[Obsidian Agent]

One thing I forgot to mention. The "Monstrous Nightmare" arc of "Legacy" would have explained the origin of the fae races. The reason there are mana-bearing races and non-bearing ones has to do with Diablo and company beginning an arcane breeding program. Diablo bred the Fae races to be livestock, since demons feed on both flesh and mana. But why make them sentient? Because demons also feed on emotions (specifically, terror and anguish) - and the emotions of sentient beings are much more nourishing than those of beasts.

All of Drowkind's negative traits were ones selectively bred into them by Diablo and pals, mostly to prevent them from becoming TOO powerful.

Arrogance was also bred into them, so that their despair would be all the sweeter when their true purpose was revealed to them, especially after they thought themselves the Master Race for so long.

[Qwalnee]

Alright, confession time. "Legacy" won't be completed.

Thanks for your work anyway. If you want more reader feedback, why not post it on https://www.fanfiction.net? There are thousands of Star Trek, Diablo and C&C fanfics, but only few DT fics.

[Obsidian Agent]

Reader feedback had nothing to do with it. It was on Fanfiction.net at one point, but I took it down when I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with DT.

[Gunbird]

Well, hopefully Kerns next comic will be a lot better to such story's like these with out the "make them lern a lesson " sort of Aesop.

[ThatGuyThisGuy]

Obsie what exactly has made you disillusioned with DT?

[Obsidian Agent]

Some background elements, a few questionable story decisions, semi-feuds with other members, learning of some behind-the-scenes drama, and some other bits.

That said, I still think the basic IDEA of Drowtales is a good one - make the Drow sympathetic, without making them goody two-shoes, and there's some good worldbuilding in there. The problem is, a lot of these ideas weren't executed the best.

[Gunbird]

That said, I still think the basic IDEA of Drowtales is a good one - make the Drow sympathetic, without making them goody two-shoes, and there's some good worldbuilding in there. The problem is, a lot of these ideas weren't executed the best.

They lack sympathy?

[Obsidian Agent]

That said, I still think the basic IDEA of Drowtales is a good one - make the Drow sympathetic, without making them goody two-shoes, and there's some good worldbuilding in there. The problem is, a lot of these ideas weren't executed the best.

They lack sympathy?

No, I mean sympathetic as in the reader can sympathize with them.

[Gunbird]

The readers?

[Obsidian Agent]

People like us, Gun. The idea being: Make the audience able to sympathize with the Drow, without making the Drow goody-two-shoes. The problem is, that this idea wasn't always executed well.

[Gunbird]

I still don't understand.

[Obsidian Agent]

Basically, what I'm trying to say is this:

Drowtales tries to present the Drow as likable without making them goody two-shoes. Unfortunately, on the whole, it fails.

Oh sure, there are individual Drow who are fairly decent people (most of the former child cast, Anahid, Baliir, Nega'fanae, and Zhor, but that's about it), but on the whole, the Drow are a very unpleasant species - especially the Big 4 Chucklefucks/Horsewomen of the Apocalypse - Quain, Sarv, Zala, and Snad. All four of them were on my shitlist ever since I first discovered DT. Between Quain's treatment of Mel, Sarv's bloodlust, control-freak tendencies and mind-numbing short-sightedness, Zala's manipulative nature and poor treatment of protector twins, and Snadhya's.... everything it's been long apparent that most of the leaders are monsters. Meanwhile, Mel herself isn't a very sympathetic person - between being willfully blind towards Snadhya's misdeeds, a total hypocrite ("I don't want to hate anymore"/"You should cut her up"), and being as much of a control freak towards Ariel as Quain was to her (in fact, wanting your child to be born deformed, just to spite your own mother DOES make you a very shitty person).

Could they be worse? Absolutely. Doesn't mean that, on the whole, they are not nice people.

[Gunbird]

So you don't like drama in you stories ?

[Obsidian Agent]

No, I do. It's just that there have to be more likable people with power than here (though, this might change in the next few chapters). Take, for instance, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. That show was filled with people all over the spectrum, morally speaking. You had characters who were good (Miles O'Brien, Julian Bashir, Jake Sisko, Nog, Tora Ziyal, Jadzia Dax, Ezri Dax, Worf, Martok), characters who were evil (Skrain Dukat, the Female Changeling, Weyoun, the Pah-Wraiths), and characters who were morally gray (Ben Sisko, Quark, Odo, Luther Sloan, William Ross, Gowron, Elim Garak, Corat Damar, Kira Nerys). Some characters started good but became evil (Gowron), others started evil but became good (Damar), some villains had redeeming qualities (Dukat, Weyoun), some heroes did questionable things (Bashir, Sisko), and ultimately the drama came from that.

It's as Bob Ross said, you need contrast. You have white-on-white, you've got nothing. You have black-on-black, you basically have nothing. Even if you're just doing gray-on-gray, do shades of gray, show one lighter or darker than the other. Sure, some of the characters in DT are decent people, but until relatively recently, only one was actually in a position of power (Nega'fanae), and as of now, there are three (Anahid and Ariel being the other two). If there were more decent-but-pragmatic people in power earlier on, this wouldn't be a problem. Sure, a setting can be dark (I've created a few myself - both fanfics and original works), but there need to be points of light here and there, even if they're brief.

Are there works that have this problem worse than DT? Hell yeah (I'm looking at you two, "Goblins" and "Caprica"). But if a setting is TOO light or TOO dark, there's no reason to get involved.

[Gunbird]

Ummm... I think I should stop talking about thais. I really do get what you are trying to rant about.