Belkar is used to allow the party to become worm riders.
Cast
- The Order of the Stick
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Blackwing ◀ ▶
- Purple Worm ◀ ▶
Transcript
- Panel 1
Elan: I can calm it with poetry!
Belkar: Have you gone nuts? Nuts-er??
Elan: But Christopher Walken said, "Talk without rhythm, and you won't distract the worm!"
Roy: Right idea, oddly, but wrong method. V?
Vaarsuvius: Indeed.
- Panel 2
Vaarsuvius: Charm Monster!
- Panel 3
Haley: Awesome! Now we can just hightail it out of here while it stares lovingly at us.
Belkar: Just like when we dropped Grandma Bitterleaf off at the nursing home!
Roy: Actually, I've got a better idea. One that could help us get where we're going.
- Panel 4
Haley: It involves jumping on it, doesn't it? That's totally going to be a thing with you from now on, I can tell.
Vaarsuvius: Before you bound upon it, I should point out that without a means of communicating with the creature, you will be unable to command it, charm or no charm.
Roy: Duly noted. I've got my means right here.
Roy grabs Belkar.
Belkar: Hey! Hands off, bigfoot!
- Panel 5
Roy jumps up the sandworm, dragging Belkar with him.
- Panel 6
Roy: How much of that spice do you have left?
Belkar: None. I downed the last of it when the big worm showed up. So there.
Roy: Then we're just going to have to do this the hard way.
- Panel 7
Roy: We know the worm is attracted to the spice, and Belkar's body is saturated with the stuff.
Vaarsuvius flies and carries Durkon who carries Mr.Scruffy. Elan and Haley climb on.
Mr.Scruffy: hisss!
- Panel 8
Roy: If we dangle him in front of what passes for its nose, it will move forward to find the source of the smell—
Durkon: An' carry us wit it!
Haley: Like a donkey with a carrot!
Belkar: Wait just a goddamn minute!
- Panel 9
Belkar: Hasn't anyone considered how I might feel about this? About the danger this puts me in?
Belkar: Hasn't anyone weighted whether or not it's ethically acceptable to use me like—
- Panel 10
Belkar: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!
Belkar: Oh, gods, I almost got through that with a straight face.
Belkar: Heh heh, man.
Belkar: OK, dangle away.
D&D Context
- Charm Monster causes the subject, which can be any type of creature, to treat the caster as a trusted friend and ally. It does not, however grant any special ability to communicate, so while the worm would obey V's commands, it won't because it can't understand them.
Trivia
- Christopher Walken is featured as a solo dancer in Fatboy Slim's award-winning music video for his 2001 single Weapon of Choice. The song's lyrics contain two references to Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, Dune: the lines "Walk without rhythm/and it won't attract the worm..." as well as "Don't be shocked by the tone of my voice/Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice". The former, which Elan misquotes and falsely attributes to Walken, is a near quote from David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation of the novel, where Paul Atreides says to his mother, "If we walk without rhythm, we won't attract the worm."