DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/20/2017 Duedate: 05/03/2017
ROCANIS ARENA
DM-56 TURN-685
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL
KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
(56-3100) [17-13-2,111]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL POSITION IS EMPTY
KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
(56-3100) [17-13-2,111]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL CHICKEN OF BRISTOL
KNIGHTS OF NI (19) KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
(56-3100) [17-13-2,111] (56-3100) [17-13-2,111]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. KNIGHTS OF NI (19) 36
2. MEN OF STEEL (131) 17 SKULL SQUADRON (28)
3. GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466) 0 Unchartered Team
4. GET (419) 0
5. Q IS FOR QUIET (475) 0 ALABAMA BRETHREN (82)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1- 1 GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466) 17 6 0 73.9 1/ 2 KNIGHTS OF NI (19) 8 6 1
2- 2 GET (419) 78 47 1 62.4 2/ 1 SKULL SQUADRON (28) 6 5 1
3/ 3 SKULL SQUADRON (28) 498 401 31 55.4 3/ 3 MEN OF STEEL (131) 3 2 0
4/ 4 KNIGHTS OF NI (19) 422 397 28 51.5 4- 4 GET (419) 1 0 0
5/ 6 MEN OF STEEL (131) 356 386 48 48.0 5- 6 GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466) 1 1 0
6- 7*Q IS FOR QUIET (475) 2 3 0 40.0 6- 7*Q IS FOR QUIET (475) 0 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
"All men die, some sooner than others."
Warlord Bannock leaned back at the words from Grimwood, the manager of the Skull
Squadron stable, as he sat across from him in his command tent a few miles south of
Rocanis. Inside the room, a large rug covered the ground. Three brass containers held
fire that warmed the room and provided light. An opening at the top of the tent kept
the acidic smoke smell to a minimum. Two intricate and decorated wooden pillars of
wolves chasing a deer along the length kept the roof up. A small table and several
chairs lined with pillows were placed in the room. Bannock sat on a larger seat than
Grimwood on a slightly raised platform, lined with thick furs, wider than it was tall.
Bannock wouldn't have been surprised if the gladiator manager declined his
invitation to their Rirorni camp. What did surprise him is that he came alone.
Bannock already suspected Grimwood knew he had filled his stable with his own men, so
they wouldn't have come to his defense if he wanted the manager killed. He dismissed
this underestimation of Grimwood as common sense, as anyone who managed a stable would
have picked up a cursory skill on how to read an opponent.
He clapped his hands and two women entered and offered spiced tea and honey nuts.
Grimwood accepted both and nodded, like gladiators honoring one another before a duel.
The two women then left, leaving them alone.
"I see you have no concern about being poisoned?" Bannock asked in the Rirorni
native language of Rathiri as he watched Grimwood eat and sip the tea.
"Poison is a tool of scorned women. I see no women here," Grimwood replied back
in Rathiri.
Bannock snorted in amusement at the turn of words. "Your mastery of the Khan's
tongue is impressive," Bannock said.
"Appreciation. It was a something I picked up in the war between our nations.
However, I'm still learning, so it's been limited to listening to my opponents begging
for mercy," Grimwood replied.
Bannock snorted. There was no amusement this time.
There was several heartbeats of silence between the two. "He was no spy and just
an observer. Besides, he was a Rirorni warrior and you sent him to the dark arena,"
Bannock stated.
"You should send me better men, so I don't have to," Grimwood replied. "Are you
now the guardian of the Rirorni?"
Bannock leaned back at the trap set before him. Grimwood had his man killed in
the dark arena as a warning that he realized what he'd been doing. If word spread
that he didn't protect his men, then desertion could sweep through his ranks.
However, if he claimed to be the guardian of the Rirorni, then in effect he'd be
declaring himself the Khan. A very dangerous claim and one that could throw the
Rirorni Empire into a civil war. He had aspirations of becoming the Khan of course,
but it does nothing to show one's own hand too soon. He didn't have the men to secure
a claim, nor were people loyal to him in place to move political sway towards him.
He'd have to tread cautiously.
"The gods of the plains have a destiny for every Rirorni. Who am I do question
their will," Bannock answered. "Did he die with sword in hand?"
Grimwood nodded.
"Then he fought and died with honor. No true Rirorni could ask for a more noble
death, so we will speak no more of this."
"Then it is understood sending 'observers' to Rocanis serves no purpose, than to
seed mistrust?" Grimwood asked.
Bannock rubbed his chin in thought. He'd be hard pressed to send any more of his
men to infiltrate the city with the prospect of them being sent to the dark arena. The
ones already in Rocanis were likely known and even more likely kept on a tight leash.
They were no longer effective. He needed a permanent base for his troops, where
protection, food, water, and especially women were available to keep his men happy.
He'd have to bide his time for his ambitions and Rocanis was a perfect place for his
plans to take root and mature. However, he'd have to stow trust with the Rocani,
which was no easy feat considering their nations past history. It was a maze with no
straight path.
"I take your silence as an accord, so I will take my leave," Grimwood said
placing his tea cup down and rose from his chair.
"I take it you still have an open slot in your stable?" Bannock asked.
Grimwood nodded.
"I will fill the position," Bannock said.
Grimwood's eye went wide with surprise. Bannock couldn't send his own men, which
would be considered spies. He decided to set his own trap for the Rocani manager. If
he went, he would have more freedom in Rocanis. He would be his own spy, in plain
sight and untethered. Rocanis wouldn't move against him as his army would burn the
city from the plains if they did. Grimwood couldn't refuse as it would be an insult
to his warrior heritage and require him to kill the gladiator manager immediately.
His options were either acceptance or death.
There was several more heartbeats of silence.
"I take your silence as an accord, so consider your gladiator position filled."
SPY REPORT
Greetings warriors! It is I, Zontani Sharp Eyes, here to bring report of the
clash and bustle of the weekly ROCANIS games. Former top team SKULL SQUADRON was
unseated this week as KNIGHTS OF NI moved up from 2nd ranking to take the top spot
with a 5-0-0 record for the round. LOCKLEAR caught the eye of many in the
gladiatorial commission as he skillfully bested KROM and was awarded 15 points in
recognition. In one of the week's more notable duels, LOCKLEAR put down KROM,
causing him to lose 13 points of recognition in the process. Not for nothing has
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL in the past laid claim to the Duelmaster's throne, and this week
he's proven his combat skill yet again. Would you believe that over half of the old
women in ROCANIS seem to feel that they could fight better than you gladiators?
But come now, let us look deeper into the maze of contention and crossed blades
that is city ROCANIS. ROCANIS, city of gladiators! Mighty among the names of thy
guilds is MEN OF STEEL, a guild shunned and avoided by many in the weekly duels. If
you didn't look down dark alleys you'd have been hard pressed to find any of SKULL
SQUADRON last week. Busy avoiding MEN OF STEEL?
What warrior does not hone his years, impatiently waiting for the moment of his
foe's mortality? Fate is a fickle mistress. She showers the miserable with fortune
but sets enemies against the victorious. Remember this!
If it were not for my skills as a spy I would have been mugged three times
already in ROCANIS. Nice atmosphere you have here! Sadly warriors, now longer can I
keep thy company nor savor the ale of thy fine city. Depart I must and soon! Till
next we meet remember - the pen is mightier than the sword, but a maul is a different
story!-- Zontani Sharp Eyes
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL 3100 17 13 2 111 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-PANCAKES 4241 10 5 0 99 GET (419)
-TARGUS 4665 14 10 1 96 SKULL SQUADRON (28)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THE WITCH 3197 7 7 0 84 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
-XYIM 4572 7 2 0 76 GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-CTHOFUR 4573 8 2 0 54 GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466)
EUROPEAN SWALLOW 3359 6 5 0 53 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
LOCKLEAR 4721 3 0 0 44 MEN OF STEEL (131)
-GENIUS AWESOME 4402 3 1 0 42 MEN OF STEEL (131)
BROTHER MAYNARD 3358 5 6 0 37 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-PEACE AND 4705 2 0 0 33 Q IS FOR QUIET (475)
-ANVIAM 4571 2 2 0 30 GRIZZLED VETERANS! (466)
ROO 4742 2 2 1 29 MEN OF STEEL (131)
CROM 4719 4 5 0 27 SKULL SQUADRON (28)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KROM 4716 5 7 0 23 SKULL SQUADRON (28)
DENNIS 4746 1 1 0 16 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
-STREET MIME 4704 0 1 0 1 Q IS FOR QUIET (475)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
NAKOR 4686 10 3 0 MEN OF STEEL 131 CHICKEN OF BRIST 3100 684
RIRORNI OBSERVER 4748 0 1 0 SKULL SQUADRON 28 LADRO KHAN 685 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
RIRORNI OBSERVER was butchered by LADRO KHAN in a 2 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
CHICKEN OF BRISTOL won victory over PRIEST OF MYTORI in a 2 minute Title battle.
THE WITCH demolished RIRORNI ASSASSIN in a 2 minute bloody uneven fight.
KROM was devastated by LOCKLEAR in a exciting 1 minute one-sided fight.
EUROPEAN SWALLOW unbelievably bested ROO in a 2 minute expert vs. novice brawl.
CROM was bested by BROTHER MAYNARD in a 2 minute match.
DENNIS bested MAGE'S APPRENTICE in a 3 minute novice's competition.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 2 TOTAL PARRY 4 - 1 - 0 80 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 AIMED BLOW 9 - 4 - 0 69 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 BASHING ATTACK 4 - 2 - 1 67 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-STRIKE 6 - 4 - 0 60 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 PARRY-LUNGE 4 - 3 - 0 57 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 WALL OF STEEL 17 - 13 - 2 57 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 2 - 0 50 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 1 SLASHING ATTACK 5 - 5 - 0 50 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 LUNGING ATTACK 8 - 9 - 0 47 |
|AIMED BLOW 0 STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 7 - 1 36 |
Turn 685 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:
PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 3 WALL OF STEEL
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 2 AIMED BLOW
BASHING ATTACK 1 - 0 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 LUNGING ATTACK
1 PARRY-LUNGE
1 STRIKING ATTACK
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
BASHING ATTACK CHICKEN OF BRISTOL 3100 17 13 2 111 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
WALL OF STEEL EUROPEAN SWALLOW 3359 6 5 0 53 KNIGHTS OF NI (19)
PARRY-STRIKE LOCKLEAR 4721 3 0 0 44 MEN OF STEEL (131)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is CHICKEN OF BRISTOL 3100. The most popular warrior
this turn was CHICKEN OF BRISTOL 3100. The ten other most popular fighters were ROO
4742, CROM 4719, THE WITCH 3197, LOCKLEAR 4721, EUROPEAN SWALLOW 3359, BROTHER
MAYNARD 3358, RIRORNI OBSERVER 4748, KROM 4716, DENNIS 4746, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was DENNIS 4746. The other ten least popular
fighters were KROM 4716, RIRORNI OBSERVER 4748, BROTHER MAYNARD 3358, EUROPEAN
SWALLOW 3359, LOCKLEAR 4721, THE WITCH 3197, CROM 4719, ROO 4742, CHICKEN OF BRISTOL
3100, and 0.
BLOODGAMES AND MORE BLOODGAMES!
The Mail-in Bloodgames that were set to run at Face-to-Face 58 in January did not
process because we had trouble with the warrior data for that arena. Unfortunately,
the warrior data was irretrievably lost. We have credited everyone for those teams.
So here's what we're going to do:
We will hold a replacement Mail-in Bloodgames (DM 97) on June 17. To participate,
submit your team (10 warriors, design-your-own, one of each style). When we receive
your team "rollup", we will send you back warrior overviews. Your strategies for the
Replacement Mail-in Bloodgames (DM 97) are due June 17. We will process all ten
rounds, one after another, and mail all results later that week. The costs and
Bloodgames rules will remain the same.
In addition to this, we will also hold another Bloodgames (DM 95), but this one will
process as a slow arena. Design your teams in the same way: 10 warriors, design-
your-own, one warrior of each fighting style. Managers may submit turn input each
round for their warriors, similar to the Face-to-Face style Bloodgames (no challenges,
only Bloodfeuds). Your strategies for the first round of the Arena Bloodgames (DM 95)
are due on June 24. This arena will run ten rounds, once every four weeks.
The Summer Face-to-Face is coming up and we will hold the regularly scheduled Face-to-
Face style and Mail-in style Bloodgames there, as well. We hope everyone will enjoy
one or more of these Bloodgames arenas!
-- RSI
BLOODGAMES at the SUMMER FACE-TO-FACE
Back by popular demand, we will be having Bloodgames at the Summer FTF! For those of
you who always wanted the chance to manage the last warrior standing alive upon the
arena sands, your day has come. At the end of the ten turns, even though several
warriors, bruised and scarred, MAY yet live, only one will be crowned Champion of the
Bloodgames. And in this game mere survival counts for little. A great general once
said, "The object of battle is not to die for your cause, but to make your enemy die
for his." This general would have greatly enjoyed the Duelmasters Bloodgames. There
will be two different arenas:
FTF-Style (DM 98): for Face-to-Face attendees, with turn-by-turn strategies
Mail-in-Style (DM 99): for all managers, with one strategy for all ten rounds
Gameplay proceeds according to standard DM rules, except for a few notable exceptions:
BLOODGAMES ROLLUP -- Your Bloodgames team is ten warriors, one of each fighting
style, each warrior designed from scratch! (All are 84 points, 3-21, as usual.)
DEATH -- As the name implies, the Bloodgames will leave the arena sands somewhat
darker before they're over. It's a dangerous sport intended only for the tough and
spirited. The Arenamaster will be less likely to intercede on behalf of a dying
warrior. Even at a 1 kill desire, kill attempts will occur.
REPLACEMENTS AND ROLLUPS -- There will be no replacement characters.
CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES -- In the FTF-style bloodgames, there are no regular
challenges, only bloodfeuds. For the Mail-in arena, warriors may not change their
strategy from round to round (to make it fair for those who could not attend the
FTF). There will be no DA challenges in either arena.
TURN PROCESSING AND DUE DATES -- If you are not attending the FTF, we must have your
rollups and strategies by the Wednesday before the FTF, else they are due by 9pm on
Friday, at the hotel. The Bloodgames will process at the FTF with the regular
tournament.
MISSED TURNS -- All warriors fight each round. Only the dead may rest.
ERRORS -- If we make an input error, that warrior will be awarded a win and kill.
Errors must be reported before the next turn processes.
NEWSLETTER -- Warriors are ranked according to their number of kills. Champions of
Bloodgames may write a column for the newsletter at the end of the games.
FEES -- A Bloodgames rollup costs a $10 set-up fee. Managers may roll up more than
one team but may run only one team in each arena. The fee for all ten rounds is $49.
AWARDS -- The Bloodgames last ten rounds. Only warriors who survive to the end of
Turn 10 will be eligible for an award. However, a consolation award of a Bloodgames
T-shirt will be awarded to the dead warrior with the most kills.
The living warrior with the greatest number of kills will be the Bloodgames Champion.
Bloodgames Victor titles, 2nd and 3rd place, and Bloodgames Runner-up titles, 4th
through 6th place, will be awarded to those living warriors with the greatest number
of kills at the end of Turn 10, with one other important consideration: Each of these
six warriors must be of a different fighting style. Win/loss records and, if
necessary, recognition points will only be used to determine awards if there is a tie.
A Bloodgames T-shirts will be awarded to the manager of the team with the most kills.
The Bloodgames Champion fights for free in Advanced Duelmasters, and all Champions and
Victors earn Tournament Victor status, which allows them to challenge once per turn
with increased priority. These awards last for six months. The manager of the
Bloodgames Champion, Victors, and Runners-up will receive Bloodgames T-shirts.
AFTERMATH -- Warriors from the Bloodgames may not transfer to any other arena. Once
the games are over, the arena and teams will be disbanded. The fighters have won
their freedom and will never more be seen in the gladiatorial games. A special bonus
will, however, be awarded to the 1st through 3rd place warriors. Lady Sheila
Greywand, of the Isle of the Eye, has consented to allow the top three gladiators in
each Bloodgames admission to the Advanced Duelmasters games. Any special training
required to qualify those three warriors for Advanced Duelmasters combat will be
conducted before transfer into ADM. Astute managers will note that this means that
three warriors that are designed from scratch will survive the Bloodgames, win one of
the top three places, and go on to immortal glory! One of those warriors could be
yours!
The challenge is yours to take. The final plans are yours to make.
When the dust settles, remember: To the victor goes the spoils!