Is The Order of the Stick Dim Sun worth $5 for OOTS fans?

If you’ve been waiting for fresh Order of the Stick material that feels like a joke, a tribute, and a small campaign setting all at once, The Order of the Stick: Dim Sun from Giant in the Playground lands in an unusual spot. It takes the gang into a grim parody world that plays dark by design but keeps enough sun to stay funny, then sends them after Xy-Konn in the new Dim Sun PDF. At $5, it’s an easy impulse buy for fans who want a complete short story rather than another teaser or fragment. The catch is simple: you’re buying a digital PDF, not print, and if you backed the original Kickstarter you may already have access to this title.

Quick answer

If that matches your shelf, check the current Dim Sun download before checkout.

What you’re actually buying

The appeal is not extra content for a game system; it’s a finished comic bit. At $5, you get the whole story arc in the full-color Dim Sun PDF, with the Order of the Stick heroes reimagined for a setting that leans grim without losing its comedic heart. The plot pushes them toward Xy-Konn, the evil sorcerer-king, and gives you a clear beginning, middle, and end rather than a loose premise or half-finished sketch. That matters because short comics are easy to hype and harder to make feel complete; this one is positioned as an original parody story with enough structure to stand on its own.

What makes it worth clicking is tone. It’s an original parody, so the value depends on whether you like the cast being pushed into a darker visual register without losing the jokes. The Xy-Konn confrontation gives the comic a villain-shaped target, while the full-color pages and 25-page length make it feel like a complete short read rather than a filler issue. For fans who remember older campaign settings and enjoy modern OOTS references, that mix of familiarity and new material is the hook: it’s not trying to replace a long arc, just to give you one satisfying story in a recognizable world.

The purchase details are straightforward enough to matter. You’re getting a digital download, first published in 2025, with full-color art and a cover-only watermark noted in the purchase details. That means the interior should read cleanly as a comic, while the cover may carry a watermark depending on how you use it. If you want a clean file for personal reading or archiving, that’s a reasonable trade-off; if you need a print-ready asset or expect a physical copy, this isn’t the right fit. The 11.2 MB size and v1 version also tell you what to expect: a compact PDF that should be easy to download, store, and open on most devices.

Why it’s on our radar

Dim Sun has a small but meaningful public rating trail: about 42 ratings averaging roughly 4.7 out of 5, visible through the Dim Sun ratings. That’s the kind of fan-facing signal that matters for a $5 comic, especially when the product is niche enough that broad hype isn’t required. If you’re already an OOTS reader, those stars suggest the tone and payoff are landing with people who know what they’re walking into.

What actually matters

• You want a short read, not a campaign setting manual. The comic is 25 pages and full color, so it works as a weekend snack or a quick OOTS fix. If you’re hoping for a long graphic novel or supplemental rulebook, the 25-page Dim Sun PDF is probably too compact.
• You’re okay with digital-only ownership. This title is sold as a PDF download and not available in print, which is fine for reading on screen but important if you expected a physical copy. The digital PDF format also means you should check your preferred reader before relying on it for annotation or sharing.
• The cover watermark may matter to you. The product notes say the watermark appears on the cover only, so interior pages should be cleaner; still, review that before using any image in public contexts. If clean cover art is a dealbreaker, pause and decide whether the mark affects your use case.
• Kickstarter backers should confirm access first. If you backed the OOTS Kickstarter, this story may already be available through a recent update, which could save you $5. Check the Kickstarter backer route before buying again if that applies to you.

Mid-check

If you’ve decided the tone is for you and you don’t already have Kickstarter access, View on Gumroad.

FAQ

Is Dim Sun a new story or a reprint? It’s described as an original parody story, first published in 2025, not a reprint of older OOTS material.

How long is it? The product is listed as a 25-page PDF with full-color pages, while the description calls out 24 full-color story pages. Expect a short comic read rather than a lengthy graphic novel.

Is it available in print? No. This title is digital-only and not available in print.

Do Kickstarter backers need to buy it again? If you were a backer of the OOTS Kickstarter, the story was released for free and can be accessed through the most recent Kickstarter update; check there before purchasing.

Bottom line

Dim Sun is a lightweight but focused purchase: a $5 full-color comic that gives OOTS fans a self-contained parody story with a clear villain, a recognizable cast, and enough new material to feel like more than a joke file. It’s strongest if you already love the series and want something quick, funny, and complete without spending money on print or a larger bundle. If that sounds like your kind of comic snack, grab the Dim Sun PDF and see whether the grim-sunny tone matches your shelf.