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This is the thread for discussion of The Order of the Stick plot, characters, etc. We have a separate thread for discussing game rules and mechanics. Excessive rules discussions here may be thumped as off-topic.

OP edited to make this header - Fighteer

edited 18th Sep '17 1:08:08 PM by Fighteer

Frosthead Since: Jan, 2021
#57776: Jun 28th 2021 at 6:27:21 AM

Is the Giant trying to dethrone Eight-Bit Theater for the longest Brick Joke in the history of webcomics? Because that's what it feels like...

jjjj2 from Arrakis Since: Jul, 2015
#57777: Jun 28th 2021 at 6:28:32 AM

Damn, [nja]'d before I could post! Still this is a great Brick Joke!

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
Cross (Don’t ask)
#57778: Jun 28th 2021 at 6:41:02 AM

Kept reading and it's weird how different early stuff is compared to now.

Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#57779: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:02:34 AM

I guess Rich got the rights to use beholders after all!

RhymeBeat True colors from Eastern Standard Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
True colors
#57780: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:09:50 AM

I imagine that creating official D&D content gave him a working relationship with Wizards that made it relatively simple to ask for permission to use it

The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.
Elfive (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#57781: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:16:57 AM

Yeah, there's a difference between "Hey, can I use a Beholder in this random webcomic I started recently?" and "Hey, can I use a Beholder in The Order of the Stick, massively popular almost two-decade old webcomic?"

Edited by Elfive on Jun 28th 2021 at 3:17:13 PM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57782: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:17:48 AM

However, I absolutely expect the lawyers to appear to make that joke again. It's just dangling there.

Edit: Oh, and Serini's one ally is a mimic.

Edited by Fighteer on Jun 28th 2021 at 10:19:08 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#57783: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:22:37 AM

Being a Beholder Mom with Monster friends has its perks.

Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#57784: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:44:31 AM

Oooh. I thought it was an Earth Elemental. But Mimic makes more sense, especially given the name 'Mimi'.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#57785: Jun 28th 2021 at 7:51:05 AM

Mimic makes a lot of sense.

I was wondering what kind of Epic shenanigans Serini would pull to make one Rogue threatening to a group of adventurers. I didn't think about the fact that she's basically Queen of the High-End Monster Dungeon. Of course this wouldn't be a 6.5v1.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 28th 2021 at 7:51:12 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
petersohn from Earth, Solar System (Long Runner) Relationship Status: Hiding
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#57787: Jun 28th 2021 at 8:00:31 AM

Also, she planned well. Taking out Roy at the start of the fight is arguably more devastating to the Order's chances than the antimagic cone is. Serini is not making the mistake of underestimating the "stupid meatshield" Fighter.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 28th 2021 at 8:01:24 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#57788: Jun 28th 2021 at 8:41:19 AM

.....so....not the Holey Brotherhood then?sad

I've held on for so long. What do I do now?

[up] True, but I'm guessing this is where Elan's Neutralize Poison finally comes in.

One Strip! One Strip!
Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#57789: Jun 28th 2021 at 8:44:53 AM

[up]not while under the anti-magic cone, it won't.

copperglass Since: Aug, 2020
#57790: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:07:09 AM

Ok, jaw dropped, mind impressed. This callback (Brick Joke) is just amazing.

Can anyone give a quick run-down on what a Beholder is capable of (or what CR it is?) Looks like Sunny can cast Charm Person, has an anti-magic cone, and levitate things.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#57791: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:25:13 AM

It's hard to find specs because the Wizards legal team joke wasn't actually a joke. Wizards considers beholders to be their intellectual property and cracks down on people publishing the stat block online. Stat blocks for tons of other things are fine, but not beholders.

So the most I know is that their central eye emits an antimagic cone while the other eyes fire various spell rays, one of which is Disintegrate. The cone from the central eye blocks the rays from the other spells, of course. There are basically two sides to a beholder: the antimagic side and the sides that get disintegrated.

Based on Sunny's angle (above, looking down), I don't expect the disintegration rays to come into play. I'm pretty sure Serini picked that position to blanket the entire room beneath her in the antimagic cone, which means Sunny's whole job will be to float there and keep the magic turned off.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 28th 2021 at 9:28:10 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57792: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:29:06 AM

Beholders are among the most dangerous monsters a typical adventuring party can fight because of that anti-magic ray. It's like a hand of DM fiat negating all the flashy spells and shiny magic items your party has acquired.

The rest of the eyes are pretty standard save-or-die stuff, including charm person, disintegrate, flesh to stone, and some poison and damage effects if I remember correctly.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#57793: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:32:23 AM

Here's a link to the WOTC article on their monster. Each of its eye stalks has its own power, in addition to the anti-magic cone from the main central eye.

The powers are charm, paralysis, fear, slow, enervation (lose character levels), telekinesis, sleep, petrification, disintegration and death.

Note that the anti-magic cone also suppresses any eye stalk beams, which the beholder is quite alright with, as it also possesses a big mouth filled with sharp teeth.

Edited by Kayeka on Jun 28th 2021 at 7:03:44 PM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57794: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:37:53 AM

Right. Six of the ten stalks cast save-or-die effects and the rest are save-or-suck. Fighting a beholder is a sacrifice to the gods of luck. "Fortunately", a beholder can only use a few of its eyes on any given target per round.

Edited by Fighteer on Jun 28th 2021 at 12:38:39 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
blkwhtrbbt The Dragon of the Eastern Sea from Doesn't take orders from Vladimir Putin Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
The Dragon of the Eastern Sea
#57795: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:57:14 AM

Haley strikes me as the most dangerous enemy for a Beholder here, given that her primary attack pattern uses no magic and allows a pretty significant range.

Say to the others who did not follow through You're still our brothers, and we will fight for you
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#57796: Jun 28th 2021 at 9:58:37 AM

I'm sure Serini is ready for that. She seems pretty in charge of things.

One Strip! One Strip!
Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#57797: Jun 28th 2021 at 10:00:15 AM

Don't expect the beholder to do anything else than keep the room covered in anti-magic. Serini will have all the time in the world to poison the rest of the order with no one being able to do anything about it (unless Haley manages to make extremely lucky shots with her bow).

Assuming she doesn't have more monster allies with darkvision on the sidelines ready to get on the field and fight.

Edited by Resileafs on Jun 28th 2021 at 1:01:57 PM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57798: Jun 28th 2021 at 10:00:52 AM

Actually I'd give Belkar even odds in a toe-to-toe fight. Beholders can't really be sneak-attacked. But this isn't about that. As noted, the Beholder is Serini's insurance policy. It keeps the Order nice and docile while she talks to them or picks them off one by one.

Edited by Fighteer on Jun 28th 2021 at 1:01:29 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#57799: Jun 28th 2021 at 10:03:53 AM

So, I've been thinking about Serini lately, and I was wondering - if the likes of Miko represent the worst aspects of the Law alignment (without being full-on Evil, mind you), would you say that Serini might represent the worst aspects of the Chaos alignment?

Like, if Lawful extremes are a Knight Templar, "the law must be followed, no exceptions", then Chaotic extremes are a Cowboy Cop, "I'll do what I think is right, screw what everyone else thinks"?

In other words, Serini is Not So Different from the rigid Paladin types she holds in disdain.

Oh God! Natural light!
Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#57800: Jun 28th 2021 at 10:12:56 AM

No, Girard is the worst parts of chaotic. Serini, so far, is just jumping to conclusions and failing to gather relevant information when she has the opportunity.


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