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The various familiars, paladin mounts, animal companions and other pets affiliated with the characters.
Animal companions of the Order of the Stick
Blackwing
Blackwing
"I prefer to think of myself as a super-advanced flying stealth dinosaur! (Also, you're a moron.)"
Vaarsuvius's raven familiar. V ignored Blackwing for years, and in fact never even named him — it was Haley who gave the bird its less-than-original moniker. For most of the comic's run, Blackwing just disappears until V remembers needing him, but from the start of Book 5 V is trying to make up for the years of neglect, while Blackwing acts as the elf's much-needed conscience.
- Achievements in Ignorance: Invoked. In need of a magical attack, he manages to find a scroll Vaarsuvius was scribing earlier, a harmless locate creature spell that would be useless even if he knew how to use it. However, he proceeds to weaponize his complete inability to activate it by deliberately causing the magic within the scroll to explode, creating the magical attack he needed.note
- Amplifier Artifact: The Orange Prism Ioun Stone he seized from Laurin is turned into a bracelet by a gnome artificer that he can now wear on his leg, granting its power to Vaarsuvius when he's close, but staying Blackwing's possession.
- And I Must Scream: Blackwing never made a deal with the Fiends, but his soul is still connected to Vaarsuvius's. As such, he's dragged down to hell
along with V when the Fiends call in their deal. - Ascended Extra: Originally only appeared as part of a Running Gag, he has now become an important and permanent member of the main party from the end of Book 4 onwards.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: He is still a raven, after all, and tends to fixate on shiny objects at inopportune times. Also, Blackwing's first reaction to V being turned into a lizard is to try to eat them.Blackwing: Wait a second, is that a bauble? I could use a shiny new bauble.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Downplayed. It is implied that Blackwing wished for Vaarsuvius to remember his existence more often.note Following Book 4, V starts keeping Blackwing around permanently, granting his wish. This decision is usually shown to be positive for both parties. However, it does prevent Blackwing from popping out of existence in times of danger like he used to, leading to him being captured alongside V by bounty hunters and trapped by a Swarm of Rats summoned by a vampire. Blackwing explicitly complains about this fact during the former occasion.
- Beneath Notice: Easily his most useful trait aside from serving as The Conscience for V is as a spy and scout. Pretty much nobody takes a small bird seriously until he forces the issue.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: After they make amends, Vaarsuvius and Blackwing gain this dynamic, with Vaarsuvius as The Comically Serious Stoic and Blackwing as the easily distracted Cloudcuckoolander.
- Character Development: As he and V forge a stronger bond together, he becomes more courageous and intelligent along with being more responsible, helping set Vaarsuvius on the path of being The Atoner through taking on the job of being V's ersatz conscience along with becoming more genuinely loyal to Vaarsuvius (and the rest of the Order by extension). Compare him abandoning V to the Death Knight during the Battle of Azure City to him flying right at Laurin's face to protect his master.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Early in the comic he only appears in order to be involved in jokes about arcane casters neglecting or abusing their familiars. Then O-Chul and Vaarsuvius need someone who can fly as part of their plan to destroy Xykon's phylactery and he gets a promotion to one of the main cast.
- Chuunibyou: He certainly has an... active imagination, that's for sure, as showcased below in Strip #1221Blackwing: [monologuing telepathically] Day 14 of the stakeout. No sign of the perps yet. Don't know how much longer I can take this. I miss the wife and kids, but that's the price I pay for keeping the mean streets of this city safe.
Vaarsuvius: It is a chasm, not a city, you are neither married nor a parent, and it has been approximately 47 seconds since we closed the door.
Blackwing: Time loses all meaning when you're on the job.
Vaarsuvius: I cannot sigh telepathically, so I invite you to simply imagine me doing so. - Clever Crows: While not without his own moments of irrationality (especially when shiny objects are involved), he has enough common sense to advise V on morality-related matters and has seen through Qarr's attempted deceptions more than once.
- The Conscience: To Vaarsuvius. He helps the elf hold their temper and calls them out on their pricklier moments.
- Cool Shades: He owns a pair, solely for the purpose of "sassily telling people to Deal With It".
- Crying Wolf: Tries to use his empathic link with Vaarsuvius to alert V of a danger via fear and righteous anger vibes. It doesn't work, since Blackwing always feels like that whenever someone just looks at his bracelet.Blackwing: Ugh, this is all that wolf-crying boy's fault, whoever he is.
- Dark Is Not Evil: An aversion of Creepy Crows; he may be a black bird, but he's definitely one of the good guys.
- Deadpan Snarker: He's obviously taking hints from his wizard here.Blackwing: Oh no, you would never ignore someone to whom you are bonded. Whatever was I thinking?
- Disembodied Eyebrows: Blackwing has the same range of eyebrow expressions as other characters, but being quite small those brows appear above his head.
- Drama Queen: Sometimes. Laurin hit him with a psionic attack, knocking him to the ground. V later determines him to be fine.Blackwing: If I don't make it... bury me with my shiny!
Vaarsuvius: You are not injured. You have a slight smudge of dirt on three of your feathers.
Blackwing: LO, THE ICY TALONS OF DEATH APPROACH!
[V sighs] - Early Installment Character-Design Difference: In the early strips, his head was more circular and he had an eye on either side of his head as opposed to having both eyes visible no matter if he's facing right or left. It isn't until "Flew the Coop" that he is depicted with the eyes that he's normally depicted with.
- Elective Unintelligible: Up to the end of Book 4, at least. Blackwing can speak Common, but considers it demeaning to speak anything but his native raven language — to Vaarsuvius, anyway. Later, once V thanks Blackwing for his noble efforts and starts treating him like a sentient being, he starts talking.
- Familiar: He is V's bonded creature as an arcane spellcaster. V can summon him and communicate empathically.
- Fanboy: Is a big fan of Bloodfeast, due to the latter being a fellow therapod (birds are therapod dinosaurs) but with the size to back it up.
- Feather Fingers: He rarely manipulates things with his wings (although it can happen, notably with scrolls), but he often gestures with them (even while flying), most commonly to "raise a finger" or point at someone.
- Family of Choice: He, Mr. Scruffy, Bloodfeast, and Little Whiskers all bonded, despite the latter three being quite willing to eat ravens under normal circumstances.
- Fire-Forged Friends: His relationship with Vaarsuvius becomes better at the end of Book 4, because he hangs out more often and the two help each other more.
- Flight: He's a bird. Although strangely, he suffers from airsickness while on an airship, which puzzles Vaarsuvius. Blackwing suggests V get strapped to a bathtub on a boulder and roll down a hill before making a judgment.
- Indy Ploy: In a pinch, he weaponizes an utterly harmless spell by reading the scroll so terribly it triggers a Magic Misfire.
- In Love with Your Carnage: Gets really enthusiastic when Bloodfeast is initially released and rampages around the Empire of Blood's arena.Blackwing: Hell yeah, brother! Chomp those monkeys!
- It Has Been an Honor: While he's swarmed by rats, he says this to the other animal companions:Blackwing: I just want to say that it's been an honor and a privilege serving as animal buddies with all of you.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: A little while after being blasted with... whatever psionic power Laurin used on him, he dramatically overreacts for a smudge of dirt over three feathers.
- Morality Chain: Offers guidance to Vaarsuvius to try and avoid a repeat of past transgressions. It must be effective on some level, as Qarr's immediate priority on crossing paths with the Order again is to try and get Blackwing out of the way.
- Non-Human Sidekick: A raven for an elf.
- Not Now, Kiddo: V does this to Blackwing twice. The first time, it turns out that elf is Zz'dtri in disguise, and he ambushes them shortly thereafter. The second time, V shrugs off Blackwing's warnings when the Exarch vampire is stealing the Order's "ultra-bauble" since Blackwing had been Crying Wolf about the crew of the Mechane supposedly wanting to steal his own bauble.Blackwing: Hey, was that elf glaring at you?
Vaarsuvius: Now is not the time. - Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Played with; the rest of the party doesn't remember him, so they think V is casting an illusion of a raven. Then it turns out that with the exception of Elan, the Order was just messing with V.
- Not What I Signed on For: Blackwing's attitude for hazardous missions, including his very first appearance.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: He exclaims, "Oh no, not this extremely specific situation again!" upon seeing Vaarsuvius get caught in an Anti-Magic field and lose their flight spell while fighting a dragon for the second time.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: When he has to buy diamond dust in stead of V after the elf got thrown out of the magic shop, he puts on a sombrero, a fake beard and mustache, and affects a Mexican accent. How convincing a look this is for a raven to adopt is left to your imagination.
- Parrot Pet Position: Starting with Book 5, since he no longer disappears when not needed, he is frequently riding on V's shoulder. This can sometimes look weird, since stick figures in this comic have heads bigger than their shoulders are wide. Also, when V tells him the plan to polymorph him into a Roc and cast resist lightning so he could tank a lightning bolt, he is unsure whether to be giddy or outraged at the prospect. When V informs him that they won't be sitting on his shoulders in a reversal of their usual setup, he opts to be outraged.
- Polly Wants a Microphone: He's a raven who has the ability to talk. He didn't initially talk because Vaarsuvius was so much of a dick to him that he didn't want to speak to them in Common. The one time he spoke before "A Familiar Conclusion", he was cawing, with his words being translated for the audience's sake.
- Psychic Link: With Vaarsuvius; it's part of the familiar thing. It doesn't allow full communication, though, just transmitting feelings.
- Remember the New Guy?: Played with. The rest of the Stick members seemingly forgot that V ever had a familiar to begin with because of the wizard's neglect. This leads to them thinking V has an illusion on their shoulder, infuriating the elf to no end. However, it is later revealed that Haley had simply been messing with V. Elan, not so much.Blackwing: [cheerily] Now that you feel my pain, the healing can begin.
- Running Gagged: He originally showed up in the comic only as a gag, only appearing for short periods when V happened to need him for something. V summoning him as part of their attempt to destroy Xykon's phylactery was deliberately written as a conclusion to this Running Gag, as Rich Burlew thought that it would be impossible for any future iteration of the joke to have a greater impact than that. V's desire to keep Blackwing around permanently also serves as a signal of the wizard's Character Development, showing their intention to atone for their past mistakes.
- Sarcastic Devotee: Since they mended their differences, he's a loyal familiar for his wizard, but never shy from calling out the elf's mistakes.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: "Screw THAT! You're on your own, mammal!"
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: After they become Fire-Forged Friends, a lot of his dialogue with Vaarsuvius consists of the two lightheartedly snarking at each other. For instance, below is his reaction when the Order is preparing to hunt after Vampire Durkon and Belkar gives a greater magic fang potion to Mr. Scruffy instead of him:Blackwing: Darn it! I was really hoping to become a totally cool killing machine with magical razor sharp talons of death!
Vaarsuvius: You should not be concerned. There is far more standing between you and that goal than the absence of one potion.
Blackwing: Thanks, V. You always know what to say. - Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: While V is pretty snarky most of the time, Blackwing can get even more sarcastic when it comes down to it.
- So Proud of You: To V in "No Running, No Hiding" over them becoming more trusting and willing to admit their mistakes/move past them. V tolerates it, though still feels too guilty to deserve praise.
- Squee: Is really excited about Vaarsuvius and Laurin fighting.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: V is straightlaced and formal, while Blackwing is a little sillier than them.
- Talking Animal: A trait for raven familiars, though before he refused to talk in anything but his native raven given V's mistreatment of him, and therefore only communicated in caws and through V's empathic link.Vaarsuvius: I thought you said that speaking in Common was demeaning!
Blackwing: No, I said that speaking to you in Common was demeaning. Try not to remind me why. - Thieving Magpie: Blackwing has a penchant for "baubles". It's mostly Played for Laughs, though at one point he does snag a useful ioun stone when he attacks an enemy psion.
- Vitriolic Best Buds:
- Even after mending their differences, V will still occasionally quip at Blackwing, and the raven gives back as good as he gets.Gnome Artificer: Because really, who wants an annoying little thingnote zipping around, flying in front of your face when you're trying to cast?
Vaarsuvius: I concur, but unfortunately he is my familiar and I am stuck with him. - Also with Mr. Scruffy. Being a bird, the cat's first reflex is to chase after Blackwing, and a strip from Blood Runs in the Family shows them alternating Road Runner vs. Coyote antics. But when confronted with a Swarm of Rats together, they prove an excellent team.
- Even after mending their differences, V will still occasionally quip at Blackwing, and the raven gives back as good as he gets.
- The Unintelligible: Until the end of Don't Split the Party, he only spoke in bird noises. While Raven familiars can speak humanoid languages, he refused to in order to spite V, until the elf had some character development.
- Wham Line:
- "You're welcome." It comes at a shock for both Vaarsuvius and the audience when Blackwing says it, because it's the very first time he expressed himself in Common in the comic, and also because he was refusing to talk to V until now.
- "So... beautiful, but I don't understand..." This line comes from when Blackwing relates what he saw inside the Snarl: another planet.
Mr. Scruffy
Mr. Scruffy
"Meow?"
An ordinary white cat, at first Lord Shojo's pampered pet. He is then adopted by Belkar and becomes his animal companion.
- Action Pet: He effortlessly disembowels a human gladiator in one round. Somewhat downplayed, though, as the gladiator admits he is only a level 1 commoner.
- Art Evolution: He originally had black "stick figure" legs like other animals; only later (after the fall of Azure City) did his legs get depicted as white lines.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Mr. Scruffy is easily distracted by a ball of yarn in #1190, but then again, is still a housecat.
- Berserk Button: Just as threatening Mr. Scruffy will set off Belkar, threatening Belkar will set off Mr. Scruffy. If you're lucky, you might be able to keep your intestines, and literally every fight involving Belkar from Scruffy's adoption onwards will have the housecat angrily scratching, tackling, and biting anyone trying to threaten the halfling.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: He gets hit by Sunny's charm monster ray during the Order's fight with Sunny and Serini, causing him to go berserk and attack Belkar.
- Cats Are Mean: Averted. He's usually sweet... unless you threaten Belkar.
- Character Development: It's subtle, but his interactions around Belkar after becoming his animal companion show him becoming tougher and more active instead of just being a passive participant, being actively taken into battle by the Order instead of just being left back somewhere out of danger. Compare his reactions to Lord Shojo being attacked by Miko to Belkar being attacked by a gladiator. Both Elan and Haley chalk this development up to Belkar's Toxic Friend Influence.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Hisses at Vampire Durkon; it's unclear whether this is because he was turned into a vampire or because he'd previously fed off of Belkar. Subverted in that he's perfectly OK with Belkar's evilness.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Blackwing and Bloodfeast after the Order's animal companions fight a Swarm of Rats together aboard the Mechane. He's even shown having a caring moment with Bloodfeast by gently petting the Allosaurus-turned-lizard after the battle, and specifically Holds the Line to provide Blackwing with enough time to arrange a Magic Misfire to save their lives.
- Fluffy the Terrible: His name isn't exactly terrifying, but he's more than capable of disemboweling someone in one attack.
- Formally-Named Pet: Mister.
- Head Pet: To Yukyuk, while the latter is dominated.
- The Hedonist: He doesn't want much from life, as his idea of a perfect world is to simply have his tummy endlessly stroked by Lord Shojo and to be fed an infinite supply of fishes by Belkar. In short, he's a cat.
- Intellectual Animal: While it's likely just Rule of Funny in action, there are several times where it's been implied that Mr. Scruffy is at least as smart as Blackwing. For instance, him activating Belkar's protection from evil charm in #1130 might've been an accident... or it might've been on purpose. One of the biggest examples to put in the "actually smart" pile is how both he and Blackwing angrily get Roy's attention during the final story arc when the animal companions are being left off the list of assets the Order has on hand to fight Team Evil with.
- Killer Rabbit:
- Technically counts as this, as proved in "The Duel Everyone's Been Waiting For", and justified by D&D 3.5 rules. All successful attacks deal at least one point of damage, and cats get up to three a round. An EL1 encounter of four stray cats can easily wipe out most 1st level adventurers (with actual class levels!) in a single round, especially if the cats use their insane racial stealth bonuses to launch a surprise attack. This is why first-level commoners don't walk down alleyways at night. That's dangerous enough on its own, but Mr. Scruffy in particular is the animal companion to a high-level ranger, making him a lot deadlier.
- However, for the most part, this is usually averted in practice. Ultimately, Mr. Scruffy is still just a housecat, and so despite him being a lot more formidable than he used to be along with eagerly going into battle alongside the Order now, his attacks against the Order's increasingly higher-leveled foes ultimately amounts to little more than Scratch Damage and aside from serving as a useful distraction or scout like Blackwing, he doesn't/can't offer that much aid to the Order on the battlefield. This also lines up with the rules; ranger animal companions are considerably weaker than druid companions, and Mr. Scruffy's starting statline is decidedly lacking compared to even the animal companions that most level 1 druids would use, like wolves, eagles, and horses.
- Technically counts as this, as proved in "The Duel Everyone's Been Waiting For"
- Loyal Animal Companion: Belkar's ranger animal companion. He even attacks Malack — a vampire priest — trying to protect Belkar, which goes as well as you might expect. Malack commends his loyalty but effortlessly bats him away.
- Morality Pet: For Belkar. The halfling might still be Chaotic Evil, but his care for Mr. Scruffy is also starting to help him develop genuine empathy and prove himself to not be just a straightforward sociopath. This, more than any combat advantages he provides, is Mr. Scruffy's greatest use to the rest of the Order. Haley and Elan even lampshade this in #781, with the latter musing that Mr. Scruffy is a good influence on Belkar.
- Only Sane Man: Amusingly enough, Durkon is of the opinion that Mr. Scruffy is this for the entire Order. The best part? Considering how much of a Dysfunction Junction the Order of the Stick is, he's probably not wrong.
- Right-Hand Cat: Lord Shojo liked to pet him while pretending to be senile, and then Belkar adopts him.
- Spanner in the Works: In a sense, he's part of the reason why the Order is able to finally defeat the High Priest of Hel, as he activates an unconscious Belkar's protection from evil charm, letting him tap into his Barbarian Rage and finally off the High Priest after Durkon lowered the anti-life shell.
- Super-Strength: Briefly, when the Belt of Giant Strength falls on him.
- Team Pet: Because Belkar adopted him, he is this for the Order. Belkar is his primary caregiver (to the point that Durkon literally describes it as one of Belkar's "jobs" within the Order), but everyone has had moments of caring for him as the comic has gone on.
- Timmy in a Well: He desperately alerts Durkon in "The Papers Chase" that Roy and Belkar were captured by the Empire of Blood's forces by insistently scratching at his hotel room door.
- Took a Level in Badass: Went from a pampered, probably overweight (given what Lord Shojo counts as "table scraps") pet to the lean (after weeks of living on rice and the occasional salted fish), deadly dangerous animal companion of a ranger. Just contrast his original reaction to his old master getting killed (to flee in panic, a natural reflex) with his fierce attacks in response to anyone threatening or hurting Belkar. The stat bonuses he got for becoming an animal companion certainly help.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Played for Laughs; In #781, both Haley and Elan conclude that Mr. Scruffy violently defending Belkar from a gladiator is evidence that Belkar is a bad influence on the cat.
- Typhoid Mary: Contracted Sphinx Pox at the desert and have spread it to the rest of the Order. However, the incubation time is 5 weeks, which frustrates Hel. Fortunately, Durkon is well aware of it and cures everyone who contracted it from Mr. Scruffy.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Blackwing. Being a cat, his first reflex is to chase after the bird, and a strip from Blood Runs in the Family shows them alternating Road Runner vs. Coyote antics. But when confronted with a Swarm of Rats together, they prove an excellent team.
Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator
Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator
As a lizard
"Hurrrrr."
Belkar's Allosaurus, seized from the Empire of Blood's army toward the end of Book 5.
- Amplified Animal Aptitude: It's smart enough to show gratitude towards those who help it, and during the fight against Serini it takes the initiative to wake up Minrah without being commanded to by any of the humanoid members of the Order.
- Androcles' Lion: It is very well-disposed toward Belkar because the halfling freed it to rampage and feast on Empire soldiers; the fact that Belkar is a ranger and thus animals are naturally predisposed to him doesn't hurt. It also quickly makes friends with the other pets, partly thanks to Blackwing saving him. Belkar's refusal to leave Bloodfeast behind to die at the Empire's hands has been richly rewarded as the little polymorphed lizard has saved the Order and the world's bacon a few times over in the next few story arcs.
- Chekhov's Gunman: After its first appearance at the Colosseum, you wouldn't expect it to show again, and yet it does, in a big way.
- Deathbringer the Adorable: Following said polymorph, it is a cute little lizard with a fearsome name.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap:
- Being baleful polymorphed into a lizard prevents Bloodfeast from making combat situations easy, but on the other hand, this makes it portable, and it still manages to help save the day even as a lizard.
- By using Sunny's anti-magic ray, Bloodfeast's baleful polymorph effect is temporarily suspended during the fight with the red dragon Calder. However, as the Allosaurus immediately and dramatically turns the tide in the fight, Calder knocks Sunny out of the room with a tail swipe two strips later, returning Bloodfeast to his lizard form. And then immediately defied when Vaarsuvius fires off a greater dispel magic as soon as they have a moment to breathe.
- Fastball Special: Belkar throws it in its tiny lizard form at a red dragon... while the latter is "protected" by an Anti-Magic field. Cue Allosaurus grappling.
- Forced Transformation: Turned into a lizard thanks to Miron using a baleful polymorph spell. It makes it handily transportable — and there are a few hints that it doesn't mind (this allows it to nap with the others and it's on their level).
- Informed Species: Its size and head shape make it resemble a Carcharodontosaurus a bit more than a real Allosaurus, and it has two fingers on each hand like a T. rex.
- Intellectual Animal: Downplayed, but it does seem to have a greater degree of emotional complexity and ability to understand Common than one would expect from a normal lizard or dinosaur, often expressively reacting to various statements or requests.
- Lethal Joke Character: An amusingly downplayed case; after being polymorphed into an adorable little lizard, it still proves to be a decent threat when it's able to break through the Exarch vampire's exceptionally strong armor class.
- Made of Iron: As per D&D rules, polymorphed Bloodfeast retains the hit points of a full-grown Allosaurus (around 171) despite its current form as a small lizard (which would have about 2). This is why Bloodfeast isn't even mildly inconvenienced by the vampire cleric's rat swarm or the subsequent explosion; despite its size, it has a similar hit point total to Roy.
- Morphic Resonance: It keeps the stripes, coloration, stocky build and incredibly sharp teeth of its Allosaurus form as a lizard.Exarch Vampire: Oww! How are your teeth so sharp?!?
- No One Gets Left Behind: As the Order is fleeing from the Empire of Blood on Scoundrèl's airship, Belkar refuses to leave Bloodfeast behind and be killed by the empire for helping them, leading Blackwing to go back and bring it along.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: As a small lizard, it makes adorable noises when it sleeps.
- Spanner in the Works: After getting taken out of Belkar's Bag of Holding, it helps the Order recover from Serini and Sunny's attack by waking up a sleeping Minrah through chomping on her hand and helping hold back Mr. Scruffy from continuing to attack Belkar by grabbing the cat by the tail.
- T. Rexpy: Close enough; it even has two fingers, like a T. rex, as opposed to an Allosaurus's three fingers. It's also notably bigger than a legit Allosaurus should be (though that can be explained by the D&D rules for improving monsters), even bigger than a full-grown T. rex.
- Vehicular Turnabout: Well, it's not exactly a vehicle, but close enough. Besides eating gladiators in the arena, the Allosaurus is used as a shock trooper by the Empire of Blood's army. Until Belkar (for once acting like a ranger) connects with it, kills its handler, and commandeers the dinosaur for the Order of the Stick.
Animal companions of Team Evil
Demon-Roaches
Demon-Roaches
Right-Eye: The real problem is the structural damage they do.
Redcloak: Yeah, they really rip up the walls. Especially the fourth wall.
Demon-Roach: That joke is dedicated to all you fans out there!
Redcloak: Yeah, they really rip up the walls. Especially the fourth wall.
Demon-Roach: That joke is dedicated to all you fans out there!
A group of fiendish insects who follow the villains around, making sarcastic comments and pop culture references along the way.
- Affably Evil: They're humorous and entertaining enough that you can't help but like them.
- The Artifact: Their peculiar style of Speech Bubbles was common early on in the comic for aside comments or mumbling to oneself. However, this was phased out by Book 3, and the Demon-roaches were the only ones to still use it until strip #1260, in the final book.
- Breath Weapon: They have a small fire breath, though it's used more often as a lighter than as a weapon.
- Character Alignment: Being fiendish creatures from the Abyss, they are proudly Chaotic Evil. They take offense when the Quinton calls Xykon the most chaotic of Team Evil.
- Evil Counterpart: Apparently, there are Angel Roaches as seen in Xykon's tower (which had been converted to a bastion of Good by a group of deva), so these guys are this to them. They are also mentioned by one of the clerics in the Temple of Thor, who refer to them as "Celestial Roaches", so presumably, they infest Good-aligned locations, while the Demon-Roaches are drawn to Evil-aligned ones.
- Fourth-Wall Observer: Even more so than the Oracle, if only because they get more screen time.
- Greek Chorus: They're part of the story but they spend most of their time commenting on it instead of partaking.
- Lack of Empathy: They might be mostly harmless and hilarious, but they're still literally Made of Evil. The closest any of them has come to caring about anyone but itself is when a survivor cheers when O-Chul gets blasted during his duel with Xykon because he is a "roach-killer", and it's one of them that callously tells the Monster in the Darkness that no-one cares that Tsukiko is dead.
- No Body Left Behind: They "pop" out of existence when killed, returning to the Lower Plane they originate from.
- Pungeon Masters: "He besieged me with science!" is just one example.
- Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: The character relationship chart in book four list them as this, specifically to the Monster in the Darkness.
- Speech Bubbles: The Demon-roaches all speak with red texts without bubbles and just a connector. They get an upgrade in "Stew You", where they get square magenta-tinted speech bubbles with a single line for a connector.
- Talking Animals: Vocally snarking roaches.
- Team Pets: They follow Team Evil around.
Lancer
Lancer
"EEEEEEEEEEE..."
Species: Yrthak
Gender: Unknown
Alignment: Unknown (probably neutral)
Gender: Unknown
Alignment: Unknown (probably neutral)
Oona's flying mount.
- Bizarre Alien Senses: Not gone into detail, but it's a Yrthak; its horn is an echolocation broadcasting and signalling organ, allowing it to perceive the world around it through sound.
- Eyeless Face: Has no eyes or even sockets on its face, as its horn grows about where its eyes should be. Like all Yrthaks, it uses echolocation projected from its horn to perceive the world around it.
- Giant Flyer: Ridden by a bugbear.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: When trying to work out what it is, O-Chul describes it as a "sonic reptilian unicorn", prompting Lien to thank him for naming her future punk band.
- Meaningful Name: Named after the Yrthak's "sonic lance" attack.
- Palette Swap: It has an unusual coloration for a Yrthak, being a snowy grey-white instead of their usual green.
- Super-Scream: Seemingly based on bats, all Yrthaks are blind and can project a damaging sonic attack.
- Underground Monkey: Lancer lives in a frozen wilderness, despite Yrthaks normally preferring forested areas, which combined with its Palette Swap suggests that it's a member of an arctic subspecies.
Greyview
Greyview
"All deaths are horrible. Also inevitable. Nod. Get treat."
Oona's worg companion. He has a dour outlook on life and his position.
- The Comically Serious: The absurd level of seriousness with which Greyview uses to describe literally everything makes him a walking laugh dispenser.Greyview: [when getting head noogies from Oona] See? Grim specter of noogie hangs like shroud over us all.
- The Eeyore: His fur is as iron-grey as his cynical and constantly depressed mood. Nothing will turn out well in the end, and he will always find new ways to tell someone this.
- Establishing Character Moment: When the Monster in the Darkness says that he doesn't want to do bad things just because he'll be fed, Greyview tersely states that when he dies, the only thing he'll remember is that he didn't eat enough treats.
- Evil Counterpart: To Mr. Scruffy. Both are the animal companions to their respective party's rangers and help showcase their owners' softer sides. Additionally, both are either explicitly or implicitly shown to be Intellectual Animals, and are deceptively dangerous in combat. However, Greyview is a huge dark-colored worg that can speak Common, while Mr. Scruffy is a white housecat who can only meow. Furthermore, Greyview doesn't discourage Oona from aiding Team Evil and no longer being a villain, while Mr. Scruffy has incited genuine Character Development in Belkar and has helped him in Taking Levels in Kindness and becoming more loyal to the rest of the Order of the Stick.
- The Fatalist: Death is inevitable, so you might as well give up and live for what treats you can get.
- Foil: To the Monster in the Darkness. The Monster used to have the same mindset of "do bad things and get food from Team Evil" that Greyview has until he met O-Chul. Greyview is smart and chose this life because of his pessimistic nature while the Monster was too lazy and immature to think for himself and when he does he realizes he can't just go back to "nod, get treat" anymore.
- The Hedonist: An unusually dour example; he insists that the only certainty in life is you will never get enough treats before your inevitable death.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Despite his gloomy personality and stated dislike of the "grim specter of noogie", he briefly drops his scowl and wags his tail when Oona returns from her hunt and gives him a hug.
- Just Smile and Nod: "Is futile to argue. Just nod. Get treat."
- Laughably Evil: Greyview's absurdly Straw Nihilist outlook on the world combined with the contrast in regards to his incredibly cheery owner make him absolutely hilarious to read.
- Meaningful Name: Has a pessimistic ("grey") view of life.
- The Nose Knows: He is not fooled by Durkon and Minrah's meld into stone ruse because he tracks them by scent.
- Perpetual Frowner: He only drops his constant grumpy furrowed brow once, when Oona greets him with a hug after coming back from a hunt. He even wags his tail.
- Savage Wolves: Amusingly downplayed; while he's still an evil intelligent wolf, he's also The Comically Serious and only rarely displays any of the savagery normally associated with this archetype.
- Servile Snarker: While he serves Oona loyally, he has a very pessimistic view of almost everything she does. To be fair, he has a very pessimistic view of everything else as well.
- Stereotype Flip: Evil intelligent wolves in fiction are often depicted as savage, Hot-Blooded maniacs (i.e., Maugrim from The Chronicles of Narnia). Greyview, by contrast, is The Comically Serious and The Eeyore.
- The Stoic: It takes a lot to raise Greyview's hackles, to the point where the most emotion he's ever physically expressed is a slight raising of the eyebrows.
- Straw Nihilist: A comedic example. He speaks only to complain about the inevitability of death or to cast a bitter pall over even the simplest of his mistress's comments.
- Talking Animal: As a worg, Greyview is able to converse with others in "Common".
- Yes-Man: Will agree to anything for a treat.
Carbuncle
Carbuncle
Redcloak's carbuncle.
- A Day in the Limelight: It gets its in the story "Scruff and Tumble".
- A Dog Named "Dog": Redcloak didn't use much imagination naming it.
- Made a Slave: When introduced, it's been captured by Redcloak and bound inside a magic circle.
- Weaponized Teleportation: Its main power.
Animal companions of the Linear Guild
Kitty
Kitty
Leeky Windstaff's hawk animal companion, who he summons to stop Haley from taking potshots at him from a building.
- Feathered Fiend: A bird that does its evil master's bidding.
- Immune to Bullets: Courtesy of a stoneskin spell, she's immune to arrows, which causes big problems for Haley.
- Loyal Animal Companion: To Leeky, as a druid class feature.
- Single-Stroke Battle: With Roy.
- Stealth Pun: "You named your hawk Kitty?"note
Sir Scraggly
Sir Scraggly
"Grrrrr!"
Yukyuk's riding dog mount — thus providing an opposite to Belkar's feline companion.
- Brick Joke: In a reference to a much earlier strip in which Belkar expressed a preference for a wolf as a mount, but was stuck with a wiener dog.
- Canis Major: Compared to his kobold master, who is small enough to ride him.
- Canine Companion: Yukyuk's riding dog mount.
- Evil Counterpart: To Mr. Scruffy, being a mount for an evil guild like the Linear Guild.
- Formally-Named Pet: Sir Scraggly.
- The Nose Knows: He spots Mr. Scruffy by smell.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Yukyuk's riding dog mount.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After his master is dominated and he is hit through a wall by Mr. Scruffy, he's never seen again.
Animal companions of the Sapphire Guard
Windstriker
Windstriker
Miko's paladin warhorse mount and, as it is implied, her only friend in the world.
- Cool Horse: Paladin warhorse.
- Hero Antagonist: Just as his paladin, he is a heroic horse but happens to be a mount for a Knight Templar — especially for Belkar, since he's evil.
- Hilarity Sues: He has Phil Rodriguez serve a restraining order to Belkar. It doesn't end well.
- Light Is Good: As a heroic horse for a paladin, he has a classic white coat.
- Loyal Animal Companion: His loyalty even extends into the afterlife, though this is standard for a paladin's warhorse.
- Only Friend: He may be the only creature in the world to regularly interact with Miko and bear absolutely no animosity towards her, even after her Fall.
- Put on a Bus: After Miko's fall, he's stuck in the Celestial Realms.
- Sapient Steed: Intelligent enough to fight Belkar on his own. While he can't talk, he's also intelligent enough to react with surprise or shock to events around him, as well as follow Miko's instructions.
- Shout-Out: To Pokémon — "Windstriker, I choose you!"
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Belkar. Ultimately, their feud ends in an Anticlimax, as Miko dies before Belkar is able to exact revenge on the horse.
- White Stallion: As fitting for a paladin's mount, Windstriker is a white warhorse.
Argent
Argent
"grrrrRRUFF!"
Hinjo's paladin mount, a large silver-hued wolf.
- Canis Major: He's big enough for Hinjo and one other person to ride.
- Loyal Animal Companion: Paladin's celestial mount.
- Meaningful Name: Is named after the French word for "silver"; see Silver Has Mystic Powers below. Lampshaded: the strip this fact is introduced in is called "His Name Probably Helps, Too".
- Noble Wolf: The steed of a Lawful Good paladin couldn't be anything but noble.
- Shout-Out: To Pokémon, again — "Argent, I choose you!"
- Silver Has Mystic Powers: He has silver tooth fillings that make his attacks more deadly towards devils.
- Sweet Tooth: Lord Shojo fed him a 20-lb. tub of strawberry cake frosting.
- The Tooth Hurts: Said cake frosting ended up being the reason he got his silver fillings from a dentist, all that sugar did a number on his fangs, and it's not like wolves can brush their teeth.
Razor
Razor
Lien's paladin mount, a great white shark.
- Loyal Animal Companion: Another paladin's celestial mount.
- Meaningful Name: "Razor" is sure a fine name for a sleek shark with rows of sharp teeth.
- Shout-Out: To Pokémon, still — "Razor, I choose you!"
- Threatening Shark: A play on the trope, since it's a holy paladin mount and thus on the side of good. Still bad news for the villains, of course.
Other animal companions
Little Whiskers
Little Whiskers
"mrrrrwww..."
Veldrina's pet tiger.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: A swarm of rats might as well been fleas to him, forcing the vampire summoning them to drain him of blood.
- Fluffy the Terrible: "Little Whiskers" sure evokes more a small kitten than a tiger. Then again, he doesn't seem that terrible for what we've seen of him.
- Lovable Coward: He's scared of climbing aboard an airship, and is easily cowed by Mr. Scruffy staring into his eyes.
- Panthera Awesome: A large tiger is sure an impressive companion. Though it can be problematic since not all (air)ships will accept one on board — and he suffers fear of flying.
