Book 2 – Page 94

[0beron]

Seriously, are you secretly a troll?

Well if I were, then you'd be pronouncing it wrong :p

But what I mean is that their aggression is STILL focused on preventing Parson from passing through the portal. If Wanda turned tail and went the other way, then she's doing what they wanted. No need for aggression against her. Also, this is JUST the carnies who are being vocal. And in my original point I mentioned excluded them from the "Great Minds own the MK" statement.

And to respond to Whispri, who else but the Carnies have defied the Great Minds? The Predictamancers are opposing them, but they still stopped to talk when the Great Minds said so.

[Oberon]

Isaac sure folded fast after Maggie's not terribly cogent argument. "It's a bad, bad idea. But, you know, it just has to happen. So kinda, let it..."

Heh, spoilahs.

Has Jo-Jo just recieved orders from Charlie?

Seemed thinkagrammy to me.

I spy a Caster in a crown, not a soverign surely, to risk a fight?

S/he's standing with three other casters, two in hats. Perhaps Hat Magicians?

Oh dear....this is bad, really really bad. "No casters will be allowed to enter." This means no more decrypted to replenish the ranks, no artifact bonus, and no chance for Wanda to form a splinter side...

Never fear. What was said is not necessarily what will come to pass. Who knows what Issac is thinking anyway? "Ok, I'll let the savior of thinkamancy go through the portal, since you've said it louder that he needs to. But he'll go alone, which will of course increase his chances to die. Because, you know, letting him take a foolish risk just has to be compounded by increasing that risk as much as is possible." Isn't Isaac supposed to be a smart man? And no "he's concerned about the neutrality of the MK!" BS, please. In for an inch, in for a mile. Isaac is not only allowing, he is endorsing and potentially fighting to allow Parson to attack another side via the MK. And if Parson is successful, Jetstone will (probably) fall. And if it doesn't fall, every Jetstone unit will be quite aware that the MK was used as an avenue of attack on their capital. Once that happens, no one is going to care that it was "only one unit" or that "no casters were allowed to attack Jetstone using the MK!" It's stupidity compounding foolishness. Why is Isaac thinking with one hand tied behind his brain?

but what seemed like a painfully long stall months and months ago is really getting rediculous.

The casters are making up arbitrary rules like a bad Dungeon Master to stall the story until it works in their favor for Parson to run through. We get that Charlie is working against Parson here. But what Parson was trying to do should have worked in the first place. He should have been able to run through the tunnel.

Very cogent first post. I hear you loud and clear.

...you do realise that this is exactly how Erfworld is supposed to work, right? It's a world that works on tabletop game rules. Of course there's going to be "the bad DM making up rules to railroad things" - that's how the universe works.

Bullshit. That worked in Book 1 when Parson was learning the rules and constant reversals of fortune had some logical basis. Having Isaac hold the idiot ball doesn't make for a good story, at all.

I am very confused: not allowing Wanda and Jack seems like a HUGE, arbitrary gamebreaker. They cannot go back because potatoe?

That's potato, Dan. But I'm glad that as I read more comments many people seem to have arrived at the same conclusion as I.

Also I'm pretty sure our favorite carnimancer is receiving orders from Charlie to allow Parson to cross the portal.

To something. Which we'll know for certain in about three months.

===
And now for something completely different!

We pretty clearly see that the Great Minds functionally OWN the MK. If they say this is going to be the deal, nobody besides the carnies are going to defy it. They may object and argue about it, but they're not going to take action as big as killing Wanda.

It's like you're not even reading the same comic as the one that is up.

Attempting that is an act of war. We don't need an enforcement council; we will answer in kind!

Seriously, are you secretly a troll?

He is. Who else but a secret troll would choose a screen name so close to the most gentle, benevolent, and beloved member of the forum community? He's very clever and fools most people, but you and I have seen though his faux exterior!

Veiled? Retreated? Could be either really. If the drained of juice thing wasn't a lie, would he have a reason to stay?

He was too curious and read the "gateway to Stupidworld" scroll. </tinfoilhat>

[0beron]

He is [a troll]. Who else but a secret troll would choose a screen name so close to the most gentle, benevolent, and beloved member of the forum community? He's very clever and fools most people, but you and I have seen though his faux exterior!

HAHAHAHA Ohberon, you're my favorite person of the day Probably the ONLY day of our acquaintance that this has been true, so enjoy it while it's lasts (before the paradox kills us all) :p

[Oberon]

And have you seen my new avatar?


(It won't last long, promise)

[0beron]

......I'm dead, the paradox got me. LOL

[Oberon]

Hell, if I'd know that's all it took I'd have made those posts on August 3rd, 2011.

[bladestorm]

GK can still get the artifact bonus without Wanda going through the portal. The artifact just has to be there, attuned or not. Ansom and party had an artifact bonus when they took out the dwagons over the lake (Book 1, Page 72) "Yeah. Wow. Artifact bonus piled on the leadership bonus. That was not winnable." Wanda can hand over the pliers, and then the ground units will have CWL leadership bonus (as low as it is) stacked with artifact bonus. They'll still be short the Croakamancer bonus, but they won't be completely screwed.

The opponents will only have the caster bonus on the dolls, and Slately's leadership bonus. It's very possible that Sylvia and the reds will take out the cloth golems in a huge blaze of fire, leaving a basic infantry fight. Parson can still very easily take Spacerock, even if the capitol gets moved to Jetstone. Surviving the battle isn't going to be the issue -- getting back to relative safety would be, especially if he were stranded, with the Pliers, and had only a small army at his disposal.

Otoh, Jack could be up to his tricks again. I doubt he would have spent the absolute last of his juice on his entrance into MK. There are also several casters that were behind Parson that are no longer there. And Wanda went from way behind Parson to in front of him. That could all be a veil. Some other caster gets veiled as Sizemore, another as Wanda, and another as Jack. The three originals go ahead through the portal ahead of Parson, but everyone present see them still standing there.

Whatever the case, this comic brings one closer to me winning my first accepted predictamancy bet. Keep the slow, steady pace. I have Quatloo pending on the upcoming lack of violence.

[0beron]

GK can still get the artifact bonus without Wanda going through the portal...Wanda can hand over the pliers

Good point. The Artifact bonus may be lower without her holding them. But more importantly is the glaring questions: "CAN she actually hand them over? Or would parting with them have some negative effect like dissolution of the decrypted?" And secondly "...even if she COULD, do you really think the tool-questing fatalistic Wanda ever WOULD let them go again?"

[Oberon]

But more importantly is the glaring questions: "CAN she actually hand them over? Or would parting with them have some negative effect like dissolution of the decrypted?" And secondly "...even if she COULD, do you really think the tool-questing fatalistic Wanda ever WOULD let them go again?"

No, she would not. If the battle at Jetstone were lost, Jetstone would recover the 'pliers and Wanda's Fate would have amounted to about, what? 150 turns of possession of a 'tool?

[0beron]

And the day of paradoxes continues, as Ohberon and I remain in 100% agreement

[bladestorm]

Wait, did Isaac just imply that Parson was not a caster?

[0beron]

Wait, did Isaac just imply that Parson was not a caster?

ooooooooh good catch this is something the MK probably assumes now anyway, but it certainly weakens the argument if he tries to hold up that claim in the future. Makes things especially tricky for Janis, since she started that "rumor"

[Oberon]

Off topic, but does anyone know where the quatloo betting post is? I want to check on my bets, if I still have any pending.

[0beron]

The Amateur Predictamancy thread

[vintermann]

I'm pretty sure what Wanda and Jack did, enter a portal from a city they were in the process of occupying, is also a big no-no in the Magic Kingdom, something they would not normally even consider. It was a piece of lateral thinking from Jack, after all. I'm guessing the deal with Isaac (which he got the other great minds to accept) is that Wanda and Jack stay behind as "hostages" of a sort, until Parson makes good of his promise to come back and talk to them. It would be exceedingly stupid to make any sort of deal with Parson without a hard guarantee like that.

As to the claim that this would make him more likely to get killed in Spacerock, yeah, probably. But the thinkamancers really know very little about how dire the situation is, and even if they did, it's possible that they would want to test their instrument of Fate by placing him in a very tough spot. If he really is Fated to stop Charlie, he will live, no matter the odds.

I'd say Jozo's little spaceout in this page gives very strong evidence he's been working for Charlie all along. He had been trying to stop Parson from getting through the portal, and he would have succeeded (evidence is Marie's comment, "Don't, you'd be shot down") - it's the change of plans from Charlie that makes it possible at all.

I'm thinking: This whole idea of going to Spacerock through the Magic Kingdom is a terribly costly/powerful remote suggestion spell cast by Charlie. He planned to kill or capture Parson there, with Jozo's help. But the thinkamancers' intervention + Jozo's failure to cast the spell made it necessary to kill him in Spacerock instead. Charlie almost certainly has a spy in the Great Minds - maybe the supreme court judge guy? He appears to have changed opinion on letting Parson through the portal pretty quickly - and Charlie does not want Parson to have that chat with the Great Minds if he can help it.

[Oberon]

The Amateur Predictamancy thread

Thanks! I was looking for a post entitled something like "betting" or "quatloos" or something else suggestive.

[Sixty]

Love the Magic: The Gathering reference there near the end.

Also I think the little King guy is King Corobo from Little King's Story, though it can be hard to tell since we don't get the best view of him from the front (also there was a big change in art style between the first one and the one that is upcoming (or came out, I'm bad with keeping track of release dates). He does appear to have that blue staff Corobo has.

http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-15 ... corobo.jpg

[elecampane]

How come nobody has mentioned David Blaine (panels 3 and 9) yet? I wonder if he's a carnymancer.
Besides him, Broom Hilda and Aang we have 7 new caster here:
- short redhed guy/girl in a red mantle and a crown with a blue-tipped staff
- brown-haired guy with a furcoat over his left sholder
- the tall girl in a mask with bunny ears
- some girl(?) in blue clothes (panel 9)
- someone black-haired in green clothes and green mask (panel 9)
- someone fair-haired in red clothes with a hood
- girl in a green dress on the last panel
At least some of them should be identifiable, I think. Sorry if someone already mentioned them and I missed it.

Regarding Jack's disappearance: as of page 91 he is not to be seen on Jetstone's side on the portal, but he's shurely not among other casters now. And predictamancer in brown jacket with square glasses, who stood behind Parson is not here now too.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Maybe it will all make better sense at a later date in printed comic form when you can read 20 pages in a few minutes... but what seemed like a painfully long stall months and months ago is really getting rediculous.

I'm not sure I'd use DMing as a comparison here, but I do believe you are correct. Parson's been stuck at that portal for ages, in comic-time. I'm not even the same BLAND that started posting eons ago (it's a position, not a person, much like James Bond). And in all that time, nothing significant -actually- happened on the portal front. Not when compared to-

King Slately had a nice arc there, which moved at a reasonable pace.

Aye. I've always liked Slately, but apparently Clonely is even more popular. Poor mirror image will be missed.

So I third your main point, unexpected events are fine and all but stories shouldn't devolve into stalling.

I do wonder what Jojo's up to. I do wonder whether that Jojo/Sylvia thing is about to become important. But until it actually does, it's still just filler.

Oh and Oberon: awesome

[Kaed]

Where's Jack?

Interestingly enough, I looked back. The last we see him is in the middle of Page 83, waaaay at the back of the group. Now that I think about it, he looks a little shifty back there, with his hat tilting down over his face.

As the person behind everyone else, it is really quite easy for someone specifically skilled in illusions to slip away. So, I'm almost certain he did. Important plot point, this is. (I suspect)

Kaed is the most gentle, benevolent, and beloved member of the forum community!

And the day of paradoxes continues, as Ohberon and I remain in 100% agreement.

Why thank you sirs.