Nine Sides

[riaierb]

the nine sides we know about are: Xykon, Redcloak, the order, the linear guild, the vector legion, the IFCC, and the high priest of hel.
so who are the other sides?

[Jaxzan Proditor]

These are the suggestions that I have seen for the other sides (that I can remember): the Azurites (or the Sapphire Guard), the Elves, the Thieves Guild, the Snarl, the gods, the Order of the Scribble, and the MitD. There is no consensus on what sides are part of the "at least nine" comment, although many of the sides mentioned above I personally tend to discount.

[Duck999]

One related to the Snarl seems likely. Also, Laurin seems to have her own motives.

[Codyage]

Vector Legion
Linear Guild
Xykon
Redcloak/Dark One
Order of the Stick
Azurities
IFCC
Order of the Scribble
Hel/High priest of Hel
The Snarl
The other Gods
The Thieves Guild
The Holey Brotherhood


I count at least 13.

[Boogastreehouse]

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This thread gets started over again every few months. First off, let me point out that I feel that the roaches were making a jokey comment; it may not necessarily be a literal, Word-Of-Giant proclamation as to the number of factions concerned about the gate. I, myself feel that "at least nine sides" is what we should take from their statement, but for all I know it could be more, it could be less or it could actually be exactly nine. We probably won't know 'till the end. My latest take on the breakdown has now been updated as follows:


Known Sides (which are under no obligation to actually add up to nine):

The Mortals United (more or less) to Defeat Xykon—This faction is distinct from the gods, because it has been suggested that the gods are withholding information regarding the Rifts and the Snarl. Moreover, it has been implied that the gods might just wait and see what happens—they'll hide somewhere safe again if the world gets destroyed again, and then just return and re-boot it again later. The mortals on the other hand intend to fight to survive. This faction has grown to thus far include The Sapphire Guard, their allies the Elves and, of course, the Order of the Stick.

Girard Draketooth and his family—This faction is distinct from the The Mortals United to Defeat Xykon, due to their ideological differences with Soon and the Saphire Guard. Girard and Soon felt that they had to protect the Rifts not only from the forces evil, but from each other. Serini, another former member of the Order of the Scribble, may still be an ally or representative of this side, making her the last survivor of the faction. If not, then this side has been completely wiped out.

Xykon—the epic lich sorcerer who wants to take control of the Gates, mainly just because he can. He intends to use the power of the Gates for his own evil amusement. His pawns include Redcloak (who actually belongs to another side), and the Monster in the Darkness (who will probably turn on him, thanks to the guidance of the Paladin O-Chul). His only other pawn (and the only one truly loyal to him), Tsukiko, is now dead.

The Dark One—and his High Priest, Redcloak. The Dark One is apparently prepared to use the Snarl as a tool for blackmailing the gods, and is willing to either kill the gods or to unmake reality if his demands are not met. Now that the Dark One is a god, himself, he expects to be able to survive the destruction, like the gods managed to do last time, and then be a part of the process of remaking the next world.

The Gods—beings who allegedly want to keep the Snarl imprisoned, for their own protection and incidentally for the benefit of the world. They seem to have a lot in common with the Mortals United to Defeat Xykon, but would apparently abandon the mortals in order to save themselves, or unmake the world and re-bind the Snarl more securely. The gods who were/are secretly aiding and advising The Dark One (Loki, I think? And Rat? And Tiamat?) might be on that side, or belong to a faction of their own (see below).

The IFCC (The Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission)—An Infernal Alliance that now knows of the gates that imprison the Snarl. Their stated goal is to storm the Gates of Heaven in a properly Milton-like fashion, probably using the Snarl as a weapon. Assuming they're telling the truth. Their pawns include Sabine and any surviving members of The Linear Guild, Quaar, and now that they have a brief claim on her/his soul, Vaarsuvius is probably their ace-in-the-hole.


Possible Sides:

Tarquin's Party/The Vector Legion—The Secret Masters of the Empires of Blood, Sweat and Tears. We haven't enough information at this time to conclude that they are or will be a faction. It is possible that they will now be interested in exploring and exploiting this set of "rifts" that they've recently discovered, and Laurin may have discovered some new information. Or she may have gotten killed

Dorukan the Wizard and Lirian the Druid—We have seen that these two former members of the Order of the Scribble continued to have (very) friendly contact after their party split up. We haven't enough information at this time, however, to conclude that they were a separate faction, although they could have been alienated by both Soon and/or Girard, and even if they had no ill-will for those two, they may have been driven away by the feud between them. Serini, the only member of the Order of the Scribble still unaccounted for, may be allied with the Druid and the Wizard.

Serini—Serini, if she's still alive, could be her own side, belong to someone else's side or she could have formed a whole organization like Soon's Paladins or Girard's family. We just have no idea what she's been up to since she built the Dungeon of Kraagor's Tomb.

The Snarl—a creature that, to the best of my knowledge, has only been depicted in flashbacks relating second-hand historical events has just made its first awesome appearance, and that allegedly wants to unmake the world and kill the gods. No known pawns or sub-factions.

Inhabitants of the Inner World—Any people living on the world that may exist within the Rifts would probably have their own priorities, though what they are remains unknown at this time. Perhaps they want to see the Snarl destroyed, or maybe that's the last thing that they want. Maybe the Greek Pantheon is in there, too. Their agenda, if they have one (if they even know about the outside world... and assuming there are even people on this planet!) remains uncertain.

The Oracle/Tiamat/their teleporting-and-resurrecting-lizardmen-lizardfolk-buddies—We haven't enough information at this time to conclude that they are or will be a faction.


The gods who aided and advised The Dark One during his apotheosis (and perhaps still are aiding and advising him?). I think I remember Loki defending the Dark One from the other gods? And Rat? And Tiamat? They might be on the side of the gods, but I suspect they belong to a faction of their own, and they are manipulating the Dark One.

Hel—Looks like I've got to add Hel and her agent Durkon, or rather, the-vampire/spirit-in-possession-of-Durkon's-body, as a possible side. So far she hasn't specifically mentioned the Gates, but her allusions to a plan that will bring the world to ruin and bring Thor to his knees suggest that she might want control of the Gate.

The Greysky City Thieves' Guild—It is possible that Bozzak will follow up on the information regarding Haley's journey to the North. At this time they do not appear to have any knowledge about the Gates.


That's how I would divide 'em up, based on what we know.

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[Jaxzan Proditor]

I don't think the Oracle will get involved, and it's said that he prefers to not get involved in these things, but I suppose he can still be listed as a potential side. I wouldn't include the Linear Guild as pawns of the IFCC, since they have (or had) their own goals, seperate from the IFCC. I think the the mortals united shouldn't include the Elves, since we don't know that they care about the Gate. I think the list should also include any sides that were alive when the comment was made, so Girard and his family should be more of a faction than just Serini.

[Boogastreehouse]

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...I wouldn't include the Linear Guild as pawns of the IFCC, since they have (or had) their own goals, seperate from the IFCC...

Mmm, I'm not sure I agree with this one. I mean, that's what pawns are; they're guys pursuing their own goals, unaware that they're actually helping some other manipulator. The Linear Guild might have thought they were their own side in this story, but I'll bet the IFCC didn't look at it that way, and could back up their assessment with a pretty strong case.

Just my take on it, of course.

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[Jaxzan Proditor]

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Mmm, I'm not sure I agree with this one. I mean, that's what pawns are; they're guys pursuing their own goals, unaware that they're actually helping some other manipulator. The Linear Guild might have thought they were their own side in this story, but I'll bet the IFCC didn't look at it that way, and could back up their assessment with a pretty strong case.

Just my take on it, of course.

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I think I was unclear. I meant that what the Linear Guild as doing wasn't necessarily what the IFCC wanted them to do. Qarr and Sabine may be manipulating them to do what the IFCC wants, but the LG is still working at accomplishing their own goals. It's a matter of opinion, I suppose.

[Gift Jeraff]

1. Good Guys
2. Xykon
3. Dark One
4. Linear Guild
5. IFCC
6. Vector Legion
7. Hel
8. You
9. Me

[Ionathus]

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My latest take on the breakdown has now been updated as follows:
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Well, everyone, that's it. Time to pack it all up and go home, Boogas took care of it.:smalltongue:

Though I will say, I might have to vote with "Remaining Linear Guild Members" as their own camp, and *possibly* two. Sabine is likely going to fall in with the IFCC, but I pretty much 95% expect Hilgya to be making a reappearance.

[riaierb]

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This thread gets started over again every few months.

new sides get added every few months.

[Bitzer]

If we are attempting to compile a list of the nine sides meant by the roaches, it make sense to only include sides that were actively seeking the gates at the time. Since the Order is still trying to resurrect Roy at this time we can safely discount anyone who joins the race after his resurrection. (In other words, the Vector Legion is right out.) Taking this into consideration, my list of the nine sides meant by the roaches are:

1. Xykon

2. Redcloak and the Dark One

3. The Sapphire Guard

4. Draketooth Clan

5. The Order of the Stick

6. The Linear Guild

7. The Gods

8. The IFCC

9. The Snarl

[Jaxzan Proditor]

If we are attempting to compile a list of the nine sides meant by the roaches, it make sense to only include sides that were actively seeking the gates at the time. Since the Order is still trying to resurrect Roy at this time we can safely discount anyone who joins the race after his resurrection. (In other words, the Vector Legion is right out.) Taking this into consideration, my list of the nine sides meant by the roaches are:

1. Xykon

2. Redcloak and the Dark One

3. The Sapphire Guard

4. Draketooth Clan

5. The Order of the Stick

6. The Linear Guild

7. The Gods

8. The IFCC

9. The Snarl
A few problems I see with the list. First, neither the Snarl nor the gods have shown much interest in the Gates. Until recently, the Snarl seemed unaware of the holes in it's prison, and I doubt it comprehends what the Gates are. The gods don't seem to be doing anything about the Gates, with a few exceptions. Second, none of these sides were introduced in the most recent book, since we hardly met the Draketooths and the Order already knew about Girard anyway.

[BaronOfHell]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0548.html

It's a bit unclear what's meant by "sides in this conflict". It's easy to name more than 9 distinct sides by some common trait.

Like above, I prefer to distinct by goal, but I try to limit it to gate oriented goals, and I do also think that any future sides can be included. So if Thog gets a solo adventure, I'd not include him as a side, whereas Nale [Linear Guild] who had started to seek out the gate, I'd include.

It's my opinion the azurities have the same goal as the order, and can be counted as one side. The elves is a question mark, they've had a hole in the fabric of existence in their backyard for quite some time now, so it's difficult to tell what exactly their thoughts are.

Therefore I won't include Hel as well, at least not until the shows an interest in the actual gate plot. Though the God's do seem to have some level of interest in the gate plot according to Shojo, as of now, I'd at most place them all in one basket, and I'm not even sure they'd qualify for a side.

When it comes to the Vector Legion, Tarquin told Nale he didn't like the Gate conquest idea, but it's difficult to say when Tarquin should be hold to what he says, in my opinion. Hence the Vector Legion could be a side, but I'm not sure.

I'd not count the draketooth's as their own side, however independent they may have been from everyone else, as their goal is the same as the goal of the rest of the scribble members, to protect their individual gate, and as such it also sounds very similar to the order & azurities goal anyway.

So the sides I'm pretty confident on based on the premises above are:
Xykon
Goblinoids (RC)
OotS (& allies)
IFCC
Linear Guild

Of all of those, the head figure(s) have all shown interest in the gate plot.

It's my guess the Vector Legion as well will be a side in the future.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I think the Vector Legion is already involved, given what's going on with Laurin. Also, personally, I would label the Order and the Azurites as separate sides, since I think that while they share the same goal with regards to the Gates, they are separated physically and by their mentalities. However, since you are sorting just by goal, I don't expect you to have this as a factor. As far as the Draketooths go, I think that they are different because while the Order and the Azurites have made it their goal to protect the Gates from Xykon, the Draketooths only cared to protect their own Gate, and from everybody.

[BaronOfHell]

The Draketooth's goal were indeed not the same, but going from that perspective, it becomes somewhat easy to add more sides, such as Dorukan & Lirian who can be combined or separated, Serini too, I imagine. Therefore I think it's a bit too vague / easy.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

The Draketooth's goal were indeed not the same, but going from that perspective, it becomes somewhat easy to add more sides, such as Dorukan & Lirian who can be combined or separated, Serini too, I imagine. Therefore I think it's a bit too vague / easy.

I don't think there's any problem with separating the various Scribblers into factions, especially since there was a large split between certain members. At the very least, the allies of Soon and the Draketooths probably shouldn't be on the same side.

[Bitzer]

A few problems I see with the list. First, neither the Snarl nor the gods have shown much interest in the Gates. Until recently, the Snarl seemed unaware of the holes in it's prison, and I doubt it comprehends what the Gates are. The gods don't seem to be doing anything about the Gates, with a few exceptions. Second, none of these sides were introduced in the most recent book, since we hardly met the Draketooths and the Order already knew about Girard anyway.

I've not seen the Giant's comment on introducing a new side into the issue, but does he say he will reveal one of the nine sides or just another side? If he says that he will reveal one of the nine, then yes, my list does have an issue, but if he just says that he will introduce a new side, then I see no problem. Also, I would definitely include the gods as a side in the gate conflict. They have definite interests and have already taken steps to secure the gates (not telling mortals about them). The Snarl is a toss up, and I only included it because it is the prisoner of the gates.

I'm not saying that these are the only sides, but I am saying that these are the nine sides counted by the roaches.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I've not seen the Giant's comment on introducing a new side into the issue, but does he say he will reveal one of the nine sides or just another side? If he says that he will reveal one of the nine, then yes, my list does have an issue, but if he just says that he will introduce a new side, then I see no problem. Also, I would definitely include the gods as a side in the gate conflict. They have definite interests and have already taken steps to secure the gates (not telling mortals about them). The Snarl is a toss up, and I only included it because it is the prisoner of the gates.

I'm not saying that these are the only sides, but I am saying that these are the nine sides counted by the roaches.

From the commentary on DStP: "In the next volume of The Order of the Stick, readers will meet, for the very first time, one of the "nine sides" mentioned by the demon roach in Strip #548. That's right, there will be at least one entirely as-of-yet unrevealed player in the struggle for the Gates who will be...well, revealed."

As for the gods, I really don't consider not telling mortals about the gates, and then continuing to do nothing about them as steps.

[Boogastreehouse]

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I don't think there's any problem with separating the various Scribblers into factions, especially since there was a large split between certain members. At the very least, the allies of Soon and the Draketooths probably shouldn't be on the same side.

I agree. Girard was as adamant about keeping the gate "safe" from Soon's Paladins as he was about keeping it safe from any evil lich that might come along. It wasn't all Girard's fault, either; Soon appeared to be as angry at Dorukan as he was at Draketooth. That division was strong enough that they really did become separate factions influencing the fate of the rifts. In fact, that enmity ended up making the gates more vulnerable, as the various groups couldn't help one another when their gates were threatened. So yeah; totally separate sides by my reckoning.

Man, this is a good story.

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[Jaxzan Proditor]

Man, this is a good story.

Sure is. :smallbiggrin: