied myself for: “I cast detect magic.” “I check for traps.” “Can I make an arcana check?” “What about a religion check?” “I’ll use Mage Hand to poke the stack.”
What I didn’t ready myself for was, “Okay, I start screaming just like a skull. Then I snatch the top skull off the pile, tuck it under my arm like a football, sprint to the underground river, and chuck it in as hard as I can.”
PLOT MOVED FORWARD.
Ever since that fateful day, whenever I’m in a game and the planning/investigation phase is dragging on too long, I think about what I can tuck under my arm like a football.
Not me! If I had 1 gp for every time my DM has paused, leaned over and said to me, “Are you sure you don’t want to check the room first?”…
You are Leeroy Jenkins and I claim my five pounds.
I think over-investigation was perhaps warranted back in the old, more adversarial, “DM vs Players” days when stepping on the wrong brick could mean a Save Vs Death roll. In modern gaming philosophy, stepping on the wrong brick is more likely 2d6 damage (save for half) or a short term debuff effect and the session is improved by making a short reasonable investigation if something looks off but otherwise just playing the damn game.
I think what did it for me was, we had met a creature in a dungeon who was willing to let us pass by peacefully, for payment… and the payment it wanted was one secret from each of us. My first thought, as a player, was “a secret? Can’t we just give it some gold or something?”. But then I stopped and realized: My character liked giving away secrets. And so I strode confidently into the monster’s room and gave it the most valuable secret I could think of. Not only did it end up profiting the party greatly, but it was more fun.
My favorite trap as DM is the pit trap right in front of the BBEG, whom some Leeroy always goes charging at- aaaaand into the pit.
Yeah, traps today are wimpy.
How about this one- you are t-ported nude into a pit . In the pit is a black pudding. On the other side of a forcewall you can see your stuff- and a hungry rust monster.
Let’s see the %$#@! barbarian smash his way out of that.
not what I was expecting.
There’s a lot of detail in those wide-shot panels. The, what I’m guessing are kid’s drawings, are both cute, and might serve as some foreshadowing.
Or Rich just took his kid’s refrigerator artwork, shrunk it, and stuck it in his comic.
Someone 1) really likes houseplants and 2) is terrible at darts.
Anyone attempt a translation on the cauldron runes? There’s nothing on the OOTS forum yet…
Somebody just (like a few seconds ago) did it there. Basically, it says “magic instant pot.”
Weird. I didn’t think there were that many repeated characters, but w/e. It fits with the rest of the rune deciphering, though Durkon’s mom on that wall was pretty useful, plot wise.
Still trying to out-paladin each other; hee!
What were you expecting?
I’m guessing fewer beanbags.
- I expected us to be back the the main party
- If with the paladins, I expected a more traditional dungeon, not what looks like someone’s kitchen with shackles.
Getting those crates and barrels (heh!) up and down that ladder has to be a real bitch.
Leave it to O-Chul to cut to the fundamental (if unpleasant) truth of the situation. 
They can fly, don’t forget…