Breaking the Rules

[kpenguin]

What if Parson starts breaking some of the basic rules of Erfworld? Like ordering an attack at night or when its not his turn. Or telling some gobwins to climb up the heavy trees or mountains or get in boats for the water and start shooting at the air units? I have theory that these rules are all psychological, part of the programming of the people of Erfworld by the Titans. Parson, not being born in Erfworld, is exempt from this. Your thoughts?

[Darth Paradox]

I think it'd be like someone from another dimension coming here and wondering why we bother with stairs instead of levitating up to the second floor.

[Azukar]

Depends how the rules function in Erfworld, Darth. You're right if these basic assumptions are actually the Erf-laws of physics, but we don't know yet if they arein fact purely psychological, as penguin says.

It might be like someone from another dimension coming here and asking, if we don't like the government, why we don't break off and form our own sovereign nation. Sounds silly, doesn't it?

[Fo Shizzle]

I think it's a combination of both, somethings are like the laws of physics where as others are completly psychological. I can't wait to see which is which. I'm pretty sure that things like movements and rations are set and stone and can't be messed with but i'm not sure about the rest.

[the_tick_rules]

well i'm sure lord hamster will do the best he can.

[JordanGreywolf]

I'm very curious to find out whether Parson runs into "invisible barriers" of any sort while in this world. I suspect that some of the laws are unassailable. I think the fact that he can't curse other than to say "boop" is a bit of foreshadowing of such (seemingly) arbitrary rules. For instance, characters are moving around quite a lot during the "downtime" periods, but there seems to be the indication that traveling around via Gwiffen and Dwagon is forbidden during the nighttime. Are all characters bound to the same "hex" at night? If Parson tried to walk too far, would he suddenly encounter an invisible and irresistable barrier at the edge of the "hex"? (And how many "hexes" are occupied by the fortress? Quite possibly the entire castle could be a single "hex".)

That said, even if Parson can't "break" rules, he could perhaps bend them. Alas, we don't know much about Parson's play style, to know whether this is one of his ... er ... "strengths". When he "playtests" a new scenario, does he deliberately try to bend and abuse the rules? (Even if he created the scenario himself?) Given my own experience with wargames and RPGs, if there's any place that might offer a chance to find an "exploit" in the system, he could very well find it in the magic system: I've run into plenty of instances where the myriad of spells and special powers were home to "unstoppable force vs. immovable object" conflicts, ambiguous wording, and openings for "loopholes" to be exploited by unscrupulous players who argue a literal interpretation of rules rather than the subjective "what the writers clearly meant it to be".

Perhaps Parson may be able to pull a stunt like that - but such a tactic in a game would typically involve an argument with the other players. I'm not sure how he would argue with "the universe". (Or perhaps the universe would just quietly allow him to do whatever the rules literally say he can do, while everyone else expresses disbelief at what never occurred to them before.)

Anyway, it's a fascinating concept for a gamer geek like me. I look forward to the next installment, and I especially appreciate the potential in the "Parson's Klogs" to present us with a lot of background information. (For instance, a list of "rules" would help us to get a better expectation of Parson's limitations ... and to better speculate how he might exploit his situation!)

I wish I could get a better look at that Stupid Meal.

[Scientivore]

I wish I could get a better look at that Stupid Meal.

If the request is granted then the blowup will be linked in the first post.

[Om]

I very much agree with Darth here. As far as I can see these "rules" are simply how Erfworld works. Its the exact same reason that units move in turns and Parson can't say... well he says "boop". These are the natural laws of Erfword, akin to our gravity.

[Rocheforte]

If Parson is able to put land units in boats, it will indicate that his presence in the game is part of a supplement. To use a RTS example, imagine if Erfworld were like Starcraft, and Stanley and Ansom were plugging along when suddenly in comes Parson, who suggests "Hey, why not let some of those guys bury themselves so they can attack while hidden?" Suddenly there are new unit types all over the place. The guys in the game know something's changed, but only outsiders looking in would know it was because the Brood Wars supplement had been installed.

[Darth Paradox]

Depends how the rules function in Erfworld, Darth. You're right if these basic assumptions are actually the Erf-laws of physics, but we don't know yet if they arein fact purely psychological, as penguin says.

It might be like someone from another dimension coming here and asking, if we don't like the government, why we don't break off and form our own sovereign nation. Sounds silly, doesn't it?

Agreed. Elaboration: I think what I said above (and note that I was very careful to say "I think" there too) because I believe the rules of Erfworld - turns and whatnot - to be natural laws of the world. But we don't have certain information one way or the other.

[kpenguin]

Agreed. We still only have like 43 pages worth of comic to use here, not enough to make really accurate speculation. The reasons I suspect that the rules are psychological, however, are:

a. When Parson told Stanley about warfare on Earth, Stanley replied that it was "inconcievable". Not impossible or that it was against the natural laws, but simply that he could not concieve of such a system. Although I might be reading too much into what is also a Princess Bride reference, I suspect there might be something there.

b. In the second Klog, Parson mentioned how the laws of magic seem arbitrary and only set on "because he said so" basis and how they people of Erworld seem not to understand how the rules work. This might be a reference to how the rules of a wargame, or any game for that matter, might seem arbitrary at times, but it might also mean that Erfworld's people only fight like this because nobody cared to question the system. It might foreshadow somesort of revelation about the rules system in the future.