# 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:** 120
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2381 "2011-08-01T21:39:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Or maybe still pregnant-- How long is dwarvish gestation? The depends on which gestation period is funniest. 😃 ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2382 "2011-08-01T22:21:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And a baby dwarfling that kind of looks like Durkon. Oooh, good point. I was forgetting the soap opera rules of fertility: if you have sex with someone just once, there’s a 100% chance you’re pregnant. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2383 "2011-08-02T04:14:58Z")
But only if it’s just once, of course. By the same rules, there’s no chance that Haley or Celia is pregnant. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2384 "2011-08-02T05:23:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But only if it’s just once, of course. By the same rules, there’s no chance that Haley or Celia is pregnant. Yep. Think of it as rules-of-drama prophylaxis. If the story doesn’t require you to be preggers, hey! No problem! And if the rules of drama rule that you’re knocked-up like a copper-piece harlot, well that’s your lookout. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2385 "2011-08-02T06:01:28Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Yep. Think of it as rules-of-drama prophylaxis. If the story doesn’t require you to be preggers, hey! No problem! And if the rules of drama rule that you’re knocked-up like a copper-piece harlot, well that’s your lookout. On review, I think my description is insufficient. Let’s do it again: According to the soap-opera rules of fertility, if soap-opera Fred and Ginger ‘bin tryin’ for years, and then Ginger does it just once with Luigi the Pool Boy, – bam! Preggers. This is very slightly different than the rules-of-drama preggers: they must only do it once! If they have a relationship, no problem. Forbidden love? Bang! Preggers. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2386 "2011-08-02T06:27:30Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Oooh, good point. I was forgetting the soap opera rules of fertility: if you have sex with someone just once, there’s a 100% chance you’re pregnant. Consider some other dramatic rules of sex. 1. If two people are having sex in a story, there’s a ninety-nine percent likelihood it’s the first time they’ve ever had sex together. 2. When two people have sex in a story, there’s a better than even chance they will be separated shortly thereafter. So you can see that these rules make sex a very rare occurrence. You need a pregnancy rate of close to a hundred percent to maintain the population. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2387 "2011-08-02T12:13:05Z")
Don’t forget the Jason Corollary: If it’s a slasher movie, and they’re teenagers, and they have sex, at least one of them will die within the next five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2388 "2011-08-02T12:28:08Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Don’t forget the Jason Corollary: If it’s a slasher movie, and they’re teenagers, and they have sex, at least one of them will die within the next five minutes. That’s why a girl in that situation should ditch the teenage boyfriend and try to find some badass type like a ex-Special Forces guy and have sex with him instead; that turns it into an action movie and she gets to be the endangered girlfriend. They tend to make to to the ending credits. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2389 "2011-08-02T15:08:55Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That’s why a girl in that situation should ditch the teenage boyfriend and try to find some badass type like a ex-Special Forces guy and have sex with him instead; that turns it into an action movie and she gets to be the endangered girlfriend. They tend to make to to the ending credits. _Unless_ it’s the first third of the movie and the ex-Special Forces guy has a lot of unresolved issues just under the surface. In that case her death will be the trigger for his rampage and eventual healing in the arms of _another_ woman. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2390 "2011-08-02T15:14:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > _Unless_ it’s the first third of the movie and the ex-Special Forces guy has a lot of unresolved issues just under the surface. In that case her death will be the trigger for his rampage and eventual healing in the arms of _another_ woman. And she’s got to worry about her guy becoming too popular and having a sequel made. Because then they’re going to want to kill her to give him some motivation in the next movie and open the path for a new love interest. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2391 "2011-08-02T21:43:19Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > While we’re waiting for an update, would anyone care to explain the RPG in-joke in [this old strip](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0213.html). It’s an involved conversation when Miko was dragging the party toward Azure City, relating to how funny it is that Belkar doesn’t take Survival as a skill. Why is this funny, please? > [@Chronos](#): > > One of the Ranger class’s better known abilities is that they get the Track feat for free. The Track feat lets you make checks against your Survival skill (which is based on Wisdom) to track a quarry. Survival is a class skill for rangers, and they get a ton of skill points, so one can generally take it for granted that any given ranger has maxed out Survival, for use for tracking (hence Roy hiring Belkar as the party’s tracker). Belkar, however, doesn’t care about anything except killing, and so never bothered to put any points at all in it. > > Miko, by contrast, had to actually spend a feat on Track, a feat which could have been used for many other things (like, improving her combat ability in a variety of ways). And since Survival is a cross-class skill for all of her classes, she had to spend two points for each rank and has a lower maximum skill rank. Plus, her classes give fewer skill points per level than Belkar’s. So it really wouldn’t make sense for her to have very many ranks in Survival, and in fact, she herself says that she only has 1: So she _can_ track, but she’s really not very good at it. > > But compared to Belkar, her single skill rank gives her an edge over his none. Now, it would still be possible for Belkar to have an equal or greater total skill modifier, if his Wisdom bonus were greater than hers. But Miko’s Wisdom is at least a little above average, and Belkar’s is below average. So he’s _still_ worse than her. _ **HA!** _ Stop! You’re killin’ me, here! :D:D:D Oh, wait. No, it was the other thing. _Why_ was that funny, again? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2392 "2011-08-02T22:12:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > _ **HA!** _ Stop! You’re killin’ me, here! :D:D:D > > Oh, wait. No, it was the other thing. _Why_ was that funny, again? 😛 Allow me to translate it another way: 200-odd strips into the comic, they just discovered that any time they’d ever relied on Belkar’s skills at anything but murder, he’d been winging it. Imagine if you always took the same bus to work, to the point where you were now on first name terms with the driver. Then, after taking the same bus with the same driver for over a year, you mention you’ll be going for your licence in a few weeks. He just frowns and asks, “Driver’s licence? What’s that?” ---
**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:** [August 7, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2393 "2011-08-07T23:42:39Z")
I’m also afraid to ask this but nobody seems to be mentioning it. Am I the first to get my copy of Dragon Tales? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2394 "2011-08-07T23:53:41Z")
I got mine yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2395 "2011-08-08T00:28:05Z")
If you don’t mind saying, what were your order numbers and when did you order, **Little Nemo** and **ultrafilter**? I ordered mine at 9:11AM on March 14, and the order number was 7130, and I haven’t even gotten an e-mail yet. I ordered a second copy 37 hours later and the order number was 8128, which implies that they got nearly 1000 orders in a day and a half, so they probably have quite a few to get through. But I’m wondering if order number and order time matters. (I understand it can take a long time for international orders, but mine wasn’t international.) ---
**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:** [August 8, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2396 "2011-08-08T01:13:01Z")
I also ordered on March 14. My order number is 7435. They emailed me on 8-3 telling me my order was being shipped that day. I got my book on Saturday but I didn’t check my mail on Friday so it arrived on either of these days. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2397 "2011-08-08T01:22:42Z")
March 14th and order 7123. I got it on Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2398 "2011-08-08T01:47:27Z")
I got mine on Thursday. Sorry, I don’t know when I ordered it or what date. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2399 "2011-08-08T03:25:01Z")
[Here’s something better.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2400 "2011-08-08T03:26:49Z")
Hee…“our Short Dual-Wielding Murderer department”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=119) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=121)