# 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:** 72
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1421 "2010-12-01T18:47:12Z")
Damn. Tarquin is a meta-gamer. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1422 "2010-12-01T19:06:12Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > And those really sucky last ten minutes. The last ten minutes is _usually_ sucky, so that really isn’t a bad point in the plan. 😛 Let’s see… he referenced _Star Wars_, _Phantom of the Paradise_…who lost an eye to his father when confronting him early? ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1423 "2010-12-01T19:10:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The last ten minutes is _usually_ sucky, so that really isn’t a bad point in the plan. 😛 > > Let’s see… he referenced _Star Wars_, _Phantom of the Paradise_…who lost an eye to his father when confronting him early? Well, in Teen Titans, Rose Wilson (aka Ravager) plucked out her eye to prove to her father Slade (aka Deathstroke) that she was just like him. Not QUITE what we’re looking for, though… ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1424 "2010-12-01T19:17:25Z")
I think the burn on the face is a reference to Zuko, from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, though of course that’s Elan’s reference, not Tarq’s. > [@](#): > > And, although I am and have always been firmly ensconced in the upper half of the moral/ethical grid, I do find his subversion of Elan’s assertion that a hero WILL destroy his empire to be really enjoyable! Which half is that? I’ve always pictured the alignment grid with Good on the left and Chaos on the top, but everyone seems to set it up differently. Personally, I think that Tarquin was too smart for his own good in this strip. Had he just kept his mouth shut, then things would have gone as he described, Elan would have eventually defeated him, and he’d have his long reign and perpetual fame. As it is, though, by declaring such a situation a victory for himself, now the inevitable defeat of evil must logically _also_ involve a rapiering of that part of his plans, too. I’m guessing that he gets eaten by the Empress, which would move him from the Awesome Villain category into the Hoist by his Own Petard category, legendary only as a bad example for others to avoid. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1425 "2010-12-01T19:25:09Z")
Elan is already acquainted with wearing an eyepatch. But that was so long ago, I doubt it was foreshadowing of him losing an eye to Tarquin. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1426 "2010-12-01T19:53:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which half is that? I’ve always pictured the alignment grid with Good on the left and Chaos on the top, but everyone seems to set it up differently. Standard (and by standard I mean I have _never_ seen it illustrated any other way) is to have Lawful, Neutral, Chaos going left to right, and Good, Neutral, Evil going top to bottom. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1427 "2010-12-01T20:05:12Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Standard (and by standard I mean I have _never_ seen it illustrated any other way) is to have Lawful, Neutral, Chaos going left to right, and Good, Neutral, Evil going top to bottom. Yup. I don’t know what this new 4th ed LawfulGood-to-ChaoticEvil pyramid thing that I’ve heard about is, but it’s no way to run a cosmology, dammit… ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1428 "2010-12-01T22:06:16Z")
Something in me is wondering about glasses of the red liquid Taquin was drinking. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1429 "2010-12-01T23:48:52Z")
A little _Sangre de Toro_, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1430 "2010-12-01T23:59:24Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Standard (and by standard I mean I have _never_ seen it illustrated any other way) is to have Lawful, Neutral, Chaos going left to right, and Good, Neutral, Evil going top to bottom. I just pulled out my old copy of _Chainmail_. Law on the left, Neutral in the middle, Chaos on the right. And, of course, there’s none of this newfangled “Good & Evil” nonsense… . ---
**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:** [December 2, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1431 "2010-12-02T14:51:24Z")
Remember, Elan’s going to get a Happy Ending. Think maybe he can redeem his dad? ---
**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:** [December 2, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1432 "2010-12-02T15:05:24Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Think maybe he can redeem his dad? Only if the Empress is about to eat him. Then Tarquin will come to the Light, grab the Empress, raise her over his head and… be crushed to death by her enormous bulk. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1433 "2010-12-02T15:42:16Z")
Good lord. Tarquin is a perfect foil to Elan; he uses the same careful meta-analysis of dramatic structure to reach the exact opposite conclusion. Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1434 "2010-12-02T15:43:45Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Remember, Elan’s going to get a Happy Ending. > > Think maybe he can redeem his dad? Or Haley knows massage techniques. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1435 "2010-12-02T16:03:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not seeing that one. His perfectly mundane plan for conquest is working quite well, thank you. Why rock the boat? He has very little to gain, and plenty to lose. But others are trying to seize the Snarl for reasons that would interfere with his plans. Tarquin might want the Snarl just to prevent others from using it against him. And, as I’ve already noted, the only thing we know about Tarquin’s plans is what Tarquin said. It’s clear he’s easily capable to telling Elan a complete line of lies if that’s what works to complete some other plan. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1436 "2010-12-09T20:06:36Z")
New strip [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0764.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0764.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:** [December 9, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1437 "2010-12-09T20:28:35Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > New strip > [764 Small Talk - Giant in the Playground Games](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0764.html) Anyone wants to take a stab as to what they are discussing about in the background? ---
**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:** [December 9, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1438 "2010-12-09T20:39:47Z")
> [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](#): > > Anyone wants to take a stab as to what they are discussing about in the background? Stabbing probably did come up. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1439 "2010-12-09T20:51:27Z")
And puns, too. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1440 "2010-12-09T22:17:14Z")
". . . I’m not going to repeat the conversation we all just had. . . " _snerk_ Nicely done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=73)