DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/18/2006 Duedate: 03/31/2006
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-204
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
NARUTO
TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
(93-8128) [3-0-0,50]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY NARUTO
TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
(93-8128) [3-0-0,50]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
YOLAN BETTS URVON YOLE
MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409) MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409)
(93-8139) [3-2-0,18] (93-8136) [2-3-0,20]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409) 44
2. TEAM COUNTRY (1407) 25 BANE'S CHILDREN (235)
3. DUNGEON MASTERS (1413) 19 Unchartered Team
4. FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405) 15
5. THE DARK SIDE (1401) 7 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*TEAM COUNTRY (1407) 9 4 2 69.2 1/ 1*TEAM COUNTRY (1407) 9 4 2
2/ 3*MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409) 15 9 0 62.5 2/ 2*MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409) 7 7 0
3/ 5*THE DARK SIDE (1401) 17 16 3 51.5 3/ 3*RAVEN'S LOFT (1406) 5 5 1
4/ 4*MOLLUQ'S MARAUDER (1397) 14 14 2 50.0 4/ 6*FIST FIGHTERS GAN (1405) 3 6 1
5/ 1*RAVEN'S LOFT (1406) 5 5 1 50.0 5/ 4*THE DARK SIDE (1401) 3 6 0
6/ 6*FIST FIGHTERS GAN (1405) 9 10 2 47.4 6/ 0*DUNGEON MASTERS (1413) 1 4 0
7/ 0*DUNGEON MASTERS (1413) 1 4 0 20.0 7/ 5*MOLLUQ'S MARAUDER (1397) 1 7 1
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
>)]H[(< + -----:----- + >)] *IHI* [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(<
Profile of a Style
Parry-Riposte
When you read about the parry-riposte style in the rulebook, it looks like it
might be a lot of fun to run, and it is. But it's also really tricky. The plain
offensives: basher, lunger, slasher, striker, and the total parry, are easier. I
don't think I've ever heard a manager say that he really understands the parry-
riposte style, I certainly don't myself. But I've run a lot of them, and some have
survived, and they ARE fun.
So just for a basic introduction to warriors of the parry-riposte style, known
to one and all as rippers, here's what I know.
Design: This is tough. The ripper needs it all! Especially important, though,
are endurance from constitution (CN) and will (WL), plus skill from wit (WT) and
deftness (DF), and it doesn't hurt to have enough strength (ST) to do a decent amount
of damage... and what does that leave that you can go short on? Size (SZ), okay, a
ripper can be--usually is--small. Speed (SP), well, I just don't know. It wouldn't
hurt them to have speed, but where are all the points going to come from?
I have made a lot of rippers over the years, some of them from roll-ups that
were spectacularly unsuited to the style. These are ones who lived to graduation:
Santee 13- 7-14-17-15- 8-10 LO mod/mod slash
Toryn 9-12- 7-13-15-11-17 EP vlo/mod
Scovellie 9-13- 8-17-17- 5-15 SH low/mod
Chia 10-13- 5-17-17- 5-17 SS low/high
Saba 5-17- 9-15-17- 4-17 EP mod/low
Bali 9- 6-14-15-17- 8-15 LO vlo/mod
Jane 9-10- 9-17-17- 5-17 SS mod/mod lunge/riposte
Cedar 15- 6- 7-15-17- 9-15 LS mod/mod
Azureen 9-12- 8-17-10-11-17 SC high/mod riposte
Similde 6- 6- 5-17-17-16-17 LO low/mod
Tailida 9-13- 5-15-17- 8-17 SH low/mod
Korlo 9- 8-12-17-15- 8-15 LS vlo/mod
Tilona 9- 9- 7-15-17-10-17 SH low/mod lunge
You'll see my biases at work here.
Strength is usually at least nine; in the cases where it started lower, the
warriors were cursed with little damage, and I trained it up as soon as I could.
(The numbers shown here are all original, before stat trains.)
Constitution generally moderate. Most of these warriors could take a hit or two
and survive.
Size mostly small, but not always. I did try a couple six-footers, and they didn't
do as badly as one might expect.
Wit is 15 or 17, except in one case. I always look for brains in a gladiator, and
this style needs it.
Will is, except in one case, 15 or 17. High will improves endurance, an important
factor for a parry-style, and makes it easier to train stats when the time comes.
Speed may be anything. I generally did not add any points to speed during the
design phase.
Deftness is 15 or 17 again, except in one case. Deftness, and the skills that go
with it, are important to a finesse style like the ripper. Plus, where strength may
be a problem, accuracy helps.
Weapon selection: There are six weapons well suited to the parry-riposte style,
listed below with the minimum stats required for their best use.
Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15
Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9
Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11
Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11
Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7
Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3
Only weapons well suited to the style will show up as favorite weapons when a warrior
graduates. Yes, you CAN put other weapons in their hands, but you aren't likely to
get the best results that way. (You may note that some of my graduated rippers
listed above were initially unable to use their favorite weapon to best advantage.
This is one of the sneaky things the Gladiatorial Commission does to keep you on your
toes.) I STRONGLY advise that when you design a ripper, consult the weapon chart and
make sure that your warrior will have the stats to use at least one of the weapons
listed to its best advantage.
Armor selection: This depends on how you plan to run the warrior. If he's
going to be fast, and/or he can take a few hits (takes normal damage, for instance,
signified by no comment on the overview) but maybe has low endurance, put him in
light armor. If you plan to run him slow, or he can take little damage but maybe has
high endurance, put him in medium to heavy armor.
Strategy: This is always a tricky thing to advise people on, which is why I've
listed the favorite rhythms on the warriors above. Very low (vlo) is 1 or 2, low is
3 or 4, moderate (mod) is 5 or 6, high is 7 or 8, and very high (vhi) is 9 or 10.
Offensive effort is listed first, then activity level. You can see that most rippers
in this sample prefer to run at middling speeds, usually with the activity level
higher than the offensive effort. Not all of them, but a majority. You can ignore
that--I sometimes do--and run them fast and hard, as though they were simple
offensive warriors. Some take to this treatment, others burn out. The medium speeds
are safe, and a place to start from.
You'll note I haven't mentioned kill desire here. There is no such thing as a
warrior or style having a favorite kill desire. Your kill desire can have a profound
effect on how the warrior fights, but it is strictly a personal decision. However, I
can say that my own experience has been that if a warrior has a high KD in
desperation, he will tend to go berserk, and if he has a low KD in desperation, he
will surrender. Warriors who surrender lose fights, but generally they survive to
fight again. I can't say the same of warriors who go berserk in desperation.
Tactics: I don't use tactics much, myself, but that's just me. You'll note
that out of the thirteen warriors listed above, two have favorite offensive tactics
(slash and lunge) and one has a favorite defensive tactic (riposte) and one has both
an offensive and a defensive tactic (lunge/riposte). All this tells us for sure is
that slash, lunge, and riposte are tactics that rippers can use well (or they
wouldn't appear as favorites). Experiment with them, but don't try to use an
offensive AND a defensive tactic in the same minute; it confuses the warrior.
And to go from the general to the specific--
Profile of a Warrior
Tailida Dawnrain
Tailida is one of the rippers listed above.
She's left-handed
She's intelligent
Makes the most of her enemy's mistakes
Has an unusual fighting style that confuses many opponents
Rarely makes mistakes
Is always thinking ahead
She plans out every move that she makes, seldom wasting any effort
She is very quick (the DF more than the SP, I think)
She cannot carry a lot of weight in armor and weapons
(more a question of her SZ than her ST)
She is incredibly quick and elusive on her feet
Making even dangerous opponents look harmless
She does little damage with each blow
(curses! I had hoped that the ST of 9 would offset her small SZ. It didn't.)
ST 9 CN 13 SZ 5 WT 15 WL 17 SP 8 DF 17
If I decide to run her on the Isle, I will train up her ST until I get normal
damage. (Note, no skills will be burned between ST 9 and ST 14, skill-wise, this is
a barren stretch. But it WILL increase the amount of damage a warrior can do.)
She graduates with a master in riposte, an expert in attack, a master in parry, and
an advanced expert in defense.
She is naturally adept with the shortsword, which I don't think she tried
She favors a fighting rhythm of low offensive effort and moderate activity level
And she tends to learn parry skills most easily.
She received her graduation notice when her record was 21-9-2,96 in Tricorus (dm 51).
On the same turn as her graduation notice arrived, she was challenged by a total
parry in plate armor and a full helm, carrying a broadsword and a medium shield.
Tailida herself was in leather armor and a helm, carrying a scimitar (and a
backup).
Tailida was running 7-7-x, faster than she would have liked, but that's how
she's being running straight along, and it kept her alive and with a winning record,
so I don't want to hear her complain.
Tailida got the jump and hit her opponent twice in the first minute, several
other blows being parried, hit once each in the second and third minutes, with other
blows being parried, was parried completely in the fourth minute, was showing signs
of weariness in the fifth minute but still managed to land a few blows in the fifth,
sixth, and seventh minutes. Then she collapsed with exhaustion at the end of the
seventh minute and lost the fight without being hit once. This is why you find
managers speaking harshly of "scum": we all hate to see our warrior work hard, do all
the right things, and lose because the opponent wasn't doing anything but standing
there in heavy armor.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #7 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
From turn 414:
All -- In case last cycle's personals don't make it: What are the advantages and
disadvantages of using one or two weapons. I'm particularly interested in Riposte
effects. -- Q.O.W. Hanibal
Q.O.W. -- Two Weapons. That's a good subject.
Disadvantages: Few if any, but it has been suggested that some weapons give
bonuses to attack if you use them in two hands instead of one, such as SC. An
obvious one is you can't use two handed weapons. If you don't have the attribute
requirements (which are more stringent for off-hand weapons), then you may suffer
penalties when using certain combinations. Last, you may swing with an off-hand more
than you want, say if you are using a shield. It's usually prefered to have a real
weapon in your off-hand.
Advantages: You have a second weapon already in hand if one breaks. If you are
ambidextrous, this is the biggest advantage, because they will swing with that off-
hand weapon almost as if it were their on-hand. My ambi-warriors will win fights
with off-hand weapons. An off-hand weapon is not bound to a warrior's style
suitability, so a LU could use a SC in their off-hand without penalty if they have
the attribute requirements. Another advantage is suggested in that it assists in
parrying. I tend to think highly coordinated warriors are better at parrying with
their second weapon than those who aren't. I rarely use shields, so I can't comment
extensively on their benefits over a real weapon, especially in AD, but in basic,
shields seem to make it easier to parry attacks.
Riposte and 2-Weapons: I have not noticed any specific variance in the ability
of a warrior to riposte if they are using two weapons. Once in AD, riposting is more
often than not following a dodge. I don't think there is much correlation here, but
it is definitely something to look into. -- Adie
The Question of the Week is posed in Aruak City (DM 11) by Hanibal, a manager
who is himself an alumnus of Noblish Island. The answers are provided by other
managers in that arena. Any manager here in Noblish who wishes to pose a question to
the more experienced managers of Aruak City, feel free to do so, either by sending in
a personal directed to DM 11 and identifying yourself as a manager from Noblish
seeking enlightenment, or by posting the question here, in which case I will be glad
to see that it reaches Aruak.
Also, Hanibal sends you greetings and asks that we remind you that all arenas do
not have the same attitude and local conventions. Aruak City is an Andorian arena
and subscribes to the doctrine of Honorable Play, meaning, no down-challenging except
from the throne or in bloodfeuds, no deliberate attempts to kill the warriors of
other managers, and a general attitude of friendly respect toward the other members
of the arena. It is, in fact, a fine arena, and one where you would all be welcome
(though there are plenty of others--just ask, and I'll be glad to tell you about my
favorites).
If you have questions that you would like answered by the experienced managers
of the game, don't hesitate to ask--we can't answer if you don't ask. Questions can
be posed in the personals here, or by email to me (jputney@zianet.com) or Pagan
(pagan@gte.net), or by diplo to Jorja/The Middle Way 4 here in DM 93.
Question from turn 415 of Aruak City:
All -- Do you think you get negative modifiers when you go desperate? What about "is
dangerously stunned" or "is bleeding badly" or "is on the verge of shock"? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers from turn 416:
Hanibal -- That's a good question! I honestly don't have much of an opinion on that.
In the old days, warriors could get permanent wounds that would affect their fighting
in later matches (but not anymore), and it's been suggested that getting hit in
certain locations affects what your character can do during a match (obvious cases
are losing the use of an arm or being knocked down), but the sorely wounded comments?
It probably just has to do with giving a hint as to how close that warrior is to
going down if it gets hit in that badly wounded spot again. -- Adie
QOW -- After 'bleeding badly', 'dangerously stunned', 'sorely wounded', 'verge of
shock', etc., a warrior's ability to defend themselves is penalized. Desperation by
itself may not represent an ability penalty as much as a time to check for surrender
and a switch to the desperation strategy. Often, with a drastic strategy switch in
desperation, a warrior's performance can improve. -- Carmen
QOW -- I've noticed that by the time I get somebody to that point they're finished.
But I've also noticed that some of my more defensive comrades will give their
opponent a moment to recover and they're still able to. Despite this I would say
that by the time the comments you listed come into play the warrior who's getting
beat is in really bad shape. Whereas statements like "fights with the cunning of
desperation" or "eyes flare with renewed determination" still leave plenty of room
for the warrior to make a comeback. Therefore I would say that the earlier
desperation statements don't carry any significant penalties. -- Maxwell Honorblade
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 537): PUSS of ARENA FELINES (Garfield, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 537): CHIC SHEIK of ALL HALLOW'S EVE (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 531): NYARLATHOTEP of DARK CREATION (Herbert Philip Lovecraft
West, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 533): PERSIFLAGE of SHROUD IN MYSTERY (Noachian, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 531): VURZHAL UR of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 529): MALKAI of DRAGON JUNKIES (Youngblood, mgr.)
DM 28 SLAUGHTER PRIEST MEM (turn 265): MR. CHOMP CHOMP of THE PENTARCHY (The
Pentalque, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 522): QUICK STINGER of CARDOW HUNTERS (Uncle Wolf, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 263): BRILLIANT ORANGE of UNFIT TO BE ORCS (Slugbait, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 519): LOU CYPHER of DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 517): LIONESS of DARK TOADS II (TigToad, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 509): TAKE COVER of THE BEARS (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 470): DAPHNE CAMISADO of TERMAGANT VOTARY (Noachian, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 240): ZOEY of A DEAL'S A DEAL (Applejack, mgr.)
DM 47 SCOMSS SWAMP (turn 234): JACK MCFARLAND of SECOND BANANAS (Mannequin, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 221): YAIWE of DARK SIDHE (Daehir, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 398): ZIPPER of RESCUE RANGERS (JE, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 377): PITSPAWN FOULDOG of FEAR FACTORY (Var, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 363): VIRGINIA, NO SANTA of GOT IT FOR CHRISTMAS
(Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 170): APPLE DANISH of WORLDWIDE GORE (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAIYLA KIV (turn 334): RAGING PYROTHAG of GEMSTONE CREATIONS (Tripwire, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 331): SHORT ROCK of SAND DANCERS (Lorana, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 318): AIDEN of LETHAL HERITAGE (Lord Xiang, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 423): DRACO MALFOY of SLYTHERIN HOUSE from DAYLA KIV
(Rillion, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 537): THE MONGOLOIDS (Otis the Drunk, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 537): ALL HALLOW'S EVE (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 531): MEAT MARKET (?, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 533): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 531): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 529): JAGUAR WARRIORS (Noachian, mgr.)
DM 28 SLAUGHTER PRIEST MEM (turn 265): none
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 522): CARDOW HUNTERS (Uncle Wolf, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 263): THE STORMGUARDS (The Icelord, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 519): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 517): HALCYON DAZE (Noachian, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 509): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 470): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 240): A DEAL'S A DEAL (Applejack, mgr.)
DM 47 SCOMSS SWAMP (turn 234): LAND OF OZ (Oz the Successful, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 221): DARK SIDHE (Daehir, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 398): GET (JE, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 377): FEAR FACTORY (Var, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 363): MIGHTY DUCKS (Woody, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 170): FAMILY JEWELS (Gem Genius, mgr.)
DM 74 DAIYLA KIV (turn 334): CORPS (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 331): SAND DANCERS (Lorana, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 318): THE LEGENDS (Loch Ness, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 423): SUNNYLAND, etc. (Zalgor Prigg, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 537): FELINE GRIN of ARENA FELINES (Garfield, mgr.)
(turn 536): MARX of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 531): NYARLATHOTEP of DARK CREATION (Herbert Philip Lovecraft
West, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 521): STONETOOTH of CARDOW HUNTERS (Uncle Wolf, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 263): BRILLIANT ORANGE of UNFIT TO BE ORCS (Slugbait, mgr.)
(turn 262): BARTOFELES of THE STORMGUARDS (The Icelord, mgr.)
KAMBARD MURH of MIDDLE WAY 7 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 519): LOU CYPHER of DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 516): MALODOROUSREEK of CHAOTICDISORDER (Bobby Bigfoot)
DM 47 SCOMSS SWAMP (turn 24): ART PENDRAGON of KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (Baphomet, mgr.)
(turn 233): ACE METRIC of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 221): NEUMA of DARK SIDHE (Daehir, mgr.)
FENDER GRALE of MIDDLE WAY 6 (Jorja, mgr.)
(turn 220): STRYKER of DRUID'S GROVE (Talon Warsmith, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 318): JAMES of THE LEGENDS (Loch Ness, mgr.)
SPY REPORT
I was going on vacation, see? Surf, sun... But what do those bums say? "Hit
the road, Debby Tonte. NOBLISH ISLAND needs a spyreport." Oh, well. One team
deserves special mention 'cause they moved up 0 after going 4-0-0. Keep it up,
MIDDLE WAY 14! MVP award for NARUTO? TEAM COUNTRY's proud of him after beating
BOLOQ and getting 17 points. Talk about yer major upsets! BOLOQ's match with NARUTO
cost him a loss of 13 points! And I was just getting used to the ex-Duelmaster's
habit of...(!) Oh well, welcome NARUTO. Aren't TEAM COUNTRY proud. (Oh, my.) I
hear the top team insists all their warriors get nine hours sleep. They want
photogenic fighters for PR photos.
I gotta admit I haven't been in "deep con caves" with any spies. Really, I just
wing this stuff.
What does a fighter fight for? I mean, the crowds don't give a hoot if someone
gets killed. Not after four more fights. What if they had a fight and nobody showed
up? I'd be out of a job, that's what!!!
I really didn't, you know, study when I was a kid. Who would've guessed I'd be
a famous Spyreporter? I know how much you like reading this stuff, but I really
should stop. Its been really albendranius! Later, guys-- Debby Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
NARUTO 8128 3 0 0 50 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-KUNG POW 8096 4 2 0 39 THE DARK SIDE (1401)
BOLOQ 8073 4 2 1 37 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397)
-EBOLA 8097 3 3 1 37 THE DARK SIDE (1401)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AMIDAMARU 8126 3 0 0 33 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
COUNTRY 8127 2 1 1 31 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
ASHANNA 8075 4 2 1 25 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397)
TONAR WADE 8135 4 1 0 25 MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
URVON YOLE 8136 2 3 0 20 MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409)
VINDAL ZAIR 8137 3 2 0 19 MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409)
JACK OF BLADES 8118 2 2 1 19 FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405)
WHO CARES 8164 2 0 0 19 THE DARK SIDE (1401)
YOLAN BETTS 8139 3 2 0 18 MIDDLE WAY 14 (1409)
TARIQ 8074 2 4 0 16 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397)
TALON KARDE 8159 1 0 0 15 DUNGEON MASTERS (1413)
THUNDER 8115 3 1 1 11 FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405)
BRUNO 8119 2 2 0 8 FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405)
GRIMTOOTH 8123 1 1 1 7 RAVEN'S LOFT (1406)
TWINBLADE 8116 1 3 0 7 FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405)
PRINZ 8121 1 1 0 7 RAVEN'S LOFT (1406)
ELLA 8122 1 1 0 6 RAVEN'S LOFT (1406)
-KURAMA 8129 1 1 1 5 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
GROCK BLOWHARD 8161 0 1 0 1 DUNGEON MASTERS (1413)
MAGE 8163 0 1 0 1 FIST FIGHTERS GANG (1405)
NORI NE DIAM 8157 0 1 0 1 DUNGEON MASTERS (1413)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
RELLIK NOGARD 8160 0 1 0 1 DUNGEON MASTERS (1413)
RHOX 8158 0 1 0 1 DUNGEON MASTERS (1413)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
WHISPER 8117 1 1 0 FIST FIGHTERS GA 1405 BOLOQ 8073 200 NOT REVE
WORREL ARELLIN 8138 3 1 0 MIDDLE WAY 14 1409 COUNTRY 8127 203
ZOLOF 8124 1 1 0 RAVEN'S LOFT 1406 ASHANNA 8075 204
RAND NOX 8120 1 1 0 RAVEN'S LOFT 1406 JACK OF BLADES 8118 204
PERSONAL ADS
Country -- I hate it when that happens. It makes me feel so dumb. -- Ghost of Worrel
Arellin
P.S. And it's such a nuisance when the audience has been spellbound and they have to
get magicians to come and unbind them.
Naruto -- (recoiling) If that blow was landed on target, it was an excellent move.
I congratulate you. -- Tonar Wade
Amidamaru -- You Team Country dudes are out to get us, aren't you? Seems like a
plan, but try not to kill me in the process, okay? I'd hate that. -- Vindal Zair
Twinblade -- Ah, my thanks for allowing ME to be the one to preserve us from an oh-
fer turn. -- Yolan Betts
Thunder -- And lightning, too, I have no doubt. -- Urvon Yole
Dark Side -- You do realize, I hope, that you can't put another team HERE? But there
are lots of good arenas out there. -- Jorja, the Middle Way
22 February 2006
The Olympics have arrived!
The Mordanti Olympics, having been gone for six years, have returned to the Mordanti
Alliance, sponsored by Amicitia Primoris. Teams have competed against each other for
recognition and notoriety four times in the past. It is far past time for the fifth
Mordanti Olympics to be held. The Mordanti Olympics shall be held in the Mordant
arena (DM-1) from May 1st (T544) through Oct 30 (T557). There will be a
'registration period' lasting until T543, where teams will be allowed to register by
activating in Mordant and declaring their participation in the personals. Rules will
be posted in the Mordant arena (DM-1) newsletter no later than T543, but shall be
available online before then. An announcement will be made as to where they will be
posted. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.
Lord Xiang
Amicitia Primoris
amicitia@gwi.net
http://amicitiaprimoris.gotdns.com
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
BOLOQ was bested by NARUTO in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Title fight.
COUNTRY slimly lost to CAPTURED ORC in a 2 minute brutal beginner's battle.
ASHANNA slew ZOLOF in a 2 minute duel.
TARIQ was devastated by TONAR WADE in a 1 minute gory one-sided contest.
THUNDER was demolished by AMIDAMARU in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
TWINBLADE won victory over RHOX in a 4 minute amateur's fight.
JACK OF BLADES executed RAND NOX in a 1 minute gory mismatched brawl.
BRUNO was handily defeated by TALON KARDE in a 1 minute uneven melee.
PRINZ won victory over GROCK BLOWHARD in a 2 minute novice's duel.
ELLA slimly lost to URVON YOLE in a popular 3 minute brutal novice's duel.
GRIMTOOTH was viciously subdued by VINDAL ZAIR in a 2 minute brutal novice's bout.
YOLAN BETTS demolished RELLIK NOGARD in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
WHO CARES devastated NORI NE DIAM in a 1 minute one-sided battle.
MAGE was bested by MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute amateur's bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 6 TOTAL PARRY 14 - 6 - 1 70 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 5 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 4 - 1 56 |
|BASHING ATTACK 5 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 20 - 5 53 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 3 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 9 - 1 53 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 LUNGING ATTACK 12 - 11 - 3 52 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 12 - 12 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 STRIKING ATTACK 13 - 13 - 0 50 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 AIMED BLOW 8 - 9 - 0 47 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 SLASHING ATTACK 11 - 13 - 1 46 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-STRIKE 6 - 11 - 1 35 |
Turn 204 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 2 3 BASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 4 - 1 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 4 3 STRIKING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 4 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 2 SLASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 0 - 1 1 LUNGING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 1 PARRY-LUNGE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
AIMED BLOW NARUTO 8128 3 0 0 50 TEAM COUNTRY (1407)
BASHING ATTACK BOLOQ 8073 4 2 1 37 MOLLUQ'S MARAUDERS (1397)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is YOLAN BETTS 8139. The most popular warrior this
turn was URVON YOLE 8136. The ten other most popular fighters were VINDAL ZAIR 8137,
NARUTO 8128, COUNTRY 8127, PRINZ 8121, GROCK BLOWHARD 8161, YOLAN BETTS 8139, ASHANNA
8075, TONAR WADE 8135, AMIDAMARU 8126, and ELLA 8122.
The least popular fighter this week was RHOX 8158. The other ten least popular
fighters were NORI NE DIAM 8157, RELLIK NOGARD 8160, TALON KARDE 8159, BRUNO 8119,
RAND NOX 8120, THUNDER 8115, TARIQ 8074, ZOLOF 8124, BOLOQ 8073, and MAGE 8163.
Top Ten Reasons Why Duelmasters is better than Sex
10. When you spend money on Duelmasters, you know you're going to get return on your
investment.
9. One arena won't get jealous when you start playing in another.
8. With the right tourney prize, you can design your own warrior.
7. If you make it to AD, they tell you your warrior's favorites.
6. You can always DA and get another roll-up.
5. The more experience you get, the less likely you are to die.
4. SZ, CN and Charisma are less important in Duelmasters.
3. Most mangers are satisfied with two minute fights.
2. Warriors do as they're told, even if it means using ALE and a WF.
And the number one reason..........
1. You don't have to hold your turn for an hour after you're finished reading it.
Composed by the Jester and Predator
THE ULTIMATE AIMED BLOW
Oh no, not another aimed blow, you think, they always lose and have a tendency to
die if they meet the right person. But I can promise you that this fighter will give
you a lot of wins. Not a 20-0-? record, but a respectable one. Let's have a look at
the stats:
THE BEST: IF YOU CAN FIND IT: TOO BIG: TOO FAST: THE MUTANT:
ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 7
CN: 15 +/- CN: 14 CN: 14 CN: 15 CN: 15
SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3 SZ: 6 - 9 SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3
WT: 19 +/- WT: 21 WT: 17 + WT: 19 WT: 13 - 15
WL: 18 +/- WL: 19 WL: 17 + WL: 18 WL: 13 - 15
SP: 3 - 5 SP: 3 SP: 3 - 6 SP: 4 - 9 SP: 15 +
DF: 15 +/- DF: 15 DF: 15 DF: 13 DF: 15 +
ST: So you can use some weapons.
CN: So you can stand some damage, and get at least good endurance.
SZ: The smaller the better.
WT: You need to be smart, and it helps a lot on stats and skills training.
WL: Helps you stand even more damage. It also helps a lot on stats and skills
training.
SP: The slower the better, but needs to be trained to avoid clumsiness. It doesn't
matter if this stat is low, you will hit when you want to hit.
DF: Gives you the response to other's actions, and gives you the initiative when you
need it.
The main weakness of this little fellow seems to be his speed, but this
disadvantage is made good by his small size. He will dodge nearly anything, and what
hits him doesn't matter because of his constitution. The strategy is all up to each
manager, but I prefer to run mine like this:
Weapons: Epee vs. Light Armor
Short Spear vs. Medium Armor
Shortsword vs. Heavy Armor
Shield: Medium Shield vs. Light and Heavy Armor
Armor: Depends on who I am challenging
Helm: Full helm
Strategy 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th+ Desp.
Offensive Effort 5 5 5 6 5 4 2
Activity Level 5 6 6 6 5 5 4
Kill Desire 4 4 5 6 6 4 2
Attack Location: Head or Chest
Defend Location: Body or Head
Offensive and Defensive tactics are something I seldom use.
Challenging is very important when running an aimed blow. Try to challenge big,
unarmored fighters. Train strength, speed, and deftness.
Well, that's all, for now. Try it and send me a diplo note if you have any
comments on my aimed blow.
Brought to you by Manimal, Manager of Cowards Guild, DM-31.
May victory by yours (or mine.)
Aimed Blows My Way
Okay, so it's a pretentious title. No more so than anyone else's, what with all
these "the perfect" this and "the perfect" that; what I'm going to show you here is
several different ways to make aimed blows and win with them.
There is no one specific way to make an aimed blow. You'll hear a lot of
managers claim that they "HAVE" to have a 21 DF in order to be any good at all. Well,
that's a trifle exaggerated. It's NICE to have a 21 DF. This will increase your
attack rating, and give you a certain boost. But it isn't necessary for a good,
solid, long-term aimed blow.
I'm going to give several examples of aimed blows, both how-tos and how-not-tos.
All the aimed blows represented here actually fight on one of my stables, so I did
this all by hit-and-miss. Unlike some managers, I don't believe that the first,
third, and fifth rules of aimed blows is "they die." It's only the third rule. <grin>
Now then. Design:
ST: Any, really. You can go low, since aims can handle daggers and open hand
just fine.
CN: Again, any. A little more can help them take a hit, but if they're lucky,
they'll do all right even if they can't.
SZ: Any. This is a versatile style. Big ones do great. Little ones do great.
WT: I'm going to surprise you, here. Anything. Yep, anything. Best is 11-21,
of course.
WL: Again. Any. Honest! An aim can do without will and can also use it to its
best advantage. But from here on is where you've got to pay attention.
SP: LOW. Keep it below 9 if possible. Below 7 is better.
DF: HIGH. 21 is always best, but 17 works okay, too.
So now you have a rollup with a low speed and a high deftness and it doesn't look
like much else. You've got a good aimed blow. Yes!
Examples of "do" design aims:
1) 7-5-12-21-11-7-21
2) 11-16-6-21-9-4-17
3) 10-15-6-17-9-6-21
4) 13-9-5-17-17-6-17
5) 11-5-10-11-21-5-21
6) 8-10-9-17-15-4-21
7) 5-10-7-17-17-11-17
8) 12-12-7-21-9-6-17
9) 7-11-8-11-21-5-21
10) 9-14-8-15-17-4-17
Ten is a good, round number. 1-4 are Immortal. All have winning records. Most
of them beat lungers in one minute. The low-con ones have the most trouble, because
they can't take a hit--if they get hit, they go down. Fortunately, that's only killed
a few of mine (the dead ones I won't list just now, since it's so depressing).
Examples of "don't" design aims, unless you're as insane as me or much more
experienced in your aimed blow running:
1) 17-5-5-11-17-9-21 (beat the DA three times before he was killed--he gets a
special place at #1)
2) 13-8-12-11-11-18-11
3) 11-12-6-21-13-8-13
4) 11-12-12-17-11-4-17
5) 12-7-18-13-13-5-16 (my first)
6) 11-14-7-9-17-9-17
7) 9-11-9-17-11-10-17
There's certainly more "don'ts" than dos, but those are ones I actually have
played somewhere; 2-5 are immortal, with usually 50% records except for the 11 DF (who
is in permanent retirement). He came along early in my aimed blow career, when I was
making EVERY rollup into an aimed blow to see for myself what worked and what didn't.
That didn't. Some of the mortal ones I'm still running, and they do well enough, but
as I said, until you get a little experience there are some things you may not want to
try unless, like me, you want to see what happens for yourself. <grin>
Now for strategy. This is probably the most important thing you'll give your
aim.
Weapons: Scimitar, unless they don't have the strength for it, in which case, dual
daggers. Longsword is next, then fists, then quarterstaff. You need an 11 ST for
longsword, so that's probably not always realistic. If your aim likes to fight with
his fists, you can let him, but I'd advise waiting until he's got some experience, and
you know your opponent isn't much on armor and parrying, because you can do yourself
some serious damage on the parries. Quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon, so bear that
in mind if you use it.
Armor: Keep it light, no more than ARM/H, and then only if you're worried about your
opponent. An aimed blow is a fast, offensive warrior--don't load him down.
Strategy:
10 8 8 6 6 6 10
10 2 2 1 1 1 10
1 --------------------------------------------------------- >
LL --------------------------------------------------------- >
HE --------------------------------------------------------- >
D
That's a good, all-purpose, general strategy. Some aims will want to play around with
it, and you let them--see what they like. But, and this is VERY important: keep that
KD low! An aimed blow relies on his control and his accuracy, and higher KDs will
cause them to lose a lot of that. If you're bloodthirsty, change the attack location
to the head. I recommend the legs for knockdowns. Either way, your aim will attack
THAT LOCATION, over and over again, until he has defeated his opponent, and very
decisively, from total parries (the classic aimed blow opponent) to lungers (the
classic aimed blow enemy). Remember: the aimed blow is an OFFENSIVE style. He has
some finesse, but he is a brutal and efficient warrior. Keep him in control; he'll
win. You can also play with desperation, but for me just dropping the first minute
tactic often works just fine. As for the use of decise, as always, it's up to the
manager, but decise will help keep your aim from "standing around looking for an
opening" in the first minute. Get him moving.
As always, experiment, find what works for you, and have fun.
Raf
Lord Protector
Ivory League
Manager of Tex's Rangers (51, 100, 101), Assassins (40, 105), Impressionists (27,
105), The Damned (30, 105, 101, 102), etc.
The Mechanics of Death
By Sir Jessie Jest
Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! This article discusses the mechanics
involved when a warrior dies in combat. It will give the reader a better knowledge of
how a warrior actually gets killed in combat.
Here is how a warrior dies... The Facts) ...in fact, get out a dead warrior's
last fight so you can follow me. To start the process of death, a warrior must first
fail to make a death roll. Let's say the death roll is 20 or less out of 100 to fail
that roll for this example.
There are 2 ways a warrior can be forced to make that Death Roll.
1. The vitals roll.
2. The second is when you run out of hit points, which is called the "infirmary roll."
The vitals roll -- every time a warrior gets hit in a vital area you make a
vitals roll. Lets say that you fail on a 1-15% out of 100. If you get hit in the
head, chest, or abdomen, you will roll the vitals percent. If you roll 15 or less you
must make the death roll to determine if the warrior was killed. Now look at the
fight with your dead warrior on it...look for the death intent statement, it will say
something like, "Trying to make this into a death match, or seeks death of his
opponent, etc. etc." (there are a lot of them) that is telling you that your warrior
was forced to make a death roll.
Now comes the scary part: if you fail the death roll your warrior dies. But the
program does not kill you immediately because you still have hit points left. So what
happens next is that you will get normal attacks and damages that hit your character
automatically in the vitals until yours hit points run out. Then it will say your
warrior is dead. Remember that it will be normal hits to the vitals, not crits or
extra damage remarks. If your warrior dodges, crit attacks , parries, has extra
damage remarks or anything else EXCEPT a normal hit to the vitals, the sentence
following right after the death intent statement comes up, then he made his death roll
successfully and the fight continues. You can have many death intent statements come
up in one fight, depending on the number of times you hit a vital. You won't get one
every time, only when you fail the vitals roll. And your warrior will have to roll
the death roll every time you fail the vitals roll to see if he is killed or not.
EXAMPLE:
INFERNO leaps to his left!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN takes an upper body hit!
NULN is badly hurt!
NULN is becoming FRANTIC!!!!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN is struck on the left rib cage!
What a devastating attack!!
NULN is dangerously stunned!
INFERNO is trying to make this a death match----(Death Intent)
INFERNO slashes an attack with his scimitar---(Normal Attack)
NULN is struck on the side of the HEAD!---(Vital Hit)
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is wounded in the upper chest.
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is hit in the forehead!
NULN curses the gods in frustration!
NULN falls LIFELESS to the ground!
INFERNO has won the duel!
INFERNO laughs and says, "What a loser!"
As you see, if you fail the vitals roll, and then fail the death roll, you will
get normal attacks to the vital areas until all of your warrior's hit points are gone.
All of your dead warriors that have died from DEATH INTENT statements will have those
three things... death intent statement, then normal attack, then hits to the vitals
until all hit points are gone. Then you will get some sort of, "falls over dead
statement." In the past, if you failed the death intent statement roll, the program
would just skip all the stuff that was in between the death intent statement and the
falls over dead statement. It would say something like this:
INFERNO seeks the death of his opponent
NULN falls to the ground lifeless
INFERNO has won the duel.
But they changed it to make death more dramatic.
The second way your warrior is forced to make a death roll is if your warrior
runs out of hit points during or after the fight has ended. This roll is called the
infirmary roll and can happen in or out of combat, and does not matter where your
warrior gets hit. If your warrior has taken many hits, that reduces his hit point
total below the preset percentage... lets say it 5% of your total hit points... then
he will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll, you then make the
death roll to determine if your warrior has died. In combat, you will read that you
died from serious wounds or something to that effect. After a fight is over, the
program checks to see if your warrior has fallen below that preset percentage of hit
points, if you have, you will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll,
an infirmary statement will appear at the bottom of your fight letting you know if
your warrior failed the death roll that comes after that. Sometimes you can die in
combat without a death intent statement that comes up during the battle . This is a
good example of an infirmary roll failure in combat from low hit points, triggering
the death roll which actually is the roll that kills your warrior. In some battles
you can get hit several times in the vitals, have several death intent statements come
up, make every roll successfully and still die from lack of hit points (i.e.: fail the
infirmary roll).
A simple way to think of this is the 2 ways are : 1. vitals roll, which deals
with getting hit in the head, chest, or abs and dying when a death intent statement
comes up. Or # 2. infirmary roll, which deals with dying from lack of hit points,
and does not use the death intent statement. I'd say about 90% of all deaths are by
death intent statement because of a failed vitals roll. Only a small percentage die
from the infirmary roll in or out of combat.
Well, that's it. These are facts, not theories. You can check this out with all
your dead warriors, and you will learn there are NO exceptions. Those percentages I
used up there are just made up, I have no way of knowing what they really are.
Now I have formed theory regarding KD or kill desire. I do not believe KD has
anything to do with a warrior dying, but is rather a tool to determine your warrior's
aggressiveness in combat. In other words the timing of his blows, his shot
selection, and other such things. For example: The higher the KD the wilder he is
with his shots, and easier to feint, dodge, parry and riposte. Some styles like Abs
(Aimed Blows) fight better with a 1 KD because they are very selective with their
shots. Most of the other offensive styles function well between 5-7 KD. Any more
than that is just a waste of endurance and has a negative effect on your warrior's
performance in battle, in my opinion.
Well that's it for now. If you would like to chat sometime drop me a diplo at
Jessie's Kids in DM 60 (yes, I've come out of retirement) ;) May the axe fall in your
favor!
Cheerio!
Sir Jessie Jest,
Lord of Puns, and Master of Laughter.
Troll-Bred Bashers
The Bashing attack is not, as many of you may have noticed, one of the dominant
styles in Duelmasters. There are two reasons for this; one of which I will cover
here, the other I will cover in an accompanying article. I will preface this article
on Bashing attack design and strategy by saying that I have been playing Duelmasters
for two years, and I have spent most of this time experimenting with and perfecting
the Bashing Attack. In my opinion, a Basher needs to possess a monumentally high
attack percentage, with decisiveness and initiative not far behind. What follows is
designed to achieve the desired results.
Let's get right down to business. First, the stats:
PERFECT
ST: 13-17 15
CN: 3-5 3
SZ: 6-9 6
WT: 17-21 21
WL: 17-21 21
SP: 5-9 5
DF: 11-15 13
Here's why:
Strength is arguably the most important attribute for a basher. A basher with a
high strength can virtually be assured of a reasonably high attack. however, excess
strength takes away points from other vital areas and, as you will see, this Basher
will not want for attack. A 13 strength gives the Basher most of the good Bashing
weapons.
Constitution is absolutely unimportant to any offensive styles warrior. Bashers,
and for that matter, offensives in general, should be designed to dish out damage, not
absorb it. If you are designing a Basher to absorb damage, then you are designing him
wrong.
Size is an attribute that this game system does not handle well. As we all know,
too large a size means that you do not have enough points to allocate to the other
attributes. You would think logically that a Basher would need a large size. I am
not talking about logic. I am talking about winning within the parameters of this
game system. I give a minimum size of 6 since this is the smallest size that can
achieve "great damage with a blow."
Wit, in my opinion, is the most important attribute for every style. This is
strictly my opinion and you do not have to agree with me. Where Bashers are concerned
however, a Basher without very high wit is garbage. High wit will greatly effect a
Basher's initial attack, decisiveness, and initiative. My research has led me to the
conclusion that a Basher's initiative is primarily a function of wit. high wit also
ensures that the Basher will train consistently. Also, a Basher with a high wit can
expect an initial initiative rating somewhere in the 50-60% range. Note that speed is
also a modifier for initiative.
Will is another attribute that the Basher cannot do without. Will affects a
Basher's attack and decisiveness, and is responsible for, in conjunction with
strength, giving the Basher normal endurance, despite the pitifully low constitution.
Speed has almost no affect on a basher. I have seen many high speed Bashers, and
I can tell with 100% certainty that Bashers do not derive strong benefit from speed.
Slasher, strikers, and to a lesser extent, Lungers, all derive noticeable benefit from
speed. I am not saying that a 5 speed Basher will be equally as fast (initially) as a
19 speed Basher, but I am saying that a Basher can derive greater benefit by placing
points in other areas. This Basher will drive his decisiveness from the high wit/will
combinations: 21-21-5; 19-19-7; 17-17-9. These combinations, or something similar,
will generate an initial decisiveness rating of about 50%.
Deftness is very important to a Basher. The strength/wit/will/deftness
combination is where this Basher will generate the awesome attack percentage and his
attacking precision. A Basher with the aforementioned minimums in
strength/wit/will/deftness can expect to achieve an initial attack rating between 60-
80%. A 13 deftness will also allow the use of my favorite weapon, the morning star.
In the hands of a Basher, this is a devastating weapon.
Now that you know how to design a Basher, here's how they should be run.
This strategy should be used vs. offensive styled warriors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
10 3 3 3 3 3 10
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
D B D
The offensive effort is self-explanatory. If you are not trying to destroy your
opponent, then you should not be running a Basher. The activity level requires some
explanation. Bashers, as you might expect, perform better with a low activity level.
This is because the Bashing attack style is a series of overhand, overpowering blows
which are designed to deliver maximum hitting power. Running around like a
decapitated chicken would appear to be counterproductive. Here is the key. The 10
activity level in minute one is designed to help you get the jump on another offensive
warrior. If you do get the jump, you will win. Even if you are hurting the Basher's
attack percentage, how many offensive warriors do you know of that will be able to
parry or dodge this Basher's attack? NONE. Therefore, the 10 activity level in
minute one is justified. The decisiveness tactic in minute one is also there to help
you get the first shot off. Assuming you get the jump in minute one and the fight
somehow manages to make it into minute two, that's where the bash tactic comes in.
You enter minute two with the initiative, land a bash modified head shot into the poor
slob in front of you, and down he goes!!! Minutes 3-6 are basically superfluous as
not many fights will go that far. 10-3-7 allows the basher to do what he does best.
The theory behind the desperation configuration is the same as that for minute one.
Since the bashing attack is a downward motion, attacking the head is logical to say
the least. Modify this to the chest if you suspect that you adversary is protecting
his head. Defending your head is simply there to ensure that you hold your hands up
high. My reasoning is that I am simply trying not to interfere with the Basher's
attack, as opposed to seriously trying to defend myself. Against defensive warriors,
change minute one to 10-3-7 with no tactics: i.e., let the basher do what he does
best. I have only lost one fight to a defensive styled warrior with my best basher,
and that was MY fault. Minute two can be left the same, or you can drop the bash
tactic. I am tempted to leave the desperation minute the same. If you are desperate,
it probably means you were just hit. This design cannot take getting hit. You need
to go berserk in order to regain the initiative.
A high quality Basher should have no trouble with Parry-XYZ's and TPs. Against
scum try 7-1-7 with the bash tactic. You should have no trouble blasting attacks
through the feeble parries of a scum warrior, and the relatively slow (for a basher)
tempo will allow you to keep it up for 3-4 minutes, which WILL be more than enough
time to demolish even the most stubborn APA, F, ME, ME 1-1-1-P Total Parry. Let me
also mention that the bash tactic should never be used against PRs.
Last, but by no means least, is what to wear. Armor should be APL, ALE, or none
at all. DO NOT strap this basher into a suit of plate armor. The Bashing Attack,
despite what some other managers say (even those self-proclaimed "highly experienced"
manager who relentlessly brag about their 600+ winning percentages who only run
defensives, SCUM, and lungers) is a quick style. The armor should be correspondingly
light to allow the basher to get the jump on his opponent. The same theory applies to
weapon selection. Try using the QS, MS, of the WH. The GA and MA should only be used
against slower offensives of defensive styled warriors. Again, the key here is
quickness. THIS basher is designed to win his fights, with his tremendous attack
percentage, not with his tremendous damage bonus.
This article has been brought to you by.....
Mark Schwartz
280 Middlesex Road aka Troll King
Matawan, NJ 07747 mgr. Troll Lords
201-583-5150 Arena #36 Jhans
HOW TO BUILD A BETTER WARRIOR (version Y2k)
I'm sure that by now everyone has had enough of those "perfect" warrior advice
articles. And, while they are useful to a point, it's hard to apply their advice to
the hordes of non-perfect warriors we get every day. Hence, this article is for the
other 99% non-perfect warriors. The design ideas presented here have been valid over
the course of my 15 years of experience with this game, with proven success at all
levels of the game.
There are several things to think about when designing a warrior. First is
fighting style. Second is longevity. Third is weapon suitability. Fourth is
physical capabilities. Fifth is trainability. While I will discuss these separately
in this article, they must be thought about simultaneously in order to get the maximum
potential from each and every roll-up.
Fighting style is the most important decision you'll make about your new warrior.
Consider all possibilities. Sometimes you will need to experiment with the numbers,
play around with several different combinations, before picking the best style. The
offensive styles are lunging, slashing, striking, aimed blow, and bashing. The
defensive styles are total parry, parry riposte, and parry strike. The mixed styles
are wall of steel and parry-lunge. The offensive warriors have lots of attack ability
and little defense (except lungers). Their key attributes are usually will (for
endurance and attack skills) and strength (for damage capability and attack skills).
High wit and deftness are also high on the list as they both give a lot of skills,
particularly attack skills. [Tip #1: Never design an aimed blow with less than a 21
deftness.] The defensives have lots of defensive ability (particularly parry) but
poor attack. Their key attributes are usually will (for damage taking and parry
skills) and constitution (for damage taking). Again, extra wit and deftness is highly
desirable for the extra skills. [Tip #2: Keep wit as low as possible on scum
warriors.] The mixed styles have pretty good attack and pretty good defense, making
them among the most formidable warriors in the game. Their key attributes are will
(what a surprise!) and whatever gets them to good cut-offs, because mixed styles use
defensive and offensive skills with equal effectiveness. If you notice, speed doesn't
come up as an important stat for any style, but it is probably best utilized by the
offensive styles. I tend to like warriors that will perform well (as opposed to
looking good but still losing), so I tend to design a lot of offensive and mixed
styles.
Longevity is another design concern. The main decision here is whether your new
warrior will have a long, Gateway oriented career, or have a shorter life span. If
shorter, how much shorter? In general, for maximum learning and maximum training,
you'll want to add as much as possible to wit and will. If you envision Gateway god-
hood in your warrior's future, then designing him with a low wit or will has only a
minor effect; it merely takes a little longer for him to reach his full potential. If
your warrior has a sandbagging champions future, then you'll want to add as much wit
as possible to get him competitive as soon as possible. For an ADM title shot, you'll
want to build in some easy stat trains that give lots of skills. For a short, rookies
or novices oriented career, you'll probably want a high will because you'll most
likely be looking for quick, significant stat trains. The point is, decide when the
warrior is born how long his career will be, and you will be better able to maximize
his potential towards that ultimate target.
Weapon suitability must also be considered. As is well known, not all weapons
are well-suited to all styles, and every warrior has a favorite weapon. It is
important to design a warrior so he will be able to use the significant weapons well-
suited to his style. It should not take more than a couple stat trains to get your
warrior well-suited to some good weapons. (Consult available charts for weapon
suitability.) I feel that it is important to be well suited to several weapons of
your style. This gives you the opportunity to change and surprise your foes. If your
warrior lacks the attributes to use key weapons of his style, his effectiveness will
be diminished.
Physical capabilities is an often overlooked aspect of warrior design. The three
main areas of concern are endurance, the ability to inflict damage, and the ability to
take damage. At least one of these should be at the "good" level or above, and the
more the better. There is usually a trade-off between designing for skills and
designing for physical attributes. The trick is to maximize both. Always evaluate
the possibility of adding to strength over deftness. The damage capability gained
will usually out-weigh the difference in skills. Endurance is usually a key factor in
an offensive warrior's ability to defeat a defensive. Conversely, the ability to take
damage is usually a key factor in a defensive warrior's ability to defeat an
offensive. Again, use the available charts to design your warrior to reach the
desired physical levels with a minimum of stat trains.
The fastest way for a new warrior to improve is to learn skills with a 21 wit.
With a 21 wit, you can usually average three skills per fight for your first 20 fights
or so. Going into an adepts tournament with 60+ skills is very good. The higher the
wit, the more skills your warrior will learn, so keep this in mind when designing your
potential tournament champions.
A number of managers advocate early stat trains that burn skills. I only do this
in the most severe of cases, like a 3 wit scummy warrior. The main reason I don't do
this is because any warrior I want to fight beyond novices is going to need as many
skills as he can get. In addition, if a warrior burns skills early, he'll end up with
less than his contemporaries at the time they both max skills. This leads to
diminished skill levels when the warrior makes a TC run in the Freshmen, ADM, or
Eligibles class, and to a protracted struggle to get the warrior inducted to
Primus/Gateway when the time comes. It also eliminates the option to sandbag in the
champions since your burned warrior will never have the skills to compete with non-
burned warriors.
However, I do design for trainability. I like my warriors to have a shot at a TC
in the ADM or Eligibles class, so I will purposely leave deftness at 9, counting on
the quick, easy trains once all my skills are learned. You can do the same in wit,
will, speed, and even strength; leave the starting stat a couple points below a level
with significant skills, then train those stats when you make your TC run. Of course,
since you're planning on making this training run in Advanced Duelmasters, the best
stat for trainability is a 21. Every train past 21 will give you quick, significant,
valuable skills.
Of course, any set of design rules or guidelines will have its exceptions. There
are many good warriors out there who did not follow any of the rules outlined above,
but there are many, many more dead ones. So, if you follow these rules most of the
time, most of your warriors will be winners.
That said, let's do a couple examples. First, we'll redesign the legendary Broke
Stroker.
ST 10 + 0 = 10
CN 10 + 0 = 10
SZ 10
WT 9 + 6 = 15
WL 9 + 6 = 15
SP 11 + 0 = 11
DF 11 + 2 = 13
Style: Lunger
Comments: His wit and will are high enough to make him a viable long-term warrior.
He starts well-suited to the short spear, and is only one strength train away from
longsword suitability. He's got enough con to take a hit, and he'll likely also get
good damage with his first strength train, if not on the original overview.
ST 5 + 4 = 9
CN 8 + 0 = 8
SZ 14
WT 8 + 5 = 13
WL 13 + 4 = 17
SP 10 + 0 = 10
DF 12 + 1 = 13
Style: Slasher
Comments: He starts well-suited to scimitar, and has enough ST, CN, & WL to get
normal endurance. He has a good shot at good damage to start with, and if not, it's
only a train or two away.
ST 12 + 5 = 17
CN 8 + 1 = 9
SZ 7
WT 11 + 6 = 17
WL 8 + 1 = 9
SP 14 + 0 = 14
DF 10 + 1 = 11
Style: Striker
Comments: This low will wonder needs help to get normal endurance, thus the high
strength. It gives the additional bonus of guaranteeing good damage on a relatively
small warrior. The 11 deftness gives him suitability to almost every weapon.
Now it's time for you to go forth and design your own godlings (or is that
"doglings"?). Armed with these guidelines, you too can have your share of Broke
Strokers in Advanced Duelmasters. Good luck, and may the gods guide your blows
straight and true!
-- Neon Necromancer
(DM 1: Care Less Bears; DM 18: Mad Scientists;
other random teams and 100ish ADM warriors)