Erfworld 43

[Raistlin1040]

New comic up. Parson's plan. What do you think?

[EndgamerAzari]

I'd say he's going with either the 'Sabotage' or 'Divide and Conquer' plan.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0041.html
Probably the first, I'd say.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Yay! A new page!

I figured Zamussles would play a significant role in the upcoming battle. Parson mentioned taking out the leader directly before, and I think she'd be able to kill Ansom if forced to fight him.

[r2e]

Interesting strip

[20thLevelGeek]

Seems more and more then real hero of this story is Wanda. Parson and "The Tool" would be dead, dead, dead without her. Enjoyed the strip through, and the expression on Tool's face in the second to last panel!

Also could that be Charlie in the last panel? Some sort of Unicorn, centaur, flying thingy?

[Glarx]

Yes, I think he can work with that.

[NotHear]

It looks like this strip answers the question about whether Wanda was using mind control magic.

And I really like this strip. I especially like the use of shading/coloring to contrast the settings.

[ref]

ooo, interesting turn of events... But I want Lord Hamster to learn! :)

[KitsuneChan]

Yup, mind control confirmed. And who knew Stanley could be so cute! Second last panel. Squee! ^_^

And pegasus-taur in last panel - pwnsome. Love the gwiffons in the background.

[Maerad of Pellinor]

Wanda is EVIL!

What's Ansom riding in the last panel?

And yes, I think he can work with that, very much.

EDIT: Parson didn't call Stanley an Overtool!

[SteveMB]

"As for his weaknesses, he is in love with our prisoner. And I control her mind. Do you think you can work with that?"

That would seem to confirm that "the very hard way" spell was some form of mental domination.

The really interesting thing is that Wanda feels the need to have somebody else figure out how to "work with" this clear advantage. I can think of two reasons, the obvious one (she doesn't know enough about military strategy to manipulate Ansom into really bad traps) and the not-so-obvious one (she isn't that good at understanding how other people think outside the context of an interrogation session, which limits her ability to fully exploit the leverage Jillian gives her over Ansom).

Wanda is EVIL!

What's Ansom riding in the last panel?

His flying carpet.

[djharr]

The thing I hated about this strip was how it didn't tell us anything new or move the plot along at all.


(Yes, yes, I am kidding, <ouch> stop throwing things at me...)

[Querzis]

Was that Charlie in the last panel? Well he kinda look like an unicorn. I guess he is gonna command the flyer now that Jillian is gone.

[Knight_Of_Twilight]

Ansom's riding a rolled up magic carpet, If I remeber right.

[Maerad of Pellinor]

It looks like this strip answers the question about whether Wanda was using mind control magic.

I don't think it does--Wanda could mean that Jillian is in love with her, or that she trusts her, and so Wanda can use that love/trust to manipulate Jillian into whatever she wants....Maybe using her as bait to lure out Ansom?

[Ultimatum479]

NotHear, it's entirely possible that Wanda said she controls Jill's mind merely because she controls it psychologically/emotionally, not magically. Jill could just be that attached to her.

EDIT: D'oh. Damn you, Maerad. ^_^

[Jagg]

Hmm how would ~I~ work with that?

1) Kill current command (making it look like enemy action)
2) Assume command
3) Lose Badly
4) Allow wanda to raise fresh troops
5) Lose again
6) Become loyal follower of next leader
7) Sabotage their command structure
8) Rinse and Repeat until discovered and then commit suicide

[Estelindis]

Nice strip. I really feel sorry for Ansom now...

[EntilZha]

NotHear, it's entirely possible that Wanda said she controls Jill's mind merely because she controls it psychologically/emotionally, not magically. Jill could just be that attached to her.

EDIT: D'oh. Damn you, Maerad. ^_^

Wanda further cements her position as My Favorite Erfworld Character.

cue porno movie music

[djharr]

I don't think so. The term "control her mind" is not the kind of phrase you would usually use when you are talking about someone who you have emotional control over. If I have someone who is emotionally dependent on me, or who I am the only source for their drugs, or who I am the sole support for, in other words, if there is someone who I have total control over, I can't really see ANY scenario where I would say "I control his/her mind." Maybe "They will do what I tell them," or "I say, they do," but controlling someone's mind is not something that one does without either highly sophisticated drug cocktails (Sodium Pentothal and Valium, anyone?) or magic.

Also, the certainty with which she proclaims her control leads me to believe it is magic, because even if you THINK you have hooks into someone, they can always surprise you.

[Maerad of Pellinor]

I don't think so. The term "control her mind" is not the kind of phrase you would usually use when you are talking about someone who you have emotional control over. If I have someone who is emotionally dependent on me, or who I am the only source for their drugs, or who I am the sole support for, in other words, if there is someone who I have total control over, I can't really see ANY scenario where I would say "I control his/her mind." Maybe "They will do what I tell them," or "I say, they do," but controlling someone's mind is not something that one does without either highly sophisticated drug cocktails (Sodium Pentothal and Valium, anyone?) or magic.

Also, the certainty with which she proclaims her control leads me to believe it is magic, because even if you THINK you have hooks into someone, they can always surprise you.

But claiming that she controls her mind even if it's only emotional control is very in-character for Wanda....

[SteveMB]

I don't think it does--Wanda could mean that Jillian is in love with her, or that she trusts her, and so Wanda can use that love/trust to manipulate Jillian into whatever she wants....Maybe using her as bait to lure out Ansom?

Hmmm... I still think mind control magic is the simpler interpretation, given that we know that Wanda cast some kind of spell on Jillian, and Jillian was under its effects even after the interrogation was finished.

That said, we then join a conversation already in progress that begins with Jillian saying, "Oh, c'mon. He's not that bad. Really. For a royal." Presumably, this was immediately preceded by Wanda telling Jillian something negative about Ansom... part of a campaign of psychological manipulation to turn her against him?

But claiming that she controls her mind even if it's only emotional control is very in-character for Wanda....

How so? If anything, I think it's more in character for Wanda not to make claims that go one inch beyond the literal truth (e.g. admitting that the "perfect warlord" would not be "undefeatable", even though allowing Stanley to make that assumption would have have made it easier to convince him to fork over the shmuckers).

[Maxymiuk]

"Did you know your Overlord let the enemy get to those magic items out in the field?"

"You don't even know why that matters!"

"No, but you were embarassed about it. It seemed like a good comeback."


I love those little exchanges between Parson and Stanley.

[Glome]

It looks like Ansom is about ready to hand Parson everything he needs to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Consider how everything changes if Parson crushes Ansom and his group.

1. The leader of the Enemy coalition is captured. Potential for fracturing the alliance increases dramatically.

2. Another Arkentool is captured. If attuned, potentially very powerful weapon in hands of Stanley's army.

3. Ansom's alliance loses any hopes of air superiority. No ground troops have cover anymore or any way to hurt the Dwagons who can always end their turn in heavy forests or mountains.

4. The alliance also loses any real chance for recon without the doombats. Even before this their intelligence sucks, now they will have no idea what's going on, while Stanley with his lookamancers, air units, and battle plans know exactly what their opponent is up to are able to hit them where they are weakest.

Certainly the situation doesn't seem hopeless for Gobwin Knob anymore. All Parson has to do is crush Ansom's air squadron.

It appears it was a very good move letting Ansom get those magic items anyway. Not that Stanley would admit as much.

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

I don't think it does--Wanda could mean that Jillian is in love with her, or that she trusts her, and so Wanda can use that love/trust to manipulate Jillian into whatever she wants....Maybe using her as bait to lure out Ansom?

Yes, Miss Maerad says it well. I, for one, think that Wanda is using Jillian's little secret to have advantage on her. She's a royal, but it seems that she wants no one to know about it.

[ImperiousLeader]

Wanda rules.

[musicnerd]

I didn't really like Ansom but now I am feeling bad for him. Poor guy

[Kromag]

good comic, but I was surprised to hear the term 'psychology' thrown out there. By the rules of Erfworld I don't think such a concept would exist...

[Devoured_Dude]

It seems to me that Parson is the "ideal warlord" for the situation because he'll go along with Wanda's plans. Other than that, I don't yet see what he brings to the table.

[Maerad of Pellinor]

How so? If anything, I think it's more in character for Wanda not to make claims that go one inch beyond the literal truth (e.g. admitting that the "perfect warlord" would not be "undefeatable", even though allowing Stanley to make that assumption would have have made it easier to convince him to fork over the shmuckers).

Because of the way she's interacted with Jillian before--she feels (or at least seems to feel) completely in control whenever Jillian is the subject of conversation, and I think not just because right now Jillian is her prisoner.

And what we've seen of Jillian suggests that her mind is competely under the control of Wanda--maybe just becuase she's a prisoner in Gobwin Knob right now, but she'll still be a prisoner in the future.