# 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:** 245
**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:** [February 13, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4882 "2013-02-13T01:17:35Z")
$5 says Mr. Scruffy rips Malack’s lizard lips off. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4883 "2013-02-13T02:06:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > $5 says Mr. Scruffy rips Malack’s lizard lips off. I’m gonna guess the elf finally shows up. (Possibly after some feline lip rending.) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4884 "2013-02-13T02:43:11Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > [New strip.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0869.html) > > Looks bad for Belkor. Best case scenario for Belkar, Malack just leaves him there. As I said earlier, there’s no chance this could be a fair fight. High-level clerics are just too powerful for a ranger to have a chance one-on-one, especially without preparation. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4885 "2013-02-13T04:31:58Z")
Belkar is slated to ‘breathe his last’, but I expected it to be during some epic melee, not a one-on-one encounter. My bet is that he survives this through some ‘plot complication’. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4886 "2013-02-13T04:52:48Z")
It’s fun how Malak gets all affable sometimes: “So we agree to kill each other? Excellent!” Also, Belkar’s grasp of Genre Savvy seems weak if he thinks saying that line is protection from harm. Genre Savvy only rains anvils on your head when you assume you’re safe. Depending on the Genre, of course. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4887 "2013-02-13T11:49:35Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > [New strip.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0869.html) > > Looks bad for Belkor. He gets a new save [every round](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/holdPerson.htm). ---
**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:** [February 13, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4888 "2013-02-13T12:48:57Z")
Well, that was hardly “Crouching Belkar, Hidden Malack.” I think Malack will make an offer to Belkar or just leave him be. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4889 "2013-02-13T14:55:55Z")
Or this is where Belkar gets turned into some badass undead and therefore ‘breathes his last’. I have no doubt that Malack can do so. Honestly, Malack is a great, sympathetic evil character. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4890 "2013-02-13T20:25:51Z")
Y’know, after all this time, I just realized that the triangle on Mr. Scruffy’s face is his nose, not his mouth. I was assuming he was a friendly cat that was always smiling because it was happy to be around Belkar. ---
**Author:** ![MHaye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MHaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaye)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4891 "2013-02-16T11:51:34Z")
On the subject of Belkar’s Wis score, I was under the impression that Wis was the Belkster’s dump stat - iirc, when he and Miko were discussing who was the better tracker, Miko had a higher Wis score as well as more ranks in Survival (and the Track feat to make use of it). Of course, Miko benefited from having a Wis bonus, because she’s a Monk. (Also, Miko never gave up her Lawful principles iirc, so it’s highly unlikely she and Belkar could share an afterlife.) ---
**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:** [February 16, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4892 "2013-02-16T15:31:16Z")
Both a paladin and a ranger _should_ benefit from having a decent Wis score, since they both have Wis-based spellcasting. The difference is, Belkar just decided that he didn’t give a damn about 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:** [February 16, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4893 "2013-02-16T15:34:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Both a paladin and a ranger _should_ benefit from having a decent Wis score, since they both have Wis-based spellcasting. The difference is, Belkar just decided that he didn’t give a damn about that. That’s the irony about Belkar. He doesn’t have enough Wisdom to realize that having Wisdom would benefit him. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4894 "2013-02-17T02:29:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Both a paladin and a ranger _should_ benefit from having a decent Wis score, since they both have Wis-based spellcasting. The difference is, Belkar just decided that he didn’t give a damn about that. Everybody benefits from a decent Wis score, if only for your Will saves, it’s a question of whether you’ll benefit from it more than a decent score elsewhere. Of course, the smart thing to do is to use Alternate Class Features to lose your spellcasting officially, so you get something else in return. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4895 "2013-02-18T19:04:22Z")
Uhhh… What the hell? Is there something about the habits of lizardfolk that I should know about? [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0870.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0870.html) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4896 "2013-02-18T19:08:01Z")
Is Malack a vampire of some kind? That would explain his not eating at the banquet, but not how he hangs out in the sun. Or is there a high-level cleric spell that could fix that? ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4897 "2013-02-18T19:17:26Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Is Malack a vampire of some kind? That would explain his not eating at the banquet, but not how he hangs out in the sun. Or is there a high-level cleric spell that could fix that? Vampires in 3ed aren’t weak against sunlight. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4898 "2013-02-18T19:19:45Z")
It would possibly make sense that a priest of the god of death would be undead himself. If so, this is quite a clever way to fulfill the Oracle’s prophecy and still have Belkar hanging around. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4899 "2013-02-18T19:28:09Z")
The comic has the same name as the issue of Batman where Robin was killed by the Joker. And I was very wrong in my prediction. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4900 "2013-02-18T19:57:43Z")
It’s entirely plausible that Malack has a magic item that mitigates his weakness to sunlight. Sadly, one of the rules of being turned into a vampire is that you will be shunned by your familiar or animal companion, unless it is a bat or rat. Mr. Scruffy and Belkar are about to part ways, permanently. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/4901 "2013-02-18T20:04:36Z")
By the way, yes, [vampires are vulnerable to sunlight](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/vampire.htm). > [@](#): > > Exposing any vampire to direct sunlight disorients it: It can take only a single move action or attack action and is destroyed utterly in the next round if it cannot escape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=244) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=246)