Erfworld 83, Page 77

[Rutee]

And I doubt that the Foolamancer can veil Stanley in his current state of madness.

Potentially, this may be par for the Foolamancer's course....

[fendrin]

RIP, Misty. If you really are croaked, at least. Parson is no doctor.

I'm baffled by the 'only take three' part. Sure, as Aquillion said, there might be a limit to the number of veiled, but I would think that it would be on a per-stack basis or a per-hex basis, or possibly 8, to mirror this stack bonus limit... although it might just be a matter of how powerful the foolamancer is.

But what is Stanley's plan? I don;t see him just cutting and running. I mean, He seems cowardly enough, but would more expect him to do something foolish like a head on charge at Ansom. But then I would expect he would take as many as possible.

Unless maybe he is trying to replicate what Parson did with the A-dwagons and 3 uncroaked warlords? maybe he is going to promote them to warlords? If so, they would be the first non-human warlords we have seen in GK.

I'm sure we will find out in the next few strips.

[Ink]

Great to see a new strip at last, but boy, could things get any worse. Well at least he left most of the knights for Parson, and hopefully we get to see them in action soon. I chuckled at Bogroll saying "So fearsome" in reaction to the KISS.

Misty's size seems to be a little inconsistent. She looks a lot bigger in today's panel, more like a regular human female. Man, I'm hoping there's some equivalent of Raise Dead or Resurrection in this world. I really don't want this to be the last of her.

[Haruspex]

Yay, comic!

Things look really bad. Still don't know what Stanley is planning, but it probably involves cloaking as others have said judging by the foolamancer. Maybe he's going to leave and then ambush Ansom (for the Arkenpliers) at an opportune moment. That must be it. Or maybe there's a bomb in Gobwin Knob that ASPLODES when Ansom investigates, killing him and letting Stanley nab the pliers. Hmm....?

[normalphil]

All interpetations that Stanely is a coward are superseeded by the fact that Stanley is a mind-bogglingly self-absoarbed a**hole.

[Justyn]

All interpetations that Stanely is a coward are superseeded by the fact that Stanley is a mind-bogglingly self-absoarbed a**hole.

So the two are mutually exclusive? He can't be both?

[Vreejack]

Nice speech by Stanley. That really motivated the troops.

The "clown" quote from It was pretty sharp, though. "...and this clown." "We all float down here." Was that a way of saying he was more dangerous than he looks? Or was t a reference to the power of illusion to turn your own fears against you?

[Sebastian]

Ansom needs to purge the city from anyone who is bound to obey Stanley (Parson, Wanda Sizemore).

But are they? we don't know how does it work. It could be that they are bound to obey "the leader of GK", which one could argue Stanley is not anymore.

[Cruiser1]

Misty's size seems to be a little inconsistent. She looks a lot bigger in today's panel, more like a regular human female.

I think Misty's still very small compared to Parson. Parson is just holding her out in front of him a ways, i.e. she's in the foreground very close to the camera, while Parson is more in the background, making them seem closer in size.

[Haruspex]

Let's see...

1) I hate unsubstantiated claims.

If Gobwin Knob surrenders, control should revert to the proper owner, Jillian. What happens after that is open to the PLOT, but for it to start attacking other ally cities makes no sense. Defeating Stanley's threat is why the alliance came together.

Where does it say that is Jillian the proper owner of Gobwin Knob? She says he (Stanley) cost her a kingdom, but it could be referring to some other kingdom he attacked, of which there seemed to be quite a few. Also in one of the strips you linked, I thought Vinnie would know if Gobwin Knob was originally owned by Zamussels.

I'm also not sure if a barbarian would live on a fort in a crater, but that's a matter of opinion.

[Lamech]

Hmm... there are 29 dwagons leaving so it seems that Stanley had some extras. So Ansom is pretty much dead if he gets hit.
I wonder what Stanley is planing though.

[SteveMB]

I concur. That is Misty, by the way. I'd bet that's why the authors showed us that heartwarming scene with Parson and Misty earlier; Parson has been looking at this like a strategy game, and now he's internalizing that these are real people instead of just units on a board. Beaucoup character development for Lord Hamster.

3) On finding Misty, is this the first point of realization that this is "real"?

Note that his first reaction is to ask Sizemore "Can casters be uncroaked?" That would seem to suggest that he's still thinking in "game" terms... though his reaction in the last panel suggests that he's also thinking of it in "personal" terms. Perhaps this will prove to be a tipping point between the former and the latter, though....

But what is Stanley's plan? I don;t see him just cutting and running. I mean, He seems cowardly enough, but would more expect him to do something foolish like a head on charge at Ansom. But then I would expect he would take as many as possible.

Unless maybe he is trying to replicate what Parson did with the A-dwagons and 3 uncroaked warlords? maybe he is going to promote them to warlords? If so, they would be the first non-human warlords we have seen in GK.

Hmmm...

Infantry units can be promoted to warlord in the capital but it takes mucho shmuckero.

If he did promote the top three Knights to warlords, perhaps that's all he could afford (which would imply that GK's treasury is now close to tapped out, giving Parson one more handicap ).

That does leave the question of why he didn't just use the remaining two uncroaked warlords (maybe newly minted warlord Knights have a better bonus, or he needs leaders who can use their heads for something besides shoulder ballast now that he doesn't have the Trimancer).

We saw Marbits and various types of Elves in the assembly of Ansom's "courageous and competent warlords", so there evidently isn't a game rule requiring warlords to be human. The fact that all known GK warlords have been human could be a result of Stanley's "handsome and dashing" selection criteria.

I think Misty's still very small compared to Parson. Parson is just holding her out in front of him a ways, i.e. she's in the foreground very close to the camera, while Parson is more in the background, making them seem closer in size.

Looking closely, Jamie does a very good job of using perspective and composition to emphasize or deemphasize Parson's "giant" size as best fits the scene.

Where does it say that is Jillian the proper owner of Gobwin Knob? She says he (Stanley) cost her a kingdom, but it could be referring to some other kingdom he attacked, of which there seemed to be quite a few. Also in one of the strips you linked, I thought Vinnie would know if Gobwin Knob was originally owned by Zamussels.

To all indications, nobody but Wanda and Jillian herself knew that she was royal. It's possible that Jillian was referring to some other kingdom, but here I fall back on the principle that "Occam's Razor" is not the name of one of the tools in Wanda's interrogation kit.

I'm also not sure if a barbarian would live on a fort in a crater, but that's a matter of opinion.

The most straightforward reconstruction of Jillian's past history is that she became a barbarian mercenary warlord after fleeing (voluntarily or otherwise) from GK.

[The Old Hack]

Why three Knights along? One explanation may be that Stanley still thinks that the Arkentools will somehow find their way into his hands through his Great Fate -- and thus, one Knight to wield each additional Arkentool he gets hold of. (Of course, he might also be planning to found a band. )

Incidentally, that last picture of Parson holding Misty somehow reminds me of the front cover of that ancient Crisis comic where Superman is holding a dead Supergirl in his arms. Lovely, lovely drawing, and very sad, too.

[hewhosaysfish]

Why three Knights along? One explanation may be that Stanley still thinks that the Arkentools will somehow find their way into his hands through his Great Fate -- and thus, one Knight to wield each additional Arkentool he gets hold of. (Of course, he might also be planning to found a band. )

My theory:
Perhaps a faction can support a small number of troops without a city. that is to say, a faction's income is :- (y*#cities)+x
- where y is the income per city and x is the income Stanley will have if/when GK falls. He can't rely on what he may have accumulated in GKs treasury (because the Alliance will nick it) so he can only take the troops he can support of x schmuckers per turn.
So he could have taken a dozen gobwins or 3 of his most hardcore KISS hobgobwyns.

Incidentally, that last picture of Parson holding Misty somehow reminds me of the front cover of that ancient Crisis comic where Superman is holding a dead Supergirl in his arms. Lovely, lovely drawing, and very sad, too.

Seen this?

[Haruspex]

To all indications, nobody but Wanda and Jillian herself knew that she was royal. It's possible that Jillian was referring to some other kingdom, but here I fall back on the principle that "Occam's Razor" is not the name of one of the tools in Wanda's interrogation kit.

The most straightforward reconstruction of Jillian's past history is that she became a barbarian mercenary warlord after fleeing (voluntarily or otherwise) from GK.

Huh. But that would mean that the Zamussels name is fake, cos the name of a royal line should be known to nobility like Ansom and Vinny. But your points are solid.

[Finn Solomon]

My theory:
Seen this?

So what? The Crisis cover is what most people will think of. Most people who read comic books, but then again it's likely that most people who read Erf read comics.

[SteveMB]

Huh. But that would mean that the Zamussels name is fake, cos the name of a royal line should be known to nobility like Ansom and Vinny. But your points are solid.

Well, we still don't know the answer to Parson's question about how royalty works in a world where people "pop like food," so there's no real basis to conclude anything about that.

[sihnfahl]

Why three Knights along? One explanation may be that Stanley still thinks that the Arkentools will somehow find their way into his hands through his Great Fate -- and thus, one Knight to wield each additional Arkentool he gets hold of. (Of course, he might also be planning to found a band. )

Because he wants as strong a stack as possible.

The Foolamancer can only veil a single stack, if I recall.

Stanley + 3 knights + 4 dwagons = 8 units = 1 stack

The Foolamancer, as a caster, doesn't count, I suppose.

[SteveMB]

Because he wants as strong a stack as possible.

The Foolamancer can only veil a single stack, if I recall.

Stanley + 3 knights + 4 dwagons = 8 units = 1 stack

The Foolamancer, as a caster, doesn't count, I suppose.

A stack isn't necessarily limited to eight units; that's just the point at which the bonus maxes out (and so increasing the stack beyond that point runs into diminishing returns, and perhaps other limits that haven't been described yet).

That said, it's possible that veiling can only cover so many units. (I note that if it can't cover at least 22 units, it wouldn't have been an option for hiding the wounded dwagons and warlords even if Parson had known about it and had been able to arrange for the Foolamancer to be available on the scene).

[Ganurath]

It's actually 1 Stanley + 1 Pennywise + 3 KISS + 3 Dwagons = Full Stack

Good bye and good luck... I'm suprised nobody highlighted that bit of parting words.

In other news: Bogroll, put Hamstard on a flag! Hoist the colors before the Coalition arrives! If they see Stanley isn't in charge here, we may be able to negociate!

[Emmerson Grant]

Of course! Stanley would have Paul Stanley's make-up.

Well done, Rob and Jamie.

[sihnfahl]

A stack isn't necessarily limited to eight units; that's just the point at which the bonus maxes out (and so increasing the stack beyond that point runs into diminishing returns, and perhaps other limits that haven't been described yet).

We know that, to successfully Veil, a foolamancer has to be within the stack to be veiled. To Erfworlders, a stack = 8 units. Stanley's just following his natural inclinations.

It's actually 1 Stanley + 1 Pennywise + 3 KISS + 3 Dwagons = Full Stack

Then I'm guessing you're putting two KISS on the same Dwagon and Pennywise on the dwagon with Stanley?

Dwagon + Stanley + Pennywise
Dwagon + Kiss
Dwagon + Kiss + Kiss

As opposed to my
Dwagon + Stanley + Pennywise
Dwagon + Kiss (x3)

[Forevergrey]

All we need now is a harem and we'll be looking at a real Love Gun situation.

Unless of course the dragons will be servicing that role. It's a fantasy universe, kiddies.

[SteveMB]

Then I'm guessing you're putting two KISS on the same Dwagon and Pennywise on the dwagon with Stanley?

Dwagon + Stanley + Pennywise
Dwagon + Kiss
Dwagon + Kiss + Kiss

As opposed to my
Dwagon + Stanley + Pennywise
Dwagon + Kiss (x3)

We know that a dwagon can carry two passengers. We don't know what the limit is.

[Forevergrey]

Frankly I don't see KISS dinking a ride, it's travel in style or bust.

[sihnfahl]

We know that a dwagon can carry two passengers. We don't know what the limit is.

Yes, but Stanley would be aiming for the greatest protection possible. Max stack bonus with the best offense power. That would lead me to believe that dwagon + strong rider > 2 dwagons on the combat scale...

The foolamancer would be defensive: veiling only (then again, he doesn't seem to be capable of much as he is).

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Stanley speech sounds semi-cribbed from Elan's speech...
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0421.html


I came across Order of the Stick when Elan had his "Big Moment," and was hooked from there.

Erfworld? Meh... I keep hoping. I already had my long spiel about strategery vs. dumb luck. Forced plot points. Whether or not Parson should be sent home for being useless to the story.

Still, it's nice to see the strip is still around. I stumbled across Dungeons and Denizens just before it slammed into its own wall. Kind of disappointing, to say the least.

[Lord Zentei]

Erfworld? Meh... I keep hoping. I already had my long spiel about strategery vs. dumb luck. Forced plot points. Whether or not Parson should be sent home for being useless to the story.

Parson has now stumbled into this seemingly unwinnable situation. Perhaps that's where he shines.

Forced plot points, bah.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Parson has now stumbled into this seemingly unwinnable situation. Perhaps that's where he shines.

Forced plot points, bah.

It was pretty much unwinnable when he showed up! Outnumbered 25 to 1? His only strength a nearly invulnerable fortress, and air superiority? A well organized opponant? Serious group disfunction on his side?

Yeah, any noob should have been able to win that set up. What Parson really needs is a challenge!

[Oracle_Hunter]

Incidentally, that last picture of Parson holding Misty somehow reminds me of the front cover of that ancient Crisis comic where Superman is holding a dead Supergirl in his arms. Lovely, lovely drawing, and very sad, too.

It's good you recognized the Pieta, but let it be known that this one is much Older Than You Think

But I have an alternate interpretation of Stanley's Plan.

Spoiler

Show

Stanley doesn't strike me either as a Dirty Coward or a believer of "discretion is the better part of valor." He likes taking the most direct route to solve a problem. Yes, he mentioned running away before, but we didn't see him raiding the treasury or anything like that - we saw him gearing up for war.

Considering how inevitable Stanley thinks his victory over Ansom is going to be, I think we are walking into Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny territory.

If I'm right, then I'm going to break out the popcorn... in about 3 months.

EDIT:
Pah, Slow Ninja'd by hewhosaysfish! That's what I get for not finishing the thread before posting.