DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 02/22/2014 Duedate: 03/07/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-397
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
LOSING TO AIMERS
BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
(93-9525) [6-0-1,66]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
STRIKER LOSING TO AIMERS
GHOSTWALKERS (1630) BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
(93-9469) [5-5-1,26] (93-9525) [6-0-1,66]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
CONQUISTADOR SHADY LANE
OLD EL PASO (1641) THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
(93-9530) [1-5-0,8] (93-9537) [1-2-0,13]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 21
2. GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 19 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
3. OLD EL PASO (1641) 6 Unchartered Team
4. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 5
5. FIVE NATIONS (1558) 0 OLD EL PASO (1641)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*OLD EL PASO (1641) 19 11 0 63.3 1/ 2*BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 10 5 1
2/ 1*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 9 6 0 60.0 2/ 1*OLD EL PASO (1641) 10 5 0
3/ 3*BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 17 13 1 56.7 3/ 3*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 9 6 0
4- 4*FIVE NATIONS (1558) 1 1 0 50.0 4/ 4 GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 2 4 0
5/ 5 GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 14 24 3 36.8 5- 5*FIVE NATIONS (1558) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
WHAT THEY DIDN'T TEACH YOU IN D2 101
BUT I, PONCE de LEON, SHALL
Any warrior that loses a fight can die. One can die by being killed by the
opponent, and every loser has a small chance (estimated odds 1 in 50) of dying in the
infirmary. Note: There is no chance of dying if one wins!
Any warrior can use any weapon. However, there are undefined penalties for
using marginal, unsuited, inadequate wit, inadequate size, inadequate strength, and
inadequate deftness weapons. One can certainly win with an improperly suited weapon,
but, is it worth the chance?
Warriors are born with certain skills which are dependent on the base 70 point
stat sheet and the style selected. The 14 points of added stats also add skills to
those base skills.
RSI seldom makes input errors. I said seldom. The best thing a manager can do
to help avoid input errors is to fill out the strategy sheet accurately and legibly
with good penmanship.
These are considered the three best ways to acquire info, knowledge and
"secrets" about D2:
* Terrablood.com
* Reality.com
* Noblish Island (DM93) newsletters
There is more to strategy than filling out the warrior's initial armor and
weapon selection and offensive effort and activity level and kill desire and tactic
selection. Challenges and avoids are an important way to attempt to give your
warrior an advantage. Challenge warriors (warrior ID) that your warrior is likely to
defeat and learn a lot from, and avoid teams (team ID) with warriors whom are likely
to defeat you. Indeed, your warrior can be provided with an alternate strategy for
challenging or when being challenged or both. A warrior does not have to challenge,
bloodfeud, or avoid, but it is probably in his best interest to do so.
Ask dumb questions! Often managers, especially new managers, have a doubt or a
question, but they feel "asking for help/advice" is a sign of weakness or lack of
intelligence or knowledge about D2. Do not let this be you! Ask! We veteran managers
ask each other "dumb" questions all the time. What are the best ways to ask?
* On the Reality.com site
* On the D2 Chatzy blog site
* In personal ads in the arenas (especially Noblish Island)
* By diplo to another manager in D2 (Certain managers will almost always respond;
some may not
No matter what any veteran, friend or expert tells you about design or strategy
or concept, it is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth. It may be good or great or common advice, but it is not necessarily the only
good (or bad) advice.
D2 is a normally a friendly atmosphere. While managers are very competitive,
most of the vets know each other, see each other at Faces, chat with each other on
line, and even help each other out with advice and ideas. The fount of knowledge
available now, about D2, was acquired by a collective "working together" and sharing
info. Be advised that an overly mean, overbearing, threatening, haughty, unfriendly
character/manager is likely to be colluded against and ostracized by D2 regulars.
Smack talk is desirable and a part if the game. Personal threats, harsh meanness, or
overbearingness is not at all welcomed.
Noblish Island is a great learning atmosphere. What comes after Noblish? Chose
wisely an arena to next participate in. (Fast--two week turnaround or slow--four
weeks) (Large-- 15+ teams participating, medium-- 8-14ish, small- 7 or less)
(friendly--usually Andorian arenas are up for role-playing and up for helping
newbies, and down on down challenging or taking advantage of newbies) (cutthroat--
Darkholm arenas tend to be win-at-all-cost). You can participate in as many arenas
as you want. You can also participate in separate tournaments, held quarterly, which
allow warriors from all arenas to compete with each other for acclaim and prizes.
There are many other things they didn't teach you in D2 101. Perhaps I will
remember more of them later.
Ponce de Leon (Consortium affiliated)of Old El Paso here.
Contact me for help. Ask me dumb questions.
I tutor and coach--all too often for free.
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ASSUR'S GUILD TO KILLING
Part of arena fighting is the fact that warriors will die. Last time I told you
how to optimize your chances to keep your own warriors alive. This time I give you
the 'best practices' if you want to KILL your opponent. It should be obvious that
winning fights is a requirement to kill. Some of the suggestions do not help your
warrior win. But when you do win, here are the things that will help you get more
kills. In the order that I believe makes a difference:
1) Aim for HE, AB, or CH. There is nothing that will increase your kills more
than aiming for the areas that are the most important areas of the body. Arms and
Legs are for not killing. Head, Abdomen and Chest are for killing.
2) Use High KD! High KD tells the arenamaster you want the fight to keep going
longer. He is less likely to end the fight early if one or both warriors are using a
high kill desire. I recommend 8+.
3) Good or Great damage. Over the years, it has become very evident that
killing with good or great damage is far easier than killing with little, normal, or
tremendous damage. Tremendous damage warriors make opponents give up faster. Little
and Normal damage warriors can't do the kind of damage that causes wounds that kill.
I do not have enough experience to say anything about higher damage ratings than
Tremendous. I suspect they are more like tremendous damage, but I'm not sure.
4) Some warriors appear to have a higher blood lust than others. Nobody can
prove this for sure, but you see some warriors go after the kill much more often than
others.
5) Use higher damage weapons. The easiest way to judge weapon damage is to look
at the weapon weights. Weapons that do slash or piercing damage are better than
bashing weapons. Be careful, though, of selecting a high damage weapon that is
really slow (HL comes immediately to mind).
6) Look for warriors that don't wear any armor.
7) Young fighters die much more often than experienced fighters. The number of
deaths in the first 5 fights is much greater than warriors in the Champion and
Challenger Champion classes.
8) Challenge warriors with fewer fights than you.
Realize that killing requires a bit of luck, but these things can help you have
a high kill percentage. Anything over 10% (Kills/Wins) is a fairly high kill
percentage.
Finally, realize that most managers want to keep their warriors alive. By
trying to kill someone's warriors, you may be taking away from their enjoyment of the
game. I'm not saying you should not try to kill, but realize what you are doing. We
all know death is part of Duel2. But some managers like it less than others.
>)]H[(< + -----:----- + >)] *IHI* [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(<
Profile of a Style
Parry-Riposte
When you read about the parry-riposte style in the rulebook, it looks like it
might be a lot of fun to run, and it is. But it's also really tricky. The plain
offensives: basher, lunger, slasher, striker, and the total parry, are easier. I
don't think I've ever heard a manager say that he really understands the parry-
riposte style, I certainly don't myself. But I've run a lot of them, and some have
survived, and they ARE fun.
So just for a basic introduction to warriors of the parry-riposte style, known
to one and all as rippers, here's what I know.
Design: This is tough. The ripper needs it all! Especially important, though,
are endurance from constitution (CN) and will (WL), plus skill from wit (WT) and
deftness (DF), and it doesn't hurt to have enough strength (ST) to do a decent amount
of damage... and what does that leave that you can go short on? Size (SZ), okay, a
ripper can be--usually is--small. Speed (SP), well, I just don't know. It wouldn't
hurt them to have speed, but where are all the points going to come from?
I have made a lot of rippers over the years, some of them from roll-ups that
were spectacularly unsuited to the style. These are ones who lived to graduation:
Santee 13- 7-14-17-15- 8-10 LO mod/mod slash
Toryn 9-12- 7-13-15-11-17 EP vlo/mod
Scovellie 9-13- 8-17-17- 5-15 SH low/mod
Chia 10-13- 5-17-17- 5-17 SS low/high
Saba 5-17- 9-15-17- 4-17 EP mod/low
Bali 9- 6-14-15-17- 8-15 LO vlo/mod
Jane 9-10- 9-17-17- 5-17 SS mod/mod lunge/riposte
Cedar 15- 6- 7-15-17- 9-15 LS mod/mod
Azureen 9-12- 8-17-10-11-17 SC high/mod riposte
Similde 6- 6- 5-17-17-16-17 LO low/mod
Tailida 9-13- 5-15-17- 8-17 SH low/mod
Korlo 9- 8-12-17-15- 8-15 LS vlo/mod
Tilona 9- 9- 7-15-17-10-17 SH low/mod lunge
You'll see my biases at work here.
Strength is usually at least nine; in the cases where it started lower, the
warriors were cursed with little damage, and I trained it up as soon as I could.
(The numbers shown here are all original, before stat trains.)
Constitution generally moderate. Most of these warriors could take a hit or two
and survive.
Size mostly small, but not always. I did try a couple six-footers, and they didn't
do as badly as one might expect.
Wit is 15 or 17, except in one case. I always look for brains in a gladiator, and
this style needs it.
Will is, except in one case, 15 or 17. High will improves endurance, an important
factor for a parry-style, and makes it easier to train stats when the time comes.
Speed may be anything. I generally did not add any points to speed during the
design phase.
Deftness is 15 or 17 again, except in one case. Deftness, and the skills that go
with it, are important to a finesse style like the ripper. Plus, where strength may
be a problem, accuracy helps.
Weapon selection: There are six weapons well suited to the parry-riposte style,
listed below with the minimum stats required for their best use.
Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15
Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9
Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11
Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11
Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7
Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3
Only weapons well suited to the style will show up as favorite weapons when a warrior
graduates. Yes, you CAN put other weapons in their hands, but you aren't likely to
get the best results that way. (You may note that some of my graduated rippers
listed above were initially unable to use their favorite weapon to best advantage.
This is one of the sneaky things the Gladiatorial Commission does to keep you on your
toes.) I STRONGLY advise that when you design a ripper, consult the weapon chart and
make sure that your warrior will have the stats to use at least one of the weapons
listed to its best advantage.
Armor selection: This depends on how you plan to run the warrior. If he's
going to be fast, and/or he can take a few hits (takes normal damage, for instance,
signified by no comment on the overview) but maybe has low endurance, put him in
light armor. If you plan to run him slow, or he can take little damage but maybe has
high endurance, put him in medium to heavy armor.
Strategy: This is always a tricky thing to advise people on, which is why I've
listed the favorite rhythms on the warriors above. Very low (vlo) is 1 or 2, low is
3 or 4, moderate (mod) is 5 or 6, high is 7 or 8, and very high (vhi) is 9 or 10.
Offensive effort is listed first, then activity level. You can see that most rippers
in this sample prefer to run at middling speeds, usually with the activity level
higher than the offensive effort. Not all of them, but a majority. You can ignore
that--I sometimes do--and run them fast and hard, as though they were simple
offensive warriors. Some take to this treatment, others burn out. The medium speeds
are safe, and a place to start from.
You'll note I haven't mentioned kill desire here. There is no such thing as a
warrior or style having a favorite kill desire. Your kill desire can have a profound
effect on how the warrior fights, but it is strictly a personal decision. However, I
can say that my own experience has been that if a warrior has a high KD in
desperation, he will tend to go berserk, and if he has a low KD in desperation, he
will surrender. Warriors who surrender lose fights, but generally they survive to
fight again. I can't say the same of warriors who go berserk in desperation.
Tactics: I don't use tactics much, myself, but that's just me. You'll note
that out of the thirteen warriors listed above, two have favorite offensive tactics
(slash and lunge) and one has a favorite defensive tactic (riposte) and one has both
an offensive and a defensive tactic (lunge/riposte). All this tells us for sure is
that slash, lunge, and riposte are tactics that rippers can use well (or they
wouldn't appear as favorites). Experiment with them, but don't try to use an
offensive AND a defensive tactic in the same minute; it confuses the warrior.
And to go from the general to the specific--
Profile of a Warrior
Tailida Dawnrain
Tailida is one of the rippers listed above.
She's left-handed
She's intelligent
Makes the most of her enemy's mistakes
Has an unusual fighting style that confuses many opponents
Rarely makes mistakes
Is always thinking ahead
She plans out every move that she makes, seldom wasting any effort
She is very quick (the DF more than the SP, I think)
She cannot carry a lot of weight in armor and weapons
(more a question of her SZ than her ST)
She is incredibly quick and elusive on her feet
Making even dangerous opponents look harmless
She does little damage with each blow
(curses! I had hoped that the ST of 9 would offset her small SZ. It didn't.)
ST 9 CN 13 SZ 5 WT 15 WL 17 SP 8 DF 17
If I decide to run her on the Isle, I will train up her ST until I get normal
damage. (Note, no skills will be burned between ST 9 and ST 14, skill-wise, this is
a barren stretch. But it WILL increase the amount of damage a warrior can do.)
She graduates with a master in riposte, an expert in attack, a master in parry, and
an advanced expert in defense.
She is naturally adept with the shortsword, which I don't think she tried
She favors a fighting rhythm of low offensive effort and moderate activity level
And she tends to learn parry skills most easily.
She received her graduation notice when her record was 21-9-2,96 in Tricorus (dm 51).
On the same turn as her graduation notice arrived, she was challenged by a total
parry in plate armor and a full helm, carrying a broadsword and a medium shield.
Tailida herself was in leather armor and a helm, carrying a scimitar (and a
backup).
Tailida was running 7-7-x, faster than she would have liked, but that's how
she's being running straight along, and it kept her alive and with a winning record,
so I don't want to hear her complain.
Tailida got the jump and hit her opponent twice in the first minute, several
other blows being parried, hit once each in the second and third minutes, with other
blows being parried, was parried completely in the fourth minute, was showing signs
of weariness in the fifth minute but still managed to land a few blows in the fifth,
sixth, and seventh minutes. Then she collapsed with exhaustion at the end of the
seventh minute and lost the fight without being hit once. This is why you find
managers speaking harshly of "scum": we all hate to see our warrior work hard, do all
the right things, and lose because the opponent wasn't doing anything but standing
there in heavy armor.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #7 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
From turn 414:
All -- In case last cycle's personals don't make it: What are the advantages and
disadvantages of using one or two weapons. I'm particularly interested in Riposte
effects. -- Q.O.W. Hanibal
Q.O.W. -- Two Weapons. That's a good subject.
Disadvantages: Few if any, but it has been suggested that some weapons give
bonuses to attack if you use them in two hands instead of one, such as SC. An
obvious one is you can't use two handed weapons. If you don't have the attribute
requirements (which are more stringent for off-hand weapons), then you may suffer
penalties when using certain combinations. Last, you may swing with an off-hand more
than you want, say if you are using a shield. It's usually prefered to have a real
weapon in your off-hand.
Advantages: You have a second weapon already in hand if one breaks. If you are
ambidextrous, this is the biggest advantage, because they will swing with that off-
hand weapon almost as if it were their on-hand. My ambi-warriors will win fights
with off-hand weapons. An off-hand weapon is not bound to a warrior's style
suitability, so a LU could use a SC in their off-hand without penalty if they have
the attribute requirements. Another advantage is suggested in that it assists in
parrying. I tend to think highly coordinated warriors are better at parrying with
their second weapon than those who aren't. I rarely use shields, so I can't comment
extensively on their benefits over a real weapon, especially in AD, but in basic,
shields seem to make it easier to parry attacks.
Riposte and 2-Weapons: I have not noticed any specific variance in the ability
of a warrior to riposte if they are using two weapons. Once in AD, riposting is more
often than not following a dodge. I don't think there is much correlation here, but
it is definitely something to look into. -- Adie
The Question of the Week is posed in Aruak City (DM 11) by Hanibal, a manager
who is himself an alumnus of Noblish Island. The answers are provided by other
managers in that arena. Any manager here in Noblish who wishes to pose a question to
the more experienced managers of Aruak City, feel free to do so, either by sending in
a personal directed to DM 11 and identifying yourself as a manager from Noblish
seeking enlightenment, or by posting the question here, in which case I will be glad
to see that it reaches Aruak.
Also, Hanibal sends you greetings and asks that we remind you that all arenas do
not have the same attitude and local conventions. Aruak City is an Andorian arena
and subscribes to the doctrine of Honorable Play, meaning, no down-challenging except
from the throne or in bloodfeuds, no deliberate attempts to kill the warriors of
other managers, and a general attitude of friendly respect toward the other members
of the arena. It is, in fact, a fine arena, and one where you would all be welcome
(though there are plenty of others--just ask, and I'll be glad to tell you about my
favorites).
If you have questions that you would like answered by the experienced managers
of the game, don't hesitate to ask--we can't answer if you don't ask. Questions can
be posed in the personals here, or by email to me (jputney@zianet.com) or Pagan
(pagan@gte.net), or by diplo to Jorja/The Middle Way 4 here in DM 93.
Question from turn 415 of Aruak City:
All -- Do you think you get negative modifiers when you go desperate? What about "is
dangerously stunned" or "is bleeding badly" or "is on the verge of shock"? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers from turn 416:
Hanibal -- That's a good question! I honestly don't have much of an opinion on that.
In the old days, warriors could get permanent wounds that would affect their fighting
in later matches (but not anymore), and it's been suggested that getting hit in
certain locations affects what your character can do during a match (obvious cases
are losing the use of an arm or being knocked down), but the sorely wounded comments?
It probably just has to do with giving a hint as to how close that warrior is to
going down if it gets hit in that badly wounded spot again. -- Adie
QOW -- After 'bleeding badly', 'dangerously stunned', 'sorely wounded', 'verge of
shock', etc., a warrior's ability to defend themselves is penalized. Desperation by
itself may not represent an ability penalty as much as a time to check for surrender
and a switch to the desperation strategy. Often, with a drastic strategy switch in
desperation, a warrior's performance can improve. -- Carmen
QOW -- I've noticed that by the time I get somebody to that point they're finished.
But I've also noticed that some of my more defensive comrades will give their
opponent a moment to recover and they're still able to. Despite this I would say
that by the time the comments you listed come into play the warrior who's getting
beat is in really bad shape. Whereas statements like "fights with the cunning of
desperation" or "eyes flare with renewed determination" still leave plenty of room
for the warrior to make a comeback. Therefore I would say that the earlier
desperation statements don't carry any significant penalties. -- Maxwell Honorblade
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---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 742): BICYCLE RACE of QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 744): MARTYR of TORTURED (Iron Maiden, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 718): BLIND OWL of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 738): WREN of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 740): GOLDEN GIRL of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 731): PING of G.O.L.F. (The Chosen One, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 732): NEWT ROCKNE of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 368): MERCURY of ZODIAC (Stargazer, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 729): ZOT of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 366): NABUCA of WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 726): EURYDICE TROYER of DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 723): INIGO MONTOYA of BIG LAKE BANDITS (Den, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 715): LORD'S PRAYER of FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 673): BLACK ZANJO of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 343): LAPUR BISQUE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 338): YORL of LES TURFISTES (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 324): QUALITY of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 605): NIGHT CRAWLER of THEM (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 590): CLARENCE G. CRAFT of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarcist, mgr)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 572): RACK OF LAB of CANINE CUISINE (Chuck, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 566): KALDAN TEN KARAN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 273): ADAM of THE BEGINNING (Chuck, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 527): HOGSHEAD of COUNTRY PIE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 522): ANGEL of RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 513): ROSS F. GRAY of MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 630): BILBO BAGGINNI of MIDDLE ITALY (The Dark One, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 742): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 744): SWEET MAGIC (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 718): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 738): GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 740): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 731): BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 732): MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 368): ZODIAC (Stargazer, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 729): THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 366): WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 726): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 723): OBSIDIAN HALL (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 715): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 673): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 343): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 338): LAND OF OZ (Oz the All Managing, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 324): MESOPOTAMIA (Var, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 605): MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 590): RED DOG GANG (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 572): MEDAL OF HONOR G10 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 566): MEDAL OF HONOR C11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 273): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 530): COUNTRY PIE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 522): RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 513): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 630): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 738): WREN of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 740): GOLDEN GIRL of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 732): NEWT ROCKNE of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 728): HOPE'S END of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 366): NABUCA of WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
(turn 365): VENGEANCE of THE STORM REAVERS (?, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 342): THE STATISTITIAN of AVID FANS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 338): YORL of LES TURFISTES (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
DR. COX of SECOND BANANAS (Mannequin, mgr.)
(turn 337): JACK B. NIMBLE of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 324): QUALITY of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 604): GASTON IPPS of MIDDLE WAY 20 (Jorja, mgr.)
DROXINE of TREXTRAS (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 671): CHUCK ENDERN of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 521): WRATH of MASTERS OF SIN (The Greek Guy, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Assur still thinks I'm a loser, but I have yet to prove him right. One Kung Fu
Master down! Wouldn't mind fighting that one again. The Concubine and Dwarf are not
good matchups for me. I think another win might give me space to lose and stay above
Consortium's guys!
SPY REPORT
I was going on vacation, see? Surf, sun... But what do those bums say? "Hit
the road, Debby Tonte. NOBLISH ISLAND needs a spyreport." Oh, well. Like, OLD EL
PASO had to be so embarrassed when they got kicked off #1 spot by BASH BROS WASTE!
Way to go BASH BROS WASTE! MVP award for SPECIAL DISPOSAL? BASH BROS WASTE's proud
of him after beating THE RIO GRANDE and getting 15 points. Talk about yer major
upsets! THE RIO GRANDE's match with SPECIAL DISPOSAL cost it a loss of 11 points!
Don't you think the Duelmaster is being unfair? I think LOSING TO AIMERS should let
CONVICTED ASSASSIN be Duelmaster for a while, without fighting about it. I hear the
top team insists all their warriors get nine hours sleep. They want photogenic
fighters for PR photos.
I gotta admit I haven't been in "deep con caves" with any spies. Really, I just
wing this stuff. The warriors of GHOSTWALKERS must be getting lonely. They were the
most avoided team. Do you guys know something that I don't? Is there some deep dark
secret why OLD EL PASO's been avoiding GHOSTWALKERS so much? Or is it just that
they're too scared? Like, is GERONIMO FORD popular, or what? He was challenged the
most in all of NOBLISH ISLAND! He's got a 2-1-0, is that good?
What does a fighter fight for? I mean, the crowds don't give a hoot if someone
gets killed. Not after four more fights. Hey you guys, don't you think your
families would like to hear from you? Write! (Or have someone write for you.)
Remember, blood on a purple robe may stain. Soak it in cold water, and hand
wash. I gotta leave. NOBLISH ISLAND is like such a dump, and you guys smell too
much! I had a fun time, see you later-- Debby Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 6 0 1 66 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHIHUAHUAN DESERT 9531 3 3 0 54 OLD EL PASO (1641)
PASO DEL NORTE 9532 6 0 0 39 OLD EL PASO (1641)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529 5 1 0 33 OLD EL PASO (1641)
SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527 3 3 0 33 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
STRIKER 9469 5 5 1 26 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
THUMPER 9471 5 5 0 24 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MODE SKILLS 9524 4 2 0 22 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
THE RIO GRANDE 9534 3 1 0 21 OLD EL PASO (1641)
DEL CURVE 9535 2 1 0 20 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
DEAN END 9539 2 1 0 17 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
GERONIMO FORD 9536 2 1 0 15 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
SHADY LANE 9537 1 2 0 13 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
STINKS 9526 3 3 0 12 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
ALLEN BRIDGER 9538 2 1 0 12 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
CONQUISTADOR 9530 1 5 0 8 OLD EL PASO (1641)
ENDURANCE BURN 9528 1 5 0 8 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
-JOV THUNDERFIST 9053 1 1 0 4 FIVE NATIONS (1558)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
STARFIRE 9472 3 4 1 GHOSTWALKERS 1630 LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 395
SWIFTY 9470 1 6 1 GHOSTWALKERS 1630 STONE GOLEM 397 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Uh, Assur, did I get that right? Was that 2-1 in favor of El Paso over BBW? Or did
I miss something? -- Ponce de Leon (knowing full well it was 2-1 for Old El Paso)
Endurance Burn -- Tat wasn't exactly a fight of endu, was it? It felt good. Real
good. -- Ciudad Juarez
Stinks, Stinks, stinks. I feel for you, man. You lose to me; you get overmanaged;
you hate being forced to come out as a waste.... -- The Rio Grande (in sympathy--sort
of)
The Userous Merchant and Ambitious Guard -- We thank you. -- Chihuahuan Desert and
Paso del Norte
Mode Skills -- I will give you credit. -- Conquistador
Losing To Aimers -- Congratulations on the title. -- Ponce de Leon
Health. Humility. Honor. -- Ponce de Leon, Consortium Affiliate
Will not be moving the Ghost Walkers forward. With everyone's help, I have learned a
lot from ithem! Ghostwalkers 2 will be throwing their helmets in the ring soon! --
Spectre
Which arena? We'll look for you and give a cheer.
Nothing but one of Assur's boys, and a bunch of standbys? Heck. Four one for us,
wins over the standbys, losses to Special Disposal. -- those of us on the Third
Highway
Del Curve -- Great fight. -- Special Disposal
Ponce De Leon -- Good thing about Conquistador, though, because otherwise last turn
would have been a great disappointment. 2-1 in your favor. -- Assur
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
SWIFTY was dealt death by STONE GOLEM in a 2 minute Dark Arena fight.
THUMPER bested ALLEN BRIDGER in a 2 minute Challenge duel.
CONQUISTADOR was subdued by DEAN END in a 3 minute Challenge melee.
STRIKER subdued GERONIMO FORD in a 1 minute Challenge fight.
LOSING TO AIMERS viciously subdued CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 3 minute Title brawl.
CHIHUAHUAN DESERT overpowered FRATSFA SLAVE in a 1 minute bloody one-sided fight.
PASO DEL NORTE slimly won victory over FRATSFA SLAVE in a slow 8 minute duel.
THE RIO GRANDE was bested by SPECIAL DISPOSAL in a 2 minute match.
CIUDAD JUAREZ devastated ENDURANCE BURN in a 3 minute gruesome one-sided competition.
MODE SKILLS won victory over SHADY LANE in a action packed 3 minute duel.
STINKS lost to DEL CURVE in a 2 minute gruesome fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 7 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 7 - 0 71 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 AIMED BLOW 10 - 7 - 1 59 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 15 - 11 - 2 58 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 WALL OF STEEL 28 - 22 - 1 56 |
|AIMED BLOW 1 LUNGING ATTACK 5 - 4 - 0 56 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 BASHING ATTACK 10 - 9 - 0 53 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 15 - 16 - 1 48 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 5 - 1 44 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 SLASHING ATTACK 6 - 8 - 0 43 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 397 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:
AIMED BLOW 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 5 WALL OF STEEL
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 2 TOTAL PARRY
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 2 1 LUNGING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 5 - 2 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-STRIKE
1 SLASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 6 0 1 66 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
TOTAL PARRY PASO DEL NORTE 9532 6 0 0 39 OLD EL PASO (1641)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is CONQUISTADOR 9530. The most popular warrior this
turn was SHADY LANE 9537. The ten other most popular fighters were CONQUISTADOR
9530, THE RIO GRANDE 9534, CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529, SWIFTY 9470, DEAN END 9539, CHIHUAHUAN
DESERT 9531, SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527, ALLEN BRIDGER 9538, STRIKER 9469, and MODE SKILLS
9524.
The least popular fighter this week was PASO DEL NORTE 9532. The other ten least
popular fighters were ENDURANCE BURN 9528, GERONIMO FORD 9536, LOSING TO AIMERS 9525,
THUMPER 9471, DEL CURVE 9535, STINKS 9526, MODE SKILLS 9524, STRIKER 9469, ALLEN
BRIDGER 9538, and SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527.
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A NOTE ON MAILMEN
In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own? The Mailman! To
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person. I mean, how many of you managers out their
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get
your Duelmasters delivered. Let's review him...
ST - should be around 19. He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and
a ton of rubber bands.
CN - 13, give or take a few. He does get bitten by dogs often.
SZ - Any.
WT - At least 10. He often likes to read the mail.
WL - Try about 20. He must endure all kinds of weather.
SP - 16 is good. He needs to run across streets in traffic.
DF - 10 is good. Sometimes he has to carry packages.
This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by. If you
can come up with any better, diplo me. I am:
Staple Gun
mgr. of Technet (3)
The New Deal (23)
I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.
"Strikers R Us"
Greetings, everyone. It is I, Talon, again. I am very glad to see everyone
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies. This
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no
team should be without. A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular
Duelmasters. In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more. Strikers are versatile. They can do
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd. They can do well with
no armor or with plate armor.
Stats:
Biff Primal Solid Perfect
ST 5-21 9-17 13 15
CN 3+ 3+ 6 3
SZ 9-21 3-17 9 5
WT 3-17 17 + 17 21
WL 9-17 13 + 17 15
SP 5+ 5-13 9 8
DF 9+ 9-17 13 17
With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.
The BIFF and the PRIMAL. The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with. With this striker, I try to have
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and
the other ends up being at some non-normal level. Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11. With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more
about the style.
The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior. In this category, the
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?" It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better. The goal with the Primal is a 21
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
Weapons and Armor: As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword,
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear. I don't run my strikers with
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack. The heaviest armor I
will use is padded leather. Always wear a steel cap or a helm.
Strategy (general):
Min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Desp
OE 10 8 6 6 6 5 5
AL 10 5 4 2 2 1 8
KD 6 8 6 6 6 5 5
attack arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic decise, slash, bash, depending on weapon
def tactic response is best; try dodge though.
With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious. Just match your
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo
me.
Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw
HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS
OR
a new look for Aimed Blows
Greetings and salutations, all. Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen
before....one that works, at least for me! Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
ST: 17 (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
CN: 13 (gonna need every hit point he can get)
SZ: 4 (smaller the better!)
WT: 4 (overrated for aimed blows!)
WL: 21 (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
SP: 4 (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
DF: 21 (better max this one out too, at least a 19)
You laugh at me? I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky,
I didn't expect either one of em.) But both are in reach with a little luck. Hey, if
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit
more CON would be nice.
But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask? Why, I'm glad you inquired!
LOTS of armor. The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character
a lot of fights. But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not
really what this character does best.
I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand. With an offhand
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating. So:
FI-SH, APM-H.
And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level. He can
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a
good waste. And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this
warrior!
I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7
generally. Now, how to become Duelmaster?
Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON. Step two, now
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the
Duelmaster's team... and kill them. (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him. Badly. Once
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
There are drawbacks, of course. Once you get to that level, odds are you're
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this
trick... Oo! I love mixed metaphors...) But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills
against gladiators with 50 fights!
Rex is now 7-3-1. All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack. And boy, is it fun
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
What else can one do with this warrior? Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to
an off-hand epee! He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner? Who knows? He's probably
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD!
Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke. We entered a similar warrior
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON). That warrior, Jalon, is
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now...
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's
another story...
--Khyron
mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
Jayhawks (70)
Silent Storm (65,74,75)
and numerous others....
THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER
This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy. This will enable a
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50
record.
The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in
Duelmasters. I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is
going all-out and can't last very long). It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting. Mind you, they
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:
ST 13+ Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN 9+ You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ 7+ Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage. Real big
(15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT 13+ Preferably 17. Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL 17+ Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit. 21 is recommended.
SP 3+ Whatever.
DF 7+ Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.
As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements. Of course, the more wit,
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style). If you
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't
going to do very well. With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight. I
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS. No shield.
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy
armor), MS, and BA. The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it
against leather armor. For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H,
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus
if his OE equals his KD. Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go
by that in the first couple of minutes. Keep the activity level moderate to low; the
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain. Attack and defend the arms, like
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher. A typical strategy for my wastes might
look like this:
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Offensive 9 8 7 6 5 5 2
Activity 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
Kill des. 6 6 6 6 5 5 2
Att. loc. RA LA RA LA RA LA RA
Pro. loc. AM AM AM AM AM AM HE
Off tac. none -- -- -- -- -- --
Def tac. -- -- -- -- -- -- P
I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like. For
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash. (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to
try and save his life.) If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3. It's not as much fun
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended). When
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR,
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed. For the most part, though, an offensive
waste is very versatile and can beat any style. The better his important qualities
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat. In
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements,
challenge so-so opponents. If you have a good rollup, go for the gold. Challenge
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when
you're going after someone with more fights! And for sure on the first fight, because
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot. It's okay to train
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train
strength once or twice (no more!). But it's best not to train any other stats until
way, way down the road.
Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right). A little bit of good
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the
game!
If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo: the She-Puppy, mgr.
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.