The Order of the Stick: April

[The Giant]

OK, this is the new "general comments about OOTS that aren't important enough to warrant their own thread" thread for the month of April. We'll start a new one each month from now on.

Let the commenting begin!!

[Grey Watcher]

I am officially making the first comment in the new thread:

I love the Order of the Stick!

END OF LINE

[The Giant]

That's just the sort of deep insightful analysis I've come to expect. Well done! ;)

[WampaX]

Is it just my imagination, or does the talisman look like a harp?

[Gannes]

Nah, I think it a pendant on a chain. But it's so small (in that picture) and yellow (which doesn't show up well against white) that it's kind of hard to tell.

[Bogotter]

Thanks to Ashlock I'm able to post the Opinicus in all of its glory.



Now can you see why it deserved to be in the Pit of Misfit Monsters?

[The_Dragon]

Cheery sort, isn't he?

Damn right. Join me, and you too will know the power and joy of the Dark Side. Although really, we get just as good lighting as the "Light" Side people, so don't let the name throw you.

[davericsdamsel]

rich -

I love your self portrait avatar!

: ) j

[Grey Watcher]

That's just the sort of deep insightful analysis I've come to expect. Well done! ;)

I was actually going to try to come up with something intelligent to say, but I risked loosing the coveted first post of the new thread! (Well, second really, but you get the idea.....

And, for my thoughts on your new tag, it's cute, but I kinda like the old one. All mysterious and Vorlony. But then, I am only a lowly Pixie....

[whisper]But not for long, mwahahaha![/whisper]

[Piratecat]

Rich, I've been wondering - what do you use to draw the strip? I assume you're using a tablet and doing the whole thing digitally, but I'm curious as to your exact methods.

[Gannes]

Thanks to Ashlock I'm able to post the Opinicus in all of its glory.

Now can you see why it deserved to be in the Pit of Misfit Monsters?

Good lord, it looks like a camel designed by committee!

[The Giant]

Rich, I've been wondering - what do you use to draw the strip? I assume you're using a tablet and doing the whole thing digitally, but I'm curious as to your exact methods.

The whole thing is done in Adobe Illustrator, a high-end vector illustration program for those who might not know. Yes, it takes a $700 piece of professional design software to make them look that crude! Just the other day, I was reflecting on the fact that it takes like 15 times as long to make a complicated panel than it would to draw it by hand.

But I love the clean lines and flat color that digital drawing gives me, especially the perfect circles for heads. Plus, I can cut-and-paste figures and backgrounds to save time. By using a vector program, each line can be adjusted and moved individually after they are drawn, so I can (for example) delete just a character's arms and redraw them in a second, rather than having to erase each pixel of color.

Oh, and I use a mouse, not a tablet. That may seem odd, since it's harder to get the line perfectly placed with a mouse, but I've been using Illustrator professionally for so long (7 years) that adjusting the vectors manually has become second-nature.

[Arian]

I'm wondering what's become of Zz'dtri. We haven't seen him since he stoned the sylph in #53.

He didn't come through the door with the rogues and V in #55, and he's not visible anywhere in #56 either, though everyone else is there. I wonder.

[The Giant]

What happened is I ran out of room on-panel. You'll notice neither of the dwarves is coming through the door in #55 either, yet they are there in #56.

Trust me, he's there, he just, uh, cast Invisibility on himself. ;)

[Rhia]

Firstly, I love the bard. How can anybody not love the bumbly, naive fool? He is so true to the games I've played where the bards are kind of inept. Bards foreva!

Secondly, you would love a tablet. You would. If you tried it and hated it, I'd have to conclude you are just insane. Which, since I don't know you, might be the case anyway... ;)

OOTS is my new favorite strip. ^^

[Dreeble]

Heya:

Order of the Stick is completely wonderful. A few weeks back somebody at ENWorld posted a link to the "Wait! I think I failed a Spot check!" strip (actually, it was a reference to people ignoring their familiars after getting them, except for the bonuses). Still my favorite strip. I love Belkar's facial expressions. Also my new favorite strip (I also like PvPOnline, PennyArcade, SomethingPositive, and others). Lastly, any chance of a POBox for donations for those of us afeared of PayPal?

Woo.
Dreeble

[Xander77]

Ok, who didn't see this one coming?

*Raises hand*

*Notices no one else does*

*Lowers hand in a hurry*

Yeah, me neither... :P

[Daveric]

All I have to say is dun Dun DUN! :)

Can't wait until monday, dang weekend cliff-hangers. ;D

BAKER!!!!!!!!

[Rhia]

:'(

Cliffhangers, indeed.

[The Giant]

Hey Dreeble, thanks for the praise!

Lastly, any chance of a POBox for donations for those of us afeared of PayPal?

No, unfortunately I don't. I looked into it, but the cost per month is far greater than I am likely to get in mailed donations. And I would prefer not to give out my home address (my only other valid mailing address). I would recommend if you want to support the site, you could buy a journal or something (assuming you don't want a t-shirt). If ordering over the internet is a problem too, CafePress accepts phone orders: 877-809-1659, 7 am - 5 pm PST, Mon-Fri.

[Shanna]

[looks back a bit]

OOO! A flumph! Food source of nerd monster central!

Giant, I think I know where you got the base idea for that strip from.... :) Possibly...Castle Greyhawk?

Different, of course. :)

[Grey Watcher]

And here I was thinking Nale was above the personal use of physical violence. I'll admit, that one took me off-guard. It's sort of... edgy. But then, Nale survived loosing at least one vital organ, so I'm willing to bet he'll come through in the end (provided Belkar has any more of those green potions Haley can steal).

[Duskrider_Moogle]

And here I was thinking Nale was above the personal use of physical violence.

Wouldn't be much point in him taking those fighter levels then :P

I'm pretty surprised too...I'd say I can't wait till Monday, except I have to go back to school on Monday, so I am in fact quite comfortable waiting till Monday.

I just hope this doesn't ruin the beautiful romance of the dwarves :(

[The Giant]

Giant, I think I know where you got the base idea for that strip from.... :) Possibly...Castle Greyhawk?

Different, of course. :)

Man, everyone wants to attribute my ideas to someone else. >:(

Sorry, I don't know anything about Castle Greyhawk.

[Piratecat]

Elan! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Castle Greyhawk was a joke module generally considered horrible, full of bad puns and lame jokes. One of the funnier bits was a demiplane of lame monsters, where all of the stupider beasties were banished. Flumph was their main food source.

[Lilly]

First: I don't think I can give you enough praise for the strip. I absolutley love it. It makes my Mondays and Thursdays less bleh.

*just now notices you have a paypal button*

On #56: I never thought I'd hear a wizard say "sucks".
:o
Poor, poor little Elan.

And what on earth is the thing with the bunny on it's head?

[Grimicus]

Ack, I think I'll expire from the anticipation before Monday comes. What a cliff hanger! :)

[Shanna]

Giant:

No, not attribute your ideas. Inspiration is different from stealing. Castle Greyhawk had the land of the Nerd Monsters, with all of the really silly monsters from the various books (different than yours, you see, but similar enough that I though you might have taken inspiration).

Inspiration is a good thing. As are flumphs.

As for Castle Greyhawk being full of lame jokes, I found it hilarious, myself. ^_^

[The Giant]

Sounds funny; in retrospect, I can see how the one would remind you of the other. But no, I never read it...I pretty much never read any Greyhawk stuff. I've long been a fan of the flumph for their sheer uselessness. I used to tell people my WOTC setting was called "Flumphworld: The Quest to Not Get Flipped Over". ;D

[Shanna]

Flumphs ARE hilarious.... :) Poor things.

I bet your setting was REALLY popular.

I'm not actually certain that Castle Greyhawk had anything to do with the Greyhawk setting, oddly enough... ^_^