Holy buildup, Batman!

So we can assume that the spell is compensating for Wanda's inexperience by completing the exact terms of the spell, just at a slower rate than was originally possible. Truly powerful magic, the kind that covers every base. Self-correcting.

Leadership
Combat
Ruthlessness

The possess of the item gives Parson his expected leadership bonuses and personal ability to attack. Ruthlessness is obviously his 'special,' which we have not yet seen the exact effect of. In terms of game mechanics, we can expect to see something related to a detachment from the moral implications of any decision. It is, perhaps, the unique ability to ignore the effects of duty/loyalty.


Here's my question, this is something that kind of burns in the back of my mind every time I read this comic, and it drives me crazy. Setting aside for the moment, our belief that Parson is cool, or that he is literally 'good at turn-based games,' ie, 'the perfect warlord,' then what exactly is it that makes anyone (such as Charlie or Maggie) believe that he is good for anything?

The donut of doom was a complete failure, since ALL of the A dragons were annihilated, which is actually worse than just telling them to attack siege until they died. No enemy warlords have been croaked so far. Parson decided to trust Wanda's mind control, which was an incompetent decision, both in terms of warlording and actual fact. He decided to park the A dragons over water, which apparently wasn't good enough to keep Jillian from just stumbling on them at random? He wasn't clever enough to figure that Ansom being in love with Zamussels means Ansom isn't going to retreat back to the column?

These were all terrible decisions, and Stanley was unfortunately right to dismiss Parson as worthless. You can be brilliant all you want to, but if you lose the battle, you aren't actually brilliant. Everything that actually affects the battle in some way has been something completely outside of Parson's control. In fact, in each case, it's been Zamussels erratic behavior that has determined the course of the conflict, and it looks like it's still heading that way!

I just can't get over the loss of those A dragons, mentally, somehow. I guess this is a bit unfair, since there's no way to have dramatic tension if the Perfect Warlord just whoops everyone's ass simultaneously. I guess I would feel better about it if some people didn't have faith in his ability. Unfortunately, it's too late for that now, since I get the feeling he's about to destroy everyone, personally.