The Order of the Stick/Tropes A-F: Difference between revisions

* [[Amplifier Artifact]]: Most common magic items are of this kind, like Roy's Belt of Giant Strength, Elan's Belt of Charisma or V's Ring of Wizardry. Lampshaded by Haley with a Potion of Glibness: she takes it from Elan to use herself, because while it would make him a good liar, she's already a good liar so it will make her an ''utterly amazing'' liar.

* [[Ancestral Weapon]]: Roy's greatsword is handed down from his grandfather (though it skipped his father). The family is actually named after its green hilt, and now that it was reforged with starmetal it glows green when slaying undead, and so qualifies as a pretty [[Cool Sword]] too.

* [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle]]: [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0145.html Spoofed].

{{quote| '''Elan:''' Ohhhh. Thanks, Vaarsuvius. Now I know.<br />

'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[Shout Out|And knowing is half the battle.]]<br />

'''[[G.I. Joe]]:''' G.I. Joe! }}

** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0021.html Haley calls it by name here.]

** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0621.html And used again exactly 600 issues later...]

** During [[The Siege|the battle of Azure City]], [[Big Bad|Xykon]] slaughters all the paladins defending the throne room... only to watch them rise up and oppose him as spirits, led by the spirit of legendary paladin Soon, no less.

** Not to mention that he led an Army of the Dead against Azure City in the first place. Undead Dragon and all.

** 26 unpleasant things that happen (or nearly happen) in ''Start of Darkness'': Murder, Kidnapping, Trespassing, Zombification, Maiming, Foul Language, Defenestration, Squishy Hugs, Cannibalism, Blasphemy, Inebriation, Verbal Abuse, Blind Dating, Extortion, Fraud, Lies (and statistics), Depilation, Brain Damage, Arson, Betrayal, False Advertising, Running Gags, Rules Lawyering, Disintegration, Tampering with the Fabric of Reality, Taco Night.

** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0133.html Guild arena used for ritual combat, coming-of-age sacrifices, and as mosh pit for local alternative rock bands.]

** Later, Gannji concocts a plan that requires his partner Enor to kill him, cut of his tail, and keep it so that Gannji can be resurrected later. He tells Enor:

{{quote| '''Gannji:''' Tell the guards it's a trophy of your victory. They won't question it 'cause you're part ogre. They do stuff like that all the time.}}

* [[Beastly Bloodsports]]: The Thieves Guild runs a dogfighting ring.

* [[The Bechdel Test]]: Passes the test easily, thanks mostly to Haley and Celia. Passes even earlier ([http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0003.html first panel]) if it turns out Vaarsuvius is female.

** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0504.html Vaarsuvius, here.] A Lampshade is hung by Elan in the next strip.

** Durkon does this in the prequel ''On the Origin of PCs'' the first time he tastes [[A Tankard of Moose Urine|beer brewed in human lands]].

{{quote| '''Roy:''' Wait, what? What about the Blood Oath of Vengeance?<br />

'''Bureaucratic Deva:''' It's not a problem for us. Go on up.<br />

** Xykon, [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0659.html to an injured and unarmed O-Chul charging him]: "Wow. You got some +5 Holy Cojones on you, paladin, I'll give you that."

** Ian Starshine to Roy Greenhilt: "You've got gumption, kid, I'll say that much."

** In [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0094.html "The Path to Victory"], as the Order goes through a secret tunnel, they pass through The Hall of Mysterious Runes, The Cavern of Very Easy Encounters, The Room With All the Spikes, The Chasm of Unnecessary Cliffs, The Tunnel With the Sort of Reddish Floor, The Passageway of Horrible Death for Other People... and The Corridor of ''Very Toxic Sulfur Fumes.'' (Which the team shakes off, anyway.)

** Tsukiko in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0709.html "No Scry Zone"].

** A more temporary instance of this trope occurs when a dragon uses an anti-magic field against Vaarsuvius, turning him/her from a wizard into what the former describes as "[[Squishy Wizard|a fragile, pointy-eared monkey]]" while the dragon is "[[Curb Stomp Battle|... still a dragon]]."

* [[Brown Note]]: Certain magical spells are perfectly capable of this -- for example, Xykon used a "Symbol of Insanity" (on a super-bouncy ball) to turn an ''entire squad'' of paladin warriors against each other.

{{quote| '''Monster in the Darkness:''' ... everyone here tells me that I'm as dumb as things that are really dumb.<br />

'''Redcloak:''' ... we didn't know the gate was guarded by a legion of ghost... things.<br />

'''Haley:''' My brain feels like a psion... did some psiony stuff. }}

* [[Buried Alive]]: Lirian seals Xykon and his forces in an airtight cave following their defeat in her forest.

* [[But for Me It Was Tuesday]]

** Xykon only remembers the day he killed Roy's dad's mentor as a really bad Laundry Night.

** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0478.html #478] has V teaching Elan to create illusions of celestial creatures. In [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0805.html #805], Elan demonstrates what he's learned with an illusionary celestial tree sloth.

** A shorter one, but in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0727.html #727], Roy's hunch back in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0691.html #691] pays off...

** From [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0841.html #841] all the way back to [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html #12]:

{{quote| '''Haley:''' Do you want to go up a level, or down a level?<br />

** Also Odin, the leader of the Northern Pantheon.

** Thor shows this occasionally as well, though mainly when he is drunk or about to. Which is about everytime we see him.

** Redcloak to O-Chul, [[Interrogated for Nothing|ostensibly for information]].

** Xykon to O-Chul, just for fun.