# Order of the Stick book 7 discussion thread

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** comic-strips\
**Created:** [February 3, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438 "2020-02-03T17:48:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 96

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**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:** [January 11, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1904 "2024-01-11T23:03:33Z")

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> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Notice the dragon in the drawing is missing their right horn, just like Calder.

Though, the room just before this was built before Serini adopted Sunny, and Calder was “recruited” before she started seeking volunteers. And Calder’s first telepathic comments seem to suggest that this is his first encounter with them. So, did Sunny even witness that fight?

Though I suppose they’ve probably heard all of the stories from Sunny, and might have just been drawing from descriptions.

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**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:** [January 11, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1905 "2024-01-11T23:05:09Z")

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Did Sunny release the dragon from prison with that “big beautiful eye” of theirs?

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**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:** [January 12, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1906 "2024-01-12T14:28:04Z")

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Yeah, however the stasis worked, it was magical, so Sunny’s anti-magic eye released it.

By the strict letter of the rules, the magical effect is only suppressed, not ended, so if Sunny looks away, it should resume. Though depending on how the trap works, this might only matter if the dragon is still inside the circle at that time.

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**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:** [January 12, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1907 "2024-01-12T14:45:37Z")

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So, if Sunny looks at Bloodfeast, he will revert to T-Rex size, then when Sunny looks away he will revert back to lizard size? Is that how it works?

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**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:** [January 12, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1908 "2024-01-12T14:57:38Z")

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By the rules, yes, though I’m guessing that in the story, if that happens, Bloodfeast will be permanently redinosaurized.

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**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:** [January 12, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1909 "2024-01-12T15:20:34Z")

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I thought it depended on the type of spell, whether the spell is suppressed or dismissed entirely?

[Earlier discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/7750) (from more than 10 years ago!).

> [@Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/7749):
>
> > [@Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/7749):
> >
> > I was wondering the same: what would revert the allosaur to an allosaur? Is it a remove-enchantment type thing? Or is the allosaur now truly a lizard, and no more than that?
> 
> Baleful Polymorph is a “Permanent” effect (as opposed to an “Instantaneous” effect), which means that it is only the magic holding the allosaur in that form. Hit it with a Dispel Magic or Break Enchantment and the spell keeping the allosaur as a lizard ends.

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**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1910 "2024-01-12T15:41:11Z")

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A Permanent effect means that you have a spell on you at all times. So there’s a spell on Bloodfeast making him a lizard, and if you used a spell like Break Enchantment you could remove that spell entirely.

An Instantaneous spell doesn’t work like that. So if you Disintegrate an enemy, turning them into a pile of fine ash, there is no magic effect anymore - just a mundane pile of ash. You can’t Break Enchantment because there _is_ no Enchantment.

Dispel Magic or Break Enchantment are instantaneous effects. The same way Disintegrate breaks apart your body into fine ash in a burst of magic and then ends, these spells destroy any active spells and then end. So using them on Bloodfeast would remove the Bakeful Polymorph entirely.

But an Anti Magic Field is _not_ instantaneous; it has a duration. So if you stick Bloodfeast in an antimagic field, he would have two spell effects on himself at once. The first turns him into a lizard. The second (antimagic) supresses the first, meaning he stays a dinosaur.

But since this suppression is an effect with a duration (permenant, so long as Sunny keeps looking over) then as soon as it is removed any suppressed spells come back into effect and Bloodfeast becomes a lizard once more.

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**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1911 "2024-01-12T15:47:24Z")

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That could make for an interesting trap. The room contains a cage with a small animal as well as the big baddie. The PCs cast dispel on some magic the villain has running, not knowing that the small animal is a polymorphed terrifying monster. The dispel ends the p-morph and the fun begins.

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**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:** [January 14, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1912 "2024-01-14T17:04:00Z")

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> [@Hypno-Toad](#):
>
> That could make for an interesting trap. The room contains a cage with a small animal as well as the big baddie. The PCs cast dispel on some magic the villain has running, not knowing that the small animal is a polymorphed terrifying monster. The dispel ends the p-morph and the fun begins

I remember talk of a villain using his spare time to (a) fill his lair with some kind of opaque fog clouds or permanent mist effects or whatever, and then (b) turn every such obstacle to eyesight invisible. So he can easily walk around his base of operations, seeing through the stuff as if it weren’t there — as can anyone else who shows up to take things at face value — but anyone using magic to view things as they really are will see through the illusions, by which I mean they’ll be hopelessly lost in the fog.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [January 14, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1913 "2024-01-14T17:27:54Z")

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And it isn’t particularly hard to end an effect like Polymorph. A plain ordinary Dispel Magic, a third-level spell (the same level as the Fireballs Vaarsuvius throws around like candy) would do the trick. Actually, a first-level Resurgence spell could do it, too, but that’s less likely to work, and it’s a spell from an expansion book. Or, if they want something that’s guaranteed to work first try, Elan’s Song of Freedom, which he can use a dozen times a day, would also do the trick. The fact that Bloodfeast is still a lizard means that the party finds it convenient for him to still be a lizard (until the time is right to redinosaurize him).

Some permanent magical effects have special clauses that make them resistant to simple magics like Dispel Magic, but Polymorph isn’t one of them.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1914 "2024-01-14T17:42:51Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> The fact that Bloodfeast is still a lizard means that the party finds it convenient for him to still be a lizard (until the time is right to redinosaurize him).

Sure, but the presence of a stray anti-magic field means that Belkar can make the decision on his own, and since Belkar’s decision making doesn’t always align with that of the rest of the party, that may turn out to be relevant.

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**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:** [January 14, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1915 "2024-01-14T17:48:02Z")

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Right, or it could happen entirely accidentally. And if it did happen, it probably wouldn’t be too hard for Vaarsuvius to turn him back into a lizard, if desired. It wouldn’t be a terrible inconvenience for the party, either way.

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**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:** [January 23, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1916 "2024-01-23T14:19:56Z")

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**[Cult Classic](https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1296.html)**

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**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1917 "2024-01-23T14:24:12Z")

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The fight is on. Interesting break for a side quest. Unless it turns out to not be a side quest.

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**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:** [January 23, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1918 "2024-01-23T14:33:06Z")

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I love that Roy has turned the sword hurling thing into a signature move.

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**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:** [January 23, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1919 "2024-01-23T14:34:33Z")

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Hooray for action!

I dunno how many hit points a 3.5e mimic has but I’m guessing it’s not “get breathed on by a large red dragon” hit points. Not that we’re given reason to assume one way or the other, just a random thought from the first panel.

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**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:** [January 23, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1920 "2024-01-23T17:52:42Z")

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It doesn’t look like she got hit at all. Haley, Serini, and Belkar could have Evaded the blast (they all seem to be actively rolling/jumping), but I think the simplest assumption is that the party wasn’t clumped enough to hit everyone at once, and V and Mimi were just outside of the area.

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**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:** [February 2, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1921 "2024-02-02T14:10:49Z")

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**[Cold Open](https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1297.html)**

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**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1922 "2024-02-02T15:04:40Z")

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“Polar Ray” sounds pretty cool.

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**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:** [February 2, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-7-discussion-thread/847438/1923 "2024-02-02T16:23:51Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> It doesn’t look like she got hit at all.

Yeah, well… 😃

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