DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER Date : 08/05/2003 Duedate: 08/18/2003 AMEN-TEI ARENA DM-63 TURN-308 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS PIPE LAYER WORKING MEN (289) (63-2406) [12-3-0,119] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader RHYTHM METHOD MALICHAI SURPRISE! (288) WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) (63-2400) [14-4-1,158] (63-2396) [7-1-0,99] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite SPEEDBUMP MALICHAI WAYFARERS (248) WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) (63-2376) [18-30-0,84] (63-2396) [7-1-0,99] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. SURPRISE! (288) 45 2. WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 34 SURPRISE! (288) 3. WORKING MEN (289) 14 Unchartered Team 4. WHY KNOT (201) 12 5. TOMATO ENFORCER (284) 9 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1- 1*THE MOTHERSHIP 6 (297) 3 0 0 100 1/ 1*WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 7 6 1 2/ 2 SURPRISE! (288) 17 4 1 81.0 2/ 2 WAYFARERS (248) 5 10 0 3/ 3 WORKING MEN (289) 12 5 0 70.6 3/ 3 WHY KNOT (201) 4 3 0 4/ 4*WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) 23 15 4 60.5 4/ 4 WORKING MEN (289) 3 1 0 5/ 5 THE EXILED ONES (31) 369 309 13 54.4 5/ 6 SURPRISE! (288) 2 0 1 6/ 6 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) 82 91 4 47.4 6/ 8 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) 2 1 0 7/ 7 WAYFARERS (248) 330 394 6 45.6 7- 5*THE MOTHERSHIP 6 (297) 1 0 0 8/ 8 WHY KNOT (201) 131 214 7 38.0 8/ 7 THE EXILED ONES (31) 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[ Andorians Abroad #12 ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Not in Zuwayza: A deep drumming sound echoed through the house. "That will be the Sultan's men--or the Temple Guards, even!--at the door," the merchant muttered. "I dare not refuse them entry." The merchant hurried away, and Tankesh dismissed the man from his mind. The way his head ached, he didn't figure on wasting his efforts on peripheral puzzles. The important thing was to get on his feet without falling down. He braced one hand against the wall and pushed himself upward. After a moment, the room stopped wobbling around. He took a careful step toward the small table that held his sword, picked it up, and slung the belt around himself. Headache or no, he could fight if he had to, and just having the sword at hand gave him confidence. He looked around the room. The doctor was tidying away all sign that someone had been here, straightening the cover on the divan, scooping up a small cup and spoon, a bit of bloodstained cloth, anything that might be out of place, and gathering it all into a small bundle which he shoved into his doctor's bag. Not speaking, the man gestured for Tankesh to follow him and darted out a door that had been concealed by a hanging curtain. No, Tankesh corrected himself as he scrambled to keep up with the man, not concealed. It didn't seem to be anything like a secret door, and the curtain was probably merely to stop drafts. Well, whatever. He didn't suppose that mattered. He would probably never see these people or this place again. The doctor led him down a long hall; some of the doorways opening off it had curtains for closure and others had real doors of wood. Even in what Tankesh guessed was a service hallway, the doors were all surrounded by tiles painted with bright- colored floral patterns, and the floor, also of tile, had a long strip of striped carpet down it. The door at the far end was locked and bolted, but the doctor had a key and let them out into an alley. A blank-faced building on the side made a narrow path of black shadow, but for the rest, the sun turned the alley into an oven. The doctor didn't pause but led him onward at a brisk trot, around a corner, and in through another door, across a small courtyard, into a dusty hallway, out another door, and on and on through a maze of buildings and alleys. Tankesh wondered what kind of practice the man had that he knew this maze so well. They saw few people in their rapid passage, all of them heavily cloaked and moving away. They ended up in another small courtyard, this one dominated by a spreading cypress tree and a tiled pool of water with a fountain splashing gently into it. "I will leave you here," the doctor said quickly. "The sage may be able to help you return to your own world. Fare you well, Traveler, and may the Goddess smile upon your going out and your returning." Before Tankesh could respond, he vanished back through the gateway. "So you are a Traveler, eh?" The voice came from the deep shade of the cypress, unhurried and genial. "It's been a long time since I Traveled, though I visited many worlds in my youth. Come sit here by the fountain and tell me how it is with you, young man." Tankesh peered into the shadow but couldn't make out more than a vague presence. With a slight shrug, he moved closer, noting with relief that the air was distinctly cooler under the tree. He sank down onto the rim of the fountain and squinted into the shadow. The sage was very old, a shrunken, withered figure barely visible among a nest of shawls. How could he stand shawls in this heat? "What's going on?" he asked. The old man sighed. "It's a time of change, young man. I have studied many lifetimes and do not fully understand it. There is always the possibility of Traveling from one world to another, but the choice of destination is ordinarily restricted, and the passage is difficult. For some reason beyond my slender understanding, this is changing...at least for now. A world of which we know nothing, have never Visited--your world--is coming into conjunction with ours. Travel is easy, even happening by sheerest accident. Thus, I gather, your presence." "The doctor who brought me here said the same thing, more or less. But that still doesn't tell me why ME, what happened to my companion, and how I get home!" The old man laughed. "Why you and what happened to your companion, I cannot guess. As to how you might get home--" He stretched one thin leg out in front of him, and the sunlight burned on a crimson slipper with a curled toe. "I don't think my shoes will fit you, but there are other ways. Quite simple, really. Come into my terminal." He hoisted himself to his feet and headed for a door that was barely visible under a deep arcade. SPY REPORT Hail and well met warriors of AMEN-TEI! Know me for who I am, Zontani Sharp Eyes, Spymaster extraordinaire of all Alastari. RHYTHM METHOD caught the eye of many in the gladiatorial commission as he skillfully bested DRIFTER and was awarded 45 points in recognition. In one of the week's more notable duels, MALICHAI put down XINGARA, causing her to lose 7 points of recognition in the process. Although WANDERING JO made a valiant effort, it did not suffice to topple the reign of victorious PIPE LAYER. Informants "close" to the city champion have told me that he never fights without pantyhose on beneath his armor. Watch out! Many and various are the arts of battle. In AMEN-TEI "art" is a word that has long since passed from the language! I saw one fighter that warriors avoided when this week's challenge seeking began. THE EXILED ONES is feared. This much I can say. Methinks more than a few here could name the guild it was that spent the better part of last week avoiding THE EXILED ONES. Indeed it was SURPRISE!. Loose talk at the arena has reached my ears and it but confirms the knowledge that many fighters are after XINGARA. Watch your back! Is not Death a warrior's foremost adviser? Warriors, may this counselor stand ready at your right hand forever! Perhaps even the strong cannot escape the vagaries of this world. This week arena veteran DRIFTER was slain, despite a 23-14-1 record. Walk proud, warriors of WHY KNOT! By striking down BRAWNE you have avenged the honor of your dead. Your virtue is known to all in AMEN-TEI. Dark alleys may hide both secrets and assassins. In the arena there is only the brightness of steel. Keep vigil always! A thought before I go. Each warrior practices one style, but must not the wise manager learn the secrets of them all? More than a sharp eye must I keep, indeed a stout pair of legs must I keep as well! The endless paths of Alastari await me! Till we meet again, remember: a turtle walks slow, hides head in a shell, and harms no one; a lion runs to slay its prey.-- Zontani Sharp Eyes DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PIPE LAYER 2406 12 3 0 119 WORKING MEN (289) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME RHYTHM METHOD 2400 14 4 1 158 SURPRISE! (288) RAZORTOOTHROTEY 2360 16 16 0 99 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) MALICHAI 2396 7 1 0 99 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME XINGARA 2352 23 19 0 88 THE EXILED ONES (31) SPEEDBUMP 2376 18 30 0 84 WAYFARERS (248) WANDERING JO 2411 19 16 1 82 WAYFARERS (248) GORDIAN 2104 12 4 0 69 WHY KNOT (201) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BRAWNE 2518 3 1 1 43 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) -CURVACEOUS CORRY 2387 8 7 0 39 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) -BLACK ARCANUM 2509 3 0 0 37 THE MOTHERSHIP 6 (297) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME SILENUS 2517 3 1 1 33 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) -COPERNICUS 2403 2 0 0 32 SURPRISE! (288) HANGMAN 1631 7 9 1 31 WHY KNOT (201) PASSER BY 2513 2 5 0 26 WAYFARERS (248) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME -SEVERIN 2394 3 3 0 24 WAY OF THE BLADE 2 (287) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME HOBO JO 2520 2 1 0 22 WAYFARERS (248) -WISE 2404 1 0 0 9 SURPRISE! (288) -KILLER KINCY 2512 2 2 0 8 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) -BRUTAL BIRDSMAN 2514 1 1 0 4 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) -SINISTER SANDRO 2462 0 1 0 1 TOMATO ENFORCER (284) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? CUTSHOT 2472 1 1 0 NO INDICATION 204 MARKOS 2393 304 NONE MEAT 2526 0 1 0 WAY OF THE BLADE 287 BLACK ORC 20 308 NONE DRIFTER 2397 23 14 1 WAYFARERS 248 RHYTHM METHOD 2400 308 HALF HITCH 2490 7 7 1 WHY KNOT 201 BRAWNE 2518 306 JUST REV TOOL BRINGER 2408 0 1 0 WORKING MEN 289 HIGH ELF 19 308 NONE PERSONAL ADS Malichai -- Drat. You're too fast. You need to SLOW DOWN. -- Speedbump The Virginal Concubine is a joke, you know. The suggestions she made! NOT virginal at all! -- Drifter Xingara -- My, you're moving even more slowly than I am! Hang in there, and we may both live to see the Isle. -- Wandering Jo Gordian -- Alas, I was unprepared for you, or would have split you as legend demands. -- Passer By Silenus -- Those were my FAVORITE ribs, you know. -- Hobo Jo 18 July 2003 To All Managers -- I would like to take this time to announce that my alliance, The Association, is no more. Due to the dead weight managers of the alliance and their lack of participation, DarkSpirit and I have formed a new alliance: The Firm. We have taken on two members so far and are looking for a few more. If you would like to find out more about The Firm, you can diplo Dark Spirit, Unknowns XX in arena 15 or myself, Sungod, Sadists F2FII in arena 62. --* The Firm *-- Sungod -- Sadists F2FII -- 62 Dark Spirit -- Unknowns XX -- 15 Youngblood -- Wensinwasin -- 43 Tripwire -- Of Wolf and Man -- 1 26 July 2003 Citizens of Alastari, a bright dawn has risen. While you slept, a pernicious force has entered the once-fair City of Aruak. It fought alongside their treasured warriors, it drank with their fans, and it slept with their women. Now the masks are coming off. Warriors, be afraid...be very afraid. After years of Andorian managers ranting that Aruak is the safest city in Alastari, the Frothingslosh Syndicate has selected Aruak City as the home for its next epic 'contest'--Murder by Numbers II. Our spies have selected the warriors for extermination, and the executioners have had several months to prepare. Now a new age of darkness will descend upon Aruak, as the Syndicate and its allies bring an entirely new level of competition to the arena! Downchallenges! Assassinations! Small poodles as hors d'oeuvres! The Murder by Numbers II 'rules' will be announced next cycle. However, we invite all managers, from all corners of Alastari, to come to Aruak City and take part...in one way or another. Help defend the honor of a long heralded haven for the pure, or join the forces of change in their siege of the ice-cream and cake stronghold of the Dukes of Nerf-Dueling! This exercise is not for either the faint of heart or the weak willed. Blood will flow, brains will leak, and beer will be chugged. Either way, we welcome you with open arms and gleaming blades. This public service announcement has been brought to you by Frothingslosh Epic Contests (tm), the number 86, and the letter 'K'. The Frothingslosh Syndicate 29 July 2003 * * * *The Third Annual Turf War* * * * Yes, it's time again for alliances to go to war! TW3 will be held in DM 47 (North Fork) at a date to be specified later--right after Crip's Incomprehensible Contest is over...but I'm sure everyone wants to get their teams there soon! Here are the rules: 1. Each alliance must have a leader declare the arrival of his alliance. The leader will be responsible for verifying any and all teams/managers who declare to the alliance he/she is leading. 2. Each manager, team declaring for the contest must have approval of the leader, donate one Roll-up Certificate ($5) to the prize pot (send it to me by diplo, by snail, or a note to customer service), and declare his/her team by diplo, p-ad or snail. 3. Each team may declare one warrior as champion. All points scored by a champ are double! 4. Prizes are as follows (mostly...there WILL be some things added as the prize pot grows with entry donations--this list is not final!) * Highest scoring alliance -- Rename Arena 47 for a period of 6 months, one half of the total prize pot donated; roll-up certs. * The Alliance with the most returns from the DA will get to re-name the DA monsters for a period of 6 months. * The alliance with the most warriors listed as style masters will get to pick the Alastari city/arena to host the next Grand Tournament. * The warrior with the most front page honors/awards will have the Arenamaster named after him for a period of 6 months. * The Alliance with the most front page Honors/Awards will have the honor of picking the *slow* arena to host the Fifth Annual Turf War. * The team with the most listings as Style Master will find out the favorites of one of their warriors. * The warrior with the most listings as Style Master will fight at my expense for five turns (I will transfer to the manager's account). * The Alliance with the most kills will be able to re-name the stand-in warriors for a period of 6 months. * The warrior that scores the most total points will fight at my expense for 5 turns (I will transfer $7.50 to the manager's account). * The team that scores the most total points will receive an extra share of roll-up certs from the prize pot. There may be more categories to come, and the prize pot still has to be divided...I'm open to category/prize ideas--and further donations to the prize pot. The contest will run for *TEN* turns; prizes will be awarded at the end of the 11th turn. Scoring will be as follows: * 5 points per fight, doubled for each of the following conditions met: -- Two Alliance -- Champion -- Challenge -- Two Champions -- Bloodfeud -- Challenger losing -- Kill (Note: DA losses are exempt, but DA wins will be *tripled*!!! Ex: Happy Slasher goes to the DA and dies, no points are lost. If he wins, his team scores 60 points! If he was a champ, he scores 120 points!) Use the following chart to calculate scores: Conditions Met: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Points Per Fight: 5 10 20 40 80 160 320 640 * Awards/Honors and Style Masters will each be awarded points also. Find the total number of each (do note add Awards and Style Masters together) and consult the graph below. Champs that score an award or style master count as two. 1 -- 5 7 -- 320 2 -- 10 8 -- 640 3 -- 20 9 -- 1280 4 -- 40 10 -- 2560 5 -- 80 11 -- 5280 6 -- 100 (x2 for each extra) Note -- These categories *count as "triple"*--they will be figured for each team, *AND* again for each alliance *as well as* for each warrior! * Each and every mention in the Spy Report is worth 5 points...period. * TVs will be scored on the same scale as Awards/Style Masters, but the total points will be x10. TC's will be scored as TV's, but x10 more. Number of TV/TC's Points Scored (TV/TC) 1 50/ 500 2 100/1000 3 200/2000 4 400/4000 + x2/ x2 (for each extra) Each alliance will start with 5000 points, scores for *fights* will be added to the winner's total *AND* deducted from the losers. Come one and all, defend your turf and the honor of your alliance...or your own! Asmo Dius, TCB Arenas, DM 47, DM 73 1 August 2003 Assurnasirbanipal invites you to Talcama to participate in the third BATTLE ROYAL contest. It is a Delarquan contest so brutal that even some of Talcama's most notable managers will refuse to participate. The rules are simpler than any other contest: You may not avoid any other contest team. There are no silly rules for who can and can't compete. Any team in Talcama is eligible to compete. The scoring is also quite simple (+1 for a win, +1 for a kill (+1 for the win), -1 for a loss) and the first team to reach 25 points is the winner. Scoring will be live--the results for the turn posted in the newsletter. The winner will be able to fight their contest team in Talcama for free for 6 months but more importantly will win a contest against some of the best managers who play the game in one of the hardest contests in the game. First turn for BATTLE ROYAL 3 is Talcama Turn 465, which is due August 30. LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS TOOL BRINGER was butchered by HIGH ELF in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. MEAT was dispatched by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle. RHYTHM METHOD easily killed DRIFTER in a 1 minute gruesome one-sided Challenge match. MALICHAI outwaited XINGARA in a popular 8 minute gory Challenge contest. RAZORTOOTHROTEY demolished SPEEDBUMP in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge competition. BRAWNE was vanquished by GORDIAN in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge fight. PIPE LAYER overpowered WANDERING JO in a popular 1 minute mismatched Title brawl. HANGMAN was handily defeated by SILENUS in a 1 minute uneven melee. PASSER BY was viciously subdued by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 2 minute gory duel. HOBO JO vanquished TRUSTWORTHY SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided duel. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 6 LUNGING ATTACK 33 - 18 - 0 65 | |SLASHING ATTACK 3 WALL OF STEEL 14 - 9 - 1 61 | |AIMED BLOW 2 SLASHING ATTACK 10 - 9 - 2 53 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 STRIKING ATTACK 9 - 9 - 1 50 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 5 - 5 - 1 50 | |BASHING ATTACK 1 TOTAL PARRY 5 - 7 - 0 42 | |TOTAL PARRY 1 AIMED BLOW 4 - 7 - 1 36 | |WALL OF STEEL 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 4 - 0 33 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 6 - 0 33 | |PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | Turn 308 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-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 5 LUNGING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 4 - 2 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 0 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME LUNGING ATTACK PIPE LAYER 2406 12 3 0 119 WORKING MEN (289) AIMED BLOW RHYTHM METHOD 2400 14 4 1 158 SURPRISE! (288) TOTAL PARRY XINGARA 2352 23 19 0 88 THE EXILED ONES (31) SLASHING ATTACK WANDERING JO 2411 19 16 1 82 WAYFARERS (248) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is SPEEDBUMP 2376. The most popular warrior this turn was MALICHAI 2396. The ten other most popular fighters were PIPE LAYER 2406, PASSER BY 2513, RAZORTOOTHROTEY 2360, GORDIAN 2104, RHYTHM METHOD 2400, SILENUS 2517, HOBO JO 2520, MEAT 2526, TOOL BRINGER 2408, and DRIFTER 2397. The least popular fighter this week was HANGMAN 1631. The other ten least popular fighters were WANDERING JO 2411, BRAWNE 2518, SPEEDBUMP 2376, XINGARA 2352, DRIFTER 2397, TOOL BRINGER 2408, MEAT 2526, HOBO JO 2520, SILENUS 2517, and RHYTHM METHOD 2400. The following warriors will travel to ADVANCED DUELMASTERS after next turn: RHYTHM METHOD (63-2400) SURPRISE! (288)