DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 03/23/2013 Duedate: 04/05/2013 NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA DM-93 TURN-373 This Weeks Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS ABRAM CROSS LOW ROAD 5 (1620) (93-9420) [5-4-1,56] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader POSITION IS EMPTY ABRAM CROSS LOW ROAD 5 (1620) (93-9420) [5-4-1,56] Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite DAISY FRYE MAT TUKHOLT LOW ROAD 5 (1620) MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) (93-9417) [5-4-0,55] (93-9438) [1-0-0,8] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM LOW ROAD 5 (1620) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 58 2. LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 20 THE NEST (286) 3. BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 13 Unchartered Team 4. MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 12 5. TRIBES (1621) 9 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1*USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 9 1 1 90.0 1/ 1*LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 10 5 0 2/ 4*TRIBES (1621) 2 1 0 66.7 2/ 2*USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) 9 1 1 3/ 2*LOW ROAD 5 (1620) 24 21 1 53.3 3/ 3*BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 4 5 0 4/ 3*BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 4 5 0 44.4 4/ 4*TRIBES (1621) 2 1 0 5/ 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 1 4 0 20.0 5/ 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) 1 4 0 6/ 0*SANTEE WARRIORS (1622) 0 1 0 0.0 6/ 0*SANTEE WARRIORS (1622) 0 1 0 7- 5*WARRIORS FIVE (174) 0 1 0 0.0 7- 5*WARRIORS FIVE (174) 0 1 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank TEAM SPOTLIGHT NEW RECRUITS Have you ever wondered what kinds of individual recruits you could expect when you warrior dies or graduates? What is typical? Well, here are the last 100 rollup recruits (not from five warrior rollup teams, but individual replacements) received by The Consortium affiliates. Perhaps this list will enhance your "thinking" and future strategizing? Perhaps. ST CN SZ WT WL SP DF ----------------------------------------- 6 6 17 7 14 10 10 14 6 10 12 12 3 13 13 6 12 18 5 11 5 4 4 18 11 12 16 5 9 9 11 11 12 12 6 ----------------------------------------- 13 14 19 6 3 7 8 18 5 14 5 11 12 5 10 11 9 11 12 10 7 10 10 16 12 7 10 5 5 11 8 13 16 14 3 ----------------------------------------- 9 9 9 10 9 12 12 4 10 10 9 16 9 12 12 6 16 10 16 7 3 15 3 16 3 9 15 9 4 13 16 10 12 5 10 ----------------------------------------- 10 6 13 11 9 12 9 13 16 7 16 5 9 4 14 9 12 4 19 8 4 12 5 9 11 12 14 7 3 7 14 12 9 12 13 ----------------------------------------- 9 9 14 8 4 17 9 9 17 16 6 8 7 7 3 10 18 3 13 9 14 10 5 11 10 12 10 12 5 7 12 7 10 12 17 ----------------------------------------- 8 9 16 6 13 8 10 9 9 16 10 12 5 9 12 14 12 5 8 5 14 13 12 7 13 10 10 5 9 15 6 12 6 6 16 ----------------------------------------- 11 10 17 12 4 8 8 15 5 16 7 10 10 7 7 4 13 10 9 10 17 14 17 6 7 10 3 13 9 4 14 6 12 16 9 ----------------------------------------- 13 3 9 15 7 10 13 4 9 21 10 5 12 9 4 12 5 13 5 18 13 9 9 8 12 9 10 13 9 9 9 10 11 9 13 ----------------------------------------- 13 9 8 10 12 9 9 14 12 7 16 5 3 13 9 13 9 9 9 12 9 10 13 6 10 18 4 9 9 10 11 4 17 13 6 ----------------------------------------- 11 17 10 4 13 12 3 5 18 6 10 9 7 15 12 3 16 16 13 5 5 5 9 17 9 10 10 10 6 9 11 8 17 13 6 ----------------------------------------- 8 15 9 12 3 13 10 17 10 9 9 8 8 9 10 9 9 5 16 5 16 13 3 18 10 10 13 3 10 9 8 11 12 10 10 ----------------------------------------- 15 5 5 7 11 9 18 18 6 14 7 6 10 9 5 8 18 12 9 6 12 9 9 7 9 20 6 10 9 5 12 5 9 17 13 ----------------------------------------- 12 5 12 10 13 14 4 9 9 11 11 17 5 8 9 4 5 13 10 17 12 13 8 11 9 5 14 10 4 11 11 14 4 13 13 ----------------------------------------- 11 6 17 12 4 7 13 5 12 12 16 9 7 9 7 8 14 8 12 7 14 14 6 17 12 9 9 3 7 6 11 9 10 16 11 ----------------------------------------- 6 11 10 9 5 10 19 13 4 4 11 19 9 10 10 4 20 5 15 9 7 10 9 17 13 9 3 9 9 10 7 15 15 9 5 ----------------------------------------- 9 10 9 8 12 16 6 12 9 9 8 13 11 8 4 15 16 10 10 6 9 12 9 10 8 14 5 12 10 4 7 11 9 18 11 ----------------------------------------- 9 16 5 16 12 4 8 10 5 13 9 10 13 10 11 4 14 10 9 12 10 4 13 9 10 12 9 13 8 8 11 13 11 13 6 ----------------------------------------- 3 14 13 4 13 14 9 7 9 15 9 11 11 8 9 4 15 5 16 12 9 3 14 11 10 13 10 9 12 12 18 5 9 9 5 ----------------------------------------- 10 6 10 10 8 11 15 4 16 12 4 16 11 7 10 9 17 12 8 4 10 5 10 13 9 9 11 13 16 9 7 10 9 10 9 ----------------------------------------- 9 3 15 9 10 12 12 6 10 11 9 17 8 9 10 12 12 12 8 10 6 12 11 12 10 13 8 4 5 11 7 7 16 10 14 Brought to you by Smithy (for The Consortium) * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * Dress for Success! Use the Weight of Encumbrance Formula Personally, I'm not a fancy dresser. But I've often imagined what it would be like to put on the mirror polished Plate Mail Armor, fearsome Full Helm and my favorite weapons. But my dream would turn into a nightmare if I realized that they all weighed too much! I'd be in a panic as my manager just pushed me out into the arena sands where I couldn't move or see! That's a setup for disaster. The purpose of this article is to help new and returning managers avoid over- encumbrance by using the "Weight of Encumbrance" formula. As a returning manager, yes I remember getting the dot matrix turn sheets in the 80s, I did a lot of home work before restarting my team in December 2012. What amazed me was the wealth of information available in so many places. The game has benefited from the DM-93 Arena articles, the RSI forum threads, Chatzy Live Chats, Terrablood.com articles, and especially the many helpful "super-managers." However, one item that seemed "hidden" under all the good information is how to figure the weight limits of warriors. This tidbit of knowledge is vital when filling out the strategy sheets and my desire is to make it "visible" to all. When reviewing the RSI Rule Book I came across the following statement located under, "Filling Out Your Strategy Sheets" and in the sub-section called, "Weapons, Armor, and Helms": "If you load your warrior down with several large weapons, you may push the limits of their encumbrance capability, especially when you consider the additional weight of armor and helm. Figure that an average warrior (Strength 12, Constitution 12) can carry an average of 18 points of weapons and armor. More armor than this may tax your warrior's endurance and mobility; less armor may allow your warrior to fight longer and improve their mobility." The numbers RSI mentions were further enhanced by some "super-managers" in the forums (thanks to OAB, Darque, and Assur). They explained the following formula, "ST + (lesser of ST or CN) -- 6". Here are two ways to further explain this formula that I'm calling, "The Weight of Encumbrance Formula": (1) "Pseudo English" If your warrior's Constitution ("CN") is greater than their Strength ("ST"), then multiply "ST" by two and to the result subtract "6". Otherwise, your warrior's "CN" either equals or is less than their "ST", add "ST" and "CN" together and to this result subtract "6". (2) Microsoft Excel (assume "ST" is in cell "A2" and "CN" is in cell "B2"): =IF(B2>A2,(A2*2)-6,(A2+B2)-6) For example, my Parry-Lunger has a Strength of 9 (ST=9), a Constitution of 11 (CN=11), and on the Roll-up overview he had the Encumbrance Statement of "CANNOT carry a LOT OF WEIGHT in weapons and armor." Without the "formula," I'm merely guessing on how to fill out my strategy sheet. If I guess wrong, then I'm setting up my warrior for a "nightmare" experience. Potentially, I could imprison him in Plate Mail (APA Weight = 14) and render him an easy target. Running the Strength (ST=9) and Constitution (CN=11) numbers through this formula, I now know that my fighter would be encumbered with any weight over 12 (No Plate Mail for him!). Therefore, I now can choose my "outfit" effectively. The "outfit" can include--armor, helm, weapons (including shield), and all back-up weapons. No guessing anymore! Following is a table that shows how the Weight ranges relate to the Encumbrance statements: Weight ENCUMBRANCE Chart Letter & Description 00 to 10A -- can only carry a VERY LITTLE WEIGHT in armor and weapons 11 to 15B -- CANNOT carry a LOT OF WEIGHT in weapons and armor 16 to 21C -- (NORMAL ENCUMBRANCE) 21 to 25D -- can carry a GOOD AMOUNT OF WEIGHT in weapons and armor 26 to 33E -- can carry a TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WEIGHT in weapons and armor 33 to 44F -- can carry a seemingly LIMITLESS AMOUNT in weapons and armor With this information, I don't want to hear complaints about over-encumbered warriors. Please make sure that they all "dress for success"! Trim, Mgr of SOUND (15) in DM-35 * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * Assur and His Bashers If you get to know Assurnasirbanipal at all, you will learn that his favorite style is the bashing style. Before going any further, you need to know that it is not one of the 'best' styles in the game and that not all styles are created equal. 'Most' warriors that make good bashers could likely be made into a better something else. There are a few notable exceptions which I will talk about briefly. Jorja's Profile of a Basher is a solid article. The only things I'd say to 'add' to it are: 1) For weapons, I highly recommend WH and QS first and foremost. And I virtually never use MS or WF. But the first two are the bread and butter weapons for Bashers 2) Design comments: Jorja undervalues wit. For bashers, don't undervalue wit. 11 or more. For Will, I recommend 9, 15, 17, or 21. That is where you get skills. I'll typically add to Strength, Speed or Deftness once my Will is at one of those values. If your setup starts with 9-11 will, I'd consider carefully whether adding 4-6 points is really worth it. There are other ways to make bashers, but her article is a great place to start. * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * Profile of a Style Bashers I make no claims to being exhaustive in this study of Bashers. There are managers who know more about the style, managers who have better Bashers, managers whose Bashers win more consistently. But this is a place to start. I have the details of twenty-eight immortal Bashers under my hand here, Bashers who, good, bad, or indifferent, survived long enough to graduate and discover their favorites. In those favorites lie clues to how the Gladiatorial Commission expects Bashers to operate. This does not mean that Bashers HAVE to operate that way, and it can be fun to force a style to do the unexpected and take everyone by surprise, but this could be said to be "what comes naturally." Favorite weapons. You will find that only weapons that may be received as favorites are ever described as "well-suited" to the style. For instance, an epee never occurs as a favorite weapon for a Basher, and any Basher who uses one will find he "is unsuited to his weapon" or "uses this weapon in an unorthodox style" at the top of his fight report. There is little, if anything (well, okay, surprise), to be gained from using a weapon unsuited to the style in question. The eleven weapons suited to use by Bashers, and the minimum stats required for their best use (information courtesy of Pagan's Enchiridion), are: Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 5 DF 5 Mace ST 13 SZ any WT 3 DF 5 Maul ST 15 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 7 Medium Shield ST 9 SZ any WT 5 DF 5 Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 13 Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 7 DF 5 Warhammer ST 13 SZ any WT 5 DF 7 Assurnasirbanapal offers the following alternate requirements for some of these weapons: Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Large Shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 3 DF 5 (not sure about size, but I believe wit is 3) Morningstar ST 13 SZ any WT 7 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ any WT 5 DF 5 (I can see that some warriors in my future are going to have to test these weapons.) Study this chart, and never make a Basher who doesn't have the stats to use at least one of the weapons well! I've made the mistake more than once (and more than once done it deliberately, but then, I'm perverse) of creating a warrior who is unable to use well any weapon to which his style is suited. This is enormously frustrating. Take my advice and DON'T DO IT. You may notice that the Fist is not listed as a weapon suited to the Bashing attack. This is an example--one of the most glaring ones--of the fact that sometimes intuition and real-world experience are "not well suited" to Duelmasters. Two weapons not listed on this chart are the Broadsword and the Battleaxe. If you arm a Basher with one of these weapons, the fight report will inform you that your warrior is not well suited to the weapon or uses it in a marginally effective manner. A manager I consulted informs me that he has had good results anyway with the Broadsword and is still experimenting with the Battleaxe. So you CAN ignore the weapon suitability chart above, though I would not recommend doing it until you have enough experience to know what risks you're taking. And don't do it with a warrior who adds the disadvantage of having inappropriate stats for the weapon to the disadvantage of unsuited style. As you can see from this list, the most important stat for a Basher, from the standpoint of weapon use, is Strength. A Basher who is dumb and on the clumsy side will find weapons he can use appropriately, provided he has the strength to lift them. This has led to the creation of a lot of dumb, clumsy Bashers. My own personal feeling--and I've run a lot of these depressing warriors--is that a dumb, clumsy Basher is doomed in the long run. And often very boring, as well. Boring is even worse than doomed. My immortal Bashers, their relevant stats, and their favorite weapons: Madoc ST 11 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 9 Mace Wanda the Blonda ST 17 SZ 8 WT 9 DF 15 Warflail Kenda Teegue ST 19 SZ 7 WT 11 DF 11 Greatsword Al Kore ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 13 Quarterstaff Broken Nose ST 17 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Quarterstaff Hogar ST 13 SZ 13 WT 21 DF 7 Maul Ski Mask ST 13 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 9 Maul Crabby Appleton ST 19 SZ 11 WT 13 DF 6 Warflail Lissette ST 14 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Greataxe Velendeis ST 9 SZ 14 WT 13 DF 7 Maul Hoftalj ST 21 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 7 Mace Cadal ST 14 SZ 15 WT 15 DF 11 Mace Caramella ST 13 SZ 13 WT 14 DF 11 Quarterstaff Lulu ST 17 SZ 11 WT 15 DF 9 Morningstar Franklin ST 15 SZ 6 WT 5 DF 17 Morningstar Bam Bam ST 13 SZ 14 WT 11 DF 9 Medium Shield Dune ST 19 SZ 17 WT 4 DF 3 Halberd Old Maid ST 17 SZ 7 WT 15 DF 11 Halberd Pelis the True ST 13 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 15 Large Shield Joe ST 15 SZ 10 WT 15 DF 13 Medium Shield Claudius ST 19 SZ 13 WT 10 DF 7 Quarterstaff Ekkar ST 17 SZ 15 WT 13 DF 7 Mace Jomon ST 11 SZ 17 WT 11 DF 15 Greatsword Dijanna ST 17 SZ 12 WT 17 DF 7 Mace Khora the Small ST 15 SZ 9 WT 17 DF 11 Warhammer Sweet Jorja ST 13 SZ 13 WT 15 DF 7 Quarterstaff Tarok ST 7 SZ 18 WT 11 DF 9 Warflail Kelan ten Salth ST 14 SZ 15 WT 17 DF 11 Greatsword You will notice that some of these warriors did not have the initial stats to use their favorite weapon efficiently. That's a little trick the Commission plays on us to keep us from getting too cocky. Only one of them (Tarok) was initially unable to use ANY of the bashing weapons well, and I trained up his strength early in his career. My personal favorites among the bashing weapons are the warhammer, the mace, and if the warrior has the wit for it, the quarterstaff, as these seem to me to produce the most interesting fights. If I'm going to train a warrior as a Basher, I try to make him able to use one or another of those weapons; it saves me a lot of stress. Which brings up the question of Basher design. In almost all cases, the advice routinely given is to put the points on WT, WL, and DF in preference to other stats. But to use any of the weapons listed above, the warrior DOES NOT NEED a WT of more than 11, and depending on which version of the stats for Morningstar you accept, he doesn't need more than 11 or 13 in DF. Do not put points on these stats beyond the necessary. ST: A Basher needs strength, and lots of it--who wants a Basher who "does little damage"? Besides, he needs a minimum strength of 9 for the least of his weapons, and that's a medium shield. Who wants to send a Basher out with a medium shield? Pile 'em on here. CN: No. A Basher wins by attacking, not defending. He should be keeping his opponent too busy to fight back, and he should not have to worry about his hit points. Generally speaking, go with whatever you've been given on the roll-up. The time to experiment with the creation of a Scum Basher is later, after you have more experience. SZ: You can't do anything about this, but a large size is not such a handicap for a Basher as for some of the more finicky styles. And it will increase the damage he can do--a Basher is all about doing damage. WT: No more than is needed for the weapon you've chosen. If you have extra points after satisfying other requirements, sure, go ahead and put them on wit, but you can get a decent learning rate with a wit of 11 so why waste the points here? Besides, if he survives long enough, you can train up more wit later. WL: I would always put points on will (unless it was 17+ already), but for me, that's reflex, not conscious planning. In theory, a Basher wins fights fast by attacking all out, and so he doesn't need will for the stick-to-it effect. But then... if he's a good Basher, wins a lot, graduates, and you want to keep on running him, a high will does make it easier to train up stats once you get around to it. SP: I don't really have a feel for the effects of high or low speed on ANY style. I would cautiously suggest that if you can get the speed into the moderate range (8-12?) without sacrificing anything important, then do it. But if you can't, then don't. DF: Enough to use the weapon of choice, or perhaps two or three weapons for variety. No more. And a note on armor: A Basher should NOT be loaded down with heavy armor. He isn't supposed to get hit, so what does he need that armor FOR? Favorite rhythms. Sometimes it's expedient to ignore a warrior's favorite rhythm, once you know it, but it does give you a guideline for running the style. Rhythm is given as Very High or VH (10-9), High or H (8-7), Moderate or M (6-5), Low or L (4-3), and Very Low or VL (2-1), for Offensive Effort first, and then for Activity Level. For the warriors listed above, the favorite rhythms are: H/VL H/L H/L H/M VH/M VH/L M/L M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/VL M/VL H/VL H/L H/L VH/VL VH/VL VH/VL H/L M/L VH/M VH/VL VH/VL H/L H/VL H/L VH/M H/M. You'll notice that there is no Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, and no Activity Level higher than Moderate, and that Offensive Effort is usually at least two steps higher than Activity Level. Not always--some of those listed above are only one step apart, and another manager tells me that he has some Bashers with favorite rhythms of Moderate/Moderate. But from the sample I have, it seems that Bashers favor a higher Offensive Effort than Activity Level, often considerably higher. While you may not always want to run a Basher this way, it appears that nature and the Gladiatorial Commission intended them to run very offensively. With a newly entered Basher, this kind of speed is a place to start. Once you get a feel for the warrior in question and for his likely opponents, you can tinker with the numbers for the ideal strategy. But be warned that running so offensively, the average Basher won't be able to keep going for long! Especially, he won't be able to go for long with a heavy weapon (one requiring more ST to handle) and heavy armor. When I think of the Bashers I have seen come out in Plate and struggle to last a single minute at high speed, I could weep. High speed burns endurance. Bashers go out to win fast, or they become easy prey for a slower-paced, more deliberate warrior. Of course, sometimes you'll run up against a Basher who ignores the stereotype, the so-called "Scum Basher." He differs from most of his kind by having a high endurance which allows his manager to run him slowly and take people by surprise. But this warrior is a freak. I distrust freakish warrior designs as a matter of principle. There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors have a favorite Kill Desire. There is no convincing evidence to support the hypothesis that warriors or styles have a favorite attack location. Managers have argued that the nature of the bashing attack lends itself to overhead blows to the head and upper body. However, I suspect that this is one of those intuitive things which turn out not to work, just as one would intuitively expect a Basher to do well with his fists, and he does not. Some managers have pointed out that a Basher aiming at the head tends to end his fight quickly. ANY style striking the head tends to end the fight quickly. (Consistently aiming at the head will increase the chance of killing, which will, in the long run, decrease the chance of your Basher's survival. Managers bloodfeud dedicated killers with hostile intent.) I consider this a case of "Not Proven." Favorite Tactics. Of the twenty-eight Bashers listed above, only eight had favorite tactics. Two favored the offensive tactic of Decisiveness, and the rest favored the offensive tactic of Bash. It seems reasonable to assume that the offensive tactics of Lunge and Slash are inappropriate for a Basher. (Of course, you can't always count on reason here, but....) There were no defensive tactics favored (granted, this is not a large sampling of warriors), which suggests that they should be used sparingly, if at all--a Basher is a purely offensive style. Proceeding from the general to the specific, here's a basher who had a very unpromising beginning-- Profile of a Gladiator Turo the Brick Lord Protector and Pain in the Rear Turo, a seven-foot Troll, just graduated from Lin Tirian, my own home arena, at 16-44-2, 94. He's a basher. And I suspect that most other managers would have sent him straight to the Dark Arena. At graduation, he is 11(2)-9-20-6(2)-17(2)-10-17. According to his overview, even after those stat raises, he Is not very bright The more subtle points of the riposte simply escape him, which I could have told anyone right off Stands around making himself a target, which we noticed Cannot carry a lot of weight in weapons and armor (that low ST) Is slow on his feet (Does size have an effect here?) Can do tremendous damage with a blow (mostly SZ, I suspect) Turo is "naturally adept" with a maul (well, okay, he's probably pulled up a few trees and swung 'em around to bat at pesky people), favors a rhythm of very high/low, and has an innate ability to use the bash tactic. None of this comes as a great surprise--it fits his character. He's aggressive by nature (definitely) and most readily learns initiative skills. (Doesn't that require BRAINS?) Ah, well. I've been running him lately as follows: Mace, backup war hammer, offhand medium shield, plate mail and a full helm. 9 8 7 6 7 8 10 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 8 8 7 8 7 8 10 which I wouldn't swear is the strategy I sent in for him originally, but it is what he's using. Attacking right arm, protecting head, no tactics. Maybe this was based on something another manager suggested to me. He graduated with no ratings at all. Yes, really. Obviously, he's not anybody's ideal warrior, but he's been surprisingly fun to read. And it seems at least possible that if I'd paid more attention to his strategies, issued challenges and avoids, he might have taken a better record out of the arena. He is headed for retirement, obviously. I think he has some idea of going back to his home in the foothills of the Khriatrin Mountains and terrorizing his kin. And another example of a basher, a much more successful one: Khora the Small Lady Protector Contender for the Throne in Lirin Kiv (ADM 107) Basher I don't have her graduation overview here, as that was a long time ago. But she started as 15-12-9-17-11-9-11. Now, after years of fighting, maxed on skills and training stats, she is 25-12-9-17-17-13-16. Her record at the present is 94-129-3, and despite doing devastating damage, being incredibly quick and elusive, and having an Advanced Master rating in attack and Masters in all the other skills, she is still not woman enough to take the throne in this smallest of the Advanced Duelmasters regions. Her favorite weapon is the war hammer, her favorite rhythm high offensive effort and very low activity level, which are good favorites. So why isn't she Duelmistress, or as it is called in Lirin Kiv, Champion of the Horn? Because there's an even better basher up there already. Her most serious problem is that low CN, I think. Maybe she should train that up.... Here's their most recent fight, a short one, so I'll give it to you in full-- Phetmolge is 8' tall, right-handed, fights with no armor or helm, carries a war hammer and a large shield, to which he is well suited. Khora is 5'7" tall, ambidextrous, in leather armor and a helm, carrying a war hammer and an off-hand war hammer, to which she, too, is well-suited. Khora is running 8 4 7 RA BD no tactics; about Phetmolge we can only guess. Both warriors move with snake-like speed around each other. The weapons lock together in a test of strength. Phetmolge is moving constantly without pause! He sweeps his large shield in a sudden unexpected assault! A spectator exclaims, "Brilliant!" Phetmolge smiles briefly. Khora parries the blow with her war hammer. She disengages her foe's weapon arm and tries to steal the initiative! She makes a lightning-quick backhand smash with her war hammer! Phetmolge is struck in the belly. Khora says admiringly (this is irony), "How much damage can you take, anyway?" (Lots. Lots and lots. More than she can, anyway.) She launches a brilliant attack with her war hammer. Phetmolge stops the blow with his large shield. He sidesteps, trying to throw his opponent off balance. He launches a brilliant attack with his war hammer! Khora is hit on the right hip! It is a tremendous blow! Khora winces, obviously feeling great pain. She mutters a desperate prayer and is stopped by the herald. She is determined to become top basher in Lirin Kiv and will keep fighting until she is Inducted into Primus. Jorja The Middle Way +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question of the Week #3 +>]H[<+-----+>]H[<+ Question, turn 403: All -- I've read that once you have an AE in a skill area you don't need to use a tactic in that area. What if you have a favorite tactic? Would it benefit your warrior to use it even if he is maxed in that area? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Answers, turn 404: Q.O.W. -- Tactics. It's generally believed that using a tactic, at any level of skill, increases something (init, attack, damage, etc. though no one's sure) at the expense of one or more other abilities. Usually it seems you lose more for using the tactic than you gain, so they should be used sparingly. However, favorite tactics are a bit different. I've noticed, generally, that the penalties usually imposed by using the tactic are greatly reduced or eliminated, making it more useful. I run a piker in AD who has response as a favorite and run her with it. She seems to do great with it against everybody. My decise running striker still defends well (though she's got favorite learn defense), and she still jumps everyone with a poor decise rating. My advice is to give it a try if it's a tactic you think your warrior needs, or can use based on their current point of development. -- Adie Hanibal -- It really is almost like flicking a switch the way you can (usually) prevent death intent statements if you want to. Dartor is the arena expert on killing and he too agrees. Most new managers gain pleasure from seeing their warriors kill, and it's not something to be ashamed of. But there is a better way of going about things. I think as you gain more experience and experiment with lower KD, you'll find that running with a 4 where you used to run with a 6 will have little effect on a warrior's performance other than decreasing the chance of death intent. This is especially true in the first minute, or before your warrior would get tired. -- Generalissimo Puerco Hanibal -- Each tactic has some benefits and some drawbacks. I can't tell you exactly what those are because I don't know myself. If a tactic only provided the equivalent of extra skills, then it might be true that a warrior wouldn't need them after a certain level of skill is achieved. But let's say that your warrior has an AE+3 and his opponent has a MA. Then there might still be good cause to use a tactic. I believe tactics grant benefits that can't always be translated into more skills. I think the best example of this is what happens when response is used against decise. Tactics have their value at all levels of the game, but the most valuable tactics might change. I don't think many would run with decise at the top of AD, though lunge and dodge remain popular. But for a new warrior, decise can be very important. Tactics are not well documented in the literature, and for that reason you may do well to learn first-hand and develop some instincts regarding the use of appropriate tactics. -- Generalissimo Puerco Hanibal -- Regarding the latest question: if you have an advanced expert in an area that equates to a given tactic, is there any point in running the tactic. Yes, if the tactic is a useful one. I don't THINK that there is a one-to-one equivalence between types of skills and types of tactics. For one thing, there are eight tactics and only six types of skills! -- Leeta Question, turn 404: All -- Do you think you are faster with your favorite weapon? If your fav is a Halberd would you be quicker with a War Hammer? I've read you get +4 in each area if you are using your favorite. -- Hanibal's Q.O.W. Answers, turn 405: Hanibal -- I strongly doubt that a favorite weapon gives four extra skills in each category. I don't see how anyone could know that unless it was said by a credible source within the GC. I'm terrible at finding favorite weapons. I can tell you that the one large favorite weapon I've had experience with is the greatsword, and it is still lousy even as a favorite. I really enjoy longsword as a favorite. -- Generalissimo Puerco Q.O.W. -- With regard to favorites, the only really obvious effect is that you are automatically well suited to it, and the warrior using it almost always throws more critical attacks with that weapon than if it wasn't their favorite. That pretty much gives me the impression it only helps attack. -- Adie Q.O.W. -- I would be amazed if you would receive +4 in each area for a favorite weapon. And we do not believe the fave adds to the speed with the weapon. The fave greatly aids attack and parry, hit %, and ability to hold onto the weapon. And, of course, criticals increase. -- Kennelworth Hanibal -- I don't know about specific bonuses for using a favored weapon. However, I do believe that if your favored weapon is something that you aren't otherwise suited for (for example, a broadsword for someone lacking the necessary attributes), you can often get good results by going for a lower version of that weapon. From the halberd of your example, for instance, "down" to a great axe, or even farther down to battle axe and then to hatchet. Experiment with them and see what might work. I have no specific numbers to support this, but it is the impression I've gathered over the cycles. -- Leeta * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * ---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===--- Duelmasters ----------- DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 718): BARELY LEGAL of IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 720): ELEVENTH of BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.) DM 13 DULLENS (turn 670): THE LIBRARIAN of ARCANE ROYALTY (Destitute Noble, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 714): LUCK DEVIL of THE DEVIL'S OWN (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 16 WILLAF (turn 716): GOLDPLATED of GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.) DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 707): FENSTER GOLLY of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 708): BULL HALSEY of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 356): THE INFLUENCER of LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.) DM 29 LAPUR (turn 705): THE CLEAR of ARCANE PHARMACY (Destitute Noble, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 354): AWESOME 80'S of NUMBERS GAME (Destitute Noble, mgr.) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 702): TRUST BUSTER 1 of SEGUE CARTEL (Zalgor Prigg, mgr.) DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 699): FLOUR CHILD of BAD BREAD (The Baker, mgr) DM 35 MURSKA (turn 691): FREE CHEESE!! Of HAPPY FUN TIME (Floyd, mgr.) DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 646): ARCHERS OF LOAF of UNC COLLEGE RADIO (Floyd, mgr.) DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 331): ROSELYN of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.) DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 326): SOUTH SPOON of OTTODROME TW (Otto X, mgr.) DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 312): 4-H of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.) DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 581): KULGAN of MEN OF STEEL (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.) DM 60 ARADI (turn 566): TICK ... TOCK of UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.) DM 61 JURINE (turn 548): ZENSU LASAGNA of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.) DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 542): IRONIC TWIST of THE MOTHERSHIP CE (Floyd, mgr.) DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 261): MRALISSA LOON of MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.) DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 503): JACK PENDELTON of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 498): STREGOICA of DARKSTALKER2 (Hombre, mgr.) DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 489): STEAMED MUSCLES of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit) ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 606): BILBO BAGGINNI of MIDDLE ITALY (The Dark One, mgr.) Top Teams --------- DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 716): SERPENTS HOLD 3 (Khisanth, mgr.) DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 720): BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.) DM 13 DULLENS (turn 670): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 714): CRUCIAL TAUNT (Daikkan, mgr.) DM 16 WILLAF (turn 716): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.) DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 707): MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.) DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 708): MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 356): LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.) DM 29 LAPUR (turn 705): THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 354): BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 702): DRAGON RIDERS (Daikkan, mgr.) DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 699): SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.) DM 35 MURSKA (turn 691): SOUND (Trim, mgr.) DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 649): UNC COLLEGE RADIO (Floyd, mgr.) DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 331): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.) DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 326): BASH BROS PARK (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.) DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 312): LIFE IMAPACTS (Smitty, mgr.) DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 581): MIDDLE WAY 20 (Jorja, mgr.) DM 60 ARADI (turn 566): RED DOG GANG (Spot, mgr.) DM 61 JURINE (turn 548): STAR WARS (Sir Jessie Jest, mgr.) DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 542): THE MOTHERSHIP CE (Floyd, mgr.) DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 261): BASH BROS SUITCASE (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.) DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 503): MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.) DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 498): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 489): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.) ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 606): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.) Recent Graduates ----------------- DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 717): BLUE FUNK of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.) DM 13 DULLENS (turn 669): GRAY BEAR of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.) DM 15 MALCORN (turn 714): LUCK DEVIL of THE DEVIL'S OWN (The Dark One, mgr.) DM 16 WILLAF (turn 715): SNAKE of SERPENTS HOLD 114 (Khisanth, mgr.) DM 28 MORYA (turn 355): POSTAGE of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.) DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 353): DRONE-ON of BAD NEWS BEES (Stinger, mgr.) DM 32 ARVAT (turn 702): FOR THE GODLINGS! Of NOTORIOUS (Destitute Noble, mgr) DM 35 MURSKA (turn 691): MADON AP LLEW of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.) DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 326): SOUTH SPOON of OTTODROME TW (Otto X, mgr.) (turn 325): TALKEETNA of ALASKAN PIPELINE (Storm Lord, mgr.) SCOMSSS'S NIGHTMARE of THE OPERA (Manager, mgr.) DM 60 ARADI (turn 566): TICK ... TOCK of UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.) DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 542): IRONIC TWIST of THE MOTHERSHIP CE (Floyd, mgr.) SPY REPORT If you were disturbed from your beauty rest only to have to watch a bunch of NOBLISH ISLAND brutes like you, you'd be grouchy, too. Now let's all watch USEFUL WEAPONS' heads swell from their 5-0-0 this turn. Haa ha ha ha! Big shots, big talk, big deal. Of course, we're all terribly impressed to see PITCHFORK win a fight and gain 16 points, terribly. Tsk, tsk, TRASH CAN beat BLACK SHEEP and BLACK SHEEP lost 7 points. You're breakin' my heart. Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to KHALHUMS DWARF, BUT ABRAM CROSS is still the Duelmaster because he has the most recognition points! Kickbacks and bribes, kickbacks and bribes, how else do you think some of these guys win their fights? Skill? Ha! My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start talking.' I loved that woman. What's the big D? BASH BROS BROTHER was the most avoided team? Bunch of lily livered... grumble... mumble... curse... And it looks like USEFUL WEAPONS avoided them the most this turn. What a pack of would be losers, if you ask me. Hmph. Ooh, I'm frightfully impressed, BLACK SHEEP was this turn's most challenged warrior. Watch that ego swell, sports fans. Ah, now we come to my favorite part, where we see all the guys who are dead and gone, and get to see if their team cared. We're all going to die in the end, so why worry if the fate catches up with you sooner that later? 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. Phlllt! Just had to do that before I leave the fine city of NOBLISH ISLAND. I feel much better now. I see the crowds are getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ABRAM CROSS 9420 5 4 1 56 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DAISY FRYE 9417 5 4 0 55 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) BENNY DOGGE 9419 6 3 0 42 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PITCHFORK 9437 2 0 1 28 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) ELMER GREEN 9416 4 5 0 25 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME BASEBALL BAT 9433 2 0 0 18 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) CHARLOTTE ELLIS 9418 4 5 0 17 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) HARSH WORDS 9436 2 0 0 17 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) TRASH CAN 9435 2 0 0 17 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) PIMA 9424 2 1 0 13 TRIBES (1621) MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446 1 1 0 12 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) POCKET KNIFE 9434 1 1 0 12 USEFUL WEAPONS (1623) BORROWS MONEY 9444 1 0 0 10 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) BLACK SHEEP 9443 1 1 0 9 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) MAT TUKHOLT 9438 1 0 0 8 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) -KILY 944 0 1 0 7 WARRIORS FIVE (174) DRUG USER 9447 1 1 0 4 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) EMBARRASSING 9445 0 2 0 2 BASH BROS BROTHER (1625) 2-B-A-KO! 9430 0 1 0 1 SANTEE WARRIORS (1622) LADY DEATH 9442 0 1 0 1 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN 9441 0 1 0 1 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) CAMI DEAORDEN 9439 0 1 0 1 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) YAR'KEN TILLBIN 9440 0 1 0 1 MISFITS OF DOOM (1624) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? PERSONAL ADS Assur -- What an interesting spotlight. You certainly have an/some interesting brother/s. My only brother is 16 years younger, and a typical backwoods redneck. -- Smithy Abram Cross, Duelmaster -- Salute! Top five warriors--Jorja--salute. -- Smithy Drug User -- That stuff certainly psyched you up and got you off fast. You left me in a drugless pool, wondering if. -- Pocket Knife Makesmelook bad -- Is that such a hard thing to do? Anyway, I tried to help by encapsulating you in an upside-down aluminum can. Yep, it's true. You looked bad. -- Trash Can P.S. But, then, maybe it made you look better? Embarrassing -- Shucks, you shouldn't be. I was just better. -- Harsh Words Kily -- It wasn't a Louisville Slugger, but rather an Adirondack, the once Rawlings affiliate. 32", I think. -- Baseball Bat Persistant Begger -- Good riddance, I guess. Sadly, I suspect you will be back. I have to say that 1-0-1 seems like a doggone impressive start! (And it ain't even hay season.) -- Pitchfork All -- You want to know something? Just ask! No question is too silly. Indeed, I probably asked it once myself. You will likely get three answers. (How cool is that!?) Jorja, Assur, and I am here to respond. -- Smithy Pima -- That is the way this game sometimes goes. You beat one only to lose to another the next turn. Even more strange is when it is the same warrior you trade wins with. -- Assur Smithy/Jorja -- Mostly just us. I can only hope that the three matchups with Jorja's warriors go to Smithy. I don't need the mismatches. -- Assur Trash Can -- So tempting to break my no challenges rule to hopefully give you a loss that could only be described as Embarrassing. -- Assur Consortium -- You should have let Coach Rah Rah manage another 10 turns here, this time with some good old fashioned basketball! It is March Madness! -- Assur We fought nothing but standbys today, going four and one. Not impressive. And there's no point in giving the standbys advice, they never learn. For which we are grateful, it's good to have someone out there we can usually beat! But, anyway, we'll wait for a real fight before producing a real personal. -- Abram Cross, Duelmaster by Default for the Low Road 5 P.S. Besides, the Hands are tired tonight, and I don't think we could persuade them to do serious personals. LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS TRASH CAN bested BLACK SHEEP in a action packed 5 minute amateur's Challenge fight. BASEBALL BAT demolished DRUG USER in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge melee. ABRAM CROSS was defeated by KHALHUMS DWARF in a 3 minute Title duel. DAISY FRYE devastated FRATSFA SLAVE in a popular 1 minute one-sided contest. BENNY DOGGE savagely defeated CAPTURED ORC in a crowd pleasing 1 minute competition. ELMER GREEN was narrowly defeated by AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 2 minute brutal struggle. CHARLOTTE ELLIS was devastated by PITCHFORK in a 1 minute one-sided competition. PIMA handily defeated EMBARRASSING in a 1 minute uneven melee. POCKET KNIFE vanquished YAR'KEN TILLBIN in a 1 minute one-sided duel. HARSH WORDS vanquished ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN in a 1 minute one-sided duel. MAKESMELOOKBAD overpowered CAMI DEAORDEN in a 1 minute uneven match. LADY DEATH was overpowered by BORROWS MONEY in a 1 minute one-sided fight. MAT TUKHOLT subdued 2-B-A-KO! in a crowd pleasing 3 minute amateur's competition. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |AIMED BLOW 5 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 6 - 2 71 | |BASHING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 9 - 6 - 0 60 | |SLASHING ATTACK 3 BASHING ATTACK 25 - 21 - 0 54 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 STRIKING ATTACK 18 - 16 - 0 53 | |LUNGING ATTACK 2 LUNGING ATTACK 7 - 7 - 0 50 | |STRIKING ATTACK 1 AIMED BLOW 12 - 14 - 0 46 | |TOTAL PARRY 1 WALL OF STEEL 10 - 12 - 1 45 | |PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 - 0 0 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 - 0 0 | |PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 | Turn 373 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: SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 0 AIMED BLOW 2 - 3 3 SLASHING ATTACK STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 2 - 3 3 BASHING ATTACK TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 2 2 LUNGING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 1 WALL OF STEEL PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME WALL OF STEEL ABRAM CROSS 9420 5 4 1 56 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) SLASHING ATTACK DAISY FRYE 9417 5 4 0 55 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) STRIKING ATTACK BENNY DOGGE 9419 6 3 0 42 LOW ROAD 5 (1620) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is DAISY FRYE 9417. The most popular warrior this turn was MAT TUKHOLT 9438. The ten other most popular fighters were BLACK SHEEP 9443, BENNY DOGGE 9419, 2-B-A-KO! 9430, DAISY FRYE 9417, BASEBALL BAT 9433, ABRAM CROSS 9420, PITCHFORK 9437, POCKET KNIFE 9434, MAKESMELOOKBAD 9446, and ELMER GREEN 9416. The least popular fighter this week was LADY DEATH 9442. The other ten least popular fighters were CAMI DEAORDEN 9439, ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN 9441, YAR'KEN TILLBIN 9440, EMBARRASSING 9445, CHARLOTTE ELLIS 9418, DRUG USER 9447, TRASH CAN 9435, BORROWS MONEY 9444, HARSH WORDS 9436, and PIMA 9424. NEW TEAMS IN THE TEMPORARY TOURNAMENT ARENA (DM 85) Please note that all new teams created at the Face-to-Face were temporarily placed in a temporary Tournament Arena, DM 85. If you requested that your team be placed in a specific arena, it has already transferred to that arena. Effective immediately, any teams placed in DM 85 and not transferred out to another arena, will be automatically deleted a month after the tournament. If you have questions about any of your teams, please contact Customer Service. -- RSI Article for Newbies This here is an article aimed mostly at you new managers to the game out there. This chart is a consensus of managers on the internet about how they felt each style fairs against all other styles at the beginning levels of the game. Of course, once you get ten or so fights under your belt the whole scenario changes and you can throw this right out the window. But in the meantime, use this chart to help you get a feel for the game, how the different styles interact with each other and to hopefully dispel those 5-25 starts that can make you drop the game. Hope this helps you some. KEY FOR ODDS OF WINNING: 1 - ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE 6 - BETTER THAN EVEN 2 - HARDLY LIKELY 7 - GOOD CHANCE 3 - NOT MUCH 8 - HIGHLY PROBABLE 4 - SLIGHT CHANCE 9 - MOST DEFINATELY 5 - 50/50 10 - ALMOST GUARANTEED Reminder: Left Row vs Top Column BA ST LU SL AB TP PS PL PR WS BA 5 2 6 6 8 9 7 6 5 6 ST 8 5 8 9 9 6 7 5 6 4 LU 4 4 5 6 10 5 7 7 9 6 SL 4 1 5 5 8 6 8 7 8 9 AB 2 2 2 4 5 10 6 6 6 7 TP 3 4 6 4 1 5 7 8 6 5 PS 3 3 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 PL 5 4 3 3 6 2 7 5 7 6 PR 7 5 2 2 4 5 6 3 5 4 WS 5 8 6 2 4 6 7 5 6 5 There you have it folks. I would personally like to thank all the managers on the internet who made a contribution to this effort. You know who you are. Also a big nod of appreciation goes out to the mighty PUG (Ben Hitz) who organizes and runs the roundtable and without whose effort little projects like this would prove quite difficult. David Gottwald - Magic Man The Crew - Monuntial (34) Rocky's Heroes - North Fork (47) Tragedy Strikes - Andor (57) (inactive) Natural Born - Illis (59) Slow & Easy - Aradi (60) Omega Squadron - Dragonhead (72) MAKING YOUR CHALLENGES GO THROUGH First, you need to be sure you are making your challenges correctly. 1. Are you writing down the warrior I.D. number of the warrior you want to challenge? 2. Is your handwriting clear? 3. Is the warrior you are challenging within range of your warrior? Warriors can challenge within their own class and the next higher class, plus the "Challenger" classes can also challenge the next lower class. So, an Adept can challenge Adepts and Challenger Adepts. A Challenger Adept can challenge Adepts, Challenger Adepts, and Champions. (Try not to challenge down, though. Besides being unsportsmanlike and making everyone mad, it isn't advantageous to your warriors. They need to fight more experienced warriors so they will learn.) 4. Are your warriors eligible to make challenges? If they didn't fight within the last two turns, then they can't challenge. 5. Are the warriors they want to fight eligible to receive challenges? If they didn't fight within the last two turns, then they can't be challenged. Next, adjust your choices for the maximum likelihood of getting your challenges. There are several things that will help: 1. Have each of your warriors challenge two different opponents from two different teams. That way, if the first opponent's team doesn't fight that turn, you still might get your second challenge. 2. Use your avoids. Have each warrior avoid the teams of whoever you think might be likely to challenge him. If you can get out of being challenged, that increases your chance of getting your own challenge through. 3. Don't challenge warriors who didn't fight last turn. The odds are higher that they won't be fighting this turn. 4. Don't challenge warriors who might be involved in a bloodfeud (either as the killers, or the avengers). A bloodfeud challenge has priority over all other challenges. 5. Don't challenge Tournament Victors. A TV challenge has priority over all other challenges except bloodfeuds. You'll need to do a little research in back issues of the newsletter to find out who the TVs are. 6. Don't challenge warriors who you know are going to challenge someone else, or are going to get challenged by someone else. Your challenge has a better chance of getting through if it is the only challenge to that particular warrior. 7. Don't challenge the "easy pickings." That is, warriors above you who have way too few fights or very bad records for where they are ranked. They will tend to get challenged a lot. 8. Don't challenge warriors who are likely to be avoiding your team. This includes any warrior your team fought within the last two turns. Well, it sounds like I've eliminated just about everybody, doesn't it? Of course you can challenge opponents who fit into one or more of those categories; just try to find ones who don't. Your idea candidate for a challenge is: A warrior ranked somewhat above your warrior in the same class, or in the next higher class, with a few more fights than your warrior, and a winning record, who isn't a TV and isn't currently at war with anyone. I hope this will be of some help to you. The Rogue She-Puppy MAXIMIZING THE DUELMASTERS EXPERIENCE: WHAT THE RULES DIDN'T SAY When you get your turn results in the mail it is very important that you squeeze as much enjoyment as possible out of that envelope! I recommend (and also use!) the following procedures. First, open the envelope lengthwise with a letter opener. Remove the blue-sheet BUT DON'T LOOK AT IT! It may tell you that you are broke and owe RSI a lot of money. Flip it over instead! The blue-sheet will be used as a "hider" when you read the fight results line by line, so you don't see the end of the fight by mistake and ruin the excitement. Remove the rest of the sheets in one smooth maneuver and place the flipped-over blue-sheet on top of the pile, without looking at anything. You don't want to accidentally uncover an unexpected replacement rollup. This is a traumatic experience that should be avoided at all costs, as it indicates that one of your battles didn't go exactly as planned. Now you must prepare your room, or whever you are, for the battles. If you are suicidal, or a lousy manager, or a suicidally lousy manager, remove all sharp objects from the area. If you happen to manage an entire team of scummy warriors it is okay to leave a loaded musket nearby. The next step is to put on music. It definitely adds to the experience to have your favorite tunes playing in the background, preferably AS LOUD AS YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH! I christen each new warrior with a song that is his and his alone, and play that song whenever it is his turn upon the sands. It is a personal choice but I recommend Judas Priest, Manowar or Metallica. Avoid Abba and Barry Manilow (like I had to say it). It is also important to match the song length with the expected length of the fight. Don't choose "The Immigrant Song" for your 21-con Ultra-Scum. Likewise, don't choose "Stairway to Heaven" for your quick lunger. Finally, sometimes it is nice to choose an exceptionally violent alternate selection for those Bloodfeuds. Now you are almost ready! The final preparatory step (optional) is to prepare a pot of coffee. Beer also works well, especially on Fridays, but I understand that some managers are not Well-Suited to that particular beverage. I've heard the Duke Malibu in Solven drinks goat blood, but mind you this is only a rumor. For the final touch, try putting on any handy armor you have. Or a loin-cloth. I put on most of my hockey gear. The fights are on! The music is loud! The coffee is good! Read the fights slowly, line by line using your blue-sheet as a guide. Don't go too fast, now. Yell, "Yeah!" if your warrior scores an especially gruesome hit. Cringe if your warrior feels the joys of a great axe connecting with his face (that means you, Marilith). Raise your fist in the air when that total parry realizes that his last shield has broken! And cry when your favorite gladiator is gravely injured and then takes ten consecutive war hammer shots to the head... When the end of the fight comes you will be emotionally drained, so yell out, "Huzzah!!!" or "Damnnn!!!" or whatever, to take the edge off. When the fighting is ended take a breather before preparing for the next cycle's fights. Reflect on what has transpired and make a few notes. You'll be a better person (and manager) for it! Isn't Duelmasters great? Brought to you by ICE (the deranged): DM-49 (Vithicar) Rotting Livers (205) DM-10 (Kolact) Beermacht DM-22 (Solven) Steel Warriors DM-24 (Zorpunt) No Escape Winning With the Average Warrior Hi! The Master of Anime here... Yeah, yeah, I know, you're all doing a collective, "Who the Hell is this character?" Well, my claim to fame, if you can call it that, is that I run Eve, one of the more popular, if not completely unspectacular, warriors to fight in Alastari. I am a micro-manager (you've heard of mega-managers? Well, think in reverse) who has been mainly running only one team during my 8+ years of Duelmasters. This little write-up is aimed towards the less experienced managers, the ones that can be brainwashed from some of the "How to build the perfect warrior..." spotlights that tend to appear from time to time. Many of the "How to build..." spotlights tend to deal with roll-ups that are quite ideal, but in reality, rarely come out of RSI's number crunching machine, commonly referred to as "the Roll-Up Gods". There have been a few good articles on how to design skillful warriors from 'average' roll-ups. Those articles, in my opinion, are the most helpful to new managers for the simple fact that you will almost always get an 'average' roll-up. Occasionally, that 'average' roll-up might turn out to be something special, and that is what I would like to key in on. I know a lot of managers who will continually DA their warriors until they get something that is as close to perfect as possible. You know, the warrior with three or four 17s or the warrior with a couple of 21s or that size 3 or 4 warrior, etc... If you are a relatively new manager and you are also doing this, I think you are missing out on one of the more intriguing aspects of this game and that is warrior development. Being a micro-manager, I do not have an army of warriors like the mega-managers do, but I'd like to think that I can hold my own against them (hey, if you're gonna dream, dream big). Anyway, back to the point. One of my 'average' warriors seems to have achieved a form of notoriety in Advanced Duelmasters to the extent that even the ever quiet Mirage (manager of Donatello) has had something to say (it was at the last Tempe FTF and my warrior, at the end of the 6th or 7th round, was listed as the top Primus warrior on the tourney list.) Mirage pointed at my warrior on the list and said, "That, is embarrassing..." I took it as a compliment. In case you're wondering, my warrior is Akira (the reason I'm writing this article is that I've been approached many times of late by managers who wanted to see Akira's numbers, thinking he had some sort of godlike roll-up. I set them straight). I'm not going to print Akira's numbers in this article for the main reason that I don't have them with me at this time (it'll probably tick-off a lot of managers whose warriors Akira has beaten anyway), but I do know this... he has about 30 attribute increases and only one attribute is in the 20's, that one being WL (he even got gypped by not getting some skills that you normally think he'd get by raising WL up the 20's). He won't be getting another attribute above 20 for a long, long time. (I think his next highest attribute is 17... note that this is after the 30 or so increases...) You should have a pretty good idea how generic this roll-up is... a roll-up that would probably be DA'd by most managers looking for a good roll-up... a roll-up that I even said, "I'll run him for kicks, but will probably retire him once he gets to AD."... a roll-up that entered AD with a less-than-stellar 14-10 record... a roll-up currently on a 20 fight win streak... a roll-up with three consecutive Primus TVs. So, before you give up on that average warrior, think again about giving him a chance to flourish... he might suprise you as Akira has surprised me. Good luck in the arena! M.A., a proud member of GAPPDA P.S. If you want to know Akira's original roll-up, diplo Anime Legends (Arena 102, 104). P.P.S. Swift -- We GAPPDA members are NOT slugs!!! At least, I don't think we are... TWELVE TIPS A rookie manager asked me a question recently which prompted my "teaching juices" to flow. I quote: "Just give me a dozen hints, and I'll leave you alone!" Obviously, his challenge prompted me to organize my thought creating my Twelve Tips. "Now wait a minute!" I hear you asking. "Why should I read on?" Simply put: -- If you're an experience manager, you'll want to "clue me in" on other valuable tips I missed. -- If you're a "newbie," these tips will enhance your W-L record and compound your fun. "But, are they GOOD tips?" you ask. Believe me, fellow opponents, after 5000+ fights, dozens of "tutored pupils," many A.D. warriors, and a rather lofty W-L record, they're GOOD tips. So here we go, in no particular order. (I) ASK FOR HELP--Ask RSI about the Sponsor Program. Diplo "good" managers in your arena. Proclaim your willingness to learn in a personal ad. You'll get some conversation. (II) OFFENSIVES FIRST--This is not an easy game, and the basher, lunger, striker can be readily designed and more easily "mastered." (Whatever that means.) Avoid the most difficult finessives, such as aimers (AB), rippers (PR), and probably wastes (WS). Get some confidence first! Most of us old-timers yet struggle with a good aimed-blow. (III) SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS--One of the most prevalent rookie errors is training too many stats. Skills win fights, and in the long run, you will regret certain stat raises. (IV) COLLECT DATA--The more you know about your own warrior (And even with the same stats, warriors differ) and the more you know about your opponents, the more likely you can cause something "good" to happen. In the military/political world, we call this "intelligence." (Clue: ask about a D.M. handbook filled with info.) (V) PERSONAL ADS--Don't be a jerk! But write some every time. Let me assure you that an unliked rookie cannot succeed in an arena against the local "Powers-in-control." You want to create friendly opponents. (When you know what you're doing--then you can try the jerk routine!) (VI) TURN SHEET--Accuracy counts. Fill it out perfectly (and legibly) pal! Know what each section is for. (Reread the instructions.) Many have been the surprised and frustrated manager who caused his or her own problem! (Even us "megas" blow it now and then!) (VII) NO CON--Don't ever (well maybe 1% of the time) add points to constitution on an offensive rollup. Other attributes may add skills; con won't. (Just wait until you hear someone shout never add to con--ever. I didn't say that.) (VIII) ONE WEAPON--For offensives. When you get to finesse styles, you'll understand why you may want one in your off-hand also. But, almost always carry a backup. (Hands can be hurt both striking and defending.) (IX) CHALLENGE/AVOID--Always! A manager's prime purpose is to optimize his warrior's chances. Challenge those you'll have a good shot at beating and avoid teams who can cause you the most difficulties. (Challenge warriors--avoid teams.) (X) ENTER TOURNAMENTS--What a way to acquire skills and experience without impacting your arena W-L record. Actually, you will create a positive impact in that those "tournament earnings" are "hidden" from other arena warriors. Plus, tournaments are a real "rush!" (XI) FIND A FRIEND--In every arena find at least one "friendly" foe. Share opponent info. With two, or more, of you sharing, look how much more "intelligence" you'll have. (XII) STAY COOL--Don't let any problem (loss, death, personal ad, error, etc.) anger you. (This is fun, right?) The cool head wins more matches than the emotional one. So good luck, rookie! We were all in your shoes once. (And for some of us that was a long, long time ago.) THE CONSORTIUM DM 8 Smithsonian (Curator) DM 11 Bulldogs (Kennelworth) DM 20 Animal Farm (Mino) DM 46 Fandils (Fandil the Wise) (and many, many more)