Erfworld 72, page 66

[Krelon]

psychology rules!

[dun-dun-DUUN]

Yep. It does.
-Wait.
Wanda admitted that Julian loved her!


EDIT: And there's already a thread.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

New Strip is up.

WOW! I've never been the thread starter! It's everything I've ever dreamed it would be, and more!

[zeropsm]

Think it would never come!


Seem like Jilian is not up to attack...

Well...i was wrong ´bout her...

[(name here)]

I wonder if the Archons will disobey orders to attack.

[Wolfman42666]

wonder why Parson is bothered that she loves ansom

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I wonder if the Archons will disobey orders to attack.

They are Mercenary Units assigned to Jillian. I don't think they can attack without Jillian, but they can certianly report the dwagons and Jillian's refusat to attack once they get to Ansom.

And THAT will certianly open a whole new case against Jillian. Especially if the Archons drop the second bomb on Jillian: that they know about the spell Wanda cast over Jillian.

Serious love/lust triangle.

[SteveMB]

wonder why Parson is bothered that she loves ansom

I think what bothers him is not being informed about a critical element of the situation.

Again.

[Scientivore]

Interesting to know about that 61% chance of totally wiping the dwagons out. Of course, that means a 39% chance that they would have to withdraw at some point or be wiped out themselves...but I doubt that would be much any consolation calming for Stanley.

Oh, and somehow, I hadn't really realized how big that table is. Nice.

[Flipkat]

I think Parson's surprise came from him hearing previously that Ansom loved her, not that it was mutual, and her obvious willingness (at that point) to participate in a plan that could lead to his capture. So...If she "loves" Ansom, then the attachment she has to Wanda must be stronger than "love"?

Why is Stanley surprised at being hated, though? The whole world's out to get him!

BTW: I think the table must have a "zoom" function - they couldn't have followed the path of "The Hunt" on what's showing now.

[Karellen]

I'm a little disappointed. This scenario's not uninteresting, but I'd prefer if Parson had prepared for this eventuality in a more sophisticated manner.

Also, I'm a little troubled by how the game mechanics and unit strengths seem to fluctuate a lot depending on what's convenient for storytelling. I guess they'd have to, but still, wounded or not, it seems a little off to me that all those dragons could be "totally wiped out" just like that by a half a dozen units with just a single warlord.

[ShiningTed]

Ahhh, I LOVE an unexpected update!

[battleburn]

Very nice,
Well, I hate her too!
LOL, Tool is a bit of a baby sometimes.

[Emperor Demonking]

Yeah that, well I hate her too, was funny.

[Ikkitosen]

I'm a little disappointed. This scenario's not uninteresting, but I'd prefer if Parson had prepared for this eventuality in a more sophisticated manner.

Also, I'm a little troubled by how the game mechanics and unit strengths seem to fluctuate a lot depending on what's convenient for storytelling. I guess they'd have to, but still, wounded or not, it seems a little off to me that all those dragons could be "totally wiped out" just like that by a half a dozen units with just a single warlord.

I get the feeling the archons are pretty powerful though. Plus remember Jillian's a 9, and I doubt any of the undead guys is even a 3.

[zeropsm]

I'm a little disappointed. This scenario's not uninteresting, but I'd prefer if Parson had prepared for this eventuality in a more sophisticated manner.

Also, I'm a little troubled by how the game mechanics and unit strengths seem to fluctuate a lot depending on what's convenient for storytelling. I guess they'd have to, but still, wounded or not, it seems a little off to me that all those dragons could be "totally wiped out" just like that by a half a dozen units with just a single warlord.

All those "heavilly wounded" dwagons...and i Think the Archons are warlords themselves(3units isn´t such a mercenary help).

[Mc. Lovin']

Not one of the funniest comics the've done but i still liked it

[Maelore]

Is it just me or does the Tool actually seem surprised that Jillian hates him?

[Bendal]

That is a really cool, real-time map they've got there. Looks like Jillian is wrestling with an internal conflict in this episode; how to tell the archons that there's no good reason to go fight the dwagons without it appearing that she's truly under the influence of that spell?

[Dr. T]

Well, this clarifies the meachanics of observation we speculated about. Jillian and her posse are indeed in the same hex as the dwagons. And they did not see the dwagons beforehand. Both groups are clearly out in the open; the dwagons flying above water and Gillian also flying. There simply is no situation that would reasonably allow for an even better outlook. Thus it follows:

Units can not, under no circumstances, look into the neighbouring hex.

At least, they can not spot troups there. They might be able to get info on the landscape.

[Uthrac]

Is it just me, or did Wanda imply that Jillian loves her?

[zeropsm]

Is it just me, or did Wanda imply that Jillian loves her?

Yup...she did!

[kirn]

Its been implied about a dozen times so far.

[Znek]

I guess it's the plot that Jillian has to find the dwagons, but if she wanted to punch through the strongest hex around Ansoms position, why doesn' she fly there directly? Flying over the water looks like a big detour to me, or did I miss some information of her position?

[Winterwind]

Well, this clarifies the meachanics of observation we speculated about. Jillian and her posse are indeed in the same hex as the dwagons. And they did not see the dwagons beforehand. Both groups are clearly out in the open; the dwagons flying above water and Gillian also flying. There simply is no situation that would reasonably allow for an even better outlook. Thus it follows:

Units can not, under no circumstances, look into the neighbouring hex.

At least, they can not spot troups there. They might be able to get info on the landscape.

Which leaves the question, is that so, because they just don't see units on other hexes, as if those units were invisible to them, or are the hexes simply this huge?

Parson sure is relying a lot on this curse he doesn't even know the precise workings of.
Is it just me, or is such a curse a bit strange for a strategy game? I mean, its effects are extremely vague mechanically, and if there is something table-top strategy games have it is precise mechanics...

[Jacen]

I wonder if the Archons will disobey orders to attack.

I think they won't. They are mercenaries. Why to get killed. They would miss some bonuses etc because she won't attack and risk dying.

EDIT and if you count it is only eight of them. So missing leadership bonus and 1/8th of they headcount will change odds. And her mount won't attack either even everyone else will. that makes 1/4th of head count.

What... in one picture there is 9 and in previous comic there were 8. +1 under the text box. OK that makes 2/9th of them not attacking if everyone ele does.

[factotum]

"Won't fight for someone she hates--won't hurt someone she loves" is only woolly because tabletop strategy games don't usually have concepts of love and hate. Erfworld does because it would be a fairly sterile, boring sort of world if emotion didn't play its part.

I don't think the Archons would attack without Jillian--it would be suicide if she didn't then join them in the assault, I would assume. I'm not convinced they're going to "tell" on her when they eventually reach Ansom, either--remember they said that Jillian being a traitor would not invalidate their contract, just complicate it somewhat. I wouldn't be surprised if Ansom signed them up on the basis they would protect Jillian; he didn't need the extra troops to take out Stanley, after all. If that's the case, they will presumably follow Jillian and obey her orders regardless of what is best for Team Ansom.

[Winterwind]

"Won't fight for someone she hates--won't hurt someone she loves" is only woolly because tabletop strategy games don't usually have concepts of love and hate. Erfworld does because it would be a fairly sterile, boring sort of world if emotion didn't play its part.

Sure it would be, but so far I thought emotion came in only during the discussions between the units, and in their "free time", while they are waiting for the other side to make their turn, not as actual part of the mechanics which rule the world - I thought these would be precisely like those which could appear in a real-world tabletop strategy game. But, okay, I stand corrected now. I guess it will make for a more interesting story that way.

[sorceror]

I'm a little disappointed. This scenario's not uninteresting, but I'd prefer if Parson had prepared for this eventuality in a more sophisticated manner.

Remember that Parson's only been there for approximately two days, and has had very limited opportunities to gather information during that time, and he's low on sleep. Even so, he managed to put together and execute a novel plan that impressed both Stanley and his opponents. He recognized a critical dependency in Jetstone's forces - the seige - and did, as promised, major damage for minimal cost. Ansom is literally willing to risk his life to thwart the next step in that plan - his situation is that critical after one of Parson's turns.

Parson may be extremely gifted in this type of warfare, but he's still human. A character that can't make mistakes or be defeated does not make for a really good story. Still, Parson's proven himself quite effective already and I rather expect his effectiveness to increase exponentially as he learns more about the 'rules of the game'. And, at 25-to-1 odds, he'll need that.

Plus, he seems like a basically decent guy. How long can he work for the 'bad guys' - who are apparently causing real harm to real people (or, at least, sentient beings) - before his conscience gets to him?

[SteveMB]

Well, this clarifies the meachanics of observation we speculated about. Jillian and her posse are indeed in the same hex as the dwagons.

They are now. It's unclear whether or not they were at the moment they spotted them.

Is it just me, or did Wanda imply that Jillian loves her?

Indeed. Between irritation at having her confidence in her plan questioned and the need to convince the Tool not to do something that will boop it up, she's saying things that were too "complex" to discuss earlier.

Her guard on this subject might be weakened because she's accustomed to dealing with Sizemore (who strikes me as a bit clueless about people) and Stanley (who strikes me as a bit clueless in general). OTOH, Parson might pick up the implication once he has a moment to think (though whether he'll say anything is another question).

Is it just me or does the Tool actually seem surprised that Jillian hates him?

I read it as Stanley's somewhat childish personality coming through -- he's a bit too narcissistic to grok the notion of someone hating him.