Theo is starting to feel experimental; Marigold is not sharing the vibe. XD
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So, I had a strange question for everyone. I have been playing in the beta for a new MMO, Rift. I like it, but I noticed something intriguing about one of the races you can play as in the game:
Light blueish-greyish skin… black scelera on the eyes… I don’t think it’s gonna be hard to guess what name the first character I make when the game goes “live” will be. XD
But getting to my question, while messing with various classes and character types, I became curious about something. If this comic were a sword-and-sorcery webcomic instead of a slice-of-life affair, what fantasy-genre archetype do you all think Selkie would be? Maybe she’s a sneaky thief, fast and nimble. Maybe she’s a clever and powerful mage? Maybe a resolute and defiant warrior? Or something else entirely?
Drop a line with your thoughts on this, and I’ll do a Saturday Sketch of the concept that I like best. 😀
Ooh I like where this is going ^^ Serious timez!
This will be good. As for a class, I’d put Selkie as an archer, or perhaps a thief.
I can’t help but think of mages whenever I see an elf. Selkie could cast fish attack spells! XD
Hmm, I wonder what Marigold will find out under that hair…
Assassin!
I get two images in my head when I think of Selkie in a fantasy RPG context.
1.) The water mage. This would probably play out similarly to water bending from Avatar, or the Shugenja in 3.5 D&D. Flowing robes (or dresses) and a propensity to use water as a tool for mischief as much as a weapon for combat.
2.) The “Conan the Barbarian” Barbarian. Now, I know the barbarian idea conjures up the image of a wild frenzied fighter that attacks with reckless abandon but that is not what I’m referring to. Conan the Barbarian was a wild, vicious fighter but outside of that he was also very sneaky, clever and waited for the right moment to erupt into violent action.
I can picture Selkie as the kind of character who would put a lot of effort into being unseen and incisive but when it came down to business, would grab a massive club (or other suitably large weapon) and go to town.
3.) Also, if we’re talking Rift, Ranger/Champion/Stormcaller
It may not work right for the game, but it works right for the character.
Man if only Rift let you mix and match that freely.
Todd’s more of a Rogue/Paladin (wild, rambunctious youth, matured and trained to a sort of nobility), but Selkie… she speaks a different language, is carnivorous, in tune with animalistic features and mindset, probably adapted to the water… I’m going to go with a marine druid. Ms. Haversham-Zhang is the assassin, and the ditzy girl from the store who recommended the shoe place is a barbarian.
Hands down, Dave, it’s Hunter. In Rifts, she’d be the Rogue and you could combo whatever you want, whether you think she’s more into animals and go beastmastery or go more assassinlike. We’ve been playing it, too:) If you played WoW, she’d be a hunter. Cuz that’s what Selkie is to me. A natural hunter. She’s got that cute predatory way about her:) I myself am also a hunter and choose that first in any mmo I’ve played. In D&D? I’m actually keen on Warlock at present. Heh.
Cleric !
Cabalist since she loves to eats meats
Inquisitor because she’s so curious
Warden for the Water Magic!
Either a rogue or a cleric. Not too big on specifics right now.
Wait, you plat beta? You have a PC?
…
…
*Initiates envy*
I see Selkie as a professional cook. Though that would be a “profession” rather than a “class” in the more mainstream MMOs.
Quina Quen from FF9 is a good example of what I mean as an adventuring cook: Quina fights with a giant spork and even has an attack where he/she (gender is left deliberately vague) eats an enemy mid-battle! If Selkie was in World of Warcraft and she encountered a Murloc…
I’d have to say that if you gave Selkie magic, she may just make herself some friends, since she hasn’t really had any. Thus, I could see her becoming a magical hermit, particularly interested in animation, be it fantasy necromancy or animating golems or whatnot…
I would’ve said thief, initially, but then I realized that webbed feet make for horrible getaways, and webbed hands mean a great deal of consealed weaponry would have to be retooled >_> It would make for awesome hiding though! “She went into the lake! We’ll wait her out!” + gills seems useful <_<
Also, a bit of a critique on the art: in panels 1&4, looking over your shoulder like that should cause a bit of shoulder pitch.. they both look like they're trying to exorcist, which I don't believe is intended. Maybe it's just me, but it looks creepy.
^Meant 2&4, and 2 isn’t so bad because she tilts her head… it’s todd that made me go “what’s wrong here?”
Nooo, webbed feet can make for good getaways, too! I’ve seen it done in a campaign before on D&D! It’s just like you said, when you can just dive into a lake and wait people out those feet really come in handy! XD
Doh, a hitch to the shoulders would have helped that “uncanny valley” feeling. I’ll have to watch that in the future, thanks!
For class, based on what we know of her personality I can see her as one of those gleefully wild Rogues. Someone who does crazy stuff, gets by mostly by luck, with a spattering of skill and just by the fact that they were ballsy enough to try something that nuts to get the job done.
Looking at the picture….Todd needs to stock up on the shotguns for the boys when Selkie hits maturity. I’d go after that over a blonde any day of the week.
I see Selkie as a cleric. As to which cleric class I’m not sure I haven’t played the game enough to know all the classes but a cleric for sure.
Since fantasy classes really boils down to how you solve problems, let’s think about how Selkie is most prone to attack an issue:
If you are the one to solve things in a direct, hands on kind of way, the physical classes like Warrior or Paladin comes to mind, then alignment comes into play and lots of other factors. Leading on with this model in mind, I’d pin Selkie as a…
*drum-whirl*
Some kind of Mercenary/Ranger/Duelist-ish kind of character, the point being not tied to laws or authority, doing what she considers is the best. She would be using Dual shortswords and crossbows to be able to single-handedly combat whatever threats coming her way. I base this on the fact she IS kind of a loner, and a fantasy setting would only enhance this. She would not abide to common rules, but rather go for Chaotic good morale, enforcing what she considers right.
*Sleep at 4 am. Wake up 7 am, -3gmt. Go to job. Open browser, look at Selkiecomic. Don’t read it, can’t bother. Look down, see that gorgeous woman, thinks.*
Hellos there. Yous are likes Selkie buts olders and slender-like. Yous musts be hers mother.
Whys, Selkies mother is a verys beautifuls person, shes reallys has whats to looks fors.
Ooh, Rift! I’ve been playing the open beta for that non-stop and finally pre-ordered the online collector’s edition. If Selkie were a RIFT character, I could see her as some sort of mage. Perhaps a Stormcaller/Elementalist/Archon mix (I just don’t see her as a pyromancer, which is what I’d normally pair with those first two souls). If she were a Cleric, I could see her as a Warden/Shaman/Druid which would also lend itself to the use of watery magic and fae powers (druid more so for it’s connection to fae souls than for its use of life magic). I also think Selkie might make an interesting rogue: Ranger/Marksman/Riftstalker.
Jedi from Darths and Droids.
“I cast Summon Bigger Fish!”
When you ask this, all I can think of is that scene where she throws the ball and rebounds it perfectly off of two people’s heads. Aim like that means insane dexterity. She’s got to be either a rogue or a ranger/hunter/archer/whatever your game calls it. Perhaps it’s because of a campaign I’m in on 3.5 DnD, but I’m so partial to the rogue for Selkie it’s not even funny. In our campaign we have a Merg, a half human, half merfolk, (I think I mentioned once before that they’re also known as Selkies) who’s rather young for a player character. She’s a little rogue who aspires to be a pirate just like her father was when she grows up. The minute you say “Selkie” and “Fantast RPG” I immediately picture Selkie pulling a Naida (the Merg’s name) and stalking her ‘prey’ by watching them from just under the surface of a still river or, even more amusing to me, plunging into same river with her best throwing daggers to catch dinner later for her party. Doesn’t help that neither character likes wearing shoes and both have the same responses to seafood. So yeah, one highly biased vote for the rogue. She and Naida can be pirates when they grow up. XD
I hope you enjoy playing Rift. I ended up canceling my pre-order because the graphics made me carsick somehow… 🙁
Haven’t tried Rift out yet, nor checked what classes it’ll be running. But I think I’d be partial to any sort of ‘dark’ classes for Selkie. If this were WoW, that’d be a Death Knight or a Warlock. In Selkie’s case, I think DK would be better. But, again, no clue if Rift has anything even remotely equivalent.
Bleh. All the stereotypical talk of, “Li3k, rouges R l33t!!1!” is bugging me. I see Selkie as more of a fighter/warrior (I don’t know the terminology of you game ><) who, while she puts her best effort into things, is also a bit clumsy and inexperienced with how she goes about doing things. Soooo yeah, leaning more in that direction.
Sorry if I came off as rude up there–I didn't mean to offend anyone and I apologize if I did. D:
Hey, to each their own. Personally, in some forms of tabletop rpg gaming, I’ve found that warriors are useless for everything but battle. Once you set foot in a town environment you might as well just drop them off at the inn. Maybe that’s just the people playing them, maybe not, but that’s why I never considered them for Selkie. She has more skill and intelligence than that. The Merg rogue I was talking about is actually a skilled combatant, known for being something of a little walking armory with all sorts of blade weapons on her person and in her bag. It all depends on who you play with, even in an MMO.
I think Selkie would be the strange daughter of the innkeeper, selling fishes on the market.
Selling the ones she doesn’t “drop”, I mean.
Erm… I haven’t played Rift yet, although Selkie reminds me a lot of the D&D’s v. 3.5 Bard, for some reason. So if there’s a class close to that…
Also, is anyone else worried about what Theo wants to ask Todd?
Great Comic- I look forward to the updates every week. Its also lots of fun to see the art mature. you can see similar trends in many long term webcomics, so I hope this means that this will become a long term webcomic. (there is probably a logic gap in that sentence)
One note on today’s comic: Selkie is nearly a head taller than the top of the grocery bags in panel 2, yet in panels 6 and 7 the top of the bags are 1/4 of the height of the bag above her head. Something can be said for changing perspective, but to me is just looks like the table became abnormally tall.
I’m glad to see Grandma and grandpa seem readily accepting after the first shock, though along with DERP I am really curious what Theo looks so concerned about in panel 5.
Thanks for the great comic!
Scalawag/Pirate! She would love the life at sea and is clever and quick enough to excel. Also, you are not generally expected to wear shoes. Heh, I could just see her swinging from a chandelier to make a great escape!
Personally I think she’d make a great ranger.
Hehehe. Beta’d that, but not for me.
Anyhoodles, I have been Selkie for over eleven years online. So, very glad I found this comic. Its adorable. Even more, its coincidental. People comment about the weird things I say. Selkie and I have sooo much in common, well except for the gills and webbing thing.
I can see Selkie as a water mage or a water druid.
I think Selkie would be a thief, and would stab people suddenly if she had to defend herself (or if they were being annoying). Also, please tell me Selkie gets French braids!!! 😀
Selkie = Mage. Solved.
In case you don’t get Bad Machinery/Scary Go Round–check out the coasters in their online store 🙂
http://shop.scarygoround.com/product/legends-of-the-sea-coaster-pack-modest
Chack out who is sitting in the upper right corner of the coster pack!
I haven’t been keeping up very well with Bad Machinery, to my shame, but I loved Scary Go Round, and I like those coasters!
ooh, we have to wait until Thursday to see Selkie in french braids!!
I would say Selkie would be a rogue. But she’s one of those rogues who seldom has to actually steal – she is so cute she actually charms people out of their belongings, leaving them to wonder what came over them after their encounter. So perhaps some combination of a rogue and a magic user with very high charm/charisma.
So out of curiosity since nobody else asked, what do you think of Rift?
I really like it! I think the Rift events are fun and they help ensure you’re always on your toes. Lots of MMOs work around the premise of their being some kind of vague “war effort” that you never actually see or participate in, but here you actually come directly under seige on a fairly regular basis. And there’s actual consequences for losing, since your quest hubs and repair shops all become overrun with drooling bestial monstrosities if you fail.
Mix and matching class-styles is also fun. 😀
It’s not really an ‘archetype’, but in the game I’m playing, there’s a ‘class’ (classes not really being used, as it’s more loose in what the character can do) called a specialist. They’re kind of like rogues, but they don’t tend to use daggers or are able to steal/pickpocket from people. They specialize in locks and traps, but for the adventuring reasons, rather then illegal purposes.They also tend to be the scouts of the party, and know a few languages.
Doing the more typical D&D type classes, I’d say druid. Not all natural areas are forests, and she could easily be the druid protector of a large reef or something along those lines.
I would say she’d be an water elemental mage. Or a summoner who calls up aquatic creatures to attack.
I’m quite new to reading your comic, loving it so far and just had to comment when you brought up Rift.
I too was in the beta, which was extremely fun. I made a rogue (rift stalker/blade dancer/marksman) and on that subject I do think Selkie wouldn’t have the patients to be a ranged caster. Maybe one of the rogue or clerics that have melee and elemental attacks.
For the rogue I see her as a Bard, Rift stalker, and Blade dancer. Selkie seems mischievous and whats more mischievous than a teleporting buccaneer, with a musical instrument?
For the Cleric I see her as a Warden, Shaman, and Druid. Both the Warden and Shaman are water centered and the Druid is Fae centered and I feel like Selkie would like the Fae companion.
Pre-ordered the game and can’t wait to play it again now that the beta is done. It would be cool if we could meet in game once Rift launches, I feel as though you would be fun to group with
– can’t wait to see the sketch
was a little indecisive on the Bard part of the rouge, I also feel like she would fit well with the Ranger instead, the who predatory thing, also she would get a pet but I don’t think she’d be fond of a feline pet at the moment
What is the race in the picture? I looked on the website and didn’t see them.
It’s a Defiant race, the Kelari.
I’m uncertain as to the races and classes in Rift, but I would place Selkie as a warlock, most likely. She seems to me to have traits akin to a good or neutral version of Richard from Looking for Group. That, and I can’t see her being anything with good hand to hand combat for some reason.
I believe you should make Selkie a rift blade. She is all other worldly and maybe a bit mischievous but she has been through a lot and could really take some damage.
I imagine Selkie as somewhere between a thief and a conjurer-style mage. She seems like the sort of person who would do really well with the ability to magically create objects.
Selkie is smart, small, fast, and nimble with great endurance (more oxygen available in air than in water). Thief or assassin.With two knives, she could slash multple opponents into ribbons between eyeblinks.
Or, remembering the shoes-in-trashcan… Archer.
But she strikes me as someone who would naturally want to get up close and personal.
Nah… Assassin.