125 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 113

[Meek]

So if the Chief Warlord is in the stack, Units get even more boosted? That'll be helpful when Parson eventually has to lead a fight.

[Zeku]

This story arc is a shell of what I was expecting. I thought he would make the circuit back to GK after fizzling out at the battle here, or being entangled in one of Jack's illusions. Instead, we see Stanley switched, no, transformed into a true warlord, the load on Jack's mind lifted, and Jillian out of her cell, resisting her weaknesses, Wanda battering the good guys, and Parson insulated from the entire thing. Hopefully all of these parallel events will occasionally alternate.

But, I guess I still enjoy this series.

[Moonshadow]

Oh ****. You don't mess with the Tool, thats for sure. Warlord with tons of Heavy Bats? No prob, I just use my MacGuffin and PWN you!

[jpnuar1]

Oh ****. You don't mess with the Tool, thats for sure. Warlord with tons of Heavy Bats? No prob, I just use my MacGuffin and PWN you!

I think the Arkenhammer is closer along the lines of Applied Phlebotinum.

Edit: Okay, I had completely forgotten about Green Rocks, they're almost literally the definition of the Arkentools.

[Zain_Thorngallow]

So continuing with the current trend, it seems that the Foolamancer has been shocked out of his current state of madness. The bats tried to buffer the attack but Stanly's shocking strength overloaded them.

Indeed! I am charged to observe how the electrifying conflict taking place between those peaks and valleys will be rectified!

Will Stanley be grounded? Or will his short circuit of the field prove victorious?

And that Jillian... her frequency as romantic attractor strikes, perhaps, as something of a charged couple device?

[Cadrys]

Indeed! I am charged to observe how the electrifying conflict taking place between those peaks and valleys will be rectified!

Will Stanley be grounded? Or will his short circuit of the field prove victorious?

And that Jillian... her frequency as romantic attractor strikes, perhaps, as something of a charged couple device?

...this entire line is a sparkling joule of conversation.

My question is: does Jack make his Loyalty check now?

[Alex Knight]

...this entire line is a sparkling joule of conversation.

My question is: does Jack make his Loyalty check now?

In regards to this meme in the thread, I have only one thing to say.

Erg....

[T-O-E]

2 comics in a single day? Awesome.

[K2]

Stay loyal to the tool jack, stay loyal to the tool.

Loved watching transivanos prince getting hammered, literally.

[WarriorTribble]

Transylvito, Masters of the Zerg Rush?

It's extra funny considering they got pwned by what amounts to a psionic storm.

[Lamech]

I think the Arkenhammer is closer along the lines of Applied Phlebotinum.

Edit: Okay, I had completely forgotten about Green Rocks, they're almost literally the definition of the Arkentools.

Actually that whole heaving lighting trick mentioned on the cast page. So its more of a what-chama-call-it gun.

So... did Ceaser bite it? That would kind of doom their whole "the bats are like advanced infantry/heavies plan" And by kind of doom I mean kill every last one of them.

[Mr. Scaly]

Stanley's second crowning moment of awesome!

[jpnuar1]

Actually that whole heaving lighting trick mentioned on the cast page. So its more of a what-chama-call-it gun.

Link? I couldn't find that one...

Anyhow, the same entry also mentions "clarity of purpose" as one of the Arkenhammer's weaknesses. The same seems to apply to the rest of the Arkentools as well. Since we don't necessarily know everything the Arkenhammer can do (or any of the other tools, for that matter), the Green Rock trope still seems to apply best, IMHO.

[Retief]

Link? I couldn't find that one...

I'm shocked you couldn't find it-perhaps Chekhov's Gun

[Lamech]

Link? I couldn't find that one...
Anyhow, the same entry also mentions "clarity of purpose" as one of the Arkenhammer's weaknesses. The same seems to apply to the rest of the Arkentools as well. Since we don't necessarily know everything the Arkenhammer can do (or any of the other tools, for that matter), the Green Rock trope still seems to apply best, IMHO.

"what-chama-call-it gun" is what I was using as a stand in for chevok's gun but since I'm not sure of the spelling. Anyway the basics of the chevok's gun is something that is mentioned early on, say a gun in a drawer, and then later becomes important, say shooting a would be kidnapper. Since the lighting shot was mentioned early on (in fact it was in a way all before the comic started), and just now became important by obliterating a uber-stack in a single shot.
Edit: I failed at quoting twice...

[Zolem]

It's extra funny considering they got pwned by what amounts to a psionic storm.

Egads, you're right!

[Eugenitor]

Ooh, this one's making my hair stand on end. This one's accumulating the capacitance for tragedy in two strips (as we're currently alternating between Stanley and Parson).

Edit: I completely called Stanley's AoE. I thought it'd be bigger, though.

[valce]

Just registered to say that that was a great reference to Michael Jackson's Beat It in panel 3.

Did caesar bite the dust?

Probably not - probably would have had a bit more of a reaction from the other warlords if their chief bit the dust.

Still, that probably hurt and those bats are likely toast.

Buuuut with Jack coming back everything's up in the air. He might be forced to do Stanley's bidding by Duty, or (because a captured unit's Loyalty is low) he might betray Stanley... Hopefully he won't do either until the fight in Gobwin Knob is finished. It would be very unsatisfying for Parson to come inches from victory only to be denied by Stanley's death.

[ReccaSquirrel]

Jillian's dead. She just hesitated in front of Stanley.

[Zolem]

Jillian's dead. She just hesitated in front of Stanley.

Loved One as Hostage: Grants +2 circumstance bonus to screw the hero over.

[jpnuar1]

Link? I couldn't find that one...


"what-chama-call-it gun" is what I was using as a stand in for chevok's gun but since I'm not sure of the spelling. Anyway the basics of the chevok's gun is something that is mentioned early on, say a gun in a drawer, and then later becomes important, say shooting a would be kidnapper. Since the lighting shot was mentioned early on (in fact it was in a way all before the comic started), and just now became important by obliterating a uber-stack in a single shot.

Hmm, perhaps we can compromise, and call it a Chekhov's Green Rock? I guess that's what one could call a Green Rock hanging on the wall in scene one.

It still seems a tad odd to me though, that traditional laws of Conservation of Detail would apply normally to plot-specific creations. With a "gun" (or other relatively mundane item, such as a flower pot or a refrigerator, for example), such an item could, theoretically be part of a set without needing to be used later on. But why would the Arkentools be in the story if they weren't there specifically to be used to advance the plot?

It'd be as confusing as if a comic book depicted Lex Luthor receiving a shipment of several large chunks of kryptonite, and then for those chunks never being mentioned again for the remainder of the time line.

[Aquillion]

So... did Ceaser bite it? That would kind of doom their whole "the bats are like advanced infantry/heavies plan" And by kind of doom I mean kill every last one of them.

I don't think so. You can see him in the back of the bottom-left panel, still in the air. It looks like he's paralyzed by electricity, though, or something along those lines. Whether he's been taken out for an instant or the rest of the fight, who knows, but he doesn't look dead.

His bats, on the other hand... it's hard to tell, but they look charred and falling from the sky.

The point is moot, though, as clearly the deciding factor in the fight will be whether Jillian stops Stanley or not -- if he breaks out, I doubt they can catch up, and he can just go to Faq. Plus, his wounded dwagons will heal next turn, while the dead bats won't (another major disadvantage to the zerg rush strategy -- 50% loss to your single big dwagon's HP can be healed, 50% loss to your number of low-HP bats generally can't), so they'll have accomplished nothing at all at a pretty high cost.

Not to mention the fact that if she fails for personal reasons the already-suspicious Translvito forces will likely accuse Jillian of treason... which could, depending on how Ansom reacts, end up severing one side or the other from the allied forces.

(Honestly, why did they put someone they didn't fully trust in such an important position? I guess the bats are slower and wouldn't be able to keep up with Stanley if he tries to break through... or they're smaller than her Gwiffons and wouldn't be able to slow him down... or perhaps they didn't expect Stanley to break through Caesar, and intended to put Jillian somewhere where she wouldn't be part of the battle...)

And I wouldn't call the Arkenhammer's power Green Rocks. Aside from creating pigeons, we've had its powers (at least the ones we've seen) enumerated on cast page since the beginning. And, more importantly, its ability to control lightning has been referenced as far back as here, with the CRACK-THOOM! They are closer to Cosmic Keystones, or GottaCatchThemAll... but they don't quite fit either trope, since only Stanley is trying to collect them, and we haven't seen any indication that the world actually relies on them.

Honestly, I think that that's a trope TVtropes is missing -- the 'set' of super-powered magical items that the plot revolves around. It's a very common trope (think of the lesser rings or the Palantiri from Lord of the Rings, say), but all they have is subtropes of it like GottaCatchThemAll or CosmicKeystone.

[BarGamer]

And here I thought last night's Presidential Debate was electrifying... ;)

So now our question is, is Jack going to act on his crush on Jillian? Furthermore, is Jillian in Vinny's stack, or does she get her own? If/when Stanley falls, will Parson have won the siege battles in time?

Oh, and we still aren't quite sure which direction he's going. XD

[Loscann]

What I want to know is; how many love affairs does this woman have?! I mean seriously!

Awesome page, love the Hammer!

[Nargrakhan]

You know... a lot of you fellow fans keep thinking: "Will Jack betray the Tool, thus letting Julian win."

Well I was thinking this: "Can Julian attack Stanley - which might very well kill or seriously harm Jack - thus stopping him from breaking through. Will she take the shot?"

I think Julian won't strike because she doesn't want to hurt/kill Jack in the process, thus letting Stanley make it to FAQ, and further causing everyone in the Alliance to think she's been playing them for fools, and works for the Tool.

If Stanley just attempts to fly by, and not attack Julian in the process, there's no real "test of loyalty" required on Jack's part. Also, we don't know under what terms Julian and Jack last parted. Maybe Jack is a "man scorned" and has it in for her. If that were the case...

[Aquillion]

You know... a lot of you fellow fans keep thinking: "Will Jack betray the Tool, thus letting Julian win."

Well I was thinking this: "Can Julian attack Stanley - which might very well kill or seriously harm Jack - thus stopping him from breaking through. Will she take the shot?"

I think Julian won't strike because she doesn't want to hurt/kill Jack in the process, thus letting Stanley make it to FAQ, and further causing everyone in the Alliance to think she's been playing them for fools, and works for the Tool.

If Stanley just attempts to fly by, and not attack Julian in the process, there's no real "test of loyalty" required on Jack's part. Also, we don't know under what terms Julian and Jack last parted. Maybe Jack is a "man scorned" and has it in for her. If that were the case...

It could be both; Jillian could lock up in surprise / momentary indecision, and Jack could save her life while allowing Stanley to escape (satisfying both duty and his own desires, since he's technically letting Stanley avoid a risky fight.) From the perspective of the Translvito forces, it'd look like she was spared by the enemy -- so they'd be even more likely to think she was a traitor.

It follows the same logic as what Parson was telling him to do before -- Jack can trick Stanley without violating loyalty (or requiring a loyalty check) by justifying it as being in Stanley's best interests.

[SteveMB]

Indeed! I am charged to observe how the electrifying conflict taking place between those peaks and valleys will be rectified!

Will Stanley be grounded? Or will his short circuit of the field prove victorious?

And that Jillian... her frequency as romantic attractor strikes, perhaps, as something of a charged couple device?

This string of puns is Leyden us on to the point where only the legendary detective Lieutenant Coulombo can sort it out.

[Ragn Charran]

Maybe it's just me, but does it make any sense that the Knight fighting evil Mario traded his axe for a switchblade? Even aside from the basic "what would you rather bring to a fight?" question, he just switched into his opponent's dance style, fighting him in West Side Story fashion.

[Aquillion]

Maybe it's just me, but does it make any sense that the Knight fighting evil Mario traded his axe for a switchblade? Even aside from the basic "what would you rather bring to a fight?" question, he just switched into his opponent's dance style, fighting him in West Side Story fashion.

Maybe that's a requirement for Dance Fighting?

[Calmness]

Man, the art just keeps getting better and better.