Erfworld 128 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 116

[Dragonath]

Maybe Parson will hint the grand idea to Stanley of capturing Charlie's capital now that maybe most of his force is flying above Stanley's capital.

Maybe Charlie is unprotected at this moment and can be taken by surprise.

The promise of an Arkentool would surely stimulate Stanley and the hate for Charlie that he has.

The Archons above GK would become barbarian or dissolve?

[ghost81]

Heh first post from a long time lurker.

Did really enjoy this issue, although kinda expected the reserruction of most of the troops - although I don't think I'm alone in that.

Also enjoying all the speculation and theories as to what next. Like all I'm interested to see what happens next, but I'm really lokking forward to finding out why Wanda and Jack are so loyal to Tool. I think that reveal may put a whole new spin on a lot of relationships.

[DevilDan]

Maybe Parson will hint the grand idea to Stanley of capturing Charlie's capital now that maybe most of his force is flying above Stanley's capital.

Maybe Charlie is unprotected at this moment and can be taken by surprise.

Of course, we don't know what other forces Charlescomm has at its disposal, how far away Charles' citadel is, or whether people even know how to find it. And Stanley may only have his few dwagons; Parson certainly doesn't want to give up the undead flying units.

The promise of an Arkentool would surely stimulate Stanley and the hate for Charlie that he has.

The Archons above GK would become barbarian or dissolve?

If the archons are warlords, they will become barbarians rather than dissolve. Great, more chicks with chips on their shoulders... haha.

As an aside:

I'd say the hiring out trustworthiness is already taking a pretty big hit what with the whole renegotiating price in the midst of a campaign you were hired for. Sure he stuck to the letter of the contract since Ansom released him but it's bad form.

...

His reputation concern could merely have been a polite way of turning down an offer to initiate open combat with almost every Erfworld Power at the same time.

We don't know, I believe, the actual size of Erf; by extension, we don't know how many other sides are out there. In my mind, all that we've seen could be taking place within only part of continental Europe if it were happening on earth.

[Wrecan]

I actually think the vast majority of the cadre of Archons hovering over GK is a product of foolamancy, in the form of impressive salesmanship.

[Eraniverse]

As an aside:

We don't know, I believe, the actual size of Erf; by extension, we don't know how many other sides are out there. In my mind, all that we've seen could be taking place within only part of continental Europe if it were happening on earth.

Quite right. In fact Charlie refers to this in an early strip as the Great Western Conflict, implying a greater region of Erf. On the same note for something to be called the Great Western Conflict it's either got to be the biggest John Wayne vs Clint Eastwood argument ever or involve a non trivial portion of the powers in an area. The only nation fielding troops that we've heard of not involved in this fight are the Tardy Elves and not for lack of sympathy to Ansom.

The only thing to hold such a broad alliance together would be a common enemy. Charlie, believing GK doomed at the time, probably wouldn't be so eager to provide the RCC with their next target by fighting against them. If Parson can break the alliance then I can easily see Charlie betraying Jetstone. It's a cost benefit thing.

[kreszantas]

One of the few remaining pieces to the plot line is... Stanley's hatred for Charlie, so with Archon's hovering in air space there will some sort of reaction from Stanley with them in GK airspace.

Now the way that Charlie phrases the statement "That one of the sides" and "has finally met our price" indicates that Charlie could have been contacted by Stanley or Charlie contacted him.

With the way Stanley reacted to the 350k smuckers for the summoning spell, I could very well see some sort of inflated price by Charlie like what he did with TV to be on the side he wants to be on, the winning one. Each of the sides has a ArchenTool and he could be after all of them himself, using Jetstone and GK as pawns against each other to gain them for himself.

Most this post has been mentioned before, just a mind refresher post.

[DevilDan]

Now the way that Charlie phrases the statement "That one of the sides" and "has finally met our price" indicates that Charlie could have been contacted by Stanley or Charlie contacted him.

That occurs here.

That always struck me as a straightforward statement. He had just been hired by Jetstone. Ansom had not needed Charles or his Archons previously, but was moved to hire him when Jillian was reported kidnapped.

Yes, Charlie could have ulterior motives and have hitherto unknown alliances or loyalties. He could still be a tuna, too.

[Welf]

I thought the dislike of Stanley for Charlie was obvious. Stanley considers himself on a holy mission, a quest to collect all arkentools. A lot of Stanley's confidence comes from the fact that he is attuned to his artifact, and others like Ansom are not. The fact that Charley is also attuned to his artifact doubts that Stanley is the chosen servant of the titans. I don't think the Tool wants to even acknowledge the existence of Charley. Admitting that he needs Charley would mean that Charley is stronger and has the favor of the titans more than Stanley.

[ghost81]

I thought the dislike of Stanley for Charlie was obvious. Stanley considers himself on a holy mission, a quest to collect all arkentools. A lot of Stanley's confidence comes from the fact that he is attuned to his artifact, and others like Ansom are not. The fact that Charley is also attuned to his artifact doubts that Stanley is the chosen servant of the titans. I don't think the Tool wants to even acknowledge the existence of Charley. Admitting that he needs Charley would mean that Charley is stronger and has the favor of the titans more than Stanley.

That makes a lot of sense to me. There could be a certain amount of jealousy/who's the most 'chosen' by the titans thing going on here. The fact that Stanley is on a mission to collect all the tools wouldn't make him a likely ally for Charley it has to be said.

I wonder how many Arkentools there are, and who holds the rest?

[Ticktockcitrus]

I'm liking how Stanley just seems to be getting more and more personable and developed as a character all the time.


It's almost like his sympathetic characteristics increase and negative characteristics decrease in inverse proportion to the number of troops he has under his command...

If that trend keeps going, I bet he was a really fwiendwy wittle pikew.

...

Anyways.

[Doctor Zuber]

I'm always eagerly awaiting the next page...

Things I look forward to today...

Seeing Ansoms face when he looks up at the walls and sees the grinning uncroaked faces of thousands of his own men staring back down at him. Priceless...

Seeing Stanleys face when he comes back to GK and sees Charlie floating outside. Or how he reacts when he realizes that Parson may just win this one, and without his precious dragons no less...

Seeing what it is exactly that Wanda's job was this turn. I would assume that she was sent to rescue Stanley as was said earlier, but there may be other plans afoot here too.

I look forward to the next pages. ;P

[Doctor Zuber]

I should say again that I really admire the little details. I know writers do research, but it's the little things that really show. Like Trioxin. sure okay, he watched Return of the living dead and remembered enough to look this one up. but that's one of the easier ones really.

How about Crypsis. Sure, research again, but how do you even look up something like that? it's a fairly obscure word a natural biologist might know, but for anyone else how do you even think to look that one up in the first place? It's not a word you're likely to be able to dig out of a thesaurus or anything.

And the list goes on really... So many clever little details. All the more reason I love this comic. ;)

[Aquillion]

I'm liking how Stanley just seems to be getting more and more personable and developed as a character all the time.


It's almost like his sympathetic characteristics increase and negative characteristics decrease in inverse proportion to the number of troops he has under his command...

If that trend keeps going, I bet he was a really fwiendwy wittle pikew.

If this trend keeps going, I'll bet he's going to die.

[Ragn Charran]

TI wonder how many Arkentools there are, and who holds the rest?

There are four known arkentools as per the last panel here, there could be hidden ones but since it's coming the stupid meal, and they seem to be pretty "all-knowing" I'd guess there are not.

[Aquillion]

There are four known arkentools as per the last panel here, there could be hidden ones but since it's coming the stupid meal, and they seem to be pretty "all-knowing" I'd guess there are not.

No, I suspect there are more simply from the fact that it specified "known". (If there were simply four, why bother to specify?) Sure, it seems pretty all-knowing, but there it's just using its abilities to report how many generally-known arkentools their are.

Also, I just realized something. With Parson's wristband, that spell produced an artifact (which cannot be created by mortals) that is worth more than its own cost in Shmuckers, didn't it? Of course, it's likely that it's only a complete artifact with Parson's wristwatch (which comes from another world and so is effectively outside the normal rules), but nonetheless, it was able to end up producing something more valuable than the spell itself was supposed to be. ZOMG NERF SUMMONING.

[DevilDan]

The wristband--and, in theory, any other article that is part of the Perfect Warlord spell--is a magic item, created through or by a spell created by casters from the Magic Kingdom.

[Eraniverse]

Also, I just realized something. With Parson's wristband, that spell produced an artifact (which cannot be created by mortals) that is worth more than its own cost in Shmuckers, didn't it? Of course, it's likely that it's only a complete artifact with Parson's wristwatch (which comes from another world and so is effectively outside the normal rules), but nonetheless, it was able to end up producing something more valuable than the spell itself was supposed to be. ZOMG NERF SUMMONING.

Theoretically Parson could sit down and manually compute the odds for every unit in a given engagement. The "artifact" from the stupid meal apparently just streamlines things.

I'm not sure but I'd treat it as a natural ability rather than a separate artifact. It's possible these items are unusable by any native Erfsian.

[The Adder]

I thought the dislike of Stanley for Charlie was obvious. Stanley considers himself on a holy mission, a quest to collect all arkentools. A lot of Stanley's confidence comes from the fact that he is attuned to his artifact, and others like Ansom are not. The fact that Charley is also attuned to his artifact doubts that Stanley is the chosen servant of the titans. I don't think the Tool wants to even acknowledge the existence of Charley. Admitting that he needs Charley would mean that Charley is stronger and has the favor of the titans more than Stanley.

Or, at the very least, that they are equally powerful and equally favored. Which would likely serve only to piss the tool off... equally.

[Celebrochan]

Does anyone else wonder why it is Parson's banner that the zombies shirts turn into rather than the banner of Gobwin knob?

[SteveMB]

Does anyone else wonder why it is Parson's banner that the zombies shirts turn into rather than the banner of Gobwin knob?

Er, what banner of Gobwin Knob?

[Olibarro]

Do we know if the Radish banner is the official Jetstone banner and/or the banner of King Slately? Or is the radish banner merely that of its chief warlord Prince Ansom?

[thereaper]

Trioxin!

Return of the Living Dead reference!

SQUUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!


(Yes, I live. I'm just way too busy with RL)

[fendrin]

GK doesn't seem to have a coat of arms as such, more just colors.
Namely, red clothes with black armor. I skimmed the archives a bit and other than the warlord lineup and the main characters, I only found one case of GK units in 'uniform'. The first panel here shows (barely) a skeleton and a gobwin guarding the door. The skeleton has on a red shirt and black armor, much like Stanley's outfit on the same page. The gobwin has a short red one-shouldered tunic (like a greek exomis) with a black belt.

The grunts seem to wear just black.

Edit: and of course the plaid, but that seems to be reserved for ceremonial occasions.

[Winged One]

GK doesn't seem to have a coat of arms as such, more just colors.
Namely, red clothes with black armor. I skimmed the archives a bit and other than the warlord lineup and the main characters, I only found one case of GK units in 'uniform'. The first panel here shows (barely) a skeleton and a gobwin guarding the door. The skeleton has on a red shirt and black armor, much like Stanley's outfit on the same page. The gobwin has a short red one-shouldered tunic (like a greek exomis) with a black belt.

The grunts seem to wear just black.

Edit: and of course the plaid, but that seems to be reserved for ceremonial occasions.

Hm...so was that just the world replacing a "default" coat of arms with that of the Chief Warlord? Or could it be that because Stanley is away, so they've taken the crest of the highest ranked warlord in the area? Does that mean that if Stanley uses a veil to sneak in, the armor turning red would give his presence away? Or are we just reading too much into a purely artistic effect (I personally think this is the most likely scenario)?

[Wrecan]

It does seem that individual warlords get their own coats of arms.

Manpower the Temporary has a bullseye, which appears again on Bogroll's umbrella

Here we can make out the coats of arms for some of Parson's predecessors. We can see Manpower's bullseye. Lady Phat-Singh has the crosshairs of a sniper rifle. Archduke Ferdinand seems to have a target used in shooting practice on his tunic. Leeroy Jenkins has a body tag, which may or may not have been his coat of arms (there may be a symbol underneath, obscured by the body tag). I think he is, since he seems to wear another tag on the front of his tunic (frame 11) and here (frame 4).

This indicates the coat of arms is personal to the warlord, and even survives the warlord's death. He gets to keep the symbol, even when uncroaked and serving another warlord.

The strawberry is probably Ansom's personal coat of arms, first seen here. And its not only men-at-arms with them. A cloth golem bears Ansom's coat as well.

Most kings don't have coats-of-arms that we've seen. Stanley doesn't. Saline IV doesn't. Neither did King Banhammer. I think it's specifically for warlords.

On the other hand, Don King has a coat of arms on his medallion, and it's the same one we see on Vinnie's coffin (frame 4).

[Aquillion]

The wristband--and, in theory, any other article that is part of the Perfect Warlord spell--is a magic item, created through or by a spell created by casters from the Magic Kingdom.

Ah. Looking back, Sizemore calls it a "very powerful item -- or maybe artifact". This is probably in reference to Parson's watch, which looks (to him) like nothing a human could create.

[Winged One]

On the other hand, Don King has a coat of arms on his medallion, and it's the same one we see on Vinnie's coffin (frame 4).

Warlords(or at least Heirs) on Royal sides could easily share coats of arms with their king.

[DevilDan]

It does seem that individual warlords get their own coats of arms.

Manpower the Temporary has a bullseye, which appears again on Bogroll's umbrella

Here we can make out the coats of arms for some of Parson's predecessors. We can see Manpower's bullseye. Lady Phat-Singh has the crosshairs of a sniper rifle. Archduke Ferdinand seems to have a target used in shooting practice on his tunic. Leeroy Jenkins has a body tag, which may or may not have been his coat of arms (there may be a symbol underneath, obscured by the body tag). I think he is, since he seems to wear another tag on the front of his tunic (frame 11) and here (frame 4).

This indicates the coat of arms is personal to the warlord, and even survives the warlord's death. He gets to keep the symbol, even when uncroaked and serving another warlord.

The strawberry is probably Ansom's personal coat of arms, first seen here. And its not only men-at-arms with them. A cloth golem bears Ansom's coat as well.

Most kings don't have coats-of-arms that we've seen. Stanley doesn't. Saline IV doesn't. Neither did King Banhammer. I think it's specifically for warlords.

On the other hand, Don King has a coat of arms on his medallion, and it's the same one we see on Vinnie's coffin (frame 4).

Clever thought on Bogroll's parasol, but that's a bullseye painted on it, according to Wanda.

Leeroy's emblem is the outline of a foot with an attached toe tag.

The Transylvito emblems we've seen may all be Caesar's, the chief warlord. (It seems to be, by the way, a variation on the Bacardi bat logo.) Ansom's troops get his emblem because he's chief warlord too.

Hm...so was that just the world replacing a "default" coat of arms with that of the Chief Warlord? Or could it be that because Stanley is away, so they've taken the crest of the highest ranked warlord in the area? Does that mean that if Stanley uses a veil to sneak in, the armor turning red would give his presence away? Or are we just reading too much into a purely artistic effect (I personally think this is the most likely scenario)?

I wonder why we didn't see the t-shirts on Wanda's uncroaked air units: after all, Stanley was already gone (though he had been present during that turn). This suggests that the new shirts are a conscious decision on Wanda's part.

[Aquillion]

I wonder why we didn't see the t-shirts on Wanda's uncroaked air units: after all, Stanley was already gone (though he had been present during that turn). This suggests that the new shirts are a conscious decision on Wanda's part.

The air units didn't have insignias before they were croaked, did they?

[DevilDan]

The air units didn't have insignias before they were croaked, did they?

It could be a racial feature, a characteristic of the type of uniforms they're wearing, etc. We'll have one more data point once we see whether the uncroaked marbits got their hamstard shirts.