I'm really flummoxed by your continued posts in this vein. Are you projecting OotS as a game of 3.5 with a DM ("V's DM") who does ostensibly claim to follow the rules, and then pointing out what he's doing wrong?
No, that would require taking the comic strip and also the game it's based on more seriously than I'd care to.
Also, I have the occasionally unnerving ability to change my mind if a better argument or explanation presents itself, and also a talent for arguing multiple viewpoints and even viewpoints I don't agree with.
That said, I should think it pretty obvious that the comic is largely based on 3rd Edition rules, and that most of them -- but not always all of them -- get followed with reasonable accuracy.
It was, though, mainly just a bit of idle conjecture on my part... If OotS was a real game, with real players behind the characters and a real DM pulling the strings behind the scenes, then what might be going on at the game table that would allow V to fly while carrying loads that would normally be a bit heavy for your average elf wizard?
That he might strong enough to carry a kobold seemed perfectly reasonable*, until (Psi)SeveredHead mentioned Durkon. And the "DM" mostly ignoring encumbrance rules seemed more plausible than V's spell working differently than everyone else's.
*I also find it incidentally amusing how many D&Ders don't grok that most small-sized humanoids are roughly the same size as a pre-schooler or kindergartener.
