Book 2 – Text Updates 022

[Fug]

There is also the issue of parsimony. Why include this update if they will not be attacked? A Parson/Stanley update would make more sense. Its pretty rare that nonsequiter updates occur in this comic, although I may be setting myself up for one :O)

But it you want an actual argument . . .

From the update when Jillian was flying from the capital to the bridge it seemed like it took a long time and it did mention that she was crossing hexes. The Jetstone Capital may be enough hexes from the bridge that slow units cannot go to the capital to attack Wanda and then return to fight the remaining GK troops at the bridge (assuming they don't depop), allowing them to escape. In this case it would make sense to go out one hex, wipe out this group and then return to the capital.

But now to take on the best argument for not attacking GK units at the bridge, that they may depop if Wanda is croaked. It might make even more sense to attack these units if they WILL depop after Wanda is croaked AND if you are confident of victory because you would loose out on experience you would get for killing them.

You know if you were playing a wargame and you could wipe out some juicy target that would give you a lot of XP that you would do it if you thought that you would loose out on the XP otherwise :O)

[Reclaimer]

There is also the issue of parsimony. Why include this update if they will not be attacked?

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm enjoying the comic being put back into high gear, and I've got faith that we won't be getting useless filler text updates. They've always been a thrilling narrative companion to the comics themselves.

But now to take on the best argument for not attacking GK knobs units at the bridge, that they may depop if Wanda is croaked. It might make even more sense to attack these units if they WILL depop after Wanda is croaked AND if you are confident of victory because you would loose out on experience you would get for killing them.

You know if you were playing a wargame and you could wipe out some juicy target that would give you a lot of XP that you would do it if you thought that you would loose out on the XP otherwise :O)

Didn't think about that one, but it's another great point.

If you think about it, though, the best reason to wipe out this force is simple: GK can, on its turn, import more Leadership. They've perfected the long-distance transfer of key personnel, so even if Wanda died, and yet the Decrypted remained, they'd still have a big enough force to give a black eye to an attacking army. Not worth the risk, when you can wipe them out without even delaying your return to the capital.

Also, perhaps there's an unconscious link between the DCs and Wanda. She's starting to think like Parson, and now even her lowly field captains are following his lead...

Really there are just too many reasons to attack to handwave it as pointless, and Jetstone's in no rush here. I hope Ford and his men throw one hell of a monkeywrench into the works.

[doran]

Heh, Captain, or President Ford is the guy who has control of the column despite never being appointed by Stanley due to two accidents.

[gazes_also]

Hmm...does Parson's influence extend to all units in GK? This seems very much like the "kill the siege weapons first" maneuver that he used in the first book.

Are all units actually learning from him?

It's actually not a great plan. So, yes they want to target units with anti-air capability, but their plan of action has two major flaws.
First, it gives up the bridgehead to the attacking force.
Second, they are dividing an already inferior force to keep a tactical reserve for a counterstrike.

The foot-soldiers will surge over the bridge basically unopposed; there would be no need to send higher level units against such a badly organized defense. They can push back the GK pikers and establish a secure perimeter before any archers cross over. the GK frontline would most likely be overwhelmed by the first rush and then the reserve will be picked off while their still trying to locate their targets, especially since there would be no flyers or casters in the attack and the RCC troops won't be being so picky.

[ GK piker:" Oh, I don't want to fight you, I'm after archery." RCC stabber: "Too bad mate, I'm after you."]

[KiltedNinja]

...I for some reason immediately had Harrison Ford in my head when reading the character's lines, particularly when he said "We must hope that they do" - just the random "I'm making an important, rousing speach, and buggering it up" style that Indiana Jones does.. also - random hat reference. *shrug*... it made sense in my head.

I'm liking the shield as well, very "I'm a spikey evil shield of death with stabbing abilities", whilst looking like an innocuous bottle cap...

...or maybe it's just very late at night...

[build6]

Wow. I guess the loyalty of the decrypted is something quite out of the ordinary, eh?

yeah man - this post made real clear that the "born again" nature of the decrypted wasn't just confined to the top handful of characters. Every. Single. One - is now a suicidal kamikaze shock trooper for the Cause of Wanda

[Dancing Cthulhu]

Well that is interesting. Getting a look (or description) of the column and what its overall purpose was for puts everything in further perspective. No wonder Parson didn't give good odds for it + Wanda winning if they were facing all three members of the RCCII on their terms.

Nice new characters, now I wonder if Ford's planning will come to anything. Total sacrifice maybe, but done in order to help reduce Jetstone's ability to strike at Wanda... Personally I am hoping Trem doesn't do anything to silly (since I'm hoping he is a very smart warlord). He should have an idea of the challenge he'd face taking Wanda and her dwagons down, and wasting forces on GK's column at this point seems... well, unnecessarily wasteful. I mean if he marches over and does loose a caster? And Haggar probably doesn't have much desire to go at it again. I guess Slately could order something silly, but Oss seems to think he'll want Trem and the casters back to the capital...

It's actually not a great plan. So, yes they want to target units with anti-air capability, but their plan of action has two major flaws.

Well Ford isn't the greatest Warlord and I guess from where he is standing (as a decrypted) it makes sense. They can't win, not really, and their only purpose is to help Wanda, not themselves. Jetstone + Haggar probably does have the forces to take take them out without exposing their anti-air capabilities much, they might just loose a lot of infantry (like Haggar). So Ford is sacrificing the chance to inflict many casualties to maybe increase the chance to inflict a few more targeted ones.

I guess it might also make attacking their position look more attractive to the RCCII forces across the bridge. If Haggar/Jetstone thought they'd have to go up against the same situation Haggar's first wave faced it probably wouldn't look to attractive, even without Ansom. Now at least they might think "hah, we can cross the bridge far easier then before!", since I guess they are watching.

There is also the issue of parsimony. Why include this update if they will not be attacked? A Parson/Stanley update would make more sense. Its pretty rare that nonsequiter updates occur in this comic, although I may be setting myself up for one :O)

I don't know, a lot of the text updates have involved forshadowing and/or character/background development. Even if Ford's plan doesn't get put into action it gives us a chance to see some more decrypted thinking and how desperate they are to save Wanda, wanting to get attacked and die in the hope to even slightly weaken Jetstone's potential attack against the flyers.

Plus I'm sure people would wonder what the GK column is doing while everything else is going on. I'm just not sure why it would make sense for them to be attacked. There really doesn't seem to be much incentive for either Trem or the Haggar warlord to want to go back over first when a much bigger prize is hovering over Spacerock that could theoretically make needing to fight the decrypted column at all unnecessary. Although I guess Trem could take units useful to fighting Wanda with him to the capital (the casters and most or all archers) and let Duke Antium go and fight the GK ground force. Ford's plan would then go into action but it wouldn't actually influence Jetstone vs. Wanda all that much.

If you think about it, though, the best reason to wipe out this force is simple: GK can, on its turn, import more Leadership. They've perfected the long-distance transfer of key personnel, so even if Wanda died, and yet the Decrypted remained, they'd still have a big enough force to give a black eye to an attacking army. Not worth the risk, when you can wipe them out without even delaying your return to the capital.

Good point, though Trem might not be too concerned about that, Jillian is heading towards occupied territory, so the status of the dwagon relay might be questionable at this time, especially with the closest GK cities razed. And considering the number of dwagons dedicated to this attack... And they might not be to worried about what warlords could be shipped in. Ansom is out of it, and the best of the decrypted/living warlords GK have that they know of are currently above the city.

Plus they are far better off then they thought they would be, their original plan was to hold up what they thought was a powerful ground force till Haggar arrived then get back to Spacerock and fight off GK's siege. Now they know Ansom is out of the picture and the GK ground forces are significantly less substantial. If Haggar and Trem's army return to the capital the GK's wouldn't have the numbers or siege to take it without significant reinforcements, so it would just be a suicide attack.

[regisminae]

Query: If there are only two warlords left in the hex, then who is the becaped maiden that has appeared at the head of the piker column in a few strips and updates now? It was only a supposition on my part, but it had seemed up to this point that the capes (in both GK's and Jetstone's armies, among others, perhaps) were reserved for warlords. Haggar had a different sort of filigree to their warlords' armor, but their designs were different in other ways as well.

[Fiendishrabbit]

Query: If there are only two warlords left in the hex, then who is the becaped maiden that has appeared at the head of the piker column in a few strips and updates now? It was only a supposition on my part, but it had seemed up to this point that the capes (in both GK's and Jetstone's armies, among others, perhaps) were reserved for warlords. Haggar had a different sort of filigree to their warlords' armor, but their designs were different in other ways as well.

If you're referring to the girl in frame 4 on page 27.
Haggar could have croaked her.
Or it's a good chance that she got splattered when those megalogwiffs decided that everyone near Ansom should end up between a rock and a hard place (the hard place being said megalogwiffs) on page 29 (Frame 9).

[Dancing Cthulhu]

Heh, Captain, or President Ford is the guy who has control of the column despite never being appointed by Stanley due to two accidents.

From the update when Jillian was flying from the capital to the bridge it seemed like it took a long time and it did mention that she was crossing hexes. The Jetstone Capital may be enough hexes from the bridge that slow units cannot go to the capital to attack Wanda and then return to fight the remaining GK troops at the bridge (assuming they don't depop), allowing them to escape. In this case it would make sense to go out one hex, wipe out this group and then return to the capital.

I guess it depends on how important it is stop them escaping. Haggar's first wave did take some nasty hits, though the GK forces might seem a bit less threatening in their new position and without Ansom. Especially if Trem/Haggar warlord was smart about it.

But now to take on the best argument for not attacking GK units at the bridge, that they may depop if Wanda is croaked. It might make even more sense to attack these units if they WILL depop after Wanda is croaked AND if you are confident of victory because you would loose out on experience you would get for killing them.

Hmmm, good point, although Jetstone is in a war for its life at the moment, and more then that Erf itself. Experience is nice, but throwing away troops to get it and potentially making the most important part of this battle (getting rid of the person who creates decrypted) harder seems rash. Overconfident.

You know if you were playing a wargame and you could wipe out some juicy target that would give you a lot of XP that you would do it if you thought that you would loose out on the XP otherwise :O)

I'd probably try mentally assess the risks first. Would the XP gained offset how many troops would I loose (and in this case Trem seems to care about his men) and how might it interfere with a more important goal of the war itself? Plus I guess what stratagies I could use to get the XP while minimising troop loss. I like pSycHOtic chICkeN point that Jetstone could win this without much loss.

Hmm...does Parson's influence extend to all units in GK? This seems very much like the "kill the siege weapons first" maneuver that he used in the first book.

Are all units actually learning from him?

I don't know if it is fair we automatically attribute it all to Parson.

It is quite possibility Ford is a warlord with the potential to become very good one. If he lived. We don't know if he is more senior or whatever, but it is Ford who stepped up in this situation, and not Captain 20. That "he could see what needed to be done" could all be down to him and not Parson influencing him through the force or whatever. And so he is decrypted - very loyal to Wanda- and he knows his forces likely don't have a chance against the force arrayed against them, so it is simple - how best can their death serve Wanda? By ensuring if they must die they take out units that can hurt her at the same time.

I dunno, does anyone really think Tramennis is going to waste his time finishing off this group while the big prize is hovering over JS?

That is what I think, it just seems a bit overconfident to go for a force of less importance when the real target is so close. Of course if he does attack it also depends on how he would plan such an attack.

I guess that is my concern - the GK ground forces aren't as vital a target. Ford himself said they'd have to hope they get attacked. So if Trem/Haggar warlord decide to commit to this before dealing with Wanda I hope they'd be smart about it.

The only force I could see attacking this group is Haggar, out for payback for Sammy. Now that Ansom in out of the picture they should wipe the floor with them. It would make sense for Haggar's remaining warlords to do that just to make sure Charlie is fully appeased.

I didn't think of that earlier, but when you put it like that I can see it.

Tremenis should understand maneuvers. An envelopment would allow Jetstone to leverage offense. If the archers follow Ford's orders precisely they will not fire at the flanking pikes and will get killed without shooting. Jetstone can pick up the unused bows and arrows and take them back to use on Wanda.

Indeed. Good point. If they do decide to attack it would be good to see some Jetstone/Trem cleverness in battle.

[Lord Kasavin]

I'm liking the shield as well, very "I'm a spikey evil shield of death with stabbing abilities", whilst looking like an innocuous bottle cap...

The shield is almost certainly inspired somewhere along the line by arrowheads, which are often used as symbols for Boy Scouts and other such organizations. Here's a link to what might as well have been concept art for the sketch.

As for Ford's plan, I have a feeling it isn't going to matter. Tram doesn't share Jillian's motivations or sensibilities, and he stated his opinion about attacking the infantry column earlier. Hence, he's going to retreat back to Jetstone and try to take out Wanda. Furthermore, he'll probably want a lot of infantry to stuff the garisson and render it unassailable just incase the attacks on Wanda's flying columns don't succeed. Being that the GK column doesn't have any siege, of they can't take the garrison by air then all that infantry is nearly useless, to say nothing of outnumbered anyways.

[kriss]

I like that Ford (ranger) actually looks and talks like Gerald Ford, but what's Captain Twenty a reference to?

I'm not American... which president is on your $20 bill? Could that be it?

A little off topic but I figured I might as well throw this out. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president, is on the American 20. Jackson did have an extensive Millitary career, starting as a Colonel in the War of 1812. When the Creek War broke out, Jackson was the one to be called into action, winning this miniature conflict within the scope of the 1812 war. For his victory, he was awarded the title of Major General. He is also the first president to have an assasination attempt, the first president to survive an assasination attempt, and the only president to survive two assasination attemps! The second time became legendary, as his assailant purst out from hiding, leveled a pistol, and it missfired. He then pulled out a second, which also missfired. Later, the guns were tested multiple times, only to find that they fired perfectly every single time with deadly accuracy. This lead manny to belive that Jackson had divine protection.

Let's hope that this Captain Twenty has similar divine protection given to him by right of being a creator favorite, otherwise they are just outright booped.

[Dr Pepper]

I like that Ford (ranger) actually looks and talks like Gerald Ford, but what's Captain Twenty a reference to?

I'm not American... which president is on your $20 bill? Could that be it?

Andrew Jackson is on the 20.

Gerald Ford was a senator. In 1972 or so, he was hand picked to take the place of the disgraced vice president Spiro Agnew, who had been forced to resign. When president Richard Nixon was forced to resign as well, Ford automatically moved up to become president. He ran for relection in 76 but lost. He is generally thought of, by both republicans and democrats, to have been a nice person and a well meaning administrator, but not a brilliant thinker. Still, it was good to have a rest from a brilliant thinker like Nixon.

[Black]

If Tramennis attacks the column, he will succeed. Then, even if he doesn't croak Wanda, Gobwin Knob's offensive is defused. Jillian will have razed the nearest two cities, and Jetstone will be in a position to retake what they have lost. With Haggar completely vulnerable at home and Sammy dead, perhaps they will also retreat, although perhaps there is the possibility of a deal with Gobwin Knob (resurrect Sammy and we'll fight with you?). At this point, despite Wanda's arkentool, Jetstone will have parity. And allies. Gobwin Knob will have their tools, yes, but the pliers can't do anything without bodies (which requires them to overwhelm weaker foes to minimize losses) and the dwagons can't fight the war alone.

Tramennis attacking Wanda is a huge gamble. If she survives, the war is still on and Gobwin Knob still threatens Spacerock directly. If she croaks, yeah, maybe the whole thing becomes a complete rout and GK falls. It's either a big payout or a shot in the foot.

Destroying the column and then returning to Spacerock is the safer course of action that puts RCC2 in the advantage and GK on the retreat.

[MsMayhem]

Good grief. I hadn't thought of Captain Twenty in ages. Bounced to the wiki to see if it was the same guy, which eventually led me here.

For those of you who did not grow up in the Washington DC area, there used to be kids' programming on WDCA channel 20, which was the local independent station. The host of said kids' programming was Captain 20.

Try here for more info: http://captain20.com/

— Ms.Mayhem

[Rajin96]

Tramennis does not need to attack. All he has to do is simply set up a defensive position on his side of the bridge with a small portion of his force and then send the rest back to help out Spacerock. Ford does not have the manpower to storm the bridge and so it will become a stalemate between the two sides there.

Tramennis can then go and catch Wanda between his forces and those of the city. Even if she survives (which she undoubtedly would thanks to plot armor) all the momentum she had gained in the campaign would be lost. Stanley would be pissed at her for not just losing a ton of dwagons, but also Ansom his favorite warlord. Until all of that got settled, GK would not be making any huge advances in the warfare column.

[Frogpop]

The shield is almost certainly inspired somewhere along the line by arrowheads, which are often used as symbols for Boy Scouts and other such organizations. Here's a link to what might as well have been concept art for the sketch.

I was looking at it like the notch on the right side was at the top center, so it reminded me of the taro leaf shaped unit patch of the Hawaiian Division (and its successors the 24th and 25th infantry). The edges certainly look arrowhead-flinty, and on reviewing I think you're most likely on the right track.

P.S. Here's Jerry Ford as an Eagle Scout.

[Reclaimer]

Query: If there are only two warlords left in the hex, then who is the becaped maiden that has appeared at the head of the piker column in a few strips and updates now? It was only a supposition on my part, but it had seemed up to this point that the capes (in both GK's and Jetstone's armies, among others, perhaps) were reserved for warlords. Haggar had a different sort of filigree to their warlords' armor, but their designs were different in other ways as well.

If you're referring to the girl in frame 4 on page 27.
Haggar could have croaked her.
Or it's a good chance that she got splattered when those megalogwiffs decided that everyone near Ansom should end up between a rock and a hard place (the hard place being said megalogwiffs) on page 29 (Frame 9).

Or she's still alive, and right there in front of Captains Ford and Twenty in the image accompanying the update.

Maybe she's just a high-level stabber. *Shrug.*

Jillian is heading towards occupied territory, so the status of the dwagon relay might be questionable at this time, especially with the closest GK cities razed. And considering the number of dwagons dedicated to this attack... And they might not be to worried about what warlords could be shipped in. Ansom is out of it, and the best of the decrypted/living warlords GK have that they know of are currently above the city.

With a warlord like Parson on GK's upkeep, RCII knows better than to make any assumptions about what GK's holding in reserve. Putting all their eggs in one easily-swipable basket would be stupid (Which they did, but that's beside the point).

And ugh, if Jillian actually does make a clean break here, she's taking the story with her, and I... I just don't want to accept that as a possibility.

Plus they are far better off then they thought they would be, their original plan was to hold up what they thought was a powerful ground force till Haggar arrived then get back to Spacerock and fight off GK's siege. Now they know Ansom is out of the picture and the GK ground forces are significantly less substantial. If Haggar and Trem's army return to the capital the GK's wouldn't have the numbers or siege to take it without significant reinforcements, so it would just be a suicide attack.

Haggar might not have enough move to make it back to the capital. They were half a turn from the capital to begin with, then they marched a few hexes past it, engaged, and now they're still sorta far out. Trem might ditch them, but I doubt it.

Edit: Also, listed references aside, Twenty looks a lot like a young Ringo Starr. That's all I got.

[DevilDan]

I can only say that, this is another brilliant update, notable for its simplicity. It reminds me of the Wrigley update of course. We so rarely get glimpses of other characters, and while Ford isn't a grunt, I appreciate this vignette for its artistry as well as for how it fleshes out the decrypted.

Wow. I guess the loyalty of the decrypted is something quite out of the ordinary, eh? And this will probably spawn even greater discussions whether the decrypted are mind-raped by the pliers, or if they just really care about Wanda.

I don't think we can know that at this point that the decrypted are significantly different in their thinking. Wouldn't any other unit with high loyalty and duty also make such a difficult decision? Yes, decrypted loyalty is not identical to normal loyalty from the perspective of Erf mechanics and rules; presumably this is also true of decrypted duty and obedience. This does not however mean that Ford's behavior in this case or his thinking are abnormal for an Erf warlord with high loyalty and perhaps pushed by a heaping helping of religious conviction. A conviction, I might add, that is not indefensible considering Wanda's bond to the pliers and the wonders she's performed with them.

[Flyer]

I'm not American... which president is on your $20 bill? Could that be it?

A little off topic but I figured I might as well throw this out. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president ... the only president to survive two assasination attempts!

Actually, our man of the hour, Gerald Ford also survived 2 assassination attempts... as for Ford's uniform and shield - he is the only American President to have served as a park ranger in the National Park Service and his shield looks like their logo - I don't know if thats been mentioned previously...

http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/refdesk/GRFord.jpg and http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/workman1b/images/image109l.jpg