DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 09/21/2005 Duedate: 10/04/2005 MURSKA ARENA DM-35 TURN-498 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS LOCO PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) (35-3677) [13-9-0,88] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader LOCO NOREASTER PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) DIRT DEVILS (363) (35-3677) [13-9-0,88] (35-3896) [8-1-0,64] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite LOCO BUMP 'N' JUMP PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) (35-3677) [13-9-0,88] (35-3929) [6-6-0,54] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 24 2. FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) 20 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) 3. PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) 17 Unchartered Team 4. BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) 8 5. DIRT DEVILS (363) 4 DIRT DEVILS (363) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1*DIRT DEVILS (363) 12 2 0 85.7 1/ 2 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) 9 6 0 2- 2 BLITZKRIEG (357) 74 21 9 77.9 2/ 1 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) 8 7 1 3/ 5 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) 82 64 4 56.2 3/ 3 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 7 8 0 4/ 4 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) 41 33 5 55.4 4- 4 BLITZKRIEG (357) 4 0 0 5/ 6 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) 30 32 2 48.4 5/ 5*DIRT DEVILS (363) 3 0 0 6/ 7 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 500 764 20 39.6 6/ 6 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) 1 4 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[ The Mountains of Night #4 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Murska and vicinity: In the fashion typical of so many of the Bad Guys, the demons and their minions were throwing their weight around, making a splash and attracting everyone's attention in Murska. Their first appearance had been accompanied by spectacular displays of black lightning, causing landslides and setting fire to some buildings in and around the town. As Tankesh and Huw worked their way down the mountainside to the bridge that would take them across to Murska they could hear people shrieking. Fire bells were barely audible above the shouts and screams, and the roar of the river as it tore at the rocks newly fallen into its bed. "Showy and wasteful," Huw growled. Tankesh glanced over his shoulder at the Murskan. The man wore his disapproval as a breastplate and shield. Well, it was his home town that was being smashed up, so the elf could make allowances. "It isn't a bad plan," he said mildly. "Intimidate the population to begin with, and they won't fight back. Saves time and effort, and I suppose even demons have to think about that sometimes." Huw grunted. After a moment, he said, "I was right about the dwarves. There aren't more than half a dozen in sight, and those are probably gladiators. The doors to the Undercity are shut." "It won't save them, if the demons decide to go underground," Tankesh said. Huw grunted again, a more cheerful sound this time. "True," he said. "The dwarves are making a mistake. It'd be worse to fight demons in the tunnels than above-ground." "Limited front of attack," Tankesh said. "No demons taking to the air and coming at you from behind." "Limited lines of retreat, if the roof comes down," Huw countered. "A point," the elf admitted. They had reached the approach to the bridge, and he paused, looking at the span critically. It was of stone, good dwarven work, wide enough to take a wagon and with a waist-high parapet on either side, but...it was narrow--two wagons couldn't pass on it, and if a person fell off, well, the fall to the river would be a long one. There were people on the bridge now, maybe twenty or so, running from the town toward the bare mountainside behind the two gladiators. They were each running as though alone, no one covering their retreat, no one helping if someone tripped and staggered against the parapet. They were in a state of blind panic, and Tankesh distrusted them automatically. Panic was contagious, not that he thought either he himself or Huw would succumb. And it was blind; the fleeing people would run down anyone in their path, and not only would they not give help if asked, they wouldn't know enough to accept it if offered. Crossing the bridge against this current would be-- His eyes focused on the far end of the bridge as a woman screamed. Part of his mind flashed back to the black altar in Kurukar and the woman he had been unable to save there. The scream was a high, thin sound, compounded of terror, pain, and despair, and it cut off sharply as a creature that looked like an upright lizard ten feet tall reached down and plucked her from the crowd. He held her by the knees and swung her body horizontally, using her as a club to knock other refugees from the span. Tankesh was just marginally aware that this was not the woman he had lost in Kurukar as fury hazed his vision with red. He roared a wordless challenge and lunged forward onto the bridge. SPY REPORT Much has changed in MURSKA since last I was here. Never fear, Olaf Modeen adapts to many situations, as do all successful fighters. Bein' on top is great while it lasts, FLIPPERS ARCADE. But how many friends do you have now? What's with MORPETH? She actually beat PHILANTHROPISTS 3's MOZART, and walked away with 24 more points from the fight. Major screwup at PHILANTHROPISTS 3. MOZART lost 17 points to MORPETH. Some new strategies, perhaps? Maybe MOZART will provide more easy wins... Har har har! Did RAZZLE DAZZLE wimp out, or just get lazy? Anyway, he's not Duelmaster anymore. I'm sure MURSKA is excited about LOCO, the new Duelmaster from PHILANTHROPISTS 3. (remember?) But when you've seen as many as I have... I suppose you want to hear some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters? Tough! If at first you don't succeed, avoid. That'll get you in the Spyreports. How well I know the feeling of being in the most avoided team! Don't fall out of practive, DIRT DEVILS! Management must be dealin', as the boys at PHILANTHROPISTS 3 ain't reelin'! DIRT DEVILS' mad! What do people see in KAI? His 13-14-0? CHILDREN OF LLYR ain't talkin', but he's got 53 points. Fighting is a better craft than farming, PADDY, but you have to pay your dues. Being challenged by OH OHLISH OMINAH, 28 points above you, is dues. I have to get this off my chest. What a low dog, OH OHLISH OMINAH! He can't set himself up in a real match. I was sorry to see PADDY lose. I hate going to the effort of writing about the kind of fights that GARTH THE SEAMITE gets in. He fights people like PITFALL HARRY, 8 points below. I thought GARTH THE SEAMITE showed great skill and promise when he subdued PITFALL HARRY. All right, so I slept through it! Big deal! A fighter's lot is filled with strife, revenge, and killing. Some fighters don't accept this. The best do. Here's some advice: study your opponent, master many skills, fight dirty. Who knows what the future holds for a warrior. More fights, there's no doubt. All work and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf. Olaffighterwork and no play. Remember--a good fighter needs both good skills and good luck. Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME LOCO 3677 13 9 0 88 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -RAZZLE DAZZLE 3863 13 2 1 124 BLITZKRIEG (357) -O'MALLEY 3816 14 6 1 117 BLITZKRIEG (357) -KAMA KAZI 3859 14 1 1 105 BLITZKRIEG (357) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME MORPETH 3862 14 20 0 83 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) -DARLING NIKKI 3842 13 3 2 83 BLITZKRIEG (357) -HUCKLE CAT 3874 9 5 0 78 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) -FATHER CAT 3875 7 1 1 72 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) -DINGO DOG 3878 8 2 3 71 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) MOZART 3756 12 4 0 67 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) OH OHLISH OMINAH 3912 8 6 2 67 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PARALLEL UNIVERSE 3925 9 1 0 65 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) NOREASTER 3896 8 1 0 64 DIRT DEVILS (363) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DALLOW 3872 12 15 1 56 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) BUMP 'N' JUMP 3929 6 6 0 54 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) KAI 3873 13 14 0 53 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) -TYPHOON 3895 4 1 0 53 DIRT DEVILS (363) GARTH THE SEAMITE 3748 11 9 1 51 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) CADAL COONTZ 3901 7 12 0 41 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) PADDY 3898 9 11 0 40 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) DIG DUG 3926 7 7 0 39 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) PITFALL HARRY 3927 5 5 0 36 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME Q*BERT 3928 7 6 2 30 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) MR. FIXIT 3905 3 11 0 28 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) JUNGLE KING 3930 5 8 0 25 FLIPPERS ARCADE (366) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME TOURNEY SCUM 3943 1 0 0 7 BUSY, BUSYTOWN (360) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? OSKSI NOBLE 3 0 1 0 1 Q*BERT 3928 498 NONE THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? BANANNAS GORILLA 3876 9 9 1 BUSY, BUSYTOWN 360 GARTH THE SEAMIT 3748 494 NOT REVE PERSONAL ADS Pfui. Okay, okay, a little more than that. But we got so excited reading the personals by other teams that we just didn't have the energy left to do any ourselves. -- Children of Llyr That would be sarcasm, no? -- Ed. 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 NOREASTER bested DALLOW in a 1 minute Challenge fight. OH OHLISH OMINAH bested PADDY in a 3 minute Challenge duel. GARTH THE SEAMITE savagely defeated PITFALL HARRY in a 2 minute Challenge melee. PARALLEL UNIVERSE overpowered KAI in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge duel. MOZART slimly lost to MORPETH in a 2 minute gory fight. LOCO demolished VETERAN MERCENARY in a 1 minute mismatched Title competition. CADAL COONTZ viciously subdued JUNGLE KING in a 2 minute bloody fight. BUMP 'N' JUMP savagely defeated THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 2 minute brawl. Q*BERT put to death OSKSI NOBLE in a 1 minute melee. MR. FIXIT was outwaited by THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 7 minute gruesome duel. DIG DUG defeated AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 3 minute gruesome duel. TOURNEY SCUM outlasted CONVICTED THIEF in a dull 7 minute novice's fight. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 4 PARRY-STRIKE 5 - 2 - 0 71 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 STRIKING ATTACK 13 - 6 - 1 68 | |PARRY-LUNGE 3 AIMED BLOW 13 - 7 - 0 65 | |AIMED BLOW 2 LUNGING ATTACK 32 - 20 - 1 62 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 9 - 2 59 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 TOTAL PARRY 1 - 1 - 0 50 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 10 - 10 - 1 50 | |TOTAL PARRY 1 PARRY-LUNGE 14 - 15 - 0 48 | |PARRY-STRIKE 1 BASHING ATTACK 6 - 8 - 1 43 | |SLASHING ATTACK 0 SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 6 - 0 33 | Turn 498 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: STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 6 LUNGING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 1 PARRY-LUNGE TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 STRIKING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL WALL OF STEEL 2 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 1 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME PARRY-LUNGE LOCO 3677 13 9 0 88 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) LUNGING ATTACK MOZART 3756 12 4 0 67 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) PARRY-RIPOSTE OH OHLISH OMINAH 3912 8 6 2 67 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) AIMED BLOW PARALLEL UNIVERSE 3925 9 1 0 65 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) STRIKING ATTACK GARTH THE SEAMITE 3748 11 9 1 51 PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (347) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is LOCO 3677. The most popular warrior this turn was BUMP 'N' JUMP 3929. The ten other most popular fighters were OH OHLISH OMINAH 3912, GARTH THE SEAMITE 3748, MOZART 3756, MORPETH 3862, CADAL COONTZ 3901, MR. FIXIT 3905, PARALLEL UNIVERSE 3925, DIG DUG 3926, NOREASTER 3896, and LOCO 3677. The least popular fighter this week was TOURNEY SCUM 3943. The other ten least popular fighters were JUNGLE KING 3930, KAI 3873, PITFALL HARRY 3927, PADDY 3898, DALLOW 3872, Q*BERT 3928, LOCO 3677, NOREASTER 3896, DIG DUG 3926, and PARALLEL UNIVERSE 3925.