# 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:** 117
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2321 "2011-07-18T17:38:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Thog in the presence of his allies-- He could have picked it up since then. We’ve also never seen Thog go into a rage before this, so he might have had it all along, and never used it until now. > [@Little Nemo](#): > > ``` > As several people have noted, this is clearly a callback to 114. Roy is not a barbarian so presumably whatever Thog is doing is not a barbarian-exclusive feat. > > ``` Nah, there’s no way this isn’t a barbarian rage. He even turned a darker green color, to make the “hulking out” association stronger. While the call back to 114 is certainly intentional, Roy getting pissed off and throwing a (relatively easy to grapple) spell caster through a portal isn’t quite the same thing as what we’re seeing Thog do here. ---
**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 18, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2322 "2011-07-18T19:12:44Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > We’ve also never seen Thog go into a rage before this, so he might have had it all along, and never used it until now. [We have, actually.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html) Albeit briefly. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2323 "2011-07-18T23:06:03Z")
prison changed thog. ---
**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 18, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2324 "2011-07-18T23:18:43Z")
He’s also raged before, in the Arena. You can tell, because his pants are already purple at the start of the fight with Roy. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2325 "2011-07-18T23:38:35Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > prison changed thog. Thog was only in there for 40 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2326 "2011-07-18T23:42:04Z")
prison change thog quickly. ---
**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 19, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2327 "2011-07-19T00:14:19Z")
[New strip!!!](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0797.html) Quote of the day: “super-advanced flying stealth dinosaur” ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2328 "2011-07-19T00:44:34Z")
Heh. I wonder if Burlew has been conferring with Ryan North. ---
**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 19, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2329 "2011-07-19T02:07:06Z")
Now, _that’s_ a pity. A line like that getting uttered, and Elan’s not even there to hear it. And a familiar of a wizard of V’s level should have an Int of 13 (i.e., noticeably above average), while an imp is around 10 (average). So Blackwing outsmarting Qarr is to be expected. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2330 "2011-07-19T10:17:23Z")
Interesting to note that the three fiends plans for V apparently require V to be morally compromised, to the extent that they’re actively trying to whack his familiar for giving him good advice. It seems there may be more to it than simply seizing control of V’s body at an [in]opportune time. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2331 "2011-07-22T03:08:22Z")
Update on the books: > [@](#): > > It looks like the Dragon Tales pre-order books will ship from the printer next Wednesday. > > We’ve never had a pre-order this large, so it will be hard to say exactly how long it will take to get all the books out, but I estimate 10 days from the time that we get the book. > > I will be at Gen Con starting Wednesday, the 3rd, but the warehouse crew will be working while I’m gone. I just get in the way anyway so things will go faster without me there. > > If you’re going to Gen Con and you want us to hold your book so that you can pick it up at the convention, let us know! Send an email to [ship.manager@ookoodook.com](mailto:ship.manager@ookoodook.com). If we don’t hear back before Tuesday, the 2nd, then we will ship your book as usual and you won’t be able to pick it up at the convention. We will refund your shipping. > > Now on to the games. We paid an outrageous amount to have a few games air-shipped over to sell at Gen Con. If you pre-ordered one of the games, we can give you a copy, but we cannot refund your shipping due to the cost we incurred in getting them here. Same deal - let us know before Tuesday the 2nd at ([ship.manager@ookoodook.com](mailto:ship.manager@ookoodook.com))or we won’t be able to give you the game at the show. > > The rest of the games should be here by the end of August. Literally as the games were on the dock the printer got a call that the games had failed product testing because (you’ll like this) the game boxes didn’t have the APE Games company city and zip code on the outside. I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years and have NEVER put my zip code on the game box. In fact, I’ll bet that most of the games in your closet don’t have the manufacturer’s address on the box. Anyway, they had to take the whole shipment back and add address stickers before shipping them. > > For more information, see the Giant ITP forum posts: > > [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11470138&posted=1#post11470138](http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11470138&posted=1#post11470138) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2332 "2011-07-22T04:02:33Z")
So if Roy’s leg moved, is he at 0 HP and can’t do much else? I guess a person can twitch or even speak at 0 HP and still be alive [or at least Crystal could](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0616.html). Or is he maybe playing possum? ---
**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 22, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2333 "2011-07-22T04:44:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > On the other hand, he was kicking Thog’s ass seven ways to Sunday before Thog hulked out on him. No he wasn’t. thog was barely paying attention while they were talking, and he still seemed to be holding his own. Roy’s an optimized build when it comes to talking down to people, less so for actually fighting I think that was just thog’s regular old Greater Rage, (11th level barbarian ability, +6 to Str and Con, +3 to Will Saves) no prestige classes needed. He’s mellow and rarely fights challenging opponents, he’s probably never raged onscreen except for the prison break. – Deliberately building an ineffective character does not, in and of itself, constitute proof of your awesome roleplaying skills. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2334 "2011-07-22T04:57:38Z")
Where the heck do we think Durkon is right now? I don’t recall him being around since way back in [#764](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0764.html), 33 strips ago. Was there dialog about his whereabouts since the gladiator match began? ---
**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 22, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2335 "2011-07-22T05:06:54Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Where the heck do we think Durkon is right now? I don’t recall him being around since way back in [#764](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0764.html), 33 strips ago. Was there dialog about his whereabouts since the gladiator match began? He was mentioned in [775](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0775.html): “He indicated that he wished to finalize his research, in the event that we depart presently.” ---
**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 22, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2336 "2011-07-22T05:08:02Z")
0 HP is the simplest explanation: A person at 0 can just lie there indefinitely, or they can attempt to take a single action, but if that action doesn’t restore any HP, then they’ll drop to -1 and start dying. Then again, though, Roy has a ton of HP (any warrior-type of his level does), and it’d take rather a while for even a raging barbarian to wear him down completely. And while he looks rather the worse for wear, he doesn’t really look all _that_ bad, in the grand scheme of things. For comparison, Hinjo probably has about the same number of HP as Roy, and [he’s looked much worse](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0480.html) without being killed. So it might just be a bluff on Roy’s part, to wait out Thog’s rage. ---
**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 22, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2337 "2011-07-22T10:52:59Z")
> [@Ura-Maru](#): > > Deliberately building an ineffective character does not, in and of itself, constitute proof of your awesome roleplaying skills. Of course not. Awesome roleplaying comes into play when trying to justify the most extreme of cheese 😃 ETA: also, where does Qarr get off, calling Blackwing a “glorified class feature” ? Isn’t he one too ? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2338 "2011-07-22T12:40:59Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Of course not. Awesome roleplaying comes into play when trying to justify the most extreme of cheese 😃 Actually, yes. The best roleplaying I’ve ever done was with a character whose history and personality were developed around a rather ridiculous build. > [@](#): > > ETA: also, where does Qarr get off, calling Blackwing a “glorified class feature” ? Isn’t he one too ? Nope. A pre-familiar Qarr was still a sapient being who lured a high level mage into making a deal with the devils. A pre-familiar Blackwing was just a bird. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2339 "2011-07-22T17:54:40Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Actually, yes. The best roleplaying I’ve ever done was with a character whose history and personality were developed around a rather ridiculous build. One of my favorite characters ever was in 3rd edition (I think) and was a gnome illusionist/monk. Another I liked a lot was a halfling barbarian. Extremely fun to play. Totally ridiculous. But totally fun. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2340 "2011-07-22T18:19:29Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > One of my favorite characters ever was in 3rd edition (I think) and was a gnome illusionist/monk. So he’s kicking people in the shins while laughing as they ineffectually swing for the illusory chin of his 6’-tall image? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=116) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=118)