He is the wielder of the Narrative, of COURSE Karthun is real! Now he needs to get his head back together and use that knowledge to start bringing the power to bear!
Time for the wielder of the Narrative to equip the heroes for the fight to come. He tried to use the Narrative once before by calling out “Power Word Kill, No Save” to be told that’s not how it works. Let’s see him use it correctly now.
Let’s us play? Lets us play, as in Clive allows then to play? Or are they calling Talbot a little man and inviting him to play? Sorry, genuinely confused here.
Seriously? We’re neck deep into an amazing action arc where long-dormant threads are getting woven together… Let the thing play out before prognosticating about worst-case scenarios!
Consider for a moment how it would feel for someone to “it better not…” your own work while you were still in the midst of making it. How much of that would you endure before you decided to just say “forget it” and walk away.
Maybe appreciate the anticipation, and wait for the payoff before deciding whether it’s good or not?
Actually, looking back, I see that Talbot actually referred to Sam as “The Narrative Wielder”, so perhaps his position is as unique as any mantle. Maybe more so.
* – The events of this strip make me seriously wonder if it should be *The* Narrative Wielder. I suspect we’ll learn the answer to that weighty question soon. *ominous thunder*
Sam has had a “brain shattering realization” moment, a la the last panel, before… But I can’t remember when or under what circumstances. Was it when he thought Amy was dumping him in her “Good morning get some pancakes” letter? Were there any other analogous events?
Just wondering if there are any deliberate parallels to be drawn, or if Sam is just prone to period brain-breakage as a general rule and they have no inherent connections.
Kind of makes you wonder if their Karthun characters are also real and had real adventures with real consequences. Hell it’d be epic if, after shaking off the horrible realization that he literally created a world, Sam somehow used The Narrative to summon their Karthun characters (or turned them into their characters) to battle these new foes in the ULTIMATE game session. Roll for initiative.
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Oh no. Parallels with Karthun becoming real via the Narrative?
Or he’s just receiving prophetic inspiration or something from it.
He is the wielder of the Narrative, of COURSE Karthun is real! Now he needs to get his head back together and use that knowledge to start bringing the power to bear!
Time for the wielder of the Narrative to equip the heroes for the fight to come. He tried to use the Narrative once before by calling out “Power Word Kill, No Save” to be told that’s not how it works. Let’s see him use it correctly now.
I thought that just meant the dude had too many hit points to be effected.
Yep. Come on, Sam, you can’t have made these things invincible. What are their weaknesses?
Damn me, here’s to hoping his pain is dwarfed only by the empowerment that comes with the realization. Good luck, kid.
Let’s us play? Lets us play, as in Clive allows then to play? Or are they calling Talbot a little man and inviting him to play? Sorry, genuinely confused here.
That’s a typo. Let me fix that.
It is “Lets us play” as in Clive allows them to run wild on occasion.
Or, err, maybe the little man who lets us play is the wielder of the Narrative, who created Karthun. For play.
Hey, Siri?
Play “I’ve Got The Power” by SNAP.
Please tell me you’re not steering towards “it was all a dream, but then Sam woke up” … that would be catastrophically disappointing. 🙁
Seriously? We’re neck deep into an amazing action arc where long-dormant threads are getting woven together… Let the thing play out before prognosticating about worst-case scenarios!
Consider for a moment how it would feel for someone to “it better not…” your own work while you were still in the midst of making it. How much of that would you endure before you decided to just say “forget it” and walk away.
Maybe appreciate the anticipation, and wait for the payoff before deciding whether it’s good or not?
That would be pretty disappointing, but I bet whatever Brian has cooking is gonna be a helluva lot more interesting than a dream sequence.
This. Is. A. Great. Response.
Didn’t come too hard. No namecalling, just a solid “think about what you just did there, and be better.”
Hat’s off, Val! Stick around, Pax.
This is probably the rudest fucking thing you could ever say to an author, holy shit.
So, I guess Karthun books can be put under “non-fiction†now?
Aye, you’ll find them in many sections but mostly self-help and outdoor survival sections.
I know it’s not as showy as Clive’s big entrance, but Sam’s reveal and realization was one of my favorite shoe drops in d20Monkey.
It sure suggests a whole lot more meaning, power and nuance to “The Narrative” than was obvious before now.
Ah, but was he shaping it or channeling it?
Too fine a distinction?
I think it’s a good question. It’s pretty clear he hasn’t been thinking about how life might be affected by the Narrative for some time.
Does he tap into it as a GM and world builder?
Is he shaping the fundamental thread that binds causality in the d20verse?
Good questions!
Actually, looking back, I see that Talbot actually referred to Sam as “The Narrative Wielder”, so perhaps his position is as unique as any mantle. Maybe more so.
I can hear the last panel. And I love it.
First, uh… call it five seconds of Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” album for me.
Ye Gods, I’m old.
You may be wrong, for all I know, but you may be right.
😉
That last panel is just spot on!
It’s a panel you can *hear.*
The realization is wonderful. Here’s hoping he snaps back to action before he loses too much.
…damn i dont think i checked the part of the karthun book on ogres
I mean… if he created them, then at least he probably knows their weakness?
Could this also hint that Sam is an unknown mantle bearer? Seeing as Clive says in the previous page “Bring me the Mantle bearers.”
Brent is Santa, but Jeannie is Mrs. Claus. Each position has its own mantle.
As for Sam… well, we’ll have to strap in and see what shakes out.
Brett. Brett. Not Brent.
Friday brain strikes again.
Sam is a(*) Narrative Wielder. (at least, as far as we are told here; https://d20monkey.com/comic/shrimpin-aint-easy/)
* – The events of this strip make me seriously wonder if it should be *The* Narrative Wielder. I suspect we’ll learn the answer to that weighty question soon. *ominous thunder*
Each world that a DM, GM or whatever you call them, the worlds they created can be real.
. . . where’s Larry. . . ?
Sam may be through the looking glass, but WHERE’S LARRY!!
Oh. Shit.
Sam has had a “brain shattering realization” moment, a la the last panel, before… But I can’t remember when or under what circumstances. Was it when he thought Amy was dumping him in her “Good morning get some pancakes” letter? Were there any other analogous events?
Just wondering if there are any deliberate parallels to be drawn, or if Sam is just prone to period brain-breakage as a general rule and they have no inherent connections.
The most recent time was *also* related to his pride and joy… when Brett told him what setting his campaign was in.
https://d20monkey.com/comic/shattered-possibilities/
I just have to say this one big thing… What does the GM say when it’s time for the heroes to throw down?
ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!
But…if the Narrative is powerful enough for him to make Karthun real…then he shaped its entire history…he affected countless lives…
Oh, *gods*.
Kind of makes you wonder if their Karthun characters are also real and had real adventures with real consequences. Hell it’d be epic if, after shaking off the horrible realization that he literally created a world, Sam somehow used The Narrative to summon their Karthun characters (or turned them into their characters) to battle these new foes in the ULTIMATE game session. Roll for initiative.
Hey, @Matt?
Any chance we could get a link to previous comics mentioning Sam’s power of the Narrative? A refresher seems to be in order. 🙂
The Narrative is widely talked about throughout the series.
Look for anything with Larry: https://d20monkey.com/character/larry/
There’s a Narrative Tag but I haven’t been through the entire backlog for it yet. https://d20monkey.com/tag/the-narrative/
I think Sam just learned an important life lesson: Don’t roll an insight check if you’re afraid to know the truth.
Reading this I had one of the biggest pop-offs I’ve had while reading the comic for a while. A full on “Oh shit, son!” yell. My dog is very confused.
Oh shit.
Clive gained power from a patron. Karthun is being written into the world.
https://d20monkey.com/comic/elsewhere-part-three/
https://d20monkey.com/comic/harsh-reflections-part-nineteen/
Clive is the new avatar of the Grin?
Oh no…he’s going meta!
(Honestly I’ve been having the crackpot theory of this is all a game running for a while)
Dammit Sam, you created this problem!
Much like when The Pope had a serious bowel movement, I just had a, “Holy SHIT,” moment!
Makes me wonder if Talbot is about to go all Tron-style glowy. Elemental power, go! 😀
(I’d guess Water Elemental, owing to his previous fascination with shrimp and his use of liquid to shock Josie back to reality).
Waiting and seeing though. Enjoying this so far 🙂