History Characters / TheOrderOfTheStickTheOrderOfTheStick

** Durkon's focus on healing as a cleric means that he can't make as good of a use of his dwarven traits.

* SixthRanger: The Order occasionally has temporary members that travel with them when their goals align. Miko escorted them to Azure City and fought with them on the way there, and Celia is an honorary member due to dating its leader. Another is Yukyuk... [[{{Brainwashed}} kinda.]] V sarcastically welcomes him to the Order. [[spoiler:From the end of Book 6 onward, Minrah is accompanying the Order as they head off to try and save the world.]]

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Mostly prevalent in the early days of the comic due to everyone's various neuroses getting in each other's way.

'''Vaarsuvius:''' Can anyone endeavor to explain why in the unspoken names of the infernal dimensions we are wasting our precious time at this insignifiant mudhole???

** In [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1230.html #1230]] Elan invoked the trope, describing the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness of the early comics, calling the order "a ragtag bunch of {{Unlikely Hero}}es with [[DarkAndTroubledPast unresolved issues]] who [[TeethClenchedTeamwork didn't see eye-to-eye]]".

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: To quote ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs'':
-->'''Roy:''' The rogue is [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitious]] and {{greed}}y, the ranger [[TokenEvilTeammate is a complete psychopath]], the wizard is [[StuffBlowingUp trigger-happy]] [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness and never stops talking]], and the bard [[TheFool is as dumb as a box of moldy carrots]]!\\

* CallingYourAttacks: Any attack or spell they use is usually accompanied by them saying its name. Partly for reader benefit, although explained in "On the Origin of [=PCs=]" as a way to keep everyone on the same page.

* CallingYourAttacks: Any attack or spell they use is usually accompanied by them saying its name. Partly for reader benefit, although explained in "On the Origin of PCs" as a way to keep everyone on the same page.

* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: All the guys are melee fighters (even Belkar, which makes no sense for a halfling ranger), except for Haley the archer and the genderqueer elf wizard Vaarsuvius. Downplayed somewhat in that Belkar can use his daggers as throwing knives, but [[BloodKnight he typically prefers]] the hands-on approach, and with [[MagicKnight Durkon mixing it up with divine magic]]. Briefly inverted when Haley takes Roy's sword [[spoiler:(to change the target of an elemental that was ordered to kill "[[ExactWords the human with the greatsword]]" first)]] and Roy takes up Haley's bow.

* DysfunctionJunction: Literally ''every'' member of the Order has noteworthy mental issues of some shade or another. Roy has a hefty amount of SurvivorsGuilt thanks to his dead infant brother, Hayley is both incredibly greedy and almost pathologically unable to trust anyone outside of her "family," Elan is a dimwitted {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and MetaGuy, Vaarsuvius is an InsufferableGenius who usually resorts to [[StuffBlowingUp violently blowing up]] awkward social situations, Belkar is an enthusiastically homicidal maniac, and Durkon is an absurdly [[HonorBeforeReason honor-bound]] and fervently religious [=stick-in-the-mud=]. Needless to say, before they became actual TrueCompanions [[FireForgedFriends over the course of the comic]], they initially got along like a bunch of wet cats. It's even lampshaded by Minrah in ''Utterly Dwarfed'':

* DysfunctionJunction: Lampshaded by Minrah.

* GoodCounterpart: To the Linear Guild because the trope is enforced by Elan's EvilTwin.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: All the guys are melee fighters (even Belkar, which makes no sense for a halfling ranger), except for Haley the archer, and the ambiguously-gendered elf wizard Vaarsuvius. Downplayed somewhat in that Belkar can use his daggers as throwing knives, but he probably just prefers the hands-on approach, and with [[MagicKnight Durkon mixing it up with divine magic]]. Briefly inverted when Haley takes Roy's sword [[spoiler:(to change the target of an elemental that was ordered to kill "[[ExactWords the human with the greatsword]]" first)]] and Roy takes up Haley's bow.

** Durkon's focus on healing as a cleric means that he can't make as good use of his dwarven traits.

** And Belkar pretty much takes this trope UpToEleven (as detailed in his folder below), to the point of having quite possibly the single worst build ''in the entire comic.''

For the cohort assisting the party from book 6 onwards, see [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickNorthernLands Northern Lands]].

* TheSmurfettePrinciple or TwoGirlsToATeam: It is unknown which trope is appropriate, depending on Vaarsuvius's actual gender, but there are at most two girls in the Order (although the SixthRanger more often than not surpasses this).

* TheSmurfettePrinciple or TwoGirlsToATeam: It is unknown which trope is appropriate, depending on Vaarsuvius's actual gender, but there are at most two girls in the Order.

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickHumanPartyMembers Roy Greenhilt]]

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickHumanPartyMembers Haley Starshine]]

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickHumanPartyMembers Elan]]

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickNonHumanPartyMembers Vaarsuvius]]

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickNonHumanPartyMembers Belkar Bitterleaf]]

* [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickNonHumanPartyMembers Durkon Thundershield]]

[[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStick Main Character Index]] | '''The Order of the Stick''' | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickTeamEvil Team Evil]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickTheLinearGuild The Linear Guild]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickTheOrderOfTheScribble The Order of the Scribble]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickAzureCity Azure City]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickGreyskyCity Greysky City]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickTheEmpireOfBlood The Empire of Blood]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickNorthernLands Northern Lands]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickDivineBeings Divine Beings]] | [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickOthers Others]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Roy Greenhilt]]
!!Roy Greenhilt
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roy_oots_6515.png]]

->''"Is that another 'Fighters are dumb' crack?"''

->'''Race:''' Human\\
'''Gender:''' Male\\
'''Class:''' Fighter\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood, Beleaguered Good [-(according to the Adventure Game)-]

A very intelligent human warrior with an ancestral sword and a serious problem with his unsupportive father ("Powerful mage, Devoted husband, [[ParentsAsPeople Passable father]]"), Roy is the leader of the Order of the Stick. Deals with copious amounts of stress daily, often due to somewhat... er... [[WithFriendsLikeThese unreliable]] teammates. Sworn to kill Xykon as part of his father's BloodOath.
----
* AmazonChaser: Zig-zagged. Immediately after finding out that [[ThePaladin Miko]] is female, he starts hitting on her, but after realizing that she's a {{jerkass}}, he stops his pursuit just as quickly. Afterwards he starts a relationship with the [[NiceGirl much nicer]] ActualPacifist Celia, but she is [[ShockAndAwe by no means weak]] and fights in courts of law.
* AncestralWeapon: He inherited the Greenhilt sword, his Grandfather's greatsword, to which his family owes its name.
* BackFromTheDead: It takes quite a bit longer than you'd expect in this kind of world, but Durkon eventually brings him back from the Lawful Good afterlife.
* BadassNormal: He has no inherent magic whatsoever, in a world where LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards is in full effect. Despite this he has been able to take on foes even when seriously outnumbered and outleveled, and is the leader of [[BadassCrew the Order of the Stick.]] It's also highly likely that he has the best stats in the group, see JackOfAllStats.
* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: Though significantly more snarky than the traditional example, he is still the ring leader of this circus.
* BaldOfAwesome: He started shaving his head in fighter college. It's a family trait, apparently, and he says he decided to beat genetics to the punch.
* BaldWoman: While under the effect of the [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0235.html Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity]].
* BarredFromTheAfterlife: {{Subverted|Trope}}. He ''thinks'' he's going to be locked out because he failed to complete the Blood Oath. But he died honoring the Oath to the best of his ability, and the Lawful Good afterlife doesn't ask for more than that. He makes it in.
* BattleAura: Roy manifests an impressive flaming green one [[spoiler:through the power of his Starmetal sword during his fight against Vampire Durkon when he finally gets over his denial]].
* BerserkButton: As he puts it:
-->'''Roy:''' [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Bad guys not remembering their evil deeds]] is something of a pet peeve of mine.
* {{BFS}}: He wields a greatsword that is almost as long as he is tall. After infusing it with starmetal, it gains a +5 with a bonus against undead, in addition to its inherent Legacy Weapon effects (which includes Word of Recall).
* BlackAndNerdy: In college, he was unpopular, studied nearly 24/7 in a library, and was once hung from a flagpole by his underwear. It was [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0855.html fighter college]].
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:With regard to the main characters, though he got better and a good chunk of the ''[=Don't=] Split The Party'' arc was dedicated to making it happen. When it does, Haley gladly returns to her former position as NumberTwo. All together, the racial aspect of this trope is moot]].
* BlueIsHeroic: He is the main character and blue is the predominant color on his armor.
* BodyguardBetrayal: Performs this [[spoiler:against Durkon]] when he is informed that there are no rules against this [[spoiler:at the Godsmoot when he learns that Durkon has been deceiving him into consigning every dwarf everywhere to eternal torment.]]
* BorrowedCatchphrase: {{Invoked}} by Roy against the High Priest of Hel.
-->'''Roy:''' But as a certain half-orc once said, "Talky man talk too much!"
* CallingYourAttacks: "Great Cleave!" Note that this is standard for the setting, though -- calling your attacks is how you make them.
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:Roy trains with his dead grandpa during his stay in heaven, and learns a new sword technique when he comes back. It is played with, because since this is an RPG-rules mechanics universe and Roy was brought back with a Resurrection spell, logically, within the context of the universe, he'd have lost a level upon being brought back to life.]]
* CarryABigStick: Temporarily, while his sword was broken, he used a club.
* CatharsisFactor: After suppressing the urge to beat [[TheDitz Elan]] for a long, long time, he's absolutely ''gleeful'' to have to fight [[EvilTwin Nale]]. [[invoked]]
* ChangedMyMindKid: Roy does this to Elan after the latter is captured by bandits. The inevitable rescue is then hilariously {{subverted}}.
* CharacterDevelopment:
** Goes from using his teammates as a means to an end to AFatherToHisMen. He also listens to the team more and considers their input before making a decision, to the point where he even starts trusting Belkar to an extent. [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1218.html Minrah]] even comments how she loves the team are listening to each other, which Belkar states it's because they exhausted all other options.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1187.html #1187]], Elan lampshades it, noting Roy trusts them enough to handle things while he sleeps off his drunkeness. Haley points out [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0014.html Roy couldn't even sleep]] because he mistrusted them so much.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: His degrees in Fighter College are certainly paying for themselves. Despite not ''technically'' knowing any magic, Belkar points out that he is as strong as a giant -- owing in part to his Belt of Giant Strength -- and once survived being impaled on the horn of a triceratops ''and'' on his own sword in the space of less than a minute with few ill effects, shortly after being chewed on by a gigantic allosaurus. In the same strip, he casually grabs a rope two experienced sailors were visibly wrestling with and easily holds it without apparent effort.
* ChekhovsSkill: Roy learns [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0600.html to time his strikes so a caster's spellcasting fizzles.]] It comes in handy later, albeit the first time is just an illusion.
* CombatPragmatist: He's willing to resort to underhanded tactics if his opponent is powerful enough that he can't win a straight fight. During his arena duel with Thog, he uses discarded crossbow bolts and a [[GrievousBottleyHarm potion bottle]] as improvised weapons, [[AHandfulForAnEye chucks a handful of sand into Thog's face to blind him]], and finally wins by goading Thog into collapsing part of the ceiling on himself.
* CoolSword: His grandfather's AncestralWeapon is a greatsword. Now it has been reforged with [[ThunderboltIron Starmetal alloy]] which causes it to [[PowerGlows glow]] with green anti-undead energy. [[spoiler:Further in the story, it becomes a Weapon of Legacy, and he discovers that should he lose it, he can summon it to teleport back to him.]]
* {{Counterspell}}: Fighter style. The technique he learned from his late grandfather is designed to interrupt spellcasting, thus giving him an edge versus spellcasters in a world where LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards is in effect. It is later revealed that it's a SecretArt called the Spellsplinter Maneuver, and there's no Fighter alive who knows it anymore.
* DeadpanSnarker: Roy's coping mechanism for the insanity he endures is a near-constant output of sarcasm. He eventually grows somewhat out of it, [[spoiler:when it comes to his father,]] at least. His LawfulGood deva does advise he cut down on the snarking at one point. [[invoked]]
* DeadPersonConversation: Thanks to the spiritual link granted by the Greenhilt sword, he can talk with his father's spirit. When the sword is broken, Roy's just TalkingToTheDead. He doesn't realize it, he just thinks his dad can't be bothered to appear to him.
* DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler:Subverted; it takes a long time to resurrect Roy due to Durkon being separated from Roy's corpse. It was also quite expensive on a monetary level, since resurrection requires diamonds]].
* DespairEventHorizon: Very nearly [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0881.html crosses it]] [[spoiler:when Durkon gets vamped]]. ''[[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]]'' of all people pulls him back. He's still in HeroicBSOD mode, though [[spoiler:until Durkon (seemingly) regains his free will]].
* DiagonalCut:
** Roy against [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0497.html an evil warrior]] in the afterlife -- with "QUARTER" as an UnsoundEffect.
** And again, a perfect Great Cleave inflicted on [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0861.html five mummies]].
* EmpoweredBadassNormal:
** His Belt of Giant Strength increases his already great strength to superhuman levels.
** His Starmetal sword also gives him a serious boost, [[spoiler:especially during the fight against the High Priest of Hel, where it manifests as an impressive BattleAura.]]
* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:When the High Priest of Hel reveals his true colors, Roy, mistaking it for an EvilAllAlong Durkon, is left in utter shock.]]
* EurekaMoment:
-->'''Roy:''' [[spoiler:I understand. ''[snaps out of Domination]'' '''YOU'RE NOT DURKON AT ALL!!!''']]
* ExpertInUnderwaterBasketWeaving: When the Order first gets horses, he's forced to admit that he studied goat herding instead of horseback riding because "it seemed like an easy A". He also gets ribbed for having studied Architecture and Engineering ''in Fighter College'', though he's eventually able to [[ChekhovsSkill apply that knowledge]] to win a fight.
* FatalFlaw: Not paying enough attention to what's going on around (because of a crappy [[FailedASpotCheck Spot Check]] and lack of Sense Motive), and [[KnowNothingKnowItAll thinking he knows more about a situation than he actually does]]. As illustrated in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0362.html "Grand Theft Identity"]]. [[spoiler:Even worse, crossing into PoorCommunicationKills, with the Vampire Durkon situation. He refuses to listen when Belkar tries to tell him, bluntly, "That isn't Durkon. It's something ''possessing'' Durkon," though Vampire Durkon's quick use of his powers whenever anyone ''too'' reliable tries to share the information is at least partially to blame.]]
* AFatherToHisMen: Albeit after some CharacterDevelopment, he takes care of his subordinates in the Order. Before that, he was the only one who refused to rescue Elan from the bandits.
* FirstLawOfGenderBending: Roy subverts this along with the SecondLawOfGenderBending and the ThirdLawOfGenderBending. He isn't stuck as a woman because he's traveling with a cleric who can break the curse; he [[DiscussedTrope observes]] that having different hormones is distracting but doesn't act stereotypically feminine while wearing the belt; and he doesn't prefer it to his original gender, despite Durkon checking whether he really wants to change back.
* FiveStagesOfGrief: Roy experiences these following [[spoiler:Durkon's vampirization.]] He goes through Denial, Anger and Bargaining all in the same page, spends the following one on Depression, and then gets to Acceptance after [[spoiler:seeing Durkon again in Girard's epic illusion.]] Unfortunately, [[spoiler:the High Priests's Durkon-act]] shifts him back into Denial for some time.
* FriendToPsychos:
** Roy is kind of like this to Belkar, even putting in a good word to get the psychopathic halfling out of prison. Although in his case, it's more from realizing that the HeroicComedicSociopath is better off in his charge, where he can keep him "pointed at the bad guys", rather than placing his bets on the idea that any prison can hold Belkar. However, while Roy's chief strategy is to "run out the clock" that leads to Belkar's UncertainDoom, he still [[FathertoHisMen pulls him out of any dangerous situation they come across.]]
** Unfortunately, his association with Belkar makes him a little too trusting of a vampire Durkon, thinking it's just "Durkon now evil and needs blood, but still loyal to the Order."
* GenderBender: While wearing the Belt of Masculinity/Femininity, he is female.
* GeniusBruiser: One wonders how many points this excellent fighter allocated into INT[[note]]Roy's grandfather was a single-classed fighter, while his father and sister are magic-users, so it probably is InTheBlood[[/note]], and how many people who must have given him crap for it at the time are singing a different tune now.
-->'''Roy:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0808.html THAT'S how I use my Intelligence score in combat, DUMBASS!!!]]
* GenreBlind: Usually quite savvy, but he is [[spoiler:so guilt-ridden over Durkon's death and desperate to believe Durkon is OK, that he is easily completely manipulated by the High Priest of Hel.]]
* GoodCounterpart:
** PlayedForLaughs when he is pushed into this role for Thog. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0795.html Roy finds it offensive]]. Which is a CallBack to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/ootscast.html The Order of the Stick character page]].
--->'''Roy:''' ''[sullenly forced to read dialog]'' Grr. Roy smash puny kobolds.
** A more seriously played mirror counterpart would be Tarquin, because they are both intelligent fighters and (allegedly) leaders of their team. Tarquin relishes the chance to face him.
* GoodIsNotNice:[[invoked]] Make no doubt that he's a heroic character, but he has little tact and initially has a low opinion of his teammates. [[spoiler:[[DeconstructedTrope It is deconstructed a bit]] when he dies and meets his Celestial adviser. He becomes worried when his permanent record is brought up. Him abandoning Elan was the big thing brought up and Roy clearly feels remorse for it all. His adviser claims that had Roy not gone back to save him, Roy would've been chucked into the "True Neutral" afterlife as a result of it. Meanwhile, Roy was edging nearer NeutralGood than LawfulGood because of his various pragmatic actions, especially including [[ChaoticEvil Belkar]] on the team. However, the fact he tries to be both Lawful and Good is what keeps him there in the first place. She does advise Roy on the snark and Roy later learns to be more appreciative of his friends and listening to them.]]
* GuileHero: As the Deva points out, Roy often employs Chaotic means to gain Lawful goals, which brings him dangerously close to Neutral Good territory (but he's trying to remain Lawful Good, which counts more.)
* HatesTheirParent: Roy has no love lost with his father, Eugene. Eugene never respected Roy due to his dream of becoming a Fighter (Eugene was a proud wizard who looked down on non-magic-users), and Roy resented his father for being a neglectful parent whose over-focus on work led to the accidental death of Roy's younger brother. A good deal of Roy's character arc is driven by his desire to one-up his father and the mutual dislike between the two.
* TheHero: CharacterDevelopment has Roy come into this (or rather re-realize since it's why he became a Fighter in the first place). He ultimately wants to take Xykon down because he ''[[ForGreatJustice needs]]'' to be taken down, not to fulfill a blood oath or prove himself to his dad. He lampshades how his selfishness had blinded him to why he became a Fighter in the first place when the others had gone to rescue Elan.
* HeroComplex: Julia accuses him of having one, but in truth it's averted as Roy is too pragmatic for that.
* HeroesPreferSwords: Roy is TheHero and the only one in the group to regularly use a greatsword. Although Haley does have an enormous dagger/shortsword/thing and Elan wields a rapier, those are back-up weapons and have their own associations.
* HeroicBSOD: Has one (bordering on the DespairEventHorizon) when [[spoiler:Durkon is killed, vamped, and enthralled by Malack]]. Surprisingly, it's Belkar of all people who [[QuitYourWhining snaps him out of it]], but Roy is still clearly shaken.
* HeroicWillpower: He's the only one who has made a successful will save against [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon's]] mind control. He manages it even though it's a ''dominate'' effect and the command is phrased to make it seem reasonable to prevent giving a bonus on saves. That he is a JackOfAllStats came to his aid again, [[spoiler:along with the fact that the entire world is at stake means he had a pretty major circumstance bonus]].
* HonorBeforeReason: During his fight with Xykon over Azure City. Xykon notes that as strong as Roy's gotten, the lich himself is still a league or two above him, and Roy doesn't currently stand much of a chance in one-on-one combat, and as a corollary to this, offers to let Roy go and essentially grind XP for a while. Naturally, Roy objects. It is subverted as Roy explains the perfectly reasonable motivations behind not letting the homicidal lich control the world and that as far as Roy knows he is still the one with the best chance of stopping Xykon from destroying Azure City.
-->'''Roy:''' Are you joking? Or are you that stupid?
* {{Hypocrite}}: He very much enjoyed lecturing Miko about her flaws, namely being rude to the members of the Order, constantly policing them, jumping to conclusions and suffering a major case of[[invoked]] ConfirmationBias. All of these are valid pieces of criticism... but can be easily applied to Roy himself. He was impolite and dismissive to his teammates on multiple occasions, as well as kept them -- successfully or not -- from committing evil deeds. And he sure has a [[FatalFlaw nasty habit]] of overestimating his knowledge about a situation. Notably though, he has been shown to be both able and willing to [[CharacterDevelopment overcome these flaws]] over time, while Miko... didn't.
* IAmNotMyFather: He became a fighter for the sole purpose of proving he was different from his wizard father.
* ICallHimMisterHappy: Roy calls it his "Trouser Titan" in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0234.html "The Ultimate Sacrifice"]], while protesting Elan's idea to disguise him as a woman.
-->'''Roy:''' There's no way I'm [[GenderBender saying goodbye to the Trouser Titan]] just so I can fool some lame-ass assassins.\\
'''Elan:''' [[{{Beat}} ...]] You call it the "Trouser Titan?"\\
'''Roy:''' NOT THE POINT!
* IdiotBall: Despite being established as very intelligent, he grabs the ball pretty hard after his ancestral greatsword is shattered. He refuses the magical sword Elan offers him as a replacement because he plans to have his old sword reforged. He ends up using a nonmagical club in the interim instead, when the sword would have made use of his prodigious swordfighting feats. This was probably a storytelling choice to make his later defeat by Miko more believable. Belkar of all people lampshade how irresponsible it is of him to not have any backup weapons.
* IMinoredInTropology: He took goat herding instead of horse-riding because, by his own admission, it was an easy A. He also has cross-class knowledge of engineering and architecture, which comes in handy several times. He also mentioned a "mandatory two semesters in Archery."
* TheInsomniac: In the early days of the Order of the Stick's adventures, Roy would pull several all-nighters as guard watch as a result of his mistrust of other members of the Order (with Vaarsuvius and Durkon needing the night to replenish their spells, that left Haley, Belkar and Elan; he believed that Haley would run off with everyone's gold, that Belkar would kill everyone as they slept and that Elan would allow enemy ambushes to kill everyone). By the time of the Order's adventures in the Dwarven Lands, everyone has undergone significant CharacterDevelopment and have become FireForgedFriends, and he's alright with leaving them to do what needs to be done while he goes sleep off the effects of drunkedness.
-->'''Haley:''' Yeah, remember when he used to never even sleep?\\
'''Belkar:''' That was because of us? I just thought he had an undiagnosed medical condition.
* InspirationalInsult: Roy nearly breaks down and gives up on the whole quest after hearing that [[spoiler:Durkon has been turned into a vampire]]. Belkar proceeds to [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech really lay into him verbally]], which enrages Roy enough to steel his resolve. Belkar's comments afterward imply that, rather than insulting Roy for the hell of it, Belkar was deliberately invoking this trope to [[RousingSpeech inspire him to keep soldiering on]].
-->'''Belkar:''' Of course, it would mean that [[spoiler:your best friend got horribly killed]] for absolutely no damn reason at all. Me, I'm a heartless little bastard. I can shrug that kind of thing off. But you seem like maybe that might bother you at some point down the road.\\
'''Roy:''' You-- You of all people-- You have no right to--! ''[{{beat}}]'' Fine. We keep going.
* InterspeciesRomance: With Celia, a sylph.
* {{Irony}}: His dad gives him a lot of crap for being a fighter instead of a wizard. [[spoiler:Come strip #1025, it is revealed his dedication to the family sword has turned it into a legacy weapon, which allows him to be a MagicKnight.]]
* JackOfAllStats: Mentally speaking, he counts this trope in regards to the rest of the Order because he still has a fighter's general build. V outshines him in Intelligence, Durkon outshines him in Wisdom, Haley outshines him in streetsmarts, and even Elan has him beat in Charisma. However, his collective Int and Wis are repeatedly shown to be the best in the group and after some character development he learns to see through plenty of guile. He's outright stated to have the stats required to pursue a career as either a Wizard or Cleric. Really, it's not clear whether Roy even ''has'' a DumpStat; it could be he has an average Charisma, since the Deva does not suggest Roy (who is Lawful Good) be a Paladin. He's demonstrably above-average or better in everything according to the rules lawyers in the forum's Class and Level Geekery thread. [[JustifiedTrope This is perfectly possible in D&D if you simply roll reasonably high for all your starting stats.]] From an InUniverse standpoint, it has to be noted [[LamarckWasRight Roy has a fighter grandfather, and a father and sister who are wizards]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He has moments where he's more of a {{Jerkass}}, but the heart of gold is there. He's lawful good, after all.
* JokeItem: The Bag of Tricks. It's a bag that fires small animals.
* KnightInSourArmor: He does genuinely try to be LawfulGood even if he fails. His bitter remarks toward his teammates and trash talk during battles are his way to cope with the hardships and by his own admission the hope that one of his zingers will force his dad to change.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?6495-Order-of-the-Stick-November-II/page17&p=291639#post291639 If Rich's description of the fight with Miko is anything to go by,]] Roy is willing to throw the towel when he deems the risk higher than the reward, as he surrenders to the paladin instead of trying to strike her down. He also attempts to surrender to Thog in the gladiatorial arena, and is [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown beaten senseless with a slab of masonry for his trouble.]] [[spoiler:It is {{averted}} during his suicidal attack on Xykon, when he refuses to back down, even when it becomes clear that he cannot win]]
* TheLeader: Starts out as just the guy paying the team to go on the quest, but he evolves over time. When he's not around, the team falls apart, although, that was also partly due to the party being split by physical proximity beforehand.
* LeeroyJenkins: His reckless charges usually turn out fairly well. [[spoiler:His ill-fated attack on Xykon isn't an example -- he knows he's outmatched and is as prepared as he reasonably can be]].
* LethalJokeItem: Roy eventually figures out how to use the Bag of Tricks in combat by using the animals as a distraction, and he eventually finds out that there is a ''rhino'' in there. Unfortunately, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the rhino kinda backfires on him]].
-->'''Roy:''' You know, this bag of tricks isn't so bad once you get the hang of it.
* LiteralTransformativeExperience: Roy is forced to spend some time as a woman thanks to the Belt of Femininity/Masculinity, and being flirted with while he's a woman makes him realize how unwanted and demeaning his own attempts to flirt with Miko have been.
* MadeOfIron: Roy has a lot of hit points but not SuperToughness. He doesn't have as many as O-Chul or Thog, but still enough to give this impression.
* ManIFeelLikeAWoman: Averted when Roy dons the Belt of Gender Shifting. He doesn't act any differently.
* MeaningfulName: His family got its name from the ancestral sword, which does have a green hilt. And a looser case can also be seen with his first name of "Roy" - Not only is he TheLeader and ReasonableAuthorityFigure among his own guild, but he was (as noted below) once mistaken for the king of a faraway land.
* MistakenForSpecialGuest: Roy is [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0226.html mistaken]] for the King of Nowhere when staying at an inn.
* MockingTheMourner: Roy gets into a fight with a vampire who was raised from the corpse of one of Roy's former comrades. The vampire looks through its host's memories of Roy in order to find something to demoralize him with, and [[KickTheDog starts mocking him over the accident that killed his younger brother Eric]]. [[spoiler:Fortunately, this is sufficiently out-of-character that Roy realizes the vampire isn't Durkon and gets a HeroicSecondWind.]]
* MoralityChain: To Belkar, in a fashion; [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0748.html if Roy weren't capable of knocking him out in one shot]], Belkar would be far more difficult to control.
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:For a long time, Roy blamed himself for the death of his infant brother when one of his fathers magical experiments backfired. While intellectually, he knows it wasn't, since Roy himself was just 10 at the time, he's never fully emotionally accepted it. Meeting his brother again in the afterlife alleviated it a bit.]]
* NayTheist:
** As demonstrated by this dialogue:
--->'''[[CelestialBureaucracy Bureaucratic Deva]]:''' Let me ask you something: Why did you never consider becoming a cleric yourself? You have halfway decent Wisdom and Charisma scores, you could have pulled it off.\\
'''Roy:''' Well, this is awkward to say, given [[FluffyCloudHeaven where I am]], but I've never been that religious.\\
I mean, I guess my mom raised me to worship the [[Myth/NorseMythology Northern]] [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Gods]], but I always figured as long as I don't actively offend any of them, they'd leave me alone.
** As he finds out at the Godsmoot, however, such a dismissive attitude toward religion in general might not be a good idea in a world whose fate literally hangs on the whims of the gods.
** We later [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1195.html learn]] that this was instilled into him by Eugene, who saw gods as "fancy alien wizards" that "crowdsource their magic." He sees it as one of the few good things his father taught him.
--->'''Roy:''' I think that's probably one of the only good things he ever instilled in me, honestly. That the gods don't deserve any deference solely because they're powerful. If they can judge us based on our actions, we should be treating them according to their own.
* NeckLift: Favors this [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0101.html intimidation]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0356.html method]] for interrogating {{Mooks}}.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: When he realizes [[spoiler:Durkon]] is an enemy, he foregoes his usual wordiness and goes straight for the throat [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1001.html with a great sword.]]
* NotNowKiddo: Tying into his FatalFlaw, Roy brushes off the deva in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0664.html "Down to Earth"]] who's trying to tell him about Vaarsuvius's DealWithTheDevil. He doesn't pay enough attention to what is around him.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler:He ''nearly kills Belkar'' when the halfling reveals that Durkon has been vampirized, completely ignoring Belkar's use on the team as he's so furious at what seems to be TheMillstone of his guild yet again putting everyone in danger. It's only when Haley points out to him that [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Belkar likely wouldn't be able to properly concieve of]] Durkon's HeroicSacrifice that he accepts the truth and nearly shuts down as a result]].
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Wearing a Belt of Gender Changing to rescue Elan.
-->'''Roy:''' ''[whispering]'' Please do not mention that incident within earshot of my father. I'm begging you here.
* OnlySaneEmployee: Most of his job is to manage the insanity of his party.
* OnlySaneMan: The rest of his job is to act as the foil to everyone else's antics. [[spoiler:It is played for drama at the Godsmoot, where he's the only who realizes that the assembled clerics could [[CuttingTheKnot just destroy the (former) High Priest of Hel]] instead of randomly smiting the nearest vampires.]]
* PhraseCatcher:
** Subtle, but he has gotten "Stop talking!" from [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0408.html more than]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0796.html one]] pissed-off opponent, due to his incessant [[YouFightLikeACow combat banter]].
** "You call it the Trouser Titan?"
* ReforgedBlade: The Greenhilt Greatsword has been reforged with [[ThunderboltIron Starmetal alloy]] which causes it to [[PowerGlows glow]] with green anti-undead energy. Apparently, it also works against the Damage Reduction of Evil Outsiders.
* RefusingParadise: [[spoiler:Roy enjoys a peaceful afterlife with his family in Celestia. However, upon realizing that his allies have failed to resurrect him on schedule, he rushes off to search for answers]].
* ResurrectionSickness: [[spoiler:Roy lost a level from being resurrected. He also {{faceplant}}s right afterward on his first attempt to walk.]]
-->'''Roy:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0665.html Oh, right. I have to actually move my legs when I'm on this plane.]]\\
'''Celia:''' Don't worry, honey, I make that mistake ALL the time.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** When Xykon [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0112.html breaks his ancestral sword]], Roy [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0113.html loses it]] and [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0114.html attacks the lich barehanded]], throwing him unceremoniously into the Gate protected by the best spells of [[TheArchmage Archmage]] Dorukan.
** Delivers an even more brutal one when [[spoiler:he realizes the High Priest of Hel is not Durkon and he has been manipulated during the whole fight.]]
* RulesLawyer: Being[[invoked]] LawfulGood, his first reflex is to try to work within any system he finds himself in. He's gotten fairly good at abusing technicalities for the greater good.
* RummageFail: His Bag of Tricks, much to his irritation, never seems to produce anything helpful when he needs it - when he used it in combat or while falling, it created small, useless animals... except for the time where it created a more useful rhino, which then landed on him.
* RunningGag:
** He makes a reference to the [[ICallHimMisterHappy Trouser Titan]], and someone else says, "You call it the...?"
** Him having to exasperatedly scream "NOT THE POINT!" whenever someone gets SidetrackedByTheAnalogy.
** Various characters (such as his father, sister, and Belkar) like to roast Roy over having gone to Fighter College.
--->'''Minrah:''' ''[to Belkar]'' Thanks for coming and asking me about spells and stuff. I don't think Roy really really knows what to do with me yet.\\
'''Belkar:''' Yeah, but Roy needed to go to college to figure out what to do with a sword.
* SecretArt: The technique his grandfather taught him in the afterlife is a rare fighting style. Apparently the Spellsplinter Maneuver, as it is called, is a technique that no living fighters know anymore.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Puts one on when they move to the Northern lands, because it is cold up there and he is incidentally in a higher character tier than when he was in the Southern Lands.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Despite being generally perceptive and good with people, it takes him way more time than it should to realize that [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon is evil when he shows up saying he now serves Hel]], because he does not want to believe his friend is truly dead. Especially not since he blamed himself in an earlier chapter. [[spoiler:In the end, though, faced with irrefutable evidence, he ''does'' realize the truth and act to correct it, even when the High Priest of Hel tries using a ''dominate'' effect to play on it.]]
* SenselessSacrifice: Discussed during the Godsmoot. He has no problem dying in order to stop evil, but only if it is a real victory and not just a setback. Even earlier he said that while not afraid of being permanently destroyed by the Snarl, he won't risk it as long as Xykon is still around.
-->'''Roy:''' Recent lesson, connected to that "dying" thing. Noble sacrifices only make sense when they solve the problem at hand.
* SticksToTheBack: His sword, though he's now got some leather straps on his back he sticks it through.
* StraightMan: He is mocked by Belkar for being the guy who reacts to jokes instead of making them in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0411.html "The Power Behind the Throne"]].
* SummonToHand: [[spoiler:He can will his sword to teleport back to his hand after it becomes a Weapon of Legacy. Even at a good distance, as seen the first time, where the weapon was lost in the mountains.]]
* SuperMode: In strips 1009-1010, when Roy becomes sufficiently pissed at [[spoiler:the vampire possessing Durkon's body]], his sword emanates a green fire which glows around him, healing his wounds and giving him even more power.
* SuperStrength: Roy already has an 18 Strength, but with the Belt of Giant Strength, it becomes superhuman.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0730.html #730]], he grabs Enor by the tail and swings him overhead to slam against a table, breaking it. Enor is a big half-ogre half-dragon who must weigh at least ten times as much as Roy.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0951.html #951]], Roy takes over holding a rope that two of the ''Mechane'''s crewmembers had just been straining to keep under control. He grips it nonchalantly with one hand, and it doesn't move an inch. Then Belkar mocks him for it:
--->'''Belkar:''' I think this whole "fighter" thing has really gotten in the way of you discovering your true destiny as a wharf.\\
'''Roy:''' I'm going to dance on your grave, you know.\\
'''Belkar:''' ''[imitating Roy]'' "Xykon, you let my father's skiff drift out with the tide! '''I will avenge it!'''"
** A later strip shows he can fight Frost Giants evenly while wearing it, and throw one for a loop by ''punching'' her.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: He frequently falls into this with Belkar, as the latter is the Order's incredibly selfish and near-sociopathic TokenEvilTeammate, to the point where Roy is able to use himself being essentially Belkar's mobile warden as a way to get out of being blamed for all of Belkar's crimes performed while he is the halfling's commanding officer in the guild.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Roy [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1122.html has started throwing his sword as a favored tactic]] ever since [[spoiler:he discovered the weapon can be [[SummonToHand summoned to hand]].]]
* ThunderboltIron: His reforged sword is an [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0297.html alloy]] of Starmetal, which makes it more effective against undead.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood:[[invoked]] Virtually always chooses Good over Lawful when pressed, but doesn't fall into NeutralGood by virtue of trying to be both whenever possible. In ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'', Roy outright refused to slay the orc camp once he learned they were just there for concert tickets, even though they're officially listed as ChaoticEvil.
* TooDumbToLive: Despite being intelligent enough to form cunning plans within limited time and outsmart opponents with greater skill and power, Roy is prone to tremendously underestimating his opponents, especially [[BigBad Xykon]], culminating in [[spoiler:the Battle of Azure City, where he attempts to [[CurbStompBattle fight Xykon, an immortal lich with tremendous magical power, one-on-one]], while he is riding an undead dragon, without having any enchantments or spells to save him from the fall, then ignores the opportunity to leave the battle alive and level up, which Xykon gives him out of sheer boredom. Xykon promptly flies away and destroys his mount, causing Roy to fall to his death, killing him ([[DeathIsaSlapontheWrist temporarily]]).]]
* TheUnchosenOne: Roy eventually takes up the quest to destroy Xykon not because of his father's BloodOath, but simply because Xykon ''needs'' to be stopped.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: His mom's jamabalaya appears to be this, mentioning he has been wanting some everyday for the past three years. Though the fact that it's his mother's speciality and likely not being able to have any since her demise is likely a big reason for that.
* UnknownRival:
** Xykon cannot remember who he is (and surprisingly enough, this isn't being faked to tick Roy off. It's genuine). Redcloak does a better job, but it's not until [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0901.html strip #901]] that he actually realizes the Order is directly working against them (and neither of them can remember Roy's original motive). The Monster in the Darkness uses this to save Roy and crew by noting that Roy is just some fighter Xykon offed casually, while O-Chul is a {{Determinator}} samurai paladin who wants revenge.
** He's so annoyed by not being remembered by Xykon that he's actually a little glad when an evil [[spoiler:''goddess'' knows who he is and that he's a threat to her plans]].
* UnstoppableRage: Even worse than Thog, who he even overpowered when the half-orc was in berserk modes, since his fighting skills are greater than Thog's and are not lessened by his rage. His beatdowns on Xykon and [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel]] are the best examples.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:The High Priest of Hel played Roy like a fiddle and led the fighter to believe he himself was still good ol' Durkon with an alignment shift to trick Roy in taking him to the Godsmoot, where he could bring about the destruction of the world to the benefit of his mistress.]]
* VetinariJobSecurity:[[invoked]] Roy may have trouble keeping the group on a single goal, but it's been conclusively established that he's the only person capable of exerting any level of control over any of them. The ''Recap/DontSplitTheParty'' arc is one long proof of this, but in particular his management of Belkar; without Roy's influence, Belkar's [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0489.html projected]] "evilness" (measured in [[AbstractScale kilonazis]] by the archons in charge of the LawfulGood afterlife) would have skyrocketed. When Roy was temporarily killed by Xykon and Haley took over, she had little to no real control over Belkar. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0881.html "Temporary Weakness"]] directly acknowledges this.
* WeWereYourTeam: Haley essentially gives Roy this speech after he was resurrected, noting that the party completely fell apart without his leadership.
* WeaponOfChoice: The Greenhilt family greatsword. In fact, he used it so much that his devotion to it has made it into a Weapon of Legacy. He uses a large wooden club for a while when his sword is broken.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Starts out as a straightforward example, but over the series he has discarded this motivation in favor of SmallStepsHero. His father's spirit, on the occasions it gets a chance to haunt him, now usually only merits a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** After increasingly ignoring his party in favor of trying to get on Miko's good side despite her {{jerkass}}ery, Elan finally [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0231.html confronts]] him in a way that Roy can't simply snark off: He asks him calmly and politely why he's doing that followed by asking if he likes some random rude paladin more than his party.
** [[spoiler:After dying]], a deva [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0488.html calls him out]] for [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0153.html abandoning Elan]] earlier in the strip and says that if he hadn't realized his error he would have been [[spoiler:tossed into the True Neutral afterlife]]. He's also called out for being Belkar's leader despite his clearly evil tendencies, but on this point he defends himself competently.
** Subverted when the party is traveling through the desert. A [[Literature/{{Dune}} spice-addled]] Belkar tries calling him out for [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0689.html using him as]] [[MotivationOnAStick Motivation on a]] ''Bugsby's hand'', but then laughs and admits that he's just joking.
* WhatWouldXDo: Roy is a model of levelheaded, intelligent badassery. Elan, Haley and Durkon all say something like "What would Roy do?" while trying to decide the right course of action.
* WontTakeYesForAnAnswer: Roy does this at least twice.
** During his [[YouAllMeetInAnInn tavern recruitment]] of the party in ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs'', after meeting with a refusal from some thirty adventurers, Roy begins to thank Haley for listening and saying that he understands, before realizing she just accepted to join.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0284.html "Shattered Expectations"]], when the "Being of Pure Law and Good" renders the judgement of the Order's trial for weakening the fabric of the universe, Roy is so much expecting a guilty verdict that he starts saying "{{it has been an honor}}" to the rest of the party, until the words "not guilty" actually register.
* WorthyOpponent: Tarquin eventually decides that Roy is ''too worthy'' [[spoiler:and holding Elan back from being the hero of what Tarquin considers the real story (about Tarquin and Elan), and so needs to die.]]
* WouldNotShootACivilian: Even civilians enjoying the GladiatorGames are spared his fighter fury.
* WreckedWeapon: In the first book, Xykon breaks Roy's ancestral sword to bits with a ''shatter'' spell, spurring a whole sidequest to have the weapon reforged.
* YouFightLikeACow: Taunting his opponents is one of his defining character traits.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: TropeNamer. Roy says it when [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0171.html receiving compliments]] from Belkar.
* ZombieAdvocate: When he encounters [[spoiler:a vampirized Durkon]], whom he sees as a ReluctantMonster, he quickly comes to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0968.html bemoan]] the prejudice faced by [[FriendlyNeighbourhoodVampire well-behaved undead]]. [[spoiler:When he realizes the spirit animating Durkon's body is playing him for a fool, he does an abrupt about-face [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1010.html with a greatsword]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Haley Starshine]]
!!Haley Starshine
[[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haley_oots_5397.png]]

->''"Gods, it's frustrating how Lawful you people are!"''

->'''Race:''' Human\\
'''Gender:''' Female\\
'''Class:''' Rogue\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood, Chaotic Greedy [-(according to the Adventure Game)-], Chaotic Good-ish [-(according to herself)-]

A cute rogue with a motivation for her theft (if she can't come up with enough money, her father faces imprisonment for life). She is incredibly neurotic with a very fragmented personality. She's also in a relationship with Elan. By her own admission, "ChaoticGood-ish". She's the second-in-command of the Order of the Stick.
----
* ActionGirl: A rogue, to be more specific. She at one point [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0153.html gathers]] the adventuring party to save Elan once he gets kidnapped... and likely would have succeeded were it not for [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0157.html Belkar]].
* AmbidextrousSprite: The position of her loose hair depends on which direction she is facing.
* AmbiguouslyBi: While she's in a mutually happy and loving relationship with Elan, she at one point remarks to Bandana when they're being chased by [[spoiler:Golem Crystal in Tinkertown]]] that "I had much better taste in girls than ''her."'' Furthermore, her initial "date" with Elan when she was still TheUnintelligible has her stating that she's kissed a girl "more than once."
* BackStab: Her obvious choice for dealing damage is a sneak attack, because she's a rogue.
* BadassNormal: No magic but her bags of holding and a couple magic weapons, yet she can still bring down outsiders and monsters.
* BagOfHolding: Haley thinks one can never have enough extradimensional storage space, and carries a collection of them.
* BareYourMidriff: Though the art style makes it hard to tell at times, her top looks a lot like a leather sports bra. She averts it starting with her resistance leader outfit, and later with her "leather armor" in the Western Continent arc. She later lampshades that it was a poor idea:
-->'''Haley:''' Like dungeon delving with a bare midriff, all I can say is that it seemed like a good idea at the time.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Haley has an angry reaction when her father [[spoiler:judges Elan to be every bit as evil as his father, General Tarquin, accusing him of spying on her and tricking her into loving him]].
* CallingYourAttacks: "Sneak Attack!"
* CannotSpitItOut: For a ''long'' time.
-->'''Haley:''' [[DyingDeclarationOfLove Elan... I think I'm in love with y--]]\\
'''Durkon:''' [[HealingHands Cure Critical Wounds!]]\\
'''Haley:''' ...[[LastSecondWordSwap Ukuleles.]]
* ChainmailBikini: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html Haley buys some "leather armor" which is basically just a normal top]]. So she invokes this trope.
-->'''Haley:''' Four people on the street have accidentally addressed me as "young man" since we got here. I think some flaunting is in order.
* CharacterDevelopment:
** She becomes less greedy over time, and gets a justification for her greed. Compare near the beginning of the comic [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0045.html when she objects to teaming up with the Linear Guild because it would mean that the loot would be split among more people]] to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1029.html having legitimate concerns about the team's budget.]]
** She has also become more moral, best demonstrated by her attitude towards slavery changing [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0171.html from]] AndThatWouldBeWrong to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0749.html freeing her host's slaves just because she can]]. This likely ties into her self-description as ChaoticGood-ish as opposed to strictly ChaoticGood. She started out leaning toward ChaoticNeutral, but through CharacterDevelopment is now more solidly ChaoticGood.[[invoked]]
** She has also grown into the role of second-in-command; instead of just using the position to get a bigger share of the loot as she did in the beginning, she now uses her roguish experience to advise Roy on things a Lawful Good fighter might not consider.
* CharacterTics: Sticking out her tongue when she's lining up a difficult shot with her bow.
* CheatedAngle: There's always a stray hair on the side of her head facing the audience, no matter [[AmbidextrousSprite which way her head is turned facing.]]
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: She's the one to take this role most often with Elan, both before and after they're in a relationship. She knows him well enough to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html include an "Elan tax" in the shopping budget.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Haley has no problem fighting ''very'' dirty.
** For example, [[spoiler:she ambushes Crystal as she's in the shower, catching her without her weapons, armor, and protective jewelry, and kills her while she's stunned on the floor]].
** And again [[spoiler:once Crystal as a golem finishes turning against Bozzok. She lures her on top of a drawbridge above the [[KillItWithFire waste disposal facility]] and lets her fall into the lava below.]]
* CoolBigSis: She tried to invoke the "big-sister-bonding thing" with Bandana concerning sudden promotions to leadership. It turns out Bandana doesn't need it, but she still appreciates the effort.
* CovertPervert: Not above [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0088.html taking advantage of a discount ''invisibility sphere'' to grope Elan]]. Or seeing what Elan's charisma is worth [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0028.html "under the hood"]]. Also the first party member to notice the phallic symbolism of a [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0690.html Gigantic Purple Worm]]. After she and Elan hook up, the "covert" part goes out the window.
* CurbStompBattle: When she and Belkar are hunting for Roy's corpse after the Fall of Azure City, they're chased by a group of 22 hobgoblins. Since Belkar's Mark of Justice makes him worse than useless in a fight, she takes them all on her own [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0470.html wipes the floor with them]] solely through use of her archery and tactical thinking (i.e., shooting out a pebble holding up a collapsed tower so it falls and crushes more than half of them). Notably, even ''Belkar'' is impressed.
-->'''Belkar:''' You know, this is where I normally make an offensive — possibly sexist — remark ...[[EveryoneHasStandards but that was just too awesome to ruin with words]].\\
'''Haley:''' [[SarcasmMode Gee, if I’d known that shooting hobgoblins would render you speechless, I would have saved that last one for later.]]
* CypherLanguage: She is afflicted with this for a while and several jokes are made at characters attempting to translate it.
* DamselOutOfDistress: Generally speaking, she saves herself nearly as often as she gets rescued, and frequently manages to help other people break out in the process.
** One of Xykon's goblin minions kidnaps her in ''Dungeon Crawlin' Fools''. She easily knocks him out and rejoins the party, practically before they even notice she's gone.
** She needs Roy to rescue her from the bandits in ''No Cure for the Paladin Blues'', but grabs a bow and jumps back into the fight the second she's freed from her bonds. The scenario repeats itself (this time with Celia as the rescuer) during the brawl at Old Blind Pete's house.
** In ''Blood Runs in the Family'', Tarquin knocks her off a ledge into a squad of armed guards and uses the possibility that she'll be killed to browbeat Elan into surrendering. By the time he orders off his {{Mooks}}, Haley's already killed all of them with a stolen ranseur.
* DarknessVonGothickname: When she was a teenager, she went through a {{Goth}} phase and called herself "Dark Mistress Shadowgale".
* DumpStat: Constitution and Wisdom. As a rogue, she needs good Dexterity for combat and sneak-attacks, Intelligence for her various skills, and uses her Charisma fairly often to bluff with, but she gets drunk very easily and at the start of the comic hasn't really made a lot of good life decisions and gives in to her character flaws, particularly her greed. [[spoiler:Lots of CharacterDevelopment has indicated that she might have been investing in a slightly higher Wisdom score, though Durkon still worries about her Will save when fighting a vampire.]] It is lampshaded early on, when a mindflayer [[MeatOVision sees her brain]] as a caramel sundae: sweet, but with a lot of empty calories.
* ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter: She is the best at analyzing the motives of others. She determined that an early character is evil, while everyone else insisted that they should cooperate. That character became a major recurring villain.
* {{Fanservice}}: She parodies this in the prequel, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0752.html and later plays it as straight as one can with the comic's art style]]. She decided flauntingly was in order.
* FatalFlaw: Both her inability to trust people (thanks in large part to her father raising her to have a rabid paranoia for everyone outside of her "family") and rampant {{greed}} (though this gets increasingly downplayed [[spoiler:after her father finally gets out of prison]]) have screwed her over multiple times.
* FemaleMisogynist: For some reason, Haley rarely gets along for very long with other women, either good (Miko, Celia)[[note]]She and Celia do bond as the story progresses, however[[/note]] or evil (Crystal, Sabine, Samantha, Tsukiko -- she jokes once she's always fighting "flying skanks"). There are exceptions, however, as she's best friends with Vaarsuvius (whose gender is unclear) and seems to have no problem with Niu (in Azure City) or Jenny (in the backstory), and later Bandana. So it's more of a case of only meeting women whose personalities clash with hers. She recognizes this trait of hers and tries to move beyond it by book 6:
-->'''Haley:''' Well, historically speaking, it was either that, or we try to murder each other while hurling offensively gender-charged insults.
* FieryRedhead: Haley sure can be fiery, but it's downplayed: she suffers from considerable self-loathing and feels it necessary to hide her true feelings much of the time, believing people wouldn't like her if they really knew her.
* GiveMeBackMyWallet: Except that she turns the tables by picking the pickpockets' pockets.
-->'''Haley:''' Seriously, Durkon, if you're going to get your pocket picked in every town we visit, at least try to attract higher-leveled thieves. Twelve silver pieces and some string is a waste of my talents.
* GodivaHair: Haley takes advantage of the PowerPerversionPotential of magical cosmetics in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0752.html "Picking Locks"]].
* GoodCounterpart: To Sabine (fiendish NumberTwo) and Crystal (an assassin with a knife and less intelligence).
* {{Goth}}: As a teenager, she was the gloomy, rebellious kind.
* {{Greed}}: Haley's initial personality was all about the loot, though she does receive character development and a real need to collect a lot of money. Although she still really likes money, thinks about money to get into a sexy mood, and has an obsessive desire to polish it.
* GroinAttack: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0477.html "...I'm sure Durkon can fix that, too."]]
-->'''Belkar:''' Did you... did you shoot Roy's corpse in the nuts?
* GuileHero: While Haley's definitely more than able to hold her own in a fight, she's also adept at using her wits, her various rogue skills, and her charisma to out-think and talk her way out of problems. In particular, she ends up defeating [[spoiler:the flesh golem Crystal]] by first telling her who was really responsible for [[spoiler:her being turned into a flesh golem, which prompts Crystal to utterly slaughter Bozzok]], and then proceeds to [[spoiler:lead Crystal along and keep her distracted with a heart-to-heart discussion about their mutual rivalry until she's right over a lava pit and then drops her into it]].
* HadToBeSharp: She grew up in a WretchedHive of a city, with her father being a high-ranking member of a ThievesGuild where there was always a chance of being betrayed, cheated, and/or killed by the people she was living around on a daily basis.
* HateAtFirstSight: The flashback of her first encounter with Crystal strongly hints at instant loathing, and that it was reciprocated.
* HeroicBSOD: She was hit with this early in the series after several craploads of her loot were utterly destroyed in an explosion. [[spoiler:Afterwards, she gets an episode of CypherLanguage (see above), and finally learns to get over her abandonment issues and openly admit her feelings for Elan, the shouting of which cured her]].
* HyperspaceArsenal: She doesn't carry a quiver. When Roy is handed her bow and he asks Elan where she keeps her arrows, he says "I dunno. [[LampshadeHanging They just sort of appear in her hand when she needs one]]." Haley proceeds to complain to Roy about not following WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.
* ImportantHaircut: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0610.html "You're It"]], but latter defied by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0752.html "Picking Locks"]] where she uses magical cosmetics to grow her hair back. Like many other things, the trope is discussed: Elan thought the haircut was supposed to symbolize character development but Haley says it was just a stupid haircut.
* ImpossibleThief: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0649.html "It's a Shame She Didn't Grab That Script While She Was There"]], Haley steals a diamond from ''[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/ootscast.html the cast page]]'', resulting in said diamond replaced with an [=IOMe=] (it's not an IOU because Haley stole it ''from herself'').
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Haley is able to fire two arrows at [[spoiler:Tarquin's eyes even with a ''broken arm.'']]
* InSeriesNickname: Her WantedPoster mentions she's also known as "Mistress Nightengale" [sic] or "The Red Blur".
* TheLancer: Haley Starshine is the official NumberTwo and is a greedy thief to contrast the duty-bound warrior. She eventually becomes his advisor on devious lines of thought.
* LoveableRogue: Yes, she's a rogue, and she's also quite loveable.
* MaamShock: Haley takes more exception from Samantha calling her "old woman" than from [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0168.html the lightning bolt she took in the face.]]
-->'''Haley:''' I'm not old! I'm 24! That's not old! Twenty! Four!
* MagicWand: Pilfers three of them from [[spoiler:Z's body]] and buys a few more, later. As a rogue with Use Magic Device, she can use them... though it takes some [[EpicFail practice.]]
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Haley and Elan once have sex on the back of a giant purple worm. She implies that its phallic shape turned her on.
* MiserAdvisor: Justified by [[spoiler:the ransom she needs to gather to free her father]]. Although she's still plain old greedy too, as fitting for a rogue.
* MissingMom: Mia Starshine died when Haley was very young.
* MoneyFetish: A very literal example; Elan mentions that she wanted to do it on top of a pile of gold coins, and she's admitted it's true on multiple occasions.
* MrViceGuy: Haley is the most common version, since she's always looking for ways to get more loot from adventuring, but won't sabotage saving the world to satisfy her greed and does go out of her way to look out for her fellow man whenever she can manage it.
* MsFanservice: Her brief nude scenes reveal quite the rack, and considering that she's also an extremely flexible redhead, she's as close to this trope as the comic's artstyle will allow.
* {{Multishot}}: She has the appropriate feat. She doesn't use it very often, but it comes in handy against Sabine (since she's not sure whether the succubus is weak to silver or cold iron), and later Tarquin (to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoist him with his]] ArrowCatch feat).
* NeverSayThatAgain: Never tell her that treasure isn't that important.
* NoSell: Her Evasion allows her to straight-up ignore damage from a lot of area-of-effect attacks. Lampshaded in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0848.html "Acid Redux"]], when she somehow manages to dodge two acid attacks that fill ''the entire room''.
* NonIndicativeName: Her name means "hay meadow," but she grew up in a fully urbanized WretchedHive and isn't really a fan of living out in the countryside.
* NumberTwo: She manipulated Roy into giving her the position for a greater share of the treasure. It backfires when in Roy's absence she finds herself actually in formal charge of the Order. While she struggles when in charge and is relieved to relinquish the role on Roy's return, she's gradually growing into the position of second-in-command and advisor.
* OnlySaneMan: Takes over this role in Roy's absence and does not like it one bit. Managing the Order's eccentricities is not fun.
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Haley's mental projections annoy her quite a lot, especially Dark Mistress Shadowgale.
* PlatonicLifePartners[=/=]HeterosexualLifePartners: She and Vaarsuvius have always been extremely close, with Haley only ever agreeing to share a room with V until she and Elan became a couple.
* PowerOfTrust: She has this relationship with Elan, in spite of her father's strenuous objections, because she knows he won't abandon her.
* ProperlyParanoid: Thanks to her father's upbringing, she has a problem trusting some people. Sometimes she's right not to:
** Her first reaction to the Linear Guild is "Evil!" , and sure enough, Elan's long-lost brother is the EvilTwin, and the whole party are assassins working for Xykon.
** She also doesn't trust Elan's father, or the cleric he works with, and, yup, they are bad, too.
* RainbowPimpGear: Consciously averted. "...so the Boots of Speed were totally powerful, but they were, like, lime green." [[BrickJoke Later on]], we learn she held on to them and gets a craftsman to dye them a more suitable color.
* RapunzelHair: Haley gets this in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0752.html "Picking Locks"]] after overcompensating for her short haircut before. She cuts it back to something manageable afterward.
* RebelLeader: After the timeskip, before handing that role off to Thanh, she runs the Azure City resistance.
* RefugeInAudacity: She steals two of Belkar's potions to heal Elan. When Belkar accuses her, she guilt-trips him about being prejudiced by accusing him of assuming she stole them just because she's a rogue.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: "[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0765.html Screw that, I'm just flat-out ignoring Roy right now]]."
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:After turning Crystal against Bozzok and generally making peace with her, she nevertheless finishes Crystal off one last time because the latter ''is'' a danger to everyone.]]
* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Grows out of this trope thanks to Elan's influence and becomes more optimistic and trusting.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Her love for Elan, as she [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0772.html explains to her father]]: She loves him because he is so pure and good that he makes her a better person just by being around her.
* SlipknotPonytail: Happens to her during a trap search (along with WardrobeMalfunction).
* SlippedTheRopes: She clearly has ranks in both escape artist and use rope, meaning tying her up is doomed to failure.
-->'''Gannji:''' Hey, wait. Weren't you tied up a moment ago?\\
'''Haley:''' That was a moment ago.
* TheSnarkKnight: She certainly isn't one... but, on the other hand, her brain is hosting [[DarknessVonGothickname "Mistress Shadowgale",]] a.k.a the [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0311.html imaginary personification of her self-loathing,]] who certainly has several levels of Snark Knight.
-->'''Haley:''' You look like I did as a teenager.\\
'''Mistress Shadowgale:''' How else would you expect your self-loathing to look?\\
'''Haley:''' Good point.
* TheSneakyGuy: As is fitting for a rogue, she has the stealth, the deception and the "sneak attack!"
* {{Spoonerism}}: While drunk:
-->'''Haley:''' I'm gonna sit on this spin until the room stops chairing.
* SticksToTheBack: Her bow, unlike Roy's sword, has no latch.
* StreetSmart: Social savy and pragmatism are required to survive Greysky City for any length of time, so her dad made sure she was.
* TakenForGranite: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0789.html She blows the saving throw]] against a ''flesh to stone'' spell from Zzd'tri. Durkon later turns her back to normal.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "SNEAK ATTACK -- BITCH!" V later [[BorrowedCatchphrase borrows it]].
* TimeToStepUpCommander: [[spoiler:After Roy's death, she is promoted to head of the Order.]]
* TraumaticHaircut: Crystal attempts to do this during the fight in Greysky City, chopping off Haley's hair while she's unconscious. It doesn't work - Haley isn't happy about it, but goes right back to fighting perfectly well when she gets back up. She eventually has her hair grown back out through magical means.
* TrickArrow:
** She eventually gets an Icy Burst Bow.
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0858.html She also uses one to counter Tarquin's Snatch Arrows feat]].
* UnConfession: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0184.html "Hawaiian Love"]], Haley, seriously wounded and apparently not expecting to live, starts to tell Elan that she loves him. She's interrupted by Durkon healing her wounds.
* WantedPoster: Shown in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'' (as a resume).
* WeaksauceWeakness: Averted, but Crystal is under the mistaken impression that Haley is lethally vulnerable to pickles. Just to be clear: Crystal is dumber than a post.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Elan]]
!!Elan
[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elan_oots_2958.png]]

->''"♪ Bluff, Bluff, Bluff, Bluff the stupid ogre! ♪"''

->'''Race:''' Human\\
'''Gender:''' Male\\
'''Class:''' Bard/Dashing Swordsman\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood, [[StupidGood Foolish Good]] [-(according to the Adventure Game)-]

A fairly dim but highly charismatic bard with an idiosyncratic thought process and only a slight effect in battle. Later this is mitigated after he takes his first level in Dashing Swordsman. Can be extremely slow on the uptake.
----
* AchievementsInIgnorance: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0558.html "Sort of Like a Reverse Psion"]], Daigo comments that Elan is more useful the less he understands what's going on. Durkon agrees, and adds that Elan has "ignorance" as a class power source.
* AllCheeringAllTheTime: Elan is a Bard, but definitely falls into the "cheering at inappropriate moments" category. Like "Concentrate, Concentrate, Concentrate!" or "[[WithCatlikeTread Move, Move, Move Silently across the battlefield!"]]
* AndThisIsFor: A subtle one to Tarquin, telling him that [[spoiler:[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html he's not a twin anymore]]]] before letting him drop from the airship.
* BadLiar: Haley explains.
-->'''Haley:''' No offense, but you literally can't bluff to save your life. In fact, I think your bluffs usually endanger your life in new and exciting ways.
* TheBard: His character class is bard. He talks about story conventions and has a bard spell called "summon plot exposition". He is described as a "certified bardic genius" by one of a pair of Dwarven bards.
* BeyondTheImpossible: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0794.html strip #794]], Elan seduces a ''succubus''. As in, you know, a demon who is, by her own admission, an evil incarnation of illict sex. Then he apologizes to [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext Tiny Stone Haley]]]].
* BigDamnHeroes: One of his Dashing Swordsman class features lets him sense where to go to dramatically save the day, and ensures that he always arrives there just in the nick of time.
* BrainlessBeauty: He's considered very attractive in-universe, even if the "beauty" part is difficult to tell thanks to the art style.
* BumblingSidekick:
** To Roy until the party got split, due to the counterproductive songs and ditziness.
** He was this even more so to Sir François in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'' because he was younger and (more) foolish.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Dishes one out when [[spoiler:Tarquin orders Roy, Durkon, and Belkar killed to "bring order" to his and Elan's narrative.]]
-->'''Elan:''' You're wrong. You're wrong about everything. You only ''think'' you know what's supposed to happen. But ''we'' get to decide what sort of story this is and what role we play-- hero or comic relief. [[TakeAThirdOption Or both at the same time.]]
* CannotKeepASecret: It's a good thing the rest of the Order usually keeps an eye on him, because Elan is very bad at keeping secrets.
-->'''Haley:''' A secret kind of quest.\\
'''Elan:''' Yeah, we need to find this guy, Girard Draketooth, and tell him that--\\
'''Haley:''' Elan!! What part of "secret" do you not understand?\\
'''Elan:''' The part where I don't tell other people, obviously.
* CargoCult:
** Elan is currently the sole worshiper of his handpuppet, Banjo, Clown God of Puppetry. Due to the way divinity works in the Stickverse, Banjo ''actually is'' a (very weak) god, thanks to the fact that Elan worships him; he gets stronger because a tribe of orcs believes he exists, and worship his brother Giggles.
** When he, Durkon and a pair of paladins are negotiating with orcs on an island, the orcs begin worshiping Banjo, and steal him from Elan. After getting him and the paladin back, Elan cheers up the tribe by introducing them to another handpuppet: Giggles, the Clown God of Slapstick, who is also Banjo's brother and rival. Due to their rivalry, the orc's worship of Giggles also empowers Banjo (and by extension Elan).
** He also indicates the possible existence of Banjuhlu (Banjo with an illusion on him giving him face tentacles).
* ChaoticStupid: [[invoked]] Averted; Elan is ChaoticGood and Stupid separately (and has been working on the "Stupid" part... more or less). Still the TropeIllustrator, though, taken from one of his silliest moments. However, Elan is less Stupid and more Foolish.
* CharacterDevelopment: Elan is not so much a dimwit now as at the start, but is still a {{Ditz}} nevertheless. More focus has also been given to highlighting how he's ''clever'', not ''smart'', how he's significantly matured as the story has gone on, and how his MetaGuy nature [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower is actually a lot more valuable than it may first seem]].
** Really underscored in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0889.html issue #889]]; in the early days of the comic, if Elan was the one to break the party out of an illusion, he'd most likely do it by being TooDumbToFool. Here, he has developed enough to realize that his dreams are childish, unrealistic and completely unlikely, including outright calling his father and brother on the fact that they are evil, hateful people who will never be able to be a proper family to him. Thus he convinces the others by pointing out the plot holes in their own dreams, like how they apparently beat Xykon but never went on to break up Tarquin's empire.
** Another very pointed example is the contrast between [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html early comic #69]] and [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html way later, #936]]. In both situations, Elan has an opportunity to SaveTheVillain, but makes different choices. In the latter, Elan even explains the similarities and differences to the villain in question, highlighting what he's learned.
%% Males cannot be the chick. Fast Eddie said so.
* CharacterFocus: ''Blood Runs in the Family'' is heavily focused on Elan, with his [[CharacterDevelopment increased maturity, cleverness, badassery,]] and MetaGuy traits all deliberately contrasted against both Nale and Tarquin.
* ChickMagnet: It's been [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0028.html stated outright]] that he has 18 Charisma (the normal maximum at character creation). Indeed, Elan initially considered this part of his job description and did not understand why Haley didn't care for it.
* ChildhoodBrainDamage: A flashback explains Elan being TheDitz as a result of his brother [[EvilTwin Nale]] continually DopeSlap-ing him when they were babies.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He has had many strange ideas (such as "naked = invisible"), and his GenreSavvy comes across as inane babbling.
* ComedyAsAWeapon: Elan's moves as a Dashing Swordman gain more power if he makes a pun while attacking.
* CompanionCube: Elan worships Banjo the Clown, his own hand-puppet.
* ConsultingMisterPuppet: Averted. While Elan worships his puppet, Banjo, he never believes Banjo can speak (barring the intervention of orcish ninjas).
* ContractualGenreBlindness:
** In spite of being as GenreSavvy as he is (in that, since [[spoiler:[[NeverFoundTheBody Nale's corpse was never found]], Elan knew that he must have still been alive]]), he acted surprised to find that [[spoiler:[[NoOneCouldSurviveThat Nale was, indeed, alive]]]], but only ''because'' MainCharacters in a position like his are always surprised at such a revelation.
--->'''Nale:''' But... if you know that then how can you be surprised... Why didn't you realize that thinking [[spoiler:I was dead]] was... I mean... Gah! I'm giving myself a migraine trying to understand the level of willful ignorance that requires!\\
'''Elan:''' First blood: ELAN!
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0670.html If Elan were like other bards, he would have avoided telling Haley the story of Therkla]] in order to {{invoke|dTrope}} RuleOfDrama by causing [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstandings]]. However, he opted for the ''other'' genre conventions -- the {{Denouement}} confession to give a HappyEnding.
* DesignatedVictim: As noted below, he usually is the one to end up in a hostage situation, most often due to his brother Nale. Ironically enough, it's usually [[ActionGirl Haley]] that tries to save him.
* DespairEventHorizon: Briefly brought to the brink when he's half-[[DidYouActuallyBelieve goaded]], half-{{Brainwashed}} (specifically, under the effects of ''suggestion'') by Nale into thinking Haley is TheMole, and almost kills her over it.
* DisorganizedOutlineSpeech: We really must mention the epic one he gives just before the Battle of Azure City.
-->'''Elan:''' [[Theatre/JuliusCaesar Friends, Azurites, countrymen, lend me your ears]]. [[Film/RobinHoodMenInTights Not literally, because ewww. I mean, that would be disgusting.]]\
And messy. And since you'd just be lending them, we'd have to figure out how to reattach them all, and that'd be a lot of work.\\
Today, we stand here on the wall, preparing to defend this city from the forces of evil. And probably chaos, too.\\
[[Theatre/HenryV We few, we happy few, we band of brothers]]. And sisters. Definitely also sisters, they are part of the band too. [[Music/TheWhiteStripes I think they play drums]].\\
[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings A day may come when the courage of men (and women) fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day]].\\
And if the battle lasts through tomorrow, it's not that day either.\\
It may or may not be the day after that, I'm not sure. Still too early to tell.\\
But in case it's not that day, or it is that day but the battle is already over so it doesn't matter, I want you to remember this:\\
[[Film/{{Patton}} No one ever won a war by dying for their country]]. They won by making the other guy die for his country. Which still applies even though hobgoblins don't live in countries.\\
They live in caves, I think. So make them die for their caves. Which, admittedly, sounds a lot less heroic than dying for your country.\\
But today will be the day when Azure City declared in one voice, "[[Film/IndependenceDay We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!]]"\\
And the fact that it rhymes does not make it any less true!\\
We'll stand here together and tell our enemies that [[{{Film/Braveheart}} they may take our lives...]]\\
'''[[Film/{{Braveheart}} But they will never take our freedom!]]'''\\
''[acclaims]''\\
Unless... unless they kill us, then animate the dead corpses as zombies to fight for them. Then I suppose they've taken our lives AND our freedom.\\
''[{{beat panel}}]''\\
''♪ Fight, fight, fight, fight the-- ♪''\\
'''Random Azurite Soldier:''' You suck!
* DistressedDude: Happens often enough that he lampshades it:
-->'''Elan:''' I wonder if I qualify for some sort of hostage-based prestige class by now...
* TheDitz: Initially, he was spacey, dimwitted and thought that singing could improve a Move Silently check. This changed when Character Development toned it down. Mocked early on when a mindflayer [[MeatOVision describes his brain]] as a diet soda: something sweet but completely devoid of any real nourishment.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Elan keeps trying to win his potential father-in-law over, despite said father-in-law being TheParanoiac and Elan being the son of his greatest enemy. Elan finally manages to convince him he's not trying to betray him or Haley -- if ever there was proof of an 18 Charisma...
* DumbassHasAPoint: Happens a few times.
-->'''Haley:''' Am I drunk enough yet that later, I won't remember [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0747.html getting out-logicked by Elan?]]
* DumbassNoMore: Post-timeskip he's gone from TheDitz to something between a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and a GeniusDitz.
* DumbIsGood: His lack of knowledge and common sense is a running gag, and he happens to be the nicest member of the group. Also played for laughs when he knows something the others don't.
* DumpStat: Intelligence, and especially in early strips, Wisdom. (Both, especially the latter, are improving, and he has shown moments of GenreSavvy mixed with SimpleMindedWisdom).
* EvilTwin: He has one in Nale, who looks just like him except for the evil goatee and perpetual sinister expression.
* EyepatchAfterTimeSkip: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0502.html Invoked and parodied]]. He wore an eyepatch because it was customary to do so after a timeskip and it made him look fierce. Hinjo told him to take it off.
* TheFace: He's highly charismatic and once talked a female enemy into a HeelFaceTurn. Roy invokes this trope when the group needs to talk to someone, like the teenage goblin in the first arc.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: When he believes that [[spoiler:his father]] is going to kill him his only request was that he "stab him in one of the less hurty organs".
* FaceDoodling: He does it to Roy while the latter is paralyzed by poison.
* FatalFlaw: His naivete and ditziness. As the comic goes on, Elan actually becomes quite clever and wise in how he recognizes his own overidealized view of the world, but still is pretty kooky and not all there in the head.
* TheFool: Elan plays with this trope in many directions depending on the strip; foolish, insightful, lucky, etc.
* ForHappiness: Elan and his mother both always try their best to live up to this trope. When he gets a chance to ask the all-knowing Oracle of Sunken Valley a question, his is merely: "Will there be a happy ending?"
* FriendToAllChildren: Perhaps due to his child-like nature, Elan is good with the few children we see in the comic, particularly [[spoiler:Kudzu, Hilgya's child.]]
* GagPenis: Apparently, having maxed-out Charisma is worth quite a bit "under the hood."
* GeniusDitz: Primarily due to being GenreSavvy, he's smarter than his silliness makes him appear.
* GenreSavvy: Although he's been [[WrongGenreSavvy mistaken]] sometimes, he has a general idea of what's going on. Also occasionally suffers from ContractualGenreBlindness, as exaggerated and, in the process, {{Defied|Trope}} (when it gives Nale a headache) in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0793.html "Critical Thinking"]].
* GoodAngelBadAngel: In addition to Chaotic Angel and Lawful Angel, which only appeared once. He dismissed them for being unhelpful.
* GoodCounterpart: To his own brother [[spoiler:and father]], because he models himself on heroic tropes instead of villainous ones.
* GotMeDoingIt: Haley, Lien, and Durkon have all started picking up his belief in RuleOfDrama[[spoiler:, though only Durkon's turns out to have any payoff]].
* GoYeHeroesGoAndDie: His rousing speech prior to the Battle of Azure City, basically told them that they would die and then become enslaved zombies.
* HairAntennae: Shared by his [[EvilTwin brother]] [[spoiler:and father]], and they're all idiots (in different ways).
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Blond-haired, and far and away the most sweet and innocent member of the Order of the Stick.
* HammyHerald: For Sir François in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]''. Including when it's wholly inapropriate, like while entering a BadGuyBar.
-->'''Elan:''' Behold, {{wretched hive}} [[Film/ANewHope of scum and villainy]]! The noble Sir François is here!\\
Your days of seedy backroom dealings and poor personnal hygiene are at an end, for he is here to wash this corrupt city clean!\\
He is much like a giant scrub in that respect. He also has bristles -- again, like a scrub brush.\\
However, he is not easily held in one's hand and used to scrub cutlery, so that's one way he is different. I'm sure I can think of other ways.\\
'''Sir François:''' Um, Elan?\\
'''Elan:''' Yes, oh vanquisher of unpleasantness?\\
'''Sir François:''' Yeah, see, the thing is that this was supposed to be a low-profile visit.\\
'''Elan:''' Oh! I can fix that!\\
Attention, scum and villainy! If at all possible, please ignore the dashing and righteous Sir François as he goes about his business of making a few Gather Information checks regarding your illicit activities, to better shut them down at a later date.
* HappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Elan's fate, according to the Oracle, because this story will have a happy ending for him]].
* HealingHands: Has the spell ''mass cure light wounds'' from a bard level, and picked up ''neutralize poison'' at the same time. Post-Empire of Blood, he decides to take on a "backup healer" role and picks up ''cure critical wounds'', as well as a wand of ''cure moderate wounds'' later on.
* TheHeart: He's referred to as such by Durkon. He's more heroic than anyone else and very likable. Even [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar likes him]].
* HeroesWantRedheads: Takes him a while to notice, but he eventually ends up in a relationship with Haley.
* HeroWithAnFInGood: Sometimes because he's TheDitz (to the point at which Roy briefly abandons him to his fate) and sometimes because he's ''too'' GenreSavvy, his heroism has few results.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: His obliviousness to [[spoiler:his father, Tarquin,]] being evil is astounding. This isn't so much a case of Elan's ditziness as it is WrongGenreSavvy -- Elan mistakes ruthlessness for the well-intentioned pragmatism displayed by Roy. Also, he understandably loves/trusts [[spoiler:his father]], and the affection is mutual despite [[spoiler:his father's]] [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying Villainy]].
* HurricaneOfPuns: This trope is required by the Dashing Swordsman class feature, and it is {{lampshaded}} by Tarquin when he tells Julio that Elan's vocabulary is terrible.
* IdiotBall: He grabs it whenever [[RuleOfFunny it has the potential to be funnier]].
* IdiotHero: He sure is an idiot, and he tries very hard to be a hero. Maybe not as bad since he TookALevelInBadass, but he still has some cringe-worthy moments.
* IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou: A good one from ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'':
-->'''Elan:''' Sir, I'm not about to tell an innkeep I just met about the priceless antique shield Sir François carries, or the pouch of rare gems he keeps hidden in his saddlebags, of his purse filled with platinum pieces that he hides in his left boot when he sleeps.
%% IncrediblyLamePun redirect to Pun.
* InformedAttractiveness: He's a stick figure character that doesn't look much different than any other, and yet has multiple girls flirting with him.
* InformedFlaw: When the Linear Guild is defeated for the second time [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0402.html Roy was surprised that he beat Nale in a sword fight]] but during their first fight [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0061.html Elan did quite well]] to the point that [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0064.html Nale decided to sic Thog on Elan]].
* InsaneTrollLogic: His reasoning behind InvisibleStreaker, among several other things.
* InstantIceJustAddCold: V "accidentally" encases him in ice, for [[UnwantedAssistance helping]] with [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0041.html a concentration check]].
* InvisibleStreaker: There is an attempted inverted invocation; Elan tries to be this when he thinks that because wearing heavy armor makes you less stealthy, wearing less armor will make you stealthier and [[NakedPeopleAreFunny being naked will make you invisible]].
* {{Irony}}: While he's by far [[TheDitz the dumbest member of the party]], he actually has the ''best''-optimized build of them all thanks to his [[GentlemanAdventurer Dashing Swordsman]] prestige class and bard traits both relying on his incredibly high Charisma stat.
* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: Elan has a habit of saying this, usually shortly before the other shoe drops.
* JackOfAllStats: His bardsong, illusions, and limited healing make him a passable support caster and healer, and his Dashing Swordsman class has boosted his combat effectiveness enough to make him a decent melee fighter as well. He doesn't outstrip any of the team's specialists, but he's an effective replacement for any member of the team but V.
* LawOfDisproportionateResponse: Gladiator arena is where falsely imprisoned men kill each other for the benefit of the cheering crowds. What is it that offends Elan the most? [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0775.html The awful choreography of the pre-game show]].
* LeetLingo: Parodied in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0696.html "Still a Long Way to Go"]]. V assures Roy that there will be a proofing stage for Elan's message.
* TheLoad: At the beginning of the comic, many jokes are made about his uselessness. Until he [[TookALevelInBadass Takes a Level in Badass]], Roy compares adventuring with him to adventuring with syphilis. He leans toward TheMillstone when his music keeps making things worse, and especially when he blows up Dorukan's Dungeon. In the prequel book ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs'', Sir François ditched him when he screwed up one too many times (though unlike Roy, at least it was in a populated, if seedy, city where there was no immediate danger) and Elan's reaction to realizing he was just abandoned indicates this wasn't the first time this has happened.
* LoonWithAHeartOfGold: While not quite mad, Elan is certainly full of quirks. He's also incredibly kind and loving to pretty much everyone, even his evil family members.
* LoverNotAFighter: Initially, because he's a bard. Then he becomes a Dashing Swordsman, a prestige class that lets him use his Charisma as his primary attack stat.
%% There is NO "LukeIAmYourFather", see the Tarquin entry.
* MadDictatorsHandsomeSon: His father is Tarquin, a Lawful Evil warlord. Elan's attempts to reconnect with his father after the party run into him on the Western Continent [[spoiler:cause conflict between him and Haley, who doesn't trust Tarquin's AffablyEvil demeanor and whose father is a prisoner of his regime.]]
* MadLibsCatchPhrase: "[[MagicMusic X, X, X, X the Y!]]"
* MagicMusic: Being a bard, this is his stock-in-trade. He primarily employs it for (often ineffectual) {{Status Buff}}s, but also makes use of the Song of Freedom ability to [[spoiler:free Belkar from Girard's ''simulacrum'' trap]].
* MagicWand: Haley picks him up a magic wand of ''cure moderate wounds''.
* ManChild: It's a RunningGag for Elan to display behavior fitting more with a not-so-bright kid than an adult. Notably, Roy has to baby-sit Elan, fixing at what time he could go to sleep for example. When [[spoiler:reunited with his father, Tarquin, he spends a full day enjoying the Empire of Blood equivalent to kiddy rides (riding dinosaurs)]].
* MasterOfIllusion: "Master" is a bit generous, but Illusion is Elan's favored school of magic and the one he most relies on when he remembers to use his bardic spells.
* MeaningfulName: Elan -- "enthusiasm"/"liveliness".
* TheMedic: He's become the secondary healer with [[spoiler:Durkon's vampirism problem]]
* MetaGuy: GenreSavvy is his only form of useful intelligence, and after he takes a level in Dashing Swordsman, he derives his new powers from adventure tropes. This is even invoked on occasion, with Roy trying to use Elan's talents here to help search for Girard's Gate while they're all in the desert by asking him to find "where the most dramatically appropriate location for the Gate would be" along with using his invocation of a searching montage to change the time from day to night so they can all rest.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: A frequent trait of his, especially when giving speeches.
* MinMaxing: He's ironically the only member of the Order with an optimized build, since both Bard and Dashing Swordsman are primarily Charisma-based for Spellcasting and Swordfighting, respectively -- and Charisma is a stat that Elan has in spades.
* MommasBoy: Downplayed; he was raised by his kind and loving mother, a tavern waitress in their home village, after his father Tarquin left, taking Nale with him. Even as an adult, out on his own as an adventurer, he often brings her up and her parenting has clearly shaped the way he sees the world. It's telling that the Oracle, who everyone usually just remembers being a member of their own species due to his memory charm, is remembered by Elan as the spitting image of his mother. The first time he saves Nale is because his good angel pointed out his mom will cry if he doesn't.
* MoralityPet: He helps Haley develop beyond a greedy and selfish rogue; this is even why she fell in love with him.
* MrExposition: Most often through song, and with the addition of illusory magic to provide illustrations. Belkar lampshades it at the start of the final arc, calling him "Cap'n Recap".
* MusicForCourage: A bard skill is boosting performance with song. He has varying success, though not for lack of trying.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Sometimes, as a result of his Genre Savviness.
-->'''Elan:''' ...Hey, did anyone else get that foreboding feeling just now?
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: "I'm invisible!"
* NiceGuy: He's solidly "good" on the character alignment. [[spoiler:So much so, when Nale is killed by Tarquin, he screams an anguished "NALE!!!" Keep in mind, Elan knows exactly how evil Nale is at this point -- but he's still his ''brother''.]] See also TheHeart.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The others have to call him on his stupid choices sometimes, especially Roy after the destruction of Dorukan's Dungeon.
* NobleShoplifter:
** After escaping the Cliffport prison, he leaves a note of excuse in the clothes shop he's stealing from (since he doesn't have any money at all).
** Later, he leaves gold after getting a new lute while fleeing Azure City. Especially notable since it's in the middle of an invasion and it's unlikely the store owner is even coming back.
* OddFriendship: He gets along well with Thog, the evil and dimwitted barbarian - probably because Thog is also TheDitz and comes across as ObliviouslyEvil. Additionally, while "friendship" is admittedly pushing it when describing ''any'' kind of relationship involving [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]], Elan actually gets along (relatively speaking) well with the halfling ranger and probably has the most positive relationship with him out of any member of the party; Sure, Belkar may insult Elan a lot and [[ComedicSociopathy once even tried to kill him for]] [=XP=], but has also insisted that they save Elan from bandits since [[PetTheDog "He makes me laugh"]] and even trusted Elan to take care of his cat [[MoralityPet Mr. Scruffy]] while he and Roy were imprisoned.
* OneStatToRuleThemAll: Charisma is the key ability for his bardsong and bard spells, and his Dashing Swordsman levels let him apply it to attack and damage rolls as well.
* OnlyOneName: Like his brother and father, he is just "Elan".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Specifically when dealing with his ArchnemesisDad near the end of the Empire of Blood arc. To see Elan making the '''extremely'' enraged' face[[labelnote:*]]Which depicts the eye socket lines in addition to slanted eyebrows[[/labelnote]] while delivering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and letting his own dad plummet hundreds of feet from an airship with a cold, blank expression are rather jarring, considering he's a NiceGuy otherwise.
** He also reacts with teeth-clenched anger whenever Kubota is around and minces no words that he ''hates'' the guy. Considering Elan can't muster that level of antipathy even towards the brother who's tried to murder him multiple times, it really goes to show what a slimeball Kubota is.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: In combat, he lacks the physical power of Roy or Belkar and while he can do spells, he isn't capable of V's firepower or healing as well as Durkon. He's perfectly fine with this.
-->'''Elan:''' I don't know why everyone complains about being overshadowed in combat. I always found it very relaxing.
* OutOfFocus: Through most of the story Elan has been getting almost as much limelight as [[TheLeader Roy]], but after defeating Tarquin he has been staying in the background and hasn't impacted the new plotline in any significant way. This lack of focus fits his decision to defy his father by not taking the lead and might even be an intentional (lack of) action on his part.
* PermaShave: He not only never has any facial hair from the start, but after Nale frames him by shaving off his own beard and glueing it to Elan's face, the glue apparently affects Elan's skin such that he now couldn't grow a beard even if he wanted to.
* PickedLast: Elan is picked last when the party splits. Even when there was ''nobody else left to pick'', Roy still didn't want to pick him.
* ThePowerOfActing: The Dashing Swordsman class is like playing the role of a movie style ActionHero in real life.
* PrestigeClass: Dashing Swordman. He's the only party member to take a prestige class (though he needed it most).
* ProtectorBehindBars: The danger Haley is in really inspires him to break out of jail.
* PungeonMaster: His Dashing Swordsman prestige class allows him to add his huge Charisma bonus to damage as long as he makes a pun with each attack. Fortunately, {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s qualify, and Elan uses them to ''demoralize'' his enemy.
* QuirkyBard: Elan's the archetype before taking a prestige class... and often afterwards as well. His GenreSavvy and ditziness makes him plenty quirky.
* RealityEnsues:
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0004.html When trying to help Roy bluff an ogre, he warns the ogre that they are bluffing]].
** Haley has to repeatedly remind him that singing can't ever improve moving silently.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives a deceptively simple yet incredibly effective one to his father during the FinalBattle of the ''Blood Runs in the Family'' arc after Tarquin begs Elan [[SaveTheVillain to help him aboard]] ''The Mechane'' [[WrongGenreSavvy so he can be imprisoned and later interrogated]] while hanging onto the airship's railing for dear life. Suffice to say, [[ItsAllAboutMe Tarquin]] gets absolutely ''wrecked'' psychologically when Elan points out how he's, at best, an ArcVillain.
-->'''Elan:''' You know, [[CallBack the first time I met Nale]], we ended up in almost the exact same situation. He wound up hanging over a pit of monsters, and I pulled him up. [[EvilCannotComprehendGood He didn't understand why I did it]]. I told him it was because [[CainAndAbel I was the Good twin]], [[WhatYouAreInTheDark not the Neutral twin]].\\
'''Tarquin:''' Good, good, glad to hear it. Now pull me up, I think my fingers are slipping.\\
'''Elan:''' But see, Dad, that's the thing. [[spoiler:[[AndThisIsFor I'm not a twin anymore]].]] And you're not the '''real''' villain.\\
''[[[OhCrap Tarquin's eyes widen]] as he finally loses his grip and falls overboard]''\\
'''Elan:''' ''[mockingly]'' Don't worry. ''[[IronicEcho You'll live.]]''
* RousingSpeech: Spoofed in Elan's speech prior to the Battle of Azure City. He quotes a number of famous speeches, goes off on a tangent and then tries to his use bardic music.
* RoyalRapier: His weapon of choice, although he's lost a few. His silver rapier was given to him by Julio Scoundrél [[spoiler:and sundered by his father]]. ''Why'' he uses a rapier is unknown, so its association for "royalty" is unknown as well.
* RuleOfDrama: He mostly follows it, though he also knows [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0670.html when to avert it]]. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0938.html Stories are fun, but they aren't worth hurting people over]].
* RunningGag: His bard songs making things worse instead of helping.
* SarcasmBlind: Though Elan is slowly getting a better grasp of sarcasm, it's still hit-or-miss for him.
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:He's the first to realize the party was stuck in a LotusEaterMachine after descending Girard's pyramid, and subsequently assists the party in breaking out of it.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: In book 4, he thinks Lien and Hinjo need to repopulate the paladin race.
* ShowSomeLeg: Early on, this is his primary tactic with illusions -- make an attractive female version of the enemy's species. [[SubvertedTrope It never works as intended]], as his enemies tend to be married, gay, or [[GirlsHaveCooties Thog]].
* TheSocialExpert: Because of his high charisma stat and storytelling knowledge he can convince people to join his cause with ease.
* SoftGlass: The Dashing Swordsman PrestigeClass gives him immunity against damage from shattered glass.
* SomethingThatBeginsWithBoring: Elan with Roy, while waiting in the dragon's cave.
* TheSquire: Formerly the squire of a paladin, Sir François, who ditched Elan due to his constant incompetence.
* SuperWindowJump: He has taken a liking to glass-breaking dramatism since acquiring his Dashing Swordsman PrestigeClass.
* SupportPartyMember: MagicMusic and the occasional bardic knowledge check were pretty much the only things he contributed to the party for a long time. After taking levels in Dashing Swordsman, though, he's become able to play a more active role in combat.
* TemptingFate: GenreSavvy enough to become worried when someone invokes {{Retirony}}, for example.
* ThereWasADoor: Elan prefers to jump through windows even when doors are present, because his Prestige Class gives him immunity against damage from shattered glass. And because it's dramatic. At one point he specifically jumps through the window because they had left the door open, so he couldn't burst through it dramatically like everybody else.
* TooDumbToFool: When [[spoiler:the team is under the influence of an illusion spell which makes them live through their greatest dreams, Elan is the one able to see through it, because while Roy and Haley have somewhat realistic desires, Elan's dreams are, as he puts it "stupid childish ideas that should never have happened". Basically, Elan is so naive that even he can see the absurdity of his fantasies]].
* TooDumbToLive: While he regularly gets into life threatning situations and makes existing situations worse by his stupid actions, [[AvertedTrope he has not yet died]], although this is entirely thanks to his luck and the help of his friends.
* TookALevelInBadass: He is a quite literal example of this trope. Dashing Swordsman hugely improved his effectiveness because its power is based on his high Charisma.
* ToThePain: An [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0101.html unconventional]] version.
-->'''Elan:''' But me, I have a different method of persuasion. Tell us what we need to know, OR--\\
'''Goblin teen:''' Do your worst!\\
'''Elan:''' --I'll cry. You heard me. I'll start bawling like a toddler who dropped their ice cream on the sidewalk. In front of your friends, your teachers, any girls you like. And I'll tell them it's because YOU won't be my friend. \\
'''Goblin teen:''' You wouldn't.\\
'''Elan:''' I think I'm misting up already.
* UpbringingMakesTheHero: Pointed out in an early strip, where Elan's happy childhood with his sweet, loving mother is responsible for turning him into the good-hearted lovable goofball he is, while his brother's father turned him into a miserable sociopath. [[spoiler:As he grieves over his brother, he laments that while Nale may have deserved what he got, he might have been no better if their positions were reversed. While we know this isn't ''quite'' true, since Nale was whacking Elan when they were babies, it's still a powerful moment.]]
-->'''Elan:''' [[spoiler:He was your SON! Not a plot element! And if he were kind of a crappy person, it's because YOU made him that way!]]
* WanderingMinstrel: He's a bard; his understanding of [[{{Tropes}} fictional devices]] is part of what gives him power.
* WhatTheHellHero: Does this to V for [[spoiler:[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0596.html disintegrating Kubota]]]], using his illusion casting abilities to drive it home.
-->'''Elan:''' ''[to Vaarsuvius]'' Wow, V, you're absolutely right. It's ''totally cool'' for us to go around killing people. As long as it make it more convenient for us, why worry? I mean, it's not as if knowing that we need to ''lie about it to the paladin'' is a good indication that it may be the wrong idea.\\
'''[[MasterOfIllusion Illusion]] [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]]:''' I honestly don't see any problem with that plan. Rock on, elf buddy!\\
'''V:''' Your swift progression with illusions is overshadowed only by [[SarcasmMode your long overdue grasp of the basics of sarcasm]].
* WhatWouldXDo: When forced to think for himself, his default tactic seems to be "work out what Roy would say".
* WithCatlikeTread: Elan is spectacularly bad at stealth, as shown in the strip when he '''[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0090.html ROLLS A 4!]]''' on his Move Silently check, and when Haley has to remind him that singing to encourage his companions to move silently across the battlefield is counterproductive. The one time he managed to use stealth effectively, he immediately snuck back into the bandit camp he'd just escaped from because he felt it was his duty as a bard to seduce the bandit queen.
* YouFightLikeACow: It's part of his Dashing Swordsman skillset, but he hasn't exactly mastered this move yet. Although he did quite well during his battle with Nale just after getting the Dashing Swordsman class.
-->'''Nale:''' We're identical twins, you idiot! You just insulted yourself!\\
'''Elan:''' Really? 'cause you seem to have a couple more holes in you right now.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vaarsuvius]]
!!Vaarsuvius
[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe47615163e633e5d4038ec4a710fd98.png]]

->''"I require a reminder as to why raining arcane destruction is not an appropriate response to all of life's indignities. Quickly, please, before they are out of range."''

->'''Race:''' Elf\\
'''Gender:''' Ambiguous\\
'''Class:''' Wizard [Evoker]\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral, Arrogant Neutral [-(according to the Adventure Game)-]

An [[InsufferableGenius intelligent and rather condescending]] [[OurElvesAreDifferent elf]] [[SquishyWizard wizard]]. Extremely skilled in the arcane arts, and the most powerful member of the Order (as frequently stated in-universe: casters are overpowered). Deeply dislikes Belkar; the feeling is mutual, and the two tend to play near-lethal pranks on one another. V has a spouse and two children back home, but doesn't tend to discuss their personal life. Vaarsuvius made some powerful decisions during a solo arc that resulted in much alignment confusion and CharacterDevelopment.
----
%%* ActionMom: Even V's kids refer to their parents simply as "Parent".
* AmbiguouslyGay: Kyrie's gender is as unclear as V's and their children are adopted, and [[spoiler:the background to V's transformation includes a pink triangle.]] No word on whether ''that'' is intentional.
* AmbiguousGender: No-one is sure what V's gender is -- except Haley, and she's not talking. If anyone says it, they should be assumed to be guessing. Lampshaded by Xykon in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0657.html #657]]:
-->'''Xykon:''' Let's play Hide and Seek. Just to be sure, I'm "It". [[ItIsDehumanizing Actually, so are you, as near as I can tell.]]
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:When the Fiends call in their deal, Vaarsuvius's and Blackwing's souls are separated from their bodies and dragged down to Hell, where they're kept in restraints and forced to watch what's going on in the mortal plane.]]
* AndThatWouldBeWrong: TropeNamer, regarding solving social situations with explosions.
* AndYourLittleDogToo: ''Familicide'', courtesy of Haerta Bloodsoak. What is "''familicide''", you ask? It's an epic-level necromancy spell that instantly kills everyone the target is related to and everyone ''they're'' related to. ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill.
* AntiHero: Over the course of the comic, V's capacity for ruthless decisions and HairTriggerTemper have gradually increased, culminating in them making a [[spoiler:[[DealWithTheDevil Deal with a Devil, a Demon, and a Daemon]] to save their family - and obtain godlike power into the bargain.]]
* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: Non-sexual example; Vaarsuvius is quite insulted that a brain-eating monster (a mind-flayer) finds the brain of the fighter Roy tastier than theirs. This is because Roy has balanced mental stats (decent values in Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma) while Vaarsuvius only has high Intelligence. In the eyes of the mind-flayer, Roy is a well-trimmed turkey dinner while Vaarsuvius is a hamburger. He completely ignores Belkar, Haley, Durkon and Elan (shown as an overspiced taco, a tasty but overly sweet sundae, a filling but bland bowl of oatmeal and a can of Diet Coke respectively).
* TheAtoner: After [[spoiler:the incident with the fiends and Xykon, V feels an intense need to make up for the bad decision. This happens again, after learning that the ''familicide'' spell V used to kill the black dragons has wiped out the Draketooths, and anyone related to them.]]
* BadassBoast:
** Vaarsuvius specialises in producing these:
--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Your simple mind cannot possibly grasp the means with which I wrested the beast from the jaws of reality, leaving naught but a small pile of carpet sweepings.
** A more clinical but succinct one is given when they and [[PsychicPowers Laurin Shattersmith]] are having an epic WizardDuel during the FinalBattle of the ''Blood Runs in the Family'' arc:
--->'''Laurin:''' ''[after breaking out of V's ''resilient sphere'']'' You already tried putting me in a box, wizard! You're wasting everyone's time! I can counter any spell you have left, so why not just save yourself the pain and--\\
'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''[calmly]'' I have in excess of twenty-five spells remaining. Not counting cantrips.\\
''[Laurin [[OhCrap stares at them for a moment]] [[KnowWhenToFoldEm before teleporting away]]]''
* BadassBookworm: The person who spends all their time reading scrolls instead of "jogging" is easily ''the'' most powerful member of the Order, at least [[VancianMagic as long as V has spells remaining]]. It's to the point where the only characters seen onscreen who aren't Gods or similarly powerful entities that can be sure of overpowering them in a straight fight are Xykon, Redcloak, [[spoiler:the Ghost of Soon]] and V's Master Aarindarius (by implication, since Aarindarius was supposed to be capable of crushing the elder Black Dragon that had trounced V with little effort) -- though Laurin and Miron might be in with a shout -- all of whom are ridiculously high level. This leads to a lot of DeusExitMachina. Note that V became an adventurer to get more XP for spell research.
* BalefulPolymorph: Spends several comics turned into an small purple lizard.
* BerserkButton: Do ''not'' question Vaarsuvius's magic skills.
* BigDamnHeroes: Vaarsuvius all but single-handedly turns the weakened Order's fight against [[spoiler:Tarquin's army]] from a desperate last stand to a winnable fight just by showing up -- timely ''stoneskin'', ''fireball'' and ''wall of fire'' spells give much needed breathing room and turn the tide.
* BoringButPractical: After becoming TheAtoner, V has learned to reject flashy, dangerous spells, and instead uses less glamorous, but highly effective ones, like casting ''greater extended invisibility'' on Haley to give her unlimited Sneak Attacks, using ''mass suggestion'' to incapacitate a group of giants with a single spell (as opposed to multiple damage attacks which may not kill all of them), or using a {{Counterspell}} to render an enemy spellcaster useless.
* BorrowedCatchPhrase:
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''[shooting Zz'dtri with quarrels]'' I may be in error, but I believe the appropriate proclamation is "Sneak Attack, bitch."
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:V getting trounced by a black dragon, and specifically by getting their magic negated during said trouncing, turning V into a desperate stooge. Then after becoming effectively omnipotent, V decides to take on Xykon single-handedly, and gets trounced a second time. This double breaking leads to a more humble elf wizard]].
* BroughtDownToNormal: What do you get if you put a powerful elven arcane spellcaster inside a sphere of AntiMagic? A fragile, pointy-eared monkey.
-->'''Black Dragon:''' While I? ''[[CurbStompBattle Am still a dragon.]]''
* ByronicHero: V has a troubled backstory, a cranky personality, and yet still helps Roy after the contract was ripped up. However, V completely lacks the charisma associated with this trope.
* CallingYourAttacks: Justified, since in this world, a wizard has to say the spell's name in order to properly perform it. It is subverted on occasion (usually for the sake of comedy), as Vaarsuvius has both shouted out spell names for spells not prepared, and produced the effects of a spell without casting. In an early case, boasting at length about the magical power at their beck and call ended up putting the monsters to sleep, which the rest of the Order mistook for the Sleep spell. In another case, V yells "SONIC!"...but did not, in fact, prepare the spell that day.
* CantArgueWithElves: Try arguing with Vaarsuvius. Haley basically [[DopeSlap smacked V on the head]] after one too many "And the problem with that would be...?" replies in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]''.
* CharacterDevelopment: Initially, Vaarsuvius had little to no respect for their teammates, solving most problems with magical explosions and refused to admit any sort of failure on their part. All of these traits have been greatly diminished after the ''[=Don't=] Split the Party'' arc thanks to the vicious HumiliationConga they suffer through, with them ironically being forced to learn the same lesson as their SitcomArchNemesis Belkar - Namely, "Evolve or die." Starting with the ''Blood Runs In The Family'' arc, V is far more considerate of their companions' opinions, fights intelligently by better utilizing their abilities alongside applying creativity and pragmatism, and has adopted [[TheAtoner making up for their past mistakes]] as a major part of their central motivation.
* CharmPerson: ''Suggestion'', ''charm'' and ''dominate'' spells form part of V's arsenal, and are typically employed if an opponent cannot be blasted with evocations for whatever reason.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Sometimes has trouble with the concept that wizards aren't all-powerful gods of destruction compared to the non-magic using classes.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Thrice-cursed Spell Resistance! It's almost like the universe is trying to deliberately force some form of arbitrary equality between those of us who can reshape matter with our thoughts and those who cannot.
* TheComicallySerious: Lots of hilarious moments are to be had when the very serious-minded and calm Vaarsuvius is roped into very silly and goofy situations. See for instance, ''[[NoodleIncident everything]]'' to do with the Semi-Elemental Plane of Ranch Dressing.
* ConsummateProfessional: V started out business-like and polite. Then the elf became insufferable and needed their familiar to point out that it's not socially acceptable to solve social problems with explosions.
* {{Counterspell}}: Makes good use of this tactic during the fight against Samantha the bandit sorceress, noting that it is a legitimate, if seldom-used, means of disabling a spellcaster. [[spoiler:Pops up again during the battle against Thrym's forces in the Dwarven mountains, with V repeatedly counterspelling the lead cleric's attacks to prevent damage to the ''Mechane''. This time it's both a useful tactic and a plot element - recognizing that V has learned there are times when fighting defensively is better than deploying overwhelming force.]]
* CurbStompBattle: Being both a PersonOfMassDestruction ''and'' a SquishyWizard, several of their most iconic battles fall into this territory.
** V is on the receiving end of one against the mother black dragon, who is both a powerful spellcaster to rival Vaarsuvius, in addition to being a physical powerhouse decked out with teeth, claws, and a terrifyingly cruel disposition. That's before the dragon casts an ''[[AntiMagic antimagic field]]'', reducing the wizard to little more than a physically deficient, unarmed monkey -- running on several days without sleep, no less.
** After getting the [=IFCC's=] Soul-Splices, their rematch against the mother black dragon is hideously one-sided, with [[spoiler:V [[TeleFrag turning into a dragon while inside the dragon's stomach, reducing her to scraps.]] V then raises the dragon back to life just to perform ''familicide'' on them -- exterminating her entire family tree with a single action, before disintegrating the reanimated head.]]
--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' This -- and no less -- is the price of threatening my family.
** On the other side of the spectrum, [[spoiler:due to being DrunkWithPower, they then go up against Xykon on their own and get utterly demolished in short order, to the point where it's only thanks to a ''lot'' of dumb luck, O-Chul's intervention, and the Monster in the Darkness' teleportation wish that they even manage to survive]].
** And on a lighter note, V almost singlehandedly saves the entire Order after awakening in the desert, turning a desperate LastStand against General Tarquin's personal army into a rout for the Empire of Blood. Easily one of the most notable examples within the battle is how when a squadron of soldiers flying ''Pteranodons'' is bearing down on Haley, Elan, and V, the latter just uses ''chain lightning'' to OneHitKill the lot of them and continue flying as if nothing has happened.
* CreatureOfHabit: Qarr suspects that V's "''invisibility'' before peeing" is a result of knowing he's there; although the elf ''has'' known he's there, the ''invisibility'' is a habit V picked while being part of the Order.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' It frustrated a halfling I once knew to no end.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Gets this on two levels:
** Vaarsuvius is devoted to arcane knowledge at the expense of everything else. This comes up twice in fairly quick succession when facing enemies that not only outclass the elf in magic but can also easily kill V in hand-to-hand combat: [[spoiler:the ancient black dragon and Xykon.]]
** Their chosen school is [[StuffBlowingUp Evocation]], meaning V is barred from using any [[SummonMagic Conjuration]] spells, many of which are generally regarded as the most useful arcane spells that can be learned. Their inability to cast Teleport (and in one instance, Plane Shift) as a result of this has caused many problems/inconveniences for the Order.
* DeadpanSnarker: Only second to Roy in the snark, and even more deadpan. For instance, here is a below conversation between V and Belkar on the subject of Vampire Durkon from near the beginning of ''Utterly Dwarfed'':
-->'''Belkar:''' I just told you that [Vampire Durkon] tried to ''kill'' me!\\
'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh my, what a completely unprecedented reaction to spending more than ten minutes in your company.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: Specifically, deal with a Devil, a Demon, and a Daemon in the form of a timeshare on V's soul in exchange for temporary access to fantastic arcane power. [[spoiler:V is theirs for 44:16. 20:35 have been spent by the end of ''Utterly Dwarfed'']].
* DeusExitMachina: Despite having their share of weaknesses that you would expect from a wizard, Vaarsuvius is sometimes removed from the party to keep the MainCharacters from using V's extensive powers.
* DeusExMachina: Dark V wraps up several story conundrums with a snap of their fingers, such as completing the relocation of the [[spoiler:Azure City]] refugees with MassTeleportation, and even with their normal power they off the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bad Guy of the Week]], just to move the story ahead. Naturally, it doesn't last long as Xykon is stronger than them regardless due to him not requiring Soul Splices. It's PlayedForLaughs in particular with regards to reuniting the Order, as their teammates consistently find {{Mundane Solution}}s just as V is about to use their mega-power magic solution.
* DisintegratorRay: V likes to disintegrate a lot, [[spoiler:notably offing the adolescent black dragon, Kubota, and later finishing off the ancient black dragon this way]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0639.html V'll return manyfold]]. [[spoiler:V expects one-fourth of the black dragon race being dead, and that is forgetting the hybrids. Notably, ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards even the IFCC]]'' had a metaphorical JawDrop in reaction to this.]]
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' This -- and no less -- is the price of threatening my family. ''Disintegrate.''
* DramaPreservingHandicap: In addition to the DeusExitMachina, V's whole ''build'' is this trope. Specializing in Evocation while barring Conjuration and Necromancy is generally agreed upon to be the worst way to play a wizard -- and in this case, necessary to keep V from being [[StoryBreakerPower way too powerful]].
* DumbIsGood: Vaarsuvius is sometimes condescending towards others simply because of their lesser intelligence, making them an example of the "smart people are mean" part of this trope.
* DumpStat: Strength (can only carry one Bag of Holding), Constitution (elf; plus a backstory that involves studying, but little exercise), and Charisma (genuinely worried about being capable of apologizing to a friend). Hell, looking at decisions over the course of the comic, Wisdom is looking iffy too, especially pre-splice (though this seems to have improved), and V's Dexterity is nothing worth writing home about (despite having an Elf's proficiency with a bow, V states that they're nowhere near ''good'' with it). Vaarsuvius's status as master of the dump stat has been lampshaded when V's singular focus on Intelligence was compared to Roy's extremely wide point spread as in the difference between a well-trimmed hamburger and a roast turkey dinner.
* {{Elfeminate}}: The main reason for the ambiguous gender is V's elf heritage.
* EurekaMoment: During their fight with Zz'dtri [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0799.html at the]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html Empire Arena]].
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' How in the infinite planes of existence am I supposed to be capable of defeating a wizard who has tailored not just their daily spells but their very build specifically to defeat... [[CripplingOverspecialization me.]]
* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: ''Prismatic spray'' is one of V's most powerful attack spells, with each color of light producing a different effect, including setting the target on fire, stunning it, banishing it or turning it to stone.
* EvilIsNotAToy: V knows that, but [[spoiler:unfortunately chooses to ignore it and accepts the IFCC's deal]]. The decision turns out ''very'' badly for the elf.
* EvilLaugh: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0635.html "Ha ha HA ha ha HA ha HA ha! Wait... why am I laughing? I don't... the voices..."]]
* EvilMakeover: [[spoiler:The Soul Splice turns V's robe black and makes their hair crazy; though the elf isn't affected apart from appearances]].
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: V started out with their hair short and with a circlet, but has since switched to a longer, shaggier style that is pulled back and tied off. This seems to coincide with V realizing that absolute power is not all it's cracked up to be, as well as letting go of their family. It helps that this was after coming down from an episode of PowerMakesYourHairGrow.
* ExpoSpeakGag: V's comedic stock-in-trade.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Fascinating. Durkon, I have just now formulated a theory that encompasses both Nale's likely method of engagement and the most suitable response on our part.\\
'''Durkon:''' ''THA TREES BE ATTACKIN'!! RUN FER YER LIVES!!!!''\\
'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''[without having changed facial expression or even moved an inch]'' Ah, I see you have already grasped the core principles of my theory.
* FatalFlaw:
** {{Pride}} in the power of arcane magic, to the point where V's inability to [[IneffectualLoner admit to needing help]] has been a major factor in accepting a [[spoiler:DealWithTheDevil]].
** Their [[IneffectualLoner poor social skills]] tend to cause a lot of problems. During the Battle of Azure City, V is too embarrassed to admit that they are out of spells to use. While V could have explained this and suggested a fighting retreat, they instead turn invisible and flee. Half the remaining army panics, some even dropping their weapons in the process, while the other half gets angry and tries holding onto an untenable defensive position. Both groups are slaughtered. That level of slaughter is on par with Belkar, but unlike Belkar, V has a functioning conscience and is almost driven insane from the guilt. Instead of seeking help and advice for this event, V instead pushes people away further, [[spoiler:again, leading to the DealWithTheDevil.]]
** Their [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centeredness]] is V's third major flaw, which is still an issue even after ItsAllMyFault. Blackwing's role evolves from simple familiar to makeshift conscience when V realizes they need one.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: "Disintegrate."
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Not if my index finger has anything to say about it. And, as it turned out, it had quite the stirring dissertation prepared on that very subject.
* FireForgedFriends: V finally learns to treat [[{{Familiar}} Blackwing]] as an equal after witnessing the latter's bravery when [[spoiler:he plays a vital role in V and O-Chul's attempt to destroy Xykon's phylactery]].
* {{Flight}}: With the ''overland flight'' spell, and V can also bestow it upon others.
* FlippingTheBird: [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness "Bugsby's Expressive Single Digit!"]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0624.html *flip!*]]
* FunctionalMagic: As fitting for a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' comic. Vaarsuvius is explicitly an evoker, with necromancy and conjuration as forbidden schools.
* GlassCannon: V can dish out '''lots''' of damage, but as your archetypal SquishyWizard, is much less adept at taking it.
* AGodAmI: The IFCC warn V that the Soul Splice's side effects include "feelings of omnipotence" and indeed V soon believes that V can solve all the party's problems single-handily. Disabusing the elf of this notion is part of Xykon's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
* GoodCounterpart: To Zz'dtri (terse dark elf) and Pompey (clearly male half-elf).
* GoodHairEvilHair: Once the Soul Splice is completed, V's hair grows quite long and wild. Upon reverting, it's tied up into a ponytail.
* GrammarNazi: As shown in one of the strips in ''Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails'', V hates sentences that end in prepositions.
* GuileHero: While V has no problem blasting minor problems into oblivion, V is usually not in position to solve problems with main force, and must rely on their wits and intelligence instead, which V usually does admirably (eventually; no V arc is possible without some serious false starts). There is one [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide notable exception.]]
* HappilyMarried: V and Blackwing make this a DiscussedTrope. No one can deny that V loves Inkyrius, and V believes that they had a good relationship, but Blackwing points out the truth. V has been away from their family ''for six years'' learning arcane magic, and even when the elf was home, V was emotionally absent. [[spoiler:This is where V realizes that V has been a terrible mate and so does not contest the divorce.]]
* HearingVoices: During the Soul Splice, Vaarsuvius's three "subcontractors" talk a lot amongst themselves and can be heard audibly. It's later revealed that they had as much influence over V's actions alignment-wise as cheerleaders do over the outcome of a football game.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Vaarsuvius is driven insane by guilt over a perceived [[MyGreatestFailure failure]] in Azure City, as well as many failures afterward. As a result, during ''[=Don't=] Split The Party'', the elf is completely obsessed with ''not'' failing and, by extension, with finally succeeding at something that will prove that they're not actually a failure.
** Vaarsuvius has a bigger one when realizing [[spoiler:the actual effects of the ''familicide'' spell: V learns that not only did the spell kill all black dragons directly related to the ancient black dragon the spell was initially cast on, but also the entire Draketooth family, who descended from a black dragon, and everybody the Draketooths had children with, and their families...]]
--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''[[[TroubledFetalPosition curled on the floor]]]'' My fault. I am the cause. It sprang from my brow.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: PlayedForLaughs, with V, Blackwing, and the brainwashed Yukyuk all apparently having had their own entire mini-adventure in the Semi-Elemental Plane of Ranch Dressing when they were stuck there thanks to [=Zz'dtri=]'s ''Dimension Door'' spell. What exactly happened aside from a few details is kept intentionally vague since V [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain utterly refuses to talk about it]].
* HeroWithAnFInGood: V has had some memorable NiceJobBreakingItHero moments, [[spoiler:such as ''familicide'', leading to the death of the Draketooth family, which leaves their gate undefended.]]
* HesBack: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0919.html With a hell of a bang]]. With three spells, V turns the tide of battle.
* HeterosexualLifePartners[=/=]PlatonicLifePartners: V and Haley have always been extremely close, with Haley only ever agreeing to share a room with V until she and Elan became a couple.
* HiddenDepths: Turns out to be very knowledgeable with regards to romance on account of already being married. This is subverted later on when it's pointed out that V hasn't exactly been the most attentive mate [[spoiler:and Inkyrius ends up filing for divorce]].
* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: Vaarsuvius is usually knocked out of fights quickly to prevent LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards from taking place. When V ''is'' able to participate, the fight either [[CurbStompBattle ends quickly]] or is against a powerful opponent with [[AntiMagic some form of magic resistance]]. This only gets more pronounced as the comic goes on and Vaarsuvius [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards theoretically becomes more and more powerful compared to the rest of the party]]:
** When the party faces a Black Dragon, Vaarsuvius has been polymorphed into a lizard, barring V from most of their spells. Even so, V is ''still'' the one to defeat it.
** In a battle in Cliffport, Vaarsuvius immediately gets knocked out of the fight via a combination of poor tactics and being [[SquishyWizard too close to a melee combatant]].
** In the Battle of Azure city, Vaarsuvius [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0424.html gets separated]] from the rest of the party and the elf is ''still'' the member of the Order with the largest contributions to the battle.
** V holds themselves back when a caravan comes under attack so as to repress their more undesirable personality traits, namely their ego.
** When they are attacked by a pair of bounty hunters, V is immediately disabled by a bolt with strength-reducing poison.
** In [[spoiler:Girard's ziggurat, V is metaphorically paralyzed with guilt at having killed thousands of innocents and then ''literally'' paralyzed by the IFCC, thereby making very few contributions to the Order's activities]].
** Demonstrated when a group of pteranadon-mounted soldiers [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0921.html attack]] V, Haley and Elan; Haley starts charting out a complex plan of attack to Elan, while V [[CurbStompBattle just chain-lightnings the entire squadron]].
--->'''Haley:''' Oh yeah. Wizard.
** Vaarsuvius doesn't respond to Blackwing's empathic cry for help because Blackwing had already sent too many over trivial and paranoid fears. As a result, [[spoiler:the animal companions are placed in serious danger and a vampire gets away with an important magic item]].
* IdiotBall:
** V gets slammed with it [[spoiler:in the epic battle versus Xykon, despite having more than enough sheer power on hand to win if the battle were fought in a halfway intelligent manner. {{Justified|Trope}} due to V's overwhelming power trip and arrogance]].
** [[spoiler:The Oracle all but tells V that the price for ultimate arcane power would be too high. Vaarsuvius only hears that the power sought is coming]].
** V also assumed the [[spoiler:IFCC would only have their soul after they died. The IFCC calmly tell V that was an assumption. No-one ever said they couldn't invoke their payment ''before'' V died]].
* IgnoredEpiphany:
** Even if ThePlan they laid out was unworkable, [[spoiler:the fiends make sure that V is aware of the fact that the true motives for accepting their deal were pride and desire for ultimate power, rather than any nobler goal. Despite this being thrown in V's face, the elf accepts the deal. V later learns the lesson, but only after the damage is done]].
** V's question of the Oracle has the Oracle strongly hint that the cost of V's desire for power would come at a terrible price due to V's pride. V only notices that the power sought will be achieved.
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Amusingly averted; according to V, one of the main drawbacks to an elven lifespan is twenty years in diapers.
* ImportantHaircut: After the events of the Soul Splice, V abandons their circlet and begins keeping their hair in a much more humble ponytail.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: V believes themselves to be superior and is thus obsessed with demonstrating it. This is especially bad during the ''[=Don't=] Split the Party'' arc; during a string of (partially perceived) heavy failures and PTSD to boot, V becomes impossible to live with.
* InSeriesNickname: The rest of the Order often calls them just [[OneLetterName "V"]]. Belkar sometimes calls them "Ears". Inkyrius calls them [[AffectionateNickname "Suvie"]].
* TheInsomniac: As an elf, V doesn't need to sleep, but after the Fall of Azure City, they also stop trancing because of stress and the guilt over leaving Haley behind along with being unable to save a group of Azure City soldiers from being massacred. V says they stopped because trancing is an inefficient waste of time, but it's shown to actually be due to that they're having nightmares. The physical and mental deterioration is obvious, as V becomes pale and sickly, and even more short-tempered and impatient than usual.
* InsufferableGenius: Yes, V is the most powerful member of the Order by a large margin. That doesn't mean V should bring it up all the time. It is less prominent after an episode of BreakTheHaughty, and then being confronted with the massive consequences of what may be [[GenocideDilemma V's biggest mistake]].
* InsultToRocks: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0286.html V apologies to the tables of the world]] for [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0285.html comparing them to Belkar]].
* ItsAllMyFault: V's reaction to [[spoiler:realizing the full implication of ''familicide'']] is taking full responsibility, and it's actually true in this case. However, it's also an important turning point in Vaarsuvius's character arc, as the elf refuses ''any'' potential loopholes, justifications, or excuses for the act in question and insists that the responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Part of V's reason for [[spoiler:not contesting the divorce]], is that powerful people have tried to hurt V's family, and V doesn't want that to happen again.
* {{Jerkass}}: Often arrogant and sometimes pity. During the ''[=Don't=] Split the Party'' arc, a combination of guilt, bad dreams, and trance-deprivation make V even worse and it culminates with V threatening [[spoiler:to ''kill Elan'']].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: The above being said, V has genuinely good qualities beneath their haughty exterior, and is sincerely trying to become a better person with Blackwing's help after their DealWithTheDevil.
* JustEatHim: Swallowed once by an owlbear and twice by black dragons.
* KickTheDog:
** [[spoiler:Taunting the black dragon about her dead son]]. There's no excuse for that, and it illustrates how close V was to an evil alignment even before the fiends show up. [[spoiler:Even worse, V's actions raised the ire of Tiamat herself, with the IFCC promising the death of a greater number of good dragons as retribution, not to mention the rest of the black dragons, if not ''all'' chromatic dragons, will probably want a word with them.]]
** [[spoiler:Kubota spent a page explaining to Elan why he was going to become a KarmaHoudini despite surrendering, so V disintegrating him is understandable from an AntiHero perspective, but V heard none of it, so it also counts as this towards V's alignment confusion post-Azure City's invasion]].
* KickTheMoralityPet: Their cruel behavior towards Blackwing, to the point where a major part of their CharacterDevelopment and Blackwing deciding to become V's ''ersatz'' [[TheConscience conscience]] is when V sincerely thanks Blackwing for his services during their & [=O-Chul's=] fight with Xykon and apologizes for being a terrible master up to that point.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Honestly, [[spoiler:Kubota]] had that disintegration coming. However, V had ''no idea'' who he was, or even his ''alignment''. For all V cared, he was just a distraction from the mission to kill Xykon.
* KillItWithFire: ''Fireball'' or ''scorching ray'' are often the first choice of offensive spells.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''Burn'', you insufferably terse dullard!!
* KnightTemplarParent: As part of their epic HeroicBSOD, they set a long-distance record for JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope with this trope when fighting the mother black dragon. [[spoiler:With this mindset, the solution to prevent another black dragon relative from threatening their family is clearly to wipe out the opposing family and anyone related to them.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: V does [[CharacterDevelopment eventually]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone recognize their emotional neglect of their spouse]] but too late to [[spoiler:save their marriage or the quest for Girard's Gate]]. It also leads V to ignore Blackwing when [[spoiler:he sends an empathic distress call while a vampire attacks him and steals a vital teleportation crystal from their quarters, though in fairness Blackwing had been CryingWolf for quite some time beforehand]].
* LastNameBasis: Calls Roy "Sir Greenhilt", Haley "Miss Starshine" and Durkon "Master Thundershield", and tends to follow a similarly formal, professional pattern for other people. Just about the only people V doesn't refer to this way are Belkar (probably reflecting [[TeethClenchedTeamwork their level of respect for him]]) and Elan ([[QuirkyBard quite possibly true again]], but then again [[OnlyOneName Elan doesn't actually have a given surname]]). Notably, V doesn't call Belkar or Elan by their ''first'' names, either -- generally using "the halfling" or "the bard," and variations thereof.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain:
** The incident in which [[spoiler:Belkar [[KissingUnderTheInfluence kissed V whilst drunk]]]] must only ever be referred to as "The Event".
** The two days spent in the Semi-Elemental Plane of Ranch Dressing after being sent there by [[spoiler:Zz'dtri]] is a story Vaarsuvius would much rather have go untold, [[MediumAwareness especially in the books]].
* LethalJokeItem: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0033.html Doilies]] are the key to ultimate arcane power!
* LevitatingLotusPosition: Vaarsuvius floats in this position while in a trance to regain spells.
** Belkar took advantage of this once [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0334.html to play a prank on V]].
** V also does it in the Draketooth temple after calming down and awaiting doom at the hands of what the elf thinks is a {{Revenant|Zombie}}.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards:
** By the #600 comic point, V has incredibly powerful magic available, and is the most powerful of TheTeam (by quite a lot) in terms of sheer damage-causing ability. This is tempered by V's "barred" schools, and the fact that if the elf gets too close to the action and gets either knocked out, gagged, paralyzed, transformed (lizard), or runs out of spells, he will become less helpful than Elan. This is a causative factor behind a HeroicBSOD, because of what happened in the flashback strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0623.html "Running Away"]].
** Played with and ultimately defied in [[spoiler:[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html "Right Tool for the Job"]]. V is up against a character who has tailored his very build to shut down the elf's entire spell list directly, even at its most effective. V gets around this by dominating the mind of an enemy crossbowman (crossbowkobold?), and correctly estimates the physical bolts as a weakness to be exploited. Hence, for all the supreme power V has, victory is achieved by using a ranger's abilities instead]].
* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Only the screams of people that they really hate. For example, [[spoiler:forcing the Linear Guild's third kobold Yukyuk to serve as Mr. Scruffy's litter box while he is under mind control, and V is very much aware of what's going on; V, as the one controlling him, is the only one who can hear his screams]].
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[AndIMustScream His silent screams]] are a symphony I cannot share.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: Gender notwithstanding, for the love of Thor, ''do not threaten V's kids''. [[spoiler: V will wipe out your entire extended family if you do.]]
* MassTeleportation: During the Soul Splice. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0643.html "Epic Teleport!"]]
* MeaningfulName: Their name is very close to that of Mount Vesuvius, the famous volcano that destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii in ancient times. Appropriately enough, Vaarsuvius the elven wizard is a PersonOfMassDestruction [[spoiler:who inadvertently killed numerous innocent people thanks to their usage of the ''familicide'' spell]].
* MomentOfWeakness: Guilt, trance-deprivation, physical injury, their family seconds away from a FateWorseThanDeath, and their fundamental sheer arrogance are all contributing factors in their DealWithTheDevil.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0634.html I...I must succeed.]]
* MoralityChain:
** According to the books, Haley helps rein in V, and her absence contributes to V's breakdown in ''[=Don't=] Split the Party''.
** Blackwing has taken on this role to keep destruction to a minimum.
* MorphicResonance: V keeps a pink or purple color scheme whenever transformed.
* MuggleMageRomance: Is married to a baker, though the relationship suffers from Vaarsuvius being much more invested in their pursuit of arcane power than in their spouse. [[spoiler:[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0679.html Ultimately]], the baker files for divorce.]]
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Not so different from Belkar and Miko on this point, despite hating those two. Notably, over mere interaction problems:
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero. ''[everyone else looks at them askance]'' AndThatWouldBeWrong.
* MustMakeAmends: Their driving focus after the disastrous consequences of their DealWithTheDevil come to light.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When V comes down from the power high of the Soul Splice, V can only look back in horror and shame at what they've done. V ''shuts down'' on realizing that [[spoiler:[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html that the Draketooth family are all descendants of an ancient black dragon]]]].
* MyGreatestFailure:
** Vaarsuvius is distraught over not having had enough power to win the Battle of Azure City (though the wall would've fallen far earlier without V's aid), and failing to overcome the ''cloister'' spell (though the elf very nearly ''succeeded'' with the bird-messengers, if not for a freak incident that was no fault of anyone).
** Their reconciliation with Durkon after Roy's resurrection also counts, as V is incredibly regretful of how the immense power gained from the Fiends was used and how, only after receiving a withering speech from Xykon after being defeated did V become truly effective.
** Vaarsuvius goes through it again when [[spoiler:realizing that the ''familicide'' spell inadvertently killed the Draketooth family, and anyone they reproduced with and their families.]]
* {{Nerf}}: V can't cast ''teleport'', through no fault of their own because when came the choice of opposed schools, teleportation was not a conjuration spell, thus V thought it was safe to take conjuration as an opposed school.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Quite {{Justified|Trope}} in this case -- V is a wizard, and as such can learn new spells by scribing them to their spellbook. As part of their CharacterDevelopment, Vaarsuvius pointedly picks spells that solve some problems or weakness the party encountered before -- like the lack of easy communication between separated members of the group during the pyramid skirmish prompting V to select the ''telepathic bond'' spell, [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1220.html which precisely covers this need.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** [[invoked]][[spoiler:Whether or not the black dragons Vaarsuvius murdered were AcceptableTargets, the sheer undiscriminating effects of ''familicide'' killed quite a few innocents tied to them as well -- Most notably including the Draketooth clan, the protectors of Girard's Gate]].
** Vaarsuvius's decision to stay quiet on a few subjects ([[spoiler:their DealWithTheDevil, the ''familicide'' and the planet in the Snarl's prison]]) has some disastrous consequences.
* NoSocialSkills: As a result of pouring most of their skill points into Intelligence, V has a lack of Charisma, a problem they share with both Belkar and Durkon. As a result of this, and a lifetime dedicated to solitary study, V's interaction with others is notably stilted and can come off as rather cold and blunt.
* NotBrainwashed: The Soul Splice has absolutely no effect on alignment. V [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope Jumped Off the Slippery Slope]] without help.
* NoTimeToExplain:
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Time is at a premium, precluding extended discussion.
* NotSoDifferent: From Redcloak. Both are [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] willing to go any lengths (up to and including [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide arguable genocide]]) to protect the people they care about (for Redcloak, it's goblins in general; for V, it's their family). Both are the most powerful character on their respective teams (with Redcloak, while he may not be as heavy a hitter as Xykon, Xykon has basically become Redcloak's [[spoiler:[[UnwittingPawn unwitting sockpuppet]]]]). They both like to disintegrate things, both are formidable {{Guile Hero}}es (though Redcloak is a villain), both have to put up with an inordinate amount of idiocy (real or imagined), and both are fond of ThePlan. Hence, these two have become a popular[[invoked]] CrackPairing amongst the fandom.
* OhCrap: Vaarsuvius makes a lot of regrettable decisions, and, due to their intelligence, frequently realizes their mistake immediately after making it.
** [[spoiler:"Say 'disintegrate' one more time, Vaarsuvius. For me."]]
** V also has this expression [[spoiler:on discovering the ramifications of casting ''familicide'' on the black dragon]].
* OldTimeyBathingSuit: In the "Beach Party" [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/Wallpapers.html wallpaper]], V wears one (as androgynous as ever).
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten:
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' I have a plan.\\
'''Blackwing:''' Does it involve selling your soul?
* OneManArmy: Well, more like One-Elf-of-Ambiguous-Gender Army anyway, but V definitely counts. Note that during the battle with Tarquin's troops, V getting back up manages to turn a dramatic LastStand into something the heroes stand a chance of winning, tearing through hordes of Tarquin's troops single-handed while simultaneously deploying just the right magic in just the right places to keep up tactical advantage.
* OstentatiousSecret: Great lengths are taken to hide Vaarsuvius's gender and also point out that no one (not even The Giant himself) knows what it is.
%%* OurElvesAreDifferent:
* PaintItBlack: When V accepts the Soul Splice, the elf's normally red robe and cape turn black (along with instant hair extensions and pointy teeth). Bonus: the strip title is [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0635.html "I See a Red Robe and I Want to Paint it Black"]].
* PayEvilUntoEvil: V is actually rather sadistic, but they try to keep that pointed at the bad guys -- a charmed kobold makes good kitty litter, for example. [[spoiler:Though sometimes they cause excessive collateral damage in the process of hurting said bad guys.]]
* PetTheDog: A good sign of their CharacterDevelopment is sincerely thanking Blackwing at the end of ''[=Don't=] Split The Party'' for his service during the battle in Xykon's tower and apologizing for having been a terrible master up until that point.
* PlayingWithFire: Fire tends to be V's go-to element when using combat magic, with ''fireball'', ''scorching ray'', and ''wall of fire'' all counting among their favored offensive spells. [[spoiler:They also make use of ''fire shield'' and ''delayed blast fireball'' to great effect while fighting the black dragon mother, though it's unclear if V knows those spells natively or was accessing them via the Soul Splice.]]
* ThePlotReaper: Vaarsuvius's [[spoiler:killing of Kubota]] is for this very reason. He was a distraction from the main plot.
* PointyEars: Comes with being an elf.
* PowerFloats: While trancing, V floats. It's unknown if this is an elf thing or a wizard thing.
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: A side-effect of the Soul Splice is longer and wilder hair. It lasts after the Soul Splice wears off, but V thereafter keeps it drawn back.
* PowersViaPossession: [[spoiler:V takes possession of three evil souls to gain their powers. Notably, V is NotBrainwashed by them]].
* PrepositionsAreNotToEndSentencesWith: In a ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' strip, V blows the party's cover by ranting at a pair of wights who kept doing this.
* {{Pride}}: V's FatalFlaw. When given a choice between [[spoiler:selling their soul]] and getting help from their friends or mentor, V chose the former.
* PronounTrouble: For everybody else, given the elf's ambiguous gender.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: As an elf, V is over a hundred years old but doesn't look any older than the rest of the Order. What certainly helps is that it quickly becomes clear that despite their advanced biological age, they're still emotionally in the age range of the rest of the party.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Xykon gives a [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0657.html potent one]] to V about what power ''really'' means and why the elf lacks it. Notably, V actually takes this into account going forward and learning how to be more creative with their power becomes one of the cornerstones of their CharacterDevelopment.
* RightPlaceRightTimeWrongReason: The wording of the Oracle's prediction concerning V finding ultimate power is along these lines, foreshadowing the acquisition and its power-madness.
* RingOfPower: [[AmplifierArtifact A Ring of Wizardry]], pried from Xykon's charred fingerbone.
* RunningGag: V's use of ''explosive runes'', and people reading them before the explosion happens.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: V's attitude for hundreds of strips, especially when they get more and more ruthless from sleep deprivation (which they claim is impossible as an elf). It finally bites them in the ass after the full ramifications of the ''familicide'' spell is revealed. They becomes far more circumspect afterwards about abusing their power.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: At times it becomes a problem. At one point, V was so comically long-winded that they managed to overcome one of the fundamental rules of the game (namely, that TalkingIsAFreeAction).
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Actually, now just [six seconds]. [[LampshadeHanging I was being particularly verbose just there.]]
* SitcomArchNemesis: They have ''enforced'' this type of dynamic regarding Belkar, both because their personalities naturally clash and also since V wants to make sure that Belkar hates them rather than lusts after them (which they consider to be "too horrific a possibility to contemplate").
* ShipperOnDeck: Early on, V quietly supports the good ship Haley/Elan -- or, at least, knows that Haley is crushing on Elan and wants to help Elan towards realizing it.
* ShockAndAwe: ''Lightning bolt'' is probably V's favorite offensive spell after ''[[PlayingWithFire fireball]]''. They can also cast ''{{chain lightning}}''.
* ShutUpHannibal: "''Disintegrate''. ''Gust of wind''. Now can we PLEASE resume saving the world?"
* TheSmartGuy: They're a powerful mage, and magic requires high intelligence in this world. He's actually one of several in the Order of the Stick.
* SophisticatedAsHell: When V uses strong words, they're usually coated in this.
-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0056.html No, no. I believe "sucked" was, in fact, the proper word.]]\\\
'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html I may be in error, but I believe the appropriate proclamation is, "Sneak Attack, bitch."]]
* TheSpock: Most of the time, V speaks in a measured and scholarly tone and is concerned with logic and efficiency, though V still has experienced enough emotional turmoil to lose cool at critical moments. Amusingly, the "[[Franchise/StarTrek Stick Trek]]" wallpaper actually casts V as Spock, and Belkar once refers to V as a "Vulcan in fantasy drag."
* SpockSpeak: V's normal way of speaking is formal and exact.
* SquishyWizard: As per standard for ''D&D'' wizards, V has great magical power but crumbles in physical confrontations. The mother black dragon even mocks them about this, describing them as a "fragile, pointy-eared monkey" when they're deprived of their magic.
* StealthInsult: They get in a good jab at Tarquin and Laurin's egos during the final battle of ''Blood Runs in the Family'' by dismissively referring to the two of them as just "stowaways" when they board the ''Mechane''.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Varies wildly between "aloof asshat" and "huggable[[invoked]] [[TheWoobie woobie]]", even within the same strip.
* TalkToTheHand: Vaarsuvius is very fond of the various ''Bugsby's hand'' spells. In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0934.html #934]], Vaarsuvius would have pushed Tarquin [[spoiler:off the ''Mechane'']] if Laurin hadn't zapped the hand.
* TearsOfRemorse: A little overdue, very out of character... and definitely meant and heartbreakingly genuine, in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0843.html "Lack of Foresight"]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Subtle, but in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1160.html #1160]] V tanks a Death Worm's ''cone of cold'' and manages to finish their spellcasting nonetheless, despite being heavily injured afterwards (as shown by the multiple scratches and cuts on their person). Compare this to when they challenged Xykon in his own throne room, and gets fizzled by the room's defenses, which made Xykon wonder how they could have such high-level spells and yet still fail a Concentration check that easily. And in general, they've become a significantly more dangerous opponent since their failed duel with Xykon thanks to them learning the need to be more creative, pragmatic, and altruisitic in combat.
* TookALevelInJerkass: V's resistance to anything not involving Xykon directly, arrogance and overall occasionally rude behavior skyrocket during the period after Azure City where V refuses to trance for months. This culminates in threatening Elan and ditching the rest of the Order of the Stick. After the whole [[spoiler:DealWithTheDevil]] thing V returns to normal behavior or better.
* TookALevelInKindness: After that whole [[spoiler:DealWithTheDevil]] thing, V becomes far kinder and considerate to the people around them, treating Belkar and Elan with more patience, seeking advice from Roy, treating commoners without their previous arrogance, and is able to just outright admit it when they've made mistakes. This also translates in combat, as they also eschew offensive tactics and instead focus on defensive and utility spells that aren't as flashy, but are much more effective at nullifying threats and enhancing their team's efficiency.
* TragicHero: Since the events of [[spoiler:the Soul Splice]] V has to deal with great personal tragedy due to their hubris and is working on redemption
* TroubledFetalPosition: After realizing that [[spoiler:V caused the deaths of countless innocents with the ''familicide'' spell,]] V curls up in despondence.
* UnscrupulousHero: V's first major scene shows the elf gleefully using a spell designed to ''tentacle-rape an opponent to death'', and while this can partially be put down to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, V continues to use unscrupulous tactics.
* UnskilledButStrong: Unskilled being a relative term in this case, since as a Wizard, V's life has largely been dedicated to study, but the way they ''use'' their magic was this for the longest time, preferring to just smash their opponents with the strongest spell they had, and only used spells more creatively when forced to, such as when they were Transfigured into a lizard. [[spoiler:Finally learns their lesson for good when Xykon easily overpowers V even with the Soul Splice and they only survive through sheer luck. After this, V dedicate themselves to use their magic with more thought and skill, which they've largely lived up to.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Accepting the DealWithTheDevil and attacking Xykon played right into the GambitRoulette spun by the Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission.]]
* VancianMagic: V isn't too happy about the need to prepare spells every morning, as the article's epigraph indicates.
* VictoriousLoser: [[spoiler:Though V lost the Soul Spice and didn't defeat Xykon, they rescued O-Chul and rattled the Lich's cage by making him temporarily lose his phylactery.]]
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Briefly polymorphs into a burrowing animal while searching for Girard's gate. [[spoiler:While powered up by the Soul Splice, V turns into a full-size dragon.]]
* WallOfBlather: Early on, there is one that puts a bunch of goblins (as well as Belkar and Elan) to sleep.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark:
** V's state during the [[spoiler:DealWithTheDevil]] is a pretty grim instance of this trope, namely that the IFCC tells the elf that the splice will [[{{Brainwashed}} affect alignment]], while in reality it's only three additional [[GoodAngelBadAngel shoulder devils]] who only offer the same influence onto their alignment that cheerleaders have on whether or not certain sports teams win. [[spoiler:The answer is going DrunkWithPower and committing a literal ''genocide'' of black dragons (and their hybrid offspring). Adding insult to injury, the fiends even outlined a possible alternate plan right before V took the deal, the only catch being it involved other people doing all the legwork and didn't come with a free power trip.]]
** On a lighter note, V's [[spoiler:rescue of O-Chul also qualifies.]] Vaarsuvius is heavily injured, nearly out of spells, and completely out of their league, against [[spoiler:Xykon, an Epic-level sorcerer and the BigBad]]. V turns invisible and means to escape through a hole in the wall, one Feather Fall away from safety... Nobody could possibly know or blame the elf for escaping in that situation, but V instead chooses to [[spoiler:go back and help O-Chul instead, rather than abandoning yet another person to their death.]] Ultimately, it serves as a very poignant and touching moment -- and an important first step to redemption -- after everything Vaarsuvius has done.
* WhatTheHellHero: Is the target for several of these over the course of the comic, with increasing severity due to their escalating actions:
** A relatively mild one from Haley, when the elf makes Elan cry after yelling at him for poorly trying to mimic being a wizard, shortly after the destruction of Durokan's Dungeon.
** One from Elan, for killing [[AristocratsAreEvil Kubota]] under some very flimsy logic.
** By far the biggest one, from [[spoiler:their Mate, after they find out about Varsuuvius' DealWithTheDevil, and the deranged extremes they had gone to reach their long-sought power. Shortly after this, they file for divorce, and Varsuuvius, having been thoroughly humbled by Xykon crushing them despite their newfound power, doesn't contest it.]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: The way V's been using magic since the beginning and in a destructive manner; load up with as much power as possible, then smash. V tries to break the habit in one arc, with difficulties. [[spoiler:It could be said to have succeeded, if [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0800.html "Right Tool for the Job"]] is anything to go by. Instead of blasting the enemy, buff your allies]].
* WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide: ''Familicide''. [[spoiler:Killing the Black Dragons was not, in retrospect, V's brightest hour]].
* WreathedInFlames: The "Fire Shield" spell V uses when under the Soul-Splice.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: V is mum on their time in the Semi-Elemental Plane of Ranch Dressing. Downplayed in that's less horrifying and more just embarassing.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Purple. Justified as the result of them being an elf.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Belkar Bitterleaf]]
!!Belkar Bitterleaf
[[quoteright:178:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/belkar_oots_3884.png]]

->'''''"I AM A SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR!"'''''

->'''Race:''' Halfling\\
'''Gender:''' Male\\
'''Class:''' Ranger/Barbarian\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil, SelfishEvil [-(according to the Adventure Game)-]

A.k.a. "The Belkster", "Death's Li'l Helper", and now "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doomsealer]]". Even shorter than other {{halfling}}s, Belkar has deep-seated emotional problems. He tries to work these out by killing or otherwise harming people he doesn't like. Still, he has some of the best lines and is a major source of (black) comedy.
----
* AbstractScale: His evil is measured in [=KiloNazis=], against a baseline of the hypothetical off-spring of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] and [[WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians Cruella DeVille]].
* TheAllegedExpert: He was invited to join the Order because Roy assumed his levels in the Ranger class automatically gave him some skills as a tracker, and his entry on the comic's "cast of characters" page described him as "the world's best tracker under 4 feet tall". As it turns out, he hasn't invested a single point in his Track skill. That being said, by the time of the final arc, it's shown that he actually ''has'' invested a decent amount in obscuring trails and tracks, claiming that it helped him out a lot when on the run from police officers and guards with bloodhounds.
* AlliterativeName: '''B'''elkar '''B'''itterleaf.
* AmbiguousCriminalHistory: It's known that at the very least, Belkar was once an [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil assistant to/fence for slavers]], along with ''being'' a slave himself, but the rest of his assuredly vast and horrible criminal history is understandably kept subtle for the sake of comedy. Sometimes, however, it comes into favor for the party, as seen when [[spoiler:the Order are trying to hide from Team Evil in Kraagor's Tomb]], and Belkar notes that he'll erase the Order's trail to make it harder for them to be spotted.
-->'''Roy:''' ''[surprised]'' You can... do that?\\
'''Belkar:''' ''[exasperated]'' What, you think I learned to track for my own noble self-enrichment?! A ''lot'' of law enforcement agencies use dogs, Roy!
* AndroclesLion: [[spoiler:The Empire of Blood's troops, sick of the Order slaughtering all their infantry, sic an ''Allosaurus'' at them... which turns out to be the same one Belkar was nice to and let out earlier. One Wild Empathy use (and a couple daggers inside the rider) later, Belkar has a new mount. "Flee before me, worms!!", indeed.]]
* AntiHero: The only thing that separates Belkar from being a VillainProtagonist is that he is pointed towards the BigBad. In fact, he might have joined Xykon if his poor impulse control didn't have him [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0520.html throw a cat in the recruiter's face for his own amusement]].
* ArchEnemy: He attempts to ''invoke'' this regarding Miko Miyazaki. True to form, he's one of the biggest instigators for her ultimate fall from grace.
* AssShove: Threatened toward a vampire he's suspicious of.
-->'''Belkar:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0957.html I am going to shove the sunshine]] so far up where the sun don't shine that you will vomit '''''nothing but warm summer days!!'''''
* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html His most iconic moment]], after slaughtering an entire ''army'' of hobgoblins.
-->'''Haley:''' Do you want to tell him he probably won't get any experience from killing them?\\
'''Durkon:''' Let's draw straws.
* BadassNormal: Magical abilities are not needed for him to be a "shoeless god of war". Out of a raiding party of Thieves' Guild rogues there were [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0611.html None Left Standing]], and he [[AtopAMountainOfCorpses slayed enough goblins to create a mountain many times his size.]] Although as a ranger, he should be able to cast spells... if he didn't have the wisdom score of a lemming.[[note]]Much lower, in fact; if he had a lemming's Wisdom he could cast spells.[[/note]]
-->'''Belkar:''' Hey, lemmings are cute.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Belkar hopes to push Miko over the edge and make her fall as a paladin. He succeeds, but she ends up killing someone he liked in the process.
* BecomingTheMask: There are hints that Belkar's fake character development is turning into real character development. It becomes very apparent in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0807.html "Wild Empathy"]]. It happens even more after [[spoiler:Durkon is turned into a vampire. Instead of taking the idea of Durkon being back with an alignment adjustment at face value (or brushing it off like the old Belkar might have), he is suspicious of the vampire even when it's costing him points with the rest of the team, points that he was initially faking character development to gain so they'd keep him around. It's likely because Durkon ''died'' for him and he won't forget it.]] This really seems to be more important to him than staying in the Order's good graces, and after, he genuinely considers Durkon to be a friend.
* BerserkButton: Don't threaten Mr. Scruffy. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0685.html It won't end well for you.]] Or point out he loves his cat.
* TheBerserker: He has a couple of barbarian levels, but it's not always obvious when he goes into a rage because he's always in some kind of foul temper.
* TheBigGuy: He's the most bloodthirsty of the group and has the highest body count (not counting spells). He shares the role with Durkon (ironically, the two are the smallest humanoid members of the party).
* BlackComedy: He's the violent and bloody humor in the Order because it fits his evil alignment and stab-happy personality.
* BloodKnight: Fighting and slaughtering living beings is all he initially cared about, and the reason he decided to go on a dungeon crawl.
* BrainBleach: He possesses the (fictional) feat [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html "Craft Disturbing Mental Image"]].
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Due to his low Wisdom score (Roy notes it is his "dump stat"), Belkar is extremely easy to ''charm'' or ''dominate''.
* BrutalHonesty: Nothing in his CruelToBeKind speech is false. It's just delivered in an incredibly offensive way in order to enrage [[spoiler:Roy]] enough to make him want to continue. [[spoiler:Of course, it ''also'' makes Roy far too eager to believe that the High Priest of Hel is just Durkon with a paint job rather than admit the truth.]]
* ButHeSoundsHandsome: "[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0403.html That Belkar, as stubborn as he is stone-cold sexy.]]"
* CassandraTruth:
** His tendency to screw with people means he isn't believed at first when [[spoiler:he [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0880.html bears the bad news]] of Durkon's vampirization]].
** Also, at first he's the only one who has serious doubts about [[spoiler:Durkon not being Durkon anymore after vampirization]]. It takes a while before everyone else realizes he's right.
* ChaoticStupid: More so in earlier strips, where he would do things like set a tent on fire just to watch it burn -- when they are trying to sneak into a camp. Part of his CharacterDevelopment is him learning to practice CruelMercy and show that he can actually be dangerously clever when he really wants to.
* CharacterDevelopment:
** Faked character development, which ironically is ''real'' development for him too. To clarify: at the end of the ''[=Don't=] Split the Party'' arc, Belkar is in many ways still the same sociopathic murderous halfling. However, he actually promises someone else that he would stick to him to the very end, no matter the outcome, which is something the old Belkar would never have done. In the book commentary for that section the author described [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0606.html the conversion scene]] as going from sociopath to slightly more high-functioning sociopath.
** He gives a whole speech on the subject in #957, suggesting he's aware that he's no longer quite the same as before. Most notably, he's beginning to show actual empathy for others, although he's so unused to it he doesn't know in advance what will make him feel guilty.
** It's also justified as the Ranger's very first skill is Wild Empathy. While Halflings are rarely evil, it is almost inevitable that a Ranger will get an animal companion (no matter how low their wisdom is or how suboptimal their builds are). The original joke was he was both a class and a race that is generally good and yet he is completely evil for some reason. However, empathy is literally built right into his main class. On top of that, he was always empathic enough to know precisely the way to tear people down through talking.
** If you check [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0960.html strip #960]], he actually thanks V at the end of it. Not like anything forces him to do that; his faked character growth still includes being pretty berating to people.
** The biggest display of his growing empathy can be seen in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1130.html strip #1130]]. [[spoiler:He's seething in rage at Durkon, but not just because the High Priest of Hel needs to die; it's more because Durkon's death made him think and feel for someone else, possibly for the first time ever, [[WhatIsThisFeeling and it]] ''hurts''.]] Belkar isn't just fighting a vampire, he's lashing out at his true character development.
--->'''Belkar:''' [[YouExclamation You... YOU!]]... How ''dare'' you make me think about things, Durkon!... '''''How could you not think about how your selflessness would affect ME?!?'''''
** When Hilgya charcoals Durkon (intending to resurrect him again), Belkar is ''pissed'', and looks ready to gut her. This, when Belkar originally would consider killing teammates for XP.
** In strip #1164, he actually calls Durkon his buddy. And later on, in strip #1194, without being prompted, he goes over to check with [[spoiler:Minrah]] to see what buffs she can provide for him in combat so that they both can make the best of their advantages in the FinalBattle and not serve as TheLoad.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0008.html a very early strip]] he falls for a very brazen con. Though consistent with his low Wisdom, it depends on making him feel guilty about accusing Haley, something he'd never feel once his character is further established. Of course, then his character swings back the other way. It's been stated that Roy has been a positive influence on Belkar, not because he makes Belkar a better man, but because Roy can kick his ass if he steps out of line. Belkar does care about people sometimes, but he is just as likely to stab them in the back when it's convenient to him. The thing is, all of his "buddies" were evil and his current companions are definitely not. In other words, Belkar was probably treating the Order as if they were friends like [[ChaoticEvil Buggy Lou]] up until their better nature started to rub his patience raw. Now that he has experienced more episodes of empathy, he is starting to feel guilty again, but now he's much more jaded and cynical.
* CharlieBrownBaldness: He's not bald, but the very short hair atop his head is hard to see (unless in close-ups or from behind). Notably, it's identical to the hair on his feet.
* ChefOfIron: He has ranks in the Profession (Gourmet chef) skill.
* ChekhovsBoomerang: The Ring of Jumping +20. [[spoiler:First when he uses it to escape from prison in Azure City, and again when he lends it to Roy]].
* CombatSadomasochist: He can hardly be bothered killing things that won't scream.
* CommonalityConnection: He helps two gladiators escape after they have been forced to fight each other, because he feels for them [[spoiler:realizing that he would hate to be forced to fight Mr. Scruffy.]] It comes as a great shock to him.
* CruelMercy: Part of his character development is learning a more refined form of cruelty.
** When [[spoiler:Blind Pete betrays him, Haley, Celia and a cleric of Loki,]] he doesn't kill the traitor. Instead, he convinces the traitor's ChildhoodFriend to do so instead, because it will hurt more and be more fun to watch. And, to an extent, in a warped attempt to "help" the friend, by teaching him to solve his problems with violence.
** After reducing Crystal to 0 HP, he doesn't kill her. Instead, he leaves her on the floor, helpless and humilitated, and fetches her rival to kill her instead.
** He doesn't kill Yukyuk, despite his attack on Mr. Scruffy. Instead, he turns the kobold into Mr. Scruffy's litterbox.
* CruelToBeKind: [[spoiler:Gives Roy a massive, insulting speech specifically designed to spit in the face of Roy's grief over Durkon's death, which has Roy so demoralised he seriously contemplates giving up the quest. It shocks the team and enrages Roy -- which is enough to get Roy off the bench short term. Long-term, the damage was severe enough that Roy went into denial rather than admit that Durkon is really gone and he is in some sense responsible, which has ''nasty'' potential consequences for the whole world.]]
* CrutchCharacter: As befitting someone with such a terrible build. He's a veritable {{Mook}}-slaughtering machine but has perhaps the lowest success rate of the group against higher-level opponents. Spellcasters in particular tend to steamroll him because he has [[WeakWilled a laughable Will save]]. In addition, he's leveling up slower than everyone else because of his multiclassing (and the Mark of Justice severely limiting his killing power at crucial points). He also had the honor of being hired as the party's tracker without having any ranks in survival, few ranks in spot, and an abysmal wisdom score meaning he could barely do his job if at all. Note that survival is a class skill for both barbarian AND ranger. [[spoiler:It comes back to haunt him later because he is too underpowered to stealth kill the High Priest of Hel. Instead he has to rely on charisma and wisdom to convince the others of the truth. The latter is his dump stat and the former is thrown out the window because he's a sociopath.]]
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: The Clasp on Belkar's Cloak protects him from evil. [[LogicalWeakness Which is harmful to him because he's evil too.]] Luckily it can be activated and deactivated on touch. [[spoiler:It comes in handy when he's the only one that can stand and fight against Vampire Durkon and his minions, but it envelopes him in a yellow glow, and it is obviously excruciating to fight in.]]
* ADateWithRosiePalms: How Belkar manages to give Roy BrainBleach, as he implies he's going to fantasize about female Roy.
-->'''Belkar:''' That's OK. I can always keep the memory of her for when I'm... alone.
* DeadpanSnarker: Probably one of the most sarcastic members of the entire Order outside of ''maybe'' V and Roy.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: He's ultimately one for the TokenEvilTeammate, albeit given the DeconReconSwitch. The deconstruction comes into play in how both Belkar is TheFriendNobodyLikes and his rampant {{Jerkass}}ery often comes back to haunt the Order until he learns to wise up and "play the game" (read: become a more effective team player to ensure his continued survival). Meanwhile, the reconstruction is in how Roy views his presence on the Order as basically the fantasy equivalent of a work release program for unrepentant criminals, as at least he can vent his destructive tendencies on the bad guys instead of innocent people, and he notes that the other option of just killing him is something that he doesn't want to sink to.
* DefiantToTheEnd: As Miko [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0409.html charges Belkar with murderous intent]], he stands his ground, with his FamousLastWords chosen to get in one last nasty shot to the fallen paladin's ego.
-->'''Belkar:''' Funny, I always thought I'd be killed by a '''paladin'''.
* DefensiveWhat:
-->'''Belkar:''' Well, I just figured we'd wander around, kill some sentient creatures because they had green skin and fangs and we don't, and then take their stuff. ''[everyone else in the party glares at him]'' What?
* {{Determinator}}: While his abysmal Will Save makes it useless for resisting MindControl, he is relentless when spellcasters aren't messing with his mind. Towards the end of ''Utterly Dwarfed'', after his DisneyDeath, he provides a demonstration of this when it turns out that it takes more than [[spoiler:''throwing him off a mountain'']] to kill him. He also later powers through the incredibly painful ''protection from evil'' charm he got in the same story arc, which allows him to [[spoiler:help Durkon kill off the High Priest of Hel once and for all]].
* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Belkar states that he wanted Miko to kill him so that she would fall from paladinhood, claiming Durkon would just cast ''raise dead''. Vaarsuvius points out that they'd need 5,000 gp in diamonds to do it, which Durkon doesn't have at the time. V also adds they might not even want to raise him given how awful Belkar is. Then again, Wisdom ''is'' Belkar's DumpStat.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Thrown off a mountain, courtesy of the High Priest of Hel. He's later seen climbing the rockface promising all sorts of retribution.]]
* DramaticIrony: Only [[spoiler:Durkon knows that he controlled his body at the time Belkar staked him. Belkar, the only person who believed he was not in control from the start.]]
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Like all halflings. Ironically, he especially dislikes sandals.
* DualWielding: Two daggers. It is implied that Belkar specifically choose Ranger because of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat.
* DumpStat: Wisdom. This comes into play in an early strip, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0058.html "First Aid"]]: when V buffs Belkar's Wisdom to enable him to use a healing scroll, it completely changes Belkar's personality and life goals. This would not only make Belkar less funny, but also less useful in a fight, so StatusQuoIsGod...[[note]]Also the ''owl's wisdom'' spell has too short a duration to effect a permanent character change anyway.[[/note]] Note as well that this is a ''terrible'' dump stat for a ranger; Wisdom is the stat that governs perception-based skills, tracking, and divine spellcasting, all of which are central to the ranger's noncombat abilities, and it also governs the ranger's worst regular save, Will. True to form, Belkar is consistently terrible at all of these things.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: It's pretty hard to imagine [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0008.html Belkar ever being shamed]] like he is in Page #8 these days.
* EntertaininglyWrong: According to [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1043.html #1043]], while he had previously heard of stakes being a useful tool to fight against vampires with, he interpreted it as '''steaks''' (as in, ''the meal'') and assumed they killed vampires via "a cholesterol thing."
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** He is visibly traumatized when Elan decided to run around the Dungeons of Dorukan naked.
** He is outraged by Miko Miyazaki [[spoiler:murdering Lord Shojo.]]
** He refuses to cut corners on cooking because he's a gourmet chef.
** He also isn't too happy either when Hilgya Firehelm kills [[spoiler:Durkon]] after resurrecting him, and shares a dim view of gods due to both the prophecy exiling Durkon from his homeland and the SadisticChoice hoisted upon the entire dwarven race concerning their afterlife.
* EvilCounterpart:
** Inverted in his Good Counterpart, the late Yokyok, whose [[YouKilledMyFather father he killed]] earlier in the comic.
** Also both inverted ''and'' played straight by Yokyok's aforementioned father Yikyik, who's Belkar's counterpart and ''is'' genuinely evil because he's just like Belkar.
** Yukyuk, whose relation to Yikyik and Yokyok is currently unknown, but he seems to be as evil as Yikyik.
** [[invoked]] Miron Shrewdanker, introduced among the Vector Legion and not-so-coincidently when Belkar's fake CharacterDevelopment is slowly starting to make him [[BecomingTheMask Become The Mask]], is basically an evil''er'' version of Belkar, albeit being either a sorcerer or wizard rather than a ranger-barbarian.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood:
** Pre-CharacterDevelopment, he struggled with this trope occasionally, such as not understanding why everyone is so against him killing people in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'' or assuming the slaves Haley just liberated would work for him because he can't get his head around Haley granting them their freedom.
** On one occasion, this trope unexpectedly works out in his favor. [[spoiler:When he tries to tell the rest of the party that Durkon has been turned by a vampire and Roy dismisses it as a lie, he mentions that Durkon's last request to the vampire was for his comrades to be spared. This causes Haley to believe him, since Belkar is so much of a selfish {{Jerkass}} that he wouldn't think to include that detail if he were lying.]]
** After the Order frees a group of desert travelers that have been captured by slavers, Belkar is presented with a jar of spice from one of the merchants that he has personally saved. Roy has to explain to him that no, it is neither a bribe nor a scam, the man is just grateful for the rescue and wants to thank him... because Belkar can't wrap his head around it.
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1115.html Strip #1115 shows a more serious example.]] He is clearly having a very difficult time with [[spoiler:Durkon sacrificing himself for him. Durkon's intense selfless good action for him despite everything Belkar has done has moved the halfling, but he has large amounts of trouble confronting those feelings.]]
** He and Durkon have a conversation about this trope [[spoiler:once the dwarf's really Durkon again]]. Belkar describes it as the cowardice of being unable to handle "intense hardcore introspection" and realize how bad you've been. [[CharacterDevelopment Then he apologizes for]] [[CallBack hitting Durkon in the face with a palm tree]].
* ExpertInUnderwaterBasketWeaving: His rank in gourmet chef has little use as an adventurer. Not even as TeamChef since the ingredients rarely match gourmet cuisine and he won't cut corners.
* FailedASpotCheck: All the time. He's almost as oblivious as Elan.
* FantasticRacism: As part of being a ranger and his designated +4 bonus against a selected race, he hates kobolds. It is subverted regarding [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon/the High Priest of Hel. He can handle the fangs, but he doesn't buy that Durkon could go from forgiving him to eagerly drinking his blood in seconds.]]
* FatalFlaw: His arrogance and inability to properly consider the reprecussions of his actions. Makes sense considering that his DumpStat is Wisdom.
* FieryRedhead: If you consider violently sociopathic "fiery". While Belkar appears to be bald, he has very close cropped red hair (usually only seen from the back).
* FluffyTamer: As a ranger, he has Wild Empathy but he doesn't use his skills much. [[spoiler:However, he does eventually get an ''Allosaurus'' on his side]].
* FragileSpeedster: More like "Fragile Jumper", but the end result is more or less the same. While Belkar is a GlassCannon thanks to his terrible build, his Ring of Jumping +20 results in him utilizing an evasion-focused form of combat where he constantly leaps around the battlefield, stabbing any poor sod that gets in his way before he bounces out of their reach and reaches his next target. In other words, Belkar can be taken out of combat (relatively) easily... but it's going to be a major challenge for anyone to manage to hit him in the first place when he's effectively vaulting himself across the battlefield.
* FreudianExcuse: [[invoked]] [[WordOfGod Word of the Giant]] is that Belkar's hellish upbringing is the primary reason why he is the way he is. Interestingly, however, The Giant has stated that they deliberately intend to not touch on Belkar's past in the comic proper so as to not make Belkar's LaughablyEvil ComedicSociopathy come across as HarsherInHindsight.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[invoked]] An unintentional example; As noted above, [[WordOfGod Word of the Giant]] has it that Belkar had a hideously absuive childhood that shaped him into the ChaoticEvil {{Jerkass}} halfling he is today. However, as the readers and others characters never get to see that part of Belkar's life ''and'' it's never used as an excuse by both Belkar and other characters for his assholery, it's clear that Belkar alone has to start taking responsibility for his actions.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Due to being both TheMillstone the vast majority of the time prior to (and even sometimes still after) his "fake" CharacterDevelopment and just being an all-around {{Jerkass}}, Belkar is by far the least popular member of his own team, to the point where only [[FriendToAllLivingThings Elan]] ([[spoiler:and later on, [[NewMeat Minrah]]]]) are typically shown to have any real concern for his well-being. This gets ''slightly'' downplayed as the comic goes on and the whole Order of the Stick grow into a group of TrueCompanions... but only slightly.
* GlassCannon: Roy [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0748.html unsubtly]] shows him that he isn't as good at taking damage as he is at dishing it out, and he should stick to slaughtering {{Mooks}}.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: He's stated to have an abysmal Wisdom score, and can't cast Ranger spells as a consequence. Despite this, he's pretty cunning even if he sucks at tracking, instinctively knows the worst way to hurt someone with words, often quickly pieces together what's happening with limited information, and has twice been the only one to notice that there was an impostor in the party. Granted, one was a case of TheNoseKnows and the other paralleled his own development, so he may have had a circumstance bonus.
* GayBravado:
** Is "confident enough in his sexuality" that he can make come-ons at a [[GenderBender gender-bent]] Roy to[[invoked]] {{squick}} the latter out.
** Later, when Roy and Belkar see Tarquin's face for the first time, they both {{GASP}} (thanks to his resemblance to Elan). [[{{Troll}} Belkar]] covers by saying having hung out with sweaty gladiators, he and Roy had become gay and want to sleep with him. Tarquin chuckles that he's [[IncompatibleOrientation getting married]] but takes the compliment just the same. After he leaves:
--->'''Belkar:''' ''[on the brink of guffawing]'' [[BorrowedCatchphrase Caress, caress, caress, caress my little supple body!]]\\
'''Roy:''' Do you WANT to get hit with the big stick again?!\\
'''Belkar:''' [[ThatsWhatSheSaid That's what HE said!]]
* {{Geas}}: The Mark of Justice will make him horribly ill to deter him from killing in a settlement. [[spoiler:He breaks it half by accident. He kills the Oracle of Sunken Valley, but the Oracle had moved just enough kobolds into the area to technically constitute a settlement]].
* GoodAngelBadAngel: Hilariously subverted; It is shown instead that he's got two shoulder fiends (representing [[ForTheEvulz his impulsive evil side]] and [[PragmaticVillainy his long-term evil side]]), and a[[invoked]] [[ChaoticNeutral shoulder slaad]]. The shoulder angel "...doesn't work here anymore."
-->'''Angel:''' ''[twitching]'' ...and he kept stabbing them, again and again... He's a halfling, he's supposed to be jolly... Why isn't he jolly? '''[[SuddenlyShouting WHY ISN'T HE JOLLY???]]'''
* GoodFeelsGood: ''Very'' subtle, but it's there. Belkar has a EurekaMoment when Durkon talks about the seductive power of good in the Good Feels Good trope in Durkon's character page below, and realizes why he's developing true HiddenDepths after trying to fake them.
* HazyFeelTurn: [[invoked]] He's still ChaoticEvil beyond any shred of a doubt, but his VisionQuest has inspired him to start engaging more in PragmaticVillainy in lieu of StupidEvil. Complicating matters is how he's also starting to develop his own sense of empathy for his fellow sapients.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: A textbook example; his bloodlust and sociopathy are almost entirely PlayedForLaughs, with one of his funniest moments being that time he ''tried to kill Elan for XP.''
-->'''Belkar:''' [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0807.html How the HELL am I supposed to make myself feel better if there's no one to hurt?!?]]
* HeroicWillpower:
** Belkar lampshades this when he fights against Malack, stating that he can fight better when he's fighting for something. [[{{AvertedTrope}} He's defeated easily.]]
--->'''Belkar:''' ...Now, I have someone worth fighting for. And if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that [[LampshadeHanging guys who spout corny lines like "I have someone worth fighting for" always win for some weird reason!]]
** However, this is played for real later when [[spoiler:he's ignoring the pain he's suffering from the clasp of ''protection from evil'' in order to take on Vampire Durkon and his vampire minions.]]
* HesBack: After spending dozens of strips invalid from sickness, he returns [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0611.html in a Crowning Slaughter of Awesome]].
* HiddenDepths:
** Averted at first. Belkar has ''no'' depth '''at all''', and his hallucination of Shojo tells him that he better ''fake'' some Hidden Depths or he'll find himself in deep trouble. However, his attempts to fake it over time end up gradually growing into some sort of genuine depth.
** His absolute hatred for [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon[=/=]High Priest of Hel]] could be a manifestation of Belkar's grief over [[spoiler:Durkon's]] death. This is all but confirmed in [[spoiler:Strip #1130, where Belkar shouts at Vampire Durkon in frustration at how Durkon's selflessness would have affected the Halfling.]]
** Interestingly, his faking of HiddenDepths becomes a ChekhovsSkill when he is able to see that [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] is also faking HiddenDepths as well, and calls him out on it.
--->'''Belkar:''' People don't just change who they are inside in an instant. It doesn't work like that. It takes time, so you don't even know you're changing. Until one day, you're just a little different than you used to be and you can't even tell what the hell happened.
** Belkar, despite being a terrible ranger in the usual ranger skills like Survival, has ranks in Cooking. Gourmet, too!
* HiddenHeartOfGold:
** He's developed one where Durkon is concerned. Despite outwardly hating him, Belkar was deeply affected by Durkon's [[spoiler:heroic sacrifice, to save him from Malack, and Belkar has greatly missed Durkon since then, as seen in his absolute hatred for the vampire possessing his corpse]].
** He also has a soft spot for his animal companions, as befitting a ranger. Most notably, he's downright adorable whenever he's fussing over Mr. Scruffy, and desperately begs Blackwing to save Bloodfeast during the finale to the ''Blood Runs In The Family'' arc.
* {{Hobbits}}: He averts every expectation of his race ''except'' his skill as a chef. And height. And pondering IShouldWriteABookAboutThis, but it's about the prisons he was incarcerated in, so maybe ''half'' a point for that.
* HomoeroticSubtext:
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0408.html He "gets the tingles"]] when Roy goes all badass.
** See also [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0316.html New Year's Eve]] (if Vaarsuvius' sex is male, at least). Further, [[spoiler:the fourth book includes a Cast Page with lines indicating the relationships between the characters. According to this, Belkar wants to "shtup" V, which means exactly what you think it does]].
* HunterOfMonsters: As a Ranger, he gets Favored Enemies as a class feature, and if [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0957.html his angry threats towards a vampire]] are to be believed, his time in Azure City made TheUndead one of them.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Sarcastically refuses to join in [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1098.html when everyone else is saying nice things about Durkon...]] only to bitterly mutter to himself that he [[spoiler:never forgot that Durkon didn't blame him when he was dying at Malack's hands.]]
* HypocriticalHumor:
** "What kind of idiot could screw up something as simple as protecting the casters?" Belkar's that kind of idiot, that's who.
** If anyone's going to smacktalk about bad class decisions, it's Belkar. The guy who might have the dubious honor of having the worst class decisions on the team, possibly the entire comic.
* InTheHood: When trying to be sneaky (or when it rains), Belkar puts on a dark green hood.
* IOweYouMyLife: Durkon's HeroicSacrifice, which Belkar is both grateful and upset about.
* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Parodied, like other halfling-related tropes.
-->'''Belkar:''' You know, I think I could make good money writing a guidebook to the jail cells of the world.\\
Dark but clean, I'd give this three stars -- "Would be incarcerated again."
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Despite the fact that his FatalFlaw is his massive ego, Belkar also has immense self-loathing issues and a profound lack of self-worth. Not only does he bitterly remark at one point that "Hurting people is the only thing I'm good at," but he also notes while drunk at one point that he has [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife absolutely no real idea for what he wants to do with his life]].
* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler:He doesn't say it out loud, but he obviously blames himself for Durkon becoming a vampire since it happened when he was protecting him from Malack, and he was unable to help due to Malack's domination. What really gets to him is that Durkon didn't blame him for it]].
* IWillShowYouX: When Belkar's newfound friend Buggy Lou suggests [[BerserkButton eating Mr. Scruffy with a nice marinade]].
-->'''Belkar:''' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0685.html I got your marinade RIGHT HERE!]]
* {{Irony}}: His attempts at faking CharacterDevelopment have actually incited ''genuine'' CharacterDevelopment by forcing him to become more pragmatic, clever, and a genuine "team-player."
* {{Jerkass}}: His main selling point is his unapologetic meanness and asshattery.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Belkar sometimes has a better idea of what's going on than his goody-two-shoes companions.
** Even Hinjo, a paladin, has to admit it once, about why his uncle would refuse resurrection.
--->'''Belkar:''' The spirit needs to be willing to return, right? But Shojo is kicking back in whatever afterlife the[[invoked]] ChaoticGood people get -- probably sipping single-malt scotch and smoking cigars rolled from poorly-worded legal documents. Why the hell would he want to come back here, knowing that you're waiting to throw him in prison? Considering he was like a billion years old and likely to die soon anyway, I'd say he got the last laugh on y'all.\\
'''Hinjo:''' He's probably right... It looks like I'm on my own, then.
** As noted above, nothing in Belkar's CruelToBeKind RousingSpeech to Roy is incorrect. Sure, they ''could'' leave now... [[spoiler:but it would be tacitly accepting the world's destruction, leaving everyone's deaths on their heads, and would also be dishonoring Durkon's fate by letting his death be a SenselessSacrifice]].
** Belkar's rampant paranoia and insistence that [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon be killed at the first calm moment]] was probably the best course of action [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0946.html all things considered.]]
** Amusingly, [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1027.html one of the things]] [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1030.html that unnerves]] Belkar is the fact that ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Roy has been agreeing with him lately]]'' ever since [[spoiler:Roy found out the truth about the High Priest of Hel]].
** [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1182.html Later on]], he also points out to Roy that the two of them are NotSoDifferent in terms of intentionally crippling their character builds due to their psychological issues: Sure, Belkar might be a CrutchCharacter and terrible ranger most of the time thanks to his ComedicSociopathy, but Roy refusing to invest points in magic for his fighter class primarily to stick it to his {{Jerkass}} wizard father is just as stupid and petty of a decision when they're all eventually going to be facing ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction Xykon]]''.
--->'''Belkar:''' [[SarcasmMode But I guess when it's]] ''[[SarcasmMode your]]'' [[SarcasmMode emotional baggage, it's OK for it to get in the way, right?]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[invoked]] Technically speaking, Belkar counts as this trope no matter his HiddenDepths, PetTheDog moments, and CharacterDevelopment as his InUniverse alignment ''is'' ChaoticEvil. However, thanks to CharacterDevelopment, he might actually be closer to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerk With a Heart Vaguely Containing Some Form of Precious Metal]] than what he may seem at first glance. Sure, he's an utter ass, but he still has at least ''some'' moral standards (as few as they are) and is shown on multiple occasions to be developing an actual sense of empathy for the people around him.
* KarmaHoudini: Roy tries to wrangle a deal to spare Belkar prison time on two occasions, although both are ultimately subverted.
** The first one is when Roy demanded a temporary "get out of jail free card" from Shojo in exchange for investigating the Gates, which became permanent once Azure City was conquered. Though Belkar didn't get away completely scot-free. He did have to have that Mark of Justice stuck on his head in exchange for his "freedom".
** The second time, he tried to match the jail time Belkar would serve with the amount of time he would be pardoned for in exchange for a good deed. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:he explained this plan in front of the person in charge of both the jail time and the pardon, so Hinjo used his discretion to give Belkar the longer sentence for trying to beat the system.]]
* KavorkaMan: He is successful at seducing human women (with obviously low standards) from time to time. He later has the chance to go on a date with a gnome girl, but declines out of guilt.
* KillItWithFire: "When in doubt, set something on fire."
* KissingUnderTheInfluence: [[spoiler:With Vaarsuvius in Azure City due to new year's beer]].
* KnifeNut: He sure loves his daggers.
* TheLancer: After [[spoiler:Durkon gets Vamped,]] he's the one who's the most willing to call Roy out for being GenreBlind. Haley's still second-in-command, but she's more supportive and less abrasive than [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]] is.
* LaughablyEvil: Belkar is a remorseless and unapologetic murderer along with being a near-sociopathic {{Jerkass}} who ultimately seems to only really be on the side of the Order of the Stick due to EvilVersusOblivion, but he's also probably the second-funniest evil character in the entire comic after [[BigBad Xykon]], being ''very'' sarcastic, absurdly full of himself, and cheefully amoral to a fault.
* LeeroyJenkins: Belkar provides a near-perfect example of how a Leeroy can cause havoc in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0157.html "A Lesson in Leadership"]].
* LevelGrinding: Thanks to his terrible build, it takes Belkar ''months'' of killing off undead to get one level after the TimeSkip, and it's drained almost immediately by a wight. He's understandably ticked.
* LogicalWeakness: [[invoked]] The ''protection from evil'' charm he buys during the ''Utterly Dwarfed'' arc hurts him since he himself is ChaoticEvil.
* MadeASlave: In the prequel story "Uncivil Servant", Belkar mentions having recently spent seven months as a slave.
* TheManTheyCouldntHang: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0165.html "Hangin' Around"]]. [[EverythingIsRacist He is offended by humans]] who think their methods of execution would work on a halfling.
-->'''Belkar:''' I'm not even pulling this rope taut.
* MeaningfulName: His last name being "Bitterleaf" not only alludes to him ([[CrutchCharacter technically, at least]]) being a ranger through its allusions to the wilderness, but him being an overall [[{{Jerkass}} bitter and unpleasant person]].
* TheMillstone: Belkar's sociopathy and frequent refusal to listen to orders ruin the party's planning several times -- for example, leaving the spellcasters undefended to kill goblins, setting the bandit camp on fire because he's bored, [[spoiler:or killing the Oracle]]. He has somewhat grown out of it after his VisionQuest... except for that time in the Empire of Blood's prison when he pushes Roy to snap during the gladiator selection for the games, dooming the leader of the [=OotS=] to a dangerous fight in the arena (though granted, Gannji is also somewhat to blame).
-->'''Roy:''' You're the anal fistula of this quest.
* MindScrew: His favorite way of being a {{Jerkass}} to his teammates. He claims to have taken the feat "Craft Disturbing Mental Image".
* MinMaxing: Inverted! Belkar's "build" is (deliberately) suboptimal; as a halfling he gets a Strength penalty, though he must have compensated for that with a very high unmodified score based on his damage output with those tiny daggers, and a Dexterity bonus, but hardly ever uses missile weapons, and taking Wisdom as a DumpStat impairs his use of key Ranger skills and spellcasting. The only aspect of his build that isn't complete crap is that he appears to utilize his dexterity to extremes, jumping around like Yoda, meaning he is very good at defeating low-level minions. Later, he attempts to offset some of these deficiencies with a dip into Barbarian. Since his racial favored class is Rogue, the disparity between his Ranger and Barbarian levels means he now earns 20% less experience than the rest of the party (assuming that rule is being enforced).
* MoralityChain: Without Roy's restraining influence, he would be an even worse psychopath, as demonstrated in the ''[=Don't=] Split The Party'' arc, where without Roy, he becomes more impulsively evil, with only the Mark of Justice keeping him in check.
* MoralityPet: Mr. Scruffy, Belkar's literal pet (though as a Ranger, his animal companion is a better term). While Mr. Scruffy seems to be more ruthless and violent under Belkar's influence, in at least one case, Mr. Scruffy's relationship to Belkar influenced him to rescue two previous enemies (Ganji and Enor) because they reminded him too much of himself and Scruffy.
* {{Munchkin}}: This is a very good summary of his personality, particularly at the beginning of the comic. For example, at one point he wanted to murder his team member Elan just to get the necessary XP to level up.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: At least at the beginning of the comic, Belkar works on the definition of "Enemy combatant = anyone worth XP."
* MusclesAreMeaningless: He can block a half-orc and a woman twice his size at the same time because character class matters more than physical strength.
-->'''Belkar:''' [[SarcasmMode Wow, it's almost like]] [[RealityEnsues I am a seasoned warrior and you two are glorified pickpockets!]] Imagine that!
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: Though he doesn't quite think it through, he attempts this as a tactic to hold Miko back. While ''raise dead'' is magically easy for Durkon, it is not economically feasable for the party just for shits and giggles; he also overestimates the party's ''willingness'' to resurrect him (at one point, Haley was ready to dump a dying Belkar once and for all, and would have if not for an EasyAmnesia spell).
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: He gets this treatment a few times because he is TheFriendNobodyLikes.
-->'''Durkon:''' They be a fine group, for humans. And an elf.\\
'''Hilgya:''' And a halfling.\\
'''Durkon:''' No, I left 'im out on purpose.
* TheNapoleon: Short and bad-tempered? Check. Short jokes are a dangerous bet around him.
* NauseaFuel: Belkar's reaction to anything that TastesLikeDiabetes, such as Elan's [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee delighting]] in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1160.html Durkon and Roy's recall weapon ability]]. [[invoked]]
* {{Naytheist}}: He has a not completely unfounded dislike of the gods, particularly Odin for [[spoiler:the prophecy with Durkon, and is convinced he is just screwing with them.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: For a given value of "hero"; Even putting all of his various instances as TheMillstone aside, him helping goad Miko Miyazaki into becoming a Fallen Paladin [[spoiler:ends up killing Lord Shojo - one of the few people he actually likes - and helps leave Azure City open to Team Evil's invasion]].
* TheNicknamer: Belkar loves to give ludicrous (but creative) nicknames to about everyone or everything (including himself), but especially for Durkon.[[note]][[http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?352086-Spontaneous-nicknames-from-Belkar&highlight=nicknames See here all nicknames]][[/note]]
* NominalHero: Roy keeps him around because it's better to have him pointed at people worse than him then having him kill at random and the other option is slitting his throat.
* TheNoseKnows: "Halfling sense activated!" Notably, Belkar tracks the Order's way through the Windy Canyon by scent alone. He also uses scent to realize that Nale is impersonating Elan.
* NotGoodWithPeople: Post-fake-CharacterDevelopment, Belkar becomes remarkably loyal and friendly to certain animals. While he'd gladly leave his teammates out to dry, he won't do the same to an animal he's befriended. Then again, evil or no, he's a '''ranger'''.
* NoYou: Indirectly [[spoiler:to the High Priest of Hel after being tossed off a mountain while angrily climbing back.]]
-->'''Belkar:''' [[spoiler:Throw '''me''' off a mountain?! I'll throw '''you''' off a mountain!]]
* ObliviousToHisOwnDescription: "I just don't trust the idea of us using a horrible bloodthirsty savage to fulfill our goals while we -- oh, I get it."
* OddFriendship:
** Any actual "friendship" would be odd, but he really seems to care about [[MoralityPet Mr. Scruffy]].
** He also is on good terms with Lord Shojo, and is upset when he dies.
--->'''Belkar:''' Dude, you order ''paladins'' to clean the litter box. You're, like, my idol.
** He's also surprisingly amiable with Elan. [[PetTheDog He makes him laugh.]]
** Post faked CharacterDevelopment and [[spoiler:Durkon's time as a vampire]], he gets along remarkably well with Durkon, unironically referring to him as his buddy and giving him one of his few genuine apologies.
** Additionally, he also gets along surprisingly well with [[spoiler:[[TheSixthRanger Minrah]], even talking about his SurvivorGuilt to her during the ''Utterly Dwarfed'' arc and bonding with her in the final story arc over their shared annoyance in having to literally look up to the rest of the party thanks to their short stature]].
* OneManArmy:
** Proven in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html "Seeing Orange"]] where he kills enough enemy hobgoblin soldiers to where he [[AtopAMountainOfCorpses stands on a pile of their corpses several times his own height]].
** And again at Greysky City, where his first action upon having his curse removed is to kill the ''eleven'' thieves that tried ambushing him, followed by seducing Jenny and then walking out drinking from a bottle of alcohol he swiped. With the Cleric of Loki supporting him with healing, he clears a path to the entrance of Old Blind Pete's house before taking on both Crystal and Bozzok at the same time, barely breaking a sweat.
--->'''Belkar:''' Back me up and I'll cut a path through these guys.\\
'''Cleric of Loki:''' Sounds good.\\
'''Belkar:''' [[BadassBoast Wait, did I say "path"? I mean a five-lane blacktop highway with a two-lane service road -- and I'm packing a fist full of tokens and a radar detector.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Yet another way he will screw with people's minds, generally through ConfoundThemWithKindness -- especially in contrast to his normal psychopathic fare.
** PlayedForLaughs when he invokes this in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0141.html "Horse Sense"]] (ironically in order to help Roy actually feel ''less'' freaked out):
--->'''Belkar:''' Are you feeling OK? I'm really worried about you.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0620.html "Probably About an '8'"]], the below comment sends Celia and Haley ''running away screaming'':
--->'''Belkar:''' I think they've worked out a good plan to end this pointless conflict without any more lives lost, and I support it fully. Let's stop the violence. ''[big grin]''
** However, this is played straight in a rather grim fashion when [[spoiler:he's reporting to the rest of the party that Malack has turned Durkon into a vampire, and is still in at least some form of shock over Durkon's HeroicSacrifice. When an outraged Roy is about to '''kill''' him out of denial-induced fury, Belkar isn't terrified or outraged like he normally would be in this type of situation, but more bitterly resigned and infuriated that Roy isn't listening to him]].
--->'''Roy:''' [[spoiler:[[TranquilFury I shouldn't wait for some prophecy.]] I should just finish you off ''myself'' before one of your stupid antics really '''do''' get one of us killed!]]\\
'''Belkar:''' [[spoiler:''[[SuddenlyShouting How could this possibly be a joke?! Where's the punchline?!]]'' I know you're the StraightMan around here, so telling jokes isn't really your area of expertise. But trust me, there's '''nothing''' funny about it.]]
** Played in a relatively straight (and exceptionally awesome) fashion in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0922.html "Payback"]]:
--->'''Roy:''' OK, now, I know we're doomed. Belkar is acting like a '''ranger'''.
** After Roy finally realizes that [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon was EvilAllAlong, Belkar starts to give him more serious and useful advice than his usual sociopathic remarks, such as noting [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot how this issue could've been avoided]] [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1027.html if Roy had taken all of his teammates' concerns more into account regarding the situation]]]].
** In strip #1164, instead of his former mindless stabbing in spite of obstacles in his way, Belkar [[spoiler:tells the Exarch vampire how Durkon broke free, and]] encourages him to do the same. That's right, ''[=Belkar's=]'' graduated to a crude form of [[spoiler:''psychological warfare'']].
** Right near the end of ''Utterly Dwarfed'', he stays up through most of the night with [[spoiler:Minrah]] to listen to Elan recap the plot so as to make sure that they're all up to speed and can best prepare for moving forward. Here, Belkar is going out of his way to make sure he won't be acting as TheLoad for the Order by keeping himself up to date with what's going on.
** Near the very beginning of the final arc, Belkar [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1194.html goes out of his way to check in with]] [[spoiler:Minrah]] after talking with Roy so he can see what spells/buffs she can provide to him and the rest of the Order in the FinalBattle. This has Belkar being genuinely helpful and looking out for someone else on his team without any outside prompting at all.
* PetTheDog:
** In one bonus strip in the first book, he shares his rations (which are way better than the rations Durkon brought) with Elan, complete with dessert.
** Parodied when he lampshades that he's so impressed by Haley's effortless CurbStompBattle of 22 hobgoblins during them heading over to rescue Roy's corpse after the Fall of Azure City that he decides to not ruin the moment by making a sexist remark.
** [[LoyalAnimalCompanion Mr. Scruffy]] is possibly the only thing he's ever cared for unconditionally (at least before Bloodfeast).
** There is also the time [[spoiler:when he saves the two reptilian bounty hunters (Ganji and Enor) by releasing an ''Allosaurus'' to distract the soldiers trying to kill them. It's pointed out that he could have just waited for the soldiers to kill them before letting loose the ''Allosaurus'': bunch of dead guards, on their own, would have been funny, but dead mercenaries that he hated '''and''' eaten guards? Hilarious in his eyes. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0807.html "Wild Empathy"]] reveals that he helped them ''because'' it reminded him of his relationship with Mr. Scruffy]].
** He's genuinely upset that [[spoiler:Durkon died trying to save him from Malack]], to the point where he eventually gains a hefty amount of SurvivorGuilt over it.
** His illusion of a perfect life when he was trapped in Girard's dungeon? [[spoiler:Hanging out with Lord Shojo and Mr. Scruffy.]]
** He gets another moment with [[spoiler:the above ''Allosaurus'']]. And this one pays off quite handily, as well. Also, [[spoiler:after the ''Allosaurus'' gets polymorphed into a lizard? Belkar refuses to leave it behind when the team makes its escape from Tarquin.]]
** He tries to buy a charm to protect himself from [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]], but it being a ''protection from evil'' charm, it's just painful for Belkar since he's evil himself. He plays it off as damaged goods and buys it anyway at half price. The gnome girl selling it is grateful that she won't have to write it off as a loss, and offers to take him to lunch -- he declines out of guilt.
** He accompanies Durkon and Roy to the Godsmoot solely to keep an eye on [[spoiler:the vampire]], and confides to Wrecan that he's concerned that [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] might attack the other clerics.
** After [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1151.html talking to a resurrected]] [[spoiler:Durkon]] and contemplating how that [[GoodFeelsGood becoming good being just as seductive as]] [[EvilFeelsGood becoming evil]] means that villains are cowards [[EvilCannotComprehendGood "who can't handle intense hardcore introspection"]], he apologizes to [[spoiler:Durkon for [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0682.html whacking him in the face with a palm tree during the Order's time in the desert]].]]
** PlayedForLaughs after V, Blackwing, and Haley return from scouting out Kraagor's Tomb; after politely saying that he's glad that V and Blackwing returned safely from their dangerous scouting mission, he ''immediately'' asks to use V's ''Prestidigitation'' cantrip to flavor his breakfast since there's no cinnamon aboard the ''Mechane''. Then, when he suddenly realizes how selfish that sounds, he apologizes for not waiting longer and [[InsaneTrollLogic asks V to fly away and come back so he can try again]].
--->'''Belkar:''' ''[to V]'' [[LampshadeHanging Come on, I'm new at this!]]
* PintSizedPowerhouse: He's the shortest member of the Order and one of the shortest in the whole comic, yet his body count is many times taller than what it may seem.
* PragmaticVillainy: He kills an assassin who wanted to kill Hinjo during the Battle of Azure City, as he figured that Hinjo might remove his [[RestrainingBolt Mark of Justice]] for doing so. Furthermore, as he later lays out to Roy in Girard's dungeon, he's been acting as a better team player on the Order so that they'll all get off his back and won't just leave him to rot.
* ProperlyParanoid: He considers this a necessary quality for an adventurer. [[spoiler:For example, about all the High Priest of Hel's attempts to pass off as Durkon. He notes that someone doesn't just change within 90 seconds from forgiving him for not being able to save his life to having to be ordered to not drink all their blood.]]
-->'''Belkar:''' Whatever happened to basic adventurer paranoia, though? It's like these people never had a ceiling come to life and try to smother them before!
* QuitYourWhining: In [[{{Jerkass}} his own way]], he does this to Roy when the latter is in a HeroicBSOD over [[spoiler:Durkon's death]].
* RealMenWearPink: With a touch of RealMenCook. He has ranks in gourmet cooking, he knows the score to "Meet Me in St. Louis" and his best friend is a small, white housecat.
* RestrainingBolt: The Mark of Justice. It works even better than Roy's threats of bodily harm. [[spoiler:Keeps him locked down for a while, until he makes the mistake of killing the kobold oracle while in a village. It's been removed since then]].
* RingOfPower: A Ring of Jumping +20; he puts it to very good use.
-->'''Belkar:''' A magic item that can allow me to rain death from above on my enemies ''and'' [[MundaneUtility lets me reach stuff on the top shelf?]] Done.
* RootingForTheEmpire: In-Universe; in [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0690.html #690]], Belkar, reading ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', is panicked and warning Baron Harkonnen that Leto has a poison tooth.
* RousingSpeech: His CruelToBeKind one, however atypical its content is, certainly galvanizes Roy into continuing the fight against Team Evil.
* SadClown: It gradually becomes clear that Belkar uses his bloodlust, meanspirited sense of humor, and {{Jerkass}}ery as ways to avoid thinking about his self-loathing issues and (later on) his SurvivorGuilt. This is perhaps best showcased [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1115.html when he's talking to Minrah about]] his aforementioned guilt for [[spoiler:Durkon having sacrificed himself for Belkar's sake]]:
-->'''Minrah:''' I can see you have complex feelings about your [=co-worker=], but we should--\\
'''Belkar:''' No, I don't!! And if I stab something in the face enough times, they'll go away!!
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The one the Oracle gives him regarding [[spoiler:Belkar killing him]]. He makes sure it happens the way '''he''' likes.
* SnarkyNonHumanSidekick: Though this role falls most often to talking animals, he's snarky, he's non-human, and he's a psycho, so he still fits into this trope.
* TheSociopath: Initially played straight, but gradually subverted thanks to CharacterDevelopment (both faked and legitimate) as he evolves into more of a SociopathicHero TokenEvilTeammate by learning to have more impulse control and even showcase some real empathy.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Acts as this to [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel. Not only does Durkon not have any good memories with Belkar that the High Priest can exploit, but prior to the Godsmoot Belkar is the only one actively suspicious of Durkon, due to being familiar with how CharacterDevelopment works.]]
* SquareRaceRoundClass: Halfling Ranger/Barbarian -- a melee build for a race with a strength penalty, and his abysmal Wisdom score means he misses out on the Ranger's most important class features.
* StealthPun: Belkar starts as a halfling who has no interest in roleplaying and would rather seduce everything that catches his eye and kill everything that doesn't. [[spoiler:He's a {{Munchkin}}.]]
* StereotypeFlip: To quote his own [[GoodAngelBadAngel institutionalized Shoulder Angel:]] "He's a halfling, he's supposed to be jolly... Why isn't he jolly???"
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Belkar succeeds at goading [[spoiler:Miko]] into killing him (so she will lose her paladinhood), but his effort is stopped by a well-timed Scorching Ray from V.
* StupidEvil: He starts out as this, but moves to true[[invoked]] ChaoticEvil through a dream sequence with [[SpiritAdvisor the spirit of Lord Shojo]]. In the early comics he literally ''is'' Stupid Evil: when his Wisdom is raised, he becomes nicer.
* SupremeChef: He even has class skills in gourmet cooking.
-->'''Belkar:''' ''[after toppling into a giant vat of soup]'' Needs pepper.
* SurvivorGuilt: Belkar never cared much about being TheLoad until [[spoiler:Durkon]] died, realizing he was nothing but a liability and that he did it not because he personally liked Belkar but because he was that nice. It doesn't help that he was conscious the whole time and heard [[spoiler:Durkon]] refusing to blame Belkar for his death.
-->'''Belkar:''' He just walked in there and saved my life and got straight up murdered for it.
* SympathyForTheDevil: He sometimes gets these moments, with them becoming more and more prevalent post-faked CharacterDevelopment. For instance, after [[spoiler:his CruelToBeKind moment, he bitterly grumbles [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0881.html "Hurting people is the only thing I'm good at."]]]]. And later on, Belkar admits while drunk that he has no idea what he wants to do in life and is fully aware of how hated he is.
* TeamChef: He has skill points in "Profession: Gourmet Chef", although he doesn't get to use his skills often since gourmet cuisine is hard to come by on the road and he won't use cheaper ingredients.
* TechnicalPacifist: The Mark of Justice forces Belkar avoid killing people, within towns at least. Not that he doesn't find several creative workarounds.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Frequently goes through this with the rest of the Order thanks to being an unpleasant asshat the vast majority of the time.
* TimeForPlanB: Belkar has a tendency to play with this phrase; in one strip he said "Run like hell" has always struck him as plan A, and later he spends a series of strips announcing the letter of every new plan his teammates come up with.
-->'''Belkar:''' Didn't we go through this already? We're on like plan Q.... And plan R starts to take form.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He is a {{Deconstructed|Trope}} example of this archetype. At first, Belkar's antics are PlayedForLaughs, but as time passes, they are shown to have consequences both in the world in general and in his relationship with his teammates. Although, this is slightly {{reconstruct|ion}}ed when Roy [[spoiler:temporarily dies and goes to Heaven]]. He talks with a deva about his decision to let Belkar to be part of his team. Roy says that while Belkar is a complete asshole, if it wasn't for Roy's leadership, he would have turned out far worse. He also loses this exclusive status after [[spoiler:Durkon rejoins the team after getting turned into a vampire.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: Played with; as part of his "fake character development", Belkar tries to fake doing this on the advice of the illusion of Lord Shojo, who points out that if he doesn't at least pretend to have more going on that just being the one-dimensional TokenEvilTeammate, then eventually his team are just going to get sick of him and abandon him to whatever unpleasant fate he brings upon himself. This is also later gradually PlayedStraight thanks to his genuine CharacterDevelopment, which is best showcased with him adorably fussing over Mr. Scruffy and Bloodfeast.
* {{Troll}}: He claims to have taken the feat "Craft Disturbing Mental Image" and employs it because he finds it [[ForTheEvulz funny]]. He also trolled an already pretty screwed [[InspectorJavert Miko Miyazaki]] into SanitySlippage in order to make her lose her paladinhood. [[spoiler:Which she finally lost without Belkar being involved, and the end result definitely blew up in his face.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: To Mr. Scruffy and Bloodfeast. Justified, in that even though he's a poor Ranger, he's ''still a Ranger'', and both are his Animal Companions.
* UnexplainedRecovery: After he survives [[spoiler:being thrown off a mountain]], he plans to invoke this just to mess with Roy. The very next panel, however, contains a flashback explaining it to the reader.
* UnstoppableRage: When he wakes up out of mind control from a vampire during the Order's fight with the followers of Hel, he proceeds to slash one's throat so hard ''her head comes off'', and tries to get to [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] despite burning from a ''protection from evil'' charm. Notably, it's implied that the pain and damage from his ''protection from evil'' charm actually activated his Barbarian Rage, invoking this trope InUniverse.
* UnusualEuphemism: He spouts ''D&D''-based euphemisms and innuendo regularly.
-->'''Belkar:''' Hey, Sweet Thing, wanna hold my Rod of Lordly Might? If you press the right button, it might extend![[note]]Note that the title of said strip is ComicallyMissingThePoint: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0244.html "What? It's a Legitimate Magic Item."]] ([[http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Rod_of_Lordly_Might It is, too!]])[[/note]]
* VisionQuest: As a result of his magically induced hallucination of Lord Shojo, Belkar learns to ''fake'' character growth.
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency:
** Parodied in ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs''. Belkar thinks he deserves a reward for the restraint he showed by not killing ''all'' the barmaids in a tavern brawl, and suggests that if humans don't want him to murder people, they should put up a sign saying, "Thank you for not killing more than five of us."
--->'''Prison Guard:''' We don't want you to kill ANY of us!\\
'''Belkar:''' Now you're just being unreasonable!
** PlayedForLaughs yet again when he comes across [[DudeWheresMyRespect as genuinely insulted]] that [[spoiler:Roy doesn't think for a second that he would've released the ''Allosaurus'' [[PetTheDog to save Ganji and Enor]] out of genuine sympathy or altruism rather than [[ForTheEvulz the opportunity of watching a hungry dinosaur rampage around the arena and eat guards]].]]
* WeakWilled: Low Wisdom and classes with a poor Will save means he's easily mind-controlled. Nale, Malack and [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel]] have all taken advantage of it. Malack uses the exact term, although Durkon complains [[InsultFriendlyFire that it could describe half the party]].
* WeaponOfChoice: His daggers, as mentioned above, which are particularly good for stabbing and throwing.
* WhatIsThisFeeling: PlayedForDrama; Belkar appears to be such a sociopathic {{Jerkass}} on the surface that when he starts to actually start developing real, bonafide empathy for others, he's downright terrified and confused about what's going on.
* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: ''Wants'' to invoke this trope according to the backstory he came up with on the fly to gain bonus XP for roleplaying, talking about how he dreams of returning to his home village as a strong adventurer and "murder them all in their dreamless sleep" for shunning him as a kid. Granted, it was a fake story, but it's entirely believable that Belkar would do exactly that. In another strip, he mentions being prevented from killing anyone at his school prom, but apparently he went nuts at the afterparty instead.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Belkar assumes he will win his impromptu fight against [[spoiler:Malack]] because he spouted the sentence "I have someone worth fighting for!" and guys who do it "always win for some weird reason". He then gets anticlimactically defeated in two panels. Later on, he tries to goad [[spoiler:the Exarch vampire's imprisoned mortal spirit into FightingFromTheInside like Durkon did, but it doesn't work since Durkon's HeroicWillpower is several magnitudes greater than any other living dwarf's]].
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre:
** Near the end of ''Utterly Dwarfed'', a drunken Roy points out that Belkar is actually a really good adventurer when he's not [[TheMillstone being pointlessly difficult]].
--->'''Roy:''' You saw that [[spoiler:Durkon]] wasn't [[spoiler:Durkon]] when none of us did. You did [[AndroclesLion whatever you did with the dinosaur.]] You went out on your own and bought magic items to help your defenses, [[SpannerInTheWorks and the fact that you did is the only reason we won!]] You could be really good at this, if you weren't so dedicated to being a wretched pile of trash who only wants to make everyone's life harder.
** Gets another [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1194.html more genuinely motivational speech of this type from Minrah]], who encourages him that he ''is'' capable of legitimate change rather than simply the ability to fake it.
--->'''Belkar:''' Eh, I'm not really the "do your best" type, as I'm sure the others would tell you.\\
'''Minrah:''' Don't say that! That's loser talk! You're not a type! You're a person, a person who does stuff! If you want to be different, do different stuff!
* YourDaysAreNumbered: It's initially implied, then outright stated by the Oracle that he'll take his last breath before the end of the year. The Giant is officially teasing the fans over this -- [[spoiler:strip #870 ends with Malack deciding to turn Belkar into a vampire, only for Durkon to show up with Mass Death Ward at the beginning of #871. Then, in #886, he ''appears'' to die to Xykon's ''meteor swarm'', before it is revealed as an illusion. In #957, the High Priest of Hel uses his vampiric gaze to make him jump overboard, only for him to get snagged on the ship-mounted ballista. And in #996, he gets thrown out the Godsmoot temple's window over a vast chasm, which he survives thanks to a Feather Fall item he had purchased beforehand.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Durkon Thundershield]]
!!Durkon Allotrope Thundershield
[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/durkon_oots_4575.png]]

->''"I stay 'ere because it's me duty. And bein' a dwarf is all about doin' yer duty, even if it makes ye miserable. ESPECIALLY if it makes ye miserable!"''

->'''Race:''' Dwarf\\
'''Gender:''' Male\\
'''Class:''' Cleric\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood, [[GoodIsBoring Lawful Bland]] [-(according to the Adventure Game)-]

A dutiful dwarf cleric of Thor, and Roy's oldest friend. Sent away from his homeland by higher-ups, he was slow to adapt to human society, but fits in rather well now. Very pragmatic.
----

* ActionDad: He only knows his [[spoiler:son Kudzu for a few hours,]] but it just strengthens his resolve to help save the world.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: According to Burlew, Durkon's skin tone isn't meant to represent any particular group, he's simply just "not white."
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:He is a prisoner in his own body after becoming a vampire and a spirit serving Hel takes over his undead corpse. He is absolutely furious. According to the High Priest of Hel, it's going to get worse once the spirit has absorbed all of Durkon's memories.]]
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:He's shown to dislike the undead very strongly. During the events in Girard's dungeon, he is killed and reanimated as a vampire.]]
* ArmorPiercingResponse: When Redcloak asks him how many goblins he personally killed.
-->'''Durkon:''' Na as many as '''ye'''.
* AssimilationBackfire: Plays this ''gloriously'' against [[spoiler:the evil vampire spirit possessing him. After showing him his mother's sacrifice to revive five dead miners, the spirit, unable to comprehend ''why'' someone would act so selflessly, makes Durkon transfer ''all'' of his memories just to be able to process it all -- not realizing that by absorbing every aspect of what makes Durkon, Durkon would transfer his ''personality'' as well.]]
-->'''Durkon:''' But be careful. B'cause ye know wha ye are if'n ye haf me body an' all me joys an' sorrows? [[spoiler:Yer ''me''.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:After he takes control of the vampire body and sacrifices himself, Hilgya resurrects him. Then kills him, and resurrects him again.]]
* BadassBeard: A bushy warrior beard is required for a traditional dwarf character.
* BadassBoast: When claiming [[spoiler:his new magical warhammer from the hiding place Thor mentioned]]:
-->'''Durkon:''' "Death an' destruction." Tha's wha Odin's prophecy said I'd bring wit me when I came back home. Turns out me whole life were shaped by tha, an' I dinnae ev'n know it. But now I know. An' I already brought so much death ta so many. So I say—[[LetsGetDangerous it's aboot time fer some destruction]].
* BaldOfAwesome: Despite being rather touchy about it (he went bald in the dwarf equivalent of kindergarden), Durkon is bald ''and'' heroic.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: A few days after being cast into exile by his fellow dwarves, [[spoiler:he screams "to Hel wit' all o' ye!". The High Priest even comments that it appears the multiverse granted his wish.]]
* BerserkButton: Though he's too level-headed to really go "berserk", he takes it rather badly when people make fun of theology. Like, say, worshiping hand puppets, or pretending to convert when handy.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Durkon has had two sins, possibly in his entire life. Once, on his worst day ever, he blasphemed Thor. Secondly, he slept with Hilgya Firehelm, a cleric of Loki. [[spoiler:His blasphemy was used to create the High Priest of Hel's psychology, and he got Hilgya pregnant!]]
* CareBearStare: [[spoiler:Ultimately inflicts this on the High Priest of Hel when the vampiric spirit is so confused by Durkon's compassion and the pain that comes from selfless compassion that said spirit allows Durkon to transfer ''all'' his memories, good and bad, instantly -- and with it, Durkon's actual personality. In short, Durkon ''weaponized'' a lifetime's worth of happy memories.]]
* ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject: Durkon's reaction to his mother and Hilgya discussing Kudzu's origins.
-->'''Durkon:''' Lord Thor, I know ye need me ta do stuff, but can ye maybe strike me dead fer a bit now and send me back later?
* CharacterDevelopment: He was gruff and cynical before meeting Roy, and becomes a more altruistic and kindhearted person as a result. [[spoiler:It becomes a crucial plot point, as the vampire spirit controlling him is basically Durkon at his worst day, [[StaticCharacter minus the Character Development.]]]]
* CharacterFocus: ''Utterly Dwarfed'' is significantly focused on him and his CharacterDevelopment, with one of the major subplots being him [[spoiler:FightingFromTheInside while the High Priest of Hel possesses his corpse]].
* ChurchMilitant: As a mid- to high-level cleric in 3.5e ''D&D'', this is to be expected. He has proficiency with war hammers as a servant of Thor.
* CombatMedic: Standard-issue healbot, but also packs a big hammer and a pocket full of lightning spells.
* DatingCatwoman: Briefly in a relationship with Hilgya, a[[invoked]] ChaoticEvil cleric of Loki. It was her being married that broke it up, not her alignment.
* DeadpanSnarker: Becomes increasingly sarcastic following [[spoiler:being turned into a vampire. Being trapped in your own body with only the manifestation of your worst day trying to destroy the world to speak with can do that to you.]]
-->'''[[spoiler:High Priest of Hel]]:''' That was awfully easy. This isn't some sort of trick, is it? A false memory?\\
'''Durkon:''' Och, if'n I could show ye stuff that dinnae happen, I'd've told ye that Roy's name was, like, '''''Maurice''''' or sumthin' on Day One.\\
'''[[spoiler:High Priest of Hel]]:''' Hmm. True.\\
'''Durkon:''' Or showed ye Haley refusing payment while Belkar served soup to orphans. An' Elan did math in the background!\\
'''[[spoiler:High Priest of Hel]]:''' OK, yes, fine. Point taken.\\
'''Durkon:''' "We need a team name! Let's call ourselves 'Tha Order o' tha '''''[[spoiler:Look-Out-Roy-Tha-Vampire's-Na-Really-Durkon'!]]'''''"
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:As a vampire it seemed like he was a case of DarkIsNotEvil, but in fact he is possessed by an evil bloodthirsty spirit that is merely posing as him; the ''real'' Durkon is a prisoner inside his own body.]]
* DisappearedDad:
** His father is first implied in a flashback to have died when Durkon was at a very young age; his mom refers to him in the past tense. He was killed in an encounter with a troll before Durkon was born.
** [[spoiler:Turns out to be one himself -- to the child Hilgya Firehelm got pregnant with after their one-night-stand back on comic #82.]]
* DropTheHammer: His standard weapon is a hammer and shield, because his patron god's favored weapon is a hammer.
* DumpStat: Charisma, it's implied. He's a dwarf, he's blunt, introverted, and not particularly personable, and his Turn Undead has a consistently poor success rate. V states they alongside Belkar have the lowest charisma stat of the group to the point they can't get a good table at a restaurant.
* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler:He manages to assimilate the vampire spirit into himself and recover control over his undead body, but doubts it will last, and permits Belkar to stake him.]]
* EsotericHappyEnding: {{Invoked}}, [[spoiler:{{averted}} and eventually played straight]]. Most would be rather depressed by the idea that they'll only return home "posthumously", but Durkon is happy about it because it means his corpse will be taken there for burial, where he will rest his ancestors and not somewhere else. It also means he'll be buried with honor, instead of dying in the belly of some random monster while out adventuring. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, overly literal prophecies cheat; in a universe with TheUndead, "posthumously" does not preclude "ambulatory" let alone "peacefully". He's killed and sired as a vampire under the direct command of his religion's Satan-figure, who returns home with orders to use all his hard-won abilities to attack the Dwarven homeland and generally do everything possible to bring the world to an end. Fortunately, in the end Durkon's 1) alive, and 2) no longer exiled.]]
* ExactWords:
** Durkon will return to his homelands posthumously. [[spoiler:After he's killed and raised as a vampire, he does indeed return home]].
** [[spoiler:He uses this against the High Priest of Hel: after triggering a VillainousBreakdown by giving him the memory of his mother explaining how she sacrificed her wealth to save a group of people she didn't even known without the life experience to actually process it, Durkon offers the High Priest the memories to do so which the High Priest agrees to. What he didn't tell the High Priest is that those memories were ''all of his memories at once''. This turns the High Priest into a clone of Durkon, turning the tables on him.]]
** He later invokes this on the prophecy that he'd bring "death and destruction" when he returns to his homeland. After [[spoiler:he's resurrected]], he notes that he's already brought plenty of death -- and now it's time to bring destruction on [[spoiler:the remaining vampires]]. He only indirectly does so--more directly, he causes destruction to [[spoiler:the ceiling of the dwarven council chamber, and more significantly, the table that the council is meeting at, which suspends the ongoing vote [[MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours through an obscure rule]]]].
** Roy told Durkon not to Send to Redcloak. So, Durkon instead contacted Redcloak face-to-face.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: On the receiving end from [[spoiler:Redcloak]], who expected someone to try and stop him, but expected they'd be taller and wearing a halo and wings, not a Dwarf.
* ExtremeDoormat: His mother taught him not to help people without permission lest he get in the way. After [[spoiler:getting converted into a vampire, the vampire spirit]] and his comrades repeatedly mention his lack of assertiveness.
* FamousNamedForeigner: Possibly an unintentional example on the author's part, but hailing from Dwarven lands ''does'' make him a foreigner, and as for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tordenskjold Thundershield...]]
* FantasticRacism: Shows this toward [[spoiler:Malack after learning he is a vampire.]] To his credit, Durkon points out that even ignoring [[spoiler:the undead issue]], the individual is still a villain who can't be allowed to succeed.
* FatalFlaw: Downplayed compared to the rest of the party, but his NoSocialSkills and belief in HonorBeforeReason have repeatedly screwed him over.
* TheFettered: Believes in honor and obligations, no matter how hard they are. This has given him at least one example of GenreBlindness: [[spoiler:in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0865.html #865]], he insists that the Linear Guild's new cleric cannot be Malack, as he knows that Malack hates Nale and wants to kill him for murdering Malack's children. The reality is that Malack has put aside his oath to do so in order to work with Nale on Tarquin's say-so. The fact Tarquin has promised to let Malack kill Nale after they're done didn't hurt]].
* {{Flight}}: He gained access to the Wind Walk spell at some point during ''[=Don't=] Split the Party''.
* FunetikAksent: An extremely thick dwarven accent. Amusingly, one strip shows that he even ''writes'' with the accent.
** Lampshaded.
--->'''Belkar:''' Wait, he can pronounce "stratosphere" but not "the"?
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0599.html It's contagious.]]
--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' And yet I see no reason why I still need ye. You.
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0305.html And persistent.]]
--->'''Roy:''' You do know that you don't need to transcribe your accent?\\
'''Durkon:''' Transcribe my what, now?\\
'''Roy:''' Never mind.
* GeniusBruiser: Has elements of this, but in ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs'', he values this as well, complimenting Roy, saying that he was the first human he saw who used his head when the quickly violent way was available.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil:
** He refuses to believe Malack will ally with Nale as the latter murdered Malack's children, no matter how obvious it is. He doesn't know that Malack is fine biding his time for revenge.
** He doesn't mention the threat that [[spoiler:the Dark One is likely to die along with all the goblins if the gods end the world because Redcloak said he just wanted to improve goblin's welfare.]] He wanted to offer [[spoiler:Redcloak]] what he thought was a win not knowing [[spoiler:Redcloak sees all current goblinkind dead a win if the next world improve their situation]].
* GoodCounterpart: [[invoked]] To Hilgya Firehelm (a ChaoticEvil[=/=]ChaoticNeutral cleric of Loki) and later Leeky Windstaff (a hammy tree-loving druid). [[spoiler:Later on, he's one for Malack, a LawfulEvil vampire cleric of Nergal for the Vector Legion. Nale also points out that the old Durkon is this to the new, vampiric Durkon.]]
* GoodFeelsGood: Has a brief conversation with Belkar about this [[spoiler:after being resurrected]].
-->'''Durkon:''' Ev'ryone always talks aboot tha seductive power o' Evil, but I think Good's just as slippery a slope. Doin' good - sometimes even just seein' other people do good - feels good. Tha feelin' gets ta ye ev'ntually.
* GoodIsBoring: Durkon is the least dramatic of the party, and generally the softest spoken. However, CharacterizationMarchesOn and more and more of his personality is explored. Part of his blandness is that his being [[FishOutOfWater a stranger in a strange land]], and becomes more animated back in the Dwarven Lands.
* GoodShepherd: A lawful good and honest cleric. [[spoiler:He himself is still this but the vampire controlling his body is most certainly not.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Knowing, despite his death at the hands of Malack, he'll one day return home. He does, but not in a way he expected. He gets better, though.]]
* GrumpyBear: For a brief period (in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'') he was quite the sourpuss, though he grew out of it after meeting Roy.
* GuileHero: [[spoiler:Since he has been trapped by the High Priest of Hel, he has no way to brute force his way out. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0963.html Instead he is trying to play subtle mind games]] to abuse [[EvilCannotComprehendGood the fact that the High Priest can't understand his true nature]]. He ultimately succeeds by tricking the High Priest into agreeing to take in all his memories at once, allowing him to assimilate the High Priest rather than the other way around.]]
* HealingHands: ''Cure light''/''moderate''/''serious wounds''. And ''heal'', of course.
* TheHeart: At one point, the team reminisces about how he's helped each of them through difficult times in their lives with his support and compassion. [[spoiler:They come to believe this is why Odin sent the prophecy that led to his banishment, so that they could have him to help them stop Xykon.]]
* HeroicSacrifice:
** [[spoiler:He lets himself get killed by Malack after making the vampire promise to not harm the rest of the Order]].
** [[spoiler:After temporarily turning the vampire into a copy of himself, he sacrifices himself by lowering the Anti-Life Shell so that Belkar can stake him and ensurethat the High Priest of Hel will be destroyed.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He and Roy bonded during ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'', when Roy impressed him by not using his alignment as an excuse to murder others of an opposite alignment for XP. Of the Order, they have known each other for the longest [[spoiler:which is why Durkon's death affected him the most.]]
* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: While not having the raw firepower of V, he's easily the second most powerful of the group and like V he gets disabled, leveled-drained, powered down, misunderstood by Thor, or otherwise prevented from instantly solving whatever problems the group confronts for the sake of good storytelling. It is lampshaded when [[spoiler:he casts ''control weather'' while vampirified to get them out of a storm, prompting Belkar to claim that he can't possibly be Durkon, because he actually had a spell that could get them out of trouble.]]
* HomeSweetHome: He ''really'' wants to go home. [[spoiler:Even if it must be posthumously]].
* HonorBeforeReason: The dwarves know that he's so lawful he won't attempt to return to the dwarven lands until sent for (i.e. never). It's downplayed in that while Miko knows he can be trusted to be unfailingly honest, he [[ExactWords twists the truth]] a little to protect his friends.
-->'''Roy:''' I'm pretty sure if you told him it would save innocent people, he'd break his leg trying to boot his own ass out the door!
* IAteWhat: Upon finding out Malack is a vampire, Durkon realizes the bloodwort... er, blood'''wart''' tea was a bit too literal.
* ImmuneToDrugs: It's one of the benefits of dwarfdom. [[spoiler:Malack's Poison spell? "Tastes like me mum's crabapple cobbler!"]]
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: [[spoiler:This ultimately causes the downfall of the High Priest of Hel, who ''fully becomes'' Durkon when he's tricked into absorbing every single good, positive and heartwarming memory in one go. Bear in mind that the vampirization process is supposed to have the opposite happen, with the host body being absorbed by the vampire spirit.]]
* KirkSummation: Durkon is DefiantToTheEnd when it seems like he's about to be killed by Redcloak in 1210, and tells him precisely and laconically what is wrong with the goblin's EvilPlan.
-->'''Redcloak:''' I am curious about one thing before you implode into oblivion, dwarf. [[WhatMeasureIsAMook How many goblins lives have you snuffed out? Personally?]]\\
'''Durkon:''' [[ArmorPiercingResponse Na as many... as]] '''''[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech ye]]'''''...
* LastRequest: [[spoiler:Before he dies, he asks of Malack that if his friendship was true and not just a trick, to spare his friends. Malack apparently honors this request, not giving the party away when his True Seeing spell pierces the illusion that concealed them.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: After [[spoiler:he's resurrected]], he goes to a hidden compartment told to him by Thor, where he finds [[spoiler:a powerful magic warhammer, and declares he's ready to rain destruction on the other vampires]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: He has no idea about the real reason he was sent away from the Dwarven lands. [[spoiler:Until his encounter with Minrah (who was present when the Order found out) in the afterlife.]]
* LukeNounverber: "Thunder-Shield" sure fits a dwarf cleric of Thor.
* MagicKnight: As a ''D&D'' cleric, he wears armor and fights with a hammer but he can still cast spells.
* MeaningfulName: Averted with his first name, but played straight with his surname, as "thunder" alludes to him being a cleric of Thor while "shield" reflects his considerate and protective personality where he's repeatedly put his own life on the line to keep others out of harm's way.
* TheMedic: In one early strip, the other party members [[MeatOVision visualise him as a walking medical kit]].
* MidSeasonUpgrade: After [[spoiler:his resurrection]], following Thor's instructions he finds [[spoiler:a lightning-infused hammer and a pair of magic gauntlets hidden under Thor's statue in his temple, long forgotten by the priesthood.]]
* MilkmanConspiracy: Durkon is convinced that the trees everywhere are part of some giant conspiracy. [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame So are all the other Dwarves]].
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: "Bein' a dwarf is all aboot doin' yer duty, even if it makes ye miserable. ''Especially'' if it makes ye miserable."
* MissionFromGod: He receives one directly from his patron god, Thor, to [[spoiler:convince Redcloak to use a drop of the Dark One's unique power to help seal the Snarl once and for all.]]
* MomentOfWeakness: His anger at [[spoiler:being exiled without even being able to say goodbye to his mother or making sure she would be okay without him; coming from the person who said misery builds character, that is saying something. This anger is a driving force for the vampire that possessed him, as the vampire claims that its personality comes from the darkest memories in Durkon's mind and that his will to annihilate the Dwarven lands is motivated by that one moment where Durkon cursed them.]]
* MommasBoy: What's been shown of Durkon while he was back in his homeland clearly implies he dearly loves and respects his uncomplaining mother caring for him. He became a cleric in the first place because his family couldn't afford to get one to cast a spell to heal his mother's crippled arm. He also calls her every week ever since he got access to the ''sending'' spell.
* MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours: He manages to throw a wrench in Hel's plan by [[spoiler:breaking the table the dwarven clan leaders meet on, and thus by dwarven law, invalidates the meeting until a new table could be procured.]] As his own mother put it:
-->'''Sigdi:''' Were ye really so dumb ta think fer one second tha ye could beat Durkon -- '''Durkon''', o' all tha folks in this great big beaut'ful world -- in a fight tha revolved around '''followin' tha rules?!?'''
* NeverGetsDrunk: Durkon loves his beer, but has never been drunk in the comic. In a New Year's Eve story, he and Belkar count down to midnight with ''10 straight pints.'' Belkar kisses Vaarsuvius and passes out, but Durkon doesn't appear affected at all. [[JustifiedTrope In this universe, Dwarves have two livers.]] According to him, it's a [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0316.html dwarven custom to take a drink every time someone counts down.]] In the backstory, they have some ale every time ''anything'' happens. And it's so difficult for them to actually suffer negative consequences from their drinking that perishing from alcohol-related complications apparently counts as "dying in battle" for the purposes of getting into the afterlife.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: He was exiled without the chance to say goodbye to his mother. [[spoiler:Although it turns out that he's been in regular contact with her ever since he learnt the ''sending'' spell.]]
* NeverSayThatAgain: Don't tell him that beer isn't important.
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** Even the straight-laced Durkon finds himself staring at Haley along with the other men of the Order when she [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0035.html has a slight wardrobe malfunction]].
** [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0318.html In strip 308]], Durkon subtly snickers after Vaarsuvius implies they cast ''explosive runes'' on Belkar's coffee.
* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat:
-->'''Durkon:''' I love me god Thor will all me heart -- inna strictly heterosexual "buddies" kinda way. Not that there's anything wrong with the alternative.
* OddFriendship:
** Chummy with Malack because they are both clerics in an adventuring party. [[spoiler:This ends when he finds out Malack's a vampire that wants to seize Girard's Gate.]]
** Surprisingly, he seems to be forming one with [[spoiler:''Belkar'', of all people, after his resurrection, despite the fact that they viewed the other with poorly disguised disdain beforehand. The fact that Belkar gained a hefty amount of SurvivalGuilt regarding Durkon's HeroicSarcifice on his behalf certainly helps]].
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: A parody of the concept that [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0602.html plays some traits straight]].
-->'''Cleric of Loki:''' Can you tell me anything about him that differentiates him from every other dwarf?
* PokeThePoodle: Apparently, the worst thing Durkon has ever done is [[spoiler:get justifiably angry at the leaders of his faith for throwing him out in the snow with no money and no time to say goodbye to his mother and say some mean things about them when no one else can hear]]. Justified in that as a devout cleric, [[spoiler:cursing someone to Hel means more than just mundane blasphemy to Durkon]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:He was never told why he was exiled from Dwarf lands. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1096.html As Roy said]], he'd have probably went along with trying to avoid TheProphecy of his return bringing death and destruction upon all of his kin if he were just told of it. Indeed when Durkon is being told there was ''a'' reason behind his exile, he is overjoyed about it.]]
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: [[spoiler:His MidSeasonUpgrade hammer can fly back to his hand after he's thrown it.]]
* PrematurelyBald: Not explicitly stated, but evident with a little math based on the evidence -- he's currently 55 years old, and says to Haley that he's been bald for "forty years", meaning he went bald roughly around 15 years of age. He almost never mentions it, but it's apparently a touchy subject. (And since he's a dwarf, that makes it the human equivalent of losing your hair in kindergarten.)
* ProphecyTwist: Doubly so. He was exiled thanks to a prophecy saying that "when he returns home, [he] will bring death and destruction." [[spoiler:He did return as a vampire, and he did bring death to the dwarves.]] But the latter part has yet to come to pass... until [[spoiler:he retrieved a facsimile of Thor's own Mjölnir to bring destruction ''to'' the vampires. Alternatively, the "destruction" could be interpreted as to the ceiling of the chamber where the Dwarven Elders were meeting, as well as the conference table they were meeting around--with the destruction of the table causing the vampires' plot to derail.]]
* PsychicStatic: Durkon is attempting this against [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel possessing him by burying requested information in a deluge of context. Unfortunately, so far it's not quite working, though he gets to make the High Priest watch a full 6 hours montage of Durkon getting food poisoning and having to relieve himself in the can. It finally pays off when he gives him the memory of him finding out his mother sacrificed her wealth to save a group of people she'd never met, which causes the High Priest so much emotional pain that he slips up and agrees to being hit with all of Durkon's memories at once.]]
* RefusingParadise: Already set on not resting in Valhalla at least until [[spoiler:the world is saved from destruction and his son gets to know him]]. He decides so even knowing that, [[spoiler:if after being resurrected his next death happens to be dishonorable, his immortal soul would end up in Hel's custody, and the goddess of Death is certainly ''very'' pissed at him]].
* TheReliableOne: Even a paranoid loon like Miko trusts him implicitly.
* ReligionIsMagic: Comes standard with being a cleric in a ''D&D'' setting; he prays to regenerate his supply of divine spells.
* ReligiousBruiser: He's a Dwarven cleric dedicated to Thor, it comes with the territory.
* TheResenter: [[spoiler:Buried deep in his memories, he deeply resents the dwarves for exiling him. The High Priest claims this is why he, who is made from the darkness of his heart, is willing to go along with Hel's plan.]]
* ResidualSelfImage: Durkon [[spoiler:in the afterlife looks like he did before being vampirified. His true self not only is lacking the teeth and pasty skin of a vampire, he's also wearing his usual armor (the vampire was destroyed wearing robes) and his beard is at full length (the vampire's got shortened by a slash of Roy's sword)]].
* ReviveKillsZombie: Uses this to great effect against Malack, most notably with a ''heal'' spell which acts as the ''harm'' spell for undead.
* RunningGag: He and dwarves in general utterly despise trees.
* ShockAndAwe: "Thor's Lightning!" is a spell that throws a bolt of lightning at his enemies. Clerics usually don't have lightning magic, so this one is granted directly by Thor to his priests through a specific domain.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: Has his back to the viewer on the cover of Book 6, likely to hide [[spoiler:his vampyrification]] from anyone who has yet to read Book 5.
* {{Sizeshifter}}: "Thor's Might!" which, per the ''divine might'' spell, ups him to large size and bolsters his strength to boot.
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: According to the first account of his father he heard, his mother discovered she was pregnant only after his father's death.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: [[spoiler:After Durkon's soul is released from his destroyed undead body, the vampire's mind completely merges with his, making him remember the vampire's experiences as if they were his own. Thor assures him he'll be fine, which makes sense considering a week as an evil vampire holds little weight compared to decades of life as a honorable dwarf.]]
* SplitPersonalityTakeover: [[spoiler:Eventually tricks the High Priest of Hel into volunteering to be turned into a mental clone of himself.]]
* StaticCharacter: Lampshaded in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0647.html "Be Prepared"]], where Belkar notes that has nothing has changed about him. [[spoiler:This is averted after his vampirization. Then the aversion gets inverted, as Durkon's still the same dwarf, just trapped in his own body by a dark spirit. However, interacting with said spirit, a ''supernaturally'' static character, reveals the subtler ways Durkon's grown and changed over time.]]
* StraightMan: Shares the role with Roy. His steady-but-mostly-uncomplicated personality is mocked in an early strip with a mindflayer [[MeatOVision picturing his head]] as a bowl of mashed potatoes: filling, but bland.
* SuckinessIsPainful: One of the numerous memories Durkon relives [[spoiler:to the vampire spirit]] is of him trying out his Bard uncle's saxophone. He's dreadful.
%% SummonToHand doesn't apply to Durkon's new hammer; it's simply a PrecisionGuidedBoomerang.
* SupportingProtagonist: In-Universe criticized as such by [[spoiler:his vampire self]], Durkon's selflessness made him a spectator of his own life and repressed most of his needs for the sake of other people.
* TakenForGranite: Gets turned to stone for [[spoiler:violating dwarven law in the dwarven council chamber during an important vote. His crime? Property damage, when he threw his Thunderbolt Hammer through the ceiling.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:After assimilating the High Priest of Hell, he realizes it might not last forever, so he convinces the Durkonified vampire to allow them to be staked, killing them both.]]
* ATankardOfMooseUrine: The TropeNamer, on visiting human lands for the first time.
-->'''Durkon:''' Excuse me, I think ye gave me the wrong mug. I ordered a beer, an' this seems ta be a tankard o' moose urine.
* TellMeAboutMyFather: His mother didn't want to talk about it, so Durkon resorted to an HonoraryUncle. The accuracy of the tale is [[UnreliableExpositor not clear]], though later Durkon's mother indicates the outline is close enough.
* TokenReligiousTeammate: As is often the case for the cleric in a ''D&D'' party, Durkon is the only one in the Order taking religion and the will of the gods seriously... at least in the conventional sense. As for the others: Vaarsuvius pays lip service to the Elven gods, but doesn't really do much else; Roy advocates proper respect to them, but admits to having a "if I leave them alone, they'll leave me alone" mentality on it; Haley is ready to convert on the spot if it is advantageous, though it's PlayedForLaughs; the "Shoeless God of War" Belkar reveres is only himself; and Elan is a very weird case[[note]]On the one hand, he worships his own handpuppet, Banjo the Clown, as God of Puppets. He has also made another god, Giggles the Clown, God of Slapstick (as well being Banjo's brother and rival.) On the other hand, Elan has genuine belief in Banjo, which ''is'' strong enough to make Banjo count as a legitimate if very weak god due to how religion and godliness works in this verse. Same with Giggles, though Giggles has an entire island of orc worshipers as his followers (though this still empowers Banjo indirectly). Furthermore, ''Odin'' (leader of the Northern Pantheon that Thor is a part of) himself presented an opportunity for Banjo to join the pantheon (though Elan had him not to). Had Elan accepted this, Banjo would have, for all intents and purposes, become a fully-recognized god (it's unknown if Giggles would've gotten the same treatment since he was revealed after this incident, but given his relation to Banjo, it's likely).[[/note]]. This becomes a PlotPoint when [[spoiler:Durkon ignores Roy's explicit instructions not to contact Redcloak, instead following Thor's and contacting him anyway.]]
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: Ultimately turns out to be this [[spoiler:to the High Priest of Hel,]] managing to assimilate him rather than the other way around.
* TragicMonster: [[spoiler:As of comic #878, Durkon was forcibly turned into a vampire by someone he considered a friend]]. Even more so as of #946. [[spoiler:Durkon isn't even in control, the vampire servant of Hel is. Durkon was made both a prisoner in his own body and an ''unwilling accessory'' to its crimes, unable to resist it enough to prevent it from ransacking his memories.]]
* TurnUndead: His power as a cleric enables him to scatter and destroy undead. He sometimes gets over-enthusiastic with it.
* UpbringingMakesTheHero: While he was a Good dwarf even before them, [[spoiler:discovering his mother's act of selflessness, which she had kept secret for years, is what shapes his views as a hero]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: With his childhood friend Logann. He is not above stepping on his thunder in a battle (in order to heal him), and Logann then snarks at him for it.
* WallMaster: With the ''meld into stone'' spell, he merges with walls.
* WeaponOfChoice: A warhammer, shield and cleric spells; likely Thor's influence.
* WeDoTheImpossible: What Thor thinks of Durkon, after the latter expresses doubt he can save the Universe from The Dark One; Thor tells him it'll be as hard as ''talking a vampire into giving up control of his body''.
* WhatWouldXDo:
** "What Would Thor Do?" is a question he asks himself frequently in the beginning. In practice, not as applicable as one might hope considering that Thor is a mighty god and he is a mid-level dwarf cleric.
** He has followed in the footsteps of Elan and Haley in the Order of the Stick, who also have asked "What Would ''Roy'' Do?", Durkon pondering it during [[spoiler:his fight with Malack.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Only Durkon alone is aware that he managed to control his body after being possessed by the High Priest of Hel. He willingly undergoes a HeroicSacrifice anyway.]]
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He has a deep fear of trees. It is truly irrational in this case as he thinks they have a conspiracy of some kind and want to take over the world. He justifies this with his patron Thor striking them with lightning. Apparently, he shares this attitude with most (if not all) dwarves. Thor reveals it's because his church started a dogma over him just blasting a few trees for fun.
* WillNotTellALie: Though he will bend the truth by using ExactWords.
-->'''Durkon:''' I count "able to be picked by a rogue" as a pretty major defect, aye?
* WorkHardPlayHard: According to the introduction to Book 5, this is the general dwarven idea of the afterlife. After a lifetime of duty and repression, once you get to Valhalla the fun breaks loose. Durkon plans to spend an entire ''century'' partying, then maybe take a nap. He also isn't above partying when the Order has downtime.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: A prophecy states that Durkon's return to his home would bring death and destruction to the dwarven homelands. To keep this from happening, the higher-ups sent him off on a SnipeHunt and told him not to return until they called for him. Which Durkon never does, because he's just that lawful. [[spoiler:However, the higher-ups neglected to tell their successors about the prophecy. Durkon can now return whenever he wants, though the message telling him so [[PoorCommunicationKills was eaten by the Monster in the Darkness without realizing what it was]].]] Though according to the Oracle, [[spoiler:he will be returning, posthumously. The funny thing is, when he found that out, he was actually happy to learn that his body would be returned home, presumably for an honorable burial]]. The whole situation becomes even darker than it already was when you realize that [[spoiler:being said to return somewhere "posthumously" doesn't mean the first prophecy won't come true. There's also the fact that returning as a vampire can also count as posthumously. Now that it's been revealed that Durkon's under the control of the High Priest of Hel... it gets even ''worse'']]. {{Subverted|Trope}} in the end: [[spoiler:the new High Priestess confirms to Roy that Durkon is free to go home and he is told so by Minrah in the afterlife after his vampiric self is destroyed. Now that he has been resurrected, he is, indeed, back home and was even reunited with his mother. Doubly subverted in that he still kept in contact with his mother on a weekly basis.]]
* YouDidntAsk: The reason he didn't tell [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel that the key to the temple crumbles if taken by force is because he didn't ask.]] "Also, I hate ye an' I want ye to fail."
* YourWorstMemory: Being kicked out of his homeland without any notice or explanation was the worst day of his life. The experience left him miserable and bitter for decades until he met Roy and became friends with him. [[spoiler:The vampire spirit controlling his body forces him to relive that memory, using it as the basis for a BreakingSpeech that leaves Durkon unable to answer back.]]
[[/folder]]

* NotSoAboveItAll: Even the straight-laced Durkon finds himself staring at Haley along with the other men of the Order when she [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0035.html has a slight wardrobe malfunction]].
** [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0318.html In strip 308]], Durkon subtly snickers after Vaarsuvius implies they cast Explosive Runes on Belkar's coffee.

* RunningGag: He and dwarves in general utterly despise trees.

* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Knowing, despite his death at the hands of Malack, he'll one day return home. Now that he's been reanimated all bets are off.]]

** He refuses to believe Malack will ally with Nale as the latter murdered Malack's children, no matter how obvious it is. He doesn't know that Malack is fine bidding his time for revenge.

** V is on the receiving end of one against the mother black dragon, who is both a powerful spellcaster to rival Vaarsuvius, in addition to being a physical powerhouse decked out with teeth, claws, and terrifyingly cruel disposition. That's before the dragon casts [[AntiMagic Anti-Magic Field,]] reducing the wizard to little more than a physically deficient, unarmed monkey -- running on several days without sleep, no less.
** After getting the [=IFCC's=] Soul-Splices, their rematch against the mother black dragon is hideously one-sided, with [[spoiler:V [[TeleFrag turning into a dragon while inside the dragon's stomach, reducing her to scraps.]] V then raises the dragon back to life just to perform ''Familicide'' on them -- exterminating her entire family tree with a single action, before disintegrating the reanimated head.]]
--> '''Vaarsuvius:''' This -- and no less -- is the price of threatening my family.
** On the other side of the spectrum, [[spoiler:due to being DrunkWithPower, they then go up against Xykon on their own and get utterly demolished in short order, to the point where it's only thanks to a ''lot'' of dumb luck, O-Chul's intervention, and the Monster in the Darkness' teleportation wish that they even managed to survive]].
** And on a lighter note, V almost singlehandedly saves the entire Order after awakening in the desert, turning a desperate LastStand against General Tarquin's personal army into a rout for the Empire of Blood. Easily one of the most notable examples within the battle is how when a squadron of soldiers flying ''Pteradons'' is bearing down on Haley, Elan, and V, the latter just uses ''chain lightning'' to OneHitKill the lot of them and continue flying as if nothing had happened.

** After getting the [=IFCC's=] Soul-Splices, their battle against the mother black dragon is hideously one-sided, with [[spoiler:V raising the dragon back to life just to perform ''Familicide'' on them coming across as a needlessly cruel instance of [[KickThemWhenTheyreDown Kicking Them When They're Down]].]]

* MommasBoy: Downplayed; he was raised by his kind and loving mother, a tavern waitress in their home village, after his father Tarquin left, taking Nale with him. Even as an adult, out on his own as an adventurer, he often brings her up and her parenting has clearly shaped the way he sees the world. It's telling that the Oracle, who everyone usually just remembers being a member of their own species due to his memory charm, is remembered by Elan as the spitting image of his mother.

** Later, he leaves gold after getting a new lute while fleeing Azure City.

* {{Determinator}}: While his abysmal Will Save makes it useless for resisting MindControl, he is relentless when spellcasters aren't messing with his mind. Towards the end of ''Utterly Dwarfed'', after his DisneyDeath, he provides a demonstration of this when it turns out that it takes more than [[spoiler:''throwing him off a mountain'']] to kill him. He also later powers through the incredibly painful ''Protection from Evil'' charm he got in the same story arc, which allows him to [[spoiler:help Durkon kill off the High Priest of Hel once and for all]].

** However, this is played for real later when [[spoiler:he's ignoring the pain he's suffering from the Clasp of Protection from Evil in order to take on Vampire Durkon and his vampire minions.]]

* LogicalWeakness: [[invoked]] The ''Protection From Evil'' charm he buys during the ''Utterly Dwarfed'' arc hurts him along with any of his enemies with an Evil CharacterAlignment since he himself is ChaoticEvil.

** He tries to buy a charm to protect himself from [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]], but it being a ''Protection from Evil'' charm, it's just as painful for Belkar as it would be for his enemy since he's evil himself. He plays it off as damaged goods and buys it anyway at half price. The gnome girl selling it is grateful that she won't have to write it off as a loss, and offers to take him to lunch -- he declines out of guilt.

* UnstoppableRage: When he wakes up out of mind control from a vampire during the Order's fight with the followers of Hel, he proceeds to slash one's throat so hard ''her head comes off'', and tries to get to [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] despite burning from a ''Protection from Evil'' charm. Notably, it's implied that the pain and damage from his ''Protection from Evil'' charm actually activated his Barbarian Rage, invoking this trope InUniverse.

* EsotericHappyEnding: {{Invoked}},[[spoiler:{{averted}} and eventually played straight]]. Most would be rather depressed by the idea that they'll only return home "posthumously", but Durkon is happy about it because it means his corpse will be taken there for burial, where he will rest his ancestors and not somewhere else. It also means he'll be buried with honor, instead of dying in the belly of some random monster while out adventuring. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, overly literal prophecies cheat; in a universe with TheUndead, "posthumously" does not preclude "ambulatory" let alone "peacefully". He's killed and sired as a vampire under the direct command of his religion's Satan-figure, who returns home with orders to use all his hard-won abilities to attack the Dwarven homeland and generally do everything possible to bring the world to an end. Fortunately, in the end Durkon's 1) alive, and 2) no longer exiled.]]

''([[OhCrap Tarquin's eyes widen]] as he finally loses his grip and falls overboard)''\\
'''Elan:''' (mockingly) Don't worry. ''[[IronicEcho You'll live.]]''

'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''(without having changed facial expression or even moved an inch)'' Ah, I see you have already grasped the core principles of my theory.

--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' ''([[TroubledFetalPosition curled on the floor]])'' My fault. I am the cause. It sprang from my brow.

-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero. (everyone else looks at them askance) AndThatWouldBeWrong.

** [[invoked]][[spoiler:Whether or not the black dragons Vaarsuvius murdered were AcceptableTargets, the sheer undiscriminating effects of ''familicide'' killed quite a few innocents tied to them as well - Most notably including the Draketooth clan, the protectors of Girard's Gate]].

A.K.A. "The Belkster," "Death's Li'l Helper," and now "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doomsealer]]". Even shorter than other {{halfling}}s, Belkar has deep-seated emotional problems. He tries to work these out by killing or otherwise harming people he doesn't like. Still, he has some of the best lines and is a major source of (black) comedy.

-->'''Roy:''' ''(surprised)'' You can... do that?\\
'''Belkar:''' ''(exasperated)'' What, you think I learned to track for my own noble self-enrichment?! A ''lot'' of law enforcement agencies use dogs, Roy!

--->'''Belkar:''' ''(to V)'' [[LampshadeHanging Come on, I'm new at this!]]

-->'''Vaarsuvius:''' As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero. (everyone else looks at them askance) ...AndThatWouldBeWrong.

* TheAllegedExpert: He was invited to join the Order because Roy assumed his levels in the Ranger class automatically gave him some skills as a tracker, and his entry on the comic's "cast of characters" page described him as "the world's best tracker under 4 feet tall". As it turns out, he hasn't invested a single point in his Track skill.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: He's ultimately one for the TokenEvilTeammate, albeit given the DeconReconSwitch. The deconstruction comes into play in how both Belkar is TheFriendNobodyLikes and his rampant {{Jerkass}}ery often comes back to haunt the Order until he learns to wise up and "play the game" (read: become a more effective team player to ensure his continued survival), and the reconstruction is in how Roy views his presence on the Order as basically the fantasy equivalent of a work release program for unrepentant criminals, as at least he can vent his destructive tendencies on the bad guys instead of innocent people.

* {{Munchkin}}: This is a very good summary of his personality. For example, wanting to murder a team member just to get the necessary XP to level up.

** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0141.html "Horse Sense"]]

** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0620.html "Probably About an '8'"]]

** Played straight(er) in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0922.html "Payback"]]: