DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 09/19/2005 Duedate: 10/01/2005
VALAMANTIS ARENA
DM-62 TURN-367
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
DOC FELLE
MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
(62-4139) [20-25-1,91]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
DOC FELLE BLACK MAGE #631
MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) FINAL FANSTASY III (414)
(62-4139) [20-25-1,91] (62-4039) [1-0-0,14]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
DOC FELLE BALI DARRAS
MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
(62-4139) [20-25-1,91] (62-4221) [1-2-0,6]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 37
2. MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 6 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
3. CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427) 0 Unchartered Team
4. THE BEARS (268) 0
5. DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421) 0 FINAL FANSTASY III (414)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1- 1 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421) 45 24 1 65.2 1/ 2 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 6 9 0
2- 2*CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427) 6 5 0 54.5 2- 3*CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427) 2 0 0
3- 3 THE BEARS (268) 303 262 24 53.6 3- 1 THE BEARS (268) 2 1 1
4/ 0*FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 2 2 0 50.0 4/ 0*FINAL FANSTASY III (414) 2 2 0
5/ 4 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420) 103 120 4 46.2 5- 4 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421) 2 3 0
6- 5*THE DAMNED II (423) 3 5 0 37.5 6- 5*THE DAMNED II (423) 1 0 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[ Nightfall #4 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
On the south coast of the Ardivent Peninsula:
Two men stood on the roof of the manor house and stared out at the bay. A black
tower rose from the water near the string of rocky islands that narrowed the channel
between Ardivent and Kaltos. Near the islands, but not on them.
"I can't make out what it's standing on," Harbad Kore said. The Guard was
Ambitious, but his inclinations had not led him to study charts of the bay. He felt
there was more scope for him on land.
"Not an island, not a charted rock," Ternas d'Aleen said.
D'Aleen had shipping interests, or maybe just was interested in ships and boats,
but at least he was likely to know about the waters here. You'd never take him for
an Assassin, and now that the Assassins' Guild had been outlawed again, he didn't
practice. Although how he supported himself based on occasional appearances in the
arena as a standby...maybe he really was a shipper. Kore shrugged that off. It
wasn't his business, anyway. "Okay, then what IS it standing on?"
D'Aleen raised an eyebrow. "How should I know? But it arrived courtesy of
magic, so maybe it has a magical foundation, as well."
"Magic." The guard considered that for several minutes. "And it's threatening
Ardivent's shipping, right? Probably the Transelites did it."
"An unfounded assumption," the assassin said.
"No it isn't! Transel's got loads of magicians, and the whole island lives off
piracy. Seems reasonable to me that they're doing this." His hand went to his
sword. "We should Take Steps. Those pirates can't be allowed to get away with
this!"
"We all know you're a bit of a fool, Kore," the assassin said coldly. "But you
don't need to keep demonstrating it. And fortunately for us all, you are not the one
who must make the decision. That is the Baron's prerogative. We are merely here to
observe and report."
Kore twitched his shoulder. The comment about him being a fool he decided to
ignore; practicing or not, D'Aleen WAS an assassin. "Okay, fine, I know I'm not the
diplomatic type, but mark my words, we'll end up going to war with Transel over this.
I just wish...." He glanced down at the building beneath them uneasily.
"Oh, I agree," D'Aleen said. "I would much have preferred almost any other
vantage point, but this IS the best place for observing the black tower."
"That statue in the front hall--" The guard shivered.
"I believe it isn't actually a statue," D'Aleen said after a moment. "I seem to
have heard that it is actually a living person, preserved in amber. A Lady
Protector...Stepharoo, or something like that."
"It isn't decent," Harbad Kore said. "She should be, I don't know, put out of
sight at the least, or buried, or something. Just having a naked woman standing
there in the hall...."
"Not buried," D'Aleen said. "If she's a Lady Protector, which is what I
remember, then even if she's dead she isn't really dead. To be buried alive..." he
shuddered. "But if we have to use this place again, I would agree that we can move
her into a closet or something."
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ Nightfall #5 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
Valamantis:
Arenamistress Sitalva leaned on the parapet of the Silver Mage's tower and
watched the ships moving away from the docks of Valamantis. Tensekai was down in one
of his working rooms, working magic. Probably stewing in anger, too. But she'd
warned him that Shanmarrik wouldn't just sit by and wait for someone else to come up
with an "appropriate" action.
The ships of the city were going to attack the tower that was menacing their
trade. There were fishermen and merchants, some that might be part-time pirates, and
Shanmarrik's official navy, which wasn't large but had managed to hold its own
against the Transel pirates. She had never seen or heard of such unity of effort
here, and against any normal foe, they should be effective. Against a tower that
appeared from who-knew-what-dimension...well, who knew what would happen?
There was a muffled blast from under her feet, a little smoke seeping through
the trapdoor, and a suggestion of very angry words. It occurred to her that Tensekai
might be making a big mistake, trying to work some spell while angry, but who was she
to criticize a mage? He wouldn't thank her for it.
The movement of the fleet was orderly, considering its miscellaneous
composition. The best-armed ships took the lead and spread into a crescent around
the landward side of the black tower, the fishers and merchants backing them up.
Another fleet, rather smaller but just as heterogeneous, came in from the outer bay
and curved to meet the Valamantans end to end. Sitalva raised an eyebrow; they were
flying the green-and-black banner of Kordos. The island kingdom of Kordos was
nominally a part of the Mordanti Alliance, but it was a direct fief from Queen
Talissen and did not usually act together with the major members. If Talissen was
going to take a hand and put the strength of the whole Alliance behind the effort to
get rid of the black tower--
Another, more powerful explosion caused Tensekai's tower to shudder. Sitalva
gripped the stone parapet and looked down, trying to decide where she might most
safely jump if she had to. Before she could make up her mind, the black tower
flashed very dark purple, and bolts of dark lightning blasted outward from it. Two
of Shanmarrik's warships blew up, and one of the leading Kordan vessels. She could
hear screams as men were hurled into the water or ripped apart by splinters of the
ships.
Rossanarth, the Ambitious Guard, grabbed M. Kargaed Chardinee as the ship under
them blew apart. Ross was an elf, and Kargaed was Rirorni, a race much hated by the
elves of the south, but that was politics and history. This was a question of
immediate survival, and it was Ross's opinion that of all the people on the doomed
_Pride of Dawn_, Kargaed was the smartest and, with the possible exception of the
Veteran Mercenary, Skomaenedh--also a Rirorni, the damned nomads were everywhere you
looked these days--had the strongest survival instinct. Sko was smart, too, but he
could swim. Kargaed couldn't. And the Chardinee (it was some kind of semi-secret
society) was near at hand. Ross couldn't see the Mercenary anywhere.
Kargaed's fingers bit into the Guard's arm, but he didn't panic--quite--as they
were blown into the water, went under, and finally surfaced amid the wreckage. He
coughed and blinked the water from his eyes, looked around. "I think Shanmarrik made
a mistake," he said hoarsely. "Thanks for catching me before I drowned."
Rossanarth would have shrugged, had circumstances permitted. "I figure we're in
this together," he said, "and the two of us together will have a better chance of
getting OUT of it than either one alone."
"Probably true," Kargaed said. From their position low in the water--just their
heads out of it--he couldn't see much. Waves kept slapping him in the face, for one
thing. Bits of wood floated near them, and he grabbed one to leave Rossanarth with
both arms free. He thought he glimpsed at least one intact ship, but it wasn't near.
He noticed the Guard thrust himself upward out of the water almost to his waist, look
around quickly, and sink back, going under briefly and emerging. "What's our
situation?"
"No ships close enough to hail, nobody else alive in the water that I can see--
but I wouldn't have spotted us if I were somebody else--and there seems to be a
current carrying us toward the black tower."
The Rirorni frowned, then nodded. "I think it may be our duty to pay a visit to
the tower, then. Mine, at least, I will choose no desperate mission for others."
"I'll go with you," Rossanarth said.
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
There was a colossal fire, but I managed to put it out. I was a fireman in my
youth.
Doc Felle
SPY REPORT
So why do I have this bag over my head? Because I am The Unknown Spymaster and
I'm going to give you a spy report!. Say good-bye to THE BEARS, as they are pushed
from the coveted top team spot by the MIDDLE WAY 10 stable. Most new teams do poorly
at first. FINAL FANSTASY III, however, has gotten off to a reasonable start at
2-2-0. Nice job! Hey everybody, watch out for BLACK MAGE #631, who flew up 14
points in the rankings after mashing BALI DARRAS like a melon. Keep your eye on this
beast. And falling like a basher in the top ten was BALI DARRAS, who dropped 11
points after a disappointing (to say the least) bout with BLACK MAGE #631. Our
battling duelmaster DOC FELLE has managed to hold the title, fending off KUNG-FU
MASTER's none too subtle advances. Better luck next time, VALAMANTIS. An apple a
day keeps the doctor away, but an onion a day keeps T.P.s at bay.
Here is other news that is of note.
Death is kind of like a new puppy: he's always around wanting to play. (Ha
Zontani, how's that for a wise saying?). Here's some advice: warriors with little
wit and will may encounter problems on the trail to the Isle.
Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in VALAMANTIS have no
sense of humor. Or maybe that they were senseless. Okay, so I may not be the
world's best comedian, but then you guys aren't the world's best warriors. Hasta la
bye-bye. (Loud choruses of 'Beat it, ya bum!')-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DOC FELLE 4139 20 25 1 91 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-RELENTLESS 4148 11 7 2 92 THE BEARS (268)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-HELL STORM 4147 9 3 0 72 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421)
EB GOLLU 4138 11 34 0 67 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-INFERNO SERPENT 4162 8 3 0 66 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421)
-COLOSSUS'S FIRE 4164 6 3 0 61 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-HAJJ'IL THAN'NI 4160 8 4 0 41 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHIA EDEL 4219 3 0 0 30 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
-DODGE'EM DUDE 4210 4 0 0 24 CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-GOOD BEAR 4200 1 1 0 16 THE BEARS (268)
-LAN NAMDRAGORAN 4167 1 0 0 15 THE DAMNED II (423)
BLACK MAGE #631 4039 1 0 0 14 FINAL FANSTASY III (414)
-TAR PIT 4217 1 0 0 13 THE BEARS (268)
-ENSLAVED ANGEL 4178 3 2 0 12 DEVIL'S MAYHEM (421)
-JACK OF SHADOWS 4211 2 2 0 10 CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427)
-LYNN THAO 4190 1 0 0 10 THE DAMNED II (423)
BLACK MAGE #717 4042 1 0 0 7 FINAL FANSTASY III (414)
-ANGEL DUST 4191 1 1 0 7 THE DAMNED II (423)
BALI DARRAS 4221 1 2 0 6 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
ERFIN GORAM 4220 0 3 0 3 MIDDLE WAY 10 (420)
-SIR MARIUS 4169 0 1 0 1 THE DAMNED II (423)
-CANDY FLOSS COWBOY 4213 0 1 0 1 CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427)
-PSYCHEDELIC WARLORD 4209 0 1 0 1 CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427)
-HASSAN I SAHBA 4212 0 1 0 1 CHURCH OF HAWKWIND (427)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
BLACK MAGE #21 4043 0 1 0 FINAL FANSTASY II 414 STONE GOLEM 26 367 NONE
BLACK MAGE #367 4041 0 1 0 FINAL FANSTASY II 414 MISTRESS SITALVA 23 367 NONE
ALTA CHESS 4137 18 24 0 MIDDLE WAY 10 420 RELENTLESS 4148 364
PERSONAL ADS
Inferno Serpent -- I hate snakes. -- Eb Gollu
It always surprises me when I find dwarves begging. I don't know why, after all,
they could run out of money as well as anybody. Especially since I hear the mines up
near Khalhums have closed down. There must be lots of dwarves out of work. -- Bali
Darras
Enslaved Angel -- (grumpy look) I don't like you. -- Erfin Goram
P.S. Because you're so hostile.
P.P.S. Someone as pretty as you should be kind.
I hear there's a price on the Mordant Deserter's head. What say we send his head
back to Mordant and make whoopee on the bounty? His body could go on fighting in the
arena; it isn't like he uses his head for anything. -- Chia Edel
Buddy Lee -- Bensi graduated, and the other three died. -- Nick
P.S. I haven't forgotten that I'm supposed to send you some stuff on rippers, I just
haven't gotten it together yet.
Liam the Goth -- Boredom can be a problem for inactive gladiators. -- Erfin Goram
P.S. I'd like to try a little boredom in MY life!
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
BLACK MAGE #21 was butchered by STONE GOLEM in a unpopular 2 minute Dark Arena fight.
BLACK MAGE #367 was slaughtered by MISTRESS SITALVA in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle.
DOC FELLE handily defeated KUNG-FU MASTER in a 2 minute one-sided Title match.
EB GOLLU was devastated by CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 1 minute gory one-sided contest.
ERFIN GORAM was outlasted by BLACK MAGE #717 in a 7 minute amateur's competition.
BALI DARRAS was luckily beaten by BLACK MAGE #631 in a 7 minute novice's struggle.
CHIA EDEL overpowered PERSISTENT BEGGAR in a 1 minute uneven melee.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|TOTAL PARRY 4 AIMED BLOW 3 - 0 - 0 100 |
|AIMED BLOW 1 TOTAL PARRY 9 - 5 - 0 64 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 LUNGING ATTACK 19 - 11 - 3 63 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 STRIKING ATTACK 5 - 4 - 0 56 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 5 - 0 44 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 SLASHING ATTACK 7 - 9 - 0 44 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 WALL OF STEEL 4 - 7 - 0 36 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 BASHING ATTACK 3 - 7 - 0 30 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 - 0 0 |
Turn 367 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-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 WALL OF STEEL
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 PARRY-LUNGE
STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW
BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY
1 SLASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is DOC FELLE 4139. The most popular warrior this turn
was BALI DARRAS 4221. The ten other most popular fighters were ERFIN GORAM 4220, DOC
FELLE 4139, BLACK MAGE #717 4042, CHIA EDEL 4219, BLACK MAGE #367 4041, EB GOLLU
4138, BLACK MAGE #631 4039, BLACK MAGE #21 4043, 0, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was BLACK MAGE #21 4043. The other ten least
popular fighters were BLACK MAGE #631 4039, EB GOLLU 4138, BLACK MAGE #367 4041, CHIA
EDEL 4219, BLACK MAGE #717 4042, DOC FELLE 4139, ERFIN GORAM 4220, BALI DARRAS 4221,
0, and 0.