Book 2 – Text Updates 032

[balder]

New One is up.

[Atomic]

Loved it! Duncan, you brilliant little man... That's some pretty solid reasoning he's got going on; if Jetstone loses, I suppose they deserve to... Riiiight?

Glad to see not everyone bows to Jillian's whims around here... Now we wait for the arguments of posters who think she'll still turn back after sacking the city...

[Crisis21]

In a way, Duncan is right. Jetstone is in a situation that should be just about impossible for them to lose. Their enemy, including the highest value target in the enemy's army, is trapped in Jetstone's airspace with nowhere to run and no reinforcements possible (as far as Jetstone knows). If Jetstone does goof this so badly that they lose the battle, many sides will be hard pressed to say it wasn't their fault based upon the current available information.

Jetstone could have ended this with a few archer volleys right at the start of turn, or at least when Tramennis returned to the city. Their stalling has only given Parson time to pull his out-of-left-field game-breaker together.

Even if Parson does pull off a win here, it really is Jetstone's fault for not taking full advantage of the situation.

Lesson: Never assume the enemy is defeated until after you have actually defeated them.

[Eyeless Blond]

Hm, so Charlie likely does have a Think-tap on Maggie. This is somewhat disturbing; it makes Charlie's Archendish absurdly powerful, possibly more so than the Pliers, and far more powerful than that hammer, which these days is seeming pretty wimpy. I mean, it's not like Stanley is raising an army or becoming the next Charles Xavier; he just gets an electric guitar with the ability to tame dwagons, which used to be cool but really pale in comparison to Archons or a Decrypted army.

[-D-]

Seriously these text updates are too awesome. Also, I wonder is this sign of Duncan's loyalty changing?

@Eyeless: Don't forget Charlie and to a lesser extent Wanda are more keen on experimenting with their powers than Stanely; plus (presumably) Charlie had them for a longer time. Who knows, maybe Hammer can conjure a hex wide storm but Stanely being the PHB that he is never figured that out.

[ftl]

Hah. The suggestion thing - definitely still a sore spot for Jillian. She doesn't like being controlled like that.

I don't think we got anything new in this update that leads us to think Charlie can think-tap Maggie - at least, not anything more than we've seen before. Jillian's referring to the same "intel" that Charlie shared with her in the comic update a few comics back.

Duncan seems like a pretty solid guy. And given that Jillian's *told* him to watch for signs of Suggestions, he's making the best decision he can. If Jill suddenly says that she's not going to do the obvious thing, not going to earn money by razing undefended cities and is instead going back to act as backup for a battle that no sane side could possibly lose (as far as he knows) based on vague intel that she can't actually describe... yeah, I can understand why he's pressing his case.

I don't see this as Duncan's loyalty changing. He's doing what he thinks is best for the side - and yes, that can involve arguing with your ruler if he thinks the ruler is wrong. That's not a sign of lowering loyalty. In any well-functioning state, the chief warlord IS going to sometimes have better ideas than the ruler, and a good ruler would recognize that and listen when the CW argues. Not necessarily always agree, but certainly listen.

[Ansan Gotti]

This was just an incredibly satisfying update to read.

[-D-]

I was more referring to the fact that he(Duncan) felt good about winning an argument with Jil than the argument itself, however its probably me being paranoid. Guess I played too much Witchhunt.

[gaiaswill]

I like Duncan. He has a good head. It would be interesting to see how he would run Faq if Jillian actually gave him some authority.

[cdrcjsn]

Am I bad for being glad that Jillian is probably out of the picture for the rest of this book?

[Dancingrage]

Ah, this is a rich update, glad I waited for it.

This just makes me think Charlie could have probably couched this in a better way and gotten a better result, but ah well. What he gets for using a Thinkagram on someone who's been suggested a lot in the last hundred turns or so.

Jetstone is booped, however let's see what Tramennis pulls outta Charlie's tail end on that front before Parson comes and brings the whole house down.

[Direcoyote]

Am I bad for being glad that Jillian is probably out of the picture for the rest of this book?

Don't be. If she's going out with this update, then she's going out on a high note. She's doing something for her SIDE instead of her SELF. As far as Duncan goes, if Gobwin Knob's forces can defeat Jetstone's, then what would happen with Faq's forces in the mix? Would it end his side?

[ftl]

I was more referring to the fact that he(Duncan) felt good about winning an argument with Jil than the argument itself, however its probably me being paranoid. Guess I played too much Witchhunt.

Yeah, I think it's you being paranoid. I'd feel good about winning an argument with a superior of mine too, and it's just simple pride, not disloyalty or anything like that, I think.

But hey, we need more tinfoil hat theories around here! Maybe Jillian will change her mind again, and Duncan will overthrow her or something!

[Squishalot]

Duncan's great for Jillian. Especially considering how he appears to be taking the Heir in his stride - he seems pretty nonchalant about it. Reckon it's because he joined after they started popping it, or that he's just that committed to the side's cause now?

[cloudbreaker]

Duncan's great for Jillian. Especially considering how he appears to be taking the Heir in his stride - he seems pretty nonchalant about it. Reckon it's because he joined after they started popping it, or that he's just that committed to the side's cause now?

It will be a long time before we find out, but I'm willing to bet that Jillian surprises Duncan by letting him remain the chief warlord even after the new heir pops. She was never much into the royalty thing.

[the_tick_rules]

Bad news for the jets. Plus it'll make charlie mad, which is always awesome.

[Direcoyote]

Duncan's great for Jillian. Especially considering how he appears to be taking the Heir in his stride - he seems pretty nonchalant about it. Reckon it's because he joined after they started popping it, or that he's just that committed to the side's cause now?

It will be a long time before we find out, but I'm willing to bet that Jillian surprises Duncan by letting him remain the chief warlord even after the new heir pops. She was never much into the royalty thing.

Yeah. I think Duncan is building up for Retirony. It sounds like he wants to maybe govern a level 2 or so and enjoy what passes for peace.

[Kidrik]

I guess Charlie does hijack thinkamancy. It would explain how he knows so much since it's the preferred means of communication. It also is the only reason he would be freaking out about Jetstone without knowing specifics. I can't help but feel all he heard was Parson say "We're going to win this," and without being able to look into his mind can only extrapolate based upon prior experience.

[cdrcjsn]

I guess Charlie does hijack thinkamancy. It would explain how he knows so much since it's the preferred means of communication. It also is the only reason he would be freaking out about Jetstone without knowing specifics. I can't help but feel all he heard was Parson say "We're going to win this," and without being able to look into his mind can only extrapolate based upon prior experience.

I'm fairly certain that Parson told Wanda what the plan was over thinkamancy, at least the part that involves her. We, the readers, just weren't privy to that plan (see http://www.erfworld.com/wp-content/uploads/book2/2010-08-04.jpg).

[eilandesq]

When this is over, Charlie is going to wish he had contacted Duncan instead of Prince Tramennis. Presented with the reason for why there was danger Jetrock would lose, Duncan would have been a sail instead of a brake on Jillian's plan to return. Charlie could have always called Tramennis later.