DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 06/04/2011 Duedate: 06/17/2011
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-326
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
ARAGON
IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
(93-9130) [6-0-0,24]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY ARAGON
IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
(93-9130) [6-0-0,24]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
ELORISE KUHL ELORISE KUHL
THE LOW ROAD (1574) THE LOW ROAD (1574)
(93-9147) [1-3-0,23] (93-9147) [1-3-0,23]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571) 15
2. THE LOW ROAD (1574) 5 AVENGERS (287)
3. FIVE NATIONS (1558) 4 Unchartered Team
4. SURVIVORS (1565) 0
FIVE NATIONS (1558)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 0*FIVE NATIONS (1558) 1 0 0 100 1/ 1*IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571) 7 2 0
2/ 2*IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571) 16 6 0 72.7 2/ 2*THE LOW ROAD (1574) 7 8 0
3- 4*SURVIVORS (1565) 2 3 0 40.0 3- 4*SURVIVORS (1565) 2 3 0
4/ 3*THE LOW ROAD (1574) 7 13 0 35.0 4/ 0*FIVE NATIONS (1558) 1 0 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
"Tinkering strategies?" Jorja glanced around the common room of the Lighthouse
quickly. None of her gladiators were near by, but she leaned forward and lowered her
voice anyway. "The team here doesn't believe I ever do that, and I don't want them
to hear me saying differently, Diaretic. They'd get expectations, and I don't have
any plan to make life that easy for 'em. But here's the way I go at it when I'm
feeling generous with my warriors. Mind you, this is just the way *I* do it, and
there are plenty of other approaches.
"Say I've got a warrior who's a pure offensive style, which means a basher, a
lunger, or a slasher. I don't count strikers, as they're versatile and sometimes
unpredictable. Say I've started him out fast, maybe 8-6-x. Unless he's fighting
another pure offensive, he should be first off the mark. So I look for the problem.
If it's a problem with his numbers and style and he should have been some other kind
of fighter, well, too bad, we're both stuck with it. I can boost his offensive
effort to ten--sometimes it already IS ten, of course, but if it isn't, then that
goes up to the top. I can drop his activity level, say to four. I know some people
start their offensive warriors going 10-10-x, but to my mind, this is just asking for
early burnout in a fight. I've seen that kind of thing--a warrior comes out of the
starting gate like his socks are on fire, and by the MIDDLE, not the end, of the
first minute, he's panting and staggering, and losing. Sure, some warriors can take
that kind of energy burn, but most can't.
"So I tinker with his numbers, and it doesn't help, he still gets jumped when he
shouldn't. The next thing to try is dropping the weight he's carrying. Maybe I've
got him in some kind of mail, okay, I drop that to leather. This reduces his
protection against blows from his opponent, of course, but everything's a trade-off.
If he gets out there first and deals a shrewd blow or two, it won't matter; he'll win
before he gets hurt. If he's already in leather, or if I want to lighten him up
further, I'll drop his backup weapon and give him a lighter one. Say he's got a
scimitar with a backup same, maybe I'll drop the backup to a shortsword or even a
dagger. I'll always leave him SOME backup weapon--"
"He'd have his fists, if you didn't give him a backup weapon, wouldn't he?"
Diaretic asked.
Jorja shrugged. "Well... yes, but none of the pure offensives do well with
their fists. Strikers, maybe, but not bashers, lungers, or slashers. They can and
will use 'em if they have nothing else, but they won't do well. And frankly, I
wouldn't even send out an aimed blow, the CLASSIC unarmed style, with nothing but his
fists for backups. I've seen too many of them 'struck in the arm with the parry'.
It's too risky for a warrior who's already got problems. Unless, of course..." she
looked suddenly thoughtful, "I'm hoping he'll get killed...."
Diaretic raised his eyebrows. "Do you do that much?"
"Send them out hoping they'll die?" Jorja shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I run
everything, maybe send one warrior in a hundred to the Dark Arena--after he's fought
for a year or two. There are often warriors that I would LIKE to see die, even
though I hate the hassle of recruiting new ones. But I've never sent a warrior out
unarmed, unarmored, and with the basic 1-1-1 default strategy. At least, not
deliberately. There's a team I have in Murska that was running on maintenance once.
I wasn't paying attention, and no less than THREE new warriors started up there
without strategies--and survived! They had horrible records by the time one of the
other managers managed to get my attention, 0-19 I think it was, but they survived.
Tough men, and they eventually made it to graduation, once I gave them 'sharp pointy
things' to use on their opponents. But I don't do that deliberately." She paused
and signaled for one of the waiters to bring Diaretic a fresh drink.
"Where was I? Warriors getting jumped when they shouldn't be, right. As a last
resort, because I don't really care for tactics, I might give such a warrior
decisiveness in the first minute, also.
"But if none of this works, if he still gets jumped regularly, then I have to
think about taking a different approach. Maybe he'd be better off running slowly,
despite his style. So I put more armor on him, some kind of mail, usually, and I
slow down his first minute, maybe invert it: 4-6-x or 4-8-x or something. And then
in the second minute pop him up to eight or ten offensive effort, on the idea that
he'll catch the faster offensives when they're tired. Sometimes it works.
Especially with beginning warriors, winning can often be a game of endurance. He who
is still standing, wins."
Diaretic nodded and sipped his drink. Half-formed ideas of how he might use
these ideas on his own warriors revolved in his mind. "What about the opposite case,
a defensive warrior who can't last long enough to win as he should?"
"The total parry who collapses from exhaustion in the second minute?" Jorja
laughed. "I've had a few of those over the years. I call 'em 'the warriors of
exasperation'. It isn't easy running everything, you know--I end up with some
warriors that not even a mother could love, and with them, I tend to do really dumb
things, just for the heck of it. The aimed blow with a deftness of three or four,
for instance, or the total parry with no con.
"But for the, hmm, 'legitimate' cases of warriors running too fast, well, there
are signs as obvious as an offensive getting jumped. 'Fighting to conserve energy',
'straining to hold his weary arms at guard', stuff like that in the fight report is a
sure sign. You can take two approaches to that, lower the weight they're carrying so
as not to burn their energy that way--lighter armor, lighter weapons. Or slow 'em
down. Say I've got a ripper going 6-8-x and stumbling with exhaustion in the second
minute. I might slow this warrior down to 4-6 and see if that helps. Heck, I've
even done that with offensives. Back when I started slashers out going 10-10-x, I'd
get them stumbling with exhaustion and losing because of it in the second or even the
FIRST minute, and I'd slow 'em down. Activity level comes down first for an
offensive warrior--I think of that as the 'dodging and parrying' number. Offensive
effort comes down first for the defensives."
"Hmm." The younger manager frowned, making a series of linked rings on the
table top with the wet bottom of his glass. "What about warriors who flail wildly?"
"I've been told that this is due to lack of attack skills, and unless you're
going to train stats and burn those skills, nothing but time will cure it. But I've
found that sometimes--not always--lowering kill desire helps. Drop it to five, say,
if it's higher. Dropping the offensive effort a notch might help, too. I think of
'flailing wildly' as 'trying too hard'. You can never be sure, of course, because
managing gladiators is an art, not a science." She paused and half stood, looking
toward a center of commotion. "Do you want Wednesday to get falling down drunk on
the night before the fights?"
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #8 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
Question, turn 417:
All -- Here's last cycle's question that didn't make it in (along with page two of my
personals). What are the top five weapons to be successful in Advanced? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 418:
Q.O.W. Response -- The top weapons in AD, or even basic DM, are generally agreed upon
to be the SC, LO, BS, and BA. The scimitar is an all round great weapon. Seems
easier to crit with, and even against heavy armor, still dishes out a lot of damage.
Because it's a slashing weapon, it seems to pull a lot of critical damage on normal
hits. The longsword is the second best, though that could be contended, for its one
great ability, the knockdown! The broadsword is heavy, but it dishes out heavy
abuse, it doesn't break often, and it is pretty good at smashing through parries.
The battle axe is just plain cool, and it is very painful! After those four, it's
difficult to say which weapon is better. I like daggers, though shortswords are
strong, and the halberd is really fun if your warrior can throw crits with it. --
Adie
I must have missed the question this is answering, or it was part of an ongoing and
sometimes heated discussion on winning and killing and aiming locations in Aruak
City.
Q.O.W. Response -- Other than the obvious ability of aiming at the
chest/abdomen/head to gain death intent statement, I think that it's more difficult
to win when aiming at the body because there are more hit-points there. This is
especially the case against tough, armored warriors. Attacking the body with lunging
weapons can get knockdowns, but I think that it's even easier if you aim at the legs.
If you consider protect locations though, maybe the body is better to aim at because
maybe fewer people protect it.
The limbs, and head especially, have less hit points, so if struck, such a
warrior usually gives up sooner. Aiming at the head can get quick victories and
death intent statements, but results in more deaths, obviously. But I think a lot of
people routinely protect the head. Aiming at the arms allows the defeat of a warrior
when they lose their weapon, or use of their arm, and can't draw a back up. -- Adie
P.S. I only advocate aiming at the arms and legs in Aruak City. Elsewhere is a
different story.
Question for turn 418, to be answered next turn:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Adie's QoW -- Striking arms can cause an opponent to drop their weapon and
(temporarily) lose the use of the limb. Striking the legs can increase the chance of
a knockdown. Striking at head, chest, or abdomen can allow for a kill on the sands.
Chest and abdomen seem to be the locations best protected by armor. Head can have a
different level of armor protection than the rest of the warrior's body, which can
make things tactically interesting. From what I've seen, managers usually have their
warriors protect their vital hit locations by default, so to me it makes more sense
to aim at non-vitals. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Is Generalissimo Puerco psychic? Tune in next turn and find out!
Hanibal's QoW -- All of the one-handed swords make up the top tier of weapons, with
the axes and spears on the second tier (consider halberd in this group), and all the
bludgeoning weapons (and the greatsword) at the bottom. Quarterstaves, war hammers,
and mauls are liked by some, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have them.
Unfortunately the quarterstaff recently became tied (with longsword) among my LPs for
most popular favorite weapon. Also, interestingly, I only have one LP that favors
the scimitar, and it's a total parry! -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Top five weapons? Hm, scimitar, scimitar, scimitar.... Oh, you mean
DIFFERENT weapons? A lot depends on the style of the warrior in question and his or
her favorite. But scimitar is up there near the top of the list for many styles. --
Leeta
The question from turn 418:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Answers from turn 419 and 420:
Q.O.W. Answer: I have had all sorts of s#&t (not sure what word this was
supposed to be) happen regarding arms falling uselessly at their side: some warriors
give up, some continue on, I've even had a warrior lose his use of an arm twice in
one fight (and he still won!!!). One thing is certain...the weapon in the useless
hand always drops in the sand. -- Dr. Strange
Refers to last turn's question--
QOW -- Weapons? We agree that SC seems tops with LO and BS highly desirable. The
Consortium clan has a great affinity for these also: BA, DA, QS, SH, WH and GA. Not
the normal "feelings," but... -- Kennelworth
QOW -- A useless arm is a statement and since it normally comes at the end, it
"seems" to mean something, but it is similar to a dropped weapon. -- Kennelworth
Answer Q.O.W. (arms) -- When arms are struck in combat, I too have seen a variety of
things occur. I've seen them get hit, forcing a weapon to be dropped, but then a
back up pulled immediately. I've seen them get hit, drop a weapon, and be too hotly
engaged to pull a new one. Also, they can hang useless after being struck. The
weirdest thing I've ever seen is a warrior lose the use of their arm, drop their
weapon, strike with their fists, and then have one of those fists get parried, AND IT
WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WAS USELESS THAT WAS INJURED BY THE PARRY! Strange eh? So if
both arms went useless, you could still fight with fists? Hmm... -- Adie
New question, turn 419:
All -- I recently tried an experiment where I gave a warrior a Primary weapon
(Broadsword) and the same off-hand back-up. She pulled the back-up when things
slowed down in min. 2. Does this mean she prefers two weapons or do they always do
that? If you give a warrior two back-ups will they pull the one they prefer or
whatever you list first? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 420:
Answer Q.O.W. (backups) -- When things slow down in a fight and neither warrior is
eager to hold the initiative, they will usually pull any off-hand or back up weapon
they have, whether they need it or not. It has no relation to whether that warrior
prefers to fight with two weapons or not.
Drawing back-ups also can occur when the fight is intense. If your weapon
breaks while on the offense, often such a warrior will draw their back up and attempt
a riposte to hold the init. Also, if you're on the defensive and you attempt to
riposte, but you have a back-up weapon or off-hand weapon to draw, your warrior may
try to pull it. Success is not always guaranteed in either case though since your
warrior may be 'to hotly engaged'. Even if a defending warrior succeeds, drawing a
weapon after a riposte forces that warrior to give up the init they could have taken.
But if they pull a back-up and THEN riposte, then can take the init.
If you give a warrior two back-ups, they pull the one listed first, and if it
breaks or is dropped, they'll pull the second. It is not random. -- Adie
QoW -- If the warrior has a free off-hand, and a backup off-hand weapon, it usually
isn't long before they decide to make use of it. I'm guessing that OE and
coordination (anonymous source) are factors that affect the likelihood of drawing a
backup in the off-hand. Wanna Be, manager of A Savage Few here in Aruak, once hosted
a fast draw contest where contestants had to start the fight unarmed but could have
backup weapons. The all-out offensives would sometimes spend a full minute or more
with their fists before deciding to draw steel. The defensives would usually draw
something the first chance their opponent would give them. -- Generalissimo Puerco
New question, turn 420:
All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.
We're now caught up with Aruak City (dm 11) on the Questions of the Week; they are
about to run turn 421 as I write this. So if Hanibal misses a turn in asking, or the
managers there miss a turn in answering, we'll have to miss a turn in looking over
their shoulders. Amazing how things follow one another like dominoes falling, isn't
it? There is NO REASON AT ALL why you here can't pose Questions of the Week of your
own. Send them as a personal to DM 11, identify yourself as a new manager seeking
enlightenment, and you should get a helpful response. -- Jorja
Note that Hannibal's Questions of the Week stopped some time ago and Aruak City is
now in the vicinity of turn 549.
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 671): SHORT SKIRT of HOT STUFF (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 673): DONNAMIRA of SWEET MAGIC (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 576): BALANCE OF EARTH of HARRY POTTER AND THE (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 667): BOBCAT of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 669): STOGA STEEL of MAXIMUM RESULTS (Coyote, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 660): BELLONA CHIST of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 661): MALKAI of DRAGON JUNKIES (Youngblood, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 333): WHITE BECT of LE PENTARCHY (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 658): HYDROPONICS of BLUNT FORCE (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 330): OMBERT QURL of MIDDLE WAY 7 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 655): MURDER of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 652): MOTHER TERESA of HEROES (?, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 644): SECOND WATCH of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 602): VAISTINIE of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 308): JOSIE WALES of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 302): ACE OF BASE of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 289): DURANGO KID of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 534): COBRA of SERPENTS HOLD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 519): CATIPILLAR of BUGS, SLUGS & THUGS (A-Sop, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 501): PETER DAVISON of DOCTORS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 495): KOLACTAN KABOB of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 238): MRS POTATOE HEAD of DREW'S BOYS II (The Mun, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 456): NIMINI TYL ZO of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 451): FRIED KHALANI of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 443): HARNIE BLACK of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 559): GAZELLE of REDHORSE (She-Puppy, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 671): HOT STUFF (Papa Bear, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 673): SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 576): HARRY POTTER AND THE (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 667): GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 669): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 660): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 661): MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 333): THE DEATH LORDS (Widowmaker?, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 658): TREKKERS (Deep Thought, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 330): AVENGERS (Huckle Cat?, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 655): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 652): HALLOWEINERS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 644): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 602): IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 308): STREET WALKERS (Roadkil, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 302): ALASKAN PIPELINE (Storm Lord, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 289): LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 534): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 519): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 501): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 495): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 238): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 456): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 451): ZOMBIE SQUAD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 443): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 559): MIDDLE ITALY et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 673): DONNAMIRA of SWEET MAGIC (Jorja, mgr.)
JAYLENE MOKHAR of SWEET MAGIC (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 669): STOGA STEEL of MAXIMUM RESULTS (Coyote, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 660): ZEBD ARVIN of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 332): RENTAL CAR of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
VALERIAN of STEEL AND SILK (Michael Eldritch, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 657): LHISSON of MID EARTH (Visionist, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 654): DEE S. TROYER of DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
LARA of LUROCIAN GUARD (The Greek Guy, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 652): MOTHER TERESA of HEROES (?, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 643): HAMMERHEAD of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 307): CALLOUS CORTNEY of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
PAYNE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 302): PROWL of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
EARVLING FLASH of FORCE OF WILL
(Michael Eldritch, mgr.)
(turn 301): SHELDON of ALL-STAR NANA'S (The Mun, mgr.)
RERUN of SECOND BANANAS (Mannequin, mgr.)
JACK KNIFE of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 289): DURANGO KID of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 533): TOMAS of MEN OF STEEL (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
NICKOLI DRYBONE of INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 501): PETER DAVISON of DOCTORS (Sherlock, mgr.)
(turn 500): DAVID TENNANT of DOCTORS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 455): -.... of NUMB-ERS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 443): HARNIE BLACK of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
And this time, I lost to the Veteran Mercenary, another standby. Really, what
else could I do? Not all the standbys are wimps, by any means, and the Veteran
Mercenary is a tough one, as shown by his ranking of eighty points. Compared to mine
of seventeen? Ridiculous. But a standby can't take the title, and I am still the
highest-ranked managed gladiator, so here I am again. This is one of the problems of
being "kicked up stairs"--you're put in harm's way of people you'd really rather not
face yet... and in a small arena, losing won't always drop you back to a more
rational level. Oh, well. It's a game, when all is said and done.
Elorise Kuhl
SPY REPORT
Well, what are you looking at, NOBLISH ISLAND? Ain't you never seen Snide
Clemens before? Ah, shaddup and listen to my news. Of course, we're all terribly
impressed to see ARDEN GISH win a fight and gain 10 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk,
GANDALF beat CHAS IMBRO and CHAS IMBRO lost 4 points. You're breakin' my heart. Our
last turn's Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to KHALHUMS DWARF, and ELORISE KUHL has
made the way for a new Duelmaster! With ELORISE KUHL clearing the throne, IN MIDDLE
EARTH of ARAGON takes a proud seat as NOBLISH ISLAND's new Duelmaster, by virtue of
recognition points. The Warty Toad, humph! I've tasted better ale at mortuaries.
Where do they get this stuff? From NOBLISH ISLAND's trash dumps?
Well, let's take a look at some more misdeeds of you miserable sword-boys.
Death and Taxes. The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience. Let's
see if anyone's dead or dying. Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave
team is developing these kinds of weapons?
I was about to buy a new quill pen the other day, but some fighter took it for
an epee. Forgive me for writing with a dagger. Well, I've had enough of this
drivel, and I'm sure you have too. Off like a dirty shirt of padded leather. I see
the crowds are getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ARAGON 9130 6 0 0 24 IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
ELORISE KUHL 9147 1 3 0 23 THE LOW ROAD (1574)
GANDALF 9129 3 3 0 21 IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
BOROMIR 9132 5 1 0 17 IN MIDDLE EARTH (1571)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-DEMON 9093 1 0 0 17 SURVIVORS (1565)
BURRIS HAMMEL 9144 2 2 0 16 THE LOW ROAD (1574)
ARDEN GISH 9143 2 2 0 15 THE LOW ROAD (1574)
CHAS IMBRO 9145 2 2 0 9 THE LOW ROAD (1574)
-ECKO 9092 1 0 0 5 SURVIVORS (1565)
JOV THUNDERFIST 9053 1 0 0 4 FIVE NATIONS (1558)
DAVONA JERNIG 9146 0 4 0 4 THE LOW ROAD (1574)
-ELAN 9096 0 1 0 1 SURVIVORS (1565)
-RAZOR 9095 0 1 0 1 SURVIVORS (1565)
-EELOCK 9094 0 1 0 1 SURVIVORS (1565)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
FRODO 9128 1 1 0 IN MIDDLE EARTH 1571 HELL NO 9136 322 NOT REVENGED
LEGOLAS 9131 1 1 0 IN MIDDLE EARTH 1571 INTERNET NEEDS M 9134 322 NOT REVENGED
PERSONAL ADS
Ecko -- The style match favored you, but I did bring a book, so that was okay. I've
got a special pocket built into my armor for it. On a more serious note, train the
stat you need to handle your weapon. Yes, on this occasion you did okay without it,
but seriously, train that stat. Researchers tell us that you can add a point or two
there without compromising your skills, "burning skills," as they say. And to be
able to handle a weapon well is a distinct advantage. -- Davona Jernig
Eelock -- Good gods, man, you're supposed to fight, not stand there like a practice
dummy! Your chosen weapon is considered "fast" for your style, but it can't do
everything alone. Either your offensive effort or your activity level or both needs
to be increased. -- Chas Imbro
Elan -- Hmm. There are weapons, also good for your style, which take less of the
stat you're lacking in, such as a scimitar. (Jorja hands everyone but a basher
scimitars, it seems like.) Or you can train that stat without, probably "burning"
any skills. Do it before you get killed out here. -- Burris Hammel
Demon -- Oh, cheese, *I* get the guy who's doing it right. What a thrill. Good
fight. -- Arden Gish
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ELORISE KUHL was bested by KHALHUMS DWARF in a 2 minute amateur vs. expert fight.
ARAGON narrowly defeated BURRIS HAMMEL in a 3 minute brutal Title melee.
BOROMIR outlasted PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a unpopular 7 minute bloody duel.
GANDALF savagely defeated CHAS IMBRO in a exciting 1 minute bloody fight.
ARDEN GISH devastated CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
DAVONA JERNIG was outwaited by JOV THUNDERFIST in a 9 minute amateur's match.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|TOTAL PARRY 3 AIMED BLOW 14 - 3 - 2 82 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 12 - 7 - 2 63 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 9 - 6 - 0 60 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 TOTAL PARRY 13 - 9 - 0 59 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 1 LUNGING ATTACK 5 - 4 - 0 56 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 4 - 4 - 0 50 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 3 - 1 50 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 - 0 0 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 326 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:
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 TOTAL PARRY
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 3 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 WALL OF STEEL
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is ELORISE KUHL 9147. The most popular warrior this
turn was ELORISE KUHL 9147. The ten other most popular fighters were GANDALF 9129,
BURRIS HAMMEL 9144, CHAS IMBRO 9145, ARDEN GISH 9143, ARAGON 9130, BOROMIR 9132,
DAVONA JERNIG 9146, JOV THUNDERFIST 9053, 0, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was JOV THUNDERFIST 9053. The other ten least
popular fighters were DAVONA JERNIG 9146, BOROMIR 9132, ARAGON 9130, ARDEN GISH 9143,
CHAS IMBRO 9145, BURRIS HAMMEL 9144, GANDALF 9129, ELORISE KUHL 9147, 0, and 0.
A SACRED LORD'S SLASHER
Well, this article/spotlight is for Seal at 7th Order, so here goes.
ST: If he's huge (15+), 3 is okay, and use HA. I prefer 7 for epee. 9 gets scimitar
and 11 gets broadsword. Anything above 11 is a WASTE!!!
CN: Whatever they send you.
SZ: Any.
WT: 15, 17, or 21. 13 is workable, but I hate slow learners! 21 will probably take
a lot from other areas, so 17 is best.
WL: 17, 17, 17!!!! You need endurance, lots of endurance. Some of my friends use
15, but I prefer not to.
SP: 9+ They use SP as well as most, but don't add here until after WT/WL/DF.
DF: 15+, 15+, 15+. Once again, I have high standards. The reason? Have you ever
had a slasher come out w/ "relying on his speed to stay out of trouble"? That's
'cause his parry is in the negative. With a 15 DF your slasher will have a much
better parry and will probably be about 1-3 trains from a Master parry in advanced.
Later on, you'll see!
Now, how to run them:
10 9 7 -------------------------> 10
10 4 2 -------------------------> 10
7 9 7 -------------------------> 1
CH/HE -------------------------------------------- >
HE ----------------------------------------------- >
Off: D at first, open later, min 2 +, open
Def: D/S (preferably Dodge)
Min two+ is in case of a TP or WoS coming after you. This setup works, so good
luck!
Mike Bookout
Bookie, Sacred Lord of the Black Regime
Memphis Mafia (36,100)
P.S. Anybody want to join the Regime?
The Dark Arena: A Fighter's Perspective
(sung to the hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the dawn
I am walking down the tunnel
After everyone is gone
I step into the torchlight
And I see the blade he's drawn
My mind, it sings this song:
CHORUS
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
My mind continues on
The crowd is chanting praises
But all I hear are growls
Mine enemy's upon me
So I strike him and he howls
Parry, parry, slash, and parry
I smell his breath so foul
And death, he sings this song:
(CHORUS)
Now we both are tired
And my strength is fading fast
Oh, let me give that fatal blow
Oh, let me be the last
I swing my sword with all my might
The crowd it stands, aghast
As he dies, I sing my song:
(CHORUS x2)
Scotlan (28, 31, 39, 50, ?)
Kill Desire: "Patience."
Many times I have lost warriors, and the manager claimed the KD was only five.
As if KD had anything to do with the death of my fighter. It was really the battle
axe to the head that killed him.
I was quite disturbed at the widespread belief that kill desire has something to
do with killing an opponent. But they have good reason to believe this: the
Duelmasters Handbook definition of kill desire has a tendency to cast a "confusion
spell" on the reader to make them think that way. The wording is very misleading.
The name "kill desire" is also misleading. A more correct word would be "patience."
Yes, kill desire is actually how much patience your fighter had before taking a
shot. KD doesn't add damage or tell your fighter where to aim at.
Damage is calculated by weapon and strength. (Of course, favorite weapon also
affects damage.)
You let your warrior know where you want him to aim at by filling out the attack
location boxes on the fight sheets.
Hit location and damage are the main two things that will kill warriors. Hit
locations to vital areas such as head, chest, and the abdomen repeated times increases
your chance to kill. The amount of damage inflicted to these vital areas also
increases your chance to kill an opponent.
As you see, none of this has anything to do with kill desire.
Now, I will tell you what kill desire, or patience, as I call it, actually is.
If you run your warrior with an 8-10 KD, you're telling him to swing like a
drunken wildman. You'll see statements in his fights that say "swings wildly" or
other things to that effect. He is not waiting for a good opening. He is swinging at
everything! This is bad for several reasons.
With his KD that high, he is very easily dodged and parried. Also, he can be
feinted into bad dueling decisions as well.
I think that KD between 5-7 for offensive styles and 3-6 for defensive styles is
perfect.
You get a lot more hits with a 5-7 KD, and feint a lot less. But you also get
more kills in this range. Reason being, you're waiting for a good shot that is hard
to dodge or parry. The example I used earlier about the manager with the 5 KD and
battleaxe is the point I am trying to make. If his warrior's KD was 10, my warrior
could have dodged or parried the attack and still be alive today. But since it was a
5 KD, he waited for a good shot that my warrior had trouble defending against, and
cleaved his head off! (Well, not literally.)
Defensive styles run about 3-6 KD. Defensive styles swing wildly a lot in the
beginning, but that is natural. They will get better. 3-4 KD, they still have a
tendency to let attacks go by. Of course, if you're scumming, go with a 1 KD.
In short, having an 8-10 KD means your warrior is doing all that swinging and
hitting less. Not to mention all the endurance he is burning up to no avail.
Any comments, you can diplo me.
ta-ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
DM 11: Lords of the Abyss
DM 61: Pit Fiends
DM 67: Storm Wizards
DM 5: Bad Girls
SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER
Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few
things I've learned.
General design:
ST: 7-11 Strength isn't all important to the P.R. An 11 will gives you all well
suited weapons. I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic
effect.
CN: Any A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.
SZ: Any Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.
WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better. 15 will give the epee.
A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit. It helps endurance and life expectancy.
A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.
SP: 5-13 13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high. A
combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in
riposte with any luck.
DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack
location. A 15 will give you the epee.
The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting
skill bases like:
Ini: 60%
Rip: 90%
Att: 75%
Par: 70%
Def: 75%
Dec: 40%
One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark. He was
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills. He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec. I
destroyed him with early stat raises.
I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher
in a tourney. He died with a 12-3-1 record. But enough of that. You're probably
wanting to get on with the strategies.
So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.
Generally defensive has worked better for me. Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often. If you use any offensive tactic
use the lunge or nothing. Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
Okay, now on to weapons and armor. A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it
comes to weapons. The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors. I once
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.) Anyway, Thror the Dark
savagely slew Spymaster with it. I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee,
shortsword or the longsword.
I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM. I read an article about the
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh. It said something about wearing more armor
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F. Imagine what he would have
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33),
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.
Crimson Strikers
Greetings, fellow managers, I, Crimson Strategist, shall share my thoughts with
you on the striking attack style.
This style developed in cultures where weapon quality surpassed that of the
armors, this made landing the first blow vital. This blow is usually delivered in a
downward fashion quickly, surely, and with power in a minimal of wasted motion.
Here's how I rate the stats:
ST 11-15: Never go below 11, strikers are well suited to ALL the weapons in the
game and 11 allows the use of the majority of them. They also need to hurt their foe
when they hit, thus making this an important consideration for damage rating.
CN 3-9: This whole style revolves around finishing your foe quickly, if your foe
has time to develop a complex formal attack on your striker, then you're not fighting
him properly. A properly run striker should never be hit more than four or five
times, any more than this and the whole concept behind this style gets thrown right
out the window, therefore I rate con as the least important attribute for this style.
SZ 9-16: A size of 9 allows use of all the weapons and it is important in
determining your damage rating, plus, it also adds to your init and this style thrives
on init.
WT 13+: As with any style, the higher the better. 13 is rock bottom, it allows
the use of all weapons except the epee and you'll still learn at a decent pace.
WL 7-13: This style conserves endurance which allows this attribute to go
considerably less than most styles and still fight effectively for a respectable
length of time. I've had strikers with a 13 ST, 3 CN, and 5 WL get poor endurance
ratings and ones with 11 ST, 6 CN, and 9 WL get normal. However, if you want some
long term potential, you'd want to be around 13 or so.
SP 10+: This is very important for decise and init skills which are the heart of
this style. Landing the first blow and finishing the fight quickly is hinged on your
striker's speed.
DF 15+: This is crucial attribute for this style, they NEED to be precise with
their blows, plus, it also adds to their init. Get to 17 or 21 if possible.
Now let's take a look at the style itself. The striking attack is one of the
easiest styles to run, yet they have adversity that many styles lack. As I've said
before, a striker can use ALL the weapons in the game. They can fight effectively
wearing plate armor and no armor, they can use EVERY tactic in the game be it
offensive or defensive, a striker can fight like a lunger or basher, ripper or
slasher, etc... provided that you match up their strategy with the appropriate tactic
and weapon. They can beat ALL the styles in DM and beyond if you choose their
strategy correctly for that particular style vs. style matchup.
Here are some examples of style vs. style matchups for strikers and various
tactic selections vs. the different styles.
High decise strikers over slashers and lungers, strikers over total parry and
wall of steel, rippers over strikers, etc...
Using the decise tactic vs. lungers, slashers, and aimed blows. Using the lunge
tactic vs. rippers and aimed blows, using no tactic and having a moderate offensive
effort and moderate activity level vs. total parries and wall of steel, etc...
The possible variations for this style are virtually endless.
Now let's take a brief look at your striker overview and glean some helpful hints
on how to fight them. If you see statements like "relying on speed to stay out of
danger" or "avoiding rather than trading blows," this is telling you that your AL
should be moderate to high. If he does great damage, then don't use weapons like the
epee or shortsword, this would be an underutilization of his strengths. If he learns
attack skills easily, then this is telling you that he likes to take his time and pick
his shots so don't send him out with a 10 OE! If you see statements like "has learned
how to be a decisive and quick fighter," then by all means USE the decise tactic with
a high OE. Don't send him out with offhand weapons unless he's ambidextrous, if you
do, it will take away from his attack. As you can see, the various statements on your
overview are very helpful in telling you how your striker likes to fight.
Here's a very general strategy that has worked well for my strikers.
OE 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 Armor: ARM to ACM
AL 4 3 2 1 1 1 8 Weapons: BS,LO,SC,GS,BA
KD 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
ATT LOC Head, body, arms
PRO LOC Head or body
OFF TCT Decise or bash
DEF TCT Response or dodge
Before I close there is one last point I wish to emphasize, USE the
challenge/avoid system, it will help control who you fight and when. In closing, I
would like to thank the following managers for their diplos and articles which helped
me learn the game: Sir Jessie Jest, Talon, Tex, the managers on the roundtable, and
numerous others who took their time to put quill and ink on parchment and pass their
knowledge on to others, thanks!
Many of you know the Crimson Death stables or soon will know them since I plan to
have quite a few of them up and running, however, some of them will be on and off due
to monetary fluctuations so if you wish to diplo me with any comments, criticisms,
whatever, send them to my home arena, which, from here on out, will always be active.
Later,
Crimson Strategist
Crimson Death DM 61