Erfworld #138 - The Discussion Thread

[Hatu]

There is no "might." Stanley spent 1 turn's worth of Dwagon move traveling away from the Knob, then spent half a turn's worth of Dwagon move traveling to the ambush hex, then spent his remaining move traveling back toward the Knob.

1 + 1/2 - 1/2 = 1. Therefore Stanley is 1 turn away from Gobwin Knob and should arrive shortly after the RCC's turn ends.

I don't think it's ever been stated exactly how much of the dwagon's move was used up before encountering the Transilvito units. It must have been at least 1 hex, and the dwagons clearly had enough move left to flee the hex. But beyond that it's hard to say for certain. Given that the dwagons had less than their full movement when they left Gobwin Knob, the odds are good that they'll return during this turn. But that is not guaranteed.

He's got all the magick users, the most defensible position in all the land, the bracer and a heap of pre-prepared spells. By the time he's done most of Ansome's seige will be disabled, the leadership will be neutralised or disbanded, enemy troops will be as powerful as rag dolls all getting ready to attack an army holed up in it's own defensive position within the tower with god knows what nasty traps awaiting them inside (remember the hand torches?)

Parson mentions turning the garrison into a meat grinder, and having a courtyard full of dead to uncroak. I don't think he's going to stop the siege at all. It sounds like he plans to let them breech the wall once he's ready for them.

This was a good strip. It's nice to get a feel for Paron's plan and the idea that force multipliers have a major impact on Erfworld combat makes some sense from what we've seen. But I'm still very confused by actual game mechanics. Parson plans to surgically strike at Ansom's leadership units, but I don't understand how it's possible for him to do so with impunity. Ansom was able to ally with the Archons and have them zorch Wanda before she could flee; how is it possible that Sizemore is expected to be able to flee before reinforcements can attack him? For that matter, how is it even possible to engage the leadership units individually? If they aren't "with" units that could help defend them, doesn't that mean they aren't actually lending their leadership bonus to most units in the first place? But if they are lending their bonus, shouldn't those units be able to intervene in some way and take advantage of the leader's multipliers? It seems very convenient that those multipliers can be used to boost troops, but those troops cannot likewise be used to defend their leaders. I like the plan, but it seems extremely convenient.

Also, I note that Parson mentions uncroaking the dead on his turn. That seems to be a mistake. Wanda begins animating the fliers immediately after she killed them on Ansom' turn on page 98. Her flying mount is certainly animated on page 103, which takes place the night after Ansom's turn, and definitely before Parson's next turn. So it has been possible to uncroak units out of turn in the past. Is there some specific reason why that should not be possible in this case?

-H