User:Brian McNeil/Ragnarok Wisdom

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Ragnarok Wisdom (abbreviated RW or less commonly RagnaWisdom) is a mouse-drawn webcomic created by Aragan the Acolyte based on the game Ragnarok Online by Gravity Corp. of South Korea. The comic began on September 21, 2002, and was originally posted on Ragnarok Online fan communities before the Ad Ultimum Network was created for hosting the comic and other sites. The webcomic does not have a plot, nor does it follow a storyline, though often there are several related comics that form a mini-series of sorts, and the characters often recall events from previous installments. The webcomic's theme centers on characters modeled after the author's in-game persona and friends, often examining the player culture that has developed in the International Ragnarok Online service, or quirks about the game itself. Therefore, like other webcomics in this vein (such as 8-Bit Theater), Ragnarok Wisdom is a parody of the topic it covers, often satirizing the player base, game mechanics, or other nuances of the game world. While generally non-offensive, some of its comics contain instances of profanity, violence, and sexual innuendo, which may make the comic unsuitable for younger audiences.

Art
The comic is known for taking a unique approach to its art--the author draws the artwork (including addition of word balloons and text) in MS Paint using a mouse, instead of drawing and coloring the images by hand, or by using a graphics tablet and image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. However, for editing/creation of backgrounds, motion blurs, and other related "special effects," the GNU editor GIMP is often used. The webcomic's layout is reminiscent of vertical 4-koma strips; the comics are read from top to bottom. This is opposed to most other webcomics, which are read from left to right, and is therefore more accessible to readers who come from cultures that read from right to left.

Characters
Ragnarok Wisdom has a large cast of characters that sporadically appear throughout the series. Most of them are patterned after real players, often friends and guildmates of the author.

Characters part of the Crusaders of Rune-Midgard
The Crusaders of Rune-Midgard (CoRM) is the in-game guild that most of Ragnarok Wisdom's cast are members of. This guild actually exists, unofficially formed back in Ragnarok Online's Beta-1 stage (and later becoming a real guild when the guild system was implemented). However, it has been fragmented over time due to lack of cohesion among its members--often only a handful of the RW cast will play at any one time, and even then may not be part of CoRM itself. The original five members--Lunaris, Sniff the Raven, Tristan Aileron, Polarias (Neko-san), and Aragan--are sometimes referred to as the "Rainbow Wings," as this was a common party name for them in the early years.
 * Aragan the Acolyte - A slightly outlandish Acolyte and author of Ragnarok Wisdom, he is known for his catchphrase of "Mace you in the face!" and for his refusal to advance to a higher leveled class. Others refer to Aragan as a 'superaco' because of that. He often, but not always, plays the 'straight man' in most comedic setups, sometimes even behaving in intentionally bland ways that cause the other characters to shine.
 * Interestingly, many people believe Aragan's name is actually a typo, and that he really meant to name himself after Aragorn from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth; this is in fact false.
 * Tristan Aileron – A Paladin and current leader of the Crusaders of Rune-Midgard, Tristan’s mild algophobia is a form of situational irony; in Ragnarok Online, Paladins (and their prerequisite class, Crusaders) have many skills involving inflicting pain upon oneself to damage foes or protect and buff allies. He has a very large family, though to date only one of his relatives appeared in the comic (Tristar). It is also suspected that Tristan actually disguises himself as some of the family members--as was discovered when Tristan attempted to masquerade as a priestess, while still wearing his bulky armor. It is this habit of playing as women that has earned him the nickname 'The WOMAN' (with capitals) among his fellows.
 * Sniff the Raven - A Swordsman (or rather, a self-styled 'warrior of the sexy') whom like Aragan has no interest in advancing to a higher leveled class. Sniff is known for eating pecopecos, screaming "CHICKEN!" upon finding one. He is also infamous for his non-stop flexing, strutting, and posing--something he often does whenever he 'fells evil' or encounters demons.
 * Lunaris - The original founder of the Crusaders of Rune-Midgard. Lunaris is a Knight, and is a rather paranoid one at that--he believes that porings are actually aliens and mean ill for all of humanity. Upon encountering them, he will either go into a bezerker-like rage or become extremely frightened. Beyond this, Lunaris has a more serious and soldier-like demeanor. He even acted as a drill sergeant for new swordsmen (which he then carried over to his treatment of fellow guildsmen).
 * While it has only been portrayed once or twice in the comic, the real Lunaris has unique ways of spelling and pronouncing some words that have caused others to dub it as 'Lunarish.'
 * Nth Power - An Alchemist, he is most infamous for the many times he's caused chaos and havoc in the world of Ragnarok Wisdom, and on its other cast members. The epitome of a prankster, Nth Power rarely feels regret for tricking his friends into falling for one of his concoctions or pranks--often with extremely bizarre and embarrassing results. Over time, the rest of the cast has become distrustful of Nth Power--leading to some situations where they were better off listening to his sincerity. It has been suggested that he is responsible for Gut Funk's spontaneous transformations into a pecopeco.
 * Tristar Aileron - A Blacksmith and brother to Tristan Aileron, he is thought to be a communist, given that he created (or at least is a vehement supporter of) the Right Season Worker's Party, which seeks to liberate Geffen from its supposedly oppressive magician class. He has not been seen in some time, in spite of a failed comic contest put forward by the author for fan artists to draw parts of a mini-series based on Tristar's disappearance.
 * Unlike most of the characters in Ragnarok Wisdom, Tristar is in game merely an alternate character of Tristar Aileron's. He is also, by account of the author and the real members of CoRM, the least accurately portrayed--until the comic influenced the real Tristar’s behavior, that is. One of his catchphrases ('GORDITAS!') is a parody of a Taco Bell advertisement campaign from the 1990's.
 * Mark Van Exel - More commonly called "MVE" for short, he is a highly lecherous Wizard who knows no bounds when it comes to ogling or hitting on women. Mark is the most common source of sexual innuendo in the comic, ranging from his runaway comparison of cities to human sexual anatomy, to starting an escort service made entirely of captured female bots. He is also known for his exclusive usage of the Frost Diver and Lightning Bolt magic spells, taking advantage of the added damage dealt by using both in succession.
 * Gut Funk - A Bard, and along with Nth Power and El Blargo, one of the most potentially dangerous characters to be around. Gut Funk has a habit of either uncontrollably transforming into a pecopeco, or exploding violently when upset or confused. Aragan exploited this to conquer a cluster of guild forts by confusing Gut Funk to the point he exploded with atomic force. Naturally, when he turns into a pecopeco, he becomes a target for Sniff the Raven's appetite. During the early years, he was unwillingly used in a Grieferette 'Dead Branch Shaver' advertisement.
 * It is documented that the real Gut Funk was the very second person to successfully become a Bard in iRO Chaos. Some dispute this claim (seeing him as the third), which Aragan has resolved by calling Gut Funk the "2.5th Bard ever on iRO Chaos."
 * Zelse - An Assassin, Zelse is the opposite of the typical stereotype that assassins have in the Ragnarok Online player culture (which was enforced by the Ragnarok: The Animation): efficient, brooding, emotionally cold killers. Zelse, unlike most assassins, is very sensitive and emotional, and often prone to bursting into tears over anything, be it pleasant or not. This has led to him flooding the world at least once (drained soon after by Nth Power's sponge cake) as well as turning the Pronteran guild fort zone into an aquarium. He has even developed unique skills based on his incessant crying (Tears of Assassination being the most prevalent). Zelse is also infamous for being handy with a toothbrush.
 * Lenz - A Thief, Lenz has eccentricities that can rival Mark Van Exel's. Throughout the comic, he buys knives that are either not meant for players (such as a taming item), or are faked replicas. At other times, he expresses peculiar sentiments that make his comrades raise an eyebrow out of bewilderment.
 * Saint Damien - Yet another priest, he styles himself as "the Lurker," based on his tendency to remain in the background (and lurk in the forums he participates in). In the comic, however, he commonly takes an active role in events. Similar to Lunaris' fear of porings, Saint Damien is deathly afraid of the lady beetle-like Brilight, whom he refers to as "Douglas."
 * Corigan - Infamous for both his affection for panties and abuse of 'alt-tabbing' (the keyboard command in Microsoft Windows that allows one to switch between active programs), which often puts whomever he is adventuring with in danger as they wind up being overwhelmed by monsters. He often stands idle in the background, and has recently attempted (and failed) to form an alt-tabbing support group based on Alcoholics Anonymous.
 * Polarias (formerly Neko-san) - A Crusader, Polarias tends to be among the among the realists of the cast, often openly questioning things in the game that normally defy biology and basic laws of physics (such as breathing underwater). In the early comics, Polarias' appearance, class and even gender changed with each comic (and each panel in one), reflecting the real Polarias' rapid creation and deletion of accounts, changing genders and starting new characters on a whim.
 * "Neko-san" was originally the name Polarias went by in the game and in the early comics (although in-game his characters would use various Japanese honorifics). It seems he chose to settle on a class and gender. He also settled on a name that was not Japanese sounding in origin. This may be due to Kawaii-chan and her satire of those who use such names in Ragnarok Online.
 * Rudolph Ravioli - Another swordsman and one of the most recent main additions to the cast, Rudolph Ravioli is randomness personified. In a similar manner to Corigan, he often plays a background role, popping in unexpectedly to spout off a non sequitur, although upon closer inspection his phrases tend to have some connection with what is happening.
 * Suzuran Majere - Although appearing as a female wizard, Suzuran is actually a man in disguise--representing the many male players who play online games (and act in online communities) as women. Alluding to the common correlation between illusory and paranormal magic, when asked by Aragan how he was able to hide the fact he was really a man, Suzuran replied "Well, they don't call us 'magicians' for nothing!"

Other Characters

 * Novvy the Novice - One of the two Novice characters in the comic, Novvy the Novice was designed to parody a player stereotype of those who have no ability to effectively communicate in English and whose only desire is to be the strongest player ever--as evidenced by his constant questing for a machine gun (a weapon which does not exist in RO).
 * Kawaii-chan - The other novice in the main cast, Kawaii-chan is also a parody of a player stereotype--specifically, those players who are self-styled otaku and are so enamored with Japanese culture that (despite the game's Korean origin) use what little Japanese they know, to the point they can no longer communicate effectively in their native language.
 * Orbonne DeArc - Also called 'Saint Bomber' (and perhaps more well known by that name), he is a Priest and is the leader of the now-defunct Prontera Parish, an early iRO community dedicated to encouraging role-play and a kinder player base. He is seen only a few times in the comic, yet is strangely listed as a main cast member. Most often he is seen with Aragan, explaining oddities about Ragnarok Online's cleric classes, or stopping him from using anything other than a mace or wand.
 * Talien - Another Priest who tends to be austere and unforgiving--this has earned him the nickname 'the Assholyte,' as he often has no tolerance for lamers and enjoys punishing them for their behavior. Except for one or two instances, he usually avoids being caught in Nth Power's pranks.
 * Although Talien appears in the comic to be part of the CoRM, in real life he never was a member; in fact, he was generally a member of the Prontera Parish and led his own guild, called the Dirty Dozen.
 * El Blargo - Another wizard, and Mark Van Exel's opposite where skills and elemental affinity are concerned. Where Mark Van Exel favors ice and water spells, El Blargo's spells are fire based. While he does not have Nth Power's record of causing mass havoc, he is still dangerous, often burning anything for the sheer fun of it.
 * Like Tristar Aileron, El Blargo is really an in game "alt" of Talien's.