Comic for Monday, June 9, 2025

[Stature 96]

https://www.egscomics.com/comic/falsekings-014

I want to kick further down the road the idea of "How do Immortals get their form/s" coz Panel 2 is peak

[ijuin 603]

It seems to be implied that an Immortal’s default form is based on their subconscious self-image.

[Darth Fluffy 363]

1 hour ago, ijuin said:

It seems to be implied that an Immortal’s default form is based on their subconscious self-image.

So Hope basically has to mature, as a human would, to appear differently in her default form. 

 

I don't think this is 100% correct. Pandora's nightmare chaos cloud form was a result of her going crazy as her warranty expired, and her sane adult form manifested when she could keep it together. But she also had the kid form, two of them actually, an ominous scary version, and a tame one she appeared to Sarah as. I suppose that represented some aspect of her, but it's not clear what or why. It's not just boredom, she was an adult when she marked people in the mall. It seems to reflect a choice of some sort.

 

Voltaire's dragon form seems to be not just a reflection of who he is but also a manifestation of his grasping for power. Then again, it's probably not just default either. His more normal form does not fully reflect the psycho he is.

[Amiable Dorsai 72]

And Hope gets some insight that she probably didn't need right now.
We've seen a few bizarre Immortal forms. What do say about those immortals? 

[mlooney 3,731]

Immortals obviously mentally age, or have a mental image of themselves as an older, wiser, person that they display to humans.  I'm fairly confident that Jerry's appearance was his “true” form, less so about H&D.  I suspect that Hope will “grow up” over the summer to look at least like an older teen.  And Grace does raise a good point, not all adult women are tall with large, you know.  In a meta note, it would be odd for DS to have a semi-major character have a default form with smaller breasts.  Actually, thinking about it, he does already, in that default fem Tedd is fairly flat chested, enough so that they can be mistaken for their masc form unless you know what to look/listen for. 

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,640]

 

So Hope sees herself as a child. 

Will she get a big Coming-Of-Age arc that ends with her appearing the same age as the Maine cast if not older? 

 

[Darth Fluffy 363]

42 minutes ago, mlooney said:

Immortals obviously mentally age, or have a mental image of themselves as an older, wiser, person that they display to humans.  I'm fairly confident that Jerry's appearance was his “true” form, less so about H&D.  I suspect that Hope will “grow up” over the summer to look at least like an older teen.  And Grace does raise a good point, not all adult women are tall with large, you know.  In a meta note, it would be odd for DS to have a semi-major character have a default form with smaller breasts.  Actually, thinking about it, he does already, in that default fem Tedd is fairly flat chested, enough so that they can be mistaken for their masc form unless you know what to look/listen for. 

It is a bit weird that Grace avoids saying the word 'breasts', she plays with her own a lot. She changes their size to poke at change blindness.

 

31 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

So Hope sees herself as a child. 

Will she get a big Coming-Of-Age arc that ends with her appearing the same age as the Maine cast if not older? 

We have no W.o.D. for how fast immortals mature; my guess so far based on circumstances would be slowly, though I doubt Dan will be consistent on this point.

A. They isolate. (Although, when we've seen them they are not isolated.) Isolation is not conducive to gaining maturity.

B. Elderly Jerry created the hammers as a fairly juvenile pranks. 

C. Other immortals have tended to be fairly juvenile in their approach to issues they were pursuing or committed to. 

D. This may well be the basis for the inability to handle their aging and needing to reset. They gain aspects of wisdom, but not the maturity to handle the whole ball of wax.

Meh, what do I know. I'm sure it will go off in some plot direction and then be justified.

[mlooney 3,731]

4 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

They gain aspects of wisdom, but not the maturity to handle the whole ball of wax.

To put it in D&D terms, as they gain age they increase their INT score, but their WIS stays at 8.

[Darth Fluffy 363]

4 hours ago, mlooney said:

To put it in D&D terms, as they gain age they increase their INT score, but their WIS stays at 8.

That may be a generous 8.

[mlooney 3,731]

9 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

That may be a generous 8.

Well, a dog has a 12, and they eat poo.

[Darth Fluffy 363]

5 hours ago, mlooney said:

Well, a dog has a 12, and they eat poo.

That may be generous as well, and dogs vary. But I get your point, and immortals seem generally wiser than typical dogs.

[mlooney 3,731]

Of course, in 5e, Wis is mainly used for, apart from clerics and druids, making perception checks.  So a high wisdom only means, in general, that you are aware of the world.  Dogs still get proficiency with perception checks, and advantage on those using scent. I'm not sure that Immortals are all that aware of the mortal world.