Book 2 – Text Updates 011

[balder]

New One is up.

[fractal]

Well, if FAQ doesn't work out for Duncan, he can always see if Cloud City has any openings, with that headgear.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Napster, eh? I wonder if Metawwica will show up later.

So then, Duncan Scone thinks some Lvl 2 warlord on a Meg is an even match for Sylvia and her red Dwagon? More ill-boding.

[KiltedNinja]

It felt like the Titans were laughing.

...I've been trying to think about what this actually means.. Does it mean that the thought of Jillian and Wanda fighting is a joke? As in, "How could they *ever* fight each other when they're so obviously in love"...? ...or are "the titans laughing" because no-one could actually win that kind of battle, with love being the battlefield, everyone loses.. ...kinda.

Thoughts?

[BLANDCorporatio]

It probably means nothing more than that the result of a fight is unpredictable.

Or it is the Titans laughing because they know the surreal contortions that we'll go to, to interpret that line.

[Sinrus]

Well, if FAQ doesn't work out for Duncan, he can always see if Cloud City has any openings, with that headgear.

I WANTED TO SAY THAT!!!!!!

[Llord_Droll]

Duncan seems to have lost weight.

No guesses at what it all means. I haven't had my coffee yet.

This buildup to the battle is impressive and frustrating.

Everything we would need to know beforehand we will know before the battle.

A+ for thoroughness.

[Angband]

Hmmm... new information on Hippiemancy, and the work of a brand new caster type we haven't seen before, as well as more from a Hat magician. I wonder who famous Date-a-mancers would be. We might see a Ruth or an Alfred showing up...

Also, it appears that Duncan is unaware of Charlie's forces in the battlespace, given that he only considers Faq's forces in the fight. Very interesting, considering that the archons were said to be delivering provisions to Jillian's forces as they made their long trek to Spacerock.

For those not getting the Cloud City references: http://alexplorer.net/guitar/text/guitar/lobot.jpg

[Pax]

Bwa ha ha ... a Laurel made in NAPSTER, that helps to evaluate matching people together in pairs... bwa ha ha ha ha ...!


...


...


...


Wait. A Laurel made by a tri-linked set of casters ... "thousands and thousands of turns ago". Well, the Table trick may have been a moment of creative epiphany for Stanley, but, it's not a truly unique sort of epiphany.

[SteveMB]

It probably means nothing more than that the result of a fight is unpredictable.

Or it is the Titans laughing because they know the surreal contortions that we'll go to, to interpret that line.

Or the Titans are laughing at whoever was supposed to have made sure the Jell-O pit was available.

[dan2178]

I'm feeling sorry for Lord Bobtail...

[mblackadder]

First reaction on seeing the artwork
It's Lobot!

Good to see him getting out and about. I was worried he'd spend his entire life in Cloud City and just settle into his niche there. The man had the talent to go places. It was obvious, so good on him for dropping the Vice Adminstrator job and becoming a Warlord. Sure he picked the wrong side but hey he's got a great boss and I'm sure he's got a lifetime of success ahead of him.

Second
Artifacts can be made, does it take a Tri-Link to make them? What's the production rate like? Does it take juice? Can we have Jack off making one time use Foolmancy hats last turn and this turn holding a veil? Are their "recipes" in Erfworld or is it a "Hey y'all watch this" and sometimes they produce something useful?

[Davre]

So then, Duncan Scone thinks some Lvl 2 warlord on a Meg is an even match for Sylvia and her red Dwagon? More ill-boding.

Well, the same source thinks that, on the whole, his side is completely out-gunned so I don't see that it bodes so ill.

[Oberon]

It felt like the Titans were laughing.

...I've been trying to think about what this actually means.. Does it mean that the thought of Jillian and Wanda fighting is a joke? As in, "How could they *ever* fight each other when they're so obviously in love"...? ...or are "the titans laughing" because no-one could actually win that kind of battle, with love being the battlefield, everyone loses.. ...kinda.

Thoughts?

The common context of a phrase like "the gods are laughing" [and "at us" is implied] is that your side is going to get owned. This meets Duncan's earlier estimation that "To win, [Wanda's air forces] needed only to strike." It means, in the most straightforward interpretation, that Wanda is more than a match for Jillian ("he considered what would happen if these two women were to fight") in Duncan's magic laurel enhanced "very useful intuition about combat match-ups."


We learn a lot of interesting, but typically non-concrete, things about Erfworld in this update:
Another tri-mancer combination is documented and one item fabrication capability it possesses;
A possible life span reference - Duncan's laurel was made "thousands of turns ago", but that doesn't mean it went immediately to Duncan;
Some glimpses into Date-a-mancy, and the very interesting revelation that a randomly popped very valuable caster who happens to be of this type is typically not kept very long. Released to the Magic Kingdom? Disbanded? Casters seem to follow different rules from other unit types in many more regards than simply being a caster.

[Sinrus]

First reaction on seeing the artwork
It's Lobot!

Good to see him getting out and about. I was worried he'd spend his entire life in Cloud City and just settle into his niche there. The man had the talent to go places. It was obvious, so good on him for dropping the Vice Adminstrator job and becoming a Warlord. Sure he picked the wrong side but hey he's got a great boss and I'm sure he's got a lifetime of success ahead of him.

A great boss? He seems to say that he has a sucky boss.

Second
Artifacts can be made, does it take a Tri-Link to make them? What's the production rate like? Does it take juice? Can we have Jack off making one time use Foolmancy hats last turn and this turn holding a veil? Are their "recipes" in Erfworld or is it a "Hey y'all watch this" and sometimes they produce something useful?

Artifacts are made by the titans. The Napster Laurel is a magic item.

[Ninjaguineapig]

Well. The powers of Date-a-mancy have finally been revealed.

[CelebrenIthil]

I'm still a bit confused as to why it was Napster while something like an online dating site might have fitted more... but I know little of both so whatever. I guess Napster maybe allows (it still exists, right?) you to find new groups/other people that match your musical tastes, like Last.fm does?

[fjolnir]

The ability to evaluate and subsequently fuck up interpersonal relationships seems to be fairly powerful...

[Oberon]

Artifacts are made by the titans. The Napster Laurel is a magic item.

This is not canon. Sizemore speculated that Parson's bracer might be an artifact, and it was created by the summoning spell which was in turn crafted by caster units.

Sizemore was aware of the source of the summoning spell, the types of magic which were involved, and its cost in shmuckers. Wanda said "the Findamancers and Predictamancers have forged a spell together", which excludes even a trimancer link. If artifacts were solely created by the Titans, Sizemore would not have thought that an artifact could be the byproduct of a spell crafted by caster units.

[theseus2x]

Napster, eh? I wonder if Metawwica will show up later.

So then, Duncan Scone thinks some Lvl 2 warlord on a Meg is an even match for Sylvia and her red Dwagon? More ill-boding.

Well, who knows? Maybe a Mega IS tactically superior to a Red Dwagon. I've been going back and forth with people on this in another thread.