Chapter 4: Page 105
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and New Years! Welcome to 2025, where we’re kicking things off with a bang as Quinlan finally fires the one arrow he’s been carrying around since the end of Act 2 and rolls a natural 20 Dexterity check to send it flying into the literal big glowing weak point!
This kind of archery shot isn’t fantastical by any means, by the way! We were very much inspired by the incredible feats performed in Paralympic archery (more commonly known as Para Archery) and knew that losing the ability to hold the bow with one arm would never stop an industrious young tamian from adapting to new firing stances.
For guest art this week, a really fun piece commissioned by longtime reader of the comic EzioAuditore97 and rendered by TheTigerwolf55! The premise: taking Quinlan and Dakkan and dropping them into a War of the Western Deep-styled adventure RPG!
There are so many details we love in this piece! The twin health/stamina bars marked by the acorn and fish for Quin and Dak, the diversity of the poses and expressions, the intimation of gameplay mechanics (searching for clues, a gamified Dragon’s Dogma 2-esque high-five, and even some ability suggestions like Dak blocking arrows from the front lane while Quin lays down fire from the rear), and of course as all good adventure games require: proper Game Over screens! It’s all here!
Thank you SO much TheTigerwolf55 for your amazing work, and to EzioAuditore97 for commissioning the piece in the first place!
We all saw this coming, and it’s exactly as satisfying as we knew it would be. Nice shot, Quin!
Also, because I’m a terrible person: This comic is no stranger to funny stuff, but the only humor in this strip is vitreous! And, uh, aqueous! (I’m so clever sometimes it’s scary.)
It’s been over 8 years since he was wanting to loose that arrow and he did not waste it. :)
https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-86/
*9 years. Sorry for typo.
And despite his disadvantage Quinlan still lands a critical hit! The music ramps up!
*Blade (Suikoden 3 OST) plays louder*
I can say from experience that firing from your feet like that is surprisingly easy to aim! I do combat archery and I’ve had to use this technique plenty of times when my arm’s taken a shot and I can’t use it.
I knew it! Using feet to hold the bow while making use of his one good arm to fire that arrow like a crossbow bolt! Now he can really tell Rhosyn that she and him are even, unless that’s a new thing for Rhosyn to pay him back for… I had no idea that para-archery existed, which was enlightening!
I also knew that Quin would aim his arrow for that treewalker’s eye! Now if he’s still quick, he better jump out of the way before that treewalker crashes into the thorny wall behind him. After that pseudo-“10th colossus” experience (I can imagine this boss music playing-> https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/t__/images/e/e8/M36.ogg/revision/latest?cb=20210812011712&path-prefix=teamico), Quin ought to not take any chances and hightail out of there pronto, as well as everyone else!
They laughed at him for practicing that type of shot to show off.
They won’t believe him when he tells them it saved his tail.