Order of the Stick

OOTS is another one of those sites that I consider to be pretty well central to modern D&D gaming culture. Rich Burlew is the amazing mind behind this ongoing story. Now some 700 strips in length, running through a growing pile of printed books and increasingly eschewing its origins as a simple ‘gaming comic’, Order of the Stick will surprise you at every turn.

Burlew has just completed the most recent chapter of the story, and it looks like the adventures of Elan, Roy, Durkon, Haley, Vaarsuvius, and Belkar won’t be picking back up until the end of the month. That makes now the perfect time to get caught up!

And there’s a lot to get caught up on. Long gone are the days of just making 3.5 edition jokes and calling it a day. Burlew still happily hits us with regular doses of d20 humor, to be sure, but the comic is so much more than that now. Strong characters, carefully planned storytelling, and fantastic dialogue makes this so much more than your typical webcomic.

Burlew’s touching tribute to Gary Gygax might particularly be of interest, even if you have no plans to read the series. His light touch speaks volumes about how he approaches story. Order of the Stick is a highlight of my time spent online.

If you haven’t read the comic, or you stopped reading at some point, I highly recommend getting back into this fascinating tale. You’ll be glad you did.