DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/02/2004 Duedate: 03/15/2004
AMEN-TEI ARENA
DM-63 TURN-323
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
ELENA
SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
(63-2356) [12-4-0,102]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
ELENA POSITION IS EMPTY
SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
(63-2356) [12-4-0,102]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ELENA JHANA
SITTIN' ON ACES (283) SAFE HAVEN (270)
(63-2356) [12-4-0,102] (63-2233) [8-2-1,80]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
SAFE HAVEN (270)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. SAFE HAVEN (270) 39
2. SITTIN' ON ACES (283) 25 SAFE HAVEN (270)
3. WAYFARERS (248) 12 Unchartered Team
4. PHISH1 (300) 0
5. MONSTER CHILD (292) -20 PHOSPHOLIPIDS (276)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1- 1*PHISH1 (300) 1 0 0 100 1/ 1 SAFE HAVEN (270) 10 5 0
2/ 2 SAFE HAVEN (270) 33 15 3 68.8 2/ 4 WAYFARERS (248) 5 7 0
3/ 3 MONSTER CHILD (292) 11 6 0 64.7 3/ 6 SITTIN' ON ACES (283) 2 1 0
4/ 4 SITTIN' ON ACES (283) 16 11 0 59.3 4/ 2 MONSTER CHILD (292) 2 1 0
5/ 6 WAYFARERS (248) 358 436 8 45.1 5- 5*PHISH1 (300) 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[ 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
AMEN-TEI brutes like you, you'd be grouchy, too. SITTIN' ON ACES turned their 1-0-0
turn into a 3rd place rank in the listings this turn. Any better than this, and you
get put on hit lists. Gee, I'm impressed, a 3-1-0 is nice, but don't get cocky,
WAYFARERS, the Fates teach humility, and the Fates are proud. Of course, we're all
terribly impressed to see JHANA win a fight and gain 22 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk,
HOBO JO beat LOCKHEART and LOCKHEART lost 11 points. You're breakin' my heart. And
it's out with the old, in with the new, as ELENA 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. AMEN-TEI, I am losing what little hope I had in you.
CAR AND DRIVER the most avoided team? What insult will suffice, I cannot say. And
it looks like SITTIN' ON ACES avoided them the most this turn. What a pack of would
be losers, if you ask me. Hmph. ELENA was challenged more times this turn than the
Duelmaster. Now was the DM insulted or feared? Heh, heh. I guess I can give a
little credit to DEEVINE of SAFE HAVEN for challenging up by 23 to JOE CHILL.
DEEVINE won to get 54 points of recognition.
Death and Taxes. The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience. Let's
see if anyone's dead or dying. We're all going to die in the end, so why worry if
the fate catches up with you sooner that later?
There's got to be a better place in AMEN-TEI to get a drink than The Dripping
Blade! 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. Glad to see the back of this place--
Snide Clemens
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ELENA 2356 12 4 0 102 SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ERICKA BEARICKA 2461 11 6 0 80 MONSTER CHILD (292)
JHANA 2233 8 2 1 80 SAFE HAVEN (270)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
FREAN 2234 8 2 0 62 SAFE HAVEN (270)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DEEVINE 2230 6 2 0 54 SAFE HAVEN (270)
HOBO JO 2520 11 7 0 52 WAYFARERS (248)
-QUINZE 2355 4 3 0 52 SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
PASSER BY 2513 9 13 0 48 WAYFARERS (248)
LOCKHEART 2232 6 3 1 39 SAFE HAVEN (270)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
JOE CHILL 2527 8 7 0 33 WAYFARERS (248)
TINDEL 2231 5 6 1 33 SAFE HAVEN (270)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SELAUNAH 2551 1 1 0 16 WAYFARERS (248)
-MANTA RAY 2538 1 0 0 9 PHISH1 (300)
-ARLO 2357 0 3 0 3 SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
-KENJI 2359 0 1 0 1 SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSONAL ADS
Frean -- What's so darned safe about you? -- Hobo Jo, not feeling cherished
Tindel -- I take it back, you probably COULD kill a houseplant...if you fell on it.
-- Passer By
Deevine -- But you're a golem! I was looking for a dee-vine blonde. -- Joe Chill
Manta Ray -- Gosh, imagine fighting somebody who isn't a safe haven! I'm all
aflutter over it. -- Selaunah
Elena -- Actually, I was thinking of staying here in retirement. The Isle must be
awfully crowded by now. -- Wandering Jo
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
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
TINDEL was bested by PASSER BY in a 2 minute bloody Challenge fight.
DEEVINE vanquished JOE CHILL in a 1 minute uneven Challenge battle.
ERICKA BEARICKA was demolished by ELENA in a 1 minute uneven Title fight.
JHANA viciously subdued KHALHUMS DWARF in a popular 5 minute gory contest.
FREAN demolished VISITING ORC in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
LOCKHEART was viciously subdued by HOBO JO in a 2 minute bloody fight.
SELAUNAH overpowered POLITE BEGGAR 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|
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 - 1 100 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 6 - 1 - 0 86 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 WALL OF STEEL 3 - 1 - 0 75 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 10 - 5 - 1 67 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 7 - 4 - 0 64 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 LUNGING ATTACK 22 - 16 - 0 58 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 AIMED BLOW 10 - 8 - 0 56 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 BASHING ATTACK 3 - 5 - 0 38 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 0 SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 8 - 1 27 |
|TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 2 - 0 0 |
Turn 323 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 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 0 2 AIMED BLOW
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 2 PARRY-STRIKE
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 BASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK ELENA 2356 12 4 0 102 SITTIN' ON ACES (283)
AIMED BLOW ERICKA BEARICKA 2461 11 6 0 80 MONSTER CHILD (292)
PARRY-STRIKE JHANA 2233 8 2 1 80 SAFE HAVEN (270)
STRIKING ATTACK DEEVINE 2230 6 2 0 54 SAFE HAVEN (270)
PARRY-RIPOSTE HOBO JO 2520 11 7 0 52 WAYFARERS (248)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ELENA 2356. The most popular warrior this turn was
JHANA 2233. The ten other most popular fighters were TINDEL 2231, HOBO JO 2520,
PASSER BY 2513, DEEVINE 2230, ELENA 2356, FREAN 2234, LOCKHEART 2232, SELAUNAH 2551,
JOE CHILL 2527, and ERICKA BEARICKA 2461.
The least popular fighter this week was ERICKA BEARICKA 2461. The other ten least
popular fighters were JOE CHILL 2527, SELAUNAH 2551, LOCKHEART 2232, FREAN 2234,
ELENA 2356, DEEVINE 2230, PASSER BY 2513, HOBO JO 2520, TINDEL 2231, and JHANA 2233.