Erfworld 139 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 126

[Hectonkhyres]

It seems the mortal hand of my god has taken to the field. Truly, these are glorious days filled with sights both horrible and wonderful.

[Godskook]

I think I just wet myself.

[Kyouhen]

Regarding the exploding crap golem, I'm pretty sure that wasn't part of the spell. He looks like he was just sitting there waiting for Sizemore to pop him.

Also, are the two warlords out of the battle or was that strike just to start picking away at their HP?

[Winged One]

May I get some help with those acronym sound effects?

YTMND? I saw a link above that this has something to do with Star Wars?

NSFW? Not safe for work? What's not safe? The shockamancy?

4Chan Huh? I read on wiki that this is a hacker group? What do they have to do with anything?

I think I'm revealing my age with this post.

Afraid so. YTMND is a bunch of looped sound clips that have pictures or text attached. There's also stuff like this, I just picked that one because, well, it's a trap.
The things that the shockamancy incantations reference are extremely NSFW.
4chan is basicly the dark abyss of the internet from which horrors like the things the shockamancy incantations reference arise. Some silly amusing things come from there too, though.

[Magnor Criol]

May I get some help with those acronym sound effects?

YTMND? I saw a link above that this has something to do with Star Wars?

NSFW? Not safe for work? What's not safe? The shockamancy?

4Chan Huh? I read on wiki that this is a hacker group? What do they have to do with anything?

I think I'm revealing my age with this post.

Simplest to explain first: "NSFW" is, indeed, "Not Safe For Work"; here I think it's just a related acronym, and the fact that those are literally exploding feces golems.

"YTMND" is a...well, it's sorta difficult to explain. It stands for "You're The Man Now Dog" and is a sort of massive collection of short gif images, at least that's what its main output is. People upload little short gif-image loops synced (often poorly) to a short audio loop...but I don't think that's all YTMND does, I just don't know it that well.

4chan is, honestly, the quintessential internet in many ways. It's not a hacker site directly, though many that frequent it are hackers. It's really just an image board, and a very very NSFW one at that, in some of its sections. The mentality of the group on 4chan is...very interesting, from a social sciences standpoint.

I really haven't answered much, I don't think. Best way to learn is to go to UrbanDictionary.com and type in "YTMND" and "4chan" and read on; be forewarned, however, that 4chan is much like cthulu, in that even just perusing information about it can drive you insane. =p

[BRC]

Only Sizemore could ride into battle on the shoulders of a Mister T-Golem...

[dr pepper]

Shockamancy:

See also Appalling, Traumatic, Ghastly, Atrocious, Toxic, "Things You Can't Unsee".

[Gloverboy]

This was 31 flavors of wonderful. Way to set up us the bomb!

[Jimorian]

Ewww, the NSFW effect stuff is YELLOW. What's yellow and associated with crap?

[Sholos]

Epic troll.

That was my first thought on seeing what the nuke consisted of.

[factotum]

Simplest to explain first: "NSFW" is, indeed, "Not Safe For Work"; here I think it's just a related acronym, and the fact that those are literally exploding feces golems.

The crap golem explodes some time after the NSFW. Given Parson's orders (find a leadership stack, shock it, and crap it), one assumes the NSFW is simply something so horrible that it will shock the brains of anyone seeing it (other than the caster), which then leaves them helpless for the crap golem explosion.

Incidentally, YTMND stands for "You're The Man Now, Dog", which is kind of appropriate for the wiener-dog rammers regardless of what you normally find under that acronym.

[Doran]

Sizemore is not wearing any pants.
Why is he not wearing any pants?!

Kind of thematically appropriate though.

[Tubercular Ox]

May I get some help with those acronym sound effects?

YTMND? I saw a link above that this has something to do with Star Wars?

NSFW? Not safe for work? What's not safe? The shockamancy?

4Chan Huh? I read on wiki that this is a hacker group? What do they have to do with anything?

I think I'm revealing my age with this post.

It's innocent people like you that make me feel this comic is way outside the family friendly atmosphere of the story. If you should google any of the incantations, it would be beyond NSFW.... not safe for work can be as tame as too many bikini clad women on one page. Those incantations are reference to stuff rated X, and designed to gross you out as well. Well, meatspin just makes me laugh... but I'm a sick, sick puppy.

4chan, a hacker group? A handful of script kiddies and a massive swarm of wannabes. And no shop talk, which you think a hacker group would have. Because the board is anonymous, malicious pranksters like to reference the board as their calling card... and this can include more normal pranks and not just computer vandalism. Like when one brave member called in to some public radio and/or tv show and got on the air and dropped injoke after injoke. I used to love the place, back in 2005. Then it changed. Oldfag is old. And when you understand that, your journey to the dark side will be complete.

Anyways, for me the jury on Shockmancy is still out. A lot of jurors are registering in with "Emotional shock," but the yellow blasts still leave the option of "multilayered pun" and some physical damage as well. Although Parson may find himself immune to Shockmancy... how's that for value?

And let's remember that at least one member of the coalition agreed to Ansom's plan whole heartedly.

But Sizemore's attack feels early. If the plan is to get the troops into the courtyard before creating nice big piles of corpses for uncroaking, this might give Ansom the opportunity to realize his mistake and pull back before the worst happens. Sure, the troops might have less of a bonus now... but that just makes it harder for them to breach the walls and get them where Parson wants them. OTOH, Ansom may feel pressured and become more desperate to end the battle quickly.

[MadMaw]

The crap golem explodes some time after the NSFW. Given Parson's orders (find a leadership stack, shock it, and crap it), one assumes the NSFW is simply something so horrible that it will shock the brains of anyone seeing it (other than the caster), which then leaves them helpless for the crap golem explosion.

OK, people are struggling to work out what Shockamancy does. The simplest and easiest, but by no means most enjoyable, way to understand is to visit some of the sites from Sizemores "magic" words. Note your experiences.

There are links from the relevant wikipedia/urban dictionary articles:

Lemonparty
Tubgirl
Meatspin
Goatse!

Given that Erfworld censors expletives and is generally kid-friendly, I imagine that these images would be even more devastating to the natives than on us hardened Internet veterans.

It's a guess, but I would say that crap golems have the inherent ability to explode (although maybe it can only be triggered by a warlord or the caster pulling their finger?) rather than it be part of the spell.

Although it's impossible to tell, you would assume that Ansom is talking to Duke Nozzle and the female warlord who got crapped when he said "When the entrance is breached, rush your infantry. All of it". Assuming they are out of action, he's going to need someone else to lead the charge (the angry redhead?). Even it they are still able to act as warlords, based on Parsons comments from the previous strip, their effectiveness as leaders is going to be compromised for some time after this.

[Roupe]

So did you think sofaking and the siege commandress got captured, collected or croaked?

Im thinking captured or collected, since
They could carry items, to get for item pileup.
they can may be converted into ascets (uncroaked warlords)
Wanda like prisoners

[The Old Hack]

The Wiener-Rams really saved my day. *is still snickering madly*

[Tundar]

Pull my finger.

Fart jokes never gets old

[keeganknorr]

by far my favorite page of the whole comic strip. I'm pretty sure the two warlords are dead given the size of the explosion and how they were being held in the center of it.

Also, if you notice, they both called they're forces towards them, which is the exact oppositte thing you want to do for an area of effect spell

[Dystopianman]

I'm pretty sure that Shockamancy is best compared to evocation/invocation/direct damage. Given that all the names of the schools and classes of magic in Erfworld are on the cute side, I would bet that Shockamancy is so named because it sounds the cutest of all the potential names for this school i.e. as opposed to "fireballamancy" "nukamancy" or "blastamancy"

I interpret Shockamancy the above, considering it's in the same class as Croakamancy and Deletionism...which uses both motion and matter A fireball (or in this particular case, multiple energy bolts (fire? force? energy?)) most assuredly uses motion (fireball from point a to point b) and matter (fireball)

Therefore, while Croakamancy is necromancy and deletionism is... death spells? power word kill? disintegrate? no examples on that one. Shockamancy is to put it in simple terms "blow you up" I bet a pure Shockamancer would resemble the classic mage hurling fireballs, lightning bolts, and other things.

In terms of Erfworld, I'd bet a Shockamancer would be treated as artillery...if the spell that Wanda cast on Jillian's forces and Charlie's Archons is any indicator.

With that aside, I do have one question which has been nagging the heck outta me. Why, oh why, does the RCC not seem to have ANY casters other than healers? That strikes me as a strategic blunder. It's like today's armies going into battle without their recon satellites (lookamancy) artillery (shockamancy) and camouflage (foolamancy). Talk about being unprepared for a conflict...

EDIT: because I know it'll come up inevitably, I humbly propose that the Crap Golem explosion is a purely Dirtamancer effect as opposed to a Shockamancy effect. I'd bet that blowing up 4Chan style is either something that a Crap Golem can do naturally (think infested Terran from Starcraft) or otherwise is a spell that a Dirtamancer can cast on his golems to make them do so. My proof? Sizemore, who freely admits that all he's good at is Dirtamancy, needed a scroll to cast the magic bolts that multi-targeted the enemies in front of him. He needed no such thing to pull off the Crap Golem explosion...merely pulling it's finger did the trick.

[Varthonai]

Caramel Dansen?

Oh man. That is too intense for words.

That calls for its own fan-made Flash animation, even if it doesn't happen in the comic. Loop of Anime Parson and Anime Wanda doing CaramellDansen. I hope someone's up to the challenge because I can't animate for boop.

I can totally see that! They both have body shapes that would look extremely amusing while doing the dance.

[Rockphed]

by far my favorite page of the whole comic strip. I'm pretty sure the two warlords are dead given the size of the explosion and how they were being held in the center of it.

Also, if you notice, they both called they're forces towards them, which is the exact oppositte thing you want to do for an area of effect spell

The warlords were pretty much taken out of the action when the Golem grabbed them. I go for the "Captured or Collected" angle myself.

[Vatharian]

couldn't breathe, was laughing so hard :D

Rob, Jamie - you're both twisted geniuses of insanity.

[MattR]

The two warlords are croaked, either from being slammed together in panel 7 (apparently warlords putting their heads together for the RCC is a bad thing every time.) or finished by the spell. In panel 9 that same golem doesnt appear to be holding anything.

Sizemore couldnt continue to do these hit and run's if his golems continued to capture troops, carrying them around would restrict the golems and in the heat of battle there'll be little time to run them to a dungeon.

Awesome, awsome page! :)

[DragoonKain]

Sizemore has gone from taking everyone's crap to being one of the best resources the Knob has.

Notice the obsession about taking out the casters wherever they appear. Even the lowliest of low casters seem to be powerful beyond belief...

[Maxymiuk]

Panel 6 bothers me. They're warlords, for cripe's sake. And they don't have their weapons with them? During the Coalition's turn? While laying siege to a city? In the middle of what, even mostly pacified, still is a combat zone?

[Yuki Akuma]

Sizemore has gone from taking everyone's crap to being one of the best resources the Knob has.

Notice the obsession about taking out the casters wherever they appear. Even the lowliest of low casters seem to be powerful beyond belief...

I don't see any indication that Sizemore is a lowly Caster... just that Stanley doesn't seem to have any idea what to do with a Dirtamancer. Why he popped one I'll never know, unless you can only decide to pop a generic Caster and won't know which type you'll get.

[KeiranHalcyon]

Heh. Should have expected as much from Naughtymancy.

[Dystopianman]

I don't see any indication that Sizemore is a lowly Caster... just that Stanley doesn't seem to have any idea what to do with a Dirtamancer. Why he popped one I'll never know, unless you can only decide to pop a generic Caster and won't know which type you'll get.

I would tend to agree that Sizemore is no lowly caster. From the way he was able to almost single-handedly take out Webinar and Dora (with some backup from the spider cav Parson sent), I would say that he's a high level caster. I suspect that it was Saline IV and not Stanley that originally popped Sizemore

[Turbidus]

My guess is that the coalition leaders weren't croaked, but had their leadership reduced by the shock scroll and by being covered in crap. And I'd also guess that combining two leadership penalties from different sources can be more powerful than doubling up on either source (for example, shockmancy might take leadership (said to be a force multiplier - perhaps literally) down to, say, 2 but not below, golem hitting the fan might be a flat -1 leadership penalty) and combining them in this order could literally take out the leadership. Probably temporarily though.

Then again, my history with guessing here isn't particularly impressive.

[Lemarc]

I would tend to agree that Sizemore is no lowly caster. From the way he was able to almost single-handedly take out Webinar and Dora (with some backup from the spider cav Parson sent), I would say that he's a high level caster. I suspect that it was Saline IV and not Stanley that originally popped Sizemore

We know this for a fact.

With that aside, I do have one question which has been nagging the heck outta me. Why, oh why, does the RCC not seem to have ANY casters other than healers? That strikes me as a strategic blunder. It's like today's armies going into battle without their recon satellites (lookamancy) artillery (shockamancy) and camouflage (foolamancy). Talk about being unprepared for a conflict...

IIRC, it's been said that casters are too rare and too valuable to needlessly risk. The RCC was expecting an easy victory through overwhelming numbers, so why send such valuable resources along to potentially be lost? GK, by contrast, is defending their home turf.