You Shall Not Pass, Part Three
The Dungeon: #3
Party Time
For me, this is when the comic actually begins. These first three strips have been setup to get us here. Vital preamble.
In the course of our regular D&D shenanigans, the braintrust behind this comic realized we all effortlessly fall into specific roles. It’s not that we can’t roleplay. Our inclination is just to do it a certain way.
Shawn: the all-powerful wizard, full of bluster and wisdom, old AF.
Chad: the mighty warrior, stout of heart, weakness for damsels.
Eric: the cunning rogue, all schemes and ill-formed plans, the leader.
When we originally conceived of this strip, we developed characters based on the four core D&D classes: Warrior, Wizard, Thief, and Cleric. We later consolidated to three characters: Warrior, Wizard, Thief. Three is a rounder number, without any rough edges. It has mythological and story connotations. It just felt right.
Better yet, we could base this triumvirate upon our own gaming personalities. With that seemingly innocuous decision, the comic came to life. I mean that quite literally. One moment the characters were stunted mockeries of life waiting for orders from Mordor, the next they were telling us how the story should go.
This third strip is the first time all three characters appear together, which is why I consider it the comic’s true beginning.
Now we can fly.