Erfworld Thread X: A Series of Unfortunate Cliffhangers

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Erfworld is an online comic about a table top gamer named Parson Gotti that is summoned from our world to the world of Erf, a world based on its own rules that function similarly to a table top game. This makes Parson, very experienced in gaming, becomes a valuable player in a game that may very well threaten his life. Does he want to go back to his own world at all, or is this world the perfect place for a gamer such as himself? Is he really dreaming? Will he be there forever? Who knows! What we DO know is that in this world, the pieces are living things, and the stakes cannot be higher. Join Parson on this wild ride filled with real world (or to the Erfworlders - Stupid World) references and puns, gaming homages and glory, fate and chance.

Previous incarnations:
GitP: Erfworld Forum section (Locked)
Erfworld thread I
Erfworld thread II: Finally thinking with portals, over a year later
Erfworld thread III: As the Erf Turns
Erfworld thread IV: In Memory of King Saline
Erfworld thread V: Baddie Will Not Post In Thread
Erfworld Thread VI: +10 vs Fat Guys From Ohio
Erfworld Thread VII: No Consensus, Left Unsealed
Erfworld Thread VIII: VIIInnie, VIIIdi, VIIIci
Erfworld Thread IX: By the Flower and Gray Skull

Currently we are on page 269 of Book 3.

Also, please SPOILER your comments for the first three posts about an update that has occurred.

[Welf]

I felt artsy today.

[DigoDragon]

If they go that route, it needs to be with a "Status Revok-ed" sound effect.

Yes, I do agree that would be the way to go. :3


Charlie can see through that little action figure in the minecart, right? Wonder what he thinks of Isaac.

[stsasser]

Will any be resolved before 'Erfworld Thread XI: ?" ?

[-D-]

Will any be resolved before 'Erfworld Thread XI: ?" ?

Sadly, only god knows that. I'm pretty sure Rob is as confused as we are

[Cazero]

Charlie can see through that little action figure in the minecart, right? Wonder what he thinks of Isaac.

It's very likely that Isaac "killed" it at some point. Possibly at the same time he killed the archons.

[DigoDragon]

It's very likely that Isaac "killed" it at some point. Possibly at the same time he killed the archons.

Hmm, I suppose that's possible, but I would like to get confirmation. Maybe Isaac wants Charlie to "see his handiwork" from the temple collapse. Shake up the guy and scare him into making a mistake.

[eschmenk]

It's very likely that Isaac "killed" it at some point. Possibly at the same time he killed the archons.

That makes sense, but whether or not he did, Charlie suffered a major setback and presumably will be reacting very badly as a result. The thought of loosing Tondy was enough to make him cry earlier, and now she's gone. Even if he doesn't know about Isaac, he probably suspects that his attack on the GMs didn't stop them somehow. He might even worry that he's got some unknown powerful enemy. Knowing that it was Isaac might actually help Charlie narrow his focus.

[halfeye]

Tondy is a huge loss to Charlie, and potentially a huge gain for GK if she can be decrypted, but for that Wanda would need the pliers, and that means getting to a useable portal.

[DigoDragon]

I'm expecting Charlie to "use the nuclear option" and outright obliterate the MK with some kind of secret weapon. We know he can replicate explosives. Portal in a bomb that will shatter the portal and cause a chain reaction at the park?

[eschmenk]

We know he can replicate explosives.

Do we know Charlie can do that? I thought Ivan was required to make explosives.

[DigoDragon]

Do we know Charlie can do that? I thought Ivan was required to make explosives.

I would be surprised if he didn't have a stockpile. Charlie's got guns piled up in places around the tower, including a rocket launcher which went to fun use.

[Anteros]

It's very likely that Isaac "killed" it at some point. Possibly at the same time he killed the archons.

I kinda doubt it. Despite it making perfect sense to kill it, nothing important ever happens off-panel or is implied to happen. It would have gotten its own update.

[eschmenk]

I kinda doubt it. Despite it making perfect sense to kill it, nothing important ever happens off-panel or is implied to happen. It would have gotten its own update.

I wouldn't go that far. We weren't shown Parson and Caesar working out their gems-in-trust plan, which I think could turn out to be important. Nor did we see what sort of agreement was reached between Isaac and Wanda and Claud nor if they joined Isaac an in the same way that Ivan did. And no, croaking the doll probably wouldn't get its own update. It could have been handled easily by adding an eighth string to the seven Archon strings that Isaac cut and maybe adding another little yarn doll to that image on page 264. If Isaac croaked it a little later, it would have needed just one or two panels at most.

Since the number of strings cut corresponded exactly to the number of Archons, I doubt Isaac cut the doll's string, at least not initially. Logically, even if Isaac didn't find out some other way, Isaac would probably have needed to be warned to not step in the tar and would probably notice the doll while trying to avoid doing so, but by that point it would probably already be too late to keep Charlie from finding out about Isaac.

[Anteros]

I wouldn't go that far. We weren't shown Parson and Caesar working out their gems-in-trust plan, which I think could turn out to be important. Nor did we see what sort of agreement was reached between Isaac and Wanda and Claud nor if they joined Isaac an in the same way that Ivan did. And no, croaking the doll probably wouldn't get its own update. It could have been handled easily by adding an eighth string to the seven Archon strings that Isaac cut and maybe adding another little yarn doll to that image on page 264. If Isaac croaked it a little later, it would have needed just one or two panels at most.

Since the number of strings corresponded exactly to the number of Archons, I doubt Isaac cut the doll's string, at least not initially. Logically, even if Isaac didn't find out some other way, Isaac would probably have needed to be warned to not step in the tar and would probably notice the doll while trying to avoid doing so, but by that point it would probably already be too late to keep Charlie from finding out about Isaac.

You're assuming that most of those things don't still have an update coming. We'll definitely get updates about at least some of that stuff in much more depth.

[halfeye]

I wonder whether Charlie would be ready to pay to get a decrypted Tondy back?

[DataNinja]

I wonder whether Charlie would be ready to pay to get a decrypted Tondy back?

I mean, he was ready to pay for Lilith, so, I'd probably say yes. The bigger question, I'd say, is if that did happen, whether he'd be willing to attempt to tear her apart like Lilith.

[eschmenk]

You're assuming that most of those things don't still have an update coming. We'll definitely get updates about at least some of that stuff in much more depth.

Please be careful of what you are accusing me of assuming. I actually do think that we will probably find out more about the trust arrangement and about what is going between Wanda and Isaac and maybe Claud and Isaac. Still, I doubt that we will retroactively see the actual negotiations and planning take place between Parson and Caesar, for example. We'll probably just find out what the results were later. If that strategy is important, the negotiations and any planning for it were also important, but were skipped. Yes, that's a narrow point, but I was specifically addressing what you had said earlier.

I'll also note that you seemed to ignore the possibility that we would find out about something later. Specifically, you apparently concluded that Isaac probably hadn't killed the doll already because we hadn't seen it happen yet. You seem to have thougth it was unlikely that we would find out later that it had been killed. Personally, IDK, but I wouldn't rule that out. Your accusation seems a bit ironic in light of that, though.

I acknowledge that at one my sentences, "We weren't shown Parson and Caesar working out their gems-in-trust plan, which I think could turn out to be important," could be interpreted two different ways. I had meant that the negotiations could turn out to be important, but it could have been read as me saying that I expected the plan to be important, but that second interpretation is the worse interpretation. It would probably have been a mistake for me to have assumed that we wouldn't find out more about the plan, so I probably wasn't talking about the plan itself. Please don't jump to the conclusion that I made such a mistake.

[guttering flame]

In page 165, Ivan warns Wanda not to load guns into the cart in case the doll steals one and shoots them.

[Anteros]

Please be careful of what you are accusing me of assuming. I actually do think that we will probably find out more about the trust arrangement and about what is going between Wanda and Isaac and maybe Claud and Isaac. Still, I doubt that we will retroactively see the actual negotiations and planning take place between Parson and Caesar, for example. We'll probably just find out what the results were later. If that strategy is important, the negotiations and any planning for it were also important, but were skipped. Yes, that's a narrow point, but I was specifically addressing what you had said earlier.

I'll also note that you seemed to ignore the possibility that we would find out about something later. Specifically, you apparently concluded that Isaac probably hadn't killed the doll already because we hadn't seen it happen yet. You seem to have thougth it was unlikely that we would find out later that it had been killed. Personally, IDK, but I wouldn't rule that out. Your accusation seems a bit ironic in light of that, though.

I acknowledge that at one my sentences, "We weren't shown Parson and Caesar working out their gems-in-trust plan, which I think could turn out to be important," could be interpreted two different ways. I had meant that the negotiations could turn out to be important, but it could have been read as me saying that I expected the plan to be important, but that second interpretation is the worse interpretation. It would probably have been a mistake for me to have assumed that we wouldn't find out more about the plan, so I probably wasn't talking about the plan itself. Please don't jump to the conclusion that I made such a mistake.

I feel like you're more concerned with picking at my words and starting an argument than the comments themselves here. Quit being pedantic and nit-picking.

[eschmenk]

I feel like you're more concerned with picking at my words and starting an argument than the comments themselves here. Quit being pedantic and nit-picking.

What else was there to address? Your previous comment contained only two sentences. One was an accusation that I had supposedly assumed something and the other merely stated something obvious as if I didn't already know it. There was nothing decent about the comic itself for me to respond to. I have been going out of my way to avoid wording things in ways that would seem too argumentative. From my point of view, it seems that you're the one who is being rather rude and provoking arguments, not me.

As far your implied accusation that I was being "pedantic and nit-picking," you had said earlier, "...nothing important ever happens off-panel or is implied to happen." Yet, on the current page, a couple of important things are implied to have happened, but we didn't see them. It's hardly nit-picking to point out that something you said never happens happened twice on the current page.

[Anteros]

What else was there to address? Your previous comment contained only two sentences. One was an accusation that I had supposedly assumed something and the other merely stated something obvious as if I didn't already know it. There was nothing decent about the comic itself for me to respond to. I have been going out of my way to avoid wording things in ways that would seem too argumentative. From my point of view, it seems that you're the one who is being rather rude and provoking arguments, not me.

As far your implied accusation that I was being "pedantic and nit-picking," you had said earlier, "...nothing important ever happens off-panel or is implied to happen." Yet, on the current page, a couple of important things are implied to have happened, but we didn't see them. It's hardly nit-picking to point out that something you said never happens happened twice on the current page.

I'm tired of arguing with you. I'm sorry if I offended you, but I don't have any interest in continuing this argument.

[Zalabim]

New Page

Spoiler: The plan in action

Show

So Claude makes golems in the MK, sends them through CC's broken base portal, GK pays a 500K gem for invading CC, the golem trips one or more traps and CC pays 5M for each hit. Ivan knows where the traps are, Big Think read Parson's notes, and figured out how to give their casters enough juice to keep up the assault. I assume Roger was supposed to call Ivan and tell him when they're ready to go forward with the plan.

This reveal also voids the unspoken plan warranty.

[DigoDragon]

New Page

Spoiler: The plan in action

Show

So Claude makes golems in the MK, sends them through CC's broken base portal, GK pays a 500K gem for invading CC, the golem trips one or more traps and CC pays 5M for each hit. Ivan knows where the traps are, Big Think read Parson's notes, and figured out how to give their casters enough juice to keep up the assault. I assume Roger was supposed to call Ivan and tell him when they're ready to go forward with the plan.

This reveal also voids the unspoken plan warranty.

Spoiler: New Page

Show

Wow that's complex juggling of contractual elements to make everything even out. Parson should be a lawyer by the time he's done with Erfworld.

[eschmenk]

New Page

Spoiler: The plan in action

Show

So Claude makes golems in the MK, sends them through CC's broken base portal, GK pays a 500K gem for invading CC, the golem trips one or more traps and CC pays 5M for each hit. Ivan knows where the traps are, Big Think read Parson's notes, and figured out how to give their casters enough juice to keep up the assault. I assume Roger was supposed to call Ivan and tell him when they're ready to go forward with the plan.

This reveal also voids the unspoken plan warranty.

Spoiler

Show

I don't think Parson has contacted Isaac or learned anything about him (or the other things going on under the MK) since the time Isaac merely said, "Deiform." My interpretation is that Parson is expecting to contact Ivan via Roger and explain this gambit to him for the first time. I don't expect Parson to wind up going ahead with the gambit--I think it will wind up being hijacked by Isaac.

[Doran]

Spoiler: New page

Show

So I was wrong then - they aren't gems containing magic juice, but 500K gems.

I wonder if each major gem amount has a different size?

Like charlie has a few enormous 100 million gems in his account. I wonder who the moneymancer is Charlie uses to make them? Maybe some kind of secret signamancy contract to go along with it.

[halfeye]

Spoiler: New Page

Show

Wow that's complex juggling of contractual elements to make everything even out. Parson should be a lawyer by the time he's done with Erfworld.

Parson is about to (hopefully, if Roger doesn't try to kill Ivan and Claude without talking or otherwise mess up communications) find out that Charlie already thought of all of that, and Parson is just getting up to speed with what Charlie was thinking when the contract was written.

Spoiler: New page

Show

So I was wrong then - they aren't gems containing magic juice, but 500K gems.

I wonder if each major gem amount has a different size?

Like charlie has a few enormous 100 million gems in his account. I wonder who the moneymancer is Charlie uses to make them? Maybe some kind of secret signamancy contract to go along with it.

I don't remember Charlie having big 100 m gems, I remember him having 600+ million schmuckers worth of gems, which might be big ones, but it could equally be lots and lots of small ones (but it's perfectly possible I forgot).

[Doran]

I wonder if you could make regenerating gem golems that use up bits of themselves for healing?

Maybe a dirtamancer/moneymancer link, since a dirtamancer can heal his golems.

[Jasdoif]

I wonder if you could make regenerating gem golems that use up bits of themselves for healing?

Maybe a dirtamancer/moneymancer link, since a dirtamancer can heal his golems.

Some sort of "restore hits at the cost of max hits" special?

[Doran]

Some sort of "restore hits at the cost of max hits" special?

More like the golem has its own personal huge purse, which means it pays it's own upkeep, but it can also heal itself, at the cost of the gems downgrading over time.

Should a caster have a bonus against units made by the same type of caster? Turn/rebuke undead for a croakamancer for example.