Order of the Stick: November II

[Buzzaro]

I predict that more people will post in code on this thread

F rdvi knbyftm mqrm kpikdb xfdd nbry mqfv ???

;D

WHAT!!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Are you guys telling me I went out and bought 24 boxes of The Order of the Stick Breakfast Cereal, carefully cut off all of their UPS Codes, filled out the registration, sent them all in with a check for 4.95 to cover the shipping and handling, so I could become a Gold Member of The Official Order of the Stick Fan Club, so that I would get The Official Order of the Stick Decoder Ring, so I could be one of the special chosen people that would really know what Haley was saying and someone has cracked it and published the thing. I did that all for NOTHING???
Oh my lord... I am not special anymore... /weeping :'( /weeping :'(

[Iazmynh]

I would have sat down on Friday to translate Haley's cryptoquoted speech, but decided I ought to do something else at the time. However, It just took me only a few minutes to solve the replacement letters. the "boot to the face" scene kind of got me started on the right foot. hehehe

I enjoy using my logic skills. (eg: minesweeper, best time on expert level 360 seconds so far.)

[ironoutlaw]

challenge for anyone that wants to test their logic skills
http://www.geocities.com/darknesnsilence/fiendish.htm
I made it myself ;D

[eof]

Well, we've had perl, python, vb

Here's a decoder for those who can only use their browsers to execute code. You need to copy the code into your location bar.

javascript:var from = "retypswqfbzdauikgnvmcjxlhoRETYPSWQFBZDAUIKGN VMCJXLHO"; var to = "abcdefghieklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIEKLMNOPQR STUVWXYZ"; var mes = prompt("Enter text to decode:", "Vuprz rmmrtz eiim mi mqp srtp!"); var mes = (mes == null ? "" : mes); var res=""; for(var i = 0; i < mes.length; i++) {var j = from.indexOf(mes.charAt(i)); res += (j == -1 ? mes.charAt(i) : to.charAt(j)); } if (res != "") alert(res);

[McScope]

why assume the item is cursed? Roy hasn't tried to take it off yet.

Some people would pay a lot of money for the belts effects. ::)

[ironoutlaw]

given that we can't see the belt and that roy has no reason to remain a girl now and his reluctance to use the belt in the first place, i'd guess that roy has already removed the belt.

[Omellette]

Yeah, but the original item lost all effect after being used once, and the orger they got it from had used it. This isn't the original magic item, so right now we don't really know what will remove it. It seems natural that Roy would ask V or Durkon to at least try a Remove Curse, before looking for other options.

OK, unless I'm missing something, it IS, in fact, the same belt that the Ogre way back when was wearing.

So, technically, it shouldn't have worked again (again, depending on the ruleset you choose to follow), but that's ALL irrelevant. Why? Simple...

Rich has always mentioned that the characters and the game mechanics underneath them are all slaves to the funny.

In other words, if a rule needs to be broken to make the plot more coherent, or funnier, then so be it. DOn't over-analyze it, and just enjoy the show!

[Lothorus]

OK, unless I'm missing something, it IS, in fact, the same belt that the Ogre way back when was wearing.

So, technically, it shouldn't have worked again (again, depending on the ruleset you choose to follow), but that's ALL irrelevant. Why? Simple...

Rich has always mentioned that the characters and the game mechanics underneath them are all slaves to the funny.

In other words, if a rule needs to be broken to make the plot more coherent, or funnier, then so be it. DOn't over-analyze it, and just enjoy the show!

Hear hear! Well put, Omellette.

[Sylvius]

1) translate the words into a foreign language and then use a letter substitution key.

I always thought this would be a good combination when paired with a legionnaire's code. Translate your message into some language with a different alphabet. Spell it out in phonetic romanization. And then run it through a legionnaire's code (letter-substitution that changes every letter based on a pre-determined sequence).

My preference was usually ancient Greek.

[ilikebasketball]

I always thought this would be a good combination when paired with a legionnaire's code. Translate your message into some language with a different alphabet. Spell it out in phonetic romanization. And then run it through a legionnaire's code (letter-substitution that changes every letter based on a pre-determined sequence).

My preference was usually ancient Greek.

Translating to another language works, but only partially.

Even when using a different alphabet and language, a long text would mean that a probabilistic attack would be possible: just count which values occur often. And note any similar fragments (e followed by n, for example in english). Then compare to a dictionary of different languages (each language has specific characteristics)
Work from there.

It's good, but far from perfect.
But in times of computers, good is not good enough if you want it done well...

koos

[GypsyThorn]

(I apologize in advance if this is inappropriate. If so, gentle moderators, please zap as needed....)

Friday's strip reminded me of this, and I feel compelled to post.

If you enjoyed Friday's strip with its nice combination of puzzle solving and role-playing, you'd enjoy the NASCRAG event at Gencon(tm). Our events emphasize role-playing, puzzle solving, and fun (emphasis on fun), and have been delighting fantasy role-players for 25 years. (Okay, 24 years. One of those years wasn't really that hot.) Last Saturday I just ran a playtest of our 2006 offering, and it's very much up to our standards even this early in the process. I recommend it highly.

Visit www.nascrag.org for more details.

[Devils_Advocate]

Omellette: Yes, Rich sometimes bends the rules to make things funny.

That said, I think you may be misinterpreting what Amalthea wrote. By "the original magic item", she's refering to type, not specific instance, i.e. she means

"Obviously this belt isn't the original 2nd Edition version of the belt, because we've already seen it work differently. So unlike that original version, this one could be removed with a Remove Curse, so far as we know."

and not

"Since a Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity can only be used once, this one must be a different one than the one they took off the ogre."

'Cuz, see, if she had meant the second one, it would be because she assumed it was the original, 2nd Edition, version of the belt, in which case she would say that a Remove Curse wouldn't work. So clearly she meant that it's a different type of item than the original Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity, not that it's not the same item as they found in strip #9.

(Also: You think that picking things apart means not enjoying them? We live in very, very different worlds. ;D)

[Omellette]

Hahaha, I never meant to imply that picking things apart wasn't a way to enjoy them.

I'm just saying that Rich has instructed us all (myself included here) to not look into things TOO much. He tries to follow "the rules", but only so far as the story/funny allows.

Anyways, if I misinterpreted Amalthea's remark, and she didn't mean this specific belt (that's how I took it, at any rate), then I sit corrected.

:-)

[Amalthea]

OK, unless I'm missing something, it IS, in fact, the same belt that the Ogre way back when was wearing.

So, technically, it shouldn't have worked again (again, depending on the ruleset you choose to follow), but that's ALL irrelevant. Why? Simple...

Rich has always mentioned that the characters and the game mechanics underneath them are all slaves to the funny.

In other words, if a rule needs to be broken to make the plot more coherent, or funnier, then so be it. DOn't over-analyze it, and just enjoy the show!

:'( I was just wondering about how they were planning on going about removing the belt, and thought it worth mentioning that since it isn't living up to it's original description, that it might have a unique cure as well...
:-[

[Duraska]

Elan: "...and if nothing else, I would think she'd have had to go potty by now."

How old is Elan? Six? What kind of adventurer can stab things to death, watch the life drain out of their eyes, clean the blood off of their hands, and then use the phrase "potty" with a serious face? He's starting to remind me of Minsc.

[BurntOfferings]

Elan: "...and if nothing else, I would think she'd have had to go potty by now."

How old is Elan? Six? What kind of adventurer can stab things to death, watch the life drain out of their eyes, clean the blood off of their hands, and then use the phrase "potty" with a serious face? He's starting to remind me of Minsc.

I don't know who Minsc is, but I have a hard time picturing Elan as the "stab things to death, [and] watch the life drain out of their eyes" type of adventurer. He usually sings while others do the stabbing (with a few notable exceptions). But I can definitely picture him using the word "potty."

[Dark_Stalion]

Well, it looks like virtually everyone on the forum has some points in Decifer Script.

I believe that the code shouldn't change, at least for Haly's blather. I get the feeling that Rich meant that he would use a different code when he generates one for a different usage, rather than for the next script which he writes for Haley. Just my though though.

[Greebo]

Minsc, insane adventurer extraordinaire, and his hampster of doom, Boo, are famous characters from the "Baldur's Gate" PC game series. :)

[Chumbaniya]

[Feel the wrath of Minsc and Boo!

Anyhow, I'd say the six-year-old-speech Elan is way better than any stabbing-to-death Elan could ever be (they have Belkar for stabbing duties anyway). I know it's traditional to have adventurers being all stabby and violent, but it's a lot more sensible (and funny) to have a variety of character types - we've all met people with at least a vaguely Elan-esque naivete, probably more often than we meet those who are like stereotypical adventurer types. OOTS is, it seems to me, more about character humour than it is about poking fun at DnD, and that character humour is all the better for having a naive character like Elan in it.

[Sylvius]

Translating to another language works, but only partially.

Even when using a different alphabet and language, a long text would mean that a probabilistic attack would be possible: just count which values occur often. And note any similar fragments (e followed by n, for example in english). Then compare to a dictionary of different languages (each language has specific characteristics)
Work from there.

Hence my suggestion of a legionnaire's code, which changes the substitution value each letter.

[Duraska]

"Go for the eyes, Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!"

I dunno. I just thought the "potty" comment was especially childish, even for Elan. He is, I assume, in his early 20's, and has lived atleast 1/10 of that time (i assume) away from home, sleeping on dungeon floors, facing monsters, and generally doing things that risked his life. "Potty" seemed rather out of character for even him. Oh well.

"We must rest soon. Boo is getting squirrely!"

[The Giant]

The comic is going to be later than normal today. Expect it in the late evening. Heck, you might just want to check first thing tomorrow, actually. Sorry.


(Oh, and if you're one of the 512 people who emailed me with a decryption of Haley's words as if you were the only one with the skill necessary to understand it? You aren't. Please stop emailing me.)

[GypsyThorn]

(Oh, and if you're one of the 512 people who emailed me with a decryption of Haley's words as if you were the only one with the skill necessary to understand it? You aren't. Please stop emailing me.)

Would that be 2 to the ninth or 2 to the nth?

[Eriol]

The comic is going to be later than normal today. Expect it in the late evening. Heck, you might just want to check first thing tomorrow, actually. Sorry.

/sad

Oh well. Always worth waiting for quality.

[Ilaun_Undil]

Would that be 2 to the ninth or 2 to the nth?

512 usually refers to 2^9 however there are many differnt ways of looking at it.

[Gefangnis]

Even the belt's original owner (the ogre) only changed back after death. This doesn't bode well for Roy...

Couldn't he just take off the belt...?

They showed the ogre when they were holding the belt.

[Valorath]

So what happened to the sole surviving coin? Both Durkon and Elan have trod upon it. Has it been pressed into the dirt, lost forever?

Looking at the movement and positioning of characters, it may also be out of frame to the left, where Belkar is heading off to.

Or.... the attorney (assuming Belkar didn't catch him with some stabbity justice), has a night job as a ninja, and snuck back to get something for his troubles. If so, Haley will surely track him down and finish what Belkar started.

[Buzzaro]

...(Oh, and if you're one of the 512 people who emailed me with a decryption of Haley's words as if you were the only one with the skill necessary to understand it? You aren't. Please stop emailing me.)

Let not your heart be troubled, for the number of emails you receive each day is directly proportional to the amount of affection and respect we have for you and your work.

[TarSheva]

Hmm, that's funny. I playtested the 2006 offering on Saturday. ;D

(I apologize in advance if this is inappropriate. If so, gentle moderators, please zap as needed....)

Last Saturday I just ran a playtest of our 2006 offering, and it's very much up to our standards even this early in the process. I recommend it highly.

Visit www.nascrag.org for more details.

[Nikolai_II]

Or the lack of interest for the forums, or the lack of ability to read the forums and see that there are so many solutions in there that they are spilling over into other threads.

-

Since it should be late enough for a prediction I will assume that Remove Curse will be enough to cure Haley, and that D and V have memorized one in total between the two of them.. ;)