DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 10/22/2011 Duedate: 11/04/2011
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-336
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
LITTLE JOHNNY
TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
(93-9171) [4-1-1,43]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY LITTLE JOHNNY
TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
(93-9171) [4-1-1,43]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
LITTLE JOHNNY IZZY JORMIN
TEACHER'S PETS (1579) THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
(93-9171) [4-1-1,43] (93-9190) [1-3-0,13]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. TEACHER'S PETS (1579) 36
2. THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582) 13 S.O.N. (28)
3. SUPERMARKET (1578) 11 Unchartered Team
4. GLORY DISCIPLES (1575) 0
5. CONAN-LUKE (1570) 0 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*TEACHER'S PETS (1579) 17 8 1 68.0 1/ 2*TEACHER'S PETS (1579) 11 4 1
2/ 1*SUPERMARKET (1578) 17 8 0 68.0 2/ 1*SUPERMARKET (1578) 10 5 0
3/ 3*THE PC LINE-UP (1576) 15 15 0 50.0 3/ 5*THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582) 7 8 0
4/ 4*THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582) 10 10 0 50.0 4/ 4*THE PC LINE-UP (1576) 6 9 0
5- 5*GLORY DISCIPLES (1575) 16 19 2 45.7 5- 3*GLORY DISCIPLES (1575) 5 5 0
6- 6*CONAN-LUKE (1570) 1 9 0 10.0 6- 6*CONAN-LUKE (1570) 0 5 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
WARRIOR SKILL BASE, A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Settle down class. Get rid of that gum, Lugh. Assur, quit passing notes to
Jorja. Quiet down; quiet down.
Today, using the CIC (I am sure you all have requested and received your copies
from RSI by now.) we will take a real life example to predict and determine starting
skills. This example, coupled with last turn's lecture should put you in a good
position to pass the final. Take good notes, students!
"Chronic Pain" 32-4593 of team Disillusioned was designed from 5-6-18-10-8-10-13
to be a 9-6-18-15-9-10-17 striker. First, we will predict his skill base. Then we
will observe his initial warrior profile. Lastly, we will summarize what we know
about any skill bonuses he might have.
For the purposes of this lecture, we will use the following code: for stats: ST
= strength, CN = con, SZ = size, WT = wit, WL = will, SP = speed, and DF = deftness;
for skills: I = initiative, R = riposte, A = attack, P = parry, F = defense, and D =
decisiveness.
Using the BAGMAN2 SKILL CHART from the CIC, we see that:
9 ST provides 2 A and 2 P
6 CN provides no skills
18 SZ provides 2 I and negative/minus 2 P and 2 F
15 WT provides 9 I, 3 R, 7 A, 7 F, and 2 D
9 WL provides 2 A, 2 P, 2 F, 3 D
10 SP provides 2 I, 3 R, 2 F 4 D
17 DF provides 6 I, 7 R, 8 A, 8 P, 8 F
Totaling this created skills of 17,13,19,10,17,9 (always speak I,R,A,P,F,D in that
order).
Sounds pretty awesome so far! But next we must apply the style modifications,
from the STYLE MODIFIER CHART on the CIC. This warrior is a STRIKER, and the chart
indicates that striker skill mods are -7, -4, -12, -9, -12, -1. (Again, always using
the order, I,R,A,P,F,D.) A different style would have quite different modifiers, all
of which are zero or negative modifiers.
Combining (adding) the skills from BAGMAN2 and STYLE MODIFIER indicates that
Chronic Pain would expect starting skills of 10I ,9R ,7A,1P ,5F ,8D. One note to
this is that on the Terrablood website is a module which allows one to input the stat
numbers and the starting skills and the expected warrior profile is provided. But,
today, we are learning "long hand."
Okay, now, let's check to see if we can predict any wit statements. (Wit
statements, if any, always appear on the warrior profile just below the intelligence
/ wit level.) These are key to determining skill bonuses or hoses. Using the HIGH
WIT STATEMENT chart, checking first initiative (I), we see that at 15WT (In this
example, we will always use the 15WT line on each skill because the warrior in
question has 15WT.), and low order, 10-12 skills should provide a "With a very
aggressive and clever fighting skill" statement. Continuing to riposte, we have nine
skills which is lower that the low order requirement of 10, so we should expect no
riposte statement. Our expected 7 attack skills do, however, indicate that we should
get the "Has an unusual fighting style that confuses many opponents" statement. Our
one parry skill will not get us a statement as 6 skills are required to get anything.
And lastly, our 5 defense skills should get us the low order (3-6 base skills
required) defense statement of "avoids blows well." To summarize, we expect three
wit statements, one each for I, A, and F.
Using the CIC, we can also predict endurance, punishment level (hit points),
carry, and damage-doing, so let's also do that. Endurance = WLx(ST+CN) = 9x(9+6) =
135, which indicates "very little" on the CIC. Hit points are 3.75CN+(1.1SZ+0.4WL) =
3.75x6 + (1.1x18 + 0.4X9) = 22.5+19.8+3.6 = 45.9 = "Cannot take a lot." Carry (per
the encumbrance chart) for 9ST and 6 CN = "A carry", which is very little or 9 points
carry max. And lastly, damage-doing, per the damage chart, for 9ST and 18SZ =
"great".
We have concluded our "predictions" or "expectations", and when we get the
warrior profile, we will know what the warrior truly has, and whether or not he is
hosed or bonused anywhere. So let's see what the actual Chronic Pain warrior profile
said.
CHRONIC PAIN
Fights using the STRIKING ATTACK style
Is AMBIDEXTROUS
Is INTELLIGENT
nothing short of a genius at keeping his foes off balance and in trouble
has an unusual fighting style that confuses many opponents
avoids blows well
has POOR ENDURANCE
CANNOT take a LOT of PUNISHMENT
Can only carry a VERY LITTLE WEIGHT in armor and weapons
Does GREAT DAMAGE
STRENGTH = 9
CONSTITUTION = 6
SIZE = 18
WIT = 15
WILL = 9
SPEED = 10
DEFTNESS = 17
So what does this profile tell us about the warrior? First, accept that the
profile is "true." We may have been calculating and predicting from charts and data
before, but what is on the profile is the warrior in fact.
Notice first, the ambidextrous bonus. This is special. Being left or right
handed is merely a statement, but being ambidextrous adds one attack skill to the
warrior's base. Had we known the warrior was going to be ambi, we would have added
one attack skill to our prediction, making his predicted base attack at 8. (But, of
course, we didn't/couldn't.)
The warrior has three statements under wit/intelligence. The first is the
Initiative statement, but not the one we predicted. If you look on the HIGH WIT
chart, you will see that the "nothing short of genius..." is a high order statement,
indicating 13+ Init skills! Great! We predicted 10! He as 13I+. Therefore, he is
bonused +3 or +4. As to riposte, we expected no statement at 9 skills, and he got
none. Hence, we could consider that he is mode, but, in actuality, we only truly
know he has less than 10 R skills since he received no statement. He could, then, be
less than 9. Therefore, we know he is mode to -4 R. (+ or - 4 is the most blessing
/ hosing possible.) Moving on to attack, where we expect the low order statement for
7-9 A skills. This is even after we added the one A to our calculated 7 base for the
ambi condition. Surely enough, we received the "has an unusual fighting..." we
expected, so we know this warrior has 7-9 A skills. We expect 8, so he could be from
-1 to +1A. There is no wit statement for parry, nor did we expect one as his
expected 1P is less than the low wit minimum of three. What we know, then, is that
he could have 2P and be +1, or he could have two less than we calculated and be
hosed. (It is probably important to state at this time that, depending on style,
warriors are sometimes limited to which skills can be hosed or bonused. But that is
a lecture for another day.) Last, then, comes defense, where our calculated 5F
indicated that we should get the low wit statement of "avoids blows well' and this
warrior did get it. We now know he has 3 to 6 F skills so he could be -2 hosed to +1
bonused. There is no wit statement for decisiveness.
One last offering, you can know even more about your warrior's starting skills
if he were to start with a rating (e.g. expert attack) as you would then know that
your warrior has between 16-19 skills in that category. There are a few very fine
warriors that even start with an Advanced Expert in a skill. (20 skills +)
Let's make a final check of endurance and damage-doing. The charts predicted
very little endurance, and the warrior received poor. He may be slightly bonused.
The warrior received the great damage-doing our charts predicted, so he is probably
mode.
There you have it. Your last example of evaluating the warrior's starting skill
base. Learn it. Have the charts available. You will definitely be tested on this
subject on your final.
Teacher
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
Assur's Guide to Riposting Hybrids
The following describes Assur's vision of a hybrid warrior that relies on
riposte to win. Hybrids are the hardest warriors to master, but great hybrids are
tough to beat. From here on out, when I say hybrids, I am specifically talking about
Hybrids designed to win with riposte.
Riposte messages in the fight are the message you often see right after a
warrior parries or dodges that reads something like:
Hybrid steps back, and then rushes forward in a counterstrike!
There are a number of such messages that all mean you are using your riposte skill.
1) Design
Hybrids need a balance of physicals and skills. More is always better, but your
hybrid cannot start with 21s in all stats, so...
Encumbrance is one of the most important attributes. You do not want to over-
encumber your hybrid for most all fights. Your armor will be chosen according to
your ability to carry weight. A guideline: APL - 9 Str/Con. ASM - 11 Str/Con. APA
14 Str/Con. Realize that with those minimum str/con values, you need to be careful
with helms and weapons or you will be over-encumbered. Sometimes it is fine to carry
too much, but if you aren't sure who you are fighting, stay under your limit!
Hit Points are wonderful. Hybrids love hit points. The more the better because
there are nasty pure offensives that will try to take you down and they are good at
it.
Damage and Endurance are not as important, but you want some. Little damage is
tough to work with. Endurance depends on your style (Suggested Minimums: Poor for
PR/AB, Good for LU).
The most important skills are your parry/defense and attack skills. You'll want
some riposte skills and initiative skills don't hurt. Decise is almost useless for
Hybrids.
I would recommend at least one of your encumbrance, hit points, or defensive
skills to be on the high side, preferably two of them.
With all that in mind, here is what your stats should look like:
Str: 9+ Con: medium+ Siz: any Wit: 11+ Will: 7-21 Spd: 3-9 Dft: 11+
*** 13 speed is a big breakpoint for riposte skills. 10-12 is a bad starting place
*** While an 11 wit PR can learn enough skills to compete as a hybrid, that same 11
wit total parry or lunger might have more difficulty as they learn too many of their
primary skills and not enough of their secondary skills.
2) Style Choice
Only two styles naturally learn riposte. However, because initiative is
underpowered, you can live with a non-riposte learning style.
Parry Ripostes are the king of this type of hybrid. They naturally learn
att/par/rip, though they often learn too much riposte and not enough of the other
two. They learn init and decise last.
Aimed Blows learn attack and riposte naturally, but do not learn their defensive
skills as fast. Still, they can make excellent hybrids, but when you put 21 points
on deftness, it is difficult to find a balance with the rest of your stats.
Lungers are the king of all the hybrids (as you'll see in my follow ups the next
couple of turns). They have high attack and defense bases. They have the highest
total skills of all styles (tied with WOSs). They learn defense and init skills
first, but attack and riposte are their secondary skills, so they will learn some
riposte. They burn endurance fast, so it is recommended to start with high will.
Total Parries can be run very similar to Parry Ripostes. They have better
natural defenses, but worse attack and riposte. As mentioned before, they learn
defense and parry first, but attack and riposte are their secondary learns, so they
can still make good hybrids, especially with high wit.
Wall of Steels, Parry Lungers, do not learn riposte much at all. It can be
their favorite learn, but usually it is not. That said, because of their
attack/init/defenses, these styles can be run as a riposting hybrid. Riposte is one
of the easiest skills to 'fake'. Again, these are high skill/high endurance burn
styles, so make sure they have more endurance than I suggest as minimum.
3) Weapon Selection
I am not a fan of shields on Riposting Hybrids. You are trying to attack and nothing
is worse than attacking with a shield (which tends to do no damage). It is
recommended to use the best weapons in the game that you qualify for. I tend to use
off-hand daggers for PRs and PLs and a single weapon with the other styles.
For main hand, I usually pick (style dependent) in order of preference:
BA, SC (poor against scale), BS, LO (poor against plate)
Feel free to experiment with other weapons. Most of the time, weapon selection will
not be the deciding factor in the fight. Different weapons have different strengths
and weaknesses. Until you start to learn those strengths, the safe choice are the
top overall weapons in the game.
4) Strategy and tactics
This is where things get difficult. You really need to experiment to find where your
hybrid wants to fight. Different warriors like different rhythms and typically your
favorite rhythms are a good place to start for most of these hybrids. For ABs, I
tend to ignore their favorite activity level and run 7-10 in early minutes. What
works on one hybrid may not work on another. When your hybrid starts to act like a
monster at a certain set of numbers, you may be hitting his favorites. For
reference, the 'most common' set of favorites for the styles mentioned in this
article:
PR: 5-6 AL/3-4 OE TP: 3-4 AL/1-2 OE
AB: 3-4 AL/3-4 OE PL: 5-6 AL/5-6 OE
L: 7-8 AL/7-8 OE WOS: 3-4 AL/5-6 OE
Once again, this is only a place to start. These numbers may work well or not at all
for your warrior. But, it is not a bad place to start. And if you're going to err,
I'd recommend erring on the higher side. But one of my favorite hybrids was a Total
Parry that went crazy running 2 OE. He always wanted to attack.
If you refuse to attack after a riposte messages, consider lowering armor or
raising your activity level and offensive effort AND drop any tactics you are using.
As I mentioned, riposte is easy to fake. The Riposte tactic is a wonderful tool
for warriors that need help in the riposte department. Very rarely will ABs or PRs
need to use this tactic (and I almost never use it for those two styles). The
hardest styles to riposte are typically Slashers and Lungers (and sometimes Wall of
Steels and Parry Lungers, depending how they are running). These two styles tend to
be running fast and have lots of initiative and though it is underpowered, if you
have enough, it is tough to riposte you.
Parry and Dodge are also useful when you need to augment your defenses.
5) Armor
I talked a lot about armor in the design section. Wear some, but watch your weight.
>)]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 681): BITTERMAN of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 683): CRITIAS of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 596): SAUSAGE PARTY of DUDE RANCH (Hombre, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 677): SOURWOOD of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 679): BILLY JACK of PUNNY AMINALS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 670): CORNBREAD STUFFING of ALMOST THANKSGIVING (Sherlock, mgr)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 671): BEETLE BAILEY of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 338): TAXES of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 668): DARIUS of OPEN HAND (Bahram, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 335): URN4A TREAT! of JUST DESSERTS (Destitute Noble?)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 665): PETROV of ASSORTED (A-Sop, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 662): VIN DIESEL of HEROES (?, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 654): FROZEN IMAGE of URBAN JUNGLE (Jugger, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 612): TORN CLOTH of IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 313): ANDROMEDA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 307): KATIE of ALL-STAR NANA'S (The Mun, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 294): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 544): MANZA WIGGLES of INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 529): CHIQUITA CHIWAWA of RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 511): DEEMER EPPT of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 505): SASHA of ZOMBIE SQUAD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 243): PANAMA OATS of MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 466): NIMINI TYL ZO of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 461): BUBBA of ZOMBIE SQUAD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 452): DELNA BERIN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 569): NIGHTCAP of DARKLINGS (She-Puppy, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 681): BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 683): DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 596): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 677): GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 679): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 670): ALMOST THANKSGIVING (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 671): THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 338): ISIS PTAH (Aesir Vanir, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 668): METAL MINCERS (Oremaster, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 335): NUMBERS GAME (Destitute Noble, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 665): FISHERMAN'S WHARF (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 662): THE SEWING CIRCLE (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 654): ON THE ROCKS (Bartender, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 612): IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 313): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 307): ALASKAN PIPELINE (The Storm Lord, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 294): LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 544): INCONSISTENT FURY (Banthius, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 529): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 511): MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 505): BASH BROS EVANGELIST (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 243): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 466): NUMB-ERS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 461): ZOMBIE SQUAD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 452): J (Sherlock, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 569): THE WILLBURYS 78 (Rascally Rabbit, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 676): BOBCAT of GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 678): SAD SLACKS of EMOTIONAL PANTS (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 669): BELLONA CHIST of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 670): DESERT PLANTS of THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 334): SLATE G35 of NUMBERS GAME (Destitute Noble?)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 612): TORN CLOTH of IS THAT A CLUE? (Sherlock, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 312): YUMALESCA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 TEMPLE OF ABARSIS (turn 306): BASKET of LAND OF OZ (Oz, mgr.)
KISS OF DEATH of DEVIATION (Marma Duke, mgr.)
KANA BALLISTIC of DEVIATION (Marma Duke, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 294): NASTY NES of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 242): STINKY PETE of DREW'S BOYS II (The Mun, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 466): 111 of NUMB-ERS (Sherlock, mgr.)
SPY REPORT
It is I, Novgorodny Vir, Spymaster of Spymasters. Look on my work, ye mighty,
and despair! The boys at SUPERMARKET left the arena dejected, after being kicked out
of the top spot by TEACHER'S PETS. Good show! Good things come to those who fight
well, as TEACHER'S PETS can attest, moving up by 1. SUPERMARKET had cause to
celebrate, after SLOW CHECKER got 14 points by beating AZUZ. DELL certainly had a
baffled expression on his face, after losing to TOMMY and losing 9 points in the
process! A certain someone saw BRO'TOR at The Dripping Blade with the shakes, and
now he fails to show up to defend his throne. What a pathetic slob! In NOBLISH
ISLAND, nothing is permanent (except Death), and we find ourselves a new Duelmaster,
LITTLE JOHNNY. So who was the warrior seen charging into immovable walls and
challenging dead trees? Someone's got a basic problem...
My mother wished me to avoid conflict, and seek the gentle trade of Spyreporter.
But warriors aren't supposed to avoid fights! To quell some nasty rumors, the guys
in THE PC LINE-UP are not carrying any incurable diseases. No need to avoid 'em.
The warriors of THE PC LINE-UP found their efforts at combat frustrated as TEACHER'S
PETS apparently had more important things to do than fight. Is it charming
personality? Conversational abilities? Good oral hygiene? Whatever it is, HP is
the most challenged warrior. Willing to win at any cost is ROTTEN PRODUCE, who
challenged HTC, 11 points junior. Our sympathies, HTC! I thought ROTTEN PRODUCE
showed great skill and promise when she won victory over HTC. All right, so I slept
through it! Big deal!
Like the wind whispering among the pines, do hearest I many disquieting rumors.
Questions are being raised about the disposing of severed body parts in the arena. A
certain tavern in NOBLISH ISLAND would I avoid!
All good things must come to an end. More important duties call me. Do not
despair! I shall return!-- Novgorodny Vir
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LITTLE JOHNNY 9171 4 1 1 43 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-BRO'TOR 9148 4 3 0 44 GLORY DISCIPLES (1575)
AISLE BLOCKER 9165 5 0 0 35 SUPERMARKET (1578)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-LUGH THE LONGARM 9153 4 2 1 33 GLORY DISCIPLES (1575)
TOMMY 9170 3 2 0 33 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
-MARCUS 9149 4 3 0 31 GLORY DISCIPLES (1575)
SLOW CHECKER 9167 3 2 0 28 SUPERMARKET (1578)
DAISY 9172 3 2 0 24 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
HP 9159 5 1 0 23 THE PC LINE-UP (1576)
ROTTEN PRODUCE 9175 4 1 0 21 SUPERMARKET (1578)
HOMER 9173 4 1 0 21 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
KULBERT LEW 9191 2 2 0 21 THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
FORLOY GERDAN 9187 3 1 0 20 THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
-CHRISTOS 9152 3 4 1 18 GLORY DISCIPLES (1575)
MANDY 9174 3 2 0 18 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
GENNA HAYES 9188 2 2 0 16 THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
DELL 9155 4 2 0 14 THE PC LINE-UP (1576)
OUT OF STOCK 9166 2 3 0 13 SUPERMARKET (1578)
IZZY JORMIN 9190 1 3 0 13 THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
AZUZ 9158 3 3 0 12 THE PC LINE-UP (1576)
LONG CHECKOUT LINES 9169 3 2 0 11 SUPERMARKET (1578)
HOBSON IPP 9189 2 2 0 11 THE LOW ROAD 2 (1582)
HTC 9176 2 3 0 9 THE PC LINE-UP (1576)
LENOVO 9156 1 5 0 8 THE PC LINE-UP (1576)
-LYNN-LEIA 9121 1 1 0 4 CONAN-LUKE (1570)
-SOLATIA-LANDOVER 9122 0 2 0 2 CONAN-LUKE (1570)
-PATH DAGGERS-PAND 9127 0 2 0 2 CONAN-LUKE (1570)
-WOLVERINE-LEADER 9125 0 2 0 2 CONAN-LUKE (1570)
-MORD-SITH 9126 0 2 0 2 CONAN-LUKE (1570)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSONAL ADS
Lugh The Longarm's Inquiry... Request fulfilled! The info you wanted about "skill
bases" was in a spot in the last newsletter. You may need the "cheat sheet" (Which
we like to call CIC-- for Consortium Information Collection.) from RSI. It is now
available. You will get three pages of "charts" and two pages (which were published
in the aforementioned spot) of instructions. Luck at you. -- Teacher
Actually, I think it's in this newsletter.
Assur -- Me gits a pressent? From yu? Cain't wait! -- Homer
P.S. Homer says thanks in advance. (Teacher)
Izzy J -- That weapon choice seemed reasonable to me. I wonder why you termed it
counter-intuitive? Epees slash really, really well, if you know how to "whip 'em
around." -- Tommy (Who knows how to whip 'em.)
Genna Hayes -- That is a good question. Why did I train ST when I already had enough
to handle most weapons? Well, here was my thinking. I have 14 ST. I know that at
15 ST, I gain an attack and a parry skill. I need attack skills! I know that at 15
ST, I also qualify, without penalty, for the BA (battle axe). I really like that
battle axe. I also thought that I am only going to earn two skills or so if I train
skills, so the two skills PLUS the battle axe prompted my choice. (With my WL at 17,
I had an 85% chance of getting that stat.) There are pros and cons to training stats
which get discussed often in the game. -- Daisy
An accurate low wit chart? Yu da man, Assur! Thanks. -- Teacher
Lugh The Longarm, and others -- Sometimes D2ers speak of skills in numbers, and a few
people still speak in percents. One skill = 5 percent. I think the percent idea
grew from the fact that it takes 20 total skills to get an advanced expert. One
hundred per cent = 20. Hence, I can say I have 8 total attack skills or I can say 40
per cent. Or I can say I have an expert or 16 skills or 80 percent. See? -- Teacher
(Preferring always speaking in numbers; e.g. 21 skills or adex +1, but not 105
percent.)
Bro'Tor -- Congratulations to you, mighty Duelmaster. -- Teacher and the kids
The top team is Supermarket?! I am getting hungry! -- Teacher
Hobson Ipp -- I was the lucky one. I think you are probably better than me. -- Daisy
HTC -- Wow! I must have made a smart challenge. Anyway, I won. -- Tommy
Marcus -- That was a great challenge and great win over Homer. Your style is just
the type to beat him in six. Kudos. -- Teacher
Me hurt! Me no like Mark funny name. -- Homer
HP -- Glad you lived through it. Persistent Beggar didn't. -- Little Johnny
Forloy Gerdan -- Well fought, pal. You are my better. -- Mandy (No more dates with
HIM, either!)
Hugh -- The armor selection for Mandy is well intended and has proven to be optimal
over the years for what is called A Consortium Waste. -- Teacher
Good questions all. Keep up the good work. -- Teacher (Going home to grade papers.)
Lugh -- Great Duelmaster columns! Keep them coming. -- Assur
Always love going 5-0. Now if I could just figure out how to prevent the 1-4s that
usually seem to follow. -- Assur
Christos -- A very close fight. Could have gone either way. -- Aisle Blocker
Lugh -- I'm letting The Teacher handle the skill calculation question. I've been
including the charts in my spotlights, but not the modification for each style. --
Assur
Path Daggers-Pand -- Another close fight that could have gone either way. And while
the weapon you used is perhaps the best available for a basher, blunt weapons do
horrible damage in general. Many consider the Scimitar the best weapon available and
you can certainly use it without penalty. I feel for your team, because you haven't
been able to catch a break yet. -- Slow Checker and Assur
To all newer managers -- I would encourage to be patient at first. There is much to
learn and getting warrior design and strategy both working in your favor can be a
frustrating task. And while some very intuitive things do work, others that should
be intuitive do not work. Keep at it, ask for help, and read the hints, especially
from The Consortium and I. Some articles published in these newsletters are dated,
as well. -- Assur
Long Checkout Lines was a 10-8-12-9-8-10-13 rollup. Very average numbers with the
ability to be made into almost any kind of warrior. I'd already decided on 3 pure
offensives, so I wanted something different. I just don't get excited about 14
con/14 will pure defensives (which is where I'd add points if I went pure
defensive). That leaves a hybrid. Will is at 8, so adding points there is not a
good investment (Usually you want 7, 9, 15, 17, or 21 will). That almost forces
adding points to wit. As I mentioned, low wit and will is not a good recipe. Now
I'm adding to either strength, constitution, or deftness. Eleven strength is just
fine on this guy and unless I'm making an AB, the deftness is also fine. Adding 6 to
con gives lots of hit points. The last point I put on Will to get to 9. The final
result is an11-14-12-15-9-10-13 PR. A reasonable riposting hybrid. Nothing
fantastic, but he can win fights.
Assur's Helpful Tidbit -- Some warriors are luckier than others. If you create the
same exact warrior multiple times, they will perform differently. Sometimes there
are warriors that fight much better than you'd expect from their numbers. There are
also some warriors that find ways to lose fights they should win. You won't find out
whether your warrior is lucky, average, or unlucky except by watching them fight.
Bonus Tidbit -- All styles are not equal. Most managers find it much easier to play
with pure offensives and pure defensives initially. And Total Parries and Strikers
are easier to win with than the others of those types. Lungers and Wall of Steels
have the best initial skill totals, so they are also easier to win with than some of
the lower skilled styles. Just remember to give your Lungers and Wall of Steels lots
of endurance (think 17 or 21 will and at least average strength and con).
Forloy Gerdan -- Why that is the only compliment I've ever received at work. (sniff,
sniff) -- Slow Checker
Jorja -- I've always wondered what the difference between the High Road, the Middle
Road, and the Low Roads are. Is there a system to your team names? -- Assur
Tommy -- What else could I do? I have a low nature. -- Izzy Jormin
Daisy -- Ouch. Too bad there's no good place here on the island to go shopping. --
Genna Hayes
A comment on Assur's tip last time: Note that when training stats, the will you have
at the time you train is critical. Nine will gives you a less than fifty percent
chance to train a stat the first time. -- Jorja
Lugh the Longarm -- Re base skills. Erg. You go to the charts, and be glad you have
charts to go to. When I started, you determined your base skills by keeping careful
count of all the skills you learned until you got a rating, then figuring backward.
Which is how the charts were developed, of course. Now, there's Bagman and Bagman II
(which I've been told is short for Ben And Gary's Mode Analysis, but neither Ben nor
Gary is playing any longer, so eh), which will tell you what a given set of stats at
a given style will normally be (mode). And other charts minutely analyzing the
statements on the overview to detect variations from that norm. That is, I think, in
Teacher's package. -- Jorja
Mandy -- Overloaded a bit? Getting tired in the second minute is not a good sign for
your style, though the training should help. -- Forloy Gerdan
Wolverine-Leader -- Whoa! What happened to your weapon? -- Kulbert Lew
Lynn-Leia -- Is your manager conducting some kind of experiment? He's going to get
you killed that way. -- Izzy Jormin
Long Checkout Lines -- That's okay, I brought a book. -- Genna Hayes
Daisy -- Bah, I bet you couldn't stay on a bicycle built for two. -- Hobson Ipp
Just a point, in case someone has misunderstood: When filling out your turn sheet,
if you want the same weapon to be used versus all armor weights, write it on the TOP
line there, not the bottom one. The bottom line is for backup weapons, and will
leave you empty-handed, and you can't count on drawing your backup in the heat of a
fight. -- Jorja
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
TOMMY devastated DELL in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
ROTTEN PRODUCE won victory over HTC in a 2 minute beginner's Challenge battle.
OUT OF STOCK was outlasted by HP in a dull 14 minute Challenge fight.
HOMER unbelievably bested IZZY JORMIN in a 3 minute gory novice's Challenge contest.
FORLOY GERDAN was demolished by LITTLE JOHNNY in a 1 minute Title competition.
DAISY lost to AISLE BLOCKER in a 1 minute amateur's fight.
AZUZ was overpowered by SLOW CHECKER in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
LENOVO was overpowered by GENNA HAYES in a 1 minute uneven melee.
LONG CHECKOUT LINES lost to MANDY in a 3 minute beginner's duel.
KULBERT LEW overpowered PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 1 minute uneven duel.
HOBSON IPP defeated MORDANT DESERTER in a action packed 1 minute novice's fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 5 STRIKING ATTACK 16 - 8 - 0 67 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 SLASHING ATTACK 9 - 6 - 0 60 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 PARRY-STRIKE 7 - 5 - 0 58 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 BASHING ATTACK 21 - 15 - 1 58 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 14 - 11 - 0 56 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 AIMED BLOW 16 - 14 - 0 53 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-LUNGE 4 - 4 - 1 50 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 WALL OF STEEL 13 - 15 - 1 46 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 - 6 - 0 33 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 LUNGING ATTACK 4 - 9 - 0 31 |
Turn 336 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:
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 4 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 PARRY-LUNGE
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 PARRY-STRIKE
1 AIMED BLOW
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
BASHING ATTACK LITTLE JOHNNY 9171 4 1 1 43 TEACHER'S PETS (1579)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is LITTLE JOHNNY 9171. The most popular warrior this
turn was IZZY JORMIN 9190. The ten other most popular fighters were HOBSON IPP 9189,
TOMMY 9170, ROTTEN PRODUCE 9175, LITTLE JOHNNY 9171, AISLE BLOCKER 9165, GENNA HAYES
9188, HTC 9176, DAISY 9172, SLOW CHECKER 9167, and KULBERT LEW 9191.
The least popular fighter this week was OUT OF STOCK 9166. The other ten least
popular fighters were HP 9159, MANDY 9174, LONG CHECKOUT LINES 9169, LENOVO 9156,
AZUZ 9158, FORLOY GERDAN 9187, HOMER 9173, DELL 9155, KULBERT LEW 9191, and SLOW
CHECKER 9167.
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
WINTER FACE-TO-FACE IN SUNNY ARIZONA!
Our next winter FTF will be held in Tempe, Arizona, January 13-15, 2012. It will be
held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tempe, Arizona (480-897-7444), the same hotel as
last year by popular request. Room rates are $134.00 per night, 1-2 occupancy, which
includes full cooked breakfast, complimentary manager's reception, free airport
shuttle, free parking and free high speed internet. There's a fitness center,
jacuzzi, and pool. The rooms are blocked--please make your reservation by December 15
before the block is released! (This is prime season for Phoenix, and people have been
unable to book rooms because they waited too long.) Look for the tournament info
sheet and minioverviews some time in December. We hope you're all looking forward to
it and that we will see you there!