3442 These Are The Artifacts
Woah… been a long time again. Sorry folks.
On the plus side, I’m about done my first episode of my show with Oasis and I’m getting a better idea of what is required of me and my abilities to meet the deadlines. Which means a better chance of finding a way to squeeze some YAFGC strips into my work-and-family schedule. So have no fear, there will be more updates and -hopefully- I’ll be able to get more regular with them. Thanks for sticking with me!
-Rich
EDIT: Hi gang;
Again, sorry for being so slow these days. I’m getting better at this though. The next strip is about half-done, I’d say, but what with work and holidays (Happy Passover and Easter!) I’m still fighting for time (and energy) to get ‘er done. I’m really sorry I didn’t get an April Fool in this year. Alas. Hang in there, I’m still with you.
-Rich
I think you meant "Now Depleted" about the wand, not "no Depleted"
Just a heads up.
I usually don’t care about spelling errors in YAFGC, but I don’t want anyone thinking it should be noT depleted.
So, you are correct: NOW depleted.
t!
Agreed, I shall correct that soon.
Offer’s still open to proofread the text, NDA/zero-pay/no-credit, no problem! Great comic, and I’d be happy to make it a tiny bit better.
I really appreciate that. My only problem is trying to find the step in my process. When I manage to find the time to make these, I plough through it from creation to posting. It’s hard enough getting them put up when I can just do them spontaneously, to add in a step where I have to send them off to someone and wait for a reply before I put them up would make it even harder for me.
Heck, that’s more or less what happened to my last proofreader. That and she’d check my spelling at the rough stage and then I’d mistype things in the lettering/cleanup stage. There are even times when the text gets dramatically rewritten in the lettering/cleanup stage. So much so that I’ve had entirely different jokes (with the same images) posted from what I’d penciled in. I’ve really got to try to be more careful because I fear that getting an editor in might kill my process entirely.
Good idea. Some typos aren’t that big a deal, but in this case, I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be "NOW depleted" or "NOT depleted", which might have been significant clue to the mystery… or an ulterior motive if this was, perhaps, one of the last functioning wands in the world?
It would have made sense though. A depleted magic wand technically is just a stick. Unless you collect famous artifacts, it is quite worthless. However, a functioning magic wand in a magically depleted world is rather valuable and likely sought after.
Well… perhaps because it would make sense, it is quite good to have it clarified…
Rich,
Take your time. Family First. And the job supports the family.
We’ll still be here.
Before I blew up the script I thought the third item was a riding crop. So my mind was going elsewhere… 😉
That would be a different kind of magic…
t!
Agreed. We’ll wait.
Although I AM reminded of the question of how many Jewish mothers it takes to change a light bulb…
None.
I’ll just sit here.
In the dark.
All alone…
1st off, happy to hear it’s going well! I can’t even imagine how many hours that first episode must’ve taken!! Good to hear for your sake that it’s getting better- beginning a new job, even with friends, is exciting but bumpy 🙂
2nd- no need to apologize! Job comes 1st, and the fact that you care enough about the quality of the strip to wait instead of dashing off a poor update makes me respect you more. Besides, it gives new readers a chance to catch up, old readers a chance to archive dive (yet again), and all of us more time to think of punettes from the comment gallery!!
I’m just happy we’re off the "sense" gag at last.
Memo to future self: If I propose a strip, and Rich doesn’t get the joke at first, WE CUT IT.
t!
3rd lmao at the 1st panel!!! I almost choked laughing!!
For those of you who didn’t grow up with the commercials, Crazy Eddie was a salesman who would use that tagline of, "Wait! But there’s more!" Or some such, complete with excessive gestures. Sometimes multiple times in 1 commercial.
I hear the spoken word segment in the middle of "I Lost On Jeopardy!"
t!
Snickers! Love that song! YOU are a complete loser!!! Lololol
Ah, yes, the famed voice of Don Pardo. A staple of many a game show in the 1970s and 1980s.
Just did a little snooping at Oasis Animation Studio webpage. The only project they mention that is in early production is Mashopolis. Seems there are two little mysteries going on here…
Well…. I’ve signed a DOA, so all I can tell you is that Mashopolis is NOT the name of the project I’m working on.
Looking at their catalog, any of the titles looks like it would be fun to work on. And enjoying your co-workers is icing on the cake.
DOA? Shouldn’t that be NDA? DOA is not a term I’d use for a new series.
Unless this is another difference between Canada and the States. In the U.S., NDA is "Non-Disclosure Agreement," DOA is "Dead on Arrival."
Blab about the unreleased series and your job is DOA.
…………… Oh my gawd. I’m so friggin’ tired.
Chuckles. You need some self-care, man. 🙂 This is not the best way to provide funny, even if it is accurate.
I do feel ya tho. One time I was so tired, I literally couldn’t recall my name. I just stood there blanking, trying to remember.
It’s a Decree Of Ass-covering, where you agree to avoid doing things that could put you in trouble.
Good luck with this project.
Knowing some artists who have worked in animation and similar fields for large studios, projects are not necessarily advertised until there’s something working to announce, even if it’s just a short trailer.
So it could simply be that the project Rich is working on hasn’t reached that stage. Or he could be working on one of the established franchises which doesn’t require an update on its progress.
So the prizes are Coins, a Sword, a Cup, and a Wand, eh. How strangely familiar.
Now all we need is just (twenty)one more things and the winner will be fully decked out to the max. Question is, will there be a guest appearance by Angela Clansmerry or maybe a certain stone-faced kenku will aid the investigation?
Or a kobald in a trechcoat? “Oh, just one more pot holder…”
together they are known as the sword, cup, and stick of Rassilon.
Definitely getting a 1970s game show vibe here. "But that’s not all! Our lucky winner will also receive a year’s supply of Grain-A-Roni, the San Gambrino Treat! And also a year’s supply of Armour Wax, for the shiny, rust-free cuirasses and helms!"
So, the prize is:
-coins
-a sword
-a cup
-a wand
I guess their playing cards use Tarot suits.
There are many card games that use Tarot decks.
Yeah, but… You know, the most common card suits are the French suits: heart, spade, diamond, club. There’s also the German suits: heart, bell, acorn, leaf; and the Swiss suits: rose, bell, acorn, shield. But before there was the Latin suits, which are still used in Tarot: coin, cup, wand, and sword. (Some modern Tarot decks use pentacle instead of coin, though.)
And here the reward for the card tournament just happens to be coin, cup, wand, and sword. If it’s a coincidence, it’s a lucky one!
Yes, but Rich’s world isn’t Earth. It’s his own creation, so maybe the French, German and Swiss card suits don’t exist in that world and the only suit commonly used for card games are the four in the Minor Arcana of Tarot.
You make a good point that the French suit would be harder to pull off: a shovel, a club, a diamond and a love letter, perhaps? No, Latin ("Minor Arcana") is a fitting suit. Tailor-made, you could say.
Heart of a dragon?
Clever catch! I hadn’t realised that Rich was referencing that on the sly until you pointed it out.
It suits him, I guess.
Fnordius, you are such a card.
I hadn’t noticed the suits either. Very clever, t! and Rich, and everyone who noticed it!
Aha! But that is NOT the only sneaky reference in here…
t!
I am refusing to rise to the bait. Except i just did… And i am, offline- i am bubbling with excitement and wonderl!! And potential puns…
Ma! t!’s teasing again!! Lol
Is it a hint that Mama Bloodhand, Lucas, and Cadugan manage to survive certain death by a….tarot escape?
This is P!enapple’s fault for suggesting potential puns! 😛
> Ma! t!’s teasing again!!
Of course – it’s a *mystery*!
t!
T-Chall: surrrre, blame me. Like i’m the bub’ll come up with all the songs and pun runs that make my wish for reaction buttons on comments lol Y’all are too damn funny too be contained 😀
Altho if a suggestion is all it takes, i’ll gladly take the blame lol
t!: so you’re being mysteasious??
I was referring to the fact that you stirred up speculation as to another clue- when i’m already hyped! I love mysteries in fantasy settings, like the 1st few of the Vimes series by terry pratchett. A couple of the ones from Forgotten Realms novels, and Edward Hoch did a few, and some of Dave Duncan’s King’s Swords, and of course Asimov. Oh, and my sister just got me the 2nd book of Roger Rabbit. Haven’t read it yet, but the 1st is nothing like the movie. Much darker, noir-y, and the plot/solution differ. Love the movie too. Oh, and Erle Stanley Gardner and Joel Rosenberg’s D’Shai duo. And i’m rambling here lol
P!enapple, thank you so much for the kind words. My compliments to you for "mysteasious." You are an expert punster as well, my friend. 🙂
Yes!
I am also very fond of "mysteasious."
What I was hinting at here is nothing as cool as a mystery clue (and of course, if there *were* a mystery clue in here, I wouldn’t tell anyone!); it’s just a meta reference.
The name Westmacott is of significance to the genre.
P!enapple, have you read any Garrett P.I.?
As a devourer of police procedurals, I am proud to say that Men At Arms is my favourite Story about Cops.
Plus, he revealed, twisting his evil ol’ moustache, there has already been a Pratchett reference in this story…
t!
Gonna go for a huge confession here…. I didn’t notice any of that until you guys started commenting on it. So congratulate t! on catching even ME out on that one, and I DREW the damned thing! 😀
No worries, Rich, family and the job come first. Take the time you need, we’ll be here!
A curious set of prizes indeed.
Why would a religious order put it’s holiest artifacts up as prizes? That doesn’t make sense.
If makes sense if you’re familiar with honouring gods through consecration/sacrifice/offering.
t!
And if the patron of your order is a gambler who plays for prizes.
"Several hundred years before,
A gambler and a monk embarked
On a long trek through the endless prairies of the North.
They had a fierce debate
About God and chance and fate
And to resolve it, agreed a game of cards indeed be played.
The game went on all day
And through the next and next they played
And around them a shelter was built to shield the rain.
A street around the shelter formed
Then a church, a house, a bar,
And that is how the city of New Albion was born."
— Paul Shapera, "The Dolls of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera"
https://mochalab.bandcamp.com/track/act-1-s2-new-albion-1
"You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to drop the ‘chord, and know when to run…"
Where does it say holy? They are of historic importance, but otherwise just a sword, a depleted magic wand and a used cup. All worldly possessions.
Anti-magic for cheat prevention… *sniff* Do I detect a whiff of Asprin? 🙂
That title ROCKS.
t!
Hmmm. But, if that is THE WAND that cast the Anti-magic bubble around the Abbey… and it now resides IN the Abbey and thus, inside that spell, … Do we know FOR certain and sure that it is now depleted? I could see a possible motive for murder there, – steal the Wand, take it outside the anti magic sphere, cause havoc.
And BEST wishes to you, Rich, in getting the sleep you need! 🙂
I was thinking the same thing about the wand. The anti-magic bubble it was in would have protected it from the power suck for the God Trap.
Lucas is looking more and more like Fred in every panel…
I concur with all the other people who thought the 1st panel was particularly hilarious.
Now I have to wonder…since the tournament is run by monks..are they doing to be standard monks, or might we be seeing some pseudo D&D inspired martial arts craziness?
Blame my years of gaming. I can no longer see the word "monk" in a D&D-related context–however tangential–without immediately thinking of various open-handed strikes and jumping spin kicks. 😀
We’re more of the mystery-related school.
Think Ellis Peters/Days of Wonder.
t!
*Going*, not *doing*—arrghhh!
Apparently, the spelling errors are contagious. 😉
Thanks for the clarification, t! Read a lot of Brother Cadfael, so I can totally relate to your analogy.
The donation of the sword made me think of that, too–since Cadfael himself took up the monastic life after soldiering, and there’s plenty historic precedent for that.
But, as I said before, with the strip being D&D adjacent, I could not fully commit to one or t’other. 😉
Ditto! Love cadfael, reread them sometimes, and was intrigued enough i followed the history background of Stephen and Maude, and even of Robert and the Abbey. Even read her Felse series, and a few of her singlets. She was an amazing woman, too!
I did get confused by the Days of Wonder connection- from what little i could see, it looks like a game company or system?? I understand if you can’t say anything in case of spoilers tho 🙂
Happy to oblige!
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/915/mystery-abbey
t!
Wow!! Looks like a game my sister would tromp all over me with, in a very creative setting and rule system 🙂 thanks for the temptation!!!
I’m going to share this with a group of language teachers too 🙂
Do they also get a copy of the home game?
Long time lurker, breaking out his WordPress account just to say I finally remember where I heard Westmacott before! It’s Agatha Christie’s penname for her romances.
(Also, I don’t see a problem with the artshift. Just thought I’d mention that)
Yay! t! is much more well read than I. So there’ll be a lot more literary references than usual in this story. 😀
t!, when the story is over, will you please post a list of those literary references?
I think there are fewer literary ones than TV ones.
One rather inelegant – but I’ve decided I *really* want it, so after some waffling, it stays.
Of course you may have a list!
Perhaps a post-mystery scavenger hunt: I’ll post the list of what is being referenced, but save the where/how for later…
t!
Thank you! That sounds like fun. ?
No worries again, Rich, take the time you need. Happy Passover and Happy Easter.
Is that Marth’s Falchion I see?
‘fraid not.
t!
That chalice! By any chance, t!, is that a reference to the "Bardic Challenge" https://www.yafgc.net/comic/1047-a-pair-with-flair/ ?
Is that the chalice from the palace that the patron saint monk thought held the brew that was true, because he had been told the pellet with the poison was in the flagon with the dragon? Was the patron saint poisoned at his last meal? 😉
I know, it probably isn’t, but it is a fun thought. 🙂
The Court Jester might just be the funniest movie ever.
But the chalice is a new chalice, and I would recommend you not look *too* hard for references, because you are likely to be disappointed.
t!
Of course an antimagic bubble would prevent MAGICAL cheating, but not sleight of hand or standard card-sharpery.