Erfworld Thread III: As the Erf Turns

[TheStranger]

I'm not sure why the hobgobwins defected to Charlescomm, rather than to FAQ. If that was the only option, somebody probably would have associated Charlie with natural ally weirdness before now - he uses this trick rarely, but he does use it enough that somebody would have noticed if natural allies suddenly appeared in Charlescomm livery. Whereas if the hobgobwins defected to FAQ, it still wouldn't be general knowledge that this was Charlie's trick and not Vanna's. Parson would figure it out, but I think Charlie could have maintained plausible deniability to the rest of the world. Seems like he unnecessarily tipped his hand here.

[Winterwind]

If that was the only option, somebody probably would have associated Charlie with natural ally weirdness before now

To be fair, somebody has. The Great Minds that Think Alike specifically told Parson that influencing natural allies was one of the most important powers afforded to Charlie by the Arkendish.

[Kornaki]

I'm not sure why the hobgobwins defected to Charlescomm, rather than to FAQ. If that was the only option, somebody probably would have associated Charlie with natural ally weirdness before now - he uses this trick rarely, but he does use it enough that somebody would have noticed if natural allies suddenly appeared in Charlescomm livery. Whereas if the hobgobwins defected to FAQ, it still wouldn't be general knowledge that this was Charlie's trick and not Vanna's. Parson would figure it out, but I think Charlie could have maintained plausible deniability to the rest of the world. Seems like he unnecessarily tipped his hand here.

Possible reasons:

1.) Jillian already has giants and that interferes with her getting hobgobwins (could be that you can only have one heavy capable natural ally, or hobgobwins and giants are mortal enemies fighting for control of mountain regions, etc.)

2.) Charlie can't get the hobgobwins to convert to FAQ in the timeframe/resources given. Jillian had previous contact with the giants when she and Charlie pulled the same trick on Jitterati; if Charlie pulled this fight off then said "Join FAQ, they'll totes build you up more powerful than Gobwin Knob will" that might have required additional effort since it's kind of obvious that FAQ isn't going to be able to build up the hobgobwin tribe the same way that Charlescomm can. Maybe he had to pre-load FAQ with cash before the giants would convert, or Jillian just saved up a bunch of Schmuckers before the giants converted, or Charlie was slowly paying them off over time before they converted to FAQ. Any of these options wouldn't be available and could require a more direct connection between Charlescomm and the hobgobwin tribe to make Vurp willing to turn.

3.) Charlie really wants hobgobwins. He already has gobwins, why not complete the set? More specifically he might want to capture some Gobwin Knob cities (the previous capital in particular) for his own nefarious purposes. He might not even realize that Spacerock is the capital of Gobwin Knob now, though that would be a pretty hard intelligence failure.

It's definitely an interesting question that I hope gets answered in the comic, but I don't think it's a plot hole.

[Welf]

I don't think it would be possible to make a contract for Charley or Vanna to make a contract in FAQ's name, since neither of them is a FAQ unit. Jillian could, but then she has to be included in the negations and the turnamancy spell.

[super dark33]

Forecastle update

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Everyone saw it coming, it happened, YET IM STILL SURPRISED.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

New thread is up!

[Rogar Demonblud]

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A clueless landlubber in charge. Yeah, that's Hellabad.

[Welf]

New update!

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The definition of stupid: When Stanley the Tool plays mind tricks on you and has the wittier lines.

Aside that, I really enjoy Stanley. If I hadn't been a fan before, i would be now