The Order of the Stick
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| The Order of the Stick | |
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| Author(s) | Rich Burlew |
| Website | http://www.giantitp.com/comics/ootslatest.html |
| Current status | Updates three times a week |
| Launch date | 2003 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy, Comedy |
The Order of the Stick, nicknamed OotS, is a comedic fantasy webcomic based on the genre of pen and paper roleplaying games. While it is principally published on the web, three book collections have been published, including a print-only story (On the Origin of PCs). It also appears monthly in Dragon Magazine, published by Paizo Publishing. The number of pre-order sales for the first OotS collection, Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, encouraged Rich Burlew to quit his day job and write OotS full-time. Before, there used to be two updates per week; now, it's about three.
The comic is drawn and authored in a deliberate stick figure style by Rich Burlew, a graphic designer and game designer living in Philadelphia. While the stick figure art is usually created on a computer, accounts of historical events have been portrayed in hand-drawn crayon to distinguish them from events in the strip's present. The series has also received one art upgrade (humorously portrayed in the comic), although as with most comics, minor modifications to the drawing style occur continuously.
A significant portion of the humor of the strip is based on the characters being aware of the game rules which govern their lives—they discuss their hit points, their class levels, the chances of random encounters, call themselves "PCs" and lesser characters "NPCs", stop in the middle of combat to check their "to hit" modifiers, and even get "role-playing bonuses" (possibly from an unseen Dungeon Master) for fabricating involved or tragic backstories for themselves. Whether or not the events that transpire in the comic are happening as part of a game of Dungeons & Dragons by unseen players (or are, in fact, actually transpiring in a universe where the natural laws happen to conform with the rules of D&D) is not made clear in the comic itself; to date, there have been no references to any real-world people playing out the events that the readers witness. The characters sometimes display awareness that they are in a comic strip by breaking the fourth wall.
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[edit] Characters
The comic's central protagonists, known collectively as "The Order of the Stick," are:
- Roy Greenhilt (Human Fighter, Lawful Good): Specialized in the greatsword. Competent and shrewd, Roy is the Order's long-suffering leader and instigator of most of their adventures.
- Durkon Thundershield (Dwarven Cleric, alignment unspecified but confirmed as non-evil): Fights with hammer and shield, and a broad assortment of divine spells. Playing close to type, Durkon is wise and stolid, but often taken aback by his companions' exploits. He traveled with Roy for over a year before they founded the order.
- Vaarsuvius (Elven Wizard, alignment unspecified, but confirmed as non-Evil): Brilliant and powerful, though somewhat lacking in people skills. Vaarsuvius' gender is deliberately ambiguous.
- Haley Starshine (Human Rogue, Chaotic Good): The Order's resident archery expert. Generally deceptive and materialistic, Haley occasionally displays a surprisingly altruistic side.
- Elan (Human Bard/Dashing Swordsman,Chaotic Good): Elan is the happy-go-lucky, childlike member of the Order. While not very wise, he has a heart of gold and is Haley's love interest. He almost always means well, but relies mainly on his considerable charm and fool's luck to get him through life.
- Belkar Bitterleaf (Halfling Ranger/Barbarian, Chaotic Evil [1]): An erratic and vicious, yet lovable killer, ruled wholly by his impulses. Fights with two daggers.
The comic's central antagonists include:
- Xykon is an undead lich of immense power whose plot to gain unlimited power is putting the entire universe in danger, though tends to have a lackadaisical attitude and is rarely a serious character.
- Redcloak, Xykon's second-in-command, is a very powerful goblin cleric (probably Lawful Evil) who is actually almost always a more competent leader than his boss. He has been referred to by Miko (see below) as "The Bearer of the Crimson Mantle", which may have some significance in the comic's future.
- The Linear Guild: An opposing group comprising 'evil opposites' of the Order's members, led by Elan's brother, Nale.
- Miko Miyazaki is a fallen paladin, who mistakenly believes the Order to be in league with Xykon. Her belief led her to murder her liege, Lord Shojo, resulting in her fallen status.
[edit] Publications
- The Order of the Stick: On the Origin of PCs (2005) ISBN 0-9766580-1-1
- The Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools (2005) ISBN 0-9766580-0-3
- The Order of the Stick: No Cure for the Paladin Blues (November 2006) ISBN 0-9766580-3-8
[edit] The game
In partnership with APE Games, Giant in the Playground released the first OotS game, The Order of the Stick Adventure Game: The Dungeon of Dorukan. The game, which was released in September 2006, utilizes both cards and a board and has strong influences from games such as Talisman and Dungeon!, as well as the less known "Kings & Things".
The Dungeon of Dorukan is designed for 2-6 people, aged twelve and older. Each player controls one member of the OotS team to explore the dungeon and hunt down Xykon. The player is able to train their chosen member with a variety of shtick cards. Each character provides a different gaming experience, but the players always have the ability to either aid or harm their team mates.
[edit] External links
- The Order of the Stick
- Giant in the Playground
- OotS APE game page
- OotS Adventure Game: The Dungeon of Dorukan at BoardGameGeek
| The Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew | |
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| Characters: | Roy Greenhilt | Durkon Thundershield | Haley Starshine | Elan | Vaarsuvius | Belkar Bitterleaf | Xykon | Miko Miyazaki |
| Character lists: | General list | Linear Guild |
| Locations: | General list |
