History Characters / TheOrderOfTheStickDivineBeings

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Possibly; His creation of and then abandonment of the goblinoid races ultimately allowed for the rise of the Dark One, whose EvilPlan has one of its end goals being to threaten the Outer Planes with the Snarl. In short, Fenris' negligent and irresponsible treatment of the goblins might eventually permanently doom reality.

* SmarterThanYouLook: Generally a goofball and almost instated a hand puppet into the Pantheon, but he seems to know more about the Snarl and the [[spoiler:world inside of the rifts]] than almost anyone else. Also, the Order points out that [[spoiler:when his high priest gave the prophecy about Durkon to Hurak, he probably foresaw that Durkon would be a necessary part of the team to keep the Order moving forward. Later revelations, though, instead imply that everything working out as well as it did might have been a coincidence, considering Odin can't remember making the prophecy, even when reminded by his son, though given he has to deal with divine brain damage making him more or less senile, it's difficult to say]]. He also points out that the fact that Good gods are a relative minority among the deities means that if GodsHandsAreTied was ''not'' a thing to the degree it is, Evil gods could cause damage in the mortal world unimpeded.

* LawfulStupid: Despite the fate of his entire race being at stake, he insists on keeping an oath that he made as a mortal king where he consults all of the clans on any issue affecting all of them. This gives the High Priest of Hel time to manipulate the clan heads. The resident dwarf gets upset that Dvalin is the last vote for this very reason. On the other hand, [[spoiler:when the council's table is destroyed, he recognizes that, by the laws set down, the council has to be suspended. He seems to acknowledge the fact that, technically, the game deciding vote for the vampires hadn't been cast before the table split apart. Therefore, that vote didn't count. Immediately after that, he dismisses himself to the shock of his cleric.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: His irresponsible treatment of the goblinoid races is ultimately one of the primary reasons for them eventually getting essentially stuck in the role of glorified [=XP=] fodder for clerics, which in turn instigated the Dark One and Redcloak's current RageAgainstTheHeavens EvilPlan. He is not aware of their EvilPLan because he is (most likely) not aware of them at all.

** Goblins have an affinity with wolves, but it was the wolf god Fenris that was responsible for his species being an XP fodder race.

* AggressiveNegotiations: In the prequel book ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', we see that this is how The Dark One ultimately met his end: he was murdered while attempting to negotiate a peace settlement with the human, dwarven, and elven kings. Rather than ending the war, it made things ''far'' worse, as the goblins [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge swarmed upon their enemies]], inflicting huge losses in vengeance for their fallen warlord, who as a result ascended to godhood.

* MisplacedRetribution: He blames all of the gods for making it so that goblinoids would all have such a miserable fate in the world. In reality, according to Thor the Dark One should be directing his ire at Fenris, who was the only deity to create goblinoids and who then proceeded to abandon them to their fate out of sheer boredom. Though granted, the Dark One technically still does have a point in that it's noted that the other gods are, if not directly responsible, at the very least [[BystanderSyndrome complicit through not acting on the goblinoids' behalf]].

* DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: Defied, they think classic Faustian contract is unnecessary when they can get what they want by playing it straight.

->''"Tear down the world! Murder everyone! Piss on their graves!"''

* WolfMan: He's a giant bipedal intellgent wolf.
* ZergRush: [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1232.html According to Thor]], Fenris made the goblins age fast and breed quickly because he thinks it will make them outcompete the other races. Apparently he's done this before in other worlds, and it never works out.

* AxCrazy: Just look at his "reason" for voting "Yes" on destroying the world at the Godsmoot, given in the above quote.

* GreaterScopeVillain: His irresponsible treatment of the goblinoid races is ultimately one of the primary reasons for them eventually getting essentially stuck in the role of glorified [=XP=] fodder for clerics, which in turn instigated the Dark One and Redcloak's current RageAgainstTheHeavens EvilPlan.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: He refers to himself as "Fenrir" when communicating through his high priest, but Thor later calls him "Fenris".

!!Fenris

The God of Monsters, and one of the proponents of destroying the world. He's the creator of the goblinoid races, and one of the main reasons why they've gotten such a raw deal.

* AuthorAppeal: InUniverse; Apparently, he really likes to create at least one race of ExplosiveBreeders whenever the gods are creating a world in the fantasy genre.

* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: They are. Both kinds. Plus a Daemon director.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: His early appearances depicted him as an oaf who made questionable decisions.[[labelnote:namely]]Not recognizing and later impregnating a fertility goddess, throwing lightning bolts blindly, putting a colon-cancer-inducing answering machine, ignoring his worshipers at a critical moment and letting them be devoured by Surtr...[[/labelnote]] In the present storyline, he is shown as wise, with a casual personality, not to mention a certain degree of cunning to circumvent the law talking about the Snarl and stalling Hel from cheating.

* HereWeGoAgain: This world isn't even the first time he's created goblinoids as a fast-breeding, fast-maturing species that he got bored of and abandoned in favor of the more interesting monsters. Thor notes that [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall at least the green ones are medium-sized this time around]].

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: He's not nearly as aware of the whole situation as he thinks he is. [[spoiler:Most notably, it seems that he's completely unaware that he doesn't have enough energy stored to survive the transition to the next world, meaning that his backup plan is doomed to failure. He also seems to be unaware that the goblinoids were NOT created to be XP fodder, rather than it being the unfortunate, unintentional result of their creator Fenris' neglect]].

* AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder: [[invoked]] It is no exaggeration to say that everything currently going wrong in the plot (besides the Snarl) happened because Fenris got bored with the goblinoids after creating them and moved on to more interesting monstrous projects.

* YouMakeMeSic: His name is first spelled "Fenrir" at the Godsmoot, but Thor later calls him "Fenris" when talking to Durkon.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: He's not nearly as aware of the whole situation as he thinks he is. [[spoiler:Most notably, it seems that he's completely unaware that he doesn't have enough energy stored to survive the transition to the next world, meaning that his backup plan is doomed to failure. He also seems to be unaware that the goblinoids were NOT created to be XP fodder, rather than it being the unfortunate, unintentional result of their creator Fenris neglect]].

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: He's not nearly as aware of the whole situation as he thinks he is. [[spoiler:Most notably, it seems that he's completely unaware that he doesn't have enough energy stored to survive the transition to the next world, meaning that his backup plan is doomed to failure]].

* AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder: It is no exaggeration to say that everything currently going wrong in the plot (besides the Snarl) happened because Fenris got bored with the goblinoids after creating them and moved on to more interesting monstrous projects.

* ShoutOut: Him being named "Fenris" rather than "Fenrir" (his actual name from Norse Mythology) might be a sneaky reference to ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', where "Fenris" is the name of the homeworld of the [[HornyVikings Space Wolves]] Chapter of {{Space Marine}}s.

* AuthorAppeal: InUniverse; Apparently, he really likes to create at least one race of ExplosiveBreeders in each world that utilizes the fantasy genre.

* NoButYes: When Durkon asks him if Redcloak was right in claiming that goblinoids were only created to serve as [=XP=] fodder, his response is to grumble "That is... the single least charitable way to describe it." He then elaborates, going on to clarify that the goblinoids were not directly intended to be an [=XP=] fodder species any more than humans, dwarves, elves, or orcs were, but they fell into the aforementioned niche anyhow thanks in large part to them all starting out in barren, harsh lands that have given them a perpetual disadvantage compared to the other races.

* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:The ImagineSpot in ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'' of the Dark One's plan to blackmail the other gods into granting racial equality has Thor getting attacked by the Snarl, saying that Loki was right, and he really [[DoNotTauntCthulhu shouldn't have taunted the god-killing abomination]].]]

'''Thor:''' Gosh, I could give you amazing magical spells on demand every single morning. Do you think that might help?

* FieryRedhead: Apparently he ''used'' to be one, before a [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor certain comic book]] came along and popularized the idea of him as a blond.

* NoIndoorVoice: At least when at his normal size. He has to remind himself to use his "for mortals" voice.

* PublicDomainCharacter: Thor from ancient myth.

* SaintlyChurch: The Church of Thor is super honorable, producing such brave and heroic clerics as Durkon and Minrah. [[spoiler: At least part of this is due to the fact that they know a ''dishonorable'' cleric of Thor goes straight into Hel's clutches.]]

The God of Monsters, and one of the proponents of destroying the world. He's the creator of the goblin races, and one of the main reasons why they've gotten such a raw deal.

* AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder: It is no exaggeration to say that everything currently going wrong in the plot (besides the Snarl) happened because Fenris got bored with the goblinoids after creating them and moved on to more interesting monstrous projects.
* AuthorAppeal: He just likes creating ExplosiveBreeders.
* AxCrazy: Just look at his "reason" for voting Yes on destroying the world, given in the above quote.
* HereWeGoAgain: This world isn't even the first time he's created goblinoids as a fast-breeding, fast-maturing species that he got bored of and abandoned in favor of the more interesting monsters. Thor notes that at least the green ones are medium-sized this time around.
* JerkassGods: Even for an evil god, considering how he screwed over his own creations, then ignored them because his ridiculous idea for them didn't work out right away.
* MythologyGag: In the one panel Thor displays an image of him, Fenris has Gleipnir around his foot (the chain forged from the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird in Norse Mythology).

* AggressiveNegotiations: In the prequel book ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'', we see that this is how The Dark One ultimately met his end: he was murdered while attempting to negotiate a peace settlement with the human, dwarven, and elven kings. Rather than ending the war, it made things ''far'' worse, as the goblins [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge swarmed upon their enemies]], inflicting huge losses in vengeance for their fallen warlord, who as a result ascended to godhood.

** His Plan to create a paradise for goblinoids through blackmail of the other deities is all to ensure that nobody can take a new homeland from his people... except Redcloak ''already did'' ensure that nobody will take that new homeland away by obtaining trade treaties and articles of legitimacy from twenty other countries, then killing off the resistance. How did the Dark One do this? By letting Redcloak conquer Azurite territory in pursuit of the Gate they immediately lost. He accomplished his mission already. He doesn't need to keep risking the world ending from Xykon growing beyond Redcloak's control, but he's now seeking vengeance to such a degree that he hasn't even noticed his original objective's incidental accomplishment. In addition, he's shut himself off from other evil god allies, and pissed some of them off due to the events at Azure City.
** Hell, his Plan was already being fulfilled ''before the series'' by Right-Eye, who in his older years was cultivating a mixed civilization of humans and goblins. Had Redcloak followed his example, they could've created their own nation and promoted goblins without The Dark One losing any of his allies.

* TheManBehindTheMan: He's the goblin god behind the goblin high priest, namely Redcloak.

* VillainHasAPoint: Learning that your entire species was solely created to serve as [=XP=] fodder for the clerics of JerkassGods is ''not'' going to make you want to deal with said JerkassGods in any form of good faith, to say the least. [[spoiler:According to Thor, that's not actually the case. Goblins and other "XP fodder" races were created by Fenris because he keeps thinking that fast-breeding, fast-maturing species will out-compete all the others, but like usual, he got bored and abandoned them in favor of the more interesting monsters. Though they did get the short end of the stick in terms of resource distribution and ability to effectively get experience (the former can't be fixed by divine intervention due to the gods' rules on large-scale post-creation intervention and the latter is a direct result of the former), the goblins were no more intended to be XP fodder than any other species.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He threatens all of creation with extinction in order to make a better life for the goblins. Subverted in that goblin-related humanoids (bugbears and such) are very low priority to him, and said races aren't very religious. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a PlotPoint, since The Dark One won't survive a universal reset -- he doesn't have enough devoted followers.]]

* AuthorAppeal: He just likes creating ExplosiveBreeders.

-> ''"Tear down the world! Murder everyone! Piss on their graves!"''

The God Of Monsters, and one of the proponents of destroying the world. He's the creator of the goblin races, and one of the main reasons why they've gotten such a raw deal.

* AxCrazy: Just look at his "reason" for voting Yes on destroying the world.

* HonorBeforeReason: God or not he is a dwarf, going back on his word or not following laws is against the core concept installed to save their souls. The dwarven clans are so wrapped in bureaucracy they can't point out blatant tampering of their voting process and Dvalin is the king that upheld this government before ascending godhood. On the other hand, the council is NOT the current Dwarven Parliament. At least one member of the council acknowledges that their position is mostly meaningless now. None of the members thought they were voting on anything significant, so were okay with temporarily dismissing the charge of tampering. When they realized that the vote could literally destroy the world, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone they panicked.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The other interpretation depending on if he knows about [[spoiler:the plan with the Dark One or not.]] He always asks the council to vote because he wants to know the will of the people. Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, a few of the Dwarven leaders were ''okay'' with the idea of committing the mass sacrifice of their race if it meant saving the rest of the world's inhabitants from soul destruction. [[spoiler:If he does know about the plan and believes it's possible, then he's jeopardizing it stupidly. If he doesn't know or thinks the idea won't work, then he has no reason to ignore his oath to the council. They deserve a say in what happens to their race regardless as to whether or not Hel is making a power play.]] What remains to be seen is what he would have done if Hel managed to sway the vote using vampiric domination. Everyone (in and out of universe) just assumes he would have gone along with it.

* EveryoneHasStandards: There is additional material that states they fell a few paladins for cleansing Redcloak's village, even though they are partly responsible for making the goblins XP folder.

* VillainHasAPoint: Learning that your entire species was solely created to serve as [=XP=] fodder for the clerics of JerkassGods is ''not'' going to make you want to deal with said JerkassGods in any form of good faith, to say the least. [[spoiler:According to Thor, that's not actually the case. Goblins and other "XP fodder" races were created by Fenris because he keeps thinking that fast-breeding, fast-maturing species will out-compete all the others, but like usual, he got bored and abandoned them in favor of the more interesting monsters. Though they did get the short end of the stick in terms of resource distribution and ability to effectively get experience (the former can't be fixed by divine intervention due to the gods' rules on large-scale post-creation intervention), the goblins were no more intended to be XP fodder than any other species.]]