Pun translations

[Arian]

its obvious that they mean death, with the refrence to gathering all the non-croaked soldiers.

"Uncroaked". These would be the undead, and the Croakamancer would be responsible for turning them from croaked to Uncroaked. Now that Manpower has been Uncroaked as Stanley asked (in no. 2), we can see (in no. 3) that he has turned a pale green.

[TinSoldier]

It can't all be connected.

(Altho', if it had been a squad armed with Bohemian ear-spoons (eawspoons?), that would have worked. But better I guess if you're attacking Marbits. To attack spidews... hmmm... flyswattos?)

Now, "the battle of Warchalking"... hmmmm. Shades of the white cliffs of Dover... (Where's a punomancer when you need one...)

Gah! Stop with the W for R replacement! That is the only thing that really bugs me about this comic.

Plus your post was funny, if painful.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

And on the other point, on where the axemen come in, I completely follow how they fit in the logic of the story, but fail to grasp if they have some connection to the pun, i.e. marshmallows in cereal.

They're not necssarily a pun in themselves.

Could be just because they're small.

[hewhosaysfish]

They're not necssarily a pun in themselves.

Could be just because they're small.

Maybe they just made up the name and the fact that it's also used for the marshmallow bits in lucky charms is entirely coincidental.

[Constantinople]

Someone could have already pointed this out but Erfworld Minty Mountains sounds like a parody of Middle-Earth Misty Mountains.

[LurkerBeneath]

If there's an Arkenhammer, will there be...

Spoiler

Show

1. an Arkensaw?
2. an Arkenstone? (perhaps the Little Rock the Titan dropped?)

[Jorkens]

Now, "the battle of Warchalking"... hmmmm. Shades of the white cliffs of Dover... (Where's a punomancer when you need one...)

IIRC, the term warchalking was used at one point to mean chalking symbols to mark places where an insecure wireless network could be used to get interweb access. I'm not sure whether this refers back to some older use of the term, though - it seems like an obscure reference even for Erfworld...

And I'm also not sure whether googling for this sort of stuff would be spoiling the fun.

[Taffer]

Dang, you beat me to the bit about warchalking. That's how I took it, and the cliffs of Dover are appropriate as they are themselves made of chalk.

[Illiander]

Its an oblique reference to the Jetsons and the Flintstones. Georege Jetson's boss was Spacely and Fred Flintstone's boss was Slate.

SLATEly
FLINTstones

both types of rock, and I didn't see anyone else metion this, mabey it's a bit obvious

[Roderick_BR]

You want bad puns? Try Dragon Fable, where all the knights have pun in the names, like Sir Prize, the guard, Sir Geon, the medic, Sir Vivor, the explorer, Sir Jin, the legendary owner of the energy weapons, Sir Pent, the guy that guards the bridge with the giant serpent...
Be happy nothing like that is used in Erf. I already have a hard time figuring all the obscure puns...

[Beleriphon]

SLATEly
FLINTstones

both types of rock, and I didn't see anyone else metion this, mabey it's a bit obvious

Yeah, but the important bit is the whole name: Slately from Jetstone. Both are are portmantaeus of Hanna-Barbera cartoon character names. In this instance Slate and Spacely along with Jetson and Flintstone.

While the idea of it being related entirely to rock is possible, the joke would be much funnier in that case if it were a stone age setting akin to the The Flintstones. One must also take into consideration there are loads of other pop culture jokes showing up, the O'RLY owl for example, would indicate that the Slately/Jetstone juxtaposition is meant to be a take on The Flintstones and the The Jetsons.

I'm sticking with that until such a time as proved otherwise. I'd also expect King Slately's first name to end up being Freorge or Gred.

[chionophile]

It's King Slately of the Jetstone Tribe and his capital is Spacerock. That pretty much guarantees that it's a pun on the Jetsons and Flintstones.

[Reptilius]

The command words for the "hats of communication (?)" are each famous people that have disappeared (Jimmy Hoffa/Dr. Livingston).

[Xaspian]

Hoffa was the command to make the message 'disappear', and Livingston, who was famously lost and then found, seems to make it appear the other end, so, yeah.

[Reptilius]

I believe the song the Hippiemancers were singing is from the movie "A Mighty Wind."

[danielf]

The name of characters are very important, stan lee likes to use the same leters, like Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Matt Murdock. I think it's cool that the character names have some meaning

[Allandaros]

The unit of currency is a Rand, presumably named for Ayn Rand, devout worshiper of the Dollar Divine (and originator of the philosophy Objectivism).

Also, she couldn't write for beans.

[EntilZha]

My first thought about Lord Stanley was the NHL championship trophy--Lord Stanley's cup--but I have yet to see any cup-related jokes. Or perhaps the writers are hockey fans and this one's meant to stand on its own. I'm just guessing, mind you.

[chionophile]

So there are two units of currency we have so far - Rands and Schmuckers. Any thoughts on what a schmucker might be named after?

[nweismuller]

Vis-a-vis the Rand, I'd be more inclined to suspect it's named after the actual South African currency, the Rand, than the novelist/philosopher.

[Hart av Srednak]

Wandas tribe is a reference to WoD werewolf games. Croatan is one of the lost werewolf tribes there.

I also have this theory (don't think I'm only one with this) about meta-world of erfworld. Yes, it's turn based strategy game and yes, it's played by punch of kids. It's either homebrew strategy based on many computer and tabletop startegies or comercial one.

They use miniatures (goblinoids and skeletons) but can't affor to buy enough for large campains. That's why they use their toys along with fantasy miniatures. Gwiffon looks like chicken or some kind of other bird rather than griffin. Cloth golems and glass made unicorns also fit that description.

I also wonder if Power Ranger coloured Dwagons are really Power Rangers. Power Rangers and Dragons are both quite powerfull in minds of kids. Dragon miniatures aren't cheap and they seem to have many Dwagons.

[chionophile]

That's a good thought Hart. I disagree about the gwiffon though, they're probably using a Peep.

[Jorkens]

So there are two units of currency we have so far - Rands and Schmuckers. Any thoughts on what a schmucker might be named after?

It might just be a slang term for the same thing, like 'bucks' or 'quid' or 'big boys' or something...

[Beleriphon]

Any thoughts on what a schmucker might be named after?

I'm hoping for a Joel Schumacher + schmuck reference myself. It seems fitting after Batman and Robin.

[Hart av Srednak]

Who would be Parson Gotti ?

PS I posted this here instead of Hamstard thread cause I want to keep this alive. This has been good thread: good conversation and explanations that are not so obvious for non-english speaking folks (like me).

EDIT: I'm not asking who he is (cause I think I know) but is there some hidden meaning in this name (like Wandas wand of fireball)

EDIT: someone came up with an answer. Parson Gotti is anagram of Protagonist

[Darth Paradox]

Wandas tribe is a reference to WoD werewolf games. Croatan is one of the lost werewolf tribes there.

The lost werewolf tribe is in turn named after the Croatan tribe of American Indians, most famous for their possible involvement in the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony and the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree: Wikipedia article.

I'm guessing that Wanda's tribe name refers to the original source, just like the werewolf tribe name.

[Mystery_Cat]

*Thinks* Working on the principle that Lord Stanley's tribe are the one people end up controlling in the game... It's not 'Plaid', it's 'Played.'

[Deuce]

I was thinking Stanley the Plaid might just be a play on names like "Eric the Red" or "Ivan the Terrible" (depending on your opinion of plaid). It might also refer to something that is being used to mark their area on the "map" or on their unit counters.

[Sir_Faust]

I'm guessing dirtomancers are genereic earth elementalists. I'd be willing to bet we'll see burnomancers, wetomancers, and... wind ones in the near future.

This is getting amusing. It's like a Where's Waldo for jokes.

I know, it's like a easter egg within a easter egg. And it's adds enjoyment when your wandering what hidden jokes he put in this time

[Sir_Faust]

I also wonder if Power Ranger coloured Dwagons are really Power Rangers. Power Rangers and Dragons are both quite powerfull in minds of kids. Dragon miniatures aren't cheap and they seem to have many Dwagons.

I thought the same thing considering how i read angry zen masters, who the artist is the same. He had a few power ranger like themes, a group of heroes who are color coded. I definitely would fit.