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Penny Arcade Conspiracy Theory

Summary

The Penny Arcade Conspiracy Theory is an alleged document, supposedly a concise 470 pages in length, claiming that the Elemenstor Saga, including the Wizbits and all associated merchandise, are a hoax started by those responsible for the webcomic, Penny Arcade*. Although no such document has ever been found in any format, there are rumors that it circulated around the web near the end of 2005, and resulted in a resurgence of traffic to Elemenstor-related sites, both by fans and detractors.

People who believe the PACT ("PACTists") may occasionally troll boards, wikis, and chat rooms where Elemenstor lore is discussed, and may be responsible for some early attempts to sabotage and undermine the integrity of the ELotH:TES wiki.

• Note - see Crimethink. (Also note that for the purposes of this page "Penny Arcade" refers to the webcomic and not the restaurant.)

Obvious Flaws in the PACT

The claims of the PACT are blatantly absurd, as can be attested by the innumerable collectors and lovers of ELotH:TES products and merchandise. The group most likely responsible for the occasional propagation of such rumors would be a splinter-sect of the splinter-sect the Dark Fourteen. Although the volume documenting their case is apparently non-existent, their case is almost certainly built from a few circumstantial pieces of evidence that are already broadly known and discussed:

(1) The current PBwiki was in fact started by an author who goes by the pen-name "Tycho" who writes for the digitized internet comic and game review site Penny Arcade.

(2) Penny Arcade occasionally runs comics that clearly refer to, or borrow concepts from, the ELotH:TES mythos. For example, some suggest that Penny Arcade borrowed its name from a curse in Book 3 that reads: Puernis Eonis Nida Nida Yrade (as you can see the first letter in each word of the curse forms the word Penny). The curse is spoken by the character Arcadus.

(3) An artist working under the pen-name "Gabe" is responsible for most of the illustrations on the digitized comic site, and some of the concept art for the series resembles Gabe's work. Recently posted cover of their book is both a tribute to Teh Saga, and a copy of an earlier black metal album cover by Der Elemenstorer, well-known black metal group.

(4) The creators of the Penny Arcade webcomic seem to find this rumor more amusing than annoying, and occasionally "play along" by posting things on their website that would suggest ELotH:TES is an elaborate hoax entirely of their own creation. Much to the chagrin of many ELotH:TES fans, many people have failed to see the sarcasm in these pranks and take them as serious evidence that the PACT is factual.

It only takes a moment to recognize that the "evidence" usually cobbled together to support the PACT theory definitively undermines the theory itself. "Gabe" and "Tycho" are admitted fans of the series. Those of us who have long been active in the community can attest that they have frequently played an important role in popularizing the series. Indeed, their occasional references to ELotH:TES in their webcomic have long been a source of pleasure to us, and probably play no small role in their meteoric rise to power and popularity. Those who doubt this sequence of events are invited to look at the real life timeline, which clearly demonstrates that the concepts, characters and terms that the ELotH:TES "hoax" supposedly draws from Penny Arcade were actually published and read by millions before Penny Arcade referred to them.

As such, the PACT theory is guilty of the fallacy of questionable cause. The only alternative is that somehow, somewhere, "Gabe" and "Tycho" were able to orchestrate an elaborate hoax and simultaneously convince hundreds of people to devote countless hours of passionate effort to perpetrating it. Occam's razor must be applied to this case: all else being equal, the simplest explanation should be taken as the right one.

PACT supporters in the media

Of course, one can only expect that the shining history and prose of the rich ELotH:TES story would draw the envious attention of mottled, mangy journalists, sour and jealous over the richness and depth of the writing - levels of genius they may never attain. The scum-rag Wired News has basically summarized the PACT philosophy in this despicable work of slander by idiot Joel Johnson: "The Saga of The Saga". No less, these lazy, hack "journalists" call this very wiki's contributors the hoaxers themselves. What a smear campaign!

But despite references to 28 years of "real world" history, The Saga never really existed, at least in the conventional sense.

 

Spawned this past week from a single page of material posted on a public wiki by web comic Penny Arcade scribe Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, The Saga is a fan-driven parody of the banal fiction that serves as a backdrop to the majority of modern fantasy game franchises.

 

"(These worlds) are the half-ass bullshit used to underlie the money-printing extravaganza," of game systems like Wizard of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering collectable card game, explained Holkins. The Saga exists in part to prove the facileness of such back stories and in part to acknowledge the culpability of fantasy fans who buy it all, no matter the quality. The wiki is the "joke that everyone is in on," said Holkins."

Of course, "Gabe" of Penny Arcade again posted a claim that ELotH:TES is a "ruse" while, in the same breath, saying he will draw comics of the series - undoubtedly unlicensed, and which will probably make him thousands of illicit dollars. Enjoy your blood money, "Gabe"!

The founders of this wiki are currently meeting to discuss our options, including contacting and retaining Super-Attorney and author of The Elemenstor Saga and its Negative Influence on Today's Youth, Jack Thompson. We demand that Wired News post a follow-up apology for their misdeeds and blatant slander, or run the risk of entering the crosshairs of a legal team headed by the man once described as the Bloodthirsty Jackal Madness Hound of the Legal World.

It's time to set the record straight, Wired News.