# Order of the Stick - Reunited **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954 "2009-04-22T08:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/1 "2009-04-22T08:00:05Z")
The new strip is up. [#647](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0647.html) The other thread was getting rather long winded (and off topic) so I thought I would start this one. Elan is hardly recognizable. I’ve been going through some of the old strips and he has definetly matured a great deal (remember Elanicalicus?). Most of the characters have changed, the exception being Durkon but he was always the most mature of the group anyways. After Roy is raised, is the group finally going after Girard’s Gate? Back to Azure City? Will Vaarsuvius make things ridicuosly easy be telporting them directly to wherever they choose? I’ve enjoyed the character development, but I’m excited to see the main plot pushed forward again. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/2 "2009-04-22T14:46:07Z")
Well, at the very least it’s an obvious foreshadowing of how V’s going to be controlled when the time comes. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/3 "2009-04-22T15:17:08Z")
Don’t say Durkon’s that mature. He has this little issue about… well, you all saw how he left home, right? … I still have the horrible feeling Roy’s not coming back. V may flake out, requiring Julia come aboard, and Roy’s player’s been playing his girlfriend for a while… ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/4 "2009-04-22T15:29:00Z")
There’s been too much Roy in the afterlife to then jerk reader’s chains by not bringing him back. If Roy is permanently dead, then it should have no bearing on the story. Granted, there are still some good strips to explore (what is the afterlife and what interest does it have with the mortal world). But I’m of the opinion that most of them would be wasteful filler if they cannot connect with the story or “real world” events. Although Roy being reincarnated or coming back as a spiritual guide would be permissible. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/5 "2009-04-22T20:14:50Z")
Secondly, if Roy didn’t come back, the entire OotS would explode. Durkon would go one way, Haley and Elan another. Belkar a third. V would either hang with Belkar (despite the surface animosity, he does seem to have a soft spot for the tiny barefoot god of war) or wind off his own path. Even in death, Roy is sole thing keeping the party from just walking away. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/6 "2009-04-22T21:01:36Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Secondly, if Roy didn’t come back, the entire OotS would explode. Durkon would go one way, Haley and Elan another. Belkar a third. V would either hang with Belkar (despite the surface animosity, he does seem to have a soft spot for the tiny barefoot god of war) or wind off his own path. Even in death, Roy is sole thing keeping the party from just walking away. He doesn’t have to be alive to keep them together. Elan making an “It’s what Roy would have wanted” sob speech would probably work. Except for Belkar, but they’d tell him there’s XP to be had, and he’d come with ;). However, I don’t doubt Roy will indeed come back. Rich may be a twisty eel of a writer, but even he wouldn’t hang such an obvious [Chekhov’s gun](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0498.html) on the wall and then NOT shoot it (the anti-cleric feat). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/7 "2009-04-22T21:52:47Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Secondly, if Roy didn’t come back, the entire OotS would explode. Durkon would go one way, Haley and Elan another. Belkar a third. V would either hang with Belkar **(despite the surface animosity, he does seem to have a soft spot for the tiny barefoot god of war)** or wind off his own path. Even in death, Roy is sole thing keeping the party from just walking away. Bolding mine. V shows animosity to Belkar as a plan of action designed to keep Belkar from not hating him/her. V has a theory that Belkar has only two possible reactions to any person, the two being hate and lust. V prefers not to be the object of Belkar’s lust. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/8 "2009-04-23T01:43:29Z")
That’s not working anymore, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/9 "2009-04-23T02:41:27Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Bolding mine. > > V shows animosity to Belkar as a plan of action designed to keep Belkar from not hating him/her. V has a theory that Belkar has only two possible reactions to any person, the two being hate and lust. V prefers not to be the object of Belkar’s lust. The only problem with this theory is Mr. Scruffy. Clearly, Belkar doesn’t hate Mr. Scruffy. Therefore, either V is wrong, or… ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/10 "2009-04-23T03:14:30Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > That’s not working anymore, is it? Hmmm. Belkar does seem to be showing approval of V. And Mr. Scruffy . . . perhaps there IS a third category. Or maybe Belkar is just no longer binary. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/11 "2009-04-23T03:46:33Z")
V also played pranks on Belkar for the hell of it, so… ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/12 "2009-04-23T03:57:09Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Hmmm. Belkar does seem to be showing approval of V. And Mr. Scruffy . . . perhaps there IS a third category. Or maybe Belkar is just no longer binary. Or it was a throwaway joke/V was mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/13 "2009-04-23T04:10:50Z")
Or it only applies to people, and Mr. Scruffy is a cat. Unless, of course, Mr. Scruffy is not actually a cat but some other creature in disguise, which is a whole 'nother ball of wax. Belkar is allowed an animal companion as a ranger. I wonder if Mr. Scruffy is filling that role? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Julia brought back at some point; even if not as a replacement for V, she’s got some stake in this, even if not quite so much as Roy. She’d get crazy XP for a while, too, what with the high level stuff that the OotS get up to. Last we knew, she was a 3rd level sorceress, and Elan just took his 13th level in Bard, plus at least 1 in Dashing Swordsman. Durkon must be at least 11th to cast Wind Walk. How accurately can we apply levels to each member of the OotS? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/14 "2009-04-23T04:14:29Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Hmmm. Belkar does seem to be showing approval of V. And Mr. Scruffy . . . perhaps there IS a third category. Or maybe Belkar is just no longer binary. Remember: “Evolve or Die.” ---
**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:** [April 23, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/15 "2009-04-23T04:35:36Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > How accurately can we apply levels to each member of the OotS? There are scathes of threads on the subject in the official forums. Not only for the members of the OotS (for which the data set is extensive) but pretty much every character. The Geek is strong on that forum. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-reunited/493954/16 "2009-04-23T05:29:41Z")
I have to say that I totally loved the fact that Durkon hated wind walking. That was just so cute and so totally in character. It was also very in character that Elan loved it and did loops.