I talk so much, when I get started I can't stopandromeda3116June 27 2012, 16:57:33 UTC
It's an excellent fantasy webcomic with complex, interesting characters, arcs, and plotlines. While it's based in a world that runs on the rules of Dungeons and Dragons, you don't need to know those rules beforehand. Everything necessary to the plot and characters are explained or shown in-story, and you might miss a few gags, but I only have a passing familiarity with the rules and I've never been lost or found it unfunny.
The first 100 or so strips start off kind of rough, very simple -- which may have been because it was just getting on its feet or because Rich Burlew hadn't decided where he wanted to go with it yet -- and kind of... lame, to be honest (I always hesitate before linking people to the first strips because they're nowhere near the quality of the rest of the story/art), but it really picks up steam with the introduction of this character, Miko. She started off as a challenge for Burlew, to see if it was possible to write a character who is Lawful Good and fights for the good guys, but who still opposes the team. To quote the party leader, she follows the letter of the alignment while ignoring its intent, and is self-righteous to a fault. One of the other standout characters is Vaarsuvius, the gender-neutral magic-user of the team, whose character arc more or less carries the fourth act of the story. Burlew takes some serious risks with V, and the story in general (particularly from the third act and beyond).
The villains are also smart, stylish, and brutal, with the Big Bad (Xykon) who is completely irredeemable and unsympathetic (purposely) and the Dragon (Redcloak) who works with Xykon because his people have been oppressed, killed for sport, and treated like cannon fodder for centuries, but he can't give them the freedom and equality they need without the help of the Xykon. Even though Xykon is really just a superpowered asshole, you can't help but start to sympathize with Redcloak the more you learn about him and his reasons for going Evil. He still commits some horrible crimes, but the cause he's fighting for makes you think that maybe he should ultimately succeed. Redcloak is who Amon and Hiroshi Sato should have been, unquestionably wrong in their methods but unquestionably right in their reasons.
It's not without problems -- I'd like to see a few more female characters with a little more variety, for one. One of the main characters (the second-in-command) is a woman, and she gets a lot to do, as the stealthy thief (which is also explored in-depth as both an asset and a flaw) who is one of the smartest and most capable members of the team, but the men do outnumber the women. It kind of goes back-and-forth, with female characters joining the team for a time and moving on later -- although I know a lot of readers really disliked her, I loved one arc with the non-Action-Girl Celia, who is a damn good lawyer and negotiator outside of battle, but not much use in a fight because she doesn't believe in killing and refuses to betray her principles to make things easier.
The art also seems to put some people off, but at the same time, when people give it a chance, they mostly agree that it works for the story and, oddly enough, is actually really good art, for being made up of stick figures. This strip is probably the best example of how it works so well (no real spoilers, don't worry). It tells a whole, adorable story without a single word.
Ultimately, the good -- mainly the incredibly well-written characters and all the major risks that Burlew is willing to take with them and the plot (for instance, it's one of the few stories I've read/watched that is more "will the characters succeed?" rather that "how will the characters succeed?") -- outnumber the bad. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys fantasy or gaming.
The first 100 or so strips start off kind of rough, very simple -- which may have been because it was just getting on its feet or because Rich Burlew hadn't decided where he wanted to go with it yet -- and kind of... lame, to be honest (I always hesitate before linking people to the first strips because they're nowhere near the quality of the rest of the story/art), but it really picks up steam with the introduction of this character, Miko. She started off as a challenge for Burlew, to see if it was possible to write a character who is Lawful Good and fights for the good guys, but who still opposes the team. To quote the party leader, she follows the letter of the alignment while ignoring its intent, and is self-righteous to a fault. One of the other standout characters is Vaarsuvius, the gender-neutral magic-user of the team, whose character arc more or less carries the fourth act of the story. Burlew takes some serious risks with V, and the story in general (particularly from the third act and beyond).
The villains are also smart, stylish, and brutal, with the Big Bad (Xykon) who is completely irredeemable and unsympathetic (purposely) and the Dragon (Redcloak) who works with Xykon because his people have been oppressed, killed for sport, and treated like cannon fodder for centuries, but he can't give them the freedom and equality they need without the help of the Xykon. Even though Xykon is really just a superpowered asshole, you can't help but start to sympathize with Redcloak the more you learn about him and his reasons for going Evil. He still commits some horrible crimes, but the cause he's fighting for makes you think that maybe he should ultimately succeed. Redcloak is who Amon and Hiroshi Sato should have been, unquestionably wrong in their methods but unquestionably right in their reasons.
It's not without problems -- I'd like to see a few more female characters with a little more variety, for one. One of the main characters (the second-in-command) is a woman, and she gets a lot to do, as the stealthy thief (which is also explored in-depth as both an asset and a flaw) who is one of the smartest and most capable members of the team, but the men do outnumber the women. It kind of goes back-and-forth, with female characters joining the team for a time and moving on later -- although I know a lot of readers really disliked her, I loved one arc with the non-Action-Girl Celia, who is a damn good lawyer and negotiator outside of battle, but not much use in a fight because she doesn't believe in killing and refuses to betray her principles to make things easier.
The art also seems to put some people off, but at the same time, when people give it a chance, they mostly agree that it works for the story and, oddly enough, is actually really good art, for being made up of stick figures. This strip is probably the best example of how it works so well (no real spoilers, don't worry). It tells a whole, adorable story without a single word.
Ultimately, the good -- mainly the incredibly well-written characters and all the major risks that Burlew is willing to take with them and the plot (for instance, it's one of the few stories I've read/watched that is more "will the characters succeed?" rather that "how will the characters succeed?") -- outnumber the bad. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys fantasy or gaming.
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