99 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 89

[El_Chupacabra]

Hm.... Parson hits a scout group with excessive force, then asks the rhetorical question of Charlie, "How are you doing for Mathamancers these days?"

It's still possible he's selling his gauntlet or services, but a third option is possible. He might be warning Charlie off somehow. Perhaps he's going to demand Charlie withdraw, by claiming he can turn Godwin Knob into Stalingrad, possibly even targeting his Archons in order to make a military win a financial loss for Charlie? Unless Charlie's scouting capability is of high quality, there might be some uncertainty in his assessment of Parson's force composition, and if he doesn't have a Mathamancer, Parson's skill might be convincing enough to make Charlie think twice about the ease of this battle.

I can't put my finger on it, but somehow the excessive force command might not have been intended so much for Ansom as for his allies, especially those with interests in force preservation.

[SquireJames]

I pretty much feel like Parson Has a Plan, even if his little talk with Charlie goes south. I do not get the sense that Parson is changing sides, because that would fit the definition of "terms of surrender". He's either pawning off his half-million smucker item or selling his use of it, I'm pretty sure. At least, that's what he's doing on the surface.

Even getting another good chunk of money might help. Perhaps he can spend it a little better than Stanley and Wanda did (which, of course, would mean Stanley and Wanda actually made a good purchase, partially negating that statement).

[multilis]

As I have said before it is possible that Stanley is about to visit Charlie.

[zeropsm]

Does Charlie's communication looks like Charles Xavier kind of 'powers'?

Prolly I'm wrong...but I just got this funny feeling

[VaeVictis]

It's entirely possible that Parson's gambit is to get Charlie "Hooked on Mathamancy(tm)" then feed him bad information at a crucial moment. Since every faction in Erforld seems critically dependent on somekindamancy, perhaps Parson's playing to that need.

My money's on Parson either offering use of his mathamancy skills or trying to bluff Charlie into thinking he's more powerful than he really is. Pretty sure Parson realizes the power of his artifact and wouldn't be willing to sell it for something as paltry as cash.

also... f1rst p0st!1!11

[Arkenputtyknife]

Parson does not have that kind of freedom. the spell that summoned him here forces him to work for Stanely and if he does not then the spell will end him.

No, it forces him to obey Stanley's orders. If Stanley has not given him an explicit order, Parson — as Chief Warlord of GK — can do pretty much as he likes (within the rules), as we've seen: for example, Parson did not laugh at Stanley's bad joke until he was ordered to. Note that before leaving, Stanley was furiously wondering whether he had been betrayed, not only by Parson but also by Wanda and the others, implying that a degree of free will was understood.

It's possible that by abandoning GK, Stanley also abandoned his control over Parson, but that's not clear. Regardless, Stanley is away from GK and has no apparent means of giving Parson orders.

Stanley has never, as far as we know, ordered Parson to defend GK to the death; to not cut a deal with Charlie; to not sell his services; to not surrender; to do or not do any number of things. Parson has considerable freedom.

But having the threat of Stanley's wrath hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles is a big plot point. Parson can act, but he has to be careful not to activate the spell's threat by going against Stanley's explicit commands. But that's the only control Stanley has over him. Even if Stanley has abandoned his control, total annihilation is something Parson can't casually risk.

[glissle]

Hm.... Parson hits a scout group with excessive force, then asks the rhetorical question of Charlie, "How are you doing for Mathamancers these days?"

It's still possible he's selling his gauntlet or services, but a third option is possible. He might be warning Charlie off somehow. Perhaps he's going to demand Charlie withdraw, by claiming he can turn Godwin Knob into Stalingrad, possibly even targeting his Archons in order to make a military win a financial loss for Charlie?

While I don't think that's Parson's plan, I am reminded of a scene from the film Made. A "good guy" with a revolver is intimidating thugs with melee weapons, when their leader observes that they outnumber his bullets and would surely take him down. His response:

What, are you an odds maker? You're going to work everyone through this thing here? Let me tell you something, boopo, if that booper right there don't take that knife away from my friend's neck, I'll use all six shots to make sure you're dead.

(That was one incredibly annoying character - he talked like Belkar but was usually less effective than Elan. )

[ishnar]

Well, I think I can quell two rumored ideas with this one comic. First of all I believe Charlie to be a resident of Erf. He uses the same font as Tool, and all of the others, so I think it's fair to say.

The other thing would be that I'm fairly sure that Charlie is a man. His company is Charlescomm not Charliecom. Charles is a male name, or at least I think so, as I've never heard of a woman named Charles before.

Those are my two main points. So I'm out.

Charlie could be short for Charlotte as much as Charles. Just like Mike could be short for Michael or Michelle.

[Glome]

Charlie could be short for Charlotte as much as Charles. Just like Mike could be short for Michael or Michelle.

Technically it could, but it reality it very rarely gets shorted that way. Besides, Charlie is a guy in Charlie's angels which this is a take off on. Like in Charlie's angels, we may never actually get to see Charlie. He's undoubtedly speaking in a guy's voice, otherwise Parson would probably remark on that fact that Charlie was a woman.

[Luvlein]

Charlie could be short for Charlotte as much as Charles. Just like Mike could be short for Michael or Michelle.

You didn't read the text you quoted, did you?

His company is Charlescomm not Charliecom.

[ishnar]

Technically it could, but it reality it very rarely gets shorted that way. Besides, Charlie is a guy in Charlie's angels which this is a take off on. Like in Charlie's angels, we may never actually get to see Charlie. He's undoubtedly speaking in a guy's voice, otherwise Parson would probably remark on that fact that Charlie was a woman.

This is a story, and stories rarely follow reality frequency conventions. When Odysseus said his name was Noone. Did the cyclops say, "Wow, I've never heard anyone by that name before. Are you sure that's your real name?"

His company is Charlescomm not Charliecom.

That really doesn't matter. Charlie does get changed to Charle's in the possessive. Even Charles'com is missing a apostrophe, so it all comes down to where the missing apostrophe goes.

Not that I think Charles is a girl, I'm just pointing out that the name is not sufficient evidence to draw a conclusion.

[Zael Zuran]

I could see Parson attempting to defect to Charlie's side with his valuable (non disposable) units, in Stanley's absence.

It would help explain all the tunnel digging Sizemore has been up to. Ansom's forces could get tangled up in a maze of tunnels and traps while Parson and Co. make a break for it. That would just leave Jillian and Vinny to contend with. Who knows what the Archons would do if such a deal were brokered with Charlie?

There is also the matter of whether Stanley can really kill Parson with a thought on discovering the betrayal.

Meh, who knows? All of those scenarios are possibilities in the comic as of now. Something completely different is likely to happen.

[exalted_mugwump]

Several points come to mind:

Parson is not bluffing, Charles is a can clearly read minds as light exercise. Even with some limited protection, I think Charles would see a lie.

I don't think parson will defect, he's loyal to some people and it wouldn't fit his mindset, he's playing to beat the challenge layed before him, not mearly survive it.

The archons are powerful, but limited in number, and has we have seen by the force totals in parsons stupid meal, a tiny fraction of the overall attacking strength. Having them stop or defect is minor.

For main tactics, we know that Ansom's has poor recon, and parson knows his plans. We've seen him have sizemore crush a forward marbit stack, that he knows is a diversion. Therefore he's pretending to have fallen for the marbit distraction. Charlescomm is critical to ansom for communication. It also occurs to me that parson can get charles's help, with him breaking any contracts. Charles will deliver messages for fees and has lent his archons, but my mind boggles what mayhem and distruption could be caused my the sending of some extra messages, that supposedly coming from ansom's various. To start with, the marbits. That's my prediction on how parson plans to cuase the alliance to start to crack. The marbits are a considerable force, and not royal, so they seem the optimum target to start 'distrupting'.

Also for the ongoing debate, I recon Parson will sell the armband

[fendrin]

The archons are powerful, but limited in number, and has we have seen by the force totals in parsons stupid meal, a tiny fraction of the overall attacking strength. Having them stop or defect is minor.

Remember, they don't have to defeat the entire coalition army. An army is like a snake. You kill it by cutting it's tail off. Right behind the head. The three archons we have seen, turning coat at a critical moment, could utterly destroy the coalition leadership. No leaders = no army.

For main tactics, we know that Ansom's has poor recon, and parson knows his plans. We've seen him have sizemore crush a forward marbit stack, that he knows is a diversion. Therefore he's pretending to have fallen for the marbit distraction. Charlescomm is critical to ansom for communication. It also occurs to me that parson can get charles's help, with him breaking any contracts. Charles will deliver messages for fees and has lent his archons, but my mind boggles what mayhem and distruption could be caused my the sending of some extra messages, that supposedly coming from ansom's various. To start with, the marbits. That's my prediction on how parson plans to cuase the alliance to start to crack. The marbits are a considerable force, and not royal, so they seem the optimum target to start 'distrupting'.

Definitely possible, though we have no indication that the marbits have an archon with them. Indeed, the fact that they are scout units indicates that an archon would not be necessary for them to communicate, because scout units make reports via natural thinkamancy.

[Halfpunch]

Parson is definitely not looking at defecting at the moment. He's said his intent with Charlie is to fracture the coalition. So unless he's lying to Maggie the thinkamancer whom is currently his only defense against anything Charlie could do he's not looking to run.

[Tignok]

As to the notion floating around that Stanly might be heading towards Charlie - I find this theory unconvincing - In the page where he dispatches the Archons, Charlie refers to the war as "the great western conflict". When Stanly is giving his move order to the dwagons, he is ordering them due west, that is, further west.

Sorry for not linking the pages.

[SteveMB]

As to the notion floating around that Stanly might be heading towards Charlie - I find this theory unconvincing - In the page where he dispatches the Archons, Charlie refers to the war as "the great western conflict". When Stanly is giving his move order to the dwagons, he is ordering them due west, that is, further west.

Good point. Also, "the great western conflict" implies that both sides are a considerable distance (i.e. more than a few turns' normal travel -- the Archons "spawning" to the site seems to be a special function not usable for routine movement) away.

[multilis]

I don't see how Charlie can't be further west to be concerned about both west and other conflicts. So far his mercenaries are all archons, and they may have access to long range teleport spell (similar to how magic users can use gates for magic kingdom). The location of Charlie may be a secret, and especially the last comic has mixed Stanley and Charlie scenes with similar backrounds.

It is no secret that Stanley's main goal is arkentools, and we now know that Charlie has one. It is possible that Charlie is set up at FAQ which Stanley knows, Wanda knows that Stanley does not like Charlie (former allies with falling out?). Things may get very *interesting* if it ends up with Jillian finding out Charlie is set up at Faq while she is with her Archon friends. (which side is she on in a faq battle if both Charlie and Stanley cost her a kingdom?)

[Lolindir]

Just some random guesses:

- Charles can read minds (like said before by someone), so perhaps he already knows Parson's plans (C said "I like the way you THINK, Parson")
- Charles is playing this game as a Real-Time-Strategy-Game on the interweb. (Maggie: "He has an unknown agenda"). The reason he has the same fonts as other erfers is because his computer translates his commands and messages into the language of computers (in this case: erfworld).
- The reason he has a booping DISH is because he needs it to connect the two worlds... doh! And it's powerfull!
- Charles is a man. Just because he is, and has fr-booping women under his command. In movies female leaders have female troops (like, all-girl gangs?), but I don't think that's the case here.

[hajo]

It would help explain all the tunnel digging Sizemore has been up to. Ansom's forces could get tangled up in a maze of tunnels and traps

The tunnels were dug for mining,, not for defense, long ago,
Sizemore has been at work changing the tunnels to something defensible only recently.

[Maerok]

I imagine Charlie sounding like Mr. Moviefone.

[Calemyr]

I'm not exactly saying Parson's defecting, but I believe he's trying to set something up. His responsibility is not just his own hide, but the hides of everyone in GK. He's loyal to them, not to Stanley,who has done nothing to earn such loyalty, even before he abandoned them to the fate he earned.

Also note that Wanda, though a caster (and thus roughly equivalent to a warlord), was able to switch sides when Stanley brought lightning and fire to Faq. Defections, even among upper ranks, is not unheard of.

Surrendering to Ansom won't work. Not only is his alliance based on mutual animosity, making a peaceful resolution dicey at best, all parties involved have taken too heavy of losses to justify walking away empty handed. Gobwin Knob would not escape this as a free city and, given Ansom's opinion of usurpers and non-royal overlords, Parson's survivability would suck - and that's without the potential for Stanley to use the spell to forcibly disband him for siding with the enemy. No, the only ways to deal with Ansom are to crush his forces or die trying.

Charlie, on the other hand now... Charlie is interesting. He plays the mercenary, but if it were just that simple he'd still be predictable. No, Charlie has an Agenda, a plan and purpose that is unrelated to (though presumably effected by) Stanley's conquest or Ansom's crusade. There is no indication of royalism on his part, no declared loyalty (beyond what money can buy) to any side. There are so many more options for dealing through Charlie: buying out Ansom, allying with his side, or purchasing his own aid from Charlie.

Probably the most tactically sound solution I can think of is offering his services in trade for a kicker of a service plan. The Stupid Meal suggested that Thinkamancy can boop with the Loyalty attribute, and Charlie's Arkendish gives him mastery over Thinkamancy. Combining Parson's demoralizing strategies with Charlie's ability to reduce loyalty, and you've got the makings of a shattered alliance. This wouldn't even be a betrayal of Ansom if he keeps his Archons loyal to his side. It'd just be a second contract, something so very common among merchants of croak.

And before you start observing that such disloyalty would be a problem, I'd point out that his duties are to the city, its peoples, and its lord. With the sacrifice of one individual, all three duties can be served. Given that Stanley has seriously considered just disbanding Parson, it might not seem a bad trade to see his enemies cast into turmoil, his capital saved, and whats left of his treasury intact.

Another thing that might be of interest is that, as the ultimate power in Thinkamancy, it isn't hard to imagine that Charlie could do something about the spells binding Parson. The Boop problem is probably part of the fabric of the world, but his vulnerability to Stanley could potentially be severed.

[slayerx]

No, it forces him to obey Stanley's orders. If Stanley has not given him an explicit order, Parson — as Chief Warlord of GK — can do pretty much as he likes (within the rules), as we've seen: for example, Parson did not laugh at Stanley's bad joke until he was ordered to. Note that before leaving, Stanley was furiously wondering whether he had been betrayed, not only by Parson but also by Wanda and the others, implying that a degree of free will was understood.

It's possible that by abandoning GK, Stanley also abandoned his control over Parson, but that's not clear. Regardless, Stanley is away from GK and has no apparent means of giving Parson orders.

The thing is, if Parson is gonna act as a merc for Charlie he has to be free to do so... however he is only free to do so, so long as Stanely is not home; meaning Parson's merc life is gonna be very short and well below any use to Charlie. So no, the spell does prevent him from becoming a merc since Stanely will take control of Gobwinknob the moment he realized that it was not destoryed by the allaince, and with that control of Parson.

And yes while Stanely has effectivly abandoned Gobwinknob he has not offically done so. He is still considered the overlord of GK. IF stanely had abandoned GK the entire city would have been disbanded; that is the fate of units without a ruler... Hence why Parson was confused as to why Stanely and the casters were not disbanded when their leader was killed, cause normally they would be had it not for Stanely being named the Heir of GK... and the same goes for Jillian, the only reason she was not disbanded is because she was the the heir of Faq... The very fact that all the units in GK are alive is enough to say that Stanely still officially rules GK (which fits into Stanely's plan since he needs GK to distract them while he heads to faq)

Also note that Wanda, though a caster (and thus roughly equivalent to a warlord), was able to switch sides when Stanley brought lightning and fire to Faq. Defections, even among upper ranks, is not unheard of.

Looking back to previous klogs, it is true that defecting is possible since Parson says that low loyalty could lead to a unit double dealing and defecting... However, this does not help Parson as the spell that summoned him binds him to work for Stanely, so trying to defect is likely useless for him

[SteveMB]

However, this does not help Parson as the spell that summoned him binds him to work for Stanely, so trying to defect is likely useless for him

The spell binds him to obey Stanley's orders. Also, Stanley claims to be able to end Parson with a thought. (Parson has expressed doubts about that, though he might have just been nerving himself up after concluding that he was out of options and had to take the risk.)

Those parameters still give him a fair amount of leeway when the Tool isn't actually there watching what he does and giving him specific orders.

And, if the constraints on him are a function of Thinkamancy*, Charlie might be able to loosen or sever them, if they can reach a deal.

*Wanda's description of the spell creation (either version) doesn't mention Thinkamancy. I have no idea whether that's at all significant, but as long as we're speculating, I thought I'd toss that in....

[Calemyr]

It may be cool magic that summoned him, but it's still magic - and done by a gifted novice, no less. A particularly expert caster could probably break the spell, or at least those bits in their specialty (and the worst parts of the geas seem to me to be Thinkamancy related).

To be honest, though, I don't see how selling the mathemancy bracer would work. Sure, the whole one-size-fits-all mentality of Erfworld artifice is pretty nifty, but the core of the bracer is a Terran calculator watch. Not something Erfworlders are likely to learn quickly and certainly much too big for an Erfworlder. Unless Charlie has a twoll who wants to be a mathemancer, I can't see how selling it would be all that viable.

[slayerx]

*Wanda's description of the spell creation (either version) doesn't mention Thinkamancy. I have no idea whether that's at all significant, but as long as we're speculating, I thought I'd toss that in....

Actually you do bring up an interesting point about the make up of the spell that summoned Parson and how it make sure that he will serve Stanely...

Findamancy and predictamancy... question is, why have the predictamancy? if all they are doing is trying to find the greatest warlord, then it sounds like Findamancy should be the only thing necessary... what role does the predictamancy make?

Perhaps, one of the functions of predictamancy is to not only lay down predictions but to alter them aswell... on the table of Magical Axis, Predictamancy is tied to "fate" magic, a Wanda and Sizemore described the spell as a Spell of fate... Perhaps the spell altered Parson's fate so that he is fated to serve and obey Stanely

Thinkamancy is also a fate based spell, but i would expect that it may take the use of Predictamancy to free Parson from the spell

To be honest, though, I don't see how selling the mathemancy bracer would work. Sure, the whole one-size-fits-all mentality of Erfworld artifice is pretty nifty, but the core of the bracer is a Terran calculator watch. Not something Erfworlders are likely to learn quickly and certainly much too big for an Erfworlder. Unless Charlie has a twoll who wants to be a mathemancer, I can't see how selling it would be all that viable.

When Sizemore looked it over he seemed to understand what it was fairly well... and his comment about the armband being worth half a million smuckers would be rather meaningless if he knew that no one other than Parson could work it...

My guess, Parson's calculator watch handles the actual calculations, but the armband is from erfworld and allows the wearer to operate the item in a more erfworld fashion... Perhaps allowing it to work on voice commands... like instead of punching in equations on a keypad, you just say the problem and it figures out everything... like asking it the armband "if side A has X number of Units with Y amount of HP, and side B as N number of units with full HP, then which side will likely win"... the watch takes the verbal commands and figures out all the equations and gives a percentage...

in anycase, however the armband works, Since Sizemore seemed to understand it by looking it over, it seems like it should be operational to an erfworlder... really, the armband has to do something to add to the calculator, otherwise it's nothing more than a holder for Parson's watch...

[fendrin]

The thing is, if Parson is gonna act as a merc for Charlie he has to be free to do so... however he is only free to do so, so long as Stanely is not home; meaning Parson's merc life is gonna be very short and well below any use to Charlie. So no, the spell does prevent him from becoming a merc since Stanely will take control of Gobwinknob the moment he realized that it was not destoryed by the allaince, and with that control of Parson.

There is nothing magical about being in GK that allows Stanley to give orders to Parson. If parson leaves GK, Stanley still can't give him an order.

Furthermore, the spell's control is only hearsay. As far as we know, Parson obeyed those orders because of the Duty natural thinkamancy.

And yes while Stanely has effectivly abandoned Gobwinknob he has not offically done so. He is still considered the overlord of GK. IF stanely had abandoned GK the entire city would have been disbanded; that is the fate of units without a ruler... Hence why Parson was confused as to why Stanely and the casters were not disbanded when their leader was killed, cause normally they would be had it not for Stanely being named the Heir of GK... and the same goes for Jillian, the only reason she was not disbanded is because she was the the heir of Faq... The very fact that all the units in GK are alive is enough to say that Stanely still officially rules GK (which fits into Stanely's plan since he needs GK to distract them while he heads to faq)

However, if all of Stanley's units were to swear loyalty to another faction, he would have to re-conquer GK, like he did when the Gobwins took over.

Looking back to previous klogs, it is true that defecting is possible since Parson says that low loyalty could lead to a unit double dealing and defecting... However, this does not help Parson as the spell that summoned him binds him to work for Stanely, so trying to defect is likely useless for him

Assuming that the spell does indeed bind him to Stanley.

[Calemyr]

It clearly does to some degree, since Stanley could order Parson to laugh or shut up and he'd have no choice but to do it. Just how much control he has is less clear: telling someone to laugh is a lot easier than, say, ordering their heart to stop beating.

What gets me is how similar it is to the suggestion spell Wanda put on Jillian, which Maggie defined as Thinkamancy.

[fendrin]

It clearly does to some degree, since Stanley could order Parson to laugh or shut up and he'd have no choice but to do it. Just how much control he has is less clear: telling someone to laugh is a lot easier than, say, ordering their heart to stop beating.

What gets me is how similar it is to the suggestion spell Wanda put on Jillian, which Maggie defined as Thinkamancy.

Or he obeyed because of Natural Thinkamancy. Obedience fits the bill.

[VaeVictis]

If Stanley abandons Gobwin Knob to form another FAQtion, does this mean Parson becomes Leader of the GK faction? Perhaps that's what (special) means next to his unit type on the Stupid Meals Fun Facts.

I doubt 'undoing' the summoning spell would do much at this point - generally speaking most teleport spells are fire-and-forget. Parson was transported from A to B, and 'shooting the horse he rode in on' (by dismantling the spell) doesn't change the fact that he's now in Erfworld. If the spell required some sort of maintaining effect, periodic renewal, or Perpetually Open Dimensional Gate, I'd say fair game, but it doesn't (as far as we know). Essentially I view it like Stanley spent GK's treasury on Parson the way he would purchase an incredibly expensive unit.

I'm looking forward to Parson's first 'stat change'. I wonder if his 'leadership' bonus will grow, and what the conditions for stat improval are. Does Parson level up like a normal unit? If he's promoted to Warlord, does he get added intrinsic bonuses?