OotS #707 is up

[freyar]

I don't think the reader is supposed to be cheering on the elf. I think you're supposed to be bothered by this in exactly the same way that you were supposed to be bothered by prior strips of paladins and adventurers farming goblins for EXP. Of course, that doesn't mean that you weren't supposed to find a dark humor in the wordplay- its still a comic strip.

I think this is spot on.

 

[Rechan]

Why? One rampaging horde that worships an evil god isn't much different from another from the perspective of someone inside the game world.

Because I honestly don't see Goblins as the "rampaging horde" type.

And the Azurite Paladin slaughtertime was well, well before Team Evil pulled the "Stomp Azure City".

 

[Maggan]

I don't think the reader is supposed to be cheering on the elf.

Ding! I think you're spot on. This is building sympathy for the goblins, and antipathy towards the elves.

/M

 

[Merkuri]

I don't think the action was unreasonable, or unexpected, or out of character, or even evil. I just don't think it was funny.

 

[Rechan]

This is building ... antipathy towards the elves.

As if one needed to build antipathy to elves.

 

[Leatherhead]

I don't think the reader is supposed to be cheering on the elf. I think you're supposed to be bothered by this in exactly the same way that you were supposed to be bothered by prior strips of paladins and adventurers farming goblins for EXP. Of course, that doesn't mean that you weren't supposed to find a dark humor in the wordplay- its still a comic strip.

I don't think so. The elf spells out how the hobgoblin is a weasle and then gets the paladins to approve. I think it is more to show how "hardcore" the elf is.

 

[jeffh]

Maybe it's from reading Goblins as well as OotS, but I was left feeling rather queasy and not at all amused by this strip.

I had the same reaction, and was pretty sure it was intentional on Rich's part. I'm surprised and a little disturbed by all the approving responses here. I'm not saying they should have automatically trusted this guy but the way he was treated here was exactly the sort of bigotry that the goblin races in OotS have had quite legitimate grievances against from the word go. (This is especially apparent if you've read Start of Darkness.) Redcloak and the goblins are not exactly moral paragons themselves but this is the sort of thing that, at the very least, makes their motives understandable.

 

[jeffh]

I don't think so. The elf spells out how the hobgoblin is a weasle and then gets the paladins to approve. I think it is more to show how "hardcore" the elf is.

Well, given that Cadfan's version at least matches what was seen on panel, that alone makes it preferable to this interpretation. Where does he "show", as opposed to speculate, about how the hobgoblin is a weasel (much less a "weasle", whatever that is), or "get the paladins to approve?". The paladins are talking, in the last panel, about actively hiding this from their leadership.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Elves are awesome.

QFT.

(Rolling my Sense Motive on the Hobgoblin)

Judging from his responses, I get the feeling that the Hob in question probably WAS a spy; and quite frankly one of the first things to go in Mazlow's hierarchy is the benefit of the doubt.

That's what I thought, too. I mean...he offers to go "undercover" for the elves. After being thrown in prison by the side he's supposed to spy on, and probably recognized, being the only hobgoblin in the jail. How would his offer even be possible? Totally seemed fishy to me.

Even if he was sincere, and then that does suck (I really like Hobgoblins, actually)...they (the elves) are basically doing a prison raid in enemy territory outnumbered and massively overpowered if the enemy as whole caught on and went after them. They really can't take any risks like trusting a sketchy would-be ally or dallying for long right now.

 

[EroGaki]

Ding! I think you're spot on. This is building sympathy for the goblins, and antipathy towards the elves.

/M

If it reveals the true character of elves, then I support this. Elves are monsters, everyone of them.