Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 054

[doran]

It could be worse. Jillian could be a paladin.

[effataigus]

I have to say, I'm far more invested in this story right now than in the comic storyline. Can't wait to find out how this is going to go down.

Opposite here. Prequel, drug trips, torture scenes, vague prophecies, unsympathetic villains, Jillian... perfect storm for my disinterest. On the upside, we've learned a lot about how Erfworld functions from book 0 and I really liked Wanda's Dad. Also, while I don't much care for the noted plot devices generally, they are at least sugar coated with Rob's excellent writing.

[Sallo]

Wow. I'm not sure which plot line (inner peace vs Main plot) I enjoy more at this point!

Haffaton reminds me of a strategy game player who gets trapped into gutting their support resources in order to strengthen their side's offensive capabilities.
It works great as long as you keep conquering and gutting.
Wanda's addition likely bolstered their strategy because they could disband all their live forces and just use uncroaked instead.

I think Olive needs Jill to turn because she can break Haffaton's cycle by actually crafting strategy and leading their armies, rather then passively bolstering stats.

[bladestorm]

Looks like Jillian's mind-alteration trips are down to a matter of seconds, based upon the gap in the conversation. Granted, the conversation could have wandered off on a tangent and come back to the subject, but Wanda doesn't seem the type for idle conversation about nothing once she is in the middle of a topic. Soon, the flowers will be nothing more than a tingle when she puts them on, and a longing for the hazy memory of the bliss they once held. She'll also likely be plagued by traceries of reality that linger just outside of her perception and annoying remind her that she isn't blissed out anymore.

And if we thought she made bad decisions before, the need to return to that bliss is gonna make her react very desperately. And violently, but that's not really out of her character.

[bladestorm]

And speaking of the two plots and updates, do we have any kind of schedule through the holidays, or are we just gonna get the updates as they happen? My own schedule is insane for the next four weeks, and after that, it finally goes back to normal after a rocky first of the year. I imagine the writer/artist schedule is going to be just as hectic.

[Iranon]

I'm beginning to think the titans don't like ides to have more than 4 casters. It's game is rigged to get your side 3 of them.... then send crap your way to keep you at 2-4 casters.

Anyone think many of those lost casters aren't of Haffaton origin. Also notice the lack of talk about warlords, captured, popped, or killed.

Something is up with that side.

Isn't the most likely scenario simply that Haffaton is very harsh on its own units?

It's been mentioned that large sides are expected to be poor monetarily thanks to diminishing returns, it was a concern for Gobwin Knob in Book 2 and Haffaton is considerably larger. We can assume that Haffaton hasn't found a way to break the limitation, or its cities wouldn't be as woefully underdefended.
Since the mechanic seems to affect only Shmuckers and not production, Haffaton may throw away anything with non-neglegible upkeep that isn't immediately useful.
This also explains why the side is a little unpredictable for outsiders... they don't really care about most of their assets, what they have available changes, their biggest limitation is something no other known side experiences.

To me, it smells like a War on War gone sour - strategic aimlessness and a system that requires throwing units away, turning the chief hippiemancer behind it to petty nihilism which she spreads around with a big shovel.

[raphfrk]

I find the duty information more intriguing than the predictamancy. Lets assume predictamancy is always true.

Olive is duty bound to protect her ruler.
Olive knows Jillian will kill Judy.

Should be a done deal--kill Jillian and remove the threat, but the kicker seems to be.

Not if there is a Prediction. That is "the hard way". If she tries that, the Overlord dies and Haffaton gets extra harm.

She needs to find the safest path. In fact, given that the Overlord is effectively dead anyway, duty may force her to ensure that she, as Heir, survives.

Duty didn't force Jillian to refuse to obey an order related to a plan that had the ultimate death of the King as part of it.

[Housellama]

To me, it smells like a War on War gone sour - strategic aimlessness and a system that requires throwing units away, turning the chief hippiemancer behind it to petty nihilism which she spreads around with a big shovel.

/agree. Remember. Hippiemancy != Nice, although I suspect that Olive wasn't very nice to begin with. The things that's always defined her for me are foresight and control. She's always had everything all planned out. She uses her hippymancy to cover all the bases. Then Wanda showed up and she had to deal with a wild card. Now Jillian's there to and with two wild cards in play, her nerves are starting to fray. Her control is slipping, over herself and her empire. She's starting to get mean, and everything's starting to come apart at the edges.

[Oberon]

Also notice the lack of talk about warlords, captured, popped, or killed.

Charlie doesn't use warlords.

[teratorn]

Wanda seemed very insistent about getting the direct wordage of the Prediction. Very smart woman there. Very insightful woman. Predictions are like wishes. Just because you wished for what you wanted doesn't mean you're going to like what you asked for.

"You are Fated to croak the Ruler of Haffaton" is very different from "You are Fated to croak Judy Gale".

The right course of action is for Wanda to turn and kill Judy. Then Olive is in trouble, according to the prediction Jillian will survive at least another Haffaton ruler .

[Housellama]

Wanda seemed very insistent about getting the direct wordage of the Prediction. Very smart woman there. Very insightful woman. Predictions are like wishes. Just because you wished for what you wanted doesn't mean you're going to like what you asked for.

"You are Fated to croak the Ruler of Haffaton" is very different from "You are Fated to croak Judy Gale".

The right course of action is for Wanda to turn and kill Judy. Then Olive is in trouble, according to the prediction Jillian will survive at least another Haffaton ruler .

If she could, absolutely! I doubt she would be able to though. Duty and Loyalty and all that.

[teratorn]

If she could, absolutely! I doubt she would be able to though. Duty and Loyalty and all that.

It's a similar scenario as with Stanley: when she saw she couldn't beat him, she turned. She is only loyal to fate, she is fated to be with Jillian, Jillian will not turn, so she will do it.

[Chit Rule Railroad]

It's a similar scenario as with Stanley: when she saw she couldn't beat him, she turned. She is only loyal to fate, she is fated to be with Jillian, Jillian will not turn, so she will do it.

There's another possibility: Judy could abdicate in some way. Since she lives in a capital site that is not a capital, perhaps she could be persuaded to found a new Side as Stanley was planning to at the ruins of Faq. I doubt that a unit can be the Ruler of two Sides at once, so that would probably make Olive Ruler of Haffaton.

One way this could go down: Faq invades, making it too dangerous for Judy to go out into the Olive Garden to pick heroine buds and tying up everyone else who would have the know-how to pick them on her behalf. Judy, sobered up but in withdrawal, is furious at Olive for this situation and decides to negotiate with Faq, even if that means separating herself from the caster who has been maintaining the Olive Garden, because she's too desperate to secure access to the Garden again to worry about its long-term maintenance. In those negotiations, she trades Wanda to Faq and is happy to see Jillian and Wanda go hunt down Olive and conquer Haffaton.