DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 12/10/2005 Duedate: 12/23/2005 NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA DM-93 TURN-198 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS LEXAYN HANDS OF HADES (1382) (93-8002) [9-0-0,57] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader POSITION IS EMPTY LEXAYN HANDS OF HADES (1382) (93-8002) [9-0-0,57] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite SALLI VOSS OMAR MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) SHERMANS STABLE (1383) (93-8013) [6-3-0,35] (93-8008) [4-5-0,36] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM THE DARK SIDE (1401) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. THE DARK SIDE (1401) 58 2. HANDS OF HADES (1382) 1 BANE'S CHILDREN (235) 3. SHERMANS STABLE (1383) 1 Unchartered Team 4. MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) 0 5. MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) -9 THE DARK SIDE (1401) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1- 1*MOLLUQ'S MARAUDER (1397) 5 0 0 100 1/ 3*THE DARK SIDE (1401) 12 3 3 2/ 2*THE DARK SIDE (1401) 12 3 3 80.0 2/ 1*HANDS OF HADES (1382) 10 5 1 3/ 3*HANDS OF HADES (1382) 28 17 1 62.2 3/ 2*MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) 8 6 0 4/ 4*MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) 24 20 0 54.5 4/ 4*SHERMANS STABLE (1383) 7 8 1 5/ 5*SHERMANS STABLE (1383) 22 22 1 50.0 5- 5*MOLLUQ'S MARAUDER (1397) 5 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[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ + Where do you go when you leave Noblish Island? After ten turns, just when you're getting used to the everlasting rain here on Noblish Island, you're going to have to leave forever. Everyone (except me) leaves after ten turns. You have to go, but you get to choose your destination. Out of sixty or so possible arenas, how do you choose? Some of you will be following friends who have already gone, and for you this question is moot. Otherwise.... Fast or slow? Noblish Island is a "fast" arena in that the fights are run every two weeks. For some of you, this may not allow enough turn-around time. "Slow" arenas run every four weeks. The slow arenas are 8, 28, 31, 39, 45, 47, 50, 52, 54, 59, and the three slow transfer arenas, 71, 72, and 73. You may have an unlimited number of teams in a transfer arena, and many managers do; I would not recommend choosing a transfer arena for your first non-Noblish home. Regions--the world of Duelmasters is divided into four regions, which have slightly different preferred style of management. The Andorian region as a general rule tends toward a role-playing, non-killing style of play. By "non-killing," I mean that Andorian managers perfer not to seek kills and disapprove of down-challenging. In most (but not, alas, all) cases, Andorian arenas will have lively personals. The Andorian arenas currently open are: 8 (slow), 11, 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 40, 41, 46, 52 (slow), 60, 63, and 71. The Delarquan region, except in the case of some of the slow arenas, is not much prone to role-playing and convesation. For Delarquans, the win is all. Down- challenging is an accepted tactic used when desired by any manager. Deaths may be more frequent than elsewhere. The Delarquan arenas currently open are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 18, 21, 36, 38, 39 (slow), 42, 51, 54 (slow), 59 (slow), 62, and 72. The Free Blades region tends to be very active in the slow arenas and less dogmatic in either direction about style of play. Free Blades arenas currently open are: 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28 (slow, currently hosting a contest), 29, 31 (slow), 32, 33, 35, 43, 45 (slow), 47 (slow), 50 (slow), 56, 61, and 73. The Lirith Kai region is the youngest and is currently very small, having only arenas 65, 74, 75, and 78 open at the present time. There is a tendency to prefer the Andorian-style, "no down-challenges and no deliberate killing," but the managers seem to be less dogmatic about it. Note that currently contests of various kinds are being held in several arenas. Some are just starting, some are just about done, others are in the middle. Contest arenas will tend to be bigger than others while the contest is going on, and full of often-confusing personals. Large arenas or small ones? There are advantages for a new manager in either choice. In a large arena, there are lots of managers who will be willing to help a novice. There will be a lot of variety in the kind of competition your warriors come up against--varieties in style, management, levels of skill. You can learn a lot in large arenas. But there are drawbacks, too. You can get lost in the crowd, maybe find no one or only a few of the available responding to your personals. You can get caught between feuding factions. In small arenas, you soon get to know every manager's playing style and what to expect from their warriors. If you write personals, they will be noticed and probably responded to. But just as you get to know all the managers and warriors sharing the arena with you, so will they get to know you. You may see a lot of standbys fighting, and while they are relatively easier to beat, they don't teach as well. After a while, you won't meet with many surprises. If you have access to the internet, I strongly recommend that you check out RSI's website and sample the newsletters of various arenas to get the flavor of them. If not, ask for advice. Diplo managers mentioned in the Regional Arena News from arenas you're interested in, as they are likely to be leaders in those arenas. Ask questions here, in the personals or by diplo. I'd like to see you all have the best possible Duelmasters experience that's consistent with other people doing the same, and I ALWAYS have opinions! Jorja The Middle Way +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #1 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Hanibal, manager of Cannibalz in Aruak City (DM 11) and formerly of Noblish Island, has asked a series of questions of the experienced managers of that arena. I believe you might find these questions and answers instructive, or at least interesting. Feel free to comment or question in response. That goes for other experienced managers, too; I'm sure your input would be valuable. -- Jorja, The Middle Way Question, turn 396: All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who would swing first? Would they both have an equal chance? -- Hanibal's question of the week Replies, turn 397: Hanibal -- Of the three numbers, I think KD is least influential in determining who swings first. I'm not discounting its involvement entirely, but there are many factors that weigh more heavily. I ran aimers 10-10-1 for a long time, when it was the 'in' thing to do, and they fought quite aggressively. KD might be more important in determining who swings LAST. -- Generalissimo Puerco Hannibal -- I firmly believe that 10-10-2 will sometimes outjump 10-10-8. And vice versa. -- Kennelworth The Seasoned See also Captain K's article on "Getting the Jump." It was printed in this newsletter a few turns ago, but if you want a copy and don't have it, email me at jputney@zianet.com and I'll send it to you. Okay, okay, if you don't have email, request it in the personals or even send me a diplo. -- Jorja P.S. I believe this may now be included in the regularly cycling articles. Question, turn 397: All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. and one has 13 str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. P.S. Warriors are same size. Replies, turn 398: Hanibal -- Regarding your QoW, it is a very good question. I think that there is a difference in damage done between warriors with different strengths but similar damage comments. Of course the attack rating a warrior has can make a world of difference too. I've got a piker (the Consortium may know Lustra from DM 52) that has a 5 str. and does normal damage with a blow. Yet, she performs like a warrior that does little damage. (And I have a lot of experience with those.) Not only that, she has normal endurance, too, but she seems to get tired awfully quick for a piker with normal endurance. So that's one example. Another is my overall look at warriors that do 'little' damage. If you take one with 9 str. and another with 13 str. I think a clear Difference can be discerned. On the high end, my experience doesn't go much past 'good' damage. But what I can say is that my warriors that do 'good' damage seem to do more damage than my few warriors that have done 'tremendous' damage. That is probably because those big strong warriors have relatively lousy attack ratings. So in a nutshell I would say yes, there is a minor but still noticeable effect. What you might be finding is that there seems to be differences within those broad categories given on the warrior overview. It's just like if you raise con you improve your warrior's ability to sustain damage a little bit, even if the comment on the overview stays the same. Your questions are getting at some of the interesting subtleties of the game. Keep asking them! -- Generalissimo Puerco Q.O.W. (Hanibal) -- I don't think so. -- Adie Pagan's replies: Question, turn 396: All -- If 2 identical warriors (theoretically) ran 10-10-2 and 10-10-8, who would swing first? Would they both have an equal chance? This is a loaded question. There are a number of factors which will determine which warrior swings first. In speaking of this I can only tell you what I have a 'feel' for. In no way does anyone know all the factors or how this works exactly unless someone gets to look at the source code for the program. I will ignore the KD dispute simply because I don't know. The Factors: 1. At warrior creation, the program initiates a random string class to be used for your warrior. Each string has a series of numbers that are pre-generated and always the same. It however appears random except for the facts that some strings are good for some warriors and bad for others. You'll notice this only over time. This string class is permanent and not all of them are created equal. This is above and beyond any total number of skills. 2. At fight time, the program calls a random string to be used for BOTH warriors. This string affects the string of the warrior. This is why you will never see two fights that are line-by-line exactly the same. But if the fights were constantly run with exactly the same string, and no strategy changes are made then you will consistently have the same fight line-by-line. 3. Fight-String modified Warrior-String# are taken for each warrior and #Decise- skills + OE + string# + tactic + weapon-weight + style-adjustment equates to a number. 4. These bonuses could be negative in adjustments also: IE. Running responsiveness would be the addition of a negative number equal to warrior's Decise. Running decise would increase a lot, running lunge, slash, or bash use initiative instead of Decise if higher than current #decise skills. 4. Biggest controllable factors are OE, tactic, & weapon-weight 5. If the number for JUMP does not have a disparity of a specific number then a continued clash will occur until that disparity is shown. Then the fight actually begins. You can have a series of 8+ clash statements until the program finds who starts and initiates the fight sequences. Example: fighterA ends up with a jump# of 60 and fighterB ends up with a jump# of 65; if the disparity had to be 10 points then what would happen is a clash statement would be printed and the steps repeated. The next number from the Fight-String is called along with the next number in each of the Warrior-strings ; the computation is done again until the disparity (for the computer anyway) becomes true. Then the fight sequence is activated. -- Pagan Question, turn 397: All -- If two warriors have a good damage rating, one has 11 str. And one has 13 str., would it make a difference in the amount of damage they do? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. P.S. Warriors are same size. Most definitely. Weapon damage is equated to Strength + damage class. So damage is done like this: 1. Armor weight + 12 + any bonus it has vs weapon type is a negative to the damage done. (How the hell did he get 12!?) 2. Damage done is strength + damage class variable + weapon variable. 3. Slashing & Bashing increase the damage done. 4. When the damage done equals 1 or less then there is a weapon bounce statement. The minimum damage a blow can do is 1 point of damage. The program knows there's a hit before it knows damage so you can't reverse a hit, you merely take a minimum of 1 point of damage to your hit-points. 5. The lower your strength then more bounces you will see. The lower your damage class the more bounces you will see. The lighter weight a weapon is vs the armor its hitting the more bounces you will see. 6. In reverse to #5, all of those secondary-damage statements (often referred to as extra-damage statements) such as "it was a devastating blow"... "what a massive blow" -- these merely show that you hit your opponent with enough damage to exceed the computer secondary-damage statement threshold. Your warrior caused enough damage to exceed a programmed set number (whatever that number may be) and the fight is only showing that you exceeded that number. The programmed number for the secondary-damage threshold is a Hard number: it is constant within the program and is used for all fights and all warriors. It is not random. It has nothing to do with how much damage you did in relation to your opponent's hit-points either. If you exceed that number in damage, you get a printed statement showing that to be the case. There is no such thing as Extra-Damage. -- Pagan Question, turn 398: All -- If you lower your kill desire in desperation, do you have less of a chance of being killed? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Replies, turn 399: Q.O.W. -- I think that if your KD is lower in desperation, you're more likely to surrender than draw out the fight. Drawing out the fight by having a higher KD gives the attacker more chance to kill you. But you could defend and make a come-back. But that higher KD also lowers your defensive ability somewhat. -- Adie Hanibal's Q.o.W -- Yes, lowering your own KD helps keep you alive and allows you to surrender...hopefully in time. -- Armalias Hanibal -- The choice of kill desire in desperation seems to be a very tactically important one. I do believe that lowering kill desire will tend to preserve a warrior's life by making him give up (and end the fight) sooner. This also means the warrior may end up losing fights he could have won if he had hung around. I think scum strategy is a good example of this. While it may be counterintuitive, a good scum strategy involves using a moderate to high kill desire. This is done to prevent them from giving up prematurely. Also, most managers don't care too much if their scum gets killed, so there's no point to running with a low KD. There's a very good article on the total parry written by Scrag, in which this scheme is discussed. Maybe you saw it in Noblish. Personally, I either lower or raise KD in desperation, based on my expectations for a particular warrior. I think it was Miles that first wrote on this way of looking at kill desire, and I believe it to be the most correct. Other published theories, such as Jessie Jest's, are variably more questionable. (But then, everything Jessie Jest wrote should be taken with a grain of salt.) -- Generalissimo Puerco Question, turn 399: All -- If you have 18 HP and cannot take a lot of punishment and raise con once to normal--20 HP, does the rating affect the rate at which you take damage or do you just have 2 more Hit Points? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Replies, turn 400: Hanibal's QOW -- I think you just get a bump in hit points. But that little bump makes a big difference. I think armor and warrior experience are the only factors that affect the rate of damage per blow. -- Adie P.S. There's a new chart for hit points that is more accurate and does not involve a luck factor. Hanibal -- I think the amount of damage a warrior can take is not variable but constant. The variables in the equation are: the weapon being struck with and the armor it is striking, and the attack and damage-dealing ability of the warrior doing the swinging. Not to mention kill desire, as discussed last turn. -- Generalissimo Puerco SPY REPORT Welcome NOBLISH ISLAND. I, Olaf Modeen remember this place well. Many the fights have I fought here. The celebrations, the disappointments... Bein' on top is great while it lasts, HANDS OF HADES. But how many friends do you have now? What's with OMAR? He actually beat HANDS OF HADES' SJURE, and walked away with 11 more points from the fight. Laughs were big at SHERMANS STABLE while they watched OMAR clobber SJURE. He lost 8 points and got bruised from objects thrown from the stands. I'm sure NOBLISH ISLAND is excited about LEXAYN, the new Duelmaster from HANDS OF HADES. (remember?) But when you've seen as many as I have... I suppose you want to hear some rumors and dirty gossip about your fellow fighters? Tough! Speaking of cowardly avoiders and unfair challenges... NOBLISH ISLAND thinks MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS and their 5-0-0 is too much! If at first you don't succeed, give up... In my day, no team with a 5-0-0 would scare me off! What's the problem, THE DARK SIDE? What do people see in SJURE? His 5-4-1? HANDS OF HADES ain't talkin', but he's got 25 points. POTOMAC of SHERMANS STABLE knows how to pick 'em. He challenged LEXAYN of HANDS OF HADES who is up by 25. Now was this a wise move? POTOMAC perhaps got his just desserts, seeing as he was subdued by LEXAYN and ended up with 33 recognition points. Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND unite. You have only your games to lose! Here's some advice: study your opponent, master many skills, fight dirty. 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! Remember--a good fighter needs both good skills and good luck. Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME LEXAYN 8002 9 0 0 57 HANDS OF HADES (1382) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME IANTHE 8003 5 4 0 56 HANDS OF HADES (1382) IOSUA 8001 6 3 0 43 HANDS OF HADES (1382) OMAR 8008 4 5 0 36 SHERMANS STABLE (1383) SALLI VOSS 8013 6 3 0 35 MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME POTOMAC 8005 5 4 0 33 SHERMANS STABLE (1383) EBOLA 8097 2 1 1 33 THE DARK SIDE (1401) PORTAR SHAW 8010 7 2 0 32 MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) CHOW MAIN 8098 3 0 1 31 THE DARK SIDE (1401) QUEG TERCE 8011 5 4 0 29 MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) JACKHAMMER 8095 3 0 1 28 THE DARK SIDE (1401) KUNG POW 8096 2 1 0 28 THE DARK SIDE (1401) SCOUT 8099 2 1 0 27 THE DARK SIDE (1401) SJURE 7999 5 4 1 25 HANDS OF HADES (1382) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ULYSSES 8004 4 4 1 21 SHERMANS STABLE (1383) MIKADO 8007 5 4 0 19 SHERMANS STABLE (1383) ORVAL RAS 8009 4 5 0 17 MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) MAYTODD 8006 4 5 0 17 SHERMANS STABLE (1383) XIU MEI 8000 3 6 0 15 HANDS OF HADES (1382) -WERQ 8077 1 0 0 14 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) -BOLOQ 8073 1 0 0 13 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) -TARIQ 8074 1 0 0 13 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) -ASHANNA 8075 1 0 0 13 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) -MALIQ 8076 1 0 0 10 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? EMBEZZLING SCRIBE 5 0 1 0 1 CHOW MAIN 8098 198 NONE ROLV URSAL 8012 2 6 0 MIDDLE WAY 13 1384 EBOLA 8097 197 PERSONAL ADS Lexayn -- Well, it seemed like a smart strategy at the time. I believe Custer had the same thought. -- Potomac And in a shocking turn of events, last round Iron Dragon snatched the top chartered team honor away from Bane's Children (what?!).... Oh World, you thought you could hold me back. But after a round lost to the Siren- mail-distractors, I triumph-instantly return to battle. -- Ulysses Iosua -- Well, THAT was embarrassing. Also, well done on your part. -- Portar Shaw Scout -- Ouch, have you got a problem! Tell your manager, different weapon! That statement in the opening description means you really, really need a different weapon. You'll never do well with that one unless you train the lacking stat hard, and in the mean time (very mean), you could die. Less armor! You should've been a lot faster off the mark. Your style depends on speed, speed, and then more speed. -- Orval Ras Ebola -- Darn. Was it something I ate? -- Ghost of Rolv Ursal P.S. This is the way your style should come out as regards armor. Also, while not your style's best weapon, at least you can handle the damned thing. That counts for a lot. Maytodd -- That one was close. Good try. -- Salli Voss Xiu Mei -- Oops, you've got a problem there! Either drop the shield or changed down the weapon, maybe shortsword or shortspear? -- Queg Terce Xiu Mei -- I honestly don't know what to suggest. I have run your style, some of them all the way to graduation, and STILL don't understand why anybody would use a perfectly good wall-of-steel roll-up to make one. The best I can say is, tinker. Maybe Heloise will be the one to really "figure out" the p-strike (also known as piker). -- Jorja P.S. I think, myself, that the parry-strike style was created while the game designer was under the pernicious influences of the Edifice Fallacy, which is the mistaken belief that everything should be symmetrical. WHY did we have to have ten styles? Oh, well. P.P.S. Tell Heloise that there's a player in her area who would be delighted to communicate by email, if he has not already contacted you via diplo to suggest that very thing. I won't print his email address here, but if she contacts me at LiviaATreality.com, I'll pass it along. LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS POTOMAC slimly lost to LEXAYN in a 5 minute bloody Challenge Title fight. OMAR viciously subdued SJURE in a 4 minute gruesome Challenge battle. XIU MEI was savagely defeated by JACKHAMMER in a 2 minute gruesome Challenge fight. SCOUT slimly won victory over ORVAL RAS in a 2 minute gory Challenge contest. KUNG POW overpowered MIKADO in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge match. IOSUA bested QUEG TERCE in a 4 minute duel. IANTHE defeated EBOLA in a 3 minute struggle. SALLI VOSS narrowly defeated MAYTODD in a 2 minute brawl. ULYSSES was overcome by PORTAR SHAW in a 4 minute gruesome fight. CHOW MAIN slaughtered EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute uneven duel. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |LUNGING ATTACK 4 LUNGING ATTACK 20 - 5 - 3 80 | |BASHING ATTACK 4 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 5 - 0 77 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 1 - 1 75 | |TOTAL PARRY 2 AIMED BLOW 6 - 4 - 0 60 | |WALL OF STEEL 2 BASHING ATTACK 17 - 14 - 1 55 | |PARRY-STRIKE 2 WALL OF STEEL 17 - 15 - 1 53 | |AIMED BLOW 1 SLASHING ATTACK 4 - 5 - 0 44 | |SLASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-STRIKE 9 - 12 - 1 43 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 20 - 29 - 0 41 | |STRIKING ATTACK 0 STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 6 - 0 40 | Turn 198 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 3 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 3 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 1 3 LUNGING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 1 WALL OF STEEL SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME TOTAL PARRY LEXAYN 8002 9 0 0 57 HANDS OF HADES (1382) PARRY-RIPOSTE IOSUA 8001 6 3 0 43 HANDS OF HADES (1382) WALL OF STEEL SALLI VOSS 8013 6 3 0 35 MIDDLE WAY 13 (1384) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is SALLI VOSS 8013. The most popular warrior this turn was OMAR 8008. The ten other most popular fighters were EBOLA 8097, PORTAR SHAW 8010, SJURE 7999, JACKHAMMER 8095, SCOUT 8099, ORVAL RAS 8009, MAYTODD 8006, IANTHE 8003, SALLI VOSS 8013, and POTOMAC 8005. The least popular fighter this week was ULYSSES 8004. The other ten least popular fighters were QUEG TERCE 8011, MIKADO 8007, LEXAYN 8002, CHOW MAIN 8098, KUNG POW 8096, IOSUA 8001, XIU MEI 8000, POTOMAC 8005, SALLI VOSS 8013, and IANTHE 8003. MAIL-IN TOURNEY XL ROOKIES TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME TARIQ 8074 (0-0-0) 2 3 0 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS MALIQ 8076 (0-0-0) 1 3 0 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS ASHANNA 8075 (0-0-0) 0 2 0 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS BOLOQ 8073 (0-0-0) 0 2 0 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS WERQ 8077 (0-0-0) 0 2 0 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS A DM TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS 12 political points a'pumpin' 11 TVs a'workin' 10 free duels of credit 9 ABs to challenge 8 criticals a'connectin' 7 scums a'dyin' 6 skills a'maxin' 5 A.D. invites 4 lucky warriors 3 size on replacement 2 proxied TCs And a quarterstaff from a pear tree. May your days be merry, And your wins be often. The Consortium 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