Level 10: #52
It’s the end of the level, and you know what that means…
The readers have voted for the next level’s characters! Keep reading to find out who was picked.
And don’t forget to send your questions in for the next Critical Missives, coming next week! Send your questions to mike@rustyandco.com!
Thanks!
It seems she found a treasure valuable enough to carry on her own after all.
Try, try again!
Oh noooooo
That’ll be a problem for another level.
I’m voting Robbespiere and Roxy, I wanna see the siblings work together.
I voted the same.
I voted for Derek and Ms. Bai for similar reasons. They are both straight-laced characters that I’d like to see work together. I considered a goofball character to act as either’s foil, but I couldn’t think of a combo that we haven’t already seen. Then again, Ms. Bai is terse and passive aggressive, while Derek is cordial and anti-aggressive. That could work.
I’d love to see more family interactions between the two.
I’m sure it will only be a small change in the genre.
AM’s gonna turn the comic into a michael bay movie isn’t she?
My thoughts about allies for the next adventure.
Cube must defend the palace. Roxy is in the palace, supported by Derek, Presti, and Dorilys. Cube is a pretty formidable fighter, so we don’t really need extra muscle. So who would be good allies?
From a class perspective, it might be good to bring in a wizard, sorcerer or warlock for spell casting – there is a team of spellcasters inside the palace, but having one on the front lines might be good. If there is a need to track intruders, a ranger could be useful. I can also see benefits to having a monk (Shadow or Elements).
From the characters we have met, the choice is a bit harder. One thought is that, given how talkative Cube is, we might consider Glib, for balance.
Another character I would nominate, just because I don’t want her to be forgotten, is the lady who appears in the last panel of Critical Missives #4. At the time, she had to go far away, but a decade later, she might consider coming back. I expect that she wouldn’t wear the same outfit to work. Of course, I have no idea what class she is.
Knowing that cube’s got plenty of brawn, I wouldn’t look to class as much as to brains. That’d be Presti, Roxy, Derek, Drago and Dinkum by my count. The first three are already in the palace, but they may not be in on the infiltration if they haven’t joined the quest. Presti and Derek have a home advantage, and being able to pretend to be the princess is useful. Drago may be able to overcome some communicative difficulties with cube since he’s good with monsters. Dinkum’s.. Dinkum. And that’s both a good and a bad thing.
Of course, I’m voting for characters I want to see and not necessarily characters that are the most useful.
She might be the same one who appeared in Critical Missives #44. Note the ears.
(Fortunately, she does not need divination powers in #4.
Speaking of being forgotten, another candidate I was tempted to vote for is the mermaid from all the way back in Level 1, page 30.
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-1-30/
She’s cute, and probably just looking for a boyfriend. Not to mention she was helpful despite being disappointed. And being a fish lady, she might be able to help with moat defenses, at least. She doesn’t even have a cast page entry, the poor thing.
That makes me wonder exactly what human-monster interaction is like in the greater world of the comic. The siren (identified as a siren instead of a mermaid on the monster guide page, for whatever the difference is) was working in Calamitus’s tower, but she seemed nice enough. Are punch-clock minions a thing? Or would she have just charmed, drowned, and possibly eaten a humanoid male if there was one in the party? Monster ladies are still ladies, but they’re monsters too.
I vote for Derek and Dorilys, just because I enjoy the banter between them. Also, the only thing more awesome than Cube is Cube covered in two cleric’s worth of buff spells.
Seconded. If Cube’s in a serious fight, having parts of the stoneskin ripped off to reveal the soft, jelly underneath would make a great visual.
I voted Cube’s Wife and Byron, hoping that he’s a man(otaur) of few words, because I like the idea of forcing our intrepid creator to tell the story of a palace infiltration with nothing but mute characters.
I gotta say, Cube’s wife is a fun pick.
I voted for Presti and Drago, because they’re both schemers and planners and I think that works well to defend a castle. Also Drago seems to hate being upstaged and will constantly be by Cube and Presti both.
Derek and Presti! Bring the firepower!
I voted for Cube’s Wife and for Calamitus. (In the latter case, I’m imagining him having to take part in the castle’s defence as part of some court-ordered, mark-of-justice-enforced parole.)
Sudden. But inevitable. Betrayal.
And possibly a prodigal daughter while we’re at it.
As much as I’d love to be that guy and write in votes for Wilhelm and the real Agent Porkins, I have to vote for Dorilys and Presti. Let’s go Team Absolute Diligence; Total Security.
I really, really want Robespierre for this one. Reasons:
1. Based on Zar’s description of the missions, Cube’s arc seems like it will involve the most straight-up combat. Yes, Cube is pretty strong on his own, but we probably want more than one good fighter for this.
2. Even though at first glance he’s mostly muscle, Robespierre has shown in the baseball chapter that he’s actually surprisingly good at planning and leadership, once he puts his mind to it.
3. I find the notion of a rough-and-tumble barbarian defending the fancy royal palace to be hilarious.
I don’t feel as strongly about the second character, but I picked Prestige simply because she’s my favorite character that hasn’t appeared yet in Rusty or Mimic’s arcs. I suppose she should cover the other two’s weaknesses well enough.
The infiltration bit also means Robbespierre may -have- to use his brain more, which would be nice to see.
I’m certainly not expecting Cube to do the scheming!
Cube can be cunning when it comes to combat moves, but he has a critical inability to talk, which seriously hampers any ability to participate in any interrogation or organization.
I couldn’t resist voting for team “all cubes”.
Cube, Cube’s wife(https://rustyandco.com/comic/critical-missives-2/), Emperor Cuebesar(https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-1-38/)?
I voted for the return of the death knight as he is genuinely one of the more entertaining antagonists in the series (Sir Malevolus), and for Prestige Perkins (altho this was, in hindsight, not the best second vote I could make, alas).
Come on, let’s follow the pattern of the previous two chapters: one main secondary hero character and one (more or less) reformed villain, both female. After Madeline and Y.T., followed by Stabs and Anti-Madeline, the logical choice now is Presti and Ezra the vampiress. The latter will have fun interactions with Cube, I’m sure.
AM is really belting along…
This can only end well.
“Square-cube law”…I see what you guys did there.
I voted for Derek and Presti. Derek would be great at planning defenses, and Presti would be choice for rooting out the spy. That said, I was sorely tempted to pick Sir Malevolus for the sheer contrast between him and Derek. Kinda hoping he wins out over Presti.
I’m always going to vote for the Baseball T. rex. Baseball, uh, finds a way…
“You . . . you might have a point. So I hereby appoint you as the royal security expert. Consider it an obligation.”
Stabs’ point doesn’t really make as much sense when it comes to Princess. She never asked for it, she never wanted it, and being a figurehead isn’t really much of a responsibility. Her wanting a change and escaping from it would entirely be up to her, and the kingdom would hardly fall apart without her.
Nice! Also… Uh-oh.
This does not bode well for the unforeseeable future.
I voted Prestige, and Molten Grinner as an invader who might accidentally push the plot forward.
That might not be clear from my vote.
I voted Derek and Ezra; nice juxtaposition, and might help give Derek some more insight into the Eldritch Abominations they’ve been dealing with… (or not! Would be and… interesting meeting, though!)