Is Parson REALLY the Ultimate Warlord?

[Nerd_Paladin]

I think it's an interesting question. On the one hand, he does fill some of the criteria laid out by the spell, mainly, being a tactical genius. But I believe there's lots of evidence indicating that he may not be the intended target of the spell after all.

For starters, the fact that Wanda was first forced to cast a spell that she really doesn't understand and then was harassed by Stanley whilst in the process means there's a pretty good chance she screwed up somewhere. Parson's Warlord Bonus is surprisingly low (although we don't know what the maximum bonus is, I'm guessing it's a hell of a lot higher than 2), and his disfamiliarity with the rules is obviously a glaring liability, on top of having no real military experience of any kind. And even the criteria he does fit are shaky; Stanley wanted someone who "snacks on gwiffins" but obviously Paron's Peep-heavy diet is not what he had in mind.

It all remains to be seen of course, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that in the end it all turns out to be a massive mistake/misunderstanding.

[Glome]

Assuming that the multiverse isn't infinite in regards to the comic, then it is possible that Wanda did find the best warlord out there that fit all of Stanley's criteria (ignoring the comeliness aspects which were later dropped due to difficultly of zeroing in on anyone). Ideally, she would have picked someone from her own world. However, how many strategic genuises existed in the world who were physically big, snacked on gwiffons and marbits (the spell may have interpreted this literally) and were willing to voluntarily serve Stanley?

If the answer was none, then she may have had no choice but to find a warlord on other planes, most of which would have been too dissimilar to fulfill the criteria of everything seeming familiar and safe. As for military experience, it might have actually been a drawback in this case since strategies that worked well with Earth tactics might not do so well with Erf physics. Parson has the advantage of being well versed in multiple combat systems and has a better understanding of how changing physical rules changes strategy more then a military expert.

It is very well possible that a findamancer would have successfully summoned someone more in keeping with what Stanley really wanted instead of the irrelevant criteria he laid out (i.e., a true ultimate warlord), but I don't think Wanda did all that bad with the criteria she was handed. This is especially the case when you consider that she is grabbing someone from a different universe entirely, which makes finding someone who would find any of Erfworld familar pretty unlikely at that.

[Erk]

In short: Nope. Wanda's lack of skill resulted in the spell being taken literally. Parson has the potential to be the Perfect Warlord, but at the moment he has some fundamental flaws brought in by the overdose of criteria on an undertrained caster.

[Ave]

Only nerds play turn based wargames all other 'ultimate warlords' would find Erfworld completely alien and wouldn't be so cooperative.
No findamancer would have done it better :)

[Erk]

Well, assuming there are infinite possible realities, a better findamancer would have found a warlord of fantastic skill from a world very much like Erfworld who had already been through and survived a very similar battle using essentially identical mechanics. Who lived for combat, and was eager to relive that glory.

[mirrorshades]

Only nerds play turn based wargames all other 'ultimate warlords' would find Erfworld completely alien and wouldn't be so cooperative.
No findamancer would have done it better :)

I agree with this -- because of the mechanics of Erfworld (i.e. a turn-based wargame/strategy game), someone like Hannibal or Ghengis Khan would be at a severe disadvantage. They need someone who understands turn-based warfare; thus, they got a gamer.

A lot of the other qualities that Stanley spoke of -- despite Wanda's stating she couldn't get them -- fit in as well. Someone who was big, someone who snacked on gwiffons (Peeps), someone who wanted to be there (Parson's soliloquy), someone who breathes the air, etc.... Despite Wanda's complaints during the casting, she herself has said that she is well-versed in other magical arts (such as Findamancy, for example), so my guess is that she did as well as the people from whom they bought the spell would have done.

[Klev]

Also there was several indications that Parson actually build this scenario.Or something very similar at least.