DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 09/20/2005 Duedate: 10/03/2005
KALTOS ARENA
DM-5 TURN-531
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
BULL DURHAM
PARTY ANIMALS (324)
(5-4324) [16-4-0,135]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
WOLFMAN JACK POSITION IS EMPTY
PARTY ANIMALS (324)
(5-4594) [8-1-1,136]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ZAKAU ERLOI GILL
JOHNS (379) THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
(5-4623) [24-15-0,87] (5-4620) [17-23-0,107]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. PARTY ANIMALS (324) 59
2. THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 47 JUST DON'T CARE (396)
3. EVEREST LLP (490) 6 Unchartered Team
4. ARENA FELINES (494) 0
5. BLITZKRIEG (481) 0 (-1)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1 JUST DON'T CARE (396) 16 5 0 76.2 1/ 1 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 10 4 0
2- 2*BLITZKRIEG (481) 9 4 1 69.2 2/ 3 EVEREST LLP (490) 7 8 0
3/ 3 EVEREST LLP (490) 31 19 1 62.0 3/ 2 PARTY ANIMALS (324) 6 3 0
4/ 4 PARTY ANIMALS (324) 138 112 9 55.2 4/ 5 JOHNS (379) 3 6 0
5/ 5 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453) 233 234 11 49.9 5/ 4 JUST DON'T CARE (396) 2 1 0
6/ 6 JOHNS (379) 242 382 8 38.8 6- 6*BLITZKRIEG (481) 2 1 0
7- 7*ARENA FELINES (494) 0 1 0 0.0 7- 7*ARENA FELINES (494) 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
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ Nightfall #4 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
On the south coast of the Ardivent Peninsula:
Two men stood on the roof of the manor house and stared out at the bay. A black
tower rose from the water near the string of rocky islands that narrowed the channel
between Ardivent and Kaltos. Near the islands, but not on them.
"I can't make out what it's standing on," Harbad Kore said. The Guard was
Ambitious, but his inclinations had not led him to study charts of the bay. He felt
there was more scope for him on land.
"Not an island, not a charted rock," Ternas d'Aleen said.
D'Aleen had shipping interests, or maybe just was interested in ships and boats,
but at least he was likely to know about the waters here. You'd never take him for
an Assassin, and now that the Assassins' Guild had been outlawed again, he didn't
practice. Although how he supported himself based on occasional appearances in the
arena as a standby...maybe he really was a shipper. Kore shrugged that off. It
wasn't his business, anyway. "Okay, then what IS it standing on?"
D'Aleen raised an eyebrow. "How should I know? But it arrived courtesy of
magic, so maybe it has a magical foundation, as well."
"Magic." The guard considered that for several minutes. "And it's threatening
Ardivent's shipping, right? Probably the Transelites did it."
"An unfounded assumption," the assassin said.
"No it isn't! Transel's got loads of magicians, and the whole island lives off
piracy. Seems reasonable to me that they're doing this." His hand went to his
sword. "We should Take Steps. Those pirates can't be allowed to get away with
this!"
"We all know you're a bit of a fool, Kore," the assassin said coldly. "But you
don't need to keep demonstrating it. And fortunately for us all, you are not the one
who must make the decision. That is the Baron's prerogative. We are merely here to
observe and report."
Kore twitched his shoulder. The comment about him being a fool he decided to
ignore; practicing or not, D'Aleen WAS an assassin. "Okay, fine, I know I'm not the
diplomatic type, but mark my words, we'll end up going to war with Transel over this.
I just wish...." He glanced down at the building beneath them uneasily.
"Oh, I agree," D'Aleen said. "I would much have preferred almost any other
vantage point, but this IS the best place for observing the black tower."
"That statue in the front hall--" The guard shivered.
"I believe it isn't actually a statue," D'Aleen said after a moment. "I seem to
have heard that it is actually a living person, preserved in amber. A Lady
Protector...Stepharoo, or something like that."
"It isn't decent," Harbad Kore said. "She should be, I don't know, put out of
sight at the least, or buried, or something. Just having a naked woman standing
there in the hall...."
"Not buried," D'Aleen said. "If she's a Lady Protector, which is what I
remember, then even if she's dead she isn't really dead. To be buried alive..." he
shuddered. "But if we have to use this place again, I would agree that we can move
her into a closet or something."
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ Nightfall #5 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Valamantis:
Arenamistress Sitalva leaned on the parapet of the Silver Mage's tower and
watched the ships moving away from the docks of Valamantis. Tensekai was down in one
of his working rooms, working magic. Probably stewing in anger, too. But she'd
warned him that Shanmarrik wouldn't just sit by and wait for someone else to come up
with an "appropriate" action.
The ships of the city were going to attack the tower that was menacing their
trade. There were fishermen and merchants, some that might be part-time pirates, and
Shanmarrik's official navy, which wasn't large but had managed to hold its own
against the Transel pirates. She had never seen or heard of such unity of effort
here, and against any normal foe, they should be effective. Against a tower that
appeared from who-knew-what-dimension...well, who knew what would happen?
There was a muffled blast from under her feet, a little smoke seeping through
the trapdoor, and a suggestion of very angry words. It occurred to her that Tensekai
might be making a big mistake, trying to work some spell while angry, but who was she
to criticize a mage? He wouldn't thank her for it.
The movement of the fleet was orderly, considering its miscellaneous
composition. The best-armed ships took the lead and spread into a crescent around
the landward side of the black tower, the fishers and merchants backing them up.
Another fleet, rather smaller but just as heterogeneous, came in from the outer bay
and curved to meet the Valamantans end to end. Sitalva raised an eyebrow; they were
flying the green-and-black banner of Kordos. The island kingdom of Kordos was
nominally a part of the Mordanti Alliance, but it was a direct fief from Queen
Talissen and did not usually act together with the major members. If Talissen was
going to take a hand and put the strength of the whole Alliance behind the effort to
get rid of the black tower--
Another, more powerful explosion caused Tensekai's tower to shudder. Sitalva
gripped the stone parapet and looked down, trying to decide where she might most
safely jump if she had to. Before she could make up her mind, the black tower
flashed very dark purple, and bolts of dark lightning blasted outward from it. Two
of Shanmarrik's warships blew up, and one of the leading Kordan vessels. She could
hear screams as men were hurled into the water or ripped apart by splinters of the
ships.
Rossanarth, the Ambitious Guard, grabbed M. Kargaed Chardinee as the ship under
them blew apart. Ross was an elf, and Kargaed was Rirorni, a race much hated by the
elves of the south, but that was politics and history. This was a question of
immediate survival, and it was Ross's opinion that of all the people on the doomed
_Pride of Dawn_, Kargaed was the smartest and, with the possible exception of the
Veteran Mercenary, Skomaenedh--also a Rirorni, the damned nomads were everywhere you
looked these days--had the strongest survival instinct. Sko was smart, too, but he
could swim. Kargaed couldn't. And the Chardinee (it was some kind of semi-secret
society) was near at hand. Ross couldn't see the Mercenary anywhere.
Kargaed's fingers bit into the Guard's arm, but he didn't panic--quite--as they
were blown into the water, went under, and finally surfaced amid the wreckage. He
coughed and blinked the water from his eyes, looked around. "I think Shanmarrik made
a mistake," he said hoarsely. "Thanks for catching me before I drowned."
Rossanarth would have shrugged, had circumstances permitted. "I figure we're in
this together," he said, "and the two of us together will have a better chance of
getting OUT of it than either one alone."
"Probably true," Kargaed said. From their position low in the water--just their
heads out of it--he couldn't see much. Waves kept slapping him in the face, for one
thing. Bits of wood floated near them, and he grabbed one to leave Rossanarth with
both arms free. He thought he glimpsed at least one intact ship, but it wasn't near.
He noticed the Guard thrust himself upward out of the water almost to his waist, look
around quickly, and sink back, going under briefly and emerging. "What's our
situation?"
"No ships close enough to hail, nobody else alive in the water that I can see--
but I wouldn't have spotted us if I were somebody else--and there seems to be a
current carrying us toward the black tower."
The Rirorni frowned, then nodded. "I think it may be our duty to pay a visit to
the tower, then. Mine, at least, I will choose no desperate mission for others."
"I'll go with you," Rossanarth said.
SPY REPORT
Hail KALTOS! Warriors of the arena, prepare to be praised and blamed for your
deeds. HOFFA has lost to SAMANTHA FOX, falling 13 points, while helping make JOHNS a
0-3-0 turn. We should ask BULL DURHAM about the thrill of victory, and what being
the new Duelmaster does for a warrior, he's now the one to ask. Tell me, is nothing
sacred? I have heard from unimpeachable sources that The Victory Tavern uses trolls
in their stew. Talk about gristle!
I tell you, a green quarterstaff lasts longer than a seasoned sapling. A basher
friend of mine assures me this is true. I also notice that the EVEREST LLP stable
was the most avoided team this turn. Come on KALTOS, what are you afraid of? And
guess who avoided EVEREST LLP stable the most? Believe it or not, it was PARTY
ANIMALS. Anyone surprised? The most challenged warrior this turn was JOHNS' warrior
HOFFA. More fighters challenged him than challenged the Duelmaster! I don't know
about you, but WOLFMAN JACK challenging down 17 points to JOHNS' HOFFA, is not really
worthy of PARTY ANIMALS. We're not surprised to hear that WOLFMAN JACK won victory
over HOFFA, but I bet it would be interesting to hear why PARTY ANIMALS made such a
challenge. In a brave attempt, MOUSE DAVIS from PARTY ANIMALS challenged up 18
points to fight ZAKAU from the JOHNS stable. MOUSE DAVIS perhaps got his just
desserts, seeing as he won victory over ZAKAU and ended up with 103 recognition
points. BEATLE BAILEY of PARTY ANIMALS had better have a good reason for challenging
down 8 points in a challenge which he lost. I thought BEATLE BAILEY showed great
skill and promise when he lost to ERLOI GILL. All right, so I slept through it! Big
deal!
The Dark Arena is for those who cannot win, not who cannot lose with grace.
Dignity in life or death is the warrior's creed. A brave warrior does not carry a
red shield, he has nothing to cover or hide when the fight is over. Consider well.
Remember, blood on the purple robe does not change it from a purple robe. Dare
to fight bravely. It's been nice chatting with you, until we meet again, keep your
swords sharp and your hammers heavy. Until you see my quill in KALTOS again,
farewell-- Alarond the Scribe
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BULL DURHAM 4324 16 4 0 135 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
WOLFMAN JACK 4594 8 1 1 136 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
HOFFA 4348 8 85 0 109 JOHNS (379)
ERLOI GILL 4620 17 23 0 107 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
MOUSE DAVIS 4379 10 6 2 103 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
BEATLE BAILEY 3745 17 14 0 92 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHESTER EGG 4662 14 12 0 89 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
SAMANTHA FOX 4574 6 5 0 89 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
ZAKAU 4623 24 15 0 87 JOHNS (379)
INGOLD KERR 4652 15 17 2 84 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
HOFFA 4622 18 21 0 75 JOHNS (379)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
NORLE PARTH 4658 13 18 2 62 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
BLABB 4684 7 3 0 60 EVEREST LLP (490)
LHOTSE 4683 7 3 0 60 EVEREST LLP (490)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-BUZZ 4612 3 0 0 51 BLITZKRIEG (481)
HILDE 4697 6 3 1 47 EVEREST LLP (490)
-GATOR BAIT 4609 3 0 1 47 BLITZKRIEG (481)
GRIMM 4681 7 3 0 45 EVEREST LLP (490)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ANGUS 4680 4 6 0 26 EVEREST LLP (490)
-SPONGE BOB 4608 3 1 0 26 BLITZKRIEG (481)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
GLORIA IMBRO 4718 2 0 0 14 THE MIDDLE WAY 5 (453)
-THE GREEK CAT 4706 0 1 0 11 ARENA FELINES (494)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
FLYNN 4624 21 15 1 JOHNS 379 WOLFMAN JACK 4594 528
PERSONAL ADS
The Impeccable Pig -- Well, if YOU don't care, then I won't either. -- Erloi Gill
Lhotse -- When I see your name, my mind always makes it into "La hotsie" which
probably says something about the way my mind works, but it's the only one I've got.
-- Ingold Ker
Hilde -- Hmm, fast learner, aren't you? -- Chester Egg
P.S. I didn't mean to bury you in the sand. I just tripped over a lost initiative
and kicked some toward you accidentally.
Blabb -- I can't stand it when you talk so much during the fights. -- Norle Parth
The Greek Cat -- Gosh, I didn't know ANY kind of cat came with a beard. -- Gloria
Imbro
P.S. It says here that I'm very charismatic, and that being charismatic means I can
influence people. Can I influence you to write a personal?
Beatle Bailey -- Good gods, man, you call yourself a SOLDIER? -- Armal Kuro, Veteran
Mercenary
P.S. Although I suppose, from what I have heard about you, that it is appropriate
that you "outlasted" me in a seven-minute contest.
Lord Protector The Impeccable Pig of Just Don't Care -- Could I interest you in a
choice fishing spot, available on Mondays and Thursdays? -- Zelagan of Sestegos,
Lands Agent for Kaltos Arena
P.S. Listen, this is an island of modest dimensions, where are we going to get large
tracts of land, eh?
15 September 2005
HAMMER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Be it known from the highest mountains to the darkest alleys of Alastari that
the veteran manager known far and wide as Hammer has now officially retired from
sponsoring contests as of September 15, 2005.
What a long time ago was a fun motivated activity to help promote our common
DM/D2 gaming interest in an effort to promote the growth and competitiveness of
selected arenas has become a far from fun experience.
In other words Hammer has had it!
The combination of real life situations interfering with the time needed to
effectively sponsor a contest, plus the attitudes expressed during such sponsorship
interference has led to Hammer closing his personal coin coffers and retiring from
his planned sponsorship of any future contests.
There are others in our close knit gaming community who are well able to step up
to the plate and continue sponsoring contests that make the basic game a fun
experience for all those who choose to compete and interact in such future endeavors.
Hammer thanks all managers both active and inactive who helped to make the
Hammer sponsored contests a historical and entertaining experience well worth the
time, effort and money spent over the past several years.
May the Cheers and the Jeers of future contests build upon the legacies of those
who have paved the way in years gone by to help make this game what it is today.
Hammer has no regrets for the part he has played in that history.
19 September 2005
I'd like to say hello to everyone I know that is still around after my being gone for
five years. Hope to see you all on the sands, and may your weapons strike true and
your shields protect you (except, of course, against MY warriors *grin*)!! -- Lord
Xiang, D2-101
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
WOLFMAN JACK devastated HOFFA in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
BEATLE BAILEY was viciously subdued by ERLOI GILL in a 3 minute Challenge battle.
MOUSE DAVIS vanquished ZAKAU in a popular 1 minute mismatched Challenge brawl.
SAMANTHA FOX defeated HOFFA in a crowd pleasing 3 minute Challenge match.
THE IMPECCABLE PIG was devastated by BULL DURHAM in a 1 minute one-sided Title duel.
CHESTER EGG devastated VENOMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute mismatched match.
INGOLD KERR handily defeated KUNG-FU MASTER in a 1 minute uneven fight.
NORLE PARTH won victory over HILDE in a action packed 1 minute uneven duel.
GRIMM was defeated by DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 1 minute duel.
LHOTSE vanquished CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute brutal one-sided fight.
BLABB handily defeated CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute brutal one-sided bout.
ANGUS was luckily beaten by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 1 minute bloody competition.
GLORIA IMBRO bested MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute novice's battle.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 SLASHING ATTACK 11 - 5 - 0 69 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 LUNGING ATTACK 20 - 10 - 0 67 |
|WALL OF STEEL 3 STRIKING ATTACK 24 - 13 - 2 65 |
|AIMED BLOW 3 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 2 - 0 60 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 10 - 8 - 0 56 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 BASHING ATTACK 10 - 8 - 0 56 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 1 AIMED BLOW 16 - 14 - 0 53 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 13 - 1 43 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 531 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:
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 0 AIMED BLOW 1 - 2 3 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 WALL OF STEEL
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY
BASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 2 1 BASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK BULL DURHAM 4324 16 4 0 135 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
STRIKING ATTACK WOLFMAN JACK 4594 8 1 1 136 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
TOTAL PARRY BEATLE BAILEY 3745 17 14 0 92 PARTY ANIMALS (324)
SLASHING ATTACK LHOTSE 4683 7 3 0 60 EVEREST LLP (490)
AIMED BLOW GRIMM 4681 7 3 0 45 EVEREST LLP (490)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ZAKAU 4623. The most popular warrior this turn was
ERLOI GILL 4620. The ten other most popular fighters were SAMANTHA FOX 4574, MOUSE
DAVIS 4379, NORLE PARTH 4658, WOLFMAN JACK 4594, BEATLE BAILEY 3745, CHESTER EGG
4662, LHOTSE 4683, BLABB 4684, HOFFA 4622, and BULL DURHAM 4324.
The least popular fighter this week was GRIMM 4681. The other ten least popular
fighters were ZAKAU 4623, HOFFA 4348, GLORIA IMBRO 4718, ANGUS 4680, HILDE 4697,
INGOLD KERR 4652, BULL DURHAM 4324, HOFFA 4622, BLABB 4684, and LHOTSE 4683.
The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:
BULL DURHAM (5-4324) PARTY ANIMALS (324)
The following warriors have traveled to AD after fighting this turn:
THE IMPECCABLE PIG (5-3818) JUST DON'T CARE (396)