# Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323 "2009-08-31T04:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 113
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2241 "2011-06-30T04:46:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Hey guys! Just thought I’d let you know that this link still doesn’t work. I know you all were wondering so I thought it best to keep you informed. Huh, that’s funny, it works for me now. My favorite part was where I prepared Explosive Runes this morning, just for **Enderw24** ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2242 "2011-06-30T07:52:15Z")
Oh, how I’ve missed that little phrase! ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2243 "2011-07-06T13:58:11Z")
Oh hey guys! You know what I just thought? OK, so you know how Sir Scraggly is chasing Mr. Scruffy, right? So if Belkar sees it and starts yelling “wolf! Wolf! WOLF!” to his friends, do you think anyone would believe him? Oh and on a completely different topic altogether? 795’s not up yet. kthxbye. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2244 "2011-07-06T14:19:26Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Oh and on a completely different topic altogether? 795’s not up yet. kthxbye. What was that rule about wishing death on a fellow poster? Ah, yes. Don’t. Okay. I suppose I won’t. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2245 "2011-07-06T14:33:38Z")
my belief in the kindness of strangers just failed it’s saving throw! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2246 "2011-07-06T14:39:06Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Oh hey guys! You know what I just thought? OK, so you know how Sir Scraggly is chasing Mr. Scruffy, right? So if Belkar sees it and starts yelling “wolf! Wolf! WOLF!” to his friends, do you think anyone would believe him? > > Oh and on a completely different topic altogether? 795’s not up yet. kthxbye. Not up yet huh? Well, I guess we’ll have to find some other way to entertain ourselves. I have a project in mind. Anyone got a dull knife and some salt? ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2247 "2011-07-06T14:40:58Z")
I’ve now come to expect every week the informative and reliable posting of Enderw24 and the warm reception of fellow Dopers. It gives me something to look forward to as I wait out this unexpected OOTS drought. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2248 "2011-07-06T15:57:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not up yet huh? Well, I guess we’ll have to find some other way to entertain ourselves. > > I have a project in mind. Anyone got a dull knife and some salt? Oooh ooh ooh, I’ll bring the salt and the rabid weasel, if you bring the knife, the staple gun, and the accordion. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2249 "2011-07-06T16:06:13Z")
Y’know, if none of us reply to him, then when we see the thread bumped, but the last reply being by **Enderw24** , then we’ll know that it isn’t really bumped. But since it’s bumped now anyway with someone else’s name on it, something that just occurred to me this morning: Does Elan know that Belkar is evil? I mean, we saw his reaction when it finally sunk in to him that his dad was evil. Does he just tolerate Belkar because he’s helping the good guys win, or is he totally oblivious, and the rest of the party hasn’t seen any need to disabuse him? ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2250 "2011-07-06T16:17:29Z")
He won’t be able to regenerate fire or acid damage. (Or it will deactivate his Fast Healing, depending on edition) I’m not suggesting we SHOULD take advantage of that. I’m just pointing out we COULD. I’m just sayin’. – Poision will work too, but only in _ **Baldur’s Gate** _. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2251 "2011-07-06T16:35:34Z")
But this is ridiculous. 794 came out on June 8, and it’s now July 6. I understand that Burlew’s having a hard time getting this book published, bound and shipped. And I get that he has debilitating health issues. But why he doesn’t have a few strips put together in advance to release over his dry periods, or why he hasn’t put up a “OOTS will return in 8 weeks” sort of message by now, I don’t know. You know, like every other professional cartoonist manages to do. This is the sort of thing that, if I haven’t already spent the time following these characters and story, would cause me to not come back to this strip. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2252 "2011-07-06T16:50:55Z")
And I have read the explanations for why he can’t do strips in advance, E.g: > [@](#): > > 7/7/2007 > > Those of you who have been readers a long time know that I tend to go in cycles with the strip: a few weeks on time, followed by a few weeks where most of the comics are late (and some days are missed altogether). Oftentimes, I’ll make an announcement afterwards that I was sick. The thing is, I get sick a lot, and that’s not likely to change in the future. For more than two years, I’ve been experiencing a medical condition that often leaves me unable to work (or even sit at the computer) for 2-3 days at a time, and the symptoms tend to come and go in clumps. I’ll be fine for a few weeks, then have a few really bad weeks where I struggle to get any work done. This is part of the reason I never can manage to create a “buffer” of strips in advance: I spend all of my working time catching up on stuff I was supposed to finish while I was sick. (No, I’m not going to tell you exactly what is wrong with me; it’s nobody’s business. Suffice to say that it is nonfatal and my significant other takes good care of me.) " I still think this is unprofessional for someone who is a full-time cartoonist. All he needed to do was put out a simple hiatus announcement that the strip would be off-line for however long he felt he needed to get better/caught up, what have you. If he got better faster than he anticipated, then I guess have used the time to build up his “buffer”. Just frustrated, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2253 "2011-07-06T17:43:49Z")
To be fair, he’s NOT a full time cartoonist. He’s a writer/game designer and a part time cartoonist. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2254 "2011-07-06T17:56:31Z")
Yeah, the NERVE of that guy. You should totally demand your money back. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2255 "2011-07-06T18:01:40Z")
> [@Ura-Maru](#): > > To be fair, he’s NOT a full time cartoonist. He’s a writer/game designer and a part time cartoonist. The consensus in [this thread at his site](http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204831) was that OOTS was his full-time occupation now. And [this post in a different thread](http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10721971&postcount=169) from Burlew himself was used to support that statement. > [@](#): > > I haven’t done any work for WOTC since Dungeonscape was printed in early 2007, and that was only the third book I had worked on. It was never a significant income stream, because it was low-paying work-for-hire (that is, a small lump sum upon completion and no royalties). I’ve been essentially supporting my family on OOTS since Dungeon Crawlin’ Fools came out in 2005. While Burlew hasn’t yet come into that thread to clarify matters, he’s usually quick with the banhammer for threads that delve too much into his personal life. (Or that bitch about the update rate of the strip.) ‘Supporting his family on OOTS’ probably includes developing/marketing the game based on it, as well as the other stuff at his site; still, I’ve no problem calling him a professional cartoonist, based on the above. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2256 "2011-07-06T18:23:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does Elan know that Belkar is evil? I mean, we saw his reaction when it finally sunk in to him that his dad was evil. Does he just tolerate Belkar because he’s helping the good guys win, or is he totally oblivious, and the rest of the party hasn’t seen any need to disabuse him? I’m thinking, if Belkar can convince (for a time at least) a \*paladin \*that he’s totally not evil, Elan’s a cinch. Even if said paladin was only Miko “herp derp” Miyazaki. Hell, Belkar can convince _half the readers_ he’s not evil. I’m serious - Burlew had to draw a couple of “helloooo ? Of course he’s fucking evil, you idiots !” strips over the course of the comic, just because he was getting annoyed that there was even a debate about it on the OOTS forums. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2257 "2011-07-06T18:39:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](#): > > Yeah, the NERVE of that guy. > > You should totally demand your money back. I’m not interested in returning the books of his that I’ve already purchased. I am patiently waiting for his latest book to come out, which I will probably purchase too. Look, I’m a fan of his too, or I wouldn’t be bothering to post in this thread. (Or shell out the $25+ for each book) And if OOTS was a lark that he did for shits and giggles, then who really cares how he manages his comic? But he has the self-stated goal of supporting his family through this work; he has the occupation (at least part time) of a professional cartoonist. And professionals don’t treat their audience this way, not when it would be so easy to fix. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2258 "2011-07-06T18:49:45Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I’m thinking, if Belkar can convince (for a time at least) a \*paladin \*that he’s totally not evil, Elan’s a cinch. Even if said paladin was only Miko “herp derp” Miyazaki. When did he do that? Miko thought he was evil from first to last. Nearest he got was Hinjo, who saw in him the potential for improvement. Even then, Hinjo knew that Belkar is a bad guy. As for the question, Elan is willing to tolerate Belkar’s wickedness, as long as it is directed against the bad guys. He would try to stop Belkar if Belkar regularly hurt innocent people, and Elan knew about it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2259 "2011-07-06T19:25:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I still think this is unprofessional for someone who is a full-time cartoonist. All he needed to do was put out a simple hiatus announcement that the strip would be off-line for however long he felt he needed to get better/caught up, what have you. If he got better faster than he anticipated, then I guess have used the time to build up his “buffer”. The point is, though, that he DOESN’T KNOW how long he’s gonna be out of commission. Some diseases and conditions are like that. Apparently he works as fast as he can, when he’s able to work at all. He’s doing all that he can. He can’t do anything more (at least, according to him). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2260 "2011-07-06T21:32:38Z")
It’s not being professional that gives an artist obligations; it’s being paid. We’re all getting no less than we paid for. Well, unless you pre-ordered the new book; in that case you _do_ have a right to complain. But there, the blame probably falls more on the publisher than on Burlew. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=112) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=114)