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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

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#64476: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:19:40 AM

To be clear, I'm not saying the act itself would not be horrific, although as noted it's hard for Nale to become any less sympathetic. I'm saying that Thog, of all people, is not a cute little puppy, the kicking of which should trigger feelings of betrayed horror.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Tharkun140 The Arch-Douchebag Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
The Arch-Douchebag
#64477: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:22:04 AM

I would be less amused at my cat's antics if it were actually capable of carrying out its desire to murder me.

I would be less amused by Thog's antics if he had any power to affect anything outside a stick figure webcomic. He's significantly less dangerous than a house cat, so the readers are free to find him lovable and feel sad when he dies.

That said, I don't think Thog is going to get sacrificed, at least not anytime soon. It would be a significant waste of effort and resources from an in-universe perspective and a very strange move narrative wise, since Nale is consistently characterized as comically evil and/or pitiable rather than genuinely hateable. Killing Thog at this point would provide nothing but shock value, and perhaps a small bit of Black Comedy.

I wonder if Nale's new demon body is already subtly influencing his morality.

Hey! Who are you calling a demon!

Edited by Tharkun140 on Jun 5th 2025 at 5:23:21 PM

Apathy is Death. Worse than Death, because at least a rotting corpse feeds beasts and insects.
Angry_Clown (Troper Journeyman) Relationship Status: All is for my lord
#64478: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:34:38 AM

Woohoo! Thog is back!...wait, Thog was dead?

Just a simple man, making my way through the Tropes.
HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#64479: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:45:07 AM

Maybe it's a Curse of the Black Pearl situation, and they only need a token sacrifice of a few drops of blood, despite appearances—from a mortal. So they resurrected the one mortal guaranteed to be happy to provide such to his buddy Nale.

Edit: Besides, if Nale is about to kill Thog, he wouldn't care about conjuring clothes to prevent frostbite.

Edited by HeraldAlberich on Jun 5th 2025 at 11:48:21 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#64480: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:45:33 AM

Nale betraying Thog would be akin to Tarquin killing Nale. It would still be a shitty thing to do but the victim would deserve it nonetheless.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Aetol from France Since: Jan, 2015
#64481: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:51:07 AM

I doubt Nale would have bothered clothing Thog if he was going to shank him immediately, so he must have some other role in this plan.

(Also, "my pronunciation is better" -> Nale has a bigger Use Magic Device score, I presume?)

Worldbuilding is fun, writing is a chore
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#64482: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:52:38 AM

I would be less amused by Thog's antics if he had any power to affect anything outside a stick figure webcomic. He's significantly less dangerous than a house cat, so the readers are free to find him lovable and feel sad when he dies.

I feel like I shouldn't be baited into this, but by that standard, since none of what happens in the comic is real, we shouldn't care about any of it. Nale also has no power to affect anything outside of a stick figure webcomic. The worst any of them can do to us is give us eyestrain (or paper cuts if we bought the books).

[down] Fairly sure he needs UMD to use a cleric scroll.

Edited by Fighteer on Jun 5th 2025 at 11:53:59 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#64483: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:53:23 AM

If Nale's levels have held through his transformation, he's part-Sorcerer and doesn't need UMD.

[up] Ah.

Edited by HeraldAlberich on Jun 5th 2025 at 11:56:15 AM

petersohn from Earth, Solar System (Long Runner) Relationship Status: Hiding
#64484: Jun 5th 2025 at 8:59:28 AM

Besides, if Nale is about to kill Thog, he wouldn't care about conjuring clothes to prevent frostbite.
I'm not sure that's the primary reason Nale summoned the clothes.

Nale betraying Thog would be akin to Tarquin killing Nale. It would still be a shitty thing to do but the victim would deserve it nonetheless.
There is a huge difference. In Tarquin's case, Nale should have it coming, messing with someone as powerful as Tarquin, is known to be Evil, and has a huge army to boot with. In this case, despite Thog being a horrible being, his murder would be undeserved, as he'd done no wrong since his resurrection, let alone anything that would provoke Nale killing him. It would just be a plain Kick the Dog moment.

Fjón þvæ ég af mér fjanda minna rán og reiði ríkra manna.
HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#64485: Jun 5th 2025 at 10:53:32 AM

Well, it's the stated reason, anyway. That he'd lose toes in the middle of counting them.

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#64486: Jun 5th 2025 at 2:18:20 PM

It could be foreshadowing for when Nale eventually betrays Sabine.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
dcutter2 Since: Sep, 2013
#64487: Jun 5th 2025 at 2:22:02 PM

Come to think of it: killing Thog to establish a link to the fountain wluld mean making him the fountain's first fuel source and melt him down for energy right?

meaning A Fate Worse Than Death -no afterlife and no meeting the puppy again for poor Thog

Edited by dcutter2 on Jun 5th 2025 at 12:29:46 PM

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
#64488: Jun 5th 2025 at 3:55:24 PM

Dang that's at least as bad as being etten by the snarl

Say to the others who did not follow through You're still our brothers, and we will fight for you
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#64489: Jun 5th 2025 at 6:40:20 PM

[up]x5

The comic which has Nale die makes it explicit that he's a horrible person who deserved what happened to him...but Tarquin's still a piece of shit for doing it. And he didn't deserve it because he provoked Tarquin, but because he's done so many horrible things.

Thog's also a horrible person who's killed tons of people. And despite his goofy behavior and mindset, he absolutely deserves to die and burn in the Big Fire Below. The only unfortunate thing is that he's too stupid to recognize such an afterlife as a punishment.

Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2025 at 9:42:51 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Cozzer Since: Mar, 2015
#64490: Jun 6th 2025 at 12:39:31 AM

Nale is definitely going to sacrifice Thog at some point, but I guess it's not going to happen right now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered conjuring clothes for him, nor he would have said "last chance for alone time" to Sabine.

That said, I think it might happen sooner rather than later. A way to subvert the expectations of "another funny and relatively light-hearted Linear Guild storyline", and to Shoo Out the Clowns from the final arc.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#64491: Jun 6th 2025 at 3:09:19 AM

I honestly can't wait for Roy's reaction to encountering the Guild yet again. He's going to be so frustrated by the implausibility of it.

Will29 (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#64492: Jun 6th 2025 at 4:22:51 AM

[up] "Elan, remember when you said you're not a twin anymore? Nevermind that."

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#64493: Jun 6th 2025 at 5:33:27 AM

Count me as a vote for “Nale is going to sacrifice Thog”. Nale and Sabine talk about establishing a connection to the fountain full of blood, Sabine shows she has Tarquin’s poison ring, and then they summon Thog. That suggests Thog is going to have a role in establishing that connection; and killing someone who trusts you would be a suitably Infernal requirement for establishing the connection.

Sabine may have anticipated this and planned ahead, in case her bosses were expecting Nale would sacrifice her.

Edited by Galadriel on Jun 6th 2025 at 5:33:47 AM

HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#64494: Jun 6th 2025 at 5:38:35 AM

Poison ring? I only see Thog’s tooth. They use it to Resurrect him.

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#64495: Jun 6th 2025 at 5:38:45 AM

@Galadriel: Makes sense, and of course if that's how it plays out now, then Nale sacrificing Sabine is a major Chekhov that will have to be fired at some point.

Edited by DeMarquis on Jun 6th 2025 at 5:39:55 AM

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#64496: Jun 6th 2025 at 5:40:15 AM

Oh, you’re right. I got confused because it looked similar.

But either way: resurrecting Thog is related to establishing a connection with the fountain, which involves the dagger.

Bense Since: Aug, 2010
#64497: Jun 6th 2025 at 7:55:04 AM

I certainly get the feeling that Thog will not be back for very long...

ArcanGenth Since: Aug, 2009
#64498: Jun 6th 2025 at 8:56:32 AM

I had an interesting thought:
I wonder if this entire set up is just that, a Set-up?

It would be completely in character for IFCC the lead Nale around with carefully worded statements and let his ego fill in the blanks.
I know they explicitly stated "We promote you to devilhood and enhance you with the fountain, in return for which you will destroy the Gate and release the Snarl".

But!

How funny would it be if the Dagger doesn't just trigger the power transfer of the Fountain, but also determined the target? Imagine if Nale and Sabine stab Thog, and simply become the first energy snacks of Thog's ascension to fiend-hood? Bonus poetic points if Thog becomes a daemon, completing the theme of Demon-Devil-Daemon power coming together.

I don't think it will go this route, but it was a fun little tangent to explore.

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#64499: Jun 7th 2025 at 9:00:45 PM

I was a little late commenting on this, but hey!

Thog is back!

You know, I deeply appreciate that, even if Thog is kinda goofy, he's still evil and the author understands that.

One Strip! One Strip!
ACW from Arlington, VA (near Washington, D.C.) Since: Jul, 2009
#64500: Jun 8th 2025 at 4:52:50 PM

Thog!

Also, apparently Cerberus exists in this universe along with Thor. All Myths Are True?


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