[Spoiler] No Stats?

[paddyfool]

Hey people,

Any speculation on what Parson's lack of visible stats might mean? I have a few guesses:

1) Parson as outside observer, ie: he's not fully in the game world. He doesn't have a health stat - how can he be hurt? He doesn't have a damage stat - how can he do damage? Riding against this are three facts: he was brought in by an ingame spell, which suggests that at least some ingame things can affect him; he's getting around perfectly well without a move stat; and he now looks a bit more like the average inhabitant of the world than he did in his own world. However, I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens when someone tries to help him - if he is the Ultimate Warlord, it should at least be difficult.

2) Parson as Superman. He has unknown, unguessable abilities that will only develop later, possibly coming about through knowledge of the game or his outsider status. Such as the obscene spellcasting ability that was speculated about before... or, perhaps, limitless damage/health/move. But that would be a difficult thing to work in to a good comic.

3) He never wrote in his own stats - so he can make them what he wants them to be. Or they may be based on his self-impression. Basically a minor variation on 2.

4) His abilities are the same as his "real-world" abilities, but since these are based on an analogue rather than a digital scale, the stats window has a fatal bug and just doesn't show them. Bit boring, really, although it does bring him back to having to win the thing purely on strategy.

Any other ideas?

[Erk]

I suspect #4. So far we have been given every reason to believe Parson is just the same person he was on Earth. He does not obey Erf physics one way or another, everything is just Earthlike to him. I don't think that is boring... Parson being a superhero on Erfworld would kinda break the point of the story, I think. And #1 doesn't make sense since we have seen Parson interact with and be affected by a large number of Erfworld objects now. The EyeBook at least would likely not work if he simply didn't exist in Erfworld.

[Glome]

I'd say it's mostly number 4. He is an off-worlder and I don't expect everything to react the same way to him as it does to everyone else. Still, I don't believe it will give him that big advantage in most situations and I don't think he has anything close to superpowers in this world. Also, making him somehow invulnerable would very much limit the storytelling possiblities here.

[Wooter]

I'm sorry, I must be dense, retarded or something. Where are these stats you speak of?

[Glome]

I'm sorry, I must be dense, retarded or something. Where are these stats you speak of?

In #18 when Parson was summoned, Stanley remarks that he can't even see his points. It seems to indicates that erfworlders have some sort of stats that they can see, but not on Parson.

[paddyfool]

I've just had a whole other idea: Maybe "points" has to do with "victory points from battles won". And since Parson's never played this particular game before... he has no victory points. Maybe his points will start to appear once he's actually won some confrontation or other...

[Innis Cabal]

i think it means that he is outside the game but still in the rules..so he can affect things that others could not, like move as he pleases and such

[Erk]

I think it just means his stats are not listed in numbers, any more than any of us have number-listed stats.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0024.html panel 9, the gwiffon's readout thing lists its points. Those are the points that parson doesn't have.

[Ultimatum479]

On that note, that somewhat defeats the purpose of Parson's "ultimate spying pwnage". Even if it were true that his statlessness means he can neither deal nor receive damage and thus he can waltz into Ansom's base and analyze the opposition without retribution, he wouldn't actually learn too much since he, apparently, can't see the points of Erfworlders like they can see each others' points.