Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 046

[balder]

New One is up.

[cheeseaholic]

So dragons can scent then?

I wonder if GK got any of those ponchos from their archons.

Probably not. I bet they all got fried.

[0beron]

Interesting. A few more rules updates, and good banter with Charlescomm. It's especially surprising to hear that line about Jillian not being worth it. Are they posturing to save Haffaton face? Has Wanda lied to her superiors? Many possible theories.

[effataigus]

Fun!

Archons really are omnipresent... and apparently quite good at hiding (takes notes).

[Radagast]

Kinda odd... you would think Charlie would try to make at least a little money off the deal. After all, after this turn, the info becomes worthless. Why not earn whatever you can from it even if it's not very much?

So, if it's true that Haffaton rejected the offer (if the offer was even made?)... they either a) already know exactly where Jillian is or b) already know exactly where she's going.

[Kornaki]

Jillian is a warlord flying on a dragon. Even if the archons have the advantage this is a non-trivial fight, and it's not like the archons are just hanging around doing nothing. They are probably on their way to accomplish a different mission which Charlie risks compromising by capturing or croaking Jillian

Before the thinkagram, a moment came and went when Jillian considered attacking them preemptively. She would have the upper hand, but it might be close

Charlie might have been paid to reveal her location (or maybe not, if he doesn't want Haffaton to know where the archons are), but would have to require a hefty fee to pay for the probable loss of three archons. The only thing we know is that Haffaton didn't pay Charlescomm to attack Jillian, we don't know if they paid for the information of where she is

[Skystriker]

Alternatively, they may have been hired to track her to FAQ and not reveal their presence in doing so . Not sure how easy it would be since her dwagon can clearly detect them though.

[noname_hero]

Kinda odd... you would think Charlie would try to make at least a little money off the deal. After all, after this turn, the info becomes worthless. Why not earn whatever you can from it even if it's not very much?

So, if it's true that Haffaton rejected the offer (if the offer was even made?)... they either a) already know exactly where Jillian is or b) already know exactly where she's going.

I guess Charlie has to maintain his pricing policy

Plus he might be determining the price based on things like the cost of announcing the presence of his units in Haffaton space. Or on the chance to make money soometime in future thanks to being the only one who knows something about FAQ. After all, who says he will not order one archon to shadow Jillian?

[0beron]

Alternatively, they may have been hired to track her to FAQ and not reveal their presence in doing so . Not sure how easy it would be since her dwagon can clearly detect them though.

Maybe that's what the eagerness about the Rain-ment might have been about. Give her a "bugged" item, and track her easily without having to be in the hex. That could be why they were willing to give it on credit :p

[raphfrk]

Kinda odd... you would think Charlie would try to make at least a little money off the deal. After all, after this turn, the info becomes worthless. Why not earn whatever you can from it even if it's not very much?

It is a tradeoff. Accepting a lower price would mean he may lose more on other deals. Better that a few deals fail, than he gets a reputation for accepting lower fees if you claim that the info is not worth that much.

OTOH, he could probably use the dish to check if they were sincere. However, he probably prefers that people don't know exactly how powerful the dish is.

[0beron]

He could probably use the dish...

For all we know, he may not have it yet. He probably does, but it's something to consider.

[SteveMB]

Kinda odd... you would think Charlie would try to make at least a little money off the deal. After all, after this turn, the info becomes worthless. Why not earn whatever you can from it even if it's not very much?

It is a tradeoff. Accepting a lower price would mean he may lose more on other deals. Better that a few deals fail, than he gets a reputation for accepting lower fees if you claim that the info is not worth that much.

Also, accepting the deal means taking a risk of losing some or all of the Archons, which sets a minimum profitable price even considering this situation in isolation from its effect on future dealings. Even just selling the intel on Jillian's current location would also give away the Archon's location, which itself poses a smaller but nonzero risk to them.

[bladestorm]

Kinda odd... you would think Charlie would try to make at least a little money off the deal. After all, after this turn, the info becomes worthless. Why not earn whatever you can from it even if it's not very much?

It is a tradeoff. Accepting a lower price would mean he may lose more on other deals. Better that a few deals fail, than he gets a reputation for accepting lower fees if you claim that the info is not worth that much.

Also, accepting the deal means taking a risk of losing some or all of the Archons, which sets a minimum profitable price even considering this situation in isolation from its effect on future dealings. Even just selling the intel on Jillian's current location would also give away the Archon's location, which itself poses a smaller but nonzero risk to them.

It could also bring up questions as to why Charlie has three Archons posted in Haffaton airspace. If these three just happen to be hanging out here, where else might he have veiled Archons hanging out. He typically has several stationed near hotspots for easy and rapid deployment should the case arise. Maybe he's expecting something soon, or Jillian is close to something else that has Charlie's attention.

Another interesting tidbit -- Haffaton ended turn, and it is still Charlescomm's turn. So Haffaton therefore has turn order before Charlescomm?

I also think the Rain-Ment sales pitch was a lot like the latenight infomercials... Act now, and we'll throw in a second Rain-Ment for free. But wait, there's more!

[0beron]

Speaking of the Rain-ment, does anyone recognize if there is a pun/reference regarding these 3 Archons and their names?

[the_tick_rules]

Charlie's involved? Oh like we need more complexity lol.

[ftl]

Obvious tinfoil-hat theory - Haffaton already knows where Jillian is and doesn't want her captured.

Of course, that doesn't explain the patrol of 6 high elves that was sent to recapture her after she tamed her dwagon.

[0beron]

Obvious tinfoil-hat theory - Haffaton already knows where Jillian is and doesn't want her captured.

It's possible that multiple authority figures are involved here. Wanda, Olive, the Ruler (whoever that is, possibly Olive), and various warlords or other Casters may have all "interacted" with Jillian's escape at different points. One of the above could have sent the troops to capture her as she tamed the dwagon, a different one could have taken the call from the Archons (if one was actually made). In a Side so large, mixed signals and unshared information could be common.

(so to clarify, I'm pointing out that your "tinfoil hat" theory may not be so tin-foil-ey after all)

[Whispri]

For all this 'Chief Jillian' malarky, surely Banhammer will have promoted a replacement by now?

It's possible the Archon was covering a slip, but honestly, if Haffaton were as weak as Jillian desperately wants them to be, Translyvito would be plundering their Cities without consequence. And if that were happening Faq, being neighbours to both Sides, would surely know. Another thing, Jillian had pinky sworn she wasn't a threat to Haffaton, her ability to slip along their border could well be a result of them recognising her air group and taking her at her word. And of course, if she's right, she has no answer to Olive Branch.

You know a thought occurs: Supposing someone at Haffaton has heard of Faq and really, really hates them. That could be motive for refusing help, not wanting to spoil the delicious taste of Faq's flesh/having something special planned. We never did have the identity of Goodminton's destroyers confirmed...

One last thought. Wanda was moving in and out of her graveyard every few turns. Jillian is now three Turns out by air after spending three Turns fleeing on foot, plus the extra move the Dwagon gave her on the Turn she found it. That suggests either that Haffaton is wealthy enough to arrange a rapid transportation hack of some variety, or that Wanda is required to do something a short way from her graveyard on a regular basis.

[Sixty]

Another interesting tidbit -- Haffaton ended turn, and it is still Charlescomm's turn. So Haffaton therefore has turn order before Charlescomm?

Or Charlescomm is allied to someone that has their turn after Haffaton at the moment.

[vintermann]

The reason the archon was a bit miffed and insinuated that Jillian wasn't worth much, was that she knew Jillian could quite possibly croak them. We know Jillian has very good stats, remember Wanda's comments about Jillian being able to kill a small army with a pair of chopsticks. She's contemplating taking on a city personally, by the Titans!

The archon is bluffing. Jillian is not of little value, it's just that Charlie won't risk his archons cheaply.

Likely, Charlie has also deemed it more valuable to find out where Jillian is heading. Since they're business rivals, it's certain that he knows of their existence, but I don't think he knows their location yet (or he'd sold the information long ago).