# 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:** 133
**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:** [October 10, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2642 "2011-10-10T13:09:52Z")
The Bird & Roy/Belkar’s exchange made me snicker. “Ignorant cretins” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2643 "2011-10-10T13:24:09Z")
Looks like Elan, Haley and Durkon should be wrapping up their encounter soon. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2644 "2011-10-10T13:46:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I guess that answers the question about Thog. How so? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2645 "2011-10-10T13:47:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I guess that answers the question about Thog. Not really. Belkar’s pronouncement of someone dying does not a dying make. Also, like others before him, we didn’t see him die. Therefore he may possibly not be quite yet dead. Or he’ll get better. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2646 "2011-10-10T22:41:32Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > ETA: For some reason, I’m reminded of the Goblins! strip where Names and Ears quibble over whether crossing rapids involves a Balance check to keep one’s balance in the current, or a Strength check to resist the current’s constant push. Good times. Well, which was it? ---
**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:** [October 11, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2647 "2011-10-11T01:01:31Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Not really. Belkar’s pronouncement of someone dying does not a dying make. Also, like others before him, we didn’t see him die. Therefore he may possibly not be quite yet dead. Or he’ll get better. I didn’t take Belkar’s statement to mean “No more Linear Guilders are alive”, but “No more LGers still out there for us to defeat”. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2648 "2011-10-11T03:44:01Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Well, which was it? Indeterminate: [Goblins -](http://www.goblinscomic.com/10152010-4/) Chief’s line in the 8th panel is one of my favorites from the strip. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2649 "2011-10-11T04:47:32Z")
It’s not indeterminate: “You guys are lighter than me and those rocks can support you.” For Big Ears, it’s a strength check. For the others, it’s a balance check. It’s like Intimidation. You can use Strength _or_ Charisma to intimidate people. Force of will or just size of body. Whatever you can convince the DM to accept. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2650 "2011-10-11T14:40:38Z")
Ah! You’re right – I was answering the wrong question, “Which one of them won the argument?” The argument didn’t end, because the next encounter started abruptly. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2651 "2011-10-17T09:25:21Z")
[New strip.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0810.html) ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2652 "2011-10-17T09:27:05Z")
The rules of drama saved Elan again. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2653 "2011-10-17T15:59:06Z")
> [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](#): > > The rules of drama saved Elan again. Speaking of which… A ways back Tarquin told Elan that that he supports the OOTS’ quest to find Draketooth, but he’d only help after three days. Was Tarquin perhaps using the rules of drama all along as a device to flush out Nale, figuring if Tarquin kept Elan close at hand then Nale was bound to turn up sooner or later? Since Malack just showed up, and Tarquin is likely heading this way with Roy and Belkar, it seems like that plan may be working and we’ll see a family reunion shortly. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2654 "2011-10-17T20:10:12Z")
I think his primary purpose was just that he didn’t want Serious Business interfering with the festivities. But he’s certainly subtle and devious enough that he could have had multiple reasons for it, and flushing out Nale could certainly be one of them. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2655 "2011-10-17T21:09:51Z")
Well, I was thinking of [this strip](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0793.html), where it is shown that the ROD are: 1. When a bad guy dies offscreen, he’s not really dead. 2. The hero always thinks the bad guy is dead until he shows up again. So: 1. Nale = the bad guy, so he will definitely will return. 2. Elan = the hero, so he can’t know that. 3. Tarquin != the hero, so he _can_ know that and use it to his advantage, esp. since he’s ROD-savvy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2656 "2011-10-18T10:16:53Z")
Where’s the Masked Debt Gourd? ---
**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:** [October 18, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2657 "2011-10-18T23:47:00Z")
Yeah, Thor _did_ say he was going to send one. I was hoping it would fall out of the sky onto Sabine or Nale’s head (the flumphs and the lawyers left, after all). Maybe it still will. In any case, it looks like Nale’s gonna get a beat-down. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2658 "2011-10-18T23:54:58Z")
A further thought: where are Malack’s children? Malack is a high-level cleric, and Tarquin can certainly get a diamond whenever he wants. The panel where we find about about their deaths gives the impression (at least to me) that they’re still dead. I’m wondering if clerics of death gods aren’t allowed to Raise Dead (or at least have a philosophical problem with it). ---
**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:** [October 19, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2659 "2011-10-19T01:11:23Z")
It’s possible that Nale took measures to prevent that. He was already consorting with Sabine at that time, and demons have ways of making sure souls are unavailable. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2660 "2011-10-19T02:32:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s possible that Nale took measures to prevent that. He was already consorting with Sabine at that time, and demons have ways of making sure souls are unavailable. Seems unlikely. Nale’s evil, but not like 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:** [October 19, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2661 "2011-10-19T03:29:32Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > A further thought: where are Malack’s children? Malack is a high-level cleric, and Tarquin can certainly get a diamond whenever he wants. The panel where we find about about their deaths gives the impression (at least to me) that they’re still dead. I’m wondering if clerics of death gods aren’t allowed to Raise Dead (or at least have a philosophical problem with it). It’s probably the same situation as Eric Greenhilt. We can assume Malack’s children were good and arrived at some pleasant afterlife. So they’re probably happy wherever they’re at. It’s been established that a person has to want to come back to life for Raise Dead to work. Generally that’s only going to happen with an adult who has some duty he feels the need to fulfill and is willing to forego the joys of afterlife. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=132) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=134)