Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 064

[balder]

New One is up.

[Denar]

Orwell's still alive? Interesting. Everyone had pretty much assumed that it [his death] was something that didn't need to be outright stated.

Also, I don't like this "Fate will borrow numbers from somewhere," justification. Got a feeling that this foreshadowing will manifest itself quite malevolently later on. (ha, maybe it'll make Orwell fail an incapacitation save and he'll suddenly croak!)

[vintermann]

There's a flaw in their thinking, though: Jillian is fated to kill the ruler of Haffaton, so unless the spell consists in firing Jillian at Olive, sword first, it will miss.

[drachefly]

Interesting that the broomstick isn't all that fast. And, of course, fortuitous.

I didn't realize that CWLs had city senses. Maybe it's just for allied cities they're in?

vintermann, not if Wanda's stacked with Jillian. Leaders get credit for kills executed by units led by them. That provides some wiggle-room for fate.

[Eva]

The shot could also merely knock her to the ground and incapacitate her, leaving Jillian to strike the final blow.

[drachefly]

I really liked both Banhammer's reaction to Orwell's injury, and Jillian's confusion at it. It fits both of them.

Also, it's funny, but we still don't know for sure if Wanda's a master-class caster yet.

[Neko]

Awesome update! I'm SO digging this storyline. So do we get to find out if a Caster in manacles with the Fugitive status can cast?

Glad to see Orwell is still alive. Hope Banhammer has the presence of mind to call his Healomancer through the portal. Which begs the question...with a Healomancer on your side, why isn't Faq FLUSH with healing scrolls? Or at least in possession of ONE that the Ruler keeps in a pouch? Everyone who's played any type of RPG always knows to keep a potion/scroll/wand of Cure Light Wounds onhand for emergencies. Unless Healomancers have some out of combat function they can spend their juice on? Not quite sure where else a side like Faq with a ton of casters would spend out of combat juice other than scrolls.

[slb]

I think that's the second time Xin draw Jilian's sword with only two edges and wondering if it is intentional or not.

[Kornaki]

So Jillian basically has no idea what the combat capabilities of her side's casters are? She wasn't ready for the blind spell, didn't know Jack could spot further than she can, and it seems has no idea what the powers of predictamancy are. This is plausible seeing how the casters never go into the field with her and she kind of hates FAQ's casters specifically, but it seems she really failed to do her due diligence

[Whispri]

Hopefully, Wanda will zot her.

I'm thinking Orwell's had it, partly because Haffaton's Turn should end when Olive snuffs it, partly because of the imminent number theft.

There's a flaw in their thinking, though: Jillian is fated to kill the ruler of Haffaton, so unless the spell consists in firing Jillian at Olive, sword first, it will miss.

Knocked off her mount and incapacitated by the fall would leave her open for Gillian (or Scarface if you prefer) to finish off. And then there's the whole 'running from your Fate leads you to a worse one' dealy.

[Kreistor]

I think that's the second time Xin draw Jilian's sword with only two edges and wondering if it is intentional or not.

Three-Edge has never had three edges, or had a triangular or three-pointed cross section. You can go back to the earliest pages of Book 1 and find that Jamie never drew it that way, either. It has always been a giant, normal great sword or bastard sword (she uses it one-handed sometimes, especially from mount, so I think the latter is probably a better description). We do not yet know why it has that name.

[Whispri]

I think that's the second time Xin draw Jilian's sword with only two edges and wondering if it is intentional or not.

Three-Edge has never had three edges, or had a triangular or three-pointed cross section. You can go back to the earliest pages of Book 1 and find that Jamie never drew it that way, either. It has always been a giant, normal great sword or bastard sword (she uses it one-handed sometimes, especially from mount, so I think the latter is probably a better description). We do not yet know why it has that name.

We do. It's named for reasons relating to self-nookie.

[slb]

You're right, I've been reading the whole series since the beginning without actually noticing this and with the scabbard drawn by Jamie in the mind. With the name Three Edges I though that her sword had no triangular tip and was thus questionning Xin's art when it fact Jamie also had it drawn normaly in all the paages I checked. Plus she's explicitly using estoc maneuvers in the latest fight against the scarecrow and metal golem.

[wrecan]

This is plausible seeing how the casters never go into the field with her and she kind of hates FAQ's casters specifically, but it seems she really failed to do her due diligence

I don't think Jillian could do due diligence. With the exception of Jack and Rusty (Shockamancer), the FAQ casters seemed utterly uninterested in any combat-capabilities for their power, and in fact may have been insulted (and insulting in return) if the subject ever came up. Combat is beneath them. Rusty was unapproachable for other reasons (plus the combat applications of his powers are fairly obvious). As for Jack, we don't in fact know much about his attitude toward combat before meeting Parson. This battle with Olive may be the first time Jack even realizes that he has combat capabilities. Before then, even in the field, his duties were limited to Veiling cities and leading enemy troops around FAQ's territory.

[peteratjet]

I think that's the second time Xin draw Jilian's sword with only two edges and wondering if it is intentional or not.

Three-Edge has never had three edges, or had a triangular or three-pointed cross section. You can go back to the earliest pages of Book 1 and find that Jamie never drew it that way, either. It has always been a giant, normal great sword or bastard sword (she uses it one-handed sometimes, especially from mount, so I think the latter is probably a better description). We do not yet know why it has that name.

It's a metaphor,specifically a Koshism, so unless it's been explicitly recorded somewhere in IP(TSP) I'm quietly confident Jillian doesn't understand the derivation either.They probably don't get stupidworld science-fiction TV shows in Erfworld

http://chaosmerchant.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/understanding-is-a-three-edged-sword/

"The saying “Understanding is a three edged sword” comes from the first species, the Vorlons… and it represents the objectivity of seeing things as they are… your side, my side and the truth. Three sides to every story."

[WaterMonkey314]

Hm. Was Jillian as surprised as others at the prospect of Jetstone losing Spacerock on their own turn? Since she's clearly done it before now.

[technojunkie]

Hm. Was Jillian as surprised as others at the prospect of Jetstone losing Spacerock on their own turn? Since she's clearly done it before now.

The Key difference is Jetstone had a fully manned garrison and no GK boots on the ground. Haffaton is a ghost town, and the FAQ forces severely outmatch the overlady and her two golems.

[multilis]

Jillian=NOOB?

"If she took the time to get a mount, she’d never catch her."

Jillian is on ground, target is in airspace, not her sides turn (so can't cross zones).

Do all cities have zones where off turn you can't move to airspace, or is that only true of capitals? If it is only true of capitals then the Erfworld wiki is wrong.

If it is also true of regular level 4 city, then Jillian is a noob to even *think about* getting a mount for herself.

[erianaiel]

So Jillian basically has no idea what the combat capabilities of her side's casters are? She wasn't ready for the blind spell, didn't know Jack could spot further than she can, and it seems has no idea what the powers of predictamancy are. This is plausible seeing how the casters never go into the field with her and she kind of hates FAQ's casters specifically, but it seems she really failed to do her due diligence

Faq's casters were courtiers first and three of them were responsible only for keeping it wrapped up in its little bubble. For the rest they were there to engage in mystical-philosophical debate with the king.
Jilllian hated all that courtly stuff, kept out of the kingdom as much as she could arrange and would avoid casters, with the exception of Jack who was at least kind to her when she was forced to attend court. And the king would never risk his entourage at something as uncouth as battle. Jillian said it herself, Brother Orwell was a fat scared caster who had never seen battle. It is likely that the same was true of the other casters as well. How would Jillian have learned anything about their abilities, even if she had not held them in contempt?
This also shows that she is a warlord and not a tactical genius (or at least tactically minded) like Parson.

Also, I have no doubt it has been mentioned time and again, but I think that Faq is the best real world pun in the story so far. Faq, the side that nobody is even aware exists.

[MonteCristo]

Jillian=NOOB?

"If she took the time to get a mount, she’d never catch her."

Jillian is on ground, target is in airspace, not her sides turn (so can't cross zones).

Do all cities have zones where off turn you can't move to airspace, or is that only true of capitals? If it is only true of capitals then the Erfworld wiki is wrong.

If it is also true of regular level 4 city, then Jillian is a noob to even *think about* getting a mount for herself.

In an ENEMY city you can not cross the zone off-turn; however Efbaum isn't an enemy city anymore, it now belongs to Faq. Jillian is free to cross the zones no matter what turn it is. We saw this in previous battles; at the battle of GK, on the RCC's turn, Wanda was able to enter the airspace to fight Ansom, Sizemore was able to enter and exit the tunnels to perform his surprise attacks, And Parson was able to leave the tower to get down to the portal room in the dungeon.