Erfworld 83, Page 77

[fendrin]

I apologize now for the mega-wall-of-text-post...

Not totally true, but he could have predicted that she would go running to the rescue of the "Fair Prince." Knowing her entry point and that Ansom would give his "best guess" to the location of the raiding dwagons, Parson should have assumed that Jillian would parallel the main column, especially since Ansom knew the dwagons had limited range left, and had fled to the south.

What Parson couldn't predict is when she would go from 'search pattern' to 'beeline to the prince'. that point forms one end of the line segment that terminates at the ring. Depending on where that was determines whether or not she goes through the A-dwagon hex. If Parson moved the A-dwagons elsewhere (or the B-ring, for that matter) she still could have stumbled on them.

He didn't express them (would you, knowing how hot tempered Wanda could be?), but he certianly had them. Ever have to sit through "The Road to Abaline"?(sp) It's a business ed. movie about dealing with agreement. Sometimes people will agree to this, that or the other just to not be the odd man out. Everyone fears Wanda's temper, so everyone agrees with her unless they think they can get enough people together to oppose her.

"Hey, Sizemore. Show me the formula that shows the odds of Jillian throwing off the suggestion spell. And ranges for what Wanda thinks her bonus is, and their opposite in case she's wrong."

I have not seen that film, but i am aware of the principle. Honestly, I haven't seen anyone fear Wanda's temper... In fact Henchman Mung goes so far as to make a comment that should bring down her wrath if she is really short-tempered. Misty was afraid of punishment, but not so much that she didn't volunteer to help Parson. I think Wanda is strong-willed, stubborn even, but not short-tempered. In fact, I'd say she must have the patience of a saint to be able to deal with Stanley.

If Parson had concerns, he could have talked to Sizemore discreetly before making his plan. Sizemore obviously had no fears about speaking out, and I doubt that Parson is afraid of Wanda, given the way he antagonizes the one person that he knows can hurt him: Stanley.

No, I still maintain that Parson wasn't concerned until The Hunt started.

I'm already here. I write as a hobby, although not nearly so much since I graduated college. History & Poli Sci, minor in English. Mostly in creative writing.

When you write, your characters do take on a life of their own. As a writer, you listen to what they might say to you. They will warn you when you try to write them "out of character."

I'm not much of a creative writer. My own background is in Computers, Philosophy, and Religion, and almost a minor in Physics. A heavy emphasis on logic, in multiple forms (first Electronic logic on Physics, than computer logic, than philosophical logic... though in the end it all boils down to the same thing), and a heavy emphasis on analysis of limited or corrupted data.

OK, since I wasn't TOTALLY clear, lets try that again.

Move the center of the Donut of Doom one hex West, AND one hex south. This both keeps the DoD in the heavy forest, but still close enough to the main column to be "easily found" by the search bats. The DoD remains the same distance from the main column, but now further away from the wounded stack they were pretending to protect. It also leaves open a path for Ansom to cross, without ever spotting the lake.

I had a much longer response here, talking about search patterns, forcing Ansom to take a specific path so he could make it back to the column, otherwise the 'fork woul dhave fallen apart... when I realized, the forest units are already at the limit of their movement. Otherwise, Vinny would have had them help out in his 'escape' plan. as it is, Vinny thinks they would make it through, but is unsure. With odds like that, and the probably loss of Tarfu and the forest units anyway, there is no reason not to have them help with the escape, unless they have 0 move remaining.

By moving the ring further away, the forest units couldn't reach, so Ansom would have been forced to bring his air forces in. that significantly increases the chance that the A-dwags are found, also, Ansom might have saved his move until the air forces confirmed the presence of the A dwagons in the ring... so Ansom would have been safe in the column. In other words, a total failure of the plan.

Move the wounded A's south and East one hex, further over the lake (away from the DoD).
(Cross referenced maps for your perusal:)
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0062.html (Ansom's Fog of War map)
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0066.html (Parson's Battle Table Map)

And as an added bonus, with the A's moved, they are both out of Ansom's search pattern, AND no longer part of a straight line path through an empty hex, to Ansom, to a filled hex, to the main column.

Actually, if both the ring and the A dwagons moved south one hex, the line would still be there... besides, from any two points you can establish a line. So long as Jillian started the 'rescue' along that line, she would have found the A dwagons. As I said above, Parson could not predict whether or not Jillian would have started the 'rescue' on that line, no matter where that line was.

Jillian might be fearless and reckless, but she's not unnecessarily foolish. If she can avoid taking damage by going through an empty stack instead of an unwounded stack of B's, she probably would prefer to do so. Coming "up" from the south is logical, so why would Parson leave the A's so close to the back door?

Myabe, that was as far away as they could get. They were down to low move, after all. Given that we don't know their exact flight path, that first lake hex could have been move #56.

Maybe I'm not the NOOB you're assuming I am. I can read a map.

I never called you a NOOB or said you couldn't read a map. I labeled your (perceived) mistake as being as bad or worse than the one that you claim Parson made. I used your label for it, and even put in a disclaimer that I dislike the term 'NOOB'. I strive to avoid making unnecessary assumptions, as they only taint actual data.

Parson already has enough problems in front of him. This was unnessary, even gratuitious violence against him. I'm baffled both as a gamer, and as a writer.

Without knowing the extent of the plot, I can't make any claims about whether or not the slaughtering of the A dwagons was unnecessary or gratuitous. I can make the claim that I trust the authors, and that we have seen some really good plot and character development as a direct result of the slaughter.