DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/08/2004 Duedate: 03/20/2004
VALAMANTIS ARENA
DM-62 TURN-328
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
AKLAR
MITHRAL HALO (383)
(62-3700) [16-12-1,112]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
AKLAR POSITION IS EMPTY
MITHRAL HALO (383)
(62-3700) [16-12-1,112]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
AKLAR THE BUM
MITHRAL HALO (383) THE BEARS (268)
(62-3700) [16-12-1,112] (62-3918) [8-4-0,73]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
MITHRAL HALO (383)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. MITHRAL HALO (383) 47
2. SRETSAMLEUD (407) 17 SUPERIOR DOA (359)
3. THE BEARS (268) 6 Unchartered Team
4. FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400) 1
5. THE DEN OF SWORDS (369) 0 (-1)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1 SUPERIOR DOA (359) 30 22 1 57.7 1/ 1 MITHRAL HALO (383) 7 2 0
2/ 2 SRETSAMLEUD (407) 48 39 5 55.2 2/ 2 SRETSAMLEUD (407) 7 8 1
3/ 3 THE BEARS (268) 267 218 19 55.1 3/ 4 THE BEARS (268) 4 4 0
4- 4 FISH MONGERS (406) 32 28 0 53.3 4/ 5 SUPERIOR DOA (359) 3 2 0
5/ 5 MITHRAL HALO (383) 70 69 2 50.4 5- 3 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369) 2 3 0
6- 7 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369) 113 150 10 43.0 6- 6 FISH MONGERS (406) 1 0 0
7/ 8 FLAGG'S DEVASTATOR (400) 11 20 3 35.5 7/ 8 FLAGG'S DEVASTATOR (400) 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.
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Well, well, well here I sit atop the throne finally. Been a long tough struggle
to get here. Certain warrior or two seemed to want to challenge me about every other
turn. Didn't realize my challenge to Better Not Die would be for the title.
Obviously the better warrior won, easily!
Aklar
SPY REPORT
It's me, The Unknown Spymaster here with my bag to give you the news on last
week's fights. Hey everybody, watch out for DAWNRACER, who flew up 17 points in the
rankings after mashing LHI like a melon. Keep your eye on this guy. Ya know, some
days it doesn't pay to walk out on the sands. LHI was overcame by DAWNRACER and
drops 10 points. Unlike most arenas, BETTER NOT DIE managed to get his challenge off
against the 15-12-1 AKLAR. In front of all the crowds, AKLAR took the Duelmaster's
crown for his own. I give the bum two weeks. Can you believe they are paying me 10
gold to deliver this stuff?
But enough of that bunch, let's get on to the wimps who like to avoid battle!
Did you hear that SRETSAMLEUD was most avoided team this week? Well, knowing the
personal hygiene of SRETSAMLEUD's warriors, I'm not surprised! For those of you who
like math, try this one: SRETSAMLEUD + Weapons That go Boom = MITHRAL HALO + Avoid
City. And who is this AKLAR you ask, with 112 points and a 16-12-1 record. Ooh, the
tales I could tell! BET OR NOT DIE of SRETSAMLEUD had better have a good reason for
challenging down 9 points in a challenge which he lost. I thought BET OR NOT DIE
showed great skill and promise when he lost to THERRU. All right, so I slept through
it! Big deal!
Death is kind of like a new puppy: he's always around wanting to play. (Ha
Zontani, how's that for a wise saying?). Knowing when to use the right tactics at
the proper time is a very important step on the road to Duelmaster.
I think I had better cut this one short. It's been nice chatting to those of
you whom I have not offended yet. Well, there goes another Spy Report. Good luck in
next week's fights. And remember, you can pick your friends and you can pick
your--(loud boos), oh, you've heard that one already!-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AKLAR 3700 16 12 1 112 MITHRAL HALO (383)
CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DAWNRACER 3699 18 11 1 100 MITHRAL HALO (383)
-HOLLY MACKEREL 3951 11 3 0 98 FISH MONGERS (406)
-MISTRESS 3928 13 9 2 94 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MANAGER 3392 10 3 0 90 SUPERIOR DOA (359)
-ALBACORE TUNER 3954 11 2 0 89 FISH MONGERS (406)
BETTER NOT DIE 3982 12 6 0 88 SRETSAMLEUD (407)
LHI 3361 10 6 1 78 SUPERIOR DOA (359)
-DOZER 3826 19 10 0 76 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369)
THE BUM 3918 8 4 0 73 THE BEARS (268)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THERRU 3958 8 4 0 66 MITHRAL HALO (383)
GED 3823 9 13 0 60 MITHRAL HALO (383)
YOU 4002 9 6 1 59 SRETSAMLEUD (407)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-MAGNUS PHAEDRUS 3908 11 12 2 55 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369)
BET OR NOT DIE 3981 8 9 1 55 SRETSAMLEUD (407)
CRYSALIS 3980 12 6 2 51 SRETSAMLEUD (407)
SAVAGE 4076 5 2 1 47 THE BEARS (268)
VICIOUS THRILL 3885 3 5 1 39 FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400)
-BLACK DAWN 4083 3 3 0 37 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-RABID BLITZER 3882 3 3 1 25 FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-SILENT DEATH 4033 3 7 0 22 THE DEN OF SWORDS (369)
-KING SAMMON 3955 4 6 0 18 FISH MONGERS (406)
-FURIOUS BASHER 3881 2 4 1 17 FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400)
AUST 4104 1 0 0 15 MITHRAL HALO (383)
-ZESPEE KOO 3946 1 1 0 7 FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-TGEKI ROO 3947 0 2 0 2 FLAGG'S DEVASTATORS (400)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
T-MONKEY 4118 0 1 0 SRETSAMLEUD 407 BANDIT PRINCE 25 328 NONE
SHADE 3360 0 1 0 SUPERIOR DOA 359 MOUNTAIN TROLL 18 328 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
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
T-MONKEY was butchered by BANDIT PRINCE in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
SHADE was slaughtered by MOUNTAIN TROLL in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle.
BETTER NOT DIE was overcome by AKLAR in a 1 minute veteran's Challenge Title match.
BET OR NOT DIE slimly lost to THERRU in a 2 minute Challenge contest.
YOU defeated SAVAGE in a 1 minute Challenge fight.
VICIOUS THRILL was demolished by CRYSALIS in a 1 minute Challenge competition.
DAWNRACER vanquished LHI in a exciting 1 minute mismatched fight.
MANAGER devastated GED in a 1 minute one-sided competition.
THE BUM viciously subdued CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a action packed 2 minute melee.
AUST vanquished PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 1 minute uneven fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK 11 LUNGING ATTACK 51 - 43 - 2 54 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 12 - 11 - 0 52 |
|AIMED BLOW 0 STRIKING ATTACK 27 - 25 - 0 52 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 2 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 BASHING ATTACK 8 - 10 - 0 44 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 3 - 4 - 1 43 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 0 SLASHING ATTACK 11 - 15 - 0 42 |
|BASHING ATTACK 0 AIMED BLOW 1 - 3 - 1 25 |
|TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 2 - 0 0 |
Turn 328 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 3 - 2 LUNGING ATTACK 5 - 6 5 LUNGING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 3 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY
PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 1 PARRY-LUNGE
PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0
SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0
BASHING ATTACK 0 - 0
TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0
WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK AKLAR 3700 16 12 1 112 MITHRAL HALO (383)
STRIKING ATTACK DAWNRACER 3699 18 11 1 100 MITHRAL HALO (383)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is AKLAR 3700. The most popular warrior this turn was
THE BUM 3918. The ten other most popular fighters were AKLAR 3700, THERRU 3958,
DAWNRACER 3699, YOU 4002, CRYSALIS 3980, LHI 3361, MANAGER 3392, BET OR NOT DIE 3981,
T-MONKEY 4118, and BETTER NOT DIE 3982.
The least popular fighter this week was GED 3823. The other ten least popular
fighters were VICIOUS THRILL 3885, SAVAGE 4076, SHADE 3360, AUST 4104, BETTER NOT DIE
3982, T-MONKEY 4118, BET OR NOT DIE 3981, MANAGER 3392, LHI 3361, and CRYSALIS 3980.