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RPG World is a web comic by Ian Jones-Quartey (a.k.a. Ian J.) that takes place in the environment of a role-playing video game (RPG). While much of the humor and story-telling focuses on parody of console RPG clichés and tropes, the story is also meant to stand on its own. The comic is drawn in an idiosyncratic manga-influenced style, and most installments are now in full color.
Most of the story, characters and jokes are based on clichés in the console RPG and anime genres. For example, the main character, Hero, has large, blond, spiky hair; amnesia; and wields an oversized sword—traits that are shared with that most preeminent of RPG protagonists, Final Fantasy 7s Cloud Strife. The other characters fit into similar moulds. The villains, too, fit a number of archetypes, such as the huge and faceless corporation, the insane and effeminate individual, and the enigmatic man. Other cliches include the tendency of every major character (and often minor ones as well) to have some sort of buried history with one another.
RPG World is part of the bagofchips comic alliance, and of KeenSpot. Before joining KeenSpot, it was hosted on KeenSpace.
RPG World chapters are called disks, as if it were a multiple-disk game. After every disk is over, Jones-Quartey takes a break by making "Jim. The Guy Who Plays RPG World" comics. They poke fun at the sterotypes about gamers, i.e. Jim is a slob with bias for Sony products, and lacks any friends except for one, who makes fun of him. The comics are actual photographs with dialogue bubbles overtop. "Jim" appears to be a friend of Ian's, but is not Ian himself.
As displayed during the incident with the pirates, Hero is somehow able to tap into a mysterious power called the Tatsachore, though only elves and monsters are supposed to be able to wield it. Nevertheless, this power allows him to draw energy from the bond he shares with his friends. This ability means that he, along with Diane (a monster) and Cherry (an elf) may be the ones that will decide the outcome of the impending war between races.
Cherry was the first party member to meet Hero, when he interrupted her attempt to rob an innocent traveler. Though she initially agreed to accompany Hero on his quest for the money, Cherry quickly found herself becoming attracted to Hero due to his free and innocent nature.
Cherry is also the “Sacras One” of the elves, a child born only once in every few generations with a special birthmark. This means that Cherry, like Hero is connected directly to the Tatsachore, but unlike Hero, Cherry uses this connection to see past the bounds of their world… leading her to point out the confusing nature of RPG structured gaming. The elves had hoped that she would become their leader for the approaching war between races, but Cherry ran away. Recently, she was reunited with her people and her father, who, despite not approving of her fraternizing with humans, was more understanding of Cherry’s choice of profession.
Whoever she is, with AKAs like “Sacras One” and “The Chosen One” you know that something’s going on.
Lien…uh, I mean Diane ran away from home after her Mom died and her father and Stepmother tried to rush her into an arranged marriage. (As it turned out, possibly to Hero! (#381)) She was adopted by a harlot named Misty, and was about to follow in her adopted mothers footsteps when she stumbled upon the Hero recruiting new party members.
Diane only recently discovered that her mom, Taesa, was a monster that her dad met in South City, making Diane a monster, human hybrid, and explaining her affinity for magic. She and Eikre have a love-hate relationship going, and they even pretended to be husband and wife at one point but mainly, like Cherry, Diane harbors feelings for Hero. Unlike Cherry, she has no problem acting on those feelings, leading to friction between the two girls, and confusion for Hero.
Now that the party is in South City, Diane is hoping to find out what became of her little brother, though he might be closer than she thinks…
A penchant for horrible puns and ‘the ladies’ are Eikre’s trademarks. Though initially it seemed that he was probably Galgarion in disguise, (an opinion supported by his suspicious shoutings of “Still thy tongue!” mumblings of ‘evil plans’ and wearings of ‘I love Evil’ t-shirts) it turned out that he was, you know, just a guy, and all the evidence to the contrary was just a number of unbelievable coincidences.
Hailing from the town of Ubelton, where the economy was based on evil deeds and training. Eikre would’ve been content to follow his friends on a path to kicking dogs and stealing candy, if it wasn’t for Jeff.
Eikre’s friend Jeff learn the true meaning of evil from the Tiger Book, one of the four mystical keys. This led him on a destructive rampage resulting in the death of Eikre’s mother. From that day forward, Eikre vowed to do his best to rid the world of evil instead of contribute to it. And to get with lots of “the ladies.”
Cute, smart and British, Reka is the captain of “The Happy Pirate” a ship crewed by intelligent robots of her own design. A ship that the party stowed away on.
Reka joined the party in order to take revenge on Galgarion for her father Thad’s murder. Thad was killed for ‘going against’ SouthCorp, but before he died, he told Reka about an important treasure he had left somewhere at the bottom of the sea. Reka was on her way to retrieve the treasure when she first encountered the party. Perhaps the only party member with a personal reason to stop Galgarion, she has proved herself a valuable member of the party both in and out of battle.
She eventually was able to confront Galgarion twice; once in Langoria, and again in the Dark Woods. There, after a fierce battle, Galgarion brutally killed the unarmed Reka and vanished, thus ending Disk 2.