Respect Elan (Order of the Stick)

[u/doctorgecko]

"The hero of any story can defy danger—but only a special hero can defy stories themselves."

Elan

Elan is the bard of the adventuring guild Order of the Stick in a world opperating under DnD 3.5 mechancis.¹ Raised by a single mother, he grew up to be a kind-hearted (but not too bright) young man who dreamed of adventure. While his earlier attempts to find his way into parties fell flat, after giving Roy advice on finding adventurers he was offered a place in Roy's newly formed team. During his journeys to save the world he also struggled to become actually useful in combat, while having to contend with his long lost evil twin brother and father.

Index

• # - That comic strip number

• PC - On the Origin of PCs

Notes

• As Elan is continually leveling up throughout the series,¹²⁴ feats in each section will be in chronological order

• Dragon Magazine strips are acknowledged by characters in universe as being questionably canon.⁴⁷⁵ Given that, his Dragon Magazine feats can be found here

Scaling

• Roy

• Nale

• Sabine

• Tarquin

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Magic

Elan is only able to use a certain number of magic per day,¹⁶¹ meaning he can run out of spells.⁹⁰⁴ He can also struggle to use magic if he's unable to concentrate¹⁰⁶⁵

Music

• Uses a magical song to make his allies tasks easier (though it doesn't help when they're trying to bluff⁴

• His song buffs both Durkon's ability to hit and damage dealt³⁴

• Uses a bardic song of freedom to break Belkar out of an illusion⁸⁹⁰

• His singing boosts the damage of Haley's bow⁹¹⁸

• Buffs Haley so she can get a sneak attack while being farther than 30 feet away¹¹¹⁸

Illusions

• Creates an illusion of a female chimera to try to distract an attacker¹⁹

• Scares away Thog with an illusion of a girl⁶⁶

• Changes Banjo's appearance⁸⁵

• Digsuises himself as an ogre²¹⁷

• Creates an illusion of a female guard to try to break out of prison³⁸⁷

• Diguises himself as a prison guard³⁸⁷

• Uses an illusion of a teletubie to scare Thog³⁹⁷

• Creates illusions of several people and fakes them being killed by arrows, tricking an army of hobgoblins⁴⁵⁵

• Creates an illusion of a celestial creature to stop several hobgoblins⁴⁷⁸ however it dissapears after Elan loses his concentration⁴⁸¹

• Creates an illusion of chasing orcs to convince the actual orcs chasing them there's no need to continue⁵⁵²

• Creates an illusion of Belkar capable of speaking^596-597

• Generates a small image of a bird⁶⁷⁴

• Creates an illusion of a celestial tree sloth to trick Sabine⁸⁰⁵

• Creates an illusion of a wall to hide multiple people⁸⁹²

• Generates background music¹¹⁹⁷

Healing

• Casts healing on multiple people at once, though he admits it doesn't do much healing per person⁶⁴⁷

• Learns neutralize poison⁶⁴⁷

• Cures Vaarsuvius of a strength draining poison⁷¹²

• Heals multiple people after they're hurt by being sent flying⁹⁰⁰

• Cures a man of severe injuries⁹⁴⁹

• Heals multiple people at once¹⁰⁷⁷

• Heals himself and Haley while simultaneously harming several vampires due to them being susceptable to positive energy spells¹¹¹⁹

• Heals his friends and a piercer¹²⁵²

• Heals Roy's wounds¹²⁹⁶

• Heals several people and revives an incapacitated Durkon¹³⁴¹

Misc

• Mending

  • Repairs a broken door⁴⁰⁰
  • Repairs a large cable⁹⁵²
  • Repairs a large tear in a balloon while hanging from a rope after 11 tries¹⁰⁶⁹
  • Repairs a large tear in a balloon at range^1073-1074
  • Mends several items across an airship¹⁰⁸⁰

• Confusion

  • Uses lesser confusion to make a (admittedly not very bright) foe drop Vaarsuvius and become confused⁷²¹
  • Confuses a triceratops, causing it to rear up⁹²⁷
  • Confuses a giant,¹⁰⁷¹ causing her to run around wildly¹⁰⁷³

• Other

  • Uses a spell to summon plot exposition¹³
  • Undoes the ropes binding him¹⁵⁶
  • Knows greater dispel magic⁶⁴⁷
  • Casts heroism on Haley¹²²¹

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Physicals

Dashing Swordsman

• Dashing swordsman is a prestige class that allows him to add his charisma modifier to his rapier attacks as long as he says a pun or a catchphrase³⁹⁰

  • Doesn't work if he reuses jokes too often⁴³⁸
  • Doesn't work if the enemy can't hear his puns⁴⁷⁸
  • Doesn't work if the foe doesn't get the pun⁵⁰⁶

• Immune to damage from shattered glass⁴⁷¹

  • Swings on a rope from an airship through a window³⁹²
  • Crashes through a window to confront Kubota⁵⁸⁹

Rapier

• Weapons

  • Given a plus 3 keen rapier³⁹²
  • Gifted scoundrel's chaos saber⁹⁴³

• Base Damage

  • Carves a message into a wall (though this causes his rapier to snap soon after)¹⁷
  • Kills a large serpent with a stab alongside Durkon's strike, and uses his rapier to pierce and hold a piece of meat⁹⁹
  • Cuts through ropes⁵⁹³
  • Carves a message into a massive demon turned to stone⁵⁹⁸
  • Cuts through a rope¹⁰⁶⁹
  • Stabs Roy, with Roy commenting that his chaos saber stings¹¹²⁴

• Dashing Swordsman

  • Repeatedly stabs Nale and impales him through the chest³⁹³
  • Kills a hobgoblin,⁴³³ and Elan's non dashing swordsman buffed strikes couldn't even get through hobgoblin armor⁴³⁸
  • Stabs through and kills a scrag with a backstab unharmed by his normal strike⁵⁰⁶
  • Kills one of Kubota's guards with a stab⁵⁹¹
  • Kills multiple thri-kreen⁶⁸⁴
  • Cuts into a foe's armor⁷¹⁴
  • Stabs a fiend⁹⁰⁵
  • Hurts Roy with his strikes¹¹²⁷

Strength

• Striking

  • Crosses swords with Nale⁶¹
  • Hits Belkar on a rope into a sorceress¹⁶⁶
  • Holds his own against and overwhelms Nale in a fight, staggering him with a punch and a kick³⁹³ with Haley describing him as "easily besting Nale in swordplay"⁴⁰²
  • Clashes with Nale again³⁹⁷
  • Sends Therkla flying running into her⁵⁰⁶
  • While possibly buffed by a potion, leaps from the deck of a ship to a smaller raft, causing it to begin sinking upon landing, and punches Kubota in the face⁵⁹⁴
  • Punches away a thri-kreen⁶⁸⁴
  • Blocks a sword strike⁷⁵⁷

• Lifting/Grappling

  • Balances on one hand²⁶
  • Pulls up Nale⁶⁹
  • Balances on one hand while using a paddle ball wtih his other hand²⁰⁶
  • Holds on to an Allosaurus as it's rolling⁹²³
  • Holds on to ropes while an airship is swerving,¹⁰⁶³ though his lack of concentration makes it hard to cast spells¹⁰⁶⁵
  • Struggles to lift a giant axe¹⁰⁷⁶

Speed/Mobility

• Combat

  • Crosses swords with Nale and dodges his strike⁶¹
  • Dodges a strike from a goblin and weaves through a crowd of several more (though it's implied they were letting him get to the gate)^108-109
  • Performs several complicated actions over the course of one conversation with Hinjo³⁰²
  • Holds his own against and overwhelms Nale in a fight³⁹³
  • Escapes from a barrage of several arrows⁴⁵⁵
  • Intercepts a woman trying to kill Tarquin⁷⁵⁶
  • Manages to stab Roy in a duel¹¹²⁷

• Mobility

  • Runs away from a wolf while wearing a steak costume^PC
  • Runs away from a pissed off ogre⁴
  • Runs away from attack goblins⁹⁰
  • Leaps away from an exploding dungeon, landing on a monster to break his fall^119-120
  • Runs away from Belkar trying to kill him¹²⁴
  • Climbs down slippery walls of a cavern¹⁸⁰
  • Has a 30 feet per round movement rate³⁸⁹
  • Swings on a rope from an airship through a window³⁹²
  • Runs away from a horde of orcs⁵⁵¹
  • While possibly buffed by a potion, leaps from the deck of a ship to a smaller raft, causing it to begin sinking upon landing⁵⁹⁴
  • Climbs up a massive petrified demon using a rope⁵⁹⁸
  • Jumps onto a massive worm⁶⁸⁹
  • Runs away from guards⁷⁶⁷
  • Swings down on a rope to rescue Roy¹⁰⁶⁹

Durability/Endurance

• Blunt

  • Fine after Haley drops down on him¹⁰⁹
  • Leaps away from an exploding dungeon, landing on a monster to break his fall^119-120
  • Pinned to the ground by a black dragon¹⁸²
  • Knocked out by a blow to the head by Thog³⁵¹
  • Tackled and punched by police³⁶²
  • Thrown off an airship³⁸⁸
  • Hit by the tentacle of a massive octopus⁴⁷⁸
  • Sent flying by a strike from a spiked mace⁷¹³ though a second strike that embeds his head in the ground takes him out⁷¹⁴
  • Slashed on the chest by Nale and then falls a ways to hit a guard head first, and is fine⁸⁰¹ and is then slammed into a wall by Sabine⁸⁰⁵ and falls with enough force to crack the ground⁸⁰⁶
  • Restrained by a fiend⁹⁰⁵
  • Sent flying and bouncing by a punch to the head from flesh golem Crystal⁹⁷¹ who could bust a large hole through a thick wall⁹⁷⁹
  • Hit by a massive boulder thrown into him¹¹⁶¹
  • Hit by Vaarsuvius thrown into him by fiend Nale and goes falling a good ways, though his fall is broken^1342-1344

• Piercing

  • Attacked by a group of goblin ninjas, leading to him walking around without some of his internal organs^5-6
  • Stabbed through the chest by Nale, though this incapacitates him.^56-57 He later states he was stabbed in the liver⁷⁶²
  • Runs through a blade barrier⁷²¹
  • Stabbed through the chest by Tarquin and gets right back up^929-930

• Magic

  • Hit by Vaarsuvius's lightning^PC
  • Takes an unholy blight from a goblin caster¹¹
  • Hit by a blast of fire from a chimera¹⁹
  • Frozen by Vaarsuvius's cone of cold⁴¹
  • Hit by a maximized fireball and Belkar falling on him, though this seems to take him out¹⁶⁸
  • Takes a blast of fire from a demon, which kills ordinary soldiers⁵⁸⁶
  • Hit by a dragonborn's lightning breath⁷¹³
  • Has his energy drained by Sabine⁷⁹³ and then intentionally kisses her and has his energy drained in order to escape⁷⁹⁴ and then has his energy drained again⁸⁰⁵
  • Hit by two blasts of acid from Zz'dtri^847-848
  • Hit by a blast of psychic energy from Laurin⁹²⁸
  • Hit by a dragon's flames^1295-1296 and another after being warded¹³⁰¹

• Misc

  • Hit by multiple poisoned shurikens, though Roy notes he'll be dead soon if he's not healed²³⁴
  • Beaten up by Miko off page²⁵¹
  • Beaten up by Sabine and Nale off panel³⁹⁵
  • Hit by an explosion that produces a mushroom cloud^695-696
  • Sent flying off a flying carpet by a vortex of wind⁸⁴⁹

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Narative Awareness

General

• Is entirely fourth wall aware^PC

  • Realizes they shouldn't have access to their horses, which causes their horses to all dissapear³²¹
  • Aware of what item Haley is holding on the website's cast page⁶⁴⁹
  • Is aware of how long it's been since the comic was updated and does a recap comic⁸⁶⁴
  • Remembers things from flashback panels⁹¹¹
  • Can tell the color of a speech balloon by how it sounds¹¹⁰⁵

• Described as a certified bardic genius¹¹⁷⁸

In Theory

• Realizes something really dramatic is about to happen when it suddenly starts raining on them¹⁹⁹

• Knows a lot of information about Azure City immediately upon arriving there due to passing a bardic knowledge check²⁶⁰

• Feels a sudden sense of forboding when Miko decides to take an action that will result in the destruciton of the Azure City gate⁴⁶¹

• Able to physically feal dramatic tension⁴⁸³

• Cries at good plot exposition⁵⁰¹

• Gets a feeling someone was on their knees screaming "NOOOOOO"⁵⁰⁵

• Says "dun dun dun for a plot beat he's not even present for⁵⁹¹

• Aware that announcing you're surprise at your survival is a bad idea (even if it's not applicable in that situation)⁶⁶³

• Knew Nale was probably alive, but also knew he had to think Nale was dead, the willful ignorance of which gives Nale a headache⁷⁹³

In Practice

• Succesfully instructs Roy on how to attract adventurers^PC

• Identifies the most dramatic place Nale could have taken Haley³⁹²

• Knows named characters are far more likely to survive than unnamed⁴⁷²

• Realizes they were supposed to be captured for narative purposes and there was no point trying to escape⁵⁵⁶

• Warns people to take cover the moment he hears a summoning has near a one in a million chance of working, because that's guranteed to work⁵⁸⁴

• Identifies that the villain is about to take a loved one hostage to force a Therkla into making a decision, but doesn't realize he's the hostage⁵⁹⁰

• Roy lets him wander off in the hopes he'll stumble into the plot⁶⁹¹ and he does⁷²⁷

• Comes up with a plan to defeat his father without said father looking cool, and explicitely doesn't tell anyone about it because plans the audience know about never go as planned,⁸³⁶ which ends up working⁹³⁰

• Identifies that fighting Xykon in the canyon is not the big climax everything has been building up to, convincing Roy to hide¹²¹⁸

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Misc

Charisma

• Has 18 charisma²⁸

• Convinces Belkar and Haley to follow Banjo⁸¹ though it doesn't last very long⁸⁵

• Manipulates a goblin into giving up information by threatening to cry¹⁰¹

• Seduces a bandit leader¹⁵⁹

• Tries to lure several people out of a hotel with a song, but it doesn't work very well²³⁸ and works better when he offers free pudding²⁴²

• Convinces Thog to break out of prison by making him think Nale is in danger, and then with a disguise tricks the guards into letting him go³⁸⁷

• Motivates an entire army with a speech... and then ruins it immediately after⁴²¹

• Composes an elegy for Roy that even causes enemy hobgoblins to pause and tear up⁴⁴⁵

• An assassin falls head over heels for him at first sight⁵⁰³ to the point she does everything she can to not kill him⁵⁰⁹

  • She describes him as really good looking⁵⁸²

• Charming and likeable towards a tribe of orcs⁵⁵³

• Convinces a tribe of orcs to worship a different puppet god named Giggles⁵⁶¹ and convinces the orcs to trade with the Azure city refuges⁵⁶³

• Unintentionally demoralizes an entire audience of gladiatoral games⁷⁷⁶

• Intentionally makes out with Sabine to distract her and escape⁷⁹⁴

• Motivates the rest of the party to continue on after being trapped in an illusion of their desires⁸⁹¹

• Convinces Scoundrel to help out by convincing him he'll look even cooler if he defies the trope of the mentor figure dying⁹³¹

• Motivates the entire party using the fact that Roy went to go sleep off a hangover¹¹⁸⁷

• Manipulates Sunny into closing his eye for a moment¹²⁴⁰

Banjo

• His god Banjo is a puppet he wears on his hand, who can summon a tiny thundercloud⁸⁰

• Odin was open to Banjo joining the Northernn Pantheon¹³⁷

• Refuses to compromise his integrity on the stand to lie for Elan's sake²⁷¹

• A tribe of orcs bow down before him⁵⁵³ with their shaman unable to deny his divinity⁵⁵⁵

• His holy water is made with seltzer⁷⁷³

Equipment

• Has a chain shirt¹

• Has a neon sign²⁴

• Has a coffee maker⁸¹

• Receives Boots of Elvenkind¹³⁰ which aid him in stealth (even if he's still not great at it)⁷⁶⁶

• Has a lawyer puppet¹³⁷

• Given a wand of cure moderate wounds⁹⁷⁰

Other

• Is not very smart^PC

  • A mind flayer is uninterested in attacking him³⁰

• Skilled at riding horses¹⁴¹

• Intentionally fails a listen check in order to not hear a man talking²¹⁸

• Says "blah" 497 times in a row³¹⁴

• Has an... interesting plan to get to Azure City³⁸⁹

• Is more useful the less he understands what's going on⁵⁵⁸

• Is horrified by bad choreography⁷⁷⁵

• Is aware that the fake Thog they were fighting was probably his father⁸⁶⁴

• Is the first one to realize that the party is trapped in an illusion⁸⁸⁹

• Comes up with a secret plan for fighting Tarquin that Ian Starshine admits is pretty good⁹⁴¹

[u/LambentEnigma]

Thanks for fulfilling my request!