Book 2 – Page 42

[Gathrun]

What makes you think there is a missing text update? Book 2 does not have a straight 1-1 ratio of comic pages and text updates. There is no text update because there likely wasn't supposed to be a text update.

The news at the bottom of the comic update says there was one skipped.

[BCCroaker]

There is the possiblity that Parson plans to use the MK portals to go to the nearest GK held city to Jetstone, rather than straight into the capital itself. Be a bit of an anti-climax though.

[DyneBlack]

There is the possiblity that Parson plans to use the MK portals to go to the nearest GK held city to Jetstone, rather than straight into the capital itself. Be a bit of an anti-climax though.

Assuming cities other than capital cites have portals. If I remember correctly, one of the text updates states that Sizemore had to fly to other cities via dwagon to help rebuild them. This is evidence he couldn't just portal his way there.

[nerf-dweller]

So what says you, time to start the (Im)Mortality Watch?

Who will the casualties be? Much to joosy's joy, Sylvia is such a likely victim of Fate that putting her name on any list is cheating. And so's Slately (Trem is heir; move over now you old faht nobody liked you anyway except me). But who's next? Sizemore? Maggie?

But Trem isn't the heir. Jetstone is too broke to make Tremennis the heir. So Jetstone either has no heir, or the heir is a decrypted warlord serving in GK's forces (which begs many questions if that's the case).

[Dr Pepper]

He can promote himself? That was unexpected.

[Crisis21]

What makes you think there is a missing text update? Book 2 does not have a straight 1-1 ratio of comic pages and text updates. There is no text update because there likely wasn't supposed to be a text update.

The news at the bottom of the comic update says there was one skipped.

Ah, missed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

I'm pretty surprised that no one has commented on my random theories from page 3. I thought those were at least comment worthy, if not debate worthy.

[Zeku]

The upside of all this is that Parson will finally level when/if he wins this battle. Should be a big jump too, considering it's a massive battle and his level is currently very low. He'll jump from 2 to ~7, or whatever 'medium level' is in erfworld. Sizemore only got 2 in TBFGK, but I'm assuming he was already level 5-8. There might be auxiliary benefits beyond numerical increases.

I'm also curious if there's every going to be more exposition on the 'summon perfect warlord' spell. This isn't exactly something you'd cook up in your basement. Several experienced casters probably collaborated to create it, and since it was sold publicly, there wasn't anything abominable about it's existence. Why has no one else used such a thing? Was it really just a 'summon above-average warlord' spell, and Stanley got lucky by using the right description?

[Unclever title]

I'm pretty surprised that no one has commented on my random theories from page 3. I thought those were at least comment worthy, if not debate worthy.

Someone commented on the Sword of Ruthlessness, but I think the decrypted food hasn't been touched.

Of course food doesn't leave a corpse... unless crap counts.
Quickly! Refocus the flyers we have to invade the latrine!

Alternately, the thought of decrypting food still in a unit's stomach (if they actually even have internal organs) could be quite gruesome, potentially too gruesome for Erf to allow.

Of course decrypted food wouldn't work as food, considering the decrypted turn to dust when they die.

[Altima]

Random speculation:

Parson, even low level, has a tremendously high upkeep cost. We know from the summer updates that it takes quite a bit of smuckers to upgrade garrison units to field units. Parson may have inadvertantly drained GK of funds.

We know from Book 1 that at the end of your turn, your movement drops to zero. However, if you're promoted in an enemy's turn--in that your movement is no longer 0 default--does your movement go to its natural state? In short, can Parson actually move around in hexes because he now has movement?

Maggie dying would both neutralize Charlie's newest arguable power (listening on Thinkagrams), and it would force Parson to actually be a field command unit, because GK would no longer be able to relay with thinkagrams.

[Chris Goodwin]

Random speculation:

Parson, even low level, has a tremendously high upkeep cost. We know from the summer updates that it takes quite a bit of smuckers to upgrade garrison units to field units. Parson may have inadvertantly drained GK of funds.

Between the huge amount of gems Sizemore found in the volcano and the fact that most of their forces are decrypted (upkeep = 0) they're probably sitting on huge amounts of Schmuckers they aren't doing anything with.

[Altima]

Random speculation:

Parson, even low level, has a tremendously high upkeep cost. We know from the summer updates that it takes quite a bit of smuckers to upgrade garrison units to field units. Parson may have inadvertantly drained GK of funds.

Between the huge amount of gems Sizemore found in the volcano and the fact that most of their forces are decrypted (upkeep = 0) they're probably sitting on huge amounts of Schmuckers they aren't doing anything with.

In one of the text updates, it's mentioned that Stanley used a sizeable portion of their sudden wealth to repopulate the Hobgobwin tribe, most likely because they can't find any natural allies in the field.

[Raza]

Don't forget that over the summer updates Queen Bea went into her own portal and instantly disbanded. I think Parson is a Hippiemancer, plain and simple.

I'm not so sure.

In Book 1, Parson speculates about being undisbandable, which seems likely if he wasn't contructed as erfworlders are.

My guess is that the portal runs like this when a unit attempts to enter:
1 If caster = false, disband
2 transport unit to magic kingdom

This would let him go to the magic kingdom not by virtue of being a caster, but by virtue of not being disbandable.


Janis said that he's a hipiemancer, yeah. But Janis likes her perfect warlord story. She'd say that even if it wasn't true to preserve Parson, and that specifically because the other casters would believe her. Otherwise, how would she know? Sure, hippiemancy is her speciality and she's a master, but erfworld magic isn't described as working on vague intuitions and sensing disturbances in the force. Casters know eachother because they can see stats, and nobody can see Parson's.

'Course, knowing erfworld it'll probably both end up being half true in some unexpected way. I hope it will

[atalex]

But Trem isn't the heir. Jetstone is too broke to make Tremennis the heir. So Jetstone either has no heir, or the heir is a decrypted warlord serving in GK's forces (which begs many questions if that's the case).

Indeed. Parson raised the point way back that we just don't know what will happen if Slately is killed while the current heir (Ossomer) is a Decrypted.

Idle speculation based on absolutely nothing -- Slately gets killed and then decrypted. Everyone in Jetstone below the rank of noble automatically converts. Improbable, I know, but this outcome leaves Parson victorious but Trem still alive, and possibly willing to defect since his family seems much more important to him than we had previously suspected (see last update).

[DevilDan]

Random speculation:

Parson, even low level, has a tremendously high upkeep cost. We know from the summer updates that it takes quite a bit of smuckers to upgrade garrison units to field units. Parson may have inadvertantly drained GK of funds.

There's a difference between tremendously and abnormally or just higher than expected.

We know from Book 1 that at the end of your turn, your movement drops to zero. However, if you're promoted in an enemy's turn--in that your movement is no longer 0 default--does your movement go to its natural state? In short, can Parson actually move around in hexes because he now has movement?

He can't possibly have enough move to get anywhere on his own power.

[Unclever title]

We know from Book 1 that at the end of your turn, your movement drops to zero. However, if you're promoted in an enemy's turn--in that your movement is no longer 0 default--does your movement go to its natural state? In short, can Parson actually move around in hexes because he now has movement?

He can't possibly have enough move to get anywhere on his own power.

Indeed. I suspect Parson promoted himself from Garrison not for this turn specifically but for the next. Whatever plan he has to magically get to Spacerock in time to lead this fight it's not likely to work more than once.

I knew Parson would leave the 'Knob eventually but leaving it in what I'm assuming will be a spectacular fashion is not what I expected. Though it was never easy in the first place this plot is becoming more difficult to predict. I like that. A lot.

I'm also interested in the Parson not being immune to disbandment theory. It's plausible and it would definitely make Parson "the most dangerous being in Erfworld" despite his low level. If Parson were to become a barbarian somehow, or the head of his own side then he'd be a completely unbound mind, seemingly unprecedented in Erfworld.

Slately is bound by Royalism, Wanda by fate, Ansom and Jillian by Wanda (in different ways), Charlie by ???, and Stanley by his customs (well he's resistant to change anyway). Parson? Currently he's bound by Stanley and his ignorance, but one is shrinking and the other? Perhaps not as much as we have been led to believe.

[Chit Rule Railroad]

I'd love to see a Combat Ready Parson action figure. I wonder what kind of neat classic cartoon & D&D weaponry he's going to get.

I'd like to see him wield the geeky, munchkin-y spiked chain. Especially since he's one size category larger than most other units.

[KiltedNinja]

Brilliant update, nicely done

I just wanted to bring attention to the fact that Parson is carrying his Eyebook in a very 'noticeable' fashion; Panels 2 + 3 it's front and center, and in panel 9 it's slammed to the ground as Parson feels the effects of his self-promotion. Suggests to me that the Eyebooks are continuing to play their part in the upcoming madness (re: the speculation about Parson using the Eyebooks for misinformation purposes).

Methinks it's time to go back and do a complete re-read of the whole thing, just for the hell of it

[zadcap]

Has anyone yet thought that he WON'T be popping out into Jetstone? Considering the only portal we have seen(in my memory) is the one from GK, and while it seems to be the common assumption that this portal is for Gobwin Knob, the side, could this portal simply be for Gobwin Knob, the city?
Is there only one portal per side, or is it one per city?

You can see where this is going...

Because GK, the side, controls many cities. Some of those cities are rather near Jetstone. GK, the city, is rather far from the current battlefield, but their closest city could be within flight during one Turn, letting Parson get there pretty darn fast.

[Alexei P]

If it were possible to bring in troops (even only artifical troops) into the Magic Kingdom, the place would be a battlefield by now. Though if Parson gets into a habit of using the portal park as his private teleportation device, this just might happen. Wonder what Janis will think of her "war for peace" plan when it comes knocking on her own front door?

At the very least, if word gets around that Parson is using the portal network, GK's enemies are going to consider the Magic Kingdom as a de facto GK ally unless they put a stop to it.

They're also going to wonder why a warlord is able to use the portals (which was supposedly impossible, given that Parson didn't think he'd be able to save anybody other than the three casters from the volcano). It it turns out that this was just a myth spread by the MK to preserve its status as neutral ground, the secret will be blown. If it turns out that Parson is in fact the only warlord who can use the portals without disbanding, everybody else in Erfworld is going to worry. (Then again, if Parson shows up at the Battle of Spacerock without anybody outside GK finding out how he did it, they'll worry even more.)

We don't know what status the Magic Kingdom occupies in Erf society. So far, it seems rulers treat it as "just that place where casters are hired from". If the Magic Kingdom gains a personal political stake in this war, it changes the game. It changes the whole game, in fact, by introducing a new side that doesn't have a formal ruler, a standard chain of command, cities, or upkeep concerns. And consisting entirely of casters, with lots of link-up options. The possibility of decrypted casters, or a clever warlord violating the sanctity of their neutral ground, just might be enough to get the "peaceful" casters off the bench and into the game.

[zadcap]

There is the possiblity that Parson plans to use the MK portals to go to the nearest GK held city to Jetstone, rather than straight into the capital itself. Be a bit of an anti-climax though.

Assuming cities other than capital cites have portals. If I remember correctly, one of the text updates states that Sizemore had to fly to other cities via dwagon to help rebuild them. This is evidence he couldn't just portal his way there.

This could be because a destroyed city would not have a portal, because he would need to see what he was repairing(see a city from the air vs from inside a building?), or because going from dragon to dragon would let him get to more cities than his own Move would allow him to get to cities.