The Order of the Stick

Second after Homestuck, really.

After those wait periods: yes

There are some cleric spells who's proper names are [Deity's] Might or [Deity's] Power. I feel like they've had placeholder names put in, like how Mordenkainen's name was replaced with Mage.

As far as I remember, in the last few updates they usually came one week after each other or was multiple pages long, so I can guess an average of almost one page per week. This one came after almost 2 weeks and is only 1 page long, so it seems to be the exception, and I hope it will remain an exception too.

You know, Durkon really should have thought about those AC, To hit, casting and other penalties before going that large in a cramped cleric hall, and what happens if he tramples a cleric?

I was thinking about that yesterday and wondering if Durkula will make the mistake of either accidentally or purposefully harming someone other than Roy, and that will result in other clerics and bodyguards teaming up against him.

I'm kind of surprised that hasn't happened already. He's a giant that climbed up to the second floor with a bunch of clerics on the ground.

Maybe it has happened. Roy's going to survive this somehow, and the world's not going to end, so having all the other clerics at least drive Durkula away leaves him "alive" and free to fulfill the prophecy.

Durkula reaches out to smash Roy, gloating, a voice cuts him off from off-panel, and we cut to see one or more clerics trampled into the ground.

edited 11th Oct '15 8:55:12 PM by Geoduck

I do wonder how the rule against attacking other clerics/bodyguards is enforced.

I mean it could be a magical geas that instantly kills anyone who breaks the rule.

Or, it could be a pact between gods and clerics that if anyone attacks another, everyone else will join in against them.

Or, I suppose it's just a rule and no one expects it to need to be enforced.

Except that nullifies their votes too. Hopefully he only smashed the "destroy" votes

I'm guessing if you attack another cleric you revoke your right to protection. After that the rest of the clerics and guardians can attack you if they want.

That probably makes the most sense. It would be funny though if Roy pushed Durkula into a random cleric, causing powerful runes to take effect and Durkula to burst into flames.

He would need a snappy one liner.

I'm starting to wonder what Hel's plan actually is. I mean, she's been plotting this for an awfully long time, and Durkula did murder some ushers for some reason besides lulz.

Does her plan ride on her own cleric not getting smacked by bodyguard (Or two if Belkar gets back.)

She may have not realised that loophole, and Durkula is doing pretty well to handle himself in the situation anyway.

who would think that Roy could beat a vampire cleric? Besides us?

Elan.

He realizes, like us, the options are either "Roy wins" or "the strip is over" so he's well aware Durkula can't win.

Durkula can't be "driven away". As the High Priest of Hel, he is bound by the rules of the Godsmoot just as all the others are. Durkula cannot leave until the event has arrived at a conclusion.

If the situation turns against him, he's trapped like a rat in a cage.

edited 13th Oct '15 7:45:25 AM by TobiasDrake

A rat in a cage who can turn immaterial and thus immune to any kind of damage.

Not immune. Depends on how Rich plays it, but vampires in gaseous form can still be attacked.

Yep.

Given that Durkula doesn't have a coffin and wouldn't be able to retreat to it until the Godsmoot ends even if he did, suffice it to say he has to win here to survive. And because his victory would result in the world being destroyed and, by relation, the fulfillment of The Dark One's plans, it's a safe assumption that he will not win here.

With both retreat and victory off the table, Durkula has created a situation in which, narratively, the only possible outcome is his own death.

edited 13th Oct '15 12:29:51 PM by TobiasDrake

The unmaking of the world is entirely plausible. Elan's happy ending has to end in death eventually. Sooner May not be worse than later. Elan really is as happy as he can be. Besides the vote for the end of the physical world isn't the end of the story. Maybe the vote to unmake the world simply sets a timer for our heroes

The gods said it would take them about 15 minutes to unmake the world. That's a pretty short timer.

Yeah.

Also, it seems unlikely to me that Durkula will be killed so soon.

Since the beginning of the strip, Burlew was planning to have him vampirized, and that's only happened relatively recently. And I think there's more emotional issues for Durkon to dredge up.

Like in the earlier strip when Durkon was asking about his father, there was an implication that something was being kept from him. Also, I can't point to something specific, but that strip and some of the other flashbacks made me think that Durkon had a falling out with his mother (at some point prior to his exile).

You know, if another cleric showed up, Roy would suddenly become the least of Durkula's problems.

Or if someone broke the truce and a general melee broke out. Whoever won the melee would win the vote, yes?

If Durkon could seize one moment of control back- he could let Roy win. Or change his vote.

Orrrr- if something were to change Hel's mind. A better deal, maybe. Then she'd call him off.

Oh, the narrative possibilities that could branch off from this moment...