# 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:** 35
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/681 "2010-04-12T21:58:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Are her wings batwings or feather wings? If batwings, she’s a succubus (demon/tanar’ri). If feather wings, she’s an erinyes (devil/baatezu). She has referred to herself as “literally an incarnation of illicit sex”. That means succubus. > [@shantih](#): > > I’m just confused as to why Rich Burlew would draw attention to a question mark about her nature if it isn’t going to affect the story in any way. I thought it was a joke about never remembering which material works for which sort of fiend. Compared to things like silver for lycanthropes, adamantine for objects and cold iron for fey, the materials for fiends are less obvious. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/682 "2010-04-12T22:15:51Z")
> [@](#): > > She has referred to herself as “literally an incarnation of illicit sex”. That means succubus. Or erinyes. That’s part of the joke: D&D has multiple different creatures that are evil incarnations of illicit sex. Yes, I know that the classical erinyes had nothing to do with sex, but that’s how they’re portrayed in the D&D books. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/683 "2010-04-16T23:04:34Z")
new strip ![http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0715.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0715.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:** [April 16, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/684 "2010-04-16T23:35:49Z")
It’s almost disappointing after all our speculation that it’s just a case of mistaken identity. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/685 "2010-04-17T00:05:26Z")
Hey, thanks to that poster, we now know Sabine is a demon! Right? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/686 "2010-04-17T00:25:01Z")
No, we just know that the makers of the poster think she is. And they obviously have incomplete information. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/687 "2010-04-17T00:26:40Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It’s almost disappointing after all our speculation that it’s just a case of mistaken identity. Actually, I think it’s great that The Giant came up with something that very few people guessed. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/688 "2010-04-17T00:56:39Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Hey, thanks to that poster, we now know Sabine is a demon! Right? We already did. Despite what **Chronos** says, erinyes in D&D are not incarnations of illicit sex, they’re fallen angels. Besides which, erinyes don’t have Sabine’s polymorph ability. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/689 "2010-04-17T02:27:11Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Actually, I think it’s great that The Giant came up with something that very few people guessed. Doesn’t make it compelling tho. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/690 "2010-04-17T02:32:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Doesn’t make it compelling tho. We have no way of knowing where it’s going. Burlew opened one of his compelling sequences by having a letter delivered. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/691 "2010-04-17T02:45:57Z")
> [@](#): > > We already did. Despite what Chronos says, erinyes in D&D are not incarnations of illicit sex, they’re fallen angels. I quote from the Monster Manual: > [@](#): > > Like their demonic counterparts, the succubi, erinyes seek to tempt mortals into depravity. And of course, their abilities and weapons have a bondage theme. And they look hot and routinely go around naked. But we do know that Sabine’s a succubus (and hence, a demon) because, as I mentioned earlier, one of her employers refers to her as such. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/692 "2010-04-17T03:01:13Z")
So, “Empress of Blood” – a new entry in the “nine sides”? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/693 "2010-04-17T03:52:09Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > So, “Empress of Blood” – a new entry in the “nine sides”? The [map shown a while back](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0698.html) included the Empire of Blood. Along with the Empires of Sweat and Tears. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/694 "2010-04-17T04:48:04Z")
> [@](#): > > So, “Empress of Blood” – a new entry in the “nine sides”? I’m doubting it. She’s after Nale and the Linear Guild. If she were a player in the Scribble War, she’d be after the genuine OOTS members. And the fact that she’s still looking for Yikyik, who’s been dead since strip #63, says that she’s not on top of the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/695 "2010-04-17T07:50:09Z")
Maybe it has something to do with Nale and Elan’s father, the evil warlord. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/696 "2010-04-17T16:14:02Z")
You suppose the “Empress of Blood” is going to have some info about the whereabouts of Girard (or his successors)? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/697 "2010-04-17T23:49:09Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > new strip! [715 Wanted - Giant in the Playground Games](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0715.html) See, see \*\*Alessan \*\*? What did I tell you about filler material ? 😃 I got a sixth sense for it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/698 "2010-04-18T04:55:00Z")
Well… I wouldn’t call Linear Guild stuff “filler”. It’s the series’ chief B-plot, and it needs to be resolved before the story ends. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/699 "2010-04-18T05:20:42Z")
A point of terminology: [this](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0301.html) is filler. The comics that deal with character development or B plots are not. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/700 "2010-04-18T21:18:22Z")
A case could be made for Miko’s arc being more important than the Linear Guild (at one point she literally had more appearances than any of the other antagonists), but now that she’s gone, the Linear Guild are easily the most important of the remaining subplots. The only other thing that even comes close is the bit with Haley’s dad, and that’s probably closely related to the Guild. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=36)