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https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/wie-116 Brilliant strategy. On par with the Grail Knights' classic tactic of RUN AWAY!

NP Comic for Tuesday, Mar 28, 2023 Rich makes a valid point, as Nanase attests. What he was responding to is also is also a valid point, all to often, property is seized from a suspect, and they have to fight to get it back, in spite of not being convicted. Look at Steve Jackson Games. Imagine how often this happens to folks without a public voice. I think she should have said, "Right, I already looted that room."

Here. Darth Fluffy called it.

Comic for Saturday, Mar 11, 2023 This may be what Rich needs to hear?

NP Comic for Thursday, Mar 9, 2023 This is interesting. Nanase is being honest and giving heartfelt thanks. Rich is not taking it in the spirit it was intended, it seems. His world view still needs work, which makes sense, we don't change overnight. Still the 'Error' storm cloud is foreboding. He went from 'Girls can't roleplay' to 'These girls know exactly what they're doing' and now she's saying 'I don't know what I'm doing'. Huh. Which direction will he carom off of that? In the commentary, Dan talks about writers writing what they think the audience wants to see. It's a subtext, after he talks about writers writing what they want. I think pandering to the audience is a mistake. A write should write their story, their vision, and not water it down with other people's issues, elsewise you loose direction. Yes, you will loose some readers who don't want to share your vision, but you will be true to yourself, and have a loyal following. The alternative is a pile of mush that satisfies no one. Of course, there is room to grow, and your vision can change. Then there's Randy Milholland who goes out of his way to piss off readers that annoy him. This amuses me. Does it amuse you too, New Friend? (0) (o)

NP Comic for Thursday, Mar 2, 2023 Lemme see those dice. That 20 was awfully convenient. "Rich smash." "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." "We barely tolerate you when you're not angry!" "See, I'm right!"

NP Comic for Tuesday, Feb 28, 2023 Cue Larry's bard: "When danger reared its ugly head, Nanase turned her tail and fled; Brave, brave Nanase!" (Which is bad news, because if I remember correctly, the bard gets eaten.) The good news is they will run into Rich when they pursue her, and he should have a moment of surprise.

Here. Rich to the rescue?!?

NP Comic for Thursday, Feb 23, 2023 Nanase's rogue goes full lawful stupid. Oops, indeed. "What did she just do?" Reactions: Larry's face is consternation, along the lines of "We're screwed" - probably not true, but the situation got more difficult. George's is confusion, "Why would you do that?" Riches is inscrutable, ellipses - He's either pissed, or "I knew she couldn't role play", or "I knew girls can't role play", or "Hey, that's my role!" Difficult to say which. He's clearly not thrilled though. Ellen's response is priceless. "You f***ed up, Honey, I'm explaining how ..." Pretty gentle, really, and hopefully preemptively defuses anyone else's presumably hostile response. Nanase's "Oops" response says she learned something, but it may be overwhelmed by "I knew I hated this." So, for today's comic, she's actually playing a rouge, applying the red to her cheeks as clown style makeup. Which may be appropriate if they have a TPK before they even reach the climax of the module.

NP Comic for Thursday, Feb 16, 2023 In the first panel, Ellen is simply beside herself. Her imaginary fairy self outfit is more risque than is typical for EGS (in fact, seems to defy physics, at least slightly). I'm sure this says something about Ellen's positive body image and being comfortable in her own skin, in regard to how Dan views Ellen seeing herself. Larry's too cute elf seems to say that Larry would enjoy being transformed, if he knew it was an option. I am guessing that this is foreshadowing, and it is going to happen; it may be a messing with Rich moment as well, as he deals with his best friend being transformed. Oh, and she seems to be flirting with him. Oh, dear, what a tangled web! Meta: This NP must be fun for Dan; he has taken several breaks from the main comic, but has not slowed down much on this NP arc. Nothing we've seen so far appears to remove this from canon. It's a fair amount of stage time. Does this elevate the minor character participants' status yet? George still seems like a prop, kind of just there, but Rich and Larry are at least hitting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern levels. Looting on the way out would make more sense logistically. Lugging that weight would hinder them in battle. But, in Riches defense, if they don't loot now, they are likely to get a cut scene when they meet their quest objective, and be unable to loot afterward.

NP Comic for Saturday, Feb 11, 2023 No one questioned the tracks changing. Would it not make sense to leave the treasure, and pick it up on the way out? Perhaps stash the bag and return for it? Could be hors d'oeuvres before the ceremony ...

NP Comic for Thursday, Feb 2, 2023 "Wisdom? Meh, that's a dump stat."

NP Comic for Saturday, Feb 4, 2023 Why goblins are goblins, and someone looting off screen.

Sketchbook Comic for Wednesday, February 1, 2023 <-- That pretty much says it all.

NP Comic for Saturday, Jan 28, 2023 Rich,George,and Larry are in-character, Nanase is sitting in a folding chair in the game shop. I guess she's having a difficult tome with the concept of playing a role. The red flag discussion does not appear to matter, it's just small talk.

NP Comic for Tuesday, Jan 24, 2023 This comic has a miner issue.

NP Comic for Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 Huh, quotes because they are speaking in-character. That works. Looks odd, but I suppose it's clearer. I'm pretty sure that's what Dan wanted. I, too, would expect Rich's paladin to know something about the scope and kind of evil that the sacrifice pointed to. But his answer is not unreasonable. He's not being obstructionist, it doesn't seem. But, I also don't see that the story is advancing in this comic. George's conclusion does not make sense. The red flag is the intended sacrifice that they already know about. Going into the mine does not change this. What new red flag is George alluding to?

NP Comic for Saturday, Jan 21, 2023 Rich reaches a life changing conclusion, seeks a new direction with a dazzling background, then blunts it with indecision. Ah, new Rich, we barely knew you. Commentary says that he won't be as insufferable.

NP Comic for Thursday, Jan 19, 2023 If your norm for 'how functional adults act' is your RPG group, odds are that your worldview is warped. Just saying ... RPG players please note, 'odds are'. Not all groups/players are dysfunctional. Not all ... I think this comic arc over all highlights that. Most of the people at the table are enjoying themselves without being jerks. But it doesn't take a whole bunch to bring the mood down. Rich started down this path at the beginning of the arc. Fortunately, Ellen and others skillfully turned him off that path. Note that the trippy light show in his head not only has a glowing background, his self image head in his head casts a shadow. It is also washing out the slides a bit. Maybe the weirdest part of the slideshow in his head is that it is blowing his hair around. Light pressure? Breeze produced by the slides sailing past? Rich is actually moving past them? He's just an airhead, and it has weather? In one ear and out the other? I suppose we'll never know. Summary of the last couple of comics: Rich figured $#@% out.

NP Comic for Thursday, Jan 12, 2023 Ellen is positive and encouraging. That seems a bit out of character, but not much. She tends to have some rough edges. What is odder is how perceptive she is. I guess solving mysteries has paid off. Also, she does have people skills, so maybe those are shining through. I thought Rich had already worked this out for himself, but looking back at the last few comics, no, he seems to need help getting past this. So Rich is having a teachable moment in how he can impress two lesbians. Probably not what he was aiming for.

NP Comic for Tuesday, Jan 10, 2023 It seems odd how a tiny little jiggle line seems so noticeable.

NP Comic for Thursday, Jan 5, 2023 Four more or less normal characters highlight the notion of beauty influencing charisma, in turn influencing persuasiveness. Rich, meanwhile, reacts to their discussion as he recovers from a lightning strike. He appears to get better. FWIW, I'm not on board with where the discussion is heading. Beauty is not the same thing as charisma. Some RPG, it might have been an edition of D&D, broke out physical beauty from charisma as comeliness. Granted, there are correlations. In the age of video accessibility, a good looking politician will tend to do better than one who is not. But it is hardly the whole story. Charisma has to do with credibility and trustworthiness. Self confidence is a big factor, as is competence and track record. Charisma is clearly tied to persuasiveness, but looks is a factor only, and not even the main one, otherwise Mitch McConnell would not be a leading republican, to pick an example. Ultimately, charisma means that you are willing to invest a level of your attention with the person who has it. In this sense, looks is more of an ice breaker than a deal maker, although it could also be a deciding factor if all other things are equal; a tie breaker. Hotness is not a good synonym for looks in this case, because it leans more toward sexual attractiveness rather than appears competent. It is of limited specific utility in persuading others if they do not thing they have a shot with the speaker, and the limits of the topics of persuasion are more immediate, but not really tied to a sense of leadership necessarily - although, they can be. What is most weird about this is that the framework of the comic is presenting a shallow view of looks as charisma as a major influence in how people interact, but, for the most part, they do not. You might appreciate how a server in a fast food facility looks, but if they can't get your order right, you are not going to give them a pass. The saying, 'Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone' highlights this; someone might look attractive, but when you get to know them, you quickly learn what they are really like and dislike them. Yet this view is not entirely with out merit. We are very visual, much of our interaction is based on visual cues. People project a demeanor through the expression on their face and how they carry themselves. (Blind people compensate and become more sensitive to other cues.) Your outward appearance has some correlation with the person inside. There is yet another side to this, 'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder'. Not everyone will see 'looks' the same. All kinds of biases and prejudices play in as well, as can relationship. A person you like will seem to look better than someone you do not. Racism and ethnic bias comes into play. Not all persuasion is based on charisma. Neverwinter Nights, based on D&D 3, had a persuasion skill, but also listed an intimidation skill that accomplished pretty much the same thing. So, to me, the train of thought running through the last set of comics misses the mark; I'm not convinced it's even plausible that a skeptical mayor is influenced by a bard's opinion merely because she looks good. Indeed, if he is, that might be a red flag to be wary of a secondary agenda on his part. Why is he granting unwarranted credence to what she says? Larry and George are speaking in-character. It is unclear that Nanase is. Ellen apparently thinks so, too, because she is not speaking for a character, so she must be addressing Nanase. So Rich's reactions: with Larry, he's having a difficult time separating the character from the person, it's too personal; with George, who he does not know as well, he's calming down, better able to accept it, with Nanase and Ellen, he is calm and confused, they are messing with his world view. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of this direction for this comic sequence, but it made me think and in turn define some things that have seemed inconsistent for a long time.

NP Comic for Saturday, Jan 7, 2023 Inside Rich's head, there is a view graph slideshow. There is also a carbon copy Rich to view it. Nice. I think he's going to pull a Grinch here, and his heart will grow three sizes that day. This will probably not result in cardiac problems, because, come on, fictional trope.

NP Comic for Tuesday, Jan 3, 2023 Rich is struck by a lightning bolt. He will be missed. Did you know that the TSA will not allow you to carry a pick axe with you on a plane?

NP Comic for Saturday, Dec 31, 2022 "I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day ..." To be fair, it is supposed to be a quick game. It needs to stay on the rails.