# 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:** 81
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1601 "2009-06-08T18:19:24Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Lord of the Rings spoof coming up (err, “Lord of the Amulet”)…? Question is-who is the most unlikely person imaginable to end up finding it? Is the Linear Guild still in Azure City? Or did they escape during or after the battle? Because if they’re still there, and Sabine finds it…the IFCC may just end up with a mage AND a lich in their employ. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1602 "2009-06-08T18:28:54Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Is the Linear Guild still in Azure City? Or did they escape during or after the battle? Because if they’re still there, and Sabine finds it…the IFCC may just end up with a mage AND a lich in their employ. They escaped, and fled the city to find Girard’s Gate. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1603 "2009-06-08T18:39:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > They escaped, and fled the city to find Girard’s Gate. That’s my weakness with a story that, because of the irregular updates, gets stretched out so long in time…I can never remember details like that. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1604 "2009-06-08T18:41:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That’s my weakness with a story that, because of the irregular updates, gets stretched out so long in time…I can never remember details like that. I just re-read the entire archive last week, so it’s a lot fresher in my mind right now. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1605 "2009-06-08T18:49:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > They escaped, and fled the city to find Girard’s Gate. Was it Girard’s gate, or just one of the other two? ---
**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:** [June 8, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1606 "2009-06-08T18:55:51Z")
My mistake. [They don’t specify.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0458.html) ---
**Author:** ![MHaye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MHaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaye)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1607 "2009-06-08T19:28:12Z")
Idle speculation time. Wouldn’t it be a good time right now, with Xykon’s phylactery floating off to who-knows-where, to destroy his body so he has to reform in less-than-ideal circumstances? Remember he flew off with two enemies bound by a spell that gives them a new saving throw each round. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1608 "2009-06-08T19:30:52Z")
> [@MHaye](#): > > Idle speculation time. > > Wouldn’t it be a good time right now, with Xykon’s phylactery floating off to who-knows-where, to destroy his body so he has to reform in less-than-ideal circumstances? > > Remember he flew off with two enemies bound by a spell that gives them a new saving throw each round. It might put him in the sewer but thats basically all destroying him now would do, besides reuniting him with his phylactery. They actually should keep him alive until they recover it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1609 "2009-06-08T21:10:05Z")
Ooh! What if, before they can destroy him again, it floats out to the ocean and gets swallowed by some giant sea creature? That’s gonna be an unpleasant place to recorporate. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1610 "2009-06-08T21:45:27Z")
Unpleasant, but nothing more than an insult in the long run. For this to be a meaningful victory, the phylactery has to be destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1611 "2009-06-08T22:01:11Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > What if, before they can destroy him again, it floats out to the ocean and gets swallowed by some giant sea creature? That’s gonna be an unpleasant place to recorporate. It’d be a lot more unpleasant for the sea creature, once Xykon was whole again. Something tells me he wouldn’t wait to take the standard exit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1612 "2009-06-08T22:17:49Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > It’d be a lot more unpleasant for the sea creature, once Xykon was whole again. Something tells me he wouldn’t wait to take the standard exit. Once he was whole again, sure. But didn’t it take a week or two last time? He was conscious the whole time, too. That’ll leave him in a bad mood. 😛 ---
**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:** [June 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1613 "2009-06-08T23:01:49Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Ooh! > > What if, before they can destroy him again, it floats out to the ocean and gets swallowed by some giant sea creature? That’s gonna be an unpleasant place to recorporate. Or an impossible one, if it’s digestive acids are strong enough to destroy bone. He might have no choice but to take the “standard exit” before he can actually rebuild himself. Which won’t improve his mood. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1614 "2009-06-08T23:39:07Z")
I’m just happy to see that Blackwing survived the Explosive Runes. Well, I’m _also_ happy that there’s a new strip up today, of course, but that pretty much goes without saying, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Iacob\_Matthew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Iacob\_Matthew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iacob_Matthew)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1615 "2009-06-09T02:49:10Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > a. Who built the tower, Red Cloak or Xykon? If it was Red Cloak, what happens if his amulet gets destroyed? Technically, neither. Xykon [Wrenched… the accursed tower from the unhallowed ground with his dark magic](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0520.html). My reading is that Azure City had some dungeon sitting around underground that Xykon just pulled up for the tower. Though, with his magic, making it is probably possible. Note that the linked comic is at least 3.5 months after he took the city, so he could’ve had a while to work on it. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1616 "2009-06-09T04:50:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And the Anachronistic Sewage Plant could be full of all sorts of grindy machinery. A phylactery has hardness 20. Steel has hardness 10. If something’s going to get grinded, I’d bet on the machinery. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1617 "2009-06-09T06:31:57Z")
And the “lost” side wins, apparently. One good point I read: this event will definitely have an effect on the speed with which Team Evil moves towards Girard’s Gate. Whether it speeds it up quite a bit (to get ultimate cosmic power before something happens to the phylactery) or slows it down quite a bit (to find the phylactery before something happens to it) is up to how Xykon and Redcloak react. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1618 "2009-06-09T06:37:46Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > And the “lost” side wins, apparently. > > One good point I read: this event will definitely have an effect on the speed with which Team Evil moves towards Girard’s Gate. Whether it speeds it up quite a bit (to get ultimate cosmic power before something happens to the phylactery) or slows it down quite a bit (to find the phylactery before something happens to it) is up to how Xykon and Redcloak react. Hmm… Maybe they’re not attacking Girard’s Gate first, remember, Roy worded the question in ways that can easily be prophecy twisted. Does the Phylactery count as Xykon? If it drifts down by current past Girard’s Gate it may count. What if Xykon dies and reforms in the specified radius (but doesn’t know what he’s close to) but then flies back to Azure City and attacks the other gate later? Etc etc. Yes, I have a beef with this specific prophecy because Roy just botched it SO badly and it just screams “yeah, like it’s actually going to work out like Roy intended it to.” ---
**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:** [June 9, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1619 "2009-06-09T12:37:46Z")
You know there is an easy way to find the phylactery. All Xykon has to do is let Redcloak smash his body. Yeah it’s inconvenient but I’d think this would be important enough to take those drastic steps. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096/1620 "2009-06-09T15:53:28Z")
Cloister protects against the scrying of any living thing in its area. If Xykon were actually _in_ the phylactery, it’d be much harder to detect him — he doesn’t reconstitute for 1-10 days, and he’s protected against scrying by his own spell. I’d think it’d be easier to find the object itself, barring any anti-detection spells they have already placed upon it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096.md?page=80) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-general-discussion-thread-open-spoilers-and-speculation/484096.md?page=82)