# Order of the Stick General Discussion Thread (Open Spoilers and Speculation) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096 "2009-02-02T07:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 63
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1241 "2009-05-20T10:34:23Z")
I like the title; “With a Critical Eye” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1242 "2009-05-20T10:49:47Z")
So, what happens to a lich after the destruction of his phylacthingy? Anything immediate, or does he just loose the ability to regrow a body? (And how do you pronounce lich anyway? Laik?) ---
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1243 "2009-05-20T10:53:06Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So, what happens to a lich after the destruction of his phylacthingy? Anything immediate, or does he just loose the ability to regrow a body? (And how do you pronounce lich anyway? Laik?) Just the ability to grow a body as I recall. And I’ve always pronounced it “litch”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1244 "2009-05-20T11:15:49Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > And I’m not much of a D&D maven, but how can Redcloak cast “Word of Recall” when Mr Stiffly has got his amulet? He’s already cast it sometime previously, he’s just triggering the effect now. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1245 "2009-05-20T13:30:18Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Just the ability to grow a body as I recall. And I’ve always pronounced it “litch”. Litch is the overwhelmingly popular pronunciation, yeah. And I called it. 🆒 Okay, sure I said it would be V who would manage to destroy Xykon’s phylactery but not Redcloak, but that’s the result of V’s attack. I’m normally horrible at predictions, so I’m calling this one a win. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1246 "2009-05-20T13:38:17Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So, what happens to a lich after the destruction of his phylacthingy? Anything immediate, or does he just loose the ability to regrow a body? (And how do you pronounce lich anyway? Laik?) The root word that it comes from is pronounced “lik” (I want to say it’s Norwegian but I’m not positive; something Scandinavian…) but the official pronunciation is “litch”. ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1247 "2009-05-20T13:46:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Jeez…I can’t stop reading Goblins now. It’s been pretty much my entire morning. It’s great, isn’t it? My only beef with it is the slow and sporadic updates. Thunt has the written story completed, but the drawing is slow, and I don’t think he does buffers. I would prefer it if her would take like a month or so off from posting and build up a good buffer so we could get non-stop comics, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. ☹ Meanwhile, I don’t know who to cheer for, Redcloak or O-Chul. And part of me has the sneaking suspicion that destroying the phylactery isn’t going to be so easy. Either that, or Xykon’s soul is no longer stored there at all. How hard/easy would it be to transfer a soul to a different holding place? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1248 "2009-05-20T14:10:21Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Just the ability to grow a body as I recall. And I’ve always pronounced it “litch”. I always thought it ended with a gutteral German CH. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1249 "2009-05-20T14:14:45Z")
Recall Xykon’s decision to run like hell when his phylactory was threatened during the battle of the throne room. He’s touchy as hell about that thing and the implications of having it destroyed. So there’s something there that focuses his mind. We’ll have to wait and see how things go. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1250 "2009-05-20T14:21:05Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Recall Xykon’s decision to run like hell when his phylactory was threatened during the battle of the throne room. He’s touchy as hell about that thing and the implications of having it destroyed. > > So there’s something there that focuses his mind. We’ll have to wait and see how things go. yeah, but at that point his body had been destroyed, so destruction of the phylactery would have been death for him (end of unlife… whatever) If it is destroyed now, he can make another one can’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1251 "2009-05-20T14:29:19Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > The root word that it comes from is pronounced “lik” (I want to say it’s Norwegian but I’m not positive; something Scandinavian…) but the official pronunciation is “litch”. _Lik_ is Swedish and means cadaver in this context. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1252 "2009-05-20T14:31:32Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > It’s great, isn’t it? My only beef with it is the slow and sporadic updates. Thunt has the written story completed, but the drawing is slow, and I don’t think he does buffers. I would prefer it if her would take like a month or so off from posting and build up a good buffer so we could get non-stop comics, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. ☹ That’s the biggest problem with webcomics that are styled to look like graphic novels instead of 3-6 panel daily strips. The art is usually fantastic and the writing is generally very good, but that level of quality is _difficult_ to keep up with any regularity. The only ones I know who’ve never missed a day are the Foglios, but they’re professionals (and most of their online updates are reprints of the already-existing dead tree format anyway). Even Burlew’s had trouble maintaining a consistent schedule for the past year, and his art style is much less demanding than Goblins or other epic webcomics. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1253 "2009-05-20T15:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > I think the main significance here is that Redcloak’s brother lost an eye in the paladin attack that killed the rest of their family and village and left Redcloak as the bearer of the, er, red cloak. Xykon has no patience with learning names, so the brothers identified themselves to him as ‘Redcloak’ and ‘Righteye.’ You’ll note that Redcloak’s remaining eye is his left. > > And if you (collective you) haven’t read Start of Darkness to get the full backstory on Redcloak, particularly as relates to his brother, you really, really should. I (individual me) had read the books. But it seemed there was a larger point to O-Chul wounding Redcloak’s eye than just causing a serious injury. The strip is titled “With a Critical Eye”. But rereading it now, I see I misinterpreted what O’Chul said. He was apparently talking about cutting off the amulet not stabbing the eye when he said _“No more spells.”_ > [@](#): > > And I’m not much of a D&D maven, but how can Redcloak cast “Word of Recall” when Mr Stiffly has got his amulet? A lot of Redcloak’s power is also tied up in the Crimson Mantle, which he still has. > [@](#): > > And how do you pronounce lich anyway? Laik? For what it’s worth, there was a joke once where Xykon confused a lich with a leech. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1254 "2009-05-20T16:33:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The only ones I know who’ve never missed a day are the Foglios, but they’re professionals (and most of their online updates are reprints of the already-existing dead tree format anyway). [Schlock Mercenary](http://www.schlockmercenary.com/) has also gone for almost nine years every day without a single missed update. I’d recommend it for any nerd. And Rich Burlew’s art style is relatively simple (most of it is cut-and-paste of pre-drawn characters), but he has some unspecified health problem that sometimes prevents him from updating on time. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1255 "2009-05-20T16:38:04Z")
Oy, all this vagueness on [word of recall](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/WordofRecall.htm)! - Redcloak was able to cast it because it only has a Verbal component; it does not require a Focus (which is what his “amulet” holy symbol is) - you do choose where you teleport to when you prepare the spell (that is, when Redcloak decided that _word of recall_ would be one of the spells he could cast that day) - it’s a measly level 6 spell; not something that Redcloak would be reliant on the Crimson Mantle for. I’m a bit surprised to note that it takes a Standard Action, but that would explain why Redcloak wasn’t able to get it off before getting his eye gouged out and his holy symbol swiped. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1256 "2009-05-20T16:38:05Z")
Burlew’s art is simple, but his scripting is not. That certainly adds a lot of time between updates. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1257 "2009-05-20T16:39:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Schlock Mercenary](http://www.schlockmercenary.com/) has also gone for almost nine years every day without a single missed update. I’d recommend it for any nerd. Absolutely. I’ve got it in my regular reading list. But Schlock follows the 3-6 panel format with a larger Sunday strip, which is somewhat easier to maintain than a regular full page update. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1258 "2009-05-20T17:01:41Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > If it is destroyed now, he can make another one can’t he? I believe he could. But, if Xykon’s phylactery is destroyed, and then Xykon is subsequently killed (OK, dropped to 0 hit points, since he’s been dead for some time already) before he has a chance to create a new phylactery, that should be the end of him (barring Redcloak casting Miracle or something). Just FYI, the [3.5 rules on liches](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lich.htm). Also, I note that O-Chul’s improvised weapon seems to have a blunt end, as well as a pointy, eye-piercing end. Theoretically, he could cast [Bless Weapon](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/blessWeapon.htm) on the bar (he doesn’t have his holy symbol / divine focus on him right now, but Bless Weapon only has verbal and somatic components), and thus be able to bypass Xykon’s pesky damage reduction (DR 15 / bludgeoning and magic). GO O-CHUL! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1259 "2009-05-20T17:12:00Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I’m a bit surprised to note that it takes a Standard Action, but that would explain why Redcloak wasn’t able to get it off before getting his eye gouged out and his holy symbol swiped. Well, until the disintegrate spell failed, his eye was gouged out and the symbol was swiped, there was no need to do so. We know that eyes can be regenerated in the Sticks Universe (c.f. Eagle Eye Pete), but is there anything about Smite Evil that would make this difficult? Are we going to see Redcloak wearing an eyepatch in the future? Given that Redcloak had already taken a lightning bolt and maybe a sunburst, just how many hit points did he have left? I’m amused that the noise that the bar made when it was torn from the cage was “Katang!” and O’Chul is wielding it like a katana. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1260 "2009-05-20T17:32:54Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, until the disintegrate spell failed, his eye was gouged out and the symbol was swiped, there was no need to do so. The spell didn’t fail, it just didn’t do enough damage to kill it’s target. The target only ‘disintegrates’ if the damage inflicted by the spell actually reduces the targets hp below 0. See V hitting the black dragon with 2 of them for an illustration. > [@](#): > > We know that eyes can be regenerated in the Sticks Universe (c.f. Eagle Eye Pete), but is there anything about Smite Evil that would make this difficult? Are we going to see Redcloak wearing an eyepatch in the future? Smite Evil by itself doesn’t, but Redcloak doesn’t have his holy symbol anymore, and I’m pretty sure he needs that to cast Regeneration. He can make a new holy symbol, but I think it will be a little bit before he gets around to it. We’ll probably see one for at least a little bit. Another thing is that in Start of Darkness, Righteye lost his eye to a Blue Paladin, and he refused to have it healed so it could serve as a reminder or something. Part of Righteye’s plan to kill Zykon involved a Regenerate scroll that Redcloak could cast on him in case his plan failed, so that Zykon wouldn’t be able to identify him as the culprit. So we’ll probably see a reference to his brother, either a deep pithy comment about how he understands his brother more from Redcloak, or a blunt insulting one from Zykon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096.md?page=62) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096.md?page=64)