Real-world parallels

[InInUrForumz]

Keep in mind that we did see Parsom plotted away and we did get the reactions of his friends. There was no downtime were he could've passed out. (And for the record, doing it offscreen is *really* lame) So unless the last panels of 'real-world' time are a fabrication (not fair) there's no reason for us to assume he's dreaming.

I really doubt they would wimp out and throw us an "It's all a dream", I give them better creative credit than that. BUT with that said... If Parson can imagine up an entire world based on a game he was making, he can certainly imagine how his friends would react if he disappeared.

[Xhosant]

A theory would be: "Lord Parson"=/="GM Parson". Lord Parson's a pawn, and his clueless is a delation mechanism until he becomes too good to beat. The coalition's state after the eruption matches the "they have to cheat the rules to win" description, and the post-eruption state is largely irrelevant to past events. In other words, the players get a win/win scenario and play around, but no matter what they do, GM Parson needs minimal manipulation to lead the game to the eruption: Ansom and the pliers would be close enough, dead or alive during the eruption, our bad attitude monarch wouldn't need a too good excuse to fly off with the dwagons, and as long as Jill has gone free and the 3 casters are alive by the time of the explosion, everything goes just as planned (meaning Parson could have "scripted" an intro that lead just where he wanted, while leaving an illusion of control, and failure). So, GK being on the verge of extinction could be just a ruse to hurt the player morale when they lose, and provoke them to try and cheat. Besides, with Lord Parson being outside the norm and rules, and therefore an excuse to cheat, cheating on part of the players would only make the playing field even. With that, the last "real" panels are just narrative, with the settings clearly involving the supposed "pawnification" of Parson as a means to introduce "Lord Parson". It's just that the readers watch the game from an in-game perspective.

With that, and although i don't know much about the kind of games Erfworld is set on, let alone Erfworld specifics, the Dollamancer's words (can't recall name) implied that the way the King (can't either) was saved involved "accessories", an idea of his inception. So, it being a last-minute-save trick comparable to the Volcano's uncroaking, this could be the player's first success at cheating themselves, kinda fitting in.

I'm not saying it's too plausible a scenario, or too great one, but i like it better than the "Parson's on it's last" concept.

P.S. Did the IPTSF updates die? It's been more than a month...

[Xhosant]

Keep in mind that we did see Parsom plotted away and we did get the reactions of his friends. There was no downtime were he could've passed out. (And for the record, doing it offscreen is *really* lame) So unless the last panels of 'real-world' time are a fabrication (not fair) there's no reason for us to assume he's dreaming.

I really doubt they would wimp out and throw us an "It's all a dream", I give them better creative credit than that. BUT with that said... If Parson can imagine up an entire world based on a game he was making, he can certainly imagine how his friends would react if he disappeared.

Strong point, sad story XD

[Sixty]

I really do hope that it wasn't a dream/coma fantasy/whatever. I know that was a plot bit in book one, but I sorta hope it is all real.

[BLANDCorporatio]

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone".

Submitted for your consideration, Parson Gotti, an architect of dreams stranded on the rocky shores of life, a dead end job of no consequence and few friends, his games the only escape from the drudgery of his existence. His only wish, to be like the mythical warlords in the campaigns he makes his friends play, to have the lives and deaths of many hanging on his decision, to feel the rush of winning when the chance to lose it all looms large. And though tonight has started as many evenings have before, with a gathering around the table and the dice that make the game move, Parson will soon find out that his wish was strong enough to take him

to the Twilight Zone.

[badninja]

to the Twilight Zone.

I thought those always ended on a bad note, I do not want this story to end on a bad note, unless it was like Conan the Barbarian. You are correct in the parallel to the Twilight Zone them though.

[BLANDCorporatio]

to the Twilight Zone.

I thought those always ended on a bad note, I do not want this story to end on a bad note, unless it was like Conan the Barbarian. You are correct in the parallel to the Twilight Zone them though.

Not all of them did. Maybe not even most, but I'm not going to count that now. True, the more famous episodes tended toward the dark.

[drachefly]

Agreed - in one with the penny fortune teller trapping William Shatner and his wife in that town, they escaped at the end.