# 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:** 230
**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:** [August 27, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4582 "2012-08-27T22:28:21Z")
I thought it was pretty clear that Malack is the other person Tarquin referenced as looking out for Durkon. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4583 "2012-08-27T23:08:13Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > At the rate he’s updating, Burlew (and the rest of his readership) might die of _old age_ before the strip is completed. I suspect that once the signed books and sketches go out we might see things speed up, although there are still the various e-rewards to come which are taking up his time and creative juices. And he still owes us a week or so of a strip-a-day (was it nine strips in a row, in the end?). And I did eventually get my Kickstarter loot, which is fab. _Start of Darkness_ in particular is a must-read for those who haven’t bothered yet. The other print-only books are entertaining but not quite as plot-arc-critical (or in the case of _Snips, Snails and Dragon Tail_, entirely incidental). The coloring book is fun too, and far too good for the likes of the child. ---
**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 27, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4584 "2012-08-27T23:12:11Z")
So how come Z couldn’t call up a shield against arrows when battling V’s enslaved archer? ---
**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 27, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4585 "2012-08-27T23:42:54Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So how come Z couldn’t call up a shield against arrows when battling V’s enslaved archer? Perhaps he didn’t have the spell memorized, because he’d optimized his spell choices for fighting a magic user? ---
**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 28, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4586 "2012-08-28T00:16:59Z")
Nice how RB remembered to give us the green flame effect when the [starmetal-enhanced sword is wielded against the Undead.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0297.html) ---
**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 28, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4587 "2012-08-28T00:49:18Z")
Well, yeah, there’s no way Roy could one-shot all of them like that without that. Mummies are pretty tough. (of course, the reason he’s able to do it to _all_ of them at once is that Roy’s Got Boobies.) ---
**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 28, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4588 "2012-08-28T02:57:59Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Perhaps he didn’t have the spell memorized, because he’d optimized his spell choices for fighting a magic user? [Exactly](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html). ---
**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:** [August 28, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4589 "2012-08-28T03:08:05Z")
I don’t get the title. Who did what to whose pelvis? ---
**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 28, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4590 "2012-08-28T03:15:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I don’t get the title. Who did what to whose pelvis? I think that’s in reference to Roy saying that they can fix their little Roy-induced physical problem when they resurrect them. ---
**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 28, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4591 "2012-08-28T03:42:13Z")
Well, I’m sure you’re right about that, **jayjay** , but the title is still a LITTLE difficult to follow. Does it have something to do with how Roy’s remains were treated while he was dead, or possibly his short stint as a bone golem? ---
**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 28, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4592 "2012-08-28T04:24:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Exactly](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html). Interesting that in that strip one might infer that V thinks Z is female. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4593 "2012-08-28T05:23:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I suspect that once the signed books and sketches go out we might see things speed up, although there are still the various e-rewards to come which are taking up his time and creative juices. And he still owes us a week or so of a strip-a-day (was it nine strips in a row, in the end?). > > And I did eventually get my Kickstarter loot, which is fab. _Start of Darkness_ in particular is a must-read for those who haven’t bothered yet. The other print-only books are entertaining but not quite as plot-arc-critical (or in the case of _Snips, Snails and Dragon Tail_, entirely incidental). > > The coloring book is fun too, and far too good for the likes of the child. Yeah, you’re right. Just a moment of irritation on my part. As for my Kickstarter rewards, I got _Dragon Tails,_ _War and XPs,_ the coloring book, the Roy magnet and the notepad. Love 'em all. _Dragon Tails_ is very entertaining. ---
**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 28, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4594 "2012-08-28T05:36:23Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Well, I’m sure you’re right about that, **jayjay** , but the title is still a LITTLE difficult to follow. Does it have something to do with how Roy’s remains were treated while he was dead, or possibly his short stint as a bone golem? [This](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html). Some people apparently still haven’t gotten the joke. Haley shot Roy’s corpse in the crotch. ---
**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 28, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4595 "2012-08-28T05:39:34Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Interesting that in that strip one might infer that V thinks Z is female. I wouldn’t read too much into it. Vaarsuvius is quoting Haley’s line and we’ve seen that V doesn’t think gender is a big deal. Not enough for a misquote anyway. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4596 "2012-08-28T05:52:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [This](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html). > > Some people apparently still haven’t gotten the joke. Haley shot Roy’s corpse in the crotch. So, Haley is a “they” now? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4597 "2012-08-28T09:29:26Z")
Interesting. For some reason I read that as a reference to Girard, who had had his own dead pelvis rifled earlier. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4598 "2012-08-28T10:09:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > So, Haley is a “they” now? it’s the same “they” that “can totally fix 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:** [August 28, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4599 "2012-08-28T19:27:47Z")
It’s the generic “they”. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4600 "2012-08-28T19:40:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, yeah, there’s no way Roy could one-shot all of them like that without that. Mummies are pretty tough. Really? Not so fast… The [SRD mummy](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/mummy.htm) has 55 HP. Undead aren’t subject to Critical Hits, but Roy’s sword likely does +2d6 (avg +7) as a Bane weapon. I’m guessing as an ordinary weapon it’s +3, so is +5 against undead. Roy has a +6 belt, so that’s +3 damage, on top of his base (likely 20). He likely uses Power Attack of another +11 with double damage for 2H weapon (+22) or even more as the mummies are flat footed and thus AC20. Plus Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus plus Weapon Specialisation, and Greater Weapon Specialisation. That’s +44. Base damage is 1d10 (average 6) so he does about 52 damage per hit, and up to 62, so it doesn’t take much damage from Haley’s magic arrows (remember that only the piercing damage from arrows is halved) or other prior damage for him to be able to one-shot them. As for one-shotting them all, he’s got Great Cleave. Roy is likely 15th level for a BAB of +15. With everything else his total BAB is +30 so he can afford +11 Power Attack and still hit the mummies’ AC of 20 on everything except a 1. And I’m ignoring any other bonuses that may apply. Basically, it’s entirely appropriate for Roy to one-shot the lot. ---
**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 28, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4601 "2012-08-28T19:55:19Z")
So what do you want to bet that V and Malack meet up soon? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=229) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=231)