Erfworld

Quite some time ago, I was recommended to read a webcomic called Erfworld.  Having finished Book 1, I thought I'd post my thoughts.

Erfworld is a land ruled by the conventions of table-top gaming.  Wars are fought in turns and movement is measured in hexagonal grid spaces.  Lord Stanley is surrounded by enemy forces with his capitol as his only remaining stronghold.  In a last ditch effort to save his kingdom he orders that a warlord be summoned.

Parson is fat, sweaty, minimum wage earning nerd who regularly plays table-top games.  Summoned into Erfworld he is tasked with winning a losing battle.

The artwork is very well done.  This comic features a super-deformed style of drawing found in some japanese comics.  The lines are clean and the colors are well done with some added graphical effects now and then that improve the presentation.

The story has average pacing, not as slow as most web comics but still slower than commercial comics.  The author does a good job in keeping the tension rolling.

The best feature of this comic is the constant allusions especially to internet culture or old TV shows.  The author works them into the story solidly and makes them regularly.  The comic can be pretty funny at times, mostly there's little humor or a sort of dry humor.

I only really have one small complaint.  The author seems to really enjoy the system and world he made with this comic and has extended sections discussing these topics in detail.  It can be very dry and is mostly unimportant.  However, the author does a very good job of setting this information in a different style.  I found that if the information was too boring then I could simply skip over it without missing much story.

I have yet to read the summer updates that add more to the story and the author has yet to start on Book 2, but I believe I will continue to follow this story, it has caught my interest, it might catch yours.

Today it rained cats and dogs.  I got soaked on my way to business writing and flood warnings were given on several of the schools parking lots.  I did go out after class and retrieve some valuable information for deferring some of my loans.

And then...

I pushed off of the ground and floated to the cockpit of the mining robot.  I motioned Ash to follow.  She hesitated, clearly not liking the idea, but decided to follow.  I began tinkering with the controls.  I knew how to operate similar mechs but I had never used one of these before.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Relax baby, I never know what I'm doing."

She wasn't reassured by this fact, but sat back for the ride.  The cockpit was designed for one, but it was large enough for Ash to sit on the dash.

I activated the magnetic walking system and began pushing the thing down into the asteroid.  The lighting was damaged and flickered in most places.  Eventually there was no more left.  The metal walkway continued forward and the robot walked across it as if it was the surface of a planet.  The robot had head lights that lit the path right in front of us, but the walls remained mostly dark and the abyssal path ran towards the center of the asteroid.

The dark tentacles of something monstrously large reached out towards the robot from the darkness.  Ash screamed despite herself.  A shiver ran down my back.  I had seen that shape before and I don't like to remember it.  The monster retreated deeper into the darkness of the asteroid.  I turned to look at Ash holding her hands over her mouth.  She took her hands away to reveal a nervous smile.

"Well, I guess that's that.  No Lee, we should head back and try somewhere else."

"Ash, that thing is here for a reason.  They don't just take up residence in any abandoned asteroid.  We should check this out."

"Listen Keelhaul, as a space adventuring female I have a natural aversion to tentacles and I'm not going to support a decision to go further in."

"You wanna get out and walk back?"

The blackness of the tunnel was complete without the head lights of the mech.  That thing was clearly ahead of the vehicle, but it wouldn't be the most pleasant walk back to the ship.  This was going to be challenging.  I had never had the advantage of a giant mech when I fought one of these last time, but I knew that most people wind up dead or worse after encountering these beasts.  It was guarding something and it was likely related to Lee.

"No Cap'n.  Full sail."

The mech continued laboring towards the center of the asteroid.  The complete lack of sound due to the vacuum of space only made this excursion creepier.  The walls of the asteroid were porous.  Most of the holes were too small for a human to crawl through, but some were large enough that the mech might be able to fit in.  Suddenly the walkway ended, but the cave continued forward.

"No, no no, nooo.  I am not getting out and walking."

"Don't worry greens, this thing can still manage without the walkway.  It's just a lot more challenging to steer."

I activated the thruster system and the robot began drifting into the black abyss.  The tunnel ended opening up into a large cavern filled with natural columns.  Far deeper into the center of the cabin I could make out a light.  I adjusted the robot and came to a stop in the cavern to think about how to proceed.

Thump.

Something hit the mech from behind.  My adrenaline rose over 9000.  I twisted the mech around with the thrusters coming face to face with a monstrosity indescribible with words or pictures.  Writhing tentacles twisted from various places on his body, especially from what one would assume was the face.  A giant eye centered on the gruesome for stared into my very soul with a twisted scowl that screamed hatred, fear, agony, and confusion.  His bat-like wings spread so far apart that the lights of the mech could not even illuminate them completely.  His skin was not colored, but rather was black.  Blackness that could not be penetrated mixed with blackness not so strong that seemed to at least reflect some of the light from the headlights.  The eye was green, red, and many other colors, colors that seemed to fade and appear at random.  Yet these colors were not real, if you stopped concentrating on the eye it became the same blackness that formed the rest of the beast.

"W-w-whaat issit?"

"What isn't it?"

Until next time fellow pirates.