The Order of the Stick: T-Rex, Troll Sex and Will Checks

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sfwarlock: Aug 11, 2007

MechanicalTomPetty posted:

I'm not sure why, but the line about the main villains unwittingly disintegrating themselves gave me a good long laugh and now I'm legit curious if there's anything out there where that actually happens.

There's a Star Trek book where the antagonists, something of a second-rate power that no one took seriously, discover a cache of remarkably powerful weapons and decide they're going to go out and make everyone take them seriously:

So it had been five scientists who discovered a particularly fierce-looking weapon in one of the lower rooms. It had been the only weapon in the room, and the room had had glyphs on it that were utterly unreadable to them. This did not deter them from bringing the weapon topside, mounting it on a tripod and testing it. If they had been able to read the sign which, roughly translated, meant "Remarkably stupid weapon. Do not use," they very well might have tested it anyway.
The test was quite simple. They picked a small mountain several hundred kilometers away, aimed the weapon, found the trigger, and fired it.
At first, it seemed to work extremely well. A deadly blue bolt ripped out of the bowels of the weapon and, inside of a second, had drilled a hole right through the mountain.
The ray then, in total defiance of logic, adhered to the curvature of the planet and kept going.
The immediate result was that as the Kreel scientists were congratulating each other on finding the deadliest weapon of all, the beam, in little more than an instant, completed its circuit of the planet and struck them from behind. The beam blew holes through two of the scientists who were in its path, struck the weapon and blew it up. The resulting explosion wiped the remaining Kreel scientists from the planet, not to mention from the annals of Kreel science. The subsequent fire burned itself out in a day.
The end result was that the planet, for the first time in a month, was utterly unoccupied by Kreel. Since the ground fire gun had never been set on automatic, DQN 1196 was now completely unprotected. If so much as a Klingon scoutship had arrived, they could have taken the planet and everything would have ended. But the Klingons were giving DQN 1196 a wide berth, since coming within parsecs of the place had been nothing less than suicide.
The foregoing provided three lessons: Never fire a weapon if the instructions are incomprehensible; if you must fire such a weapon, do so from a distance; never concede a planet, since anything can happen.

# ? Dec 21, 2020 17:48

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 12:46

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

GimmickMan posted:

Publication date tends to be the intended order for situations like this. Looking at the wiki, Start of Darkness was published in May 2007 which is near the end of War and XPs. So I'd say read up to the end of that book and then start SoD.

Also everyone who's read a thousand-plus strips of this silly stick figure comic for years really owes it to themselves (and to Rich's wallet) to read SoD. It's legit one of the best books on its own and it gives additional meaning to many other strips.

Thanks, that is what I was thinking of.

# ? Dec 21, 2020 20:02

Random Stranger: Nov 27, 2009

Hey, I was just doing my occasional check on if Good Deeds Gone Unpunished book was reprinted and I saw that the first book was on sale at $6. Not the most critical of strips to get, I know, but it's a cheap book!

# ? Dec 21, 2020 21:05

Gwyneth Palpate: Jun 7, 2010; Do you want your breadcrumbs highlighted?

~SMcD

Random Stranger posted:

Hey, I was just doing my occasional check on if Good Deeds Gone Unpunished book was reprinted and I saw that the first book was on sale at $6. Not the most critical of strips to get, I know, but it's a cheap book!

O-Chul's story is really good, as was Lien's.

# ? Dec 21, 2020 21:10

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

Mr scruffy and deep cut 1e fiend folio psychic armadillo thing having adventures is great too

# ? Dec 21, 2020 22:04

Gynovore: Jun 17, 2009; Forget your RoboCoX or your StickyCoX or your EvilCoX, MY CoX has Blinking Bewbs!

WHY IS THIS GAME DEAD?!

sfwarlock posted:

There's a Star Trek book where the antagonists, something of a second-rate power that no one took seriously, discover a cache of remarkably powerful weapons and decide they're going to go out and make everyone take them seriously:

OMG that book was awesome. If you're looking for funny Trek stuff, it's second only to How Much for Just the Planet.

# ? Dec 21, 2020 22:07

Lucas Archer: Dec 1, 2007; Falling...

Trek book chat derail - I used to work as a security guard at a toilet valve company, the night shift. There was an employee library stocked 99% with Trek books and romance novels. The two Trek books that stuck out with me: one called Here There Be Dragons (I think), where the Enterprise crew finds a planet that was like medieval ren faire crap and they had to pretend to be knights or something and Ro Laren was a princess. It was garbage. The other was a DS9 book whose name I can't recall, but it was an Odo/Quark story. They were shunted forward like an hour in time or something and found the entirety of DS9 raided and destroyed, all the main characters dying, by an attack from aliens that didn't use phasers - they used regular old guns, and the Federation was unprepared for a bunch of aliens in dome like armor who used shotguns or some bullshit. Much more entertaining.

# ? Dec 21, 2020 22:20

Eifert Posting: Apr 1, 2007; Most of the time he catches it every time.; Grimey Drawer

Tjis is gonna be some double bluff.

# ? Dec 22, 2020 23:56

Gwyneth Palpate: Jun 7, 2010; Do you want your breadcrumbs highlighted?

~SMcD

Serini devises a fiendish trap/puzzle that can only be overcome with ranks in architecture and engineering

# ? Dec 22, 2020 23:58

Shugojin: Sep 6, 2007; THE TAIL THAT BURNS TWICE AS BRIGHT...

But not a Fiendish puzzle, of course.

# ? Dec 23, 2020 00:37

TheAceOfLungs: Aug 4, 2010

Shugojin posted:

But not a Fiendish puzzle, of course.

The Fiendish puzzle comes after the fiendish puzzle.

# ? Dec 23, 2020 01:07

World Famous W: May 25, 2007; BAAAAAAAAAAAA

When does the Puzzle Fiend show up?

# ? Dec 23, 2020 01:29

AnoHito: May 8, 2014

They will debate for a few panels whether the plan is more fiendish or devilish

# ? Dec 23, 2020 05:15

Mystic Mongol: Jan 5, 2007; Your life's been thrown in disarray already--I wouldn't want you to feel pressured.; College Slice

sfwarlock posted:

There's a Star Trek book where the antagonists, something of a second-rate power that no one took seriously, discover a cache of remarkably powerful weapons and decide they're going to go out and make everyone take them seriously

That was basically the finale of Lower Decks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN4VLVwjbhs

Lower decks was real good you guys.

# ? Dec 23, 2020 05:51

Acerbatus: Jun 26, 2020; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

My parents got me Utterly Dwarfed for Christmas and I noticed something re-reading 1040;

Redcloak specifically notes that the entire place is made out of multidimensional stone, presumably that's how all the tunnels can lead into different spaces despite the doors being so close and presumably more than 5 by 5.

Shouldn't Redcloak realize that they're not in where they'd expected to find them, then?

# ? Dec 30, 2020 03:51

ultrafilter: Aug 23, 2007; It's okay if you have any questions.

He doesn't know that there's something you can only get to by bypassing the portal.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 04:12

Random Stranger: Nov 27, 2009

Acerbatus posted:

My parents got me Utterly Dwarfed for Christmas and I noticed something re-reading 1040;

Redcloak specifically notes that the entire place is made out of multidimensional stone, presumably that's how all the tunnels can lead into different spaces despite the doors being so close and presumably more than 5 by 5.

Shouldn't Redcloak realize that they're not in where they'd expected to find them, then?

I think it's the excuse for why the dungeon maps don't make sense. Presumably (and we haven't really seen inside the tunnels yet), there's twisting and branching pathways so Teevil (still trying to make the portmanteau for Team Evil a thing) is thinking they're further in. There's no reason for them to think that the order might be just inside the door, they're just seeing another dungeon.

Basically, it's a dungeon network, not Let's Make a Deal where they can pop a door open, get their zonk, and then move on.

Also, Teevil doesn't know for sure that they're in that door. They're just pretty sure they're not in the obvious choice door.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 04:50

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

Random Stranger posted:

Teevil (still trying to make the portmanteau for Team Evil a thing)

Clan of the Plan?

# ? Dec 30, 2020 05:18

Ponsonby Britt: Mar 13, 2006; I think you mean, why is there silverware in the pancake drawer? Wassup?

Random Stranger posted:

I think it's the excuse for why the dungeon maps don't make sense. Presumably (and we haven't really seen inside the tunnels yet), there's twisting and branching pathways so Teevil (still trying to make the portmanteau for Team Evil a thing) is thinking they're further in. There's no reason for them to think that the order might be just inside the door, they're just seeing another dungeon.

Basically, it's a dungeon network, not Let's Make a Deal where they can pop a door open, get their zonk, and then move on.

Also, Teevil doesn't know for sure that they're in that door. They're just pretty sure they're not in the obvious choice door.

Are they really a team though? Can't be a portmanteau if you're just a collection of separate individuals working at cross purposes.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 06:28

Otherkinsey Scale: Jul 17, 2012; Just a little bit of sunshine!

Acerbatus posted:

My parents got me Utterly Dwarfed for Christmas and I noticed something re-reading 1040;

Redcloak specifically notes that the entire place is made out of multidimensional stone, presumably that's how all the tunnels can lead into different spaces despite the doors being so close and presumably more than 5 by 5.

Shouldn't Redcloak realize that they're not in where they'd expected to find them, then?

The "multidimensional stone" is just to explain why they can't use phasing or something to walk through the walls.

The thing that's happening on this page (1222) is some other effect entirely.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 06:47

Rumda: Nov 4, 2009; Moth Lesbian Comrade

Ponsonby Britt posted:

Are they really a team though? Can't be a portmanteau if you're just a collection of separate individuals working at cross purposes.

That was the Order in the beginning though

# ? Dec 30, 2020 11:46

Brainamp: Sep 4, 2011; More Zen than Zenyatta

Rich posted a new Q&A answer sheet https://www.patreon.com/posts/45605183

# ? Dec 30, 2020 22:07

Cup Runneth Over: Aug 8, 2009; She said life's
Too short to worry
Life's too long to wait
It's too short
Not to love everybody
Life's too long to hate

Patreon people got a Q&A sheet from Rich today. Here's one of my favorite parts re:Redcloak:

quote:

Further, I should point out that Redcloak says a lot of things, some of which are true and some are not. Some are things he believes to be true but definitely aren�t, and others are things he knows are false but that he desperately wants to be true. This includes things you might reasonably expect him to be an uncontested expert on, such as his own reasons for doing something, and of course it also applies to almost everything we know about the Dark One. If you�re reading Redcloak�s dialogue and uncritically accepting every word of it, you�re overlooking one of his defining character traits: that he cloaks his vile actions in lofty rhetoric to convince himself that he is morally and ethically superior to the likes of Xykon. His alignment, however, does not care whether or not he is a skilled enough orator to make feeding a young woman alive to a pack of wights sound like a reasonable course of action.

Also, talking about how long it takes him to finish a page:

quote:

There were a few different variations on this question, so I�ll take a shot at answering it in more depth even though I don�t really have �regular� creation days. That is, I don�t plan out what I�m going to work on ahead of time or schedule specific tasks for specific days. I usually decide what I�m going to do based on 1.) what is already the most hideously overdue, and 2.) what I am currently capable of achieving (whether because of state of mind, physical issues, other steps that need to be done first, etc.). The trick is getting those two criteria to align. But I think what people are most interested in is how I produce the regular comic that gets posted on the site rather than other projects, so I�ll try to see if I can�t shed more light on that.

When I start working on a new page, writing takes priority. I usually need to start out my work day knowing that�s my primary task and putting everything else aside. I can�t really begin with art and then switch to writing, but if the writing goes well then I can often begin the art the same day. And to be clear, when I use the word day, I mean the period of time between when I first go into my office and when I stop working for the day; as with the comic itself, I don�t really operate on any defined sleep schedule and it�s actually far more likely that I�m getting up in the afternoon and then working through the night than otherwise.

Really, the writing has two phases anyway: the idea phase and the actual pushing-words-around-the-page-until-they-make-sentences phase. The idea phase is when I come up with the comic�s punchline if I don�t already have one; I almost always know what happens next in the sequence of events, the problem is turning that into something entertaining. I�ll generally write out the parts that I know need to happen to advance the story, then I�ll step away from the desk to think about jokes or any thorny plot issues that came up. And it�s entirely out of my control in terms of how long this part takes. Sometimes it takes an hour, or all day, or several days. Sometimes it is indistinguishable to an outside observer from me sitting on my office couch with my cat, staring out the window. This is one of the reasons I can�t start working on a script late in the work day, incidentally�I�ll just fall asleep while I�m thinking. Sometimes, the writing doesn�t work at all and I need to switch to doing something else and try again the next day (which is one of the main appeals of the A Monster for Every Season miniatures; it�s work I can do when the ideas aren�t there.)

Eventually, my brain solves the idea problem and I can sit back down at the desk to finish writing the script. That�s when I finalize who is saying what line of dialogue and put it in their unique voice, and break events down by panel. It usually takes less time than getting the idea, but not always. If it turns out that I have the wrong amount of story to fit one page then I need to decide if I want to expand it to two pages or cut it down to one. And if it needs to expand but for some reason I don�t want to do a two-pager, I might also see if there�s a natural place for a second punchline in the middle so I can split the idea into two strips instead. But then I need to come up with that punchline so it�s back to the idea phase.

Once that�s all sorted, I tackle the art. Well, no, that�s not true. Then I do something I call Text-in-Frame, where I draw the divider lines for the panels in my comic template in Illustrator and retype each character�s speech as a vaguely oval-shaped blob. I do this before drawing any of the art to make sure I don�t have too much dialogue to actually fit in the literal panels, because have you read my comic? It has a lot of words in it. It would have even more if I didn�t do this. Anyway, this stage often involves editing the script on the fly to change sentence construction so it matches the shape of the balloons better. For example, I can�t end a sentence on the longest word or it won�t fit right. It�s also a chance to go over what I�ve written one more time as I block it out, especially since I frequently do this at the start of a new day after having finished a script late the day before.

Then comes the art. In terms of mental concentration, this is the easiest part of creating a comic. While I�m still making decisions as I draw, I can mostly check out for long stretches. It�s the only time during the process where I can put on a podcast or a baseball game or music with any lyrics whatsoever. For writing, it�s silence or instrumental music only. But in terms of time consumed, the art often takes the longest. Sometimes I�ll get lucky and the ideas will flow and the writing will be finished right away, but that never happens with drawing. It takes as long as it takes, and as I said in a previous answer, I often have to take breaks to let my hand rest. Back when I started the strip I could dash off all the panels in a few hours, but those days are long gone. I don�t want to nail down the exact time it takes to draw a page because it varies wildly based on what�s actually happening, but I can usually finish the visuals of a single-page comic in two days of working. Comics where it�s two people standing and talking will probably take less time, and battle scenes generally take more. Complete changes of scenery take the longest because I have to design the space beforehand, trying to predict everything that I think is going to need to happen during the scene before creating any of the objects or backgrounds. Complex splash panels like the opening shot of Tinkertown or the first look at the Godsmoot temple took two or three days on their own.

When I finish everything, I let my wife know so she can read it and check for any obvious errors, or situations where it�s clear to me what I mean but won�t be to anyone who can�t literally read my thoughts. If she�s not immediately available, I�ll switch to something else for a while (again, the AMFES minis are great here). After she�s read it and we�ve gone over her notes, I make any changes necessary and then it�s ready to post.

Once the comic is posted, I usually go to bed because I most likely pushed myself through the last few hours of working and as I�m typing this it�s increasingly clear that I probably have some sort of undiagnosed sleep disorder? But that also helps clear the deck mentally for the next day, when I need to switch gears and work on whatever projects I�m trying to get done in the background, whether it�s the next book or something else. Then it�s just a matter of how many days I get to work on that before I need to put it aside because it�s time to start thinking about the next regular comic, and the cycle begins anew.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 22:13

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

quote:

I don�t really operate on any defined sleep schedule and it�s actually far more likely that I�m getting up in the afternoon and then working through the night than otherwise.

Mood.

# ? Dec 30, 2020 22:34

Johnny Aztec: Jan 30, 2005; by Hand Knit

Hey, Tsukio EARNED that feeding

# ? Dec 31, 2020 01:36

Otherkinsey Scale: Jul 17, 2012; Just a little bit of sunshine!

quote:

It�s difficult to talk about the composition of the core party because everything I�ve done with the comic is so firmly built on the foundation of who those characters ended up being. On one hand, sure, it certainly would have been better if I had included at least one more woman in the original cast for better balance, but on the other hand, I wouldn�t want to go back to change the gender of any of my existing characters.

Okay, I'm suddenly imagining the version of Order of the Stick where Elan is a woman but otherwise exactly the same and realizing that I'd be 1000% more invested in that version of Elan and Haley's romance arc. Not that I'm uninvested right now, but by god, would I be here for an idiot lesbian and her emotionally closed off, constantly pining bisexual.

Makes Haley's repressed bisexuality both more dramatic and funnier, too.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 02:03

Raenir Salazar: Nov 5, 2010; College Slice

Elan or Belkar I think would've worked pretty well.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 02:04

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

Otherkinsey Scale posted:

Okay, I'm suddenly imagining the version of Order of the Stick where Elan is a woman but otherwise exactly the same and realizing that I'd be 1000% more invested in that version of Elan and Haley's romance arc. Not that I'm uninvested right now, but by god, would I be here for an idiot lesbian and her emotionally closed off, constantly pining bisexual.

Makes Haley's repressed bisexuality both more dramatic and funnier, too.

So Beau and Yasha you say?

# ? Dec 31, 2020 02:07

Gwyneth Palpate: Jun 7, 2010; Do you want your breadcrumbs highlighted?

~SMcD

Raenir Salazar posted:

Elan or Belkar I think would've worked pretty well.

I'm actually calling a longshot in that I'm thinking that Serini might be an older, female Belkar. The sort of character who was obviously a coldblooded killer in her youth, but has been tempered with age to a more calculating sheen.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 02:07

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

Otherkinsey Scale posted:

Okay, I'm suddenly imagining the version of Order of the Stick where Elan is a woman but otherwise exactly the same and realizing that I'd be 1000% more invested in that version of Elan and Haley's romance arc. Not that I'm uninvested right now, but by god, would I be here for an idiot lesbian and her emotionally closed off, constantly pining bisexual.

Makes Haley's repressed bisexuality both more dramatic and funnier, too.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 02:08

Rumda: Nov 4, 2009; Moth Lesbian Comrade

Otherkinsey Scale posted:

Okay, I'm suddenly imagining the version of Order of the Stick where Elan is a woman but otherwise exactly the same and realizing that I'd be 1000% more invested in that version of Elan and Haley's romance arc. Not that I'm uninvested right now, but by god, would I be here for an idiot lesbian and her emotionally closed off, constantly pining bisexual.

Makes Haley's repressed bisexuality both more dramatic and funnier, too.

yeah

# ? Dec 31, 2020 15:43

paradoxGentleman: Dec 10, 2013; wheres the jester, I could do with some pointless nonsense right about now

Otherkinsey Scale posted:

Okay, I'm suddenly imagining the version of Order of the Stick where Elan is a woman but otherwise exactly the same and realizing that I'd be 1000% more invested in that version of Elan and Haley's romance arc. Not that I'm uninvested right now, but by god, would I be here for an idiot lesbian and her emotionally closed off, constantly pining bisexual.

Makes Haley's repressed bisexuality both more dramatic and funnier, too.

As wonderful as this sounds, the "I'm invisible!" jokes would have had a different tone.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 16:14

ultrafilter: Aug 23, 2007; It's okay if you have any questions.

There's a lot that would have to be written differently to make Shelan work.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 17:02

Wittgen: Oct 13, 2012; We have decided to decline your offer of a butt kicking.

ultrafilter posted:

There's a lot that would have to be written differently to make Shelan work.

Yeah. While the dynamic between Elan and Haley could remain mostly the same and probably even benefit, the dynamic between Elan and Roy would probably read much, much worse.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 17:26

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

Ah, but consider that it would mean Nale would also be female for the Identical Twin Shenanigans to work!

# ? Dec 31, 2020 17:31

Raenir Salazar: Nov 5, 2010; College Slice

jng2058 posted:

Ah, but consider that it would mean Nale would also be female for the Identical Twin Shenanigans to work!

Not necessarily.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 18:07

Cup Runneth Over: Aug 8, 2009; She said life's
Too short to worry
Life's too long to wait
It's too short
Not to love everybody
Life's too long to hate

A lot of OotS plot points hinge on characters being offensively stupid for laughs, so yeah, not necessarily

# ? Dec 31, 2020 18:32

paradoxGentleman: Dec 10, 2013; wheres the jester, I could do with some pointless nonsense right about now

Wittgen posted:

Yeah. While the dynamic between Elan and Haley could remain mostly the same and probably even benefit, the dynamic between Elan and Roy would probably read much, much worse.

One day, we'll achieve true gender equality and there will be no problem with depicting put-upon, cranky bosses being exhausted and cranky with charmingly idiotic characters.
But until then, yeah, this would've been very unpleasant to look at.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 19:20

The Bee: Nov 25, 2012; Making his way to the ring . . .
from Deep in the Jungle . . .

The Big Monkey!

Yeah. And if we're going back retroactively, having the two ladies of the party be the completely useless one and the untrustworthy thief would be some real bad optics.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 19:34

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 12:46

Donkringel: Apr 22, 2008

This is easy problem to solve.
Everyone gets that belt Roy had.

# ? Dec 31, 2020 19:37

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > BSS: Bisexual Super Son > The Order of the Stick: T-Rex, Troll Sex and Will Checks

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