Erfworld: Difference between revisions

{{quote| ''It's the little things that make a difference sometimes.''}}

''[http://www.erfworld.com Erfworld]'' iswas a [[Web Comic]] written by Rob Balder (of ''[http://www.partiallyclips.com/ Partially Clips]'', and [http://www.thefump.com/ The FuMP]), with the first book '''The Battle for Gobwin Knob''' illustrated by Jamie Noguchi (of ''[http://www.angryzenmaster.com/ Angry Zen Master]'' and ''[[Yellow Peril (Webcomicwebcomic)|Yellow Peril]]''), and the second book, '''Love is a Battlefield''', illustrated by Xin Ye. The third book, ''Hamsterdance vs. the Charlie Foxtrot'' is in progress, is even longer. It was illustrated for the first half or so by David Hahn, but Xin Ye resumed art duties this time joined by Lauri Ahonen on inks and colors.

A fanatical, obsessed gamer geek gets magically summoned to another world to be the "Perfect Warlord" for a city that's losing a war, in a world that seems to be one giant [[Turn -Based Strategy]] wargame. (For instance, nobody can move beyond the immediate vicinity when it's not their side's turn.) Plays with many different strategy game tropes. Includes cutesy, [[Super -Deformed]] art and dark characterization, landing '''DEEP''' in the territory of [[Grotesque Cute]]. Many features of ''Erfworld'' are references to real-world popular culture and Internet memes.

Before ''Erfworld'' had its own site, it was hosted on the [http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html Giant in the Playground] website, but it is otherwise unassociated with Rich Burlew (of ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|The Order of the Stick]]'').

* [[All -Natural Gem Polish]]: Mined gems, which also glow and are diamond shaped.

* [[Angels Pose]]: Charlie's Archons, which are a direct [[Shout -Out]] to the [[Trope Namer]]

** {{spoiler|Later, Wanda gets an upgraded version of this (called Decrypting), which appears to actually brings the unit [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]], but loyal to her rather than to the unit's original side.}}

* [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]]: {{spoiler|The attuned Arkenpliers can apparently resurrect ("decrypt") dead units, when before, all anyone could do was reanimate ("uncroak") them as [[The Undead|undead]] units}}. The implications of this power are mind-boggling. The first unit raised this way was {{spoiler|Ansom}}.

{{quote| '''Stanley:''' I want someone who eats marbits [a creature] for breakfast!<br />

{{quote| '''Parson:''' This isn't what I wished for.<br />

* [[Big Bad]]: Subverted with Stanley, who isn't ''bad'', per se, he's just extremely immature and slightly stupid - basically a [[Jerk Jock]] who happens to run an empire. (A wee little [[Jerk Jock]] at that - but don't mention that to him!) Similarly, the leaders of the Royal Crown Coalition, the faction Stanley's empire is fighting against, don't seem to qualify, either, because they embody too many [[Hero Tropes]]. The real [[Big Bad]] of the setting may well turn out to be Charlie, who seems to be [[The Chessmaster|controlling everything from behind the scenes]], [[Let's You and Him Fight|sowing conflict]] so [[War for Fun Andand Profit|his mercenaries will always be in demand]].

{{quote| '''Stanley:''' I want him to be ''obsessed'' with war. Somebody who plans wars and kills his foes for ''fun''.}}

** The [[Meta Fiction|Metafictionally]] screwed-up part? As a wargamer, '''that's exactly what he does'''. ...At least until he realizes it's [[Not a Game]] anymore. After he "wins" his first battle, all he can really say is [[My God, What Have I Done?]].

* [[Call a Rabbit Aa Smeerp]]: Dragons? Trolls? ''Earth?'' That's just ridiculous!

* [[Character Blog]]: The Klogs, the [[The Rant|news portion]] of [https://web.archive.org/web/20131028233635/http://www.hamstard.com/ the "Hamstard" page].

* [[Colour Color-Coded for Your Convenience]] (and how!): For starters, Stanley's forces consist of stereotypical "bad guy" units such as [[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder|Gobwins, Hobgobwins]], [[All Trolls Are Different|Twolls]], [[The Undead|Uncroaked]], [[Giant Spider|Spidews]], and [[Our Dragons Are Different|Dwagons]]; and they tend to wear red and blacks. Ansom's stereotypical "good guy" units include [[Our Elves Are Better|Elves]], [[Living Toys|giant stuffed animals]], Gumps ([[When Trees Attack|animate trees]]), and his units tend to wear [[Bling of War|gold and silver]]. It is also subverted in Transylvito's forces: Vinny Doombats is a count, in black, who controls bats, who looks like a vampire. And, in all appearances, is Ansom's best friend, [[The Lancer|right-hand man]], and close confidant. He (and the other members of his force) also talks like something between [[Happy Days|The Fonz]], the Sharks from ''[[West Side Story]]'' and [[The Mafia]].

* [[Combo -Platter Powers]]: The Arkenhammer (see below)

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Stanley may venture into [[Too Dumb to Live]] territory when it comes to strategy especially given his god complex, but he did legitimately become a warlord from common infantry even before finding the Arkenhammer, and as a tactician, combatant and wielder of an artifact level weapon he is not someone to be ignored.

* [[Deader Than Dead]]: {{spoiler|Bogroll, thanks to being [[Kill It Withwith Fire|burnt to ash]]}}. According to Wanda, even the attuned Arkenpliers can't restore him. This also applies to any Uncroaked or Decrypted units who are killed, as they turn to dust.

* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: {{spoiler|Parson hasn't been quite the same since his victory over the Royal Army. See [[What Measure Is a Mook?]].}} Queen Bea as well, after seeing her decrypted daughter among the ranks of the Gobwin Knob invasion force. She takes the time to pass on what intelligence she was able to gather on Decryption to the rest of the Royal Coalition and then...

* [[Distracted Byby the Sexy]]: [http://www.erfworld.com/book-2-archive/?px=%2F2009-11-14.jpg Weaponized].

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Parson notes how pretty much everything in Erfworld is vaguely familiar from our world in one way or another, especially lots of pop culture references keep popping up. At first it leant weight to his theory that he was dreaming or in a coma or something, but eventually he wonders if it there is some connection between the two worlds, or if it is just an effect of him being there to observe the occurrences and creating the associations himself.

**** No, it works both ways. It will turn flying creatures it strikes into walnuts with the same odds, meaning it has a healthy chance of an auto-kill against some kinds of air foes.

* [[Due to Thethe Dead]]

* [[Dragon Withwith an Agenda|Dwagon With An Agenda]]: Wanda may be fighting on Stanley's side, but [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F147.jpg she's only in it for the Arkentools.]

* [[Evil Overlord]]: Stanley, as noted by Parson; in all fairness, Stanley's actual position ''is'' "overlord", but he [[Berserk Button|strongly]] disagrees with the "[[What Is Evil?|evil]]" part.

* [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]: Crap Golems, [[Shock Site|Shockmancy]].

** Thinkamancer [[Margaret Thatcher|"Maggie" ]]

** And now, Chief Healamancer [[MASHM*A*S*H (television)|Pierce]]. Complete with martini!

* [[Five -Bad Band]]: They may disagree on the "bad" part, but Lord Stanley's best vassals seem to fit the trope fairly well.

* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: There's a 'book 0' prequel starring Wanda. Obviously, anyone who read the main comic knows that she's going to end up in Faq, and that her 'screw destiny' philosophy in the prequel is going to turn into the absolute fatalism she shows normally sometime along the line.

* [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: Quite literally; when Charlie communicates with others via Thinkamancy, he only shows himself as a sequence of soothing colours and images... many of which are [[Shout -Out|Shout Outs]] that [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|Break The Fourth Wall]]. Of course, with the way Erfworld works in the first place, what seem like blatant fourth-wall-breaking shout outs to us may easily have some in-universe meaning that we're unaware of.

{{quote| '''Wanda:''' {{spoiler|He looks like a pink you, but with depth perception}}.}}

* [[Fun Withwith Acronyms]]: Stanley's elite guard, the [[Kiss|Knights In Stanley's Service,]] look just like their namesakes.

** [[Gambit Pileup]]: The end of Chapter One. Too many [[Plan|plansplan]]s, too many people and too many [[Gambit Roulette|Gambit Roulettes]]s for one little mountain. In the end, Parson subverts it by [[Taking a Third Option]]: {{spoiler|"Rocks fall, everyone dies."}}

{{quote| '''Wanda:''' You, too, are an instrument of Fate. You will suffer, as you pursue your path. You will grieve. And lose. As you have lost here.<br />

'''Parson:''' I didn't lose, Wanda.<br />

{{quote| '''Charlie:''' We prefer to play games that don't even ''contain'' a losing outcome. You see?" Except that Charlie got very thoroughly [[Out -Gambitted]] by Parson.}}

** Parson's latest game-breaking exploit actually violates the fundamental physics of Erfworld: {{spoiler|allowing units to move between city zones off-turn through a combination of obscure rule interactions.}} Far from being merely unconventional, this was previously thought utterly ''impossible,'' to the point where people watching the initial stages of the plan immediately [[Tempting Fate|dismissed it as a useless posture]]. The next few minutes [[This Is Gonna Suck|should be]] [[Mass "Oh Crap"|instructive.]]

* [[Humans Are Cthulhu]]: [http://www.erfworld.com/2009/10/summer-updates-042/ Ansom, at least, thinks that Parson's genius is unsettling]. [http://www.erfworld.com/2009/09/summer-updates-035/ Stanley is disturbed that Parson can actually ''disobey'' him sometimes (something that the rules of Erfworld shouldn't allow)]. [http://www.erfworld.com/2009/09/summer-updates-029/ And Maggie and Sizemore are completely shocked that Parson comes from a reality where time isn't relative]. Parson looks very different from the average Erfworld "human", thinks on an entirely different level, and hails from a different dimension with radically different rules that govern reality. To the people of Erfworld he's pretty much [[HPH.P. Lovecraft|Nyarlathotep]]. And now that he's breaking the law of Boop left and right, who knows what he's going to do ''next''? See also [[Erfworld (Webcomic)/Quotes]].

* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: Wanda and Parson to [[Pointy -Haired Boss|Stanley]].

{{quote| '''Ossomer:''' You made it easy! Bringing your usual siege-heavy infantry assault? Come now, Ansom. Someday you must develop some tactical imagination!<br />

'''Ansom:''' [[I Am Not Left -Handed|Dispel the veil.]] }}

** Also, for his post-decryption performance, it's implied at several points that Decrypted leaders are less flexible than they were before due to the ironclad obsession that has been imposed on them -- severalthem—several of Ansom's larger big-picture mistakes come from his fanatical devotion to Toolism (refusing to seek allies, parlaying with Queen Bea, etc.)

* [[I Surrender, Suckers]]

* [[Jerkass]]: Stanley, although he's showing signs of gradually [[Character Development|developing]] into a [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]], or at least a [[Jerkass]]-with-occasional-[[Pet the Dog]]-moments.

* [[Laser -Guided Amnesia]]: This happens when the Arkenpliers are used, or at least {{spoiler|happened to Ansom. It looks like it merges with [[Mind Control]].}}

*:{{quote| Orly: ''[http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px{{=}}%2F009.jpg ORLY?]''<br />

Orly (being roasted by dwagon): ''[http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px{{=}}%2F012.jpg OMGWTFBBQ!]''<br />

* [[Love Dodecahedron]]: Alright, let's see; Jack is [[All Love Is Unrequited|secretly in love]] with Jillian, who is in love with Wanda -- andWanda—and with Ansom, who used to be in love with Jillian but is now in love with Wanda but might still have feelings for Jillian, and was also best friends with Vinny who became Jillian's lover after Ansom died, and may be in love with her. Jack and Jillian.

* [[Magic aA Is Magic A]]

* [[Magic Dance]]: Dance-Fighting is a special ability certain units have that gives them a bonus in combat. So far we've seen Caesar lead his Transylvito forces in a song-and-dance number straight out of [[West Side Story]], Wanda leading a horde of uncroaked in a giant [[Michael Jackson|Thriller]] dance, and Charlie's Archons setting up a spell that allowed Ansom and his forces to play [[Dance Dance Revolution]]. There's also the ostensibly more powerful "Rocking Out", practiced by Haggar's forces (all of whom can, at least, headbang) and Stanley's elite hobgobwin knights, the [[Fun Withwith Acronyms|Knights In Stanley's Service.]] There is also reference to a [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F133.jpg "Safety Dance"].

{{quote| "This place is a hole. A ''condemned'' hole. For squatter hobbits."}}

{{quote| '''Tramennis:''' You seem bent on spending your last moments in this world with your thumbs jammed into the thumbscrews of guilt, and turning them as hard as you can...which is impossible, I realize...but that analogy had a lot more promise when I started this sentence, and it seemed likely to end with a witty bon mot about screwing yourself. That didn't work out, did it? Nothing has, today.}}

* [[Mission Fromfrom God]]: Stanley believes himself to be favored by the Titans, evidenced by his attunement to the Arkenhammer; Ansom believes that royal rulership is part of the proper order of things as established by the Titans. The very first comic page shows both are wrong, and the Titan's plan went off the rails before the siege even began.

{{quote| '''Xin:''' I made you a Wanda and was successful in not eating her. Enjoy!}}

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Parson's reaction to the aftermath of his final plan for Gobwin Knob's victory. It leads to a [[Rage Against the Heavens]] and a [[Ten -Minute Retirement]].

* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Parodied; the word "croak" is used instead.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Parson speaks to one of the three spellcasters, known as "Misty" before she lost her individuality, that Stanley has mindlinked to monitor the battle, and uses her advice to plan an assault on Ansom. {{spoiler|He later learns that treating linked casters as individuals damages the link and that caster. When Stanley orders the link broken in disgust when the assault fails, Misty dies.}}

* [[Not So Omniscient After All]]: The Great Minds that Think Alike certainly enjoy ''believing'' that they know everything relevant that goes on in the Magic Kingdom, but they were [[Oh Crap|not]] prepared for [[ {{spoiler: |[[Crazy Awesome|Jack]] [[http://www.erfworld.com/2011/07/book-2-<!-- E280%E2%80%93-page-68/ poking his head out of the portal behind them.]]]] -->}}

* [[Obviously Evil]]: [[Playing Withwith a Trope|Played with]]. Stanley's side has [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F032.jpg "all the classic evil creatures"], and the antagonist sides tend to have classic good creatures and designs, but the actual motivations and morality followed by the various sides are...[[Grey and Gray Morality|hazy at best]]. Certainly [[Light Is Not Good]] and [[Dark Is Not Evil]], at least not necessarily.

* [[Orcus Onon His Throne]]: Due to in-universe mechanics, averted with Warlords, but ''enforced'' for all Rulers, who have to send their Warlords to do all their work for them. Stanley, for example, is the in-universe [[Big Bad]]. The aforementioned mechanics are that every single side is a [[Keystone Army]], with the Ruler as the keystone. As a Ruler, Stanley can't risk leaving his capital to fight in battles; everyone would be gunning for him, and if he croaks, it's game over. Unusually enough for this trope, ''he doesn't like this''. He started out as a common infantry unit, and he ''misses'' taking part in battles and is resenting that Wanda is doing all the work and getting all the glory for him.

** FurtheremoreFurthermore, there's Jillian, who used to be a Princess, then a Barbarian, and is now a Ruler of her own side. She's a sword-swinging [[Blood Knight]], and to her, her babarian days were the best for her. Even though she's now the Ruler of her own side, she hasn't given up her fighting ways--sheways—she's still out raiding, and is buzzing several of Gobwin Knob's cities. Parson is too busy with the Battle of Spacerock to do anything about it, but he's made it clear that as soon as the battle's over, he's going to put ''all'' his focus on taking her out. He even told Maggie that if he doesn't make it, tell his replacement to do just that.

** [[Our Dragons Are Different|Our Dwagons Are Different]]: Dwagons look like plush toys, and are colored [[Super Sentai|blue, brown, green, yellow, purple, red, and pink]]. With [[Breath Weapon|breath weapons]] ranging from fire to taffy, disregarding the yellows' [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|caustic battlecrap]]. Their scales are ceramic.

** [[Our Elves Are Better]] (parodied): So far, there are nine, rather specific, types: Altruist, Eager, Lofty, Luckless, Schlemiel, Shady, Superfluous, Tardy, Woodsy. The Eager Elves, for example, are all [[Captain Ersatz|recoloured]] [[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|Links]].

** [[Our Giants Are Bigger]]: Western Giants are based on [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Giants:San Francisco Giants|baseball players]], even with a reference to steroid use.

** [[Our Gryphons Are Different|Our Gwiffons Are Different]]: And look like marshmallow peeps. Which sounds cute, until their front splits open into a terrible gummy maw. They eat marrow, horns, and hooves.<ref>ingredients for gelatin</ref>.

** [[Golem]]: Multiple golems have appeared, with names indicating what they are made of: Soft Rock, Hard Rock, Acid Rock, and Metal Golems are based on musical genres, and Cloth Golems are literal giant animated stuffed animals, while Crap Golems are... [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|well...]]

* [[PietaPietà Plagiarism]]: Parson and {{spoiler|Misty the Lookamancer.}}

* [[Plot Armor]]: Sylvia is absolutely assured that the Titans insure her side's inevitable victory. [[http://www.erfworld.com/2011/06/book-2-<!-- E280%E2%80%93-text-updates-051/ Three]] [[http://www.erfworld.com/2011/06/book-2-%E2%80%93-text-updates-052/ perfect headshots]] from TheArcher[[The Archer]] blocked by utterly improbable coincidence later, and you've got to wonder if she might be onto something... -->

* [[Pointy -Haired Boss]]: Stanley; a perfect case of [https://web.archive.org/web/20140822024915/http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Peter_Principle.html The Peter Principle].

* [[Portal Cut]]: Happens to Jack [[http://www.erfworld.com/2011/09/book-2-<!-- e280%e2%80%93-page-73/ here]]. Fortunately, it was just an illusion he set up to freak everyone out. -->

* [[Precision F -Strike]]: {{spoiler|1=[http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F150.jpg The first time Parson's obscenity is readable.]}}

* [[Putting Onon the Reich]]: Stanley's new [[Malevolent Mugshot|logo]] and banners look a lot like the emblem and propaganda posters from the old Soviet Union. This was intentional, given that Maggie suspected that Stanley might be developing a bit of a self-esteem problem after suffering one too many defeats while his subordinates win all his victories for him.

* [[Pyrrhic Victory]]: When Parson takes out Ansom's siege units, it goes unnoticed for a while because the rules of Erfworld count every battle as a "victory" for Ansom because his opponents fled--unfortunatelyfled—unfortunately for the Royal Crown Coalition, Parson's troops only fled after destroying the entire hex's siege units and before taking any losses.

** Also subverted at the end of book one -- itone—it looks like {{spoiler|Parson's last gambit at defending Gobwin Knob succeeded but left them with absolutely no resources to defend themselves with}}, but a few pages later he discovers that {{spoiler|the Arkenpliers recovered from Ansom allow them to restore their entire army stronger than it was before instantly, and the gems obtained from the earth-moving allow them to instantly rebuild their capital city even stronger and still be the ''richest'' side in the world}}. Not so Pyrrhic after all.

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Subverted with Vinny Doombats, and Transylvito in general, all of whom seem to be the vampiric equivalent of [[Happy Days|Fonzie]] and/or [[The Mafia]]. Played straight with Parson: [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F106.jpg Ruthlessness].

* [[Ridiculously -Fast Construction]]: Part of the [[RPG Mechanics Verse|game-like mechanics]] of the universe.

* [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies]] and [[Total Party Kill]]: [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F136.jpg This strip.] [[Invoked Trope|By name.]]

{{quote| '''Ossomer:''' This new Chief Warlord, he is only Level 2. How can he--<br />

* [[Siege Engines]]. Siege units. The battle for Gobwin's Knob included siege towers pushed by 20m tall Cloth Golems and Wiener Rammers: living [[Battering Ram|Battering Rams]]s in the shape of elongated wiener dogs with rams horns. Upon striking the gates of Gobwin's Knob they invoke "YTMND!": they are drawing their striking power from the "You're The Man Now, Dog" meme.

* [[Spanner in Thethe Works]]: The story was set off from the Titans accidentally leaving an extra gem in the Minty Mountains.

** Charlie's flying chicks, named "[[CharliesCharlie's Angels|Archons]]"...

{{quote| '''[[Dirty Old Man|Jetstone Dittomancer]]:''' Double your pleasure, double your fun. That's a winning pair if I'd ever seen one.}}

* [[Step Three: Profit]]: A rare justified variant. Wanda admits she doesn't know what the missing step is but also firmly believes [[You Can't Fight Fate]] so she is going through with the plan anyway.

* [[Talking Poo]]: [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Crap Golems]].

{{quote| '''Tramennis:''' What's the worst that could happen?<br />

'''King Slately:''' The ''worst''? The Titans could hear you ''ask'' such a question.<br />

''[Later]''<br />

'''Slately:''' Evacuate? [[Shout -Out|In our moment of triumph?]] [[Star Wars|I think you overestimate their chances.]]<br />

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]] [http://www.erfworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/vol2_044_Web_900.jpg This.] Bottom-left panel.

* [[Visual Pun]]: Lloyd, the [[http://www.erfworld.com/2011/02/book-2-<!-- E280%E2%80%93-text-updates-041/ Jetstone Dittomancer]] (a caster that creates copies of things like soldiers and [[MoreDakkaMore Dakka|arrows]]), has a staff with a copyright symbol on the end of it. [[{{spoiler:|He's a ''copywright.'' Or alternately, he has the right to copy.]] -->}}

* [[Was It Really Worth It?]]: {{spoiler|Parson after winning the Battle of Gobwin Knob}}. See [[My God, What Have I Done?]]?

* [[Wham! Episode]]: {{spoiler|"I want you to try and ''uncroak'' the volcano".}}

* [[Wham! Line]]: {{spoiler|"I...what am I?" "I don't know. Something new. Something...glorious."}}

* [[What Do You Mean ItsIt's Not Awesome?]]: The bizarre physics and rules of Erfworld cause this to crop up a lot, ranging from proudly marching into battle while riding inside the pouch of a giant stuffed kangaroo to one force countering their opponents' West Side Story dance with a KISS-themed rock out. Or {{spoiler|contemplating suicide by stepping a ''couple of inches'' down to trigger what counts as fall damage; see ''Not The Fall That Kills You'' above.}}

* [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?]]: Gobwin Knob's human forces are mentioned once at the beginning, and never seen or mentioned again.

* [[What Is Evil?]]: Stanley's reaction to Parson labeling him an [[Evil Overlord]].

* [[What Measure Is a Mook?]]: This principle is probably the reason why {{spoiler|Parson feels so guilty over defeating the Royal Army}}.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Parson calls out {{spoiler|Maggie for her (albeit indirect) part in Misty's}} death towards the end of Book 1.

* [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|Why Don't We Just Decrypt Them?]]: Wanda's averting this in regards to Ossomer caused Ansom to question her methods for the first time.

* [[You and What Army?]]: Inverted.

** The attitude of Predictomancy in general. While most people, units, and even sides have no particular Fate or inescapable destiny, those that do have one are bound by/to it absolutely. Trying to fight against it or defy it only ends up increasing the pain and suffering for everyone involved as it comes true anyway.

[[Category:WebcomicWeb Comics]]