98 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 88

[hajo]

Don't forget that Parson's gauntlet is worth half a million schmuckers. Possibly Parson could bribe Charlie with that item.

As far as we know, Charlie already has a profitable business on Erf, and it does not involve fighting for the main part.
Without leading troops, Parson's battle-calculator is of little interest to him/her(?), other than for its resale-value.

I think, during this call to Charlie, the most interesting information Parson is going to get is some basic information about contacting other sides, diplomacy, alliances, and perhaps how long his current contract with the royal alliance will last.

[ShinyBrowncoat]

Maybe it'll be waifs, and they'll all look like Summer Glau.

LOL. Either River or Cameron would be helpful to Parson's cause at this point...

[El_Chupacabra]

I would think that bribery would not be the best option here. There has to be some other tactic involved. Perhaps he's going to feed bad information to Charlie, or give a propaganda dispatch that suggests to Charlie that he's backing the wrong horse, here.

Not sure how that would tie in to his commands to Sizemore. Perhaps he's going to point out to Charlie that his own forces are heading for a Meat-Grinder of a target? Although given the Archons' power, that would be like warning the Americans about Japan's plan to arm its citizenry against Operation Downfall while the Enola Gay was enroute.

[Keri Thornwood]

So the dish, the toy hammer and the pliers, still not seeing a pattern here.

Some kind of Elvis memorabilia?

I can't believe Parson is really going to let the crazy witch boop with his mind.

[SteveMB]

I would think that bribery would not be the best option here. There has to be some other tactic involved. Perhaps he's going to feed bad information to Charlie, or give a propaganda dispatch that suggests to Charlie that he's backing the wrong horse, here.

Not sure how that would tie in to his commands to Sizemore. Perhaps he's going to point out to Charlie that his own forces are heading for a Meat-Grinder of a target? Although given the Archons' power, that would be like warning the Americans about Japan's plan to arm its citizenry against Operation Downfall while the Enola Gay was enroute.

He might be planning a bluff that he can and will take out the Archons even if he loses everything else.

[Astyanax]

If Stanley dies, or "starts a new side" do the troops at GK become rebels, with Parson as their leader?

I know that starting a new side was probably being said by Ansom with the idea that GK would be wiped out, but i thought i might ask if Stanley was really "starting a new side."

Also, when a leader of a faction dies, what happens to "disbanded" troops? Sizemore made it sound as if when a King dies, usually his troops are disbanded, but since Stanley was designated as his heir so that did not happen.

Would Parson become a leader of a rebel faction of some kind? Or would they all just disappear?

Sorry i did not link the comics and stuff, i am short on time for this post, and am unfamiliar with linking to this forum. It's just normal HTML though, right?

Maybe Parson's continued survival hinges on Stanley's comment: "Your upkeep will be paid as long as the city stands. Even you, Hamster."

If what happened to Jillian when Faq fell is any indication, perhaps units can survive so long as they have leaders and upkeep? I'm not too sure of the particulars, however.

[Jordite]

If it's the name that makes stanley worthy (Like the "Stanley Tools"), than it would make sense that Wanda is attuned to the pliers. (See: "Wanda" is a kind of pliers, search google for "Wanda Plier").
If that's the case, it would also explain why Ansom isn't attuned. There is no such thing as a plier named "Ansom", while there is one named "Wand".

EDIT: I was the one the person above me was talking about.

Also: "Charlie" is the name of a Dish-network.

There's also a Parsons Table...

[fractal]

I would think that bribery would not be the best option here. There has to be some other tactic involved. Perhaps he's going to feed bad information to Charlie, or give a propaganda dispatch that suggests to Charlie that he's backing the wrong horse, here.

Bad information to a master of Thinkamancy? Sounds like a losing proposition.

[WagnerSika]

Parsons sword is beginning to look suspiciously like Conans sword from the movies. Compare the first frame on the last row where Bogroll is fitting the sword pieces together http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0096.html
with the picture here here
especially the larger picture.

Edit: Should have read the thread about 96, where this was discussed already.

[Emo Samurai]

Parson gets the Arkentable.

That would be booping perfect. Stanley gets the hammer because he's infantry, Wanda gets the pliers because she's manipulative, Charlie gets the dish because he's corporate, and Parson gets the table because he's a strategist.

[Frictional]

Theres a very strong possibility that Parson could still afford Charlie's price.
Stanley paid 350k for the spell that summoned Parson, while they could have afforded a 500k price. So we know that they have at least another 150k in the treasury. (Assuming there wasn't some sort of deficit spending going on between then and now.)

Charlie's thinkagram prices, meanwhile, were somewhere in the area of 2500 shmuckers, which Jillian considered really expensive (Far from "nominal."), and also mentions that she spent almost her entire purse on that. So, she can't be carrying that much money around, despite that she was a royal at one point. I assume she's still spending upkeep on her own Gwiffons and such, so she has to have an income from somewhere, which I'll assume is Ansom since he is, for lack of a better term, hiring her.

So, what price would Charlie charge for sending 3 archons to help in a fight?
Two hundred thousand? More? Parson would be able to, or get really close to, affording that. Of course, since he's hiring Charlie from straight out from under the other alliance, he'll have to beat the price. If Parson can't afford it already, he'll have to weigh whether the Calculations armband would be worth a trade for the alliance, because we know that's probably his most valuable item he's gotten so far.

[stm177]

Some kind of Elvis memorabilia?

I can't believe Parson is really going to let the crazy witch boop with his mind.

An Elvis costume, a croquet mallet, an old satellite dish, and pliers could be found in a garage sale or flea market. Yeah, that's tenuous and meaningless. I can't come up with anything else right now.

I'm not seeing what Parson could offer Charlie. Charlie seems like one of those mercenary outposts you find on RTS maps sometimes. Either side can buy troops from them, but they don't actually become a faction to be conquered.

Maybe Charlie can offer a way out of Gobwin Knob for the casters and Parson? I'm not actually sure if Parson can defect, though.

[rosebud]

One thing I like -- notice how Parson looks an awful lot like David Doyle's Mr. Bosley.

It's annoying to see things purely in terms of schmuckers. GK needs the treasury right now. And I'd like Parson to keep his watch. There's other forms of payment. Especially when you can explore the Free Will question in terms of alliances.

[the_tick_rules]

so it was an arken tool, you were right people.

[El_Chupacabra]

Methinks the sword won't be an Arkentool; too easy.

However, one possibility is that the sword does provide the Leadership boost that Stanley was originally seeking, to make whoever wields it look INCREDIBLY fearsome to opponents.

I keep on thinking of the Star Wars Poster where Luke is holding the Lightsaber aloft, Leia around his feet. Or Army of Darkness, where Ash has the chainsaw hand and is protecting Sheila from the Deadites coming out of a pit.

All he has to do is stand tall and look badass.

[hajo]

Arkentable. .. Stanley gets the hammer because he's infantry, Wanda gets the pliers because she's manipulative, Charlie gets the dish because he's corporate, and Parson gets the table because he's a strategist.

... and Sizemore gets the arkenshovel

[Monan]

References of Vulcan mind melds from Star Trek, and Mork and Mindy! This comic is freakin great!!!!

[Hell Puppi]

... and Sizemore gets the arkenshovel

Now I'm just imagining Sizemore going batboop insane and whacking people on the head with a shovel.

[El_Chupacabra]

Just noticed this, here, that Parson believes they could have had an Ally in Charlie, and that Stanley was the actual obstacle. So whatever Parson is thinking, it isn't that much of a long shot.

[SteveMB]

Just noticed this, here, that Parson believes they could have had an Ally in Charlie, and that Stanley was the actual obstacle. So whatever Parson is thinking, it isn't that much of a long shot.

The main obstacles are 1)his resources are paltry compared to the Coalition's (though it's just barely possible that he has more actual cash on hand) and 2)now that he's hired forces out to one side, he might no longer be willing (or able, depending on how the rules for alliances work) to consider offers from the other side (a reputation for not staying bought could be bad for business later).

[fractal]

(a reputation for not staying bought could be bad for business later).

On the other hand, with the proper price structure (for initial hirings and for turning coat) you might motivate sides to rush to hire you before the other side can, while still ideally provoking a bidding war.

Say it costs 70K to hire your Archons initially, 150K to get you to turn coat, 160K to get you to turn back, then 170K, 180K, etc.

Now suppose that the going rate for 3 Archons is 120K. Sure, you could have charged that from the outset. However, this way, you're a great deal for team A at 70K. On the other hand, team B can effectively pay 70K to remove you from team A, and then 80K to get you to join - still a great deal. Team A can then pay 80K to get you off of team B, and 80K to get you to join them, etc.

Each team is motivated to pay, especially since it will cost the other team even more to undo what they just did. However, it's amazing for you, since you're effectively selling virtual Archons which you never have to deliver. They'll each keep paying until the price to change sides gets up to 240K, for a total profit of 2020K. Not bad for your 120K Archons.

[Vreejack]

Maybe Parson's continued survival hinges on Stanley's comment: "Your upkeep will be paid as long as the city stands. Even you, Hamster."

If what happened to Jillian when Faq fell is any indication, perhaps units can survive so long as they have leaders and upkeep? I'm not too sure of the particulars, however.

Stanley has no heir; therefore, if he dies then all of his units are disbanded, including Parson. Jillian survived because she was the heir. She could have gone back to Faq and reclaimed it much as Stanley reclaimed Gobwin Knob after Saline IV had died.

It is not clear whether the units are disbanded immediately or perhaps later, such as when their upkeep is due. This might give them time to surrender to or be captured by another Overlord once Stanley is gone.


The Wizard of Oz If Charlie is from Earth, then he might be something like the Wizard of Oz. It sounds like a rather casual reference, though. Clearly Charlie has real power, whereas the Wizard only has the gullibility of his followers.

[Shalewind]

On the other hand, with the proper price structure (for initial hirings and for turning coat) you might motivate sides to rush to hire you before the other side can, while still ideally provoking a bidding war.

I agree a lot with the principle of this strategy. It also brings to mind another point. Real world strategies don’t really have a place on Erfworld (the Erfians don’t seem to think out of the rules), but there is no reason why such strategies and concepts can’t work.

For instance, if Charlie is a real guy with a knowledge of capitalism, his corporate outlook would give him a huge advantage if he didn’t get crushed before getting it off the ground. And it seems he’s doing quite well for himself. His “alien and strange” thinking puts him above the Erfians because he thinks out of the box, out of the rules perhaps.

Parson could do the same. He can think out of the box. If he knew all the rules, he could use his precision tactics to exploit every hole in the system I’d imagine. If he can get his own little enterprise off the ground…

[Arkenputtyknife]

Say it costs 70K to hire your Archons initially, 150K to get you to turn coat, 160K to get you to turn back, then 170K, 180K, etc.

Works fine until one side gets mad and turns on you. Then you find you don't have any allies, because everyone else is happy to see you go down, too.

[Maelore]

... and Sizemore gets the arkenshovel

Not that far fetched

Patent #1449702
Patented Mar. 27, 1923.
JAMES B. SIZEMORE, OF CANEBRAKE, WEST VIRGINIA.
SHOVEL.

[Grey Knight]

I was thinking about an "Arkensaw" too, although the introduction of the Arkendish throws off the most literal interpretation of "tool", so now I'm not so sure. The comments on Charlie's strangeness might indicate that he's not from Erfworld as a few people have already commented; but does that necessarily mean he's from Earthworld?

[Gamebird]

Not that far fetched

Patent #1449702
Patented Mar. 27, 1923.
JAMES B. SIZEMORE, OF CANEBRAKE, WEST VIRGINIA.
SHOVEL.

Huh. Creepy.

[Grey Watcher]

I don't think there's necessarily anything about the Arkendish particular to Thinkamancy. Rather, it could be that Charlie himself is a Thankamancer, and the Arkendish is simply providing him with more power than he could normally wield. In which case, it isn't much more to Charlie than a divine megaphone.

[Balance]

There may be an aspect of this communication we're overlooking.

While I'm sure Parson would love to get Charlie on his side, there could be other advantages, even if Charlie turns him down. Parson knows that Charlie has archons working for Ansom, therefore, Charlie is a potential conduit for information--or misinformation.

I doubt that Parson will manage to get any intel from Charlie that he doesn't already have, but he could conceivably plant information, with the intention of having it filter back to the archons, and thence to Ansom. Even simply allowing Charlie to learn some true information could be useful. At this point, for example, Parson doesn't know what Jillian has deduced about Stanley's desertion--he could plan to either tell Charlie outright or let him find out from the contact, in hopes of dividing Ansom's forces. He could have a false plan in mind that he will "try to hide", and let Charlie "discover" it. Any disinformation Parson manages to spread could be helpful.

It would be a risky gambit, but I suspect Parson is willing to try desperate measures at this point.

[multilis]

It is not yet clear Stanley is heading for Faq, he could also be heading for Charlie (after noticing that Charlie had hired out most of his mercenaries) to get his tool.