History Comicstrip / KnightsOfTheDinnerTable

%%* CasanovaWannabe: Jonny Kizinski

%%* DeadpanSnarker: Stevil, sometimes Sara and B.A.

%%* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:GARY JACKSON?!]]

%%* DrillSergeantNasty: Nitro

%%* DudeWheresMyRespect: The Knights act like this.

%%* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Crutch

%%* RightBehindMe

%%* ShyBladder: Brian suffers from one.

%%* SmallNameBigEgo: Earl Slackmozer

* CasanovaWannabe: Jonny Kizinski

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: [[invoked]] Every character in the strip. When forced to break out of this trope, Dave's mage showed signs of CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass until he was allowed to play his old character again.

* DeadpanSnarker: Stevil, sometimes Sara and B.A.

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:GARY JACKSON?!]]

* DrillSergeantNasty: Nitro

* DudeWheresMyRespect: The Knights act like this.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Hard man Crutch's real name is Leslie.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Crutch

* EvilWeapon: Carvin' Marvin has existed in B.A.'s campaign world for close to ten years. Nobody in the party could control it, and every attempt at trying failed horribly, resulting in the deaths of over forty party members. Eventually, they kicked it into a ditch along with the last NPC to die wielding it, buried it, and called it a day. This became a ChekhovsGun when the party needed to find an intelligent sword to match against ''another'' intelligent sword, Tremble, who had taken control of Dave's character.

* GlobalIgnorance: Dave. He is convinced that Canada is behind the Iron Curtain, and thinks that the language of Israel is Orcish. His grasp of history isn't much better.

* HonestJohnsDealership: Weird Pete's Games Pit, where B.A. is frequently fast-talked into buying whatever Weird Pete is trying to unload.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Trish

* {{Jerkass}}: Every character has held the "Jerkass ball" at some point or another, with Bob, Stevil, and Pete being the most common.

* LeeroyJenkins: The Knights are frickin' MADE of this trope.

--->'''Sara:''' “Actually, I think Windel was pleading for you not to kill him, Bob. His wounds weren’t really that serious.”

* MistakenForTerrorist: Happens in the November 2011 issue when the group plays a real-life based ZombieApocalypse game of [[TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu Screams of Kachuloo]]. Brian's frequent Internet searches for bomb-making and the layout for the local mall (for the game) throws up red flags with Homeland Security. A more experienced member of the department sees that the address is in gamer-heavy Muncie, Indiana and calls off the team. They've been burned there before many times...

* {{Munchkin}}: Newt (constantly) with others showing traits of this from time to time.

* NoodleIncident: The unspecified incident that caused Brian to swear off ever [=GMing=] ''Hackmaster'' again.

* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: Official Hard 8 policy is that any rule in one of their games stands as written unless an official erratum regarding it has been issued. Playtesters sometimes insert deliberate errors into games to create broken rules for players to take advantage of, until Hard 8 catches on and issues an erratum. One storyline centers on Bob acquiring a marked copy of ''Cattlepunk'' that identifies all these "special rules", and then badly overplaying his hand.

* RageQuit: When the "Loan Contract" story-arc comes to its climax and Stevil realizes that he has been thoroughly outwitted by Newt, he promptly uses a powerful magic item to off himself as well as the entire party. Nobody is pleased.

* RandomNumberGod: Acts more like the Shinto spirits of individual dice. At the same time, occasionally combated, like when Bob rolled one unlucky d10 and one lucky d10 to get a 01-05.

* SeriousBusiness: Gaming in Muncie is very serious business. There are codes of honor. Their gaming association, the HPMA, issues binding judgments. The playtesting is done in "gulags" with the Hard 8 staff occasionally having to put down rebellions. The players take extensive pains to document their games to keep their groups official with the HPMA.

* ShyBladder: Brian suffers from one.

* TranquilFury: B.A. gets like this when his players go too far with mistreating {{NPC}}s or derailing his campaign.

* TheVoice: B.A.'s mom (although she has appeared in some of the non-canon strips by the Brothers Grinn [and is ''smokin' hawt!''])

---> '''Brian:''' Oh, I thought I mentioned that. [[JerkAss Didn't I?]]

* '''Brian Van Hoose''': The textbook definition of a RulesLawyer. Frequently manipulates his less-intelligent allies into doing his bidding, and is able to cite obscure rules to wriggle his way out of just about any situation. When provoked, however, he can become violent, often flipping tables. In the beginning, he alternated between a JerkwithAHeartOfGold and a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk but [[{{Flanderization}} has turned into]] the series' VillainProtagonist with JokerImmunity. His iconic characters are a series of wizards with the word "Lotus" in their names; most famously, '''Black Lotus''', better known as '''Teflon Billy''' for Brian's skills as a KarmaHoudini. He was the original GM of the group until a NoodleIncident drove him into retirement.

* DarkChick
** Sara sometimes proves to be every bit as bloodthirsty and vengeful as the Knights, like when she destroyed a city that her boyfriend's group had kept her out of during a campaign due to misogyny.
** Gordo is a rare male example as he is the most sensitive and kind of the Black Hands but is still a member of the Black Hands.
** Also Sheila, who suffers from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. To make things more interesting, she's dating short-fused Bob whom she once forced to eat grass until he threw up.

In 2014, a Website/{{Kickstarter}} fundraiser was successfully completed to produce a live-action adaptation. Footage for three 20-minute episodes was shot, but the project went unfinished amidst allegations of mismanagement against the contracted production company from Blackburn and others. In 2018, Creator/ZombieOrpheusEntertainment was able to recover some of the footage and release a reconstructed version of the three episodes to backers.

In 2014, a Website/{{Kickstarter}} fundraiser was successfully completed to produce a live-action adaptation. Footage for three 20-minute episodes was shot, but the project went unfinished amidst allegations of mismanagement against the contracted production company from Blackburn and others. In 2018, Creator/Zombie Orpheus Entertainment was able to recover some of the footage and release a reconstructed version of the three episodes to backers.

A live-action adaptation is currently in the works. A Website/{{Kickstarter}} fundraiser was successfully completed on February 5th, 2014, and three 20-minute episodes have been produced. As of end of September, 2015, they have been released to backers only.

%%* CavemenVsAstronautsDebate

%%* CutAndPasteComic
%%* DarkChick
%%** Sara again, when she's playing for the forces of evil.
%%** Gord.
%%** Also Sheila, who suffers from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. To make things more interesting, she's dating short-fused Bob whom she once forced to eat grass until he threw up.

* BreakTheHaughty: Stevil being forced to dance for 36 hours straight in prison. When he finally gets back to his game, Newt plays [[Music/{{ABBA}} ABBA's]] "Dancing Queen" through a pair of portable speakers attached to his walkman. Newt is promptly wasted and is made to wear [[MedalOfDishonor "the Hubcap of Shame"]].
** And considering that Stevil was left in prison for that extra 36 hours because Newt chose to bail out everyone but him, Newt got off easy.
** And let's be clear about this. It wasn't some game they were playing. Stevil was actually in jail and Newt deliberately chose not to bail him out. Imagine if one of your game buddies did that to you.

* AccidentalTruth: After the fifth Golden Ticket is found, Brian spreads a rumour that one of the Golden Tickets was a forgery so he can unload his stash of [=HackerJacks=]. However, it turns out that one the reported Golden Tickets ''is'' actually a forgery.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: In Nitro's campaign setting, deceased real life celebrities become deities with the most frequently mentioned being Andy Warhol. Bob managed to successfully argue for the promotion of one of his former characters to deity status to serve as the basis of the religion for his new PlayerCharacter, a priest.

* AbusiveParents: In a flashback, it's heavily implied that Brian's father was verbally (and probably physically) abusive to him. The scene consists of poor 12-year-old Brian cowering against the wall in his room, surrounded by toys, games, and assorted geek paraphernalia, while his dad shouts at him for his poor grades, and "living in a dream world." All Brian can do is feebly mumble, "Y-yes, sir," to which his father responds, "''ARE YOU '''LOOKING''' FOR THE BACK OF MY HAND?''" No wonder he prefers fantasy to reality.

%%* MockGuffin

* MoralMyopia: All [=NPCs=] are just there to be killed or to suck up to them. But the Untouchable Trio (plus one) are brave and noble heroes, never forget that.

* TheNotableNumeral: The Untouchable Trio (plus one)

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: In universe. The Untouchable Trio will not suffer even the slightest offense against their own characters but treat everyone else like garbage.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Sara usually avoids the physical brawls at the table that often break out, either by being smart enough to avoid getting drawn in or by being scary enough that none of the guys want to mess with her. But sometimes she'll join in, and she'll be on both the giving and receiving ends. At least once, she was subjected to the "ultimate punishment" of being hung upside-down and left for B.A.'s cat to torment.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Earl Slackmozer

* TheChick:
** Sara is this in the real-life Knights.
** Sara's in-game characters also tend to play this role too, and not just because the Knights always create characters that match their genders.

* '''Sara Felton''': B.A.'s cousin. The only one at the table who [[TheRoleplayer actually role-plays]], and the [[WomenAreWiser straight]] [[TheChick woman]] of the group. She tends to play non-{{Stripperiffic}} female barbarian characters, such as '''Zayre''' and '''Thorina.'''

* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** Many foreign readers were surprised to learn that Faygo is a real brand of soft drink, and does have flavours like Rock & Rye.
** Hawg Waller's and Pizza-a-Go-Go were actual bars and pizza establishments, respectively. For bonus points, Waller's was actually in the real Muncie.
** Some readers didn't know that ''Film/HawkTheSlayer'' is a real movie.
%% * AmbiguousDisorder: Brian. He has a job that involves running an online service from his home (which he is said to not clean) and painting model figurines. He has a savant-like memory of obscure roleplaying game rules, yet sometimes forgets his own phone number. He is stated to become very uncomfortable when any social group exceeds four to six people, especially when it happens away from the context of a shared interest. He rarely speaks unless dealing with gaming, and has a face and body language that is usually unreadable. He's prone to withdrawing into his fantasies in social situations and once made up a girlfriend. And finally, some things that would annoy other people seem to have no effect on him at all, while something that others would take in stride can send him into a sudden and brutal fury, typically involving flipping over the gaming table in rage.

* ThatCameOutWrong: B.A.'s repeated line of "I've got wood for sheep" while playing ''TabletopGame/SettlersOfCatan''. Which is actually a long-standing bit of InnocentInnuendo turned IncrediblyLamePun among gamers who are familiar with the ''Catan'' series, so much so that it can be found on T-shirts, buttons, etc., for sale at game conventions and online.

* VillainProtagonist: The Untouchable Trio, even though they ''think'' they're [[IncrediblyLamePun Knights in Shining Armor]].

* AccidentalTruth: After the fifth Golden Ticket is found, Brian spreads a rumour that one of the Golden Tickets was a forgery so he can unload his stash of Hackerjacks. However, it turns out that one the reported Golden Tickets ''is'' actually a forgery.

* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech "The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: KODT #234: In the fallout of Brian's HackerJacks scheme, Brian finds himself at the receiving end of a series of these- first from Bob, then from Pete, and finally Sara and B.A.. The end result is Brian actually doing some soul searching and trying to make amends.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Brian. He has a job that involves running an online service from his home (which he is said to not clean) and painting model figurines. He has a savant-like memory of obscure roleplaying game rules, yet sometimes forgets his own phone number. He is stated to become very uncomfortable when any social group exceeds four to six people, especially when it happens away from the context of a shared interest. He rarely speaks unless dealing with gaming, and has a face and body language that is usually unreadable. He's prone to withdrawing into his fantasies in social situations and once made up a girlfriend. And finally, some things that would annoy other people seem to have no effect on him at all, while something that others would take in stride can send him into a sudden and brutal fury, typically involving flipping over the gaming table in rage.

* MoeCouplet: Just about everything that B.A. and Patty do as a couple is adorable [[UpToEleven to the extreme]].

** Bob also claims to have been in a ''FatalAttraction'' style situation with a woman at the Harness & Hoe Insurance Company; a claim which Dave finds hilarious.

* BlindingBangs: Newt and Brian.

* YourCostumeNeedsWork: Gary Jackson gets third place in a Gary Jackson lookalike contest. Of course, [[spoiler:he was supposed to be dead at the time]].