Order of the Stick: October 2005 I

[Sundog]

Habeas Corpus apparently means "Have the body", as the opening words of the writ(in Latin)

Not quite. It means "Produce the body", and is used to force the government to bring someone in their custody forward to ensure his well-being and that the prisoner's rights are being observed.

[Umael]

Humor, shock, sorrow, contemplation, vindication.

Humor - good strip.

Shock - Belkar actually is Chaotic Evil!

Sorrow - But, but... I hate Chaotic Evil!

Contemplation - No, that's not true, there are actually two other Chaotic Evil characters I do like. Smaug and the Joker. Belkar makes three.

Vindication - Belkar versus the lawyer. Go BELKAR!!!

[Jothki]

I still think Belkar is CN, based on the way he responded to Eagle's Wisdom. He might be CN bordering on CE, but he's certainly not CE.

Belkar's form of evil is the kind that results from his ignorance of others. He has difficulty seeing beyond himself, so he puts his own gratification above all else. When his wisdom was increased, he was able to comprehend the importance of others and how his actions could affect them.

This can be contrasted with, say, an evil priest who understands how good people think, but considers them to be weak and pathetic because of their unwillingness to embrace his ideals or serve his master. Belkar just doesn't care.

Edit: Smaug? Isn't Smaug just about as generic of an evil dragon as you can get?

[Umael]

Edit: Smaug? Isn't Smaug just about as generic of an evil dragon as you can get?

More like the other way around. Evil dragons are formed using Smaug as the template.

Well, okay, if you have a clever DM, he or she will reference Fafnir or the Midgaard Serpent.

But when you consider how old The Hobbit is and when D&D first came into the scene, Smaug came first, by a long shot.

[JessmanCA]

wait, wait, how do we know he isn't Chaotic Neutral? [EDIT] after reading the previous pages I see why

Also, hilarious strip. I laughed out loud at "a spoooky restraining order" and the panel "Well I guess everything is in order so I'll," I re-read that panel about 3 times before continuing, I was like "Belkar is lawful???" and then the chaotic twist made everything right again.

[Raeden]

Well, as far as I know, it is the defendant who asks for a "writ of habeas corpus", but I'm not pretending I know a lot about American law, which this is probably based on.

Still, latin word jokes are hilarious!

[Midnight Son]

I'm still not clear on this subject. I've read the last few pages and all the inumerable related threads and I just don't get it. Is Belkar CE?

Sheesh! how long is this topic going to be debated?

[GuywithSword#2]

OK, checkit... 1 2 1 2.

Belkar is CE

Belkar cares not for order or any form of law, he does stuff because that's just how he rolls, and will break the law on a whim, yo.

Belkar is also cruel, delighting in the suffering of others, dawg.

Belkar is hilarious. Okay, so that doesn't have anything to do with him being CE, but it's important, G.

So that means, when dealing with Belkar, one must assuredly chiggedy check oneself before one wrecks oneself.

I'm not sure why I felt this should be so gangster, I just did.

[Lasombra]

hehehehehehhehehehehehehhehehehehehehe ;D

*falls over giggling*

[Aeek]

Does anybody other than me think that Belkar wins far too often in these strips, especially for someone with a Wisdom score more normally reserved for lemmings?

Doesn't matter if he does lose, he's far too stupid to notice.

[Winter_Wolf]

Belkar is a halfling. You know, +1 Luck bonus.

[ScreamerSimon]

There sure is heavy traffic on the exterior walls of hotels in the Gaming World.... ;)

[GreyRat]

There sure is heavy traffic on the exterior walls of hotels in the Gaming World.... ;)

Once my D&D group was relaxing in an inn and heard a scream outside, so we decided to check it out (because we didn't want competition in the local 'causing chaos' competition ;D). The rogue decided the fastest route was out the window. The mage agreed and followed. And then the rest of the party realized, yeah, the stairs would probably be real crowded... So in the end everyone (including the fighter in full armor) climbed out, much to the amazement of the GM. it worked, though, we avoided his little ambush in the common room. Always request a window in your room. Just board it up at night. :D

[BigT]

absolutely brilliant.. especially the panel in which he first enters the stable..

[Ikkitosen]

Another strip backing the "Belkar is the funniest character" idea :). Go Belkar - we love you!

[SirAnon]

Wait! I thought Belker was bald, it looks like he shaves his head in the closeup panel.

[Eslington]

Straight from the first comic, you can make out the short brown fuzz on the top of his head.

In the stable, he almost looks bald due to the brown background, but eagle-eyed observers will note a pixel-wide browness across his crown.

In short, Belkar isn't bald.

[SirAnon]

i just now noticed the brown fuzz, thats what i get for having to continualy replace my eyes.

[Gobbo_in_the_Boots]

that "evenin'" "evenin'"-panel is the greatest joke i've ever noticed. ever. EVER!
and now imagine that varsuuvuisish gesture with that ever...

[ref]

Also, do you honestly believe that a Neutral character would slaughter three innocent barbarians for fun? Or offer to sell a teenage girl into slavery? Or want to slit the throats of everyone they capture? Or wear a kobold head as a helmet? Or threaten to kill the horse for a simple misunderstanding? Or say that MIKO MIGHT LOSE HER POWERS BY ASSOCIATING WITH HIM, HINT HINT? Or want to kill goblins and loot the corpses just because they have green skin and he doesn't? Or not be affected by Unholy Blight? The list of ways in which the Giant all but directly tells us that Belkar is evil goes on and on.
Sheesh...

Yes, if chaotic, since he was never told it was a training fight. Slavery? When was that? Most of the capturees were evil. Ditto with the kobold, and see #1. Misunderstanding? This horse attacked him from behind!! Belkar can just think he's evil, what with having wisdom 8 and stuff. And they are minions of Xykon, hence evil (see #3). 5d6, half for neutral, saved for half, on a 10th+ level character can amount to "unaffected".

[Midnight Son]

Sheesh! how long is this topic going to be debated?

Apparently...forever.

Yes, if chaotic, since he was never told it was a training fight. Slavery? When was that? Most of the capturees were evil. Ditto with the kobold, and see #1. Misunderstanding? This horse attacked him from behind!! Belkar can just think he's evil, what with having wisdom 8 and stuff. And they are minions of Xykon, hence evil (see #3). 5d6, half for neutral, saved for half, on a 10th+ level character can amount to "unaffected".

[jamesbard]

*everybody* gets 'Lawyer' as a favored enemy!

[Eriol]

Slavery? When was that?

In #171. He wants to sell Samantha into slavery.

[Jothki]

More like the other way around. Evil dragons are formed using Smaug as the template.

Well, okay, if you have a clever DM, he or she will reference Fafnir or the Midgaard Serpent.

But when you consider how old The Hobbit is and when D&D first came into the scene, Smaug came first, by a long shot.

Obsessively avaricious dragons were probably old school even when Beowulf was written.

[Jevanyn]

Obsessively avaricious dragons were probably old school even when Beowulf was written.

And dragons are the definition of evil spirits in Chinese and/or Japanese folklore. One of the few solid background details from the film Reign of Fire was that dragons are nearly universally identifiable across dozens of cultures: Quetzalcoatl, Leviathan, etc. Even Godzilla fits the bill; the Loch Ness monster, too?

Our DM even made a joke out of this in a recent game. When a dragon had started harassing a town near where our characters lived, one skeptical guard told us "some people see something bigger than a bird in the air, they just call it a dragon (and start running)."

[ref]

That was only so he could gotcha Haley :-P

[Jevanyn]

In #171. He wants to sell Samantha into slavery.

"Your approval fills me with shame." Further evidence that Belkar is openly evil.

(As opposed to closet evil. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

[bananna]

'Evenin'. It's just so awesome, like they're just out for a stroll or something.

However.... <nitpick> the stable is a cardboard box? and I detect some cut'n'paste-colour-fill horses. Cute ones, but *is gunned down by the sit-down-and-stop-talking brigade* </nitpick>

And dragons are the definition of evil spirits in Chinese and/or Japanese folklore. One of the few solid background details from the film Reign of Fire was that dragons are nearly universally identifiable across dozens of cultures: Quetzalcoatl, Leviathan, etc.

Ummm, I'm no expert, but aren't Chinese dragons considered neutral? Not good, but they are nice to you if you are respectful to them and become friends with their daughters (who are usually human and pretty good-looking).

[Techonce]

If Belkar ever actually kills Miko's mount she is gonna be angry. -1 to hit and damage for 30 days and can't call a new mount for 30 days.

On the flip side... I can imagine Belkar going nuts when the new mount appears...

[drothgery]

If Belkar ever actually kills Miko's mount she is gonna be angry. -1 to hit and damage for 30 days and can't call a new mount for 30 days.

I imagine Miko can still hit Belkar quite easily with a -1 penalty.