A Defense of Miko

[AllisterH]

I'll admit it, I'm weird. I liked Miko and think she got a raw deal....Basically since she was not the star of the strip, of course she got screwed over. Crazy you say, but let me back it up by facts. Of course people like Hinjo since apparently all he did was stay at home. Its easy being a paladin if all you do is stay home and handle the administrative duties. Remember, even after her fall, she kicked Hinjo's ass so you know, he's got to be damn lower on the level chart.

1. Miko was an orphan raised by monks. Seriously. Do we honestly expect Jim Carrey from that upbringing? Yet of course, since she's not funny like Belkar, she's a bitch and has a stick up her ass.

2. When she was frightened and crying after being unceremoniously taken from her only home, Shojo fills her head with "You have a great destiny". Remember, Miko was still a child when Shojo took her from the only family she knew. Oh yeah, Shojo is a GREAT leader. The ends justify the means. Did Shojo see her as nothing more than a weapon?

3. Miko is sent by Lord Shojo to capture the Oots for "Threatening the existence of the world". Now, let's think about this for a moment. If the King of your nation comes up to your adventuring group and says "Oh, we need you to capture this guy. He's been accused of killing, raping and plundering entire villages and or diviners have determined it is this guy", are you or are you not going to out for blood.

2. On the way there, Miko hears MULTIPLE stories (not just one mind you) about the evils of this gang. Hell, the description for Elan is an EXACT match and she hears about the evil dwarf and the fighter. Of course, she's going to ask them nicely to come along.

3. She finally catches up with them and CHECKS again and Roy radiates EVIL, not jaywalking evil, but "I like to get my jollies by kicking small puppies off cliffs" EVIL.

So, how would your gaming group handle the OoTs party after all of these facts? Yet notice in the very next comic even after hearing what the charge is (a charge the OotS can't deny), the very first thought is, "let's just beat up this uppity bitch of a paladin and go on our way"...and worse yet, Rich presents it in a manner where we're supposed to like the OotS.

4. Notice already how Rich is making us think Miko is a bitch yet she hasn't done anything. I mean, we have Elan saying that she's mean to the party, but during the stay at the Inn anmd previously, did Miko DO and SAY anything mean to them other than the lecture about "filthy lucre"? That is considered being MEAN? Again, she's presented as a bitch but they ARE HER PRISONERS. She is under no freaking obligation to put them up (which she did I might add) yet her complaints make her seem like the bad guy. Of course, the fact that SHE WAS RIGHT TO LECTURE THEM seems to escape most people's notice. It was Roy impersonating the king and Belkar running around like the killer he is, who blew up the inn.

5. Belkar. I just don't see the reason people love this homicidal halfling. This is the EXACT same type of character most of us here would NEVER tolerate. Let's look at the situation in Azure City. Belkar BRUTALLY kills a guard, desecrates the body and then taunts Miko yet people were rooting for Belkar? Um, why?

The entire storyline just showed to me how to screw over a paladin since I can't see how Miko did anything wrond other than looking at the facts presented to her.

 

[Ozmar]

Yes, Miko is awesome.

But c'mon, so is Belkar. For different reasons. Belkar is funny. Sure, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near the psychotic little butcher, but as a character in a comic, he's hillarious. It takes a certain kind of player to play well with the other PCs while playing a psychotic character, but it can be done, and great fun for all.

But back to Miko. She is awesome. She clearly screwed up (her gods punished her after all) and her acerbic attitude certainly pissed off everyone who knew her, but that's part of the charm of her character. And she has many admirable traits also: although she ultimately screwed up (and paid the ultimate price), she only ever did what she thought was right. She was willing to sacrifice herself for what she thought was good. And that's admirable, in a way. (Of course, it doesn't mitigate the harm caused by her actions... just as a terrorist may believe in the righteousness of his cause and still do great evil.)

Anyway, Miko and Belkar are awesome for similar reasons. Neither are people you'd want to spend a plane flight sitting near, but as characters in the comic, they are funny and awesome characters.

Ozmar the Verbose

 

[Sejs]

So, essentally "Yeah, she's was a raging hosebag, but it's not her fault and/or it was her right to be".

Sorry, doesn't work for me. The Belkar counterexample fits - Belkar's a massive jerk, but he still manages to be funny from time to time, so that redeems him somewhat. Miko's a jerk without the funny.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Pride. It is all a out pride to me. Miko could get hit in the face with the obvious stick, but she would not ever admit to a mistake. Rather than showing how to screw a paladin, I saw Miko as an example of how some people screw up trying to play a paladin.

As for people liking Belkar, he is an awesome, funny character for a comic strip. I don't even think I would mind him in a party I played in or DMed if it was done just as he is portrayed. It would be easy for a real player to take Belkar past the line of tolerance, but so far I have not seen that happen in the comic.

And ultimately, I'm not quite sure why you seem to be so worked up about this. It is a comic strip for goodness sakes.

 

[Henry]

Actually, Allister, you just gave me a great idea for an adventuring scenario.

"But I'm not evil! Honest!"

"Then why are you wearing the Hand of Vecna, there are 40 wanted posters across the Empire, and this man says you burned down his Pig Farm..."

"But it wasn't me! I mean, yeah, I've got the Hand, but those wanted posters aren't me, my nemesis is responsible! And that farmer totally had his cordwood in the wrong place!.... ah, screw it, I'm outta here....

 

[Kahuna Burger]

ya know, it's one thing for the "new strip" threads to be in General, since they also alert us when Rich finally feels like posting one, but surely a discussion of a particular character belongs in the media forum?

 

[reveal]

2. When she was frightened and crying after being unceremoniously taken from her only home, Shojo fills her head with "You have a great destiny". Remember, Miko was still a child when Shojo took her from the only family she knew. Oh yeah, Shojo is a GREAT leader. The ends justify the means. Did Shojo see her as nothing more than a weapon?

3. Miko is sent by Lord Shojo to capture the Oots for "Threatening the existence of the world". Now, let's think about this for a moment. If the King of your nation comes up to your adventuring group and says "Oh, we need you to capture this guy. He's been accused of killing, raping and plundering entire villages and or diviners have determined it is this guy", are you or are you not going to out for blood.

Yet she killed Lord Shojo because she decided it was her right to play judge, jury, and executioner.

I think Rich was portraying Miko as the stereotypical paladin, just as Haley is the stereotypical rogue. Miko was strong willed and she thought she was always right. The ends always justified the means because she considered herself to be performing divine duties. Essentially, she was playing "lawful stupid."

So, yeah, she was a bitch from the beginning and had no chance of being accepted by most readers. But, again, she's a stereotype. She's supposed to be portrayed the way that a lot of D&D players think of paladins and the reason there's so much negativity towards paladins.

- loves playing paladins and hates "lawful stupid" paladins Spikey

 

[the Jester]

ya know, it's one thing for the "new strip" threads to be in General, since they also alert us when Rich finally feels like posting one, but surely a discussion of a particular character belongs in the media forum?

Except that nobody ever looks there, and OotS discussions tend to end up being about the game anyhow. I mean, just in the first few posts of this thread we're already debating evil pcs, paladins, etc. as well as the (ostensible) topic of OotS.

 

[AllisterH]

Actually, Allister, you just gave me a great idea for an adventuring scenario.

"But I'm not evil! Honest!"

"Then why are you wearing the Hand of Vecna, there are 40 wanted posters across the Empire, and this man says you burned down his Pig Farm..."

"But it wasn't me! I mean, yeah, I've got the Hand, but those wanted posters aren't me, my nemesis is responsible! And that farmer totally had his cordwood in the wrong place!.... ah, screw it, I'm outta here....

Glad to be of service.

Really, how do people expect paladins to act when they're pursuing/hunting dangerous fiends/foes?

Why does everyone think I'm worked about it? That implies that my facts are somewhat exaggerated but I listed everything straight from the comic. I mean, seriously Belkar is comic relief and he's perfect for a funny comic but would ANY good-aligned party actually adventure with a Belkar?

 

[delericho]

I mean, seriously Belkar is comic relief and he's perfect for a funny comic but would ANY good-aligned party actually adventure with a Belkar?

I've seen plenty of stereotypical D&D parties adventure with similar characters, which largely being of Good alignment. Almost invariably, the group collapses when the Belkar does something against the party members that leads to one side or the other dying, but Belkar himself has never actually acted against the party in that manner... so far.