The Order of the Stick

On the last page's page topper - I am certainly wondering if the Norse pantheon seeming open to the idea of Banjo joining them isn't just a one-off joke, but them hoping his induction might aid their cause, as it was with the Dark One popping up.

It wouldn't, as presumably Banjo would just have their quiddity like any other god that's joined the Pantheon.

I'm still mystified that there are a decent number of people expecting/hoping that "Banjo saves the world" to be an actual thing to happen.

I mean, it's possible that Banjo has a different color quiddity, since we don't know how quiddities are determined, and most of his current worshipers are a monster race. But if Thor knew, he definitely would have brought it up already, and made more of an effort to bring him on board in that early comic.

Thor mentions that the Dark One is different because he wasn't sponsored by any other pantheon, and the shared quiddity is specifically something that marks them as a member of a pantheon.

Being a part of a monster race most likely wouldn't matter either. Fenrir is the Northern God of Monsters, and the dragonoids have Tiamat.

Worshipping the gods isn't just for PC races.

Edited by LSBK on Oct 30th 2018 at 7:31:05 AM

Somehow Banjo must be made relevent, dammit, or it's a waste of taking everything too seriously!!

In ancient days, there was no "magic", and no "religion" as separate magesteria. The world was full of spiritual influences, and one could humble oneself to the influences that protect the family, tribe and community, and be a good person, or one could try to leverage those forces for one's own benefit and at the expense of others, which made you a bad one. The latter are generally termed "witches", "sorcerers" or some other similar label with negative connotations-but there was no implication of the possession of arcane abilities that werent available to anyone willing to misuse them that way.

Edited by DeMarquis on Oct 30th 2018 at 8:35:39 AM

I think there’s a global conspiracy to see who can get the most clicks on the worst lies

I would just find it amusing. I can just hear Roy facepalming now...

I seriously doubt it will though. I am not certain, but I doubt it.

Writer, or something. And... a button? 🖲️

The explanation for the Dark One seemed specifically designed to put a halt to Banjo speculation, yet here we are.

Just because this threw me when I first read it and others seem to be making the same assumption: we shouldn't necessarily be reading "Northerners" as "Norse" for the purposes of understanding that reference. While they worship the Norse gods, OOTS' Northern Continent (at least in this world) is basically the whole Medieval European Fantasy setting. Roy and Elan and Haley are "Northerners" just as, say, Durkon is.

Yeah, you're right. I thought the Northerners consisted of the Dorfs.

It's been established for awhile that all of them except V are Northerners.

Edited by LSBK on Oct 30th 2018 at 8:16:10 AM

Yes, "Northerners" in this context just means "worshipers of the Northern Gods." Presumably, the gods put their followers in the appropriate hemisphere in every world they make.

Dude, same.

"Banjo saves the world" would make a good crackfic, but I wouldn't expect it in the real comic.

Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.

Maybe Banjo'll pull a Gollum and just somehow entirely indirectly save us all.

It's interesting to contrast Durkon's reaction here to Roy's. Faced with the exact same news, Roy sees confirmation that Durkon got dicked over by the universe—"his life was exactly as unfair as he always feared it was"—while Durkon himself doesn't think it was unfair at all. Well, much less so, anyway.

Durkon's able to take comfort in the idea that there was at least a reason for his misery.

Edited by M84 on Oct 31st 2018 at 12:23:33 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised

And Roy would have preferred it to be a good reason. Of course, in the subsequent pages his and Haley's largely correct theorizing supplies that reason, but in that moment, compared to this one, you see how two Lawful Good best friends can have very different views on the fairness of fate.

Make sense though since Durkon also has a more religious background and thus is more inclined to think favorably of divine plans and what not. Though as that one Moment of Weakness showed, even he has his limits.

Edited by M84 on Oct 31st 2018 at 12:54:11 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised

The problem with this theory is that if there is only a singular future, then you cannot plan. Even with knowledge of the past, you cannot plan if there is only one future to see. Planning is only available if there is more than one future to choose from, which still doesn't require knowledge of the past.

---

Unless he remembers how to speak based on his conversations in the future.

Edited by crazysamaritan on Oct 31st 2018 at 9:25:49 AM

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Ah yes, the trap of the prophet.

• Do you see an immutable, unchangeable future? If so, then your power is extremely limited, since you know exactly what is going to happen but are powerless to change it. Anything you say or do is already part of the future.
• Do you see infinite future possibilities and then say or do the things that will fix one of those paths into place? This gives you incredible power, but as Paul Atreides found out in Dune, similarly dooms you to a future of perfect predictability.
• Do you merely guide people through possible futures, but the future remains mutable? If so, you are less a prophet and more like a weather forecaster, and blamed every time one of your prophecies doesn't turn out.

Edited by Fighteer on Oct 31st 2018 at 9:27:27 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

I imagine it works like Doctor Strange's power in the MCU. He can see multiple timelines and the chain of events that lead to them. Sending Durkon away happened to be the only way to put history on the path that ends the Snarl threat.

Essentially time is a river with millions of branches and Odin is trying to steer the universe into a specific one.

Which falls into the second category above and makes Dr. Strange the most powerful being in the MCU, full stop. Although he can only choose from possible futures, so he can't do something like make the Infinity Gauntlet spontaneously transmute into rose petals. Going back to OOTS, if Odin really is playing that kind of god game (pun very much acknowledged) with the future, it gives him incredible power but also diminishes the idea that the characters have free will.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

There's the Self-Defeating Prophecy trope, which essentially means you see the future as it will be if you don't act upon the prophecy.

Edit: From a god's perspective, that would mean seeing the world, and predicting where it's going without any divine intervention. But that would also mean they can't predict intervention by other gods.

Edited by Medinoc on Oct 31st 2018 at 4:41:53 PM

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

You don't want your prophets to be too powerful, otherwise you end up with bullshit like Path To Victory.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.

Did the characters ever have free will? We've been dealing with prophecies since the Oracle was introduced. There was never any indication you could subvert those.

They have about as much free will as a pilot caught in the gravity well of a black hole. They still get to make choices. That's just one event that will always take place in their lives regardless of their choices.

Say to the others who did not follow through You're still our brothers, and we will fight for you