Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 019

[Gorky]

So Wanda is level 4 now. Clay was level 3 at the beginning of this story (not sure if he leveled up). What level is Delphie?

Got answered in the next update. Delphie was level 4, now 5.

[kagato23]

Why should Dirt magic be stronger than Hat magic? Even if it were, what argument is there against having extra types of Golem to hand? Given that in Book One, when the Capital itself was under attack, Wanda had no Uncroaking to do for at least four turns straight...

I see no reason why Wanda can't Master multiple disciplines. She lacks whatever special vision the various Caster types have (unless she uses devices like Parson's goggle things), the secretive malignant buggers in the Magick Kingdom might make it harder than it needs to be for her to learn and she probably won't gain extra power in other fields just by levelling, but...

I'm not saying dirt magic is inherantly stronger then hat magic. Rather, I'm saying a dirtomancer making a golem in their own discipline will, in nearly all cases, probably do better then somebody making a golem outside of their primary discipline. For a more direct comparison, Cubbins (avoiding the one joke by assuming he's not croaked) can make a better snow golem then wanda can. I'm betting this is true even if she has a level or two on him, because it's his primary discipline. To talk of it in mechanics, he'll have obvious bonuses in casting within his discipline she'd lack. Conversly, Wanda can make better uncroaked then non-croackamancers.

In the specific case cited? crap golems made by a dirtamancer are probably better then any hat-o-mancy golems she could create, even assuming without snow she can make any (might be an environment dependen special), which means her juice may be more efficiently spent A: taking multiple turns to make better units for the upcoming battles (admittedly guessing here) or B: Spelling up the tower (which we know she can and did do). Possibly both. I'm guessing that this was a more efficent use fo her juice, since they have a caster who can make superior golems right there. Assuming she could even make any at all without a snowstorm.

[0beron]

Also it has been suggested (and makes sense) that the amount of juice she can expend outside croakamancy is limited, or she expends more juice than a caster of the relevant school would use to create the same effect. If for example she could perform Dirtamancy just as well as Sizemore, she wouldn't be labeled as a Croakamancer.

[Mrtyuh]

With Bea I see it as a desperation or standard order. In book 1 Sizemore was targeted in combat, not to capture, but to be killed while he was defending the tunnels. Yes I know that they did not know he was there but come on they went for the kill not the capture.

That was a close fight. Sir Webinar probably knew the forces were even, so he didn't have the luxury of attempting to capture Sizemore. In the end, it was Webinar and Dora against Sizemore, and he still had the juice to heal his golems. Ansom hated Wanda for what she did to his men. He wasn't thinking rationally. He wanted revenge, so capturing probably didn't occur to him. With Jillian at Spacerock, Gobwin Knob's airforce was stronger than hers. If she attacked, there was a significant change she would lose. Even if she won, capturing Wanda and Jack, she may not have had enough forces remaining to attempt to capture Ansom, who was the one she really wanted. In this update, "(t)he Haffaton forces would have been strong enough to overwhelm Goodminton's, if not for Un-Tommy (who'd been brilliant in battle), and the bonus provided by Fritz's swift promotion to Chief Warlord." Larry's feeling towards Wanda probably affected his judgement as well. Casters are valuable units. Capture is preferable but not at the cost of your own forces.

She was not alone. By unit count, her party was considerably larger than the one that had departed Kiloton. Notably, it included new Chief Warlord Pom Fritz, and a former enemy warlord named Larry Ansell.

When I first read this, I thought, "He's probably uncroaked, but...maybe he turned." I didn't really believe it, but given his seeming willingness to consider it before, the possibility kept rolling around my head until he lost his. I'm also surprised to see they have more units than left Kiloton. Their siege column was annihilated. I'm sure they lost units in Larry's raid. While she could uncroak the Haffaton units and any non-Fellow casualties of Goodminton, any uncroaked dusted are gone. I wonder if they were joined by any forces pulled from Hamfurter, Frankburg and/or Goodfinger.

And only Lord Firebaugh's cleverness had kept the capital from falling before now.

I suspect their delay in attacking has less to do with Lord Firebaugh's cleverness than Haffaton's desire to acquire Wanda. If Goodminton had traded Wanda the turn Frenemy and Quisling moved against their capital, they would have attacked that turn. If Larry's force had captured Wanda, they would have attacked the next. They didn't attack, because Haffaton didn't want Wanda to disband in the field when her side ended. Now that Wanda was where they could capture her, they would have attacked whether Lord Firebaugh met their demands or not.

Larry came after them with a vengeance, as if he had something to prove.

This is at least partially caused by Larry's fixation with Wanda, but I wonder if it is also partially caused by guilt over having considered turning when Tommy made his counter offer.

Fritz was just being practical again.

I still love Fritz. I dread his probable croaking in the future.

Delphie looked like she wanted to answer, and Wanda nodded her assent. "Yes, Lord," said the Predictamancer. "Spells are on the tower, and I am boosted with Luckamancy." Clay nodded as well. They both looked terribly serious. Wanda reminded herself how little combat they had each seen.

Once again I'm surprised. I won't have thought they'd have seen any combat, but this implies they have. I can't really see Delphie or Clay leaving the capital. Either I am mistake, they were captured from other sides or the capital has been attacked before.