I really love color management done right. I really hate color management done wrong.

Panel one has a large amount of motion blur. And it sure looks like there is something on Bria's chest. I played around with my video settings again; I found a control on my TV monitor that improves the dark areas without destroying gamma; I used both monitors; I went back and looked at all the prior comics so far.

The only thing I have seen up until now is that there is a clasp holding her robe in place at the top of her chest. There hasn't been a single full-front chest view of her up until now. The details are very hard to make out, but it sure looks like there is some sort of device on the front of her chest. If she was a police officer, I'd think it would be a body-cam; if this was Paranoia, it would be the session recorder. Either way, it's the thing you want to destroy so that your view of what you report back to your superior is the only view.

Motion blur is horrible here. I don't know if JJ Abrams was responsible for this movie or not; I know that people have complained that he needs a steady-cam because of the blur.

Either way, it is really interesting looking at the difference between how the PCs think, and how the NPC thinks. The PCs are busy spending time debating whether or not they should rescue someone, and pointing out just how risky it is for the future to save an unknown person; Bria just gets it done. This scene clearly shows that talking is not a free action.

But I just love how the GM is talking to himself, with the whole "I don't know how to thank you"/"saying thanks would have done it" bit. Bria's line here could have easily come from a PC.

Oh, and I absolutely love the respect level here. "If Bria dies, nothing's lost!".

The bottom line here: The PCs think of NPCs as disposable. I cannot wait to see how the NPCs will dispose of the PCs. We've been told that there's a TPK, and I want to see it happen.

Hmm. So, something I just realized after this stewed for a night: This was only ever supposed to be a one-off campaign. A mini-episode set in the same world. The characters were throw-aways. The players treated their own PCs as throw-aways, just as the PCs are treating the NPCs.

The players aren't respecting their characters, any more than the characters respect the background. I wonder if maybe they wanted to go out with a big "ka-bloom, now lets get back to the real story".

— Keybounce