It's a barren desert...

[Spirited Charge]

Just wondering where Elan had mannaged to find himself a branch that was recently living (see green leaf) in the middle of a barren desert.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Rule of Funny, probably.

He could have just used his rapier or something if he didn't have it.

[Shale]

That's not any old branch, it's The Stick. How they've kept hold of it all the way from Redmountain is another question entirely.

[the_tick_rules]

Elan's power of plot summoning.

[Kieran Cage]

That's not any old branch, it's The Stick. How they've kept hold of it all the way from Redmountain is another question entirely.

Inside one of Haley's numerous Bags of Holding, of course.


"You can never have enough extradimensional storage space."

:smallbiggrin:

[ScottishDragon]

Yeah but that stick's leaf is green,if it was in a bag of holding wouldn't the leaf be dead?

[Eloel]

Yeah but that stick's leaf is green,if it was in a bag of holding wouldn't the leaf be dead?

It's a plastic leaf

[Optimystik]

That's not any old branch, it's The Stick. How they've kept hold of it all the way from Redmountain is another question entirely.

Now that you mention it, it does look like The Stick.

Though the Giant's quote about the inherent sameness of his art style comes to mind as well...

[Silverraptor]

Why are you even asking when they can get big diamonds by breaking the 4th wall?

[Optimystik]

Why are you even asking when they can get big diamonds by breaking the 4th wall?

Because this is an internet forum, we need something to talk about dammit.

[Dancing_Fox]

That's not any old branch, it's The Stick. How they've kept hold of it all the way from Redmountain is another question entirely.

I flagged the idea that 'The Stick was magical' in another thread.

Now that someone has referenced it as existing earlier, ARE there any references to The Stick having special powers of any kind? In prequel books for example?

Such as 'perpetually living.' A living branch taken from a magic tree which was based off a willingly given human life . . . or not. (That's a reference to the Sword of Shanara series . . . although can't remember the book it was in.)

In short - magic stick?

[ScottishDragon]

I wonder if the stick is banjo's symbol....

[Optimystik]

There wasn't even a shot of them picking it up, much less it being magical in some way.

Though, an artifact or intelligent magic item could probably warp itself into one of their packs.

...Is this how fanclubs get started?

[Bibliomancer]

I flagged the idea that 'The Stick was magical' in another thread.

Now that someone has referenced it as existing earlier, ARE there any references to The Stick having special powers of any kind? In prequel books for example?

Such as 'perpetually living.' A living branch taken from a magic tree which was based off a willingly given human life . . . or not. (That's a reference to the Sword of Shanara series . . . although can't remember the book it was in.)

In short - magic stick?

There is a type of wood in Eberron (the Eberron Campaign Setting, to be specific) that continues to live after the tree has been cut down, something like Everwood or Greenwood. It is mentioned as a handy way to have a Dryad hidden in a piece of weaponry.

[Flickerdart]

What IS the deal with the Stick, anyway? I mean, obviously it's what the Order is named after, but why?

[SaintRidley]

What IS the deal with the Stick, anyway? I mean, obviously it's what the Order is named after, but why?

See Origin.

[Dancing_Fox]

There is a type of wood in Eberron (the Eberron Campaign Setting, to be specific) that continues to live after the tree has been cut down, something like Everwood or Greenwood. It is mentioned as a handy way to have a Dryad hidden in a piece of weaponry.

Thanks. :-)

But now I'm sad. "Awwww. Poor Dryads!"

[warrl]

And I am remembering a Rifts game where we got hold of a small branch from a Millennium Tree. No idea what it was doing in the area we were in. We knew it had some magic about it, but didn't know what it was as not even the Linewalker had ever heard of a Millennium Tree, so we gave it to the Crazy.

And the player's dice somehow got stuck on max values for several rounds of combat. I think her d20s gave her eight 20's in ten rolls.

A small branch from a standard Millennium Tree is, roughly speaking, a True Good epic artifact heavy staff.

All of a sudden, the Crazy really liked her stick.

[Nimrod's Son]

That's not any old branch, it's The Stick. How they've kept hold of it all the way from Redmountain is another question entirely.
He could have just swiped it from the cast page...

[ScottishDragon]

He could have just swiped it from the cast page...

Yes but on the cast page it is still there.

[Nimrod's Son]

Yes but on the cast page it is still there.
Because he put it back again after. :smalltongue:

[Raging Gene Ray]

What IS the deal with the Stick, anyway? I mean, obviously it's what the Order is named after, but why?


See Origin.

This is only second hand info, but I heard Elan said their group needed a name, Roy didn't feel like putting much thought into it, so he just named it after the first thing he saw: a stick that happened to be laying on the ground.

[ScottishDragon]

Because he put it back again after. :smalltongue:

But during the comic now he has the stick and hasn't been shown putting it back yet.

[Nimrod's Son]

This is only second hand info, but I heard Elan said their group needed a name, Roy didn't feel like putting much thought into it, so he just named it after the first thing he saw: a stick that happened to be laying on the ground.
Almost:
Haley, Belkar and Elan are shouting out (poor) ideas, with most of Elan's suggestions being based on random objects that he sees. Roy gets annoyed and yells at them, saying that their ideas are terrible, and sarcastically suggests that they might as well call themselves "The Order of the Stick" because there's a stick on the ground next to him. Everyone agrees that it has a nice ring to it, to Roy's further annoyance.
But yeah, the stick Elan's holding in the latest strip is completely identical to the one in both Origin and on the cast page, so it's no accident.


But during the comic now he has the stick and hasn't been shown putting it back yet.
Okay, he put it back while Roy was having his close-up in panel six. Sheesh.

[Spiky]

I think it's more difficult to explain how the small stick can make giant marks in the sand.

[factotum]

I think it's more difficult to explain how the small stick can make giant marks in the sand.

I think the question ought to be, how does it make those marks at all? They're in the middle of the desert, so that sand ought to be bone dry. Ever tried writing in dry sand? Doesn't work all that well...

[Souhiro]

I think The Stick has life of it's own. And he can appear whatever and whenever it want, and grants his holder the hability of write on sand.

And write upside-down, too!

[Kranden]

Yeah but that stick's leaf is green,if it was in a bag of holding wouldn't the leaf be dead?

The leaf is actually an epic level necromancer.

[Gift Jeraff]

Now that you mention it, it does look like The Stick.

Though the Giant's quote about the inherent sameness of his art style comes to mind as well...
I was also thinking that, but the stick Inkyrius uses (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0641.html) had a different design, whereas The Stick in Origins, The Stick in the cast page, and the one in 696 look identical.

[Dvandemon]

Maybe it had Gentle Repose cast on it?


The leaf is actually an epic level necromancer.
Really then I must do battle with it!

[Raging Gene Ray]

I think the question ought to be, how does it make those marks at all? They're in the middle of the desert, so that sand ought to be bone dry. Ever tried writing in dry sand? Doesn't work all that well...

Prestidigitation. 0 level Bard spell...solves a lot of plot holes.

@Nimrod's Son: Thanks for the clarification.

[Brendan]

Summon instrument (mallet?)

[silversaraph]

I believe the giant said something about this, only with hair. Ahem, it went something like "How many ways can you draw hair in a stick figure comic, anyway?" Replace this with a stick...


But there are plants that have leaves in the desert, anyhow.

But... wow, there are very specific details for that to not be deliberate.

Edit: Also, making a sand castle requires sand in the water too, and Belkar has no access to water.

[Nimrod's Son]

I believe the giant said something about this, only with hair. Ahem, it went something like "How many ways can you draw hair in a stick figure comic, anyway?" Replace this with a stick...
There's a difference between drawing something in a similar style to another, and using the exact same shape. Rich uses pre-existing templates repositioned from panel to panel. I think it's pretty unlikely he used The Stick as a template and forgot to alter it afterwards... since he used that exact image for Elan's stick, it must have been done as a little in-joke. Especially since we've already seen Inkyrius waving a stick of a completely different shape, leaves and all.

[ScottishDragon]

Edit: Also, making a sand castle requires sand in the water too, and Belkar has no access to water.

THey proboabably carry water around with them.How they use it is up to them.

[Hatman]

huh, well if they are in a sand trap, like at a golf course, then he might have gotten it from the green, where the goal is

[Kobold-Bard]

They named their party after that stick. The fact that they are becoming quite well known and people are using the name "Order of the Stick" has imbued the stick with a fragment of Divinity, since people all over the world know it's name.

It's a stick, so it wouldn't need much Divine power to retain a single leaf, maybe 1/50 of a Divine Rank.

There's your answer folks, the thread can now be safely locked :smallcool:

[tomandtish]

I flagged the idea that 'The Stick was magical' in another thread.

Now that someone has referenced it as existing earlier, ARE there any references to The Stick having special powers of any kind? In prequel books for example?

Such as 'perpetually living.' A living branch taken from a magic tree which was based off a willingly given human life . . . or not. (That's a reference to the Sword of Shanara series . . . although can't remember the book it was in.)

In short - magic stick?

You're thinking of the Elfstones of Shannara, where the Ellcrys gives Allanon a branch from her heartwood that weakens the demons.

The stick hangs out on the cast page until needed, and then placed back. As for aging, there are extradimensional storage devices that prevent spoiling/rotting/etc., so maybe Hailey has one of those.