Book 2 – Page 92

[balder]

New One is up.

[Arky]

Dear Thinkamancers, let Hamster through before Scarlet completely screws up everything.

Also before the audience throttles you for continuing to stall the plot.

Love,
Me

[bladestorm]

Pressure building, and things are about to explode.

Although this may be just what Hamster really needs. Charlie and Slately are setting up a trap for Parson, but it requires him to go through that portal. The GMtTA can offer a counter idea -- They can send the necessary thinkagrams to have either KC or Sylvia promoted to CWL, she mops up everything and wins that battle in a full blaze of glory. Although Antium is looking like he'd prove to be a much more solid CWL.

Or they can set up parley thinkagrams for a cease-fire with Tram.

Or Stanley gets capped, and all of the casters plus Parson are then Barbarian, which means going through that portal wouldn't violate neutrality.

On the plus side, this update came out earlier than I had anticipated.

[Lamech]

Dear Thinkamancers
Please do not let Parson charge into a burning building. Scarlet is about to capture Jetstone complete with all those casters.
Your Readers

[Oberon]

Fire!

Hopefully, a fire which will kill Cubbins.

Very nice, Maggie "He is not from reality."

[sheepfly]

Regardless of whether fire would croak an incapacitated caster buried beneath rubble before it croaked every sentient GK unit in the garrison, Sylvia's strategy is probably the best they've got against a mass charge of weak Jetstone units. (And let's face it, already-damaged cloth golem heavies charging into a burning building is a recipe for hilarity!) The decrypted reds could very well win this for Parson the same way the lone rock golem and scattering of undead won TBfGK after the volcano went off.

Sylvia for CWL! She has my vote.

(Anyone else getting the impression that tGMtTA are delaying Parson just long enough that he'll be totally screwed by the time he goes through the portal? I'm starting to think that the whole group has been either co-opted or infiltrated by Charlie. What better way to keep the MK off his back than by puppeteering a counterproductive opposition group?)

[TheTuna]

So, Sylvia for Chief Warlord? Sylvia for Chief Warlord.

At least she actually has a plan. I'm still hoping that Parson was lying about not having a plan and this whole thing is some kind of bizarre high-level gambit. I miss Parson actually having plans and screwing over the system something awful. It's been too many pages since we've had Parson bending Erfworld's mechanics over a barrel.

[Lamech]

(Anyone else getting the impression that tGMtTA are delaying Parson just long enough that he'll be totally screwed by the time he goes through the portal? I'm starting to think that the whole group has been either co-opted or infiltrated by Charlie. What better way to keep the MK off his back than by puppeteering a counterproductive opposition group?)

I doubt Charlie is behind this. More likely the thinkamancers just think its a terrible idea. They did the math and they think that Parson passing through the portal is not worth the ire of the magic kingdom. Why would Charlie need to be behind anything?

That said, high chance of delaying Parson long enough for him to walk into the dungeon look around, and Sylvia to capture the garrison. (With fire).

[Whispri]

Slately's throne room is in his dungeon? Odd choice of placement.

And yeah, Sylvia should have been made Chief Warlord in the first place.

[Sixty]

I also liked the line about him not being from reality. Given Jetstone's new goal, I dunno whether it would be in Parson's best interest to go through or not!

[LTDave]

Dear Thinkamancers, let Hamster through before Scarlet completely screws up everything.

Also before the audience throttles you for continuing to stall the plot.

Love,
Me

PS - is the bikini girl single? Just wondering.

Cheers

[malroth]

The reason Parson doesn't have a plan is because he has no *boop*ing idea what's happening on the other side of the portal. Given a 3 minute debriefing on the current troop deployments I'm quite sure he'd be able to come up with something really good.

[LTDave]

Slately's throne room is in his dungeon? Odd choice of placement.

I don't think the Throne is in the dungeon - just the portal. The throne is where the King has to sit to change the Capital site, closing the portal, trapping Hamster.

And yeah, Sylvia should have been made Chief Warlord in the first place.

Uh, no. She's pretty much a nutcase who is going to kill everyone. She should not be in charge. Hamster has to get through before she gets too carried away.

[DevilDan]

Those Thinkamancers are really beginning to try my patience. Arrogant bastards.

[MonteCristo]

Dear Thinkamancers
Please do not let Parson charge into a burning building. Scarlet is about to capture Jetstone complete with all those casters.
Your Readers

Not exactly... Trem and the casters can leave any minute now and thus the Jetstone side along with all of its caster will survive. And once the blaze starts Slately would have two choices; First he could charge into the city and try to finish off the remaining GK units and stick to his plan to take out Parson hoping the throne room will hold up long enough for him to come through the portal... he could do it too, as long as he's got troops in the garrision the garrision will not fall and his troops FAR outnumber GK's troops so aside from the dwagons and Sylvia, Gk is more likely too loose first. Second option open to Slately is that he decides not to charge into the blaze and simply leaves the city (thus protecting his entire army from capture); possibly even ordering the walls to be knocked down as he leaves; Sylvia would capture the city, but Jetstone's forces won't be captured and will be able to march right back in a retake it (and now her forces will be decimated)...

Future more, If Syliva does not capture the Jetstone forces, but instead manages to croak them and win the fight with her blaze, it would result in a net loss for GK. Once GK takes the city, the portal will close and Wanda will not be able to get back to space rock right away... this would mean that all of the fallen Jetstone troops will disappear next turn and Wanda will be unable to decypt them. Congrats, Sylvia managed to capture one capitol site and croak an enemy army, but at a MAJOR loss of GK's own forces. Part of the beauty of decryption is being able instantly replenish and build upon your losses, but that can only happen if Wanda is present.

Another problem is if Wanda and Parson do get through the portal... depending on how things go down in MK retreating to GK through the portal may not even be an option, thus they will be trapped between a rock and hot place. Hell, if the portal closes after they come through they will be trapped and doomed to burn.

All in all there is A LOT that can go wrong with this "plan"

[Arky]

Exactly, remember that GK can't just win the battle, they have to win the war. Winning the city with almost no units left (especially if Parson is stranded with those units), many many hexes away from reinforcement, is not a win. If Parson doesn't get through to stop Sylvia's plan, it will go very badly for GK. If Parson AND Wanda get back, GK wins and reloads with decrypted... even if Parson is stranded in the field for a whle, that's good, means the story is going places!

[Whispri]

I don't think the Throne is in the dungeon - just the portal. The throne is where the King has to sit to change the Capital site, closing the portal, trapping Hamster.

Uh, no. She's pretty much a nutcase who is going to kill everyone. She should not be in charge. Hamster has to get through before she gets too carried away.

It's an intact chamber in the Garrison, ergo... I suppose it's possible it's in an uncollapsed section of the courtyard wall, but even there it's odd placement, off to the side somewhere.

She's firing her cannons into her own men to stop the advance they can't hold. A sad thing to happen, but better a pyrrhic victory than total defeat. Also, if she were Chief Warlord they wouldn't be in this mess, as the Archons would have had her bonus (and indeed, Wanda's) during the air battle. Still requires Parson to send them a plan of course, but if he was unwilling Maggie could have gone, 'Apoint a Chief Warlord, order Parson to provide a plan, then go make me a sandwich.'.

[Lamech]

Exactly, remember that GK can't just win the battle, they have to win the war. Winning the city with almost no units left (especially if Parson is stranded with those units), many many hexes away from reinforcement, is not a win. If Parson doesn't get through to stop Sylvia's plan, it will go very badly for GK. If Parson AND Wanda get back, GK wins and reloads with decrypted... even if Parson is stranded in the field for a whle, that's good, means the story is going places!

Gk can just switch the capital to Jetstone after its taken and then load up on decrypted. Even if every other unit in Jetstone escapes 4500+ units have been lost. Oh and since the remaining Jetstone units have already moved this turn they don't have enough move to escape their decrypted brethren, so they can grab most of the remaining 1500 units too.

[TheTuna]

Ultimately, what it boils down to is whether or not they can kill Cubbins. If they break out, Wanda comes through and bam, new army just like that.

I have a hard time believing that the portal location will actually switch rapidly enough to deny Parson entry to Spacerock, as I really cannot see an "out" for a Parson who arrives in Jetstone, and Slately's words clearly indicate that he wants Parson in Spacerock, trapped, not dumped out in Jetstone with a working portal that he can potentially flee through.

Methinks Slately may be getting a bit more than he bargained for with the Hampster-Wanda-Jack combo (hopefully) barging through that portal, though. Even if they take back the throne room, there's going to be Jetstone casualties lying around.

[Lamech]

I really cannot see an "out" for a Parson who arrives in Jetstone, and Slately's words clearly indicate that he wants Parson in Spacerock, trapped, not dumped out in Jetstone with a working portal that he can potentially flee through.

Well lets see, chop off a few heads, whack a couple units with the pliers and start the decryption ball rolling. I don't think its a very good narrative though since it either quickly starts a curbstomp either way. (Ball gets rolling or it doesn't)