Erfworld 24

[PirateMonk]

New comic is up.

Why didn't anyone else make this?

[Laurellien]

Wow, great comic.

Heh, "great talent".

[Aimbot]

Damn it. I guess I was beat. oh well.

[Karellen]

"Plan. A war. For fun." Heh, nice catch on 17. Man, I don't get how some of you people don't like Parson.

It's quite frightening how cute Wanda becomes when she thinks about torturing someone.

[hewhosaysfish]

Did anyone notice, in the last panel, the Tool has a little step to stand on?

Also, kudos to everyone who predicted that Parson would be known as Lord Hamster.

[matthewmw64]

You could actually see it in the previous Strip.

That was a pretty good comic. Im really starting to like this one.

[PirateMonk]

So, that's settled. Either this is a huge coincidence, or Erfworld is Parson's game.

[Estelindis]

Interesting... I'm a little surprised that Wanda's so enthusiastic about torture and interrogation. Anyone think that she knows Jillian from previous captures and they're actually exchanging information? Could they both be working on a way to resolve this whole thing without big smushy armies - and could this be why Jillian keeps getting captured?

Okay, maybe not. Jill does live to fight, after all. *grin*

But seriously, a nice comic - with another amusing title for a main character ("Lord Hamster" - heh).

[fruityjanitor]

Wow, that one was great!

All hail Lord Hamster!

And it seems that our two favorite Erfworld ladies have a (not so friendly) history with each other. It will be really interesting to see that play out. :)

Does anyone else predict a cat fight in the future? ;)

Also, I wonder what the "two items" were? Her oversized sword and the message-sending top hat? Or maybe something else...

Edit: Oh, and I love the third and fourth panels. It's good to see that the Tool finally recognizes Lord Hamster's greatness.

[Aliquid]

And it seems that our two favorite Erfworld ladies have a (not so friendly) history with each other. It will be really interesting to see that play out. :)

Well I was wondering about that....

Spoiler

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Wanda almost looked upset that Jillian was captured. It might be possible that she doesn't want to torture her, heck they might be friends. I could be totally off base on that, but it would be an interesting plot twist.

[Icewalker]

yeah, Lord Hamster is a great title for Parson. It definitely seems that Jillian and Wanda have some connections. When Stanley says "Guess who can't get enough of our dungeon slop?" Wanda looks either really scared or really excited. I'm definitely seeing some connection. They either have a good connection, or Wanda reeeally likes torture and interrogation.

[Aliquid]

So, that's settled. Either this is a huge coincidence, or Erfworld is Parson's game.

Why is it settled?

I still fail to see why Parson's game would have care-bears or glass unicorns as combatants... or why people would be called findomancers...

There are certainly some similarities between his game and Erfworld, tactical and geographical.... but there is no explanation for the creatures that live in Erfworld.

There may be a connection between his game and Erfworld, but there has to be a deeper more complicated explanation for this than simply "It is Parson's game". And we probably won't be shown that reason for a while.

[Ilgivan]

Am I the only one who thinks that the cast of characters page needs an update to put Parson on?

And perhaps likes and dislikes for characters too?

[Xenon]

i think its the 'war, for fun' part the tool likes best :)

and torture? ah, always nice to see the bad guys doing the job right! reminds me of dungeon keeper 2 :)

[PirateMonk]

Why is it settled?

I still fail to see why Parson's game would have care-bears or glass unicorns as combatants... or why people would be called findomancers...

There are certainly some similarities between his game and Erfworld, tactical and geographical.... but there is no explanation for the creatures that live in Erfworld.

There may be a connection between his game and Erfworld, but there has to be a deeper more complicated explanation for this than simply "It is Parson's game". And we probably won't be shown that reason for a while.

He could have been spending too much time with younger relatives...

[arronan]

Great comic. And I'm still laughing over the "Tool" joke.

[Minchandre]

What's written in the scrying pool in panel 9? "Points Mo..."

[Captain van der Decken]

Well, now we definitely know Wanda is evil.

[SteveMB]

What's written in the scrying pool in panel 9? "Points Mo..."

I assume the latter is "Move", cut off.

[Karellen]

Does there need to be a reason for care-bears and glass unicorns? Parson has a lot of time in his hands. If you're spending five months in designing a fantasy strategy game, then a lot of that time is going to be spent into designing the world it happens in. Parson is a guy who makes a webcomic about a lazy, annoying hamster; I don't see him making a big deal out of keeping his games thematically "mature". Maybe he likes cute things, quite possible considering some of the weird stuff in his room. Maybe he wanted to do something different.

Even so, no, there's no reason to think that Parson created Erfworld per se. Clearly he has no idea who the characters in the world are, and if he has a clue about, say, Arkentools, he hasn't shown it so far. Even so, judging by the similarities so far, there's no reason to assume that the similarities might not apply to things like troop design, game mechanics and whatnot. You know, the stuff that Parson needs to know to efficiently lead a war in the gameworld.

[Minchandre]

I assume the latter is "Move", cut off.

Got it. Makes sense. And does anyone else think the little yellow thing looks almost like a cubic interpretation of a Peep?

[Ilgivan]

Yar, or a gwiffon, with the upright tetris block being the rider.

[LaValle]

I wonder how many times did Jilian get cauhgt by Stanley. Wanda certainly seems happy to spend some "quality time" with her. Awww, she's so cute when she thinks of hurting people.

[TheAnimal]

Hehe, Lord Hamster... Glad to see Wanda got a nice suprise for once, after having to put up with so much boop lately.

[Crazy Ivan]

Seeing as how in the cast page our favorite Tool's tribe is described as 'Almost lost' and Wanda's is 'Lost' then, maybe we may have just found who was responsible for that lost status.

[SMDVogrin]

There's a very simple reason for the care bears, peeps, glass unicorns, etc.

It's called "Proxying". Representing a unit in a miniature war-game with whatever happens to be lying around the room. Normally done when you haven't bought the proper mini for some reason (no money, company didn't make one, etc).

When you're making the whole game from scratch, you have even more opportunities. "Let's see, we need a flying unit. That peep will do. And some golems. Well, let's use this stuffed animal and call it a cloth golem." and so on.

Of course, this is based on the idea that Parson's home-brew was a miniatures game, rather than "counters on a hex map", which is at odds with what we see of the gaming table. But if you look at comic 16, we actually see a stuffed animal on his bookcase.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0016.html

[Estelindis]

There's a very simple reason for the care bears, peeps, glass unicorns, etc.

It's called "Proxying". Representing a unit in a miniature war-game with whatever happens to be lying around the room. Normally done when you haven't bought the proper mini for some reason (no money, company didn't make one, etc).

That makes a frightening amount of sense. I have done that myself often enough...

[thevorpalbunny]

Well, now we definitely know Wanda is evil.

I disagree.

Spoiler

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That doesn't look like a happy 'ooh' on Wanda's face to me. I interpret this a the best evidence yet that Wanda isn't particularly happy about her job. I strongly suspect, personally, that the Tribe: Lost is, in fact, Stanley's fault.

[Cryo]

There's a very simple reason for the care bears, peeps, glass unicorns, etc.

It's called "Proxying". Representing a unit in a miniature war-game with whatever happens to be lying around the room. Normally done when you haven't bought the proper mini for some reason (no money, company didn't make one, etc).

When you're making the whole game from scratch, you have even more opportunities. "Let's see, we need a flying unit. That peep will do. And some golems. Well, let's use this stuffed animal and call it a cloth golem." and so on.

Of course, this is based on the idea that Parson's home-brew was a miniatures game, rather than "counters on a hex map", which is at odds with what we see of the gaming table. But if you look at comic 16, we actually see a stuffed animal on his bookcase.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0016.html

That's exactly how I interpreted it

Proxying webcomic!

[whmice]

is that i tear i see in her eye?
;'-D