DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 12/02/2025    Duedate: 12/15/2025

SEAM ARENA

DM 20    TURN 273

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

ROGER, RODGER
THIRSTY THUGS (31)
(20-1538) [21-13-2,128]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

ROGER, RODGER                  GAMERA
THIRSTY THUGS (31)             FAR TRAVELERS (95)
(20-1538) [21-13-2,128]        (20-1569) [6-3-1,56]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

SAU SAGE                       WHINGER
THIRSTY THUGS (31)             RUBBER VS GLUE (90)
(20-1529) [18-19-0,109]        (20-1586) [2-2-0,12]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

THIRSTY THUGS (31)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. FAR TRAVELERS (95)            50 
2. THIRSTY THUGS (31)            24    RUBBER VS GLUE (90)
3. DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)           10    Unchartered Team
4. RUBBER VS GLUE (90)           -10
                                       FAR TRAVELERS (95)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 RUBBER VS GLUE (90)      173  92  5 65.3   1/ 1 THIRSTY THUGS (31)        9  0 0
 2/ 2*FAR TRAVELERS (95)        27  17  1 61.4   2/ 3*FAR TRAVELERS (95)        9  6 0
 3- 3 WARLORDS (14)            135 110  4 55.1   3- 2 WARLORDS (14)             6  4 0
 4/ 4 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)      675 656 34 50.7   4/ 5 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)       5  9 0
 5/ 5 THIRSTY THUGS (31)       627 625 20 50.1   5/ 4 RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       4  6 0

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

              CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT -- Kolact DM 10 and Stormcrowe DM 45

Masked Mayhem Approaches! Choose Your Champion? If You Dare!

Attention, warriors and managers of ALASTARI!

A new game begins--not of brute strength alone, but of wits, will, and whispers. The 
Masked Mayhem contest begins on Turn 1046 in Kolact (DM 10)! Each manager will 
secretly select one of their warriors to don the metaphorical mask and fight for glory 
in the shadows.

Double points await your masked gladiator--but beware! No one will know who walks 
masked among us until the contest ends... Will your foes guess your masked warrior and 
try to bring them down? Or will you distract them with feints and fodder?

To get started, send your masked gladiator selection (include warrior name and ID#) to 
Master Darque at darquesorcery@gmail.com before Turn 1046 (DUE February 9, 2026), and 
submit TWO (2) Team Roll Up Certificates (contact RSI by email CSR@reality.com). Then, 
make sure your masked fighter shows up each round--they can't earn double points if 
they--re sitting in the infirmary. Team maintenance is recommended for all 
participating teams.

Will your mystery fighter rise in blood-soaked triumph? Or fall in obscurity?

Let the shadows stir, and the games begin?

Thanks,

Master Darque
Contest Coordinator

              **********************************************************

RULES and ENTRY GUIDELINES

A. CONTEST SCHEDULE

1. Duration: 12 turns

2. Start:  Turn 1046 (due February 9, 2026)

3. End:  Turn 1057 (due July 13, 2026)

4. Submissions Needed:
     a. Masked Gladiators (your team champion) must be sent to Master Darque no later 
        than February 9, 2026.  Teams may participate without declaring a champion, 
        but it will be impossible for these teams to receive the bonus modifier. 
        Please send to darquesorcery@gmail.com.
     b. Submit two (2) Team Roll-Up Certificates to Master Darque via RSI CSR.

5. Reveal:  Masked Gladiators will be revealed in the Turn 1057 newsletter.

B. SCORING

1. Win:  +3
2. Kill:  +1
3. Lose:  -1
4. Death:  -1

Masked Gladiators score X2 each turn. (e.g. Masked Gladiator wins and kills his 
opponent, so he would earn (+3 Win + 1 Kill) x 2 = 8 points. Similarly, a Masked 
Gladiator for another team died. His point total would be (-1 Lose + -1 Death) x 2 = -
4 points.)

C. ADDENDA

1. If a Masked Gladiator dies during the course of the contest, all is not lost! 
   Managers may designate a second Masked Gladiator; however, their scoring will only 
   offer a multiplier of 1.5 for the duration of the contest.

2. If a Masked Gladiator GRADUATES during the course of the contest, managers may 
   designate a second Masked Gladiator. The multiplier will be reduced to 1.5 for the 
   duration of the contest.

3. Teams may not designate more than TWO (2) Masked Gladiators during the course of 
   the contest.

4. Once a gladiator is chosen as the Masked Gladiator, managers may NOT alter their 
   selection unless the designated warrior dies or graduates.

5. Masked Mayhem is a SINGLE-MANAGER event. You do not need a partner or team to 
   participate. It is every man and woman for themselves!

6. Managers may only field ONE (1) team in the contest.

D. Prizes

1. Endurance Award - Every participating Team will receive one (1) +1 Bonus Potion for 
   participating in all 12 rounds of the contest and in at least 55 of the 60 
   scheduled fights.
   In addition, teams that participate in ALL the scheduled 60 fights will receive a 
   single ZAP Potion.

2. First Place Manager (choose 3 from the following)
     a. LIMITED Max Damage (one-time only; not perpetual; warrior must be from DM 10 
        and have participated in the contest)
     b. Move a warrior from another team (that you own) to your DM 10 squad (warrior 
        must be NATURAL and UNMODIFIED; there must be an open spot via death/dark 
        arena or graduation, warrior must be alive)
     c. Know Favorites (Initiates classed warrior or above)
     d. Reroll one (1) warrior's favorite LEARN
     e. Limited Immortality (one (1) resurrection following death in DM 10)
     f. Two (2) +1 Skill Pots (added to warrior's base; no out of bound warriors)
     g. Reroll one (1) warrior's Endurance (keeping the roll only if it improves)

3. Second Place Manager (choose 2 of the following)
     a. LIMITED Max Damage (one-time only; not perpetual; warrior must be from DM 10 
        and have participated in the contest)
     b. Know Favorites (Initiates classed warrior or above)
     c. Reroll one (1) warrior's favorite LEARN
     d. Two (2) +1 Skill Pots (added to warrior's base; no out-of-bound warriors)
     e. Reroll one (1) warrior's Endurance (keeping the roll only if it improves)

4. Third Place Manager (choose 1 of the following)
     a. Reroll one (1) warrior's favorite LEARN
     b. Two (2) +1 Skill Pots (added to warrior's base; no out-of-bound warriors)
     c. Reroll one (1) warrior's Endurance (keeping the roll only if it improves)

5. Roll-Up Certificates
     a. 40% - First Place Manager
     b. 30% - Second Place Manager
     c. 20% - Third Place Manager
     d. 10% - Masked Gladiator Champion (scored the most points during the contest)
          i. Tie Breaker 1: Win/Loss Percentage
         ii. Tie Breaker 2: Kills
        iii. Tie Breaker 3: Head-to-Head Win/Loss vs. other team(s)
         iv. Tie Breaker 4: Thunderdome! Two men enter; One man leaves! Let's hope it 
             doesn't come this far!

** Note:  This contest will also be offered in DM 45. You may sign up for either or 
both. DM 45 will be the same, but it will only run for 10 turns rather than 12.

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

                             Lapur Fall Harvest Festival

In the city of Lapur, where the Duskblood River flowed like a dark ribbon of glass 
beneath the autumn sun, the Fall Harvest Festival marked the moment the whole city 
seemed to breathe in unison. For weeks beforehand, the air buzzed with anticipation: 
farmers polishing their wagons, bakers testing new spices, and hunters bringing in the 
finest game from the copper-leafed woods beyond the river's bend.

All businessmen and women arrange to set up booths at the River Market. During good 
weather the River Market always had a flow of goods whether they are coming from the 
docks on the river or from the caravans that would often stop at the River Market. 
Lapur the town makes the majority of its taxes at the River Market. Defense of the 
market and control was the priority of the Lapur city council. The town would have 
little or no income without the Market and the Arena. Lapur is not a great 
manufacturing city; goods like wood and surplus goods are often traded with other 
towns and cities but Lapur has no grand manufacturing like the jewelry of Khalums or 
the silver mines of other towns, nor the farming that Osksi provides. Lapur had talked 
to the manager Vlad and his security teams to be paid to maintain a sense of calm at 
the festival. The Festival could draw participants from around Alastari. Often even 
the Arena would take on a greater festive attitude with visiting guilds and managers 
coming to the Festival. It is known that Purple Sage's team Rainbow Council was coming 
to assist with the many booths to be run by Purple Sage and the Market Square, his 
personal interior Lapurian market. Purple Sage always sponsored many tents at the 
festival to direct traffic to his Market Square.

On the morning of the festival, the riverside market square transformed into a maze of 
bright canvas tents and wooden stalls draped with garlands of wheat, corn husks, and 
crimson river-grass. Lanterns carved from hollowed gourds swung gently overhead, each 
one painted with scenes of Lapur's history: stories of river spirits, long-vanished 
kings, and the founding families who had coaxed life from the once-wild banks of the 
Duskblood. Banners were hung from what seemed like every tree. Lapur, a proud city of 
great warriors, advertised many existing and past warriors.

Purple Sage had set up a tent welcoming the guests from Rocanis to the south with 
Morya, then from the west Khalani, Dullens then further west Rodeki and Sibikhas. 
Then, from the north, Monuntial and a few from Chimlevtal. Luca had her full kitchen 
staff setting up two purple tents: one for cooking and one for seating. Virgin Blonde 
had been moving his carvings from his shop to a colorful open sided tent with one 
project sitting upon a stand. Visionist had set up his apothecary shop, though which 
of his staff would be running it he had not decided yet. Even Neon Necromancer in his 
technicolor robes could be seen wandering around the grounds. Neon Necromancer stepped 
aside as the wagon of the Bloke came by to AVOID HIM. The smell of good wholesome 
cooking wafting from Luca's tent permeated many sides of the festival like she was 
purposely enticing the customers from the other shops.

Families arrived in cheerful clusters, wrapped in shawls and scarves against the crisp 
bite of the season. A band of young musicians played lively melodies on reed flutes 
and hammered dulcimers, their notes dancing between the laughter and chatter of the 
crowd, the roaming bands of musicians entertaining where they could draw a crowd. 
Poets set up a box to stand on and recite their prose. Children ran loose with hard 
sugar in their hands. A little blonde girl, racing about with a crew of friends, 
scampered along in their pretty festival cloths. Roaming free-range dogs walked 
carefully, for those animals knew that the wrong move could get them in serious 
trouble. Vlad's men with noticeable markings and carrying cocked crossbows kept the 
peace. Some leaves would flow through for autumn is upon the city of Lapur. The north 
woods of Lapur support the logging industry of Lapur, the third anchor of the city's 
economy. The river flowed the wrong way for Lapur to be the hub of the huge lumber 
business and Monuntial received the benefit of the river's flow. Many Lapurians made 
money delivering and selling wood in Monuntial. Many of the vendors used stools and 
chairs produced in Lapur from the Lapurian forest. Trust you that Monuntial would not 
call it the Lapurian forest. Fathers carried their children on their shoulders and 
mothers looked for a new item.

The booths overflowed with abundance: crates of glistening vegetables sunburst 
carrots, mooncap squash, amber onions, green-speckled tubers pulled from river clay 
were stacked in neat pyramids. Farmers proudly offered tastes of their sweetest 
tomatoes and the rare frost-peppers that grew only in the cold-shadow fields north of 
the city. Carved furniture and amazing wood workings were in many of the booths. 
Lapur, having the forest as 50% of its access, allowed for the best carvers to produce 
some of the most unique items. The folding wood chair from Lapur is known all over 
Alastari.

From the bakers' row drifted a perfume so warm and rich it seemed to soften the very 
air: braided honey-loaves glazed to a golden shine, spiced apple pastries erupting 
with steam, thick walnut cakes, and river-berry tarts whose deep purple filling 
stained tongues and fingertips for days. Children ran about with pockets full of 
sugared nuts and sticky cinnamon twists, trailing crumbs like celebratory confetti.

But the heartiest crowd gathered near the cooks' fires: great iron cauldrons simmering 
with stews thickened by root vegetables, spitted boar turning slowly over glowing 
coals, and skewers of river fish splashed with citrus-herb marinades. Smoke from the 
grills curled upward, carrying hints of char and spice that made even the most 
disciplined citizens abandon restraint. Visionist and Purple Sage sat in their folding 
chairs with more set up near by. The two had purchased a spot and set up a black tent 
for the managers to hang together in peace and watch the flow of the festival. The 
Black Kelt manager held his pipe to his lips as he drew in and then blew a smoke ring 
into the roof of the tent. A small brazier of coals sat near Visionist as he added 
more wood to the fire.

Near sunset, the festival reached its peak. Torches were lit, and the crowd gathered 
for the Blessing of the Plenty, an old ritual said to invite prosperity for the winter 
ahead. Elders in embroidered cloaks raised cups of pressed apple wine, speaking 
ancient words meant to honor the land, the river, and the labor of every hand that fed 
the city. With no one religion taking dominance in Lapur, all faiths were welcome to 
celebrate. The city council had paid for the old ritual to be performed, celebrating 
the years of history and family that is Lapur.

Then the dancing began.

A musician struck the first chord -- bright, bold, and full of promise --and soon the 
square erupted in swirling skirts, stomping boots, and laughter that echoed across the 
water. Strangers danced with merchants, children danced with their weary parents, and 
even the normally stoic city guards tapped their heels to the rhythm.

As night deepened, the booths slowly dimmed, lanterns burned low, and the festival's 
final warmth lingered in the hearts of all who had walked the river square. Lapur 
would face winter soon enough, but for this one perfect evening, the city glowed with 
the joy of harvest: full, proud, and utterly alive. The Mid Earth manager and the rest 
of the managers seemed to have declared an informal gathering of managers with all of 
the current fighting teams sitting in the tent having some libations.

And along the Duskblood River, the stories of this year's festival settled into 
memory, ready to be retold when autumn returned once more.

                                      SPY REPORT

Hello, my darling duelist and magnificent managers of Seam! It's your ever-
effervescent Sidara Brightbell gliding in with a swirl of sparkles and good intentions 
to bring you all the necessary news from our beloved arena. What a delightfully 
chaotic turn you all had! Now, before I dive into this report, I want each of you to 
take a deep breath, straighten your arm straps, and think of a happy place. Yes, even 
the grumpy warhammer-swinger in the back. There, don't you feel better and ready to 
listen? Let's begin!

First of all, let us give a big round of applause to Roger, Rodger, who continues to 
hold the Duelmaster's title like a tavern barfly clinging to his tankard at last call. 
Thirsty Thugs, you're shining bright with a champion on the throne, a top team honor, 
and a crowd favorite in Sau Sage. There were NO graduation notices, so RR will have 
another opportunity to defend the throne in a few weeks.

The most avoided team is Darque Knights, once again. Rubber vs Glue did not want to 
face them on the sands. There was an active bloodfeud between the teams, so I'm 
curious as a shape-changing cat to know if that is what prompted the aversion. 
Tattletale, my dear, you were the most challenged warrior today. You avoided the 
challenges but lost your matchup against Quang. Was it a case of good strategy vs. bad 
luck? I'd rather be lucky, my darlings.

With one Dark Arena fight and five arena stand-in bouts, nearly half of our fights 
were of the generic sort. Where has everyone gone? Warlords have gone missing, and the 
arena has slowly been dwindling over the past few months. We need more blades and 
bravado in this place! I encourage you to:

     1. Invite your friends
     2. Invite your enemies
     3. Invite that guy who plays about once per year but eventually quits because 
        everyone else is beating him.

Thanks to the rest of you for keeping our beloved Seam alive with your blades and 
battles. Every turn is better for your presence. So, keep dueling, keep competing, and 
keep inviting others to join in our strange, wonderful community here. I will see you 
in two weeks!

                                             Hugs and Curses,

                                             Sidara Brightbell

     

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 ROGER, RODGER 1538           21  13  2 128         THIRSTY THUGS (31)        

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 PSYDE 1553                   16   9  1 110         THIRSTY THUGS (31)        
 SAU SAGE 1529                18  19  0 109         THIRSTY THUGS (31)        
-THE OGRE TROLL 434           16  11  0  92         WARLORDS (14)             

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 RAT FINK 1549                14   8  0  77         RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       
-SUNRISE VICTORY 390          16  19  0  75         WARLORDS (14)             

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 FREYA BEARMAW 1562            9   7  0  65         DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)       

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 GAMERA 1569                   6   3  1  56         FAR TRAVELERS (95)        
-MIST SONG 866                 7   3  0  55         WARLORDS (14)             
 EMILE 1571                    6   3  0  54         FAR TRAVELERS (95)        

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MANKAR 1570                   7   2  0  50         FAR TRAVELERS (95)        

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BUG 1580                      3   4  1  33         RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       
 AV NERD 1587                  4   0  0  29         RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       
 QUANG 1573                    5   4  0  28         FAR TRAVELERS (95)        

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 LARIS MOONSONG 1589           2   2  0  19         DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)       
 NUOK TUFE 1579                3   4  0  18         FAR TRAVELERS (95)        
 RYZ RAZORHAND 1590            2   2  0  16         DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)       
-THE PHOOL 1588                2   1  0  16         WARLORDS (14)             
 TATTLETALE 1582               3   3  0  15         RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       
 WHINGER 1586                  2   2  0  12         RUBBER VS GLUE (90)       
 ENID RAVENSCAR 1585           2   4  0  10         DARQUE KNIGHTS (22)       
-MACE FACE 1593                0   1  0   1         WARLORDS (14)             

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
EH! 1594                0  1 0 DARQUE KNIGHTS 22    BLACK ORC              273 NONE
HANS THE WOLF 1584      1  2 0 DARQUE KNIGHTS 22    BUG 1580               269 JUST REVENGED

                                     PERSONAL ADS

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

EH! was butchered by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
FREYA BEARMAW viciously subdued BUG in a 2 minute brutal Bloodfeud duel.
RYZ RAZORHAND was viciously subdued by AV NERD in a 2 minute novice's Challenge match.
ROGER, RODGER devastated RAT FINK in a 1 minute one-sided Title contest.
SAU SAGE overpowered FEISTY RUFFIAN in a 1 minute mismatched match.
PSYDE devastated ROWDY DWARF in a crowd pleasing 4 minute brutal one-sided duel.
EMILE devastated MORDANT GOON in a action packed 1 minute one-sided competition.
MANKAR viciously subdued TEENAGE HOODLUM in a 2 minute gruesome duel.
GAMERA vanquished TEENAGE HOODLUM in a action packed 1 minute gory uneven fight.
TATTLETALE was defeated by QUANG in a 2 minute match.
ENID RAVENSCAR was overcome by NUOK TUFE in a popular 2 minute bout.
WHINGER was narrowly defeated by LARIS MOONSONG in a 11 minute amateur's match.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW                       6         LUNGING ATTACK    23 -  12 -  0      66  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  4         PARRY-LUNGE        7 -   4 -  0      64  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  3         TOTAL PARRY       17 -  10 -  0      63  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      2         SLASHING ATTACK   21 -  17 -  2      55  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      7 -   6 -  0      54  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   1         AIMED BLOW        20 -  18 -  0      53  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   1         STRIKING ATTACK   19 -  18 -  2      51  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         PARRY-STRIKE       4 -   6 -  0      40  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         WALL OF STEEL      6 -   9 -  0      40  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    0         BASHING ATTACK     0 -   4 -  0       0  |

Turn 273 was great if you     Not so great if you used      The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles:     the fighting styles:          top eleven warriors are:

PARRY-LUNGE        1 -  0     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         3  SLASHING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK     1 -  0     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  0         2  STRIKING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY        2 -  0     BASHING ATTACK     0 -  1         2  LUNGING ATTACK 
SLASHING ATTACK    2 -  1     WALL OF STEEL      0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    
AIMED BLOW         3 -  3                                       1  AIMED BLOW     
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  2                                       1  PARRY-STRIKE   
                                                                1  PARRY-LUNGE    

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  ROGER, RODGER 1538         21  13  2  128 THIRSTY THUGS (31)
TOTAL PARRY      PSYDE 1553                 16   9  1  110 THIRSTY THUGS (31)
AIMED BLOW       RAT FINK 1549              14   8  0   77 RUBBER VS GLUE (90)
SLASHING ATTACK  GAMERA 1569                 6   3  1   56 FAR TRAVELERS (95)
PARRY-LUNGE      MANKAR 1570                 7   2  0   50 FAR TRAVELERS (95)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is SAU SAGE 1529.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was WHINGER 1586.  The ten other most popular fighters were PSYDE 1553, ENID 
RAVENSCAR 1585, FREYA BEARMAW 1562, MANKAR 1570, QUANG 1573, AV NERD 1587, ROGER, 
RODGER 1538, SAU SAGE 1529, EMILE 1571, and GAMERA 1569.

The least popular fighter this week was LARIS MOONSONG 1589.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were RAT FINK 1549, EH! 1594, TATTLETALE 1582, BUG 1580, RYZ 
RAZORHAND 1590, NUOK TUFE 1579, GAMERA 1569, EMILE 1571, SAU SAGE 1529, and ROGER, 
RODGER 1538.