Erfworld 159 - tBfGK 146

[BLANDCorporatio]

Wanda with the pliers doesn't seem like a good choice for quick expansion, though following and decrypting would probably help reinforce the cities that have been captured.

The argument then would rather come to the opposite conclusion. Wanda with ArkenPliers is the perfect asset for a quick expansion. We know that units, unless they are very valuable casters, tend to get croaked or disbanded to avoid loyalty issues. Therefore, whoever takes a city needs to spend some troops to bring it back to whatever it was capable of in terms of production. Not so with Wanda, who can raise the population (or a significant portion of it) with all their previous abilities and no rotting in sight, plus with loyalty to GK.

Rob: When it is not your turn, and someone moves into the space you're on (meaning hex or city zone), then you can engage them.

They have every reason to use defensive fire on her, she's the single most important unit in all of Gobwin Knob! With your strategy, I wouldn't be surprised if Gobwin Knob's enemies set aside forces for the express purpose of assassinating her (not that they'd be likely to reach her, as most of the time she'd be well protected).

You assume they know about Wanda already. They won't at first. Plus, there's what Kender Wizard was describing above. Added to that is the instance when we see Jack's veil in action (that page and the next battle pages. Bats, Transylivitan Warlords, Jillian, all primed to kill Stanley and no other distractions in all the hex. Stopped cold by "crypsis".

Don't knock it out just yet.

I understand that. What I keep trying to impress upon you is that sending Wanda into a hex with hostile units is risky, seeing as your entire plan depends on an attuned Arkenpliers and she's the only one known to attune to them.

Everything has a risk. Based on some of the mechanics of the game, it is mitigated. Plus, "my entire" plan is an overstatement on your part. I have yet to see you comment on the intelligence gathering possibilities of the Pliers, or the rapid expansion scenario. No, a casual dismissal as "irelevant" is not a cogent argument.

Bull. Parson was scared and disturbed, even if he saw it as a game. He played along because he had no choice. Sure, he enjoyed the challenge but he genuinely believed that his life was in danger (and it was) and I'm sure would have welcomed the chance to switch to a less doomed side.

Yes, he most definitely would have eh? Read that. I don't think it says what you think it says.

Aye. I and others have offered many plausible alternatives to overpowered pliers, which you have ignored. I believe your theory is not an elegant way of dealing with it, and that an overpowered enemy is every bit as bad for storytelling as an overpowered protagonist.

The antagonist doesn't need to be superpowerful ... though it sometimes helps ... The idea rather is that GK survived a furious attack and barely escaped the jaws of defeat. You don't expect this kind of situation to result in a complete turning of the tables.

As for what you and many others have offered, some of those things were actually good points which were used to refine the cheese I was proposing. And for that thank you all, it means the discussion is progressing somewhere (ahem, but see the last paragraph). Case in point, the "village of the damned" idea which changed from some nondescript leaving of sacrificial troops to a fast expand strategy.

The last few strips are very strongly hinting that the comic is not going to be about a struggling underdog any more. I don't think this is a bad thing. Just because we started with impossible odds doesn't mean Book 2 has to artificially repeat those odds.

Agreed. It doesn't have to be a struggling underdog, it's just that GK is, and of course you can disagree with me here, far far far from the underdog right now. It's where the smart money is.

However, we have the current front page of erfworld.com and therefore word of god from Rob Balder (sorry no permalink) saying that:

Book 2 takes place a lot of days/turns ahead of the end of Book 1. That's the "narrative distance" I mentioned in the GiantITP forums.

Whatever lies in the future for GK, we'll have to wait a while to see. Of course, book 2 promises to bring us more back story and therefore more food for speculation and disagreement. See you there!