Changing of the Guard
I know new comics are posting around the morning or midday lately and I apologize for that. My Mac is going downhill and I having issues lately that is slowing my workflow down considerably (I actually had to redraw this strip from the beginning due to a crash and corrupt situation). This Mac has been great to me but it is slow and dying, so I am working to save the cash for a new Mac. In the meantime, I will do my best to keep the updates posting.
I think most folks saw this coming but I am excited to present stories with Jeanie stepping into the role of a sword and sorcery GM again with Sam joining the group as a player. Fun times ahead.
Speaking of Sam, his issues are not the sort of thing to be “fixed” by the end of an arc. His struggle with opening up, getting help, and depression will be an ongoing element in d20Monkey for many, many days to come. He will have good days. He will have bad days.
HOVER-TEXT: If you look closely at the last panel you can actually see Brett’s sanity score dropping 10 points.
Only ten?
Yeah, with that facial expression it looked like he got a peek under Shub-Niggurath’s skirt.
At this point, his SAN stat has got to be getting pretty low. Don’t you get resistance to insanity inducing effects as you get more insane?
I thought it was an earthquake. . .nope just Bretts Pucker re puckering to a factor of 10 x 10 to trillionth power . .. omg to think they could have put coal in there before hand and made diamonds ๐ oh the humanity ๐
I heard his heart breaking from here. And I must be about 4000 km south.
Make him read the Book of Eibon and the Necronomicon. That’ll get rid of those pesky sanity points.
I think that look on Brett’s face alone should knock a couple months off of Sam’s recovery.
what was CoC for seeing a corpse?
I’ve been thinking about this one a while and it finally hit me, he didn’t lose 10 sanity points, He failed a sanity check in Cthulu……..
Poor Sam.
Brett’s face in that last panel though, hah. XD
That is the face of a man who suddenly realized his game will be ran by the very same person who wanted a Scrota-geddon for Christmas. I’m sure he’s just really hyped about the inevitable good times to come.
Santa looks like he needs some strong egg nog right about now.
Do we have an expected price point for replacing the Mac? I for one would be more than happy to donate toward a new computer fund to ease some pressure on you.
I briefly considered some form of crowdfunding to speed up the acquisition of a beefy, top of the line iMac but I do not like to take advantage of reader generosity and I would feel like such would be the case. I’ll do it the old fashioned way and work hard and save my pennies and put up with the inconvenience for a while.
One thing to consider with regard to crowd-funding for a new computer is that it is a legitimate business expense, since d20monkey is a business in it’s own right (i.e. a source of income & a source of expense). In my opinion (take it for what it’s worth), having the hardware necessary to create your product should not be considered a personal expense, especially when you consider the fees and taxes associated with operating a business, no matter how small it might be.
Speaking for myself, I’d be willing to scrape up at least $5-10 (or more, if possible) in order to see the story unhindered by avoidable technical difficulties. ๐
Glad to see that you’re dealing with depression in both a realistic and healthy way. Support from friends is always crucial, but you also captured perfectly that unwillingness to ask for it that plagues so many of us. Cheers, and I look forward to seeing where things go.
I’m finally seeking help with anxiety and depression issues myself, ones that have pressed down on me for a good decade-plus (and which I’m only now seeking help for because I’m now able to afford the help, where I couldn’t before – thanks, Obamacare!), so my finding this story-arc right as things of similar note are entering my life really helps me feel a bit better.
But if she DM’s, doesn’t that mean Brett, can’t play with the group anymore, least everyone becomes a hypocrite?
I think Jeannie won’t have any issues DM/GM-ing a game that involves Brett. The times we’ve seen her run, they’ve been heart-wrenching and brutal (granted, we’ve normally seen her run CoC).
I think she’ll do just fine!
I agree, but it is a rule the group set for itself and if they go back on it for someone else, it won’t help Sam feel any better and make him feel even more singled out then he already is.
As far as I can tell, it was Charlie, not the group, who laid down that stipulation for Sam.
He felt that Sam needed a little distance between his romantic life and his GMing life.
Heaven knows when the two last mixed there was Hell to pay.
I think Jeanie is mature enough to manage both herself and any inevitable outbursts from Brett.
Yes. YYYYYYYYYYESSSSSSS. :3
Brett’s look, “It is like thousands viking helmed neck beards suddenly cried out at once and then were silenced.”
“My heart stopped! … Oh, there it goes…”
This is my favorite strip hands down and its because even though its light hearted and fun it feels real. I have loved watching this strip grow into what it is now.
You could not get a Mac and get a better PC. :3
Sure, no problem, let’s just roll the cost of replacing any and all SOFTWARE he’s already bought for his Mac into that cost estimate. Plus, the interruptions in his workflow, the fact that once you get into comparative-levels of hardware, they’re not THAT different in price, oh yeah, and the levels of virus protection that he’ll have to buy to do anything on a PC versus the still fairly virus-free OSX lifestyle.
Plus, Macs are still generally considered superior for art and design in terms of OS handling and usage. The difference is less, but Macs still have the edge.
I spent over $2500 on my iMac, and I don’t regret a cent of it. (especially when, after it had some catastrophic hardware failures, they replaced it under Applecare with upgrades, pushing the price up over 3k!)
Though I must say, I don’t get the WoW hate..
I’m not going to get into a PC vs. Mac argument here, but let’s be clear. Macs aren’t really “superior.” These days it’s a preference thing. It’s like comparing Samsung and iPhone. They look different but do relatively the same job. One may look better but that doesn’t make it “better.” Also, with any Apple products you are paying for a brand name. I can build a PC for half the cost you paid and still have the option to upgrade later. Not so with Macs. As for viruses, I’ve had really little to no malicious activity on my PC for quite some time. It’s more of a diligence thing and not downloading or clicking potentially harmful things.
/end soapbox
yeah, let me know how its going play ALL those amazing games that are optimized perfectly for mac right from the start OH WAIIIIIT
im glad that sam is getting help, but i am sad that he actually did choose to leave his role as GM. so much of the story has been focused on his growth as a character and as a GM. i mean, what ever happened to the whole dm monologue super power thing? and that short fat guy? i wisht hat they could take a break, maybe try something really simple like some prewritten lv 1 adventure paths, or even some gurps. something to let him get his groove back slowly at his own pace
Like Robert said, this isn’t going to degenerate into a “PCs are better/Macs are better” argument. Folks have their preferences. For me, I know Macs. I learned on Mac and I love to use them. Sure, I could build a cheaper PC but all of the other reasons aside, I just like Macs and that is what I want to keep using. I’m not crapping on PCs or folks who use them. Different strokes and all that.
And I trained on PC’s, spent years doing support for PC’s. Dead in the water with a Mac.
The mindset is just so different
I hit my computer with a club when the electrons get stuck together. Once the machine fears you, everything works much better.
We call that “concussive maintenance”
It works (doesn’t work) for other major appliances and electronic devices too! ๐
As much as I don’t like Sam having bad days, I really appreciate the character development.
Flawed characters make people relate. A lot. A lot a lot. That’s why D20 is my favorite webcomic.
Nice! Always good to have a change of pace, Jeanie seems perfect for this stuff, the question is does she have something she can come up with within a few months?
It’ll be interesting to see what she brings. Have we seen her DM before? I can’t remember.
“Speaking of Sam, his issues are not the sort of thing to be รขโฌลfixedรขโฌย by the end of an arc. His struggle with opening up, getting help, and depression will be an ongoing element in d20Monkey for many, many days to come. He will have good days. He will have bad days.”
Thank you for saying this outright. As you may have noticed, this arc is one that I have found concerning. ๐
“He will have good days. He will have bad days.”
Thank you in advance for, at the very least, an attempt to portray depression realistically. I got help, over a year of damn good professional help at that. But I still (2+ years later) have bad days, and currently a bad week even, but now I know what to watch for to keep those “bad” days from becoming my “normal” days.
I’m having a bad day now. At least one of. -shrugs-.
…And this triggered by the bloody swimming pool not being open when I expected it to be. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so banal.
I’m not sure it is only 10 points in a drop, to be perfectly honest it looks like his sanity actually bottomed out, as in went to total 0, it might even have gone into negative numbers…..
HE IS SO HARD RIGHT NOW IT HURTS!
Those who live it know that depression does not have a start and finish point (as you know). Treatment does not stop bad days from happening, but does give you tools to hopefully control your emotional state during them.
I am glad that you are giving this the serious attention it deserves. Messing with Brett at the same time? Well, that’s just the icing on the cake ๐
Wow. So that’s what Santa poop looks like. The tinsel is a nice touch.
I’m actually super excited to see Sam interact with the “Normal” group as a PC.
Really?? We just get finished with the year long broken leg sadness bullshit, and now, after giving a cheap tpk to shorthand the fun story arc, your going to sink us into a giant bout of depression… AGAIN?!
FUUCK
I’ll keep telling the stories I want to tell. That’s what it comes down to and if that isn’t your cup of tea, no harm, no foul but there are a ton of other comics out there to read.
I wonder what type of character Sam plays?
Hah! Love that last panel – totally cracked me up ๐