# 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:** 72
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1421 "2015-08-15T07:39:38Z")
You guys are talking like the gods know about the Dark One’s Plan. Chances are, they don’t know anything about it. Otherwise, they’d probably join together and squash him. Even the Dark One’s allies. Why? Because the Plan has nothing to do with giving goblinoids equality with the other races. Yes, that’s what the DO told Redcloak, but it’s an outright lie. Instead the Plan is to give the Dark One dominance over the other gods. Think about it, he’s an Evil god, of course he wants dominance. Also revenge. For this reason, the Dark One, if given a vote, will vote against destoying the world. Destroying the world would ruin the Plan and he’d have to fall back on working for equality in the next world. Which may or may not work. Implications of this: - the 10 to 15 minutes Loki was talking about refer to the time after the last gate is destroyed. Nothing to do with Xykon and Redcloak completing their ritual. - if the DO hears about the Godsmoot and what it’s voting on, he will try to vote in it. It may be that he heard about the moot but didn’t know the agenda, so decided to skip it. Then he learns the agenda at the last minute and tells RC to attend, even though he may be a bit late. Or he knew the agenda, but RC and X have to complete today’s ritual (must be repeated daily for a couple-three weeks at noon), so they’ll be late. Conclusion: Belkar’s fall is going to be broken by a Hello Kitty parasol. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1422 "2015-08-15T11:03:35Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > It appears that stick-world gods can, in fact, [listen to mortal conversations.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0137.html) They don’t listen any too well, but they do listen. That strip only proves they can hear other gods. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1423 "2015-08-15T11:34:56Z")
So, banjo actually is a god? 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 15, 2015, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1424 "2015-08-15T12:11:38Z")
He’s got worshippers and gets prayed to. Clearly that’s enough. After all, it’s how the Dark One got himself elevated. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1425 "2015-08-15T13:36:25Z")
And we’ve also seen Banjo smiting Roy. The evidence seems to be that he’s an extraordinarily weak god, but that he is indeed a god. And that was even before he converted the whole island of orcs. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1426 "2015-08-15T20:02:24Z")
I noted a green-Skinned creature in the first panel. Perhaps The Dark One has a representative there? ---
**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:** [August 15, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1427 "2015-08-15T21:37:36Z")
That’s an orc (or a half-orc, anyway – see: Bozzok and Therkla). Would they worship the Dark One, or is he strictly for goblinoids? Anyway, that’s irrelevant. The godsmoot isn’t made up of just _representatives_ of the gods; it’s mad up of the Chief Cleric of each god. And the Dark One’s Chief Cleric is the wearer of the Crimson Mantle. Redcloak. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1428 "2015-08-15T21:44:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > That strip only proves they can hear other gods. Are we reading the same strip? Thor is clearly listening and responding to what Elan is saying. There’s another example of the same joke later on, where celestial advisors of Thor are listening to Durkon and say something like “It’s best he doesn’t know”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1429 "2015-08-15T23:51:54Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Are we reading the same strip? Thor is clearly listening and responding to what Elan is saying. If Elan is serious, then _Elan_ is arguably reacting to Banjo – such that it’s entirely possible that _Thor_ is just reacting to Banjo likewise. > [@](#): > > There’s another example of the same joke later on, where celestial advisors of Thor are listening to Durkon and say something like “It’s best he doesn’t know”. Wouldn’t that prove Thor’s celestial advisors, and not Thor, hear Durkon in said strip? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1430 "2015-08-16T01:05:39Z")
The (half-)orc wasn’t one of the clerics, anyway. He was up in the gallery, where Roy and the other bodyguards were. There are a few half-orc adventurers around, and apparently one of them hired on to guard a cleric. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1431 "2015-08-16T02:09:23Z")
I’m just going to stick with the super obvious explanation. The gods can see what’s going on in the mortal world if they’re paying attention, but more often than not are busy with something else. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1432 "2015-08-16T02:35:23Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > The gods can see what’s going on in the mortal world if they’re paying attention, but more often than not are busy with something else. [But they’re always ready to drop what they’re doing if something important comes up.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0040.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:** [August 16, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1433 "2015-08-16T03:48:05Z")
But you’d think that the Godsmoot would be something that they’d pay attention to. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1434 "2015-08-16T05:41:20Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Are we reading the same strip? Thor is clearly listening and responding to what Elan is saying. There’s another example of the same joke later on, where celestial advisors of Thor are listening to Durkon and say something like “It’s best he doesn’t know”. You’re missing a point. The gods can hear other gods. Odin and Thor can hear Banjo’s application because Banjo \*is \*a god. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1435 "2015-08-16T12:44:06Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > You’re missing a point. The gods can hear other gods. Odin and Thor can hear Banjo’s application because Banjo \*is \*a god. But _Elan_ is the one who says “Banjo doesn’t want to be in your rotten pantheon anyway”. And Thor hears that. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1436 "2015-08-16T12:54:52Z")
Maybe Banjo said that, and Elan heard him and related it to the priests. And Thor heard him, too. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1437 "2015-08-16T19:05:57Z")
I’m never sure how seriously I should take the gag strips. I mean it’s sort of interesting to treat them as canon, but also a little odd as they weren’t written with that in mind. To take another example, I say that Belkar _might_ be evil [due to a lack of wisdom](http://oots.wikia.com/wiki/First_Aid), but only if Rich decides to run with that idea. Which, it appears, he does. I say the gods can’t hear non-priests during the godsmoot, because we’ve been told that. I’m guessing that Rich is going with the shtick where the gods hear priests and clerics, but that’s it. The gods might hear Elan when he’s acting as the priest of Banjo, but not necessarily. Rule of funny rules. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1438 "2015-08-17T16:55:37Z")
We don’t know what the Gods know. All we know is that Loki’s a trickster and his saying “hey, you guys still have like 10 minutes after the gates blow up. What’s the hurry?” might be done for shits and giggles. You’d think the Gods who created the Snarl and created its containment would know it’s a lie. But again, we don’t know what the Gods know. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1439 "2015-08-17T20:11:32Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > We don’t know what the Gods know. Perhaps not, but I get the impression that OOTS gods are no smarter than Discworld gods, i.e., not very. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1440 "2015-08-17T20:27:44Z")
“The Gods can only hear each other” – 😕 So what’s the point of prayer?! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=73)