# The Order of the Stick **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454 "2007-10-12T11:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/21 "2007-10-15T16:23:54Z")
Big fan, but am I ever jonesing for all this Roy-in-Heaven stuff to be over. I want to see Haley and Belkar, and know what happens to O-Chul. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/22 "2007-10-15T17:53:55Z")
Agreed – too much non-celestial-realm stuff going on that needs addressing. _… Did you…did you shoot Roy’s corpse in the nuts?_ ---
**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:** [October 15, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/23 "2007-10-15T18:23:36Z")
You know, I _am_ a little surprised that Roy hasn’t tried to find out what is going on back in the Prime Material. I understand the reason from the writer’s standpoint, of course, but Roy just doesn’t seem to be the type who’d meekly accept not knowing what’s up with his friends – or Xykon. And we know he’s looked back at least once, with he and Eugene on the cloud before his bureaucratic deva showed up. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/24 "2007-10-15T19:05:52Z")
Roy’s also not the type to fret about things he can’t change. He can’t affect Prime in any way, and he’s fairly confident he’ll be raised soon in any case, so why not take a chance for a short vacation while he waits? I’m sure he’s of the opinion he’s damn well earned it. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/25 "2007-10-16T04:36:23Z")
OK. Which makes me the bigger nerd here, the fact that: 1. I just read the entire strip in one sitting, after not having played a single game of D&D in 20 years, or 2. I just read the entire strip in one sitting, after not having played a single game of D&D in 20 years, but _I still understood all (or most of) the in-jokes about D&D foibles and rules_? So, I guess there are way more than 4 elemental planes that meet to make up the Prime Material, huh? Like 117 (unnilseptium being so far unaccounted for?) If you summoned an unnilhexium elemental, would it shrink to disappearance almost immediately? Could you make a chlorine elemental fight a sodium elemental and wind up with a huge pile of salt? Man, what a treasure trove you could get by killing a gold elemental, huh? I suppose it could be argued that the intersection of all those planes gives us all our atoms, and thus molecules. Spiritual Chemistry, huh? That could really throw a wrench in the D&D extraplanar canon. Are there Isotopic Paraelemental planes? Oooooh! Quantum Elemental Planes! Quark quark quark quark! Sorry. PS: I love Belkar! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/26 "2007-10-16T04:46:47Z")
…hmmm, the old “unnil-” convention for the later elements seems to have been dropped for “unun-”, as in ununhexium. Didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/27 "2007-10-16T05:46:14Z")
How about an unobtanium elemental? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/28 "2007-10-16T06:18:58Z")
I’ve never played DnD in my life, but I love the strip and get the vast majority of the jokes. Unless, I suppose, perhaps I don’t even notice something is supposed to be a joke… It’s great that they have a chaotic evil _halfling_, Belkar AKA the Belkster AKA Death’s 'lil helper. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/29 "2007-10-16T12:48:07Z")
My favorite callback joke was that in the long line of southerners getting into heaven was the priest Redcloak killed in a magic duel. He’s looking at his own character sheet and realizing that his saving throw was actually a 22, not the 21 he thought he had at the duel. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/30 "2007-10-16T13:05:11Z")
Have you guys noticed: I prepared explosive runes this morning. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/31 "2007-10-16T13:12:10Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] My favorite callback joke was that in the long line of southerners getting into heaven was the priest Redcloak killed in a magic duel. He’s looking at his own character sheet and realizing that his saving throw was actually a 22, not the 21 he thought he had at the duel. [/QUOTE] Alas, you only get to correct overlooked bonuses if you [declare them right away](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0034.html). ---
**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:** [October 16, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/32 "2007-10-16T19:35:56Z")
[New OotS](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0495.html) already. He’s on a roll these last few days. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/33 "2007-10-16T20:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=Lightray] [New OotS](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0495.html) already. He’s on a roll these last few days. [/QUOTE] Rich Burlew explains why (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > The goal is still to have three comics a week, every week, but that may not be possible. The next best thing, therefore, is to “catch up” afterwards when circumstances force me to miss. **I only produced one comic last week, so now I have posted four this week—putting me only one comic “in the hole”.** So during some future week when the stars align more favorably (maybe next week, maybe not), I will again post four comics to bring me up to a three-a-week average since the comic’s return from hiatus. And once I “zero out” my late comic balance, any additional comics beyond three that I do in any given week will go into a hypothetical buffer to guard against future absences. Or at least, that’s the plan. We’ll see how it plays out in reality. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/34 "2007-10-16T21:00:47Z")
[QUOTE=Trion] Have you guys noticed: I prepared explosive runes this morning. 😃 [/QUOTE] You owe me a new monitor. [QUOTE=Hal Briston] Rich Burlew explains why (bolding mine): [/QUOTE] Apparently some people have been whining about the schedule slip. :rolleyes: Geez, I’m not thrilled at the fact that OotS (and Erfworld) generally haven’t been updating as often as expected, but it hasn’t caused me to lose my basic sense of civility and personal boundaries. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/35 "2007-10-16T21:22:48Z")
Well, if he’s able to churn out new episodes this fast, then he’s probably feeling better. Which is good news. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/36 "2007-10-17T04:15:40Z")
OK, I noticed and chuckled at this strip in Dragon, but it really seemed to get a lot better when I read the “main” storyline. Anyone knows if anyplace has the Dragon strips together? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/37 "2007-10-17T04:42:30Z")
OK, so, alignments and stuff: Roy - Lawful Good Belkar - Chaotic Evil Durkon - Chaotic Good? Elan - Lawful Good? Haley - Chaotic Good? V - uh, Neutral Good? Also, what do you suppose their levels are? Also, why wouldn’t Belkar get the XP from slaughtering the horde of hobbos outside the Azure City walls? “I’m the eighth dwarf - Stabby.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/38 "2007-10-17T05:19:44Z")
Well… Roy - Lawful Good Recent strips make this plain. Belkar - Chaotic Evil There was debate on the OotS forums about this. The debate was stupid. He’s CE all the way. Durkon - Chaotic Good? According to the board game, he’s Lawful Bland. Given his behavior, I’d say he’s solidly LG. Elan - Lawful Good? Elan self-identifies as Chaotic Good in #445. Also, he’s wearing stolen clothes. Haley - Chaotic Good? I agree. V - uh, Neutral Good? Maybe. I’d actually guess true Neutral. All we know for sure is that (s)he’s not Evil, due to a demonstrated vulnerability to Unholy Blight (#11). > [@](#): > > Also, what do you suppose their levels are? Best estimates suggest they’re around L12-13, based on the levels and numbers of spells used and lots of even more geeky analysis. Roy apparently has _lots_ of hit points for his level, has excellent saves, or had an incredible streak of luck in his fight with Xykon. > [@](#): > > Also, why wouldn’t Belkar get the XP from slaughtering the horde of hobbos outside the Azure City walls? Individually, they were no threat to him. He killed one with every attack, and only about 1 in 20 of them even managed to scratch him. Their Challenge Rating is too low for him to get XP for the individual hobgoblins. The Encounter Rating, on the other hand, is evaluated as “Belkar vs. the hobgoblin army”. There’s a lot of funky math that relates the ER to the CR, but in the end, it means that Belkar will get XP for fighting the hobgoblins as a group, but not for individual kills. He should also get roleplay XP for his “arrangement” with the EoFaF. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/39 "2007-10-17T06:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > He should also get roleplay XP for his “arrangement” with the EoFaF. …and the kill! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454/40 "2007-10-17T06:14:00Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] Roy apparently has _lots_ of hit points for his level, has excellent saves, or had an incredible streak of luck in his fight with Xykon. [/QUOTE] It’s my theory that Roy’s ‘player’ rolled no less than 16 for every single stat upon creation. It’s been heavily implied and demonstrated that he has high mental stats, and he’s a damn good fighter which means high physical stats as well. The only dump stat I can really see for him is Dex. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-order-of-the-stick/422454.md?page=3)