| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/VolumeOne_800x600_7510.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The characters are all- Well look at the title!]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->'''Cale:''' Richard, we need to go back in time. For all of us you need to open the portal. We can't do this without you. We need your help.\ |
| 5 | '''Benny:''' Foolish elf, Richard doesn't do this for us! He doesn't travel at our side because he cares or secretly desires companionship. He joined us for the opportunity for destruction, the pleasure of killing - And most likely out of boredom. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ''[[https://www.lfg.co/ Looking For Group]]'' was a fantasy {{webcomic}} by Ryan Sohmer and Lar [=DeSouza=], the creative team behind ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'' and the Blind Ferret Entertainment animation studio. It borrows from classic ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' conventions and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' to tell an original story. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The main character is Cale'Anon Vatay, an elf who yearns to be a just and good hero. Unfortunately, in the LFG world, elves are AlwaysChaoticEvil. However, this is something that Cale is not aware of until told to go forth and do heroic stuff by his monastery, after which he meets an undead warlock named Richard, who is the embodiment of pure Chaotic Evil. Seemingly out of boredom, Richard decides not to kill Cale outright but to accompany the elf and watch him anguish over his existence and antagonize him whenever possible. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Shortly after meeting Richard, Cale is killed (guess who did that) and Richard helped him seek out a priest to resurrect him. Enter Benn'Joon, an [[WordOfGod unknown race]] priestess who, while more pragmatic than evil, has about as few qualms as Richard. She agrees to raise Cale for help with her pursuers in the King's Legion (who are also evil). Benny's adoptive father, a minotaur scholar named Krunch, also joins with them. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Then they set on their quest: Cale to restore goodness and honor to his race, Benny to pay off her debt to the legion, Krunch to learn the secrets of the ancients that can help with both their goals, and Richard... well, he just likes to kill things, and following these guys around seems to afford him plenty of opportunities for a little carnage. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | As the group progresses, the story arc continues to get more detailed. Suffice to say, it is too interesting and vivid to be revealed here. The comic was officially retired as of August 31, 2023, so [[ArchiveBinge read it and enjoy!]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | This webcomic was being made into a feature film by Blind Ferret that was due out in 2008, according to Sohmer. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbazH6aE2g&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elfgcomic%2Ecom%2F trailer is available here]]. However, the efforts fell into DevelopmentHell for several years, before being reworked as an animated series funded via Kickstarter. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ---- |
| 20 | !!''Looking For Group'' provides examples of: |
| 21 | |
| 22 | %%* ActionGirl: Benny and Pella. [[spoiler:And Richard.]] |
| 23 | * AffectionateParody: |
| 24 | ** ''Literature/TheSwordOfTruth'' is used as a MacGuffin. Richard calls the weapon useless, but the writer has admitted he rather likes the books. |
| 25 | ** The webcomic probably counts as an AffectionateParody of the fantasy genre in general, considering how often ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and similar works are quoted and lampooned. |
| 26 | ** It seems like the comic is getting ready to parody ''Film/ThreeHundred'', with a battle involving less than three hundred men to stop the Legion. |
| 27 | --->'''High Engineer:''' Between our respective honor guards and a few bloodrage, we're looking at a total force of less than three hundred.\ |
| 28 | '''Commander:''' Three hundred men.\ |
| 29 | '''High Engineer:''' ''Less'' than three hundred. And only about half are men.\ |
| 30 | '''Commander:''' Three hundred to stop the legion from building a portal.\ |
| 31 | '''High Engineer:''' You're not listening.\ |
| 32 | '''Commander:''' The bulk of our army is around the city itself. ''Gather the three hundred!''\ |
| 33 | '''High Engineer:''' Please stop rounding up. |
| 34 | * AerithAndBob: Cale, Pella, Krunch, and... Richard. |
| 35 | * AlwaysChaoticEvil: |
| 36 | ** Elves are supposed to all be Chaotic Evil in this world. Cale has chosen to be Chaotic Good. Long ago, there were plenty of non-evil elves, but a faction called the Vullii who became religiously devoted to evil forced all of the other Elvish nations to join them or be put to the sword. The surviving non-evil elves were forced to go into hiding and remain a minority. |
| 37 | ** For demons, BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad. Should a demon be suspected of good, or even indifference, they are put to trial. |
| 38 | * AmusingInjuries: Inflicted to and/or by Richard, and many others. |
| 39 | * AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:Tavor]] is trapped in [[HumanPopsicle ice]], presumably for all eternity, since he's immortal. [[RuleOfCool The ice is also]] [[IncendiaryExponent on fire.]] |
| 40 | ** To top it off, Richard melts his head off afterward. |
| 41 | * AndShowItToYou: Richard takes this as a joke. |
| 42 | -->'''Richard:''' The look on your face when a toddler rips out your heart and shows it to you: priceless. |
| 43 | * AnimateDead |
| 44 | -->'''Richard:''' In case you weren't sure, the skeletons are on ''our'' side. |
| 45 | ** He's also mayor of a small village whom he has made undead. |
| 46 | * AnnoyingArrows: Richard has been shot at with arrows by just about everyone with a bow, including Cale. Repeatedly. He has also been pinned to a ship's mast with arrows, been shot in the back with arrows, and had an arrow through his head when being "tortured." Seeing as how he's already dead he usually just plucks them out on his own so long as they aren't stuck... but, y'know... annoying. |
| 47 | ** Taken to the logical extreme when, since they're having a hard time removing an arrow from Richard, Cale just draws his bow and fires the arrow, with Richard STILL ATTACHED. |
| 48 | ** [[spoiler:When an arrow actually hurts and draws blood, Richard realizes he needs to recharge his NighInvulnerability.]] |
| 49 | ** [[spoiler:Later, Richter and his legion of the undead have become mortal. Cale, who by this point has gotten used to using Richard or any other nearby undead ally as a meat shield against arrows, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/543 is having trouble]][[https://www.lfg.co/page/544 adjusting to this.]]]] |
| 50 | * AntiHero: Cale'Anon, an elf who tries to go against his evil heritage and be good (similarities to Drizz't Do'Urden are coincidental according to the author) despite being surrounded by amoral characters. |
| 51 | ** It seems that since they realized Cale's similarities to Drizzt, Cale's been used to parody said drow on several occasions. |
| 52 | * ApologeticAttacker: The Knight of the Way getting ready to slit Cale's throat, on behalf of Princess Leena, in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/933/ 933]]. |
| 53 | * AppleOfDiscord: [[spoiler:While Richard's probably got a thousand and one reasons to turn on the party by now, it's the Book of Innocence that invokes this trope for real, especially since we've learned by now that ''Richard may have his reasons.'']] |
| 54 | * ArmorPiercingResponse: When the Elder Dragon tells Cale that the Archmage always intended for him to rule Kethenecia, Cale coldly responds, "Maybe he shouldn't have killed my wife." After a {{Beat}}, the Elder admits he has no idea what to say to that. |
| 55 | %%* ArrowCatch / CatchAndReturn: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/241 Cale]]. |
| 56 | * ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: |
| 57 | ** "'''[[YouKilledMyFather You killed our father!]]'''" "[[LampshadeHanging You made him use a tired cliché!]]" |
| 58 | ** When Richard fully regains his memories, Cale suggests they should talk. |
| 59 | --->'''Richard:''' Talk about what? [[spoiler:How everything I knew was false? How I got caught up in my father's machinations? How I earned my power by failing my brother? How I'm female?]] How my choice of warddrobe borrows heavily from a doll?\ |
| 60 | '''Cale:''' Let's start with that last one. |
| 61 | ** Happens in reverse order when Cale gets brought to the demon court and is charged with not knowing the words of popular songs and vanquishing evil. |
| 62 | * ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:Richard]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/500 becomes one.]] |
| 63 | -->'''Adviser:''' Did the crown just laugh?\ |
| 64 | '''[[spoiler:Richard]]/Crown:''' [[BlatantLies No.]] |
| 65 | ** The next page has him called "the Crown of Doom", to which he reacts by saying he likes where it is going[[note]]but would have preferred 'Killer Hat'[[/note]]. |
| 66 | * ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler:Ray'd Bool gets one to replace the arm that the enemy took off]]. |
| 67 | * ArtEvolution: Compare the first comic to whatever the most current one is. |
| 68 | * AscendedMeme: Fans of ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' joked that Richard's battle-cry "For Pony" means he is a brony. [[https://shop.blindferret.com/products/ambrosia Some of the official merch capitalizes on this.]] |
| 69 | * AuthorAppeal: Fathers loving their children in spite of the mother being evil, crazy, cold, or distant is a recurring theme in this comic, as well as Ryan Sohmer's other works. |
| 70 | * AuthorTract: Relatively brief, but certainly brings up real world politics [[https://www.lfg.co/page/655/ here]]. |
| 71 | %%* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Benny and Krunch. |
| 72 | %%* AxCrazy: Richard, quite [[https://www.lfg.co/page/363 literally]]. |
| 73 | * BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Tavor and Leena]]. |
| 74 | ** [[spoiler:''Subverted'' with the king of Gamlon. Turns out it was just an illusion.]] |
| 75 | %%* {{Backstory}}: The main group. |
| 76 | %%* BadassArmy: [[spoiler:Richard's villagers.]] |
| 77 | * BadassBoast: By Richard. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/947/ Here.]] |
| 78 | ** And by Sooba, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/130/ here.]] "You think you know me." |
| 79 | ** Another splendid exemple by Richard [[https://www.lfg.co/page/1488/ here.]] "I have power EVERYWHERE.", especially just after being told "You have no power here." |
| 80 | %%Example disagrees with itself and both names listed have no context about how they fit* BadassBookworm: Krunch |
| 81 | %%** Krunch is more of a GeniusBruiser. Richard, on the other hand, is the world's most unexpectedly non-squishy SquishyWizard. |
| 82 | %%* BadassCrew: Cale's group. |
| 83 | %%* BadassLongcoat: Cale has one. |
| 84 | * BadassNormal: The enemy commander. Also a FourStarBadass. [[spoiler:It would appear he is no longer the ''Enemy'' Commander.]] |
| 85 | * BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Pella uses the shards of the Sword of Truth to forge a pair of new swords she names as "Good" and "Evil". She described Cale as the balance between them. |
| 86 | * BattleCry: '''"FOR GAMLON!!"''' '''"With me!"''' |
| 87 | ** '''"FOR PONY!!"''' |
| 88 | %%* BedmateReveal: Ep. 357. |
| 89 | * BerserkButton: Do NOT call 'Gid' an abomination near [[https://www.lfg.co/page/743/ Krunch.]] |
| 90 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Even after he TookALevelInBadass, Cale is a very nice, idealistic elf. But if he has to, he will now send his TokenEvilTeammate to blow up a mountain. Also, he was trained to [[spoiler:fight large groups of warriors while unarmed and blindfolded.]] |
| 91 | * BigBad: Aelloon is certainly building himself up to be one. [[spoiler:Tavor]] is a close second. |
| 92 | ** DragonInChief: Aellon considers himself an agent of the King of Legara, [[spoiler:who hasn't been seen in decades.]] |
| 93 | ** Confirmed when we learn that the King is very much active [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/480 and it's Tavor]].]] |
| 94 | ** Then it turns out that [[spoiler:Aellon wins the civil war following Tavor's death and [[DragonAscendant succeeds him]] as [[BigBad King of Legara]].]] |
| 95 | ** As of strip 781, the real Big Bad is, and apparently always has been, [[spoiler:the Archmage. Everything bad that's happened so far was a result of the Archmage's plans to make Cale into the king the Archmage wanted him to be.]] |
| 96 | * BigDamnHeroes: Subverted as the main characters arrive with reinforcements too late to save the Northern Army. |
| 97 | ** Played straight with Krunch's entrance. |
| 98 | * BigLippedAlligatorMoment: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/188 This strip]] of Richard breaking into song, along with several other character, and Cale noting InUniverse that it had absolutely nothing to do with their quest. |
| 99 | * BigNo: Cale does this when [[spoiler:he sees his wife kissing a rival]]. |
| 100 | -->"...Can we all agree he ran away like a little girl?" "Aye." "Moving on..." |
| 101 | * TheBlacksmith: Pella. The series also adheres to the tradition that smithing is to be expected from dwarves. |
| 102 | * BlitheSpirit: Cale has dedicated himself to ridding the world of evil. It is not going too well. [[spoiler:He gets to be a king though, so no sweat, the plot's getting somewhere.]] |
| 103 | ** A nice bit of coincidence is that the greatest evil he ever met is the guy whom he spends all his time with. |
| 104 | * BoisterousBruiser: Yup, Pella again. She cuts people's hands off to break the ice... and it works. |
| 105 | ** For Richard, anyway. Who knows what would happen if she tried that on a living thing like Cale... |
| 106 | * BookEnds: [[spoiler:The comic began with Cale shouting "Greetings, World!" as he sets out for adventure. The comic ends with Richard shouting "Greetings, World!" as he welcomes the damned as the new ruler of Hell.]] |
| 107 | * BornInTheWrongCentury: Cale believes he is this after traveling back in time to a kingdom of elves that shared his ideals. It says something when Pella, who is ''actually'' [[TimeTravel in the wrong century]], fits in and knows what things are like better. |
| 108 | * BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Multiple strips: |
| 109 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/187/ 187]]: Hospital, Home for the aged, veterinarian, home for foun(dlings?) and or(phans?), Hospital for old age people, with pets, who have no parents who love them. |
| 110 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/938/ 938]]: |
| 111 | --->'''Assassin 1:''' What kind of a fish was it?\ |
| 112 | Trout?\ |
| 113 | Tuna?\ |
| 114 | Tuna Trout?\ |
| 115 | '''Assassin 2:''' He's an avid fisherman with very limited access to good fishing spots. |
| 116 | * BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Good lord, has Cale been thoroughly broken. His master makes him think his wife, Shora, left him for another man and then, apparently, kills her to ensure that Cale has nothing to come back to and essentially force him to become a force for good. Then he has to kill an innocent child to return to his own time and ensure the survival of Kethenica. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.]] |
| 117 | * BrickJoke: Richard introduces himself by his numerous titles, and at the way end he mentions he's "mayor of a little town up the coast." [[spoiler:Guess which town becomes a major plot element much later?]] |
| 118 | ** Could also be ChekhovsGun, as seen below. |
| 119 | ** While making a series of jokes about how many people seem to know the group in such a big world, a strange man rides up on an improbable steed and says he has a letter for Cale. It's relevant much later. |
| 120 | ** The Sword of Truth and the Fork of Truth. |
| 121 | *** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/267 "...And my]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/514 bear arms."]] |
| 122 | ** The first time Cale visits the capital, he comments on the lack of a towering dungeon, which Benny says that the king "didn't want his precious skyline marred". Fast-forward to [[https://www.lfg.co/page/486 486]] and the story of how [[spoiler:Tavor]] became king... |
| 123 | * BulletproofHumanShield: |
| 124 | ** This happens very early, but rather than a hero using Mooks, the TokenEvilTeamMate-to-be Richard smugly drags an innocent peasant into the path of several of Cale's arrows (even though he wouldn't be killed by them anyway, being undead), and enjoys the expression on his face when he realises he's killed an innocent. He even suggests going after the son and wife to make the complete set. |
| 125 | ** Much later in the series [[spoiler:Cale does this himself]] using [[spoiler:Maikos]]. It gets hilariously lampshaded. Just because he's undead doesn't mean he can't feel pain |
| 126 | --->[[spoiler:'''Maikos:''']] You had time to grab me and put me in front of you? Why would you not use that time to dodge? |
| 127 | ** Even more hilarious in that Cale doesn't do it once, but ''twice.'' |
| 128 | --->'''Cale:''' ''What's wrong with me!?'' |
| 129 | * BullyingADragon: Benny decides that she's had enough of Richard's seemingly spontaneous violent outbursts and is going to make him stop. [[ImpliedDeathThreat She is quickly dissuaded of this notion.]] |
| 130 | * ButtMonkey: Cale before he TookALevelInBadass. |
| 131 | ** The gnomes, often with fatal results. |
| 132 | ** Richard at times, but at least he can ''survive'' pretty much everything that literally gets thrown at him. |
| 133 | * TheCaligula: Richard, though the citizens of his town are pretty used to it and are thus incredibly jaded towards dangerous situations. This is, of course, because they are [[spoiler:already dead]]. |
| 134 | ** It's somewhat implied that they enjoy it by now. |
| 135 | * CallBack: So very many. You have Richard the mayor, "Chicken!", The Fork of Truth, the letter for Cale... |
| 136 | ** Early in the comic, Richard has his special "pillaging shovel" (gem-encrusted trowel). He later gives it to Cale. Much later, a vision of Richard as a child shows him planting flowers with a trowel. |
| 137 | ** Remember when Richard [[https://www.lfg.co/page/618/ blew up one of the moons]]? Turns out you can still see its remains [[https://www.lfg.co/page/709/ at night]]. |
| 138 | * CallingYourAttacks: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/163 This]]. |
| 139 | * TheCavalry: A villainous example [[https://www.lfg.co/page/982/ here]]. |
| 140 | * CameBackWrong: In one of the early strips, Ben'joon warns that this ''could'' happen to Cale when resurrecting him from being incinerated, and if she had cast Revive on his ashes with the centipede Richard had slipped in there still... well... in there, most certainly ''would'' have. |
| 141 | * TheCameo: |
| 142 | ** [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Ned and Maude Flanders]] in strip 371. |
| 143 | ** [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Elrond]] in 374. |
| 144 | ** Most recently, WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} makes for good firewood. |
| 145 | ** Urchin from LICD appears saying 'Hail!" in strip 70 |
| 146 | ** [[Franchise/StarWars Obi Wan Kenobi]] appears in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/45 strip 45.]] He will be missed |
| 147 | ** [[strike:[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Frodo and Samwise's]]]][[CaptainErsatz Crolo and Wil's]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/32 unexplained yet curious love could only end in tragedy.]] |
| 148 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/311 Not even]] Film/MaryPoppins is safe from Richard. |
| 149 | ** Jamie Hyneman from ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' seems to be paying a visit [[https://www.lfg.co/page/211 here.]] |
| 150 | ** [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Abu]] appears on a rooftop [[https://www.lfg.co/page/435 here.]] |
| 151 | * CantStandThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Parodied. |
| 152 | -->'''Richard:''' Women.\ |
| 153 | '''Cale:''' Yeah.\ |
| 154 | '''Richard:''' Why are any of them still alive?\ |
| 155 | ''[beat]''\ |
| 156 | '''Cale:''' That's a little bit extreme.\ |
| 157 | '''Richard:''' You may be right.\ |
| 158 | '''Richard:''' [[CrossTheLineTwice What are your thoughts on penning them up to use for mating]] [[EatsBabies and the creation of snacks?]] |
| 159 | * CardCarryingVillain: "I am '''Richard'''! Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead..." |
| 160 | ** Lord of the Dance... |
| 161 | ** [[OverlyLongGag The Mistress of Magma]]... |
| 162 | ** ...and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the mayor of a little village up the coast]]. Very scenic during springtime. You should visit sometime." |
| 163 | *** No, you probably shouldn't... Cale eventually works out that whenever he gets bored, Richard uses the village to commit acts of unspeakable evil. |
| 164 | ** Turns out Richard HAS to be this, as committing atrocities is the only thing that keeps him from reverting to human form and losing his powers. |
| 165 | * CasualDangerDialogue: [[TheStoic Dorel practices his sarcasm]]...[[https://www.lfg.co/page/477 in the middle of]] [[spoiler:[[StormingTheCastle invading the King's fortress.]]]] |
| 166 | * CerebusSyndrome: In the first volume's intro, Sohmer tells that the first episode of the comic was written and drawn as a ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' parody, but the makers realized the potential of their own fantasy world, so from the second strip on the story starts going in its own direction. Nowadays Richard serves as the main source of comedy, with the other characters only occasionally delivering a punchline. |
| 167 | * CharacterDevelopment: Cale and Richard getting most of it. Which it is depends on your point of view. |
| 168 | ** Richard did like to kill things, and we all saw what happened with [[spoiler:that little boy and his village. And Richard's rabbit, though who knows if that was real compassion or just manipulation. But then again, he did heal Cale's neck when it was slashed]]. |
| 169 | ** In-Universe, done deliberately to [[spoiler:Cale's wife so that he would leave her behind and [[WalkingTheEarth begin wandering.]]]] |
| 170 | * ChekhovsGun: In the early days of the comic, Richard introduced himself as "Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, and the mayor of a little village up the coast". Think it's just an ArsonMurderAndJaywalking joke? [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/253 Think again]] ]]... |
| 171 | ** The Sword of Truth appears to have been an early aborted story line once the writer found a more worthy plot for his webcomic... until it turns out that there actually WAS a purpose for it that just hadn't been revealed until much later. |
| 172 | ** A later strip has The Phares come back as the only guards on a direct road into the city. |
| 173 | ** And then there is Richard's trial. Needless to say, when supernatural beings hold court, make sure you listen to every single word, especially during your sentence. |
| 174 | * ChekhovsGunman: 70 pages before he's introduced [[https://www.lfg.co/page/89 Hctib Elttil]] is given a [[https://www.lfg.co/page/19 throw away line from Richard]]. |
| 175 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/701/ The Rakkuns]]... or they would be if Richard hadn't already killed them all. |
| 176 | * ChekhovsArmy: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/236 "Did you do as I asked with the women and children ?" "Yes, my lord, but the catapult could only fire four of them at a time."]] Nothing unusual coming from [[SociopathicHero Richard]] now, right ? Indeed, think about those poor helpless [[spoiler:'''soldiers''']] who've been [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/253 "taken care of"]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/252 (read: brutally butchered)]] by women and children ''who came raining on them''.]] |
| 177 | %%* TheChessMaster: The Archmage of Kethenicia is a rare good guy example. |
| 178 | * ChildrenAreInnocent: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by a small boy who prays with Richard. Then [[spoiler:the innocent child Cale kills turns out to be the Archmage in disguise. The innocence that had to be killed was Cale's, to [[TookALevelInBadass badass him up]].]] |
| 179 | ** The lost and frightened little girl in the middle of the battle in Richard's little town up the coast that a compassionate soldier picks up. [[spoiler:And quickly regrets; see EnfantTerrible below.]] |
| 180 | %%* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Cale, at least in the beginning. |
| 181 | * [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement City of Plot Advancement]]: Kethenecia. |
| 182 | -->'''Cale:''' It always comes back to Kethenecia, doesn't it? |
| 183 | * CollectorOfTheStrange: Richard's bear arms, shovel of pillaging, ''kidney hat''... |
| 184 | ** Cale's group: in order of appearance - the omnicidal undead warlock, the female priestess of unknown race raised by minotaurs, her father, and the warrior-bard dwarf... who is a time-traveler from the distant past. |
| 185 | %%* CombatMedic: Benny |
| 186 | %%* CombatSadomasochist: Richard |
| 187 | * ComicallyInvincibleHero: Richard. Well, okay, he's not a hero, but he is on their team, views fatal injuries as flesh wounds (Usually), is incredibly powerful, and kills off enemies with ease. Hilariously. And he's not only undead but 'survived' several attempts to seal that deal, also hilariously. |
| 188 | * ComicallyMissingThePoint: Richard... ''[[https://www.lfg.co/page/291 overhears]]'' Cale and Benny in the woods. Richard thinks he's killing her, and offers to help bury the body. Probably justified by Richard's LackOfEmpathy. |
| 189 | * ConvectionSchmonvection: Richard, being an undead cloaked in robes has no trouble at all fighting a Magma Elemental and even decapitates it. Then again, he's a warlock, so he probably has some trick up his sleeve. |
| 190 | * CrapsackWorld: Even with the BlackHumor comedy sense, that world is a mess: Villagers eat their children, a kid lures adults to kill them, backstabbers of backstabbers and torturers that escape justice. It's so bad that the group made of a OmnicidalManiac warlock, a mercenary type priest with a ruthlessly pragmatic Tauren father with anger issues, a dwarf who kills for fun and a TokenGoodTeammate elf who still plans genocide on the enemy, are the good guys. And not in a DesignatedHero way, they are this world's best hope for a better future because they don't always want to hurt people. |
| 191 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: [[spoiler:Maikos and the entire town he's from.]] |
| 192 | * CrowdSong: This seems to happen with frighteningly regular occurrence. |
| 193 | * CruelTwistEnding: The [=NPC=] story, The Liveliest of Convexes, reveals that the incident in which Richard's headless body made a bunch of people happy and celebrate was actually just the DyingDream of an orphan boy who, along with his entire village, perished bloodily at the hands of bandits. |
| 194 | * CrystalDragonJesus: As revealed in the [[https://www.lfg.co/page/298 298th]] comic, The Sisters' religion appears to be based on the Abrahmic faiths... Only, it has Adonai/Allah/God replaced with [[spoiler:a bunny]]. |
| 195 | %%* CuteMonsterGirl: Benny, to some. |
| 196 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Later strips are dragging these out. [[spoiler:We see Richard as a CheerfulChild in a flashback, and it turns out Cale had a wife who he presumably caught cheating on him.]] |
| 197 | * DaddysGirl: As much as they snark at each other, Krunch would never let anything happen to Benny if he could help it, and Benny is [[spoiler:willing to support Cale's possibly hopeless cause because he refused to acknowledge that her father was probably dead.]] |
| 198 | %%* DarkActionGirl: Captain Tah'vraay. And arguably Benny. |
| 199 | * DayInTheLimelight: The spin-off comic ''[[https://www.lfg.co/npc/archives/ NPC]]'' serves this purpose for various secondary characters. |
| 200 | * DeadGuyPuppet: Richard not only makes a DeadGuyPuppet but also ''sings'' about it in ''Slaughter Your World''. |
| 201 | * DeadpanSnarker: |
| 202 | ** Benny and Tavor, usually with Cale on the receiving end (he's just such an easy target for sarcasm.) |
| 203 | ** Cale's starting to become one too. |
| 204 | --->'''Commander Kickass:''' Did you know [[spoiler:Aelloon is my son]]?\ |
| 205 | '''Cale:''' You must be ''so'' proud. |
| 206 | * DeathIsCheap: Used inconsistently. When the comic is trying to be funny, bringing someone back to life is pretty easy. When the comic is trying to be dramatic, bringing someone back to life is impossible. This is best illustrated [[https://www.lfg.co/page/186 here]], when Benny talks about her fiancé (who was KilledOffForReal via decapitation) while bringing her fiancé's father back to life by ''regrowing his head from nothing''. She brings him back to life ''[[RuleOfFunny so she can kill him again.]]'' |
| 207 | ** Averted with [[spoiler:Krunch's]] apparently irreversible death, despite it being perhaps the least destructive death in the series. He was 'just' stabbed. But his soul had been out of his body for too long. It was too late to bring him back. |
| 208 | * DetonationMoon: [[spoiler:In [[https://www.lfg.co/page/618 this]] strip. While there are other moons, Richard seems to have done this for [[ForTheLulz no]] [[ForTheEvulz reason]]. Cale is horrified; Richard wants a high five]]. |
| 209 | * DeusExitMachina: Richard is occasionally sidelined so the rest of the cast has to get along without his StoryBreakerPower. |
| 210 | * DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler:The Archmage notes that the destruction of the Bloodrage Stronghold was ''not supposed to happen.'' This is coming from a guy who could be called a MagnificentBastard. This was after he was revealed to be Richard's bunny in disguise.]] |
| 211 | * DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Richard is apparently destroyed by the Archmage in their fight, but he turns out to be fine (albeit with physical damage).]] |
| 212 | * DistractedByTheShiny: [[AC: [[NoIndoorVoice OOH!]] Tim find coin! [[https://www.lfg.co/page/380 Good day!]] ]] |
| 213 | %%* TheDitz: Tim. |
| 214 | * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/413 This]]. |
| 215 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/723/ That ship full of slaves]] which are revealed to be "bankers found guilty of causing the economic collapse of their kingdom." [[RippedFromTheHeadlines Hmm.]] |
| 216 | * DraconicHumanoid: The Guardians of Eight, an ancient order of dragon people connected to the origins of Kethenecia, the sword of truth, and the Archmage. Their appearances in the comic are pretty scarce, as they seem to be more active behind the scenes nudging the heroes in the direction of a brighter future. |
| 217 | %%* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Maikos]] is apparently Richard's. Richard is Cale's. |
| 218 | * DragonRider: Parodied, if Krunch's story is to be believed. Early, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent smaller (and smarter) dragons]] apparently tamed ''humans'' in an attempt to achieve ''flight.'' |
| 219 | ** This part of the story may have actually been told by Richard, as we find out after a few minutes that he has woken up partway through Krunch's tale. Krunch then says to Richard, "Don't interrupt me." |
| 220 | ** Played straight also, Legara utilises dragon cavalry during their attack on the North. |
| 221 | ** The Kethenecian forces are now doing this as well in order to break through the Legaran forces and attack their portal, but riding on [[OurDragonsAreDifferent sand dragons]]. |
| 222 | * DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Krunch dies off panel. Apparently he was stabbed.]] |
| 223 | * DudeLooksLikeALady: Many people {{in universe}} make cracks about Cale looking effeminate. It's not all that apparent to the reader, though. |
| 224 | %%* DumbMuscle: Tim |
| 225 | %%** '''CHICKEN!!!''' |
| 226 | * ElementalPowers: The [[spoiler:New sword of Truth, a couple of swords which have power over fire and ice. [[Manga/RaveMaster Blue Crinsom, anyone?]]]] |
| 227 | ** Also the Phares |
| 228 | * EliteMook: Tah'vraay and Benny and Benny are captured by a quirky group of empire soldiers, Pella swoops down to save them with a bunch of gnomes, and challenges their leader... cut to next panel where all the gnomes are dead, and Pella's captured as well. She comments that the soldiers are stronger than they're used to, and then one asks her to fill out a performance survey. |
| 229 | * EmbarrassingNickname: Cale dubs Richard "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Dick]]". |
| 230 | * TheEmpire: Legaria |
| 231 | ** TheAlliance: The Bloodrage, the Trolls, Gnomes, Sisters and Sons, and [[spoiler:Richard's village]]. Though considering how they're all relocating to Kethenecia and Cale is supposedly king of that city they might end up becoming a rather cosmopolitan [[TheGoodKingdom kingdom]] |
| 232 | * EntitledBastard: In books 31 and 32, the group has to deal with an entire village of these. They trick a gullible giant into slavery. Despite this, and having access to relatively prosperous mines, the villagers go to great lengths to complain about being starving poor. Despite earlier unpleasantness, they expect Cale's party to protect them when their village is attacked. And when the village is saved, they ungratefully act entitled to Cale's help rebuilding. |
| 233 | * TheEndingChangesEverything: The last page of "What Lies Beneath the Underneath" [[spoiler:shows that one of the dwarves had been working with the imps all along to lure other diggers to their doom]]. |
| 234 | ** "A Very Bad Day" reveals that [[spoiler:Wille, the child whose "Poppa" was killed by Richard early in the main comic, is actually a serial killer who lures kind-hearted parental figures to their deaths. His apparent tears of sadness were out of frustration at being kill-stealed rather than grief for his father (who is never actually seen in the comic).]] |
| 235 | ** "The Liveliest of Convexes" [[spoiler:retcons the scene in which Richard's headless body celebrates with villagers to part of a DyingDream]]. |
| 236 | * EnfantTerrible: A toddler in Richard's village [[spoiler:tears out a soldier's heart and holds it up so he can watch it beat as he dies]]. |
| 237 | * EtTuBrute Richard says this when [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/302 Cale shoots an arrow through his body in order to give the rabbit (trapped in a magical bubble) an air hole to breath through while Richard is causing havoc with the blue elves. Richard is actually taken down momentarily, probably from the slight shock of Cale going that far to keep the peace]]]]. Played for both laughs and drama. |
| 238 | * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: One comic hinted that this is true for Richard, though she might have been a motherly servant. |
| 239 | %%* EvilCounterpart: One could argue that [[spoiler:Tavor]] or Richard is this to Cale. |
| 240 | * EvilTastesGood: Richard admits as much. "I once drained the soul of a monk. It tasted like chocolate." |
| 241 | * EyepatchOfPower: Captain Tah'vraay. [[spoiler:She can see dead people with it.]] |
| 242 | * FailedASpotCheck: The only possible reason [[https://www.lfg.co/page/390 this]] could lead into [[https://www.lfg.co/page/391 this.]] |
| 243 | %%* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Richard is alive.]] |
| 244 | * FanDisservice: "So pleased you're experiencing new sights... [[https://www.lfg.co/page/180 Then again, new sights aren't always what they're cracked up to be.]]" |
| 245 | * {{Fanservice}}: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/152 The 152nd strip]] has a bit of [[MrFanservice manservice]] going on. Also, most of Benny's outfits look like they could have been painted on. |
| 246 | ** And then there's the last panel of [[https://www.lfg.co/page/167 167]]. |
| 247 | ** And there any doubt about this [[https://www.lfg.co/page/208 page (208)]]? |
| 248 | ** ''And'' [[https://www.lfg.co/page/272 272]], where Cale charges into battle wearing nothing but a jockstrap. |
| 249 | ** Page [[https://www.lfg.co/page/180 180]] is probably the only one so far for Richard fans, though a beach scene drawn during a Ustream session may count. |
| 250 | ** Page [[https://www.lfg.co/page/290 290]] hints at new relationships. |
| 251 | *** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/291 Page 291]] appears to confirm it given all the small hints that have been dropped along the way. |
| 252 | * FanserviceFauxFight: To cast one particular spell, Benny and Pella are obliged to have a pillow fight in their underwear (thanks to the highly immature student wizard who long ago wrote the spell). |
| 253 | * FantasticRacism: Quite a bit here and there, like the time our heroes get sent to the past and learn firsthand about how minotaurs were treated, but [[https://www.lfg.co/page/558 #558]] plays it for laughs. |
| 254 | %%* FatIdiot: Tim |
| 255 | * FingerTwitchingRevival: [[spoiler:Tavor]] in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/482 #482]]. |
| 256 | ** And again in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/492 #492]] with the same character. |
| 257 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/130 You think you know me?]] |
| 258 | ** [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/3 ...and the mayor of a little village up the coast. Very scenic during springtime. You should visit sometime.]]]] |
| 259 | ** Krunch comments that it is never a good omen when Gid calls him "father". [[spoiler:That is the last time they see one another, as Krunch dies in battle shortly after]]. |
| 260 | * FollowTheChaos: Richard is easily tracked by a trail of "littered corpses" |
| 261 | * ForgettableCharacter: Assaracus. Upon his reappearance, the main cast literally spends two entire pages trying to remember who he was. Subverted in that the group was screwing with him to say why they remember him: he is a giant butt. |
| 262 | * ForTheEvulz: Lets face it. This is the only reason Richard travels with the group. Not out of goodwill, or some vague desire to improve the world. He's along for the ample opportunities for mayhem, murder, manslaughter, general cruelty, and evil. But mainly because he's bored. |
| 263 | ** [[spoiler:Maybe.]] |
| 264 | * FriendlyEnemy: Krunch's father and Commander Kickass refer to each other as old friends and the latter goes into AntagonistInMourning mode upon defeating the former. |
| 265 | %%* FriendshipMoment: Cale glomps Richard. |
| 266 | * FromZeroToHero: Pervasive ButtMonkey and FailureHero tendencies aside, Cale'Anon starts off as naive and ditzy, but ''very'' slowly awakens to his destiny as a hero -- [[spoiler:ending the war with Legara and re-establishing the lost city of Kethenecia]]. |
| 267 | %%* FullFrontalAssault: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/272 As close as they could get]]. |
| 268 | %%* GenghisGambit: [[spoiler:The reason for Tavor's immortality]] |
| 269 | * GeniusBruiser: Krunch Bloodrage, who, while confirmed as being the "scholar" out of two brothers (the other being "the warrior") still hefts around an enormous hammer and has in the past tackled a ''dragon''. |
| 270 | ** Just to be clear: This is not figurative; he leaped at the dragon ''and wrestled it to the ground''. |
| 271 | --->'''Richard:''' Bad news, Cale. I'm afraid that your position as my closest and dearest companion is being replaced by the fellow who just tackled a dragon. |
| 272 | ** Later on, during the Siege of The North, he descended into an UnstoppableRage after the black dwarves killed his father, the likes of which frightened even his more martially-minded brother Ray'd. |
| 273 | * GeniusLoci: The planet itself is alive, and Richard ends up speaking to it when he pushes his way into the core. |
| 274 | * GenreSavvy: |
| 275 | ** When the party returns to the Gnome City, the following exchange takes place: |
| 276 | --->'''Richard:''' Good news!\ |
| 277 | ''[Richard picks up a Gnome Guard]''\ |
| 278 | '''Richard:''' We're on the same side!\ |
| 279 | '''Gnome Guard:''' Don't fwoosh me bro. |
| 280 | ** Cale in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/400 strip #400.]] |
| 281 | ** The slaver ship captain immediately calls bullshit on the idea the children she's transporting are slaves. |
| 282 | --->'''Captain:''' You are too well dressed and too well nourished. And most tellingly, you look at me while speaking. |
| 283 | %%* TheGlomp: Cale gives Richard one in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/172 172]]. |
| 284 | * GodGuise: Happens to Cale a few times. |
| 285 | ** While inside a giant sand worm, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/400 Cale meets a tribe who thinks he's a god]], but he guesses that this is a tribe of [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals]] and will eat him to gain his power instead of worshiping him. He's right. |
| 286 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/569 Trapped by mountain goblins]], Cale tries to [[InvokedTrope invoke this]], telling the goblins that they will discover that he resembles some god of theirs and they should start worshiping him. They worship Tim (and later Sooba), and try to have [[BrickJoke Cale for lunch]]. |
| 287 | * GoodColorsEvilColors: Richard uses this idea to describe why he needs his "red fwoosh" back by having Cale describe fire and the sky. |
| 288 | -->'''Richard:''' What do you see?\ |
| 289 | '''Cale:''' Fire.\ |
| 290 | '''Richard:''' Describe it.\ |
| 291 | '''Cale:''' Hot.\ |
| 292 | '''Richard:''' Look closer.\ |
| 293 | '''Cale:''' Mysterious. Consuming. Intimidating. Powerful.\ |
| 294 | '''Richard:''' Now look up and tell me what you see.\ |
| 295 | '''Cale:''' Beauty. Endless possibility. Hope. Oh. We need to get rid of your blue fwoosh. |
| 296 | %%* GoodIsNotNice: "I need you to blow up a mountain." |
| 297 | * GreatBigBookOfEverything: The Tome of the Innocent contains all of the world's knowledge. If the book were ever to be destroyed, that knowledge would be made known to everyone. |
| 298 | * HartmanHips: Benny. She's had them since her [[https://www.lfg.co/page/4 first appearance.]]. |
| 299 | ** So does Richard. |
| 300 | %%* HealItWithFire: Richard when [[spoiler:Cale's neck is slashed]]. |
| 301 | %%* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Commander Kickass]] |
| 302 | * HellHasNewManagement: [[spoiler:The final page shows that after his HeroicSacrifice to disentangle the worlds, Richard has taken over Hell.]] |
| 303 | * HellYesMoment: Krunch Bloodrage has one of these in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/131 this]] strip. |
| 304 | * HeroicBSOD: Benny after [[spoiler:Cale kills Aelloon when he and Richard unknowingly burst in on their peace talks. She breaks up with him on the spot, putting Cale into a BSOD of his own.]] |
| 305 | %%* HiddenDepths: Richard. |
| 306 | %%* HiddenHeartOfGold: Averted; Benny has to explain to Cale that Richard does not have one. |
| 307 | * HopeSpot: |
| 308 | ** Pella and the gnomes trying to pull a BigDamnHeroes for Benny and Tah'vraay. |
| 309 | ** [[spoiler:After Leena's rise to power,]] Cale and Benny successfully sneak into Kethenecia, disguise themselves, and make contact with Gaten, who had always seemed like a trustworthy ally. [[spoiler:Gaten proceeds to betray them and they are imprisoned by Leena.]] |
| 310 | * HourglassHottie: Benny and especially Pella. Richard requires a veeeery ''weird'' definition of "Hottie". |
| 311 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: |
| 312 | ** Pella justifies [[spoiler:destroying the gnomes's defense tower, thus forcing them to go to Kethenecia with the others]] as this, but Cale shoots it down. |
| 313 | --->'''Cale:''' This justifies it?! What right had we to make that decision for them?! |
| 314 | ** To say nothing of Cale's mentor taking steps to ensure Cale does not return to his sheltered life and becomes a hero, up to and including [[spoiler:eliminating the one thing that could compel him to return, ie ''his wife''.]] |
| 315 | ** This is basically Krunch's CatchPhrase. |
| 316 | ** The Archmage, who not only set all of this up, [[spoiler:he made Cale believe he killed an innocent child in order to save the world.]] |
| 317 | * IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:Leena is holding her's and Ray'd's daughter hostage to force his cooperation.]] |
| 318 | * ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: A squad of guards in the cyberpunk world are firing at Cale and Richard and missing horribly, then a drone hands all the guards glasses and Richard finds a hole in his chest. |
| 319 | * IncendiaryExponent: |
| 320 | ** Taken to its logical extreme with [[spoiler:Tavor]]'s death. He gets encased in flaming ice. |
| 321 | ** Played for laughs when [[spoiler:Richard defeats the [=ChaChas=] with explosive horticulture. And thinks he "nailed it" with an UnflinchingWalk, except his butt, back, and head are on fire.]] |
| 322 | * IndenturedServitude: Cale saves a slave ship full of bankers who ruined their kingdom's economy, and were sentenced to five years of servitude as punishment. |
| 323 | * InnerMonologue: Cale's panther, frequently. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/130 You think you know me]]. |
| 324 | ** Later parodied [[https://www.lfg.co/page/221 "DIS MY INSIDE VOICE!!!"]] |
| 325 | %%* InnocentInnuendo: Inverted - "It sounds like he's hurting her." |
| 326 | %%* InterspeciesRomance: Benny and Cale are the obvious ones, the not so obvious ones being [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/561 Krunch and Captain Tah'Vraay]]]] |
| 327 | %%* InTheDoldrums: Richard gets locked in one called "the Infinite Plane of Suck." |
| 328 | * IronButtMonkey: Richard being able to survive just about any injuries [[spoiler:in his undead state]] makes him prime fodder for this role. |
| 329 | %%* IronicEcho: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/787/ For Pony ]]. |
| 330 | * IronicEchoCut: Dramatic version -- "Oh." [[spoiler:When the King of Legara is killed, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/490 past]] and [[https://www.lfg.co/page/491 present]]. Or so it seems.]] |
| 331 | * ISurrenderSuckers: The Bloodrage has less subtlety, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/145 and are more in favor of sarcastically yelling, "WE SURRENDER!" while charging forward with red eyes]]. |
| 332 | ** They're not called [[MeaningfulName Bloodrage]] for nothing. They surrender... to their anger. |
| 333 | %%* ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/335 "I didn't think this joke through."]] |
| 334 | %%* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/232 "Interrogations are hard."]] |
| 335 | %%* JadeColoredGlasses: Cale puts on a pair for a while. |
| 336 | * JerkassHasAPoint: When Cale [[spoiler:becomes a drifter after causing "only suffering and death"]] it's Richard who tells him to man up and atone. |
| 337 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While ''incredibly rare'', there are a few moments where Richard is not as big a {{Jerkass}} as usual. |
| 338 | * JokeItem: The Sword of Truth looked like an incredible weapon, but was actually so shoddy that it would inevitably shatter in battle. The only reason it became famous was that its wielders would go into a berserk rage due solely to that shoddiness. Then a smith with a twisted sense of humor enchanted it to make the wielders ''laugh'' instead of go into a rage when it shattered. |
| 339 | ** LethalJokeItem: Before losing it's only redeemable quality, the anger it gave to its wielders allowed them to do things no one thought possible. Breaking the sword guarantees a kill. |
| 340 | * JuryOfTheDamned: Richard is held in court to be judged by his peers -- the damned, who don't think he's living up to his damnation. [[spoiler:Subverted in that they don't have the power to enforce their ruling after all.]] |
| 341 | * KangarooCourt: At one point Richard is tried by a court of Lesser Demons who are accusing him of the crime of not being evil any more, which seriously offends him. The judge proclaims him Guilty until proven Innocent. |
| 342 | -->'''Prosecuter:''' Not only does this Warlock travel with a group of Good and Neutral aligned beings and beasts - ''He hasn't murdered a single one of them.''\ |
| 343 | [courtroom filled with other Lesser Demons gasps in shock] |
| 344 | * KickTheDog: The entirety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbazH6aE2g&fmt=18 Slaughter Your World]]. This includes Richard, literally, kicking the dog. |
| 345 | ** Not to mention his 'choke the bunny' moment. Any charm-type spell Richard might be under is just a convenient excuse, Richard wants to kill everything that's outside the party almost all of the time anyhow, and may not be opposed to an undead pet... |
| 346 | ** [[spoiler:As it turns out, Richard must do this on a regular basis to keep his powers.]] |
| 347 | * KillItWithFire: |
| 348 | ** What Richard does to many, many things in the comic (when he isn't killing them in other more graphic ways). But hey, that orphanage attacked him first anyway. |
| 349 | ** [[spoiler:Commander Kickass also does this to destroy the Bloodrage city]]. |
| 350 | * KlingonPromotion: Based on his desire for the Sword of Truth which [[spoiler:is the only thing that could kill Tavor, and the fact Tavor gained the crown after killing the previous king, Aelloon was probably aiming for this]]. |
| 351 | * KneelBeforeZod: When taken to "the Innocent", [[https://www.lfg.co/page/573 Richard is ordered to bow]], so he bows in an exaggerated manner to knock out the guards. It's immediately subverted when Richard sees the Innocent and bows genuinely. |
| 352 | * KudzuPlot: A whole lot of plots seem to come and go and intertwine at rapid speed, when a simple premise like "finding the sword of truth" would be much easier to follow. |
| 353 | * LackOfEmpathy: Richard really does not understand that finding your own people dead is a solemn moment. |
| 354 | %%* LeeroyJenkins: Richard does this [[https://www.lfg.co/page/96 here]]. |
| 355 | * LeftHanging: Most NPC stories have a clear conclusion or a ToBeContinued notice, but "Tales as Old as Tim" and "The Hctib Diaries" do not. "Tales as Old as Tim" was eventually continued. |
| 356 | * LetsGetDangerous: The green imps first appear to be little more than joke characters, but soon prove capable of subduing Cale, and, after a HeelFaceTurn, the Legion's diggers. |
| 357 | * LifeWillKillYou: Maikos considers [[spoiler:becoming human again]] to be the same as dying. He and the rest of the villagers no longer know how to live [[spoiler:as normal humans. They are completely unable to deal with things like sickness, age, and hunger.]] |
| 358 | * LongList: Richard's list of titles, which I'm not posting here for the hundredth time on this page. |
| 359 | * LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Richard even sings about this. |
| 360 | * LowerDeckEpisode: [[https://www.lfg.co/npc/archives/10/ "A Very Bad Day"]] is told from the point of view of the child whose "Poppa" was killed by Richard at the beginning of the main comic. |
| 361 | ** "The Accessory" reveals that Richard's "purse dragon" was part of the Legaran forces that attacked the group early in the comic. |
| 362 | %%* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: "So yeah, I'm a door now." |
| 363 | %%** Followed by: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/321 I'm a bookend now.]] |
| 364 | * MaleGaze: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/67 Even a beholder likes to look at a humanoid lady's behind.]] |
| 365 | * MarilynManeuver: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/180 Richard has a rather]] [[FanService famous]] [[FanDisservice moment.]] |
| 366 | * MenAreTheExpendableGender: Richard's Emergency provisions for his little village up the coast subverts this hilariously. |
| 367 | -->'''Richard:''' Did you do as I asked with all of the women and children?\ |
| 368 | '''Maikos:''' Yes, My lord. But the Catapult could only fire four of them at a time. |
| 369 | * MergedReality: [[spoiler:When Hctib Elttil messes up the supposed PocketDimension of Richard's purse, it causes one or more alternate dimensions to fuse with the main world, much to the confusion of both newcomers and original denizens. Particularly notable is the fact that the main universe is mostly magical with bits of SchizoTech, while the universe merged into it is consistently sci-fi, resulting in stuff like mages fighting with soldiers in PoweredArmor.]] |
| 370 | %%* MessiahCreep: Deliberately being forced upon Cale. |
| 371 | * MetaGuy: Richard. The fourth wall is his plaything. |
| 372 | * TheMole: More than half of Kethenecia's old army consisted of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Vulii]] loyalists. |
| 373 | * MoodWhiplash: Common, due to the comic's weird way of handling CerebusSyndrome. |
| 374 | ** Courtesy of Richard. From a typical BloodyHilarious [[https://www.lfg.co/page/474 battle]] to a [[https://www.lfg.co/page/476 ruthless slaughter of innocents]] played dead serious. |
| 375 | * MookLieutenant: A few, like the mage who warned Aelleon of the crown. Tah'vraay and Benny are captured by a bunch of EliteMooks lead my a mustachioed one, identifiable by a red sash; he's bipolar, thinks he's a woman at one point, and blames Obama for their financial situation. |
| 376 | * MoralityPet: Averted, Richard loves his Felbunny, but is just as willing to kill after getting a pet as he was before. |
| 377 | %%* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/389 That thing.]] |
| 378 | * MoreThanMeetsTheEye: |
| 379 | ** [[spoiler:The rabbit is the Archmage]]. |
| 380 | ** [[spoiler:Richard's cozy little village up the coast turns out to be filled to the brim with undead citizens. Yup, even the children]]. |
| 381 | * MuggingTheMonster: A group of bandits try to rob Cale, who is being accompanied by [[PantheraAwesome Sooba]], [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Maikos]], and [[DumbMuscle Tim]]. To their credit, they actually (though indirectly) take Maikos and Tim out of the action, if only because [[spoiler:Cale uses Maikos as a shield, not knowing that Maikos was regressing from his undead state, and Tim is told by Cale to keep pressure on the injured Maikos]]. Even then, they're still no match for Cale and Sooba. |
| 382 | %%* {{Multishot}}: Cale [[https://www.lfg.co/page/703/ Accidentally.]] |
| 383 | %%* MurderousThighs: Pella, the TropeNamer. |
| 384 | %%* MusicalEpisode: Several. And they are AWESOME. |
| 385 | %%* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/262 This strip.]] |
| 386 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: |
| 387 | ** Krunch Bloodrage. In a twist, he's one of the most reasonable of the protagonists. He'd much rather sit down and discuss ancient history than beat your skull in, but [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer no-one seems to give him the choice]]. |
| 388 | ** Subversion: Richard actually has a complex regarding the fact that [[FluffyTheTerrible his name isn't intimidating]]. He compensates for it with all his titles. |
| 389 | * NegatedMomentOfAwesome: Pella and the gnomes coming in to rescue Benny and Tah'vraay from some EliteMooks, only for Pella to be captured and the gnomes killed. |
| 390 | ** At one point it seems like Tah'vraay one-ups Aelloon's army by surprising them from the sea, but Aelloon has his own marine forces surround and capture hers. [[spoiler:Then subverted when it eventually turns out that Tah'vraay got herself captured intentionally.]] |
| 391 | ** After [[spoiler:Tavor kills Krunch, Ray'd retaliates by punching a massive hole into Tavor's chest. Unfortunately, the Sword of Truth is the only thing that can permanently kill Tavor, who soon [[HealingFactor recovers]] and knocks out Ray'd.]] |
| 392 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Just as Benny is about to negotiate peace with Legara, Richard and Cale burst in and are interpreted as a planned ambush. |
| 393 | ** [[spoiler:Turns out Cale (possessed by Richard) killing the Archmage released all that stored power he stole from other mages to their descendants, including the princess who has now apparently gone mad with power and decided to kill him.]] |
| 394 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: As pointed out in his trial, Richard's slaughter of a certain village actually ''saved'' more lives than destroyed. |
| 395 | ** [[spoiler:Knowing what we know now, he might have done that on purpose.]] |
| 396 | * NighInvulnerability: Richard can survive pretty much anything, including being covered by ''[[https://www.lfg.co/page/282 molten lava]]''. |
| 397 | * NoodleIncident: |
| 398 | ** When talking about the town Richard's the mayor of. |
| 399 | --->'''Maikos:''' It's the source of his power\ |
| 400 | '''Cale:''' What?\ |
| 401 | '''Richard:''' He said I threw his mother off a tower.\ |
| 402 | '''Maikos:''' That too. |
| 403 | ** Another comes up when talking about Richard's solution to the numerous new mages. |
| 404 | --->'''Cale:''' We are not traveling the world to give people brain damage. Not again.\ |
| 405 | '''Richard:''' That was a crazy summer.\ |
| 406 | '''Benny:''' Right? |
| 407 | * NotQuiteDead: |
| 408 | ** [[spoiler:Richard.]] |
| 409 | ** [[spoiler:Tavor too, several times now (though the first time he wasn't evil.]] |
| 410 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain: The chachas are small, silly-looking, and can't seem to say much other than "chacha." But they can overwhelm Richard by ZergRush, break through Benny's shields, and are GenreSavvy enough to not aim for Charles. Their origin story reveals that they were created to keep the ''Archmage'' in check. |
| 411 | * NoWomansLand: The nation of Servatism is ruled by [[StrawMisogynist men who loathe women]], tolerating them only as slaves. Some of their women broke free and occasionally rescue the Servatist's daughters from their parents, who are more than happy to have the daughters they don't want taken off their hands. |
| 412 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: For all his apparent immaturity, Richard is really very knowledgeable and intelligent. [[spoiler:Plus he's probably more in the know than any other main character besides the Archmage...]] |
| 413 | * OddFriendship: Captain Kickass and Chief Bloodrage, Richard and Cale, Richard and Pella, Richard and Felbunny, [[LongList Richard and Sooba]]... |
| 414 | * OffhandBackhand: Delivered by Richard on the first panel of [[https://www.lfg.co/page/302 page 302]]. |
| 415 | * OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: We don't get to see exactly how Richard accomplishes many of his awesome feats. Justified in that the ones we ''do'' see are already [[Awesome/LookingForGroup awesome]] enough. |
| 416 | ** Also many of the battles, such as when Richard's village fights the Legarion soldiers, happen off panel. |
| 417 | %%* OhCrap: The Legarian army has one [[https://www.lfg.co/page/293 here]]. |
| 418 | %%* OmnicidalManiac: Richard ''defines'' it. He even says he is in his VillainSong. |
| 419 | * TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Benny heals [[spoiler:her ex-husband]] back from certain death, [[spoiler:brought on by her team protecting her from him]] because she wants to smash his head in herself. He manages two words right before she does it. |
| 420 | %%* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/36 This strip.]] |
| 421 | * OverlyLongGag: The comic used the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing "You Have My Sword"]] reference ''often''. |
| 422 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: You know you are heading for a WhamEpisode when [[https://www.lfg.co/page/777/ Richard takes a serious oath on the honor and duty of his house]]. |
| 423 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Legaran forces have white dragons while Kethenecia has sand dragons. The Guradians of Eight are bipedal, wingless green dragons capable of speech. |
| 424 | * OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: |
| 425 | ** No they aren't; they are evil black leather-clad, pierced punks. With sideburns. And that's when they aren't big-boobed beauties. |
| 426 | ** And Pella is quite shapely and fan-servicey, not fat and dumpy like dwarven females are so often depicted as. |
| 427 | %%* OurLichesAreDifferent |
| 428 | %%* OverlyLongGag: Richard's titles again. |
| 429 | %%** Heck, even the references to them on this page. |
| 430 | %%* PapaWolf: Krunch Bloodrage |
| 431 | %%* PantheraAwesome: Sooba. |
| 432 | * PerspectiveFlip: From [[https://www.lfg.co/page/86 this comic]] to [[https://www.lfg.co/page/481 this one.]] |
| 433 | * PickedLast: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/445 Richard is picked after the crippled children with speech impediments]]. |
| 434 | %%* PirateGirl: The elven pirate captain |
| 435 | %%* PlaceWorseThanDeath: The Plane of Suck |
| 436 | * ThePlan: Turns out that many events that take place are for the purpose of [[spoiler:molding Cale into the future king of Kethenecia]]. |
| 437 | * PlayAlongPrisoner: After apparently being captured by some battlemages, Richard is shown taking one of his hands out of their cuffs, though either this seems to have been a one-off gag or the power of the chains to control undead have prevented him from making a full escape. |
| 438 | %%* PortalCut: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/467 this strip]]. |
| 439 | * PowerCrystal: Mages fairly regularly embed red gems into their clothing, wands, and staffs. [[spoiler:Richard eventually admits that these are the larval forms of a race that had complete control over magic, up until their adults were banished to a world where magic does not work. Turns out Richard was using an ancient PrisonDimension for extremely powerful and angry casters as a purse.]] |
| 440 | * PoweredByAForsakenChild: |
| 441 | ** [[spoiler:Cale believes that this is how he saved Kethenica.]] |
| 442 | --->[[https://www.lfg.co/page/264 "I'd ask you what the price was." "I've already paid it."]] |
| 443 | ** Richard [[spoiler:uses the ashes of his innocent victims (they have to be innocent) to fuel his NighInvulnerability. Without it he's a SquishyWizard.]] |
| 444 | * PowerPerversionPotential: Restraining spells can make good... [[ShapedLikeItself restraints]]. |
| 445 | ** A young mage wrote a spell which requires two women to strip to their underwear and do things including a pillow fight. How many other things could you write into a spell? |
| 446 | * PreAsskickingOneLiner: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/106 "Rejoice. For very bad things are about to happen."]] |
| 447 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/382 Challenge]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/421 Accepted]]. |
| 448 | * ProgressivelyPrettier: Compare Benny's appearance from [[https://www.lfg.co/page/5 her first apparition]], to [[https://www.lfg.co/page/167 later]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/208 ones]]. |
| 449 | ** Not that her appearance has changed that much compared to the general style of the comic, or that she was particularly bad looking to start with. |
| 450 | %%* PunctuationShaker: Cale'Anon, Benn'Joon, and Ray'd Bool. |
| 451 | * PunnyName: Ray'd Bool is a pun on the Red Bull energy drinks. And yes, he does give you wings. |
| 452 | ** He actually has wing-shaped markings on his back. |
| 453 | * PsychopathicManchild: Richard. |
| 454 | ** Subverted by the fact he delays a fight against the bad guys to go kill some innocents (after verifying they are no less!) after noticing his usual pain/arrow immunity is gone, and wears undead makeup to look more evil - the psychopathic undead manchild may be an act relating to keeping his powers up! |
| 455 | * QuestToTheWest: After several GoodJobBreakingItHero moments Cale decides to [[WalkingTheEarth Walk the Earth]] in search of good deeds to be done: |
| 456 | -->'''Richard:''' Can I ask you something?\ |
| 457 | '''Cale:''' I know what you're going to ask. What do we do once we reach land? We turn everything over to the authorities, then we head out from [[AdventureTowns town to town, village to village, and city to city]], we'll do some good. Whenever, wherever we can. The whole time, travelling west. Always heading west. [[TheAtoner I will make that right. But first I need to earn it.]]\ |
| 458 | '''Richard:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint I was going to ask if he thought I was a good father.]] |
| 459 | * RankScalesWithAsskicking: The King of Legara, who [[DualWielding dual wields swords]] and, in a massive WhamEpisode, [[spoiler:kills Krunch]]. |
| 460 | * ARareSentence: Since [[spoiler:Richard's powers are fueled by killing innocents,]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/582 this happens]] when Benn'Joon receives a gift from "the Innocent". |
| 461 | -->'''Richard:''' I'm going to need to kill [[GreatBigBookOfEverything that book]]. That was a weird thing to have to say. Even for me. |
| 462 | %%* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Richard and [[spoiler:Felbunny]] |
| 463 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: When any character shows red eyes, regardless of whether they are nice or not, you WILL want to take a step back. This is either the result of an [[BerserkButton outburst of anger]] (such as Cale chewing out Pella; yes, even Cale pulls these), or the only warning sign you'll get before a can of ass-whoop is opened. |
| 464 | * ReferenceOverdosed: Particularly from Richard. |
| 465 | * ReforgedBlade: The Sword of Truth was repeatedly broken and reforged in the past. |
| 466 | * RedshirtArmy: The gnomes tend to get this treatment. |
| 467 | * RelationshipUpgrade: This could arguably be the case with Benn'Joon and Cale. At first Benny sees Cale as a do-gooder that constantly drags her into trouble. But eventually she warms up to him, this is lampshaded by Krunch when she agrees to help Cale fight Legaria because she trusts him. It culminates with [[https://www.lfg.co/page/290 this moment of heartwarming]]. We'll see if it sticks. |
| 468 | ** [[spoiler:Judging from [[https://www.lfg.co/page/291 this]] it would appear that did indeed stick]]. |
| 469 | * RemixComic: Several of these have appeared in the forum Motivator thread. [[https://forums.lfg.co/index.php?s=&showtopic=1790&view=findpost&p=385185 Like this]]. |
| 470 | * TheReveal: |
| 471 | ** In 422: [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/422 Richard isn't dead]].]] |
| 472 | ** Then in 480: [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/480 Tavor is the King of Legara]].]] |
| 473 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: "The mistake was making me cute." |
| 474 | ** Also Krunch, [[spoiler:right after his father is killed in battle.]] |
| 475 | * RolePlayingGameVerse: Although based heavily on ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', it's treated as a standard fantasy setting rather than a game... most of the time. Every once in a while, a reference will be made to game mechanics, played for laughs. |
| 476 | ** At one point the party is imprisoned, and Richard tells Cale "Kill yourself and roll a rogue. We'll wait." |
| 477 | ** When he's picked up by an attacking giant, he rolls a twenty-sided dice! "I rolled a Natural 20...! That means I win... you can fall down now." |
| 478 | ** There's a "Loading please wait" screen when Cale jumps through the first Portal. |
| 479 | ** And in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/396 #396]] Richard says "In my next life, I should roll a hunter". |
| 480 | * RunningGag: |
| 481 | ** "You think you know me?" |
| 482 | ** The Fork of Truth, which may actually be magic considering it's been seen to glow a few times. |
| 483 | ** Richard's titles. He either adds new ones or sometimes adopts them from people he meets. Usually after [[KlingonPromotion killing them]]. |
| 484 | ** [[spoiler:Everyone seems to be mentioning how Commander Kickass killed the Bloodrage's father]] |
| 485 | ** Richard being able to reattach his severed parts has elevated to attaching the parts of ''other creatures'', from the infamous bear arms to [[spoiler:Kraken tentacles.]] |
| 486 | ** Nobody knows the Dragon Elder's name. |
| 487 | * SarcasmFailure: On seeing a vision of his past self, Richard is unable to find a suitably snarky response and simply says "Pass". |
| 488 | * SarcasmMode: Often, but this [[https://www.lfg.co/page/162 in particular.]] |
| 489 | ** Richard also deserves a special mention here, as the red from his speech bubbles turns pink whenever he uses sarcasm. |
| 490 | * SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: "For everything else, there's Fwoosh." "Don't Fwoosh me, bro!" |
| 491 | * SayMyName: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/262 "Chicken!" "Pinky." "Old cow!" "Brother." "Engineer." "Dwarf." "... RICHARD!"]] |
| 492 | * SadisticChoice: In order to save his friends and Kethenecia, Cale [[spoiler:must kill an innocent child to return them to their own time]]. |
| 493 | ** He mopes about for a long while afterward. |
| 494 | %%* SandWorm |
| 495 | * SdrawkcabName: Hctib Elttil |
| 496 | ** Also, Dnah, a talking hand... thing. |
| 497 | * SealedEvilInACan: There is a minor example involving the Rakkuns. The queen of squirrels used her magic to seal them into their own little realm, with a trash can as the portal to it. She eventually coerces Cale into killing the Rakkuns entirely. |
| 498 | * SeveredHeadSports: Two undead children after a battle are seen in the background playing soccer with a soldier's head. |
| 499 | %%* SexyDiscretionShot: Possibly one on the last panel [[https://www.lfg.co/page/380 here]]. |
| 500 | * ShaggyDogStory: When Cale brings reinforcements to the North far too late. |
| 501 | ** Cale and Richard rescue some kidnapped children and bring them back to what is presumed to be their home village, only for the villagers to turn out to be cannibals. |
| 502 | * ShipTease: Parodied, one assumes, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/171 here]], in a ShoutOut to ''Film/Ghost1990''. The dialog in the next page may also count, given how, out of context, it sounds very much like... something else... |
| 503 | -->'''Richard:''' You violated my spirit!\ |
| 504 | '''Pella:''' We agreed on no eye contact! |
| 505 | %%* ShiningCity: Kethenecia. |
| 506 | * ShooOutTheClowns: Richard tends to be absent during the more serious moments, such as [[spoiler:Krunch's]] funeral. |
| 507 | * ShootTheDog: Cale's mentor does this often. |
| 508 | ** In another flashback, [[spoiler:Crunch is around when one of the Sisters learns that Benny's magic is completely different from theirs, forcing him to silence the Sister first.]] |
| 509 | * ShoutOut: |
| 510 | ** Pretty much 80-90% of everything Richard says or does. |
| 511 | ** Krunch refers to [[https://www.lfg.co/page/55 the ancient reign of the dragons]] as "Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire" |
| 512 | *** Richard reminds us that [[https://www.lfg.co/page/625 Winter is Coming]]. |
| 513 | ** Also a ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' reference: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/209 Well, there's your problem!]] |
| 514 | *** On the same page: "'''[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft War]]''' and '''[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft craft]]'''s are our blood." |
| 515 | *** And the Mythbusters [[https://www.lfg.co/page/188 again]] (along with other Discovery Channel shows). |
| 516 | ** Add a [[Franchise/TheSmurfs Smurf]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/179 in a Leaf Boat]]. |
| 517 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': [[https://www.lfg.co/page/258 258]] |
| 518 | ** "The look on your face when [[spoiler:a toddler rips out your heart and shows it to you]]: priceless. For everything else, there's Fwoosh." |
| 519 | ** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': [[https://www.lfg.co/page/267 267]]. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/288 And again]]. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/218 Yet again.]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/174 Still more.]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/478 Once more.]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/587 Shameless,]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/588 really.]] |
| 520 | ** ''Series/TheStoryteller'': [[https://www.lfg.co/page/214 Page 214]] could be a reference to the scene in the story ''Literature/FearNot'', where he goes to the evil castle. |
| 521 | ** Richard uses the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} universal greeting]]. |
| 522 | ** It would probably take like 50 pages to list all of the shout outs. |
| 523 | ** Apparently, Benny dated [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link.]] |
| 524 | ** The artifact used to control the sand dragons is a [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokéball.]] |
| 525 | ** One of the Legaran dragon riders on [[https://www.lfg.co/page/461 page 461]] looks a lot like [[Franchise/StarWars Jek Porkins]] and meets a similar fate. |
| 526 | ** [[spoiler:Hctib Elttil]] wears [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse very familiar-looking white gloves and red pants.]] |
| 527 | %%** To ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', [[https://www.lfg.co/page/33 here.]] |
| 528 | ** To ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 529 | --->'''Richard:''' Many bothans died to bring you this information.\ |
| 530 | '''Cale:''' They're called gnomes, and you killed them! |
| 531 | %%** To ''{{Film/Babe}}'', [[https://www.lfg.co/page/591 here]]. |
| 532 | %%** And a BlackComedy ShoutOut to ''Film/TopGun'' in [[https://www.lfg.co/page/596 #596]]. |
| 533 | ** [[{{Music/PSY}} Just lacking the party bus, the sauna and pool, and an actual elevator,]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/607 but otherwise...]] |
| 534 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/394/ Comic 394]] introduces Pinocchio. |
| 535 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/460/ Ruh]] [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo roh]]. |
| 536 | ** #731. Richard named the three [[spoiler:krakenspawn]] [[Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney Chance, Sassy and Shadow.]] And one is Cale Junior, but prefers to shorten it to [[{{Kaiju}} Caiju]]. |
| 537 | ** Benny is [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} a green-skinned spellcaster who once claimed to cast "defying gravity".]] |
| 538 | ** A new (very non-threatening) villain goes by the name Assaracus, which seems to be a humorous semi-homonym for [[TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors Acererak]] |
| 539 | %%* SignedUpForTheDental: Hctib Elttil's minions. |
| 540 | * SociopathicHero: Holy crap, '''Richard'''. He fits both versions of the trope, being played both seriously and comedically - sometimes within the same strip. |
| 541 | * SoundtrackDissonance: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/212 Pella slaughtering foes to "Lean On Me".]] |
| 542 | ** And Richard to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" among other songs. |
| 543 | * SoulJar: Richard's gem is his phylactery. |
| 544 | ** He later switched to [[spoiler:the crown of Legara.]] |
| 545 | * SquishyWizard: Richard is given the pet name 'Squishy' by Tim. He's actually a subversion of this since, being undead [[spoiler:(OR IS [[https://www.lfg.co/page/422 HE?)]]]], he's barely inconvenienced by things that would kill mortal fighters, like losing various limbs or being pin-cushioned with arrows. |
| 546 | ** He's also an extremely competent unarmed fighter, thanks to having [[https://www.lfg.co/page/28 drained the soul of a monk.]] It comes up now and again when his magic won't work. |
| 547 | * StaringDownCthulhu: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/588 Here.]] |
| 548 | * StealthPun: Tah'vraay mentions she's "not sure she wants to be in a village where [[BiggerIsBetterInBed giant pieces of anatomy]] aren't allowed." |
| 549 | %%* {{Stripperiffic}}: Benny's costume. |
| 550 | * StunnedSilence: In [[https://www.lfg.co/page/294 this comic]] everyone is stunned into silence when Richard mentions that they [[ForgottenBirthday forgot his deathday]]. Made all the more awkward/hilarious by Krunch blinking in surprise. |
| 551 | * SupernormalBindings: There's at least two occasions where the Warlock, Richard has his powers limited by enchanted shackles after being captured. In the second case we're shown that some of the enchanted shackles can be used to control Richard's body by commanding him to do something. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Richard has turned human and was just messing with Hctib.]] |
| 552 | %%* SympatheticMurderer: Richard again |
| 553 | * TakeAThirdOption: |
| 554 | ** When Pella was asked if she wanted to pursue being a bard or a warrior (presented with an axe and a lute and asked to pick one), she said, "I rather be liking the feel of them ''both''". |
| 555 | ** With Aellon's force about to besiege Kethenecia, leaving the people in to fight off a siege or flee, Cale decides on another plan: [[spoiler:capture the portal the Legion has made and launch an attack on Legara.]] |
| 556 | ** Repeatedly comes up when it comes to dealing with the Demon Court. The Demon Court orders Cale to do evil to make up for triggering Richard's HeelFaceTurn and greatly reducing the amount of evil Richard performs. If Cale refuses, then they will cause everyone Cale has ever interacted with to die to make up for the reduction in evil themselves. Cale's first solution is to try to PayEvilUntoEvil, doing horrible vicious things to people that deserve it, but since his chosen victims are surrender instantly and are completely cooperative, it doesn't work out. The group's third solution is to try to destroy the Court by killing all of the eggs in the place that the Court is birthed, but he feels uncomfortable with killing the unborn, even if they are AlwaysChaoticEvil demons. The group's fifth solution is to [[spoiler:rewrite the Book that provides the eggs with the knowledge they need to judge a case when they hatch.]] |
| 557 | * TakingTheBullet: Well, Richard takes a couple of [[https://www.lfg.co/page/182 arrows]] for the team. |
| 558 | ** On more than one occasion. |
| 559 | * ThatWasObjectionable: "Objection!" "On what grounds?" "I wish to stab [the prosecutor]." |
| 560 | %%* TheHero: Cale |
| 561 | * ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Well, Richard [[https://www.lfg.co/page/185 doesn't understand the difference]], but whatever. |
| 562 | ** A more serious example is what Commander Kickass does to end the attack on the Bloodrages' city. [[spoiler:He uses a hail of magical flaming arrows to ''burn it to the ground, apparently killing pretty much everybody'']]. |
| 563 | ** Cale shoots [[spoiler:Aeloon]] with roughly a dozen arrows. [[HypocriticalHumor Even Richard thought it was excessive.]] |
| 564 | * ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: Cale demonstrates it [[https://www.lfg.co/page/569 here]]. |
| 565 | * ThisIsGonnaSuck: Richard's reaction to [[spoiler:Aelloon making him take Hctib along with him on his assassination mission]]. |
| 566 | * ThrowTheDogABone: After Cale rescues some children, the villagers don't tell him [[spoiler:they're cannibals]] because he "looked like he needed a win." |
| 567 | * ToBeLawfulOrGood: Cale combines options 1& 3; he is willing to defy the laws of the EvilEmpire but seeks to create a LawfulGood kingdom. |
| 568 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Cale. He's started [[ShootTheDog shooting more dogs]] than he used to right at the start, but considering the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo people]] [[BoisterousBruiser he]] [[SociopathicHero lives]] [[EatsBabies around]]... |
| 569 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Well, pretty much everyone is either neutral or shakily good, but even then Richard is ''outright [[SociopathicHero sociopathic]].'' |
| 570 | * TookALevelInBadass: Comparing Cale'Anon from the start of the strip to him now provides a pretty dramatic contrast. |
| 571 | ** A good turning point can be seen [[https://www.lfg.co/page/96 when he flies in on a goddamn tree]]. |
| 572 | --->'''Benny:''' Credit where it's due. He is getting better at his entrances. |
| 573 | ** Cale starts out horrified at the very idea of killing troops from TheEmpire. More recently, he watched Richard and Krunch rip a live dwarf in half like a wishbone and was splattered with the blood. His only reaction? |
| 574 | --->'''Cale:''' What did you wish for? |
| 575 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Richard took to ''singing'' during his torture sessions. And pointed out that there was still room for an axe by his thigh. Needless to say, this really creeped out the torturer. He was just being helpful. |
| 576 | -->'''Richard:''' ''[while fleeing the torturer]'' Call me! |
| 577 | * TookALevelInCynicism: Cale is very idealistic, innocent, and naive at the beginning of the comic, but he starts to become more cynical after he's forced to kill a child in the past to maintain a StableTimeLoop. Similar events that come afterward only serve to make him become more and more on the cynical side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism as the comic continues. |
| 578 | %%* TortureFirstAskQuestionsLater: Interrogations are hard. |
| 579 | * TownWithADarkSecret: [[spoiler:Richard's]] village, to the surprise of no one but the unlucky saps trying to "save" it. |
| 580 | * TwentyBearAsses: Cale goes on [[https://www.lfg.co/page/535 a quest]] to gather ten giant rats. No, wait: ''Hats''. |
| 581 | * UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Not because of Cale, though. ''He'' loved her. But she was standing in the way of his destiny...it had to be done. |
| 582 | %%* UnsettlingGenderReveal: |
| 583 | %%** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/767/ When]] Cale learns Sooba is female. |
| 584 | %%** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/771/ Again]] when Sooba learns Cale is male. |
| 585 | * UnstoppableMailman: He was able to find Cale and deliver a letter to him despite Cale being roughly [[https://www.lfg.co/page/236 in the middle of nowhere.]] |
| 586 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Apart from one lampshade by Cale, everyone completely ignores the fact that Dnah is a giant talking green hand. |
| 587 | * TheUsurper: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/942/ Page 942]] reveals the Princess Leena has usurped Cale's role as the ruler of Kethenecia and made it Gamlon reborn, with her as the rightful ruler. To that end, she sends the Knights of the Way to kill him before he can challenge her authority. |
| 588 | * VerbalTic: |
| 589 | ** Krunch's father. |
| 590 | --->Heh. |
| 591 | ** Hctib Elttil: |
| 592 | --->EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! |
| 593 | ** ILIKETOSCREAMLOUDLY! |
| 594 | * VillainEpisode: "The Hctib Diaries", "Candor with Landor", "My Jurisdiction", and "His Father's Son" focus on antagonists. |
| 595 | * VillainSong: Richard gets one of these, "Slaughter Your World", in one of the animations, with the added bonus of it being taken from a Disney song with the lyrics modified. |
| 596 | ** And Richard's voice actor singing [[JustForFun/{{Rickroll}} Never Gonna Give You Up]] in Richard's voice. |
| 597 | *** Also, Richard's part in "This Is War," another Disney song parody (of "A Whole New World", of all things). |
| 598 | * VisualPun: [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/527 Benny is going to talk to the hand.]] Kind of.]] |
| 599 | %%* VoiceOfTheLegion |
| 600 | * WhamEpisode: |
| 601 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/290 Page 290]] |
| 602 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/339 Page 339.]] And how! |
| 603 | --->'''Richard:''' Who is she?\ |
| 604 | '''Cale:''' [[spoiler:My wife.]] |
| 605 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/355 Page 355.]] |
| 606 | *** Followed immediately by [[https://www.lfg.co/page/356 this.]] ''Wham.'' |
| 607 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/422 Page 422.]] Such a simple thing turns into possibly the biggest 'Wham' yet. |
| 608 | *** Followed by [[https://www.lfg.co/page/452 this Wham.]] |
| 609 | *** And while it just confirms the above two, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/590 this]] is still portrayed very strikingly. |
| 610 | ** How's [[https://www.lfg.co/page/480 this]] for a 'Wham'? |
| 611 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/561 Wham.]] |
| 612 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/585 And another.]] |
| 613 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/229/ An early example.]] |
| 614 | ** Subverted [[https://www.lfg.co/page/312 here]], which at first seemed like a wham to some, but only wound up showing that Richard [[spoiler:(in his immortal state)]] could survive decapitation. |
| 615 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/1377/ Page 1377]] reveals [[spoiler:Richard's mortal form wasn't Lord Ashendale's son, but his daughter]]. |
| 616 | %%* WhamLine: [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/704/ "I'm done."]]]] |
| 617 | * WhamShot: [[spoiler:[[https://www.lfg.co/page/1000/ Page 1000]] reveals Richard's face]]. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out Richard is actually the young woman, not the little boy]]. |
| 618 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Twice in the quest to find the sand dragons. Originally they were looking for a device to control the dragons [[spoiler:A poke`ball]] and at the same time, Richter was musing on how the dragons were magically summoned and whether or not he had the power to do it himself. |
| 619 | * WhatTheHellHero: Cale does not approve of how Pella convinced the Gnomes to go to Kethenicia. |
| 620 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/576/ #576]]. [[spoiler:Cale gets one from HIMSELF.]] |
| 621 | --->[[spoiler:"You were supposed to change the world. Not let the world change you. ''What happened?''"]] |
| 622 | ** Benny blaming Cale for [[spoiler:Krunch's death]]. |
| 623 | %%* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: This is Krunch's philosophy |
| 624 | %%* WhosOnFirst: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/518 "This routine is demeaning us both."]] |
| 625 | %%* WideEyedIdealist: Cale at the beginning of the story. |
| 626 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: People who are gifted with magic risk going insane if they don't receive adequate training. Even ''with'' training, more power requires more control. |
| 627 | * TheWorfEffect: Pella gets this [[https://www.lfg.co/page/320/ on]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/662/ occasion]]. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/319/ As]] [[https://www.lfg.co/page/493/ does]] Ray'd. |
| 628 | ** It sometimes happens to Richard as well, though usually it's a case of WorfHadTheFlu for him (eg: being decapitated from behind or being faced with shamans who can't be harmed by magical beings). In straight-up fights, battlemages and other warlocks have been able to subject him to this when working in groups. |
| 629 | * WorstWhateverEver: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/37 Worst. Portal. Ever.]] |
| 630 | ** [[https://www.lfg.co/page/298 Possibly also a]] TakeThat. |
| 631 | *** It's Richard. Any religion that doesn't worship him exclusively is probably equally bad to him. |
| 632 | * WorthIt: After being enslaved and controlled by an imp, [[https://www.lfg.co/page/566 Richard breaks the control]] and dumps the imp while being chased by monsters; it's implied he was ''never'' under control and was playing along. Totally worth it. |
| 633 | * WorthyOpponent: Krunch's father and Commander Kickass. |
| 634 | ** [[spoiler:Kickass is [[AntagonistInMourning notably upset]] after the death of Krunch's father, stating that he had buried one of his oldest friends]]. |
| 635 | * TheXofY: Several, mostly surrounding [[spoiler:Stranger]] |
| 636 | ** [[spoiler:Harold the Hedgehog]] of Healing |
| 637 | ** The Camel of Cursing |
| 638 | ** Irwin the Impala of Irony |
| 639 | ** This exchange between [[spoiler:Benny and Stranger]] |
| 640 | --->'''[[spoiler:Benny:]]''' Who's that?\ |
| 641 | '''[[spoiler:Stranger:]]''' A flamingo.\ |
| 642 | '''[[spoiler:Benny:]]''' A '''or The'''?\ |
| 643 | '''[[spoiler:Stranger:]]''' The Flamingo.\ |
| 644 | '''[[spoiler:Benny:]]''' Of?\ |
| 645 | '''[[spoiler:Stranger:]]''' ...Fleeing.\ |
| 646 | ''[cue ChaseScene with Richard riding a [[spoiler:Krakenbear]]'' |
| 647 | * YinYangBomb: Pella gives Cale a gift of 2 swords, named Good and Evil. [[https://www.lfg.co/page/377 Cale represents balance between them.]] |
| 648 | * [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious You Called Me Father, It Must Be Serious]]: [[https://www.lfg.co/page/463 "It is never a good omen when you call me that."]] |
| 649 | * YouCantHandleTheParody: In [[https://www.lfg.co/page/157/ this]] strip. |
| 650 | * YouKeepUsingThatWord: Richard tries to invoke this on Benny when they argue over the Tome of the Innocent, and [[https://www.lfg.co/page/583 each accuses the other of being selfish]]; it's pretty clear that it's Richard who doesn't understand what "selfish" means. |
| 651 | * YouKilledMyFather: Used by Ray'd and lampshaded by Richard. |
| 652 | -->'''Ray'd:''' '''You killed our father!'''\ |
| 653 | '''Richard:''' You made him use a tired cliché! |
| 654 | * YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler:How Tavor became King of Legara]]. |
| 655 | ** Richard appears to believe this is how titles work. He declared himself "Mistress of Magma" after killing a magma sprite. One can only wonder who the previous "Lord of Dance" was. |
| 656 | %%* YouShallNotPass: Spoofed [[https://www.lfg.co/page/478 here]]. |
| 657 | * ZergRush: The chachas operate by swarm magic: the more of them there are, the stronger their magic becomes. With enough of them, they can take down the likes of Richard and the Archmage. |
| 658 | * ZombifyTheLiving: Richard demonstrates this ability by forcing his enemies' skeletons to obey him... [[https://www.lfg.co/page/9 while they're still inside.]] More generally, [[spoiler:Richard himself seems to have been a case of this, and can apparently change back if he goes too long without senseless slaughter.]] |
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