DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 05/20/2022    Duedate: 06/02/2022

LIN TIRIAN ARENA

DM-78    TURN-726

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

NO STICK
MY BED BANDER (378)
(78-3506) [11-7-0,108]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

NO STICK                       POSITION IS EMPTY
MY BED BANDER (378)            
(78-3506) [11-7-0,108]         

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

KHARLI                         ASPIDISKE
WRATHMEN OMPB (371)            CARINA (380)
(78-3453) [9-6-0,93]           (78-3519) [3-1-0,46]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

PERRY COUNTY (374)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. CARINA (380)                48
2. PERRY COUNTY (374)          26      PERRY COUNTY (374)
3. MY BED BANDER (378)         20      Unchartered Team
4. HOWLIN CASE (352)           16
5. BECAUSE HA (377)            11      BECAUSE HA (377)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 0*BECAUSE HA (377)           3   1  0 75.0   1/ 2 PERRY COUNTY (374)        7  2 0
 2/ 1 PERRY COUNTY (374)        68  30  1 69.4   2/ 1 SAND DANCERS (68)         6  8 0
 3/ 3*CARINA (380)               7   4  0 63.6   3/ 3 MY BED BANDER (378)       4  2 0
 4/ 4 HOWLIN CASE (352)        152  96  6 61.3   4/ 6*CARINA (380)              3  3 0
 5/ 2 WRATHMEN OMPB (371)        9   6  0 60.0   5/ 4 HOWLIN CASE (352)         2  5 0
 6/ 5 MY BED BANDER (378)       21  18  1 53.8   6/ 0*BECAUSE HA (377)          1  0 0
 7/ 7 SAND DANCERS (68)        %1479 %1761 46 45.6   7/ 5 WRATHMEN OMPB (371)       1  1 0

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                                       THE 300

They slowly trudged along the finely-kempt and well-swept dirt road on their way to 
the normally quiet and unassuming town of SEAM. 300 of them in all, methodically 
making their way into town amid the gazes of their curious onlookers. Seam was a 
smallish town, full of ordinary folk who enjoyed an ordinary life; it was indeed not 
the type of town that one would expect to be one of the very few towns chosen to host 
the Games of the Arena. Some years back the town council was presented with the 
opportunity to once again be host to the games, but they did not want to make the same 
mistake twice. In short: the beauty and simplicity of the town was all but ruined by 
the dark magics that seemingly without fail came to every host town the first time 
that SEAM attempted to be a host so many years back.

The town council could not deny that the arena games brought a certain level of 
prosperity to any town that agreed to become a host. But unfortunately, this 
prosperity had a very strong dark side. It also brought with it thieves, thugs, and 
miscreants of every type. Hustlers, gamblers, drunkards, and whores. Hit-men and wise 
guys. Taverns open 'til all hours of the night... open practically on every corner.

However, the quiet and unassuming little town of SEAM has managed to escape the dark 
faction that seemed to accompany most every arena town this second time around. Their 
answer to this problem was very simple: no magic of any kind was allowed in the city 
limits. Furthermore, in order to guarantee that the town's arena fighters stay 
completely and totally uncorrupted by the allure of magic, all of them were required 
to remain in the town until when and if they were lucky enough to advance to the games 
at the Isle.

The town was extraordinary in how ordinary it actually was, and this was one thing 
that alfredo Frothingslosh himself loved so much about this lazy little town that he 
now called home. alfredo was not a rich man, but he did have a very strong standing 
with the spy commission and the other managers of the games... a standing that far 
surpassed his actual wealth, and he kept this standing by always being ready for any 
new opportunity that might come along. And in the case of having no such opportunity 
presenting itself for a long time, such as is the case now, alfredo also possessed a 
certain talent to create such an opportunity for himself.

When alfredo first went to the town council with his notion of sponsoring a contest, 
he was categorically turned down. But he realized that it was not the contest itself 
that the town council feared: it was the *prize*. Prizes generally meant magic. Magic 
almost always was accompanied by a hidden cost that the council did not have the 
desire or the willingness to pay. But one thing that alfredo was famous for was the 
ability to make the most of his young warriors without the need of relying on magic. 
And this special "knack" that he had helped him not only to think of a prize that the 
council might begrudgingly accept, but further, actually showcased, emphasized, and 
*celebrated* the ability to compete in the Games without resorting to magic.

What really sealed the deal was alfredo offering to round up the 300 recruits needed 
for the contest all on his own. At that point the council could hardly argue further. 
And that, my friends, brings us around full circle... back to the beginning of this 
little story: back to the 300 ordinary folk that I described shuffling past you into 
town.

They were men and women, young and not so young; they tended to be on the thin side 
(perhaps a little undernourished); most looked to be in dire need of a bath, but more 
than anything, these recruits were totally and completely ordinary. But that should 
change, and in a little more than a year from now... change it will. It is most 
definitely not clear now, but through hard work, training, and perhaps a bit of talent 
that they were not yet aware of, six of these ordinary recruits will rise and prove 
that indeed the once ordinary can become extraordinary. Six of these ordinary recruits 
will rise, proving themselves to be the "Cream of the Slosh."

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

The Frothingslosh Syndicate is proud to announce 99 Bottles of Beer III!!! (+ 100): 
Sponsored by ALFREDOVISION(TM): for a Better Tomorrow, and a Better Today.

The contest will be in honor and celebration of turn 199 of SEAM DM 20.

Your objective is simple: be the first team to accumulate 199 Bottles of Beer!

The first part of the contest will be a 15 turn "warm-up" starting on turn 184, due 
7/4/22, but you are encouraged to start your team as early as possible. During this 
casual "meet and greet" stage, all teams will earn one bottle per turn simply by 
fielding a full team of 5 warriors and writing at least one personal ad. BTW guys, for 
the sake of simplicity, your Host and Cruise director asks that you PLEASE do not sign 
your ad expecting me to know who you are. If you are not 100% certain, then please 
state very clearly EVERY TURN what team you are associated with so i do not have to go 
through past newsletters to try to figure out who you are. Also do not forget to write 
a personal ad for the turn 184 newsletter! Simply stating who you are would be great. 
Something like, "Hi Seam. I'm John, the manager of John's team" is certainly 
sufficient.

The real fireworks will start on turn 199, due on 1/30/23. That is when the teams will 
start to earn Bottles for Arena Performance, which will be earned/awarded as follows:

  * Bottles awarded for being active and writing a personal ad are discontinued.
  * 5 Bottles for each invite to ADM, AWARDED UPON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF INVITE IN THE 
    NEWSLETTER with the opportunity to earn 1 extra bottle ON THE FOLLOWING TURN for 
    achieving a kill in the Dark Arena on their last fight. Note that this Bottle is a 
    "bonus;" you will also earn a Bottle for the win; bottles awarded for wins are 
    outlined below.
  * 3 Bottles for each turn as Duelmaster, with the opportunity to earn 1 extra bottle 
    for writing a Duelmaster's column COLLECTED ON THE FOLLOWING TURN when the column 
    is actually published. It does not have to be fancy but has to be "something": 99 
    words minimum.
  * 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 Bottles for Team on the Move and Current Top Team. In the case 
    of ties, partial bottles will be awarded and will count towards your total.
  * 2 Bottles for Chartered Recognition Leader
  * 2 Bottles for This Week's Favorite
  * 2 Bottles for TOP CAREER HONORS Chartered Team
  * 0 Bottles for each turn as Overall Popularity Leader. Additionally, you will pay a 
    1 BOTTLE PENALTY on the following turn if you fail to post a personal ad 
    apologizing for your ostentatious behavior! OR...you can choose to brag further 
    about how astonishingly wonderful you actually are, and are more than worthy of 
    all the accolades you get from your adoring fans.
  * 1 Bottle for a successful Bloodfeud: limit two bottles per incident.
  * 2 Bottles for each Stylemaster as listed in the newsletter. In other words, the 
    rules for being awarded bottles for Stylemaster are the same as they are in the 
    arena: winning record, adept or above.
  * 1 bottle for each win, or two bottles for each kill in the regular arena. Warriors 
    that manage to return from the Dark Arena earn one bottle for the win only.

If more than one team achieves or surpasses 199 Bottles on the same turn, the team 
with the higher total will be the victor. Partial Bottles having been awarded make the 
event of a tie at the end much less likely; any fraction of a bottle lead that you may 
have *will* count. In the unlikely event that there is an exact tie for any place that 
receives a prize, those teams involved will continue playing until a winner can be 
decided.

The top three places will win one or more "Cream of the Slosh" replacements:

  * 1st Place: 3 CotS replacements
  * 2nd Place: 2 CotS replacements
  * 3rd Place: 1 CotS replacements

A CotS replacement is 10 standard, ordinary Duelmasters teamsheets that are specially 
"marked" and grouped together by the Spy Commision to be used for this single purpose 
only. The winning manager then chooses any one out of the 50 warriors on the 10 
teamsheets they wish to be their "Cream of the Slosh" replacement; the other 49 are 
simply discarded. Note that you are free to use your CotS replacement anytime you have 
an opening on your team; in other words, you are not required to Dark Arena nor do you 
have to pass on a good naturally occurring replacement.

However, CotS replacements will not be allowed to hide their status: all CotS 
replacements will be required to start its name with these three symbols: O^O (capital 
O, shift-6 [caret symbol], capital O. This surely will cause them to be a "target" of 
challenges, but also will serve as a badge of honor for them to wear proudly. In the 
case of winning multiple CotS replacements, you will be required to wait at least 10 
ACTIVE turns in between using your CotS replacements; you will only receive one CotS 
packet at a time. Just send a note in to the Spy Commission with your 10th turn's 
orders to receive your new CotS packet with your turn's results.

Note that 6 CotS replacements being won in total is the guaranteed minimum. I have 
been informed that if the contest has an unusually large turnout, the Spy Commission 
MAY choose to spice up the prize pool with additional CotS replacements. Understand 
there are no guarantees (other than them 6 as listed), and these Spies were rather 
"vague" and sometimes can be a little sketchy. But, for what it's worth, I figured I 
should pass the information on just in case it does actually have merit.

But that's not all! For those of you that wish to spice up the contest even further, 
we are featuring an additional and completely voluntary "Contest Within a Contest" for 
which there will be a one time fee of 6 RSI Gift Certificates to enter. The prize pool 
for the CWAC will be one "6-pack" of Duelmasters Gift Certificates (no cash value; 
each may be redeemed for one Duelmasters teamsheet) for every manager who chooses to 
participate. The prize pool will divided up among the winning players as follows:

  * 1st place: 1/2 of all the teamsheets
  * 2nd place: 1/3 of all the teamsheets
  * 3rd place: 1/6 of all the teamsheets

I just want to clarify that managers competing for the CWAC teamsheets are only 
competing against each other. So, for example, if you place second in the main contest 
but the main contest winner did not choose to participate in the CWAC, you will then 
be the first place winner of the CWAC (and receive half of all the sheets in the prize 
pool). Additionally, if the CWAC proves to be very popular and gets many entries, I 
may pay out more places. Any such decisions will be discussed and finalized prior to 
turn 199.

I will do my best to write a Contest Update every turn which will obviously be based 
on the totals from the previous turn. I also plan to start an email list that you may 
join if you wish. I will send out the updated contest standings to this list...likely 
very soon after the newsletter is posted; I will actually be so bold to suggest that I 
might get your contest update prior to getting your mail! So everyone can have up-to-
date standings, but also gives you the chance to point out any errors I might have 
made prior to sending in the official update to be printed in the newsletter.

Other Rules:

  * Once the first team equals or surpasses the required 199 Bottles total, THE 
    CONTEST IS OVER unless there are any ties to work out, and in that case the 
    contest will continue to the following turn ONLY for those teams involved. Your 
    official contest ranking will be based on whatever position you are holding at the 
    time that the first team(s) surpasses 199 bottles, even in the unlikely event of a 
    tie for first place and the winner has not yet been determined.
  * NO AVOIDS: This will be STRICTLY ENFORCED starting on Turn 199. Any team caught 
    avoiding will be REMOVED from the contest and their entry fee (if any) WILL NOT be 
    refunded! And trust me, with the number of nosy spy reporters out there, YOU WILL 
    get caught.
  * Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will be grounds for 
    disqualification. Coordinating challenges is allowed; non-aggression pacts are 
    allowed. "Taking a dive" (ie: throwing fights) is definitely NOT allowed. Any 
    allegations of cheating will be investigated seriously; any decision made by the 
    spy commission regarding said allegations will be final. Ladies and gentlemen: 
    let's keep this clean, okay? None of us are kids anymore!
  * Seam is a "non-tourney" arena, and as such you are required to field a full team 
    of 5 warriors every turn! Any warrior that has 1 FE or more missing the turn will 
    incur a 3-Bottle penalty for their team. You are highly encouraged to put your 
    entire team on maintenance, to guard against any mistakes. If you have a warrior 
    "accidentally' sit out the turn, you will "accidentally" incur a 3-bottle penalty 
    ;>. Any rookie warrior missing a turn will only incur a 1-Bottle penalty for 
    their team. I am aware that those poor noobs often get lost temporarily.
  * There will be no penalty for your *entire team* missing a turn. It is certainly 
    not recommended, however!
  * No tournament experience or "enhanced" warriors will be allowed.
  * If you wish to participate in the optional "contest within a contest," you must 
    announce your intention to participate prior to turn 190 being processed (due 
    9/26). The one-time entry fee of 6 RSI Gift Certificates will be charged to your 
    account at that time. 

YOU are invited; you are encouraged to start early if you like! The Frothingslosh 
Syndicate invites you to Bottle! Er...ah...battle!

                                      SPY REPORT

     Greetings, warriors of LIN TIRIAN!  Once again I've been called out of 
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting.  Woof!  SAND DANCERS were 
a bunch of dogs after PERRY COUNTY got through with 'em!  2nd ain't so sweet as 1st!  
What's with MIAPLACIDUS?  She actually beat LIN TIRIAN's CAPTURED ORC, and walked 
away with 17 more points from the fight.  Laughs were big at PERRY COUNTY while they 
watched CANNELTON clobber BOBWHITE.  He lost 5 points and got bruised from objects 
thrown from the stands.  Try as she might, KHARLI wasn't good enough at persuading NO 
STICK to step down from the Duelmaster's throne...  I suppose you want to hear some 
rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters?  Tough!   
     If at first you don't succeed, avoid.  That'll get you in the Spyreports.  The 
most avoided team was HOWLIN CASE.  Management must be dealin', as the boys at PERRY 
COUNTY ain't reelin'!  HOWLIN CASE's mad!  How well I know the feeling of being the 
most challenged warrior, EUSTACE!  Don't make idle boasts, they may come back to 
haunt you.   
     Warriors of LIN TIRIAN unite.  You have only your games to lose!  Many a warrior 
has met his fate in a hungover stupor.  You young rapscallions, take note!   
     Many other cities have retirement homes for aged warriors.  Any plans here?  The 
end of another Spyreport!  That's cause for celebration in my book!  Time for my 
medication, so I'll leave now.  Practice, practice, practice!-- Olaf Modeen  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 NO STICK 3506                11   7  0   108       MY BED BANDER (378)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 KHARLI 3453                   9   6  0    93       WRATHMEN OMPB (371)
 DERBY 3473                   13   2  1    92       PERRY COUNTY (374)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-FENN HAVEN 3471              15   8  0    87       PERRY COUNTY (374)
 EUSTACE 3435                 17  33  0    84       SAND DANCERS (68)
 STUNNING INLAY 3428          11   6  0    82       HOWLIN CASE (352)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 CANNELTON 3472               11   6  0    61       PERRY COUNTY (374)
-CARVED HEART 3429             5   3  0    61       HOWLIN CASE (352)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-DENTED 3390                   5   3  1    52       HOWLIN CASE (352)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 ASPIDISKE 3519                3   1  0    46       CARINA (380)
 MIAPLACIDUS 3522              3   0  0    46       CARINA (380)
 DRUNK CLOWN HURT ME 3503      6   4  1    44       MY BED BANDER (378)
 BOBWHITE 3516                11  10  0    43       SAND DANCERS (68)
 MGRR'S LOVE CHILD 3495        3   1  0    40       BECAUSE HA (377)
 MARCH HARE 3517               8  11  0    35       SAND DANCERS (68)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 JONATHAN 3526                 5   8  0    23       SAND DANCERS (68)
-MARRIED BY DEATH 3505         2   1  0    19       MY BED BANDER (378)
-AVIOR 3521                    1   2  0    19       CARINA (380)
 MEDIO CUR 3545                2   0  0    17       SAND DANCERS (68)
 TROY 3532                     0   1  0     1       PERRY COUNTY (374)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
FALLING STAR 2 3520     0  1 0 CARINA 380           MISTRESS MIGONEL      726  NONE
A 3547                  0  1 0 HOWLIN CASE 352      BLACK ORC             726  NONE
B 3548                  0  1 0 HOWLIN CASE 352      STONE GOLEM           726  NONE
CAP PICKERING 3537      1  2 0 SAND DANCERS 68      DRUNK CLOWN HURT 3503 723  REVENGED

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Wat ta go champeen No Stick. -- Smitty and The Perry County Clan

Eustace, it was my pleasure to dance with such a lovely lady, -- Fenn Haven

Kharli, wham, bam, thank you, Sir? That's all you have to say to me? -- Derby

Eustace, I am more of a Easter Bonnet type myself. -- Derby

Adios, everybody. -- Bristow

Jonathan, some days I find my A game. Mostlt I find it missing. -- Cannelton

Perry County, land of locks-and-dams, tall hills and valleys, corn and tobacco, 
abandoned coal mines, and The Ohio River. -- Smitty

Fenn Haven -- Not fun.  I'll never move there. -- Eustace

Cannelton -- I felt like a BIG county fell one me.  Ouch.  Can you get your weapon to 
whistle in a different key?  It hurts my ears. -- Jonathan

Aspidiske -- I know you're not a potted plant, but that's always my first thought.  
Having a potted plant come at me with a blade is disconcerting. -- Bobwhite
P.S.  And then you started singing.

I can't stand the Dangerous Criminal.  He always wins, which is enough to turn me 
against him. -- March Hare

That Beggar was a joke, right?  But it was also a win, and I'll take it. -- Medio Cur

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

FALLING STAR 2 was butchered by MISTRESS MIGONELLE in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
A was butchered by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena duel.
B was murdered by STONE GOLEM in a 1 minute Dark Arena melee.
DERBY demolished EUSTACE in a crowd pleasing 1 minute bloody uneven Challenge fight.
NO STICK savagely defeated KHARLI in a 2 minute brutal Title fight.
STUNNING INLAY unbelievably bested VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a 4 minute expert's brawl.
BOBWHITE was devastated by CANNELTON in a crowd pleasing 1 minute mismatched match.
MARCH HARE was overpowered by DRUNK CLOWN HURT ME in a 1 minute uneven melee.
MGRR'S LOVE CHILD vanquished JONATHAN in a 1 minute uneven duel.
ASPIDISKE overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a popular 1 minute gory uneven duel.
MIAPLACIDUS overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a popular 1 minute brutal one-sided melee.
MEDIO CUR narrowly defeated TROY in a 2 minute amateur's competition.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|SLASHING ATTACK                  5         BASHING ATTACK     9 -   3 -  0      75  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      4         AIMED BLOW         6 -   3 -  0      67  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   2         STRIKING ATTACK   12 -   6 -  0      67  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  2         TOTAL PARRY       22 -  17 -  1      56  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         LUNGING ATTACK     7 -   6 -  1      54  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         PARRY-STRIKE       2 -   2 -  0      50  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      5 -   5 -  0      50  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   1         WALL OF STEEL     12 -  15 -  0      44  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    1         SLASHING ATTACK   13 -  22 -  0      37  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 726 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     SLASHING ATTACK    2 -  3         2  BASHING ATTACK 
PARRY-STRIKE       1 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         2  TOTAL PARRY    
BASHING ATTACK     2 -  0     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  1         2  STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK    1 -  1     LUNGING ATTACK     0 -  1         2  PARRY-STRIKE   
TOTAL PARRY        2 -  2     WALL OF STEEL      0 -  1         1  AIMED BLOW     
                                                                1  LUNGING ATTACK 
                                                                1  WALL OF STEEL  

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
AIMED BLOW       NO STICK 3506              11   7  0  108 MY BED BANDER (378)
LUNGING ATTACK   KHARLI 3453                 9   6  0   93 WRATHMEN OMPB (371)
BASHING ATTACK   DERBY 3473                 13   2  1   92 PERRY COUNTY (374)
TOTAL PARRY      STUNNING INLAY 3428        11   6  0   82 HOWLIN CASE (352)
STRIKING ATTACK  CANNELTON 3472             11   6  0   61 PERRY COUNTY (374)
PARRY-STRIKE     ASPIDISKE 3519              3   1  0   46 CARINA (380)
PARRY-RIPOSTE    BOBWHITE 3516              11  10  0   43 SAND DANCERS (68)
SLASHING ATTACK  MGRR'S LOVE CHILD 3495      3   1  0   40 BECAUSE HA (377)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is KHARLI 3453.  The most popular warrior this turn was 
ASPIDISKE 3519.  The ten other most popular fighters were MIAPLACIDUS 3522, DERBY 
3473, NO STICK 3506, STUNNING INLAY 3428, CANNELTON 3472, DRUNK CLOWN HURT ME 3503, 
MGRR'S LOVE CHILD 3495, MEDIO CUR 3545, TROY 3532, and EUSTACE 3435.

The least popular fighter this week was JONATHAN 3526.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were MARCH HARE 3517, B 3548, A 3547, FALLING STAR 2 3520, BOBWHITE 3516, 
KHARLI 3453, EUSTACE 3435, TROY 3532, MEDIO CUR 3545, and MGRR'S LOVE CHILD 3495.