Order of the Stick - General Discussion

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TiLT
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by TiLT »

Yay, finally! I actually let out a little cheer that he's back again. It was about time, and now the Order of the Stick might actually be able to accomplish something (while Xykon is preoccupied with digging through the sewers and fighting random Otyugs).
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by craterus »

SpaceLord wrote:Guess who's back.

Are we approaching the end of a story arc?
in 664 why did the old man...
Spoiler:
burn the report?
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Odin »

craterus wrote:
SpaceLord wrote:Guess who's back.

Are we approaching the end of a story arc?
in 664 why did the old man...
Spoiler:
burn the report?
Spoiler:
Despite his stated alignment (I'm assuming it's the same as Roy's or they wouldn't have been in the same afterlife), he doesn't seem to have a problem with V's infernal deal and actually liked the elf's attempt to kill Xyklon. He decided not to tell Roy, presumably fearing that either the elf would get in trouble or that any future chance for the elf to re-assume his powers would be lost. Of course, we, the reader, can predict that Roy's ignorance will mean that he's less able to help V when it comes time to pay the piper.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Unagi »

Wasn't sure which OOTS stick thread to bump, but.


It's back (finally)


He injured his hand a while back and the comic was frozen for quite a while... Looks like he finally got a new panel made.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Fitzy »

He's always hurt, sick or something. Thankfully RSS works. I just have to remember where what was going on each time he comes back.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Odin »

Holy cow, look at me talking about this comic like I know what I'm saying 3+ years ago!

I can't handle the wait between new issues, so I lose interest and wander off. Every few years, if I get the time and the ambition, I try to figure out where I left off and catch up.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Holman »

Odin wrote:Holy cow, look at me talking about this comic like I know what I'm saying 3+ years ago!

I can't handle the wait between new issues, so I lose interest and wander off. Every few years, if I get the time and the ambition, I try to figure out where I left off and catch up.
I prefer to let OOTS build up for a few months, and then I read a chunk of them together. Somehow it's more satisfying that way.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Kraken »

Holman wrote:
Odin wrote:Holy cow, look at me talking about this comic like I know what I'm saying 3+ years ago!

I can't handle the wait between new issues, so I lose interest and wander off. Every few years, if I get the time and the ambition, I try to figure out where I left off and catch up.
I prefer to let OOTS build up for a few months, and then I read a chunk of them together. Somehow it's more satisfying that way.
That's my modus operandi too, but the last time I checked there were only a handful of new strips. Nice to know that it's moving forward again.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by SpaceLord »

Holy shitballs.

SPOILER ALERT!!!! DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ EVERY COMIC UP THROUGH 876!!!
Spoiler:
:(
Last edited by SpaceLord on Mon Mar 04, 2013 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by wonderpug »

Like, major major spoiler alert. If you need to catch up on past comics, do so now before looking at the new one.

And regarding the new one:
Spoiler:
Holy shit
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

Yeah, seriously.

Also, Rich has been cranking out one a day(ish) for the past week or so, so for those who haven't been checking, there's a semi-big pile of comics up.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Little Raven »

Spoiler:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Well, the good news is they have the diamond dust. Now they need to find someone who can do the resurrect.

On a related note, sounds like Xycon is on the move again. Watch out, everyone.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Zarathud »

Spoiler:
Whoa. This is what happens when you split the party!
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by SpaceLord »

Spoiler:
Unless there's a pressing need for him to save the world, I don't think Durkon plans to come back to life.

And is Belkar going to kill Mr. Scruffy? Noooooo!!!
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by wonderpug »

Little Raven wrote:
Spoiler:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Well, the good news is they have the diamond dust. Now they need to find someone who can do the resurrect.
Well, that's unless:
Spoiler:
he gets vampireified. Would Rich do that to us?!
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

wonderpug wrote:
Little Raven wrote:
Spoiler:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Well, the good news is they have the diamond dust. Now they need to find someone who can do the resurrect.
Well, that's unless:
Spoiler:
he gets vampireified. Would Rich do that to us?!
Spoiler:
I'm 90% sure that's what's going to happen. Remember that the Oracle's prophecy is that Durkon will return to his homeland "posthumously". Also apparently there's something in the Origin of PCs about how Durkon was sent away from his homeland due to a prophecy that he was going to bring destruction to it. Plus in 876, Malack said (something like) "Now let's see if we can reach a sort of compromise after all", which sounds like a vampiric accommodation.

So...all that, plus he was just drained to death by a vampire...
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by TiLT »

Spoiler:
I very much doubt that Malack will hurt any of the others at this point. Judging from his previous actions and the fact that he's probably Lawful Evil, he's very likely to listen to Durkon's wish and leave the others alive. In fact, I believe he will even give up on his plan to turn Durkon into a vampire after that last bit of monologue.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Zurai »

El Guapo wrote:
wonderpug wrote:
Little Raven wrote:
Spoiler:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Well, the good news is they have the diamond dust. Now they need to find someone who can do the resurrect.
Well, that's unless:
Spoiler:
he gets vampireified. Would Rich do that to us?!
Spoiler:
I'm 90% sure that's what's going to happen. Remember that the Oracle's prophecy is that Durkon will return to his homeland "posthumously". Also apparently there's something in the Origin of PCs about how Durkon was sent away from his homeland due to a prophecy that he was going to bring destruction to it. Plus in 876, Malack said (something like) "Now let's see if we can reach a sort of compromise after all", which sounds like a vampiric accommodation.

So...all that, plus he was just drained to death by a vampire...
Spoiler:
Yeah, Durkon's going to be a vampire in 1d4 days unless something major happens in the meantime. Malack wouldn't have killed him if he hadn't intended to go through with making him a vampire; he'd have level drained him and charmed him instead. Yeah, the party has the diamond dust to rez him, but Durkon and Malack are the only nearby clerics we know of that are high enough level to cast it. Also, they may not even find Durkon until he's risen again, since Belkar is dominated and V is missing.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Hrdina »

Yeah, the past week has been chock-full of very intense strips. If any of you have fallen behind, you really should catch back up.
Spoiler:
Noooooooooooooooooooo! Poor Durkon.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

Spoiler:
Assuming that Durkon does rise as a vampire, that means that Malack's going to get wiped very soon too, right? Because otherwise Durkon would essentially be (as I understand it) a vampire slave / thrall to Malack. Given Durkon's history, I don't think that'd make for a very compelling character. But if Durkon's a free-willed vampire, that's much more interesting.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Zurai »

El Guapo wrote:
Spoiler:
Assuming that Durkon does rise as a vampire, that means that Malack's going to get wiped very soon too, right? Because otherwise Durkon would essentially be (as I understand it) a vampire slave / thrall to Malack. Given Durkon's history, I don't think that'd make for a very compelling character. But if Durkon's a free-willed vampire, that's much more interesting.
Spoiler:
I can see Durkon as Malack's pawn being plenty interesting, but really it depends on how closely Rich is sticking to the rules on this one and whether Malack has any extant "children". Vampires can only directly control a certain amount of "children", and any that are created past that point are entirely free-willed. Or Rich can just ignore the whole control thing entirely.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by wonderpug »

878

Oh MAN
Spoiler:
The dying smile sticking is so heartbreaking, and it's a nice touch having it go away when the transformation begins.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Isgrimnur »

Holy crap.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Remus West »

Zurai wrote:
El Guapo wrote:
Spoiler:
Assuming that Durkon does rise as a vampire, that means that Malack's going to get wiped very soon too, right? Because otherwise Durkon would essentially be (as I understand it) a vampire slave / thrall to Malack. Given Durkon's history, I don't think that'd make for a very compelling character. But if Durkon's a free-willed vampire, that's much more interesting.
Spoiler:
I can see Durkon as Malack's pawn being plenty interesting, but really it depends on how closely Rich is sticking to the rules on this one and whether Malack has any extant "children". Vampires can only directly control a certain amount of "children", and any that are created past that point are entirely free-willed. Or Rich can just ignore the whole control thing entirely.
Spoiler:
Didn't Malak say he hated Nale for killing all of his children. Given recent events wouldn't that make Durkon an only child?
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

The latest (#879) is up. Apparently this is the last of "9 comics in 9 days" that Rich was doing, apparently as part of a Kickstarter reward. So the next comic is scheduled for next week.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Cortilian »

Spoiler:
I clearly missed something somewhere. How did Malak dispel the Death Ward? Something in the strip said about him making a backdoor. Did Durkon and him make the spell together?
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Isgrimnur »

Probably something oblique about #739.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

Cortilian wrote:
Spoiler:
I clearly missed something somewhere. How did Malak dispel the Death Ward? Something in the strip said about him making a backdoor. Did Durkon and him make the spell together?
Spoiler:
Yes. #876 (where he uses the backdoor) refers to the spell as the "fruit of our joint labor", and as Isgrimnur refers to there are a couple strips I believe showing them working together. Not sure they had previously shown exactly what they were working on, but they had been collaborating.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by wonderpug »

New two-pager up.
Spoiler:
:cry:
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by TiLT »

Not many punchlines recently, unless you expand the definition of "punchline" to include punching us in the balls. :P
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Zarathud »

Spoiler:
This was not the cause of death I was expecting as a result of our bloodthirsty halfling staying in the party, that's for certain!
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by suitlover »

"504 Gateway Timeout" error
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by El Guapo »

Spoiler:
Under D&D rules, once Malack releases Durkon from his thrall, can he later re-instate his control, or is it gone forever?
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Zurai »

El Guapo wrote:
Spoiler:
Under D&D rules, once Malack releases Durkon from his thrall, can he later re-instate his control, or is it gone forever?
Spoiler:
Gone forever.
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Re: Order of the Stick 634

Post by Unagi »

I'd love to hear peoples musings on what will be done with this new development.

Spoilered, I suppose. :)
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Re: Order of the Stick - General Discussion

Post by SpaceLord »

They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
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Re: Order of the Stick - General Discussion

Post by El Guapo »

Spoiler:
I'm curious how this'll turn out. As a practical matter, Xykon and Redcloak (and whoever else is with them) ought to promptly massacre the half-strength OOTS. It'd be a little awesome (on account of the massive balls required by Rich) to have that happen and then have the strip switch to following the Linear Guild instead.

Naturally I can't imagine them having that happen, I don't know how exactly they avoid that. I guess the Linear Guild could come in at that moment, Xykon attacks them, and the OOTS slips away. Either that or some random epic level intervention is required.

edit: looking at the OOTS forum, there appears to be a common theory that this is some type of illusion trap, a la Phantasmal Killer. That's probably the most plausible theory, actually.
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Re: Order of the Stick - General Discussion

Post by Unagi »

Spoiler:
His 'not this guy again' seemed to be more 'in character' than 'illusionary'.

and, isn't he vulnerable right now, and he may not want a fight either?
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Re: Order of the Stick - General Discussion

Post by El Guapo »

Spoiler:
I don't believe he's "vulnerable". He recovered his phylactery, which is what was keeping him from going on the march before, and I'm not aware of any other unique vulnerability.

The illusion could be accessing Roy's mind (as Phantasmal Killer does) - Roy's interacted enough with Xykon to have some sense of his personality / the kind of things he says, and that line is consistent with what Roy's heard.

That seems like the most plausible way to avoid what (if it's really Xykon) otherwise ought to be a party wipe encounter.
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Re: Order of the Stick - General Discussion

Post by abr »

El Guapo wrote:
Spoiler:
I don't believe he's "vulnerable". He recovered his phylactery, which is what was keeping him from going on the march before, and I'm not aware of any other unique vulnerability.
Spoiler:
Don't forget that the amulet Xykon has now is not his phylactery, but a fake provided by Redcloak. I'm not well versed enough in D&D rules to know how this will affect things.
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