Original Text: (From Casey)
Players are so predictable. Their next action is always “whatever you least expect”.
Shamus Says:
During the original run, this one was spoiled about six strips earlier when people began pointing out the relative worth of +1 Sword vs. +0 Pig.
Shawn Says:
The “Headdesk” avatar saw a lot of use on Livejournal in the months and years following this comic.
I’m not seeing a “Headdesk” avatar on the Avatars page, which is a shame because that sounds like something I’d love to have. :-3
I’d completely forgotten they were there to rescue the pigs!
I love that the DM gave them a real consequence for their stupid actions, but of course this group would never let it go at that. I would hate to be at a table with these guys, but I love reading about them.
As much as I love this cartoon, I must confess that I have a difficult time distinguishing between the different characters based upon their specific font styles when their speech bubble isn’t obviously pointing to their character.
Is there any way I could get you to put the name of each character in their specific font over on the sidebar for easy reference?
It took me a couple of seconds before I figured out who was saying, “I still want the +1 sword…” and who was saying, “Sigh. Which pig would you like…”
I’m afraid that doing much of any work on the CB site is a distant Nth priority to most everything else I have to do. It’s why the site is still plain white, and will probably always be.
The one handy tip: if it’s in a box, it’s Casey, the DM.
So THAT’S where *headdesk* came from!
PS: Why does my avatar keep changing?
One of my favorite pages!
…I must say that the DM(s) I have played with over the years would actually applaud a solution like this.
However we all know that this poor broken DM is an example of a BAD DM.
@Satan’s Best Buddy: I suspect this site uses the Wavatars plugin produced by Shamus. Here’s the explanation. http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1462
TL;DR: Stop lying about your e-mail.
A +1 sword is only worth more than a pig if you have a use for it. Let’s not forget that ‘value’ is a relative, not an absolute. To a farmer, a pig represents months of feed and animal husbandry. The sword may be something he or his father brought back from a war he was conscripted into and hold no special value, especially if he can’t sell it (or may be arrested and prosecuted for having it).
I find it perfectly plausible that a farmer would have ‘Grandad’s old blade’ hanging in the barn, never had much use for it, but my gaffer, he tells me offen, “Breagen, that sword’s a lucky blade. Saw me through the Kobold Wars, it did. Never needed to be sharpened, neither. Why, one time, old ‘Dodger’ Nattly and me were trapped behind enemy lines…”
Tell a story and make the players believe.
Is it possible/fun to run a game with a shortlist of enemy stats but otherwise just make stuff up as you go? No prep, just constant improvisation.