DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER Date : 10/08/2003 Duedate: 10/21/2003 MURSKA ARENA DM-35 TURN-447 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS KING BEAR THE BEARS (253) (35-3629) [14-4-1,155] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader KING BEAR PLASTIC MAN THE BEARS (253) COMIC MAYHEM (350) (35-3629) [14-4-1,155] (35-3761) [7-0-0,54] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite BRAN AP CADAL GWALCHMAI CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) (35-3713) [18-12-1,75] (35-3749) [9-5-1,44] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM COMIC MAYHEM (350) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. THE BEARS (253) 45 2. STRONGHOLD (282) 44 LADY OF BATTLES (336) 3. TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) 32 Unchartered Team 4. COMIC MAYHEM (350) 21 5. LADY OF BATTLES (336) 9 COMIC MAYHEM (350) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1*COMIC MAYHEM (350) 26 8 1 76.5 1/ 2*COMIC MAYHEM (350) 11 3 1 2/ 3*TENN. CLOVER BOTTO (351) 18 12 3 60.0 2/ 1*TENN. CLOVER BOTTO (351) 9 6 0 3/ 0 LADY OF BATTLES (336) 17 12 0 58.6 3/ 3 THE BEARS (253) 7 3 1 4/ 2 THE BEARS (253) 301 228 19 56.9 4/ 5*STRONGHOLD (282) 2 4 1 5/ 4 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 403 610 16 39.8 5/ 0 LADY OF BATTLES (336) 1 0 0 6/ 5*STRONGHOLD (282) 2 7 1 22.2 6/ 4 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 1 11 0 7/ 0*LEGENDS OF SOL (354) 0 1 0 0.0 7/ 0*LEGENDS OF SOL (354) 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[(< + -----:----- + >)] The Free Cities #70 [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(< Between Ibizond and Korga: The horseman started to turn away, but two of the hounds made a determined attack on the three gladiators as they scrambled out of their sheltering tree. Now, the tree was a trap rather than a shelter. Cadal was first out, hammering at the nearest hound with his heavy blade. Aghatamar was just behind him, close enough to slash at the hound trying to take him from the side. The horseman turned back, just as the moon shone through a gap in the clouds overhead. Aghtamar sucked in her breath in shock. There was a face, she repeated that to herself as a litany against the unknown. Two eyes--she shuddered and wrenched her gaze away from them, feeling her blood turn to ice and her bones to sand. A beak of a nose, a hunting bird's beak. Gash of a mouth, with an icy glitter of fangs. Behind her, Zilla muttered a prayer to Sermina and struck two-handed at the hound, awkwardly because she didn't want to look directly at it. That hound was no beast that ever curled up quietly before a fire or accepted a pat on the head for a job well done. Cadal lunged at his hound and came near to spitting it on his sword, but the uncanny creature twisted away. The horseman laughed, a sound which would chill the strongest heart, and turned away again, riding up the road toward whatever his, or its third hound had cornered. Fist of Kjarran, most likely, but there was no way to help him now. They had their own problems. The hounds had a pattern of swirling in to attack and then out before they could be struck in return, coordinating their efforts smoothly without needing their master's guidance. They must have done this many times before. Aghtamar thought of the other people dead along this road and knew they must have sustained just such an attack: the horn with its message of fear, then these uncanny beasts with their teasing and toying, and finally the huntsman on his horse. Not a good death. If there was such a thing as a 'good death'. While these thoughts were flitting through her mind, she kept her sword moving as well. The hounds seemed reluctant, maybe even totally unwilling, to close with them, but they wouldn't leave them alone, either. "The damned things are trying to wear us down," she muttered. And it might work. She was already breathing hard, and she could hear Zilla panting beside her. She couldn't hear Cadal, but he was farthest from her. "We've got to finish these," Cadal stated. "Fist of Kjarran is going to need our help." A shuffle and lunge, a hound yelped and dodged back. "Except they won't stand--" "And if we just go to Fist, turn our backs on these hounds," Zilla growled, "likely they'll jump on us from behind." "There must be SOME way we can kill or cripple these damned hounds!" Aghtamar snapped. "Anything that lives can be killed. It's a natural law or something." "We're not going to find it tonight except by chance," Cadal said. "And we have to go help Fist. If we all move together, back to back...." "Right! Let's move," Aghtamar agreed. "On the count of three?" *** ***** *** ***** *** The hound that Fist of Kjarran had crippled was dragging itself down the road toward its approaching master, whining pitifully. If it had been a proper dog, the gladiator might have regretted the injury. As it was...serve the damned beast right. As the hound had appeared to grow when it charged him, so did the hunter. What might have been a big horse--if it was a horse at all--became huge, and its rider dominated the sky. He...it seemed to wear a crown of cold lights, or maybe there were northern lights in the sky behind its head. No, that wasn't north, that was southeast. Fist shook his own head to clear out the fantasies. As the rider passed the crippled hound, he cried out in a terrible voice, a word Fist didn't know and didn't want to know. An evil word, he was sure. Maybe a spell, or a vow of vengeance. Not that it mattered! He had the protection of Kjarran and Jayde. He raised his sword against the moon-colored blade that was swinging down out of the stars above him. SPY REPORT Welcome MURSKA. I, Olaf Modeen remember this place well. Many the fights have I fought here. The celebrations, the disappointments... Bein' on top is great while it lasts, TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM. But how many friends do you have now? What's with TOM THUMB? He actually beat MURSKA's MORDANT DESERTER, and walked away with 14 more points from the fight. Laughs were big at LADY OF BATTLES while they watched INANNA clobber DINGO. He lost 4 points and got bruised from objects thrown from the stands. BRAN AP CADAL was reminded on the sands why KING BEAR is Duelmaster. Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to practice on? I hear some team is looking into the uses of convicted prisoners. Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... The most avoided team was CHILDREN OF LLYR. In my day, no team with a 403-606-16 would scare me off! What's the problem, THE BEARS? There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters to walk away, or not? Who will dare fight DA #1, after he returned from the Dark Arena? (For the record 1-0-1 is 33, and has he points) How long have I been here? I got people to see, places to go... Well, I'm pretty much through. You guys need to get back practicing. The end of another Spyreport! That's cause for celebration in my book! Time for my medication, so I'll leave now. Practice, practice, practice!-- Olaf Modeen DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME KING BEAR 3629 14 4 1 155 THE BEARS (253) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME INANNA 3537 9 4 0 96 LADY OF BATTLES (336) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DINGO 3716 11 7 0 83 THE BEARS (253) BRAN AP CADAL 3713 18 12 1 75 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PLASTIC MAN 3761 7 0 0 54 COMIC MAYHEM (350) RAI 3778 6 0 1 46 COMIC MAYHEM (350) GWALCHMAI 3749 9 5 1 44 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DA #1 2926 1 0 1 33 STRONGHOLD (282) TRUXTON 3764 4 2 1 29 TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) SOLOMON GRUNDY 3757 6 1 0 27 COMIC MAYHEM (350) JACKSON 3766 5 1 1 25 TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) WARM SESSION 3763 4 2 0 25 TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PLOUGHBOY 3762 3 3 1 22 TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) SINESTRO 3784 3 1 0 15 COMIC MAYHEM (350) TOM THUMB 3791 1 0 1 14 THE BEARS (253) DART 3767 1 0 0 11 THE BEARS (253) MERO 3800 1 1 0 11 TENN. CLOVER BOTTOM (351) SPARHAWK 2927 1 3 0 8 STRONGHOLD (282) OISAN 3794 0 3 0 3 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) BRANGWYN 3793 0 3 0 3 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) SOLKONG 3788 0 1 0 1 LEGENDS OF SOL (354) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? MORDANT DESERTER 2 0 1 0 1 TOM THUMB 3791 447 NONE SWIFTY 3781 0 2 0 THE BEARS 253 MISTRESS SHA'TYIR 23 447 NONE GRYFF 3783 0 2 0 CHILDREN OF LLYR 141 PLOUGHBOY 3762 444 SHEWISH GIANT 21 0 1 0 DARK ARENA 0 DA #1 2926 447 NONE MELINDA KYLE 3258 0 1 0 STRONGHOLD 282 BLACK ORC 20 447 NONE THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? EHLANA 2929 0 1 0 STRONGHOLD 282 MOUNTAIN TROLL 18 447 NONE D.O.A. 2925 0 1 0 STRONGHOLD 282 WURM KIN 27 447 NONE BASE POLTROON 3765 1 3 0 TENN. CLOVER BOTT 351 RAI 3778 445 PERSONAL ADS Gwalchmai -- Behold, the power of plastic! -- Plastic Man Warm Season -- Sorry, but not now. We've passed the autumnal equinox, my friend. -- Gwalchmai Depends on where you are. Some people have passed the vernal equinox. -- Ed. the nitpicky King Bear -- Too bad there isn't anybody else for you to fight, eh? -- Bran ap Cadal Sparhawk -- I must have a geis against harming hawks. How awkward. -- Osian Jackson -- Definitely not a gentleman. -- Brangwyn P.S. But a damned good fighter. 9 September 2003 WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MANAGERS! If you think you have what it takes to match wits and blades with some of the best managers in Alastari, then WE WANT YOU! The Tournament Of The Golden Scrod #4 will begin in Aradi (DM 60) the turn after the Fall Mail-In. It's not too late for you to sign up. I realize that many of you may be hesitant after seeing that myself and Hombre have teamed up again, but we'll try to take it easy on you guys a little bit. For more information on T#%S IV, please contact me at ganolus@aol.com. We're looking for a few good managers...the few, the proud, the TOGS! -- Ganolus Oakleaf, T#%S IV Commish 15 September 2003 An Announcement Concerning the Brotherhood of the Blade Alliance: I have chosen to withdraw my membership from the Brotherhood of the Blade alliance. The years I have spent in the alliance have been the best of my DM career. I leave the alliance with many great friends and will always remain close to my former brethren. The Brotherhood of the Blade will not skip a beat without my membership. It remains in very capable hands and its roster is among the strongest in the game. With the return on some of its founding members to DM, I know the BOB will continue to grow in strength and prestige in the years to come. -- The Sandman 29 September 2003 All -- Let it be known that the Firm accepts SOL into its ranks. The Firm is: SunGod, Dark Spirit, Youngblood, Tripwire, and SOL. LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS SWIFTY was butchered by MISTRESS SHA'TYIR in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. MELINDA KYLE was slaughtered by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle. EHLANA was luckily killed by MOUNTAIN TROLL in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena duel. DA #1 butchered SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute gory Dark Arena fight. D.O.A. was murdered by WURM KIN in a 1 minute Dark Arena competition. KING BEAR devastated BRAN AP CADAL in a 1 minute one-sided Title duel. INANNA bested DINGO in a 2 minute master's match. GWALCHMAI was overcome by PLASTIC MAN in a action packed 5 minute fight. RAI viciously subdued TRUXTON in a 2 minute gruesome duel. WARM SESSION vanquished MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute uneven fight. JACKSON viciously subdued CULT MEMBER in a 4 minute gory fight. SOLOMON GRUNDY overpowered OISAN in a 2 minute one-sided melee. PLOUGHBOY overpowered PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 2 minute one-sided match. MERO slimly won victory over SPARHAWK in a 2 minute brutal amateur's conflict. BRANGWYN was subdued by SINESTRO in a 1 minute novice's brawl. DART unbelievably bested SOLKONG in a action packed 3 minute gory novice's conflict. TOM THUMB butchered MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute uneven duel. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 7 TOTAL PARRY 12 - 1 - 0 92 | |PARRY-STRIKE 5 WALL OF STEEL 18 - 7 - 0 72 | |BASHING ATTACK 3 AIMED BLOW 7 - 3 - 1 70 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 PARRY-STRIKE 18 - 12 - 3 60 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 LUNGING ATTACK 23 - 18 - 2 56 | |AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 3 - 4 - 0 43 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 5 - 1 17 | |SLASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 3 - 0 0 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 3 - 0 0 | Turn 447 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: TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 LUNGING ATTACK PARRY-STRIKE 4 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 2 3 WALL OF STEEL LUNGING ATTACK 4 - 3 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 PARRY-STRIKE AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME LUNGING ATTACK KING BEAR 3629 14 4 1 155 THE BEARS (253) WALL OF STEEL DINGO 3716 11 7 0 83 THE BEARS (253) TOTAL PARRY PLASTIC MAN 3761 7 0 0 54 COMIC MAYHEM (350) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is BRAN AP CADAL 3713. The most popular warrior this turn was GWALCHMAI 3749. The ten other most popular fighters were SOLKONG 3788, INANNA 3537, RAI 3778, TRUXTON 3764, OISAN 3794, KING BEAR 3629, SPARHAWK 2927, SINESTRO 3784, MELINDA KYLE 3258, and EHLANA 2929. The least popular fighter this week was BRANGWYN 3793. The other ten least popular fighters were WARM SESSION 3763, BRAN AP CADAL 3713, D.O.A. 2925, SWIFTY 3781, SOLOMON GRUNDY 3757, PLASTIC MAN 3761, DINGO 3716, TOM THUMB 3791, DART 3767, and MERO 3800. NEW GRADUATES--FROM ALL ARENAS (INCLUDING CLOSED ARENAS) For those of you who keep track of such things, 18 additional warriors graduated from regular DM arenas (including closed arenas) since the last tournament: CAFFEINE JUNKIE (3-6110) ADDICTED CATFISH HUNTER (5-3315) PARTY ANIMALS MATTAHOOPLE (16-4203) GIFTED GODS SWEET JANE (53-6535) THE DARK TEMPLE LIL NOIR (62-3311) ENIGMA NARCISSISTIC NUN (69-8644) ODD SQUAD LEGION '8' (71-2369) D.O.A. RAW SEX APPEAL (82-1331) WHY WE LOVE TUM ZOMBIE STOMP (82-2617) NO MORE TEARS VIOLENT VOLE (82-4565) MAMMAL MILITIA LADY OF THE MOON (82-5481) HARM NONE KAMIKAZI GNAT (82-6073) DEADLY ATTACKS II THE 13TH WARRIOR (82-6346) STOOPID MOVIES SIRTON (82-9190) I AM SUCK DUNE (82-10414) 4-LETTER EPICS FLEM (82-12614) 4-LETTER FLUIDS GREENHOUSE EFFECT (82-12996) GLOBAL WARMING UGLY (82-14501) 4-LETTER DESCRIPTION -- Green Eyes