Erfworld Thread III: As the Erf Turns

[Miklus]

While I could certainly see Charlie cheating the Titans, why would he need to fake being a thinkamancer? The Tool was infantry, aside from rocking out, he wouldn't have any native talent to the other capabilities the hammer grants him. Are we assuming Judy was a master runner before she gained the arkenshoes?

I guess a non-thinkamancer could attune to the disc, but given that the disc has so many thinkamancer-related powers, I figured that only a thinkamancer could unlock it's true potential. I could be wrong.

I'm not sure Stanley was meant to have the Arkenhammer either. Jillian seems a better match based on personality. Maybe only a carnymancer can unlock it's true potential? It does seem suited for a warlord, though.

The Arkenshoes does not seem to play to any specific type of caster. Maybe it's all based on personality anyway.

The dish and the shoes have been attuned to multiple people. Someone might be fated to pick up one of the items, but that doesn't make them the only possible wielder.

They have? There may be more than one possible wielder for a given tool, but they do seem to reject some people.

Ansom wasn't attuned. Anyone can strike down the uncroaked with the pliers. Decryption is an incredible power, but I wasn't talking about competitive balance, I was saying that Wanda has done only one until very recently, whereas Charlie and even Stanley have a host of powers. If there is a kind of competitive balance, the hammer needs to out something major in the future, as tools go it's a bit underwhelming.

I think that like croakamancy, the Arkenpliers are a one-trick-pony. But it's a pretty good trick. Yes, the Hammer seems to be the least powerful from what we have seen. But it was pretty nasty in close combat. Remember the "Van der Graaf" thing? Maybe it can do more like that. Don't underestimate the dance-fighting bonus either.

[Wayson]

No, it would certainly flow better, but for whatever reason that isn't happening. Also, apparently something horrible happened recently that's brought him into contact with the police all week. From the tone of the update, I'd hazard to guess something happened to someone close to him.

Something horrible, or tragic, or unexpected, or catastrophic, or unusual is always happening to Rob. He is a fount of neverending excuses, but note that nothing is ever his fault. It's Xin's personal problems, it's Xin taking a break to deal with her mother's passing, it's Xin deciding she doesn't want to draw anymore, it's the lack of a new artist, it's computer problems, it's mysterious-personal-police drama, it's the new artist getting used to the art, or whatever.

I like Erfworld's storyline, but now that Xin's gone the story is the only thing holding me to the 'comic'. I wonder how true that is for many other readers.

[Dacia Brabant]

Now that Xin's gone, I'm not sure I'll stick with it. When she first came on the difference in artistic tone was jarring since it was such a departure from Jamie's, but once I got accustomed to it I really enjoyed the meticulous level of detail she put into each frame.

Maybe the new guy will get there, assuming Rob doesn't cancel the whole operation because it's no longer meeting his quarterly earnings demands for his Erf Inc shareholders or whatever it is that's driving his fundraising quotas. Seriously, the next presidential candidates should hire this guy to do their crowdfunding. Anyway, that rant aside maybe the new guy will get to that level but right now there's not much that's keeping me hanging around.

[ThirdEmperor]

Have we even gotten a full comic since the Kickstarter to teach new-artist-person how to draw the comic happened?

Or are they seriously asking for more money without having delivered a single full strip?

[Tebryn]

This isn't his first venture into donation driven comic creation. It's his longest to be sure but Rob has done stuff like this before. Added on top of everything else I think his fan base is going to start to get effected but people are still more than willing to throw him money so he's doing -something- right.

[Legato Endless]

I'm not sure Stanley was meant to have the Arkenhammer either. Jillian seems a better match based on personality. Maybe only a carnymancer can unlock it's true potential? It does seem suited for a warlord, though.

Well there has been a lot of speculation on that front, what with Jillian's jester wielding a hammer in her mind scape.

They have? There may be more than one possible wielder for a given tool, but they do seem to reject some people.

The two witches who were at war with Charlie and defeated by Judy were attuned. Yes, at the very least they have rejected every Royal to come in contact with them.

Something horrible, or tragic, or unexpected, or catastrophic, or unusual is always happening to Rob. He is a fount of neverending excuses, but note that nothing is ever his fault.

Very true. I was more informing than excusing. I don't like making too many assumptions about someone I've never met and only interact with in a vague way on the internet, but his behavior is...probably rooted in more than we're hearing. I sort of wonder if he suffers from depression. Again though, idle speculation.

[Anteros]

Now that Xin's gone, I'm not sure I'll stick with it. When she first came on the difference in artistic tone was jarring since it was such a departure from Jamie's, but once I got accustomed to it I really enjoyed the meticulous level of detail she put into each frame.

Maybe the new guy will get there, assuming Rob doesn't cancel the whole operation because it's no longer meeting his quarterly earnings demands for his Erf Inc shareholders or whatever it is that's driving his fundraising quotas. Seriously, the next presidential candidates should hire this guy to do their crowdfunding. Anyway, that rant aside maybe the new guy will get to that level but right now there's not much that's keeping me hanging around.

Agreed. Xin really made it for me. I am still somewhat following along, but my interest level has definitely dropped drastically since she left.

[Killer Angel]

Something horrible, or tragic, or unexpected, or catastrophic, or unusual is always happening to Rob. He is a fount of neverending excuses, but note that nothing is ever his fault. It's Xin's personal problems, it's Xin taking a break to deal with her mother's passing, it's Xin deciding she doesn't want to draw anymore, it's the lack of a new artist, it's computer problems, it's mysterious-personal-police drama, it's the new artist getting used to the art, or whatever.

Maybe this time it's true.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Something horrible, or tragic, or unexpected, or catastrophic, or unusual is always happening to Rob. He is a fount of neverending excuses, but note that nothing is ever his fault. It's Xin's personal problems, it's Xin taking a break to deal with her mother's passing, it's Xin deciding she doesn't want to draw anymore, it's the lack of a new artist, it's computer problems, it's mysterious-personal-police drama, it's the new artist getting used to the art, or whatever.

I like Erfworld's storyline, but now that Xin's gone the story is the only thing holding me to the 'comic'. I wonder how true that is for many other readers.

In his defence, these are all legitamate problems. Perhaps he's just an unlucky guy. What I mind the update schedule failing when a certain thing was promised, but he's usually prompt and up front about it when some issue happens. It's when he isn't or there is seemingly no reason for the failure that I get frustrated. Either way, excuses are fine, because at least then we have a reason. I respect that.

Lets face it, all kickstarters have their hiccups. Some of them are big, one time hiccups, sometimes their small, ongoing hiccups, and sometimes no matter what you do, its never enough for your goals. Its easy to underestimate something. I've done it with shipping costs for artwork I've created. I've seen even the Giant underestimate shipping costs. Honestly, the prices go up and up, and the kick starters don't account for an increase in price generally in their goal. Even if they go over their goal, that's generally just more orders to fund, too.

Granted, I've expressed my frustration at the update schedule before, but I don't feel that he's blaming anyone. He wants the product a certain way, and refuses to give us a product that isn't in his standards, as an artist should. Honestly, I haven't paid him anything, so perhaps I don't feel a reason to be angry. But would you rather have paid for a large clump of subpar updates, without pictures? You want the product you paid for. And if you do, you'll have to wait.

I think Rob would be serviced better by less ambitious goals, or a "whenever" update schedule, instead of promises for comics at certain times. I dunno.

[Fjolnir]

New update, Trem is certainly moving into the role of ruler fairly quickly.

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This is the point where we start to see everything start to shift. Charlie being a master mercenary with his finger in every pie is no longer being considered an asset by those he wants to ally with. Whether or not this dossier changes more than where the lines of permissible activity is for Charlie in this theater remains to be seen, but I think this is another step towards "Everyone against Charlescomm" where the major sides end up drawing lines that at least marginalize his influence and his lashing back against it will show his true colors to at least the members of the West such as Jetstone, TV, and GK..

[Miklus]

New update, Trem is certainly moving into the role of ruler fairly quickly.

Tremmenis is awesome. And really, who would want to touch Charlescomm with a ten foot pole?

Oh, and I will continue to read this comic for sure. To all of you who gave money...Get over it already. Kickstarter is a silly concept anyway. Why not buy a hamstrad T-shirt instead, at least you would have that.

[Seerow]

I just went over to the Erf forums and notice a complete lack of anyone saying anything about the news regarding Book 3's delays.

I guess everyone who might have a problem with it has long since abandoned the forum and/or comic? Or Rob is actively moderating any response.


On the bright side, the trip over to those forums reminded me that What-if XKCD was a thing! Have lots of new stuff to read now.

[Anteros]

I just went over to the Erf forums and notice a complete lack of anyone saying anything about the news regarding Book 3's delays.

I guess everyone who might have a problem with it has long since abandoned the forum and/or comic? Or Rob is actively moderating any response.


On the bright side, the trip over to those forums reminded me that What-if XKCD was a thing! Have lots of new stuff to read now.

Given history and basic pattern recognition...I'm going to say it's the bolded.

Tremmenis is awesome. And really, who would want to touch Charlescomm with a ten foot pole?

Oh, and I will continue to read this comic for sure. To all of you who gave money...Get over it already. Kickstarter is a silly concept anyway. Why not buy a hamstrad T-shirt instead, at least you would have that.

I'm not sure the proper response to people being upset that the money they paid in exchange for a promised service has been taken, but no sign of the service paid for has been shown. For years. People have a word for that. It's called "theft" and people do not simply "get over it". I'm not giving up the comic either, but I don't intend to give Rob a cent ever again until he actually meets some of his promises. I even went as far as to turn adblock on for his page. If he starts meeting his end of these bargains I'll turn it back off and consider donating again in the future.

I agree that Trammenis is awesome though. Currently my favorite character.

Edit: To clarify. I am not calling Rob a thief in any criminal sense. I am simply stating many people's feelings towards the situation.

[ThirdEmperor]

It's going a bit far to call it 'theft'. For something that's based entirely on promises, Kickstarter makes surprisingly few it actually has to keep. You give someone money via a Kickstarter, they're not obliged to do anything beyond deliver the tier rewards.

I'm not saying that Rob didn't waste a lot of people's money, but they gave him that money in the first place with no legal right to demand results.

[Anteros]

It's going a bit far to call it 'theft'. For something that's based entirely on promises, Kickstarter makes surprisingly few it actually has to keep. You give someone money via a Kickstarter, they're not obliged to do anything beyond deliver the tier rewards.

I'm not saying that Rob didn't waste a lot of people's money, but they gave him that money in the first place with no legal right to demand results.

You may have missed my edit since I didn't put it up until a few minutes after the post. From a legal standpoint it is not theft. From a moral standpoint, it's debatable...but this isn't really the place to debate it so I will concede the point and say that you are correct.

[Morty]

Finally, someone worked up enough of a backbone to tell Mr. Chessmaster to pull his head out of his backside.

[NEO|Phyte]

Finally, someone worked up enough of a backbone to tell Mr. Chessmaster to pull his head out of his backside.

To be fair, before Parson, he's probably not had any major ****ups for people to call him on. It's easier to tolerate a slimy character if he gets results.

[sihnfahl]

Hm, interesting. The 'Charlie' theme continues.

Now he looks to be Charles ... de Gaulle.

[Kornaki]

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What can he really call Charlie out on? The dude genuinely did everything he could to help Jetstone win that battle up until the point that the king of Jetstone had already died (and even financed Trem to be heir). I realize he deserves to be called out on for being so secretive about some of the plan but what happened can't really be laid at his feet as far as I can tell.

[Landis963]

What can he really call Charlie out on? The dude genuinely did everything he could to help Jetstone win that battle up until the point that the king of Jetstone had already died (and even financed Trem to be heir). I realize he deserves to be called out on for being so secretive about some of the plan but what happened can't really be laid at his feet as far as I can tell.

Charlie insisted that Parson was worth everything Jetstone paid to capture or kill him, and failed to explain that, and Parson got away anyway. So Tramennis isn't seeing too much bang for his buck here. Trem's claiming "breach of contract" and Charlie doesn't have too much room to talk without divulging a lot of secrets for free.

[Kornaki]

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Charlie insisted that Parson was worth everything Jetstone paid to capture or kill him, and failed to explain that, and Parson got away anyway. So Tramennis isn't seeing too much bang for his buck here. Trem's claiming "breach of contract" and Charlie doesn't have too much room to talk without divulging a lot of secrets for free.

Sure, Trem should ask what exactly happened because Jetstone took heavy losses under Charlie's plan, but I think if Charlie just explains what happened entirely truthfully, Trem should walk out of that meeting feeling like Charlie is in fact on his side in this conflict.

[Lizard Lord]

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Sure, Trem should ask what exactly happened because Jetstone took heavy losses under Charlie's plan, but I think if Charlie just explains what happened entirely truthfully, Trem should walk out of that meeting feeling like Charlie is in fact on his side in this conflict.

I believe that is exactly what Tremennis is asking for. Problem is "entirely truthfully" isn't really Charlie's thing.

[Landis963]

Sure, Trem should ask what exactly happened because Jetstone took heavy losses under Charlie's plan, but I think if Charlie just explains what happened entirely truthfully, Trem should walk out of that meeting feeling like Charlie is in fact on his side in this conflict.

Emphasis mine. Do you really think Charlie will spill all his cards, just like that? Even if he does, do you think Tramennis will believe everything Charlie divulges, because the only source for such information is, well, Charlie? At the very least, he'll search elsewhere for a corroborating source. Which would drive him to talk to Parson, like he was thinking about before everything went pear-shaped.

[Porthos]

Ok, I've always liked Tramennis, but I freakin' love him now. The verbal take down of Charlie was delish enough. But to basically hang up the phone is even smarter. After all, one of the ways Charlie Wins is by letting him keep talking, letting him keep pushing for an angle, letting him hit that soft underbelly where you go, "Dammit. I hate him, but he's got a great point."

Problem is, of course, Charlie might not particularly like being lectured to and getting hung up on, given past behavoir. Might come back to bite Tramennis in the rear.

But it sure was great to read.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Also, please SPOILER your comments about an update that has occurred within a day or two, or at least until someone posts that there is a new update, so someone doesn't get a spoiled page.

Just added this to the OP -

So...New Epilogue Update, folks!

[Killer Angel]

I like Tramennis more and more...

[lunar2]

as someone who has not donated a penny to this comic, and who is more concerned with story than with art, i can honestly say i have no complaints at all for it. also, tramennis is ossomer than either of his ansom brothers.

[Psychonaut]

You could even say that he's a tramennis incline over his predecessors.

[Gez]

Hm, interesting. The 'Charlie' theme continues.

Now he looks to be Charles ... de Gaulle.

And a very poor impersonation. I can't imagine the original remaining silent and letting himself being chewed up.

[Porthos]

New Erf is up. Video Only for the next couple of days.

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Yeah. Huh. Both sides gave a little info to the other there, I think.

Charlie can't be pleased to hear that Parson all but calls him a carnymancer.

As for that last panel? Yeah. That's a fair amount of Archons. And nice looking tech to go with it....

ETA::: Looks like Charlie took that 'report' demand seriously. Can't say I'm very surprised at that, tbh. It'll be interesting to see if anything else comes of it down the road, or if it was just the trigger for one last confrontation between Parson and Charlie in this arc.