Book 2 – Page 38

[Thydron]

Suddenly I realize why Bland called that spell the one that should not be mentioned. Just one thing I'd like to mention: Every benefit of that spell is also available to all other sides with a thinkamancer and a turnamancer. If Charley figths the whole world, sooner or alter someone will copy that spell. And with enough enemies, there will be at least two thikamancers and two turnamancers, so Charley's enemy could use that spell daily, while he can't. Well, he could but as long as he's linked he can't use the dishes' other abilities and direct his (or her or its) empire.

yeah, but it still pretty useless in pretty much any other situation other than the exact one in the comic; in a field hex the turnamancer is a sitting duck & could easily be croaked, if they've got more ranged troops than you then it gives them an advantage, you've got to know exactly which city they're attacking, you've got to stall them from attacking while you cast the spell, etc.

[robak]

It seems to be always useful when you're defending your capital. Enemy enters, KINGSWORLD, enemy is trapped in courtyard/airspace, you can shoot it cross-zone from the tower. Also, this situation will always allow you to have the caster in the tower and have an enemy in the hex. And if capital defense isn't useful then I don't know what is.
Btw. it needn't always be successful, but at least it will allow you some free potshots plus maybe the possibility to make a run for it.

[Welf von Ehrwald]

Suddenly I realize why Bland called that spell the one that should not be mentioned. Just one thing I'd like to mention: Every benefit of that spell is also available to all other sides with a thinkamancer and a turnamancer. If Charley fights the whole world, sooner or alter someone will copy that spell. And with enough enemies, there will be at least two thikamancers and two turnamancers, so Charley's enemy could use that spell daily, while he can't. Well, he could but as long as he's linked he can't use the dishes' other abilities and direct his (or her or its) empire.

yeah, but it still pretty useless in pretty much any other situation other than the exact one in the comic; in a field hex the turnamancer is a sitting duck & could easily be croaked, if they've got more ranged troops than you then it gives them an advantage, you've got to know exactly which city they're attacking, you've got to stall them from attacking while you cast the spell, etc.

Well, you're right, of course. I think the same way. But since some argue that the spell is much more powerful, I only talked about "benefits".

Vinny is still in Faq. Awkward scene with Ansom and Jillian coming up.

[Ansan Gotti]

yeah, but it still pretty useless in pretty much any other situation other than the exact one in the comic; in a field hex the turnamancer is a sitting duck & could easily be croaked, if they've got more ranged troops than you then it gives them an advantage, you've got to know exactly which city they're attacking, you've got to stall them from attacking while you cast the spell, etc.

Well, you're right, of course. I think the same way. But since some argue that the spell is much more powerful, I only talked about "benefits".

Vinny is still in Faq. Awkward scene with Ansom and Jillian coming up.

I'm sorry, but I just don't think that's true at all. IF we assume that it is capable of being cast outside of a magic-enhancing Tower, then all you need is the linked turnamancer. Wherever that person is, go ahead and put him with a group of guards in a hex near the enemy. As soon as the first enemy crosses into the hex, bam, King World. Enemy's turn over, turnamancer withdrawn from the field to safety, and all kinds of strategic benefits accrue as the enemy is denied their turn and the caster receives their turn.

The spell has huge, enormous, strategic benefits. That is why it needs to be costed so it cannot just be cast every other turn, or anywhere close.

[Welf von Ehrwald]

yeah, but it still pretty useless in pretty much any other situation other than the exact one in the comic; in a field hex the turnamancer is a sitting duck & could easily be croaked, if they've got more ranged troops than you then it gives them an advantage, you've got to know exactly which city they're attacking, you've got to stall them from attacking while you cast the spell, etc.

Well, you're right, of course. I think the same way. But since some argue that the spell is much more powerful, I only talked about "benefits".

Vinny is still in Faq. Awkward scene with Ansom and Jillian coming up.

I'm sorry, but I just don't think that's true at all. IF we assume that it is capable of being cast outside of a magic-enhancing Tower, then all you need is the linked turnamancer. Wherever that person is, go ahead and put him with a group of guards in a hex near the enemy. As soon as the first enemy crosses into the hex, bam, King World. Enemy's turn over, turnamancer withdrawn from the field to safety, and all kinds of strategic benefits accrue as the enemy is denied their turn and the caster receives their turn.

The spell has huge, enormous, strategic benefits. That is why it needs to be costed so it cannot just be cast every other turn, or anywhere close.

And we're back to square one. We just can't discuss that spell that shall not be named. We're just going in circles and circles. Rob, if you're reading this, put an end to it. Write the part where Parson counters the Kingworld spell, and write it now. Or make some giant plot hole so we can discuss that instead. Please.

Back to topic, the kingworld spell is strong, indeed. But it can be countered. Get a lookamancer, don't attack the turnamancer's hex. Get a foolamancer, attack the caster first. Get your own turnamancer and thinkamancer, and do that spell yourself as counter. Or pay an thinkamancer and turnamancer in the magic kingdom to make that spell, and let one of your casters do it at the front.

[DevilDan]

It's only useful to prevent invasions via air, otherwise you're still stuck facing, on the ground, the same ground force that you were so worried would conquer your city, right?

And you can't cast it every turn, right, considering that it takes so much juice? You'd need at least two sets of linked casters, right?

Even if Kingworld really changed the nature of warfare on Erf, it would only lead to prolonged sieges and the use of raiding parties or sorties. The spell hardly makes a city impregnable. At best it's a bear trap that, once set off, can be reset for another couple of days at best.

[Thydron]

And we're back to square one. We just can't discuss that spell that shall not be named. We're just going in circles and circles. Rob, if you're reading this, put an end to it. Write the part where Parson counters the Kingworld spell, and write it now. Or make some giant plot hole so we can discuss that instead. Please.

Back to topic, the kingworld spell is strong, indeed. But it can be countered. Get a lookamancer, don't attack the turnamancer's hex. Get a foolamancer, attack the caster first. Get your own turnamancer and thinkamancer, and do that spell yourself as counter. Or pay an thinkamancer and turnamancer in the magic kingdom to make that spell, and let one of your casters do it at the front.

you've just thought up 4 counters to it pretty much on the spot, 2 of which are significantly easier than getting a linked turnamancer & thinkamancer / whatever Vanna was attached to into the right hex at the right time. I really don't get why people think its so powerful.

The only reason we're going round in circles is because people aren't thinking about what would happen if the spell lost the element of surprise

I'm sorry, but I just don't think that's true at all. IF we assume that it is capable of being cast outside of a magic-enhancing Tower, then all you need is the linked turnamancer. Wherever that person is, go ahead and put him with a group of guards in a hex near the enemy. As soon as the first enemy crosses into the hex, bam, King World. Enemy's turn over, turnamancer withdrawn from the field to safety, and all kinds of strategic benefits accrue as the enemy is denied their turn and the caster receives their turn.

Thats a pretty bad plan - Scouting unit's can see into neighbouring hexes, as can lookamancers - moving into that hex would be the result of bad intel & no worse strategically than accidently moving into a heavily fortified hex which wiped out a load of your troops. (or into the middle of a dwagon donut for that matter)

Unless you desperately need another turns move to get your troops into position, why would using your turnamancer this way be a better option than using them to flip one of your opponents stacks / warlords to your side? it wouldn't.
Plus we've seen that the spell takes long enough to cast that a whole fleet of dwagons can enter the hex, who would annihalate the caster unless they're in a city & protected by the zone-crossing rule. (or they have guards who can wipe out the opponent's force anyway, so dont need turnamancer tricks in the first place)
And ignoring those points, you're making a pretty big bet that the enemy goes into your turnamancers hex before going into... any other important hex in the battlespace.

It seems to be always useful when you're defending your capital. Enemy enters, KINGSWORLD, enemy is trapped in courtyard/airspace, you can shoot it cross-zone from the tower. Also, this situation will always allow you to have the caster in the tower and have an enemy in the hex. And if capital defense isn't useful then I don't know what is.
Btw. it needn't always be successful, but at least it will allow you some free potshots plus maybe the possibility to make a run for it.

It's not even guarateed to be useful when defending a city - if i know / suspect you're going to kingworld me, I'd just send an army with a ridiculous number of archers into your city - if you freeze me, I get to shoot at you anyway. all it would do is turn the fight into an archer / other ranged unit festival (from Tramennis' comment about hopping under the dwagons, we know that ranged units can attack units in the same hex off-turn)
and if all you're going to do is run, what are you going to do next turn? and the turn after that? and when you don't have enough cities to pay for the 2+ casters you need anymore?


I'm not just defending this because I think the authors can do no wrong, or I'm trying to protect erfworld's "integrity" or anything, I just really don't think the kingworld spell is that powerful. I mean - Charlie turning natural allies against their former sides is MUCH more devastating, and has changed the game for 2 sides in the story so far, but it doesn't seem to even be rembembered.

[omdorastrix]

This is why I love this comic.

I read the first few pages to see if someone else read it the same way I did, I didn't see it...

To me, I read today's page as an implication that Maggie is actually Charlie.

Now - I am not saying this is the case, it's just that the writing and the art at times always seems to imply different things than what is later revealed as real, and that is part of why I think the comic is great.

---Begin Conspiracy Theory---
Supporting arguments:
no one knows who Charlie is.
Charlie was able to hack the so-called unhackable eyebook.
Only charlie and GK knows what happened to GK, Maggie was there.
Maggie seems to always be depicted as staring off into space.
Maggie seems to be able to buck the stereotype - she sent Stanley off with her magic dust.

Things i'm unsure of but have a general feeling.
I can't remember specifics, but I Think that at certain times maggie has apologised for being on another 'call'. - I'd be interested to see if Maggie was ever depicted as being on another 'call' when charlie was actually speaking to someone...
Has Maggie's origin been discussed?

Soft Evidence:
Who is to say that physical contact is required to make the arkendish to work as it seems to be for the arkenhammer and arkenpliers - it is after all an artifact for thinkamancy. - Co-argument, for people saying the dish is too powerful, who is to say that Stanley and Wanda have been able to fully unlock their tools yet?
Charlie is a merc, selling 'his' services to the highest bidders.
Who is to say that a skillful enough thinkamancer can't muck with the natural thinkamancy of their leaders and hide their own skill.
This eliminates all those: omnipresent and omnicious (I can never spell that word... mmm omnilicious ) arguments, and replaces them with a devious manipulator - which we already know Charlie is...
---End Conspiracy Theory---

Discuss...


also... First Post!

[Ansan Gotti]

Thats a pretty bad plan

It's not a plan, it's one simple example designed to show its usefulness isn't just limited to the exact situation in the comic. At all. There are about a million benefits to that spell, unless there are serious restrictions we aren't aware of (which I am confident is the case).

[splintermute]

It seems to be always useful when you're defending your capital. Enemy enters, KINGSWORLD, enemy is trapped in courtyard/airspace, you can shoot it cross-zone from the tower. Also, this situation will always allow you to have the caster in the tower and have an enemy in the hex. And if capital defense isn't useful then I don't know what is.
Btw. it needn't always be successful, but at least it will allow you some free potshots plus maybe the possibility to make a run for it.

It's not even guarateed to be useful when defending a city - if i know / suspect you're going to kingworld me, I'd just send an army with a ridiculous number of archers into your city - if you freeze me, I get to shoot at you anyway. all it would do is turn the fight into an archer / other ranged unit festival (from Tramennis' comment about hopping under the dwagons, we know that ranged units can attack units in the same hex off-turn)
and if all you're going to do is run, what are you going to do next turn? and the turn after that? and when you don't have enough cities to pay for the 2+ casters you need anymore?

Only defending ranged units from that particular city can attack across the zone boundary off turn - archers can only shoot across zones on turn (see Klog 001). Tramennis was only referring to the unique battlecrap exception. Bringing in archers and ending their turn prematurely would just put them in the same situation as Wanda's air force - trapped and unable to attack across the garrison boundary (assuming they haven't managed to breach the courtyard yet).

Also, if you manage to take your turn before the other side, either due to Kingworld or natural turn order, and both your armies have the same amount of move (e.g. infantry vs. infantry), the other side can never catch you. With repeated castings of Kingworld (i.e. every second turn), you get three moves for the enemy's two - plenty of time to retreat to neighboring cities and consolidate your forces, although that's probably a last resort. Better to just trap your enemy in another city zone or an adjacent hex and pick them off without fear of retaliation.

[Welf von Ehrwald]

you've just thought up 4 counters to it pretty much on the spot, 2 of which are significantly easier than getting a linked turnamancer & thinkamancer / whatever Vanna was attached to into the right hex at the right time. I really don't get why people think its so powerful.

The only reason we're going round in circles is because people aren't thinking about what would happen if the spell lost the element of surprise

Here another few: Predictamancy; veiled archons for scouting; a weirdomancer-thinkmanacer (and turnamancer?) link that dispels any potential screwing with your turn; a turnamancer-thinkamancer link, that puts your turn after your enemies', you then will have two turns in a row, even if they still can do the spell, it won't have that much effect (of course your enemy will also have two turns, and that before you).

[Chris Goodwin]

To me, I read today's page as an implication that Maggie is actually Charlie.

Now - I am not saying this is the case, it's just that the writing and the art at times always seems to imply different things than what is later revealed as real, and that is part of why I think the comic is great.

---Begin Conspiracy Theory---
Supporting arguments:
no one knows who Charlie is.
Charlie was able to hack the so-called unhackable eyebook.
Only charlie and GK knows what happened to GK, Maggie was there.
Maggie seems to always be depicted as staring off into space.
Maggie seems to be able to buck the stereotype - she sent Stanley off with her magic dust.

Things i'm unsure of but have a general feeling.
I can't remember specifics, but I Think that at certain times maggie has apologised for being on another 'call'. - I'd be interested to see if Maggie was ever depicted as being on another 'call' when charlie was actually speaking to someone...
Has Maggie's origin been discussed?

We know that any commander can get into contact with Charlie by concentrating hard enough. We've seen Stanley get into contact with Maggie that way (when Parson called Ansom to razz him about royalty, in book 1).

Do we know whether this is an ability of all Thinkamancers, at least to have their own Ruler/Overlord get in touch with them that way?

[Squishalot]

---Begin Conspiracy Theory---
Supporting arguments:
no one knows who Charlie is.
Charlie was able to hack the so-called unhackable eyebook.
Only charlie and GK knows what happened to GK, Maggie was there.
Maggie seems to always be depicted as staring off into space.
Maggie seems to be able to buck the stereotype - she sent Stanley off with her magic dust.

Things i'm unsure of but have a general feeling.
I can't remember specifics, but I Think that at certain times maggie has apologised for being on another 'call'. - I'd be interested to see if Maggie was ever depicted as being on another 'call' when charlie was actually speaking to someone...
Has Maggie's origin been discussed?

Soft Evidence:
Who is to say that physical contact is required to make the arkendish to work as it seems to be for the arkenhammer and arkenpliers - it is after all an artifact for thinkamancy. - Co-argument, for people saying the dish is too powerful, who is to say that Stanley and Wanda have been able to fully unlock their tools yet?
Charlie is a merc, selling 'his' services to the highest bidders.
Who is to say that a skillful enough thinkamancer can't muck with the natural thinkamancy of their leaders and hide their own skill.
This eliminates all those: omnipresent and omnicious (I can never spell that word... mmm omnilicious ) arguments, and replaces them with a devious manipulator - which we already know Charlie is...
---End Conspiracy Theory---

Hard counters:

1) Maggie was wrapped up in a caster link for the first half of Book 1, while Charlie was taking merc duties from Jetstone.

2) Maggie acts on GK's turn, Charlie acts on a separate turn to GK.

[Oberon]

Was Haggar completely foolish to leave their capital vulnerable to assault by a veiled force that snuck past their borders? Or did they make a rather normal calculation that they could either recall or build enough forces should they see an invading force enter their domain? I think the latter.

Considering this is the very backbone of your argument lets start here...

I wouldn't call it the backbone of my argument. There are several other bones to consider: Wanda and company had a "decapitation" strength force to send against Spacerock. Above odds to win. Jillian changed that, but she is gone now, somewhere in between both FAQ and Spacerock.

So let's speculate:
Do you think 80+ Archons could take FAQ right now?

Do you think that in the absence of both Wanda and Jillian that 80+ Archons could take Spacerock right now?

I think that both are a nigh certainty. Certainly above odds attacks.

So even considering that Haggar was foolish, here we have two other Sides who Charlie could wipe out with a "decapitation" strike against their capitol cities right now.

So it appears to me that Charlie has plenty of capitols to select from, as three of the Sides of which we are aware are ripe for his conquest right now via the method I outlined. And with veiled, flying scouts and teleporting forces (or just getting there with the forces needed at the time, take your pick), Charlie only has to see a city vulnerable once before it falls to his forces.

And I also think that Haggar could have been crushed without anyone knowing about it for turns, much less knowing who did it.

King Dickie: We are being attacked by hoards of archons and can't win. Order the casters to retreat into the magic kingdom.

That's great, but how long does it take Dickie to realize that he is going to lose? And how many Overlords/Kings/Queens actually care enough about their casters to not use them to the very last in a desperate defense? Even if you think you're going to lose, when losing your capitol and your King means the end of your Side, why try to spare any units the same fate, especially when sending them away only weakens you in your last, desperate battle? Bea, after all, was deliberately ending her Side, and had only thoughts for not providing the enemy with additional forces as she fell. The same strategy does not apply against a non-Arkenpliers wielding Side. For Bea, sending the garrison into the field so they would disband was a part of her strategy. She could have done the same with the casters, but given the time she had to prepare, sending them to the MK was both kind and logical. I'd be very surprised to see a ruler send his casters away in almost any other situation. When you're fighting for your life, you don't send away your most potent units. And the veiled, flying Archon assault bypasses your walls and comes straight to your garrison, giving you a lot less time to develop your situational awareness to even consider such a ploy or the possible necessity of it for warning your neighbors. Whom you hate anyway.

Oh, and charlie can probably forget about being able to hire people in the magic kingdom

Odd, he is an attuned Arkentool owner, and GK also has an attuned Arkentool owner. This simple fact has the RCC blacklisting him. GK is having issues getting resources from the MK, but there's been no mention of Charlie having similar issues. In fact, Vanna is his hired gun at this very moment. So much for MK issues Charlie may have to face. And again, the time before the MK or anyone else might know what Charlie is up to should be long enough for Charlie to stockpile whatever resources other than direct caster hires he may need.

And frankly, and somewhat off topic, at some point the MK should be disinclined to lose any more customers. If they have no economic incentive to sell their services to the various Sides, then this is a messed up economy. They have shut down GK, who was a rich side and who has been said to be possibly the richest Side after the volcano and the tri-mancer link revealed so many more gem resources. If they also shut down Charlescomm, who is said to be highly regarded in the MK as a very good customer, this should have some impact on the MK economy.

Charlie doesn't need contracts to make shmuckers. He just needs to capture and raze cities, or hold them for their production income.

And ofcourse, should those cities manage to empty their treasuries to fight off Charlie just as spacerock is doing to take on GK, razing the cities may not yield a lot of income and still cost numerous archons.

Empty their treasuries, how? A veiled, flying force comes and takes your capitol and your treasury. The Side being attacked has little to zero, tending largely towards zero, opportunity to spend anything. Charlie isn't Ansom, he doesn't need to spend 50 turns moving his siege and infantry heavy forces up to your walls. He appears and takes you out in one turn, any turn you show weakness.

Essentially when the Various powers identify him as a mutual threat that they will form a massive alliance to fight him;

This will take a very, very long time. Charlescomm has its name for a reason. Charlie controls all communications for Sides without a Thinkamancer, can refuse his services or subvert those communications, and again can possibly listen in on Thinkagrams anywhere on Erf. With this web of knowledge coming in, and a very tight lockdown on other options for communication, Charlescomm can keep everyone guessing for an enormous amount of turns.

By which time Charlie will have looted many capitol treasuries, and will have both earned the income from many cities over many turns, and also cashed in on razing income for those cities he could not keep. As a sole veiled, flying Archon drifts away from the burning, profitable ruins.

Were there any other restrictions you felt were keeping Kingworld from being used easily and often?

Kingsworld takes A LOT of juice... so much so that it can not be used in consecutive turns.

We have seen zero evidence to support that statement. Vanna said that Kingworld took "two turns" juice. Some have said that this is the juice to turn two units, something Vanna can do each turn I believe. And any other interpretation begs so many other questions that the true answer can not be known. Can a caster save their juice? Unknown, but never mentioned. Did Vanna and Charlie both spend their juice for the turn? No, Vanna also had enough to attempt on Ansom. Did Charlie provide all of the juice? Unknown, but if Charlie is a huge juice battery this is just another strength of his which will support his eventual conquest of Erfworld.

[Oberon]

For starters, as others have pointed out, Kingworld is only useful if you can end your enemies turn not just when it's inconvenient, but when it really screws them over. Like, say, trapping them in your airspace. Or trapping a side leader with no heir outside his city.

I disagree. If I can do this to you every turn, and we have zero evidence that this is any more costly than the cost of hiring a caster from the MK, something Charlie is said to do often, then I can freeze you every single turn, at my whim. You'll get your production, but you'll be moving no units. So my forces gobble those up anywhere they are weak. If I do wait on one particular turn, you'd best be careful how you move. Anything less than all units moved together and you invite even further defeat by detail, as I freeze you after a key move just like GK suffered.

As for the restrictions, you'd need your units to be in combat with your enemy's

We don't know this. All we know is that you need to be in combat. Which, as I have pointed out, is easily gamed. Vanna had to turn over the letters to spell Goblin Knob, which implies that she could have turned over letters to spell out any given Side. There is no evidence otherwise, and all circumstances support this interpretation. Not without argument, sure, but why a need to spell out a name if the target has to be "the Side I'm in combat with"? The additional requirement tends to support a universal applicability.

That's the one. I agree they could be recorded on books, but since a key portion of your argument rests on code being decrypted later, I still don't think it would do much good. At least, with the way Parson works, you want to know what he's saying when he's saying it. "Later" doesn't really help much.

When "later" translates to "pretty damn fast, what with veiled, flying, image transmitting spies floating about everywhere", I don't see this as much of a hindrance at all.

As for Parson and "real-world lingo", Charlie has understood instantly every bit of slang Parson has used with him. So I think that using slang as a code would be broken even faster than a more traditional "code book needed to decipher" method of delivering encoded messages.

Think so? How about random bits of other languages? Like Spanish or French? Unless Charlie's from the real world he's not going to know them, and it's a safe bet Parson at least knows enough to work off of.

So, you're going to guess that the guy who has instantly grockked on to every obscure reference from another universe that you're thrown at him, is going to be baffled when you use words from another language (which Parson may or may not know at all, but that's beside the point) in that same universe? Please be my guest, your Side will be the first to fall for grossly underestimating your opponent! After all "OMG, hax!" may as well be French for all it conveys to someone who has no knowledge of the coding subculture, and yet Charlie simply replied "Indeed", and clearly understood exactly what Parson was communicating. So, good luck with your code and all. I'll mourn your Side when it falls.

[CorrTerek]

Okay, since I'm really tired and not really inclined to take this argument any further, I'll just say that the Charlie that Oberon's talking about could certainly do all the things he says Charlie can do. It remains to be seen whether the Charlie in the comic can, and if so, why he hasn't.

[Aquillion]

Am I the only one who thinks that the "stay alive by any means" panel is foreshadowing, especially with Jack in the background?

[DevilDan]

I just wonder how Parson's order about surviving is going to in the least change Wanda's actions.

[Squishalot]

We don't know this. All we know is that you need to be in combat. Which, as I have pointed out, is easily gamed. Vanna had to turn over the letters to spell Goblin Knob, which implies that she could have turned over letters to spell out any given Side. There is no evidence otherwise, and all circumstances support this interpretation. Not without argument, sure, but why a need to spell out a name if the target has to be "the Side I'm in combat with"? The additional requirement tends to support a universal applicability.

I hate to break it to you, but there can only be one side that Kingworld will operate on, and that's the side currently whose turn it is. Realistically, they're going to be the only ones who instigate combat, and therefore, it's always going to be the side you're in combat with.

The only contrived scenario I can envisage is if you move into a city hex and end turn in the airspace, then use Kingworld when the city defense starts to attack your fliers while it's someone else's turn. But that's incredibly contrived.

[Welf von Ehrwald]

So let's speculate:

Thanks for bringing that up again, I still had a rant in stock and needed a opportunity

I think your overestimating Charley's power. First of all, not all of his archons can veil themselves. Limited foolamancy is just a special, they might randomly get when levelling. And they can't attack the garrison without getting complet controll of the airspace. One or two stacks of fliers could slow them enough to fire off the air defences. And archons aren't heavies, so they can't just destroy it (at least I think so). And while 80 archons are enough to take Faq, it migth not be enough to take a strong city like Spacerock. Or only under heavy losses. With about 500 archons at hand, how many capitals can he take at once? 10? And how much of his forces will survive that? Will it be enough to defend the new territory?
The next problem is, that the neighbouring sides will get wind of that. Either by a last message or escaping casters. It's not necessary that the ruler orders the casters away; as soon as he's croaked they will be free of duty and run, just like Faq's other casters did after Banhammer croaked. And they don't need Charley for that, there should be enough sides with hats and thinkamancers for that.
And the final issue: how big is erfworld? We know that the war of the tools is the "big western conflict". But what does that mean? Represent the participating sides 1/4 of the world, or is that just the biggest conflict in 1/4 of the world? If in earthworld Germany, Britain and France would start a war against each other, it would easily be the greatest conflict in the west. But it would still only affect a small part of the world, with Asia, the Americas, Africa and Australia unaffected.