# 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:** 31
**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:** [November 13, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/601 "2014-11-13T16:26:58Z")
I, for one, am happy to not see an orange dot floating next to V’s head for the next umpteen hundred pages regardless of what rule tweaking made it happen. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/602 "2014-11-21T03:14:02Z")
New comic. Really. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/603 "2014-11-21T03:16:08Z")
[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0968.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0968.html) Sorry for the delay. This tablet sucks for cutting and pasting. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/604 "2014-11-21T03:21:05Z")
Well, two interesting things I get from this one. [spoiler]First, that it’s both known and apparently normal that vampires are not controlled by their pre-death mortal souls. Which means that Durkon isn’t a special case there, and that it’s possible the party will stumble on that knowledge at some point. And it also gives us a clue as to why Vamp-Durkon came up with the idea of going to various temples, he’s looking for info of some kind.[/spoiler] ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/605 "2014-11-21T03:37:22Z")
Why spoiler tags? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/606 "2014-11-21T03:51:39Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Well, two interesting things I get from this one. > > First, that it’s both known and apparently normal that vampires are not controlled by their pre-death mortal souls. Which means that Durkon isn’t a special case there, and that it’s possible the party will stumble on that knowledge at some point. I got the opposite impression, going by Durkevil’s eagerness to prevent the gnome cleric from bringing it up. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And it also gives us a clue as to why Vamp-Durkon came up with the idea of going to various temples, he’s looking for info of some kind. Or an artifact. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/607 "2014-11-21T08:05:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I got the opposite impression, going by Durkevil’s eagerness to prevent the gnome cleric from bringing it up. > > Or an artifact. Yes; Giant specifically says in the forum thread that the scene wasn’t meant to show that _clerics_ know, but that _only one_ cleric knew. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/608 "2014-11-21T08:08:39Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Or an artifact. Or other high-level clerics who could be potential threats. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/609 "2014-11-21T11:17:24Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Why spoiler tags? It was right after the post with the link to the comic and I didn’t want to spoil anything for anyone who glanced down. A habit I have in threads like this one. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/610 "2014-11-21T13:23:19Z")
I was a little surprised at how easily Durkula dominated the cleric, who should have gotten a will negation. What’s more concerning is if Durkferatu is building up a squad of dominated clerics that will go on a rampage as soon as he leaves town. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/611 "2014-11-21T14:02:30Z")
Can vampires control their dominated subjects telepathically like that? As in Durkon didn’t tell the cleric how to end his statement, it was just “_Zoop!_” dominated then the cleric changes his remarks. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/612 "2014-11-21T14:51:30Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Can vampires control their dominated subjects telepathically like that? As in Durkon didn’t tell the cleric how to end his statement, it was just “_Zoop!_” dominated then the cleric changes his remarks. Yep, their domination ability works like [Dominate Person](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dominatePerson.htm), which allows them telepathic control of their subject. (well, if the subject speaks a language they speak. Otherwise they’re limited to basic commands) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/613 "2014-11-21T15:27:49Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It was right after the post with the link to the comic and I didn’t want to spoil anything for anyone who glanced down. A habit I have in threads like this one. One that is appreciated, at least by me. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/614 "2014-11-21T16:05:32Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Yep, their domination ability works like [Dominate Person](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dominatePerson.htm), which allows them telepathic control of their subject. (well, if the subject speaks a language they speak. Otherwise they’re limited to basic commands) Thought that might be the case but was thrown by [times like this](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0957.html). I realize that Durkon saying it also lets the reader know what actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/615 "2014-11-21T17:34:43Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Thought that might be the case but was thrown by [times like this](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0957.html). I realize that Durkon saying it also lets the reader know what actually happened. Well, the last thing Belkar did was question “What do you say to _ **that** _?”, so it would be appropriate to have a verbal response. The real problem is the spell-description includes “Obviously self-destructive orders are not carried out.” but rule of funny. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/616 "2014-11-22T16:23:11Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I was a little surprised at how easily Durkula dominated the cleric, who should have gotten a will negation. I’m no expert on D&D or its rules, but I thought that 1. That cleric had already been established as too low of a level to do what Roy needed 2. Durkon by himself is a pretty high level Cleric 3. The vampire ability gives, IIRC, an additional 5 levels to an already high level Durkon Adding all that together means that Durkoff would be a completely overwhelming force to that entire temple. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/617 "2014-11-22T17:41:33Z")
More or less. The vampires dominate ability has a save DC of 10 + 1/2 the vamps hit dice\* + their charisma modifier. Being a cleric, Durkon’s charisma was sleep ready probably decent, despite dwarves penalty to CHA, but vampires get another +4 on top of that. The save for Durkon’s dominate would probably be in the low 20s at the least. Assuming an 18 wisdom on the cleric, he’d have to at around 10th level just to have a 50/50 chance of making the save, and that guy looked like some sort of novitiate. Probably the guy in the temple everyone else makes fun of because he reads a lot of book. He’d probably get on real well with Roy. \*hit dice are essentially levels for monsters. Being turned into a vamp doesn’t give you extra HD, so this would just be Durkon’s cleric levels, which are probably around 15 or so. ---
**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 1, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/618 "2014-12-01T14:54:52Z")
**New Strip #969** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0969.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0969.html) ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/619 "2014-12-01T15:15:46Z")
Oh Belkar, you have to learn that alignment has consequences. Although seriously, previously Belkar would have gone for it with the gnome girl. I wonder if the giant is portraying him as tending towards neutral, and Chekov’s amulet will be the thing that shows his change at some point in the future. ---
**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, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/620 "2014-12-01T16:46:59Z")
Am I the only one who thought the gnome was cute? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=32)