Comic for December 22nd, 2018: Guardian

[Esn]

I, for one, thought that this page was beautifully done. There's a kind of expectant, silent horror in the first part - as I was reading it, I was imagining almost complete silence as Maddie's hand moves to open the door, then in the 3rd panel the worst fears come true and there's barely any time to escape sudden death. An explosion of sound and violence.

Also, wow, Tom put a lot of time into the shading and textures here. (although to nitpick, the shading of the bottom half of the ring in the 2nd panel is a little off - makes the ring look more flattened than it is)

Here's the link to the sketch, since it wasn't included in the 1st post:
http://twokindscomic.com/images/20181222_sketch.png

So... is this a lizard creature from the mid-continent badlands? If so, I doubt they all have those glowing eyes and stony skin...

[Rafe]

I like the design of the door-pulls (not knockers, come to think of it). Coming from a family of furniture makers, I pay attention to such hardware, and I've never seen a design quite like it. They look as if they're a ring being held in a four-fingered (and thumb, I presume) hand. And the escutcheon behind it looks like an arm or a sleeve. I'm tempted to steal it.

[Hulk10]

Looks like my sense of foreboding was right.

[Neutral Smith]

Bottom left panel: Looking down on M and K
Bottom right panel: Turning head, someone arrived (I guess)

It's hard to tell what it did. A full 180 because someone is behind it, just entering the room, or looking sideways at someone who is as stealthy as it is.

[PanClovek]

I wish the statue could talk just so it could say " Never should of come here... " before striking
Well, now the girls will need to survive until somebody gives the statue a cookie or something ( Which begs the question of who has control over the statue; Rose or Trace ? Maybe there was a safe word to turn it off but only Trace would know it ? Maybe Rose has some kinda spell for that ? ), how much damage will the estate suffer before that happens ? Is the door okay ? Can the statue move beyond the corridor ? Ohh the questions !
Also, I figure this page could have a nice title reference of "Nobody told them about id". Gnome sayin ?

[ZeroJinKui]

anyone else kinda hoping maddie ATLEAST ends up with some broken legs?

just saying... she needs to stop poking her nose where it doesn't belong... she really shouldn't even be with them.

i hope she gets SOME kinda punishment and learns her lesson... i can't stand nosy kids.

[Rafe]

anyone else kinda hoping maddie ATLEAST ends up with some broken legs?

just saying... she needs to stop poking her nose where it doesn't belong... she really shouldn't even be with them.

i hope she gets SOME kinda punishment and learns her lesson... i can't stand nosy kids.

We did get to see something we haven't seen yet (or at least I can't remember) - Maddie genuinely surprised and terrified.

She certainly has some ability at keeping track of everything around her and being prepared for action, but she's also apparently got some issues with hubris and overconfidence. And now she's getting a lesson in what it is feels like to be caught completely unprepared and facing a thing that obviously isn't going to reason with you, it wants you dead. It could happen, of course. Maddie might be badly injured or killed trying to fight the thing long enough for Karen to escape. Karen might surprise us by fighting as well. Right now, they're both trying to just get out of there. And, I assume, Rose will show up as soon as she can, but will it be soon enough?

[Schrodinger]

This is some stuff I pull in my tabletop campaigns, I think Tom's DnD influence is showing.

[steelabjur]

This is some stuff I pull in my tabletop campaigns, I think Tom's DnD influence is showing.

Yeah, this statue reminds me of a Stone Golem or a Caryatid Column or a Stone Guardian. I pulled the guardian in plain sight a number of times as a DM.

[Hulk10]

anyone else kinda hoping maddie ATLEAST ends up with some broken legs?

just saying... she needs to stop poking her nose where it doesn't belong... she really shouldn't even be with them.

i hope she gets SOME kinda punishment and learns her lesson... i can't stand nosy kids.

I agree there needs to be some form of punishment but I don't mind curious kids and I don't think having her legs broken is the right form of punishment.

[Panther]

I agree there needs to be some form of punishment but I don't mind curious kids and I don't think having her legs broken is the right form of punishment.

I think that this "statue" will calm down as soon as Maddie and Maren will run away of the door

[Candycat]

I like the design of the door-pulls (not knockers, come to think of it). Coming from a family of furniture makers, I pay attention to such hardware, and I've never seen a design quite like it. They look as if they're a ring being held in a four-fingered (and thumb, I presume) hand. And the escutcheon behind it looks like an arm or a sleeve. I'm tempted to steal it.

You know, I was looking at that too, and thought they looked really interesting, and noticed how it looks like a hand. Guess I'm not the only one who saw it

[whiskeyfur]

Yea, dunno about anyone else but if I were one of those two, this would be a nope moment.. as in nope-nope-nope while at a dead run back the way I can.

[Technic[Bot]]

A golem? Now that is what I call over-engineering.
I know i said that not having any other security mechanism besides the invisiblity aura was a poor design choice in Evil-Lairs. But I was talking about something more like a blast door, or in Trace case perhaps the door only appears if he so wills it otherwise it is just and empty room. Or if you want something lethal, and more subtle, a cursed hinge and of course you could still have the golem but inside the room. After everything has been breached you can throw subtletly out of the window.
I know I know i am over analyzing this. And it is way cooler to have them fight a golem than having Maddie turn into a pile of smoldering ash. Also as some of you point out:

This is some stuff I pull in my tabletop campaigns, I think Tom's DnD influence is showing.

Yeah the whole story is structured and feels like a DnD campaign and contextualizing/analyzing it as such makes it have much more sense. Thought I am not sure if on a regular campaign you let the players "romance" each other or the NPC's, I have never played it, wanted too, so i have no idea.
But I digress what i am trying to say here it is that this scene feels much more "gamey" than usual. I do not think it is bad per se*, but my inmersion is already strained by itself.

Anyhow now this got me thinking. Rose showed Trace her old "studio" maybe as a way to keep him occupied with something other than his secret evil-laboratory. But know that the duo "found" it it is just a matter of time before curiosity gets the better of Trace ands decides to check that room out. And that ain't gonna end well.

*I have found that people who play DnD regularly tend to be good writers.

[Ddraig]

A golem? Now that is what I call over-engineering.
I know i said that not having any other security mechanism besides the invisiblity aura was a poor design choice in Evil-Lairs. But I was talking about something more like a blast door, or in Trace case perhaps the door only appears if he so wills it otherwise it is just and empty room. Or if you want something lethal, and more subtle, a cursed hinge and of course you could still have the golem but inside the room. After everything has been breached you can throw subtletly out of the window.
I know I know i am over analyzing this. And it is way cooler to have them fight a golem than having Maddie turn into a pile of smoldering ash. Also as some of you point out:

This is some stuff I pull in my tabletop campaigns, I think Tom's DnD influence is showing.

Yeah the whole story is structured and feels like a DnD campaign and contextualizing/analyzing it as such makes it have much more sense. Thought I am not sure if on a regular campaign you let the players "romance" each other or the NPC's, I have never played it, wanted too, so i have no idea.
But I digress what i am trying to say here it is that this scene feels much more "gamey" than usual. I do not think it is bad per se*, but my inmersion is already strained by itself.

Anyhow now this got me thinking. Rose showed Trace her old "studio" maybe as a way to keep him occupied with something other than his secret evil-laboratory. But know that the duo "found" it it is just a matter of time before curiosity gets the better of Trace ands decides to check that room out. And that ain't gonna end well.

A golem might be more effective against a magic user strong enough to bypass the chickenifying field or a rogue clever enough to get invited in (and probably wear protection from magic amulets).

*I have found that people who play DnD regularly tend to be good writers.

It is pure storycrafting.