DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 02/25/2015 Duedate: 03/10/2015
MURSKA ARENA
DM-35 TURN-742
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
FIXED DRINK
FOOT OF PRIDE (396)
(35-4529) [19-3-0,110]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
FIXED DRINK POSITION IS EMPTY
FOOT OF PRIDE (396)
(35-4529) [19-3-0,110]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
OISIN OISIN
CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
(35-4439) [19-31-0,88] (35-4439) [19-31-0,88]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
HOUSE JHEREG (42)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. WEIRD STUDENTS (214) 46
2. FOOT OF PRIDE (396) 12 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
3. KHORS PRAETORIANS VX (391) 0 Unchartered Team
4. BATTLEAXE STAMPEDE (395) 0
5. REDNECK JIHAD (411) 0 22 ACACIA SOUTH (113)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1 HOUSE JHEREG (42) 391 260 29 60.1 1/ 1 HOUSE JHEREG (42) 12 3 0
2- 2 BATTLEAXE STAMPEDE (395) 14 10 1 58.3 2/ 2 WEIRD STUDENTS (214) 10 5 0
3/ 3 FOOT OF PRIDE (396) 117 97 10 54.7 3/ 3 FOOT OF PRIDE (396) 3 6 1
4/ 4 WEIRD STUDENTS (214) 26 27 0 49.1 4/ 4 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) 3 12 0
5/ 5 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141) %1083 %1388 34 43.8 5- 5 BATTLEAXE STAMPEDE (395) 1 1 0
6- 6*REDNECK JIHAD (411) 0 1 0 0.0 6- 6*REDNECK JIHAD (411) 0 1 0
7- 7*KHORS PRAETORIANS (391) 0 1 0 0.0 7- 7*KHORS PRAETORIANS (391) 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[ The Mountains of Night ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
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 Arzian 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.
Arzian 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," Arzian 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," Arzian 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 Arzian
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.
Arzian 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.
There was a flash of darkness. Arzian could still feel himself running, but the
stones of the bridge weren't under his feet. He tried to drag in a breath to
shout... a question, a warning, something to his companion. There was no air. No
hot or cold, no up or down.
"The Master said you would come to that bait." The voice was in his head as
much as his ears. Toneless, almost mechanical in its lack of rhythm or inflection.
"The Master is always right."
A chirping sound erupted, as from the world's largest cricket. The stridency
bored into his awareness like a drill. More chirping. Two giant crickets, arguing.
Arzian reflected that it would be a sad end to a life of adventuring if he went
insane because of a couple of crickets. Up and down returned in time for him to be
thrown down on a hard surface. His head smashed into it hard enough to stun him.
"Lord Protector Huw, Children of Llyr," Huw snarled. He shouldn't have to be
identifying himself at Murska arena, and it was wasting time. They didn't HAVE time.
There were demons rampaging through the town!
The door opened just far enough to show one eye. Washed out blue, with sandy
lashes. Could be anybody, from what he could see. "Are they still out there?"
"Who? Other gladiators trying to get in? Yes--"
"The demons!" If the eye opened any wider, it would fall out of its socket.
Huw took hold of his patience with both hands. He didn't have TIME for this.
"Jamoak--it is you, isn't it?--there are demons out here, yes. Or one demon and
several monsters. The arena structure is readily defensible--IF there are people to
defend it. Let the gladiators IN."
"But some of them might be--"
"Demons in disguise? No. This demon isn't bothering with disguises. Let them
IN, Jamoak."
The maintenance man was still hesitating when Huw's teammate, Lady Protector Ma
Gog, came up behind. She put one hand on the door and leaned. As Shews went, she
was modestly sized, but she was solid. The door opened. A crowd of gladiators,
Harkenes and Shews in the main, poured in.
"No dwarves?" Jamoak asked.
"They're all shut into the caves," someone said.
"Fighting demons and monsters down there," someone else added.
Jamoak turned pale. Paler than he had been, anyway. "Demons in the caves?" he
squeaked.
"Why not? This is happening all over," Huw said. "Picture it as a slanted line
of demons from Kurukar down toward Riztab, maybe toward the Isle of the Eye. All
through these hills. And not just on top of 'em."
"You think we can defend the arena?"
"You've got a chance, anyway." Huw, who was standing in the doorway, looked out
over the town. Darkness and snow were coming down together, except where the fires
had bloomed. He didn't know if those were accidental, or one side or the other had
started them on purpose. He could hear occasional screams. See shapes moving
against the flame-light, some of them monstrous and menacing.
"But... aren't YOU staying?"
"No. I was with a guy when the demon attacked. He got taken away. I have to
go after him."
"If the demon took him, he's dead, or as good as," one of the other gladiators
muttered. "Why throw your own life away after his?"
"He was a FRIEND, Paddy. We were as good as partners. A man doesn't abandon a
friend."
Somewhere else:
Arzian's head ached, and his mouth tasted like the bottom of a birdcage, and he
was mad enough to bite someone. This durance was about as vile as it could get.
Cold, too. He groaned, rolled over, and sat up. Either this place was in complete
darkness, or he had gone blind. He decided it was dark. He didn't want to think
about the problems that could come with being blind.
"Huw?"
No answer except an echo. Well, maybe Huw hadn't been captured, or had been
stashed in some other dungeon. Arzian figured he had more immediate problems than
"what happened to Huw?" Food, water, and avoiding hypothermia, for starters. Then,
escape. Finding out what was going on with these demons, and stopping them, stopping
whoever--the Black Kalive as the most likely culprit--was summoning them.
But one thing at a time. A few sweeps of his hand determined that there was
room to stand up and to move around here, wherever here was. The place smelled like
cold stone and, faintly, mud. Water. The distant rushing sound which he had at
first thought was his own blood rushing through his ears might not be. A cave with
a stream in it, that was the ticket, and this might be one. He could hope so,
because a cave might mean someplace he could get out of easily. Ah... relatively
easily. At the least, it could mean "not a dungeon."
He walked slowly, placing his feet with care, hands held out in front of him,
feeling for a wall. It took, or seemed to take, a long time to find one, but he knew
that time could be hard to judge with nothing else to measure it against. But the
wall was there. Finally. He leaned on it and told himself that he was just... glad
to have a wall to lean on. He hadn't really kissed it. It just came up faster than
he'd expected. And it had been too long since he'd had down-time, rest and
relaxation in unadventurous territory. He needed that. Everyone needed it
sometimes.
Blowing out his breath in a long sigh, the elf began to explore the wall with
his hands. Stone, cold, barely damp. Rough, but he could feel what were almost
surely tool marks. He wished briefly for his colleague, Dannar Blackblade. The
dwarf would be right at home here. Still, a worked cavern probably did mean dwarves,
and he'd always gotten along well enough with the hairy little engineers.
So... now that he had a wall, what happened next? He wasn't going to stand here
and wait for some dwarf to come along and help him out. Arzian flipped a coin
mentally, then turned to the right and started walking, left hand brushing the wall,
right hand on the hilt of his sword.
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
In the interest of time, and the Lords know I just don't have much of it, I will
attempt to leaven your day with various pearls of self-indulgence, arrogance,
humility and wisdom.
Fixed Drink proved to be all the challenge I expected him to be. I think-but
cannot be certain-that this was the first time we met across the sands. If not, it
was when I initially returned to Murska and I am sure he would have trounced me. He
had me desperate and dead to rights but I managed to surprise him and turn the
tables. He is certainly worthy of his record and I am glad he didn't manage to kill
me.
A belated welcome back to Weird Students!
A special shout out to Mad Maxine who managed to push dear Vilmi until he
finally lost patience and, well, that is never good for anyone, particularly whomever
he is fighting.
And a very special salute to the Jorja Academy of Combat Knowledge ("JACK") for
accepting Loftis, Chaler and Jenicor into the Academy. Apparently their "You Don't
Know JACK" marketing campaign is working splendidly. This approach seems to be
working much better since they shortened the name, dropping the Offensive Fighting
Faction portion of the name. And the academic cost-benefit ratio can't be beat!
I was pretty drunk when I entered my challenge, assuming I entered one. I fell
victim to the Boyd Tamber and I blame that on a past life. Looking at the standings
now, I almost think I may have registered to avoid both of my previous opponents and
not challenged anyone.
In either event I remain, at the time of this writing, your humble servant and
Duelmistress,
Kathana
SPY REPORT
Well, what are you looking at, MURSKA? Ain't you never seen Snide Clemens
before? Ah, shaddup and listen to my news. Now let's all watch WEIRD STUDENTS'
heads swell from their 4-1-0 this turn. Haa ha ha ha! Big shots, big talk, big
deal. Of course, we're all terribly impressed to see MAD MAXINE win a fight and gain
23 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk, MAD MAXINE beat VILMOS and VILMOS lost 16 points.
You're breakin' my heart. And it's out with the old, in with the new, as FIXED DRINK
takes the Title and last week's bar tab from the old Duelmaster. Heh, heh. The Fire
Dragon Inn, humph! I've tasted better ale at mortuaries. Where do they get this
stuff? From MURSKA's trash dumps?
He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day, the coward.
Death and Taxes. The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience. Let's
see if anyone's dead or dying. We're all going to die in the end, so why worry if
the fate catches up with you sooner that later?
What does the MURSKA arena have in common with the inns? It's just as
comfortable to sleep in either place. Ha ha ha ha! Well, I've had enough of this
drivel, and I'm sure you have too. Off like a dirty shirt of padded leather. I see
the crowds are getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
FIXED DRINK 4529 19 3 0 110 FOOT OF PRIDE (396)
CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-THAK BONESNAP 4392 14 3 1 101 BATTLEAXE STAMPEDE (395)
KATHANA 3553 12 7 2 98 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
LOFTIS 4571 7 6 0 94 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHALER 4572 12 4 0 89 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
OISIN 4439 19 31 0 88 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PALUG 4509 14 15 1 66 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
MAD MAXINE 2152 8 6 0 65 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ANGRY ANTHONY 4609 4 2 0 53 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
VILMOS 4579 10 2 0 50 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
PADRIAG 4556 8 13 1 47 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
BUBBY BARB 4621 4 0 0 40 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
LITTLE TOMMY 4566 9 9 0 36 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
JENICOR 4593 6 2 0 33 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
PRICKLY PETE 4607 4 2 0 28 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MARA KIERA 4600 2 5 0 11 CHILDREN OF LLYR (141)
SWEET SAMANTHA 4608 1 5 0 8 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
-KJC 4355 0 1 0 5 KHORS PRAETORIANS VX (391)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
MUTANT MAN 2150 3 7 0 WEIRD STUDENTS 214 HARV 4587 738 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Other people get to fight standbys.... (sigh) One-four, and we just don't want to
talk about it. Or much of anything else, to tell the truth. It's been cold. Why
are our wits like molasses? They move slower in cold weather. -- Oisin
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
KATHANA was viciously subdued by FIXED DRINK in a 1 minute master's Title fight.
CHALER unbelievably bested OISIN in a popular 3 minute gruesome match.
LOFTIS devastated PALUG in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
VILMOS was savagely defeated by MAD MAXINE in a crowd pleasing 1 minute bloody match.
PADRIAG was unbelievably bested by THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 2 minute bloody fight.
ANGRY ANTHONY overpowered LITTLE TOMMY in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
JENICOR overpowered MARA KIERA in a 3 minute gruesome uneven melee.
BUBBY BARB won victory over CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute gruesome novice's duel.
PRICKLY PETE vanquished CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
SWEET SAMANTHA was beaten by MORDANT DESERTER in a popular 1 minute melee.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK 5 PARRY-LUNGE 4 - 2 - 1 67 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 TOTAL PARRY 11 - 6 - 1 65 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 6 - 0 63 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 33 - 22 - 2 60 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 BASHING ATTACK 14 - 14 - 1 50 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 STRIKING ATTACK 19 - 20 - 0 49 |
|AIMED BLOW 1 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 15 - 1 44 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 AIMED BLOW 7 - 12 - 0 37 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 - 0 0 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 - 0 0 |
Turn 742 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 1 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 4 LUNGING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 1 3 STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 2 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY
PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 0 - 2
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK FIXED DRINK 4529 19 3 0 110 FOOT OF PRIDE (396)
STRIKING ATTACK LOFTIS 4571 7 6 0 94 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
TOTAL PARRY CHALER 4572 12 4 0 89 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
SLASHING ATTACK MAD MAXINE 2152 8 6 0 65 WEIRD STUDENTS (214)
BASHING ATTACK VILMOS 4579 10 2 0 50 HOUSE JHEREG (42)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is OISIN 4439. The most popular warrior this turn was
OISIN 4439. The ten other most popular fighters were FIXED DRINK 4529, MAD MAXINE
2152, PADRIAG 4556, CHALER 4572, MARA KIERA 4600, BUBBY BARB 4621, LOFTIS 4571, ANGRY
ANTHONY 4609, JENICOR 4593, and SWEET SAMANTHA 4608.
The least popular fighter this week was LITTLE TOMMY 4566. The other ten least
popular fighters were PALUG 4509, PRICKLY PETE 4607, VILMOS 4579, KATHANA 3553, SWEET
SAMANTHA 4608, JENICOR 4593, ANGRY ANTHONY 4609, LOFTIS 4571, BUBBY BARB 4621, and
MARA KIERA 4600.
The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:
FIXED DRINK (35-4529) FOOT OF PRIDE (396)
A REMINDER
On behalf of the mailroom slaves, please, please, put your arena number on
everything, including your personals and diplos!
All diplos must show the recipient's name, team name, and arena number.
Sometimes stuff gets misfiled, delayed, not printed, or not delivered because we
don't know where it belongs. Thank you.
-- A lowly mailroom slave
NEW GRADUATES--FROM ALL ARENAS (INCLUDING CLOSED ARENAS)
For those of you who keep track of such things, several additional warriors
graduated from regular DM arenas (including closed arenas) since the last tournament.
K. CARSON (8-3609) SUPERIOR FORCES (436)
MISCHIEVOUS IMP (36-1504) FRIEND OR FOE (163)
DR FUGLY (61-3477) 071406W (384)
RED-HOT FRYER (82-50979) 072707J (8581)
CHAIR (84-11685) WORDS VII (2124)
BRAIN (84-13446) NOUNS III (2364)
KYLSEN (84-16515) BUBBA'S 15TH ARMY (2917)
EVERYONE WANTS SOME (84-26980) ROOKIE HALEN 9 (4782)
Congrats to the grads. -- Green Eyes
SUMMER FACE-TO-FACE IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY!
Our summer FTF will be held in Newark, New Jersey, July 17-19, 2015. It will be held
at the Doubletree Newark Airport Hotel in Newark, New Jersey (800-222-TREE (8733)).
Room rates are $119.00 per night, 1-2 occupancy, which includes free airport shuttle
and free high speed internet. There's a fitness center, jacuzzi, indoor pool, and
business center, as well as several resturants inside the hotel. Self-parking is $8.
The rooms are blocked--code REA. (If you have trouble making reservations, please let
us know!)
Hotel site: http://tinyurl.com/FF55-Newark
Look for the tournament info sheet and minioverviews some time in June. We hope
you're all looking forward to it and that we will see you there!
-- RSI