Looking for Group

Cale: "Richard, we need to go back in time. For all of us you need to open the portal. We can't do this without you. We need your help." Benny: "Foolish elf, Richard doesn't do this for us! He doesn't travel at our side because he cares or secretly desires companionship. He joined us for the opportunity for destruction, the pleasure of killing - And most likely out of boredom."

Looking For Group is a fantasy Web Comic by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza, the creative team behind Least I Could Do and the Blind Ferret Entertainment animation studio. It borrows from classic D&D conventions and World of Warcraft to tell an original story.

The main character is Cale'Anon Vatay, an elf who yearns to be a just and good hero. Unfortunately, in the LFG world, elves are Always Chaotic Evil. However, this is something that Cale is not aware of until told to go forth and do heroic stuff by his monastery, after which he meets an undead warlock named Richard, who is the embodiment of pure Chaotic Evil. Seemingly out of boredom, Richard decides not to kill Cale outright but to accompany the elf and watch him anguish over his existence and antagonize him whenever possible.

Shortly after meeting Richard, Cale was killed (guess who did that) and Richard helped him seek out a priest to resurrect him. Enter Benn'Joon, an unknown race priestess who, while more pragmatic than evil, has about as few qualms as Richard. She agrees to raise Cale for help with her pursuers in the King's Legion (who are also evil). Benny's adoptive father, a minotaur scholar named Krunch, also joins with them.

Then they set on their quest: Cale to restore goodness and honor to his race, Benny to pay off her debt to the legion, Krunch to learn the secrets of the ancients that can help with both their goals, and Richard... well, he just likes to kill things, and following these guys around seems to afford him plenty of opportunities for a little carnage.

As the group progresses, the story arc continues to get more detailed. Suffice to say, it is too interesting and vivid to be revealed here. Read it and enjoy!

This webcomic is being made into a feature film by Blind Ferret that is due out soon, according to Sohmer. The trailer is available here (well worth a watch). Truth be told, it's long overdue. The description of the trailer pegs the release somewhere in 2008. However, judging by this, it appears there have been problems on the set. And Richard's lost his fork.

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Looking for Group provides examples of:

• Action Girl: Benny and Pella.
• Affectionate Parody: The Sword of Truth is used as a MacGuffin. Richard calls the weapon useless, but the writer has admitted he rather likes the books.
  • The webcomic probably counts as an Affectionate Parody of the fantasy genre in general, considering how often Lord of the Rings and similar works are quoted and lampooned.
  • It seems like the comic is getting ready to parody 300, with a battle involving less than three hundred men to stop the Legion.

High Engineer: Between our respective honor guards and a few bloodrage, we're looking at a total force of less than three hundred. Commander: Three hundred men. High Engineer: Less than three hundred. And only about half are men. Commander: Three hundred to stop the legion from building a portal. High Engineer: You're not listening. Commander: The bulk of our army is around the city itself. Gather the three hundred! High Engineer: Please stop rounding up.

• • • It turns out to be a scouting mission instead of a full on fight.
• Aborted Arc: The Sword of What-Now?
  • Could be justified in that Cale and company don't need the Sword of Truth anymore, since they've opted to fight Legaria rather than use the sword to pay Benny's debt.
    • Turns out. It's a Chekhov's Gun.
      • Well, a Chekov's Pair of Swords. That shoot fireballs. And freeze things.
• Aerith and Bob: Cale, Pella, Krunch, and... Richard.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Elves are supposed to all be Chaotic Evil in this world. Cale has chosen to be Chaotic Good.
• Amusing Injuries: Inflicted to and/or by Richard, and many others.
• And I Must Scream: Tavor is trapped in ice, presumably for all eternity, since he's immortal. The ice is also on fire.
  • To top it off, Richard melts his head off afterward.
• ...And Show It to You

Richard:The look on your face when a toddler rips out your heart and shows it to you: priceless.

• And Zoidberg: This strip.
• Animate Dead

Richard: In case you weren't sure, the skeletons are on our side.

• • He's also mayor of a small village whom he has made undead.
• Annoying Arrows: Richard has been shot at with arrows by just about everyone with a bow, including Cale. Repeatedly. He has also been pinned to a ship's mast with arrows, been shot in the back with arrows, and had an arrow through his head when being "tortured." Seeing as how he's already dead he usually just plucks them out on his own so long as they aren't stuck... but, y'know... annoying.
  • Turns out Richard is not actually dead though. He fuels his Nigh Invulnerability with the ashes of the innocent.
  • Taken to the logical extreme when, since they're having a hard time removing an arrow from Richard, Cale just draws his bow and fires the arrow, with Richard STILL ATTACHED.
  • When an arrow actually hurts and draws blood, Richard realizes he needs to recharge his Nigh Invulnerability.
  • Recently, Richter and his legion of the undead have become mortal. Cale, who by this point has gotten used to using Richard or any other nearby undead ally as a meat shield against arrows, is having troubleadjusting to this.
• Anti-Hero: Cale'Anon, an elf who tries to go against his evil heritage and be good (similarities to Drizz't Do'Urden are coincidental according to the author) despite being surrounded by amoral characters.
  • It seems that since they realized Cale's similarities to Drizzt, Cale's been used to parody said drow on several occasions.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "You killed our father!" "You made him use a tired cliché!"
• Arrow Catch / Catch and Return: Cale.
• Artifact of Doom: Richard just became one.

Advisor: Did the crown just laugh? Richard/Crown: No.

• • The next page has him called "the Crown of Doom", to which he reacts by saying he likes where it is going.
• Artificial Limbs: Ray'd Bool gets one to replace the arm that the enemy took off.
• Art Evolution: Compare the first comic to whatever the most current one is.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: The King of Legara, who dual wields swords and, in a massive Wham! Episode, kills Krunch.
• Aw, Look — They Really Do Love Each Other: Benny and Krunch.
• Ax Crazy: Richard, quite literally.
• Back From the Dead: Tavor and Leena.
  • Subverted with the king of Gamlon. Turns out it was just an illusion.
  • Richard might be this, or at least Not Quite Dead.
• Backstory: The main group.
• Badass: Richard is the party's almost unstoppable engine of destruction and can even hold his own with his fists when he can't cast spells, but taking on a giant bear and stealing its limbs for giggles with no arms takes the cake.
• Badass Army: Richard's villagers.
• Badass Bookworm: Krunch
  • Krunch is more of a Genius Bruiser. Richard, on the other hand, is the world's most unexpectedly non-squishy Squishy Wizard.
• Badass Crew: Cale's group.
• Badass Longcoat: Cale has one.
• Badass Long Hair: Most elves, including The Hero.
• Badass Normal: The enemy commander. He is that much of a badass that he has been dubbed "Commander Kickass" by the fans. Also a Four-Star Badass. It would appear he is no longer the Enemy Commander.
• Balance Between Good and Evil: Cale, according to Pella.
• Battle Cry: "FOR GAMLON!!" "With me!"
  • "FOR PONY!!"
• Bedmate Reveal: Ep. 357.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Even after he Took a Level In Badass, Cale is a very nice, idealistic elf. But if he has to, he will now send his Token Evil Teammate to blow up a mountain. Also, he was trained to fight large groups of warriors while unarmed and blindfolded.
• Big Bad: Aelloon is certainly building himself up to be one. Tavor is a close second.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Aellon considers himself an agent of the King of Legara, who hasn't been seen in decades.
  • Confirmed when we learn that the King is very much active and it's Tavor.
• Big Damn Heroes: Subverted as the main characters arrive with reinforcements too late to save the Northern Army.
  • Played straight with Krunch's entrance.
• Big No: Cale does this when he sees his wife kissing a rival.

"...Can we all agree he ran away like a little girl?" "Aye." "Moving on..."

• The Blacksmith: Pella. The series also adheres to the tradition that smithing is to be expected from dwarves.
• BLAM Episode: Let's just pause the epic storyline so that Cale can fool around with little masked twerps inside the belly of a sand worm. And get his leg cut off, but don't worry, they promise they can reattach it. Sounds like a blast.
• Blithe Spirit: Cale has dedicated himself to ridding the world of evil. It is not going too well. He gets to be a king though, so no sweat, the plot's getting somewhere.
  • A nice bit of coincidence is that the greatest evil he ever met is the guy whom he spends all his time with.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Yup, Pella again. She cuts people's hands off to break the ice... and it works.
  • For Richard, anyway. Who knows what would happen if she tried that on a living thing like Cale...
• Born in the Wrong Century: Cale believes he is this after traveling back in time to a kingdom of elves that shared his ideals.
• Break the Cutie: Good lord, has Cale been thoroughly broken. His master makes him think his wife, Shora, left him for another man and then, apparently, kills her to ensure that Cale has nothing to come back to and essentially force him to become a force for good. Then he has to kill an innocent child to return to his own time and ensure the survival of Kethenica. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.
• Brick Joke: Richard introduces himself by his numerous titles, and at the way end he mentions he's "mayor of a little town up the coast." Guess which town becomes a major plot element much later?
  • Could also be Chekhov's Gun, as seen below.
  • While making a series of jokes about how many people seem to know the group in such a big world, a strange man rides up on an improbable steed and says he has a letter for Cale. It's relevant much later.
  • The Sword of Truth and the Fork of Truth.
    • "...And my bear arms."
  • The first time Cale visits the capital, he comments on the lack of a towering dungeon, which Benny says that the king "didn't want his precious skyline marred". Fast-forward to 486 and the story of how Tavor became king...
• Bulletproof Human Shield: This happens very early, but rather than a hero using Mooks, the Token Evil Teammate-to-be Richard smugly drags an innocent peasant into the path of several of Cale's arrows (even though he wouldn't be killed by them anyway, being undead), and enjoys the expression on his face when he realises he's killed an innocent. He even suggests going after the son and wife to make the complete set.
  • Much later in the series Cale does this himself using Maikos. It gets hilariously lampshaded. Just because he's undead doesn't mean he can't feel pain
    • He's not undead anymore. It was a serious wound for the guy.

Maikos: You had time to grab me and put me in front of you? Why would you not use that time to dodge?

• • Even more hilarious in that Cale doesn't do it once, but twice.

Cale: "What's wrong with me!?"

• Butt Monkey: Cale before he Took a Level In Badass.
  • The gnomes, often with fatal results.
  • Richard at times, but at least he can survive pretty much everything that literally gets thrown at him.
• The Caligula: Richard, though the citizens of his town are pretty used to it and are thus incredibly jaded towards dangerous situations. This is, of course, because they are already dead.
  • It's somewhat implied that they enjoy it by now.
• Call Back: So very many. You have Richard the mayor, "Chicken!", The Fork of Truth, the letter for Cale...
  • Early in the comic, Richard has his special "pillaging shovel" ( gem-encrusted trowel). He later gives it to Cale. Much later, a vision of Richard as a child shows him planting flowers with a trowel.
• Calling Your Attacks: This.
• Came Back Wrong: In one of the early strips, Ben'joon warns that this could happen to Cale when resurrecting him from being incinerated, and if she had cast Revive on his ashes with the centipede Richard had slipped in there still... well... in there, most certainly would have.
• Cameo: Ned and Maude Flanders in strip 371, and Elrond in 374. Most recently, Pinocchio makes for good firewood.
  • Urchin from LICD appears saying 'Hail!" in strip 70
  • Obi Wan Kenobi appears in strip 45. He will be missed
  • Frodo and Samwise'sCrolo and Wil's unexplained yet curious love could only end in tragedy.
  • Not even Mary Poppins is safe from Richard.
  • Jamie Hyneman from Myth Busters seems to be paying a visit here.
  • Abu appears on a rooftop here.
• Can't Stand Them Can't Live Without Them: Parodied.

Richard: "Women." Cale: "Yeah." Richard: "Why are any of them still alive?" (beat) Cale: "That's a little bit extreme." Richard: "You may be right." Richard: "What are your thoughts on penning them up to use for mating and the creation of snacks?"

• Card-Carrying Villain: "I am Richard! Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead..."
  • Lord of the Dance...
  • The Mistress of Magma...
  • ...and the mayor of a little village up the coast. Very scenic during springtime. You should visit sometime."
    • No, you probably shouldn't... Cale eventually works out that whenever he gets bored, Richard uses the village to commit acts of unspeakable evil.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Dorel practices his sarcasm...in the middle of invading the King's fortress.
• Cerebus Syndrome: In the first volume's intro, Sohmer tells that the first episode of the comic was written and drawn as a World of Warcraft parody, but the makers realized the potential of their own fantasy world, so from the second strip on the story starts going in its own direction. Nowadays Richard serves as the main source of comedy, with the other characters only occasionally delivering a punchline.
• Chekhov's Gun: In the early days of the comic, Richard introduced himself as "Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, and the mayor of a little village up the coast". Think it's just an Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking joke? Think again ...
  • The Sword of Truth appears to have been an early aborted story line once the writer found a more worthy plot for his webcomic... until it turns out that there actually WAS a purpose for it that just hadn't been revealed until much later.
  • The most recent strip has The Phares come back as the only guards on a direct road into the city.
  • And then there is Richard's trial. Needless to say, when supernatural beings hold court, make sure you listen to every single word, especially during your sentence.
• Chekhov's Gunman: 70 pages before he's introduced Hctib Elttil is given a throw away line from Richard.
• Chekhov's Army: "Did you do as I asked with the women and children ?" "Yes, my lord, but the catapult could only fire four of them at a time." Nothing unusual coming from Richard now, right ? Indeed, think about those poor helpless soldiers who've been "taken care of" (read : brutally butchered) by women and children who came raining on them.
• The Chessmaster: The Archmage of Kethenicia is a rare good guy example.
• Children Are Innocent: Invoked by a small boy who prays with Richard. Then the innocent child Cale kills turns out to be the Archmage in disguise. The innocence that had to be killed was Cale's, to badass him up.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Cale, at least in the beginning.
• City of Plot Advancement: Kethenecia. Recently lampshaded.

Cale: It always comes back to Kethenecia, doesn't it?

• Collector of the Strange: Richard's bear arms, shovel of pillaging, kidney hat...
  • Cale's group: in order of appearance - the omnicidal undead warlock, the female priestess of unknown race raised by minotaurs, her father, and the warrior-bard dwarf... who is a time-traveler from the distant past.
• Combat Medic: Benny
• Combat Sadomasochist: Richard
• Comically Invincible Hero: Richard. Well, okay, he's not a hero, but he is on their team, incredibly powerful, and kills off enemies with ease. Hilariously. And he's not only undead but 'survived' several attempts to seal that deal, also hilariously.
• Completely Missing the Point: Richard... overhears Cale and Benny in the woods. Richard thinks he's killing her, and offers to help bury the body. Probably justified by Richard's Lack of Empathy.
• Convection, Schmonvection: Richard, being an undead cloaked in robes has no trouble at all in fighting a Magma Elemental and even decapitate her. Then again, it's a warlock, so probably has some trick up his sleeve.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Maikos and the entire town he's from.
• Crowd Song: This seems to happen with frighteningly regular occurrence.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: As revealed in the 298th comic, The Sisters' religion appears to be based on the Abrahmic faiths... Only, it has Adonai/Allah/God replaced with a bunny.
• Cute Monster Girl: Benny, to some.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Recent strips are dragging these out. We see Richard as a Cheerful Child in a flashback, and it turns out Cale had a wife who he presumably caught cheating on him.
• Daddy's Girl: As much as they snark at each other, Krunch would never let anything happen to Benny if he could help it, and Benny is willing to support Cale's possibly hopeless cause because he refused to acknowledge that her father was probably dead.
• Dark Action Girl: Captain Tah'vraay. And arguably Benny.
• Dead Guy Puppet: Richard not only makes a Dead Guy Puppet but also sings about it in Slaughter Your World.
• Deadpan Snarker: Benny and Tavor, usually with Cale on the receiving end (he's just such an easy target for sarcasm.)
  • Cale's starting to become one too.

Commander Kickass: Did you know Aelloon is my son? Cale: You must be so proud.

• Death Is Cheap: Used inconsistently. When the comic is trying to be funny, bringing someone back to life is pretty easy. When the comic is trying to be dramatic, bringing someone back to life is impossible. This is best illustrated here, when Benny talks about her fiancé (who was Killed Off for Real via decapitation) while bringing her fiancé's father back to life by regrowing his head from nothing. She brings him back to life so she can kill him again.
  • Slightly justified in this case in that Benny would have not had the healing capabilities then that she does now.
  • Not Justified at all with Krunch's apparently irreversible death, despite it being perhaps the least destructive death in the series. He was 'just' stabbed.
    • His soul had been out of his body for too long. It was too late to bring him back.
• Deus Exit Machina: Richard is occasionally sidelined so the rest of the cast has to get along without his Story-Breaker Power.
• Didn't See That Coming: The Archmage notes that the destruction of the Bloodrage Stronghold was not supposed to happen. This is coming from a guy who could be called a Magnificent Bastard. This was after he was revealed to be Richard's bunny in disguise.
• Distracted By the Shiny: OOH! Tim find coin! Good day!
• The Ditz: Tim.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: This.
• The Dragon: Maikos is apparently Richard's. Richard is Cale's.
• Dragon Rider: Parodied, if Krunch's story is to be believed. Early, smaller (and smarter) dragons apparently tamed humans in an attempt to achieve flight.
  • This part of the story may have actually been told by Richard, as we find out after a few minutes that he has woken up partway through Krunch's tale. Krunch then says to Richard, "Don't interrupt me."
  • Played straight also, Legara utilises dragon cavalry during their attack on the North.
  • The Kethenecian forces are now doing this as well in order to break through the Legaran forces and attack their portal, but riding on sand dragons.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Krunch dies off panel. Apparently he was stabbed.
• Drop the Hammer: Krunch.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Many people In-Universe make cracks about Cale looking effeminate. It's not all that apparent to the reader, though.
• Dumb Muscle: Tim
  • CHICKEN!!!
• Elemental Powers: The New sword of Truth, a couple of swords which have power over fire and ice. Blue Crinsom, anyone?
  • Also the Phares
• Embarrassing Nickname: Cale dubs Richard "Dick".
• The Empire: Legaria
  • The Alliance: The Bloodrage, the Trolls, Gnomes, Sisters and Sons, and Richard's village. Though considering how they're all relocating to Kethenecia and Cale is supposedly king of that city they might end up becoming a rather cosmopolitan kingdom
• Enfant Terrible: A toddler in Richard's village tears out a soldier's heart and holds it up so he can watch it beat as he dies.
• Et Tu, Brute? Richard says this when Cale shoots an arrow through his body in order to give the rabbit (trapped in a magical bubble) an air hole to breath through while Richard is causing havoc with the blue elves. Richard is actually taken down momentarily, probably from the slight shock of Cale going that far to keep the peace. Played for both laughs and drama.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: One comic hinted that this is true for Richard, though she might have been a motherly servant.
• Evil Counterpart: One could argue that Tavor or Richard is this to Cale.
• Evil Tastes Good: "I once drained the soul of a monk. It tasted like chocolate."
  • Wouldn't that be Good Tastes Good... To Evil?
• Eyepatch of Power: Captain Tah'vraay. She can see dead people with it.
• Failed a Spot Check: The only possible reason this could lead into this.
• Faking the Dead: Richard is alive.
• Fan Disservice: "So pleased you're experiencing new sights... Then again, new sights aren't always what they're cracked up to be."
  • Some may argue that this counts.
    • Others may not.
• Fan Service: The 152nd strip surely does service the female and homo-/bisexual male audiences. Also, most of Benny's outfits look like they could have been painted on.
  • And then there's the last panel of 167.
  • And there any doubt about this page (208)?
  • And 272, where Cale charges into battle wearing nothing but a jockstrap.
    • Actually, some of us kind of wish he'd worn pants. Shirtless Scenes are sexy, but This Troper didn't want to know what kind of underwear Cale wears.
  • Page 180 is probably the only one so far for Richard fans like this troper, though a beach scene drawn during a Ustream session may count.
  • Page 290 hints at new relationships.
    • Page 291 appears to confirm it given all the small hints that have been dropped along the way.
• Fantastic Racism: Quite a bit here and there, like the time our heroes get sent to the past and learn firsthand about how minotaurs were treated, but #558 plays it for laughs.
• Fat Idiot: Tim
• Finger-Twitching Revival: Tavor in #482.
  • And again in #492 with the same character.
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Cale
  • The Lancer/The Dragon: Richard
  • The Smart Guy: Krunch
  • The Big Guy: Pella
  • The Chick/The Medic: Benny
  • Team Pet: Sooba
• Foreshadowing: You think you know me?
  • ...and the mayor of a little village up the coast. Very scenic during springtime. You should visit sometime.
  • Krunch comments that it is never a good omen when Gid calls him "father". That is the last time they see one another, as Krunch dies in battle shortly after.
• Follow the Chaos: Richard is easily tracked by a trail of "littered corpses"
• For the Evulz: Lets face it. This is the only reason Richard travels with the group. Not out of goodwill, or some vague desire to improve the world. He's along for the ample opportunities for mayhem, murder, manslaughter, general cruelty, and evil. But mainly because he's bored.
  • Maybe.
• Friendly Enemy: Krunch's father and Commander Kickass refer to each other as old friends and the latter goes into Antagonist in Mourning mode upon defeating the former.
• Friendship Moment: Cale glomps Richard.
• Fridge Brilliance: Richard remains immortal by killing innocents. He is based off the Warlock class from World of Warcraft, who gain power by stealing the souls of their victims.
• Full-Frontal Assault: As close as they could get.
• Genghis Gambit: The reason for Tavor's immortality
• Genius Bruiser: Krunch Bloodrage, who, while confirmed as being the "scholar" out of two brothers (the other being "the warrior") still hefts around an enormous hammer and has in the past tackled a dragon.
  • Just to be clear: This is not figurative; he leaped at the dragon and wrestled it to the ground.
  • Later on, during the Siege of The North, he descended into an Unstoppable Rage after the black dwarves killed his father, the likes of which frightened even his more martially-minded brother Ray'd.
• Genre Savvy: When the party returns to the Gnome City, the following exchange takes place:

Richard: Good news! Richard picks up a Gnome Guard Richard: We're on the same side! Gnome Guard: Don't fwoosh me bro.

• • Cale in strip #400.
• The Glomp: Cale gives Richard one in 172.
• God Guise: Happens to Cale a few times.
  • While inside a giant sand worm, Cale meets a tribe who thinks he's a god, but he guesses that this is a tribe of cannibals and will eat him to gain his power instead of worshiping him. He's right.
  • Trapped by mountain goblins, Cale tries to invoke this, telling the goblins that they will discover that he resembles some god of theirs and they should start worshiping him. They worship Tim (and later Sooba), and try to have Cale for lunch.
• Good Is Not Nice: "I need you to blow up a mountain."
• Halfbreed: Whatever Benny is, she's apparently half-something.
• Hartman Hips: Benny. She's had them since her first appearance..
  • So does Richard.
• Heal It with Fire: Richard when Cale's neck is slashed.
• Heel Face Turn: Commander Kickass
• "Hell Yes!" Moment: Krunch Bloodrage has one of these in this strip.
• Heroic Sociopath: Holly crap, Richard.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Averted; Benny has to explain to Cale that Richard does not have one.
• Ho Yay: Krunch's father and Commander Kickass. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
  • • NOOOOOO... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!1!ONE!
  • Also Richard/Cale. Cale set his arm on fire when Richard left. Also, he flies him on a kite during a trip on a ship.
    • And glomps him when he returns after the fire incident. And the reason he set his arm on fire was him fondly remembering when Richard possessed him (and used his fire powers while in Cale's body.)

"Chicken need Squishy." "Chicken does need Squishy."

• • And Richard/Archmage. Try and deny it, there's got to be a reason for the Archmage/bunny crying after Richard's banishment.
• Hourglass Hottie: Benny and expecially Pella. Richard Requires a veeeery weird definition of "Hottie".
• I Did What I Had to Do: Pella justifies destroying the gnomes's defense tower, thus forcing them to go to Kethenecia with the others as this, but Cale shoots it down.

Cale: "This justifies it?! What right had we to make that decision for them?!"

• • To say nothing of Cale's mentor taking steps to ensure Cale does not return to his sheltered life and becomes a hero, up to and including eliminating the one thing that could compel him to return, ie his wife.
  • This is basically Krunch's Catch Phrase.
  • The Archmage, who not only set all of this up, he made Cale believe he killed an innocent child in order to save the world.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: Cale's "Dick" jokes. And Krunch's brother Ray'd Bool. Guess what gag that is setting you up for. Just...guess.
• Incendiary Exponent: Taken to its logical extreme with Tavor's death. He gets encased in flaming ice.
• Inner Monologue: You think you know me.
  • Later parodied "DIS MY INSIDE VOICE!!!"
• Innocent Innuendo: Inverted hard - "It sounds like he's hurting her."
• Interspecies Romance: Benny and Cale are the obvious ones, the not so obvious ones being Krunch and Captain Tah'Vraay
• Ironic Echo Cut: Dramatic version — "Oh." When the King of Legara is killed, past and present. Or so it seems.
• I Surrender, Suckers: The Bloodrage has less subtlety, and are more in favor of sarcastically yelling, "WE SURRENDER!" while charging forward with red eyes.
  • They're not called Bloodrage for nothing. They surrender... to their anger.
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time: "I didn't think this joke through."
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: "Interrogations are hard."
• Jade-Colored Glasses: Cale puts on a pair for a while.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While incredibly rare, there are a few moments where Richard is not as big a Jerkass as usual.
• Jury of the Damned: Richard is held in court to be judged by his peers — the damned, who don't think he's living up to his damnation. Subverted in that they don't have the power to enforce their ruling after all.
• Kangaroo Court: At one point Richard is tried by a court of Lesser Demons who are accusing him of the crime of not being evil any more, which seriously offends him. The judge proclaims him Guilty until proven Innocent.

Prosecuter: "Not only does this Warlock travel with a group of Good and Neutral aligned beings and beasts - He hasn't murdered a single one of them." [Courtroom filled with other Lesser Demons gasps in shock]

• Kick the Dog: The entirety of Slaughter Your World. Frequently borders on Raping the Dog, and even includes Richard, literally, kicking the dog.
  • Not to mention his 'choke the bunny' moment. Any charm-type spell Richard might be under is just a convenient excuse, Richard wants to kill everything that's outside the party almost all of the time anyhow, and may not be opposed to an undead pet...
    • Arguably, he's aware of his bunny being the Archmage, and is 'Raping the Dog's Church' or 'Kicking the Chessmaster' for lack of a better name.
• Kill It with Fire: What Richard does to many, many things in the comic (when he isn't killing them in other more graphic ways). But hey, that orphanage attacked him first anyway.
  • Commander Kickass also does this to destroy the Bloodrage city.
• Klingon Promotion: Based on his desire for the Sword of Truth which is the only thing that could kill Tavor, and the fact Tavor gained the crown after killing the previous king, Aelloon was probably aiming for this.
• Kudzu Plot: A whole lot of plots seem to come and go and intertwine at rapid speed, when a simple premise like "finding the sword of truth" would be much easier to follow.
• Lack of Empathy: Richard really does not understand that finding your own people dead is a solemn moment.
• Laughably Evil: Guess who. Give you a hint: Mayor.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Richard does this here.
• Let's Get Dangerous / Not So Harmless: The green imps first appear to be little more than joke characters, but soon prove capable of subduing Cale, and, after a Heel Face Turn, the Legion's diggers.
• Life Will Kill You: Maikos considers becoming human again to be the same as dying. He and the rest of the villagers no longer know how to live as normal humans. They are completely unable to deal with things like sickness, age, and hunger.
• Long List: Richard's list of titles, which I'm not posting here for the hundredth time on this page.
• Loves the Sound of Screaming: Richard even sings about this.
• Major Injury Underreaction: "So yeah, I'm a door now."
  • Followed by: I'm a bookend now.
• Marilyn Maneuver: Richard has a rather famous moment.
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: Richard's Emergency provisions for his little village up the coast subverts this hilariously.

Richard: Did you do as I asked with all of the women and children? Maikos: Yes, My lord. But the Catapult could only fire four of them at a time.

• Messiah Creep: Deliberately being forced upon Cale.
• Meta Guy: Richard. The fourth wall is his plaything.
• The Mole: More than half of Kethenecia's old army consisted of Vulii loyalists.
• Mood Whiplash: Common, due to the comic's weird way of handling Cerebus Syndrome.
• Morality Pet: Averted, Richard loves his Felbunny, but is just as willing to kill after getting a pet as he was before.
• More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: That thing.
• More Than Meets the Eye: The rabbit is the Archmage.
  • Richard's cozy little village up the coast turns out to be filled to the brim with undead citizens. Yup, even the children.
• Mugging the Monster: A group of bandits try to rob Cale, who is being accompanied by Sooba, Maikos, and Tim. To their credit, they actually (though indirectly) take Maikos and Tim out of the action, if only because Cale uses Maikos as a shield, not knowing that Maikos was regressing from his undead state, and Tim is told by Cale to keep pressure on the injured Maikos. Even then, they're still no match for Cale and Sooba.
• Murderous Thighs: Pella, the Trope Namer.
• Musical Episode: Several. And they are AWESOME.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Krunch Bloodrage
  • Subversion: Richard actually has a complex regarding the fact that his name isn't intimidating.
    • He compensates for it with all his titles.
  • Also, Krunch is one of the most reasonable of the protagonists. He'd much rather sit down and discuss ancient history than beat your skull in, but no-one seems to give him the choice.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: As pointed out in his trial, Richard's slaughter of a certain village actually saved more lives then destroyed.
• Nigh Invulnerability: Richard can survive pretty much anything, including being covered by molten lava.
• Noodle Incident

Maikos: It's the source of his power Cale: What? Richard: He said I threw his mother off a tower. Maikos: That too.

• Not Quite Dead: Richard.
  • Tavor too, several times now (though the first time he wasn't evil.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: For all his apparent immaturity, Richard is really very knowledgeable and intelligent. Plus he's probably more in the know than any other main character besides the Archmage...
• Odd Friendship: Captain Kickass and Chief Bloodrage, Richard and Cale, Richard and Pella, Richard and Felbunny, Richard and Sooba...
• Offhand Backhand: Delivered by Richard on the first panel of page 302.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We don't get to see exactly how Richard accomplishes many of his awesome feats. Justified in that the ones we do see are already awesome enough.
  • Also many of the battles, such as when Richard's village fight the Legarion soldiers, happen off panel.
• Oh Crap: The Legarian army has one here.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Richard defines it. He even says he is in his Villain Song.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Benny heals her ex-husband back from certain death, brought on by her team protecting her from him because she wants to smash his head in herself. He manages two words right before she does it.
• Only the Worthy May Pass: This strip.
• Overly Long Gag: The comic used the "You Have My Sword" reference often.
• Our Dragons Are Different: The Legaran forces have white dragons while Kethenecia has sand dragons. The Guradians of Eight are bipedal, wingless green dragons capable of speech.
• Our Dwarves Are All the Same: No they aren't; they are evil black leather-clad, pierced punks. With sideburns. And that's when they aren't big-boobed beauties.
  • Or bearded, hammer wielding blacksmiths.
  • That was before: don't forget Pella comes from the distant past.
    • Her mother seems to have been a bard; Pella learned both of her parents' professions.
  • And Pella is quite shapely and fan-servicey, not fat and dumpy like dwarven females are so often depicted as.
    • I think we're at least a decade or two past the time when people used to argue if dwarven women had beards. She's just a more modern take on the trope as reflected in WoW and D&D 4e.
• Our Liches Are Different
• Overly Long Gag: Richard's titles again.
  • Heck, even the references to them on this page.
• Overused Copycat Character: If you don't look at Cale'Anon in the first 10 or so strips and think Drizz't, your head must be on wrong.
  • Or you have never read the Drizz't books.
  • Funny, since when author started the comic he had no idea that there was Drizz't. So it's more or less coincidence.
    • Including the pet black panther that he summons magically?!
    • Since when is Sooba magic? He just hangs out within earshot. If you look closely enough on pages where people call on him, he's jumping into view. Not poofing, or anything magic. In small areas like dungeons you can see him right there traveling, and in armies he's still there.
    • And at the beginning, the comic still had some of its original World of Warcraft inspiration hanging around - Sooba was probably supposed to be "summoned" the way Hunters in WoW can just whistle and have their pets appear out of nowhere, even if they are rather large.
• Papa Bull: Krunch Bloodrage
• Panthera Awesome: Sooba.
• Perspective Flip: From this comic to this one.
• Picked Last: Richard is picked after the crippled children with speech impediments.
• Pirate Girl: The elven pirate captain
• Place Worse Than Death: The Plane of Suck
• The Plan: Turns out that many events that take place are for the purpose of molding Cale into the future king of Kethenecia.
• Play-Along Prisoner: After apparently being captured by some battlemages, Richard is shown taking one of his hands out of their cuffs, though either this seems to have been a one-off gag or the power of the chains to control undead have prevented him from making a full escape.
• Portal Cut: this strip.
• Powered by a Forsaken Child: Cale believes that this is how he saved Kethenica.

"I'd ask you what the price was." "I've already paid it."

• • Richard uses the ashes of his innocent victims (they have to be innocent) to fuel his Nigh Invulnerability. Without it he's a Squishy Wizard.
• Power Perversion Potential: Restraining spells can make good... restraints.
  • A young mage wrote a spell which requires two women to strip to their underwear and do things including a pillow fight. How many other things could you write into a spell?
• Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: "Rejoice. For very bad things are about to happen."
  • Challenge Accepted.
• Progressively Prettier: Compare Benny's appearance from her first apparition, to later ones.
  • Not that her appearance has changed that much compared to the general style of the comic, or that she was particularly bad looking to start with.
• Punctuation Shaker: Cale'Anon, Benn'Joon, and Ray'd Bool.
• Punny Name: Ray'd Bool. And yes, he does give you wings.
  • He actually has wing-shaped markings on his back.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Richard.
  • Subverted by the fact he delays a fight against the bad guys to go kill some innocents (after verifying they are no less!) after noticing his usual pain/arrow immunity is gone, and wears undead makeup to look more evil - the psychopathic undead manchild may be an act relating to keeping his powers up!
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Richard and Felbunny
• Relationship Upgrade: This could arguably be the case with Benn'Joon and Cale. At first Benny sees Cale as a do-gooder that constantly drags her into trouble. But eventually she warms up to him, this is lampshaded by Krunch when she agrees to help Cale fight Legaria because she trusts him. It culminates with this moment of heartwarming. We'll see if it sticks.
  • Judging from this it would appear that did indeed stick.
    • Things got sticky, but the question is whether she respects him in the morning.
• Remix Comic: Several of these have appeared in the forum Motivator thread. Like this.
• The Reveal: In 422: Richard isn't dead.
  • Then in 480: Tavor is the King of Legara.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: "The mistake was making me cute."
  • Also Krunch, right after his father is killed in battle.
• Role Playing Game Verse: Although the world and races look a lot like World of Warcraft, it's treated as a standard fantasy setting (not a game) most of the time. Every once in a while, though, this trope is invoked for laughs. For example, at one point the party is imprisoned, and Richard tells Cale "Kill yourself and roll a rogue. We'll wait."
  • Or when he's picked up by an attacking giant. he rolls a twenty-sided dice! "I rolled a Natural 20...! That means I win... you can fall down now."
  • Theres a "Loading please wait" screen when Cale jumps through the first Portal.
  • And in #396 where Richard considers a career change.
• Running Gag: "You think you know me?"
  • The Fork of Truth, which may actually be magic considering it's been seen to glow a few times.
  • Richard's titles. He either adds new ones or sometimes adopts them from people he meets. Usually after killing them.
  • Everyone seems to be mentioning how Commander Kickass killed the Bloodrage's father recently
• Sarcasm Failure: On seeing a vision of his past self, Richard is unable to find a suitably snarky response and simply says "Pass".
• Sarcasm Mode: Often, but this in particular.
  • Richard also deserves a special mention here, as the red from his speech bubbles turns pink whenever he uses sarcasm.
• Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: "For everything else, there's Fwoosh." "Don't Fwoosh me, bro!"
• Say My Name: "Chicken!" "Pinky." "Old cow!" "Brother." "Engineer." "Dwarf." "... RICHARD!"
• The Sadistic Choice: In order to save his friends and Kethenecia, Cale must kill an innocent child to return them to their own time.
  • He mopes about for a long while afterward.
• Sand Worm
• Sdrawkcab Name: Hctib Elttil
  • Also, Dnah, a talking hand... thing.
• Sexy Discretion Shot: possibly one on the last panel here.
• Ship Tease: Parodied, one assumes, here, in a Shout-Out to Ghost. The dialog in the next page may also count, given how, out of context, it sounds very much like... something else...

Richard: You violated my spirit! Pella: We agreed on no eye contact!

• Shirtless Scene: See Fan Service.
• Shining City: Kethenecia.
• Shoot the Dog: Cale's mentor does this often.
• Shout-Out: Pretty much 80-90% of everything Richard says or does.
  • It's possible that Benn'Joon's name references the film Benny and Joon, though this troper has never met the author or read any commentary on the comic and cannot defend the theory.
  • Krunch refers to the ancient reign of the dragons as "A Song of Ice and Fire"
  • Also a Myth Busters reference: Well, there's your problem!
    • On the same page: "War and crafts are our blood."
    • And the Mythbusters again (along with other Discovery Channel shows).
  • Add a Smurf in a Leaf Boat.
  • Lion King: 258
  • "The look on your face when a toddler rips out your heart and shows it to you: priceless. For everything else, there's Fwoosh."
  • Lord of the Rings: 267. And again. Yet again. Still more. Once more.
  • Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Page 214 could be a reference to the scene in the story Fear Not, where he goes to the evil castle.
  • Richard uses the universal greeting.
  • It would probably take like 50 pages to list all of the shout outs.
  • Apparently, Benny dated Link.
  • The artifact used to control the sand dragons is a Pokéball.
  • One of the Legaran dragon riders on page 461 looks a lot like Jek Porkins and meets a similar fate.
  • Hctib Elttil wears very familiar-looking white gloves and red pants.
  • To The Wheel of Time, here.
  • To Star Wars:

Richard: Many bothans died to bring you this information. Cale: They're called gnomes, and you killed them!

• Signed Up for the Dental
• Skunk Stripe: Tavor's signature feature.
• Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes: Almost everyone on Cale's side except for him fall somewhere on here.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Pella slaughtering foes to "Lean On Me".
  • and Richard to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" among other songs.
• Soul Jar: Richard's gem is his phylactery.
  • That's highly debated, but very likely.
    • He recently switched to the crown of Legara.
• Squishy Wizard: Richard is given the pet name 'Squishy' by Tim.
  • Richard is actually a subversion of this since, being undead (OR IS HE?), he's barely inconvenienced by things that would kill mortal fighters, like losing various limbs or being pin-cushioned with arrows.
  • He's also an extremely competent unarmed fighter, thanks to having drained the soul of a monk. It comes up now and again when his magic won't work.
• Stripperiffic: Benny's costume.
• Stunned Silence: In this comic everyone is stunned into silence when Richard mentions that they forgot his deathday. Made all the more awkward/hilarious by Krunch blinking in surprise.
• Sympathetic Murderer: Richard again
• Take a Third Option: When Pella was asked if she wanted to pursue being a bard or a warrior (presented with an axe and a lute and asked to pick one), she said, "I rather be liking the feel of them both".
  • With Aellon's force about to besiege Kethenecia, leaving the people in to fight off a siege or flee, Cale decides on another plan: capture the portal the Legion has made and launch an attack on Legara.
• Taking the Bullet: Well, Richard takes a couple of arrows for the team.
  • On more than one occasion.
• That Was Objectionable: "Objection!" "On what grounds?" "I wish to stab [the prosecutor]."
• The Hero: Cale
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Well, Richard doesn't understand the difference, but whatever.
  • A more serious example is what Commander Kickass does to end the attack on the Bloodrages' city. He uses a hail of magical flaming arrows to burn it to the ground, apparently killing pretty much everybody.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Richard's reaction to Aelloon making him take Hctib along with him on his assassination mission.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: A direct Shout-Out.

Richard: This! Is! Sooba!

• To Be Lawful or Good: Cale combines options 1& 3; he is willing to defy the laws of the Evil Empire but seeks to create a Lawful Good kingdom.
• Token Good Teammate: Cale. He's started shooting more dogs than he used to right at the start, but considering the people he lives around...
• Token Evil Teammate: Well, pretty much everyone is either neutral or shakily good, but even then Richard is outright sociopathic.
• Took a Level In Badass: Comparing Cale'Anon from the start of the strip to him now provides a pretty dramatic contrast.
  • A good turning point can be seen when he flies in on a goddamn tree.

Benny: Credit where it's due. He is getting better at his entrances.

• • Cale starts out horrified at the very idea of killing troops from The Empire. More recently, he watched Richard and Krunch rip a live dwarf in half like a wishbone and was splattered with the blood. His only reaction?

"What did you wish for?"

• • In fairness, even at the very start he's a very competent archer and fighter. (It's revealed later that before the beginning of the strip, he was undergoing Training From Hell at a mountain retreat, constantly fighting large groups of enemies unarmed and blindfolded.) It's really more like Took A Level In I Did What I Had to Do.
• Too Kinky to Torture: Richard took to singing during his torture sessions. And pointed out that there was still room for an axe by his thigh. Needless to say, this really creeped out the torturer. He was just being helpful.
  • While fleeing, to torturer, "Call me!"
• Torture First, Ask Questions Later: Interrogations are hard.
• Town with a Dark Secret: Richard's village, to the surprise of no one but the unlucky saps trying to "save" it.
• Travel Montage: #553.
• Twenty Bear Asses: Cale goes on a quest to gather ten giant rats. Hats.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Not because of Cale, though. He loved her. But she was standing in the way of his destiny...it had to be done.
• Unstoppable Mailman: He was able to find Cale and deliver a letter to him despite Cale being roughly in the middle of nowhere.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Apart from one lampshade by Cale, everyone completely ignores the fact that Dnah is a giant talking green hand.
• Verbal Tic: Krunch's father.
  • Heh.
  • EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
  • ILIKETOSCREAMLOUDLY!
• Villain Song: Richard gets one of these, "Slaughter Your World", in one of the animations, with the added bonus of it being taken from a Disney song with the lyrics modified.
  • And Richard's voice actor singing Never Gonna Give You Up in Richard's voice.
    • Also, Richard's part in "This Is War," another Disney song parody (of "A Whole New World", of all things).
• Visual Pun: Benny is going to talk to the hand. Kind of.
• Voice of the Legion
• What the Hell, Hero?: Cale does not approve of how Pella convinced the Gnomes to go to Kethenicia.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer: This is Krunch's philosophy
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Cale at the beginning of the story.
• Wham! Episode: Page 290
  • Page 312. HOLY SHIT.
  • 4 pages.
  • Page 339. And how!

Richard: Who is she? Cale: My wife.

• • Page 355.
    • Followed immediately by this. Wham.
  • Page 422. Such a simple thing turns into possibly the biggest 'Wham' yet.
    • Followed by this Wham.
  • How's this for a 'Wham'?
  • Wham.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Twice in the quest to find the sand dragons. Originally they were looking for a device to control the dragons A poke`ball and at the same time, Richter was musing on how the dragons were magically summoned and whether or not he had the power to do it himself.
• Who's on First?: "This routine is demeaning us both."
• Worst Whatever Ever: Worst. Portal. Ever.
  • Possibly also a Take That.
    • It's Richard. Any religion that doesn't worship him exclusively is probably equally bad to him.
• Worth It: After being enslaved and controlled by an imp, Richard breaks the control and dumps the imp while being chased by monsters; it's implied he was never under control and was playing along. Totally worth it.
• Worthy Opponent: Krunch's father and Commander Kickass.
  • Kickass is notably upset after the death of Krunch's father, stating that he had buried one of his oldest friends.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Cale demonstrates it here.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Pella gives Cale a gift of 2 swords, named Good and Evil. Cale represents balance between them.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: How Tavor became King of Legara.
  • Richard appears to believe this is how titles work. He declared himself "Mistress of Magma" after killing a magma sprite. One can only wonder who the previous "Lord of Dance" was.
• You Called Me Father It Must Be Serious: "It is never a good omen when you call me that."
• You Killed My Father: Used by Ray'd and lampshaded by Richard.
  • "You killed our father!" "You made him use a tired cliché!"
• You Shall Not Pass: Spoofed here.