# 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:** 426
**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:** [January 13, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8503 "2014-01-13T19:08:46Z")
I wonder if the Dark One’s plan is to use the rift as a way to get all his goblinoid children over to the new planet so they could have their own world without being XP-fodder for the PC races. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8504 "2014-01-13T19:33:31Z")
As a Non-D&Der, why didn’t the healing potion fix Haley’s arm? ---
**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:** [January 13, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8505 "2014-01-13T19:52:00Z")
Apparently Burlew is choosing to not have it represented via hp which is what potions fix. Haley will need to have someone cast Regeneration on it. The potion would cure the damage she took as a result of the fracture but not the break itself. At least, this is my understanding. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8506 "2014-01-13T19:54:22Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I wonder if the Dark One’s plan is to use the rift as a way to get all his goblinoid children over to the new planet so they could have their own world without being XP-fodder for the PC races. I’ve speculated that Redcloak isn’t really following the Dark One’s Plan. Not intentionally - he thinks he’s loyally doing what his deity wants. But from what we’ve seen the Dark One just wanted a peaceful homeland so the goblins could be equals of the other races. Redcloak is letting his own xenophobia influence him into thinking the goblins have to overpower all the other races. Redcloak may have misinterpreted the Dark One’s [message](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0704.html) that Jirix relayed to him. Redcloak assumes he’s being ordered to continue what he thinks is the Plan. But the Dark One may be telling him he’s achieved the Plan by conquering Azure City and he shouldn’t risk losing all he’s gained by continuing on his quest for the Gates. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8507 "2014-01-13T19:54:35Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Apparently Burlew is choosing to not have it represented via hp which is what potions fix. Haley will need to have someone cast Regeneration on it. The potion would cure the damage she took as a result of the fracture but not the break itself. At least, this is my understanding. Indeed, [Regenerate](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/regenerate.htm) specifically cures broken bones, which would seem like an odd addition if the cure X wounds spells could do the same. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8508 "2014-01-13T20:01:28Z")
Is there a more mundane process built into the system as well? Could a PC for whatever reason choose to splint their arm and take a hit to Con or whatever to represent having a cast and let it heal naturally? Or do games just basically figure out a way to get you to someone who can Regenerate? ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8509 "2014-01-13T21:01:31Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8510 "2014-01-13T21:28:59Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Is there a more mundane process built into the system as well? Could a PC for whatever reason choose to splint their arm and take a hit to Con or whatever to represent having a cast and let it heal naturally? Or do games just basically figure out a way to get you to someone who can Regenerate? Not sure about the current version but back in my day you naturally recovered 1hp per day. There really wasn’t a mechanic for breaking bones in the first place but I suppose if you wanted a bone broken for plot purposes it would naturally heal but take you out of the action for a long while. I’m sure some sourcebook had more detailed rules for it. Even the 1hp/day thing is goofy. A commoner with 2hp recovers being near death in the same time a level 11 fighter recovers from a nasty paper cut. Best not to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8511 "2014-01-13T21:54:35Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Is there a more mundane process built into the system as well? Could a PC for whatever reason choose to splint their arm and take a hit to Con or whatever to represent having a cast and let it heal naturally? Or do games just basically figure out a way to get you to someone who can Regenerate? There are rules covering natural healing, but I don’t know any specific to broken bones. (There aren’t any game mechanics for breaking bones, either, really, so it’s not usually a problem.) Ability damage heals at 1 point per day naturally, or 2 points/day with complete bed rest, and the Heal skill can accelerate this by providing long-term care. At those recovery rates, you can’t really model the natural healing of a broken bone using the ability damage rules–even if you imposed a hefty -6 penalty, it would be healed in less than a week. You’d have to house-rule it. As a DM, this would be my first stab at it: 1. 2 points of Con damage, which heals normally. (Meaning it will be recovered long before the bone fully heals.) This represents the immediate trauma, pain, and fatigue associated with the injury. 2. Immediate -4 Dex penalty and -6 Strength penalty where relevant, -15 movement speed if a leg is broken, -5 for an arm. Setting the bone reduces the ability penalties by 50% and the movement penalty by 5 (assuming some form of crutch or walking stick is available in the case of a broken leg). The reduced penalties remain in effect until the bone is fully healed. No actions may be taken that involve using the broken limb(s) except basic movement, even after it’s set. (No shooting a bow with your arm in a cast.) 3. Make a Heal check to successfully set the break and immobilize the limb. Base DC is 15 for a simple fracture, with circumstance modifiers for worse breaks and other conditions. The DC goes up by 5 each day for 3 days, after which it is no longer possible to set the break. 4. Base 28 days for the break to fully heal. Under field conditions, maintaining this healing rate requires a successful long-term care Heal check each day. Any day on which the check fails doesn’t count. 5. Application of basic healing spells can slightly accelerate the process. Three castings of any Cure Wounds spell while the patient is not suffering any hit point damage will reduce the required time by 1 day; only 1 Cure Wounds spell per day is effective in this way. (So, you can reduce the base healing time by a week with good care and a daily healing spell.) 6. If the break is never properly set, it will still heal eventually. Add 50% to the healing time. After the break is healed, the character will retain permanent -1 Dex and Strength penalties, and a -5 penalty to movement if the broken limb was a leg. These penalties can be removed by a casting of Regenerate. (They could also potentially be removed by re-breaking the bone and setting it properly, but this would require substantially higher DCs on the Heal checks.) …and this is why the game has no mechanics for broken bones. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8512 "2014-01-13T22:39:38Z")
In current D&D, the rate of natural healing scales with level: It’s now 1 HP per level per day, so a 20th-level fighter will take about as long to recover from a near-death experience as a 1st-level one. It doesn’t vary with class, though, which still leads to weirdness when comparing classes with very different HP totals. Then again, though, in a world of Cure Wounds spells, natural healing is very seldom relevant for adventurers. And the rules cover using Regenerate to fix broken or severed limbs, but oddly enough don’t actually cover breaking or severing them in the first place. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8513 "2014-01-14T10:52:42Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > I just had an odd thought. Daddy Tarq is almost unhinged at this point. After a sufficient amount of brooding will he step into the rift at a moment of dramatic tension and pop up during the showdown between The Stick and Team Evil? I suspect Daddy Tarq has a few more setbacks to come first, particularly the “favor” that Laurin has in mind for him. He screwed up royally in this little personal escapade, getting his best friend killed and two others beat all to hell, and losing the gate and quite a lot of soldiers and a couple of dinosaurs for no gain whatsoever. Not only is he mad about it but I bet Laurin and Miron are pretty pissed too. And if they put Tarquin on a leash it’ll probably drive him over the edge. His story isn’t done, but I suspect he’ll have time to seethe for a while. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve speculated that Redcloak isn’t really following the Dark One’s Plan. Not intentionally - he thinks he’s loyally doing what his deity wants. But from what we’ve seen the Dark One just wanted a peaceful homeland so the goblins could be equals of the other races. Redcloak is letting his own xenophobia influence him into thinking the goblins have to overpower all the other races. I’ve been wondering if the Snarl story as we and they know it is either false or at least not the whole truth, either because the gods lied or because the gods themselves don’t understand what they created. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8514 "2014-01-14T13:47:40Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Not only is he mad about it but I bet Laurin and Miron are pretty pissed too. Especially Laurin; she not only got hurt, she got humiliated by an elf - a group she seems to have Issues with - _and_ she lost that Ioun Stone. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8515 "2014-01-14T15:54:04Z")
We _know_ that the Snarl story is at least not the whole truth, because it doesn’t account for the Other World. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8516 "2014-01-14T16:21:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We _know_ that the Snarl story is at least not the whole truth, because it doesn’t account for the Other World. Yes, but is that because the gods lied (to The Dark One and/or Soon etc) or because _they don’t know about it either_? Has the Snarl _made_ the Other World within its prison, or is this a world the gods are hiding? I’m guessing these are questions to be answered in the final book. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8517 "2014-01-14T20:23:04Z")
[938 up!](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0938.html) So Julio did recognize Elan’s resemblance to Tarquin, after all. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8518 "2014-01-14T20:35:38Z")
Tarquin would NOT like being described as “b-list.” It’s his defining fault that he doesn’t realize that he’s not the central plotline. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8519 "2014-01-14T20:40:14Z")
Well, every man is the star of HIS story. Just not all stories are the biggest story. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8520 "2014-01-14T22:29:22Z")
This is one of the best lines I’ve read in a long time; “A normal 10 minutes, not the decompressed 40-strips-equals-ten-minutes kind.” ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8521 "2014-01-15T02:35:49Z")
Sequal title - The Order of the Stick is Back: Strikes Empire. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/8522 "2014-01-15T04:49:22Z")
> [@blue\_infinity](#): > > Sequal title - > > The Order of the Stick is Back: Strikes Empire. With Belkar as the Phantom Menace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=425) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=427)