DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER Date : 03/05/2004 Duedate: 03/18/2004 TRICORUS ARENA DM-51 TURN-378 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS APPLE FRUITS (548) (51-5169) [14-2-0,88] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader APPLE GENERAL SHERMAN FRUITS (548) MARCH ON ATLANTA (556) (51-5169) [14-2-0,88] (51-5227) [1-2-0,17] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite HANNAH HANNAH AMAZON ELITE (536) AMAZON ELITE (536) (51-5059) [9-9-1,82] (51-5059) [9-9-1,82] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM DARK HORSEMEN (433) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. FRUITS (548) 31 2. DARK HORSEMEN (433) 15 FRUITS (548) 3. MARCH ON ATLANTA (556) 15 Unchartered Team 4. SRETSAMLEUD (557) -10 5. AMAZON ELITE (536) -11 SRETSAMLEUD (557) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 2 FRUITS (548) 26 6 1 81.3 1/ 1 DARK HORSEMEN (433) 9 3 1 2/ 3 AMAZON ELITE (536) 76 67 6 53.1 2/ 3 FRUITS (548) 4 2 0 3/ 1*SRETSAMLEUD (557) 2 2 0 50.0 3/ 4*SRETSAMLEUD (557) 2 2 0 4/ 4 DARK HORSEMEN (433) 418 508 14 45.1 4/ 2 AMAZON ELITE (536) 2 4 0 5/ 6*MARCH ON ATLANTA (556) 1 2 0 33.3 5/ 5*MARCH ON ATLANTA (556) 1 2 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[ Out of the Past #3 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Valamantis: Hallie O'Dene did not stay in Valamantis. She hadn't been able to get an audience with the ruler of the city-state, Garlor Shanmarrik, and the clerk to whom she had given her warning had been...disbelieving. Had, in fact, threatened her with imprisonment if she "stirred up unrest." A very proper bureaucrat, he'd been. Hallie considered slicing off his ears and nailing them to the wall, or possibly nailing the man's ears to the wall without slicing them off, but such action would serve no purpose but to express her anger, so she didn't. There really wasn't any point in that. She gave her warning to Arenamistress Sitalva, who was at least polite, and then went on her way. Carefully circling wide around the ruins of Old Valamantis and ghosts of the ancient city that came and went unstably above them. The people of Valamantis, in the person of the Lord's clerk, had chosen to ignore her warning, and there were others she had to find and warn, others who might listen. Arenamistress Sitalva did not exactly believe Hallie's warning about the danger from the Bloodgames, but she didn't disbelieve, either. She had already seen the mirage-like ancient towers above the bloody ground. She had seen those ghostly towers before, after other Bloodgames, had accepted them as a normal illusion there. Maybe she needed to re-think "normal." She couldn't imagine anyone resurrecting Old Valamantis for any kind of GOOD reason. The oldest levels of the city were Folstrom. And saturated with dark magic. Mordant: Mordant was like a stirred up hive of bees, full of activity, and hostile to any stranger who had the misfortune to get in the way. She guessed that she wouldn't have any more luck getting in to see Queen Talissen of Mordant than she had in Valamantis. Which was frustrating, since it was a serious warning she had to deliver. Well, she hadn't expected this to be easy.... After a moment's thought, she headed straight for the arena, bypassing the palace entirely. There would be people who'd listen to her at the arena, because she was one of them. Kakar was arenamaster in Mordant, she'd met him once. A grim man, but who wouldn't be if they had to live in Mordant? She avoided looking at the pitted black stone that most of the city was built of, and the windowless architecture. The Mordanti were a grim people all around. The arena was seething with activity and speculation, though it wasn't fight day. Rumors were flying; before she managed to locate the arenamaster, Hallie heard seven different versions of "an attack on the Queen!" which had been foiled by a gladiator, or maybe more than one gladiator, or maybe it had been made by a gladiator, or only reported by a gladiator, or.... The attack on the Queen, if it had happened at all, was the main topic, but there was a froth of other rumors in the background: monsters in various likely or unlikely places, out in the swamp, down in Valamantis, in the Syrinwald lake, or up in the mountains. A war that might or might not be happening between two different kingdoms in the south, and even the supposed participants kept changing--Trocar, Rocanis, Xochithlan, the wild Rirorni. Banditry around Tricorus; she shrugged that one off. There was always banditry around Tricorus. Arenamaster Kakar was closeted with a sober looking man, tall for a Kannar, and richly dressed. Kakar didn't actually refuse to listen to Hallie, but he made it clear that he didn't have much time to spare. Hallie shrugged. The way things had been going since she'd set out to spread the warning, his attitude was no surprise. She wondered in passing whether Khaldren could have managed some kind of spell that made people unwilling to listen. Not that it mattered at the moment. "I bring word of a powerful wizard who has come out of the past to spread disaster in our time," she began. "He is a wizard from drowned Krael, and he claims the intention to resurrect Celestinvael and other lost cities and build a new empire in Alastari." The tall man leaned forward, suddenly frowning. "Celestinvael is five hundred years dead," he stated. "How can this be 'resurrected'?" Celestinvael was also, Hallie knew, the closest of the dangerous ruins to Mordant, unless you counted Old Valamantis--which Khaldren hadn't mentioned. "I'm no wizard," she answered. "I don't know. But he stated his intention to use 'blood magic' to do it, which he believes will work even with the Arcanum in flux." She shrugged. "I don't know about magic, but he seemed confidant, and I saw him work spells of great power." "No doubt we've mages around who can confirm or deny this possibility," the tall man said. "I will carry the warning to Queen Talissen and set our magicians to work." Seeing her surprise, he added, "I am Allech Rabo, Her Majesty's Herald. I have the authority to take these steps." "Good! You might pass word to Valamantis, too--I couldn't get to see anyone but a damned clerk. If it's blood magic at work, well, there was a lot of blood spilled in Old Valamantis just over a month ago--" "Mordan!" The Herald leaped to his feet. "The Bloodgames! If blood magic still works, then the danger is extreme! I must go to the Queen at once!" "And I will speak to the gladiators of this city about the dangers ahead," Kakar said when the Herald had gone. "Doubtless they will be called upon to take arms against enemies of Mordant." Iaye: The first ground tremors made people uneasy, but no more than that. There had been small earthquakes for months now, mostly centered on Seam and its underground disturbances. They posed no threat to the island, except in the case of those boats who were just coming into the docks when tremor-waves hit. And even that...the sailors of Iaye were skilled, and they had learned to deal with it. But the mild tremors didn't stop, they were replaced by serious jolts, and the ground underfoot shivered like jelly in a bowl. All the sailors who could took their ships out of the harbor and around the island toward the center of the Trier. No one wanted to get caught by a bigger wave than usual and shoved onto a rocky shore. Once the ships were safely away from the land, alarm turned to eager speculation. Did this herald new geysers for Seam? Would a volcano erupt and destroy the town entirely? Bets were placed. After all, Seam wasn't THEIR town.... Or maybe this quake would strike a little closer to home, like the one that had cracked open the Ogre's Tomb in Point. That thought sobered people. There had been...things in the Tomb, and it had taken all the warriors who could reach Point to deal with them. What else might be down there, to be released by a fresh earthquake? They didn't really want to know. Most of the ships were strung out parallel to the coast north of Point and Iaye. Far enough apart not to damage each other if something went wrong, close enough to pass messages along. The message that came up from the southern end of the line near sunset was unexpected, and more than a little alarming. Everyone knew there were ruins under the lake between Point and the island of Iaye. But nobody had expected them to rise. And none of the half-remembered stories of Krael made people happy about the great city's reappearance. SPY REPORT If you were disturbed from your beauty rest only to have to watch a bunch of TRICORUS brutes like you, you'd be grouchy, too. Of course, we're all terribly impressed to see GENERAL SHERMAN win a fight and gain 15 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk, GENERAL SHERMAN beat HALF and HALF lost 6 points. You're breakin' my heart. And it's out with the old, in with the new, as APPLE takes the Title and last week's bar tab from the old Duelmaster. Heh, heh. Kickbacks and bribes, kickbacks and bribes, how else do you think some of these guys win their fights? Skill? Ha! My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start talking.' I loved that woman. What's the big D? DARK HORSEMEN was the most avoided team? Bunch of lily livered... grumble... mumble... curse... And who led the way in this mass act of cowardice? Let's see, well, whatcha know? It was SRETSAMLEUD. Ha ha ha ha! HALF was challenged more times this turn than the Duelmaster. Now was the DM insulted or feared? Heh, heh. Ah, now we come to my favorite part, where we see all the guys who are dead and gone, and get to see if their team cared. Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave team is developing these kinds of weapons? There's got to be a better place in TRICORUS to get a drink than The Silver Chalice! Any suggestions? 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 APPLE 5169 14 2 0 88 FRUITS (548) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HANNAH 5059 9 9 1 82 AMAZON ELITE (536) ORANGE 5168 12 4 1 81 FRUITS (548) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -BELLONA 4986 5 4 0 35 AMAZON ELITE (536) HARZOGH 5210 4 4 0 34 DARK HORSEMEN (433) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DELANGE 5230 4 0 1 29 DARK HORSEMEN (433) -JACINTHE 5211 5 2 0 26 AMAZON ELITE (536) -INANNIA 5183 3 6 0 26 AMAZON ELITE (536) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME KOLVEGH 5197 4 8 0 23 DARK HORSEMEN (433) GENERAL SHERMAN 5227 1 2 0 17 MARCH ON ATLANTA (556) DAPHNE 4987 3 4 0 13 AMAZON ELITE (536) REALITY 5234 1 1 0 9 SRETSAMLEUD (557) HALF 5233 1 1 0 4 SRETSAMLEUD (557) BRONDAHV 5236 0 2 0 2 DARK HORSEMEN (433) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? CONVICTED THIEF 1 0 1 0 1 DELANGE 5230 378 NONE PERSONAL ADS Hannah -- Nice show. Perhaps without the knockdown or heavier armor, I might have won that one. Your initiative kept Orange on the defensive, though, and for that I commend you. This turn, I hope to show you a different look, against a warrior I had hoped would have been the Apple of my Eye. Alas, those dreams are long since past.... Also in the past are Orange's days as popularity leader if you continue to fight my TP's! (Which appears to be the only option--or not fighting at all.) -- Assurnasirbanipal Phat Phat -- Welcome to this sorry excuse for an arena! This is actually my second team through this arena. I've surprised even myself with this team, running non- bashers outside of Talcama and a contest.... For some strange reason, I like this tiny arenas (though not as much as Talcama, of course), even though it means your record will likely be better or worse than it should be, depending on who's around at the same time you are since you're always fighting the same opponents. -- Assur General Sherman -- I am Rirorni. Civilized generals are my enemies. -- Delange Jacinth -- My momma told me to be nice to women. What was she THINKING? -- Kolvegh A Cult Member? What do I care for a Cult Member? -- Harzogh Half -- Good thing I didn't meet the whole. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. -- Brondahv Eleven active warriors last time, that's up two. Are we growing, or is it all an illusion? -- Nick, Dark Horsemen 25 February 2004 Readers, and especially those who volunteered warriors -- My apologies for the sudden lack of episodes. I've been sick, but expect to be back at the keyboard soon. -- the Scribe 3 March 2004 MONGO'S MARDI GRAS MADNESS DUELMASTERS AUCTION Mongo, aka Matt McIntosh and ex-Warden of the Dark Circle, is auctioning off his entire collection of Duelmasters warriors and stables. Don't miss out on this chance to own some fantastic warriors! There are ADM warriors available in every class from Primus to Freshmen, as well as over a dozen Basic stables. Does a Slasher with +4 attack, +4 decisiveness, +3 initiative and +2 riposte sound good? How about a Lunger who received the benefit of a TC prize, has TVed three times after graduating--and still hasn't maxed out his skills!? How about a Striker in the Freshmen class who has decisiveness for a favorite learn and the MAUL for a favorite weapon!? Or perhaps you prefer playing in Basic. Then how does a stable with four Adept class warriors who have a combined record of 41-19-9 sound? Or maybe a stable with three 21-Will warriors? Or perhaps a stable with four Initiates and a Rookie who have a combined record of 23-6-1? The quality of the lots is excellent. All you need to view and bid on the lots is go to: http://members.aol.com/jvmerlino/mardigras.html If you want to be on the mailing list to receive regular updates on the auction, just send an e-mail to JVMerlino@aol.com. Merlin, aka John Merlino and also an ex- Warden of the Dark Circle, will be running this auction for me. I just moved to New Orleans and am likely currently stumbling around the French Quarter...because it's Mardi Gras! So I have named my auction in honor of this occasion. The auction will start on Saturday, March 13th, 2004, and will continue for several weeks. But you should get your bids in early if you want your best chance at owning any of these fantastic warriors and stables. Many thanks to all for your interest and your bids, Mongo 5 March 2004 Style Masters Symposium Hosted by Hammer The years have slipped by and many DM Managers have come and gone since the last Hammer's Handbook was compiled and printed. There is now a stirring within me to begin writing and editing yet another Handbook with a distribution date sometime in 2005. This Handbook will be made available via Email with a possibility of burning the info to a CD for distribution. Special arrangements will be made to provide the information via printed page to those contributors who are serving sentences behind bars. The working title of this new Handbook is "Style Masters Symposium Hosted by Hammer". Distribution of this Handbook is projected to be MAINLY for those DM Managers who contribute information/articles to Hammer by June 2004. Informative and entertaining articles should focus on insights regarding Any or All 10 Style Masters for both the Basic and ADM arenas as well as Tourney competition. Articles focusing on Weapons/Armor are also encouraged for inclusion. Whether you are a Newbie Manager without a clue or a Jaded Veteran; everyone has discovered something about this gaming experience that is both Insightful and Entertaining. Email Your Articles to HammerDM@fastermail.com or send them via Diplo to either Flower Hammerz (372) in DM 28 or Casino Hammerz (576) in DM 33. Length and Content of the Style Masters Symposium Hosted by Hammer will be Determined by the Quality and Quantity of Contributors Combined with the Literary Efforts of Hammer who is currently overseas for an indefinite period of time. Articles Contributed for this Project should be of Sufficient Length and Content to Warrant being Included to Receive the Finished Document when Hammer has completed this literary work to His satisfaction. Managers contributing articles are also requested to include a DM Bio of Themselves along with any Notable Successes and/or Failures during Their DM Career in Basic, ADM and/or Tourney Play. A listing of Active Stables would also be Helpful for Anyone Seeking to Reply to Contributors via Diplo, Email or Snailmail. May Your Blades Be Sharp And Your Wits Sharper! -- Hammer of Flower Hammerz (372) DM 28 and Casino Hammerz (576) DM 33 18 March 2004 St. Valentine's Day Massacre Update We are pleased to announce that the kLk sponsored St. Valentine's Day Massacre kill contest in DM 36 is off to a great start. We are also pleased to announce that in addition to the 10 team rollups we are also able to offer the renaming of a dark arena warrior as a prize to the manager with the most kills. The contest is only 2 turns old and is still wide open. There are currently 5 managers tied with one kill each. Anything can still happen so hurry up and get into the arena. On a personal note, no other alliances have entered the arena in force to challenge the kLk dominance. We were expecting The Firm to put up a fight for their supposed home arena. But, they were a no show. Guess they proved what they are really made of. *evil grin* Perhaps another alliance would like to step in to give us a challenge. We are throwing down the gauntlet. Perhaps the Chaos Inc. boys I keep hearing about would like to step in and challenge the kLk for arena dominance. If you don't show up, Chaos, don't feel bad. FAR better managers than you have been invited into Jhans but have chosen to pass on the offer. So if you consider yourself worthy to compete, like fierce competition, and enjoy arenas where the personals are as fierce as the fighting, come visit JHANS DM 36. We're already planning our next contest, "Capture the Flag," and have a storyline being actively worked on in the arena. Whatever you like about DM you can find it in JHANS. Bookie mgr. of Suicidal Dreams and Director Jhans Board of Tourism kLk Alliance LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS GENERAL SHERMAN devastated HALF in a 2 minute mismatched Challenge fight. HANNAH lost to APPLE in a action packed 3 minute Title battle. ORANGE subdued VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a crowd pleasing 4 minute expert's fight. HARZOGH bested DAPHNE in a 3 minute fight. KOLVEGH defeated REALITY in a 1 minute master vs. amateur match. BRONDAHV was vanquished by MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute mismatched fight. DELANGE executed CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute mismatched brawl. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |TOTAL PARRY 3 PARRY-STRIKE 2 - 0 - 0 100 | |BASHING ATTACK 2 SLASHING ATTACK 14 - 4 - 1 78 | |STRIKING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 7 - 2 - 0 78 | |AIMED BLOW 1 TOTAL PARRY 23 - 7 - 1 77 | |PARRY-LUNGE 1 WALL OF STEEL 8 - 3 - 0 73 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 BASHING ATTACK 4 - 2 - 1 67 | |LUNGING ATTACK 1 STRIKING ATTACK 5 - 6 - 0 45 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 AIMED BLOW 4 - 5 - 0 44 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 9 - 0 25 | |SLASHING ATTACK 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 8 - 0 20 | Turn 378 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-STRIKE 0 - 0 3 TOTAL PARRY PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 2 - 1 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW BASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 2 1 BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-LUNGE 1 WALL OF STEEL 1 STRIKING ATTACK TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME TOTAL PARRY APPLE 5169 14 2 0 88 FRUITS (548) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is HANNAH 5059. The most popular warrior this turn was HANNAH 5059. The ten other most popular fighters were HARZOGH 5210, DAPHNE 4987, ORANGE 5168, APPLE 5169, DELANGE 5230, KOLVEGH 5197, GENERAL SHERMAN 5227, HALF 5233, REALITY 5234, and BRONDAHV 5236. The least popular fighter this week was BRONDAHV 5236. The other ten least popular fighters were REALITY 5234, HALF 5233, GENERAL SHERMAN 5227, KOLVEGH 5197, DELANGE 5230, APPLE 5169, ORANGE 5168, DAPHNE 4987, HARZOGH 5210, and HANNAH 5059.