# 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:** 96
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1901 "2011-04-06T13:50:24Z")
If it’s still stuck in the wall next strip, I’m calling Chekov’s Spear. And so, the bounty hunters make their escape, to re-appear in Reel 5. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1902 "2011-04-06T14:09:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > to re-appear in Reel 5. What’s “Reel 5” ? ---
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1903 "2011-04-06T14:14:16Z")
In any old Republic serial, if any interesting secondary character escaped, disappeared mysteriously or the like, you could count on them re-appearing at a key moment near the end of the story. For that matter, playwrights having been doing the same thing with characters since the dawn of drama. _ **Petruchio:** [to Lucentio/Viola] I hope that we meet again. Probably in the fourth act._ ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1904 "2011-04-06T14:57:43Z")
How does confiscating the bounty reward equal a 50,000 gp profit? If anything, it’s just a wash as it was their money to begin with. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1905 "2011-04-06T15:24:25Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > How does confiscating the bounty reward equal a 50,000 gp profit? If anything, it’s just a wash as it was their money to begin with. Money they’d already paid out so it was now the bounty hunters’ money. Once it’s spent, their previous ownership of it is irrelevant for accounting purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1906 "2011-04-06T15:33:46Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Money they’d already paid out so it was now the bounty hunters’ money. Once it’s spent, their previous ownership of it is irrelevant for accounting purposes. But there had to be a tally of “-50,000 GP: bounty paid” somewhere on the sheet. You can’t start your calculations at a convenient spot just to call it a profit. What, does this lackey accountant subcontract at Enron? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1907 "2011-04-06T15:54:35Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But there had to be a tally of “-50,000 GP: bounty paid” somewhere on the sheet. You can’t start your calculations at a convenient spot just to call it a profit. What, does this lackey accountant subcontract at Enron? He started the calculation at their capture, as he said. If you’re trying to figure out how much money made by taking a certain action, calculating events that occur after that action is the only reasonable way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Heller\_Highwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@Heller\_Highwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heller_Highwater)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1908 "2011-04-06T16:54:12Z")
It’s not just the bounty, though, that was confiscated. It’s also all their equipment (weapons, armor, magic items, etc.) and any gold they may have already had on them. When you lump all that in together, I’d imagine that you could pretty easily turn a profit, or at least break even. If you consider that it’s two relatively high-level characters (I’d believe **Alessan** ’s calculation; it sounds pretty reasonable, although I haven’t done the math myself), it should be even easier to make a profit. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1909 "2011-04-06T17:37:04Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Sometimes Burlew’s lack of visual perspective makes things confusing…for a good 40 seconds, I thought the spear stuck _in the air_, on some kind of magical shield or something. It finally dawned on me that it actually stuck in the wall behind him. _Wall!_ The spear stuck in the _wall_! I came in here breathlessly excited to speculate on what sort of magical force field Tarquin had around him and how that would play out in the larger story, but the spear stuck in the _wall._ So, um, … never mind, then. Carry on. ---
**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 6, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1910 "2011-04-06T18:09:24Z")
All that said, I find it hard to believe a cheap gladiator spear is worth 2gp. ---
**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 6, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1911 "2011-04-06T18:21:41Z")
I don’t understand the calculation. Why does throwing a spear increase the profit by 2? ---
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1912 "2011-04-06T18:22:49Z")
They get to keep the spear, rather than having it be “expended in battle.” ---
**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 6, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1913 "2011-04-06T18:54:04Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I don’t understand the calculation. Why does throwing a spear increase the profit by 2? It’s like the $3 your employer gets back if they manage to grab the box of paperclips out of your pocket before you’re escorted out the door the day you’re fired. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1914 "2011-04-06T18:58:08Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > _Wall!_ The spear stuck in the _wall_! I came in here breathlessly excited to speculate on what sort of magical force field Tarquin had around him and how that would play out in the larger story, but the spear stuck in the _wall._ > > So, um, … never mind, then. > > Carry on. Another vote for: “I thought it was an invisible force field.” :o ---
**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 6, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1915 "2011-04-06T18:59:40Z")
If it were a force field, it would have probably bounced off instead of sticking. And if it DID stick, you’d be able to see the point inside the field. ---
**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 6, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1916 "2011-04-06T20:32:18Z")
Quoth **Alessan** : > [@](#): > > Wealth By Level. > > Based on my handy table, that probably puts them at Level 9 (ignoring ECL). At least level 13, but probably not 14. You have to use the NPC table. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1917 "2011-04-06T22:33:22Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But there had to be a tally of “-50,000 GP: bounty paid” somewhere on the sheet. You can’t start your calculations at a convenient spot just to call it a profit. What, does this lackey accountant subcontract at Enron? But you have to start your calculation somewhere. Those two lizard guys have presumably been collecting bounties in the Empire for years. Should the kobold’s tally include the previous bounty they’d claimed? Or the one before that? Seems to me, the logical place to start calculating “how much money have I gained since this guy started pissing me off,” is the point where he started pissing you off. The original bounty doesn’t count, because that was a genuine expense paid to an independent contractor for services rendered. It wasn’t until they crossed the Empire that the meter starts running. ---
**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 6, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1918 "2011-04-06T22:48:38Z")
In economic terms, the other factor that needs to be considered is that Gannji and Enor were paid for a service - bringing in Elan and his companions. (And they were only paid a reduced bounty of 8000 gp’s not the full 50000 gp’s they would have received for Nale.) Tarquin ended up taking back the bounty plus their other money and still had Elan. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1919 "2011-04-07T17:34:44Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But there had to be a tally of “-50,000 GP: bounty paid” somewhere on the sheet. You can’t start your calculations at a convenient spot just to call it a profit. What, does this lackey accountant subcontract at Enron? Tarquin=evil, so that is not outside the realm of the possible. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/1920 "2011-04-07T21:19:13Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > All that said, I find it hard to believe a cheap gladiator spear is worth 2gp. The people at the GitP board have started a bidding war over the spear. As a souvenir, you know. Extra if it’s autographed by Tarquin. I know Rich refuses to take fan suggestions on general principle… but it would be funny if Tarquin auctioned it off on T-Bay or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=95) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=97)