List of The Order of the Stick characters

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This is a list of characters from the webcomic The Order of the Stick.

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The Order of the Stick

The Order is said by Rich Burlew, the author of the strip, to be roughly 7th to 9th level (though fans have confirmed through comic evidence that the party is around 12th level), and seem to be mostly book-legal D&D 3.5 characters. The Order's members have occasionally mentioned feats and spells which do not exist in the default D&D rules, such as Summon Plot Exposition (Elan), Craft Disturbing Mental Image (Belkar), and Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion (Vaarsuvius).

Roy Greenhilt

The leader and veteran fighter of the group. A dark-skinned human with a shaven head (his father implied in On the Origin of PCs that male pattern baldness runs in the family), Roy is a counterstereotype of the dumb fighter cliche. He has an MBA (Master of Battle Administration), and is smart enough to be frustrated at the stupidity of the party — it is implied in strip #31 that he is the most intelligent member of the party, though Rich Burlew has explained that the reason for Roy's appearance in this comic is that his good balance of Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma was more appetizing to the Mindflayer than Vaarsuvius' raw intelligence.

Roy is leading the party against the evil Xykon, a lich, who killed his father Eugene's mentor. Roy is a specialist with the Greatsword, but his family sword was broken by Xykon during their fight so he fought with a greatclub until he got his sword fixed and reforged using a small portion of Starmetal. His alignment, according to strip # 231, is lawful good, though some fans think his actions have been getting more and more chaotic. It was revealed in strip # 256 that he has a 16-year old sister named Julia, who is the most popular girl in the mage school she attends. He possesses a bag of tricks and was once cursed by a Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity (now in Durkon's possession), the effects of which turned him into an attractive (if bald) woman.

As of strip #297 he has discovered that the dwarven smith who told him that starmetal was needed to reforge his ancestral sword was, in fact, lying (unbeknownst to him the "smith" was actually Sabine in disguise). However, he has also discovered that the tiny nugget of starmetal he recovered from the dragon's horde is actually sufficient to be added to his reforged sword, the resultant alloy rendering his ancestral weapon a +5 weapon (a greatsword forged entirely from starmetal would weigh 300 pounds and require every single piece of starmetal in existence). Also, his "starmetal greatsword" will occasionally glow with a deadly green energy that is particularly harmful to undead - a side-effect to which Roy refused to learn the means of counteracting.

Though Roy has perhaps the greatest common sense and practicality of the Order, as a result of his high scores in Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, he can sometimes be too clever for his own good. For example; his question to the Oracle of the Sunken Valley in strip #331 has led him to believe that Xykon's next attack will be focused on Girard's Gate, when in actuality Xykon is heading for the gate of Azure City. He realized this in strip #332, but the memory erasing spell of the Sunken Valley means that he forgot it at the end of the strip.

Belkar Bitterleaf

A vicious, bad-tempered and distractable halfling multiclass ranger-barbarian. He has no patience, poor memory, is utterly immoral, and would kill fellow party members for experience. He would rather slit throats than take prisoners. Although his alignment was once in dispute, it has since been confirmed by the creator of the strip both through explicit statement ([1]) and through events in the comic itself ([2] and [3]) that Belkar is chaotic evil.

In issue 58, after Vaarsuvius used an Owl's Wisdom spell on him so that he could use a pair of Cure Serious Wounds scrolls to save Elan, he temporarily became a much more peaceful and focused being. Vaarsuvius claims Belkar has a Wisdom score "normally reserved for lemmings" and an Intelligence score that "would compare unfavorably with that of a table" (though (s) he later considers the last comment an insult to tables); his Intelligence actually seems to be average or better, and his Wisdom must be between 7 and 10 for the aforementioned Owl's Wisdom incident to take place as shown. Unusual for a Ranger, he has no ranks in Survival, because he didn't think it would come up (even though Roy hired him as a tracker!). He possesses a Ring of Jumping +20.

In return for Roy's co-operation in defeating Xykon, Lord Shojo has secretly agreed to allow Belkar to continue travelling with the Order of the Stick, postponing Belkar's trial for his murder of a Sapphire Guard until one week after Xykon is defeated. However, in return for his freedom Belkar has had an enchanted rune, visible only through a Detect Magic spell (or similar), placed upon his forehead. This "Mark of Justice" represents a powerful curse, triggered whenever Belkar violates certain terms: (1) if Belkar attempts to deal lethal damage to any living creature within the bounds of any city, village or town. Presumably he can still deal lethal damage to undead, and he is able to inflict non-lethal damage. (2) if Belkar is separated from Roy by more than a mile. (3) if he annoys Roy enough to make him trigger the curse with an unknown activation word.

If the curse is activated, Belkar would get sicker and sicker until he is incapable of hurting anyone. Belkar's freedom has been given "on the sly"; Belkar must remain in disguise whilst the OotS are in Azure City, and Roy's father has created a permanent illusion of Belkar in the Sapphire Guard's cells. His share of all the treasure and loot gathered will go towards having the guard he killed raised from the dead.

According to the Oracle of the Sunken Valley, Belkar will eventually cause the death of either Miko Miyazaki, her horse Windstriker, Vaarsuvius, Roy or the Oracle himself-- though due to the specific wording of his question, Belkar wasn't able to find out which one.

Durkon Thundershield

A stereotypical dwarven cleric of Thor, with heavy armor, low Charisma, and a severe fear of trees. Based on the spells and abilities he has displayed or had attributed to him by other characters, he is at least 11th level, but probably 12th since in strip #286 Belkar indicates that he can cast Raise Dead at least three times in one day and Raise Dead is not one of Durkon's Domain spells. He speaks (and, oddly enough, writes) with a thick, apparently Scottish accent.

17 years ago, Durkon lived in the temple of Thor. One morning the priest of Odin arrived with a dire warning for the High Priest of Thor-- that when Durkon returned home, he would bring death and destruction to his people. The High Priest decided that the simplest approach was to prevent him from ever returning home, and so he sent Durkon into human lands to "liaison" with their leaders. When called for by the High Priest, Durkon would return home and teach the dwarves about human ways. But of course, the High Priest had no intention of calling Durkon back home, so unbeknownst to Durkon, he has apparently been banished for life.

Durkon hated traveling in human lands, with their perceived humans-first prejudice and their ideas of self-determination. Three years ago, he was part of an adventuring party that constantly sent him on suicide missions, believing Durkon to be surly and unpleasant. Roy Greenhilt, the party's newest member, saved Durkon's life and negotiated a peaceful settlement between the village and a party of orcs. Durkon was very impressed, and said that if Roy ever wanted to form his own party, he could count on Durkon.

Durkon adventured with Roy for three years before the Order of the Stick was formed. He was briefly the leader of a group of bandits, and had a short but intense relationship with Hilgya, a female dwarf cleric of Loki. He possesses an Amulet of Natural Armor and the Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity which Roy discarded after being cured of his curse. As of strip #305, a messenger from Lord Shojo is on the way to Durkon's homeland to obtain permission from the High Priest of Thor to allow Durkon home. However, when Durkon asked the Oracle of Sunken Valley "How will I finally be returnin' ta me beloved dwarven homelands?", the Oracle answered "Posthumously" [4]. This can be implied as meaning that he will either only return to his homelands as a corpse to be buried, will be brought to his homelands to be resurrected, or that he will be transformed into some manner of undead being before returning.

Elan the Bard

A frivolous, endearing, yet dull-witted bard who has high charisma but low intelligence and wisdom - probably because he was hit on the head by his evil twin brother as a child. He is a fair-skinned human with blonde hair. Elan is responsible for the new religion known as Banjoism (worshipping a hand puppet with a banjo). He frequently annoys Roy with his incessant singing and failure to actually accomplish what Roy tells him to. His colossal ineptitude has caused the party severe problems on more than a few occasions, but none of them can bear to part with him. (However, he has also helped the party on occasion, such as the time he helped thwart an attempt on Roy's life by two assassins.) He was formerly the equally disastrous assistant to the paladin Sir Francois, till the latter managed to escape. Based on his class, his mother's alignment, and his status as the direct opposite of his Lawful Evil twin, he is likely Chaotic Good. He's known to have a Charisma score of 18. Elan possesses boots of elvenkind and wields a magical rapier. He also has a gift certificate good for one (1) favor from Lord Shojo. Elan has several times run around naked. This is because he believes being naked makes him invisible on the principle that armor makes noise. This made him think that if he wears nothing he will be unhearable. This was resolved when Roy promised Durkon would cast Cat's Grace on him. Durkon was reluctant to because it was a touch spell.

Haley Starshine

A red-haired human rogue who uses her feminine wiles, and a lot of fast talking, to keep most of the treasure for herself - which she is evidently saving to pay her father Ian's release from jail. She was a member of the Thieves' Guild for six years, but left when her father got in trouble, since the Guild was taking too much from her earnings. She has a crush on Elan but keeps it hidden, expressing it mainly through sticking up for him (some of the other party members can't stand Elan) and insulting women who find him attractive. Due to an explosion of the inn where the Order was lodging, most of her treasure is now lost. The psychological shock hit her brain so hard that now she speaks only in cryptograms. She is known to have 8 bags of holding, though this number may have been reduced by the same explosion.

As of strip #303, Lord Shojo's clerics have determined that Haley's speech disorder is caused by an excess amount of stress caused by keeping secrets. It is undetermined as to whether or not this stress is caused entirely by her secret crush on Elan, keeping her father's predicament secret from the others, or just a general side effect of her being a rogue.

In strip #309, Haley attempted to tell Elan of the aforementioned secrets (and also that she cheats at solitaire, has a tattoo, and has kissed a girl more than once), but this failed to cure her disorder and he remains oblivious. She began to tell him another secret, one unknown to anyone, but he interrupted. It began (translated from the cryptogram) "I may not be exactly what you would call..."

At the age of fifteen, Haley was a goth and called herself "Dark Mistress Shadowgale". This contrasts sharply with her current personality. In strip #311, this persona appeared again as the embodiment of Haley's Self-Loathing, attempting to advise her how to clear up her speech disorder.

Haley's Self-Loathing advises her to simply kiss Elan, on the grounds he would never be able to understand her words even if they weren't cryptograms. This plan is updated in strip #314 to having Haley kiss Elan at the stroke of midnight, as Sapphire City is celebrating New Year's Eve. That way, if Elan reacts unfavorably, Haley can simply write it off as a tradition. Sadly, Haley lacked the courage, and at the count of midnight, one of the citizens kissed Elan instead. Haley walked off, with her curse firmly in place.

Vaarsuvius

The elven mage of the group, who continually shows off his/her intelligence by using long and convoluted phrases and blowing up enemies with explosive runes. Also known as simply 'V'. Vaarsuvius's gender is intentionally unclear ([5]); the only member of the Order who would potentially know whether (s)he is a male or female is Haley, as Vaarsuvius shares a room only with her when the party lodges at an inn. This leads many to believe (s)he is a female. Several times Vaarsuvius has been referred to as one gender or the other, but nothing conclusive has been decided. V appears to have trouble telling genders apart his/herself — when Roy was a woman, (s)he appeared not to notice.

Vaarsuvius is often as frustrated with the party as is Roy most of the time. (S)he is very arrogant and feels that his/her powers are being wasted frequently. It was revealed in issue #223 that (s)he is married — much to the shock of companions Belkar and Durkon.

Before joining the Order, Vaarsuvius was a challenger for the Iron Mage magic competition, but was disqualified for blowing up the stadium. (S)he's known to have had an Intelligence score of 18 at the start of the plot, though this may have since increased. According to strip #220 Vaarsuvius charges 360 gold pieces for a Fireball spell; The Spellcasting and Services table lists a third level spell such as Fireball as having a gp cost of thirty times the caster level. Presumably from this Vaarsuvius was level 12 in strip #220 and (s)he has not leveled since. However, because (s)he scribes a seventh level spell into his/her spellbook, (s)he must be at least thirteenth level. The characters' levels are deliberately kept non-specific. (S)he possesses a ring of wizardry. As of strip #296, Vaarsuvius was given access to the Azure City spell library, to copy any spells (s)he likes, though (s)he has run into trouble due to lack of blank pages in his/her spellbook. Vaarsuvius frequently expresses a desire to gain ultimate power through ultimate knowledge; when (s)he asked the Oracle of Sunken Vally "How will I achieve complete and total ultimate arcane power?", the Oracle replied "By saying the right four words to the right being at the right time for all the wrong reasons." [6]

Vaarsuvius has a raven familiar, which appears out of thin air whenever necessary to the plot. Haley has named it Blackwing. It too asked a question of the Oracle of the Sunken Valley; what it asked is unknown, but the Oracle recommended that it try ginkoa bilboa, which might suggest the raven having a problem with it's memory.

Recurring characters

Xykon

Xykon is the main villain of the comic, an evil power-mad lich who had taken over the Dungeon of Dorukan and sought to unseal Dorukan's Gate to gain unheard-of magical powers. He has been an undead for three decades (according to strip #117 he hasn't been alive in 30 years, so presumably he was a lich starting then), and flashbacks reveal that he was still a human being when he killed Eugene Greenhilt's mentor and a lich when he battled Dorukan. He had a picture-in-picture scrying crystal to spy on The Order of the Stick, and hundreds of goblin, mercenary and undead minions to crush his enemies. He has made his phylactery from his minion Redcloak's holy symbol, allowing him to regenerate his body indefinitely as long as the medallion is not destroyed. Roy destroyed Xykon's physical form, and most of his original minions are now dead or in hiding as Elan destroyed the castle, but he has since regrown his body. He liberated his old tower from an infestation of good-aligned creatures and now has control of a rather huge army consisting of hobgoblins and various undead versions of the aforementioned good-aligned creatures. He is currently plotting revenge upon the Order and starting another scheme to gain power, related to other gates, similar to Dorukan's, that will give him power to control the multiverse. To accomplish this goal, he is currently moving his army to Azure City to take control of the gate there.

According to his description in strip #331, Xykon is of the Sorcerer class instead of the more traditional Wizard class.

Redcloak

Goblin high priest and chief minion of Xykon, his holy symbol is Xykon's phylactery. Presently honorary hobgoblin, after defeating their alleged leader in ritual combat (a single 'slay living' spell). He is loyal to Xykon, but resents him for ordering goblins to their death indiscriminately, although his attitude has changed due to his mastery over hobgoblins, whom he despises. Redcloak usually plays the straight man to the rest of his team's antics.

Monster in the Dark

Every evil overlord needs a big vicious monster to reveal at the last moment to thwart the heroes. Since Xykon never had the chance to call the monster out of the darkness in his first battle with the heroes, it remains hidden - and by all accounts, isn't really that vicious (Redcloak said it's as scary as musty styrofoam). The monster currently hides under a Hello Goblin umbrella that spreads magical darkness. However, it desires to come out of the shadow, or be otherwise illuminated, even going as far as to court magical damage to be lit up. It also was unable to recognize Dorukan's Gate, even though it was in front of it. Its eyes closely resemble those of a goblinoid. This means it may be one of the larger types of goblinoid, like a Bugbear, although this is unlikely as Bugbears are not usually boss creatures. It is fond of parsley and popcorn.

The Linear Guild

A team of bad guys who are the perfect foils to the Order. The Linear Guild follow an "evil opposites" theme as closely as possible. It originally consisted of:

  • Nale - Elan's evil twin brother (also "Elan" spelled backwards), a multiclass fighter/rogue/sorcerer specializing in enchantment spells who was raised by his ruthless general father. Nale should not have a specialty since, in D&D, sorcerers do not specialize in specific types of magic. The "specialisation" might therefore simply mean he mostly uses enchantment spells. He is apparently Lawful Evil;
  • Thog - a half-orc barbarian with two levels in fighter who likes puppies (hence the famous quote "Thog likes puppies") and ice cream with sprinkles, not to mention rocket skates, wields a greataxe and dislikes pretty girls (due to the cooties);
  • Sabine - a shapeshifting fiend superficially resembling Haley, whom she shares a bitter enmity with; second-in-command of the Linear Guild and Nale's lover. Possibly a succubus or erinyes, more likely an erinyes to match Nale's Lawful Evil alignment (unconfirmed), though Erinyes have feathered wings, as opposed to the draconic ones Sabine sports, which is more suitable to a succubus. More evidence arguing towards her being a succubus goes to her level-draining attack used against Durkon., though it was not delivered upon kissing Nale on the cheek
  • Hilgya Firehelm - a dwarven cleric of Loki who left ancestral homelands to escape her arranged marriage to her supportive husband Ivan, had a short liaison with Durkon and has since left the Guild;
  • Zz'dtri - a dark elf wizard wielding dual scimitars with a 3.0 version of the Fly spell, dragged off by lawyers for being a violation of the copyright on the character Drizz't Do'Urden; and
  • Yikyik - a kobold ranger who was prejudiced against halflings (slain by Belkar, who made a "swanky" hat out of his head)

After losing Yikyik, Hilgya, and Zz'dtri in their first encounter with the Order of the Stick, the guild is trying to find replacements for the slain/deserted/sued party members. Recently, they have employed an evil half-elf wizard to replace Zz'dtri, named Pompey. It is speculated that this is a reference to the city of Pompeii, which was destroyed when the volcano Vesuvius (Vaarsuvius) erupted; it has also been proposed that he is named for the Roman leader Pompey. This theory is based upon the fact that the historical Pompey married Julius Caesar's daughter Julia, and the OotS's Pompey had a crush on Roy's sister Julia.

Nale mentioned that he has recruited other new members of the Linear Guild (presumably at least two), [7] but as of strip #325, no further information has been given about them.

Miko Miyazaki

A Paladin of the Sapphire Guard in the employ of Lord Shojo. She also has a few levels of Monk, to get the Evasion ability and improve her saving throws. She searched for the party after the destruction of Dorukan's Gate and took them as prisoners. She is a stereotypical detect-and-smite paladin, adhering to the letter of her alignment at the expense of her social abilities and Charisma score, and isn't shy about ordering the rest of the party around. Paladins all have "a stick in their ***" but most believe Miko has an entire tree in her ***. A fellow paladin (Hinjo) remarks that this is a reason she is often sent on missions far abroad that keep her away from home for long periods of time. Roy has led the party to follow her back to Lord Shojo and explain the circumstances (the gate was effectively and accidentally destroyed by Elan, along with the dungeon in which it was located). Roy originally had potential romantic interest in Miko, but has since been exposed to her personality for long enough to find her repulsive.

Miko has earned the enmity of Vaarsuvius for ordering him/her around and the enmity of Haley for insulting her greedy nature, while her mount Windstriker has earned Belkar's enmity for grappling him in their first encounter. She also later earned Roy's enmity for, as he puts it, following the letter of the Lawful Good alignment and not the intent. She feels Belkar is evil, but his skill with a lead sheet keeps her Detect Evil from confirming this hypothesis.

She was hit with a class action lawsuit by Belkar on behalf of both himself and all of the (currently dead) creatures she has used her Detect Evil ability upon, and has since ignored a restraining order from Belkar to prevent her from using the spell on him anymore. Belkar briefly sets her on fire and snipes at her with throwing knives when she goes to find and return him to his jail cell. In return, she impales him with her katana while simultaneously smashing through a courtroom window, though the intervention of Vaarsuvius and a personal order of Lord Shojo kept her from finishing the job and attempting to slay the rest of the Order. She has vowed that the Order of the Stick will suffer for their defiance, and prays their demise will be at her hands, for allowing party loyalty to stand between her and finishing Belkar. Despite calling herself a Samurai, Miko has no levels in that class, a joke about titles and class in the D&D game. Some would argue that her alignment is getting more and more towards Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil.

Celia, the sylph

Originally seen guarding the air sigil in Dorukan's tower, Celia lost any loyalty to her job when her old boss "disappeared" and Xykon moved in (at which point she started "stealing office supplies and making personal phone calls"). She was transformed to stone by the Linear Guild but cured by Vaarsuvius, and repaid the OoTS by taking Nale and Thog to jail and opening a magical portal to skip two levels of the dungeon. In an attempt to move on to a more satisfying career, she then started attending night classes in law, and has recently appeared representing the Order of the Stick as a paralegal. She apparently dislikes Belkar, whom she thinks is "obnoxious". She recently successfully defended the Order of the Stick in their trial for weakening the fabric of the universe. Elan hints at an attraction between Roy and Celia in strip #296, and Celia is seen shopping for clothes to "get his attention" (presumably referring to Roy) in strip #298. In strip #308, she asks Roy to join her at a dinner for two in one of the nicer dining establishments, and strip #310 consists primarily of a series of rules-related puns on a rising physical intimacy between the two. They enjoy a candlelit dinner and a romantic walk/flight, leading up to a kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. The next morning, we find Celia in Roy's hotel room. She has also given Roy a talisman to summon her should their battles get too rough.

Minor characters

Demon Cockroaches

Brought out by the Monster in the Dark leaving a bowl of popcorn out in the living room as opposed to taking it back to the kitchen like he was supposed to, these tiny red cockroaches follow Redcloak and Xykon around. They enjoy watching the carnage and destruction that Xykon brings with him, though neither Xykon nor Redcloak really acknowledge their existence (beyond Redcloak's annoyance and setting of Roach Motels). They often make sarcastic comments at the seemingly absurd actions of Xykon and Redcloak a la Mystery Science Theater 3000. In one strip, their good counterparts, the Angel Cockroaches, appeared.

Eugene Greenhilt (as a ghost)

Roy's dad visits him from time to time to give foreshadowing clues. He's currently dating the ghost of Violet, since his wedding vows were only "till death do us part." He has often expressed disappointment in Roy's chosen career path, wishing his son had become a wizard instead. Eugene trained under Fyron the wizard of Cliffport, who was slain by Xykon in front of Eugene (who was trapped in a magical bubble and forced to watch). Eugene vowed vengeance against Xykon for this, a vow that was transferred to Roy as eldest child when he died.

Eugene also seems to have the ability to prophesy future events, and made one prediction that aided Roy and Haley in defeating Nale. In On the Origin of PCs we learn that Roy's father has no confidence in Roy's ability to defeat Xykon - he's counting on Roy's sister Julia for that. Roy has recently confronted his father after discovering that Eugene (who was apparently an Illusionist in life) was responsible for the phony charge that the Sapphire Guard brought the party in on. Roy said that he would still go after Xykon because of the great threat he poses to the world, but if it weren't for that he'd tell his father to stick his blood oath against Xykon up his "wrinkled, incorporeal ass".

Julia Greenhilt

Julia, Roy's 16-year-old sister, first seen in a flashback comic as a toddler at which point it was assumed she was a boy, has since become a recurring character. Following her father's wish for his children to become wizards (unlike Roy, who took his own path), she attended Warthog's School of Wizards and Sorcery (parody of Harry Potter's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, complete with a "Larry Gardener" whose life Thog ended). She has recently been kidnapped by the Linear Guild as a pawn to lure the Order of the Stick into Nale's clutches.

Though Roy and Julia have not yet been seen together as adults in the comic, it was hinted in On the Origin of PCs that Roy may harbor feelings of jealousy against her because he thought of her as being their father's favorite child. ("I can tell because you almost never use the phrase, 'crushing depression' when talking about her.")

Lawyers

Mr. Jones and Mr. Phil Rodriguez are the only lawyers that appear in the world of the Order of the Stick. Their main purpose is ensure that no copyright infringements occur. Mr. Jones is highly professional and educated, though arrogant, while Mr. Rodriguez has a relatively childish demeanour and is prone to odd tricks such as producing a giant boot as a distraction. They were sent by the Spooky Wizard who lives on the Coast. They have appeared several times, once to drag away the "Squid-Thingy" (or Mind Flayer), and once when Vaarsuvius called them out against Zz'dtri.

Mr. Jones appeared at Belkar's request, claiming that Miko's use of Detect Evil "clearly constitutes an illegal search," and employed "harmful radiation" (on the basis that every creature scanned is currently dead). Miko's horse Windstriker then attempted to hire Mr. Rodriguez to put a restraining order on Belkar, but Belkar simply informed Mr. Rodriguez that he was of Chaotic Alignment and chased him out of the stables (Windstriker having been returned to the Celestial Realms so Miko didn't have to pay for him as well). Most recently they were been summoned by Lord Shojo for the upcoming trial of the Order of the Stick, though they lost the case due to it being a sham perpetuated by Shojo and Eugene Greenhilt. Due to Jones' skill at converting trial transcripts, his record is 5-0 while Mr. Rodriguez shoulders the defeats at 0-147.

Lord Shojo

Leader of the Sapphire Guard of Paladins and secular ruler of Azure City. As his father was given the position by Soon Kim, this makes him the third leader in its history. 14th level Aristocrat (an NPC class). To avoid assassination attempts by the nobles of Azure City, he pretends to be senile and easily swayed (especially by his cat, Mr. Scruffy) to make them feel that all his policies are due to other nobles' manipulations.

In return for Roy's co-operation in defeating Xykon, Lord Shojo has promised all of the Order of the Stick (bar Belkar) one favour, as well as general aid. He is also the uncle of Hinjo, who is heir apparent to Azure City.

"The Order of the Rift"

Nicknamed The Order of the Rift (or OotR) by fans, this group does not have an official name (though the title of the strip in which they were introduced was "The Order of the Scribble" - referring to the crayon-drawn style of that arc). They are old adventurers (some now deceased, some perhaps still alive) who created 'Gates' to keep The Snarl, a god-killing universe-destroying monster locked inside the Earth. After arguments between them, they each chose to guard one gate closest to their homeland. The Order consists of;

  • Soon Kim, the apparent leader, a Paladin from Azure City. He was the founder of the Sapphire Guard, which he created to guard the gate in the city. He passed on the leadership of the Guard to the current Lord Shojo's father shortly before his death. His gate is next on Xykon's list, and his army is now marching to it.
  • Lirian, an elven druid and apparently the second in command. As an elf, there is a good chance she is still alive, though the forest gate that she guards, according to Xykon, was destroyed by Redcloak.[8] Shojo's paladins were unable to locate her following the fire.
  • Serini Toormuck, a halfling rogue and a wellmeaning woman. Her gate is a homage to Kraagor, a tomb filled with the strongest monsters in creation located in a snowy region. Her gate, if things get that bad, will be the last.
  • Kraagor, a male dwarf barbarian. His death precipitated the group's dissolution.
  • Dorukan, a male human wizard who worked alongside Lirian to lock the gates and guarded one in the Redmountain Hills. Years later, Xykon killed him in a duel and seized his castle. His gate was accidentally destroyed by Elan.
  • Girard Draketooth, a rogueish illusionist and tracker with high charisma, he is often speculated to be connected to Elan (due to having the same hair style as both him and Nale, along with Nale's goatee) or Haley (due to hair colour and similar attitude and role). His gate, located in the desert, is hidden behind a series of magical illusions. After storming Azure City, if Xykon survives, Xykon will go to this gate. The Order of the Stick is currently going there.

The Snarl

The aforementioned god-killing universe-destroying monster, the Snarl is literally an embodiment of deific frustration and wrath. It was created when the first world was created by the gods, as the Gods of the West, East, North, and South, analogues to historical pantheons, argued about how to create the world. It slew the Gods of the East, but was trapped when the remaining three pantheons retaliated by sealing it away in a prison made out of the world itself.

The Snarl nearly escaped sixty six years ago through holes in its prison, but was defeated and resealed behind five gates by the Order of the Rift. The recent destruction of two of these gates, and apparent interest in the remaining three by Xykon for unclear motives, has lead to a fear that the Snarl would be released. In response Lord Shojo has sent the Order of the Stick to investigate and protect the remaining gates.

Thor

Durkon's patron deity and member of the Gods of the North, Thor is roughly equivalent to the real Thor in Norse mythology. However, in the strip Thor acts as comic relief, a drunken buffoon but with a good heart. His less wise acts have included taunting the Snarl, abandoning a village to the fire giant Surt while being hassled by Durkon, and creating a portentous storm while drunk. W.W.T.D?, or What Would Thor Do? is a running joke, as Durkon occasionally considers what Thor would do for guidance. This has included speculation while Durkon lies paralyzed in a dungeon, when he concluded that Thor would simply shatter the dungeon with his divine power, return to Asgard, woo women, and drink. This was less than helpful.

Memorable quote: "With my ultimate powers of the thunders, I, Thor, smash this entire dungeon to shattered ruins, each piece no larger than a man's fist. Then I return to Asgard to woo goddesses and drink an ocean's worth of beer. Huzzah!"

Loki

Loki is Thor's evil half-brother and the patron of Hilgya, who was once the cleric for the Linear Guild. While Thor and Loki have been shown to be enemies in recent OotS history, they cooperated in the distant past when the gods created a new world to contain the Snarl. Loki is apparently more sensitive than Thor to bizarre events occurring in the mortal world, as he noticed the liaison between Durkon and Hilgya first (the discovery made both deities ill).

Memorable quote: "Dude, don't taunt the god-killing abomination."

Banjo

This "god" is actually a clown puppet made up by Elan when he realized the need to have a party cleric when Durkon disappeared. Both Belkar and Haley briefly worshipped him. Elan tried to make Banjo's divinity official by asking a priest if he could join the pantheon, but only angered him and remarked that Banjo had changed his mind -- disappointing the onlooking Odin, who likes puppets.

The Oracle of Sunken Valley

An oracle who is sought out by the Order of the Stick to locate Xykon's lair and later to determine where he is headed next. In order to keep out pesky adventurers, the Oracle hired QuestGuard to establish a series of moderately challenging tests, including a heart test to prevent him from getting sued for health reasons. Once the Order actually encounters the Oracle, it turns out to be a sarcastic, rambling, and irritating kobold, who proceeds to give the group a series of prophecies laden heavily with multiple meanings and ambigious language. However, when Roy words his question carefully to keep the Oracle from being too ambigious, he ends up making it too precise, making it impossible for the Oracle to properly answer the question.

The Oracle worships Tiamat and uses her powers to grant him his visions of the future.

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