Least Popular Member of the Order?

[Kaihaku]

I've noticed a bit of an obsession with Belkar and V. Often enough every other thread in this forum is devoted to some theory about one of them; granted the thrill of speculating on how the oracle's prophecy will turn out probably factors into that.

"Bring back Roy" threads pop up frequently enough. Plus, as a Fighter he has the underdog class vote.

Though it doesn't come up as often anymore, Haley and Elan definitely have a strong following.

Which leaves....

Which member of the Order is the least popular? Not which is your personal least favorite, though you can rant about that if you wish, but which is the least popular overall? I'm dreading that the answer will be, stereotypically, the dwarf. :(

[derfenrirwolv]

Durokon. No one hates him but no one ADORES him. Thats what you get for being Lawfull bland

[Trizap]

Durkon.

nothing else needs to be said.

[Raging Gene Ray]

Durkon is competent without being arrogant. Merciful when possible but capable of bringing the awesome with a Thor's Might spell. In other words, no major flaws.

He did have some speculation with Hilgya...let's see if that turns up later on. But other than that, nothing really to give birth to epileptic trees.

I like Durkon, especially when he plays the voice of reason. Too bad his CHA is so low that it's always overshadowed by Elan...and Roy...and every other character in the comic.

EDIT: It seems we've established Durkon as least popular...now we're just establishing why.

[Gamiress]

Durkon's that dependable character. The solid core of a party that shifts like the frelling tides. He won't win any popularity contests for it, but the story needs him and he'll always have a special little niche in the hearts of the fans.

[TheSummoner]

Durkon.

I don't dislike him, but he lacks the appeal the other members of the Order has. He often plays the straight man to the other member's antics. Hopefully he'll get some much needed spotlight soon... last truely great thing he did was the control weather abuse...

[snoopy13a]

Durokon. No one hates him but no one ADORES him. Thats what you get for being Lawfull bland

I think you hit the nail on the head there.

[Tijne]

Too bad his CHA is so low

Maybe that's why he's the least popular. :D ;)

[Selene]

You know what? My 19-year-old daughter doesn't follow the webcomic, but she did read most of my copy of Origin. And at one point, she turned to me and said "I love that dwarf! He's my favorite." So she likes him, at least. :smallsmile:

[Raging Gene Ray]

That reminds me...Origins is supposedly where you see how Durkon and Roy were the first members of the Order...how they met, their initial hitting it off...I bet most of Durkon's finest moments are in there.

So, yeah...I guess it depends on if you've read that book or not.

[AngryDaikon]

Durkon has some very funny moments in Origins. "Moose Urine" rings a bell.

[Jural]

I doubt many people would actually put Durkon last though.

Just informally in my circle of friends, there are people who hate Elan, or Roy, or Belkar, or V. Durkon is probably second to last or third to last for most of them, but never last!

Personally, my least favorite member is probably Belkar. Then maybe Elan, followed by Durkon, V, Haley, and Roy.

[Raging Gene Ray]

I doubt many people would actually put Durkon last though.

There is a difference between being popular and being liked. I like Durkon the most out of the members of the Order, but he definitely isn't popular.

Belkar and V, whether you love or hate them, have provoked huge reactions on the forums.

[RedMike512]

Durkon may be the least talked about, but at least for my vote, Elan is my least favorite. Unless you're now including Roy's girlfriend (Crystal?) as a member, and then she'd win hands down.

[liuzg150181]

Durokon. No one hates him but no one ADORES him. Thats what you get for being Lawfull bland

Tastes like chicken,so to speak.:smalltongue:

[Milcho]

Ah, finally, out of all the posts, only 1 (ONE!!!) explicitly named Elan as the least favorite.

He's been pissing me off since the beginning. So I name Elan as my least favorite, for numerous reasons, and multiple instances of him being an idiot.

Next up is Haley, who's attraction to Elan falls under at least one trope i can think of, and makes me question her mental powers. Not to mention she's a greedy ****. (yes, I know, save her father, whatever)

[King of Nowhere]

That's the cruel fate of supporters: you do the dirty work, and somone else get the spotlight and take credit for it.

[skyclad]

durkon is boring and might as well be a DMPC. He always follows the "dms" plan and doesnt seem to have any ambitions of his own. Im glad that he is kept in the background so we get more action with V and Belkar.

[Ghastly Epigram]

durkon is boring and might as well be a DMPC. He always follows the "dms" plan and doesnt seem to have any ambitions of his own. Im glad that he is kept in the background so we get more action with V and Belkar.

Of course, the reason he is boring might be precisely because he is "kept in the background" and never given an opportunity to shine or show these ambitions and such.

It is sort of a vicious cycle at this point - Durkon is bland, so we do not want to see him, and the less we see him, the more bland he becomes.

[KurenaiYami]

durkon is boring and might as well be a DMPC. He always follows the "dms" plan and doesnt seem to have any ambitions of his own.

This post has inspired me to create a DMPC of my own that constantly tries to derail my campaign.

[Berserk Monk]

Here's my ranking:

1st::belkar:
2nd::elan:
3rd::durkon:
4th::vaarsuvius:
5th::roy:
6th::haley:

[Tempest Fennac]

Belkar is my least favourite OotS member. I know he has actually had some character development lately, but he seems to exist solely to be crass and make antagonists look bad (eg: Rich built up Bozzak and Crystal as a huge threat, then Belkar is able to avoid being hit be either of them for 2 or 3 rounds after grabbing a shield before defeating Crystal with no effort at all). Roy is my 2nd least favourite due to his tendancy to be snobbish towards NPCs (eg: he accuses Miko of not being any type of Lawful Good he'd seen just because she berates the Order for their inn-destroying actions, when his responce to seeing a Commoner in trouble is "yay, a quest hook!"). To be fair, he is definitly a lot more good then a lot of adventurers, as OtOoPCs mentions.

Celia is my least favourite character in the comic due to how all she does is slow things down with her clulessness before acting as though it's everyone else who has the problem in addition to never learning from her mistakes. Also, the fact that her principals seem to consist entirely of what she wants with very little concern for others is irritating (eg: she critercises Haley for being a thief, even though she's happy to team up with thieves who include wife-beaters and dog fighting enthusiasts who she wants to be brought back from the dead for some reason, to get her boyfriend's corpse back, after she looses it due to not being sure what the guy who animated Roy as a Golem was doing).

(I'm only including Celia due to how she's technically a member at the minute due to travelling with Haley and Belkar.)

[SkredlitheOgre]

Vaarsuvius is my least favorite character. I can't tell you how much joy I'm getting out of the last few comics.

[Kaytara]

Durkon got his development in Origins, and it was pretty big, too.
Personality-wise, I think his flaw is his inability to take initiative. Most of the time he just rolls with whatever is happening. I suppose he took initiative when he tried to get V to start searching for Girard's Gate instead, but even that was sort of rolling with it, in the sense of "our allies are lost, can't do anything about it, better just move on". And besides, he wasn't really helpful in his initiative. Rather than something Roy probably would've done - tried his best to understand the problem and work with V to find an alternate strategy, if need be, Durkon accused V of being influenced by his feelings of guilt, seconds after V had confided in him, no less. To my mind, Durkon doesn't really act the way a high wisdom character should, so that makes him a bit annoying.

More moments like him stopping Elan from jumping off the ship or convincing Haley to stay with Miko would make him far more interesting, IMO.


Vaarsuvius is my least favorite character. I can't tell you how much joy I'm getting out of the last few comics.

Tsk tsk, so much schadenfreude here...

In any case, the reason we have a thread rather than just a poll is so that people also explain their opinions rather than just dropping by to state them. Any particular reason V is your least favourite (or, by the sound of it, most hated) character?

[Kaihaku]

durkon is boring and might as well be a DMPC. He always follows the "dms" plan and doesnt seem to have any ambitions of his own.

I've been in campaigns with nice solid players fielding nice solid characters like Durkon. They might not be the most interesting PCs but they certainly do something great for the team dynamic. DMPCs, on the other hand, almost always strain the team dynamic. So, yes, Durkon might be a bit boring and his ambitions might stereotypically boring but I wouldn't go so far as to call him a DMPC.

[Zevox]

Durkon, as others have said. He's bland, gets probably the fewest significant roles in the plot, and hasn't had anything resembling character development since that brief stint with Higya (which wasn't even really development so much as an introduction to just how thoroughly stereotypical for a Dwarf he really is). He just doesn't have anything to spark most people's interest compared to the rest of the group.

Personally, if I were to rank the Order in terms of how much I like each, it'd go:

1) :belkar:
2) :roy:
3) :haley:
4) :vaarsuvius:
5) :durkon:
6) :elan:

With the biggest gap in how much I like them falling between V and Durkon.

Zevox

[Thant]

What's with the Durkon hate? Just that he's your normal, average dwarf with no eccentric tendencies, doesn't mean that you ought to dislike him. Him being rational, patient and prudent - those are all the virtues that make him a good char and a nice counterweight to all other members of the Order and their strange backgrounds. I like the chap, he's good in his own dwarven right. And let us not forget the colon tumor and Thors escapades :smallsmile: ; because if it wasn't for Durkon we would never see any of that. As for the least loved character of the Order, the #1 place goes anonymously to the most boring and most treacherous character in OotS eva':

BLACKWING

"Cursed bird!" :smallwink:

[Kioran]

I think V and Belkar polarize the most - meaning most people either love or hate them (there's only one NPC who surpasses them on that count :smallbiggrin: ). That does not necessarily mean they are popular. Still, I guess people are right in saying Durkon is the least popular, simply as most people who haven't read OtooPCs and reread the comic a few times (seriously, that makes for rediscovering a lot of things and seeing entirely new aspects) don't really care about him either way.
Second most unpopular is probably V - far less fan following than Belkar, but probably the same amount of dislike.

my Ranking from favourite to least favourite:

1) :durkon:
2) :roy:
3) loooong gulf
4) :elan:
5) :haley:
6) :vaarsuvius:
7) :belkar:

Since quite a while, I've read the comic mostly for the supporting cast (and redcloak).

[Dogmantra]

I don't dislike Durkon, but ranking my favourite characters, he just gets left behind at the end.
It's not that he's bad, it's that he's less good.

[Kaytara]

It's interesting that Vaarsuvius used to be the most favourite character in earlier days. I am curious at this change of dynamic. V's recent actions can be considered distasteful, but going so far as to hate him or seriously compare him with Belkar?

Am I the only one who thinks there's no point in liking a character if you can't stand them becoming more complex and slightly more dislikeable?
I mean, really. If you're just going to abandon ship the moment your favourite character does something you disapprove of, how can you claim to have liked them with any measure of sincerity in the first place?

[Eloel]

:belkar:
:haley:
:elan:
:durkon:
:vaarsuvius:
:roy:



This would be my ordering, with the biggest gap between Belkar & Haley, and the 2nd biggest gap down between Durkon and V. I've never liked Roy nor V, maybe due to the archetypes they represent, maybe due to their 'personalities'.
Belkar on the other hand is a;
say this with me,
SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR

[T-O-E]

Ah, finally, out of all the posts, only 1 (ONE!!!) explicitly named Elan as the least favorite.

He's been pissing me off since the beginning. So I name Elan as my least favorite, for numerous reasons, and multiple instances of him being an idiot.

Next up is Haley, who's attraction to Elan falls under at least one trope i can think of, and makes me question her mental powers. Not to mention she's a greedy ****. (yes, I know, save her father, whatever)

^ My thoughts when I first read the comic.

Now though, Elan isn't as annoyingly dim, he's less forced.
And Haley's pretty meh for me. The greed thing no longer bothers me.

[nleseul]

I just have to represent my Elan love, in the wake of the last couple of posts.

1. :elan:
2. :vaarsuvius:
3. :haley:
4. :belkar:
5. :roy:
6. :durkon:

Pretty much the essential Durkon moment for me is this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0084.html): "My mum taught me tha' I should always take feelings like that, and bury them inna deep dark part o' my soul and nev'r ev'r talk about 'em again. That's tha dwarven way."

I'm not sure if I hate him for expressing such an idea, or pity him for being brainwashed by his upbringing into believing it. If he ever ends up with cause to question it, I think he'll end up being a much more interesting character to me.

[Tingel]

Elan is by far my least favorite character. His idiocy is excessively annoying, and the last shred of likeability he had (namely "being a good person") was lost when he had no problems with sacrificing a sentient mortal (Lien) to his self-made puppet gawd on orc island.

Haley comes next for being in love with Elan - a remarkable lapse in judgement and lack of taste. I also do not care for her whole emo episode (which actually resulted in a loss of speech - how pathetic is that?).



My favorite characters are Durkon for his levelheadedness, reliability and integrity (he is clearly the best person among the party members) and Vaarsuvius for his mental acuity, his no-nonsense attitude and the at times darkly foreboding character depth.

A ranking:


:durkon: (hooray!)
:vaarsuvius: (still hooray!)

:roy:
:belkar:

:haley:
:elan:

[Kish]

Belkar is occasionally amusing. Especially when he falls down a manhole and dies. He's been my least favorite member of the Order since the beginning, though Vaarsuvius, possibly with assistance from various proponents of black-and-white morality in D&D* on this board, may be displacing him shortly.

*I genuinely hope that description isn't offensive to any of the people so described. It's not meant to be; I edited it repeatedly to get something I hoped none of the people who have posted "It's a black dragon, kill it!" would find fault with.

The more I tend to see of each member of the Order, the less I "like" them, as such. It's a good thing I think the Order's meant to be a group of deeply flawed people--if I expected pure heroes to cheer for I would probably have quit reading a while ago. :smallwink: Right now, I like Durkon, though he could easily blow that by playing up his fixation on duty "especially if it makes you miserable." Occasionally I like Roy. I like Elan if you can like someone you would immediately take out a restraining order against if he existed in real life (he's dangerous).

[hamishspence]

I must admit to being one of these, but only for certain areas (torture- Always Evil by several D&D sourcebooks)

however my views on the dragon tend to coincide with yours.

So, in effect, you will find people with black and white views on both sides of the argument :smallamused:

[Myou]

Funnily enough I don't actually like the Order. (But enjoy the story despite that.)

I quite like Vaarsuvius, but I don't like any of the other members, I find all of then detestable.

In rough order, from least disliked to most;

5. Elan
4. Haley
3. Roy
2. Durkon
1. Belkar

[Shadic]

Durokon. No one hates him but no one ADORES him. Thats what you get for being Lawfull bland
Ironically, you didn't even spell his name right.

You know what? My 19-year-old daughter doesn't follow the webcomic, but she did read most of my copy of Origin. And at one point, she turned to me and said "I love that dwarf! He's my favorite." So she likes him, at least. :smallsmile:
Your daughter is awesome.

Anyways, here's my listing of most popular (With the fans.)

:elan: : The bard. Full of personality, and interestingly enough, seems to get a lot of female support.
:roy: : 90% of the board recognizes his need to the party, he's the main character, and quite frankly, he's had a LOT of awesome moments.
:belkar: : What can I say? The murdering midget gets a lot of attention. And in recent comics, has been shown to be QUITE awesome.
:haley: :Would probably be a bit higher if it wasn't for the huge amount of time in which she was mute. She kicks ass, but she also has been prone to a bit too much angst for a lot of readers.
:vaarsuvius: : Likely talks too much for a lot of readers, and from what I observed, got a lot of negative attention for the threat/bluff to Elan on the ship before leaving.
:durkon: : The dwarf. He does what he's supposed to, but hardly gets moments to shine. He's such a stereotype that a lot of people don't find him interesting.

I would personally rank them the following, however.
:roy: :durkon: :belkar: :elan: :haley: :vaarsuvius:
I connect with the "straight-man" a lot more. If there's any bias of mine, I suppose that my list of favorites would be influencing it somewhat.

[The_Void]

1 - :belkar: - Simply made of awesome
2 - :elan:
3 - :haley:
4 = :roy:
4 = :vaarsuvius:
6 - :durkon:

I've nothing against the dwarf, he's just..... there.

[[TS] Shadow]

Everybody seems to hate Elan, which I don't understand. Sure, he's a dolt, but he's amusing. Come on, you know you laughed when he got a 4, or was on an adventure. His idiocy can be annoying, occasionally, but with the execption of the orc island arc, he's been tollerable throughout. Also, I don't get how everybody can hate Haley just because she likes Elan. First off, Haley's initial attraction to Elan had to do with his looks, nothing else. Girls aren't the only "dumb blondes," you know :smallwink:.

He's not my favorite though. That would have to go to Belkar. I hate to be a follower, but he's by far the most amusing thing in there. "I'm the only funny thing left in this damn strip!"

Roy's okay. I've always felt he's been a bit "meh." Kinda hard to explain really.

I'd put Haley under Roy, due to her hogging of the strip. To date, she has more character development and side plots than any other character. Let's give some to another character, shall we?

The recent course of events has made me get rather annoyed at V. I can tell what's going to happen, and I'd rather him get back to his funny, pre-lack of trance self.

Durkon is boring. He needs some spotlight time, soon.

My ranks:
:belkar:
:elan:
:roy:
:haley:
:vaarsuvius:
:durkon:

[Assassin89]

Durkon does provide some comedy, but those situations usually involve trees.

Each character is amusing to some extend, but to each his own.

preference, but relatively insignificant.
:roy:
:elan:
:haley:
:belkar:
:durkon:
:vaarsuvius:

[Llama231]

Favorite to least:
:elan:
:belkar:
:vaarsuvius:
:durkon:
:haley:=:roy:

[Warren Dew]

Durokon. No one hates him but no one ADORES him. Thats what you get for being Lawfull bland

Being uncontroversial is not the same as being unpopular.

I think we can determine how popular a character is by how much the board lets the character get away with things. For example, I think it's clear that Haley is the most popular character; she never gets criticized on these boards despite doing things that would have us up in arms against another character.

The characters that draw the most flak are Belkar and Vaarsuvius, so the least popular must be one of those. In the case of Belkar, however, he typically draws flak for things that everyone agrees are extremely nasty and evil; the fact that some people are willing to let him get away with those things likely is an argument for his being popular rather than unpopular.

Vaarsuvius, on the other hand, draws flak for things that may be perfectly justifiable. An example is the killing of Kubota, which many censure despite saying that it would be perfectly fine, indeed desirable, if Elan did it. We've even gotten to the point where some are arguing it's appropriate for Vaarsuvius' kids to be killed just for his participation in an attack that the entire party engaged in.

I think it's clear at this point that Vaarsuvius is the the least popular and most maligned member of the order.

[lordhaw]

Everyone is definately not really liking or disliking Durkon, but I personally like him. He's kind of like the D&D clerics I've played in the past so I can relate. My least favorite as of late is V. He's really been a pain with his obsession of finding Haley. I find that I like the idiot savant Elan, more so than most characters. I have to rank in this order from favorite to least favorite:

:belkar: - he's just cool!
:elan: - he makes me smile
:durkon: - he's dependable and I can relate to him
:roy: - good fighter, mediocre personality
:haley: - loves her money WAAAY too much
:vaarsuvius: - I never liked him much, but really don't now

[Woodsman]

:belkar: - He truly is the only funny thing left in the strip. Where's the humor? We haven't had a truly funny strip in a long time.
:elan: - I've always had a soft spot for the funny guy. Elan's also gotten some awesome character development lately, showing even not-so-smart people can be smart other ways
:roy: - I love counter stereotypes. That, and his quips are similar to ones I can see myself making.
:vaarsuvius: - I like him, even though a lot of people are hating on him just because he committed a Chaotic act. His long-winded rants and indignation at being ignored by the mind flayer (Hello, delectable 18 Int wizard right here!") once again remind me of myself
:durkon: - He has his moments, all right (reflexively turning undead and blinding darkvision still make me laugh. And his thing with the trees, too. I remembering practically dying during the "Wow, the trees really are out to get us!") He's a bit too stereotypical for my tastes, though.
:haley: - I like her, but less than the others. I really can't think of any reason why I'd like her better than the others, which is really the only reason she's at the bottom.

[Optimystik]

BLACKWING

I wouldn't be inspired to effectiveness either if my owner never named me, only brought me out when he's in trouble, and turned me into a pincushion.

[tigerhawkvok]

Ranking:

1) :vaarsuvius:
2) :haley:
3) :roy:
4) :belkar:
5) :durkon:
6) :elan:

V is pretty awesome, and I don't have any problems with him even through this recent arc. I can totally see where he is coming from.

On the other hand, Elan is sometimes pretty funny, but at other times he just gets on my nerves. He's the only character that actually can annoy me.

[TerrickTerran]

It used to go for me (Most Popular to Least)
1. Elan 2. Belkar 3. Haley 4. V 5. Roy 6 Durkon
However, since the MOJ, it's been
1. Elan 2. Haley 3. V 4. Roy 5. Durkon 6. Belkar

[Zevox]

Shadow;5761572']Everybody seems to hate Elan, which I don't understand. Sure, he's a dolt, but he's amusing.
Speaking for myself, though I put Elan at the bottom of my list, I don't hate him. I just don't like him. As my signature says, I only find him amusing insofar as I find peoples' reactions to him amusing. My reactions to him are pretty much identical to those of Roy, Hinjo, and so on, and so I empathize with them when they have to deal with him, because my personal reaction upon reading Elan's antics is the same as theirs, and I find it amusing when they yell at or respond sarcastically to him, because those are exactly what I want to do.

For me, Elan creates amusement indirectly, but is not himself amusing. Thus I like him the least out of the Order. But I don't hate him.

Zevox

[Lupy]

Am I the only one who thinks there's no point in liking a character if you can't stand them becoming more complex and slightly more dislikeable?
I mean, really. If you're just going to abandon ship the moment your favourite character does something you disapprove of, how can you claim to have liked them with any measure of sincerity in the first place?

Talk like that started a war on these forums once... A lot of good posters naver came home... I'm not being overly serious here.

My least favorite Order member is... Oh, that's tough, I like them all. So for comedy I can't pick one. If I had to MEET them though, it would go like this (least to most)
:belkar: - I love my kidneys! :smalleek:
:elan: - He would bother me in real life
:haley: - I would have a hard time talking to her... :smallredface:
:durkon: - He probably knows a lot of OOTS history I would enjoy
:roy: - Let's face it, he's just a cool guy
:vaarsuvius: - Who wouldn't want to meet a wizard? And an elf at that!

[mec]

Durkon's my favorite. He got the first booty; the biggest beer stein; and the biggest magical smack-down.

I like the unnamed dwarf assassin. "That's how a DWARF opens a lock!"

Haley's my least favorite. I'm glad she's gotten over some of her neuroses. Maybe someday she'll stop stealing from the party and openly ask them to help her.

[thesoothsayer]

Came out of lurking just to post on this topic. Have always been curious how the characters are ranked from most to least liked/popular.

My list from most to least liked:
:belkar: - Chaotic funny.
:vaarsuvius: - Elven. Wizard.
:elan: - Similar to Belkar. Wouldn't be able to stand them in real-life, though.
:haley: - Quite neutral towards her.
:durkon: - Similar to Haley.
.
.
.
:roy: - Something about him irritates me. I'm kinda glad he's dead. I'll cry a sad tear when he defeats Redcloak and Xykon and gets to live happily ever after with his clueless gf Crystal.

[Ghastly Epigram]

:roy: - Something about him irritates me. I'm kinda glad he's dead. I'll cry a sad tear when he defeats Redcloak and Xykon and gets to live happily ever after with his clueless gf Crystal.

I have been seeing this a lot lately for some reason. Roy's girlfriend is called Celia. Crystal is Haley's assassin nemesis.

[Selene]

Your daughter is awesome.

She says "thank you." :smallsmile: I told her about this thread, and how a lot of people were saying they didn't like Durkon. At that point she she said "oh, I like him!" That was before told her that I mentioned her in the thread. LOL.

RGR is right. Those of you who think Durkon does nothing must not have read Origin. There wouldn't even *be* a party if not for Durkon. Twice over. In comic, he gets spell awesomeness, like Weather Control.

When Roy quit his last party, Durkon asked if Roy was forming a new one, and offered to join if he was. And Roy said something like "well now that you mention it, there's this blood oath thing I need to get working on..." Also, Roy wanted to disband the Order almost as soon as it started because they're a bunch of incompetents. Durkon talked him out of it.

Anyway, I like them all really. I guess my list would go something like...

:roy: Largely for his post-hiring speech to V in Origin, and for the way he keeps the order in the Order.
:durkon: He's just a nice guy, and somebody I'd be able to completely trust. And he's the voice of sanity, which most of the Order members seriously need.
:haley: / :elan: They're more or less equal as far as how much I like them.
:vaarsuvius: He's been needing a smack upside the head for his arrogant wizard routine. Note that I said a smack upside the head, not murdered children.
:belkar: And I even kind of like him. His whole "fake character development" thing is funny. I don't really think there is such a thing as fake character development. He's learned that being a team player is advantageous. Not for all the same reasons good-aligned characters would find it advantageous, but still. The result is the same. He's now marginally trustworthy and dependable. At least compared to how he used to be. Still Belkar, still thoroughly evil, but now more of an asset to the team.

[Roc Ness]

1.:elan: Cos he's really stupidly optimistic, like me
2.:vaarsuvius:,:haley:,:durkon:,:belkar:,:roy:

I'm too lazy to decide who gets third...

[MorhgorRB]

Hmmmm...

:belkar: <- Sexy shoeless god of war. ...and the most likely thing I would do in D&D.
:durkon: <- The bandaid box. And iron filler.
:haley:<- Too many silly moments to ignore. Orbs?
:roy: <- Oh... hi, Roy. You've had some nice moments, so your actually in second or third. I'm just lazy.
:vaarsuvius: <- V! You ambigous wizard! Honestly. Get back to the explosive runes.
:elan::roach: <--- Hmmmmmmmmmm.

[Zordrath]

1- :belkar: The only character in the Order who's still funny and awesome. Sure, there was some rapid decline for a while, but I'd say he's made up for that by now :smallamused:

2 - :vaarsuvius: Used to be my favorite when he was still funny and awesome. Nowadays, he's still awesome (prismatic spray, anyone?), but no longer funny. I still like him for depth of character and because I have a soft spot for verbose wizards :smallbiggrin: It's just that he (and the comic in general) could use some more jokes...

Both V and Belkar have suffered severely in the comedy department for no longer being able to interact with each other, I think.

3 - :roy: Some great deadpan sarcasm moments make him the perfect straight man. Plus, he's a counterstereotype, a great hero and leader who still has some interesting flaws, and is overall quite well-written. He's not as amazingly funny as Belkar or Xykon, but I just like him as a character.

4 - :durkon: He did have some great comedy moments (trees, beer and Thor make for better jokes than most people give him credit for) and some stunning moments of efficiency (weather control), it's just that he has much less of them than other characters. Personality-wise, he's likable, but boring and even irritating with his absurd obsession with duty (Yay! Me buddy died!). I think there's lots of wasted potential in this character.

5 - :haley: Meh. The character is well-written and there's great potential in her backstory, but I find myself simply not really caring that much. Similiar to Durkon, Haley doesn't really stand out, neither negatively nor positively.

6 - :elan: Ugh. Yes, he has some extremely funny moments (Banjo!), but recently, he has suffered for being pushed into a far more serious position (most of the humor was provided by Therkla, not him) and has lost his proper straight man, diminishing his comedic potential extremely.

I should note that while the ranking IN the order hasn't changed that much in the current arc (except for the switch between Belkar and V), the Order overall has dropped quite a bit compared to the perfect combination of the most funny and the best-written character that is Team Evil.

[awibs]

I know I'm the odd one out, as usual, but whatever:

V is my favorite. Hands down. It's total narcissism - he reminds me of me. Intelligent, arrogant misanthrope. Hates dumb people and dumb interactions (which totally explains why he's with the order, and why I'm posting on a fan forum on the internet.) His characterization walks the artful line of being fundamentally good at heart while hating people - something I identify with deeply, and is also why I'm quite sure he's Chaotic or Neutral Good. It's the same reason I'm short tempered, rude, antisocial, and pursuing a career in charity work. I believe deeply in doing good for others and the world in general - as long as I don't have to freakin' deal with them, and that's something I see being drawn in V.

Durkon is my next favourite, and I'm also the odd one out on this. He has tons of humor moments - but they're very subtle. They're my kind of humor. <a href="http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0077.html">"Go, team cleric!"</a> is probably my favourite joke in the entire strip since day one. My husband gets it but doesn't care for it personally... but I'm okay with being little miss easily amused over here. I really like how he subtly showcases the under-appreciated bad-ass-ness of an unpopular but necessary class. Every party needs a cleric, most people don't care to play him because they don't think he has anything flashy and fun... and then Durkon gets moments like <a href="http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0352.html>weather control</a> and <a href="http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0111.html">the big guns</a>. Oh man. So much awesome.

The other guys, I just don't care about as much, or get as many laughs out of.

[thesoothsayer]

I have been seeing this a lot lately for some reason. Roy's girlfriend is called Celia. Crystal is Haley's assassin nemesis.

Ah right. Messed up on my first post. :smalleek:

I saw the name mentioned as Roy's gf just before posting and it stuck in my mind.

[Silverraptor]

My favorite character's are in order:
:belkar:
:roy:
:elan:
:durkon:
:haley:
:vaarsuvius:

Now Don't get me wrong about this. I don't hate or dislike any of them. It's just the order of my favorite. The difference is like 1 drop of water in a measuring cup between some. V's current attitude however moved him down a bit in my "Like-O-Meter"

[Ricky S]

How can anyone hate any of the characters? They are all great! I rank it like this
1st :elan:Elan for his stupidity and crazy thought processes (seems like me most of the time in real life)
2nd :belkar:Belkar for his complete lack of interest in the life of those around him and his complete vindictive nature
3rd :vaarsuvius: Cause him/her is hot and has a lack of interest in anything but research and the hilarious speeches that him/her has.
4th :haley: Also hot especially with the new haircut and does cool roguey things.
5th :roy: for his cynicism and sarcasm
6th :durkon: for his hilarious thing about turning when V and Roy were arguing. Plus he is the only responsible character around aside from Roy.

But there is not a large gap between any of them.

But my absolute favourite character is Mr Scruffy cause he is hilarious!

[shapechange]

Durkon is like the bread of the sandwich. It's not the intretaining part of the sandwich but without it, the whole thing it pointless.

[enarch3t]

From what I've seen here I'll probably change my mind after reading Origins, but right now I gotta go with :durkon:. Sorry to Durkon fans, but he's vanilla, I don't dislike him and I don't really like him. I think that OotS would suffer without him (beyond just him being a walking aidkit) because he is a stabilizing force and an all around nice guy.

[Selene]

I know I'm the odd one out, as usual, but whatever:

V is my favorite. Hands down. It's total narcissism - he reminds me of me. Intelligent, arrogant misanthrope. Hates dumb people and dumb interactions (which totally explains why he's with the order, and why I'm posting on a fan forum on the internet.) His characterization walks the artful line of being fundamentally good at heart while hating people - something I identify with deeply, and is also why I'm quite sure he's Chaotic or Neutral Good. It's the same reason I'm short tempered, rude, antisocial, and pursuing a career in charity work. I believe deeply in doing good for others and the world in general - as long as I don't have to freakin' deal with them, and that's something I see being drawn in V.

LOL. Ok, you just made me like V more.

[Kaytara]

That strikes me as a very good assessment of V's character that accurately explains both his technical concern for the world and his distaste in being bothered by people.

[oxybe]

i'm a big fan of durkon myself but i understand his lack of popularity. now, i haven't read the prequel so i can't comment on what happened before the strip's start, but durkon just seems to be helping roy out right now cause it's the right thing to do.

:belkar: - chance for chaos/murder/sexyness
:elan: - ADVENTURE! YAY!
:haley: - money to help her father
:vaarsuvius: - power & knowledge
:roy: - keep the oath
:durkon: - s'the right thing to do.

everyone else other then elan (to my knowledge) & durkon has actual reasons to go out and adventure. i don't remember if it was ever explained why elan is adventuring other then he's out on an adventure... not that he needs another reason :smallamused:

durkon, however, seems to be buying time while until he gets word that his exile is revoked. his motivation might also include hoping that his good deeds shorten his exile, but to most readers durkon's there to make sure the party doesn't keel over dead while waiting out his sentence. durkon hasn't shown much motivation to actually adventure other then he's good buddies with roy. he does serve as an anchor to the group, through, keeping them grounded in reality and healed. he might view himself as a father-type figure, fearing that without Thor's guidance they'll all get themselves killed or worse.

anyways, to my knowledge the current popularity is:

haley
belkar
vaarsuvius
elan
roy
durkon

which says nothing on the quality of the characters, just that most people are interested in the current storylines which involve haley/belkar escaping & v's descent to madness. we know elan is buckling some swashes alongside hinjo & durkon and this will probably be touched on later but roy is dead and really can't do much so no development for him, honestly.

i don't have a particular list but it would start with durkon and end with elan.

[Puppeteer]

Durkon. He is not bad at all as a character, but like most people said he is not that interesting either, no personal quirk which shape him to be unique and make him stand out.

[Freelance Henchman]

The best thing Belkar ever did in the comic was his handling of the Monk in On the Origin of PCs. After that, he was just annoying.

[accountingninja]

The best part of this comic is how nuanced the characters are. Each have their virtues and flaws, with the exceptions of Belkar (more flaws than virtues) and Durkon (more virtues than flaws). I really don't dislike any of them.

To everyone who says: Where's the funny?! Sure, it's a bit serious, but this comic has always been a mixture of the funny and serious. Personally, I'd find it really boring if it only stayed in the safe, "funny" zone. The growth that these adorable stick people have experienced have kept me clamoring for more.

Here's my personal list, from least to most:

:belkar: Well, he's just one-note for me. I don't NOT like him, but just as characters who are All Good All The Time are boring, the same goes for Evil. He's like Eric Cartman (only not a total loser like Cartman), playing on the same themes of psychopathic audacity with pale glimmers of heroism, which are quickly stamped out in favor of the status quo.

:durkon: I like Durkon. In fact, I've got a soft spot for the guy, because he's just so good. And whatever your opinion of the whole Hilgya incident, Durkon did the right thing. (btw, he said all that Dwarven stuff about feelings to drive her away. He really did care for her, but he had no choice; she's taken.)However, he doesn't compel me like the others. He suffers from the same one-note syndrome. But I do hope to see more Durkon stories in the future.

:elan: He is both hilarious and groan-inducing. Unlike some others, I wasn't as big a fan of Banjo. Funny once upon a time, not so much during the Therkla arc. His stupidity sometimes bordered on the unbelievable. His feelings toward Haley were always sweet though. I remember one quote where he told her to come back in "one Haley-shaped piece" with this worried look on his stick-face and found that to be pretty touching. I like his recent heroism in the wake of Roy's death, but that he still keeps his silliness that makes him charming.

:roy: Being a smartass, I identify with Roy. His relationship with his father was really well written, never descending into melodrama. He was the reader avatar, written to say everything we were thinking and to be genre-savvy. But since it was done extremely well, he earns a place toward the top for me. Plus, he has the honor of making me cry for the first time (the scene with his baby brother:smallfrown:).

:haley: What can I say? As a girl, I am drawn to the refreshing, non-sexist portrayal that is Haley Starshine. She has flaws. She has angsty moments. But damn, she's great! The angst ac was a beautiful piece of character development. So what, Roy's allowed to have family drama but Haley can't? I mean, who DOESN'T like anagrams? :smallwink: Seriously though, she's not "just the chick" which she could've easily become. Of course, most of Rich's women are refreshing. Miko, anyone?

:vaarsuvius: I am a huge V fan. Oh my, he's arrogant, but I think it's deserved. As an elf, he is far older and wiser than any human. V has shown a tendency to be quite caring and rational while giving advice on topics like love, even revealing his own love story, which makes me think he's not a TOTAL misanthrope. Sure, he may grouse about "other people's problems", but V is far too narcissistic to refuse giving advice. :smallbiggrin: He displays a chillingly dark undercurrent, but he's not a cliche. I can't wait to see what happens, but my heart is really breaking for him.
*I use "him" for simplicity reasons. But, IMO, he is male.

[Kaytara]

The best part of this comic is how nuanced the characters are. Each have their virtues and flaws, with the exceptions of Belkar (more flaws than virtues) and Durkon (more virtues than flaws). I really don't dislike any of them.
snip

I find that my own opinion of them is pretty much exactly the same. I favour the ambiguity of the characters. Characters like Belkar and Durkon who are relatively flat and predictable personality-wise are often a great source of humour and good at filling roles that need to be filled, it's the unpredictable, ambiguous characters that really draw me in. Roy, who can be noble and caring as easily as jerky and petty. Elan, who, while remaining touchingly good-hearted, can have bursts of relative brilliance or facepalm-inducing blunders. Haley, who drifts randomly between being a good person and being a greedy rogue who doesn't mind stealing from people and lying to them and can be as responsible as Roy or as childish as Elan. And yep, V, who seems to have nearly infinite depths in many directions and can be nearly altrustic in one breath and coldly ruthless in the next while still remaining the level-headed arrogant elf.

[nleseul]

(btw, he said all that Dwarven stuff about feelings to drive her away. He really did care for her, but he had no choice; she's taken.)

Heh, I suppose we have different views on the meaning of "taken." :smallwink:

[kusje]

Heh, I suppose we have different views on the meaning of "taken." :smallwink:

Yeah. Just because he took her doesn't mean she's taken!

[accountingninja]

I find that my own opinion of them is pretty much exactly the same. I favour the ambiguity of the characters. Characters like Belkar and Durkon who are relatively flat and predictable personality-wise are often a great source of humour and good at filling roles that need to be filled, it's the unpredictable, ambiguous characters that really draw me in. Roy, who can be noble and caring as easily as jerky and petty. Elan, who, while remaining touchingly good-hearted, can have bursts of relative brilliance or facepalm-inducing blunders. Haley, who drifts randomly between being a good person and being a greedy rogue who doesn't mind stealing from people and lying to them and can be as responsible as Roy or as childish as Elan. And yep, V, who seems to have nearly infinite depths in many directions and can be nearly altrustic in one breath and coldly ruthless in the next while still remaining the level-headed arrogant elf.

Ah! Another V fan. I've seen your art, it's VERY nice!! :smallbiggrin:

And I agree with all of your assessments of the others, too.


Heh, I suppose we have different views on the meaning of "taken."

lol, well, if he had stayed with her, she'd probably try to get Durkon to kill her abusive, monster of avery nice husband.

[nleseul]

lol, well, if he had stayed with her, she'd probably try to get Durkon to kill her abusive, monster of avery nice husband.

I'm honestly not sure of that. In Hilgya's eyes, her former husband is a complete non-entity. Since he's far away in Dwarven lands and can no longer affect her life, she has no real reason to spend her time or anyone else's going back there to kill him.

They would probably have had a very short relationship once Hilgya got bored, if you consider that a bad thing (which LG Durkon undoubtedly would have).

[mockingbyrd7]

Durkon.

I don't dislike him, but he lacks the appeal the other members of the Order has. He often plays the straight man to the other member's antics. Hopefully he'll get some much needed spotlight soon... last truely great thing he did was the control weather abuse...

This. FILLA!

[Warren Dew]

Durkon is like the bread of the sandwich. It's not the intretaining part of the sandwich but without it, the whole thing it pointless.

I often throw out the bread from my sandwiches. That said, I still like Durkon.

[Flickerdart]

I hereby induct Celia into the order just so I can say she's least popular.

[The Bookworm]

Favorite to Least Favorite:
:vaarsuvius: - Reminds me of myself. Yes, even right now. Overly verbose, no sensitivity to time, sleep-deprived, stubborn, and self-centered. And sometimes funny. I identify strongly. (That is exactly what I would've don e with Kubota, if I had the power.)
:roy: - Reminds me of one of my best friends. Sarcastic, strong, deadpan humor, awesome.
:elan: - He's just funny! I do know people like this, and they annoy me majorly. However, as long as I don't have to meet him, he's very funny!
:belkar: - Funny, and has recently proved he's not a one-shot pony. (ie "Haha, I'm openly evil.") Vaguely disturbing. (I don't know anyone like him.)
:haley: - Sometimes funny, but a little too angsty. Also, "the boots of speed were powerful, but they were lime green." Wear them anyway! Function over form!
:durkon: - I have read Origins, but he still doesn't interest me as much as everyone else.

[kusje]

:belkar: - Funny, and has recently proved he's not a one-shot pony. (ie "Haha, I'm openly evil.") Vaguely disturbing. (I don't know anyone like him.)

I'm a lot like Belkar. Recent setbacks have forced me to "hide" my evilness!

[accountingninja]

I'm honestly not sure of that. In Hilgya's eyes, her former husband is a complete non-entity. Since he's far away in Dwarven lands and can no longer affect her life, she has no real reason to spend her time or anyone else's going back there to kill him.

They would probably have had a very short relationship once Hilgya got bored, if you consider that a bad thing (which LG Durkon undoubtedly would have).

:smallwink: I was mostly joking, but imagining a black widow scenario with that love triangle is vaguely amusing.

That fickle lass would most certainly have broken Durkon's staunch, loyal Dwarven heart. He did himself a favor, really.

[Morgan Wick]

Durkon is by far the least fleshed-out member of the Order. If he's the least popular member it's because Rich has written him totally uninteresting. His personality basically comes down to "he has a funny accent". That's it.

I would say, however, that there have been times that Belkar has been less popular, because he's been out-and-out unpopular... and V has edged close to that territory in the current book...

[EmeraldPhoenix]

:belkar:
:haley:
:elan:
:durkon:
:vaarsuvius:
:roy:



This would be my ordering, with the biggest gap between Belkar & Haley, and the 2nd biggest gap down between Durkon and V. I've never liked Roy nor V, maybe due to the archetypes they represent, maybe due to their 'personalities'.
Belkar on the other hand is a;
say this with me,
SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR


Amen to that.

[hobbitkniver]

Dorkun- Who on Earth thinks Competence and Discipline are funny. Durkon never does anything stupid, wierd, or unexpected enough to make me laugh or really make me feel for him at all.

[CrimsonAngel]

1:belkar:
2:elan:
3:haley:
4:vaarsuvius:
5:roy:
6:durkon:

Personally, I think durkon is the least popular because he never gets any screentime. He's told maybe 12 jokes and has always been the same lawful bugger.

[Rethorn]

I think that there's a bit of a misnomer here.

Durkon is my favorite character, but I believe that he is easily the least favorite over all.

Belkar and V are the most favorite, but also the most disliked. No one really dislikes Durkon, with a few exceptions. He's only the least favorite because few people like him -more- than any other character. He's probably the most "average" character out of them all, in terms of popularity.

[Calmness]

Durkon should be the least popular, that should change a bit though if we get to see an arc or two dedicated to him.

As for personal opinions: I never liked V, mostly because i hate arrogant people and wizards. Bad combination.
My favorite changes a lot, right now i'm really fond of Haley. The redhead is the sanest member of the party left (alive anyway :smallbiggrin:).