[Webcomic] The Order of the Stick thread
- Thread starter Piotyr
- Start date
...or at least I feel confident that he would have considered/planned for the possibility. Tarquin has already demonstrated that he is a master tactician, and likes to keep his bases covered.
--Patrick
OoTS #907 - Always Hiring
Yeah, I wondered about that.
Actually, the whole proposition (specifically, panel 5) made me think of the possibility that Nale could proposition Durkon to team up to take on some Faries, Demons, or possibly an Eleti or to. I mean, they could become the Mythic Busters.
--Patrick
Fixed that for ya.
[DOUBLEPOST=1375467979][/DOUBLEPOST]And you know, it's possible we could see Durkon rejoin the Order, just as a vampire. Maybe? It depends on HOW evil he is now.Belkar is in the Order. I don't think "Amount of Evilness" is really a limiting factor in the group, or ever really was outside of Durkon, and, well, Durkon probably has less of an issue with it now.Fixed that for ya.
Question: In 3.5 (where OOTS remains, more or less), does being turned into a vampire flip your alignment on both axes? I.e. if you're lawful good and get vamped, do you go chaotic evil or do you stay lawful, just evil?
Because if Durkon is still lawful, I don't think Belkar's TEAM EVIL plan will go as well as he might want...
Dave
Staff member
I personally wonder if this might be a house rules kind of thing. One of the things that I had in my game was that if you were turned into a vampire your alignment didn't change right away, but would start to "slip" as you descended into killing innocents. I had one character in a Ravenloft-style campaign that never moved further than neutral from good as he controlled himself, never killing an innocent. In the end, he found and protected a village that voluntarily let themselves be bled as payment for said protection. (I fucked with this group in a later campaign when they had to kill the vampire lord of this small but prosperous village...)
I've never understood some of the rules of D&D, like no pointed weapons for clerics, all paladins are LG (like neutral or evil Gods don't want champions), etc. An automatically evil vampire is one of these rules.
I've never understood some of the rules of D&D, like no pointed weapons for clerics, all paladins are LG (like neutral or evil Gods don't want champions), etc. An automatically evil vampire is one of these rules.
Vampires can be anywhere on the law-chaos spectrum, but have to be evil.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Which is why my rapier-wielding, good-times-having cleric of the god of freedom and drunkenness looooooves Pathfinder
On the same note... I don't know how it is in D&D these days, but in PF a paladin still has to be lawful good - but his god can be either LG or one alignment step away from being LG. Which gives the LN god(s) accesse to pallies as well. On the evil side, there are the CE antipaladins (yeah, reeeeeally clever name there, I know...).
And I just have alignment be how the universe sees you. What you do as a member of that alignment is up to you. So Durkon is Evil without being evil, like how Miko was Good without being good.
For what it's worth, 5th edition is getting rid of some of this nonsense. Cleric weapon choice is by god and not by class, all gods have good and evil options (so it's by how you worship that determines what a god does for you), and clerics channel divinity instead of turn/rebuke undead (though those might be options for your channel divinity). The only requirement for Paladins is that they be Lawful, with their aims/powers being determined by their oaths.
So it's a lot more free form than it was before really, with more options instead of restrictions.
So it's a lot more free form than it was before really, with more options instead of restrictions.
You don't HAVE a deity in 5th. Your oaths might involve the gods, but that is different than being a direct worshiper. For instance, if you take the Oath of the Chevalier then you have sworn to protect the innocent/uphold honor/not wear Hawaiian shirts, but your religious beliefs aren't as important as upholding that oath. As long as you do so, you receive aid from the divine. Hence why you need to be Lawful again.
But it's still better than 3/3.5 where you had to be lawful good.
He totes needs to suck blood to live, which is probably universally defined as an EVIL act, regardless of context. In his spare time, he'll probably be nice to orphans and donate spare gold to a puppy shelter.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15753373#post15753373
Just for fun, I made a thread on the OotS forums, throwing out what the players that control the main characters might be like if Order of the Stick was a real D&D campaign. If you're too lazy ( ) to click on the link, here's what I wrote. What do you think, guys?
Just for fun, I made a thread on the OotS forums, throwing out what the players that control the main characters might be like if Order of the Stick was a real D&D campaign. If you're too lazy (
) to click on the link, here's what I wrote. What do you think, guys?The Giant has said before that Order of the Stick is not based on a D&D campaign he played. Neither is it supposed to be an actual campaign played by players. It's simply that the characters involved are aware that they're in a D&D setting, like they were self-aware player characters.
That said, I thought it'd be fun to imagine who some of the players might be IF they were actual players. Who do you think the players MIGHT be if Order of the Stick was a live, ongoing D&D campaign? (Also, if this topic has been discussed before, I apologize in advance and understand if it's locked.)
Here are some of my own ideas:
1) Roy - He and the DM are longtime friends, having played a number of campaigns together. His character might not have the longest back story, but the character of Roy pushes the campaign's story forward. After all, it was oath he swore to destroy Xykon that started the first dungeon crawl. He's also the most experienced in terms of playing D&D, and is the leader of the group.
2) Durkon: Probably the most detailed character background, but one of the quieter members at the table. He lets the others make the decisions, holds back and heals for the most part. The player has lightened up over the years, though, likely causing some good laughs regarding the character's phobia of trees.
3) Vaarsuvius - The kind of player that spent WAY too long fiddling with their character sheet. They used to spend WAY too much trying to role-play, with ridiculously long speeches, but they've cooled off that over the years. In the later years, the player has had more responsibilities. Maybe a new job that keeps them away from regular sessions or school or a baby. But the DM wants them to stick around, so they come up with ways to keep the character occupied for short periods of time (another dimension, unconscious/wandering, possession, etc).
4) Elan - Constantly putting themselves in trouble, I think Elan is one of two newbie players. They try, but wind up screwing up often. They also have REALLY lousy rolls sometimes (I ROLLED A 4!). Probably the most likeable player at the table, the DM has gradually added to the character's backstory, including an evil brother and father. The DM also personally helped the player switch classes to Swashbuckler, making them more than a support class as a reward for good roleplaying.
5) Haley - I'm actually not sure here. Maybe the type of player who knows the ins and outs of the rules, argues with the DM over them. Early in the campaign, the player maybe took advantage of the other players, especially the newbies, tricking them for more loot (stealing Belkar's potion, the worthless stones, etc). But they've gradually become less selfish, even helping Elan's player.
6) Belkar - The other newbie, but this one's the hack and slash type. The DM has had to talk them out killing other player characters in the past and even punished the player for awhile for being so brash. It seemed to work out, though, as it became lesson learned and they're now a major team player.
How about you guys? What do you think? I kept the descriptions purposely gender neutral, but do you think certain players might be a certain gender? Maybe Elan is someone's younger sister, similar to Sally in the webcomic Darths & Droids? Maybe another is the DM's (or another player's) girlfriend?
How would you picture the players around the table playing Order of the Stick?
That said, I thought it'd be fun to imagine who some of the players might be IF they were actual players. Who do you think the players MIGHT be if Order of the Stick was a live, ongoing D&D campaign? (Also, if this topic has been discussed before, I apologize in advance and understand if it's locked.)
Here are some of my own ideas:
1) Roy - He and the DM are longtime friends, having played a number of campaigns together. His character might not have the longest back story, but the character of Roy pushes the campaign's story forward. After all, it was oath he swore to destroy Xykon that started the first dungeon crawl. He's also the most experienced in terms of playing D&D, and is the leader of the group.
2) Durkon: Probably the most detailed character background, but one of the quieter members at the table. He lets the others make the decisions, holds back and heals for the most part. The player has lightened up over the years, though, likely causing some good laughs regarding the character's phobia of trees.
3) Vaarsuvius - The kind of player that spent WAY too long fiddling with their character sheet. They used to spend WAY too much trying to role-play, with ridiculously long speeches, but they've cooled off that over the years. In the later years, the player has had more responsibilities. Maybe a new job that keeps them away from regular sessions or school or a baby. But the DM wants them to stick around, so they come up with ways to keep the character occupied for short periods of time (another dimension, unconscious/wandering, possession, etc).
4) Elan - Constantly putting themselves in trouble, I think Elan is one of two newbie players. They try, but wind up screwing up often. They also have REALLY lousy rolls sometimes (I ROLLED A 4!). Probably the most likeable player at the table, the DM has gradually added to the character's backstory, including an evil brother and father. The DM also personally helped the player switch classes to Swashbuckler, making them more than a support class as a reward for good roleplaying.
5) Haley - I'm actually not sure here. Maybe the type of player who knows the ins and outs of the rules, argues with the DM over them. Early in the campaign, the player maybe took advantage of the other players, especially the newbies, tricking them for more loot (stealing Belkar's potion, the worthless stones, etc). But they've gradually become less selfish, even helping Elan's player.
6) Belkar - The other newbie, but this one's the hack and slash type. The DM has had to talk them out killing other player characters in the past and even punished the player for awhile for being so brash. It seemed to work out, though, as it became lesson learned and they're now a major team player.
How about you guys? What do you think? I kept the descriptions purposely gender neutral, but do you think certain players might be a certain gender? Maybe Elan is someone's younger sister, similar to Sally in the webcomic Darths & Droids? Maybe another is the DM's (or another player's) girlfriend?
How would you picture the players around the table playing Order of the Stick?
I think it's a great list. Though I have a few theories to tack on myself.
Haley: I think this is the only actual girl in the group. Not only that, but I think that she has a crush on Elan's player. It's one of those geek moments where female geek has thing for male geek, but male geek is too shy or far removed from social interactions that he has absolutely no idea anyone could possibly be interested in them romantically. So as far as he's concerned, her flirting was all just an in-game joke.
Haley is new as well. This is evident from her inability to really put any thought into her character's goals. She associates Theives with stealing, as do most newbies. She plays the theif as extreme as possible, even stealing from her associates because she thinks that not only is it fun, but she has every right to do so without the other players getting mad at her (so she thinks).
Eventually Haley and Elan's players start dating. About that same time that they do in the game.
It's kinda awkward for new players to be able to RP a relationship in game only without some kind of real life feelings to back it up. This is also why Haley's player has to be a girl. (Sure it could be two gay guys/girls playing both characters, but they would have to be two people who could maintain a real world relationship).
Eventually Haley's player also starts to understand the point of having goals and in-character reasons for her background. The GM encourages this with her going silent for a bit.
Haley: I think this is the only actual girl in the group. Not only that, but I think that she has a crush on Elan's player. It's one of those geek moments where female geek has thing for male geek, but male geek is too shy or far removed from social interactions that he has absolutely no idea anyone could possibly be interested in them romantically. So as far as he's concerned, her flirting was all just an in-game joke.
Haley is new as well. This is evident from her inability to really put any thought into her character's goals. She associates Theives with stealing, as do most newbies. She plays the theif as extreme as possible, even stealing from her associates because she thinks that not only is it fun, but she has every right to do so without the other players getting mad at her (so she thinks).
Eventually Haley and Elan's players start dating. About that same time that they do in the game.
It's kinda awkward for new players to be able to RP a relationship in game only without some kind of real life feelings to back it up. This is also why Haley's player has to be a girl. (Sure it could be two gay guys/girls playing both characters, but they would have to be two people who could maintain a real world relationship).
Eventually Haley's player also starts to understand the point of having goals and in-character reasons for her background. The GM encourages this with her going silent for a bit.
figmentPez
Staff member
Well, you weren't that far off.
So for someone that isn't very knowledgeable with D&D, why didn't the curing work?
His cure light wounds have been changed to cause lights wounds. I don't know the rules exactly for vampires, but it would make sense in the way that now that he's undead, everything has different effects on him. Cure light wounds will have the opposite reaction on him, and visa versa.
Dave
Staff member
When undead cast cure to them it's like harm to us and our healing spells harm them. It's a negative energy thing.
NINJA!!
He's more prone to evil acts, but he's still heroic.
That's what I figured, but thanks for the clarification, everyone.
Also? Holy crap, is Rich ever belting these strips out fast lately. We're getting nearly two a week at this rate. His thumb must have healed up. Also, I bet he's putting them out this quick to finish off the book and take a break from the main comic to get more of the Kickstarter rewards done. And likely work on Book 5's layout and commentary (which I'm totally stoked for).
Also? Holy crap, is Rich ever belting these strips out fast lately. We're getting nearly two a week at this rate. His thumb must have healed up. Also, I bet he's putting them out this quick to finish off the book and take a break from the main comic to get more of the Kickstarter rewards done. And likely work on Book 5's layout and commentary (which I'm totally stoked for).
Isn't the name relevant to the spell though? What I mean is, if an undead casts something to heal themselves, don't they cast "Harm" or whatever it's called and not "Heal"? At least, I think I've seen some characters do that in the comic... Or perhaps Durkon just isn't aware of that yet?