# 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:** 87
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1721 "2015-09-12T14:22:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > No, he got it because his poetry was so awful, you’d sooner drive a railway spike into your ear than listen to any of it. Kind of both, I think. As quoted above, the Watcher’s journals record that William the Bloody tortured victims with railroad spikes. In a flashback in a later season, we see that William Pratt (the human who would become Spike) was a bad poet, and “friends” of his remarked they’d rather be tortured with railroad spikes than have to listen to it. One easily imagines that shortly after Drusilla made him a vampire he gave those fellow the chance to make a more informed comparison, if you take my meaning. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1722 "2015-09-12T14:34:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Quartz** : > > If Durkula has cast Magic Vestment, he gets another +3 AC which means Roy hits on a 7+ or better even with four negative levels. Again, Roy still hits most of the time. That’s a +8, not a +3: He can and probably would cast it on both his armor and his shield. He only needs to cast each once per day, and third-level spell slots are cheap at his level. And he’s probably 16th level, so +4 from each casting, not +3. Or maybe a +10, if he’s using a String of Prayer Beads before his morning buff routine, which is very realistic for a cleric of his level. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1723 "2015-09-12T15:03:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s a +8, not a +3: He can and probably would cast it on both his armor and his shield. But he’s not actually using his shield. > [@](#): > > He only needs to cast each once per day, and third-level spell slots are cheap at his level. And he’s probably 16th level, so +4 from each casting, not +3. The [Class & Level Geekery](http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?392439-Class-and-Level-Geekery-XIII-Comic-As-Written-not-Comic-As-Intended)thread on the GiantITP board says he’s level 14, so he only gets +3. > [@](#): > > Or maybe a +10, if he’s using a String of Prayer Beads before his morning buff routine, which is very realistic for a cleric of his level. He’s not known to have those. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1724 "2015-09-12T17:03:45Z")
The C&LG thread concerns itself with the minimum proven, not with the most likely. He’s known to be at least 14, but I don’t think 16 has been ruled out, and it’s hard to see how he would be two levels behind Vaarsuvius. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1725 "2015-09-12T17:59:56Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Again, Roy still hits most of the time. Of course he does, he’s a high level Fighter. But at these levels, the point of AC is not to avoid the full BAB attacks, which are pretty much going to land all the time because BAB grows much faster than AC does. AC remains relevant to not get tagged by the second, third, fourth etc… attacks. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1726 "2015-09-12T18:12:47Z")
And to prevent your opponents from using Power Attack, or at least force them to use it for less. Except that in this case, the vampire’s AC is probably actually high enough that even Roy’s first attack doesn’t hit “pretty much all the time”. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1727 "2015-09-12T19:15:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I’m seeing that second to last letter as an L – it’s less hookier on top than the second from first. Besides Schkrlt sounds wetter. Nonsense. It’s clearly “Schkrct!” (Who doesn’t love arguing about the most pointless details?) ---
**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:** [September 12, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1728 "2015-09-12T19:47:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The C&LG thread concerns itself with the minimum proven, not with the most likely. He’s known to be at least 14, but I don’t think 16 has been ruled out, and it’s hard to see how he would be two levels behind Vaarsuvius. Roy is also expected to be level 16. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1729 "2015-09-13T13:51:46Z")
To chime in on what is clearly the most significant element of this strip, Durkevil is definitely lying on either carpet or a decorative flooring; if you look closely at the floor of that upper level shown in the last three panels, it’s an even pattern unbroken by the window sides as you would expect if it were sunlight coming through the windows. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1730 "2015-09-13T18:21:53Z")
It’s more obvious if you look at other pages, where you can for instance see the [pattern going up stairs](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0995.html), and visible on both the horizontals and verticals. Also a T-junction in the corridor, where there is a visible gap between the patterns in each direction. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1731 "2015-09-13T20:10:06Z")
Well, if folks are speculating on a “he’s in the sunlight/dispel magic/Durkevil gets toasted” end to this fight, that would be a strange and premature end to the Durkon plot line. There’s a lot of Chekov’s plot elements that have been set up since they left The Empire of Blood in terms of Durkon’s memories. And technically speaking, I don’t think Durkon has fulfilled the oracle’s prophecy by returning home in his posthumous state, and if he gets BTVS dusted, there won’t be anything to bring back. Also, how would Roy dispel the protection from sunlight buff? It’s not in his skill set. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1732 "2015-09-13T20:51:54Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > … if he gets BTVS dusted, there won’t be anything to bring back… Is this correct? My understanding is that a pile of dust \*can \*be rezzed. [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/resurrection.htm](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/resurrection.htm) \*The condition of the remains is not a factor. So long as some small portion of the creature’s body still exists, it can be resurrected, but the portion receiving the spell must have been part of the creature’s body at the time of death. (The remains of a creature hit by a disintegrate spell count as a small portion of its body.) You can resurrect someone … who has been turned into an undead creature and then destroyed. \* ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1733 "2015-09-14T01:38:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is this correct? My understanding is that a pile of dust \*can \*be rezzed. > > [Resurrection :: d20srd.org](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/resurrection.htm) > > \*The condition of the remains is not a factor. So long as some small portion of the creature’s body still exists, it can be resurrected, but the portion receiving the spell must have been part of the creature’s body at the time of death. (The remains of a creature hit by a disintegrate spell count as a small portion of its body.) > > You can resurrect someone … who has been turned into an undead creature and then destroyed. \* Well, apparently with True Resurrection, you don’t even need the portion of body. But I’m not 100% sure that this works for the OOTS universe, because it seemed pretty clear that neither Malack (dusted) and Elan (stabbed and disintegrated) were coming back. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1734 "2015-09-14T02:19:46Z")
You mean Nale there, not Elan. And a pile of dust is enough, but once that pile of dust has been scattered to the winds, you’re going to have an awfully hard time gathering it back up to target it. True Resurrection could still work, except that Rich has vowed to never use that spell, as he hates what it does to narratives. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1735 "2015-09-14T02:28:44Z")
Even if the dust weren’t enough, wouldn’t the blood on Roy’s blade be? Or do vampires not actually bleed? ---
**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:** [September 14, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1736 "2015-09-14T14:34:13Z")
It might be, if it were Durkon’s blood. More likely, though, it’s Roy’s, or Belkar’s, or that rock-priest’s. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1737 "2015-09-14T14:45:03Z")
They’ll be doing some CSI thing where they’re picking a beard hair out of the fibers of Roy’s cloak 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1738 "2015-09-14T14:51:35Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Even if the dust weren’t enough, wouldn’t the blood on Roy’s blade be? Or do vampires not actually bleed? Well, there’s that bit about “being part of your body when you died”. You can’t, apparently, just drop off a vial of blood in a safety deposit box before heading off to some colossal cave. So if you inconsiderately get your blood all over someone’s sword and then get killed by a tyrannosaurus rex seconds later, does that still count? What if you get killed by the same sword, but the cleric gets drops of blood from before you were actually dead? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1739 "2015-09-14T15:26:48Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, apparently with True Resurrection, you don’t even need the portion of body. But I’m not 100% sure that this works for the OOTS universe, because it seemed pretty clear that neither Malack (dusted) and Elan (stabbed and disintegrated) were coming back. Malack isn’t coming back because he doesn’t think the stupider, less wise and weaker creature he once was is an existence he wants to return to. As for Elan, I think the author decided that True Resurrection isn’t a thing in his story. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755/1740 "2015-09-14T16:18:59Z")
Nale, not Elan. I know people were making guesses about blood on Tarquin’s dagger, etc (though that’s now Belkar’s dagger and was presumably cleaned) but the main reason Nale wouldn’t be returning is because his story is over. Even if Tarquin had the means, he wouldn’t see any value in bringing Nale back. After all, he killed him in the first place and it’s unlikely that a _Resurrected_ Nale would be any more compliant or useful in the long term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=86) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-6-discussion-thread/682755.md?page=88)