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2008-12-05, 12:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Originally Posted by fendrin
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2008-12-05, 02:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Maggie mentions Charlie's "mastery" of the Arkendish, I believe. And Parson states that Charlie's attuned to the dish here. In the same page, Parson mentions that Charlie is "no royal." That suggests that people on Erf know or think they know something about Charlie's origin.
Quo vadis?
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2008-12-05, 02:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Biggest question on my mind right now is not if Wanda will beat Ansom (I am sure she will, at least hurt him enough to get the pliers) but how Charlie will react when Wanda grabs the pliers and immediately attunes to them. I seriously doubt she will let go of them if that happens.
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2008-12-05, 03:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Really I think Ansom is going to go down, hard.
Sure the Arkenpliers give him a huge bonus to damage against uncroaked.
But Wanda has an Uncroaked mount thingy, and an uncroaked archon in her stack. None of them were uncroaked in the mass spell. So they are much stronger than the ones on the wall. And then they are already stronger because they are better units. And then they also get a huge bonus since Wanda is in the stack with them.
I think Ansom will go in with the pliers, Wanda blocks with staff. Archon blasts the carpet right out from under Ansom. Ansom croaks the incidental uncroaked (everything but the mount and the archon. Wanda and her two higher uncroaked press the attack and Ansom loses the pliers.
In a last ditch escape Ansom leaps from the wall and barely survives, but leaves the engagement.
I think the breach will be enough to break down that section though and the Jetstone infantry will pour through the gap.
I think the whole thing will wrap up in the Tower, with the return of Stanley and his Dwagons tipping the balance and rescuing the remaining garrison troops from certain doom.
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2008-12-05, 05:17 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
I think that's part of the issue. They've not seen the pliers in action, they do make him sort of invulnerable to uncroaked attack as long as he is flying (and thus gets initiative). Parson on the other has just seen what those things can do.
But they were right, it's very likely that soon he will be falling from the wall. Wanda just made things very dangerous to Ansom.Avatar: ruthless Parson (Erfworld).
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2008-12-05, 06:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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2008-12-05, 09:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Dibs on his dice.
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2008-12-05, 09:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Hey people, no disrespect, but please read the thread before posting. Posting the same ideas over and over just slow down the conversation and not reading the thread gives the impression of disrespect for those that have already posted (or maybe just laziness, neither is a good impression, and impressions matter when you are trying to make a point).[/rant]
Wanda was working off of the assumption that it would help, not that it would definitely work. Keep in mind that if Stanley was croaked by Jillian, Wanda would be disbanded for lack of an overlord, the way that Sizemore would have been if it weren't for Stanley having been made heir. When your boop is on the line, the odds don't matter. When failing has the same effect as not trying, of course you try, even if the chances are infinitesimal.
It also finally answers a long-time question: Archons are NOT casters in the same sense as Sizemore et al.; they are units like dwagons, having magic-like special abilities. That lends credence (but does not prove) to the idea that the Arkendish gives power over Archons the way the Arkenhammer does with dwagons.
This is a big assumption. True, it is a strong fantasy genre trope, but that does not mean it holds true on Erf.
Yes we do. Why? Because we enjoy it. Welcome to the boards!
M'glad you think so!
Well, they THINK they know, but they could be wrong. I figure for the most part* the royals of the world are known entities. Thus any upstart overlord NOT known 'must' be a non-royal.
*Jillian and Banhammer are exceptions, but the whole FAQ thing is an exception, to the point of being considered impossible.
The ArkenHammer has sense of humor, obviously.
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2008-12-05, 10:08 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
An artifact who grants you a legion of loyal hot girls able to kill dwagons with laser beams from her hands? Now that's an artifact worth killing stuff for!
We've seen Jack's stats, and they were both a 2. Sizemore also didn't seem to be much of a fighter, hiding behind stones and such.
Since it is a game, it must have game balance, and if Mancers were capable melee units, then they would be the brokenezt, and they would have been nerfed by now.
It did pick Stanley the lowly pikemen for his master. Go figure what the artifacts of creation think.Last edited by Oslecamo; 2008-12-05 at 10:10 AM.
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2008-12-05, 10:45 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
One detail that supports Charlie being attuned to the Arkendish: on Page 43 (comic 47), Wanda mentions that Stanley has a "strong personal dislike" for Charlie. Now, this could be the result of nearly anything- we don't know much about either character.
But we do know that Stanley believes that he's on a mission from the Titans to control all the Arkentools, and seems to believe that all of them will attune to him. Therefore, the very existence of someone who posseses an Arkentool, and is attuned to it, would be cause enough for Stanley to hate them- if it is the Titans' will that he was meant to hold all the Arkentools, then certainly no one else should be attuned to them. It's not a solid case; you have to use inverse reasoning to reach the conclusion, but it seems to fit what we know about Stanley's personality and his "Titanic Mandate."
Either way, I'm guessing that when Stanley sees Charlie in Gobwin Knob's airspace, he's going to thwack first and ask questions later. And they will all be angry questions. And they will all be directed at Parson.
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2008-12-05, 10:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Someone else possessing an Arkentool at all, attuned or not, would irritate Stanley (which is not difficult in any event). In any case, there are all sorts of other possible reasons for Stanley to be annoyed with Charlie (e.g. maybe they made a deal at some point and Charlie got the better of him in much the same way he played Parson).
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2008-12-05, 10:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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2008-12-05, 10:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
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2008-12-05, 11:06 AM (ISO 8601)
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2008-12-05, 11:54 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Parson specifically stated that while units in the field would disband upon their overlord's death, units in GK would be frozen or some such and easy pickings for the RCC
Just remember that it isn't flight (which can be a natural ability) that would prove that archons aren't casters. Even the use of an energy attack by Jaclyn wouldn't prove it: we have seen archons sending thinkagrams. Whether the thinkagrams are proof that at least some archons are casters or whether it's a special application of the Arkendish is not known.
It's precisely why I said "know or think they know." I don't like make assumptions lightly.
On another note, don't forget that Stanley won't make it back until tomorrow. That is after Charlie's turn. We don't know what the battlefield will look like then, so I wouldn't personally try to predict just yet what Stanley will think or do when he finally reaches GK sometime in the middle of GK's turn.Quo vadis?
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2008-12-05, 12:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Originally Posted by Oslecamo
There are too many unknowns about casters to make guesses about their combat ablities, especially Wanda's.
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2008-12-05, 01:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Most casters would possibly never see much combat because (1) they are extremely valuable and apparently relatively rare and (2) they don't normally have much of a leadership bonus.
It still seems staggering to me that the entire RCC couldn't field a single lookamancer.
I'd also add that we don't know what "leveling" entails. Could a caster choose to spend more "points" on combat ability? There's also no reason to believe that "all casters are popped equal." Some could have inherently greater abilities not only in casting but in other areas. (I just got a lovely idea: Wanda is such a fun character that it makes me want to find out more about her first turns on Erf, her "childhood" as it were... was she more idealistic and less assertive?)Quo vadis?
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2008-12-05, 01:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
I'd say it's more likely that no one in the coalition was inclined to risk their powerful, valuable casters in the field for this. And really, why should they? This was supposed to be easy. Ansom assured everyone that they'd show up, squish Stanley the Worm, split the booty, and be home for tea. No reason to send the casters out and possibly lose them to a sneak attack or random lucky shot when the battle is already a sure thing.
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2008-12-05, 01:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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2008-12-05, 02:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
As far as we know, Jack's stats are on par with your average level 1 infantry unit, and he has just never had reason (or maybe opportunity) to increase them. For that matter, maybe his stats are as good as Jillians and she is only more powerful because of her warlordiness and magic items. Unlikely, but possible...
Ah, but there are factors we do not know. If the caster:infantry cost ratio is high, an all-caster army would be very expensive, and quite vulnerable to zerg tactics.
Yes, I was being lazy again. Bad habit. The point remains though, whether it be a sudden croaking via disbanding or a prolonged but unwinnable battle for survival.
Good point. It proves Archons are not HUMANS (in the same sense that Wanda, Sizemore, etc. are human casters). Which proves one of two things:
A) Archons are not casters
B) Non-humans can be casters
We do not have conclusive proof of either.
Neither do I, except when I am unaware I am doing so, such as when I assumed you had assumed their knowledge was real.
We know that casters are rare. We know overlords can't choose personality in the units they pop. It does not seem unreasonable to think that overlords cannot choose caster specialty* and even have some weak** evidence that overlords cannot. Put this all together and it becomes likely that many sides would not have a lookamancer at all, and if they did, they would keep them safe and sound in the capital***.
*Assuming that specialty exists outside of preference/talent/training/label. Wanda seems to belie that notion, especially in the context of her conversation with Sizemore about studying with the Janis the Hippymancer.
** Why would Banhammer pop a croakamancer? Possibly to have an alternate point of view in his philosophical debates. Or perhaps Wanda was not popped as a croakamancer. Either is possible, and thus the evidence is weak.)
*** Especially if magic items like the hats are available. Send a message back to Spacerock to have the lookamancer search for the dwagons, then have the 'mancer send the coordinates back. Thus Jetstone likely does not have a lookamancer at all, or there is a distance limit on the hats and the column is too far.Last edited by fendrin; 2008-12-05 at 02:18 PM.
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2008-12-05, 02:59 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
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2008-12-05, 03:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Jillian said only that Wanda served under Banhammer, not that she popped under him. She may have been a spoil of war or hired barbarian.
The latter supports the theories about Wanda being the real downfall of Faq for her own ulterior motives, since she would not have been naturally leashed to Banhammer through Loyalty and could have knowingly betrayed Faq (she also could have been truly under Bannerhammer and Turned, but in a lot of games like this a unit can't turn on its own, it has to be contacted by someone else and offered the opportunity, so I'm separating this possibility).
We've seen time and time again that Wanda is way more than she seems, between her manipulation of Stanley, her domination on Jillian, her ability to cast outside of her domain, etc. When it comes to her, I think we're best off to assume NOTHING.
That goes for her usefulness in close combat.
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2008-12-05, 03:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Archons could then be non-human casters, I suppose. Or at least some of them could be. Elves either have natural healing abilities or they can have casters too; yes, this would suggest that at least the altruist and lofty elves can produce a lot of healamancers, but that could be their one elf brand trait and would hardly be too much of an imbalance.
Possibly overlords cannot choose which sort of caster they get, but this seems odd in terms of traditional games and even seems unfair. Others have theorized that Wanda wasn't originally a croakamancer, if she even popped under Banhammer in Faq given her "tribe," even suggesting that she was Faq's missing predictamancer--a fact she may have hid from Stanley.
Yes, there's also hats! That provides yet another method through which commanders in the field could communicate with lookamancers in cities. Yes, lookamancy could or probably even must have range limitations, but surely they could transport lookamancers from conquered city to city as they advance on GK. Perhaps most if not all kingdoms have lookamancers but that they wouldn't spare any because the overlords don't want to lose their services as "invasion alarms."
In theory a caster would be vulnerable while traveling between cities, but surely this would be a manageable risk. Perhaps casters can even travel nearly instantaneously from city to city via the Magic Kingdom... perhaps that's how a single foolamancer could protect three different Faq cities.Last edited by DevilDan; 2008-12-05 at 03:52 PM.
Quo vadis?
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2008-12-05, 04:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
The only thing predictable about Wanda is her fashion sense, everything else would require a master class predictamancer to figure out.
Avatar: Red Dwagon decapitating a Cloth Golem, wonderfully drawn by Erfworld Artist Jamie Naguchi, oh yea and Rob Balder
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2008-12-05, 04:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Ansom's comment "Lofty Elves and Altruist Elves, you'll be throwing heals where needed." gives me the impression that healing ability is a general trait of those elf brands rather than a caster ability (which would be more an individual thing).
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2008-12-05, 04:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 131(??) The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
The former, maybe, the latter not likely: Banhammer wouldn't have risked Wanda leaving and giving away FAQ's existence.
Yes, I promoted that theory in the past... the issue with it is that when Parson sees Jack's stats he has a special of "Caster, foolamancer". That doesn't invalidate the theory, but it does then necessitate that specialization can be changed (or that Wanda was a croakamancer all along but was good enough at predictamancy to be able to do the job anyway and Jillian didn't feel like giving out that info to Ansom).
Even captured cities are dangerous... I'm still leaning towards scarcity as the issue, it is much less complicated.
You might be right about that, but the predictamancer would likely have been able to give enough notice for the foolamancer to get to the appropriate city... ore more likely Jack would have just prevented the approaching units from finding the entrance to the chokepoint or the tunnels...
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2008-12-05, 04:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Wow, I was doing research on Caster combat capability, and found this:
Klog entry:
"Wanda seems to resent the implication that she knows anything about troops or combat(though I think she does)."
Ansom is booped.
On general tropeing of casters, many games allow players to build death knights and 'normal' necromancers from the same base class, giving distinction only to how one chooses to train the caster. Guild Wars(class is called necromancer) and Champions(class is called death knight) both come to mind. Since we don't know Erfworld's rules on this, we can allow the possibility that 'death knight' training is possible for a caster.
Also, since most caster skill seems to be unrelated to leveling(Stanley, who is highly concerned with leveling his uncroaked warlords is unconcerned with leveling his casters), it is possible that some fighting skill is also obtainable without actually seeing combat. Given that Wanda is such a jack-of-all-trades in magic, I'd bet dollars to smuckers she took some combat training at some point.
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2008-12-05, 05:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
Knowledge about warfare is very different from melee capability. By your logic Parson could beat Ansom mano-et-mano without his sword.
On a similar note I once played a very effective wizard in D&D who at level 1 had a 16 str and 20 con (18 int, for those that wanna know). He was just as effective in melee combat as anyone else in the party at Lvl 1, he even one-shotted an orc with his staff.
1) We don't know anything about caster leveling; they may level from casting spells instead of combat (like an AD&D 2e caster).
2) I doubt casters could 'learn combat from a book' as it were. Attack/defense spells, sure. How to use a staff as an effective melee weapon? No.
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2008-12-05, 05:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: 132 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 119
This has been mentioned in the past and in this thread. I certainly don't underestimate Wanda. And if she has a "cast headache" spell she can have other ways to hurt a unit or to place status ailments on one. I don't particularly think that her verses were a spell, but there is such a thing as rhyme-o-mancy and Wanda is adept at spells outside her own discipline.
Stanley is not a deep thinker, so he would fixate on superficial matters like leveling--I'm not saying that leveling is unimportant, only that it isn't the crux of the question necessarily. Wanda could certainly have seen her share of fighting given that she survived the disappearance of the Croatan tribe.Quo vadis?
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2008-12-06, 01:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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