# Order of the Stick - Book 6 Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755 "2014-03-03T16:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 206
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4102 "2018-02-10T14:39:54Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I couldn’t post this on the GitP boards, because they frown on discussions of the update frequency. But here, we’re free of such constraints. Feh. Bunch of whiners. They should try being fans of _A Song of Fire and Ice_. They’d be looking at gaps of 2 years, 2 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7 (and counting) years. Granted, those are books, not strips but still… ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4103 "2018-02-10T15:26:09Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The strip has made him a LOT of money - over a million dollars - and OOTS products like the calendar and chapter books continue to sell well. Just to clarify GG’s point, the \*\*online \*\*strip doesn’t make him any money. His profit comes from sale of books and merchandise. ---
**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 10, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4104 "2018-02-10T16:35:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Quartz** , that million dollars was gross, not net. Most of it went to the cost of printing up a whole bunch of books for backers. I expect he still cleared 30%. ---
**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 10, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4105 "2018-02-10T17:20:18Z")
30% would be a phenomenally huge margin, in publishing. I’d expect more like 5%. Granted, some backers pledged a lot more than the cost of books, to get things like custom artwork, and his margin would be much higher on those. But I don’t know what proportion of the million-plus dollars those amounted to. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4106 "2018-02-12T12:40:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I expect he still cleared 30%. I expect he didn’t come close to that. 10% of what the Kickstarter raised came off immediately as fees to Kickstarter and the payment service provider. After that, not only did he have to pay for the vast amount of material required to fulfil rewards, the packing and shipping costs were also huge (remember that these were part of the Kickstarter total too). And he had to fund the print runs of the books the whole thing was started to find. And at the end of all that there was a large whack of tax, which could only be avoided by spending as much of the money possible on business costs including the aforementioned stock. So what he had at the end is a lot of books to be sold in future, representing his continuing income for the strip. Actual cash left over at the end was likely relatively low - 5% is probably highly optimistic if you exclude the income from the sales of the funded stock. And in return he committed to literally years of work (even excluding the accident-related delay) fulfilling the various rewards. On the whole it’s not a lucrative career. ---
**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 12, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4107 "2018-02-12T15:22:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 30% would be a phenomenally huge margin, in publishing. I’d expect more like 5%. His printing costs were predicated on a much lower volume, so he would have got a lot more profit from that side thanks to economies of scale. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4108 "2018-02-20T15:34:50Z")
[#1113 - On Her Honor](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1113.html) ---
**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 20, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4109 "2018-02-20T15:44:02Z")
Leave it to Loki to find a loophole in the rules. ---
**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 20, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4110 "2018-02-20T15:56:41Z")
Loki IS the loophole in the rules. Every system needs an escape valve for overpressure situations, right? That’s his role. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4111 "2018-02-21T01:19:50Z")
I love Elan’s comment to Hilgya about at Haley’s characterization in the first books, > [@](#): > > “Also, don’t take it personally if Haley says or does something that implies she doesn’t trust you. You have no idea how much progress her not saying so to your face represents.” Just brings home to me how much the art and dialogue have improved in OOTS since it was mainly a vehicle for jokes about 3.5 and other D&D things. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4112 "2018-03-12T15:55:43Z")
[#1114 - Better Served Cold Anyway](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1114.html) ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4113 "2018-03-12T16:39:11Z")
“Two very nice human lawyers”. Heh. I was going to ask how one sets fire to a cave but I suppose all the furnishings burn. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4114 "2018-03-12T18:25:06Z")
Okay, I like Hilgya even more after this comic. And I LOVE the Gelatinous Cube race! With “riders” somehow as well! Good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4115 "2018-03-12T18:55:56Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Two very nice human lawyers”. Heh. Somewhat disappointed we didn’t get to see them this time. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4116 "2018-03-12T20:49:57Z")
And apparently, ze goggles, zey do somethink. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4117 "2018-03-12T21:44:26Z")
It appears Elan can still only spot evil when it’s associated with large flames. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4118 "2018-03-12T21:47:42Z")
“Trapped by honor and tradition and possibly an undiagnosed brain injury…” ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4119 "2018-03-12T21:49:49Z")
Eh, he knows Belkar is evil, and the two of them get along pretty well, too. How well people get along in this strip seems to be more a function of the ethical component of their alignment, not the moral component. And besides, she is in fact offering them valuable help in their Fight to Save the World, and there’s no sense in passing that up. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4120 "2018-03-12T22:32:39Z")
Plus they still have Chaos to talk about. Shared middle ground! ---
**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:** [March 12, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/4121 "2018-03-12T23:13:50Z")
‘Bet it all on #8’. Heh. There are only 3 runners … err wobblers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=205) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=207)