Order of the Stick

[I'mBob]

Anyone can give me a link to the temporary site? I could not find it anywhere.

[LAYF]

Anyone can give me a link to the temporary site? I could not find it anywhere.

its theire own site... http://www.giantitp.com

[Krulle]

He really has a thing for last panel arrivals.

On the other hand, it could be another illusion. Those runes could have been some sort of your-worst-fears-realized thing, and Team Evil arriving would be pretty much the worst thing that could happen now.

But then, the Lich being obviously annoyed does not fit.
The Lich being happy to have found them, now that would be a problem for the heroes.

[Cedh]

But then, the Lich being obviously annoyed does not fit.
The Lich being happy to have found them, now that would be a problem for the heroes.

Good point. Maybe if we could see Belkar's reaction and Redcloak, we'd have a better idea.
Belkar probably most dreads Xykon, but I can imagine him being seriously freaked out by other things he's run into or imagined (e.g., vampire snake men).
And I don't think the Order knows about Redcloak's missing eye; O-Chul could have mentioned it, but he might have left it out so as to not inflate his role in his and V's fight in the tower.

[ThroughTheWell]

Thanks! Yeah, I vote for illusionary lich. Otherwise, the PCs are in deep trouble, as in TPK trouble. OTOH, at least big X is not going to be ticked off by seeing V there.

[SamWiser]

It might turn into Xykon against the Linear Guild. I vote for that.

[RocketScientist]

He really has a thing for last panel arrivals.

On the other hand, it could be another illusion. Those runes could have been some sort of your-worst-fears-realized thing, and Team Evil arriving would be pretty much the worst thing that could happen now.

I really hope you're right.

[ThroughTheWell]

Looks like the site is ALL back up. No comic newer than last week though, yet.

[willpell]

We didn't have a title for the new strip before, though. It's a good one, and makes a fair bit of a difference.

Though I'm still eager to find out whether Rich is trolling us, or if things are indeed that bad. What the bloody frell is Roy going to do in the face of such an apparent calamity? I'm almost hoping he just instantly assumes it's an illusion, simply on the basis that the Order is too completely f****ed otherwise for it to be worth bothering to take "Xykon" seriously.

[willpell]

New OOTS!

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Sorta saw this coming....

[Krulle]

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Really? They were really able to kill ... (@)(@)

[SamWiser]

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Well that was really disappointing. I wonder if the sword trick would work in real life though. If it does, then he could kill Xykon for real.

[DrinksTooMuchCoffee]

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Really? They were really able to kill ... (@)(@)

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Ah, you didn't get that it's all in their heads? Stupid runes.

[willpell]

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Well that was really disappointing. I wonder if the sword trick would work in real life though. If it does, then he could kill Xykon for real.

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Even if they were lucky enough to have V come along just in time, and didn't have to worry about protecting Belkar (I wonder what he's hallucinating?), it's still unlikely Xykon would roll over that easy. He specializes in doing the unthinkable, after all; if his spell was disrupted, he'd just crush the life out of Roy with his bare phalanges (and paralyzing touch).

I like that of the four, only Elan is drooling. It fits perfectly.

[RocketScientist]

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How did the runes "know" to make Left-Eye Red Cloak only have one eye?

[willpell]

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How did the runes "know" to make Left-Eye Red Cloak only have one eye?

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The order knows that O-Chul put the eye out, from O-Chul himself; it wouldn't be a terribly huge stretch for them to hallucinate that he failed to Regenerate it, even if that's what he would have normally done.

[SamWiser]

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Is there something like what Roy did in dnd? Disrupting Xykon's spells like that, or did the giant make it up?

[Arydra]

As far as I am aware that is a home-brewed ability.

[Krulle]

Rune-brewed?

[Theis2]

The closest I can think of is readying an action at doing so or the mage slayer feat from complete arcane where they can't cast defensively.

[Zathyr]

Yeah, readying an action to attack while they're casting works pretty similarly but unless you can back the caster into a corner or you have better than normal threatened area from reach they can generally just step back and cast. It's really a better option for ranged attackers. But Xykon probably has contingent or quickened spells that you can't hit to try to interrupt like that.

[RJJ7]

Honestly though, Xykon has never had the same malevolent aura that he used to; ever since it was revealed that he was being "controlled" by redcloak. At that time, he was downgraded from epic-archnemesis-of-evil to oblivious-but-useful-dufus. His defeat in this case just emphasizes that transition.

Xykon being used by demons would be one thing; at least we could speculate on whether he was aware he was being used, and whether he had some trick up his sleeve to deal with the infernal powers. But redcloak? Xykon is obviously clueless, and his (temporary) demise at the moment is just a hastened version of the disappointment that he was inevitably going to suffer later. I thought that was a bad plot-twist at the time, and I mourned for the loss of a great villain. This isn't really that much worse by comparison.

Perhaps I am just too prone to judge hastily, but Xykon hasn't felt like an arch-nemesis for some time now. We're leaving behind this small-time lich stuff and moving to the big guns now.

Excuse me a moment.

[Arydra]

I feel this is the plan. Even had this shift not occurred we all would have felt disillusioned about Xykon simply because he was only a temporary nemesis. When all is said and done, Xykon just used to be a guy that didn't want to die, he is just human. However, now we are getting into the truly arch-nemesis stage where the heroes are battling cosmic forces, and not just a lich. I actually feeling sorry for Xykon knowing that this time in the spotlight is almost done.

[DrinksTooMuchCoffee]

Xykon is obviously clueless, and his (temporary) demise at the moment [...]

Whatchutalkinbout, Willis? Xykon isn't even there; it's an illusion.

[ThroughTheWell]

Huh, cause I'd say XyKon is more evil than Red Cloak, and more funny too.

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RC may come out on top some day, but his goals are his god and goblins. Big X is evil for the lols, which until defeated keeps him being an immediate hazard to everyone near. RC may accidentaly destroy the world, but that would be a side effect. And he needs big X to pull that off, yet if big X ever gets wind of RCs true purpose or likely outcome, he'll split if not actively oppose him. Big X likes the world; it's where he has fun. I don't really see big X diminished by this illusionary scene. It tells us something about what the PCs think, since it is happening in their mind is all. And, I don't think RC on the rise (such as when he killed wight gal) diminishes big X.

Xyklon is like Belkar but with more ego, spells, and immortality. Which makes him more dangerous. Besides, other than Elan, I'd bet all the PCs could deal with Belkar. So Belkar is sort of small time. Which gets back to pointing out that big X will remain a problem, even if he gets off the gate kick.

Nale is small time evil, mainly due to incompetence. Elan's dad is big time for his continent, but we don't really know how tough he is. His evil is a casual result of wanting to stay in power. Yet, he's old and will die. His liz vamp friend though plans to sacrifice thousands a day, and is immortal. That makes him more evil than big X. I bet big X or RC could take him if he got in the way though. I'm kinda worried about V's debt, since the motives of his handlers are not clear, and they could be very strategic with their use of him/her. The true evil cost of his/her actions has not been counted yet, and may end up being the most evil by far.

Sigh. When you list them all out like that, you wonder what is going to help the good guys.