Erfworld 153 - tBfGK - 140

[Welf]

Jillian was heir. That's different.

Maybe. But even as barbarian Jillian (or now Stanley) has to pay upkeep for her units. As barbarian she got her own purse and used mercenary work to fill it, but where did she get the initial money, that allowed her to survive long enough to get mercenary work? And why should whatever mechanism filled her purse not also allow Parson to survive some turns?

[stupidface]

He's a hippiemancer because he's fat.

[surtt]

I'm with the people that claim quick lie, but I'd find the alternative just as interesting. Everyone's been wanting to find out what the heck *special means for a long time now.

If she just wanted to protect him what not just agree he was a Mathomancer.
Why go with a less believable Hippiemancer label?

Maybe his rl slacker lifestyle has something to do with it.

[Blackeagle]

So what kind of currency do we think Rands are?

I'm thinking that the magic kingdom is supposed to be Galt's Gulch.

Either that or it's a reference to the RAND corporation... these are the finest minds in Erf after all...

Well, the obvious reference is that the Rand is the currency of South Africa.

[Grunthos]

Well, this would be why Spock is a hippiemancer. Presumably he originated in hobbittm. Egad.

Four master-class thinkamancers... and the two thinkamancers we have seen so far are both based on real people (Thatcher, Sagan). Any guesses as to who's gonna show up?

[Gez]

While people can see stats, apparently they don't normally see names or questions like, "Isn't that so-and-so?" would never be asked. I think Sizemore just visits the Magic Kingdom so often, and trained under all the specialties, so he's pretty much known personally by many.

I think names are not displayed currently because Sizemore, Maggie and Wanda are subsumed in the link.

[Welf]

And so was the Tool. So we only have exemples of heir's becaming barbarian after the King passes. (Just a tought)

This are the examples we have seen, but there should be other cases. Ansom wondered if Jillian was a royal. If only heirs and overlords can be barbarian, he would be sure that she was royal. The possibility that she wasn't, would be insignificant because only very rarely non-royals get promoted to heir.

[stsasser]

Is Jeannie using her bottle as a wand?

[SteveMB]

I'm also of the opinion that Janis was just winging it and making stuff up. (Even if for some reason it's true Parson is a Hippiemancer, how would she know?)

While people can see stats, apparently they don't normally see names or questions like, "Isn't that so-and-so?" would never be asked. I think Sizemore just visits the Magic Kingdom so often, and trained under all the specialties, so he's pretty much known personally by many.

Normal warlord/caster stat vision clearly doesn't reveal names; if it did, Stanley would have been able to see Jack's name as soon as Maggie suggested addressing him by name.

[Welf]

If she just wanted to protect him what not just agree he was a Mathomancer.
Why go with a less believable Hippiemancer label?

She seems to be the top Hippiemancer; labelling him that way would put her in charge of him instead of the top Hocus-Pocus-mancer.

[ryos]

And Sizemore's generosity pays off. Nicely done, Titans. Nicely done.

[shamelessmerc]

Well, the obvious reference is that the Rand is the currency of South Africa.

Yes, obvious. And makes no sense that I could think of.

[The Minx]

One note:

Carl Sagan said that there would be four more thinkamancers arriving in a few minutes. So Erfworlders do have the concept of minutes, and presumably hours, seconds, etc. AFAIK this is the first time we have seen anyone in the comic use conventional units of time (other than the day/night cycle which seemed almost inextricable from the turn based timing system).

It makes sense too, otherwise a side could simply choose never to end turn for whatever reason and screw up the whole system. Each turn presumably has a definite time limit.

[Grey Watcher]

...

- Wicked Witch of the West
Weirdomancer
The Wicked Witch's main power seems to be in her minions, and I think the Spookism School is all about animating the inanimate (like the Bears). Besides, shouldn't she be a Spookist?

...

I do believe in spooks! I do believe in spooks! I do, I do, I do!

OK, now that I've got that out of my system: are we sure all three of the casters on the left side of the panel are all from the same mythos? Seems a bit odd to me given the eclectic nature of the other references. I can't figure out who else "Hermione" and "Potter" might be, but "Dumbledore" COULD conceivably be Merlin. Definitely can't be Gandalf, as Gandalf wouldn't be caught dead without his signature hat. Or maybe he would.

EDIT: I love that the end of Jeannie's wand is her bottle.

[El_Chupachichis]

Ok, so the snakes have always been there. I guess I just didn't notice it before because there were so few. But why are the snakes there?

Biblical reference (Moses and the Pharaoh's Mages)? Maybe the castors create snakes all the time as a form of magical competition?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Well, this would be why Spock is a hippiemancer. Presumably he originated in hobbittm. Egad.

Four master-class thinkamancers... and the two thinkamancers we have seen so far are both based on real people (Thatcher, Sagan). Any guesses as to who's gonna show up?

I should be very sad if Professor Xavier is not one of the Thinkamancers summoned... Perhaps Einstein as well?

Also, are you sure that is Jeanie? Princess Zelda also has an outfit identical to that in a couple of the games and on SSMB... complete with the hair.

[Suicide Junkie]

Why does Spocko look so thin in panel 6? Almost two-dimensional, just as his effect kicks in.

[ThreeEyedOni]

Things to keep in mind:

None of them can see unit stats on Parson, which is about as odd as seing someone with no visible neck and the head just bobbing there.
Parson is big compared to most Erfworlders. Like, Twoll big. Heavy-Unit big. Would any caster even possibly be that big? So far the only units that size that have been reasonably intelligent (and still pretty far from Casters) have been the Knights in Stanley's Service and the Twolls (which I think is stretching the definition of "intelligent").
Parson, to an Erfworlder, talks like a lunatic.

So we have a huge unit that doesn't scan come through a gate that only casters should survive, yet he shows no sign of that and garbed for full combat. Toss in the fact that (at best) he sounds like a lunatic (at worse) he sounds like Charlie, and it's no wonder everyone's pointing wands at him.

On a sidenote: Toss this into the "Charlie is a Human" category. I doubt Erfworlders would ever trust someone with no visible status unless that had summoned the guy and could disband him at will. If Charlie was a human, then he'd basically have to be this shadowy figure if he wanted to keep "playing".

[Simons Mith]

I'm not convinced of the names for any of the three leftmost wizards people have come up with. All the others, fine. Possibly Dumbledore too. But the other two just look too generic for me to identify. I think 'Hermione' could just as easily be Snape, and surely black hair and a back view is not enough to be sure the other one's Harry Potter. Further evidence, please?

[Gez]

Normal warlord/caster stat vision clearly doesn't reveal names; if it did, Stanley would have been able to see Jack's name as soon as Maggie suggested addressing him by name.

Or his identity hadn't been restored properly, until the "compos".

[Oracle_Hunter]

I do believe in spooks! I do believe in spooks! I do, I do, I do!

OK, now that I've got that out of my system: are we sure all three of the casters on the left side of the panel are all from the same mythos? Seems a bit odd to me given the eclectic nature of the other references. I can't figure out who else "Hermione" and "Potter" might be, but "Dumbledore" COULD conceivably be Merlin. Definitely can't be Gandalf, as Gandalf wouldn't be caught dead without his signature hat. Or maybe he would.

EDIT: I love that the end of Jeannie's wand is her bottle.

It's weird, yes, but looking at the Movie Pics on Wikipedia, that is definitely Dumbledore. The hat and the robes match exactly. And "Hermione" and "Potter" are dressed in wizarding robes, use generic wands and have the correct hair colors.

On Thinkamancers
The theme seems to be real-world intellectuals - Margaret Thatcher and Carl Sagan being the two we've seen so far. We could have more scientists (Einstein, Dirac, Feynman, Hawking) or more politicians (Goldwater, Nixon, Eisenhower) or we could have something from a different field. Perhaps some mathematicians or other classical figures - Newton, Socrates, Locke.

In any case, it's going to be someone recognizable either by name (Maggie) or by face (Sagan) - I think I'll put my money on classical figures; Socrates specifically. And a side bet on Newton

EDIT:

Also, are you sure that is Jeanie? Princess Zelda also has an outfit identical to that in a couple of the games and on SSMB... complete with the hair.

She has a bottle on the end of her wand. QED

[multilis]

Portal to the magic kingdom... does it only transport casters? *Or* does it transport anyone but the casters terminate non casters who use it (to protect their kingdom from invasion and keep the myth of "only casters")

Who in magic kingdom made the spell that brought Parson? If he is really is a hippiemancer, then perhaps the spell for "ultimate warlord" was for sneaky opposite purpose. If he isn't then perhaps hippymancer sees way to use him.

[Lamech]

The theme seems to be real-world intellectuals - Margaret Thatcher and Carl Sagan being the two we've seen so far. We could have more scientists (Einstein, Dirac, Feynman, Hawking) or more politicians (Goldwater, Nixon, Eisenhower) or we could have something from a different field. Perhaps some mathematicians or other classical figures - Newton, Socrates, Locke.

Four master-class thinkamancers... and the two thinkamancers we have seen so far are both based on real people (Thatcher, Sagan). Any guesses as to who's gonna show up?

So who is Bunny based on? The third thinkamancer you have forgotten.

I'm thinking that the magic kingdom is supposed to be Galt's Gulch.

Either that or it's a reference to the RAND corporation... these are the finest minds in Erf after all...

The first one fits, powerful people all defected off to a secret island where they set up an ideal society? After they were being enslaved? Isn't that what galt said he did.
The second one might fit. How much of casting is "mind", or smarts and how much of it is pointing and blasting? Its the differance between a DnD wizard and a hydra or basilisk.

And this whole scene. It seems to lack any centrilized control. No one is in charge. Janice has to pay other presumably friendly units to get things done. There was no central desicion process to deal with the intruder. There did not appear to be a chain of command. I'm wondering if the magic kingdom has a ruler? Could it be a "cityless side"? Perhaps the ruler got his mind shattered.

[Quincunx]

Well, this would be why Spock is a hippiemancer. Presumably he originated in hobbittm. Egad.

Four master-class thinkamancers... and the two thinkamancers we have seen so far are both based on real people (Thatcher, Sagan). Any guesses as to who's gonna show up?

Two real people who were famous in the '70s, no less. . .

(shudders, briefly, at the thought of an empowered Henry Kissinger showing up)

[Cloudbreaker]

Wait a minute. The guy with the atom wand is the thinkamancer.

Edit: Also, does anyone find it to be an odd coincidence that there are eight casters in the circle and there are eight classes of magic?

Super Edit: I'm an idiot. It was already established that the atom wand guy was the thinkamancer.

[Kreistor]

WTF!?!?!?!?!!??!?! Parson's a hippiemancer? No frackin' way! Yarrgh! A treehugger? A peace-nic? He's a gamer: he doesn't care about real things! And he's ruthless now, even if it does come from a sword (and that might just be a placebo effect, because good gamers don't care about their pieces). He's urban: he don't know squat about flowers. He's not spaced out or drug addled! And can you imagine Parson meditating? EVER?

Man, Parson is not going to be happy about that one. The Titans do have a sense of humour.

[Wadoka]

What about the figure standing just to the left of the left-hand pillar? Somewhat behind "Gandalf/Dumbledore's" wand?

As to "Rand"... why not Rand al'Thor?

It would be a currency of Luckamancy... these Rands let one do the most absolutely bone-headed actions imaginable, and get away with them.

[Kyouhen]

And this whole scene. It seems to lack any centrilized control. No one is in charge. Janice has to pay other presumably friendly units to get things done. There was no central desicion process to deal with the intruder. There did not appear to be a chain of command. I'm wondering if the magic kingdom has a ruler? Could it be a "cityless side"? Perhaps the ruler got his mind shattered.

I don't think the magic kingdom really is a side at all. The GK casters can go there whenever they want so why can't other sides send their casters through? I think it might be more of a neutral territory for all casters to meet and exchange services. There's no chain of command, you just aren't allowed to fight anyone while there. This could also fit with Sagan's use of normal time units. Not being associated with a side, time in the magic kingdom could move independently of turns being taken elsewhere. Otherwise during Sizemore's first visit he probably would have known immediately when GK's turn had begun.

*Throws Oracle_Hunter a cookie*

Even if Janis is lying I'm still eager to see the explanation behind this. Why would she want to protect Parson?

And one thing I'm more eager to find out is Charlie's reaction to the fact that Parson survived.

[Ptorquemada]

the two thinkamancers we have seen so far are both based on real people (Thatcher, Sagan). Any guesses as to who's gonna show up?

My guesses: if we stay modern, then Hawking and Asimov seem likely; both would be pretty readily recognizable (wheelchair, distinctive facial hair style). I don't think. If historical figures are fair game, then Franklin (politician AND scientist, plus high pop culture recognition factor; sounds like a lock to me).

Other historical possibilities: Archimedes/Socrates/Plato (or pretty much any of the Greek philosophers; a guy in a tunic and sandals could be any one of them), Newton, Galileo, da Vinci.

I'm trying to figure out why Spockamancer's clothes are what they are. Black pants, sure, but if you're going to go with the white turtleneck then the jacket should be red. Unless it's a Mission Impossible or In Search Of reference; I can't remember what Nimoy usually wore in those.

[Stormthorn]

As to "Rand"... why not Rand al'Thor?

What would you do with fifty Rand's?

Or even fifty copied of Atlas Shrugged for that matter? Certainly not read them.