Order of the Stick Webcomic Profile

Name:

Order of the Stick

Website:

www.giantitp.com

What It’s About:

Order of the Stick is a fantasy webcomic set in the rule system of the popular role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. It follows a set of player characters (PC’s for short) who explore dungeons, look for treasure, and go on epic quests. It is mainly a parody of the Dungeons and Dragons game with a mixture of comedy, action, and drama.

The main storyline pits the Order of the Stick against the Lich Xykon, who seeks to destroy the five gates and unleash a terrible beast known as The Snarl in hopes to conquer the world. The Order of the Stick has been drawn into this conflict when on a everyday dungeon crawl, the group’s leader, Roy, is visited by his father, who is now a ghost. It would seem that the very dungeon they are seeking treasure in was made by Xykon, a powerful lich mage that killed Roy’s father.

In fighting Xykon, the group learns of his plans and knows that for the world to be safe, the gates must be protected. They set off to keep Xykon from destroying the gates, the therefore, the world.

Writer and Artist:

Rich Burlew

Created By:

Rich Burlew

Genre:

Comedy/Action/Fantasy

Content:

The order of the stick contains slapstick humor, violence, mild language, and sometimes “off color” comments. It would most likely be classified as a teen rated webcomic.

Updated:

Order of the Stick is usually updated three times a week.

Total Strips:

581 as of 8/7/08

Strip Layout:

The Order of the Stick is usually done in one page updates, each one much like the page of a standard comic.

If you like…

If you like Dungeons and Dragons, role playing games, or other fantasy creations, you will most likely enjoy The Order of the Stick.

Characters

Heroes
Roy – a fighter that is trying to end a blood debt by destroying the lich Xykon.
Elan – a air headed bard with a good natured soul.
Haley – a rogue (thief) who has feelings for Elan, but whose first love is treasure.
Durkon – a dwarf cleric who has fled his homeland.
Belkar – a halfling ranger/barbarian who is the only truly evil one in the group.
Vaarsuvius – an elf wizard who’s gender is ambiguous.

Villains
Xykon – an evil and very powerful lich who is seeking to destroy the gates to cause destruction and conquer the world.
Redcloak – an evil goblin cleric who is Xykon’s right hand man. Nale – Elan’s evil twin brother and leader of The Linear Guild.

Other Projects:

The main home of Order of the Stick is Giant in the Playground Games which is not only the home to Order of the Stick, but is a destination for role players. There is another webcomic entitled Erfworld, and the site also has fiction, role playing resources, and forums to discuss the various projects.

Related Products:

Books
The Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin’ Fools
The Order of the Stick: On the Origin of PCs
The Order of the Stick: No Cure for the Paladin Blues
The Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness
The Order of the Stick: War and XPs

Games
OOTS Adventure Game: The Dungeon of Durokan

Apparel
The Order of the Stick has an apparel line through Café Press.

Awards:

Web Cartoonist Choice Awards:
Best Fantasy Comic – 2005, 2006
Best Gaming Comic – 2007
Best Long Form Comic – 2007, 2008

Eagle Awards:
Favorite Web-Based Comic – 2007 (Held May 2008)

Strengths:

There is a reason that The Order of the Stick has attracted so many readers since it's inception in 2005. The art, although basic, is playful and well done, even if it is considered by many to just be stick figure drawings. Burlew himself, when he lost the Eagle Award for Best Graphic Novel to Alan Moore, said on www.giantitp.com, "As expected, I lost the Favourite Original Graphic Novel of 2007 award to Alan Moore. Which is a GOOD thing; I don't think I want to live in a world were a parody stick figure comic beats one of the comic industry's top writers."

Despite these stick figure drawings, Burlew finds ways to add unexpected details to certain segments, such as a a massive battle with a hobgoblin force where the entire battle is shown with hundreds of hobgoblins overrunning a fortress. When he puts his mind to it, Burlew can come up with some neat uses for this stick figure style he has become known for.

Another aspect that The Order of the Stick excels in is the attention Burlew gives to the overall storyline. Details once shown hundreds of strips ago come back into play and influence what is happening today. The sheer amount of subplots and character details must be kept in a rather large file that I imagine Burlew himself may have trouble keeping up with time to time.

Weaknesses:

One of the hardest things for this comic is that it has such a narrow window for reader interest. Unless you play or have played Dungeons and Dragons, there will be many things you don't understand. A new reader could get lost and confused with the details that come with the baggage accompanied with such a rule system. Compound that fact that Dungeons and Dragons is on the 4th edition and this comic is staying with the 3.5 edition, and new fans of D&D may have issues.

A strength can also be a weakness. Burlew's attention to detail is so great, that the casual or new reader can get easily lost or confused. Regular reading is required to enjoy the overarching storyline, but you won't need to be a diehard fan to enjoy the punchlines that accompany most of the strips.

Having played D&D myself, I can value the humor that The Order of the Stick has. Even though a non D&D player may have some trouble with understanding the lingo, I think this comic is a great read for any webcomic fan.

Final Grade:

A-