Erfworld 43

[ss49]

Why do most Erfworld episode forum threads get started by someone with no comments about the comic, just a post asking what OUR comments are?
Seriously. I can see someone holding a generic comment in the clipboard and refreshing until the new comic posts, then Ctrl-V'ing into a new forum thread as fast as possible.

[archon_huskie]

Some people suggested that Charlie would be a Unicorn.
Some though Angel leader
Some went with Chocolate factory owner.

The answer?

A hybrid Angel/unicorn.


Made of Chocolate.

[Glome]

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.

Well ideally they would have found someone from Erfworld to lead Stanley's army. However, it's possible that the voluntarily serve Stanley would have excluded that possibility, if for example any military genuises in Erfworld at least know of Stanley and know what a war provoking schmuck he is and wouldn't voluntarily serve with him. It is also possible that the best possible solution to their military problem takes out of the box thinking that an Erfworlder would never come up.

The other possibility would be to bring an outworlder who was actually a military expert. Maybe bring a retired military officer who eats lucky charms for example. The problem with that is all their knowledge is based on one set of rules, and he would have more trouble adapting to a new set of combat rules such as found on Erfworld.

Parson on the other hand, is probably well versed in several combat systems, and understand as well as anyone how changing rules can change the game. He is also young, so it easier to adapt to a new rule set and fully intergrate into Erfworld thinking.

I think the choice in Parson is predicated on his command being a long term situation. That over time as he learns the rules of the game, his military insight will start to show through and surpass what could have been found elsewhere. After all, even if the battle of Gobwin Knob is won (and who knows how long that will take), that doesn't imply that the war is over.

[Jensik]

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

I don't think I get teh whole 'Charlie' thing, but whatever that guy is... looks AWESOME! Somebody needs to stat that race out so I can play it!

[Euphemism]

I don't think I get teh whole 'Charlie' thing, but whatever that guy is... looks AWESOME! Somebody needs to stat that race out so I can play it!

Pegataurs. Top Ballista. Original D&D. =)

[Scientivore]

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...

I don't understand. If anything, I would expect their psychology to be more refined than ours, thanks to insights gleaned through Thinkamancy. Our psychologists only wish they had a tool like that for their research.

[Icewalker]

Parson's reply: yes.

This'll come out quite well I think...

[SteveMB]

I don't think I get teh whole 'Charlie' thing

We last saw Ansom ordering "And someone get me Charlie" as part of his reaction to a hat message (we don't see the message, but it's clear that it's Webinar's report of finding Jillian's hat and sword).

He also ordered "every flying unit with move to the front of the column" (as seen in the last panel of the current page). Wanda expected this to be a likely outcome ("Ansom now knows we caught her" "Did he mass his flyers?"), and so now Stanley's side has an opportunity to exploit it and quite possibly take out the enemy's leader and air power.

Poor love-struck Ansom....

[Wooter]

I like Wanda's hair like that, with the chopsticks.

[Estelindis]

Some people suggested that Charlie would be a Unicorn.
Some though Angel leader
Some went with Chocolate factory owner.

The answer?

A hybrid Angel/unicorn.


Made of Chocolate.

Fan-tastic! Rob and Jamie rock.

[Xenon]

entire battle plan... ah, knowing where to put an ambush, and the bait to do it with. always fun.

[Maerad of Pellinor]

I don't understand. If anything, I would expect their psychology to be more refined than ours, thanks to insights gleaned through Thinkamancy. Our psychologists only wish they had a tool like that for their research.

I think Kromag meant that it's strange to see that word in Erfworld, not that it's strange that they have the concept in Erfworld....

[SteveMB]

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.

Jillian clearly surprised Wanda at the beginning of their latest session with her "Easy way" and "Let's both of us get out of here" statements. Given that, I don't think Wanda would describe her mundane psychological hold over Jillian (which I agree does exist, and is pretty strong) with a description as sweeping as "I control her mind".

Edit: Presuming that Wanda's control over Jillian has been cultivated over time (and isn't a new development arising from the spell she used at the start of this interrogation), does it relate to Jillian's almost-but-not-quite visit to Ansom's tent? Was her indecision, in whole or part, a conflict between some suggestion planted by Wanda and her own wishes -- and if so, which was driving her toward the tent and which finally pulled her away?

Another Edit: As noted below, I've somewhat revised this opinion. My interpretation now is that mental-influence magic was used to augment a psychological brainwashing process.

[Earendill]

The "Charlie Factor" - an unicorn angel made of chocolate convinces me once more that the authors are changing the details (minor or not) of their story based on forum reactions. Kinda like the lost poisoned arrow issue in OOTS. I think the whole Wanda/Jillian relationship was twisted to satisfy public demands too. I'll restrain from posting too much for a while.

[jami]

The "Charlie Factor" - an unicorn angel made of chocolate convinces me once more that the authors are changing the details (minor or not) of their story based on forum reactions.

Oh please. Don't you know a unipegataur when you see one?

[Demented]

The only way THAT could become more twisted is if it were a unipegataurcatgirl.



Also, Stanley is short!
I mean, I knew he was short, but... he's on a table and he's STILL shorter than Wanda! Bet the marbits pushed him around when he was a child.

[Ave]

Seems more and more then real hero of this story is Wanda. Parson and "The Tool" would be dead, dead, dead without her.

Parson would play his turn based game with his pals in the basement without Wanda.

[Mr Teufel]

Some people suggested that Charlie would be a Unicorn.
Some thought Angel leader
Some went with Chocolate factory owner.

The answer?

A hybrid Angel/unicorn.


Made of Chocolate.

Oh please. Don't you know a unipegataur when you see one?

Myth CONFIRMED!

[Ben_the_dragon]

i am sorry if this has already been pointed out, this is my first ever post here.

but i think we can close the book on if Jillian is under a spell or not. here is my evidence

The first page with wanda and jillan look at the colour of the spell she casts, and notice there is no radiating colour around Jillian yet.

the second page wanda's eyes still have the same colour of the spell she was casting, and now around Jillian there are little yellow dots.

and the last page of their litle encounter the second panal it seems to still have those little yellow dots, i could not make it out very well, but i did blow up the pic. to see if i could find something and even with the sprites there seems to be more disortion around Jillian's head then everyone else's but the 3rd panal, when she "only just feeling" her wounds, they are gone, i think the spell ended at the begining of the next turn. or at the upkeep phase.

i hope this has not already been pointed out. love both strips though. great job

[Emperor Demonking]

With all this information Wanda got why didn't the spell summon Wanda's clone.

[Pronounceable]

Wanda rocks. If she wasn't cutesy drawn, I'd be attracted to her.

About this Charlie: I get the angel and chocolate part, but where does the unicorn come from?

[factotum]

About this Charlie: I get the angel and chocolate part, but where does the unicorn come from?

Angels have a single horn in the middle of their forehead in your world, then?

[Scientivore]

i am sorry if this has already been pointed out, this is my first ever post here.

but i think we can close the book on if Jillian is under a spell or not. here is my evidence

<snip>

Some sharp eyes pointed out the sparklies at the time. However, it wasn't clear (to me anyway) whether it was a mind-reading spell or what. I now believe that it was a suggestibility spell.

If it was real mind control then she could simply order Jillian to tell her everything and whipping would be gratuitous. If it was just mind-reading then Jillian's crushed expression when it wore off (as if suddenly realizing something tragic) doesn't make much sense; and besides, I'd expect that it would be more effective in that case to play mind-games to trick Jillian into thinking about different things than to beat her. However, if the spell only increased suggestibility, then she could possibly do some fairly traditional brainwashing by combining it with pain conditioning.

[Pepz]

And now for something that has absolutely nothing to do with what has been said in the thread before:

Wanda, I love you, will you marry me?

seriously, leave that Zamussels broad and come with me to the magic kingdom, we can hang with the hippiemancers there and make fun of the man!

[20thLevelGeek]

The only thing that just occurred to me is that Wanda got Ansom's plan from Jillian, one way or another, but didn't Ansom announce his plan AFTER Jillian had left base and was captured? I'm not insinuating that Rob made a continuity error, only that maybe Jillian didn't know the entire plan, or maybe an old one.

Granted the two of them might have discussed this before she left, just because we didn't see it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. Ansom might have been planning it for a long time, and the general outline of his plan may have been well known among his battle commanders ... yet still. Wanda's overconfidence worries me slightly that she think she knows everything. We have already seen Ansom drastically changing his tactics do to Jillian's capture.

Edit: Bah Nevermind, I went back in re-read page 8, and Ansom starts right off with "The Plan remains intact". This is what I get for posting first and researching second ....

[SteveMB]

Some sharp eyes pointed out the sparklies at the time. However, it wasn't clear (to me anyway) whether it was a mind-reading spell or what. I now believe that it was a suggestibility spell.

If it was real mind control then she could simply order Jillian to tell her everything and whipping would be gratuitous. If it was just mind-reading then Jillian's crushed expression when it wore off (as if suddenly realizing something tragic) doesn't make much sense; and besides, I'd expect that it would be more effective in that case to play mind-games to trick Jillian into thinking about different things than to beat her. However, if the spell only increased suggestibility, then she could possibly do some fairly traditional brainwashing by combining it with pain conditioning.

I agree with this read -- the spell was some form of strong influence, but not total control. It makes sense of the use of torture and head games (the "good cop" conversation) -- even if that's one of Wanda's hobbies, she strikes me as too practical to waste time on her own amusement under these circumstances if there's a faster way to get the information her side needs.

(Edit: Yes, her side couldn't do anything with the information until the turns started at dawn. That simply shifts the issue to "how much intel can Wanda get before dawn?" rather than "how quickly can she make Jillian talk?", which isn't really all that different in practical terms.)

It's certainly more dramatically interesting if the degree of control Wanda has over Jillian took time and effort to build, and partly dependent on convincing Jillian to see things Wanda's way (e.g. Jillian's "He's not that bad. For a royal." comment at the start of page 38 only makes sense as a reply to some negative comment about Ansom).

Another Edit: Thinking about this gave me another idea that seemed to call for its own thread: "When Prisoner Says 'The Easy Way'..."

[Azukar]

Parson would play his turn based game with his pals in the basement without Wanda.

QTF

m-i-n-i-m-u-m-t-e-n-c-h-a-r-s-t-o-p-o-s-t

[Strengfellow]

Abso-smeging-lutely fan-chuffing-tastic, Wanda is just SO eggywellard.
We get to see the mucho maniacal Stan, And soon we get to see an uncroaked horde crush a bunch of pointys.

Life is good

Except part of me wants to save up the next ten parts or so and read them all at once, and the other part wants me to kidnap Rob and Jamie and force them to work with threats of soapy frogs and lederhosen.

[Seraph]

Wanda rocks. If she wasn't cutesy drawn, I'd be attracted to her.

About this Charlie: I get the angel and chocolate part, but where does the unicorn come from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus

"goddamit, they stole my kidneys!"

[SteveMB]

Wanda is just SO eggywellard.

Wanda is SO a lot of things, but booped if I can figure out what that word means.