Characters of the Order of the Stick
Encyclopedia
This is a list of characters from the webcomic
The Order of the Stick
(OOTS). It is a comedic webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy through the ongoing tale of the eponymous fellowship of adventuring heroes. The comic is written and illustrated by Rich Burlew, who creates the comic in a colorful stick figure style.
Taking place in a magical world that loosely operates by the rules of the 3.5 edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), the comic follows the sometimes farcical exploits of six adventurers as they strive to save the world from an evil lich. Much of the comic's humor stems from these characters either being aware of the game rules that affect their lives or having anachronistic knowledge of modern culture, which in turn is often used by the author to parody various aspects of role-playing games and fantasy fiction. While primarily comedic in nature, The Order of the Stick features a continuing storyline serialized episodes from one to four pages. , over 800 such episodes have been released.
Although it is principally distributed online at the website Giant in the Playground, seven book collections have been published, including several print-only stories. Among these collections are "On the Origin of PCs", "Start of Darkness", and "Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales". An alternate version of the strip appeared monthly in Dragon magazine for 22 issues. These strips, among others, are collected in "Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales".
This section deals with characters that are members of the Order of the Stick. According to Rich Burlew
, the author of the strip, the characters are roughly 7th to 9th level
when the comic begins, though the characters have displayed abilities that require them to be around 15th level since he made that statement. The characters are mostly book-legal Dungeons & Dragons
version 3.5 characters. Burlew, however, has stated that he does not wish to limit the characters by making concrete character sheets for them. The characters in the strip have occasionally mentioned feats, spells, skills, and templates which do not exist in the default D&D rules, usually for comedic purposes, such as "Summon Plot Exposition", "Craft Disturbing Mental Image", a paladin ability of "Summon Conscience", and "Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion", a parody of the spell "Evard's Black Tentacles".
. Roy created the Order of the Stick to assist him in fulfilling a Blood Oath from his dead father to defeat Xykon. Roy is noted for his sense of personal responsibility, making it his duty to try to save the world simply because no one else will. He is a reversal of the common "dumb fighter" cliché, possessing an MBA, which stands for Master of Battle Administration, from Fighter College. He fights with his ancestral two-handed greatsword. Roy is the main character of the comic. Much of the subplot of the second book is devoted to his growth as a leader and a man. He was originally developed as the "straight man" for the other members of the Order, and is highly competent, in sharp contrast to several of his fellow party members.
Cleric
, is the healer of the party. He had worked with Roy for years prior to the founding of the "Order of the Stick." Durkon travels through human lands on the orders of the high priest of Thor, who has exiled him as a result of a prophecy. In addition to his warhammer, shield, and heavy armor, he also employs divine magic granted by his patron god, Thor
, such as calling down lightning or growing to many times his normal three-foot height. Durkon speaks and writes in a Scottish accent and has a fear of trees, taking any chance he can get to fight them.
Wizard
. Vaarsuvius's gender is deliberately ambiguous, causing others, including teammates, to guess or make assumptions about the character's gender. Vaarsuvius affects an unnecessarily verbose manner of expression to the point that it interferes with the elf's effectiveness. Vaarsuvius is arrogant and condescending to those the wizard considers of inferior intellect. Vaarsuvius is motivated by the need to gain "ultimate arcane power" as an end unto itself. Vaarsuvius left the tutelage of a master to become an adventurer solely to seek it out. Vaarsuvius carries no visible weapons or armor, fighting instead with a wide variety of powerful magical effects, such as fireballs and lightning bolts. The elf also possess several unique spells such as the aforementioned 'Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion'. Vaarsuvius has two adopted children and was married to an equally ambiguously-gendered baker, but the baker successfully filed for divorce due to Vaarsuvius prioritizing "ultimate arcane power" ahead of the family.
. The Order's second-in-command, she is skilled in stealth and deception, often serving as a scout for the party. In many early strips, she is portrayed as being highly materialistic. Haley, a former member of a Thieves' Guild, learned that her father was being held for ransom by a dictator in a foreign land, and she originally joined the Order to raise the money necessary to rescue him. It is later discovered that her father purposefully became imprisoned to learn how to overthrow the government of the Empire of Blood, whose grand general is Elan's father. She develops a romantic crush on fellow member Elan and, later, begins a relationship with him. Haley fights using a longbow. She became the leader of the Order for a few months while Roy was dead, dragging his decomposing corpse along with her so he could be resurrected.
/Dashing Swordsman. Elan is the happy-go-lucky, childlike bard of the Order. Early in the series, he is frequently inept and oblivious to the motives of those around him, such as Haley's long-concealed attraction to him. Raised solely by his mother, Elan discovers early in the story that his absent warlord father raised his twin brother, Nale, to be an evil mastermind. Elan fights with a rapier, making puns while he fights, and is able to use illusion magic. In Dungeons & Dragons, a character of the bard class may employ music/singing to grant his allies bonuses, but Elan's use of music and song to inspire his fellow adventurers often has mixed results.
Ranger
/Barbarian
. Belkar is an erratic, casual killer driven by a variety of selfish impulses. While ostensibly the party's tracker, he is astoundingly bad at most of his class skills, including tracking. He joined the Order to escape justice from a deadly bar fight in which he knifed fifteen people. The Order does not abandon him, despite his bloodthirsty tendencies, due to Roy's belief that he must keep the violent halfling under control. After Roy is dead, Haley, who becomes the Order's leader, states she'd abandon him if she didn't need all the help she could get. Belkar's loyalty to the Order fluctuates with his mood, and, despite frequently thinking about it, he never actually betrays them. Belkar fights with two daggers. Though he's often believed to be unintelligent, even to himself, he's occasionally shown as cunning if in danger. He later adopts a housecat named Mr. Scruffy to be his animal companion.
his dog and, later, his grandmother.
In his seventies, he fell in with the goblin Redcloak, who told him of a plan to unlock one of the gates imprisoning the Snarl and use the monster to blackmail the gods themselves. When they tried, however, Lirian, the gate's defender, defeated Xykon with a virus that neutralized his spellcasting powers. Redcloak restored Xykon's power by turning him into a lich
, making him immune to the virus. Xykon then defeated Lirian and trapped her soul in a gem. An unexpected side effect of becoming a lich is that he can no longer enjoy coffee
. Only the deaths of others amuse him any more.
Six months before the start of the webcomic, Xykon took over the Dungeon of Dorukan by defeating the wizard Dorukan, trapping his soul in the same gem as Lirian. Though Lirian's gate was destroyed when Redcloak fought her treant
servants, he now had access to Dorukan's gate. Filling the dungeon with goblins
, mercenaries and undead
minions, he waited for his chance to unlock the gate.
Xykon is, in many ways, a stereotypical evil overlord as seen in many fantasy novels and roleplaying games. He does his best to live up to all the clichés associated with the role. He is also genuinely cruel and sadistic, taking joy in the deaths of others. He is rarely surprised by anything, is normally guided by his whims, and cannot remember the names of the Order, often butchering Roy Greenhilt's surname into Bluepommel, Redblade or forgetting who he is altogether. This hints that either he has a vast experience with adventurers and villains or that he has a careless and chaotic nature. He is often shown to be casual about his evil deeds and is rarely in a serious mood. He finds tactical discussions tedious, feeling that simply throwing his minions, whom he regards as expendable, into the fray in huge numbers will get the job done. Despite his lack of strategic abilities, he is nonetheless quite clever. He has come up with some great plans, such as letting a paladin escape so he could spy on her and find out where the Sapphire gate was. The fact that he appears incapable of planning has worked to his advantage. His stated belief is that there is a level of force against which no tactics can be successful. He uses a shock and awe technique as his primary means of victory, though he also believes that one of the keys to victory is how far one is willing to debase oneself until feeling remorse. He has used the gullibility of heroes against the Order of the Stick, and he knows the genre conventions of evil.
Roy has stated that Xykon is at least 21st level, and Xykon can cast epic spells such as Cloister as well as maximized 9th level spells.
His phylactery, which is also Redcloak's unholy symbol, is currently lost somewhere in the sewers of Azure City or has washed out to sea.
Intelligent, with a dry and somewhat sarcastic sense of humour, Redcloak usually plays the straight man
to the rest of his team's antics. He appears to have a decent grasp of tactics and considers them more important than does his master. He is familiar with chemistry to the extent that he can summon elementals
based on specific chemical element
s, such as titanium
and chlorine
during the siege of Azure City and magnesium
during a bonus comic, rather than the classical elements of Earth
, Air
, Water
and Fire
. Unlike Xykon, Redcloak can remember the names of Roy and his party and is also familiar with Soon Kim.
The comic strip has given hints regarding Redcloak's Dungeons & Dragons character level, though it is not stated directly. During the siege of Azure City, Redcloak cast an Extended Summon Monster VII spell, indicating that he is at least level 14. He cast Blade Barrier, remarking that it would deliver 15d6 damage, indicative of a level 15 character. The high priest of the Twelve Gods failed his saving throw against Redcloak's destruction spell (level 13) by rolling a "21" against a 7th level spell. Elan also mentioned that he believed Redcloak to be at least 17th level.
Redcloak's unholy symbol is Xykon's phylactery
. He is loyal to Xykon out of guilt for his actions and devotion to the Dark One's plan. He endures the lich's insults, but resents him for ordering goblins to their death indiscriminately. His attitude temporarily changes due to his mastery over the hobgoblins, whom he initially despised, only changing his opinion of them when one of them pushed him out of the way of a boulder and died in his place. When Xykon's was temporarily bodiless and confined to his phylactery, Redcloak openly criticized him, stating that he does not trust Xykon as an ally of the Goblin race. Redcloak called him on his hypocrisy when Xykon insisted on good teamwork only because he was weak at the time
Later strips show Redcloak taking on a more important role in the leadership of Team Evil. He deals with day-to-day issues and tricked Xykon into letting them stay at Azure City for months. He established Azure City as the basis of a Goblin-ruled sovereign nation known as Gobbotopia, declaring that it was time the goblinoid races achieved international recognition as more than mere monsters. Redcloak is technically the Supreme Leader of Gobbotopia, but he has placed his rule on hold, handing the responsibilities to the hobgoblin Jirix, to help Xykon finish his quest.
Redcloak lost his right eye during O-Chul's prison break. Because the prison break also resulted in the loss of Xykon's phylactery, Xykon imposed an "idiot tax" on Redcloak by forbidding him to regenerate his lost eye.
umbrella that spreads magical darkness. It desires to come out of the shadow, or be otherwise illuminated, going as far as to beg a group of lantern archons to attack it with their damaging light rays to light it up.
The monster has not exhibited vicious behavior. Rather, it is timid, has low self-esteem, is prone to inane observations, acts oblivious about things around it, and displays childish behavior, such as throwing a tea party with a stuffed dragon, the dead Roy, and a paralyzed O-Chul. It was unable to recognize Dorukan's Gate while looking directly at it. This has become a recurring joke in the strip, as every time one of the evil characters mentions the gates, the monster is ignorant of what the gate means or even of its existence.
Despite calling the monster a "bozo", Xykon has implied that it is powerful. Its power is verified when it is confronted by Miko Miyazaki. When Miko hits the monster with a full round of attacks, while both Roy and Hinjo were previously severely injured by such attacks, the Monster said the attacks merely tickled. It then challenges her to a game of "Who Can Hit the Lightest", but subsequently loses by knocking Miko and her horse through a wall and several miles further. That the monster actually was trying to hit her lightly is confirmed by its disappointment at having lost. When angered, its shout produces a shockwave powerful enough to blow both Haley and Belkar off their feet, intimidating them into making a trade of stew for the bodies of Roy and O-Chul, rather than taking them away from the Monster's tea party. Shortly afterward, as Haley and Belkar escape with Roy's corpse and O-Chul, the monster stomps the ground at the direction of one of the Demon Cockroaches, which results in a massive, ground-cracking earthquake. Despite the fact that the monster causes the earthquake without any acknowledged effort on its part, it feels tired and hungry after having done so. The monster also unwittingly teleports Vaarsuvius and O-Chul away from Xykon.
It has since then attempted to recreate the teleportation effect to no avail. He later asked Tsukiko to check up on O-Chul and, after being dismissed by her, casually comments that the "way complicated" ritual she had been working on was actually half a ritual, despite having only seen it briefly.
It is revealed during a conversation between the monster and the imprisoned O-Chul that Xykon tries to feed the monster live children in an attempt to make him scarier. This fails, however, as the monster doesn't eat children, and just dumps them in the trash whenever Xykon's attention is focused elsewhere. The monster and O-Chul have come to regard each other as friends, going so far as to have O-Chul refer to it as Monster-san, since the monster does not know its own name.
According to the expansion book, Start of Darkness, the Monster originally came from the deep rainforest. He was caught by a pair of hunters who comment how unusual it is that one of its species would be in a rainforest and how strange it is that he can talk. He made it clear that he was deeply fond of the rainforest, enjoying, in particular, the sunlight and fresh breezes, things it is denied under Xykon's control. He later found himself as an exhibition in a circus group, where his great love for stew is first shown. At least one member of the audience was absolutely horrified and disgusted by his appearance. Redcloak said he knew what the creature was and that the monster could escape easily if he wanted. Redcloak steals him from the circus and Xykon, afterwards, takes charge of it. He charms the monster to eat Redcloak and spit out the phylactery on the chance that Redcloak ever betrays him.
The monster is male, though his species and appearance are unknown. He refers to having known his father, describing him as far bigger than himself and possessing a vastly greater appetite, but knows nothing else of his species. When O-Chul reveals the rather obvious fact that he, like the monster, does not eat babies, the monster is overjoyed by the prospect of creating a 'No-Baby-Eating Club', which he specifically forbids Tsukiko from joining. O-Chul is horrified at the prospect that Tsukiko eats babies, but the monster denies this, saying the only reason she can't be a member is because girls can't join the club.
blue and purple eyes, was first seen in the Azure City jail where she had been imprisoned for "unnatural acts of wizardry". Along with Belkar and a thief accused of grand larceny, she agreed to help defend Azure City against Xykon in exchange for a reduced sentence. During the fight, she sided with Xykon, healing him and attacking Azure City soldiers. She later attempted to drop off her paperwork with Redcloak, who rudely dismissed her, leaving her in the courtyard with a chlorine elemental who was ordered to kill all humans. She killed the elemental with a Shout spell and later rejoined Xykon and Redcloak in the ruins of the castle, where, to the amusement of Xykon, she attempted to blame Redcloak for trying to kill her. She then came upon Miko's remains and considered animating her as a free-willed, evil undead to get even with Redcloak, then dismissed the notion, thinking the creature wouldn't have been powerful anyway. She later leads Black Squadron with a group of wights in an attempt to take out Haley's resistance group and eventually engages in direct battle with Haley.
She has levels as a mystic theurge, giving her access to both divine and arcane spells. She states that she is sexually attracted to undead
, a fact that mildly disturbs Xykon, who comments that he's not a "biophiliac" and is uninterested in the living. She keeps a sleeping toy in Xykon's likeness. She denies any rumours of bisexual tendencies, despite an alleged incident with a female skeleton in a crypt. She believes that Azure City is bigoted against her for being "different" and has shown motherly tendencies towards the wights that she created. She has also stated her belief that, since the undead are the antithesis of life and living people are dishonest and spiteful, logically, the undead must be pure and honest. She even believes this of Xykon.
She has verbally expressed her desire to replace Redcloak as Xykon's second in command, but she has not been informed about the gates, or that it is the ultimate goal of Team Evil to capture one intact.
, similar to the insect banter in the margins of Cricket Magazine. Although they are usually side characters, they sometimes take part in the comic's action. For instance, in one strip, Miko uses one of the roaches to escape a forcecage by making the roach breathe fire, lighting a Molotov cocktail
made from her cloak and a bottle of dwarven brandy.
Start of Darkness shows that the Cockroaches traveled from the Spice Rack of the Damned in the Abyss to an evil-themed restaurant that Xykon, Redcloak and Right-Eye formerly frequented via a portal. They then chose to follow Xykon because he often visited the restaurant and thus eventually picked up the stench.
/rogue
/sorcerer
who specializes in enchantment spells, he has the same combination of abilities as his bardic
twin, but more complicated. He was raised by his ruthless, lawful evil father, a powerful general of an evil army, while Elan was raised by their mother, a kindly, chaotic good barmaid.
He looks identical to Elan except for a small goatee, later confirmed by Rich Burlew in the first collected book as an intentional reference to Spock
in the Star Trek
Mirror Universe
). During one of his plans, Nale shaved off the goatee and glued it onto his brother in order to swap places with Elan, though it had grown back by the time he was imprisoned. His cunning, scheming, and evil nature makes him the opposite of the light-hearted, good-natured, and comically inept Elan. He is also in a relationship with Sabine, Haley's opposite. He is the smartest member of the guild, though he has a tendency to outsmart himself.
He is skilled with words and is a master planner. Unlike Elan, he can quickly arrive at an intelligent, although not usually the most optimal, solutions to his problems. He tends to over-complicate situations in order to reach a certain end, such as killing 421 random people just to let the police know where he could be located. His intelligence is also his weakness, for many times his overconfidence or underestimation of others results in his downfall.
At one time, Nale succeeded in replacing his brother within the Order and traveled with them to Azure City. He had planned to eliminate the other members of the Order as quickly as possible by engineering things so that he ends up alone with each one, in turn. However, upon discovering the Order of the Stick's mission to protect the Gates of the Snarl from Xykon, Nale changed his plans. He now intends to seize control of the Gates himself, having deduced that Xykon must have devised a way to channel and direct the energy of the Snarl.
Although captured by the Order of the Stick and imprisoned by the Sapphire Guard in anti-magic cells, Nale escaped with Sabine and Thog during the war with Xykon. They left the city to resume efforts to take one of the two remaining gates.
He resurfaced when Sabine captured Elan and brought him to Nale. Elan had thought Nale was dead due to what Nale describes as his "willful ignorance". When Sabine gave another energy draining kiss to Elan, as ordered by Nale, she willingly made out with him and Elan escaped during their ensuing argument.
barbarian
with two levels in fighter. He likes puppies, ice cream with sprinkles, and rocket skates, but is afraid of pretty girls and Teletubbies
. He wields a greataxe and displays a childlike innocence while killing without mercy.
Thog's speech is always depicted in lower-case bold letters in the comic, a convention also used for other low-intelligence characters. Thog's stupidity and follower mentality makes him the opposite of Roy Greenhilt, the competent leader. Also, while Roy is clearly attracted to beautiful girls to the point of clouding his judgement, Thog is afraid of them, because he fears cooties
. Thog was arrested by the Cliffport Police Department and charged with multiple crimes, but escaped after Elan cleverly persuaded him into destroying their prison bars. For Elan's unexplained and unused stowaway plan, Thog wears a leprechaun
costume, while he packs a giant wooden alpaca with potato salad. Prior to this he was wearing a Moogle costume.
When he was reunited with his comrades, Nale told him Sabine missed him, resulting in him "bull rush tackle hugging" Sabine. While Elan and Haley fought Nale and Sabine, Thog returned and, his greataxe having been left behind in Cliffport, tore the door off its hinges for use as an improvised weapon. Elan appealed to their newly discovered friendship and persuaded Thog that he would rather go and eat ice cream with his friends than have them fight. Thog agreed and promptly bludgeoned Haley several times with the door. Thog did not really participate in the subsequent battle between the Guild and the Order, as Elan subdued him using an illusion. He was captured after Durkon used a Hold Person spell on him at the battle's conclusion as he tries to join in the Order's group hug. The Order turned him over to the Sapphire Guard, but he later escaped with Nale and Sabine.
Thog resurfaced as a prisoner and gladiatorial champion in the Empire of Blood, but is not currently aware that Nale and Sabine are also there.
Sabine was revealed as a succubus
nearly six hundred strips after her debut. Her energy drain, shapeshift abilities, and batlike wings, are consistent with a succubus, although she also is able to use Plane Shift, which is not an innate succubus ability. Though capable of mimicking anyone, Sabine generally shapeshifts into dark-skinned individuals, as she is also dark-skinned. She possesses high fiend-based racial bonuses, making her hard to damage in combat. Haley was able to damage her, despite fiend bonuses, with silver and cold iron arrows, but since she used both arrows at once, Haley is unsure which of these arrows are able to do damage. Roy's enhanced sword is also capable of damaging her.
She once made an attempt to seduce Roy after her enchantment spells wore off mid-battle, but it failed and she was thrown out of a window by Roy. Despite her defeat, Sabine recovered before she could be taken into custody and used her shapeshifting ability to replace a member of the Cliffport Police Department. She used this disguise to rescue Pompey from custody. She arrived at Azure City and hooked up with Nale, though she was forced to leave to go to the Lower Planes because of a deal she made with an unknown group of fiends. The group, later revealed to be the "Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission" (IFCC), made her promise to inform them of anything that might tip the balance of good and evil. Sabine despises Pompey, considering the half-elf to be a little pervert.
Defeated by Haley and Durkon, Sabine recently spent time in the cells of the Sapphire Guard, along with Nale and Thog. While there, she attempted to persuade the imprisoned Miko Miyazaki, a fallen Paladin, to convert to being a Blackguard. In return, Miko attempted to kill her, leaving Sabine's head inconveniently twisted backwards. Following battle damages to the cell, Sabine escaped with Nale and Thog, flying away from Azure City in search of another of the Snarl's gates.
She resurfaced in The Empire Of Blood to take Elan to Nale. When Nale told her to give Elan one of her life-draining kisses, Elan made out with her, to Nale's disgust, and escaped during the ensuing argument between Sabine and Nale.
cleric
of Loki who left her ancestral homelands to escape her arranged marriage to her supportive and loving husband Ivan, whom she unjustly regarded as cruel. She had a short liaison with her opposite number, Durkon, after the Guild left her for dead. She also tells him that she was never really on the Linear Guild's side, but joined them because Loki wanted her to steal an artifact Nale was looking for. Durkon seems to have truly cared for her, but when he found out that she had left her husband, and was still technically married, he rejected her out of his sense of honor and duty. This caused her to flee crying and she has not been seen since. Nale has since stated she is no longer a member of the Linear Guild. Hilgya's free-spirited attitude and hedonism made her the opposite of the dutiful and unassuming Durkon. The deity she worships also appears to be the rival of the deity Durkon worships. Whether or not she survived the dungeon explosion is unknown.
who wielded dual scimitars with a 3.0 version of the fly spell, among others. During a one-sided battle with his opposite number, Vaarsuvius, he was dragged off by lawyers for being a rather obvious parody of the character Drizzt Do'Urden
, a continuation of a prior joke within the comic. Zz'dtri's taciturn, laconic nature and unwillingness to share his knowledge makes him the opposite of the rather long-winded, lecturing Vaarsuvius. He also has a clearly defined gender, as opposed to the androgynous Vaarsuvius.
Zz'dtri reappeared shortly after Thog appeared in the Empire of Blood's gladiatorial games with a new familiar named Qarr. He managed to escape the lawyers because parody is protected speech
. He surprise attacked Haley
and turned her into stone, much like he did to Celia.
ranger
who was prejudiced against halflings, in contrast to fellow ranger Belkar Bitterleaf's prejudice against kobolds. The intense hatred the two had for each other culminated at the Order vs. Guild battle, where Yikyik was defeated. Belkar appears later wearing what he refers to as a "swanky new leather hat" made from Yikyik's hide.
In comparison to Vaarsuvius, who displays no attraction to either gender, Pompey is quite lecherous and readily flirts with any attractive female. The primary reason that Pompey was left behind in Cliffport was because Sabine refused to carry him on the three-day flight to Azure City, forced to endure his constant "accidental" gropes.
druid
, the evil opposite of Durkon. He is an amoral and psychotic person devoted to the physical natural world, as opposed to Durkon's morality, kindheartedness, and devotion to a deity. Equally, as a druid, Leeky embraces nature and surrounds himself with Treants, while Durkon possesses a fear and loathing for trees. He was kicked out of his druid circle because he is unbalanced, where Durkon was banished for reasons beyond his control and knowledge. He also uses figurative language as opposed to Durkon's more straightforward speaking style.
He is seen commanding trees to attack the citizens of Cliffport, causing Durkon to flee in terror. His animal companion was a hawk, but it was slain by Roy. Many characters working together were required to take him down, as well as misinterpretation on Thor's part of the spell "Control Weather". Leeky is capable of shapeshifting into the form of a dire bear. Leeky surrendered to the Order after they defeated him in battle and was apparently handed over to the local authorities. Some time later, Pompey freed Leeky, and the two were last seen discussing Pompey's employment as a cohort.
to the point where he and Belkar speak lines of dialogue directly from The Princess Bride
. In contrast with Belkar, who kills indiscriminately and for amusement, Yokyok had a reason and somewhat acceptable motivation for seeking someone out to kill him. Yokyok dislikes the rest of the Linear Guild, regarding them as scoundrels, and was working with them only because Nale promised to deliver Belkar to him. Yokyok also considered himself a form of righteous justice, delivering rightful punishment to Belkar. Belkar arranged his death by posting a mission notice in a tavern asking for help.
The Bandit King, a male human rogue or ranger who fights with two swords, is the leader of the group. The Bandit King has led the clan for many years, using his combat prowess to stay in power by establishing a standing law that any bandit who defeated him in solo battle could take his place. He comes to regret this decision when his daughter Samantha bests him. The Bandit King claims to have only preyed on the "wealthy and universally despised". This does not keep him from helping to defeat the Order of the Stick, after which he is able to retake his position as leader from his exhausted daughter. He, in turn, is accidentally defeated by Durkon. He and his offspring are tied up and left in the forest. He is later killed by Miko Miyazaki after he attacks her for killing his daughter.
Samantha, the bandit king's daughter, is a female human sorceress. Described as "rotten to the core" by her own father, Samantha uses her powers to seize control of the clan, which she then uses for her own selfish purposes, including kidnapping attractive male adventurers like Elan. After clashing with the Order, she is knocked out by the Bandit King and tied up by the Order of the Stick. She is released by a traveling Miko Miyazaki, whom she threatens to force into servitude with her magic. Faced with this threat, Miko then kills Samantha.
and has a penchant for explosives. The other is a skilled shadowdancer, referred to as "the Shadowdancer", who, after spending many years in his prestige class, only just realized that the world of the stick figure comic lacked any shadows in the first place.
Due to a misunderstanding with the hotel staff reminiscent of the "Who's on First?
" routine, Roy is confused for the king of the country of "Nowhere", who is meeting with leaders from nations Somewhere and Anywhere to discuss a peace treaty. The two assassins mistake Roy for the king of Nowhere and attack him, wounding Elan in the process. Roy is forced to use the Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity
to get Elan to safety. Once he escapes, Roy returns with Haley and Vaarsuvius to confront the assassins. In the chaos, Belkar accidentally sets off one of the dwarven assassin's barrels of explosives, destroying the inn. In the resulting explosion, the Shadowdancer finally finds a shadow he can teleport through, and the assassins escape. They also appear in a flashback where they are spying on Thanh's meeting with the real King of Nowhere.
The pair of assassins appear as monster cards in The Order of the Stick Adventure Game. "The Shadowdancer", as the game refers to him, remains anonymous, whereas the dwarf's card cites his name as "Kaboom" Redaxe.
. He often comes to conflict with Therkla when her crush on Elan interferes with Kubota's orders. After he and Therkla were trapped by Hinjo and the Order of the Stick, he cast a summoning spell, calling forth a massive devil as reinforcement before and teleporting away. He did not respond to Kubota's commands after Therkla's death, and his current location is a mystery. He is later seen following Vaarsuvius around after the elf had chosen to leave the group to find a better place for researching magic. He is later discovered and, despite offering the elf arcane assistance, is promptly evicted from it by Vaarsuvius, who sees the offer as a deal with the devil. After facilitating a meeting between Vaarsuvius and a trio of fiends, who convince the elven wizard to bargain with them, he accompanies the fiends to the Lower Planes, where they offer him a position with their organization. Qarr also correctly deduces that the fiends had been monitoring Vaarsuvius for some time. He was seen serving as a familiar to Zz'dtri.
ninja, described by Kubota as his "most trusted assassin". The reasonably skilled ninja graduated valedictorian from her ninja school after slaying the original. She develops a crush on the physically attractive, but ever-oblivious Elan. The crush is so extreme that she not only switches sides mid-battle solely to have a chance to fight alongside, but goes to great lengths to save his life, a fact that makes Qarr suspicious of her loyalty. Although Kubota forgives her acts after she manipulates his words to her advantage, he tells her that she must kill Elan the next time they meet, stating that this time, she won't be able to hide behind loopholes. She arranges a meeting with Elan at night, admits her feelings towards him, and ask to be his girlfriend. When Elan responds that he is already seeing Haley, she asks to at the least be with him while she's gone. When Qarr appears and reveals to Elan that he set up the meeting to ambush him, he chooses not to believe the imp and ends up convincing Therkla to switch to Hinjo's side. The group was later caught by an ambush set up by Lien, who promptly arrests Therkla. Hinjo offers her a reduced sentence for confirming that she works for Kubota, but she refuses out of loyalty to her mentor. Later, Kubota poisons her and leaves her with Elan, who tells her that Durkon could raise her from the dead. When she realizes that, even if resurrected, she and Elan would not be together, she opts to continue to the afterlife rather than live without him.
in Azure City's Sapphire Guard and the nephew and heir of Lord Shojo. After Shojo's death, Hinjo succeeded him as ruler of the Azurites and commander of the Sapphire Guard. Hinjo is first seen helping Miko escort the Order of the Stick to their trial in Azure City. He is much more easy going than fellow paladin Miko Miyazaki, generally getting along with the Order. Miko's disapproval of this caused him to mock her, telling the Order of the Stick that her attitude is the reason she is generally sent on the long missions.
Lacking her holier-than-thou attitude, Hinjo is a considerably more likeable portrayal of a paladin than Miko Miyazaki. Despite this, Hinjo's rule is opposed by some members of Azure City's noble class, who have tried several times to assassinate him during his short time on the throne. As a paladin, he takes his honor extremely seriously, refusing to break oaths he makes, even if it might be a better long-term move. Knowing the tenuous nature of his position as ruler, he is politically savvy, careful to always have on the right air and manner when others are watching him. Nevertheless, he attempts to project a firm stance against the nobles and refuses to budge to their demands. Hinjo's preference that people follow their given orders shows his lawful side, though he concedes that the ship captain, who disobeyed orders by sailing away from Azure City during the attack too early, may have saved his life. Even after the city has fallen, he still takes time to reinforce his position and expects people to obey orders.
Wielding a single silver katana, though he also possesses a cold iron katana, he is a highly competent fighter and shows great skill fighting from his mount. His mount, a dire wolf named Argent, is able to harm devils with its bite due to silver teeth fillings installed during a trip to the dentist. He was nearly killed by a single disintegrate spell from Redcloak. As heir and subsequently leader of the Sapphire Guard, he has considerable knowledge of their lore. For instance, he knew about the Snarl and knew of the Guard's ability to rise as ghosts when slain by Xykon in the throne room.
During the months of Team Evil's occupation of Azure City, O-Chul was tortured by Redcloak for information about Girard's Gate and put to life-threatening situations for Xykon's amusement. O-Chul has continually stated truthfully that he lacks any knowledge whatsoever of the other Gates. His refusal to crumble under pressure has earned him admiration from observing prisoners.
O-Chul was kept in a cage beside the box containing the Monster in the Darkness, who had originally found him paralyzed outside Azure City. The two regard each other as friends, share their daily food, and even play games, such Go
, together. When O-Chul escapes his cell, he confirms to the Monster in the Darkness that one must always do what they feel is right, even if it seems hopeless, and declares that the monster is "a good man". O-Chul then attempts to destroy Xykon's phylactery before escaping with Vaarsuvius thanks to a little help from the Monster in the Darkness. Currently, he is on a reconnaissance mission with Lien to the Northern Gate.
A paladin with a similar appearance as O-Chul, minus his scar, has appeared several times, once investigating the remnants of Lirian's Gate and once encountering a disguised Belkar on the street.
class
. Belkar believes his alignment is Chaotic Good. Because of this, he had little problems with bending the laws as he saw fit, believing that the end justified the means. To avoid assassination attempts by the nobles of Azure City, he pretended to be senile and easily swayed, especially by his cat, Mr. Scruffy. This was to make them feel that all his policies were due to other nobles' manipulations.
In return for Roy's cooperation in defeating Xykon, Lord Shojo agreed to grant each member of the Order of the Stick one favor with the exception of Belkar Bitterleaf, who, having murdered his guard, was released on bail in lieu of specific assistance. Although he was willing to lie to them, he does not appreciate Roy insulting or otherwise criticizing his paladins and wizards, such as the wizard who accidentally teleported them into a Roc
's nest instead of Azure City because he was drunk at the time.
Lord Shojo does not consider himself bound by Soon Kim's edict that the other Gates be left alone, believing that Soon Kim's reasons have become obsolete. He recognizes the oath's importance to the paladins of the Guard and, as such, outwardly does his best to follow the terms of that agreement. Covertly, however, he considered it extremely foolish to risk universal destruction on an oath made to people that he'd never met. Therefore, he did what he considered necessary to protect the world and the people of Azure City, even if this meant lying to the paladins under his command or recruiting others, like the Order, to complete tasks the paladins would not. He was not remotely above threatening his paladins with mundane, but unpleasant tasks, such as cleaning out Mr. Scruffy's litter box, to get his way. This attitude made him one of the few people that Belkar showed a degree of admiration for.
During a conversation with Roy Greenhilt about his actions with regard to the Order and his opinions on the validity of the oath, Hinjo and Miko Miyazaki, who were just outside the door, discovered that Lord Shojo was doing stuff behind the paladins' backs. Miko immediately jumped to the conclusion that Shojo was working with Xykon, as she considered the Order of the Stick to be the lich's minions. After summarily judging him guilty of treason, she drew her sword and executed him, though this action caused her to lose her paladinhood. Despite the clerics casting Resurrect on his body, the spirit of Shojo remained unwilling to return to life. This, Belkar reasoned, was because Shojo was close to natural death already and would have to face a trial for treason upon returning.
The book On the Origin of PCs reveals that Roy's father has no confidence in Roy's ability to defeat Xykon. Instead, he is counting on Roy's sister, Julia. Roy confronted his father after discovering that Eugene, who was an Illusionist in life, was responsible for the phony charge that the Sapphire Guard used to arrest them. According to Roy, he only still goes after Xykon because of the great threat he poses to the world, not to seek revenge for his father's death. If it weren't for the great threat imposed on the world, he'd tell his father to "stick his blood oath against Xykon up his wrinkled, incorporeal ass". Eugene is later shown berating Roy in the afterlife for his failure to defeat Xykon and blames him for the destruction of Azure City. Eugene's Blood Oath prevents him from ascending to the afterlife, as governed by the gods of the North. Ever since his death, he has been stuck in an intermediate dimension from where he can see the Prime Material Plane. His only hope of release is if the Blood Oath is fulfilled by one of his descendants. He is extremely upset when his son is given permission to ascend to the true afterlife. The deva in charge of Roy's case assured him that the Blood Oath poses no impediment to Roy at all. The Deva told Eugene that Roy earned permission to enter the Celestial Realms because while Eugene abandoned his oath years before his own death, Roy died attempting to fulfill the oath that Eugene burdened him with. Therefore, Eugene's punishment is to wander the clouds until his descendants, in this case Julia or a resurrected Roy, can fulfill the oath.
Eugene had begun dating the ghost of a woman named Violet, since his wedding vows were only "till death do us part". This relationship ended rather abruptly when Violet's own family Blood Oath was fulfilled and she was allowed to proceed to the Celestial Realms. She even asked Eugene not to visit her if he ever made it in, so she would not have to explain about their relationship to her husband.
According to Sara Greenhilt, people in the afterlife appear as the ideal versions of themselves. Eugene appears as an old man because he has always been an old man at heart. Though, she also agrees that the curse also plays a part to his general irritability and unpleasantness.
One of the common running gags of the comic is that whenever Roy mentions his father, another member of the Order of the Stick will say "Isn't your father dead?" or some similar phrase.
Rich Burlew, the comic's writer, has hinted that Roy harbors feelings of jealousy against her because she was their father's favorite child. Eugene is counting on her, not Roy, to finish off Xykon.
Julia is portrayed as an unapologetically spoiled, superficial brat who is much more concerned with her kidnappers' lack of coolness than with the mortal peril she and her brother are in. She has revealed herself to be of True Neutral alignment, as opposed to Roy's Lawful Good. She is a flirt who uses her natural endowments to get the attention of her teachers, a ploy that fails on Durkon. After a while, she ends up dropping the "cool girl" attitude, replying "yes, sir" when he lectures her for immodesty twice. She boasts about knowing him and insists, correctly, that he did most of the fighting in this encounter with the Linear Guild. Not talking back or responding with a wisecrack is unusual for Julia, as evidenced by her behavior towards both Roy and the Linear Guild. Though she and her brother squabble, they love each other, something that the disguised Nale finds hard to comprehend due to his hatred of Elan.
Sara meets Roy in the afterlife, where he was surprised to see that she had her nineteen-year-old, pre-Eugene body. Like her husband, Sara appears to have taken the "until death do us part" section of her vows literally, as she has been dating other people. This is illustrated by the appearance of one of her flings with a knight wearing nothing but a towel. Despite her own issues with Eugene, she notes that they had a good life together while he was focused on her, but that he was merely "stuck with her because they'd had children" when his attention wandered back to other interests.
The main plot of The Order of the Stick revolves around these Gates and the fate of the members of the Order of the Scribble. Though the strip is set more than 50 years after their retirement, the characters of The Order of the Scribble do not usually take a direct impact on the action of the comic.
The group's official name was only mentioned in the title of the strip in which they were formally introduced. The name refers to the crayon
-drawn style of the story arc that focuses on the group.
. The third set of gods, called the Western Gods, are based on the deities of the ancient Near East, such as Marduk
and Tiamat
. The Oracle of the Sunken Valley, despite living outside the Western continent, claims to worship Tiamat and Minister Malack worships Nergal
. A fourth pantheon, called the Eastern Gods, was based on the Olympian gods of ancient Greece, but was destroyed by the Snarl during the time of the previous world and is thus unknown to most inhabitants of the world.
The elves and goblins have their own gods. For instance, Vaarsuvius worships the God of Knowledge and Redcloak worships the Dark One. These gods were "raised" to godhood rather than having existed before the universe. The Dark One was raised through a yearlong slaughter in his name after his death, while the Elven gods apparently gathered enough followers to gain godhood. As is usual in Dungeons and Dragons, the gods are demonstrably real. Thor
and other gods have appeared in the comic several times. Each pantheon has greater control over the geographical area after which it is named as Tiger, one of the Southern Gods, prevents Thor from directly intervening in events transpiring in the Southern Lands.
for the Linear Guild. While Thor and Loki have been shown to be enemies over the course of the comic strip, they cooperated in the distant past when the gods created a new world to contain the Snarl. Loki is portrayed as more sensitive than Thor to bizarre events that occur in the mortal world. For instance, he noticed the liaison between Durkon and Hilgya first, though the discovery made both deities ill.
of Norse mythology
. In the strip, Thor is portrayed as a drunken buffoon with a good heart and usually acts as comic relief. Some of his more ill-considered acts have included taunting the Snarl, abandoning a village to the fire giant Surt while being hassled by Durkon, and creating a portentous storm while drunk. A running joke in the series is the question 'what would Thor do?' based on the famous question 'what would Jesus do?
'. Durkon occasionally considers what Thor would do for guidance, but, unfortunately, since Thor would simply crush his enemies with his divine power before returning to Asgard
to woo goddesses and drink an oceans worth of beer, the W.W.T.D. motto is never as applicable to Durkon's situation. He appeared to grant Durkon a casting of Control Weather via a scroll, which Durkon used to generate a thunderclap of such force that Leeky Windstaff's animated trees were blown to pieces, as the druid had failed to protect them against sonic damage. After intimidating a celestial who tried to point out the Control Weather spell couldn't be used like that, Thor wandered off to "get tanked and paw Sif
", telling the celestial to report on whether Durkon lived or died. When Thor impregnated an unnamed fertility goddess, Loki scolded him for not knowing that she is a goddess of fertility. He appeared later in the strip, telling Tiger of the 12 Gods of the South to relax after he had attempted to assist Durkon in Azure City.
", is a hand puppet used by Elan to create small examples of divine power. Banjo had limited powers because he had few worshippers, but by strip 553, Banjo had gained the following of an island tribe of orcs. Those orcs now worship Banjo's brother and rival, Giggles the clown, god of slap-stick.
Banjo had previously attempted to join the pantheon of the Northern Gods, who considered his application. However, he was put off by the attitude of their clerics and abandoned the effort to the disappointment of Odin, who stated that he likes puppets.
, North
, and South, argued about how to create the world. As they argued and pulled on the threads of reality in an attempt to get their way, snags began to develop in the fabric of the world. As the snags grew and combined, the Snarl was created, gradually growing ever more intelligent and malevolent. Finally, it revealed itself to its unwitting creators, slaying the entire pantheon of the Gods of the East with ease and devouring every soul on the newly created world. It took just twenty-seven minutes to undo the entirety of creation.
Hidden away in their realms among the Outer Planes, the leaders of the three remaining pantheons met in secret and hatched a plan. Agreeing in advance which pantheons would be responsible for which parts of a new creation, they began to weave a new world out of the remaining threads of reality. With few arguments to slow them down, the gods wove the new world as quickly as possible. The Snarl, born of chaos and unable to comprehend things of order and purpose, failed to realise what the gods were attempting until it was too late. The final threads were pulled into place and a new world formed around the Snarl, imprisoning it in a small demi-plane, with the world itself acting to keep the Snarl firmly in place.
Sixty-six years prior to the start of the Order of the Stick's adventures, the Snarl nearly escaped through holes in its prison, only to be defeated by the Order of the Scribble, who resealed the rifts in reality and built gates to guard them. The recent destruction of three of these gates and Xykon's apparent interest in the remaining two has led to a fear that the Snarl would be released. This serves as the plot hook for the protagonists' campaign
.
The Dark One's followers were angered by this betrayal and killed over a million humans in revenge. These deaths, along with his followers' dedication to his memory, caused the Dark One to become a god. Most of the existing gods of the other pantheons shunned him, but a few evil gods were sympathetic.
The Dark One later learned about the Snarl and sent his followers to find the gates. He also created the Crimson Mantle for his senior cleric to wear. The artifact, which has great power, is currently in Redcloak's possession. The Dark One's plan is to coerce the other gods into giving goblins better treatment by threatening to free the Snarl. If the universe is destroyed by the Snarl, he will ensure that when it is recreated the goblins will be given an equal share.
. He has been robbed three times by Haley and has the Thieves Guild's five-star protection plan. He was killed by Crystal during the rescue of Roy's body.
Red Dragon who has been on the throne of the empire for two years. Ever since Tarquin pointed out that more powerful dragons grow larger, the Empress cares for nothing but food, thinking that growing larger will make her more powerful.
cleric of Nergal
, the death-god of the Western Pantheon, and an old adventuring colleague of Tarquin. Malack got Tarquin a job as chief warlord to a local conqueror and since then, the two of them have been offering their services as warlord and high priest, respectively, to any would-be ruler that can pay. He is quite intelligent and claims that gods of death and their clerics are not usually evil because, if they were, then death would only take the good. He states that neutrality better suits them. He also enjoys the company of other clerics and entertains Durkon while discussing matters of theology.
.
assigned to be Roy's guardian and guide while in Celestia. Though its name seems self-exclamatory, it wondered how Roy's mother knew its name. After realizing the full scale of the Snarl's threat, Roy's Archon willingly bent the rules to allow Roy a quick way back to the plane between the living and the spiritual world in preparation for Roy's resurrection. Though it doesn't have a body, it knows an attack called "deadly light rays", used when attacked by an evil adventuring party that had plane shifted into Celestia. It is last seen playing 1st Edition D&D with Eugene while Roy was on Earth trying to communicate with the Oracle of the Sunken Valley.
. Daigo's last name is still unknown, as they are "saving it for an emergency". They escape Azure City aboard Lord Hinjo's junk
. During their time in exile, Kazumi and Daigo fall in love and conceive a child. This leads them to ask Durkon to officiate at their wedding. Hinjo rewards their service with a noble title, forming House Kato. Daimyo Kubota marked them for assassination as part of his plan to seize control of Azure City, hoping to remove their votes from the council of nobles who would choose the leader following Hinjo's death. Kazumi, though six months pregnant, was able to fight off the majority of the assassins and survived thanks to the intervention of Elan and Therkla.
or shugenja
. Sangwaan wears a blindfold, but, although she occasionally needs to be pointed in the direction of those to whom she is speaking, seems mostly unhampered by it due to her oracular magic. She is a top aide to Lord Hinjo, providing him with magical intelligence in the hours leading up to the battle of Azure City. She is crucial in detecting Xykon's attempt to bypass the city walls and attack the throne room directly, using a True Seeing spell to thwart his invisibility. After locating Xykon, she is immediately flung from the walls by Xykon's undead dragon steed. She first appears in comic #271 as a witness int the Order's trial.
who is first seen guarding the air sigil in Dorukan's tower. Like any outsider, she cannot be called back from death upon being killed and must fight cautiously in contrast who she calls "back from the dead happy" Order of the Stick. When her old boss disappeared and Xykon moved in, Celia lost all loyalty for her job, making personal calls and swiping office supplies. Though she was transformed to stone by the Linear Guild, she was cured by Vaarsuvius. To repay the Order, she takes Nale and Thog to jail and opens a magical portal, in the form of a service stairwell, to allow them to skip two levels of the dungeon.
In an attempt to move on to a more satisfying career, she started attending night classes in law. She has since appeared representing the Order of the Stick as a paralegal
, successfully defending them in their trial in Azure City for weakening the fabric of the universe. During this time, there is a hinted attraction between Roy and Celia, and she is subsequently seen shopping for clothes to get Roy's attention. She asks Roy to join her at a dinner for two in one of the nicer dining establishments. They enjoy a candlelit dinner and a romantic walk/flight, leading up to a kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. The next morning, Celia is seen emerging half-dressed and disheveled from Roy's hotel room. Upon leaving, she gives Roy a talisman to summon her, should their battles get too rough. Celia, however, having limited knowledge of humans, didn't know Roy couldn't shoot energy out of his fingers like herself, and forget to tell Roy that the talisman only broke for magical energy. After Roy fell to his death attempting to break the talisman, Haley recovered it. The talisman later broke when it was hit with an Electric Orb attack from Tsukiko.
Celia gets on well with the members of the Order, with the exception of Belkar and Haley, mostly due to their willingness to do questionable actions to get by. Her arguments with Haley all seem to involve Belkar in one way or another, and the two get along when not discussing him. Nonetheless, she chooses to disobey Haley by entering Greysky City, unaware of the fact that it's full of criminals. She takes Roy's body to a local spellcaster named Grubwiggler after hearing he had success dealing with the dead, unaware that he was reanimating them as golems. Grubwiggler transformed Roy's corpse into a bone golem, and Celia had to be saved by Haley when he tried to claim her body as payment for the services.
The CPPD arrested Elan, whom they believed to be Nale, and Thog under arrest for 417 charges of murder and one charge of intent to summon a demon. The last offense was made up by Nale after he was freed by Rookie. Thog's and Nale's imprisonment lasted only forty minutes before they broke out. Leeky Windstaff, who was subdued by the Order, was also in custody before being freed by his friend Pompey.
The local laws forbid the use of magic to determine guilt, because the results can readily be faked using illusions. As such, the CPPD expect their investigation into these crimes to take at least six months. Now that Elan, Thog, and Leeky have all escaped, it remains to be seen whether the CPPD will attempt to track them down.
s, first seen in Dorukan's Pit of monsters that were never updated to 3rd Edition, make occasional appearances to break the falls of various characters. After being landed on, one of them seeks counseling in Cliffport, feeling that it was just a minor character in someone else's story, when Haley landed on it. Later, when Roy falls to his death outside Azure City, the final frame of the comic cuts to a flumph feeling like it should be somewhere. More recently, an evil ghostly flumph, self-proclaimed as the "Ghost of Lame Monsters Past", succeeded in scaring the wits out of the two living flumphs before being flattened by Roy's ghost. In one comic, Belkar creates a flumph out of desert sand, only for it to break the fall of a resurrected Roy.
. They have showed up to drag away the Mind Flayer when Vaarsuvius called them out against Zz'dtri for being a copyright infringement on Drizzt Do'Urden
. They are also seen threatening the bandit clan leader with a restraining order after being captured as "universally despised".
In comic #228, At Belkar's request, Mr. Jones appears, claiming that Miko's use of Detect Evil "clearly constitutes an illegal search" employing "harmful radiation" on the basis that many of the creatures Miko has scanned are currently dead and that the scan is blocked by a lead sheet in a manner consistent with the properties of ionizing radiation
. Miko's horse, Windstriker, then attempts to hire Mr. Rodriguez to put a restraining order on Belkar, but Belkar simply informed Mr. Rodriguez that he was not of Lawful alignment, chasing him out of the stables.
They are summoned by Lord Shojo to act as the prosecution at the Order's trial on the charge of 'weakening the fabric of the universe', though they lost the case because the whole thing was a sham perpetrated by Shojo and Eugene Greenhilt. Due to Jones' skill at converting trial transcripts, his record is 5-0 while Mr. Rodriguez shoulders the defeats at 0-147. They were most recently summoned to defend Roy and Belkar at their trial in the Empire of Blood. However, they pleaded guilty due to the 114% conviction rate, which doesn't make any sense to Mr. Rodriguez.
Apart from the six members of the Order of the Stick themselves, Mr. Jones and Mr. Rodriguez are the only named characters from the webcomic version of The Order of the Stick to appear in the Dragon Magazine
OOTS comics, appearing in the last panel of the comic that ran in Dragon #351 and the first panel of the comic that ran in the last issue, #359.
seer.
To keep out pesky adventurers, the Oracle hired the services of a group called "QuestGuard" to establish a series of moderately challenging tests. Upon completing these tests, the Order encounters the Oracle, who gives the group a series of prophecies laden with multiple meanings and ambiguous language. The Oracle worships Tiamat
and uses his powers to grant him visions of the future. The Oracle is not a cleric, merely having visions granted to him by Tiamat through the use of "Kobold Dust".
Years before the events of the Order of the Stick, Eugene Greenhilt tracked down the Oracle of the Sunken Valley and asked it who killed his master. The oracle responded that Xykon killed his master and refused to provide more details because of his policy of one question per person per visit. He was sought out by Roy and Durkon to locate Xykon's lair prior to the formation of the Order of the Stick as well as just before the assault on Azure City. On Roy's first visit, the Oracle had answered the question 'Where is Xykon?' with the unhelpful answer, 'In his throne room', prompting Roy and Durkon to dangle the Oracle out of the window until he agreed to give them a useful answer.
As a consequence, on his next visit, Roy worded his question carefully to keep the Oracle from being too ambiguous. However, the precision of the question has the unintended side effect of eliminating Xykon's actual next target from consideration. Despite the kobold's attempts to hint that the question was too specific, Roy insisted that the Oracle had to answer the question as stated. Thus, Roy is mistakenly led to believe that Girard's Gate is Xykon's next destination. While Roy did realize his error before leaving the valley, the magic associated with the Oracle causes all visitors to forget everything about their visit except the answer to their question, so his realization of the truth was quickly lost. This mistake is corrected when Miko Miyazaki arrives in Azure City a day ahead of Xykon's army, informing them in an angry tirade of Xykon's impending invasion.
The Oracle also predicted that Vaarsuvius would accept the demons' offer for the Soul Splice to gain the power to save his/her family over the proposed alternative, motivated by his/her desire to avoid having to admit that his/her magic failed again. In addition, he predicted how Nale, impersonating Elan, would lead to the circumstances that broke her mental block and induced her to declare her love to Elan. The Oracle also predicted that "Belkar would draw his last breath ever before the end of the year". His other predictions related to the Order include that Durkon will return to his home dwarven lands "posthumously" and that Elan will have a happy ending.
Prior to being killed by Belkar, the Oracle founds a kobold village around his tower for the specific purpose of activating Belkar's Mark of Justice. After the Oracle's death, Celia looks out a window and sees the village along with a sign identifying it as "the village of Lickmyorangeballshalfling" founded "last week" and with a population of "just enough". Immediately after Belkar realized the significance of the village, the Mark activated and caused him to experience intense pain and projectile vomiting. Upon the Order and Celia leaving, two lizardmen teleport in to revive the Oracle, where it is revealed he was able to foresee his own death and had paid them in advance to bring him back to life.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
The Order of the Stick
The Order of the Stick
The Order of the Stick is a comedic webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy through the ongoing tale of the eponymous fellowship of adventuring heroes...
(OOTS). It is a comedic webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy through the ongoing tale of the eponymous fellowship of adventuring heroes. The comic is written and illustrated by Rich Burlew, who creates the comic in a colorful stick figure style.
Taking place in a magical world that loosely operates by the rules of the 3.5 edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), the comic follows the sometimes farcical exploits of six adventurers as they strive to save the world from an evil lich. Much of the comic's humor stems from these characters either being aware of the game rules that affect their lives or having anachronistic knowledge of modern culture, which in turn is often used by the author to parody various aspects of role-playing games and fantasy fiction. While primarily comedic in nature, The Order of the Stick features a continuing storyline serialized episodes from one to four pages. , over 800 such episodes have been released.
Although it is principally distributed online at the website Giant in the Playground, seven book collections have been published, including several print-only stories. Among these collections are "On the Origin of PCs", "Start of Darkness", and "Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales". An alternate version of the strip appeared monthly in Dragon magazine for 22 issues. These strips, among others, are collected in "Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales".
The Order of the Stick
Rich Burlew
Rich Burlew is an author, game designer, and graphic designer best known for The Order of the Stick webcomic. He has written several works for Wizards of the Coast's game Dungeons and Dragons...
, the author of the strip, the characters are roughly 7th to 9th level
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
when the comic begins, though the characters have displayed abilities that require them to be around 15th level since he made that statement. The characters are mostly book-legal Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
version 3.5 characters. Burlew, however, has stated that he does not wish to limit the characters by making concrete character sheets for them. The characters in the strip have occasionally mentioned feats, spells, skills, and templates which do not exist in the default D&D rules, usually for comedic purposes, such as "Summon Plot Exposition", "Craft Disturbing Mental Image", a paladin ability of "Summon Conscience", and "Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion", a parody of the spell "Evard's Black Tentacles".
Roy Greenhilt
Roy Greenhilt, the leader of the Order of the Stick, is a Lawful Good Human FighterFighter (Dungeons & Dragons)
The fighter is one of the standard playable character classes in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics....
. Roy created the Order of the Stick to assist him in fulfilling a Blood Oath from his dead father to defeat Xykon. Roy is noted for his sense of personal responsibility, making it his duty to try to save the world simply because no one else will. He is a reversal of the common "dumb fighter" cliché, possessing an MBA, which stands for Master of Battle Administration, from Fighter College. He fights with his ancestral two-handed greatsword. Roy is the main character of the comic. Much of the subplot of the second book is devoted to his growth as a leader and a man. He was originally developed as the "straight man" for the other members of the Order, and is highly competent, in sharp contrast to several of his fellow party members.
Durkon Thundershield
Durkon Thundershield, a Lawful Good DwarvenDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
Cleric
Cleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
, is the healer of the party. He had worked with Roy for years prior to the founding of the "Order of the Stick." Durkon travels through human lands on the orders of the high priest of Thor, who has exiled him as a result of a prophecy. In addition to his warhammer, shield, and heavy armor, he also employs divine magic granted by his patron god, Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
, such as calling down lightning or growing to many times his normal three-foot height. Durkon speaks and writes in a Scottish accent and has a fear of trees, taking any chance he can get to fight them.
Vaarsuvius
Vaarsuvius is a Non-Evil ElvenElf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
Wizard
Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
. Vaarsuvius's gender is deliberately ambiguous, causing others, including teammates, to guess or make assumptions about the character's gender. Vaarsuvius affects an unnecessarily verbose manner of expression to the point that it interferes with the elf's effectiveness. Vaarsuvius is arrogant and condescending to those the wizard considers of inferior intellect. Vaarsuvius is motivated by the need to gain "ultimate arcane power" as an end unto itself. Vaarsuvius left the tutelage of a master to become an adventurer solely to seek it out. Vaarsuvius carries no visible weapons or armor, fighting instead with a wide variety of powerful magical effects, such as fireballs and lightning bolts. The elf also possess several unique spells such as the aforementioned 'Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion'. Vaarsuvius has two adopted children and was married to an equally ambiguously-gendered baker, but the baker successfully filed for divorce due to Vaarsuvius prioritizing "ultimate arcane power" ahead of the family.
Haley Starshine
Haley Starshine is a Chaotic Good-ish Human RogueRogue (Dungeons & Dragons)
The rogue or thief is one of the standard playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks...
. The Order's second-in-command, she is skilled in stealth and deception, often serving as a scout for the party. In many early strips, she is portrayed as being highly materialistic. Haley, a former member of a Thieves' Guild, learned that her father was being held for ransom by a dictator in a foreign land, and she originally joined the Order to raise the money necessary to rescue him. It is later discovered that her father purposefully became imprisoned to learn how to overthrow the government of the Empire of Blood, whose grand general is Elan's father. She develops a romantic crush on fellow member Elan and, later, begins a relationship with him. Haley fights using a longbow. She became the leader of the Order for a few months while Roy was dead, dragging his decomposing corpse along with her so he could be resurrected.
Elan
Elan is a Chaotic Good Human BardBard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The bard is a standard playable character class in many editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The bard class is versatile, capable of combat and of magic . Bards use their artistic talents to induce magical effects...
/Dashing Swordsman. Elan is the happy-go-lucky, childlike bard of the Order. Early in the series, he is frequently inept and oblivious to the motives of those around him, such as Haley's long-concealed attraction to him. Raised solely by his mother, Elan discovers early in the story that his absent warlord father raised his twin brother, Nale, to be an evil mastermind. Elan fights with a rapier, making puns while he fights, and is able to use illusion magic. In Dungeons & Dragons, a character of the bard class may employ music/singing to grant his allies bonuses, but Elan's use of music and song to inspire his fellow adventurers often has mixed results.
Belkar Bitterleaf
Belkar Bitterleaf is a Chaotic Evil HalflingHalfling (Dungeons & Dragons)
The halfling is a fictional race found in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Halflings are similar to humans except about half the size...
Ranger
Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)
The ranger is one of the standard playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They are protectors of nature, skilled woodsmen, and often live reclusive lives as hermits....
/Barbarian
Barbarian (Dungeons & Dragons)
The barbarian is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The barbarian is based on Robert E...
. Belkar is an erratic, casual killer driven by a variety of selfish impulses. While ostensibly the party's tracker, he is astoundingly bad at most of his class skills, including tracking. He joined the Order to escape justice from a deadly bar fight in which he knifed fifteen people. The Order does not abandon him, despite his bloodthirsty tendencies, due to Roy's belief that he must keep the violent halfling under control. After Roy is dead, Haley, who becomes the Order's leader, states she'd abandon him if she didn't need all the help she could get. Belkar's loyalty to the Order fluctuates with his mood, and, despite frequently thinking about it, he never actually betrays them. Belkar fights with two daggers. Though he's often believed to be unintelligent, even to himself, he's occasionally shown as cunning if in danger. He later adopts a housecat named Mr. Scruffy to be his animal companion.
Team Evil
Led by Xykon the lich, the self-described "Team Evil" plays the role of the primary antagonists to the Order of the Stick. They are categorized by their willingness to embrace evil as a label, living up to the stereotypes of villains from movies and literature.Xykon
Xykon was born human, 107 years before the events of the comic. He had a natural talent for necromancy, which he developed in childhood by zombifyingZombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
his dog and, later, his grandmother.
In his seventies, he fell in with the goblin Redcloak, who told him of a plan to unlock one of the gates imprisoning the Snarl and use the monster to blackmail the gods themselves. When they tried, however, Lirian, the gate's defender, defeated Xykon with a virus that neutralized his spellcasting powers. Redcloak restored Xykon's power by turning him into a lich
Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lich is an undead creature; a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, making him immune to the virus. Xykon then defeated Lirian and trapped her soul in a gem. An unexpected side effect of becoming a lich is that he can no longer enjoy coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. Only the deaths of others amuse him any more.
Six months before the start of the webcomic, Xykon took over the Dungeon of Dorukan by defeating the wizard Dorukan, trapping his soul in the same gem as Lirian. Though Lirian's gate was destroyed when Redcloak fought her treant
Treant
Treants are creatures found in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.Treants are sentient trees with human characteristics. They are typically portrayed as protectors of the forests and antagonists to industrialization and despoiling of nature...
servants, he now had access to Dorukan's gate. Filling the dungeon with goblins
Goblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a very common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins and Kobolds are commonly non-human monsters that low-level player characters will face in combat. In D&D, goblins aren't smaller cousins of orcs, but are a part of...
, mercenaries and undead
Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
minions, he waited for his chance to unlock the gate.
Xykon is, in many ways, a stereotypical evil overlord as seen in many fantasy novels and roleplaying games. He does his best to live up to all the clichés associated with the role. He is also genuinely cruel and sadistic, taking joy in the deaths of others. He is rarely surprised by anything, is normally guided by his whims, and cannot remember the names of the Order, often butchering Roy Greenhilt's surname into Bluepommel, Redblade or forgetting who he is altogether. This hints that either he has a vast experience with adventurers and villains or that he has a careless and chaotic nature. He is often shown to be casual about his evil deeds and is rarely in a serious mood. He finds tactical discussions tedious, feeling that simply throwing his minions, whom he regards as expendable, into the fray in huge numbers will get the job done. Despite his lack of strategic abilities, he is nonetheless quite clever. He has come up with some great plans, such as letting a paladin escape so he could spy on her and find out where the Sapphire gate was. The fact that he appears incapable of planning has worked to his advantage. His stated belief is that there is a level of force against which no tactics can be successful. He uses a shock and awe technique as his primary means of victory, though he also believes that one of the keys to victory is how far one is willing to debase oneself until feeling remorse. He has used the gullibility of heroes against the Order of the Stick, and he knows the genre conventions of evil.
Roy has stated that Xykon is at least 21st level, and Xykon can cast epic spells such as Cloister as well as maximized 9th level spells.
His phylactery, which is also Redcloak's unholy symbol, is currently lost somewhere in the sewers of Azure City or has washed out to sea.
Redcloak
Redcloak is a goblin and Xykon's partner in crime. Before he took the name "Redcloak", he was an acolyte of the previous bearer of the Crimson Mantle. Soon after, his home was destroyed by the Sapphire Guard of Azure City, who believed the Crimson Mantle was a threat to the very foundation of creation itself. When Redcloak put on the Mantle, he was able to communicate with the Dark One and understood his plan to improve the lot of the goblins by unleashing the Snarl and blackmailing the other gods. To do this, however, Redcloak needed the cooperation of an arcane caster, recruiting Xykon.Intelligent, with a dry and somewhat sarcastic sense of humour, Redcloak usually plays the straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
to the rest of his team's antics. He appears to have a decent grasp of tactics and considers them more important than does his master. He is familiar with chemistry to the extent that he can summon elementals
Elemental (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, an elemental is a type of creature. Elemental creatures are composed of one of the four classical elementals of air, earth, fire, or water.-Publication history:...
based on specific chemical element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
s, such as titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
and chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
during the siege of Azure City and magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
during a bonus comic, rather than the classical elements of Earth
Earth (classical element)
Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.-European tradition:Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of heaviness, matter and the...
, Air
Air (classical element)
Air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its supposed fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.-Greek and Roman tradition:...
, Water
Water (classical element)
Water is one of the elements in ancient Greek philosophy, in the Asian Indian system Panchamahabhuta, and in the Chinese cosmological and physiological system Wu Xing...
and Fire
Fire (classical element)
Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization. It has been regarded in many different contexts throughout history, but especially as a metaphysical constant of the world.-Greek and Roman tradition:Fire...
. Unlike Xykon, Redcloak can remember the names of Roy and his party and is also familiar with Soon Kim.
The comic strip has given hints regarding Redcloak's Dungeons & Dragons character level, though it is not stated directly. During the siege of Azure City, Redcloak cast an Extended Summon Monster VII spell, indicating that he is at least level 14. He cast Blade Barrier, remarking that it would deliver 15d6 damage, indicative of a level 15 character. The high priest of the Twelve Gods failed his saving throw against Redcloak's destruction spell (level 13) by rolling a "21" against a 7th level spell. Elan also mentioned that he believed Redcloak to be at least 17th level.
Redcloak's unholy symbol is Xykon's phylactery
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
. He is loyal to Xykon out of guilt for his actions and devotion to the Dark One's plan. He endures the lich's insults, but resents him for ordering goblins to their death indiscriminately. His attitude temporarily changes due to his mastery over the hobgoblins, whom he initially despised, only changing his opinion of them when one of them pushed him out of the way of a boulder and died in his place. When Xykon's was temporarily bodiless and confined to his phylactery, Redcloak openly criticized him, stating that he does not trust Xykon as an ally of the Goblin race. Redcloak called him on his hypocrisy when Xykon insisted on good teamwork only because he was weak at the time
Later strips show Redcloak taking on a more important role in the leadership of Team Evil. He deals with day-to-day issues and tricked Xykon into letting them stay at Azure City for months. He established Azure City as the basis of a Goblin-ruled sovereign nation known as Gobbotopia, declaring that it was time the goblinoid races achieved international recognition as more than mere monsters. Redcloak is technically the Supreme Leader of Gobbotopia, but he has placed his rule on hold, handing the responsibilities to the hobgoblin Jirix, to help Xykon finish his quest.
Redcloak lost his right eye during O-Chul's prison break. Because the prison break also resulted in the loss of Xykon's phylactery, Xykon imposed an "idiot tax" on Redcloak by forbidding him to regenerate his lost eye.
Monster in the Darkness
The Monster in the Darkness is an as-yet unnamed creature of an indeterminate species that is kept by Xykon as a big vicious monster to reveal at the last moment to thwart the heroes. Since Xykon never had the chance to call the monster out of the darkness in his first battle with the Order of the Stick and because he refuses to reveal it until the climax, the monster remains hidden in darkness, visible only as two glowing yellow eyes. When outside, the monster is forced by Xykon and Redcloak to hide under a pink Hello KittyHello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
umbrella that spreads magical darkness. It desires to come out of the shadow, or be otherwise illuminated, going as far as to beg a group of lantern archons to attack it with their damaging light rays to light it up.
The monster has not exhibited vicious behavior. Rather, it is timid, has low self-esteem, is prone to inane observations, acts oblivious about things around it, and displays childish behavior, such as throwing a tea party with a stuffed dragon, the dead Roy, and a paralyzed O-Chul. It was unable to recognize Dorukan's Gate while looking directly at it. This has become a recurring joke in the strip, as every time one of the evil characters mentions the gates, the monster is ignorant of what the gate means or even of its existence.
Despite calling the monster a "bozo", Xykon has implied that it is powerful. Its power is verified when it is confronted by Miko Miyazaki. When Miko hits the monster with a full round of attacks, while both Roy and Hinjo were previously severely injured by such attacks, the Monster said the attacks merely tickled. It then challenges her to a game of "Who Can Hit the Lightest", but subsequently loses by knocking Miko and her horse through a wall and several miles further. That the monster actually was trying to hit her lightly is confirmed by its disappointment at having lost. When angered, its shout produces a shockwave powerful enough to blow both Haley and Belkar off their feet, intimidating them into making a trade of stew for the bodies of Roy and O-Chul, rather than taking them away from the Monster's tea party. Shortly afterward, as Haley and Belkar escape with Roy's corpse and O-Chul, the monster stomps the ground at the direction of one of the Demon Cockroaches, which results in a massive, ground-cracking earthquake. Despite the fact that the monster causes the earthquake without any acknowledged effort on its part, it feels tired and hungry after having done so. The monster also unwittingly teleports Vaarsuvius and O-Chul away from Xykon.
It has since then attempted to recreate the teleportation effect to no avail. He later asked Tsukiko to check up on O-Chul and, after being dismissed by her, casually comments that the "way complicated" ritual she had been working on was actually half a ritual, despite having only seen it briefly.
It is revealed during a conversation between the monster and the imprisoned O-Chul that Xykon tries to feed the monster live children in an attempt to make him scarier. This fails, however, as the monster doesn't eat children, and just dumps them in the trash whenever Xykon's attention is focused elsewhere. The monster and O-Chul have come to regard each other as friends, going so far as to have O-Chul refer to it as Monster-san, since the monster does not know its own name.
According to the expansion book, Start of Darkness, the Monster originally came from the deep rainforest. He was caught by a pair of hunters who comment how unusual it is that one of its species would be in a rainforest and how strange it is that he can talk. He made it clear that he was deeply fond of the rainforest, enjoying, in particular, the sunlight and fresh breezes, things it is denied under Xykon's control. He later found himself as an exhibition in a circus group, where his great love for stew is first shown. At least one member of the audience was absolutely horrified and disgusted by his appearance. Redcloak said he knew what the creature was and that the monster could escape easily if he wanted. Redcloak steals him from the circus and Xykon, afterwards, takes charge of it. He charms the monster to eat Redcloak and spit out the phylactery on the chance that Redcloak ever betrays him.
The monster is male, though his species and appearance are unknown. He refers to having known his father, describing him as far bigger than himself and possessing a vastly greater appetite, but knows nothing else of his species. When O-Chul reveals the rather obvious fact that he, like the monster, does not eat babies, the monster is overjoyed by the prospect of creating a 'No-Baby-Eating Club', which he specifically forbids Tsukiko from joining. O-Chul is horrified at the prospect that Tsukiko eats babies, but the monster denies this, saying the only reason she can't be a member is because girls can't join the club.
Tsukiko
Tsukiko, a female native of Azure City with glowing heterochromaticHeterochromia
In anatomy, heterochromia refers to a difference in coloration, usually of the iris but also of hair or skin. Heterochromia is a result of the relative excess or lack of melanin...
blue and purple eyes, was first seen in the Azure City jail where she had been imprisoned for "unnatural acts of wizardry". Along with Belkar and a thief accused of grand larceny, she agreed to help defend Azure City against Xykon in exchange for a reduced sentence. During the fight, she sided with Xykon, healing him and attacking Azure City soldiers. She later attempted to drop off her paperwork with Redcloak, who rudely dismissed her, leaving her in the courtyard with a chlorine elemental who was ordered to kill all humans. She killed the elemental with a Shout spell and later rejoined Xykon and Redcloak in the ruins of the castle, where, to the amusement of Xykon, she attempted to blame Redcloak for trying to kill her. She then came upon Miko's remains and considered animating her as a free-willed, evil undead to get even with Redcloak, then dismissed the notion, thinking the creature wouldn't have been powerful anyway. She later leads Black Squadron with a group of wights in an attempt to take out Haley's resistance group and eventually engages in direct battle with Haley.
She has levels as a mystic theurge, giving her access to both divine and arcane spells. She states that she is sexually attracted to undead
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
, a fact that mildly disturbs Xykon, who comments that he's not a "biophiliac" and is uninterested in the living. She keeps a sleeping toy in Xykon's likeness. She denies any rumours of bisexual tendencies, despite an alleged incident with a female skeleton in a crypt. She believes that Azure City is bigoted against her for being "different" and has shown motherly tendencies towards the wights that she created. She has also stated her belief that, since the undead are the antithesis of life and living people are dishonest and spiteful, logically, the undead must be pure and honest. She even believes this of Xykon.
She has verbally expressed her desire to replace Redcloak as Xykon's second in command, but she has not been informed about the gates, or that it is the ultimate goal of Team Evil to capture one intact.
Demon Cockroaches
The Demon Cockroaches first appeared when the Monster in the Darkness left a bowl of popcorn out in the living room instead of taking it back to the kitchen like he was supposed to. These shoe-sized red cockroaches follow Redcloak and Xykon around. They enjoy watching the carnage and destruction that Xykon brings with him, though Xykon and Redcloak usually ignore their existence. The extent of their interaction is limited to Redcloak's annoyance and setting of Roach Motels and Xykon's betting with one. They often make sarcastic comments at the seemingly absurd actions of Xykon and Redcloak a la Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, similar to the insect banter in the margins of Cricket Magazine. Although they are usually side characters, they sometimes take part in the comic's action. For instance, in one strip, Miko uses one of the roaches to escape a forcecage by making the roach breathe fire, lighting a Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
made from her cloak and a bottle of dwarven brandy.
Start of Darkness shows that the Cockroaches traveled from the Spice Rack of the Damned in the Abyss to an evil-themed restaurant that Xykon, Redcloak and Right-Eye formerly frequented via a portal. They then chose to follow Xykon because he often visited the restaurant and thus eventually picked up the stench.
The Linear Guild
Perfect foils to the Order of the Stick, the Linear Guild follow the "evil opposites" theme as closely as possible. This means that each of the Linear Guild resembles and belongs to a character class or multiclass combination with similar abilities to those of a member of the Order of the Stick. However, they are the exact opposite of that individual in some other respects. This is more obvious in some cases than in others.Nale
Nale, whose name happens to be "Elan" spelled backwards, is Elan's evil twin brother. A multiclass fighterFighter (Dungeons & Dragons)
The fighter is one of the standard playable character classes in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics....
/rogue
Rogue (Dungeons & Dragons)
The rogue or thief is one of the standard playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks...
/sorcerer
Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)
The sorcerer is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A sorcerer is weak in melee combat, but a master of arcane magic, the most generally powerful form of D&D magic. Sorcerers' magical ability is innate rather than studied...
who specializes in enchantment spells, he has the same combination of abilities as his bardic
Bard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The bard is a standard playable character class in many editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The bard class is versatile, capable of combat and of magic . Bards use their artistic talents to induce magical effects...
twin, but more complicated. He was raised by his ruthless, lawful evil father, a powerful general of an evil army, while Elan was raised by their mother, a kindly, chaotic good barmaid.
He looks identical to Elan except for a small goatee, later confirmed by Rich Burlew in the first collected book as an intentional reference to Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
Mirror Universe
Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place...
). During one of his plans, Nale shaved off the goatee and glued it onto his brother in order to swap places with Elan, though it had grown back by the time he was imprisoned. His cunning, scheming, and evil nature makes him the opposite of the light-hearted, good-natured, and comically inept Elan. He is also in a relationship with Sabine, Haley's opposite. He is the smartest member of the guild, though he has a tendency to outsmart himself.
He is skilled with words and is a master planner. Unlike Elan, he can quickly arrive at an intelligent, although not usually the most optimal, solutions to his problems. He tends to over-complicate situations in order to reach a certain end, such as killing 421 random people just to let the police know where he could be located. His intelligence is also his weakness, for many times his overconfidence or underestimation of others results in his downfall.
At one time, Nale succeeded in replacing his brother within the Order and traveled with them to Azure City. He had planned to eliminate the other members of the Order as quickly as possible by engineering things so that he ends up alone with each one, in turn. However, upon discovering the Order of the Stick's mission to protect the Gates of the Snarl from Xykon, Nale changed his plans. He now intends to seize control of the Gates himself, having deduced that Xykon must have devised a way to channel and direct the energy of the Snarl.
Although captured by the Order of the Stick and imprisoned by the Sapphire Guard in anti-magic cells, Nale escaped with Sabine and Thog during the war with Xykon. They left the city to resume efforts to take one of the two remaining gates.
He resurfaced when Sabine captured Elan and brought him to Nale. Elan had thought Nale was dead due to what Nale describes as his "willful ignorance". When Sabine gave another energy draining kiss to Elan, as ordered by Nale, she willingly made out with him and Elan escaped during their ensuing argument.
Thog
Thog is a half-orcHalf-orc
The half-orc is a creature born to mixed orc and human parentage in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The half-orc is a playable race for D&D player characters. Half-orcs are typically born in wild frontiers where human and orc tribes come into contact. Half-orcs are between six and seven...
barbarian
Barbarian (Dungeons & Dragons)
The barbarian is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The barbarian is based on Robert E...
with two levels in fighter. He likes puppies, ice cream with sprinkles, and rocket skates, but is afraid of pretty girls and Teletubbies
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
. He wields a greataxe and displays a childlike innocence while killing without mercy.
Thog's speech is always depicted in lower-case bold letters in the comic, a convention also used for other low-intelligence characters. Thog's stupidity and follower mentality makes him the opposite of Roy Greenhilt, the competent leader. Also, while Roy is clearly attracted to beautiful girls to the point of clouding his judgement, Thog is afraid of them, because he fears cooties
Cooties
Cooties is in American childlore, a kind of STD usually found on the male penis infectious disease found only in boys. The term may have originated with references to lice, fleas, and other parasites. A child is said to "catch" cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, or touching of...
. Thog was arrested by the Cliffport Police Department and charged with multiple crimes, but escaped after Elan cleverly persuaded him into destroying their prison bars. For Elan's unexplained and unused stowaway plan, Thog wears a leprechaun
Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...
costume, while he packs a giant wooden alpaca with potato salad. Prior to this he was wearing a Moogle costume.
When he was reunited with his comrades, Nale told him Sabine missed him, resulting in him "bull rush tackle hugging" Sabine. While Elan and Haley fought Nale and Sabine, Thog returned and, his greataxe having been left behind in Cliffport, tore the door off its hinges for use as an improvised weapon. Elan appealed to their newly discovered friendship and persuaded Thog that he would rather go and eat ice cream with his friends than have them fight. Thog agreed and promptly bludgeoned Haley several times with the door. Thog did not really participate in the subsequent battle between the Guild and the Order, as Elan subdued him using an illusion. He was captured after Durkon used a Hold Person spell on him at the battle's conclusion as he tries to join in the Order's group hug. The Order turned him over to the Sapphire Guard, but he later escaped with Nale and Sabine.
Thog resurfaced as a prisoner and gladiatorial champion in the Empire of Blood, but is not currently aware that Nale and Sabine are also there.
Sabine
Sabine is a shapeshifting demon and self-described 'evil incarnation of illicit sex'. The second-in-command of the Linear Guild is Nale's lover and the opposite number of Haley Starshine.Sabine was revealed as a succubus
Succubus (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a succubus is a female demon. Under 4th edition rules, a succubus is a devil.-Publication history:The succubus is based on the succubi from Western medieval legend.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
nearly six hundred strips after her debut. Her energy drain, shapeshift abilities, and batlike wings, are consistent with a succubus, although she also is able to use Plane Shift, which is not an innate succubus ability. Though capable of mimicking anyone, Sabine generally shapeshifts into dark-skinned individuals, as she is also dark-skinned. She possesses high fiend-based racial bonuses, making her hard to damage in combat. Haley was able to damage her, despite fiend bonuses, with silver and cold iron arrows, but since she used both arrows at once, Haley is unsure which of these arrows are able to do damage. Roy's enhanced sword is also capable of damaging her.
She once made an attempt to seduce Roy after her enchantment spells wore off mid-battle, but it failed and she was thrown out of a window by Roy. Despite her defeat, Sabine recovered before she could be taken into custody and used her shapeshifting ability to replace a member of the Cliffport Police Department. She used this disguise to rescue Pompey from custody. She arrived at Azure City and hooked up with Nale, though she was forced to leave to go to the Lower Planes because of a deal she made with an unknown group of fiends. The group, later revealed to be the "Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission" (IFCC), made her promise to inform them of anything that might tip the balance of good and evil. Sabine despises Pompey, considering the half-elf to be a little pervert.
Defeated by Haley and Durkon, Sabine recently spent time in the cells of the Sapphire Guard, along with Nale and Thog. While there, she attempted to persuade the imprisoned Miko Miyazaki, a fallen Paladin, to convert to being a Blackguard. In return, Miko attempted to kill her, leaving Sabine's head inconveniently twisted backwards. Following battle damages to the cell, Sabine escaped with Nale and Thog, flying away from Azure City in search of another of the Snarl's gates.
She resurfaced in The Empire Of Blood to take Elan to Nale. When Nale told her to give Elan one of her life-draining kisses, Elan made out with her, to Nale's disgust, and escaped during the ensuing argument between Sabine and Nale.
Hilgya Firehelm
Hilgya Firehelm is a dwarvenDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
cleric
Cleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
of Loki who left her ancestral homelands to escape her arranged marriage to her supportive and loving husband Ivan, whom she unjustly regarded as cruel. She had a short liaison with her opposite number, Durkon, after the Guild left her for dead. She also tells him that she was never really on the Linear Guild's side, but joined them because Loki wanted her to steal an artifact Nale was looking for. Durkon seems to have truly cared for her, but when he found out that she had left her husband, and was still technically married, he rejected her out of his sense of honor and duty. This caused her to flee crying and she has not been seen since. Nale has since stated she is no longer a member of the Linear Guild. Hilgya's free-spirited attitude and hedonism made her the opposite of the dutiful and unassuming Durkon. The deity she worships also appears to be the rival of the deity Durkon worships. Whether or not she survived the dungeon explosion is unknown.
Zz'dtri
Zz'dtri is a drow wizardWizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
who wielded dual scimitars with a 3.0 version of the fly spell, among others. During a one-sided battle with his opposite number, Vaarsuvius, he was dragged off by lawyers for being a rather obvious parody of the character Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed to...
, a continuation of a prior joke within the comic. Zz'dtri's taciturn, laconic nature and unwillingness to share his knowledge makes him the opposite of the rather long-winded, lecturing Vaarsuvius. He also has a clearly defined gender, as opposed to the androgynous Vaarsuvius.
Zz'dtri reappeared shortly after Thog appeared in the Empire of Blood's gladiatorial games with a new familiar named Qarr. He managed to escape the lawyers because parody is protected speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. He surprise attacked Haley
Haley
-Name:*Haley *Hayley -Other uses:* Haley Station, Ontario, a small community in Ontario, Canada* Mount Haley Township, Michigan, a mountain and nearby US town* USCGC Alex Haley , a US Coast Guard cutter...
and turned her into stone, much like he did to Celia.
Yikyik
Yikyik is a koboldKobold (Dungeons & Dragons)
Kobolds are a fictional species featured in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Aggressive, xenophobic, yet industrious small humanoid creatures, kobolds are noted for their skill at building traps and preparing ambushes...
ranger
Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)
The ranger is one of the standard playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They are protectors of nature, skilled woodsmen, and often live reclusive lives as hermits....
who was prejudiced against halflings, in contrast to fellow ranger Belkar Bitterleaf's prejudice against kobolds. The intense hatred the two had for each other culminated at the Order vs. Guild battle, where Yikyik was defeated. Belkar appears later wearing what he refers to as a "swanky new leather hat" made from Yikyik's hide.
Replacements
Nale and Sabine have recruited replacements for party members that were slain, being sued, or who had deserted the party. Most of these replacements have also been slain or deserted the party.Pompey
Pompey is an evil half-elf student wizard whom the Linear Guild recruited from Warthog's School of Wizardry and Sorcery to be the new opposite number to Vaarsuvius. Pompey is a wizard who specializes in the spellcasting school of Conjuration, having chosen Enchantment and Evocation as his barred schools. This makes him a more direct opposite of Vaarsuvius, who uses Enchantment and Evocation, but is barred from using Conjuration spells. His clothing and hair color are also the reverse of Vaarsuvius's hair and robe colors. Though he was captured by Roy in Cliffport and handed over to the CPPD, Pompey was soon rescued by Sabine and is still at large. Nale assigned him to watch the local prison, but he has left his watch, breaking out Leeky Windstaff in the process. He appears to have quit the Guild, telling Leeky that neglecting to inform Nale of Elan's escape will serve as his two-week notice.In comparison to Vaarsuvius, who displays no attraction to either gender, Pompey is quite lecherous and readily flirts with any attractive female. The primary reason that Pompey was left behind in Cliffport was because Sabine refused to carry him on the three-day flight to Azure City, forced to endure his constant "accidental" gropes.
Leeky Windstaff
Leeky Windstaff is a neutral evil gnomeGnome (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are more tolerant of other races and of magic, and are skilled with illusions...
druid
Druid (Dungeons & Dragons)
The druid is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Druids wield nature-themed magic. Prior to 4th edition, they gain divine magic from being at one with nature, or from one of several patron gods of the wild, while in 4th edition, they gain primal magic...
, the evil opposite of Durkon. He is an amoral and psychotic person devoted to the physical natural world, as opposed to Durkon's morality, kindheartedness, and devotion to a deity. Equally, as a druid, Leeky embraces nature and surrounds himself with Treants, while Durkon possesses a fear and loathing for trees. He was kicked out of his druid circle because he is unbalanced, where Durkon was banished for reasons beyond his control and knowledge. He also uses figurative language as opposed to Durkon's more straightforward speaking style.
He is seen commanding trees to attack the citizens of Cliffport, causing Durkon to flee in terror. His animal companion was a hawk, but it was slain by Roy. Many characters working together were required to take him down, as well as misinterpretation on Thor's part of the spell "Control Weather". Leeky is capable of shapeshifting into the form of a dire bear. Leeky surrendered to the Order after they defeated him in battle and was apparently handed over to the local authorities. Some time later, Pompey freed Leeky, and the two were last seen discussing Pompey's employment as a cohort.
Yokyok
Yokyok, the son of Yikyik, joined the Guild to seek revenge on Belkar in the style of Inigo MontoyaInigo Montoya
Inigo Montoya is a fictional character in William Goldman's 1973 novel The Princess Bride. In Rob Reiner's 1987 film adaptation he was portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. In both the book and the movie, he resided in the fictional country of Florin but came from Spain...
to the point where he and Belkar speak lines of dialogue directly from The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
. In contrast with Belkar, who kills indiscriminately and for amusement, Yokyok had a reason and somewhat acceptable motivation for seeking someone out to kill him. Yokyok dislikes the rest of the Linear Guild, regarding them as scoundrels, and was working with them only because Nale promised to deliver Belkar to him. Yokyok also considered himself a form of righteous justice, delivering rightful punishment to Belkar. Belkar arranged his death by posting a mission notice in a tavern asking for help.
Yukyuk
Yukyuk is a kobold ranger who first appeared to sneak-attack Vaarsuvius from atop a dog named Sir Scraggly. He wields twin crossbows.The Bandit Clan of Wooden Forest
The Bandit Clan is a group of thieves and bandits living in Wooden Forest that the Order of the Stick encounters during their sidequest to find starmetal. The clan consists of mostly low-level adventurers who use bows, though it also has several guards, an executioner, a quartermaster, and a sandwich artisan. After Durkon gains control of the clan, he orders them to disperse and return to their homes, thus ending their threat to travelers.The Bandit King, a male human rogue or ranger who fights with two swords, is the leader of the group. The Bandit King has led the clan for many years, using his combat prowess to stay in power by establishing a standing law that any bandit who defeated him in solo battle could take his place. He comes to regret this decision when his daughter Samantha bests him. The Bandit King claims to have only preyed on the "wealthy and universally despised". This does not keep him from helping to defeat the Order of the Stick, after which he is able to retake his position as leader from his exhausted daughter. He, in turn, is accidentally defeated by Durkon. He and his offspring are tied up and left in the forest. He is later killed by Miko Miyazaki after he attacks her for killing his daughter.
Samantha, the bandit king's daughter, is a female human sorceress. Described as "rotten to the core" by her own father, Samantha uses her powers to seize control of the clan, which she then uses for her own selfish purposes, including kidnapping attractive male adventurers like Elan. After clashing with the Order, she is knocked out by the Bandit King and tied up by the Order of the Stick. She is released by a traveling Miko Miyazaki, whom she threatens to force into servitude with her magic. Faced with this threat, Miko then kills Samantha.
Assassins
A pair of unnamed assassins are encountered by the Order of the Stick during their brief stay at an inn while being escorted by Miko back to Azure City. One of the assassins is an amorous dwarf, who is armed with an arquebusArquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
and has a penchant for explosives. The other is a skilled shadowdancer, referred to as "the Shadowdancer", who, after spending many years in his prestige class, only just realized that the world of the stick figure comic lacked any shadows in the first place.
Due to a misunderstanding with the hotel staff reminiscent of the "Who's on First?
Who's on First?
Who's on First? is a vaudeville comedy routine made most famous by Abbott and Costello. In Abbott and Costello's version, the premise of the routine is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team to Costello, but their names and nicknames can be interpreted as non-responsive answers...
" routine, Roy is confused for the king of the country of "Nowhere", who is meeting with leaders from nations Somewhere and Anywhere to discuss a peace treaty. The two assassins mistake Roy for the king of Nowhere and attack him, wounding Elan in the process. Roy is forced to use the Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity
Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity
The Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity is a type of magical item in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game which is infamous for its unusual effect.-Description:...
to get Elan to safety. Once he escapes, Roy returns with Haley and Vaarsuvius to confront the assassins. In the chaos, Belkar accidentally sets off one of the dwarven assassin's barrels of explosives, destroying the inn. In the resulting explosion, the Shadowdancer finally finds a shadow he can teleport through, and the assassins escape. They also appear in a flashback where they are spying on Thanh's meeting with the real King of Nowhere.
The pair of assassins appear as monster cards in The Order of the Stick Adventure Game. "The Shadowdancer", as the game refers to him, remains anonymous, whereas the dwarf's card cites his name as "Kaboom" Redaxe.
Daimyo Kubota
Daimyo Kubota is a male human aristocrat and leader of House Kubota, one of the noble houses of Azure City that is actively engaged in a plot to kill Hinjo and seize control of the city. He leads several noble houses in abandoning Azure City on the eve of invasion over a disagreement with Hinjo and Roy regarding how best to address the impending threat. On Kubota's orders, a pair of ninja and a convict released to fight for the city attempt to assassinate Hinjo during the chaos of the battle. Due to the ruling of the lone magistrate to escape the fall of the city, Hinjo has been unable to arrest Kubota for these actions. As Kubota's ships sail with the fleet of refugees leaving the city, he has made several more attempts on Hinjo's life using charmed aquatic monsters and his own ninja, Therkla. Hinjo has described Kubota as the kind of man who would not care whether all of Azure City fell to the forces of evil, just so long as he came out of it with his power intact. Kubota actually does care, as he actively conspired with devils to place himself on Azure City's throne. Kubota has an appreciation for the finer things in life, from caviar to imported rugs. While he surrenders to Elan following the death of Therkla, he nevertheless appears confident of the aristocratic countermeasures he has plotted out. He assumes that any trial will turn into a circus, making Hinjo look even worse. All his bragging is for naught; however, as Kubota never gets to trial, thanks to a Disintegrate spell from an annoyed and sleep-deprived Vaarsuvius. This was followed with Gust of Wind, which effectively sweeps Kubota's remains into the sea. Vaarsuvius admits to not knowing the man's name or precisely what he had done wrong, simply that a trial would distract from Vaarsuvius' research.Qarr
Qarr is an imp working alongside Kubota and Therkla. His speech balloon, while red and ominous, contradicts the fact that he is small and unassuming. He helped conspire with Kubota for the eventual rule of Azure City. He is capable of maintaining telepathic contact with Therkla while aboard another ship and is responsible for charming the aquatic monsters that attack Lord Hinjo's junkJunk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
. He often comes to conflict with Therkla when her crush on Elan interferes with Kubota's orders. After he and Therkla were trapped by Hinjo and the Order of the Stick, he cast a summoning spell, calling forth a massive devil as reinforcement before and teleporting away. He did not respond to Kubota's commands after Therkla's death, and his current location is a mystery. He is later seen following Vaarsuvius around after the elf had chosen to leave the group to find a better place for researching magic. He is later discovered and, despite offering the elf arcane assistance, is promptly evicted from it by Vaarsuvius, who sees the offer as a deal with the devil. After facilitating a meeting between Vaarsuvius and a trio of fiends, who convince the elven wizard to bargain with them, he accompanies the fiends to the Lower Planes, where they offer him a position with their organization. Qarr also correctly deduces that the fiends had been monitoring Vaarsuvius for some time. He was seen serving as a familiar to Zz'dtri.
Therkla
Therkla is a female half-orcHalf-orc
The half-orc is a creature born to mixed orc and human parentage in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The half-orc is a playable race for D&D player characters. Half-orcs are typically born in wild frontiers where human and orc tribes come into contact. Half-orcs are between six and seven...
ninja, described by Kubota as his "most trusted assassin". The reasonably skilled ninja graduated valedictorian from her ninja school after slaying the original. She develops a crush on the physically attractive, but ever-oblivious Elan. The crush is so extreme that she not only switches sides mid-battle solely to have a chance to fight alongside, but goes to great lengths to save his life, a fact that makes Qarr suspicious of her loyalty. Although Kubota forgives her acts after she manipulates his words to her advantage, he tells her that she must kill Elan the next time they meet, stating that this time, she won't be able to hide behind loopholes. She arranges a meeting with Elan at night, admits her feelings towards him, and ask to be his girlfriend. When Elan responds that he is already seeing Haley, she asks to at the least be with him while she's gone. When Qarr appears and reveals to Elan that he set up the meeting to ambush him, he chooses not to believe the imp and ends up convincing Therkla to switch to Hinjo's side. The group was later caught by an ambush set up by Lien, who promptly arrests Therkla. Hinjo offers her a reduced sentence for confirming that she works for Kubota, but she refuses out of loyalty to her mentor. Later, Kubota poisons her and leaves her with Elan, who tells her that Durkon could raise her from the dead. When she realizes that, even if resurrected, she and Elan would not be together, she opts to continue to the afterlife rather than live without him.
IFCC
The Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission (IFCC), is represented by its three cloaked and hooded directors, Cedrik, Lee, and Nero. The group is described as a 'community-based grassroots organization dedicated to building bridges between the diabolic, daemonic, and demonic populations'. In the context of Dungeons & Dragons, Cedrik, Lee, and Nero represent the three subtypes of fiends, Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil, and Neutral Evil respectively, as divided by alignment. The IFCC aims to bring them together into a unified front, with the intent of one day leading the gathered fiends in a battle against the Good-aligned Higher Planes and destroying them completely. The alignment of each separate chairman is not stated. The IFCC is not in charge of their respective fiendish factions, but works to achieve formal recognition and higher funding from their superiors. They are known to at least one of the evil deities of the setting, Tiamat. The IFCC becomes involved with the quest for the Gates, sending Sabine to accompany Nale. They consider the Linear Guild their pawns in the Gates quest. The IFCC provides Vaarsuvius with the soul-splice that grants the elf "ultimate arcane power" for a time, with the intent to control Vaarsuvius' soul for a future scheme.The Sapphire Guard
The Sapphire Guard is an organization of paladins dedicated to defending Soon's Gate in Azure City.Miko Miyazaki
Miko Miyazaki is a female paladin and member of the Sapphire Guard. She was raised in a monastery and thus had some monk skills in addition to her paladin abilities. Miko was the most fanatical member of the Sapphire Guard. The series' author has admitted that Miko was an intentional take on the "fanatical paladin" RPG stereotype in contrast to the other, more rational Paladins of the Guard. Her fanaticism was so extreme that other members of the Sapphire Guard would send her away on missions just to be rid of her. Miko was sent to capture the Order of the Stick and bring them to Azure City to be tried for destroying one of the five secret gates. She was baffled when they were cleared of all charges. Later, when she found out that Xykon's armies were approaching Azure City, she tried to warn Hinjo. On her way there, she caught the tail end of a conversation between Roy and Lord Shojo that led her to conclude that Shojo was a traitor. In her anger, she killed him, causing her to lose her paladinhood. Miko was then jailed, but escaped during Xykon's attack on the city. In an attempt to keep the Lich from taking over the magical gate, she destroyed it. The resulting explosion killed her.Hinjo
Hinjo is a Lawful Good PaladinPaladin (Dungeons & Dragons)
The paladin is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster...
in Azure City's Sapphire Guard and the nephew and heir of Lord Shojo. After Shojo's death, Hinjo succeeded him as ruler of the Azurites and commander of the Sapphire Guard. Hinjo is first seen helping Miko escort the Order of the Stick to their trial in Azure City. He is much more easy going than fellow paladin Miko Miyazaki, generally getting along with the Order. Miko's disapproval of this caused him to mock her, telling the Order of the Stick that her attitude is the reason she is generally sent on the long missions.
Lacking her holier-than-thou attitude, Hinjo is a considerably more likeable portrayal of a paladin than Miko Miyazaki. Despite this, Hinjo's rule is opposed by some members of Azure City's noble class, who have tried several times to assassinate him during his short time on the throne. As a paladin, he takes his honor extremely seriously, refusing to break oaths he makes, even if it might be a better long-term move. Knowing the tenuous nature of his position as ruler, he is politically savvy, careful to always have on the right air and manner when others are watching him. Nevertheless, he attempts to project a firm stance against the nobles and refuses to budge to their demands. Hinjo's preference that people follow their given orders shows his lawful side, though he concedes that the ship captain, who disobeyed orders by sailing away from Azure City during the attack too early, may have saved his life. Even after the city has fallen, he still takes time to reinforce his position and expects people to obey orders.
Wielding a single silver katana, though he also possesses a cold iron katana, he is a highly competent fighter and shows great skill fighting from his mount. His mount, a dire wolf named Argent, is able to harm devils with its bite due to silver teeth fillings installed during a trip to the dentist. He was nearly killed by a single disintegrate spell from Redcloak. As heir and subsequently leader of the Sapphire Guard, he has considerable knowledge of their lore. For instance, he knew about the Snarl and knew of the Guard's ability to rise as ghosts when slain by Xykon in the throne room.
Lien
Lien is a paladin of Azure City. She was present at Hinjo's inauguration and was assigned to transport Miko to her prison alongside O-Chul. Lien was placed in charge of the Azure City evacuation, partially because her paladin mount, a shark named Razor, would be useful in defending the docks. Raised by fishermen, she is of common descent. She and O-Chul are currently on a reconnaissance mission at the Northern Gate, their mission to keep watch for Xykon and alert the Order of the Stick if he should show up there.O-Chul
O-Chul, the leader of the paladins of Azure City, has a bald head, full beard, and scar on his temple. O-Chul first makes an appearance in the comic guarding the throne room just prior to Shojo's assassination. Along with Lien, he is charged with the duty of transporting Miko to her prison cell. During the planning for the defense of Azure City, he agrees to guard Soon's Gate with his life, stating that he and his paladins "will gladly lay down [their] lives in the defense of the tower." During a battle, O-Chul realized that to prevent Xykon from taking control of Soon's gate, he would have to destroy it. However, just as he raises his blade to strike, Xykon paralyzes him. Afterward, Miko used O-Chul's blade to shatter the sapphire.During the months of Team Evil's occupation of Azure City, O-Chul was tortured by Redcloak for information about Girard's Gate and put to life-threatening situations for Xykon's amusement. O-Chul has continually stated truthfully that he lacks any knowledge whatsoever of the other Gates. His refusal to crumble under pressure has earned him admiration from observing prisoners.
O-Chul was kept in a cage beside the box containing the Monster in the Darkness, who had originally found him paralyzed outside Azure City. The two regard each other as friends, share their daily food, and even play games, such Go
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
, together. When O-Chul escapes his cell, he confirms to the Monster in the Darkness that one must always do what they feel is right, even if it seems hopeless, and declares that the monster is "a good man". O-Chul then attempts to destroy Xykon's phylactery before escaping with Vaarsuvius thanks to a little help from the Monster in the Darkness. Currently, he is on a reconnaissance mission with Lien to the Northern Gate.
A paladin with a similar appearance as O-Chul, minus his scar, has appeared several times, once investigating the remnants of Lirian's Gate and once encountering a disguised Belkar on the street.
Shojo
Lord Shojo was the leader of the Sapphire Guard of Paladins and secular ruler of Azure City before being murdered by Miko Miyazaki. His father was given the position by Soon Kim, making him the third leader in the city's history. He is the uncle of Hinjo, who was heir apparent to Azure City prior to Shojo's death. He has admitted to being a non-Lawful 14th level Aristocrat, an NPCNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
class
Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
. Belkar believes his alignment is Chaotic Good. Because of this, he had little problems with bending the laws as he saw fit, believing that the end justified the means. To avoid assassination attempts by the nobles of Azure City, he pretended to be senile and easily swayed, especially by his cat, Mr. Scruffy. This was to make them feel that all his policies were due to other nobles' manipulations.
In return for Roy's cooperation in defeating Xykon, Lord Shojo agreed to grant each member of the Order of the Stick one favor with the exception of Belkar Bitterleaf, who, having murdered his guard, was released on bail in lieu of specific assistance. Although he was willing to lie to them, he does not appreciate Roy insulting or otherwise criticizing his paladins and wizards, such as the wizard who accidentally teleported them into a Roc
Roc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the roc is a gargantuan, eagle-like animal, based on an earlier creature from myth and fantasy also named the Roc.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
's nest instead of Azure City because he was drunk at the time.
Lord Shojo does not consider himself bound by Soon Kim's edict that the other Gates be left alone, believing that Soon Kim's reasons have become obsolete. He recognizes the oath's importance to the paladins of the Guard and, as such, outwardly does his best to follow the terms of that agreement. Covertly, however, he considered it extremely foolish to risk universal destruction on an oath made to people that he'd never met. Therefore, he did what he considered necessary to protect the world and the people of Azure City, even if this meant lying to the paladins under his command or recruiting others, like the Order, to complete tasks the paladins would not. He was not remotely above threatening his paladins with mundane, but unpleasant tasks, such as cleaning out Mr. Scruffy's litter box, to get his way. This attitude made him one of the few people that Belkar showed a degree of admiration for.
During a conversation with Roy Greenhilt about his actions with regard to the Order and his opinions on the validity of the oath, Hinjo and Miko Miyazaki, who were just outside the door, discovered that Lord Shojo was doing stuff behind the paladins' backs. Miko immediately jumped to the conclusion that Shojo was working with Xykon, as she considered the Order of the Stick to be the lich's minions. After summarily judging him guilty of treason, she drew her sword and executed him, though this action caused her to lose her paladinhood. Despite the clerics casting Resurrect on his body, the spirit of Shojo remained unwilling to return to life. This, Belkar reasoned, was because Shojo was close to natural death already and would have to face a trial for treason upon returning.
Mr. Scruffy
Mr. Scruffy is a solid white pet house-cat and "advisor" of the late Lord Shojo. After the death of Shojo and the fall of Azure City, Belkar took on Mr. Scruffy as his friend and companion, using him in battle against Tsukiko. Mr. Scruffy is one of the few creatures that Belkar genuinely cares for, defending him against others who would do him harm. Mr. Scruffy was known as the "power behind the throne" of Azure City due to his relationship with Lord Shojo. It was this relationship with Lord Shojo that eventually led to the resistance of Azure City uniting against Xykon.Thanh
Thanh is a paladin of the Sapphire Guard who was in the kingdom of Nowhere on a diplomatic mission when Xykon invaded Azure City. Upon returning to Azure City, he joined the resistance and eventually became leader of the resistance when Haley ceded control of it upon her departure. Since the fall of Azure City, Thanh does not wear the traditional blue sapphire guard uniform, instead wearing black clothing due to its practicality for use in guerrilla warfare.The Greenhilt family
The immediate relatives of Roy Greenhilt have played a recurring role in the Order of the Stick story, particularly in how they shaped the life of young Roy to become the man he is today.Eric Greenhilt
Eric Greenhilt is Roy's brother. Though he makes an appearance in comic #113, he isn't introduced until comic #496, when Roy meets him in the afterlife. Eric, who was born after Roy, but before Julia, died as a young child, 18 years before the strip takes place as a result of one of Eugene's experiments. After Eric's death, his parents attempted to resurrect him, but none of their efforts succeeded. Roy later speculates this was because the afterlife was so enjoyable that Eric's soul never thought about trying to go back. He now lives with his mother, Sara Greenhilt, still in a child's form.Eugene Greenhilt
Eugene Greenhilt is Roy's father. Despite having died three years before the Order of the Stick was created, Roy's father visits him from time to time to give foreshadowing clues. Near the beginning of the story, Eugene tells Roy a prophecy that aids both him and Haley in defeating Nale. Eugene has often expressed disappointment in Roy's chosen career path, wishing his son had become a wizard instead, berating and insulting him in every conversation they have. Eugene trained under Fyron, the wizard of Cliffport, who was slain and zombified by Xykon. This was done in front of Eugene, who was trapped in a magic bubble spell and forced to watch. Learning of Xykon's name from the Oracle, but not his location, Eugene attempted to catch Xykon, but failed. During a drunken evening, Eugene vowed a Blood Oath of Vengeance against Xykon. This vow was transferred to Roy, his eldest child, when he died. Eugene proved to be incapable of even finding the lich, let alone taking his revenge.The book On the Origin of PCs reveals that Roy's father has no confidence in Roy's ability to defeat Xykon. Instead, he is counting on Roy's sister, Julia. Roy confronted his father after discovering that Eugene, who was an Illusionist in life, was responsible for the phony charge that the Sapphire Guard used to arrest them. According to Roy, he only still goes after Xykon because of the great threat he poses to the world, not to seek revenge for his father's death. If it weren't for the great threat imposed on the world, he'd tell his father to "stick his blood oath against Xykon up his wrinkled, incorporeal ass". Eugene is later shown berating Roy in the afterlife for his failure to defeat Xykon and blames him for the destruction of Azure City. Eugene's Blood Oath prevents him from ascending to the afterlife, as governed by the gods of the North. Ever since his death, he has been stuck in an intermediate dimension from where he can see the Prime Material Plane. His only hope of release is if the Blood Oath is fulfilled by one of his descendants. He is extremely upset when his son is given permission to ascend to the true afterlife. The deva in charge of Roy's case assured him that the Blood Oath poses no impediment to Roy at all. The Deva told Eugene that Roy earned permission to enter the Celestial Realms because while Eugene abandoned his oath years before his own death, Roy died attempting to fulfill the oath that Eugene burdened him with. Therefore, Eugene's punishment is to wander the clouds until his descendants, in this case Julia or a resurrected Roy, can fulfill the oath.
Eugene had begun dating the ghost of a woman named Violet, since his wedding vows were only "till death do us part". This relationship ended rather abruptly when Violet's own family Blood Oath was fulfilled and she was allowed to proceed to the Celestial Realms. She even asked Eugene not to visit her if he ever made it in, so she would not have to explain about their relationship to her husband.
According to Sara Greenhilt, people in the afterlife appear as the ideal versions of themselves. Eugene appears as an old man because he has always been an old man at heart. Though, she also agrees that the curse also plays a part to his general irritability and unpleasantness.
One of the common running gags of the comic is that whenever Roy mentions his father, another member of the Order of the Stick will say "Isn't your father dead?" or some similar phrase.
Horace Greenhilt
Horace Greenhilt is Roy's grandfather and Eugene's father. He was a strong fighter in his time, having killing at least two dragons and saving one princess. It was stories about his grandfather that made Roy decide to become a fighter himself, a fact that Horace was told by Sara because he died well before Roy was born. He still has a version of the sword his family is named after, though it is a Celestial Planes copy, as Roy currently has the material sword. Horace and Roy have both taken the single fighter route without multiclassing. They resemble one another, with both appearing to wear the same armor and shoes, although their shoes and shirts are different colors. Horace has stated that he tried to get close to Eugene when he was young, but his son treated him much as he would later do to Roy, browbeating him about a perceived lack of intellect and being generally unpleasant.Julia Greenhilt
Julia Greenhilt is Roy's 16-year-old sister and a third level wizard. Unlike Roy, who took his own path, Julia followed her father's wish for his children to become wizards. She attends Warthog's School of Wizardry and Sorcery, the same school attended by Pompey of the Linear Guild and Eugene Greenhilt, where she is considered to be the most popular girl in school. She was kidnapped by the Linear Guild as a pawn to lure the Order of the Stick to Cliffport so that Nale could carry out his plan to replace Elan. Freed by the Order of the Stick, she has returned to her studies.Rich Burlew, the comic's writer, has hinted that Roy harbors feelings of jealousy against her because she was their father's favorite child. Eugene is counting on her, not Roy, to finish off Xykon.
Julia is portrayed as an unapologetically spoiled, superficial brat who is much more concerned with her kidnappers' lack of coolness than with the mortal peril she and her brother are in. She has revealed herself to be of True Neutral alignment, as opposed to Roy's Lawful Good. She is a flirt who uses her natural endowments to get the attention of her teachers, a ploy that fails on Durkon. After a while, she ends up dropping the "cool girl" attitude, replying "yes, sir" when he lectures her for immodesty twice. She boasts about knowing him and insists, correctly, that he did most of the fighting in this encounter with the Linear Guild. Not talking back or responding with a wisecrack is unusual for Julia, as evidenced by her behavior towards both Roy and the Linear Guild. Though she and her brother squabble, they love each other, something that the disguised Nale finds hard to comprehend due to his hatred of Elan.
Sara Greenhilt
Sara Greenhilt is the mother of Roy, Eric, and Julia Greenhilt and the wife of Eugene Greenhilt. She died three years before the formation of the Order of the Stick while Roy was still at Fighter College. Roy describes her as having a "grey bun hairdo and osteoporosis", however she had a wild side before her marriage. She met Eugene while drunk at a bar, though they tell their children that they met in a library. After marrying and having her children, she settled herself down to become an attentive and caring mother.Sara meets Roy in the afterlife, where he was surprised to see that she had her nineteen-year-old, pre-Eugene body. Like her husband, Sara appears to have taken the "until death do us part" section of her vows literally, as she has been dating other people. This is illustrated by the appearance of one of her flings with a knight wearing nothing but a towel. Despite her own issues with Eugene, she notes that they had a good life together while he was focused on her, but that he was merely "stuck with her because they'd had children" when his attention wandered back to other interests.
"The Order of the Scribble"
The Order of the Scribble was an adventuring group founded by Soon Kim and Lirian after Kim's wife was killed by The Snarl. They adventured to contain the Snarl and to defeat those that would release it. Eventually, they constructed five magical Gates to seal it in its weakening prison. In the battle to seal the final rift, one of the members was killed, leading to a breakdown in the group dynamic. To prevent outright bloodshed between them, they agreed to retire and each protect one of the five Gates in whatever manner they saw fit, forswearing interference in each others affairs.The main plot of The Order of the Stick revolves around these Gates and the fate of the members of the Order of the Scribble. Though the strip is set more than 50 years after their retirement, the characters of The Order of the Scribble do not usually take a direct impact on the action of the comic.
The group's official name was only mentioned in the title of the strip in which they were formally introduced. The name refers to the crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...
-drawn style of the story arc that focuses on the group.
Soon Kim
Soon Kim is a paladin who founded the Order of the Scribble with Lirian. After the group split up, he took control of the rift in Azure City and created the Sapphire guard to stop anyone who wanted to use its power for evil. During during Xykon's raid of Azure City, Soon Kim was resurrected and fought Xykon and Redcloak in the throne room. Just as Kim had defeated both Xykon and Redcloak, however, Miko destroyed the gate, allowing the two to escape.Lirian
Lirian is an Elf Druid who started the Order of the Scribble with Soon Kim. She used the trees to guard her rift, but her gate was destroyed in her fight with Xykon and was trapped in his soul gem with Dorukan.Dorukan
Dorukan is a wizard and former member of The Order of The Scribble. He created a castle in The Red Mountains to guard his rift and protected it with magic. Xykon tried to gain control of his gate six months before the comic strip takes place, but was defeated and trapped in the soul gem with Lirian. Dorukan had many employees, such as Celia, to guard his magic items, but they left after he was trapped by Xykon. Dorukan's gate is the first gate that the Order of the Stick pursues over the course of the comic. When the Order finds the gate, Elan activates a self destruct rune, blowing up both the castle and Dorukan's gate.Girard Draketooth
Girard Draketooth is a Ranger/Illusionist and former member of the Order of the Scribble who fights with two scimitars. He blamed Soon Kim for the death of Kraagor and took control of the Desert Rift, using his illusions to hide it. The Order of The Stick is trying to track him down so that he can give them the true coordinates of the rift. He has maintained a good relationship with Serini, having given her the real coordinates as opposed to the fake ones given to Soon Kim.Serini Toormuck
Serini Toormuck is a Halfling Rogue and former member of the Order of the Scribble. Serini was the one who decided the group should split up when they began to turn against one another. She controls the gate in the north where Kraagor died and created a pit filled with the most horrible monsters to guard it. This reflects Kraagor's belief of physical might. She maintained a good relationship with Girard and has the true coordinates of the Girard's gate. She wrote everything, including the coordinates, in her diary, which Xykon currently has.Kraagor
Kraagor is a Barbarian Dwarf and former member of the Order of the Scribble. He died in as a result of Soon Kim's order to seal the gate. Though he does not control any gate, Serini named her gate after him because he died there and there is a statue of him in her gate.The Gods
There are three main pantheons of gods in the Order of the Stick universe. The Northern Gods, worshipped by the dwarves and humans living in the Northern Lands, are based on the Norse gods. The Southern Gods, often referred to by their worshippers as the "Twelve Gods", are revered by the people of the Southern Lands and are based on the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiacChinese zodiac
The Shēngxiào , better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle...
. The third set of gods, called the Western Gods, are based on the deities of the ancient Near East, such as Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
and Tiamat
Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons)
Tiamat is the name of a powerful draconic goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The name is taken from Tiamat, a goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology who is substantially different ....
. The Oracle of the Sunken Valley, despite living outside the Western continent, claims to worship Tiamat and Minister Malack worships Nergal
Nergal
The name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
. A fourth pantheon, called the Eastern Gods, was based on the Olympian gods of ancient Greece, but was destroyed by the Snarl during the time of the previous world and is thus unknown to most inhabitants of the world.
The elves and goblins have their own gods. For instance, Vaarsuvius worships the God of Knowledge and Redcloak worships the Dark One. These gods were "raised" to godhood rather than having existed before the universe. The Dark One was raised through a yearlong slaughter in his name after his death, while the Elven gods apparently gathered enough followers to gain godhood. As is usual in Dungeons and Dragons, the gods are demonstrably real. Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
and other gods have appeared in the comic several times. Each pantheon has greater control over the geographical area after which it is named as Tiger, one of the Southern Gods, prevents Thor from directly intervening in events transpiring in the Southern Lands.
Loki
Loki is Thor's evil half-brother and the patron deity of Hilgya, who was once the clericCleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
for the Linear Guild. While Thor and Loki have been shown to be enemies over the course of the comic strip, they cooperated in the distant past when the gods created a new world to contain the Snarl. Loki is portrayed as more sensitive than Thor to bizarre events that occur in the mortal world. For instance, he noticed the liaison between Durkon and Hilgya first, though the discovery made both deities ill.
Thor
Thor is Durkon's patron deity and a member of the Gods of the North. He is inspired by ThorThor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
of Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. In the strip, Thor is portrayed as a drunken buffoon with a good heart and usually acts as comic relief. Some of his more ill-considered acts have included taunting the Snarl, abandoning a village to the fire giant Surt while being hassled by Durkon, and creating a portentous storm while drunk. A running joke in the series is the question 'what would Thor do?' based on the famous question 'what would Jesus do?
What would Jesus do?
The phrase "What would Jesus do?" became popular in the United States in the 1990s and as a personal motto for adherents of Evangelical Christianity who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through the...
'. Durkon occasionally considers what Thor would do for guidance, but, unfortunately, since Thor would simply crush his enemies with his divine power before returning to Asgard
Asgard
In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is the country or capital city of the Norse Gods surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svadilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Valhalla is located within Asgard...
to woo goddesses and drink an oceans worth of beer, the W.W.T.D. motto is never as applicable to Durkon's situation. He appeared to grant Durkon a casting of Control Weather via a scroll, which Durkon used to generate a thunderclap of such force that Leeky Windstaff's animated trees were blown to pieces, as the druid had failed to protect them against sonic damage. After intimidating a celestial who tried to point out the Control Weather spell couldn't be used like that, Thor wandered off to "get tanked and paw Sif
Sif
In Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds...
", telling the celestial to report on whether Durkon lived or died. When Thor impregnated an unnamed fertility goddess, Loki scolded him for not knowing that she is a goddess of fertility. He appeared later in the strip, telling Tiger of the 12 Gods of the South to relax after he had attempted to assist Durkon in Azure City.
Banjo the Clown
The deity "Banjo the Clown", also known as "BanjulhuCthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
", is a hand puppet used by Elan to create small examples of divine power. Banjo had limited powers because he had few worshippers, but by strip 553, Banjo had gained the following of an island tribe of orcs. Those orcs now worship Banjo's brother and rival, Giggles the clown, god of slap-stick.
Banjo had previously attempted to join the pantheon of the Northern Gods, who considered his application. However, he was put off by the attitude of their clerics and abandoned the effort to the disappointment of Odin, who stated that he likes puppets.
The Snarl
The Snarl is being born from the frustration and hostility of the gods. It was created when the first world was created by the gods, as the Gods of the West, EastGreek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, North
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, and South, argued about how to create the world. As they argued and pulled on the threads of reality in an attempt to get their way, snags began to develop in the fabric of the world. As the snags grew and combined, the Snarl was created, gradually growing ever more intelligent and malevolent. Finally, it revealed itself to its unwitting creators, slaying the entire pantheon of the Gods of the East with ease and devouring every soul on the newly created world. It took just twenty-seven minutes to undo the entirety of creation.
Hidden away in their realms among the Outer Planes, the leaders of the three remaining pantheons met in secret and hatched a plan. Agreeing in advance which pantheons would be responsible for which parts of a new creation, they began to weave a new world out of the remaining threads of reality. With few arguments to slow them down, the gods wove the new world as quickly as possible. The Snarl, born of chaos and unable to comprehend things of order and purpose, failed to realise what the gods were attempting until it was too late. The final threads were pulled into place and a new world formed around the Snarl, imprisoning it in a small demi-plane, with the world itself acting to keep the Snarl firmly in place.
Sixty-six years prior to the start of the Order of the Stick's adventures, the Snarl nearly escaped through holes in its prison, only to be defeated by the Order of the Scribble, who resealed the rifts in reality and built gates to guard them. The recent destruction of three of these gates and Xykon's apparent interest in the remaining two has led to a fear that the Snarl would be released. This serves as the plot hook for the protagonists' campaign
Campaign (role-playing games)
In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth of the characters. In a campaign, a...
.
The Dark One
The Dark One, whose original name has been forgotten, was originally a mortal goblin with superior abilities. Unlike the other goblins seen in the strip who have green or orange skin, he has violet skin. This is where his title came from. The Dark One unified many goblin tribes into a powerful force to build an independent goblin kingdom. He met with human leaders in an attempt to negotiate peaceful co-existence between goblins and humans, but he was betrayed and murdered, leading him to believe that humans are naturally untrustworthy creatures.The Dark One's followers were angered by this betrayal and killed over a million humans in revenge. These deaths, along with his followers' dedication to his memory, caused the Dark One to become a god. Most of the existing gods of the other pantheons shunned him, but a few evil gods were sympathetic.
The Dark One later learned about the Snarl and sent his followers to find the gates. He also created the Crimson Mantle for his senior cleric to wear. The artifact, which has great power, is currently in Redcloak's possession. The Dark One's plan is to coerce the other gods into giving goblins better treatment by threatening to free the Snarl. If the universe is destroyed by the Snarl, he will ensure that when it is recreated the goblins will be given an equal share.
Greysky City
Greysky City is a city ruled by thieves. People are robbed for having money in their pockets and murder is common. The most prominent organization is the Greysky City Thieves Guild, run by Bozzok.Guildmaster Bozzok
Guildmaster Bozzok is a rogue who runs the Thieves' Guild in Greysky City. Though he resembles an orc, he speaks without the speech-impediment that all orcs appear to have. He rules his guild with an iron fist, running protection rackets on local businesses, charging excessive fees to his thieves for guild services, and killing anyone who tries to leave the guild. He attempted to have Haley, one of his best earners, killed after leaving the guild, but placed a moratorium on the order when she left the city. After Grubwiggler revealed that she had robbed him, he sent his entire guild to have her killed. He is later confronted and defeated by Haley and Belkar. Before he can be finished off, however, Celia states that she has meanwhile organized a truce with the guild. A guild member also states that Bozzok's death would result in a violent free-for-all for succession as well as a massive power vacuum.Crystal
Crystal is Bozzok's chief assassin. Despite being a terrible thief with low intelligence, called "dumber than a used tanglefoot bag" by Haley, she is a proficient killer who wields a +4 curved dagger. She despises Haley and wanted to kill her even before she left the guild, and responded to Bozzok's order with almost childish glee. Due to their rivalry, Crystal gains a level every time Haley does, whether she has earned it or not. This is because, in every other situation, rivals are always about the same strength. Due in part to her low intelligence, she comes to the conclusion that Haley is physically vulnerable to pickles because she dislikes them. In their battle, she eventually destroys Haley's +3 bow, rendering her defenseless. Just after, however, Haley tricks her into looking inside the barrel of pickles to see what level of "enchantment" they had. Haley promptly ran off after Crystal fell in. With Bozzok's assistance, Crystal manages to overpower Haley, but loses to Belkar and is left at 0 HP. Belkar leaves her alive, though, believing that her only purpose is to be Haley's arch-nemesis and that it is not his place to kill her. In response to Crystal and Bozzok's plan to assassinate her, Haley kills her in the shower and takes her dagger and magical items.Hank
Hank is a halfling member of the Thieves' Guild. He gave Haley a warning to leave the city immediately after she quit the Guild, explaining that Bozzok would only give her an hour before sending Crystal to kill her. After hearing of Haley's return, he expresses surprise that she wasn't smart enough to stay away. He later negotiates a truce with Celia and convinced Haley from finishing off Bozzok.Hieronymus Grubwiggler
Hieronymus is a man who makes a living by taking corpses and reanimating them into golemsGolem (Dungeons & Dragons)
A golem is a type of construct, a magically created monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.- Publication history :The Dungeons & Dragons golems are based upon the Golems of Jewish mythology.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
. He has been robbed three times by Haley and has the Thieves Guild's five-star protection plan. He was killed by Crystal during the rescue of Roy's body.
Old Blind Pete
Old Blind Pete, previously named Eagle Eyed Pete, was part of the Greysky City Thieves Guild. He was one of the best snipers until he was caught selling guild secrets to their rivals. As punishment, the guild master put out his eyes. He attempted to have his eyes regenerated and escape, but he was attacked by Crystal. Pete knew both of Haley's parents, identifying her as "Ian and Mia's girl". He Initially appeared as an ally to Haley, but he betrayed her, Celia, and a cleric of Loki in return for having his eyes restored. After having his eyesight restored, Belkar disabled him and the cleric bashed his skull in revenge.The Loki Cleric
The Loki cleric, whose name is never mentioned, was a childhood friend of Pete until Pete betrayed him. Originally, the cleric came in upon Pete's request, risking his own life. Haley asks him to cure Belkar's disease, though he reveals to her that Belkar is not diseased, but cursed by the Mark of Justice. At Haley's request, he casts a spell of sending to get a message to Durkon, which proves difficult because he, like the fantasy character stereotype, has difficulty distinguishing Durkon from any other dwarf. When the Thieves Guild tries to attack him, he decides to remove Belkar's curse so that Belkar could help defend him. With the curse removed, the two work together to fend off the guild. Afterward, the priest asks Belkar if he could work for him as a bodyguard. Belkar declines, insisting that he must help Haley and Celia. As Belkar leaves, the cleric gets his revenge by killing Pete at Belkar's suggestion.The Empire of Blood
The Empire of Blood is one of the larger and more stable of the similarly named empires filling the more fertile parts of the Western Continent. It is exceedingly bureaucratic, but the civil administration is not actively malevolent except to criminals or those who cannot produce papers.The Empress of Blood
The Empress of Blood is an obeseObesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
Red Dragon who has been on the throne of the empire for two years. Ever since Tarquin pointed out that more powerful dragons grow larger, the Empress cares for nothing but food, thinking that growing larger will make her more powerful.
General Tarquin
General Tarquin is the father of Elan and Nale. He initially came to the Western Continent in order to conquer his own kingdom. While he did so fairly quickly, he lost it a short time later. Currently, he is a general in the service of the Empress of Blood. According to Nale, General Tarquin divorced his wife due to irreconcilable alignment differences. General Tarquin exhibits a flair for the dramatic, deliberately withholding Elan's existence from Nale as a means of heightening dramatic tension. He is pragmatic and clever, having successfully conspired to set up himself and his old adventuring companions as behind-the-scenes rulers of the anarchic social order of the Western Continent. He is familiar with Elan's obscure prestige class, Dashing Swordsman, and is able to overcome this special ability.Minister Malack
Malack is an albino LizardfolkLizardfolk
Lizardfolk are a fictional humanoid species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:...
cleric of Nergal
Nergal
The name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
, the death-god of the Western Pantheon, and an old adventuring colleague of Tarquin. Malack got Tarquin a job as chief warlord to a local conqueror and since then, the two of them have been offering their services as warlord and high priest, respectively, to any would-be ruler that can pay. He is quite intelligent and claims that gods of death and their clerics are not usually evil because, if they were, then death would only take the good. He states that neutrality better suits them. He also enjoys the company of other clerics and entertains Durkon while discussing matters of theology.
Gannji and Enor
Gannji and Enor are two reptilian bounty hunters. They capture Elan, thinking he is Nale, to claim a bounty posted by the Empress. Gannji is a cunning green Lizardfolk with strong anti-mammal prejudices who wields a trident in battle. His companion, Enor, is a significantly less intelligent blue half-dragon half-ogre with a dragon breath weapon that emits lightning and a constant desire for his "yummies". They are later forced to fight each other in the gladiatorial arena until Belkar releases the arena's allosaurusAllosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
.
Roy's Archon
Roy's Archon, first introduced in comic #492, is a lantern archonArchon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, archons are a type of creature from the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. In 1st and 2nd edition, they are powerful lawful good creatures from the upper planes, and in 3rd edition they are celestials. These creatures are sent by higher powers...
assigned to be Roy's guardian and guide while in Celestia. Though its name seems self-exclamatory, it wondered how Roy's mother knew its name. After realizing the full scale of the Snarl's threat, Roy's Archon willingly bent the rules to allow Roy a quick way back to the plane between the living and the spiritual world in preparation for Roy's resurrection. Though it doesn't have a body, it knows an attack called "deadly light rays", used when attacked by an evil adventuring party that had plane shifted into Celestia. It is last seen playing 1st Edition D&D with Eugene while Roy was on Earth trying to communicate with the Oracle of the Sunken Valley.
General Chang
General Chang is the leader of the Azure City military. He first appears in comic #413, conducting the tactical planning of the defense of Azure City. He personally leads the defenders when the walls of the city are breached, but is soon killed by a death knight.Kazumi Kato and Daigo
Kazumi Kato and Daigo are a pair of human Azure City soldiers who fight alongside the Order of the Stick during the battle of Azure City. They meet each other when they become trapped in a tower with the Order, at which time Kazumi asks Daigo out on a date, should they both survive the battle. While they were originally unnamed and undifferentiated members of the Azure City army, they reveal their names to each other to dodge the fate of all nameless redshirtsRedshirt (character)
A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates with fans of Star Trek , from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers who frequently die during episodes.-Star Trek:...
. Daigo's last name is still unknown, as they are "saving it for an emergency". They escape Azure City aboard Lord Hinjo's junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
. During their time in exile, Kazumi and Daigo fall in love and conceive a child. This leads them to ask Durkon to officiate at their wedding. Hinjo rewards their service with a noble title, forming House Kato. Daimyo Kubota marked them for assassination as part of his plan to seize control of Azure City, hoping to remove their votes from the council of nobles who would choose the leader following Hinjo's death. Kazumi, though six months pregnant, was able to fight off the majority of the assassins and survived thanks to the intervention of Elan and Therkla.
Sangwaan
Sangwaan is a female human divinerWizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
or shugenja
Shugenja (Dungeons & Dragons)
The shugenja or shukenja is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition :...
. Sangwaan wears a blindfold, but, although she occasionally needs to be pointed in the direction of those to whom she is speaking, seems mostly unhampered by it due to her oracular magic. She is a top aide to Lord Hinjo, providing him with magical intelligence in the hours leading up to the battle of Azure City. She is crucial in detecting Xykon's attempt to bypass the city walls and attack the throne room directly, using a True Seeing spell to thwart his invisibility. After locating Xykon, she is immediately flung from the walls by Xykon's undead dragon steed. She first appears in comic #271 as a witness int the Order's trial.
Blackwing
Blackwing is the raven familiar of Vaarsuvius. While Blackwing was first introduced early in the series, he is only seen rarely during the first several hundred strips. This is a joke referencing the fact that within the game of Dungeons & Dragons, familiars are largely ignored except when they play an important role in the narrative of the story. When Vaarsuvius began to reevaluate how he/she treated others, Vaarsuvius made it a point to begin treating Blackwing as a partner rather than a resource. Since then, Blackwing has been in every strip that Vaarsuvius has been in, usually perched on the shoulder. Blackwing has also begun acting as a confidant and counselor to Vaarsuvius, except when Blackwing is distracted by baubles and dangly things.Celia
Celia is a sylphSylph (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a sylph is an outsider that shares many similarities to fey creatures.-Publication history:...
who is first seen guarding the air sigil in Dorukan's tower. Like any outsider, she cannot be called back from death upon being killed and must fight cautiously in contrast who she calls "back from the dead happy" Order of the Stick. When her old boss disappeared and Xykon moved in, Celia lost all loyalty for her job, making personal calls and swiping office supplies. Though she was transformed to stone by the Linear Guild, she was cured by Vaarsuvius. To repay the Order, she takes Nale and Thog to jail and opens a magical portal, in the form of a service stairwell, to allow them to skip two levels of the dungeon.
In an attempt to move on to a more satisfying career, she started attending night classes in law. She has since appeared representing the Order of the Stick as a paralegal
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, successfully defending them in their trial in Azure City for weakening the fabric of the universe. During this time, there is a hinted attraction between Roy and Celia, and she is subsequently seen shopping for clothes to get Roy's attention. She asks Roy to join her at a dinner for two in one of the nicer dining establishments. They enjoy a candlelit dinner and a romantic walk/flight, leading up to a kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. The next morning, Celia is seen emerging half-dressed and disheveled from Roy's hotel room. Upon leaving, she gives Roy a talisman to summon her, should their battles get too rough. Celia, however, having limited knowledge of humans, didn't know Roy couldn't shoot energy out of his fingers like herself, and forget to tell Roy that the talisman only broke for magical energy. After Roy fell to his death attempting to break the talisman, Haley recovered it. The talisman later broke when it was hit with an Electric Orb attack from Tsukiko.
Celia gets on well with the members of the Order, with the exception of Belkar and Haley, mostly due to their willingness to do questionable actions to get by. Her arguments with Haley all seem to involve Belkar in one way or another, and the two get along when not discussing him. Nonetheless, she chooses to disobey Haley by entering Greysky City, unaware of the fact that it's full of criminals. She takes Roy's body to a local spellcaster named Grubwiggler after hearing he had success dealing with the dead, unaware that he was reanimating them as golems. Grubwiggler transformed Roy's corpse into a bone golem, and Celia had to be saved by Haley when he tried to claim her body as payment for the services.
Cliffport Police Department
The Cliffport Police Department (CPPD) are characters who protect the city of Cliffport to the best of their ability, which is difficult when cleverer, stronger, and/or magical beings, such as the Linear Guild, show up to cause trouble. The CPPD Chief is the most-commonly seen member. His unnamed squad members include a man with ginger hair, called "Rookie", regarded as the one member of the team with any sense, a female with light brown hair, a bearded blond man who's losing his hair, and a dark-skinned, dark-haired man. The last of these was charged with delivering Pompey to prison, but had been knocked out and replaced by a shapeshifted Sabine before he could do so. The Chief was decapitated by Nale in a surprise attack. The rookie appears to have taken charge of the group since his demise.The CPPD arrested Elan, whom they believed to be Nale, and Thog under arrest for 417 charges of murder and one charge of intent to summon a demon. The last offense was made up by Nale after he was freed by Rookie. Thog's and Nale's imprisonment lasted only forty minutes before they broke out. Leeky Windstaff, who was subdued by the Order, was also in custody before being freed by his friend Pompey.
The local laws forbid the use of magic to determine guilt, because the results can readily be faked using illusions. As such, the CPPD expect their investigation into these crimes to take at least six months. Now that Elan, Thog, and Leeky have all escaped, it remains to be seen whether the CPPD will attempt to track them down.
Flumphs
Two flumphFlumph
The flumph is a monster found in the fictional world of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. Flumphs are described as sentient, and are the only Lawful Good creatures in the original 1981 Fiend Folio.-Physical description:...
s, first seen in Dorukan's Pit of monsters that were never updated to 3rd Edition, make occasional appearances to break the falls of various characters. After being landed on, one of them seeks counseling in Cliffport, feeling that it was just a minor character in someone else's story, when Haley landed on it. Later, when Roy falls to his death outside Azure City, the final frame of the comic cuts to a flumph feeling like it should be somewhere. More recently, an evil ghostly flumph, self-proclaimed as the "Ghost of Lame Monsters Past", succeeded in scaring the wits out of the two living flumphs before being flattened by Roy's ghost. In one comic, Belkar creates a flumph out of desert sand, only for it to break the fall of a resurrected Roy.
Julio Scoundrél
Julio Scoundrél is a dashing sky pirate and captain of the airship Mechane. He is a famous action star, listed as the thirty-second out of the one hundred greatest swordsmen of the century. His proficiency is due to ten levels in the obscure prestige class Dashing Swordsman. This class allows him to apply his high Charisma bonus to attacks with a rapier, provided that he makes a witty remark while doing so. Elan encounters Julio while attempting to gain transport from Cliffport to Azure City. The air pirate agreed to help Elan because the bard reminded him of himself. While traveling to Azure City, Julio agrees to train Elan in the ways of the Dashing Swordsman so he could defeat Nale once he arrived. Much like Elan, Julio is well-versed in the ways of genre conventions and follows such rules. He is a wanted criminal in Azure City, and his airship is attacked by the local militia upon approaching the city. Before parting ways with Elan, he gives him the +3 Keen Rapier that he used when he was a Level 1 Dashing Swordsman, claiming that since he has managed to father children in every port on the continent, he doesn't know who should inherit it. Upon leaving, he expresses the wish to never to cross paths with Elan again because, due to genre conventions and the demands of stories, he would most likely be killed by a random enemy of Elan's the next time they meet so that Elan could swear vengeance on his killer.Lawyers
Mr. Jones and Mr. Phil Rodriguez are two lawyers that occasionally appear in the world of the Order of the Stick. Their main purpose is ensure that no copyright infringements occur. Mr. Jones is professional and educated, though arrogant, while Mr. Rodriguez has a childish demeanor and tends to role-play when around the adventurers. At one point, Mr. Rodriguez claimed that they were sent by the "Spooooky Wizard who lives by the Coast", a reference to the Wizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. They have showed up to drag away the Mind Flayer when Vaarsuvius called them out against Zz'dtri for being a copyright infringement on Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed to...
. They are also seen threatening the bandit clan leader with a restraining order after being captured as "universally despised".
In comic #228, At Belkar's request, Mr. Jones appears, claiming that Miko's use of Detect Evil "clearly constitutes an illegal search" employing "harmful radiation" on the basis that many of the creatures Miko has scanned are currently dead and that the scan is blocked by a lead sheet in a manner consistent with the properties of ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
. Miko's horse, Windstriker, then attempts to hire Mr. Rodriguez to put a restraining order on Belkar, but Belkar simply informed Mr. Rodriguez that he was not of Lawful alignment, chasing him out of the stables.
They are summoned by Lord Shojo to act as the prosecution at the Order's trial on the charge of 'weakening the fabric of the universe', though they lost the case because the whole thing was a sham perpetrated by Shojo and Eugene Greenhilt. Due to Jones' skill at converting trial transcripts, his record is 5-0 while Mr. Rodriguez shoulders the defeats at 0-147. They were most recently summoned to defend Roy and Belkar at their trial in the Empire of Blood. However, they pleaded guilty due to the 114% conviction rate, which doesn't make any sense to Mr. Rodriguez.
Apart from the six members of the Order of the Stick themselves, Mr. Jones and Mr. Rodriguez are the only named characters from the webcomic version of The Order of the Stick to appear in the Dragon Magazine
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
OOTS comics, appearing in the last panel of the comic that ran in Dragon #351 and the first panel of the comic that ran in the last issue, #359.
The Oracle of the Sunken Valley
The Oracle of the Sunken Valley is a koboldKobold (Dungeons & Dragons)
Kobolds are a fictional species featured in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Aggressive, xenophobic, yet industrious small humanoid creatures, kobolds are noted for their skill at building traps and preparing ambushes...
seer.
To keep out pesky adventurers, the Oracle hired the services of a group called "QuestGuard" to establish a series of moderately challenging tests. Upon completing these tests, the Order encounters the Oracle, who gives the group a series of prophecies laden with multiple meanings and ambiguous language. The Oracle worships Tiamat
Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons)
Tiamat is the name of a powerful draconic goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The name is taken from Tiamat, a goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology who is substantially different ....
and uses his powers to grant him visions of the future. The Oracle is not a cleric, merely having visions granted to him by Tiamat through the use of "Kobold Dust".
Years before the events of the Order of the Stick, Eugene Greenhilt tracked down the Oracle of the Sunken Valley and asked it who killed his master. The oracle responded that Xykon killed his master and refused to provide more details because of his policy of one question per person per visit. He was sought out by Roy and Durkon to locate Xykon's lair prior to the formation of the Order of the Stick as well as just before the assault on Azure City. On Roy's first visit, the Oracle had answered the question 'Where is Xykon?' with the unhelpful answer, 'In his throne room', prompting Roy and Durkon to dangle the Oracle out of the window until he agreed to give them a useful answer.
As a consequence, on his next visit, Roy worded his question carefully to keep the Oracle from being too ambiguous. However, the precision of the question has the unintended side effect of eliminating Xykon's actual next target from consideration. Despite the kobold's attempts to hint that the question was too specific, Roy insisted that the Oracle had to answer the question as stated. Thus, Roy is mistakenly led to believe that Girard's Gate is Xykon's next destination. While Roy did realize his error before leaving the valley, the magic associated with the Oracle causes all visitors to forget everything about their visit except the answer to their question, so his realization of the truth was quickly lost. This mistake is corrected when Miko Miyazaki arrives in Azure City a day ahead of Xykon's army, informing them in an angry tirade of Xykon's impending invasion.
The Oracle also predicted that Vaarsuvius would accept the demons' offer for the Soul Splice to gain the power to save his/her family over the proposed alternative, motivated by his/her desire to avoid having to admit that his/her magic failed again. In addition, he predicted how Nale, impersonating Elan, would lead to the circumstances that broke her mental block and induced her to declare her love to Elan. The Oracle also predicted that "Belkar would draw his last breath ever before the end of the year". His other predictions related to the Order include that Durkon will return to his home dwarven lands "posthumously" and that Elan will have a happy ending.
Prior to being killed by Belkar, the Oracle founds a kobold village around his tower for the specific purpose of activating Belkar's Mark of Justice. After the Oracle's death, Celia looks out a window and sees the village along with a sign identifying it as "the village of Lickmyorangeballshalfling" founded "last week" and with a population of "just enough". Immediately after Belkar realized the significance of the village, the Mark activated and caused him to experience intense pain and projectile vomiting. Upon the Order and Celia leaving, two lizardmen teleport in to revive the Oracle, where it is revealed he was able to foresee his own death and had paid them in advance to bring him back to life.