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)

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                                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

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                              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.

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                                  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)