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2019-12-09, 06:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Greetings to all people of the Playground, and welcome to
The Ultimate Order of the Stick Book Tournament II!
Back in 2014, I ran a series of polls to determine the forum's favorite OOTS book. Start of Darkness won that tournament, defeating Blood Runs in the Family by one vote. Since that time, the number of available books has increased, and the readership has had more time to reflect on earlier stories in light of more recent events. Hence, I felt it was time for another tournament. Without further ado, I present
The Contestants
Dungeon Crawling Fools
On the Origins of the PCs
The Start of Darkness
No Cure for Paladin Blues
War and XP
Don't Split the Party
Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails
Blood Runs in the Family
Haleo & Julelan + Uncivel Servant
Good Deeds Gone Unpunished
Utterly Dwarfed
Even though Book 6 has yet to be released, I believe we have seen enough of it from the online strips for it to be fairly included. Also, I have grouped together the two stories which are currently digital-only. The 11 contestants will compete in a double elimination tournament, with your votes deciding who wins each match. The winner of the entire tournament will be crowned Grand Champion of the Stick!
Due to the fact that there are more than 8 but fewer than 16 contestants, five books will get a free pass on the first round. The contestants were seeded randomly. You can see the entire tournament bracket on Challonge.
Vote once in each match by posting your vote in this thread. The voting for these matches will close Monday December 16, at which time I will post the next two matches. I will vote only in the case where a tie-breaking vote is needed.
The Current Matches
Match 3: Haleo & Julelan + Uncivel Servant vs On the Origins of the PCs
Match 4: Good Deeds Gone Unpunished vs Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails
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2019-12-09, 07:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Haven’t read either of the books in Match 3.
In Match 4, voting for Good Deeds Gone Unpunished, a very strong contender for my favourite OOTS book of all. How the Paladin Got His Scar is probably the best thing Rich has written.
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2019-12-09, 07:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2009
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Since I forgot to respond to this question in the previous thread:
It was decided at random. I knew how the tournament needed to be structured (e.g. how many books would get a bye in the first round) just from the fact that it was double elimination and there were 11 books. I used random.org to sort the 11 books into their initial slots.
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2019-12-09, 08:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2015
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Going On the Origin of PCs here (close) and Good Deeds Gone Unpunished (not close).
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2019-12-09, 08:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2018
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
On The Order of PCs and Good Deeds Gone Unpunished because those are the ones I’ve read.
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2019-12-09, 08:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2013
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- Skyron, Andromeda
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
So, I don’t exactly have strong feelings on the first matchup; both of these rank pretty low down to me and either will lose to W&XPs. So, I think I’ll go with Haleo & Julelan + Uncivil Servant, mostly because I find them combined a little funnier than OtOotPCs (which is, admittedly, infinitely more relevant to the plot).
For Match 4, it’s easily Good Deeds Gone Unpunished. Don’t get me wrong, I think SSDT is quite funny, but the shorts in GDGU are quite good and HtPGHS is easily one of the best things Rich has written.
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2019-12-09, 10:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2009
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Haleo & Julelan
Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails
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2019-12-09, 10:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2016
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- A Humorous Location
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
While Haleo and Julelan and Uncivil Servant aren't especially the best books, or do they possess the storytelling of the main tale, they're really funny. OtOOPCs on the other hand? The storytelling is content that will be covered and explained cohesively in the main story, and the jokes are trapped in the era of the comic being just a d&d satire comic. HJaUS gets my vote.
I haven't read the first one, but this is close all the same. SSDT is... Fun, to say the least. A whole bunch of stories, a few which I didn't get when I read them, and the dreaded fourth dimension. But just from what I've heard, and because my pity vote to SSDT won't mean anything, GDGU gets my vote.
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2019-12-09, 11:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2012
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Match 1:
On the Origins of the PCs.
The short ones are good stories, but hardly compare.
Match 2:
Good Deeds gone Unpunished, because it is just great.Last edited by Vulkos; 2019-12-09 at 11:40 PM.
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2019-12-09, 11:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2018
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Good Deeds Gone Unpunished is legendary and deserves all the votes.
The other one is harder to decide and uh... I really don't know. I guess I'll side with On the Origins of PCs.
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2019-12-10, 10:01 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2011
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- Broomfield CO
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
So, lets go
On the Origins of the PCs for match 3
and Good Deeds gone unpunished for match 4.
in the words of Thrym, My reasons are my own. (But seriously, Good Deeds gone unpunished is likely to be the crowning champ. I don't know anyone who didn't like it. The other match was tough, and I likebothall three of them. I think OtOofPCs fits in better with latter books rather than early books, and I give it to people who I know would have to slog through book 1 and two without help.)Now, Back to Lurking!
Originally Posted by The Giant
Belkar's Death Countdown best guess: 31/49 days used before Belkar is gone forever more! - updated to morning at 1190!
Hey, its the Blog where I write! Dice Roles
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2019-12-10, 10:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Match 3: Haleo & Julelan + Uncivel Servant vs On the Origins of the PCs
Match 4: Good Deeds Gone Unpunished vs Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails
Good Deeds Gon Unpunished (SS&DT's only redeeming value is the 3.5e vs 4e OoTS battle)
Note: the first time I encountered OoTS ever was in Dragon Magazine. I had never encountered it on line. (I tended toward PvP and Penny Arcade if I even looked at a web comic).
I hated it. I had not picked up a dragon in some years.
For Dragon comics, I was used to Wormy and Fineous and Snarfquest and Phil&Dixie.
OoTS to my eye simply did not fit.
Some years later, I tripped over the OoTS comic in the polearm shop.
I love me some monty python.
So I gave OoTS another look, starting from strip 1.
No hate, and a lot of laughs.
SS&DT I own in a physical copy, the rest in electronic form. I stil find the dragon era strips to lack that certain something ... but props to Rich for being chosen by WoTC to feature his strip in their house D&D mag. Well done.Last edited by KorvinStarmast; 2019-12-10 at 10:42 AM.
Avatar by linklele. How Teleport Worksa. Malifice (paraphrased):
Rulings are not 'House Rules.' Rulings are a DM doing what DMs are supposed to do.
b. greenstone (paraphrased):
Agency means that they {players} control their character's actions; you control the world's reactions to the character's actions.
Second known member of the Greyview Appreciation Society
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2019-12-10, 11:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2009
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- New England
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
On the Origin of PCs
Good Deeds Gone Unpunished
I'm a unique individual in my voting, just like (almost) everyone else in the thread. I suspect these two will run away with this round.SpoilerI Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Sorcerer (5th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength - 11
Dexterity - 16
Constitution - 11
Intelligence - 15
Wisdom - 12
Charisma - 11
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2019-12-10, 01:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2016
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Hj+uc
ssdtYou found the secret message! Don't forget to edit the wiki!
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2019-12-10, 06:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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- Washington D.C.
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Haleo & Julelan + Uncivil Servant - I don't really care for Haleo & Julelan (I greatly dislike that play), but Uncivil Servant makes up for it and then some. Enough even to make me vote for it over Origin of PCs.
Good Deeds Gone Unpunished - As others have said, no contest. I actually think this one will be the ultimate winner; I certainly know I'm going to be voting for it over everything else.
That's the exact strip that got me into it too! Except I hadn't seen a lot of Monty Python, so I didn't get the reference, so I assume that just goes to show how great a skit it was.Last edited by Peelee; 2019-12-10 at 06:06 PM.
Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.
Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2
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2019-12-10, 08:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
On the Origins of PCs gets my vote. Note that the title is not "On the Origins of the PCs" as that kills the sound-alike joke. So much good stuff here - Distant Inferno, metal concert diplomacy, and my favorite part of early OotS, copious jokes about the intricacies of 3rd edition D&D rules.
Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails You know, it's the weirdest thing. I know I own a copy of Good Deeds Gone Unpunished. I know I've read it several times. As I sit here deciding which book to vote for, I can't for the life of me recall a single thing about it. At the very least, the Snail of a Thousand Templates was memorable.
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2019-12-11, 04:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2009
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- Germany
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Haleo & Julelan
GDGUAres - Music and sounds system for roleplaying
Avatar by Rich Burlew.
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2019-12-11, 06:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2019
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- Cloudcuckooland, USA
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
I'll vote for Haleo and Julelan/Uncivil Servant and Good Deeds Gone Unpunished. They're the only two I've read on this list, but the Belkar and O-Chul stories are, as others have said, unparalleled.
Well. What a coincidence-- that was the first strip I saw as well! That wouldn't by any chance be due to Wikipedia's reference to the comic in their article on the Cheese Shop sketch?
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2019-12-11, 06:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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- Washington D.C.
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.
Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2
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2019-12-11, 08:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2015
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Heh, funnily enough, and befitting an ex-poker player, the strip that first got me into OOTS was #428, where Haley figures out Xykon and Redcloak's shell game. It certainly helped that we were in the middle of a big battle and that promised action, but it was also me reading how she figures it out that made me think, "Hey, if this guy can write characters this intelligent and savvy, he might be worth reading. I should see where this is going."
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2019-12-11, 09:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2019
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
My first was #406, though I don't think I clicked the link back to the start of the comic for a few weeks afterwards.
Arrrgh, here be me extended sig!
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2019-12-11, 09:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Heh, nice. The current strip when I started reading was #400, which I found amusing in retrospect given that I was introduced to the comic by my then-girlfriend.
Last edited by rgrekejin; 2019-12-11 at 09:25 PM.
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2019-12-11, 09:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2015
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Yeah, that's a pretty funny (I hope) epilogue to that discovery.
I didn't either for a few days; then I started simultaneously reading from where I already was and from #1 until I caught back up. I don't really think that's the recommended way to do it, but that was a bit over four years ago and I've read the whole thing many times since.
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2019-12-11, 11:14 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2019
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Hmmm, I'm going to vote Good Deeds Gone Unpunished for Match 4.
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2019-12-12, 12:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2013
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- Skyron, Andromeda
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
I believe I was first introduced to the comic through TVTropes, although the first full strip I read was #1. That was around #918, if I remember correctly. Things have changed a bit since then!
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2019-12-12, 07:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Don't really have a strong opinion for match 3, but gonna go with SSaDT for match 4
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2019-12-12, 10:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2015
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
I'm gonna go with:
3) No vote.
4) Good Deeds Gone Unpunished.
How The Paladin Got His Scar is an important and really good story, sure, but I think we're missing out when we only talk about that one. The story with Kazumi and Daigo and the ghost was great, too, I thought.
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2019-12-12, 11:05 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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- Washington D.C.
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Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.
Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2
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2019-12-14, 12:13 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Match 3: Haleo & Julelan + Uncivil Servant. Almost voted the other way, since I think Origin of PCs will hold its own better in later matches. But the storytelling and character representation in the former is so great!
Match 4: Good Deeds Gone Unpunished. No contest. Just read it based on all these lovely recommendations. Also, Paladins have TERRIBLE appraisal checks. OMG.Last edited by DLcygnet; 2019-12-17 at 11:01 AM.
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2019-12-18, 07:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
Re: Order of the Stick Book Tournament 2: No Cure for Voting Blues (Matches 3 and 4)
Whoops, looks like I forgot to update this two days ago. It's just as well, since the next match was going to have a longer voting period anyways.
The results for these matches are:
Match 3: Haleo & Julelan + Uncivil Servant vs On the Origins of the PCs (8-8)
Match 4: Good Deeds Gone Unpunished vs Snips, Snails and Dragon Tails (16-4)
Match 3 ended in a tie, so I am breaking the tie in favor of OtOotPCs.
The next two matches are up in a new thread.Last edited by 137beth; 2019-12-18 at 07:26 PM.