DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 05/29/2004 Duedate: 06/11/2004
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-168
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
CHIP ENSER
MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
(93-7871) [7-3-1,61]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
CHIP ENSER BROPHY
MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360) DOOM LEGION (1357)
(93-7871) [7-3-1,61] (93-7856) [5-2-0,38]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ALTA CHESS BROPHY
MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360) DOOM LEGION (1357)
(93-7869) [8-2-0,58] (93-7856) [5-2-0,38]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360) 16
2. DOOM LEGION (1357) 1 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
Unchartered Team
DOOM LEGION (1357)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360) 32 18 1 64.0 1/ 1 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360) 9 6 0
2/ 2*DOOM LEGION (1357) 19 13 2 59.4 2/ 2*DOOM LEGION (1357) 6 4 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
As you read this, Middle Way 10 will have completed its tenth turn of activity
here. You're all invited to a last party at the Lighthouse, to bid us goodbye (you
are sorry to see us go, aren't you?) and welcome Middle Way 11, which will show up
the following turn. Jorja grumbles about constantly having to find homes for
chartered Middle Way teams, but I don't see that it's so hard as all that. It isn't
like there are HUNDREDS of us. Anyway, we're going to Valamantis. I'm afraid to ask
her why, she has such odd reasons sometimes.
Oh, well. See you all at the party (unless some vicious standby kills me
today).
Chip Enser
SPY REPORT
Busy, busy, busy, lots of things happening in NOBLISH ISLAND this turn, and
let's start with a look at some of the teams. And let's see, BENSI DURN fought
BROPHY and gained 13 points and contributed to MIDDLE WAY 10's 3-2-0. BROPHY has
lost to BENSI DURN, falling 8 points, while helping make DOOM LEGION a 2-3-0 turn.
Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to CONVICTED ASSASSIN, BUT CHIP ENSER is still
the Duelmaster because he has the most recognition points! Tell me, is nothing
sacred? I have heard from unimpeachable sources that The Swinging Aardvark uses
trolls in their stew. Talk about gristle!
Oriental wise man once say, 'Hiding behind shields prevents proper sun tanning.'
Inscrutable, but true.
A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once. Wise men know this to
be true. A brave warrior does not carry a red shield, he has nothing to cover or
hide when the fight is over. Consider well.
Thought for the day, a new sword shines bright, but the notched sword sings the
sweetest. It's been nice chatting with you, until we meet again, keep your swords
sharp and your hammers heavy. Until you see my quill in NOBLISH ISLAND again,
farewell-- Alarond the Scribe
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CHIP ENSER 7871 7 3 1 61 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ALTA CHESS 7869 8 2 0 58 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BENSI DURN 7870 8 2 0 48 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
BROPHY 7856 5 2 0 38 DOOM LEGION (1357)
DOC FELLE 7872 6 4 0 37 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
RAGNAROK 7853 5 2 0 31 DOOM LEGION (1357)
POISON SUMAC 7855 3 4 0 27 DOOM LEGION (1357)
SOONTODIE 7904 3 1 1 26 DOOM LEGION (1357)
GRATCH 7903 3 2 1 24 DOOM LEGION (1357)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
EB GOLLU 7873 3 7 0 16 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSONAL ADS
All -- I'd like to congratulate all the winners last week. Better luck next time, my
friends. -- Warrior Lord
Scribe -- Any other help or info would be appreciated. -- Warrior Lord
Chip Enser and Jorja -- Thank you for the wish of luck. Unfortunately I'll probably
be inactive by the time this makes it to the press. However, you and any others are
more than welcome to write to me and let me know how it's going and what's happening.
I hope to be active again by next year. I can be contacted at the following address:
Chris Seals #163040
CCWC (Bed 3-11T)
P.O. Box 368
Childersburg, AL 35044
Good luck to all of you and keep your blades sharp. -- Warrior Lord
All -- Standbys, standbys, that's all I fight. I'm not complaining about the 3-0-1
record it's given me, but a real fight would be nice. -- Soontodie
Chip Enser -- I'm comin' for ya, Chip. Sharpen your blades! Until we meet, may
honor and glory guide ye. -- Brophy
Heck, and all the REST of our fights were against standbys, too! Some days, it just
doesn't seem worth the effort of getting out of bed. -- Jorja
Comments on the articles--
Strikers R Us by Talon -- This is Talon Volksie, not Talon Warsmith. Talon Volksie
is currently active somewhere, though I don't remember where just now. Also, he
knows what he's talking about.
How I Made Duelmaster in Three Easy Steps by Khyron -- I think he may have gone
inactive. The real point of this article, as I see it, is that the situation was a
fluke. Hey, people like to talk about flukes. But duplicating them is usually
impossible.
The Wall of Steel as a Berserker by the She-Puppy -- She's active in dm 56, team
Redhorse, and in adm 107, team Nightlings. I disagree with her on design details--
I'd go for enough DF to use a scimitar, for one thing--but the concept is sound. And
I do enjoy running walls of steel.
6 May 2004
DEATH FEST
The ferocious ghosts of former glories whispered across the wind swept sands of
DM 59; agonizing incessantly due to the diminutive demise of the Delarq arena known
as Illis.
Tattered banners and forgotten memories wailed in the wind for a dynamic death
march to dawn once more upon the blood stained sands of the Delarq slow arena.
The distant call crying for a declaration of restoration amidst the ruin of the
all but forgotten Delarq arena carried to the far corners of Alastari; drawing the
Devious, the Diabolical, the Dangerous and the Down Challenging to cross blades and
wage warfare among an assemblage of new stables managed by the Known and Unknown;
willing to spill fresh blood, while carving their destiny during 15 Rounds of contest
driven combat to be known as the "Illis Incredibly Diabolical Delarq Death Fest".
A lone cloaked figure huddled by lamplight in a remote outpost near the
crossroads of ElseWhere and ElseWhen; feverishly formulating the foundational
framework for the dawning of the Delarq Death Fest in DM 59, complete with
Gladiatorial Commission sanctioned prizes to promote the growing thirst for a Delarq
Slow Arena Death Festival.
Delarq Death Fest Opening Round debuts the first turn immediately following the
Summer 2004 F2F Tourney and continues through the completion of 15 consecutive
rounds.
Death Fest points are Won or Lost ONLY in the DM 59 Delarq Slow Arena [Tourneys
DO NOT Add or Subtract from the Death Fest Point Scoring System]:
Death Fest Scoring Format:
Win =3D +2 pts
Loss =3D -1 pt
Kill =3D +5 pts [in addition to +2 pts for Win]
Death =3D -3 pts [in addition to 1 pt for Loss]
Dark Arena Kill =3D +10 pts [in addition to +2 pts for Win]
Dark Arena Death =3D -5 pts [in addition to 1 pt for Loss]
Revenged Blood Feud =3D +5 pts [successful Revenged Blood Feud provides Death Fest
contestants the opportunity to cancel out 3 pts for Death and 1 pt for Loss; while
gaining +1 pt overall for the Revenged Blood Feud in addition to the +2 pts for Win]
DEATH FEST PRIZES will be awarded to the Top Ten Death Fest Stables on the basis
of Total Points*** accumulated during the 15 rounds of competition as follows:
1. Favorite Weapon Knowledge for 1 (one) warrior ranked Initiate or higher on the
Final Round to be revealed by RSI to each of the Top Ten Death Fest Stables
2. Renaming of Dark Arena Monsters and NPCs [yet to be determined according to how
many DA Monsters and NPCs are available in DM 59 for Renaming]
3. The Top Five Death Fest Stables will receive New Team Rollup Certificates as
follows: 1st (10), 2nd (8), 3rd (6), 4th (4) and 5th (2)
4. Renaming Illis Arena for 6 months plus Receiving 6 months Free Play courtesy of
RSI will be awarded to the manager of the 1st Place Death Fest Stable
5. Discussions are underway regarding a possible Special Award granted to the Illis
Iron Stable qualifiers who compete in 67 of a possible 75 fights during the course of
the 15 consecutive rounds of the Death Fest [Key Factor is How Many (?) stables will
be competing in the Death Fest without drawing away participation by current managers
in the remaining slow arenas!] Therefore, it is important for all managers entering
stables in DM 59 for the upcoming Death Fest to contact RSI as soon as possible
regarding their participation in this contest so that a Final Ruling on the proposed
Illis Iron Stable Award can be issued by RSI.
***TieBreaker is determined on the Final Round by the DM 59 Newsletter Recognition
Rankings. The stable with the Highest Ranked Active Gladiator is granted the
decision. [Example: Warrior A and Warrior B are both listed in the Recognition
Rankings with 87 pts; however, because Warrior A is listed in the Recognition
Rankings ahead of Warrior B, then Warrior A is granted the TieBreaker Decision for
His/Her stable!]
Opening Round Team Spotlight Bonus [minimum 15 paragraphs!] Each Delarq Death
Fest competitor who writes a Team Spotlight featuring their Stable (Name) and
Managerial Alias [Gladiatorial Names Optional] in regards to competing in the Delarq
Death Fest will receive 25 pts added to His/Her opening round score.
Illis Iron Stable Bonus [in addition to the proposed award awaiting RSI
approval!] Any manager whose stable competes in at least 67 of the possible 75
fights during the 15 rounds of Death Fest receives 25 points added to His/Her final
overall score [this allows each stable the cushion of missing one round of
competition; plus up to 3 additional fights due to waiting for replacement rollups
from Deaths suffered either in Tourneys or during the Death Fest contest in DM 59
over the course of 15 rounds of competition!]
Delarq Death Fest
Hosted by Hammer
[Who Else?]
25 May 2004
TEN TURNS OF HELL:
The KLK Capture The Flag Competition
In the spirit of the ongoing effort to make arena play what it used to be (FUN!!), I
am proud to announce the KLK Capture The Flag Competition. The competition will be
held in Jhans (DM-36, which has, by the way, grown in size equal to Talcama already).
:) We are announcing this contest early to allow managers time to prep.
Rules:
-- On turn 462 (due 8/4/04) the lowest ranked warrior on your team is given your
team's 'flag' (he is your initial flag defender).
-- Starting on turn 463 (due 8/18/04) flags will be defended every turn and turn
463 is the turn scoring will begin.
-- Fights involving flags are winners-take-all and a warrior can carry as many
flags as he can win.
-- If a warrior holding a flag either A) goes inactive, B) loses to a stand-by
warrior or C) gets DA'd, he forfeits all flags he has and they are returned the their
original team's lowest ranked warrior.
-- If you hold your own flag on an inactive warrior you receive NO POINTS that
turn.
-- If a warrior graduates to AD holding flags starting on the next turn those
flags will be defended by the lowest ranked warrior on the team of the graduating
warrior.
-- Scoring as follows for each turn:
2 pts -- possession of your own team flag
1 pt -- possession any other flag
1 pt -- for each win
1 pt -- for each kill
1 pt -- for each award you receive in the newsletter
-- You may enter as many teams as you like (per RSI rules) but each team is its
own entry.
-- Tie-Breaker goes to the team that had the most points from flags.
-- If still tied the tie-breaker will be the team that had the most points from
kills. (It's the Delarq way.)
-- The contest lasts 10 turns and there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
(based on highest point totals)
Prizes: (what you've been waiting on)
1st -- 3 know favorites potions*
DA warrior named after winning manager
2nd -- 2 know favorites potions*
3rd -- 1 know favorites potion*
* These are full favorite potions (weapon, rhythms and tactics) and can only be used
on warriors with at least 4 FE.
How's that for paying out? (grin) Even if you think that it's all about the TC,
these prizes should be enough to draw you in. (You know who you are.)
I hope to see friend and foe alike come to Jhans. Legion, Froths, and all the
others...this is your personal invite. Can you win? Can you survive 10 turns of
Hell in Jhans?
Note: Special thanks to RSI for helping make this contest possible. Thanks
guys!
Bookie
KLK Alliance
Director Jhans' Board of Tourism
Warden of the Froth Circle (grin)
D.R.C. 4 Life
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
CHIP ENSER was devastated by CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 1 minute mismatched Title fight.
BROPHY lost to BENSI DURN in a 6 minute gruesome battle.
ALTA CHESS demolished GRATCH in a 1 minute uneven fight.
SOONTODIE was viciously subdued by DOC FELLE in a 3 minute gory contest.
POISON SUMAC overpowered MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute mismatched match.
EB GOLLU was devastated by RAGNAROK in a 1 minute bloody one-sided duel.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 11 - 3 - 0 79 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 11 - 3 - 1 79 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 2 - 0 71 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 SLASHING ATTACK 11 - 5 - 1 69 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 WALL OF STEEL 12 - 8 - 1 60 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 AIMED BLOW 4 - 5 - 0 44 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 9 - 12 - 0 43 |
|AIMED BLOW 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 7 - 0 36 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 3 - 0 25 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 0 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 6 - 0 14 |
Turn 168 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 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 2 WALL OF STEEL
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 LUNGING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 TOTAL PARRY
1 PARRY-LUNGE
1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
LUNGING ATTACK CHIP ENSER 7871 7 3 1 61 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
SLASHING ATTACK ALTA CHESS 7869 8 2 0 58 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
TOTAL PARRY BENSI DURN 7870 8 2 0 48 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
PARRY-LUNGE BROPHY 7856 5 2 0 38 DOOM LEGION (1357)
WALL OF STEEL DOC FELLE 7872 6 4 0 37 MIDDLE WAY 10 (1360)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ALTA CHESS 7869. The most popular warrior this turn
was BROPHY 7856. The ten other most popular fighters were SOONTODIE 7904, DOC FELLE
7872, RAGNAROK 7853, ALTA CHESS 7869, POISON SUMAC 7855, BENSI DURN 7870, CHIP ENSER
7871, GRATCH 7903, EB GOLLU 7873, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was EB GOLLU 7873. The other ten least popular
fighters were GRATCH 7903, CHIP ENSER 7871, BENSI DURN 7870, POISON SUMAC 7855, ALTA
CHESS 7869, RAGNAROK 7853, DOC FELLE 7872, SOONTODIE 7904, BROPHY 7856, and 0.
MAIL-IN TOURNEY XXXVII
INITIATES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME
BROPHY 7856 (4-1-0) 2 3 0 DOOM LEGION
RAGNAROK 7853 (3-2-0) 1 3 0 DOOM LEGION
INITIATES FOOLS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME
POISON SUMAC 7855 (2-3-0) 0 3 0 DOOM LEGION
The Defensive Lunger
Perfect Minimums Actual Characters
ST 13 11 11 13
CN 7 3 3 11
SZ 4 4 10 6
WT 21 17 17 17
WL 17 13 17 19
SP 5 5 9 5
DF 17 13 17 13
The lunger, in my opinion, makes a much better defensive fighter than offensive
fighter. Fighting defensively will compensate for the speed at which lungers burn
endurance. They will still attack whenever possible but their defensive ability will
allow them to dodge most attacks. The most important part is their initiative. When
they do dodge, they'll usually steal the initiative and attack. I haven't been
fighting lungers defensively for long but my record is 14-5-0. Don't fight
defensively against other lungers as they will usually win.
The strategy I use is:
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Off 4 -------------------------> 9 Weapon: Any lunging
Act 6 4 --------------------> 9 No armor if low con
KD 4 -------------------------> 9 APL/H if average con
O.T. ---------------------------> L
D.T. -------------------------------->
You can attack any location you wish but I suggest protecting the body. The
third character listed started with experts in attack, defense and initiative. The
last character had an expert in attack.
The Wild Boar, manager of Things (5) and many inactive teams.
WARRIOR ENDURANCE
Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! I hope you have had pleasant dueling.
This article is about endurance and some things to think about when you're designing
your warriors. Below is a chart showing the different endurance levels a warrior may
have. This chart may be a little off of due to the fact it isn't possible to have all
the variables as a manager, but it does give you idea of the amount of endurance a
warrior should have.
The formula for endurance is: E = (ST+CN)WL
With the result of that number use the chart below.
000-180 = Very Poor
181-240 = Poor
235-390 = Normal
391-509 = Good
510-639 = Great
640-699 = Tremendous
770+ = Awesome
Here are some examples of warriors with their Endurance ratings:
1) Slasher ST 5 CN 7 WL 15 (5+7)15 = 180 Poor
2) Striker ST 7 CN 13 WL 9 (7+13)9 = 180 Poor
3) Parry-Rip ST 7 CN 10 WL 11 (7+10)11 = 187 Poor
4) Basher ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Very Poor
5) Striker ST 13 CN 9 WL 9 (13+9)9 = 198 Poor
6) Aimed-Blow ST 9 CN 15 WL 9 (9+15)9 = 216 Normal
7) Striker ST 10 CN 5 WL 15 (10+5)15 = 225 Normal
8) Slasher ST 13 CN 10 WL 10 (13+10)10 = 230 Normal
9) Wall/Steel ST 13 CN 12 WL 17 (13+12)17 = 425 Great
There are several factors such as warrior style, RSI random factor, and there is
some evidence that SIZE has some effect on a warrior's endurance. In any case the RSI
LUCK factor can be around 7 to 8% in your favor or 2-3% worse than average. These are
just estimates, but are still factors nevertheless.
Some styles that are HIGH BURN endurance, like lungers, slashers and walls of
steel, are more likely to be UNLUCKY with the endurance rating.
Every action your warrior does consumes endurance. Attacking seems to use more
endurance than any other action. Once a warrior's endurance is used up, he will make
an endurance check against his WILL. If he fails the roll, he will either stop to rest
or collapse to the sand, depending on how badly he failed the roll. When a warrior
stops to rest, he gets back some endurance. When he gets enough endurance back, he
will start attacking again. This is just a theory that I have developed from
observations. It maybe completely off, but it gives one something to ponder.
That's it for now lords and ladies, I must go entertain elsewhere. If you would
like to chat about DM or other things, you can EMAIL me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com
or visit my DM website at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessisjest/homepage.htm
You can also diplo me at DM 11 "The Lords Of the Abyss (319)" or any of the
Joker's Wilds scattered about.
Cheerio,
Sir Jessie Jest
Member of the Ivory League
Presenting, by Popular Demand (from 1989)...
THE NUMEROLOGY OF DUELMASTERS
by The Ghost of Eldrid
Character Generation
Hello, I am the Ghost of Eldrid, and I have an important message that directly
effects how well your team may do in the future. Some managers will not take this
important article seriously (some people don't believe in ghosts, either), and their
records will suffer for it. I have played Duelmasters for four years and searched
through all of my old turns and painstakingly researched every important fact in this
article, and I have discussed my conclusions with about ten different managers (named
managers such as Phido, Doctor LeGrand, Silk, Russ, and Biff Frothingslosh) who all
agree on the validity of my arguments. The results of my research are both startling
and magnificent. THERE IS NUMEROLOGY IN DUELMASTERS!!! Whether it was programmed in
or it exists on a higher plane, it matters not. IT EXISTS!!! And I plan to share
some of its amazing secrets with you, starting with character creation.
Remember in the realm of character generation the powers favor odd number stats.
NEVER, EVER have an even number on stats, except, of course, for size, which,
obviously should be even since everyone can tell what size your character is by his
description in the fight. Do you want people thinking your warrior is odd? I should
hope not!! But in case you decide to keep your odd warrior, DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER
STATS EVEN!! Write a letter to the commission stating that you forgo the rights to
the last point and you want it to be sacrificed to the benefit of Alastari.
Always start adding points to wit and will first. Either make them 13, 17, or
21. Why? Under 12 wit is worthless, as any good manager will tell you. A 13
understandably gives your opponent bad luck, a 17 has the ever-lucky "7" in it, and 21
is BLACKJACK, and you get twice the number of winnings you would normally get. Why
not 15 or 19? Is it not obvious to everyone that 15 is unlucky? The only President
of the United States not married was the 15th, James Buchanan (who?). Lincoln was
shot on April 15th, and the clincher... my brother was born on the 15th of May. If
these "coincidences" don't prove to you that 15 is unlucky, I don't know what will.
19 is an evil number. It tries to deceive you into thinking it is better than 17, but
actually, it is an "11" with a small zero placed on the second pole, and we all know
that a zero is nothing. So what do we get for our extra eight points? In effect,
something smaller than nothing.
Next, make every other stat odd. Add the other points to make the style you
want. Deftness is the key to character generation.
Deftness (min)
5 to make a basher (ST 13+)
7 for a lunger
9 for a striker
11 for a wall of steel (ST 11+, WL 17+)
13 for a parry lunge (ST 11+), slasher (SP 11+), parry-strike, and total
parries (these styles depend on the opponent's bad luck.
17 for a parry-riposte (WT 17+)
21 for an aimed blow (this style needs the double winnings)
The last thing to remember is that luck is a big factor in this game and I don't
know if you noticed, but when warriors have even ID numbers they are luckier than odd
ID characters. Look at the best warriors in Primus: Wallbanger, Donatello, Epitaph,
Chaos Knight, Villiage Idiot, Silverflash, Khorga Khan, Jake the Snake, Sly, Max,
Stormbringer, Teetotaler, Raphael, Selleque, Kiri, Constance, Hangover, Eve, and Sam
Spade. All have even-numbered IDs. Now you say, "But Yoda and Necron-99 both have
odd IDs, and they are the best aimed blows of the game!" Yes, but they are AIMED
BLOWS and they are members of an odd style, so of course they do better with odd
numbers. So remember if you want your warriors to be best in all Alastari someday,
Dark Arena all your odd-numbered characters, unless of course they are aimed blows.
Good luck, and may the numbers fall your way.
-- The Ghost of Eldrid,
retired
PARRY-STRIKE, ANOTHER FUN STYLE
There have been several articles about fighting styles, some say theirs is the
best, or ultimate, one said theirs is the most fun style. Well, I feel that parry-
strikers are just as much fun to play as any other style.
First, let's start with the run down of what they say in the "RED BOOK". The
book says that parry-strikers are defensive, using small quick movements in their
actions (sounds like you could say that about some other styles as well.) The book
says that some managers swear that a high wit is critical to the style (only those who
have no brains would disagree with that.)
Let's get to business. First and foremost this style is deceptively aggressive,
making them a very good offensive type of fighter, or deadly type of defensive
fighter. Offensively they tend to get the jump on their opponent. I had a parry-
striker that was only jumped 3 out of 11 fights, before he died. To prepare and run a
parry-striker can be quite confusing, so I will try to help make it as simple as
possible. Here are my feelings on roll-ups for the parry-strike style:
ST: 11-15, I'll explain later.
CN: who cares.
SZ: 10-14, don't go over 14.
WT: 13-17, 17 is the best.
WL: 13-17, to get good endurance.
SP: not important.
DF: 11-15, I'll explain later.
Here are some good roll-ups for a parry-striker: 11,7,10,17,17,7,15;
15,7,11,17,16,7,11; 11,7,14,17,13,7,15; 15,7,14,17,13,7,11. Now, if you have a decent
wit, the way you run this fighting style will depend on strength and deftness. For
example: if your fighter has a high DF and a low ST it would be to his/her advantage
to be defensive, since the speed would benefit the ability to move in reaction to
their opponent. If the ST is high, and DF low, it would be better to fight
offensively like a striker, trying to get the first, and only blow in. If they don't
have a decent wit, you're on your own. I can't help you on that. Remember this style
of fighting is the same as a striker except for added knowledge of parrying, as well
as bein a little more aggressive. I would not suggest a low ST and DF, it will take
away from your WT & WL, and you don't want to do that, but if you do, good luck. You
don't need much CN if you have a good WL, which gives you your endurance. SZ; you
don't want it to be above 14, it would hurt your fighting style more than your
attributes. WT; it is the same as it is with strikers, the higher the WT the faster
and deadlier they become. Raise WT to 17 if you don't have it at the start, then
don't worry about it again until ADM. WL; this is where you get your endurance. 13
is fine to start out, but I would suggest 15, then bump it up to 17 in basic. SP; it
is what you need to riposte, but PSers have this "one strike one kill" attitude.
Meaning that there isn't much time to riposte with a killing attitude, so do whatever.
DF; what is there to say, it helps, but is not crucial to be a great PSer. Now to
running a PSer. If he is an offensive fighter 10-10-10 Dec. all the way through the
fight, even in desperation. If Defensive, 1st 10-10-10 Resp., 2nd 10-7-10 Dec., 3rd
10-10-10, 4th 10-10-10 Dec., 5th 10-10-10 Dec., 6th 10-10-10, Desp. 10-10-10 Resp.
Remember, first you want to assure your defense, and to do that, you should go
defensive the first minute. By the second minute you will be secure enough to go on
the offensive, but experiment. 6th minute on, leave blank, for by that time he/she
will know what to do (if their WT is high that is.) The best thing you could do for
your fighter is watch the fights, if you are getting more defensive skills than
offensive, run the def., or change weapons. That is the best advice I can give you
about PSers. About armor, I like to use ringmail or nothing, but experiment. I know
that there is someone that will disagree with me, but I feel that I have given you
some ideas about this fighting style that can be used, even though I am a new manager,
playing for just over a year. No matter who writes a style article, it is just
advice, not the bible. Just use the articles as a point of reference, not as sworn
law.
This is a very fun fighting style, try it out. I have written this in answer to
Foreign Legion Arena 31, and The Spartans Arena 8. I challenge any Primus Manager to
correct my writing of PSers. It is not my favorite style, but it is as fun as any
other that I have used, including my favorite one (Which is a STRIKER!!) If there are
any comments, please Diplo The Priest, the manager of The Heroes of XIAN DM-10, or The
Crucifiers DM-46.
THE ARMOR PIERCING PARRY-LUNGE
When you think "attack" what style comes to mind? Bashing? Definitely lunging?
Of course. Parry-Lunging? Excuse me? Yes, the parry-lunger! Few people realize the
fact that parry-lungers are attack gods waiting to be born. All it takes is the right
warrior and lots of guts. This warrior is not for the weak of heart. We'll begin
with stats.
Range Perfect
ST 9-11 11
CN 5-9 5
SZ 6-11 8
WT 17or21 21
WL 17or21 17
SP 5-8 5
DF 15-17 17
Why?
ST(11): This is your optimum PL strength. It puts your warrior in the normal to
good damage range. Also, you have the best PL weapon at your disposal--the LO!
CN(5): Yes, his life expectancy is low. What'd I tell you? Guts, right? He
gets his endurance from WL. If you want to make trains, make them here.
SZ(8): Our most flexible stat. A high SZ (i.e.11) allows you to skimp a bit on
Str (9).
WT(21): If it's not a 21 you're not going to get the attack this fellow counts
on. His learns will be awesome and a 21 WT will make him a better warrior out of the
chocks.
WL(17): End/Att are dependent on this one being high. Keeps you on your feet
when you should drop from exhaustion.
SP(5): Not a big requirement. Init and Parry will come from elsewhere (WT/DF).
This is not a lunger mimic.
DF(17): Combine this DF with a 21 WT and you will have a massive attack.
Pinpoint accuracy is the byword. Parry, init, def and riposte will all benefit
immeasurably. At 15 you have access to the EP, a fine lunging weapon this style can
put to devastating use.
Strategy (General, but effective in most cases)
2 9 9 7 6 5 10
6 9 9 7 6 5 10
2 7 7 7 5 5 10
HE ---------------------------->
HE BD ----------------------->
- - - - - - -
P - - - - - -
Minute 1: This fellow won't get the jump on offensives, so we'll just go
defensive and render their "mad minute" fruitless. This PL's counterattack will be
amazing at even 2-6-2 P due to the high AL. Keep the parry tactic until Adv Expert
parry is gained.
Minutes 2 and 3: These two will end most of his fights. When he starts landing
precision blows in his opponent's face it will usually be over quickly. Keep the kill
desire relatively low as to avoid sloppy attacking.
Minutes 4 through 6: If you haven't won by now you've got to depend on your WL
to carry you until you finish the job. He'll probably top out at the five min. mark.
But we want to keep the attacks coming so we do so at his endurance's expense.
Desp: If your opponent is an offensive he's probably blasted through your min. 1
defense. Your best bet is to go spastic and hope to take him out in one shot or so.
If he's some super-defensive (scum) this PL is probably exhausted and you're hoping
the super-offense will put him over the edge. After all, it's better to burn out than
fade away.
Always aim for the head to maximize the impact of your blows. If it tickles your
fancy, aim for your opponent's weapon arm and beat him senseless when he's unarmed.
Protecting the head in min. 1 is strictly odds playing on my part. My offensives aim
head so I assume everyone else's do too. After min. 1, we forget defense.
Weapons and armor are simple. APL/H or ARM/H (if you're challenging a real
heavy-hitter). I prefer swords for armament. My combos are usually LO/SM, LO/SH,
SC/DA etc. Against heavy armor go with LO/SH. Always aim for the head.
Philosophy: This guy clings to life by luck, early on, and will never be free of
the spectre of death. In his first few fights stay away from lungers and bashers.
Both have high attacks and usually do substantial damage. Prey on strikers, PS, PR
and slashers. As he progresses, his attack, parry and defense will equip him with the
tools to handle most everybody but always remain cautious of those bashers and
lungers.
A PL of this calibre should begin with around a 90 att, 70 par/init and 60-70
def. Decise and riposte will be slightly lower. Riposte 50 and decise anywhere from
35-50 depending on how lucky you get. Train skills exclusively from fight one and on.
Use tourneys if you must raise anything at all (including con).
Don't be discouraged if he's around .500 early on. By ten fights he'll be
sporting three Adv Experts at least (att, par and init) and will begin to dismantle
those scum/finesse styles that managed to beat him. Feel free to write or diplo me
with comments/criticisms/or questions.
Fight the Good Fight,
or: Agath
CPL Michael Dockus Lunatic Fringe (23)
H Co BLT 2/8 Circle of Five (51)
24 MEU (Det F) Slaves of Power (52)
FPO NY NY 09502-8531