xkcd

by **Yakk** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:15 pm UTC

One possibility is that V is destined for real ultimate power. Ie, V ends up being the being who rebuilds the universe.

And the fiends (collectively) get 44 minutes of control over that amount of power.

by **Gojoe** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:02 pm UTC

Naurgul wrote:You realise that most likely the demons will not get to torture V in the abyss for that time but instead mind-control him just at the right moment so they can get hold of the gates or something. 44 minutes is a freaking long time if you think about it like that.

I did not think about that. That could really suck.

by **Maseiken** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:53 pm UTC

Oh my god... has... has he actually restored the Status Quo?

*Sniff* It... it's so beautiful...

by **Jorpho** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:04 am UTC

Maseiken wrote:Oh my god... has... has he actually restored the Status Quo?

'Tain't status quo until they're dungeon crawling again. I can only hope.

by **cephalopod9** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:37 am UTC

Also V has a ponytail, and Haley lost hers (and the stray hair that made it look like she had a scar sometimes). Minor difference.
There's also 44 minutes of V's soul (or is it 3 times that?) which could shake things up.

by **Yakk** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:03 pm UTC

Well, they have a dungeon to crawl in.

I'm guessing that Xylon will go after the next source of power while the hobgoblins stay behind to find his phylactery.

Thus the PCs should (possibly) go after the phylactery before going after Xylon. Which will involve fighting through a dungeon, with a hobgoblin army getting in the way. . .

(We can only hope!)

by **McCaber** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:21 am UTC

And it looks like Naurgul was the big winner here. The fiends have something planned over the gates, but they're not telling us yet.

And the biggest twist: We haven't seen the last of the Linear Guild.

by **Gojoe** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:27 am UTC

OOO! I like where this is heading!
I was starting to get bored, but they just kicked it right back into high gear.

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:03 am UTC

That was a great strip. I like how the fiends' thing with 45 minutes of V-time isn't really that big of a deal to them--they're after something with the gates. I wonder what it is. I mean, the OOTS wants to keep the gates shut (probably by killing Xykon) and Xykon wants to perform a ritual to harness the gates. I've heard some vague stuff that Redcloak has his own plans, but I need to read SOD--I think I'll buy it Saturday when I go to play d&d at the local comic shop. But apparently the fiends want some middle ground that will encourage conflict.

And apparently, the end result of their plans will allow them to kill enough dragons to make up for a large chunk of the entire species of black dragons. Five times over. Damn.

by **Jesse** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:44 am UTC

Actually, one thing I didn't get. Why was Tiamat so mad about the dead black dragons? She's a sea goddess.

by **Yakk** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:52 am UTC

Jesse wrote:Actually, one thing I didn't get. Why was Tiamat so mad about the dead black dragons? She's a sea goddess.

Tiamat is the mother of dragons in Babylonian mythology. This was stressed in D&D and they made Tiamat into mainly the mother of dragons, and a 5-headed dragon herself.

by **Jesse** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:08 am UTC

Ah, yeah. D&D mythology != Actual mythology.

by **McCaber** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:19 pm UTC

Just like Dagon wasn't actually a fish god, but focused on crops instead. Way to go, HPL. Giving everyone the wrong impressions again.

by **Maseiken** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:22 am UTC

McCaber wrote:Just like Dagon wasn't actually a fish god, but focused on crops instead. Way to go, HPL. Giving everyone the wrong impressions again.

Technically, V's spell should have killed her, but some versions of the DnD mythology take her motherly role in a much more metaphorical sense, in that the birth of any chromatic dragon is seen as an extension of her will, rather than a direct descendent.

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:34 am UTC

Or, she could have been immune because she's a god. I don't remember my Deities and Demigods very well, but I'm pretty sure that V might have a hard time beating Tiamat's SR. Or divine ranks, or whatever extra stuff they give gods.

by **Yakk** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:40 am UTC

If, when we next see tiamat, the black head is looking wounded, we will know that was one good spell. ;p

by **aurumelectrum13** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:28 pm UTC

New Comic!

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:19 pm UTC

Well, they're back, and the Order is back to being a more standard adventuring party. Let's see how they do.

by **JayDee** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:03 pm UTC

Nice. I was expecting a considerably longer break for some reason.

by **Naurgul** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:50 pm UTC

At the end of #672 (the last strip before the break began) there are huge white letters on a black background that read

The Order of the Stick
will return August 31st.

>.>

by **JayDee** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 3:35 pm UTC

Oh.

Well, either August went by very quickly, or it just didn't seem all that long compared to the usual time between updates.

by **frogman** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:55 pm UTC

I really like Order of the Stick! It has almost convinced me to start playing D+D!

by **Yakk** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:02 pm UTC

I liked her old look.

by **Jorpho** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:31 pm UTC

Oh look, the schedule might actually be becoming Vaguely Regular.

by **cephalopod9** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:46 pm UTC

I'm not sure I quite get why no one remembers V's raven, but it's pretty funny regardless.

And it's back to making fun of the art style and D 'n D tropes.

by **Yakk** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:59 pm UTC

Familiars are throw-away class features in D&D. They often only show up when you want their features, and then go away. They are so unimportant that people forget they have the feature...

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 12:07 am UTC

Basically, D&D can get complex at times, especially at high levels, when you've got this bonus to that skill if you're within x feet of those guys, but if condition z is met, feat w is going to grant...etc, etc. So sometimes things are forgotten until they become critical. Familiars are a kind of throw-away class feature in 3.5. You'll get a bonus to some skills, an extra language maybe, and..I never played a 3.5 caster so I couldn't say what else. You might remember them from time to time when you need them, when the party says "man, we just need a way to get one small object across this gap" or when the DM says "are you sure you can't squeeze another +1 onto that roll?", but otherwise you'll probably forget that you're carting around a sentient lizard. 4e has familiars as well, but you have to take feats to get them, so players are more likely to notice.

by **Kizyr** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 3:33 pm UTC

Yeah I made it a point not to do the stereotypical thing and forget about my familiar while playing a sorcerer, so I made regular reference to it. Also, in places where I wouldn't've wanted to take it with me, I disregarded the benefits.

Then again, when I play DnD, story is a lot more important to me than stats. KF

by **Troy Martin** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:03 am UTC

Stick!

Win!

<3 OotS

by **LuNatic** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:32 pm UTC

Wow. Belkar's got democracy totally down pat.

by **Korbl** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:01 pm UTC

LuNatic wrote:Wow. Belkar's got democracy totally down pat.

yeah, I like how Roy basically flat out lies when he says the situation is more complicated than Belkar's summation. It really is that simple. Regardless of what Roy believes.

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:15 am UTC

So I finally bought and devoured Start of Darkness....it is really, really good. Like, wow. I've always found Team Evil the more interesting character and Redcloak's character is really great in it. Xykon's as entertaining as ever.

by **SecondTalon** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:02 am UTC

On the Origin of PCs is alright, I suppose. Not as good as Start of Darkness. It does, however, have what is quite possibly the best exchange.

Durkon - Excuse me, I think ye gave me the wrong mug. I order'd a beer, an' this seems ta be a tankard o' moose urine.
Barkeep - No, that IS beer. The finest beer brewed in all of human lands.
*panel beat*
Durkon - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

by **Jorpho** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:00 am UTC

There's a sharp contrast between them. PCs is stuffed with large, empty panels and brazen copypasta. Most pages in Darkness are overflowing with text.

by **LuNatic** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:44 am UTC

Sir_Elderberry wrote:So I finally bought and devoured Start of Darkness....it is really, really good. Like, wow. I've always found Team Evil the more interesting character and Redcloak's character is really great in it. Xykon's as entertaining as ever.

My copy arrived today. Hooray!

by **phlip** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:57 am UTC

Hooray for books!

I should go read the prequel books again. They were pretty awesome.

by **Jorpho** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:45 pm UTC

Hooray for semi-regular updates! Only now I'm starting to lose track of what everyone is doing.

What was Tsukino researching again? And where was O-Chul going?

by **Naurgul** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:40 pm UTC

There was a scroll Xykon told her he didn't understand. O-Chul and the paladins are heading to a different gate than the PCs.

by **LuNatic** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 7:52 am UTC

Naurgul wrote:There was a scroll Xykon told her he didn't understand. O-Chul and the paladins are heading to a different gate than the PCs.

I get the feeling said scroll will reveal

Spoiler:

by **Sir_Elderberry** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:37 pm UTC

Well, yeah, that's probably part of it. (And would be a fun plot) But I also get the feeling that Xykon wants to replace Redcloak with Tsukiko, or at least HAVE a replacement to gain more leverage over him. Right now Xykon needs Redcloak, and I don't think Xykon likes needing anyone.

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